Friday 25 May 2012

WWE Over the Limit 2012 Review

Over the Limit took place last Sunday at the PNC Arena at North Carolina State University. I have been looking forward to some of the matches on the card so will I be happy with the results? Let's take a look.


In the pre-show match, Zack Ryder took on Kane in a match that should have happened months ago due to Kane single-handedly tripling Ryder’s health insurance premiums. Early on, Kane gets sent to the outside and Ryder begs the referee to count. Ryder goes for the RoughRyder but Kane reverses it into a sidewalk slam. Ryder tries again for the RoughRyder but Kane gravs him and performs a Chokeslam to get the victory. It was a decent match but I didn’t think Ryder had a chance. Saying that, it would be nice if they develop this story further but they probably won’t.
Winner: Kane                                                                                      Predictions: 1 for1

Backstage, Cody Rhodes and Santino Marella are still arguing over which Championship is better. Therefore, Eve Torres decides to settle the dispute by having a people power battle royal in which the winner will challenge either for the Intercontinental Championship or the United States Championship. Right...I don’t see how this settles the argument. Wouldn’t a match between the two make a lot more sense? You know what, fuck it. Let’s focus on the battle royal, which is next...? Doesn’t the PPV start in about ten minutes?

The Inaugural People Power Battle Royal was next featuring David Otunga, Tyson Kidd, Alex Riley, The Miz, Jimmy Uso, Jey Uso, William Regal, The Great Khali, Heath Slater, Titus O’Neil, Darren Young, Ezekiel Jackson, Jinder Mahal, Tyler Reks, Drew McIntyre, Curt Hawkins, Michael McGillicutty, JTG, Yoshi Tatsu and a returning Christian. The match starts in the pre-show then goes into the PPV. I don’t think I have ever seen a PPV start with a match in progress. It’s a bit weird and I think WWE did it to encourage more people to buy the PPV. Anyway, the match goes quite quickly with some of the highlights being the Usos eliminating JTG with a double superkick; and Khali eliminating Reks and Hawkins before getting eliminated himself by Young, O’Neil and The Miz. The final five were Christian, Miz, Alex Riley, David Otunga and Tyson Kidd. Miz eliminates Riley;  then Otunga and Miz eliminate Kidd then team up to take on Christian. Christian fights back and eliminates Otunga. Miz tries to tae advantage by almost eliminating Christian. They both end on the apron and Christian spears Miz off the apron to get the win. Christian then implies that he will challenge Santino. I guess that we will have a new United States Champion.
Winner: Christian                                                                                            Predictions: N/A

The PPV officially starts with the Tag Team Championship in which Kofi Kingston and R-Truth are challenged by Jack Swagger and Dolph Ziggler.  Lawler decides to spend more time talking about Vickie Geurrero’s dress then doing his job, which is, you know, commentating. Swagger and Ziggler wear down Truth  before Kingston gets the hot tag. Kingston hits a crossbody and Swagger stops the pin. Ziggler then hits the Fameasser and Truth stops the pin. Kingston hits the Trouble in Paradise on Ziggler, giving him and Truth the win. This was a fun match and great performances by Ziggler and Kingston.
Winners: Kofi Kingston and R-Truth                                                  Predictions: 2 for 2

Next was the Divas Championship as Beth Phoenix challenges Layla and this could be a good match.  Beth starts to attack Layla’s surgically repaired knee and puts her in a one legged Boston crab. Layla reverses a Gorilla Press Slam into an armbreaker to get back some momentum. Eventually, Beth goes the Glam Slam, which is reversed into a roll up, which Beth reverses into another roll up, which Layla kicks out. Layla then hit the Lay Out to get the win. This was a good Divas match and  it shows how good they can be. On a side note, no Kharma? Boo!!
Winner: Layla                                                                                     Predictions: 3 for 3

