Friday 20 July 2012

WWE Money in the Bank 2012 Review

WWE Money in the Bank took place in the US Airways Center in Phoenix, Arizona. Last year's event was the best PPV WWE had done in years, so will this year be up to that standard? Let's review.

The Pre-Show match was between the team of Kofi Kingston and R-Truth and the team of Hunico and Camacho. The match was decent enough with R-Truth eventually getting the win
Winners: Kofi Kingston and R-Truth                                                             Predictions: 1 for 1

The event officially starts with the World Heavyweight Championship MITB match between Christian, Cody Rhodes, Damien Sandow, Dolph Ziggler, Lord Tensai, Santino Marella, Sin Cara and Tyson Kidd. The match starts with Tensai being dominant.Some of the other highlights include Rhodes doing a disaster kick on Kidd but hitting Sandow instead; Christian spearing Sandow onto the ladder; Rhodes getting distracted by Vickie Guerrero so that Ziggler can hit the Zig Zag on Rhodes; and Tensai powerbombing Sin Cara onto a ladder then throwing Ziggler over the announce table. The end comes when Christian and Santino are fighting over the briefcase and Christian pushes Santino. Ziggler then comes out of nowhere and pushes Christian off the ladder to claim the briefcase. This was a funny fun match and a great way to start the PPV. As for Ziggler, I personally think that he doesn't need the briefcase but it's just he needs to get him to the main event level.
Winner: Dolph Ziggler                                                                                     Predictions: 1 for 2


After a backstage interview with Sheamus, we get the return of The Miz. AAAWWEEEESOOOMMMEEE!!!!! Sorry, I'm a big fan of The Miz, who has been away fliming The Marine 3. Miz announces that he is entering himself into the WWE Championship MITB match. Hell, yeah! I like this bit as it looked like it was going to be a shit match with only 4 people in the match. The Miz has made the match more interesting with 5 people now in it.

The next match was the World Heavyweight Championship match with Alberto Del Rio challenging Sheamus. Sheamus takes control in the early going before a distraction by Ricardo "Virgil" Rodrigeuz gives Del Rio the chance to get the momentum, focusing on the arm that he injured on the previous Smackdown. Sheamus gets a slight reprieve with a swinging neckbreaker and the match goes back and forth for a little while after that. Del Rio sends Sheamus into the corner and tries a flying kick but misses. This gives Sheamus the opportunity to hit the White Noise followed by a Brogue Kick to get the win. Afterwards, Del Rio doesn't take the loss well and destroys Sheamus. Dolph Ziggler comes out in order to cash in his newly-won MITB contract and Del Rio and Ziggler argue for a while before Ziggler hits him with the briefcase. This gives Sheamus the opportunity to Brogue Kick Ziggler's head off and prevent the briefcase being cashed in. This was a good match and I can see a feud between Sheamus and Ziggler developing over the summer.
Winner: Sheamus                                                                                            Predictions: 2 for 3

We get a bonus tag team match between Epico and Primo and The Prime Time Players (MIllions of Dollars, Millions of Dollars!) with Kofi Kingston and R-Truth on guest commentary. We also get AW mic'd up as we listen to them give encouragement to The Prime Time Players and give verbal abuse to their opponents. Epico and Primo start to be dominant over Darren Young before Epico starts to get beat on. Primo gets the hot tag and does an impressive springboard into a corkscrew splash for a 2 count.  Primo Darren Young then gets rolled up by Primo to get the win. Afterwards, The Prime Time Players get into a standoff with Kofi Kingston and R-Truth.
Winners: Epico and Primo                                                                             Predictions: N/A


