Monday 15 July 2013

Money in the Bank 2013 Preview

File:WWE Money In The Bank 2013 poster.jpg

Money in the Bank 2013 is taking place this evening in the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. This is one of my favourite events of the year so will this be up to that standard? Let's look at the card.

The Pre-Show match will be for the Tag Team Championships as The Usos challenge The Shield. It's great to see the WWE make an effort to build up the tag team division and to push The Usos. However, based on who The Shield have beaten since their debut, I can't see them winning.
Predicted Winner: The Shield

The Miz will challenge Curtis Axel for the Intercontinental Championship. While I normally like The Miz, he hasn't done much for me lately. I feel that Axel's reign will continue after this event.
Predicted Winner: Curtis Axel

Ryback  will take on Chris Jericho in what could be an interesting match. Last year at this event, he destroyed Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks in an handicap match. Since then, Ryback has been 0-8 in PPV matches. I strongly feel that Ryback has to  win this match.
Predicted Winner: Ryback

The World Heavyweight Championship Money in the Bank ladder match will be between Wade Barrett, Cody Rhodes, Dean Ambrose, Fandango, Jack Swagger, Damien Sandow and Antonio Cesaro. You could argue a case for most of them winning the match. However, I believe that Cesaro will win the match and be a future World Champion.
Predicted Winner: Antonio Cesaro

The WWE Championship Money in the Bank ladder match will be between Daniel Bryan, CM Punk, Christian, Sheamus, Randy Orton and the returning Rob Van Dam. Kane was supposed to take part but he got injured by the Wyatt Family on Monday so expect a surprise guest in this match. I can see either Punk or Bryan winning this and I feel that Punk might get screwed out of it. Therefore, I'm going for Bryan to win here.
Predicted Winner: Daniel Bryan

The Divas Championship is on the line as Kaitlyn gets her rematch against AJ. I'm looking forward to this match as their one at Payback was really good and the contract signing on Smackdown was really good, which resulted in Kaitlyn almost killing AJ with a spear. I think that AJ will retain here and we'll see Kaitlyn go insane and possibly fuck Layla up.
Predicted Winner: AJ

The World Heavyweight Championship is defended in a rematch between Dolph Ziggler and Alberto Del Rio. I was gutted when Ziggler lost the belt at Payback but it did result in that elusive double turn. I think that Del Rio will retain here and maybe lose it at Summerslam.
Predicted Winner: Alberto Del Rio

The WWE Championship will be defended as Mark Henry challenges John Cena. I would love to see Mark Henry with the belt as he has already proved that he can do a good job with it. However, I feel that the WWE are determined to make 2013 the year of Cena (yay) so I think he'll win here.
Predicted Winner: John Cena

I'm going to watch the first couple of matches live then watch the rest of it another time. I hope to have the Payback review as well as this one up within the next couple of weeks.

Sunday 14 July 2013

Money in the Bank 2013 Contenders

It’s now that time of year where the WWE will make two World Champions-in-waiting with the Money in the Bank ladder matches for the World Heavyweight and WWE Championships. So, who are the contenders for this year?

World Heavyweight Championship

Wade Barrett                                                                                    Record: 0-1
The former Intercontinental Champion has long been viewed as a future World Champion. However, as much as I would love to see that happen, a part of me feels that he has missed that opportunity.
Will he Win? It’s highly unlikely

Antonio Cesaro                                                                                Record: First Time
I love everything about Cesaro. His look, his promos and wrestling style are such a joy to watch. His alliance with Jack Swagger and Zeb Coulter may fracture slightly during this match. However, I suspect that we see a World Heavyweight Champion in waiting.
Will he Win? It’s very, very possible

Dean Ambrose                                                                                  Record: First Time
The current United States Champion, along with his Shield buddies, have been one of the highlights in the WWE so far this year. Even though I believe that he will be a future World Champion, I don’t think he will be until long after The Shield part ways.
Will he Win? It’s possible but unlikely

Damien Sandow                                                                               Record: 0-1
While I enjoy Sandow more for his promos than his excellent wrestling ability, I always thought that he would be an interesting World Champion. However, he has not won any title since he debuted so I don't think that WWE will give him this opportunity.
Will he Win? Probably not, no.