The World Heavyweight Championship was defended  in a fatal 4-way between champion Sheamus, Randy Orton, Alberto Del Rio and Chris Jericho. Sheamus and Orton attack  Jericho and Del Rio before wrestling each other. Del Rio and Jericho team up to attack first Orton then Sheamus. Jericho stops Del Rio pinning Orton ending that alliance and the match continues with Sheamus being stopped from taking part in the match. Sheamus gets back into the match and wrestles Del Rio for a while before Jericho gets involved. Orton goes on a hot streak then Del Rio puts him into the cross armbreaker, which Jericho breaks up. Jericho hits the Codebreaker on Orton then Jericho gets put in the cross armbreaker  which Jericho reverses into the Walls of Jericho. Sheamus stops Del Rio from tapping out. Jericho then puts the Walls of Jericho on Sheamus. Orton stops that with a RKO to Sheamus then Del Rio. Sheamus hits Orton with the Brogue Kick then hits Jericho with the White Noise to get the win the retain the World Heavyweight Championship. This was a really good match with so many highlights.
Winner: Sheamus                                                                                Predictions: 4 for 4

Backstage Cody Rhodes is talking to Eve Torres saying that Christian will legitimatise the United States Championship by beating Santino Marella. Rhodes goes on to say that he would have beaten Christian if he had faced him. Christian overhears this and decides to challenge Rhodes instead. Wait, so is that Christian making a face turn? I liked Christian as a heel asking for ONE...MORE...MATCH for the World Heavyweight Championship. I guess he’s going to postpone that for now.

Next we have The Miz (the Most Must-See WWE Superstar in Miz-tory) taking on Brodus Clay. Miz decides to start dancing before being interrupted by Clay’s music. Miz tries to get some momentum but Clay keeps on coming back to destroy Miz. Miz finally starts to wear down Clay. Clay makes a comeback and hits the Fuck Funk It to get the usual win for Clay. Afterwards, Clay celebrates in the ring with some kids. Er..yeah, that’s it really.
Winner: Brodus Clay                                                                          Predictions: N/A

The Intercontinental Championship is on the line as Cody Rhodes is challenged by Christian. The match goes back and forth with Rhodes hitting a Moonsault. Christian sends Rhodes into the turnbuckle then hits the Killswitch to get the win and become the Intercontinental Championship for the fourth time. This was a good match and congratulations to Christian.
Winner: Christian                                                                    Predictions: N/A

The next match was someone that I think a lot of people were looking forward to, the WWE
Championship match between CM Punk and Daniel Bryan. Punk starts to focus on Bryan’s left knee before Bryan  gains some momentum. Both guys are going for submission moves and counters and Bryan applies a Springboard on Punk. Punk does a Fisherman’s Suplex but Bryan kicks out and then Bryan later on does a flying headbutt. The match goes back and forth with Punk applying a Figure Four Leg Lock, which Bryan gets out of by reaching the rope. Punk goes for the GTS but Bryan reverses it into a roll up. Punk does the knee to the face then attempts the bulldog. However, Bryan reverses it into the LeBell Yes Lock. Punk reverses it into a roll up, which gives him the win. However, just when the bell rings, Punk starts to tap, creating a questionable ending. The match was, without a doubt, the match of the night and at the minute, one of the leading contenders for LDW Match of the Year. I hope that we have a rematch between the two as this could be a tremendous rivalry.
Winner: CM Punk                                                                   Predictions: 5 for 5

After a backstage segment involving David Otunga, Eve Torres and Laurinaitis’ bitch Teddy Long, we get Camacho getting squashed by Ryback.  No, wait, hang on, I’m being too presumptive. Camacho might have a chance. Camacho attempts a suplex but Ryback reverses it into a reverse suplex. Camacho actually gets Ryback down on the floor. This is when Ryback starts to fuck up Camacho. He does a Spinebuster followed by a Powerbomb then the Muscle Buster to get the win. It’s good to see Ryback go from random Jabronis no one gives a fuck about to random low level wrestlers that no one gives a fuck about.
Winner: Ryback                                                                       Predictions: N/A