Next is the WWE Championship match between Daniel Bryan and CM Punk?! Great, it looks like the show will end with the John Cena Show. AJ is the Special Guest Referee for this match and it's no disqualification. Nothing really special happened until Bryan pushes Punk into AJ and sent her flying off the apron. AJ receives medical attention at the back and referee Chad Patton takes over. This is when the competitors decide to utilise the no-disqualification stipulation and Bryan brings out a kendo stick. Punk tries a springboard flying clothesline but Bryan hits Punk in the abdomen with the kendo stick. Bryan keeps on hitting Punk with the kendo stick. Punk begins a comeback and tries for the GTS but Bryan counters it into a roll up for 2. A little while AJ comes back out and orders Patton to the back. She then proceeds to grab a chair and leave it in the middle of the ring for Bryan and Punk to fight for it. Bryan manages to grab it and destroys Punk with it, only getting a 2 count. Bryan doesn't take the count well and pleads with AJ. Punk does a roll up, which gets 2. Punk uses the chair on Bryan. Punk puts the chair inbetween the middle and top turnbuckles and AJ stops Punk from throwing Bryan into it and this gives Bryan the opportunity to dropkick Punk into the chair. Bryan goes for the kendo stick but AJ puts her foot on it, preventing him from using it. Punk misses with a Macho Man elbow drop and Bryan applies the LeBell Yes Lock, putting the kendo stick  across Punk's face. Punk gets out of it and hits the GTS but Bryan kicks out at 2. Punk puts Bryan onto a table and attempts another Macho Man elbow drop but Bryan pushes Punk onto the turnbuckle. Bryan attacks Punk in that position before he is pushed onto the turnbuckle. Punk then does a back suplex sending both guys through the table and Punk pins Bryan to get the win. I enjoyed the match and it was interesting to see AJ's role in this match. I don't get what her position is. I think she is angry with both of them and is completely fucking up their minds. A part of me still feels that AJ is helping a third party but we'll wait and see over the next month.
Winner: CM Punk                                                                                           Predictions: 3 for 4

A squash match is next as Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks  get fucked up by Ryback. Hawkins and Reks actually put Ryback down and double team him for a bit. Unfortunately for them, that plan doesn't last long as Ryback gets back the momentum with a powerslam and fucks up Hawkins,throws him out of the ring and hits Reks with the Shellshock for the usual victory. It did its job, which was filler.
Winner: Ryback                                                                                               Predictions: N/A


We get another filler match as Divas Champion Layla, Kaitlyn and Tamina Snuka take on Beth Phoenix, Natalya and Eve Torres. Natalya and Tamina start the match. Beth and Kaitlyn get tagged in and Kaitlyn slaps her then Eve when she gets tagged in. Kaitlyn gets dominated for a while before Layla gets the hot tag. Beth attempts a Gorilla Press Slam but Layla reverses it into a roll up which Natalya breaks up. Natalya, Kaitlyn and Eve get sent flying out the ring and Tamina super kicks Beth into a Lay-Out by Layla to give her team the victory. The match wasn't that bad although it would be nice if they had a bit more time.
Winners: Layla, Kaitlyn and Tamina Snuka                                                    Predictions: N/A


The main event is the John Cena show the WWE Championship MITB match between Big Show, Chris Jericho, Kane, John Cena and The Miz. Big Show starts fucking everyone up and this gives Miz the chance to climb the letter. Cena stops that from happening. Show continues to be dominant before his opponents join forces to send Show out of the ring and Cena AA's him through the Spanish Announcers table. Everyone else then proceeds to bury Show under a pile of ladders. Some of the other highlights include Miz and Jericho suplexing Kane onto a ladder; Cena AA'ing Kane on top of Miz; Show rising from his grave of ladders then proceeding to give Jericho a ladder sandwich; Show getting his Special Edition ladder (on sale at bigfuckoffladders.com); and Jericho stopping Show from getting the briefcase with a steel chair. Jericho almost gets the briefcase but Miz goes up the ladder and fight it out. Jericho punches him down the ladder and thinks he has the briefcase. Unfortunately, Show climbs up the ladder and hits Jericho with theWMD then on the Miz to send them both off the ladder. Cena then climbs the ladder and starts to use briefcase to hit Show in the head. The briefcase handle breaks, coming off the hook holding it up while Cena is doing this, giving him the victory. It looks like the ending was slightly botched as I think the plan was for Show to fall off the ladder, leaving Cena all by himself to grab the briefcase. Despite that, it looks weird having Cena with the Money in the Bank briefcase. The question is, what will he do with it?
Winner: John Cena                                                                                            Predictions: 4 for 5


I thought that Money in the Bank was a good event. The slight problem is that it will be compared to last year's, where it deemed to be one of the best PPVs WWE have done in years. It's not as good as that but it still had some good matches such as the World Heavyweight Championship MITB match. However, I'm getting sick to death with every event ending with the John Cena. With the exception of the Royal Rumble, Cena has always ended the show "overcoming the odds" against the heel of the month. We'll wait and see if Summerslam will continue in that trend.

