Monday 28 July 2014

WWE Money in the Bank 2014 Review



WWE Money in the Bank took place at the TD Garden in Boston. After this event, we will see a new WWE World Heavyweight Champion as well as a Money in the Bank briefcase holder. So, who will they be? Let's take a look.

The first match is for the Tag Team Championship as The Wyatt Family challenges The Usos. The Usos show some good double team moves to get some near falls. The Wyatts later on, start to use their strength and size to wear down Jey Uso. Rowan misses a shoulder charge into the corner to give Jey the chance to tag in his brother. Despite Harper hitting a big boot to slow down the momentum, and almost winning it with a sit-down powerbomb, the Usos hit 2 consecutive splashes to get the win and retain the Championships. I really enjoyed this match and I really liked both teams here.
Winners: The Usos
Predictions: 0 for 1

We now get the Divas Championship match as Naomi (with Cameron) challenges Paige. Naomi takes advantage by throwing Paige from the ring to the floor then doing a suicide dive. During the match, we get a lot of pinfall counters. Naomi hits the rear view, which I fucking hate, to get a near fall. Despite Naomi's best efforts, Paige hits the Ram-Paige to get the win. I was actually really impressed with Naomi's athletic ability and I hope she can continue to improve.
Winner: Paige
Predictions: 1 for 2

Next we see Damien Sandow, dressed as Paul Revere, taking on Adam Rose.  Sandow does get some offence in the early going. However, Adam Rose does manage to hit a headlock driver to get the win. The match wasn't anything special. I just feel sad for Sandow. This time last year, he won the opportunity to have a World Heavyweight Championship shot. Since he cashed it in and lost to Cena, he seems to be on a downward course and that's disappointing.
Winner: Adam Rose
Predictions: N/A

Next is the Money in the Bank ladder match between Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, Jack Swagger, Kofi Kingston,  Rob Van Dam and Dolph Ziggler. Highlights of this match include: Ambrose tilting the ladder with Kofi and he then bounces off the ropes and splashes Swagger, RVD and Ziggler on the outside; a rolling thunder by RVD sending Rollins onto a ladder; Ambrose suplexing Rollins off the ladder; and Ambrose dislocating his shoulder. Rollins starts to climb up the ladder but is stopped by Ambrose who runs back in. When Ambrose climbs up and is about to grab the briefcase, the Corporate Demon Kane runs in, pulls Ambrose off the ladder and gives him a chokeslam then a tombstone piledriver. Kane then helps Rollins climb the ladder and grab the briefcase. I thought this was a pretty good match and while I did predict that Rollins would win, I'm quite surprised that he actually won. I'm interested to see when he cashes in as it could result in a great feud depending on who the Champion is at the time.
Winner: Seth Rollins
Predictions: 2 for 3

We now get a tag team match with Rybaxel taking on Goldust and Stardust. Goldust and Stardust work really well together and Rybaxel do get some time wearing down Goldust. Eventually Goldust gets to tag in Stardust and he almost wins the match after reversing a muscle up into a cross rhodes for 2. Stardust takes advantage of Axel accidentally hitting Ryback with a clothesline to roll up Ryback and get the win. It was a decent match to watch. I'm kind of torn with Stardust at the minute. Half of me thinks it's great, half of me think it's stupid. Despite that, at least it means that the Rhodes brothers aren't breaking up.
Winners: Goldust and Stardust
Predictions: 2 for 4

The next match is Rusev fucking up Big E(spoiler alert!) To be fair, Big E does get more offence than he did at the last Pay-Per-View and makes it a bit of an even contest. Big E spears Rusev off the ring apron to the floor, which looked nasty and he hit a few suplexes as well. However, it was all in vain as Rusev does manage to apply the Accolade and, despite Big E's best efforts, he is forced to tap out, giving Rusev the win. I thought this match was pretty good and it was nice to see Big E put up more of a fight than he did last time.

Winner: Rusev
Predictions: 3 for 5

Next is the Divas match between Summer Rae and Layla with  Fandango as the special guest referee. Both women spend the match flirting with Fandango at every opportunity; and it does degenerate into a catfight with little wrestling moves actually taking place. Lyal does hit a high kick to the head of Summer Rae to get the win and afterwards, kisses Fandango. I did not give a fuck about this match, which is a shame as Layla and Summer Rae are good wrestlers. Hopefully, they will get better things to do.
Winner: Layla
Predictions: 3 for 6

The main event is a ladder match for the vacant WWE World Heavywieght Championship between John Cena, Bray Wyatt, Kane, Sheamus, Cesaro, Alberto Del Rio, Randy Orton and Roman Reigns. All of this is under the watchful eye of Triple H and Stephanie McMahon at ringside. Highlights of the match include: Kane chokeslamming Cena to the cheers of the crowd; Kane helping Orton out; Reigns spearing Kane; Wyatt doing the Sister Abigail to Orton; and Orton pulling Cesaro off the ladder into a RKO, making the Authority jump up in celebration. In the end, Cena AA's Kane, pulls Orton off the ladder and AA's him on top of Kane. Cena then climbs the ladder to collect the belts and become a 15-time World Champion (sigh).