The main event is between John Laurinaitis (did you know that he’s the Executive Vice President of Talent Relations and the GM of both RAW and Smackdown?) and John Cena.  As soon as the bell rings, Laurinaitis tries to bolt it but Cena catches him and  proceeds to beat the shit out of him. This continues for a good 5 minutes including a fun bit where Cena does a bit of commentary. Cena then announces that he is going to put Laurinaitis in the STf and he’ll let go if Laurinaitis can survive ten seconds. Laurinaitis does so Cna does it again then pours water all over Laurinaitis then uses a fire extinguisher on him. Laurinaitis tries to escape him and Cena grabs him. Laurinaitis slams Cena’s arm against the barrier then proceeds to keep on attacking Cena’s arm with a steel chair. Cena grabs the chair and attacks Laurinaitis with it. Laurinaitis eventually leaves through the crowd and Cena decides to not chase after him. Suddenly Big Show turns up dragging Laurinaitis to the ring. Cena puts Laurinaitis in the STF but Show hits Cena with the WMD. This gives Laurinaitis the opportunity to pin Cena and get the win. This was actually a fun match which didn’t drag too long. With Show now turning heel, it would be interesting to see where we go from here.
Winner: John Laurinaitis                                                        Predictions: 6 for 6 J J

I really enjoyed this PPV. All of the matches worked well and I thought the two World Championship matches were fun. And the best bit, for the first time ever, I got all my predictions right JJJJ. Anyway, I’m looking forward to see where they go from here leading to No Way Out.

Sunday 20 May 2012

WWE Over the Limit 2012 Predictions




Over the Limit will be taking place in the PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. The WWE Pay-Per-Views have been pretty decent so far this year. Will this one in that vein? Let’s look at the card.

In the pre-show, Kane will take on Zack Ryder in a match that should have happened months ago. To remind you, Kane basically fucked Ryder up continuously at the beginning of the year. This could be a fun, yet short, match but, while I would love Ryder to win, I don’t think he will. Therefore, I’m going for Kane to win.
Prediction: Kane

The Tag Team Championships are on the line as Kofi Kingston and R-Truth are challenged by Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger. Kingston and Truth have only recently become Champions so I can’t see them losing

The Divas Championship is on the line as Layla is challenged by Beth Phoenix. I'm actually looking forward to this match as it could be a good Divas match. I think that Layla will win and then hopefully Khama will return and fuck her up.
Prediction: Layla

The World Heavyweight Championship is on the line in a Fatal 4-Way as Sheamus is challenged by Alberto Del Rio, Chris Jericho and Randy Orton. This is a tough one to call as I can see either Sheamus or Orton winning. I'm going for Sheamus to find some way to retain the Championship.
Prediction: Sheamus

The WWE Championship is on the line as Daniel Bryan challenges CM Punk. This match, involving 2 former ROH wrestlers, has the potential to be the match of not only the night, but of the year. This is a tough one to call as I can see either winning. I think that Punk will be champion til possibly Summerslam so I think that he will win.
Prediction: CM Punk


The main event (bizzarely) is between John Cena and John Laurinaitis (did you know that he's the Executive Vice President of Talent Relations and GM of both RAW and Smackdown?) I don't really care about this match and I don't see the point of the whole if Laurinaitis loses, he gets fired. If this was real life, Cena should win this no problem. However, I think that Laurinaitis will find some way to previal here.
Prediction: John Laurinaitis

I would get to see the show til a couple of days after. My review will be up during the week and I hope you enjoy the show.

TNA Sacrifice 2012 Review

TNA Sacrifice took place last Sunday at the Impact Wrestling Zone in Orlando, Florida. Last month's PPV, Lockdown, was a pretty good event. Will this event in that same vein? Let's take a look.

