Hey everyone and welcome to this week’s edition of Chris Reviews Smackdown. In this week’s blog I will be giving my TNA Turning Point predictions and analysing the show. Please feel free to leave some feedback via the comment board or drop an email to a_agreement_called_forever@hotmail.com

First off a HUGE thank you to WNWs South African Correspondent: Brandon Van Reenen for designing my awesome new blog logo. Brandon is a graphic design student and clearly a very talented one, he has also redesigned my considers logo which you can expect to see when I discuss TNA Turning Point during the week as well as my new blog on Roadrunner Records: Chris Reviews The Week In Wrestling Music, speaking of which thank you so much to the overwhelming amount of positive feedback I have received from readers all over the world with regards to the Roadrunner blog. Metal and wrestling (aside from my girlfriend) are the biggest things in my life and being able to write about both is fantastic!

I cannot remember a week where there has been so little actual wrestling news, this is probably due to the huge European tour WWE are embarked on which kept news stories to a minimum so rather than do a separate TNA predictions blog I figured I would do them here. One thing I would like to say though is I wish UFC Champion Brock Lesnar a speedy and healthy recovery from the serious illness he is currently suffering from. Lesnar was reportedly rushed to hospital after he collapsed in Canada, which must have been very scary both for Lesnar himself and those close to him. Get well soon Brock!

Before I talk Turning Point, I would just like to say I was seriously contemplating going well into my bank overdraft and getting some last minute tickets to this past Monday’s RAW. I am certainly glad I didn’t as the show did not come off well at all. Hatton humiliating Chavo is something I certainly would not pay money to see and the fact that Hornswoggle is more central to the WWE title match than the WWE title itself emphasizes everything I hate about RAW right now! I will be going to the Wrestlemania Revenge tour next April, I just cannot decide whether to go for RAW or Smackdown just yet and probably won’t until I get a better idea of the Wrestlemania feuds as this tour happens just before Backlash (or whatever silly gimmick WWE come up with for it) and Backlash is usually just Wrestlemania v2.

With RAW stinking to high heaven of late and PG programming affecting my enjoyment of ECW and Smackdown, I have found myself increasingly drawn to TNA which seems to pride itself on not being PG and continues to bring us edgy and controversial programming every week, which may not always be well booked (every match on Impact! the other week had outside interference or overbooking) but I am certainly finding Impact! a much better program right now than RAW which is something WWE should certainly take note of as I have always been a WWE fan over everything but RAW just sucks so much at the minute that I find myself craving an alternative and find Smackdown and ECW more than satisfy my WWE cravings for the week.

This Sunday TNA hold their Turning Point pay per view. With my increased interest in TNA programming I will now be bringing monthly pay per view predictions and show reviews as I feel it is important to cover as much wrestling news as possible on WNW and the fact I can happily sit through episodes of Impact and TNA pay per views now (rather than it being a painful, sleep inducing experience) this means I am more than happy to cover them for your reading pleasure. Turning Point on paper looks excellent, aside from a couple of hastily thrown together matches, and I am really excited to watch the show tomorrow night when I get home from work. I am not expecting a Hogan appearance or anything as I think they are preparing for the Hulkamania tour of Australia but I bet we will get plenty of Hogan promotional footage throughout the event. Something they may add to the card is a Black Machismo invitational match, which if they do I expect Lethal to lose. So without further ado here come my picks.

TNA X Division Championship Match: Amazing Red © vs Homicide

Homicide has been on a hell of a run recently and Red has just started to show what he is capable of in the ring. As much of a douche as Don West was on commentary, he works great as Red’s manager and I think this was a great call from TNA creative pairing the two of them up. This should be a very good, fast paced opener with plenty of high risk spots and insane x-division action that used to be a staple part of TNA programming. Despite Homicide being a member of the World Elite, I really hope there is no outside interference in this match and it ends in a clean finish. This feud still has plenty of distance to go yet and I feel Homicide is a better challenger than Red would be so I am giving Red the win here

Chris’ Predicted Winner: Amazing Red (retains X-Division Championship)

Scott Steiner vs Bobby Lashley Goldberg

This is the only match on the card that I have no desire to watch whatsoever. Lashley has steamrolled over everyone who has gotten in his way so far in TNA (including one of the current number one contenders, more on that later) and Steiner will become just another tick on that list. Hopefully this will be kept short and no doubt Lashley will be out to prove what a great MMA fighter he is once again and make Steiner tap or just knock him out with a punch. And to think I was actually excited when TNA first signed this guy…

Chris’ Predicted Winner: Bobby Lashley Goldberg

6 Sides of Steel Match: Awesome Kong vs Tara

I know Kendra doesn’t think Tara can hang with the best in the Knockout division but for once I have to disagree with her. I think Tara is one of the best female wrestlers out there and I think this could be one of the best matches of the night as long as it is given plenty of time and both women are allowed to go out there and give their all. Kong and Gail Kim had some legendary matches and I am thinking this could be just as good as any of them. This feud has also been built really well on Impact! and I have really enjoyed the constant brawling between the two. Whoever wins this is sure to become number one contender to ODB’s title and despite Tara’s ability I am expecting that to be Kong as she is on a major push once again since breaking free from Saaed, so despite a hard fought and well wrestled effort from Tara I am giving Kong the win

Chris’ Predicted Winner: Awesome Kong

TNA Tag Team Championship Match: The British Invasion © vs Beer Money Inc vs The Motor City Machine Guns

One of the things I like best about TNA programming is that unlike WWE, they do not treat their titles as props and title holders usually get decent reigns with the belts and despite the fact that I do not believe Brutus Magnus belongs anywhere near any kind of championship I can see TBI retaining here. Beer Money have proven time and time again that they are one of the best tag teams in wrestling right now and I would love to see an extended feud between them and MCMGs but this may have to wait for a few months as Dixie Carter seems determined to push Magnus no matter how awful both his ring work and mic work remains. Williams is another matter and hopefully at some point will get a singles push as he is an awesome wrestler. I expect Big Rob may end up being the deciding factor in this one and will cost BM and MCMG the match somehow. I am looking forward to this one as five of the six men involved are awesome so we should get a very good match.

Chris’ Predicted Winner: The British Invasion (retains TNA tag team Championships)

Hernandez, Matt Morgan and Pope D’Angelo Dinero vs Team 3D and Rhino

This match was really thrown together at the last minute and to me seems an excuse to get Hernandez and Morgan on the card. However the storyline behind this match is strong and I am really enjoying the fact the Rhino is becoming significant again. Dinero’s abrupt face turn caught me a bit off guard and I am not sure that he won’t end up costing his team the match and betray them. In fact I would say this is the hardest match on the card to call as we all know how much TNA are behind Hernandez and Morgan but with so much emphasis on 3D and Rhino in recent weeks it would be bizarre for them to lose here. However excluding some dirty tactics from Dinero a win for the faces here would further prove Rhino’s point and drive Team 3D to more extreme heelish tactics further down the line so I am going with that. I wouldn’t rule out some involvement from Raven seeing as this has a very original ECW feel to it and he would fit right in but Abyss would probably see him off before he could cost the faces the match.

Chris’ Predicted Winner: Hernandez, Matt Morgan & Pope D’Angelo Dinero

All The Title On The Line: The Beautiful People vs ODB ©, Taylor Wilde and Sarita ©

For all the good that TNA have been doing recently they do still sometimes get it very wrong and this match is the perfect example of that. The rules are unclear, the stipulations stupid and the Beautiful People just are not very good in the ring. Velvet Sky can just about hold her own but is not a patch on either Sarita or Wilde and Lacey Von Erich just plain sucks. I hope this match is kept mercifully short and the faces go over and retain their collective championships so that ODB can go on to feud with Kong and Sarita and Wilde can face some competition worthy of their talents. If I was watching this live with a group of friends I would suggest a sweepstake for how many botches Lacey makes in this match and just for the record I am going for 5! Hopefully TNA will steer well clear of lame match types like this once Hogan takes over!

Chris’ Predicted Winner: ODB ©, Taylor Wilde and Sarita © (retain their respective championships)

Kurt Angle vs Desmond Wolfe

As good as the main event will doubtlessly be, nothing will be able to follow this match and I have not been as excited for a wrestling match since Undertaker vs Michaels earlier at Wrestlemania this year. This is two of the best in the world going at it and the very definition of a dream match. I still hate the Desmond Wolfe moniker but I am sure it will grow on me as time goes by. Wolfe has impressed the hell out of me so far in TNA with his awesome promos and beatdowns of Angle and decimating the likes of Cody Deaner in one move was exactly what was needed, in my opinion, if you put Curt Hawkins one on one against The Undertaker you would not expect him to get in any offence whatsoever. Kurt Angle has also made the transition to beloved babyface very easily, thanks to the savagery of Wolfe’s attacks and the Impact Zone have embraced him. It shows how great a heel Wolfe is that he can turn the biggest heel in TNA history babyface in the space of one night! If it wasn’t for the fact this is just the first match, in what I am expecting to be a long running feud, this could be a MOTY candidate and still might be, if given enough time. However I certainly do not see a clean finish and am expecting either a double count out or Wolfe getting disqualified by using a weapon after getting frustrated at Angle kicking out time and time again. Either way this is going to be awesome and if I did not have to be at work so early tomorrow I would stay up through the whole pay per view just for this match. If I wake up early tomorrow I may just youtube this one first thing in the morning before I go!

Chris’ Predicted Winner: Double Count out or Kurt Angle via disqualification.

TNA Championship Triple Threat Match: AJ Styles © vs Samoa Joe vs Daniels

A couple of weeks ago I talked about how as much as I love the idea for this match, the booking behind creating it had been daft considering how Joe and Daniels had performed at BFG. I can understand TNA wanting to put on outstanding matches but they really should put more thought into creating their number one contenders. However this feud has been built really well and I felt TNA jumped the gun when they made it clear a couple of weeks ago that neither Joe or Daniels were AJ’s mystery assailant as they could have played this right up to the start of this match. This one should be outstanding and I am expecting all three men to give their all, especially considering that match that would have preceded them. I cannot see AJ dropping the title here as he deserves a long and dominant reign and I expect him to overcome both Daniels and Joe here, perhaps pinning Daniels to further issues between them. After the match I expect the attacked to reveal himself as Tomko and annihilate AJ much as Undertaker did to Punk at Summerslam, setting up a decent feud between the two and finally some of the main event recognition that Tomko deserves.

Chris’ Predicted Winner: AJ Styles

So with the predictions out of the way lets take a look at this week’s Smackdown

Striker and Grisham welcome us to ringside and hype tonight’s main event between Chris Jericho and The Undertaker and tonight’s contract signing between Rey Mysterio and Batista as well as Ziggler facing Morrison for the Intercontinental Championship.

Match 1: CM Punk vs R-Truth

Punk draws plenty of heat from my English counterparts as we see highlights of Punk losing to R-Truth last week. Before the match gets underway and Punk mocks the United Kingdom and talks about how we used to rule half the planet but now we are just as sad and pathetic as the Americans and we can pretend we don’t spend out time in little pubs downing pints of ale and filling our lungs and those around us with poisons from our fancy cigarettes and cigars as well as one of the most disgusting habits Punk has ever seen: chewing tobacco, which will cause cancer inside of two years. Punk says we are weak minded and we have no hearts and we are practically decomposing right in front of his eyes. Punk says all we can do is boo or wave a crooked finger at him for being preachy. Punk says we need someone as righteous as him to preach to use the proper way to live and we should all aspire to be as great as he is. Punk asks if he thinks he is better than us, absolutely, he is perfect in every day and free of poison and he doesn’t need a crutch to get through his everyday life and he does not need a crooked official like Scott Armstrong to fight his battles for him and he has lodged an official complaint with the board of directors and tonight he will beat R-Truth and then beat him again at Survivor Series, just like he could easily beat up anyone in the arena tonight. Punk says he is the choice of a new generation and Truth is going to ask what’s up and Punk says he can answer that right now: Straight Edge is what’s up and that could save our entire pathetic country and the entire world. Truth raps his way to the ring and is over here in England although not as much as when I saw him in a dark match last time round. Truth tells Punk he can file a complaint any time he want but Truth wants to file a complaint about Punk for impersonating a man. Truth says he didn’t want to come out here and put Punk down or make him look stupid as he is already doing a good job of that himself, Truth says he came out here to add some flavour excitement and to shut Punk up. Truth says the hard working people pay good money to see action not here Punk preach. Truth says Punk is a punk and the truth is Punk preaches to people to make him feel better about his own life and tonight the truth is going to hurt. The bell rings and the match is underway. Punk shoves Truth but gets dropped with a right hand and Truth forces Punk into the corner before slapping Punk and attempting to whip him but Punk reverses it only for Truth to leapfrog him in the corner but get caught in the GTS position in the process. Truth wriggles free and connects a leg lariat for a quick one count. Punk connects a kick to the gut but Truth tosses him over the ropes as we go to commercial. Back from the break Truth has a nerve hold applied but Punk battles to his feet and forces Truth in to the corner, dropping some shoulder in the process. Punk tries to force Truth in to the opposite corner but Truth hits an uppercut before heading to the top rope but Punk kicks him off and stalks him across the ring. Punk stomps away and works over Truth’s legs with a submission hold. The crowd rally behind Truth but Punk drops some elbows and breaks the hold before kicking away at Truth and connecting a chop block for a near fall. Punk pulls Truth to his feet but Truth fights back with a jaw breaker and tries a charging move but Punk reverses it with a drop toe hold and continues to work over Truth’s left leg, locking in an amazing crab like submission hold. Truth fights back and punches Punk in the face knocking him off. Punk heads to the ropes and tries a springboard crossbody but Truth counters with a drop kick in mid air and then connects with some strikes and a clothesline for a near fall. Back suplex from Truth but he is slow making the cover due to the injured leg and only gets two. Truth sets Punk up for the axe kick but Punk dodges the move and nails a brutal side kick to Truth’s knee. Punk calls for the GTS and gets Truth up but takes too long posing and Truth wriggles free and attempts a sunset flip but Punk drops on top of Truth, grabs the rope and gets the three count.

Result: CM Punk defeats R-Truth via pinfall **3/4

Chris Considers: Prior to this match, both men cut great promos. Punk is far more effective feuding with someone like Truth who he can really rip into rather than The Undertaker and Truth himself proved to be no slouch on the mic. I have always wanted Truth to work at a higher level on Smackdown and perhaps this mini feud with Punk is a test run, much as Kofi’s feud with Orton is over on RAW. As for the match itself, it was very enjoyable and both men seemed very evenly matched for the most part. I liked the way Truth sold his injuries and some of Punk’s submission work was outstanding. Punk getting the dirty win furthers issues between the two and builds their match at Survivor Series. Great start to the show.