I did enjoy the match, although I felt the middle bit of it was a bit slow. Cena winning was a bit predictable but I'm ok with it for now. I don't mind him going past Ric Flair's 16 World Championship reigns, which seems inevitable. As long as they don't give Cena 10 title reigns over the next two years, then I will be happy.
Winner: John Cena
Predictions: 4 for 7

I thought that Money in the Bank was a decent show. It may seem that Cena being Champion once again might be boring. However, the presence of Seth Rollins could lead to an interesting feud. Only time will tell.

Sunday 20 July 2014

WWE Battleground 2014 Preview

The second ever WWE battleground event takes place this evening at the Tampa Bay Times Forum in Tampa, Florida. We will get to see an new Intercontinental Champion crowned; plus will John Cena retian his WWE World Heavyweight Championship? Let's look at the card.

Taking place on the Pre-Show will be the explosion of the Funkadactyls as Cameron takes on Naomi. We all knew this was coming for a while and I think that Naomi will win.
Prediction: Naomi

The other match on the Pre-Show will be Adam Rose taking on Fandango. This should be a decent match and I suspect that Adam Rose will win here.
Prediction: Adam Rose

 The Tag Team Championships will be on the line in a 2-out-of-3 falls match. Eric Rowan and Luke Harper will challenge The Usos. This has the potential to be an entertaining match and it should be a lot of fun. I predict that The Usos will retain here.
Prediction: The Usos

Bray Wyatt will face Chris Jericho in a match that I'm really looking forward to.This one is quite a tough one to call but I'm going for Wyatt to win here.
Prediction: Bray Wyatt

Another match that I'm looking forward to is the Divas Championship with Paige challenging AJ Lee. My only worry is that it could be placed as the penultimate match and it may not get a lot of time. Despite that, I think that AJ Lee will win here and their mutual respect might fracture beyond repair.
Prediction: AJ Lee

Dean Ambrose will take on Money in the Bank Seth Rollins.This should be a really good match and I think that Rollins will win.
Prediction: Seth Rollins

A 20-man battle royal will take place for the vacant Intercontinental Championship. The participants are Alberto Del Rio, Big E, Bo Dallas, Cesaro, Curits Axel, Diego, Dolph Ziggler, Heath Slater, Kofi Kingston, Rob Van Dam, R-Truth, Ryback, Sheamus, Sin Cara Version 2, The Great Khali, The Miz, Titus O'Neill, Xavier Woods and Zack Ryder. I can see a few people winning it but I'm taking a punt and going for Bo Dallas to win here.
Prediction: Bo Dallas

The main evnet for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship is a fatal 4-way between John Cena, Randy Orton, Kane and Roman Reigns. Cena will win here but will he have to deal with a cash-in by Seth Rollins afterwards?
Prediction: John Cena

I'll get to see it during the week, so until then I hope you enjoy the show.

Wednesday 9 July 2014

TNA Slammiversary XII Review



TNA Slammiversary XII took place on Sunday 15th June at the College Park Center in Arlington, Texas. How will the TNA landscape look after this event? Let's take a look.

The first match is a ladder match for the X-Division Championship as Sanada  faces the challenge of Tigre Uno, Manik, Crazzy Steve, Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards. We get to see a lot of aerial moves such as Tigre Uno doing a corkscrew springboard splash to all the competitors outside.  Crazzy Steve comes very close to grabbing the belt but Sanada comes in and stops that. Later on, Manik seems to brutally murder Davey Richards with a sunset flip powerbomb onto the ladder and Sanada manages to climb up and grab the belt to win the match. I really enjoyed this match and it was a great way to open the Pay-Per-View.
Winner: Sanada
Predictions: 0 for 1

We now get the first qualifying match for the main event as Bobby Lashley faces Samoa Joe. Highlights of the match include: a suicide dive by Joe; and a spinning neck breaker by Lashley. The end comes when Lashley hits a spear to win the match. There wasn't that much that stood out. However, I thought it was a pretty decent match.
Winner: Bobby Lashley
Predictions: 1 for 2

Magnus (with Bram) takes on Willow (with Abyss) next. This was a decent match although both guys didn't do anything that stood out, although Willow did do a reverse splash to Magnus and Bram on the outside which was pretty cool. In the end, Magnus bounces Willow's head off the turnbuckle then hits a back suplex side slam to get the win.
Winner: Magnus
Predictions: 1 for 3

Next was a segment in which Kurt Angle announced the next inductee into the TNA Hall of Fame. That turned out to be Team 3D. I think this is a really good choice. Team 3D, otherwise known as the Dudley Boyz, were one of the top tag teams at the turn of the millennium, winning 23 tag team championships in ECW, WWE and TNA; and were involved in some of the greatest tag team matches in history. I still find it weird that the TNA Hall of Fame involves wrestlers that are still active. But anyway, a good choice.