Sunday 15 July 2012

WWE Money in the Bank 2012 Preview




It’s time for one of my favourite PPVs of the year which is taking  place in the US Airways Center in Phoenix, Arizona. Last year, it not only won the Lo-Down Wrestling PPV of the Year ; it also had the Match of the Year with CM Punk versus John Cena. The build up to this has not been great but it has a couple of matches that I’m looking forward, so let’s take a look.

The Pre-Show match on YouTube  is between the team of Kofi Kingston and R-Truth taking on Hunico and Camacho. I don’t think it is for the Tag Team Championships as the number 1 contenders are The Prime Time Players (Millions of Dollars, Millions of Dollars!) Anyway, does anyone really think that Hunico and Camacho will win this match? No, didn’t think so.
Predicted Winners: Kofi Kingston and R-Truth

The World Heavyweight Championship match has Alberto Del Rio challenging Sheamus. This has been a decent build to this match and it would be interesting to see Del Rio as Champion. However, I think that Sheamus will retain here.
Predicted Winner: Sheamus

The World Heavyweight Championship MITB match will be between Christian, Cody Rhodes, Damien Sandow, Dolph Ziggler, Santino Marella, Sin Cara, Lord Tensai and Tyson Kidd. This is one of the matches that I am really looking forward and this could be a contender for LDW Match of the Year. It’s a tough one to call as I can see either Cody Rhodes, Dolph Ziggler or Damien Sandow winning it. I’m going for Cody Rhodes to win this I think he is now ready for the main event level.
Predicted Winner: Cody Rhodes

On the other hand, the WWE Championship MITB match is one that I’m not looking forward to. This one is slightly different as it’s between active former WWE Champions: Big Show, Chris Jericho, John Cena and Kane. I can see this being nowhere near as good as the other MITB match and it would have made more sense to either include any former World Champions (such as Jack Swagger) or do this idea in 2013 where they will be more former WWE Champions (such as CM Punk, The Miz and Randy Orton) I feel really sorry about Chris Jericho who will be trying to make everyone look good. The only one that I see winning this match is John Cena, who will once again overcome the odds (even though he has more chance of winning this match then if he was in the World Heavyweight Championship MITB Match) and take the briefcase. I pray to God that this is not the main event otherwise I would not be happy.
Predicted Winner: John Cena

The WWE Championship match has Daniel Bryan challenging CM Punk with AJ as the Special Guest Referee. This has the ability to be a really good match but the question is, like last time, what about AJ? This is a tough one to call as my initial thoughts about AJ was allied with Bryan. Now I’m not so sure. A part of me doesn’t think AJ is as crazy as she has led us to believe and she could be working for a third party. Anyway, I think that Punk will win this one and remain Champion until Summerslam.
Predicted Winner: CM Punk

I won’t get to see the whole event until Monday or Tuesday so the review (like all my reviews recently) will be published during the week. I hope you enjoy the show.

TNA Destination X 2012 Review

It's time for the X-Division to shine as Destination X took place last Sunday at the Impact Wrestling Zone in Orlando, Florida. We will see a new X-Division Champion crowned but will we see a new TNA World Champion? Let's review.

We start with a four way match between Rubix, Lars Only, Dakota Darsow and Mason Andrews in which the winner will get to qualify for the X-Division Championship Tournament. As with most X-Division matches, there was a lot of high-flying offence, including Andrews doing a suicide dive to Only and Darsow, who were outside the ring; followed by Rubix doing an acrobatic suicide dive to his opponents when they all got up. With Darsow and Rubix being taken out, Only and Andrews fought it out with Andrews hitting a fireman's carry into a RKO to get the win. This was a really fun match to start the show and I hope they keep these guys on, especially Rubix as I thought he was really good.
Winner: Mason Andrews                                                                                   Predictions: N/A