Mickie and Layla cut another terrible backstage promo whilst Michelle sneaks into Mickie’s locker room. Now that’s entertainment!

Match 2: Mickie James vs Natalya

This should be an awesome match! I rate both these ladies very highly and this is another first time encounter! Natalya quickly takes Mickie down and slaps away on the mat before mocking her and applying a hammerlock but Mickie cartwheels free and connects some elbows before sliding under a clothesline and nailing an overhead takeover followed by a low drop kick which sends Natalya scurrying from the ring. Natalya demands the referee backs Mickie up but she slides out of the ring only for Natalya to shove her into the steel steps. Natalya tosses Mickie back in the ring and covers for a near fall. Natalya hauls Mickie up by her hair and slams her into the mat before applying a very impressive surfboard submission hold but her shoulders end up down in the process and Natalya is forced to break the hold. Natalya forces Mickie into the corner and stomps and strikes away but is called off by the referee and as she tries to pull Mickie out of the corner she grabs the ropes and boots her off and comes back with strikes but Natalya forces her back into the corner only to run straight into an elbow and Mickie connects a quick head scissors take down followed by a series of clotheslines sending Natalya crashing to the mat. Natalya fights back with strikes and hurls Mickie from the ring but Mickie quickly comes back on to the apron and drops a shoulder before heading to the top rope. At this point Michelle and Layla stroll down the ramp with some of Mickie’s things as Mickie horribly botches a seated senton. Mickie stares at Michelle as they chop up her clothes and Natalya drops Mickie with a clothesline and locks in the sharpshooter and Mickie taps.

Result: Natalya defeats Mickie James via submission *3/4

Chris Considers: Although this was short, it was so much better than the majority of diva matches on WWE TV. Two of the top divas facing off was always going to be good and had this been given a little longer it would have gotten a much higher rating. Natalya picking up a win was great to see and hopefully she can start establishing herself as a legitimate female star.

Amazingly WWE plug the upcoming Hulk Hogan DVD which seems perhaps the most stupid they could do with the current Hogan/TNA situation!!!

Backstage Interview: John Morrison

Josh Matthews asks Morrison how he feels about his title match tonight. Morrison asks Josh how he feels about talking to the Friday Night Delight. Josh ignores this and Morrison says he does feel pressure and has butterflies in his stomach but the difference between John Morrison and Dolph Ziggler is that Ziggler cannot handle the pressure and he is panicking right now calling his mum backstage and complaining on the internet and when he gets out there he will make a mistake. Morrison says when he thrives on this pressure and tonight he will hit Ziggler harder than Ricky Hatton, kick him harder than David Beckham and rock the arena harder than the Beatles. At the end of the match Dolph will be laying in the middle of the ring and stare up at Morrison who will still be Intercontinental Champion.

Chris Considers: This was not the best promo Morrison has ever cut, the guy is naturally funny and I feel would do much better on the mic if WWE just let him run with it rather than giving him such cheesy scripted lines!

Match 3: Drew McIntyre vs Finlay

As Drew makes his way to the ring we see his annihilation of Finlay a couple of weeks ago. He gets on the mic and stares at the crowd and gets something of a mixed reaction. Drew says he did not let Finlay in the ring because he wasn’t worthy and still isn’t but Drew has had a change of heart and since Finlay loves to fight lets see how much Finlay loves to fight him. Finlay gets a great reaction from the UK crowd and tells Drew to bring it as he gets in the ring. Finlay drops an elbow to the neck and drops Drew with a clothesline before nailing a pair up uppercuts followed by some stiff chops. The two exchange charging kicks, with Drew’s sending Finlay flying from the ring. Drew follows Finlay to the outside and clotheslines him before tossing him back in and begins to stomp and kick away before working over Finlay’s shoulder but the Irishman fights to his feet and nails a very stiff right before punching Drew from the ring. Finlay follows and continues the beatdown and hammers Drew into the security barrier and the brawl heads back into the ring and the two exchange blows and brawl away causing the referee to ring the bell. Finlay immediately goes for the shelaighlee but Drew nails a leaping kick and then grabs the shelaighlee and hammers Finlay in the head with it and goes to leave but storms back to the ring and nails another shelaighlee blow to the stomach. After the match referees help Finlay to the back and he gets a big ovation from the crowd.

Result: Finlay and Drew McIntye fight to a double disqualification *1/2

Chris Considers: The ending to this match was ludicrous, how could both men get disqualified for punching each other??? This could have been booked so much better. However this result furthers this feud along nicely and Drew really is becoming quite the despised heel on Smackdown! I sense a Belfast Brawl next week to settle this issue!

Apparently more people visit WWE.com website than the NBA site, something tells me this is bullshit…

Official Contract Signing: Batista & Rey Mysterio

Matt Striker is in the ring and hypes the match before introducing Rey Mysterio who gets the pop of the night so far. Rey greets his fans on the way to the ring and shakes Striker’s hand before posing on the turnbuckle. Batista gets major heat as he strolls to down the ramp and we get a recap of Batista’s savage beat down of Rey at Bragging Rights. Striker asks that they sign the documents and make this official. Batista asks Rey how he is doing and Rey says he just want to get this signed. They sign the contract and Batista says he has something else for Rey to sign and it is a hold harmless agreement which means Batista cannot legally be held responsible for what he does to Rey and no on can sue him for what he does at Survivor Series. Rey says he is not signing it and Batista flares up and calls Rey a coward hiding behind his goofy mask. Batista tells Rey to sign it otherwise he will embarrass Rey in front of the fans reach across the table and snap Rey’s neck like a twig. Rey says he will sign it and says he knows what Batista is trying to do and Rey is not scared. Rey says at Survivor Series it will be Batista that is embarrassed. Rey flips the table up into Batista’s face and send him crashing to the floor and flees the ring. Batista screams in rage as a huge ‘Who are ya’ chant breaks out as Batista destroys the chair in the ring in rage.

Chris Considers: Short but to the point segment here that was good build for this match at Survivor Series. As much as his ring work may leave plenty to be desired Batista is very good on the mic as a heel and comes across as a real bully which is exactly what he needs to do. The timing for that table flip was perfect and it came across really well!

Match 4: Intercontinental Title Match: John Morrison © vs Dolph Ziggler

Dolph gets some heat from the fans as he struts to the ring whilst Morrison gets a nice pop. Both of these guy’s pushes have slowed somewhat recently and hopefully their great ring work of late will get them going again. The two circle and Morrison grabs Dolph’s leg but Dolph punches him off and takes a time out from the ring, Morrison tries to follow but the referee hauls him back allowing Dolph to pounce and drop Morrison with a right before stomping away. Dolph talks smack and Morrison rolls him up but doesn’t even get a one and ducks under Dolph’s punches whilst nailing some of his own. Hilarious comment from Striker saying Morrison is punching like Hatton but Hatton does not have abs like Morrison! Nice flapjack from Morrison followed by his handstand kick which gets a near fall but as Morrison heads to the top rope Dolph crotches him hanging him up before nailing a nice drop kick for a near fall. Dolph nails a boot to the gut before nailing a gut buster for a near fall as we head to commercial. Back from the break and Dolph is working over Morrison’s abdomen in the middle of the ring. Morrison punches free and the two exchange blows with Morrison coming out on top. Morrison whips Ziggler across the ring but misses a flying leg lariat and Dolph is straight in with a cover for two as Morrison crashes and burns. Overhead takedown from Dolph followed by a blockbuster for another near fall. Dolph stomps away before he drops some elbows before his high impact elbow for another near fall. Dolph applies a body scissors hold on the mat but Morrison elbows free only for Dolph to connect a scoop slam for another two. Dolph talks smack which enrages the champion and they get a boo/cheer strike exchange going which Morrison wins but Dolph tries for a back suplex which Morrison flips out from and drops Dolph with a pair of clotheslines followed by a flying leg lariat for a near fall. Morrison calls for the Moonlight Drive but Dolph counters it into a facebuster which gets Dolph another near fall. Dolph is frustrated and hammers away at Morrison on the mat before pulling him to his feet but out of nowhere Morrison connects a pele kick for a near fall. Morrison hauls Dolph into position for Starship Pain and the crowd erupt. But Dolph ducks and pins Dolph with his feet on the ropes which the referee sees which leads to a huge argument between Dolph and the referee allowing Morrison to connect the Flying Chuck for a near fall. Dolph rolls on to the apron and as Morrison tries to haul him back in the ring Dolph connects some right hands and slams Morrison’s head into the ring post. Dolph heads to the top rope but Morrison springs up as well the two slug it out leading to Dolph taking a tumble but he pulls Morrison with him and both men crash to the outside leading to a double count out from the referee.

Result: John Morrison and Dolph Ziggler ends in a double count out. ***

Chris Considers: I don’t think these two could have a bad match if they tried! This was very, very good from both Dolph and Morrison and a double count out extends the feud despite the fact that the English crowd really hated it. I loved the boo/cheer exchange and it shows how over both these guys are getting. So many close matches and battles means the time Dolph does win the belt will make it that much more significant.

Match 5: Beth Phoenix vs Lisa Taylor

Beth gets a mixed reaction as she makes her way to the ring as Striker informs us Taylor is the Commonwealth Champion (presumably for wrestling) Taylor immediately tries for a roll up but Beth is too strong and drops some clubbing blows before nailing a back breaker followed by a running charge into the ring post. Beth hangs Lisa up in the tree of woe and hits and impressive neck breaker using the ropes for leverage. Glam Slam from Beth and it is all over.

Beth Phoenix defeats Lisa Taylor via pinfall ½*

Chris Considers: I am really enjoying how Beth is being built up as such a big deal and am eagerly awaiting her turning face and feuding with Michelle. As an apparent champion Taylor perhaps should have gotten in a bit more offence but there you go.

Backstage Interview: Chris Jericho

Jericho is warming up and Josh interrupts and asks him if he is concerned about facing the Deadman. Jericho laughs and says the Undertaker is no Deadman just a man like Jericho. Jericho says for ten years the plebeians in this audience have waited to see Chris Jericho vs The Undertaker and for twenty years they have believed The Undertaker has some sort of mystical power but he can be beaten and tonight he will be beaten by Jericho. Jericho says he is not just a man, he is the best in the world at what he does and not a Deadman will stop him tonight and at Survivor Series neither a Deadman or giant will stop him and he will leave as World Heavyweight Champion.

Chris Considers: Short but to the point from Jericho. Hyped the match tonight and The Survivor Series title match. Very few people can nail it on the mic quite like Jericho and he proved it once again even in the two minutes he has here!

Main Event: Chris Jericho vs The Undertaker

Jericho gets a mixed, but mostly heel reaction during his entrance whilst the arena erupts for The Undertaker who is once again clad in his WM 24 outfit. Jericho gets out of the ring as The Undertaker makes his entrance and stares from the outside as Undertaker stalks the ring. As the match gets underway Jericho ducks a punch and nails a flurry of blows in the corner but the referee hauls him off and Undertaker hurls Jericho into the corner and connects strikes of his own. Jericho screams at the referee to call Taker off but gets sent into the opposite corner. Jericho telegraphs Taker and connects a boot to no effect and Taker clotheslines him from the ring and connects his leg drop on the apron to a huge pop. Jericho rolls back into the ring and Taker stomps away before applying a hammerlock and dropping Jericho with a shoulder charge. Leg drop from Taker gets a one and he immediately applies another hammerlock and continues to haul Jericho around the ring and connect boots. Undertaker goes for Old School to a huge pop but Jericho springs to the top rope and nails a superplex out of nowhere leaving both men down as we go to commercial. Back from the break and Jericho is pummelling Taker on the mat which leads to the referee hauling him off. Jericho forces Taker into the ropes and stomps away before choking him with a boot which leads to him being hauled off again. Jericho walks into a kick and gets whipped across the ring but Jericho gets a boot up and flies off the top rope with a drop kick for a near fall. Jericho applies a headlock but Taker powers out only for Jericho to boot Taker from the ring. Jericho poses before flying off the apron with an axe handle sending Taker crashing into the security barrier. Jericho whips Taker into the barrier before tossing him back in and choking him on the ropes before standing on his back till the count of four. Taker connects an elbow but Jericho is immediately back with strikes and blows dropping Taker to his knees Taker lulls on the ropes and Jericho chokes him once again but Taker goes for a chokeslam but Jericho punches free and we get a boo/cheer striking exchange which Undertaker wins before whipping Jericho into the turnbuckle and connecting a charging clothesline. Taker hits Snake Eyes but Jericho counters the big boot with a huge drop kick for a near fall. Jericho tries to hit a version of a KO punch and Taker grabs him by the throat only for Jericho to kick free again but he ends up charging straight into a big boot. Both men are down and Undertaker misses a leaping kick in the corner. Jericho nails some mounted punches but Undertaker tries the Last Ride but Jericho leaps free and nails a Codebreaker out of nowhere but is slow making the cover and only gets a near fall. Jericho taunts Taker by using his throat slit pose and attempts a Tombstone which Taker counters into a Tombstone of his own which Jericho flips out from before connecting a chop block followed by a Lionsault, Jericho is slow making the cover and in classic moment Taker sits up and goes for a Chokeslam but Jericho somehow counters, rolls through and locks on the Walls of Jericho! Taker rolls the move round and applies Hell’s Gate leading to Jericho swiftly tapping out giving Undertaker the win. The Big Show’s music hits and he stomps to the ring as Taker tries to struggle to his feet. As Undertaker is distracted by Show, Jericho strikes from behind and they double team Taker with Show nailing a chokeslam and they lock in a double submission hold with Jericho applying the Walls and Show applying the Colossal Clutch. Suddenly Kane’s music hits and he stomps to the ring to a huge pop. Show flees and Jericho is nailed with a big boot sending him rolling from the ring. Kane checks on Taker and we see Vince backstage. He calls Long and suggests next week’s main event be: The Brothers of Destruction vs Jeri-Show. Awesome!

Result: The Undertaker defeats Chris Jericho via submission ****

Chris Considers: Had this match been given half an hour it would have been a five star encounter. Some of the ring work displayed here was simply off the charts with some amazing counters and evasions! Sometimes smaller guys don’t work well with Taker but that was not the case here, Jericho matched him move for move, counter for counter and this was one the best WWE TV match since Morrison vs Mysterio! Also a lesson to be learned here is if there is going to be overbooking and interference let the match finish first and have the interference afterwards! Kane helping Undertaker sets up a mega main event for next week and a match I have wanted to see since Jeri-Show formed several months ago. I really hope that one pay per view soon Jericho and Undertaker face off one on one and get even more time to deliver greatness as this match has just wetted my appetite for more! As much as I am glad I gave RAW a miss, I wish I had attended this show!