Cody Rhodes                                                                                   Record: 0-3
I feel that Cody has been ready to be a future World Champion for a while tho. However, I think that WWE will hold him off for a little while longer.
Will he Win? I can't see it.

Fandango                                                                                          Record: First Time
Fandango has been quite good so far tho I think his wrestling ability does seem to quite limited. I can't see him as a World Champion so I don't think he'll win.
Will he Win? No.

Jack Swagger                                                                                    Record: 1-2
Swagger has been a revelation since his alliance with Zeb Coulter. There's a chance that his partnership with Cesaro could fracture during this match and it will be interesting to see where they go if one of them win. However, I don't think that Swagger will be victorious here.
Will he Win? Well...no.

WWE Championship

Rob Van Dam                                                                                   Record: 1-1
RVD makes his return to WWE in this match and I'm looking forward to see what he can do. However, I can't see him winning this match.
Will he Win? It's unlikely

CM Punk                                                                                           Record: 2-2
Punk is the only wrestler to win this match twice and he has a great chance of making it three times. However, I feel that Brock Lesnar might pay a visit and ruin that chance.
Will he Win? It's very possible

Daniel Bryan                                                                                      Record: 1-1
Bryan is one of the best things going on in the WWE right now and I would love him to become WWE Champion. It's hard to say whether now would be the time but I really hope that it is.
Will he Win? I really, really hope so.

Christian                                                                                              Record: 0-5
Christian has been in the most MITB matches out of all the competitors in this event. However, with all the talent that he is facing, I expect his record to go to 0-6
Will he Win? Probably not, no

Randy Orton                                                                                         Record: 0-2
Due to the fact that Orton hasn't been a Champion for almost 2 years, a lot of people think that this could be his time. Unfortunately, I'm not one of them plus he doesn't need it.
Will he Win? Probably not, no

Sheamus                                                                                                Record: 0-1
The former World Champion could be a dark horse in this match, like Orton. Despite that, I don't think that he needs it either plus the fact he has been annoying the fuck out of me over the last year.
Will he Win? Probably but it's unlikely

TNA Slammiversary 2013 Review

TNA Slammiversary 2013 took place at the Agganis Arena in Boston. With Bully Ray and Aces and Eights continuing to be disruptive, will that change after this event? Let's take a look

The first match is a Ultimate X match between Kenny King, Chris Sabin and Suicide for the X-Division Championship. At the beginning, Sabin and Suicide join forces against King. That doesn't last too long as they all start going after each other. As with most X-Division matches, there is a lot of high-flying offence. Highlights of this match include Sabin stepping on Suicide to hit a tornado DDT on King; King applying a single leg Boston crab on Sabin; Suicide hitting an electric chair on Sabin followed by a legdrop by King; and a dropkick from Suicide to Sabin and King on the outside. The end happens when King and Sabin are fighting it out by the belt and Sabin manages to get King off the rope to grab the belt and become the new X-Division Champion. I enjoyed this match and once again, the X-Division get the event off to a good start.
Winner: Chris Sabin
Predictions: 0 for 1

Hulk Hogan comes out and congratulates Sabin on his victory. When he comes down to the ring, he is interrupted by Mr Anderson, Wes Brisco and Garrett "Future of the Business" Bischoff. After a verbal sparring match, Hogan puts them in a match against the team of Magnus, Samoa Joe and Jeff Hardy. Anderson and Hardy start the match and Hardy dominates him followed by Brisco then Bischoff. Joe comes in and almost stomps Bischoff to death in the corner. Later on, Aces and Eights start to wear down Magnus. Brisco hits an armbreaker and Magnus manages to tag in Hardy who takes control of the match, hitting a twist of fate on Bischoff and a whisper in the wind on Brisco. Hardy goes for the swanton but Bischoff pulls him down onto the turnbuckle. Joe and Magnus don't take that well and hit their snapmare/elbow combo on Bischoff. Chaos ensues and Brisco rolls up Magnus for a pin. However, Hardy stops that with a swanton bomb on Brisco and pins him to get the win. This was quite a good match, although I was surprised that this was the second match on the card.
Winners: Magnus, Samoa Joe and Jeff Hardy
Predictions: 0 for 2