The event starts with the Tag Team Championship match as Kazarian and Christopher Daniels challenge Samoa Joe and Magnus. During the match, Magnus gets worn down by Daniels and Kazarian. He gets the hot tag to Joe, who destroys his opponents. He then tags in Magnus and gets hit with a jumping DDT from Kazarian. Daniels attempts the Best Moonsault Ever but he misses and Joe and Magnus do their snapmare/flying elbow finisher. Luckily for Daniels, Kazarian pulls Magnus off. Magnus then gets hit with a slam type move to get Daniels and Kazarian the win, making them the new Tag Team Champions. This was an enjoyable match and a good way to start the PPV. I feel sorry for Magnus and Samoa Joe as I enjoyed them as a team. However, TNA seem to be flip-flopping them between heels and faces recently so it might be best for them to lose the Titles and give them to Kazarian and Christopher Daniels. That way, they can be used to develop the feud between them and AJ Styles.
Winners: Kazarian and Christopher Daniels                                      Predictions: 0 for 1

Brooke Tessmacher challenges Gail Kim for the Knockouts Championship. Brooke attempts to do Kim’s finisher, Eat Defeat, a couple of times early on. Kim starts to show her dominance before Brooke makes a comeback and hits a flying elbow drop. This only gets a 2 count, shocking Brooke. Kim goes for Eat Defeat, but Brooke reverses it into an Eat Defeat herself, sending Kim out of the ring. Kim eventually gets the win by pinning Brooke and using the ropes for leverage. This was a decent match and I was pleasantly surprised by Brooke’s ability. I know people might moan about Kim cheating to win. However, this is the first time that she didn’t have her lackey Madison Rayne to help and it looked like that Kim had to cheat to win because Brooke almost beat her. Hopefully, we get a rematch for Slamminversay but I can’t see it.
Winner: Gail Kim                                                                                Predictions: 1 for 2

Next Devon is challenged by both Robbie E and Robbie T in what is supposed to be a triple threat match for the TV Championship. Devon sends Robbie T out of the ring and starts to beat up Robbie E. Robbie T helps Robbie E get the advantage. Devon makes a brief comeback but Robbie T hits him with a running powerslam and covers Devon. Robbie T must have forgot that he was supposed to help Robbie E win the TV Championship because Robbie E stops the referee from counting then has an argument with Robbie T about it. Devon takes advantage of the situation and knees Robbie T into Robbie E then rolls up Robbie T for the victory. While the match wasn’t anything special, I thought it told a good story with Robbie T helping Robbie E out then forgetting about that when he covers Devon.
Winner: Devon                                                                                Predictions: 2 for 3

Next Mr Anderson takes on Jeff Hardy. As expected, the match was good between the two with a lot of back and forth before Hardy hits Anderson with the Mic Check. Anderson then hits the Twist of Fate, getting a 2 count. The finish was when Anderson reverses a move by Hardy into a pin attempt and the referee Earl Hebner counts to 3 even though Hardy kicked out. By the look on his face, I’m guessing that Anderson wasn’t supposed to win. I understand that mistakes can be made by referees; WWE referee Jack Doan botched the ending of a match involving CM Punk being one example. Despite that, the fact that the botch was done a) by the most experienced referee in professional wrestling and b) at a Pay-Per-View doesn’t make it look good. Plus, I lost my prediction because of a botch. Thanks Earl, you dick.
Winner: Mr Anderson                                                                       Predictions: 2 for 4

Next the Undefeated Crimson issues an open challenge and then gets the referee to ring the bell and start counting. Ok...I would assume that you need an opponent in order to do that. Although, it would explain how Goldberg got to 173-0 in 1998. Anyway, ODB arrives to accept the challenge but she’s stopped by Eric Young who accepts the challenge herself. During the match, ODB tries to get involved and Crimson pushes her down and Crimson pushes her down and mocks her. This pisses off Young who proceeds to beat the crap out of Crimson. Young checks on ODB and Crimson takes advantage, knocking Young into ODB then hits the Red Sky to get the victory. The match wasn’t anything special but it was fun.
Winner: Crimson                                                                                 Predictions: N/A