Mason Andrews gets no time to rest as he immediately faces Kid Kash in the 1st X-Division Championship Tournament match. Kash starts to take advantage of his freshness and dominate Andrews. Kash tries a moonsault which Andrews countered with a knee to the face. Andrews almost won it with a running knee. Kash tries to knee Andrews in the face but Andrews grabs his leg and rolls him up to get the win. The match was not as fun as the first one but it was still enjoyable.
Winner: Mason Andrews                                                                                   Predictions: N/A


The 2nd X-Division Championship Tournament match is between Douglas Williams and Kenny King. The match goes back and forth with King hitting an impressive spinebuster and Williams hitting a flying knee to King who was outside the ring. King eventually gets the win with a fireman's carry into a slam. I picked Kenny King to become the new X-Division Champion, so I'm glad he won.
Winner: Kenny King                                                                                          Predictions: N/A


The 3rd X-Division Championship Tournament match is between Sonjay Dutt and Rashad Cameron. The match starts with both of them showing off their acrobatic skills and the match does have a lot of high-flying manoeuvres. Cameron keeps on bitching to senior referee Earl Hebner,which comes back to haunt him as Dutt takes advantage and hits a somersault into a double foot stomp from the top turnbuckle to get the win. Only because I had never seen these guys before, I didn't find it as enjoyable as the other matches so far. Despite that, it was still fun to watch.
Winner: Sonjay Dutt                                                                                         Predictions: N/A

Next we get an update on Jesse Sorenson. To remind you, Sorenson broke his neck at Against All Odds earlier this year when Zema Ion landed on Sorenson's head in a match. Sorenson goes to the ring and announces that he wants Ion to win the X-Division Championship so that he can take it off him and use it to get the chance to become TNA World Champion. Ion then comes out and has a staredown with Sorenson. It's great to see that Sorenson looks like he will, not only make a full recovery, but will be able to go back to wrestling by the end of the year. I know a lot of people dismiss professional wrestling as fake (I prefer choreographed myself) but it is an extremely dangerous profession and accidents do happen. I know I mentioned this in my Against All Odds review, but well done to the TNA medical staff for their quick reactions when the accident occurred to help ensure that Sorenson is where he is now.

Zema Ion  stays in the ring as he takes on Flip Cassanova in the 4th X-Division Championship Tournament match. The match doesn't take that long as, despite some brief glimpses of impressive offence  from Cassanova, Ion gets the win. It's good to see Ion get the win. Shame he had to beat Cassanova to do it as I think he is pretty good.
Winner: Zema Ion                                                                                            Predictions: N/A


Next we get a Bound for Glory Series match between Samoa Joe and Kurt Angle and finally, a match that I made a prediction on. The match goes back and forth and the crowd was really into it. Joe gets Angle into an Armbar but Angle reverses into a ankle lock. Joe eventually hits the muscle buster but Angle kicks out. Angle puts Joe into the ankle lock but Joe gets out of it and Joe hits the rear naked choke. Angle eventually gets out of it and hits the Olympic slam but Joe kicks out at 2. Angle tries the Olpympic slam but Joe puts on the rear naked choke and takes them to the floor, putting himself between Angle and the ropes. Despite Angle's best efforts, he passes out and the referee calls for the bell, giving Joe the victory. The match means that Samoa Joe takes the lead in the table by one point. I really enjoyed this match and it made both people look strong as we move on in the Bound for Glory Series.
Winner: Samoa Joe                                                                                          Predictions: 0 for 1


AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels were next in a Last Man Standing match. Hopefully, it won't get as fucked up as their I Quit match at Bound for Glory last year. It quite apparent quite quickly they wan tot hurt each other when Styles suplexes Daniels into the turnbuckle. Daniels brings in a steel chair and slams Angle onto it. Daniels continues to keep hitting Styles in the back and head outside the ring, busting Styles open. The action goes into the ring when Styles does a springboard punch which sends the chair that Daniels was carrying into Daniel's head. Styles then sends Daniels head first into the steel steps outside the ring, busting Daniels open. Daniels decided it would be a good idea to flee up the aisle with Styles in hot pursuit and they continue to fight on the stage near the announce table. They do a double clothesline and both guys get up at the count of 5. After a little while, Styles does an impressive somersault into a DDT. While the referee is counting , Kazarian arrives and pushes Styles off the stage onto the concrete. The referee then starts to count, which I find weird because it wasn't Daniels who put Styles down, and Styles gets up at 8. Daniels gets a table and puts it up on the floor by the ramp to the stage. He attempts to send Styles through it but Styles pushes Daniels into Kazarian and then hits the Styles Clash sending both men crashing into the table off the stage. The referee counts and Styles gets up at 8 but Daniels doesn't, giving Styles the win. The match was really enjoyable and I really enjoyed the ending.
Winner: AJ Styles                                                                                           Predictions: 1 for 2


Next we get the Ultimate X match between Zema Ion, Kenny King, Sonjay Dutt and Mason Andrews. For those who don't know, an Ultimate X match is when the X-Division belt is suspended by two ropes, which are held up by scaffold towers at each corner of the ring. The winner is the one who grabs the belt. Some of the highlights include Ion ending up in the Tree of Woe and King sending Andrews into him; Dutt hitting King doing a ground moonsault which dislocated Dutt's shoulder on impact; Ion getting pulled down by Andrews and King; and Andrews hanging off the rope and getting speared by King. King and Andrews get to the belt but they take each other out, and Dutt and Ion fight it out above the belt. Ion uses his hair spray on Dutt, sending him to the ring; and Ion grabs the belt to become the new X-Division Champion. It was a decent match and special mention to Sonjay Dutt, who dislocated his shoulder and elbow then managed to get that sorted so that he can get involved in the ending.
Winner: Zema Ion                                                                                           Predictions: 1 for 3


The main event is Austin Aries (the best thing in TNA right now) challenging Bobby Roode for the TNA World Championship. Both guys try to get into each other's head to begin with. Roode starts to get the momentum keeping Aries grounded. Roode starts mocking Aries and slapping him in the face. This pisses off Aries who starts to dominate the match. Aries hits the Last Chancery but Roode turns it round into the Crossface. Aries rolls out of it and hits the Last Chancery but Roode rakes the eyes to get out of it. After a little while, Roode applies the Crossface but Aries eventually grabs the rope. Roode grabs the belt but the referee stops him from using it. While the referee is putting the belt away, Roode hits a low blow but Aries kicks out at 2. Aries attempts the Brainbuster but Roode gets out of it and pushes Aries into the referee. Roode hits Aries with the belt and revives the referee but Aries kicks out at 2. Roode attempts a fisherman suplex but Aries reverses it into a small package. Aries then sends Roode into the turnbuckle and, after a kick to the head, hits the Brainbuster to get the win and become the NEW TNA World Champion. This was undoubtedly the match of the night and, although I predicted that Aries would lose, I'm really happy that he won. The only reason that I thought that Roode would win is that I thought that TNA would have Storm win the BFG Series and have him defeat Roode at Bound for Glory. That could still happen but I think it would have been better if Roode had been Champion for almost a year and not a couple of months. Despite that, congratulations on Austin Aries winning the TNA World Championship.
Winner: Austin Aries                                                                                   Predictions: 1 for 4


I enjoyed this event. I think that Slammiversary is still TNA's best PPV so far this year and it was going to be hard to top that. Despite the fact that a lot of matches had guys who are unfamiliar to those fans who are outside the Independent Wrestling scene in the United States (like myself), it was still good to watch. TNA have a lot of momentum right now and I hope they can keep it going.

Money in the Bank - The Contenders



Money in the Bank is this evening and, as usual, there will be ladder matches to determine who will get a title shot for the World Heavyweight Championship and the WWE Championship. Let’s look at the contenders.