After Devon and DOC attack Joseph Park (brother of Chris? You know, Abyss?) during his interview, we get a match between Jay Bradley and Sam Shaw with the winner going on to take part in the Bound for Glory Series. Both guys go for the cover early and later on, Shaw hits a monkey flip. Bradley hiys a backbreaker. Shaw makes a comeback with some dropkicks and tries a reverse neckbreaker. Bradley almost takes Shaw's head out with a lariat to get the win. It was quite a basic match but it was still a decent match.
Winner: Jay Bradley
Predictions: 0 for 3

The next match is Joseph Park (brother of Chris? You know, Abyss?) challenging Devon for the Television Championship. At least that was the plan as Park doesn't turn up thanks to being attacked earlier in the night. Devon gets on the mic and demands that the referee ring the bell and count to ten or he will get hurt. The referee does the count and Devon wins. That was a good match; oh wait, what match?
Winner: Devon
Predictions: 0 for 4

Afterwards, Devon continues to mock Park and Abyss. Abyss comes out and we have an impromptu match between the two. Devon manages to get the advantage and keeps Abyss in the corner. Devon hits a legdrop, mocks Hogan and goes for a flying headbutt but misses. This gives Abyss the opportunity to make a comeback, hitting a chokeslam followed by a black hole slam to get the win and Abyss is your new Television Champion. The match wasn't too bad and Taz kinda has a point when he says that it wasn't an official match. But it's wrestling logic. What you're gonna do?
Winner: Abyss
Predictions: N/A

TNA President Dixie Carter comes out to announce that the second inductee into the TNA Hall of Fame will be Kurt Angle. I've been a big fan of Angle since he debuted in the WWE and I would love to see him back there and one day, be inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame. Angle is a tremendous wrestler who is probably of the best technical wrestlers that I have ever seen as most of the matches that involve him are normally really good. Once again, congratulations to Kurt Angle.

Now a match that I’m quite looking forward to: a four team elimination match for the Tag Team Championship between Bad Influence, James Storm and Gunner, Bobby Roode and Austin Aries and Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez. Chavo and Hernandez dominate Daniels, Aries and Roode before Storm is tagged in and faces off against Roode. Later on, Chavo and Hernandez do a double suicide dive on Bad Influence and eventually the efforts of Roode and Aries and Bad Influence manage to wear down Hernandez. Hernandez gets to tag in Chavo after doing a double suplex on Aries and Roode. Chavo starts to get some momentum on Kazarian and does the usual three amigos on him. After a bit of chaos, Kazarian gets hit with a crucifix powerbomb by Hernandez followed by a frogsplash by Chavo. Daniels stops the pin by hitting Chavo with one of the Championship belts. Unfortunately, it was right in front of the referee, who promptly disqualifies them. Aries, being inspired by Edge’s manual “How to be the Ultimate Opportunist”, takes advantage and pins Chavo to eliminate him and Hernandez and therefore, guaranteeing that we would have new Tag Team Champions. Roode and Aries try to wear down Gunner but to no avail as Storm is soon tagged in. Gunner slingshots Aries in to a DDT by Storm and Roode stops the pin. Roode hits a RR spinebuster on Gunner followed by a 450 splash by Aries. However, Gunner kicks out and soon after Storm hits the last call on Aries and Gunner puts him in the torture rack to get the win. This was a fun match and I was impressed by all the guys taking part in the match.
Winners: James Storm and Gunner
Predictions: 1 for 5