Overall this was a superb edition of Friday Night Smackdown, the best in a long time. Everything worked and everything was good, aside from Morrison’s promo. Punk vs Truth, Mickie vs Natalya and Finlay vs McIntyre were all solid whilst Dolph and Morrison had another excellent clash. Batista and Rey further intensified their feud with the contract signing and Beth continued to build herself as THE diva to be reckoned with on Smackdown. The main event was simply off the charts and fully delivered on its high expectations. I was gripped from bell to bell and literally had to watch this about four times to call it as for the first couple of times I just watched in awe. True excellence from Jericho and Taker and as I said I really hope they main event a pay per view sometime soon!

This week’s match of the night was Undertaker vs Chris Jericho and the show scores a perfect 10/10

That’s all for this week’s edition of Chris Reviews Smackdown, I shall be back during the week with my Turning Point thoughts as well as my Roadrunner blog. Thank you so much for your continued support and I hope you keep coming back for more! I hope you all have a great week! As always you can email me on a_agreement_called_forever@hotmail.com , add me on facebook: www.facebook.com\wnws.chris.jacks  or follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/WNWsChrisJacks  I would love to hear from you!

Here are ten points to consider coming out of this week’s show!
• Punk’s opening promo was a timely reminder how good he is on the mic and Truth was no slacker either!
• I have always rated R-Truth and am pleased he is getting to work with someone higher up the card and hopefully creative will finally take notice of how good his actually is!
• What a joy to see two talented women wrestle in WWE! Pity the match could not have been longer, give Natalya and Mickie ten-fifteen minutes and they could dazzle us!
• That was not a good promo from Morrison, creative should let him come up with his own stuff like he did on the dirt sheet rather than this scripted cheese!
• Having Finlay and Drew double disqualified for punching each other was one of the lamest finishers ever, however Drew’s aggression was impressive and his post match beat down intense. Bring on the Belfast Brawl!
• Batista continued to impress on the mic! I loved his line where he said he would snap Rey’s little neck like a twig. I hope these two have a great match to deliver on this great build!
• Another great match from Dolph and Morrison! Two out of three falls next week should be great! The crowd hated the double count out but it was really the only way to extend the feud and keep Dolph’s credibility!
• Beth Phoenix vs Michelle is a match waiting to happen! Only a matter of weeks before she turns face I reckon!
• What a main event! That is a match I will come back to and watch over and over, I really did enjoy it that much! When Jericho countered the chokeslam, rolled down Taker’s back and locked in the Walls I was on my feet!
• What a great main event we have set next week! This match was the perfect example of how an overbooked ending is necessary and works in the right situation!

My top ten matches of the year so far in WWE

1: The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels – Wrestlemania – April 5th 2009
2: Legacy vs DeGeneration X – Breaking Point – September 13th 2009
3: CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy – Smackdown – August 28th 2009
4: Rey Mysterio vs Chris Jericho – The Bash – June 28th 2009
5: Rey Mysterio vs John Morrison – Smackdown – August 4th 2009
6: CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy – Summerslam – August 23rd 2009
7: Rey Mysterio vs Chris Jericho – Smackdown – July 10th 2009
8: Chris Jericho vs The Undertaker – Smackdown – November 13th 2009
9: Jeff Hardy vs John Morrison – Smackdown – July 31st 2009
10: John Cena vs Randy Orton – Bragging Rights – October 25th 2009

Smackdown Power 10

1: The Undertaker
2: Chris Jericho
3: Batista
4: Rey Mysterio
5: CM Punk
6: Dolph Ziggler
7: John Morrison
8: Drew McIntyre
9: Matt Hardy
10: Kane

Watch any WWE programming you miss at www.Dailymotion.com  , your online source for TV shows!

Hey everyone and welcome to this week’s edition of Chris Reviews Smackdown. In this week’s blog I shall be discussing some of Hulk Hogan’s more amusing comments over the past week, DX verbally burying talent, a bit of Impact! and analysing the show. Please feel free to leave some feedback via the comment board or drop an email to a_agreement_called_forever@hotmail.com

First off some good news, as you may recall for the last few weeks I have really been struggling with free time as I have been working so many hours and I mentioned last week I was going to try and change my hours at work so that I have some time free in the evenings to write and research and luckily my boss agreed so as of this coming Monday I shall be starting and finishing work earlier from Monday to Friday (sadly my weekend hours still remain the same!) so baring any catastrophes I shall have this blog up either on Saturday or Sunday every week.

Another random piece of info, I have a really cool new touch screen phone that comes with a Twitter application installed on it so I will probably be tweeting a lot from now on with random stuff about what I am doing etc. My Twitter address is http://twitter.com/WNWsChrisJacks

Thanks to everyone who pointed out that Matt Hardy actually beat Eric Escobar with the Twist of Fate last week on Smackdown. The reason I did not pick up on it was because Hardy hit the move much more slowly and awkwardly than he usually does and Escobar did an especially poor job of taking the move so it came off looking just like a regular neck breaker, especially as Matt did not do the Hardy pose and shout he normally does when he hits it either. Next week I am going to find some links of Escobar in FCW so those unfamiliar with him can see just how much he is being held back (for whatever reason) on Smackdown.

So my main thoughts when watching this last week’s RAW was just how unbelievably arrogant Shawn Michaels and Triple H have become! During the opening segment you had three up and coming heels (The Miz, Ted and Cody) and one established main eventer (Big Show) cutting what I thought were decent promos and DX come out and call them ‘ratings killers’ I mean seriously these two are supposed to be two of the most experienced locker room leaders with an eye for the business and they run down three of their brightest hopes for the future live on WWE’s flagship show? How are people supposed to take Legacy and Miz seriously when Shawn and Hunter pull shit like that? It is ridiculous and someone needs to pull them up on it. Secondly DX are in a triple threat match for the WWE title and yet they are treating the match like a complete joke! The backstage skit with Cena just made the whole match into a complete farce and why would they try and help Cena when he is being beaten down by Jeri-Show when they are facing him for the title in a couple of weeks time? The sooner PG DX is over the better as they have become very stale very quickly and despite the fact I found their commentary on Monday amusing it was lucky they were mocking established stars as had that been any of the aforementioned midcarders the audience would have come away from the match thinking they were the jokes that DX had made them out to be.

I meant to talk a bit about the TNA Championship Match at Turning Point last week but did not have time. Now I remember the not too long ago days when to become a number one contender you actually had to compete and win consistently to challenge for the title. Now we all know that AJ vs Daniels vs Joe is a potential match of the year candidate but with the way these two were booked at Bound For Glory, you have to wonder what exactly they did to deserve a title shot. Joe was pretty much squashed by Lashley whilst Daniels came up short in the Ultimate X match and they then get a title shot??? I love TNA’s new direction of pushing the deserving home grown talent, however they need to make sure it makes logical sense. Based on the booking of Bound For Glory there were perhaps two or three guys that could have logically laid claim to number one contendership for the TNA Title (namely Angle, Lashley and possibly Matt Morgan) and if they had wanted to insert Joe and Daniels then fair enough but at least have some qualifying matches to determine it. TNA could have had all the storylines they currently have so Lashley could have gone against Joe again only for Steiner to leer on Kristal on the outside causing Lashley to lose by countout after he chased off Steiner, Rhyno could have cost Morgan his match with Daniels and then Joe and Daniels could have gone to a time limit draw (much as AJ and Angle did a few weeks ago) causing Carter/Foley or whoever is the on screen boss these days to declare them both number one contender and make the triple threat. That way we would get our amazing triple threat match but with some logical booking behind it! I am not singling out TNA here, WWE did exactly the same thing with Rey and Batista at Bragging Rights, shoving them into a title match after they lost out on the tag titles! Perhaps I am being too picky but in my mind number one contendership for any title should be earned rather than just given for the sake of a great match or to get a big name in the title picture.

With all that being said I am loving the mystery assailant storyline that TNA are running with someone attacking AJ. I think we all knew it wasn’t going to be Joe or Daniels but I think they gave that away a bit early this week on Impact! when they could have teased it all they way up to and including Turning Point. This has been really well booked and really well done so far! In my opinion the attacker will turn out to be Tomko who has been at all of the recent Impact! tapings and certainly has past history with AJ so this would be a logical storyline. Tomko could be out for revenge for being left in the dust after their tag team run whilst AJ has had everything given to him. The storyline pretty much writes itself and Tomko deserves a main event shot after being left somewhat stranded by TNA when they turned him heel for no good reason whatsoever when he was about to break into the main event. I think AJ vs Tomko would be an excellent program and one that I would be happy to tune in to see!

I seem to be talking a lot of TNA here but really that is where all the news is at right now! Hulk Hogan has been doing the media rounds all week and has come out with some worrying and astounding comments! Here are three of the best of them followed by my reactions to them.

Hogan/TNA Week 2

From the Gimme Noise blog out of Minnesota http://blogs.citypages.com/gimmenoise/2009/11/hulkamania_inva.php?page=2  

Hogan on going to TNA: ‘That’s a huge deal for me, man. I never thought that they would bring me in to like the Vince McMahon role with another wrestling company kind of like I did with WCW years back. I actually used to have this same role back in the day, except it was unofficial. Vince’s dad ran the league while I was down here in Minnesota kicking ass with Verne Gagne and when he died, they talked me into coming back. So I came back and found that Vince McMahon, who owns the company now, didn’t really understand the business. So I moved in next door to him in Connecticut and taught him all about lifting weights and riding motorcycles and partying like a mad man; and then I taught him about the wrestling business and making money’

Chris Considers: I bet Vince was furious when he read this!!! Hogan is trying to claim he taught Vince all about the business that Vince grew up in as well as teaching Vince how to make money??? Seriously I don’t know what Hogan was smoking when he did this interview but these are some pretty ridiculous claims by any standards. By far the most amusing Hogan related story I have read all week!

A quote from Hogan’s book signing in Lake Forest Park WA

‘Hulk Hogan told fans who showed up to make sure they start watching Impact because he was going to head in, bring in his guys, and turn the place upside down’

Chris Considers: I cannot comment on the accuracy of this one as it was word of mouth from fans at the book signing but this is a potentially worrying statement from Hogan. I would be all for him bringing in some guys who have either not yet reached their potential or are established stars who can still work great matches (such as Mr Kennedy and RVD) but if Hogan means he is going to bring in all his WCW/Hogan’s Championship Wrestling friends then he needs to have a rethink! TNA is great because it has a phenomenal collection of young workers and if they have to take a back seat to the likes of Hall, Nash, X-Pac, Brutus Beefcake, Rikishi, Goldberg etc TNA will die a quick and sudden death.

Hogan phoned in to the Bubba Sponge radio show as he regularly does and admitted he was the new TNA booker and said he would be willing to give Vince Russo another chance but he is in a position where he could fire him. Hogan also mentioned that his contract says nothing about actually wrestling in TNA and the company is now spending big money.

Chris Considers: I found it very interesting hearing Hogan talk so openly about Russo’s position. Pretty much what he is saying I think is that if Russo crosses him then he is gone but seeing as how no sane wrestling company on the planet would hire Russo I imagine he will do everything he can to keep Hogan happy. I have no problem with Hogan booking TNA if he continues the current direction of the company and hopefully he will realise from all the mistakes of WCW that we do not need overbooking in every single match! Also despite Hogan saying his contract says nothing about wrestling I would be willing to be a considerable amount of money we will see him involved in at least one match during the next year!

Lastly before I forget when I said TNA would have done a 2.5 last week if it were not for the competition from World Series etc, this was based entirely on a couple of articles I read across the internet that talked about the stiff competition Impact had faced last week and had they not had that competition then the rating would have been much higher. Obviously being UK based I only have a basic understanding of the American rating system that I researched when I first started here on WNW. I don’t know what sport you have on over in the states at the minute but perhaps this week’s rating will give a clearer picture!

I had a really good question sent to me this week so even though my Q&A section is still on hold I really wanted to feature this from WNW reader Rob: Chris my name is Rob, long time fan of your blogs. I’m just interested to hear your opinion on what may be the Smackdown main event for TLC. The way I’ve looked at it is there is no way a guy like undertaker in his present condition should be in some sort of TLC match. And of the Smackdown maineventers only Cm Punk comes to mind as one who should be in that type of match. Do you think WWE have kind of painted themselves into a corner with these specific gimmick ppvs? What do you think the TLC Smackdown main event will be?

Hey there, thanks very much for the praise dude! glad you enjoy my work and hope you continue to do so. I think even in his current state The Undertaker will want to work TLC and I cannot see any way he will drop the title at Survivor Series. Taker worked a TLC match with Edge at One Night Stand last year very banged up and the match was still phenomenal. CM Punk seems to be stuck in a feud with referees and such so I cannot see him getting back in the title picture for the time being. I think one match that would guarantee ppv buys would be Undertaker vs Chris Jericho in a TLC match as obviously this has never been done before (a one on one match between Taker and Jericho) and of everyone on the current roster only Edge is better in ladder matches than Jericho. I must admit I am not a fan of these gimmick specific pay per views although I did really enjoy Bragging Rights as it was something different. But anything more than 2 TLC matches will be overkill. So my early prediction is Chris Jericho vs The Undertaker in a TLC match on the Smackdown side of things and John Cena vs Jack Swagger in a TLC match on the RAW side of things (hopefully Orton will still be feuding with Kofi and DX will either be fighting each other or the Hart Dynasty)

So with that considerable discussion out of the way it is on to this week’s Smackdown!

Opening Segment: The Undertaker & Chris Jericho

Todd Grisham and Matt Striker welcome us to ringside and hype the main event between Matt Hardy and Batista. The Undertaker’s gong strikes and the Deadman makes his way to the ring to a thunderous ovation. Undertaker is once again clad in his Wrestlemania 24 attire. The Undertaker grabs the mic and says it seems an eternity ago that the demons of hell passed judgement on the mortal world and unleashed a creature of the night so powerful that it would send shivers down the spine of all who opposed him. Taker says that the dark birth of The Undertaker took place at Survivor Series and year after year all who oppose him perish at his feet yet year after year they keep coming for a chance to be world heavyweight champion. Taker calls the belt the Holy Grail for everyone who steps foot in the ring, he mentions how Big Show betrayed a whole team for a shot at the title but what he has won is the chance to be terminated by the Deadman. Taker says that brings him to Chris Jericho, he says there are few things in the world that bring joy to his dark heart, one is being able to fight alongside his brother Kane, the second is being able to fight against his brother Kane. Last week Chris Jericho took this opportunity away from him and now at Survivor Series, his fate and heart and soul will be Taker’s. Huge pop from the crowd and Jericho’s music hit and he struts to the apron suited up. Undertaker stares daggers at Jericho as he makes his way to the ring. Jericho says finally after ten years comes the moment the WWE universe have been waiting for. Two of the greatest superstars in WWE history face to face for the first time ever: the best in the world and the phenom. Jericho asks what is a phenom, apparently the dictionary definition is an exceptional, unusual abnormal person. Jericho says this describes him much better than Taker and he is the true phenom of the WWE. Jericho says he is exceptionally talented with accolades second to none, the best at what he does which makes him unusual and what makes him abnormal is that Jericho is the only one bold enough to stand up for what he believes in and tell the truth and for the last 20 years the Undertaker has been lying to these sycophants trying to pretend he is something he is not. Jericho says the Undertaker is not a deadman, he is just a man, just a man like Kane or John Cena men like Jericho has beaten in the last 10 days. Jericho says he is on the roll of his career but can beat anyone he wants, anytime and at Survivor Series he will beat Undertaker and become world champion for the sixth time. Jericho says he is not intimidated and says he is not afraid of the dark and Taker is just a man and there is not a man on this planet that Jericho is afraid of. Jericho gets right in Taker’s face and says he is the new phenom of WWE and asks Taker if he understands what he is saying man. Taker grabs Jericho for a chokeslam but Jericho punches free only to run into a big boot. Jericho scurries from the ring and Undertaker poses with the belt and runs his hand across his throat.