Bully Ray takes on Austin Aries (the best thing in TNA right now) in what could be a really good match. For most of the match, Ray was dominant in the match after he kicked Aries off the top turnbuckle to the floor, which must have hurt. Ray did a solo 3-D, which looked pretty awesome then was continually slapping Aries, only for Aries to ask for more. Ray grabs his chain and Joseph Parks (brother of Chris, you know, Abyss) tries to stop him. While Ray and Parks are altercating outside the ring, Aries hits a suicide dive. Then, back in the ring, Aries hits a Brainbuster to get a 2 count. Ray tries a powerbomb but Aries gets out of it and hits the Last Chancery, making Ray tap out. This match was really good and it was good to see Aries in the upper mid card level. All we need is for him to get screwed out of the X-Division Championship and then he can challenge for another title.
Winner: Austin Aries                                                                            Predictions: 3 for 5

The penultimate match is between Kurt Angle and AJ Styles. The story going into this match was a bit unusual in that Kazarian and Christopher Daniels are interfering in recent matches between Angle and Styles and Angle is getting pissed off at them about it. The match was a pure wrestling match, which is what you get with an Angle match and that is one of the main reasons why I would love to see him back in the WWE. Anyway, there were a lot of near falls with Angle Slams and Styles Clashes. The end comes when Kazarian and Daniels do a chop block on AJ and Angle hits the Angle Slam followed by an Ankle Lock to get the win. Afterwards, Kazarian and Daniels attack Styles but Angle helps Styles out to get rid of them. It’s quite interesting to see where they go from here. I prefer Angle as a bad guy but this has the potential to be a good feud between them with Angle allying with Styles because they have mutual enemies in Kazarian and Daniels.
Winner: Kurt Angle                                                                             Predictions: 4 for 6

The main event is a ladder match with Rob Van Dam challenging Bobby Roode for the TNA World Championship. Even though, RVD is probably the most predictable wrestler ever, I do enjoy his matches and this is no exception. Overall, it’s not the best ladder match in the world but it’s still fun to watch. The end comes when RVD climbs a ladder  but Roode kicks him off into a steel chair. RVD tries to kick the ladder away from Roode; however, Roode pulls down the belt in the process to get the victory. I’m torn about the finish. I wanted Roode to win as I think that Storm will be the next Champion. However, we seem to go from Roode cheating to win to his opponent inadvertently giving Roode the win. I don’t see the harm in Roode winning clean on PPV. I know that he sometimes wins clean on Impact. However, that is in front of not only a free TV audience (As a Brit, I’m assuming that Spike is free on cable/satellite) but a free arena audience as well. I sometimes feel that Roode has not always portrayed as a strong Champion which is similar to how I felt about Daniel Bryan when he was World Heavyweight Champion. Anyway, I’ll write about that another time. Well done to Bobby Roode for retaining the TNA World Championship.
Winner: Bobby Roode                                                                      Predictions: 5 for 7

I thought this was a decent event. I have always thought that TNA had decent wrestling but sometimes, very questionable creative and back stage decisions. Sacrifice has 5 decent matches and 3 good matches. So far, I still think that Lockdown has been the best TNA PPV this year. The question is, will TNA continue to improve in their next PPV, Slamminversary?

Monday 14 May 2012

TNA Sacrifice 2012 Predictions




Hey guys. I've been so busy with work that I only just realised that there was a TNA PPV on today. I've only watched one Impact since Lockdown, but thanks to fellow blogger the Wrestling Nerd I know what's going on. Let's look at the card.

Devon will defend the Television Championship against Robbie E and Robbie T. I think that the Robbies will work well together then fight amongst themselves. This should give Devon the opportunity to retain the title.
Predicted Winner: Devon


Jeff Hardy will take on Mr Anderson in what could be a very entertaining contest. This is a tough one to call but I'm going for Jeff Hardy to win this one.
Predicted Winner: Jeff Hardy


Gail Kim  will defend her Knockouts Championship against Brooke Tessmacher. It would be nice to see Brooke win the title. However, I still think that Velvet Sky will be the next Knockouts Champion so I think Gail Kim will win this one.
Predicted Winner: Gail Kim


Kurt Angle will face AJ Styles and I don't quite get why they are facing each other. However, that's more to me not watching Impact so I don't know the full story. This could be a fun match and I'm going for Kurt Angle to win this.
Predicted Winner: Kurt Angle