Next was a match that I thought could be very interesting: a Last Knockout Standing match between Gail Kim and Taryn Tarrell with ODB as the referee. The women start punching each other before Tarrell gets the momentum with a swinging neckbreaker. Gail Kim applies an octopus stretch in order to make Tarrell pass out. Unfortunately, the count only goes to 5. Kim gets steel chair but Tarrell kicks it out of Kim’s hand. Later on, Tarrell does a cross body while Kim had the chair and she lands on top of it. Kim wraps Tarrell’s legs round the ring post and applies a figure-four leg lock type move. Tarrell manages to get up at the count of 8 and Kim tries to spear her into the turnbuckle. However, Tarrell moves out of the way and Kim crashes into the steel chair that she had earlier put inbetween the top two turnbuckles sending her flying to the outside. Kim amazingly gets up at the count of 9. Tarrell then gives Kim a taste of her own medicine when she does the same figure four move that Kim did earlier. Kim gets up at the count of 5 and dodges an attempted suicide dive by Tarrell sending her to the entrance way. ODB counts up to 9 before Tarrell gets up and she and Kim fight it out on the entrance way. Kim tries to piledrive Tarrell. However, Tarrell manages to get out of it and bulldogs Kim off the entrance way to the floor. Tarrell gets up at 9 but Kim doesn’t survive the 10 count, making Tarrell the winner. This was an amazing night with a lot of highspots, especially concerning the brutality. The ending, along with Kim flying into the steel chair, were two of the brutal things that I have ever seen in women’s wrestling. While I will probably will never see a match like that in the WWE, TNA have showcased the talent that is available and the type of matches that women can do.
Winner: Taryn Tarrell
Predictions: 1 for 6

The penultimate match is between AJ Styles and Kurt Angle. The action moves quickly to the outside where Styles show his new style of aggression but a bit later on, Angle gets the advantage after a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Styles starts to target Angle’s left knee with a springboard dropkick. Styles continues the pressure with a single leg Boston crab but Angle reverses into an ankle lock, which Styles gets out by grabbing the rope. They start punching each other before Angle hits a couple of clotheslines followed by a belly to belly suplex. Angle hits a T-Bone suplex for a 2 count. Styles hits a spinebuster followed by a lionsault for 2. Angle hits a few German suplexes for 2 but Styles gets back into the match. Angle tries a German suplex from the top turnbuckle but Styles lands on his feet so Angle does an overhead belly to belly suplex, sending Styles into the corner. Angle hits an Olympic slam for 2. Angle then applies the ankle lock but Styles rolls out of it. Styles applies the calf killer but Angle reverses into the ankle lock and grapevines the leg. Styles manages to kick out of it and the end comes when Angle goes for the Olympic slam. Styles manages to reverse it into an attempt at a sunset flip. However, Angle stops it and puts in another pin attempt to get the win. Even though the ending seemed a bit out of place, I enjoyed the match.
Winner: Kurt Angle
Predictions: 1 for 7

The main event is a no holds barred match with Sting challenging Bully Ray for the TNA World Championship and if Sting loses, he is no longer able to challenge for the Championship. Sting stinger splashes Ray the second that Jeremy Borash finished his introductions and beats the crap out of his opponent. He gets the Championship belt and slaps Ray’s back with it. The action and Ray clotheslines Sting down, giving him back the momentum. Ray clotheslines Sting and immediately runs to the back to grab a chair. He swings and misses and Sting gets it and proceeds to destroy Ray’s back with it. Brooke Hogan comes out and Sting convinces her to go to the back. This gives Ray the chance to low blow Sting when he comes back. Ray starts using the chair on Sting’s back, kicks the chair into his face then hits the piledriver for a 2 count. Ray gets a table and powerbombs Sting through it yet Sting amazingly kicks out at 2. Ray gets a knife from Tazz and starts to dismantle the ring, exposing the wood under the ring. Sting tries a stinger splash but misses and Ray hits another piledriver, this time driving Sting’s head onto the wood. Sting yet again kicks out at 2 so Ray goes for the piledriver but it gets reversed. Sting goes for the piledriver but Ray gets out of it and gets hit with a Scorpion death drop. Sting covers Ray but Bischoff, DOC, Brisco and Knox of Aces and Eights come in to stop the count. Sting manages to deal with them and hits Ray with a chain. However, the count is stopped by Devon pulling the referee out of the ring. Sting tries to crossbody Ray but he gets hit ith a hammer that was given to him by Mr Anderson. Ray covers Sting and gets the win. This was quite a short match but it did seem to end in a bit of a clusterfuck.
Winner: Bully Ray
Predictions: 2 for 8


I thought that Slammiversary was a good event. The highlights for me were the tag team match, Angle vs Styles and the Knockouts match. There are some problems in TNA, such as their creative decisions but you can’t deny that they have some good talent that have the ability to put on good matches.