Chris Considers: That was one of the best openings to Smackdown I have ever seen! Undertaker is always great at cutting promos but Jericho was simply off the charts here with his dismantling of Taker’s character. What makes this so good and exciting is that it is fresh and this built the Survivor Series match no end! It was nice seeing Jericho go toe to toe with Undertaker rather than playing the coward and I will be very interested to see where this goes from here next week.

We see highlights of Batista and Rey’s feud so far. Like I said last week I will never be a fan of Batista’s ring work but his mic work is so much better as a heel and I think he will work better as a monster heel than a babyface that always overcomes the odds. Plus working with Rey will help as Rey can make just about anyone look good in the ring!

Match 1: Cryme Tyme & John Morrison vs Dolph Ziggler & The Hart Dynasty

As Dolph makes his way to the ring we see highlights of him defeating John Morrison by count out last week. Natalya is looking even more gorgeous than usual! As John Morrison makes his way out we see highlights if him on the ‘Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader Show’ I advise checking this out as it was pretty funny! Cryme Tyme get a great response whilst Striker runs down gangsta lifestyle. Tyson and Morrison start out and they lock up before Morrison evades a kick but gets taken down with a headlock takeover. Tyson keeps the hold applied but Morrison soon breaks out and leapfrogs a charge before taking Tyson down with an arm drag takeover. Morrison seems to have hurt his ribs in the process and limps around as the heels mock him. Morrison tags in JTG as we go to commercial. Back from the break and Dolph is wrenching on JTG’s head. JTG rolls the move through and hits a nice arm drag followed by a blockbuster. JTG tries his middle rope leg drop but Dolph ducks under the move only for JTG to nail a Stunner and follows up with some mounted punches. Tyson distracts the referee and Smith cheapshots JTG knocking him off Dolph to huge heat from the fans. Dolph makes the cover and gets a near fall and Smith is tagged in. Smith connects some big stomps followed by a big uppercut and strikes before tagging in Tyson and the Hart Dynasty double team JTG. Tyson goes for the pin and gets a near fall. Smith tagged back in and we get a nice leg drop/backslide combo from the Harts. Smith covers for one and drops an elbow to JTG’s neck before applying an Orton Lock. The crowd rally behind JTG who battles to his feet only to get forced into the corner. Dolph tags in and connects some strikes before hitting and overhead takeover and a blockbuster. JTG is down and Dolph mocks Morrison on the outside. Dolph covers for two and locks in his crab headlock. Dolph breaks the move and goes for a back suplex but JTG flips out and counters with a back breaker. Both men make hot tags to Morrison and Tyson respectively and the two slug it out with Morrison coming out on top. Morrison is defiantly favouring his ribs as he hits a back drop followed by a stiff leg lariat. Morrison cannot even make it to his feet as Smith is tagged in but quickly comes back with quick strikes and uppercuts. Smith tries for a scoop slam and Morrison wriggles free before shoving Smith into the turnbuckle and connecting the Flying Chuck. Morrison struggles to his feet and Dolph tries for a cheap shot but Morrison fires him out of the ring before gingerly walking to the face corner and tagging in Shad. Morrison immediately goes to the ropes and nails an amazing corkscrew plancha taking out Tyson on the outside, who had been checking on Dolph. Shad screams at Smith and nails strike after strike before taking him down with a huge shoulder block and firing up the crowd. On the outside Dolph dumps Morrison ribs first onto the security wall and makes the blind tag on Smith as Shad continues to work him over in the ring. Shad looks to hit a powerslam on Smith but Dolph strikes with the Zig Zag and pins for the victory.

Result: Dolph Ziggler & The Hart Dynasty defeat Cryme Tyme & John Morrison via pinfall ***

Chris Considers: Superb opening bout that featured some excellent ring work by both Dolph Ziggler and JTG. I am unsure if Morrison was legitimately hurt or if he was just selling as he did seem to be moving very awkwardly after hitting that early arm drag take over. It seems Dolph and Morrison are going full steam ahead once more in a feud for the intercontinental championship and I am eagerly awaiting what they will do next. The Hart Dynasty are a cut above when it comes to chemistry and team work and really deserve a shot at the tag titles at some point in the near future.

Backstage Interview: Rey Mysterio

Josh Matthews is backstage with Rey and asks him for his state of mind after his face to face confrontation with Batista last week. Rey said he would be lying if he did not admit he was upset but could Josh imagine one of his own family members walking out over something so small; that is how Rey feels. Rey talks some Spanish and Josh says Teddy Long has made official and at Survivor Series Rey will face off against Batista. Josh asks Rey if he has a message for Batista and he unbuckles his mask before staring straight into the camera. Rey says he knows Batista is watching and he knows he won’t listen to Rey, he won’t listen to logic and he has decided to throw away their friendship. Rey says Batista has also decided to throw away the spirit of Eddie Guerrero. Rey says he doesn’t know what has gotten in to Batista but he is going to beat it out. Rey says Batista showed him a side of him he had never seen before but at Survivor Series Rey will show Batista a side of himself that Batista never knew existed!

Chris Considers: I much prefer serious and intense Rey than over the top mushy Rey. This was a solid interview that set up the Survivor Series clash. I will be interested to see if Rey interferes in the main or vice versa.

Match 2: Beth Phoenix vs Brittney Carter

Striker once again talks up the jobber Brittney saying she has an extensive background in dance. Beth smiles and charges Brittney into the turnbuckle and then again on the opposite one. Butt splash from Beth and Brittney is in trouble, one armed back breaker from Beth followed by another and Beth hauls Brittney to her feet and applies a torture rack. Beth spins Brittney around before delivering another back breaker to applause from the crowd. Beth shrugs and delivers the Implant Buster for the pinfall and victory

Result: Beth Phoeinix defeats Brittney Carter via pinfall *

Chris Considers: Despite this being a total squash, it builds Beth up as a dominant force on Smackdown and she seemed to have a lot of fun doing it! It was interesting seeing Beth get cheered and I think there is a high probability she will be turning face which would be awesome as she is one of the few divas in WWE that can actually talk on the mic!

Match 3: Drew McIntyre vs Jimmy Wang Yang

It is great seeing Jimmy Wang Yang back in action on Smackdown although something tells me this one might be a bit of a squash! Yang poses on the tunbuckle and McIntyre knocks him to the outside. Drew poses in the ring with the mic and says this party cannot even begin to get started before he gets some competition worthy of a world heavyweight champion. Yang struggles into the ring and demands the referee ring the bell. McIntyre storms back in to the ring and eats some chops from Yang but Drew nails a huge clothesline and some seated strikes before setting up and nailing his double underhook implant DDT for the pinfall and victory. After the match Drew knees Jimmy in the back of the head to heat from the fans

Result: Drew McIntyre defeats Jimmy Wang Yang via pinfall ½*

Chris Considers: Jimmy Wang Yang is one of the most talented high flyers on the WWE roster, sadly he is always chronically underused as was the case here. I am liking Drew’s aggression as always and he is certainly making a name for himself but I felt he would have been better put in a proper match and feud with Finlay this week after his assault last week. Finlay showing up in Superstars unscathed and wrestling someone else made the whole thing a bit farcical.

Josh pulls Batista up backstage and asks him why he attacked Rey and Matt and he said he is not there to make friends but to be World Heavyweight Champion and Rey Mysterio robbed him of that at Bragging Rights and Matt Hardy should have kept his big nose out of Batista’s business. Batista says if he has to hurt Rey or Matt or anyone else on Smackdown to become World Heavyweight Champion again then that is what he will do!

Chris Considers: Wow, I know I said it last week but HOW MUCH BETTER IS BATISTA AS A HEEL ON THE MIC, pity his match with Matt later is probably going to suck…

Match 4: Rey Mysterio vs Mike Knox

Rey makes his way out to a massive pop and chats to his fans on the way to the ring. No creepy promo from Mike Knox this week as he makes his way slowly to the ring. With Striker providing so much back story to his character though I guess he doesn’t really need it! They lock up an Knox clubs Rey to the mat before beating him around the ring. Rey slides under a big boot but eats a kick to the gut and Knox clubs him into the corner before whipping him across the ring. Rey gets a boot up and connects with head scissors setting Knox up for the 619. Thankfully we are saved another squash as Knox rolls out of the ring. Rey tries for a seated senton but Knox ducks it and fires back with a huge flying crossbody crushing Rey into the floor. Knox rolls Rey back into the ring but Rey rolls right across and out the other side, Knox follows and stomps away before tossing Rey back in and covering for a near fall. Knox drops a knee to the mid section and uses the ropes to force the knee in further and holds it till four. Knox drops another knee and covers for two again and Rey is flopping around the mat. Knox stomps away and applies a bear hug, Rey screams and tries to punch out which he does and flies back with a kick to the face which made Knox angry. Rey ducks under a clothesline and pulls the ropes down sending Knox crashing to the outside before hitting a baseball slide but Knox storms back into the ring as Rey is attempting another running move and drops him with a huge shoulder block which sends Rey flying across the ring. Big splash from Knox earns a near fall followed by an abdominal stretch, the crowd rally behind Rey but Knox hits a pump handle backbreaker for another near fall. Knox locks in the abdominal stretch again and tries for another slam but Rey counters with a quick DDT and both men are down. Rey is up first and punches away before delivering a low drop kick and the wheelbarrow DDT for a near fall to a pop from the crowd. Knox whips Rey into the corner and he tries to leapfrog Knox but the big man catches him in mid air. Rey wriggles free and lands on the other side of the apron and springboards off with a seated senton but as he goes for another dashing move Knox is up and delivers a thunderous clothesline which gets a very close near fall. Knox misses a charge in the corner and eats ring post and Rey quickly drop kicks Knox into the ropes and connects the 619 followed by the splash for the pinfall and victory.

Result: Rey Mysterio defeats Mike Knox via pinfall **3/4

Chris Considers: I was really getting in to this match, pity it had to end, I would have happily watched these two wrestle for 20 minutes! They told a great story with Rey gutting out the punishment and looking for openings to exploit in Knox’s offence. Mike Knox impresses me week in week out and I really hope he gets a push soon and Rey as always is a joy to watch and review!

Match 5: CM Punk vs R-Truth

Punk walks slowly to the ring to a chorus of boos from the crowd and looks pleased with himself as we highlights of Punk taking out Scott Armstrong last week. Truth seems a little less over than he usually is as he raps his way to the ring. Truth avoids some kicks and they lock up with Truth forcing Punk into the corner. Punk talks smack to Armstrong as Truth fires up the crowd. Headlock from Truth and he drops Punk with a shoulder blog. Punk staggers across the ring and Truth mocks him which infuriates Punk and he shouts at Armstrong. Punk applies a headlock and takes Truth down but Truth counters with head scissors which Punk reverses and has Truth in a double underhook headlock. Truth battles to his feet, still trapped in the hold and force Punk into the corner. Armstrong makes Punk break the hold and as Truth backs away Punk runs in with a big kick to the gut followed by strikes, elbows and a headbutt. Truth counters a charge with an athletic arm drag takeover before clotheslining Punk over the top rope and connecting a nice suicide dive to the outside as we go to commercial. Back from the break and Punk is kicking away in the ring. Truth wriggles free of a back suplex attempt and connects one of his own which sends Punk rolling under the ropes. Punk bounces Truth’s head off the rope and connects a springboard clothesline for a near fall. Punk kicks and stomps away on the mat before nailing a snap suplex for another near fall. Punk looks frustrated and locks in an amazing bow and arrow surfboard submission hold but Turth refuses to give up and Punk breaks the hold and taunts the crowd. Punk elbows away at Truth before whipping him across the ring and setting up for his high knee but Truth dodges and Punk gets hung up the hard way, Truth fights back with a series of strikes and drops Punk with a clothesline before cart wheeling and splitting under Punk’s offence and connecting a nice leg lariat which staggers Punk. Flying clothesline from Truth but Punk counters the axe kick with a leg lariat for a near fall. Punk screams at Armstrong to count faster and do his job and Truth rolls Punk up from behind and Armstrong makes a very quick three count giving Truth the win. Armstrong flees the ring as Punk throws a tantrum in the ring.

Result: R-Truth defeats CM Punk via pinfall *3/4

Chris Considers: This match started off very slowly and took awhile to get going but picked up towards the middle and finished strongly. I still maintain it is a shame Punk is stuck feuding with referees but at least it is a slightly original and different storyline to something we have seen for awhile (In WWE at least) The ending was pretty funny as obviously Armstrong will claim he did exactly what Punk told him to do and count faster.

We see Michelle and Layla mocking Mickie James backstage and apparently there is a Survivor Series match between Team McCool and Team James at Survivor Series. The girls cut a horrible promo that sounded unbelievably wooden with Michelle and Layla pretty much telling Mickie to get lost from Smackdown and Mickie obviously says no and tells Michelle she is coming for her title.

We see highlights of Batista hurling Matt Hardy into the wall from last week which was actually pretty lame compared to Batista’s annihilation of Rey at Bragging Rights.

Rather than the RAW rebound focussing on anything related to Survivor Series they focus entirely on the horrible RAW has got talent segment. What a way to build a pay per view!

Backstage Interview: Matt Hardy

Josh Matthews is backstage with Matt Hardy and asks him why he got involved with last week. Matt says as human beings we all mistakes and have temporary lapses of judgement and Matt originally thought that was the case with Batista. Matt said he didn’t want to see Rey and Batista go through all the things Matt did with Jeff. Matt said all he accomplished was turning his back and allowing Batista to cowardly hit him when he wasn’t looking. Matt says Batista has changed and he doesn’t know if that is because he jealous or selfish or forgotten where he came from. Matt says tonight Batista needs a reality check and Matt did not come here tonight to be his friend or to help him but came here to fight him.