Samoa Joe and Magnus will defend the Tag Team Championships against Kazarian and Christopher Daniels. I like Joe and Magnus but I'm getting annoyed with what TNA seemingly flip-flopping them between heels and faces. Make up your fucking mind!! Anyway, I think that Joe and Magnus will retain.
Predicted Winners: Samoa Joe and Magnus


Austin Aries (the best thing in TNA right now) will face Bully Ray in a match that I'm actually looking forward to. I love both Aries and Bully and this could be a good match. I can see both winning but I'm going for Aries to win. Well, I can't proclaim Aries to be the best thing in TNA right now then predict him to lose now, can I?
Predicted Winner: Austin Aries


Rob Van Dam will challenge Bobby Roode for the TNA World Championship. While RVD is predictable in his matches, I can see them working well together to create a good match. Despite that, I expect TNA to once again find some cheap ass way for Roode to retain the title and I can't see RVD winning anyway.
Predicted Winner: Bobby Roode


Just to remind you (again!) that I won't see the event til Wednesday so I will put up the review later in the week.

Thursday 3 May 2012

WWE Extreme Rules 2012 Review

Extreme Rules 2012 took place at the Allstate Arena in Chicago, where the crowds are one of the most passionate in the United States. How will the event fare? Let’s take a look.

Before the PPV started, we had a match between Santino Marella and The Miz for the United States Championship. Miz comes out and states that he is not happy with the fact that, despite helping John Laurinaitis (did you know that he’s the Executive Vice President of Talent Relations and the GM of both RAW and Smackdown?) win his match at Wrestlemania, he has gone from the main event last year to the pre-show match. I agree with him, what’s up with that? Anyway, Miz is dominant for a while. However, Santino makes a comeback and attempts the Cobra. Miz kicks the hand away and tries to splash Santino in the corner but misses. This gives the opportunity for Santino to hit the Cobra and get the win. This was a fun match and a good way to get people interested to buy the PPV.
Winner: Santino Marella                                                                     Predictions: 1 for 1

Afterwards, the stipulation for the match between Cody Rhodes and the Big Show was decided via the RAW Roulette wheel. After a spin by Laurinaitis’ bitch Teddy Long, the match became a tables match. Show laughed as he thought that Rhodes had no chance of getting him through a table. Rhodes decides to lay all the blame on Long, which is not a bad idea.

Now we get to the actual PPV and it starts with Kane taking on Randy Orton in a Falls Count Anywhere match. The match is in the ring for about 30 seconds before Orton is sent out. The match goes back into the ring and Orton uses a lead pipe on Kane. The match goes into the crowd via the timekeeper’s position, and they fight through the crowd to the titantron. Orton attempts a RKO but Kane pushes him away and hits a big boot for a count of 2. The match goes to the backstage area and then the Superstars’ Television Room(?) Zack Ryder who, if you remember was continually fucked up by Kane during the early part of the year, attacks Kane. Kane grabs Ryder for a chokeslam but Orton stops that with a backbreaker. The match makes its way back to the ring then to the announce table then back into the ring and Kane hits a chokeslam. However, Orton kicks out at 2. Kane attempts a Tombstone Piledriver onto a steel chair. However, Orton gets out of it and hits the RKO to get the win. I enjoyed this match and it was a good way to start the PPV.
Winner: Randy Orton                                                                          Predictions: 2 for 2

Next, it’s a bonus match with Brodus Clay taking on Dolph Ziggler. Brodus Clay gets the early advantage before Ziggler starts to take control with some help from Jack Swagger. Despite Ziggler’s best efforts, he gets hit with a headbutt followed by a splash to give Brodus the win. It was a decent match and I quite enjoyed it. However, I feel that this feud is going nowhere as it seems to be: Brodus faces Ziggler or Swagger (or both), Brodus wins, Brodus dances to celebrate.
Winner: Brodus Clay                                                                          Predictions: N/A