World Heavyweight Championship Ladder Match

Christian
Record:
0-4
The two –time World Heavyweight Champion and the current Intercontinental Champion is in his element in this kind of match. I know that a lot of people would love him to win it, but I don’t think he will
Chances of winning: Potential Dark Horse

Santino Marella
Record:
First Time
I know that some people are wondering why the current United States Champion is anywhere near this match. I think that he has a very slim chance of winning but he was the runner-up to the 2011 Royal Rumble, so I’m not exactly ruling it out.
Chances of Winning: Slim

Lord Tensai
Record:
First Time
Lord Tensai has been up and down the card since his return to the WWE. Because of that, I don’t think he will win.
Chances of Winning: Slim

Sin Cara
Record:
0-1
While 2011 has been difficult year for Sin Cara, 2012 has been so far, so good for him. I think he has a slim chance of winning and I still think that WWE would like a Champion who can, well...speak. Hopefully, he won’t get powerbombed through a ladder like last year.
Chances of Winning: Slim

Tyson Kidd
Record:
First Time
Tyson Kidd is a tremendous athlete and is one of the underrated people in the WWE. It’s great to see him get a push and I think he has the potential to be a great Champion. However, I don’t think this will be that time.
Chances of Winning: Slim

Damien Sandow
Record:
First Time
Damien Sandow has been a joy to watch since his debut on Smackdown and I think he is one of the best talkers in the company at the minute. It would be a massive surprise if he won the briefcase, but it would also be a nice surprise.
Chances of Winning: Er...it’s possible

Cody Rhodes
Record
: 0-2
Could this be Cody’s time? Cody has been a revelation over the last 18 months with his excellent ability and character development. I have no doubt that Cody will be a future World Champion; the question is, are the WWE ready to give him that opportunity?
Chances of Winning: High

Dolph Ziggler
Record:
0-2
The question about Cody Rhodes could equally apply to Dolph Ziggler. Dolph has had chances to win a World Championship and he is (technically) a former World Heavyweight Champion. Personally, I don’t think he needs the briefcase but it could be exactly what he needs.
Chances of Winning: High

WWE Championship Ladder Match

The Big Show
Record:
0-1
The Big Show was looking good in his recent heel turn until Cena fucked that up. Now, I don’t really care. I can’t see him winning the briefcase though a feud between him and Punk could be interesting.
Chances of Winning: Slim

Kane
Record:
1-5
Kane has had the most experience in Money in the Bank matches yet he is probably the one who has the less chance of winning. Kane getting the briefcase would not help anyone.
Chances of Winning: Slim

Chris Jericho
Record:
0-3
The inventor of the match has an excellent opportunity to get the briefcase. It would be great to see. However, I can only see one people winning it and it’s not him.
Chances of Winning: Quite high

John Cena
Record:
First Time
John Cena has never been in a MITB match before but he has suffered it by being cashed in on, not once but twice. He is the only one that I can see winning this match. The question is, will he do the honourable thing and actually cash it in to make a match or could this be the opportunity for a heel turn?
Chances of Winning: Very high.

Money in the Bank - The Winners



The Money in the Bank concept has been going on for 7 years now and is now of the PPVs that I look forward throughout the year. Let's look at the winners of these matches and see how they did afterwards.

Wrestlemania XXI
Competitors: Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, Christian, Edge, Kane and Shelton Benjamin
Won by: Edge
When did he cash it in? Edge cashed in at New Year’s Revolution 2006 to defeat WWE Champion John Cena.

Wrestlemania XXII
Competitors: Bobby Lashley, Finlay, Matt Hardy, Ric Flair, Rob Van Dam and Shelton Benjamin
Won by: Rob Van Dam
When did he cash it in? So far, Rob Van Dam is the only one who has used the briefcase to book an actual match. He challenged WWE Champion John Cena to an Extreme Rules match at ECW One Night Stand 2006 and was victorious.

Wrestlemania XXIII
Competitors: CM Punk, Edge, Finlay, Jeff Hardy, Matt Hardy, Mr Kennedy, King Booker and Randy Orton.
Won by: Mr Kennedy
When did he cash it in? Er...yeah about that. Edge defeated Mr Kennedy for the briefcase on the May 7th edition of RAW. Edge then cashed it in on the following Smackdown on World Heavyweight Champion the Undertaker.

Wrestlemania XXIV
Competitors: Carlito, Chris Jericho, CM Punk, Shelton Benjamin, John Morrison, Montel Vontavious Porter and Mr. Kennedy

Won by: CM Punk
When did he cash it in? Punk took advantage of World Heavyweight Champion Edge after he was destroyed by Batista on the 30th June 2008 edition of RAW.