Chris Considers: This was a solid and intense promo from Matt, who sometimes struggles on the mic and suggested that the main event should at least be competitive.

Main Event: Matt Hardy vs Batista

Matt gets a nice pop whereas Batista gets plenty of heat and no longer poses on the way to the ring but still roars on the turnbuckle. They lock up and Batista forces Matt into the corner before shoving him but Matt shoves back which enrages the animal and he drops some shoulders in the corner but Matt comes back with strikes and a kick but Batista is unaffected and levels Matt with a huge clothesline. Big Irish Whip from Batista sends Matt flying into the tunbuckle and crashing back into the ring. Batista connects another big clothesline for a near fall before stomping away and hitting a vertical suplex for a another near fall. Batista chokes Matt on the ropes until the referee calls him off. Matt is whipped across the ring but he ducks a charge and tries a roll up but Batista is to strong and just stomps and drops down on Matt. Batista drops shoulders in the corner and the referee calls him off again and Batista tells the referee to get out of his face. The animal strikes with punches and the referee calls him off again leading to another squabble which gives Matt the chance to fire back with elbows and strikes. Matt goes for his middle rope elbow drop but Batista grabs Matt’s leg and sends him crashing to the mat as we go to commercial. Back from the break and Batista is in control with a seated chinlock applied in the centre of the ring. Batista breaks the hold and drops an elbow to Matt’s gut before connecting a chop block followed by a scoop slam for a near fall. Matt tries to fight back but Batista drops him with a leg sweep before giving him another strong whip for a near fall. Batista applies a body scissors hold on the mat and Matt screams in pain, Batista then applies a headlock in addition to the body scissors and Matt is fading, Batista nails some blows to the back of Matt’s head but Matt mounts a comeback and elbows free only to get clubbed, Batista tries for a running powerslam but Matt counters with a neck breaker and both men are down. Matt counters a Spear with a kick to the face and nails some strikes before connecting a low drop kick to the leg followed by a DDT, the crowd are getting a bit more in to this as Matt heads to the top rope and flies with a Moonsault but Batista rolls out of the way and Matt eats canvas. Batista hauls Matt to his feet but suddenly Matt hits a Twist of Fate out of nowhere but Batista was able to grab the tope rope. Matt tries to drag Batista into the centre of the ring but the animal nails a spinebuster before choking Matt on the ropes. Batista hurls Matt to the outside and slams him into the barricade before hurling him in to the announce desk. Batista rips a monitor from the desk and slams it into Matt’s back for whipping him in to the steel steps and dumping him back in the ring. Batista has been disqualified by this point but he doesn’t seem to care as he rips off his elbow pads and sets up Matt for a Batista Bomb which draws a pop from the crowd which annoys Batista and he drops Matt and leaves the ring to huge heat from the crowd.

Result: Matt Hardy defeats Batista via disqualification **

Chris Considers: This match was pretty slow and boring all the way up to the gom home sequence which was decent. Based on this match Batista hits even less wrestling moves as a heel than he does as a face! However this did succeed in building Batista up as a monster and the end spot where the crowd popper for the Batista Bomb only for him to change his mind was pretty different and I liked it. A somewhat flat ending to the show though.

Overall a good effort that was let down by the two squash matches in the middle of the show and the somewhat of a let down main event and 5th match between Punk and Truth. The opening promo between Jericho and Taker was one of the best openings to Smackdown I have ever seen and Cryme Tyme & John Morrison vs Dolph Ziggler & The Hart Dynasty and Rey vs Knox were both enjoyable matches. With two huge matches announced for next week in Jericho vs Undertaker and Morrison vs Ziggler for the IC title, next week’s show could be one of the bets of the year,

This week’s match of the week was Cryme Tyme & John Morrison vs Dolph Ziggler & The Hart Dynasty and the show scores a good 7.5/10

That’s all for this week’s edition of Chris Reviews Smackdown, I shall be back next weekend, I think I am also going to write a separate prediction blog for TNA Turning Point as I am really starting to get in to TNA in a big way these days! I hope you all have a great week! As always you can email me on a_agreement_called_forever@hotmail.com , add me on facebook: www.facebook.com\wnws.chris.jacks or follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/WNWsChrisJacks  I would love to hear from you!

Here are ten points to consider coming out of this week’s show:
• All aspiring heels should watch Jericho’s opening promo as pretty much a how to of how to be the pefect heel, that was awesome!
• And despite the fact Jericho and Undertaker are established stars it is still great to see them against one another because it is fresh and different!
• I hope Morrison was just selling and his rib injury is not legit, he looked to be in quite some pain during this match
• I liked Rey’s interview and certainly enjoy him on the mic far more when he is intense and focussed
• I can defiantly smell a face turn for Beth Phoenix, the crowd are loving her squash matches so far!
• Such a shame that despite his ability, Jimmy Wang Yang is probably the most underused wrestler on the entire WWE roster.
• Mike Knox is awesome, I really hope WWE give him a proper feud and storyline and push him because his ring work has been so solid as of late
• Rey and Knox told a great story in that match, if it had been given another 5 or 10 minutes it would have been the match of the night
• I am starting to get interested to see where this Punk/Armstrong saga goes but still feel he should at least be feuding with actual wrestlers!
• Slow and flat main event, Batista may have improved a hundred times on the mic since his heel turn but he is still as boring as ever to watch in the ring

My top ten matches of the year so far in WWE

1: The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels – Wrestlemania – April 5th 2009
2: Legacy vs DeGeneration X – Breaking Point – September 13th 2009
3: CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy – Smackdown – August 28th 2009
4: Rey Mysterio vs Chris Jericho – The Bash – June 28th 2009
5: Rey Mysterio vs John Morrison – Smackdown – August 4th 2009
6: CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy – Summerslam – August 23rd 2009
7: Rey Mysterio vs Chris Jericho – Smackdown – July 10th 2009
8: Jeff Hardy vs John Morrison – Smackdown – July 31st 2009
9: John Cena vs Randy Orton – Bragging Rights – October 25th 2009
10: John Morrison vs CM Punk – Smackdown – June 26th 2009

Smackdown Power 10

1: The Undertaker
2: Chris Jericho
3: Batista
4: Rey Mysterio (+1)
5: CM Punk
6: Dolph Ziggler (+1)
7: John Morrison (-1)
8: Drew McIntyre (+1)
9: Matt Hardy (+1)
10: Kane (-2)

Watch any WWE programming you miss at www.Dailymotion.com  , your online source for TV shows!

Hey everyone and welcome to this week’s edition of Chris Reviews Smackdown. In this week’s blog I shall be discussing Kofi Kingston’s foray into the main event, Hulk Hogan joining TNA and analysing this week’s show. As always please feel free to leave some feedback via the comment board or drop an email to a_agreement_called_forever@hotmail.com  

First off my apologies I could not get this up yesterday but I was so tired that after I finished my Bragging Rights Review I fell asleep and had to work late today so this was the earliest I could get a decent piece of work up. I know some people are less understanding of this than others but when I was a student I finished at 5 or 6pm every day during the week and had time to answer questions, do research and everything else during the week and then just watch the show on Saturday. Now I work full time and due to a recent promotion at work I am currently working 62 hours, 7 days a week in my day job as well as putting in 2 late night DJ shifts on a Friday and Saturday night. This means I have very limited free time in which to write and have to fit in researching, viewing and watching in the seven or eight hours I have free at the weekend and recently as was the case yesterday I was so exhausted I just fell asleep. However I am working on getting my hours changed at work so I can start earlier in the morning and finish earlier at night which will allow me once again to get everything other than the show review done during the week. Like I have said many times I would never half arse anything I post on WNW. I find out on Wednesday if I can change my hours so hopefully, fingers crossed, things can start returning to normal once again.

On last Monday’s RAW we saw an interesting move from WWE to create new stars. True we have a somewhat stagnant main event for Survivor Series with Triple H once being placed in the main event, albeit this time against DX partner Shawn Michaels as well as John Cena. However Jack Swagger and The Miz have been placed in a heel vs heel feud which should certainly lead to an entertaining and different storyline especially as it seems they are not only vying over the United States Title but also the affections of Eve Torres. The biggest news however was Kofi Kingston’s ascent to the crest of main event status after being placed in a feud with Randy Orton. This is great news for Kofi and I am delighted that WWE have pulled the trigger on pushing one of the most over babyfaces on the roster. Just like Richard, Luke and pretty much everyone else on the IWC I am thrilled WWE dropped the silly Jamaican gimmick and have just let Kofi be himself. He showed on RAW that he is more than capable of cutting a decent and serious promo, something that he was never given a chance to do under the old gimmick. Kofi Kingston is exciting to watch in the ring and incredibly over with the crowd and this feud with Orton could be the turning point in his career. Of course there is always a chance WWE creative may have Orton squash Kofi much as Cena did to The Miz and Triple H did to MVP and Shelton but I am seriously hoping that they learn from their previous mistakes and even if they have Orton go over in the first instance (perhaps in a Team Orton vs Team Kofi Survivor Series Match), have Kofi come back strong and defeat Orton one on one at the following PPV which I believe has now been renamed TLC and as Kofi proved during MITB this year, he knows his way around a ladder or two! I did not watch RAW live but caught it the next day and was excited to see the show for the first time since the draft other than the Legacy vs DX feud. Hopefully this new direction will continue on RAW and guys like Kofi, Swagger and The Miz continue to get the chance to show they are the future and breakout.

So perhaps the biggest wrestling news since Shawn Michaels coming out of retirement in 2002, hell probably even bigger than that, which is of course Hulk Hogan signing a deal with TNA Wrestling. Wow, I can honestly say I never saw this one coming! I am going to be honest, after TNA’s recent youth incentive, at first glance this seemed a step backwards but there is no denying that other than Austin in his heyday, Hulk Hogan is the biggest draw in the history of professional wrestling and just by having him associated with TNA it is going to mean big things for the company. Bischoff and Hogan are going to do great things for TNA, of that I am sure. They will bring the company into the spotlight and provide the marketing and publicity that the company has so far been unable to tap in to. As long as Hogan does not book himself in main event spots and instead focuses on continuing the current direction the company is taking then that is fantastic, Hogan as a weekly on screen personality who works the occasional match against the likes of Sting and Foley would be great, Hulk Hogan and friends as NWO version 3 with Hogan is TNA Champion would not be. Likewise Eric Bischoff will have (should have) learned from his mistakes in WCW and run things differently this time. Bischoff was a creative genius in WCW and is in touch with what wrestling fans want to see from a product, so hopefully with Hogan and Bischoff at the helm TNA can finally step up and become the major competition to WWE it has always wanted to be. There are all sorts of rumours flying around the internet as to names TNA want to bring in, from the downright ridiculous (Austin, Goldberg) to the highly unlikely (Ric Flair, DDP) to the far more likely (RVD, Ken Anderson) Whoever TNA bring in and I do expect them to bring in some big names, it is VITAL that the company does not make the mistakes of WCW and bury its home grown talent in the process. AJ, Joe, Daniels, Beer Money, MCMG etc have all earned their spots and deserve to remain the focus of the company. I really hope TNA do launch a Monday night program to compete with RAW as this could lead to some seriously exciting programming from both WWE and TNA. TNA has made a point to emphasise the fact that they are not PG and hopefully if they start seriously competing with WWE it will force Vince to drop the PG crap and freshen up his stale product. It is exciting to be a wrestling fan right now and I cannot wait to see what goes down on Impact! this week and if/how WWE will adjust their programming. Impact! did a 1.3 rating with some serious competition and had that been a normal week (without the sports) I have read the number would have been more like a 2.5 which is vastly more than either ECW or Smackdown have been doing for a long time. I will be commenting on the WWE/TNA situation every week now as it develops and hopefully both TNA and WWE will both strive to out do each other and deliver cutting edge programming once again! Thank you Hulk Hogan for making wrestling interesting once again!

So on to this week’s Smackdown

Opening Segment: Teddy Long, Chris Jericho and Kane

We see highlights of Batista turning on Rey at Bragging Rights and Teddy Long makes his way to ringside as Todd Grisham and Matt Striker (filling in for JR) welcoming us to the show. Long gets on the mic and congratulates Team Smackdown for winning the 7 on 7 tag team match at Bragging Rights and it proves without a shadow of a doubt that Smackdown is the A Brand in WWE. Long goes on to mention Bragging Rights as well as being a historic night was also a disturbing one with Batista turning on his long time friend Rey Mysterio. Long says that later tonight Batista and Rey will have a heart to heart in the ring and Batista can explain his actions to the WWE Universe. Long moves on to discuss the number one contender to the World Heavyweight Championship: The Big Show. Long is cut off my Chris Jericho who stalks down to the ring with his tag titles and the Bragging Rights trophy. Jericho gets on the mic but Long cuts him off and says the trophy is property of Smackdown and takes it from him. Jericho gets in Long’s face and tells him to make no mistake, the trophy belongs to Jericho. Jericho says he is the genius that won Bragging Rights for Smackdown. Jericho says he did not do it for Teddy or the fans but for himself as it once again proves he is the best in the world at what he does. Large ‘You Suck’ chant breaks out from the fans as Jericho rips into Long for giving Big Show a title shot saying it was one of the most underhanded and devious decisions Long has ever made. Jericho calls himself the crown jewel of the show and the face of the show and he single handed brought victory to Smackdown and deserves to be world champion. Kane’s music hits and he walks to the ring looking pissed, Kane asks if he heard Jericho correctly when he said he brought Smackdown victory single handed. Kane reminds Jericho he was co captain so the trophy and all the Bragging Rights belong to Kane just as much as Jericho and if anyone deserves a title shot it is Kane. Jericho reminds Kane that it was he who got the winning pinfall at Bragging Rights. Jericho brings up Kane’s less than perfect record against The Undertaker and tells him to forget his delusions of grandeur and he should just be thankful that he had his hand raised in victory thanks to Jericho. Jericho calls himself the hero of Smackdown and the hero of all the germ incubating fans. Jericho tells Kane to turn around and get out of his face. Kane grabs Jericho but Teddy calls him off and tells him he has something to say and begs him to let Jericho go. Long says The Undertaker will defend the title at Survivor Series but if RAW can have a triple threat match so can Smackdown and tells Kane and Jericho that they will have a one on one match later tonight to determine the third member of the triple threat alongside Big Show and The Undertaker.