The Intercontinental Championship is on the line as The Big Show is challenged by Cody Rhodes. After a few minutes, Show sets up a table up against the corner and tries to throw Rhodes through it but Rhodes counters it with a Disaster Kick. The match goes to the outside then Rhodes gets sent back in. Show attempts to get in but Rhodes dropkicks him on the knee, and Show puts through his foot through a table that had been set up earlier in the match. The referee realises what had happened and rings the bell, making Rhodes the new Intercontinental Champion. Show does not take that too well and chokeslams Rhodes through one table and then Gorilla Presses him from the ring through a table by the announce table. I enjoyed this match and I really liked the ending as it’s quite unique. We had times where someone has accidentally got through a table, but not someone who had accidentally put his foot through a table. Well done to Rhodes on regaining the Intercontinental Championship.
Winner: Cody Rhodes                                                                         Predictions: 2 for 3

Next the World Heavyweight Championship is on the line as Daniel Bryan challenges Sheamus in a 2 out of 3 falls match. Sheamus goes for the Brogue Kick early but Bryan avoids it. Bryan does a sunset flip and Sheamus manages to counter it into a Cloverleaf. The match goes back and forth for a good 10 minutes before the first fall occurred. Sheamus tries to ram Bryan into the turnbuckle and misses, injuring his left shoulder. Bryan takes advantage and focuses on the shoulder and he then continually kicks the shoulder, even though Sheamus had a hold of the rope. Despite the efforts of the referee Chad Patton to stop him, Bryan keeps kicking Sheamus’ shoulder so the referee disqualifies Bryan, giving Sheamus the first fall. Bryan then dropkicks Sheamus in the shoulder then applies the LeBell Yes Lock. Sheamus passes out, giving Bryan the second fall by submission. The WWE doctor checks on Sheamus to see if he can continue while Bryan celebrates and Sheamus says that he is ok. Sheamus then hits the Brogue Kick to give him a chance but Bryan kicks out at 2. Bryan continues the assault but Sheamus takes advantage of a missed dropkick to hit the Irish Curse Backbreaker followed by a Brogue Kick that turned Bryan inside out to get the final fall and retain the World Heavyweight Championship. This match was really, really good and it was the kind of match that I wanted to see them have at Wrestlemania. It also made Bryan a really credible heel and Sheamus look like a strong Champion.
Winner: Sheamus                                                                                Predictions: 3 for 4

Next we have Santino at the monitor, along with The Great Khali, watching 2 random jobbers. Hang on, is this Ryback time? At a Pay-Per-View? Ok...let’s see where this goes. The 2 people are in the ring are...oh, who gives a fuck? There’re 2 jobbers that no one gives a fuck about. Let’s call them Jabroni 1 and Jabroni 2. They’re here to take on Ryback in a handicap match. Ryback hits Jabroni 1 with a powerslam, Jabroni 2 with a backpack stunner and Jabroni 1 with a high angle Fisherman’s Driver. Ryback then puts the Jabronis on top of each other and covers them to get the win. I’m torn about this. It’s nice to see Ryback on PPV but I thought it would be a few months down the line. The match was fine but I don’t think it had a place on the PPV. I only paid £14.95 to see this event. However, in the US and Canada, they are paying $60-70 to see this. I don’t think they want to see squash matches featuring 2 random jabronis. Hopefully, Ryback can start fucking up people with some talent.
Winner: Ryback                                                                                   Predictions: N/A