Wrestlemania XXV
Competitors: Christian, CM Punk, Finlay, Kane, Kofi Kingston,  Mark Henry, Montel Vontavious Porter and Shelton Benjamin
Won by: CM Punk
When did he cash it in? CM Punk cashed in on Matt Hardy after he had just become World Heavyweight Champion.

Wrestlemania XXVI
Competitors: Christian, Dolph Ziggler, Drew McIntyre, Evan Bourne, Jack Swagger, Kane, Kofi Kingston, Matt Hardy, Montel Vontavious Porter and Shelton Benjamin
Won by: Jack Swagger
When did he cash it in? After trying to cash it in unsuccessfully on John Cena, he managed to cash it in and defeat World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho, 5 days after Wrestlemania

RAW Match 2010
Competitors: Chris Jericho, Edge, Evan Bourne, John Morrison, Mark Henry, The Miz, Randy Orton and  Ted DiBiase Jr.
Won by: The Miz
When did he cash it in? After a couple of unsuccessful attempts, he teased cashing it in at Survivor Series, only to cash it in the day after, defeating Randy Orton to become WWE Champion.

Smackdown Match 2010
Competitors: Big Show, Christian, Cody Rhodes, Dolph Ziggler, Drew McIntyre, Kane, Kofi Kingston and Matt Hardy
Won by: Kane
When did he cash it in? Kane didn’t wait long as he cashed it in and defeated Rey Mysterio under an hour later to become World Heavyweight Champion

RAW Match 2011
Competitors: Alberto Del Rio, Alex Riley, Evan Bourne, Jack Swagger, Kofi Kingston, R-Truth, Rey Mysterio, The Miz.
Won by: Alberto Del Rio
When did he cash it in? Del Rio unsuccessfully tried to cash it in on CM Punk after he won the WWE Championship the same night. After another unsuccessful attempt on Rey Mysterio, Del Rio cashed it in and defeated CM Punk at Summerslam after an attack by Kevin Nash

Smackdown Match 2011
Competitors: Cody Rhodes, Daniel Bryan, Heath Slater, Justin Gabriel, Kane, Sheamus, Sin Cara, Wade Barrett.
Won by: Daniel Bryan
When did he cash it in? Bryan stated that he was planning to cash it in at Wrestlemania XXVIII. Bryan tried to cash it in on Mark Henry but was unsuccessful in November. Bryan did cash it in and defeat Mark Henry a few days after Survivor Series, only to be told by GM Theodore Long that Henry was not medically cleared to wrestle. At TLC last year, Show defeated Mark Henry to become World Heavyweight Champion. Henry didn’t take that well and destroyed Show with a chair. Bryan took advantage to cash in his briefcase and become World Heavyweight Champion.

Sunday 8 July 2012

TNA Destination X 2012 Preview

File:Destination X (2012).jpg

Destination X takes place this Sunday at the usual place of the Impact Wrestling Zone in Orlando, Florida. There are 9 matches, but most of them are the tournament to determine the new X-Division Champion, which was vacated by Austin Aries (the best thing in TNA right now). Therefore, I'm going to do predictions on the non-tournament matches and who I think could win the X-Division Tournament.

AJ Styles will take on Christopher Daniels in a last man standing match. I generally like last man standing matches and I hope not to be disappointed here. Whilst I think that AJ Styles will win, I don't think that that will be the end of the feud between these two.
Predicted Winner: AJ Styles

The X-Division Tournament will be between Kid Kash, Zema Ion, Douglas Williams, Sonjay Dutt, Rashad Cameron, Kenny King, Flip Cassanova and one of Rubix, Lars Only, Mason Andrews and Dakota Darsow. I don't know much about the independent scene in the US except for Kenny King so this is a tough one to predict. It would make more sense if an independent would win it so I'm going on a limb and picking Kenny King to be the new X-Division Champion.
Predicted Winner: Kenny King

Samoa Joe will take on Kurt Angle in a Bound for Glory Series match. Joe is currently 2nd in the Series and has a lot of momentum. However, I think that Angle will win this one.
Predicted Winner: Kurt Angle