Chris Considers: Awesome opening segment mainly thanks to the wonderful mic work of Jericho. He is just so good at playing the guy you love to hate. This segment not only built the title match at Survivor Series but also gave us a reason to stay tuned for tonight’s main event. I am a bit confused as to Teddy Long’s current status as he seemed to be playing a heel last week but now is back to being a babyface, bizarre…

Match 1: John Morrison vs Dolph Ziggler

Morrison gets a smaller pop than usual but Striker really talks him up on announce. Dolph gets a tonne of heat and comes out with a mic in hand and mocks Morrison for being the only member of Smackdown to lose his match at Bragging Rights. Morrison questions how Dolph can include himself in any victory speech saying he was dropped from the team so he may be being a little premature, something he is used to according to Maria (how very PG!!!) Dolph looks pissed and enters the ring and the two lock up and Morrison forces Dolph into the corner but the referee makes the break and the two circle in the middle of the ring before locking up once again. Morrison with a waistlock take down but Dolph battles out of a headlock and applies one of his own but Morrison fights free only to run into a shoulder charge from Dolph. Morrison is up and both men leapfrog each other before Dolph does an amazing counter of an arm drag takeover only to get subsequently flapjacked by Morrison. Morrison connects the standing Shooting Star Press for a near fall. Morrison drops Dolph again but Ziggler counters a charge and drops Morrison face first into the turnbuckle, Dolph covers for two before punching and stomping away at Morrison on the mat. Scoop slam from Dolph followed by his high impact elbow drop for a near fall. Headlock from Dolph and the crowd rally behind Morrison whoch battles out only to get dropped into the turnbuckle once again and Dolph follows up with a nice powerslam for another near fall as we go to commercial. Back from the break and Dolph has a Matrix like headlock applied which he turns round before slamming Morrison head first into the mat. Dolph connects with a running blockbuster but it only gets a near fall and Dolph rubs Morrison’s face in the mat. Seated camel clutch from Ziggler which he rolls to the mat and turns it into a headlock and as Morrison battles to his feet Dolph drops strikes and elbows but Morrison is able to hit an back drop before coming back with a flurry of strikes and elbows followed by a pair of clotheslines and a flying leg lariat for a near fall. Morrison looks frustrated and calls for the Moonlight Drive which Dolph tries to counter into a neckbreaker only for Morrison to counter with a backslide for a near fall, nice sequence! Dolph counters and elbow and connects a big powerslam for a near fall and taunts Morrison and attempts the Zig Zag but Morrison counters with a catapult only for Dolph to land on the middle rope and fly back with an axe handle which Morrison ducks and connects the Flying Chuck for a near fall but Dolph gets a foot on the ropes. Morrison calls for Starship Pain but Dolph bails to the outside and Morrison looks to be setting up a corkscrew plancha but sweeps Morrison’s feet out from under him dropping him on the apron and powerslams him into the announce desk. Dolph gets back in the ring and the referee reaches the count of ten and Morrison is counted out.

Result: Dolph Ziggler defeats John Morrison via countout ***

Chris Considers: Very enjoyable opening match here. I know we haveseen these two a few times now but this was very, very good once again. There were some very good counter sequences and solid wrestling. I also enjoyed the promo before the match as Morrison seems to enjoy pushing the PG boundaries as much as possible! Hopefully this will lead to another title shot for Dolph and hopefully he will finally go over and cement himself as a champion on Smackdown!

We see more highlights of Batista decimating Rey Mysterio at Bragging Rights. I am so excited to see Batista as a heel and have been wanting this since 2007!

Backstage Segment: Teddy Long, Vince McMahon & CM Punk

Teddy Long is in his office and Vince walks in and congratulates him for Smackdown winning at Bragging Rights. He tells Long that is he keeps this up he may well be off probation soon. CM Punk storms in and runs down Long for giving Big Show a title shot when he is a member of the RAW roster and then demands to know why Chris Jericho and Kane are facing off against each other for the third spot when it should be Punk’s match as he would be champion if it wasn’t for Scott Armstrong’s poor officiating. Vince cuts in and says he will give Punk exactly what he wants and Punk asks if he is in the main event at Survivor Series to which Vince tells him no but instead he has a match tonight one on one against referee Scott Armstrong. Punk is thrilled and Long looks upset.

Chris Considers: And so CM Punk is officially out of main event contention for the time being. This angle and storyline could have been so very good but it is going down the toilet quickly and Smackdown creative need to come up with something quickly to save it, else risk Punk being stuck in mid card obscurity for the foreseeable future.

Match 2: Beth Phoenix vs Jenny Brooks

It is awesome seeing Beth on Smackdown. Her opponent seems to be a jobber but Matt Striker informs us that Brooks was the only person to defeat Beth in amateur wrestling so perhaps this could be something of a tryout match for Brooks. Beth slams Jenny to the mat and stomps and punches away before connecting a huge punt to the mid section sending Brooks tumbling to the outside. Beth hauls Jenny into the ring and connects a beautiful delayed vertical suplex. Beth connects a back breaker before shoving Jenny into the corner and dragging her back out and Beth drops her with a clothesline. Implant Buster from Beth and it is all over

Result: Beth Phoenix defeats Jenny Brooks via pinfall *

Chris Considers: Whilst this was a squash for Beth, she showed more wrestling ability in this match than many WWE Divas have done in the last six months! I loved how Matt Striker gave this match some back story and the pop for Beth after the match suggests WWE may be forced to turn her face especially if she is facing the despised Michelle McCool

Match 3: Eric Escobar with Vickie Guerrero vs Matt Hardy

Before the match Vickie comes out to heat heels could only dream off. Vickie asks the crowd to excuse her announces that tonight she has come dressed as Princess Vickie Guerrero and she introduces her Prince Charming: Eric Escobar. Matt Hardy gets a great pop and poses to the fans as the match gets underway. HUGE ‘Hardy’ chant as the match gets underway. Escobar hits a shoulder charge dropping Matt but he missed an elbow drop allowing Matt to strike with drop kick sending Escobar into the ropes. Matt hits a running leg drop which he shouts out to the crowd is called the 319 before striking away at Escobar in the corner but Eric comes back with stomps and strikes but after whipping Hardy across the ring he misses a charging clothesline and Matt comes back with a clothesline and a bulldog. Matt heads to the top rope but Eric is up and strikes away before setting up for a superplex but Matt elbows him off and connects a nice moonsault to a pop from the crowd. This gets a near fall for Matt who sells an injured knee after the pin attempt and Eric is straight to work on the knee stomping, kicking and dropping elbows onto the injured limb. Another huge ‘Lets go Hardy’ chant breaks out from the crowd and Matt responds by getting both feet up in the corner dropping Eric to the mat. In a rather awkward looking spot Matt runs into Escobar who hits a scoop slam before taunting Matt who promptly counters another slam with a neck breaker and pins for the three count and victory.

Result: Matt Hardy defeats Eric Escobar via pinfall *

Chris Considers: I do not know what has happened to Eric Escobar, he was so good in FCW but has been absolutely dire so far on Smackdown. I remember a similar thing happened with Kevin Thorne when he debuted as Mordaci and got shell shock. Perhaps that is what is happening here or WWE are making him look like a rookie on purpose, I don’t know but he was awful here once again and to be defeated by a lowly neck breaker says it all. Thankfully Matt is on the right track once again and my rating here is no reflection on his work which is always top notch but Escobar needs to up his game as I cannot see him being given many more chances!

In Ring Segment: Rey Mysterio & Batista

We see a wonderful video package of Batista turning heel which was highlighted by the point in the match Rey cost Batista certain victory. When Batista turned to Rey and said ‘Im gonna rip you head off’ I actually got goose bumps! Rey gets a nice pop and walks to the ring looking dejected. Rey says we all saw what happened at Bragging Rights where Dave Batista beat him down. Rey said as much as this hurt physically it hurt far more inside as he considered Batista his best friend in the world and still does. Rey says at first he was angry about what happened but it is more important to him that Batista being his family. Rey says he owes him the benefit of the doubt and calls Dave to the ring to straighten this out like men and the family that they are. Batista’s music hits and some fans still pop for him although it is mostly boos from the crowd. Batista strolls to the top of the ramp and walks to the ring looking indifferent. Batista asks Rey is he is disappointed he hurt him, Batista said Rey just doesn’t get it and he doesn’t know how bad this is going to get for him. Batista asks Rey who he thinks he is calling him out and Batista is going to be the bigger man and give Rey one opportunity to walk away and out of his ring. Rey goes to walk away but then decides better of it to a pop. Rey said he came out to straighten things out and after everything they have been through they need to sort this. Rey reminds Dave it was a fatal four way match and did he want him not to try and tells him to let it go. Rey tells Batista he is willing to let bygones by bygones and says Batista is like a big brother to him and Rey looks up to him and what they have will last much longer than their careers and after they finish wrestling they will still be family. Batista looks unimpressed and asks Rey what he is thinking, Batista tells Rey he knows what he is thinking and that is he knows what little effort it took Batista to hurt Rey and what is Rey going to do now he doesn’t have Big Dave watching his back and Rey wishes he never stabbed Dave in the back and most of all what is Dave going to do to him if he doesn’t leave this ring right now. Rey says he would have never done what he did (poor English from Rey!) if he knew it was going to interfere with their friendship. Rey says accepting to be a part of that fatal four way was the biggest mistake he ever made. Batista tells Rey he has one last chance to walk away, Rey looks torn and then says he is not leaving and tells Batista to do what he has to do but Rey is not leaving until things have been straightened out. Rey begs Batista to think about everything they have been through and about Eddie. Batista tells Rey that Eddie is dead (huge heat from the fans at this) and he is not thinking about Rey or anyone else other than himself. Batista smiles and leaves the ring leaving Rey looking devastated.

Chris Considers: Wow how much better is Batista in the mic as a heel! As a face he was so flat and monotone and boring but now his character has some edge again he really came to life and seemed like he genuinely didn’t care for Rey in the slightest. The Eddie comment was perhaps in bad taste but I felt it gave Batista even more heat and I cannot wait to see this unfold over the coming weeks! Rey played the part of the innocent victim well here and I cannot commend both men enough for what this achieved in building their upcoming feud. That was the best promo Batista has given since his feud with Undertaker in 2007 hands down.

We see Batista walking backstage and Matt Hardy stops him. Matt says he knows it his not any of his business but he knows how close Rey and Batista were and they were like brothers and if anyone knows about brothers it is Matt and he urges Batista not to make the same mistakes he did when he turned on Jeff. Batista laughs and walks away but as Matt turns to make a phone call, Batista storms back from the door he just left from and hurls Matt into the wall and leaves him prone on the floor. A great way to put Batista over as a heel just that little bit more!

Match 4: Drew McIntyre vs Finlay

Before the match Drew gets on the mic and sarcastically congratulates Team Smackdown on their victory at Bragging Rights. Drew says he never wanted to be on the team in the first place and he intends to make his own impact. Before Finlay even makes it to the ring Drew strikes with a big boot and hurls Finlay into the steps before pounding Finlay again and again on the mat. The referee hauls Drew off and tells him to leave but Drew nails a punt to the skull before surveying his handy work and stalking to the back.

Result: Drew McIntyre vs Finlay ends as a no contest n/a

Chris Considers: Drew just gets better and better. No one has out and out taken it to Finlay like that since JBL during their feud at Wrestlemania 24. Working with Finlay will do wonders for Drew’s career and I look forward to some very stiff and brutal match ups! Great call from WWE Creative putting these two together.

In Ring Segment: Cryme Tyme host a Divas Halloween Contest

Cryme Tyme talk some gangsta and they introduce the divas who don’t even get their own intros. Natalya is dressed as matador, Layla as Michael Jackson ( I would say this was in bad taste but Layla is a well documented huge Jackson fan) Michelle McCool is dressed as the devil and Mickie James as Electra. Cryme Tyme introduce the girls, Shad chases Natalya’s red flag, Layla dances with JTG, Michelle takes a shot at Shad and Mickie prances around with sais. Cryme Tyme ask the crowd who should win, I personally think it was split between Layla and Mickie but Mickie is given the win. After the match things predictably break down into a cat fight. Natalya drops Layla with a clothesline, Mickie takes out Natalya but is subsequently taken out herself by Michelle.

Chris Considers: Well it was shorter than last years Diva Halloween Contest…. At least it sowed seeds for a Mickie vs Michelle feud which will be decent and also suggested Layla may be once again turning face now that Eve has left.

Match 5: CM Punk vs Scott Armstrong

I cannot believe I am actually going to have to sit through this. Punk still draws a tonne of heat on his way to the ring but this may not last if he is continued to be booked like this! Scott Armstrong doesn’t even get generic music as he makes his way to the ring. Punk laughs at Scott and forces him into the corner and screams at him that he would have been a four time champion if Armstrong had done his job. Punk asks Armstrong who he thinks he is and slaps him. Scott has had enough and nails three right hand to Punk’s face that were a hundred times better than Shane McMahon’s ‘ghost punches’ all those months ago! Punk looks furious and drops Armstrong with a huge kick before stomping and kicking away and mocking Scott on the floor. Punk pulls him to his feet and nails a GTS before putting his foot across Armstrong’s throat and pinning him for the victory. Punk continues to mock Armstrong after the match.

Result: CM Punk defeats Scott Armstrong via pinfall n/a

Chris Considers: I am not even giving this a rating. I cannot understand where they are going with this and CM Punk and us fans deserve better than seeing him beat up referees. I wonder what is next? CM Punk vs Teddy Long… garbage!

Main Event: Kane vs Chris Jericho (winner is added to the Heavyweight Championship match at Survivor Series)

The crowd is solidly behind Kane as Jericho immediately bails to the outside. The crowd boo Jericho and he eventually gets back in the ring and slaps Kane before hitting strikes and kicks before trying a cross body but Kane catches Jericho in mid air and hits a scoop slam for an early near fall. Overhead takedown from Kane followed by a low drop kick to the face for another near fall. Jericho comes back with kicks and forces Kane into the corner and connects repeated kicks but Kane comes back with a big boot but misses a splash and Jericho comes back with a low drop kick of his own for a two count. Jericho strike away but Kane calls for the Chokeslam which Jericho counters but doesn’t have the strength to lock in the Walls of Jericho and gets booted to the outside into the announce desk. Kane follows and tosses Jericho back into the ring but as he tries to climb through the ropes Jericho strikes with a kick to the head followed by a charging shoulder block which sends Kane crashing into the security barrier as we go to commercial. Back from the break and Jericho is stomping away in the ring and taunting Kane. Jericho chokes Kane in the corner and is dragged away by the referee. Jericho catapults Kane into the bottom rope and covers for a near fall before applying a seated headlock. The crowd rally behind Kane who powers to his feet and back slams Jericho into the turnbuckle. Jericho gets a boot up and goes for a Bulldog but Kane counters with a sidewalk slam for a near fall and drops Jericho with a series of clotheslines before whipping him across the ring and connecting a charging clothesline in the corner. Another sidewalk slam from Kane earns a near fall and Kane gets Jericho to his feet only for Y2J to connect with a step up enzuguri which sends Kane rolling to the outside. As Kane climbs through the ropes Jericho tries a springboard axe handle but Kane catches Jericho for a Chokeslam only for Jericho to elbow his way free. Jericho runs straight into a big boot which earns Kane another near fall but as Kane attempts a third sidewalk slam Jericho flips out of the move and hits a Codebreaker out of nowhere but it is only good for a near fall as Jericho is slow making the cover. Jericho kicks away and connects a Bulldog followed by a Lionsault but Kane catches Jericho as he lands and pulls him up before nailing a Chokeslam but it sends Jericho rolling to the outside. Kane struggles to his feet and tosses Jericho back in the ring and pins for a near fall. Kane is furious and hauls Jericho to his feet but as he goes for a scoop slam Jericho flips out of the move once again and shoves Kane into the turnbuckle before hitting a chop block and this time Y2J gets the Walls of Jericho locked in. Kane refuses to give in and makes it to the ropes and Jericho breaks the hold. Kane drops Jericho with a massive uppercut and heads to the top rope but Jericho gets to his feet and crotches Kane onto the top rope and sets up for a superplex but Kane headbutts him off and flies off the top rope with an axe handle but Jericho connects an awesome looking mid air Codebreaker for the pinfall and victory.