We now get the second qualifier for the main event as Kenny King takes on Austin Aries. The match goes back and forth and we can to see King being cocky when he is dominating Aries. However, that comes back to haunt him as Aries makes his comeback and gets the win with a top rope brainbuster. It was a really enjoyable match and it looked like that anyone could win it.
Winner: Austin Aries
Predictions: 2 for 4

We now get The Von Erichs take on the team of Jesse and DJ Z. Jesse and DJ Z work over Marshall and later on, Ross before he gets the hot tag to Marshall. The Von Erichs look to have the match won but Jesse comes in and hits Ross with a steel chair to get disqualified. Afterwards, Kevin Von Erich comes in and applies the Von Erich claw on DJ Z. I thought the Von Erichs did pretty well in this match. However, I think it would have been better if they won the match cleanly.
Winners: The Von Erichs
Predictions: N/A

The Knockouts Championship is on the line as Gail Kim challenges Angelina Love with Velvet Sky. Kim tries a springboard hurracarrana but Love counters it into a powerbomb. Later on, Velvet Sky sprays hairspray into Kim's face right in front of the referee Brian Stiffler and Angelina Love hits the Botox Injection for a 2 count. Senioe Referee Earl Hebner comes in, ejects Sky and Stiffler and referees the match himself. Kim does make a comeback. Kim dropkicks Hebner and looks like she twice has the match won. However, Stiffler is busy tending to Hebner. Love counters a roll up into a roll up and Stiffler slides in and counts the 3 count to get the win. I thought it was a good match and I wonder what the repercussions for Stiffler's actions will be.
Winner: Angelina Love
Predictions: 3 for 5

Next is a Texas Death Match between Ethan Carter III and Bully Ray. There was a brutal bit where Bully kicks a steel chair into EC3's face. Overvthe course of the match, they both use chairs, tables, a cheese grater, a Dallas Cowboy trash can containing shards of glass, and a rope connected to a cowbell. Bully exposes the ring boards and tries to powerbomb EC3 onto them. Rockstar Spud comes in to save him but he gets destroyed with a kendo stick. EC3 hits the one percenter, driving Ray onto the boards for a 9 count. Dixie Carter runs in and is chased by Bully. She runs into EC3 that somehow knocks her out. Bully tries to send Dixie through the table. However, EC3 hits him with a kendo stick and Rockstar Spud pulls Dixie off the table just before Bully falls through them. The referee counts to ten and EC3 wins the match. I quite enjoyed this match, although I didn't really like the ending.
Winner: Ethan Carter III
Predictions: 4 for 6

The penultimate match is between Mr Anderson and James Storm. Storm injures Anderson's knee early on and Storm focuses his attack there. The end comes when Storm spits beer into the face of one of the Dallas Cowboys watching the show. A couple of minutes later, Cowboys player George Selvie comes to the ring and distracts Storm long enough for Anderson to hit the mic check and get the win. Whilst I thought it was a bit short, I quite enjoyed this match and I can see them having some more matches in the foreseeable future.
Winner: Mr Anderson
Predictions: 4 for 7

The main event is a steel cage for the TNA World Championship. Eric Young will face the challenge of Austin Aries and Bobby Lashley. Aries and Young team up briefly to take down Lashley before they start to fight each other. Highlights of the match also include: Aries doing a powerbomb pin on Young for 2 followed by a running dropkick on Lashley; Young doing an AA type move on both Lashley and Aries; Young doing an elbow drop on Lashely from on top of the cage; and Aries doing a brainbuster for 2. Lashley misses a spear and goes flying out of the cage and Young gets the win after reversing a brainbuster into a piledriver. I really enjoyed this main event, although it was quite short. I'm still finding it a bit weird Young being the Champion. However, that doesn't matter as Lashley wins it on the following Impact.
Winner: Eric Young
Predictions: 5 for 8

I quite enjoyed Slammiversary. I thought most of the matches were good, although a couple seem to be a bit short. Despite that, I'm sure TNA are starting to head in a good direction. They probably won't be but there's no harm in being optimistic.