The main event will be Austin Aries (the best thing in TNA right now) challenging Bobby Roode for the TNA World Championship. This has the ability to be one of the matches of the year, provided it doesn't end in a TNA clusterfuck as usual. I really REALLY want Aries to win this match. However, it would make no sense for him to have a brief title reign before giving back to Roode. Barring something really bad happening, James Storm is going to win the Bound for Glory Series and will beat Roode at Bound for Glory. Roode has to stay Champion til then. Plus, I think it will be a good ending to the PPV seeing Aries distraught because he lost everything. Therefore, for the first time, I'm going against the best thing in TNA right now and predicting that Bobby Roode will retain. I hope that Aries can forgive me.
Predicted Winner: Bobby Roode

After Slammiversary, TNA are in a good position right now. I hope they can continue that with this PPV. As always, I won't get to see it til Wednesday night, so the review will be up before the weekend.

Fav Five: June 2012

It's time for the Booker T inspired Fav Five for June 2012. In June, we had a so-so PPV from WWE but an excellent PPV from TNA. How will it affect the Fav Five this month? Let's see.

5. CM Punk
The WWE Champion had been fun to watch, along with Kane, Daniel Bryan and AJ. There are still a lot of questions about what is going on between them all, but as long as it doesn't end in a TNA-style clusterfuck, they should  be answered soon.
4. Joseph Park
Joesph Park (brother of Chris? You know, Abyss?) has been a joy to watch over the last month. Chris Parks is the man behind both characters and it's a testament to his ability to go from portraying a man who is a psychopathic recluse to someone who is the complete opposite.
3. Austin Aries
Austin Aries (the best thing in TNA right now) has been flying high over the last month. He had one of the best matches of the year against Samoa Joe at Slammiversary and will be facing Bobby Roode for the TNA World Championship at Destination X. Aries has the ability to be a major player in TNA if they can keep him.
2. Daniel Bryan
Daniel Bryan has been the best male wrestler to watch in the WWE with the feud with Punk and AJ becoming one of the feuds of the year. Bryan is going for third time lucky against Punk at Money in the Bank but it all depends on the AJ factor.
1. AJ
Can anyone remember the last time a woman (outside of the McMahons) has not just been the best thing to watch in the WWE, but one of the main focuses? No, me neither. AJ insane persona has been so fun to watch and, thanks to the WWE Universe, she will be the guest referee in the WWE Championship between Daniel Bryan and CM Punk at Money in the Bank. I have a sneaking suspicion that she is not as crazy as she appears to be, and if that is true, it will show that the WWE do have Divas that are "smart, sexy and powerful".

Friday 6 July 2012

Happy birthday to well...me

A couple of days ago was the first anniversary of the launch of the Lo Down Wrestling and it was in the middle of one of the most exciting storylines in professional wrestling history. CM Punk had just done his shoot promo during his campaign to leave the company at Money in the Bank with the WWE Championship. This in turn led to one of the best PPVs in WWE history.

I got inspired to do this by reading blogs such as Kick Out Wrestling and The Wrestling Blog; and the thoughtful insights of people like K Sawyer Paul, Joe Drilling and Jason Mann on their relevant podcasts. The internet now is full of dirtsheets that copy and paste from other websites and say things that are hearsay at best. However, there are people that are out there helping to create a better wrestling media and I'm proud that I'm doing a small part in creating that vision.

In terms of the future, there is so much that I want to do. The plan over the coming year is to expand the series on My Favourite Matches and at the beginning of next year, I hope to launch a project involving the Undertaker's streak. Hopefully, I will have a few more people following me on twitter (I'm currently on 42) and get more involved with other people in the wrestling community by that time.

Lastly, I want to thank you: the readers. If it wasn't for you, I don't think the blog would be as successful as it  is now. The number of people visiting my site exploded over Wrestlemania Week with my articles on the Undertaker's Streak and the 2012 Hall of Fame being the two most popular articles so far. In its first year, the blog has been viewed over 2000 times in over 60 countries. Like Michael Fassbender in Promtheus said:  "Big things have small beginnings" I hope these small steps lead to this blog being well liked and respected throughout the Internet Wrestling Community. Thanks once again.