Next the WWE Championship was defended in a Chicago Street Fight between CM Punk and Chris Jericho. They both come out in street clothes, which I thought was a nice touch. Punk attacks Jericho with a kendo stick and that results Jericho using a referee as a shield. This gives Jericho the chance to get the advantage. Jericho exposes some of the padding in front of Punk’s family and starts to ram Punk’s head onto the steel below, while gloating. Jericho starts verbally abusing Punk’s sister and gets a slap in return. Jericho then goes after her and is stopped by Punk, who then bodyslams him the English Announce Table’s hood. The match starts to go back and forth with Jericho pouring beer over Punk; Punk hitting the Macho Man Elbow Drop; Jericho hitting the Codebreaker then the Walls of Jericho, which Punk got out of by using a fire extinguisher. Punk then put Jericho onto the Spanish Announce Table and sent him through it with another Macho Man Elbow Drop. Punk then drags Jericho back into the ring and hits the Anaconda Vice, which Jericho gets out of by using a kendo stick. Jericho attempts the GTS which Punk counters and he slingshots Jericho onto the exposed turnbuckle then he hits the GTS to get the win. Once again, this match was really good and it told a good story as well. Jericho will probably now go off to tour with his band Fozzy and hopefully return for one final run.
Winner: CM Punk                                                                               Predictions: 4 for 5

Backstage, Eve Torres decides to fuck up the upcoming Divas match by telling Beth Phoenix that she is not medically cleared to compete. I don’t mind that, but why announce it two minutes before the match? Eve then tells Divas Champion Nikki Bella that she will have Kharma a surprise opponent instead. Look, we all know that Kharma is going to be the opponent and fuck up the Bellas, right? Right?

Well, let’s find out. The Divas Championship is on the line as Nikki Bella defends the title against a surprise opponent, who is Kharma LAYLA?!?! Even better, I like Layla a lot and it’s good to see her back after her ACL injury. Layla shows some impressive skills before Brie helps out her sister by attacking Layla’s knee. Layla kicks Nikki out of the ring and they employ the usual twin magic bullshit. However, that turned out to be irrelevant as Layla hits the neckbreaker on Brie to become the new Divas Champion. This was a decent match and Layla could be the perfect first opponent for Kharma to face when she finally returns and you could build the division round them, Natalya, Tamina Snuka and Beth Phoenix. However, the WWE tend to act like WCW when it comes to the Divas, so I’m not holding my breath. In terms of my predictions, I’m enforcing the Divas Royal Rumble Rule and voiding my prediction. If you don’t like that, tough, it’s my blog.
Winner: Layla                                                             Predictions: Voided so still 4 for 5

The main event was Brock Lesnar taking on John Cena in an Extreme Rules match. Lesnar immediately takes down Cena and busts him open. Wow, I have never seen anyone busted open so early in a match. Referee Charles Robinson gets the doctor to look at Cena’s massive head wound for a minute and Lesnar continues to dominate the match. Cena manages to get a little bit of momentum and shoulder charges Lesnar and he knocks into the ref and sends him out of the ring. Lesnar continues dominating Cena and at one point uses Cena’s chain to tie his legs together. Lesnar throws the ref back in and Cena attempts the AA. Lesnar counters it into the F-5. However, in the process he knocks Robinson out of the ring. Lesnar covers Cena and another referee, Rod Zapata, makes the count and Cena kicks out at 2. Lesnar doesn’t take that very well and assaults Zapata. Lesnar brings in some steel steps and applies a kimura, which is a MMA submission move, on the steps. I’m assuming that Brock didn’t know that Cena doesn’t tap. Ever. Cena gets out of the kimura and then, a few minutes later, hits Brock with the chain, busting him open. Cena then hits the AA, sending Brock onto the steel steps and gets the win. I know a lot of people are pissed that Cena won and, if this was a normal match, I would agree with them. However, Brock was so dominant for most of this match that at times, it felt like a long squash match. In hindsight, all Brock needed to do was show how dominant he is and it’s mission accomplished as far as I’m concerned. As for Cena, he announced that he is taking time off after the match so I think that the WWE might have the year of Brock, with him just destroying people, winning the WWE Championship and having a long title reign and then Cena can come back and challenge Brock for it.
Winner: John Cena                                                                             Predictions: 4 for 6

I really enjoyed this PPV. I sometimes joke that Extreme Rules is basically the Wrestlemania rematch show. Despite that, all the matches were really enjoyable and, despite my criticism of the Brodus and Ryback matches, all of them told a great story. With Cena now taking some time off, it will be interesting to see where the WWE go from here.