Result: Chris Jericho defeats Kane via pinfall to become a member of the Triple Threat match at Survivor Series ***

Chris Considers: This was a very good match that showcased some excellent ring work from both men. I liked how Jericho learned from his mistake in this one and after getting caught twice in a sidewalk slam he was able to counter it the third time. Kane looked good here and I do wonder what is next for him. Perhaps we will get a Brothers of Destruction vs Jeri-Show tag match in the coming weeks! I am pleased Jericho qualified as I certainly could not have handled seeing a triple threat between Taker, Show and Kane. The thought of Taker vs Show was bad enough but thankfully Jericho will save this match and make it fresh! Great main event to top off a hit and miss show.

First off I would like to say what a great job Matt Striker did on commentary tonight. His knowledge and random factoids added so much to the matches and it gave perhaps the best indication yet that it is only a matter of time before he is promoted to one of the big shows. I would love to see him work alongside JR! This was something of a mixed show, Eric Escobar was once again appalling, CM Punk showed that his main event run is at an end for now and he is reduced to wrestling referees whilst the divas had ANOTHER Halloween contest although at least this one built some potential rivalries. On the flip side Jericho and Long got the show off to a great start with a wonderful opening promo. Drew McIntyre continues to show both promise and savagery and I cannot wait to see him get in the ring with Finlay. Morrison and Dolph Ziggler had a great opening match that was something different to what we have seen from them before and hopefully we will get one more pay per view match from them. Jericho and Kane had a very well wrestled and entertaining main event but the highlight for me was Batista as a heel on the mic, I will never rate Dave as a wrestler but tonight he had me more interested in his character than I have been since 2005 during his feud with Triple H and he deserves major credit for that. Matt Hardy vs Batista has been announced for next week and that should be a good match!

This week’s match of the night was Chris Jericho vs Kane and the show scores a good if not spectacular 7.5/10

That’s all for this week’s edition of Chris Reviews Smackdown, As I mentioned earlier I have asked my boss to try and rearrange my hours from now on so I can devote more time in the week to my writing here on WNW so lets hope this happens. I hope you all have a great week! As always you can email me on a_agreement_called_forever@hotmail.com , add me on facebook: www.facebook.com\wnws.chris.jacks  or follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/WNWsChrisJacks  I would love to hear from you!

Here are ten points to consider coming out of this week’s show
• Chris Jericho has really upped his game recently as people were starting to cheer him and I think he picked up on this and has gone that extra mile to get over as a heel even more. The best in the world at what he does? You better believe it!
• I love how Morrison constantly pushes things with his promos, his premature comment to Dolph was priceless
• I really enjoyed Dolph vs Morrison and hope we get one more match with Dolph finally winning that illusive Intercontinental Championship!
• I really enjoyed how Matt Striker made Beth vs Jenny significant with his factoids about their past, otherwise this would have just been any old squash
• I don’t know why Eric Escobar is wrestling SO badly on Smackdown, the guy is uber talented, maybe WWE are making him look bad on purpose so he will increasingly need Vickie’s help which will in the end get him over more as a heel but then never considered a legitimate threat until they let him show what he can really do
• That was the best Batista promo I can remember in a long time! There is something so much more interesting about his character as a heel and he comes across as genuinely menacing. I am excited to see where both he and Rey go over the coming weeks
• Drew McIntye is going to have a HUGE future, hopefully next week he will get a proper match with Finlay which would be stiff and well worked by both!
• The ONLY good thing to come from that Diva’s Halloween contest was that is has sown the seeds for Mickie vs Michelle which would be awesome but I hope Beth is also added to the mix, now that could be the best Women’s match in YEARS (in WWE obviously)
• I cannot fathom why CM Punk has been dropped down the card and is now facing referees. He was the hottest property in WWE throughout the Summer but is being chronically misused at the minute
• So the two top tag teams in WWE are involved in separate main events? In my mind this is an opportunity missed for a good tag team match between DX and Jeri-Show but at least it is not just Cena vs Triple H and Big Show vs Undertaker AGAIN!

My top ten matches of the year so far in WWE

1: The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels – Wrestlemania – April 5th 2009
2: Legacy vs DeGeneration X – Breaking Point – September 13th 2009
3: CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy – Smackdown – August 28th 2009
4: Rey Mysterio vs Chris Jericho – The Bash – June 28th 2009
5: Rey Mysterio vs John Morrison – Smackdown – August 4th 2009
6: CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy – Summerslam – August 23rd 2009
7: Rey Mysterio vs Chris Jericho – Smackdown – July 10th 2009
8: Jeff Hardy vs John Morrison – Smackdown – July 31st 2009
9: John Cena vs Randy Orton – Bragging Rights – October 25th 2009
10: John Morrison vs CM Punk – Smackdown – June 26th 2009

Smackdown Power 10

1: The Undertaker
2: Chris Jericho (+5)
3: Batista (+1)
4: CM Punk (-3)
5: Rey Mysterio (-2)
6: John Morrison (-1)
7: Dolph Ziggler (-1)
8: Kane
9: Drew McIntyre
10: Matt Hardy (NE)

Watch any WWE programming you miss at www.Dailymotion.com  , your online source for TV shows!

Hey everyone and welcome to another edition of Chris Considers. This time examining the latest WWE pay per view offering Breaking Point. Due to some very unfortunate and extremely unpleasant personal circumstances I was unable to watch the show live but managed to catch it online a few days after the event.

Before I take a look a look at the matches I would like to say that once again I did horribly with my predictions. I have really sucked for the last couple of shows but hopefully will be able to turn this around at Survivor Series. However when I am wrong it usually means the show was good and pretty unpredictable which was certainly the case here! So let’s take a look at the matches

Interbrand Champion vs Champion Match: Intercontinental Champion John Morrison vs United States Champion The Miz

The only two things that really hurt this match were the fact it was only given little over ten minutes and the kind of anti climatic finish. Other than that I have no complaints. Morrison and Miz went out and put on the best display they could in the time they were given. I was impressed with Miz countering and evading Morrison’s high impact offence and it was clear these two knew each other inside out. I liked the story that they told with Miz just waiting for the opportune moment to take advantage which he did at certain points in the match, however the finish was just lame with Miz preventing Morrison from hitting Starship Pain by pushing him from the rope and getting the pin. We have all seen Morrison kick out from far more than this on Smackdown and Superstars and I felt this put a downer on what had been a very bright opener. Miz going over actually makes sense now I think about it as it was essential to help the continuing rebuilding of his character going after being buried twice by John Cena and the loss does not really hurt John Morrison in the long run. I hope this is not the last time we see these two go at it, in fact I would love to see a Team Morrison vs Team Miz traditional Survivor Series match to help even the odds.

Chris’ Star Rating: ***

Smackdown vs RAW Diva Tag Match: Team RAW (Melina, Gail Kim & Kelly Kelly) vs Team Smackdown (Natalya, Michelle McCool & Beth Phoenix)

To say this was the best diva match of the year would be an understatement, but it still wasn’t half as good as what the Knockouts are doing in TNA right now. I really enjoyed the exchanges between Beth and Gail and it is a shame that they were never given the chance to feud properly on RAW. However I would now turn Beth face and have her chase Michelle McCool’s title on Smackdown. Michelle copying AJ Styles ring gear seemed a little bizarre, in fact if we didn’t all know she was dating Undertaker, I am sure rumours would be flying round the net about her and AJ! It does make her look pretty stupid and arrogant though! I will say one thing and that is no one jumps on Beth’s back for using the Implant Buster even though Awesome Kong uses that, whereas everyone is always all over Michelle for using the Styles Clash. The only reason I picked Team RAW to go over was because I thought Morrison would beat the Miz and I knew they would be tied heading into the seven on seven tag match. Unfortunately I got them the wrong way around! Hopefully this will be the start of something of a turn around for the WWE Divas Division and hopefully they will get more pay per view opportunities to show what they can do

Chris’ Star Rating: **

Fatal Four Way Match For The World Heavyweight Championship: Undertaker © vs Batista vs Rey Mysterio vs CM Punk

The fact that the World Heavyweight title match once again took second stage to DX irritated me no end, but I guess the 7 on 7 tag match had been built much better than this one so perhaps that is why they chose to do things this way. This match started off at a very fast paced and really got the crowd fired up. I really enjoyed how CM Punk kept breaking up pin attempts and trying to sneak the victory for himself. This was a solid if not spectacular match with he main story being Batista turning on Rey after Rey broke up a certain victory pin for The Animal. I LOVE the fact that Batista turned on Rey as it made all the Bromance stuff that had come before in the last couple of weeks significant and no doubt we will see this intercut with the beatdown footage leading into their inevitable match. Batista was long over due a heel turn as his face character had become stale and boring in 2007, let alone 2009! I am excited to see Batista as a heel and really think this could be the momentum changing moment in his career that makes him enjoyable again. I was surprised Undertaker retained due to his physical shape but it made sense considering what was announced on RAW this past Monday. I do question where all of this leaves CM Punk as he has gone from the hottest heel in WWE to a possible mid card role for the next few months whilst the big guns feud over the title. Perhaps he could be co-captain of Team Miz against Team Morrison at Survivor Series (if it happens)

Chris’ Star Rating: ***

7 Man Interbrand Tag Match: Team RAW (DX, Cody Rhodes, Big Show, Kofi Kingston, Jack Swagger & Mark Henry) vs Team Smackdown (Chris Jericho, Kane, Matt Hardy, Finlay, The Hart Dynasty & R-Truth)

I can honestly say that I never saw Team Smackdown going over here! I mean it was pretty obvious that Big Show would be turning but I did not expect that to influence the outcome of the match as I felt sure DX would overcome him setting up a DX vs Jeri-Show tag match at Survivor Series. However WWE Creative have clearly decided to go a different route and booked ANOTHER Big Show vs Undertaker match which should be just as “entertaining” as their last ten encounters! As well as DX vs Cena in a triple threat which may well see their break up. Who knows, anyway back to this match, I thought this went down a lot better than I was expecting it to do and was not the clusterfuck I was fearing it would be. I thought the Hart Dynasty were very good during their involvement as well as Matt Hardy, who put on a very good show despite his chronic misuse recently on Smackdown! HBK did a great job selling Team Smackdown’s offence especially during his exchanges with Finlay. Overall this was a good match and an enjoyable one. I still find it a strange decision to hold a match like this the month before Survivor Series but there you go! Kofi getting pinned obviously did not hurt him as he has now rocketed right up the card due to the excellent angle with Legacy this past Monday on RAW.

Chris’ Star Rating: ***

Iron Man Match For The WWE Championship: Randy Orton © vs John Cena

This was the match many of us were expecting to be an epic fail but luckily Orton and Cena went out there and delivered something very unique and very entertaining. The fact this was made into a Falls Count Anywhere, Anything Goes stipulation match certainly made a difference and we saw some very entertaining and unique spots, especially the pyro sequence which was particularly awesome to watch! Cena winning was pretty predictable as was him being a couple of falls down towards the end of the match and coming back to overcome the odds. However the crowd were really into this from start to finish and this was exactly what was needed to finally end this long running feud. The spot where Cena gave the FU on steps sending Orton through the announce desk was particularly memorable. I would never want to see another Iron Man match between these two and hopefully they will not wrestle one another for at least three or four years! Also we actually got to see some blood which was fresh and different and I loved how Cena kept resisting the medical attention and continued to try and punish Orton further as it made for a very realistic feel to the match. This was not a wrestling classic as much of the action and big spots were built around foreign objects but I cannot honestly remember a better all out brawl in recent memory and major props to both Cena and Orton for going out and delivering not only their best match in recent memory but a match that was far better than any of us were expecting to see!

Chris’ Star Rating: ****1/2

Overall then despite the fact that there were only five matches on the Bragging Rights card it was still an excellent pay per view. Every match on the card delivered and unlike HIAC, the booking here was logical and enjoyable. After TNA delivered big time with Bound For Glory, WWE needed to put on a great show here and they did just that. This was certainly one of the better of WWE’s theme pay per views and a vast improvement on Cyber Sunday and I hope Bragging Rights is a tradition that continues for a few years as I am always happy to see some interbrand warfare. I highly recommend picking this one up on DVD when it is released as it is one of WWE’s better pay per views of the year so far!

Chris’ Overall Ratting For WWE Bragging Rights: ***1/2

I shall be back later on today with more Chris Review Smackdown as always email me on a_agreement_called_forever@hotmail.com , add me on facebook: www.facebook.com\wnws.chris.jacks  or follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/WNWsChrisJacks  I would love to hear from you!

Hello people who read prediction blogs it is I, Paul Smith alongside once again the man from the Blue Blog, Chris Jacks, for another slice of Talent Exchange pie. This time we have another first time ever to follow Hell in a Cell, as we get the inaugural ‘Bragging Rights’. Now, can this show beat Cyber Sunday, traditionally one of the worst WWE shows over the year that has previously only rivalled The Great American Bash in terms of mediocrity? In all honesty the card here doesn’t look fantastic and neither does the fact that over 33% of this PPV (1 hour plus video packages and entrances of a 2hr45min show) is taken up by two wrestlers who I generally find exceptionally boring to watch, in Randy Orton and John Cena Anyway, I as ever will be watching and below you will find my take on what could happen on tonight’s show.

Hey everyone and welcome to another fully loaded edition of the Talent Exchange, this time taking a look at the all new WWE pay per view: Bragging Rights. This pay per view replaces Cyber Sunday, which is certainly not a bad thing as Cyber Sunday was usually a horrible pay per view, remember Batista beating Jericho for the title last year in one of the most over booked matches ever?… anyway whilst there are only 5 matches on the card tonight I am expecting them all to deliver. Sadly the cable in the hotel I am staying at during my cousins wedding does not have Sky Sports, so even though this would usually be a free pay per view here in the UK, if I want to watch it live I am going to have to shell out $40 for the WWE web stream! Nice to see ECW is once again being completely ignored on this show! Yoshi vs Christian would have been a great addition to the card but sadly we have to wait till Tuesday for that one! Anyway lets get on with our picks!

Paul Predicts: Interbrand Champion vs Champion Match: Intercontinental Champion John Morrison vs United States Champion The Miz

The Miz may think he is awesome but he has nothing on us as if you look back to The Talent Exchange from HIAC, you would see that both Chris and I predicted this match would occur. I think this match all ties nicely together with them being former partners on opposing show with the midcard title equivalents around their waists; it makes a very nice fit. Miz has improved beyond all recognition in the last couple of years and Morrison has been awesome for the last three or four, so this should be a very good singles match, and it’s a shame we’ve had to wait so long to get it, but at least both guys have had chance to establish themselves on their separate brands. If this was going to go longer as a feud I would give this to Miz but I suspect that this will be it for now, and as such I’m going for a John Morrison victory, possibly by DQ or count out or something stupid like that, to protect both guys.

Paul’s Predicted Winner: John Morrison

Chris Predicts: Interbrand Champion vs Champion Match: Intercontinental Champion John Morrison vs United States Champion The Miz

This is the match I have wanted to see ever since Morrison and Miz were split up in this year’s draft. Since then Morrison has turned babyface, become the biggest rising star in WWE and had the best TV match of the year with Rey Mysterio, whilst after initially being buried by John Cena, The Miz has come back strong with some excellent performances culminating in his US title win on RAW. This match could well be a vision of a future Wrestlemania main event and I am as excited to see this as I was to see Triple H vs The Rock in their ladder match at Summerslam 1998. As long as this match is given a good twenty minutes it could easily steal the show. If I do end up ordering the WWE Web Stream it will be because of this match. As for a winner I am going to have to go with Morrison as he has been on such a roll recently I do not see it ending here, but even with a Morrison win I am sure the Miz will come out of this looking great as well!

Chris’ Predicted Winner: John Morrison

Paul Predicts: Smackdown vs RAW Diva Tag Match: Team RAW (Melina, Gail Kim & Kelly Kelly) vs Team Smackdown (Natalya, Michelle McCool & Beth Phoenix)

If they’re gonna put the divas on PPV at least having four of the best workers they have in the match makes it a whole lot better than it would be. I think the Divas trade has worked well as before Melina and McCool were stuck in an endless feud on Smackdown but now with Beth and Mickie there, we look to be getting somewhere as far as actual stories go. I’m also certain we’re going to move somewhere into beginning those stories with this match and I think that some bickering on the Smackdown team will lead to the RAW ladies getting the victory, also tying up the best out of three RAW vs Smackdown series they have going on the show. What I do fear is that this won’t get enough time and will end up messy and stupid because they’ll have to get their stuff in in about three minutes.

Paul’s Predicted Winner: Team RAW (Melina, Gail Kim & Kelly Kelly)

Chris Predicts: Smackdown vs RAW Diva Tag Match: Team RAW (Melina, Gail Kim & Kelly Kelly) vs Team Smackdown (Natalya, Michelle McCool & Beth Phoenix)

Kelly Kelly aside these are five of best wrestling divas in WWE and perhaps the world especially Gail, Natalya and Beth. I am actually really excited to see this match as it could be the first time Gail Kim is unleashed and allowed to show the amazing skill she showed in TNA. This match hasn’t been built particularly well and there is some slight dissention in Team Smackdown, with Beth making it clear she has her sights set on the Women’s Championship. How good this match ends up being largely depends on how much time it is given. With Cena and Orton taking up a third of the card I am worried both this match and Miz vs Morrison may be treated as something of an afterthought but hopefully that wont happen. This could be WWE’s strongest diva match of the year but could also be just as bad as the diva tag match from Survivor Series last year (the one where the divas just rushed into the ring hit their finisher and were tossed out) I hope it is the former and we see some outstanding female wrestling action to try and restore some pride in their division! As for a winner I would say Team Smackdown is a far superior wrestling team but the fact is this would give Smackdown the overall Bragging Rights from winning two out of three matches and we all know how much Vince prefers RAW and how small of a priority Smackdown is too him. My head says team Smackdown but my gut says Team RAW so I am going with RAW here.

Chris’ Predicted Winner: Team RAW (Melina, Gail Kim & Kelly Kelly)

Paul Predicts: 7 Man Interbrand Tag Match: Team RAW (DX, Cody Rhodes, Big Show, Kofi Kingston, Jack Swagger & Mark Henry) vs Team Smackdown (Chris Jericho, Kane, Matt Hardy, Finlay, The Hart Dynasty & R-Truth)

Chris gave me the one word that sums this one up for me when I look at it in his prediction: CLUSTERFUCK. There is no way that this is going to be a cohesive match, especially when it probably won’t get a whole load of time due to the Ironman, and especially when Team Smackdown changing two days before means that they pretty much look really stupid. I also have to say this is stupid when they could do this exact same thing at Survivor Series which is based around big multiman tag matches. Due to the nature of this match, I can’t really see it being of any real quality, but if you like seeing lots of stars and sort of stars in a match, then this one could be for you. I personally think that something will go down with Big Show screwing Team RAW and giving the match to Smackdown, to set up DX vs Jerishow for the titles either at Survivor Series or the next show if they choose to extend the feud into a Survivor Series match before doing the title shot. I think your Finlays and R-Truths and probably even Matt Hardys are only in there because they for some inexplicable reason did a four way for the Smackdown title, taking out three of the top talent you could have put in the team to give it some star power. Anyway, I look to The Hart Dynasty to make a name for themselves in their PPV debut, and overall I think Team Smackdown takes this one, but not because they are necessarily the better team.

Paul Predicted Winner: Team Smackdown (Chris Jericho, Kane, Matt Hardy, Finlay, The Hart Dynasty & R-Truth)

Chris Predicts: 7 Man Interbrand Tag Match: Team RAW (DX, Cody Rhodes, Big Show, Kofi Kingston, Jack Swagger & Mark Henry) vs Team Smackdown (Chris Jericho, Kane, Matt Hardy, Finlay, The Hart Dynasty & R-Truth)

I actually have my own theory as to why Team Smackdown was changed for this match. Ziggler is a huge star on the rise and McIntyre and Escobar are two new stars WWE have high hopes for so they did not want to feed them to DX in this match whereas they are more than happy to job out the likes of Finlay, R-Truth and sadly Matt Hardy. Despite the wealth of talent present here I fear this match may turn into a bit of a clusterfuck as there will no doubt be so much interference and brawling outside the ring that it may be hard to keep track of what is going on inside the ring! I do see Big Show turning on his team but I still do not see it as enough to stop Team RAW emerging victorious here as I cannot believe that Triple H would be happy to put the likes of Hardy and Finlay over on ppv. Hell we all remember what he has done to Jericho pretty much every time he steps in a ring with him! The teams may break down and squabble amongst themselves but hopefully there will be enough decent in ring action to make this one worth watching. I am delighted the Hart Dynasty are on PPV and I am looking for a very strong showing from them! I also fully expect DX to get the winning pin with the old superkick, pedigree combination.

Chris’ Predicted Winner: Team RAW (DX, Cody Rhodes, Big Show, Kofi Kingston, Jack Swagger & Mark Henry

Paul Predicts: Fatal Four Way Match For The World Heavyweight Championship: Undertaker © vs Batista vs Rey Mysterio vs CM Punk

Okay so Undertaker’s challengers are a guy he’s beaten twice in title matches successively and only lost the first one due to a screwjob and then two guys coming in off time out, whose only PPV appearance has been not winning the tag team titles. Zuh? Not only that but this match hasn’t even got a story with Batista and Rey barely interacting with Punk or Undertaker outside of the Punk/Tista match a couple of weeks back. This is two separate stories being thrown together for no real reason. I think that in this match Batista turns on Rey, goes heel and sets up that program, but I do not think that that will be a title feud. Where I think this match will actually go depends on Taker’s MRI he was reported to have earlier this week. I think that either Taker can just retain or there will be a big ruckus following Batista’s heel turn and that Punk will sneak in for a fluke pin. Personally, with Taker looking weak and him being put in a four way so he doesn’t have to take the fall (or more specifically so that Rey can) I’m going to go for the former. I also think that it would be reasonable to do Rey taking the fall for Batista, but I am going to bet against that, this time round.

Paul’s Predicted Winner: CM Punk (new World Heavyweight Champion)

Chris Predicts: Fatal Four Way Match For The World Heavyweight Championship: Undertaker © vs Batista vs Rey Mysterio vs CM Punk

This match has not been built very well at all. Batista and Rey were added to the mix for no real reason and have spent the last few weeks sucking up to each other on Smackdown. Undertaker and Punk have continued their issues which were further advanced with their excellent match on this week’s Smackdown. With Long, Armstrong, Punk and Vince all trying to screw The Undertaker I am not sure he will be keeping hold of his belt here, especially since he is in such terrible physical shape. Putting the belt back on CM Punk makes no sense to me, seeing as he only lost it a month ago but WWE Creative have shown no sense with booking recently so perhaps this is not as far fetched as it sounds. Another possibility, albeit an unlikely one, is Batista turning on Rey and pinning him for the win, setting up Batista vs Rey for the title for a few months, whilst Punk and co continue their feud with Undertaker separately. With all the ‘Bromance’ and sucking up Rey and Batista have been doing recently I am really sensing some kind of swerve else all that mushy crap would have been for nothing. The more I think about it the more I see Batista leaving as champion after turning on Rey, as much as I don’t want to see it!

Chris’ Predicted Winner: Batista (new World Heavyweight Champion)

Paul Predicts: Iron Man Match For The WWE Championship: Randy Orton © vs John Cena

Out of all the wrestlers they have, Randy Orton is a guy I can barely stand for one minute in the ring, nevermind an hour. He can put in a decent match character wise very occasionally, but in an Ironman match, you have to be able to wrestle. Something neither Orton nor Cena can do for a sustained period of this length. The only consolation is that this is allegedly the last encounter between these two and if that is the case I don’t know whether seeing them fight for an hour is a bullet I’m willing to take. Of course there is always the Cena leaves RAW if he loses thing which makes this somewhat interesting, as they would have to give away the title again to keep him in it. I don’t know where to go here, but my thoughts are that WWE reasons that Cena = Ratings, and since they are losing people in key demographics such as 18-34 y/o males to Monday Night Football and that they have been beaten one week by The Ultimate Fighter, I have to reason that Cena takes this one, likely from a 2 or 3 fall deficit, that Superman himself will have to overcome in the last 10 minutes of the match.

Paul’s Predicted Winner: John Cena (new WWE Champion)

Chris Predicts: Iron Man Match For The WWE Championship: Randy Orton © vs John Cena

Whoever wins, we loose! Of all the wrestlers on the current roster there are perhaps four or five I would want to watch wrestle for an hour and none of those are John Cena or Randy Orton. This match has been built well with some good work from both Cena and Orton on RAW, props especially to Cena for making it look like last Monday’s clash with Triple H was his last match for the brand. However I do not agree that it is THE rivalry in WWE, both Jericho vs Mysterio and Punk vs Hardy were better in my opinion. I am not looking forward to seeing this, Orton is an excellent heel and plays his role well but he is SO SLOW and BORING to watch in the ring that sometimes I feel it is like watching a match in slow motion. Endless stomps, chin locks, head locks and staring at Cena when he is down is a recipe for a very boring match. Then of course Cena has one of stalest move sets in the company! These two need to do something very different here in order for this match to be entertaining or a success. I think Orton may take an early advantage here and maybe get a one or two falls on Cena but of course there is no way WWE would EVER put Cena on Smackdown or ECW so of course Super Cena will battle back and overcome the odds once again. I think Ted DiBiase could well get involved at some point during this match, perhaps coming down to save Orton but accidentally cost him the title leading to some serious vengeance on RAW next week. This match will almost certainly close the show and could well send all of us British viewers to sleep if it is too slow and boring. However I am really hoping Cena and Orton go out and blow us all away with a fantastic match that will FINALLY put an end to this rivalry once and for all. I think they should have had a loser leaves the brand stipulation just so these two do not meet again for years to come!

Chris’ Predicted Winner: John Cena (new WWE Champion)

Hopefully I can continue my strong showing from Hell in a Cell, but really who knows. With this show not looking particularly amazing, the best I can hope for is that this is bearable and that the matches that look decent actually really deliver. Until next time I have been Paul Smith, and I will see you on Wednesday to see how Yoshi Tatsu does in his quest to become ECW Champion.

Well there you have it, another bunch of predictions. Hopefully I will do a bit better this time round than at Breaking Point! Whilst there are only five matches on the card I do not look for anything else to be added here as Cena vs Orton is going on for so long. I hope you all have a great week and I shall be back next weekend with Chris Reviews Smackdown!

Hey everyone and welcome to a special edition of Chris Reviews ECW. As I mentioned in last week’s Smackdown Blog, I am away at a family wedding this weekend so Paul is kindly filling in for me once again. In this blog I shall be discussing Nigel McGuiness in TNA (without spoiling Impact!) and analysing ECW. Please read and be sure to leave some feedback via the comment board.

First off I would like to take a moment to wish Luke Parks all the best in the future. Luke will certainly be missed here at WNW as his witty and insightful analysis is always a quality read, some people say he has been too negative, but RAW since the draft this year has sucked pure and simple and had myself or Paul been reviewing RAW we probably would have been far more critical and negative. Before working for Wrestling News World, I used to really look forward to breakfast on Tuesday mornings when I would religiously read RAW is blogged and this is a tradition I still have today! I have already received a number of emails asking if I will apply to review RAW after Luke finishes up at the end of the year and to be honest it will entirely depend on the quality of the show. Right now I would not want to review RAW, simply because there is so little I actually enjoy about the show and I would never want to be in a position where I was constantly hating on the show I was writing about, which I certainly would be with the current product. If RAW creative steps up their game by the end of the year, freshens up the main event picture, drops the horrible slapstick comedy and has decent length wrestling matches I will consider asking Richard if I can take over with RAW but if the show remains as it is now I will not.

I picked up 12 Rounds on DVD the other day as it was released here in the UK last week. Ill be honest I actually really enjoyed the movie, Cena was convincing as Danny Fisher whilst Aiden Gillen is an excellent menacing villain. I love action movies with guys like Steven Segal, Jean Claude Van Damme and Bruce Willis so 12 Rounds was right up my street. The action was almost non stop and the film, although having a similar plot to The Marine, was as my girlfriend put it ‘like the Marine on acid’ There is also an awesome twist towards the end of the film that you really do not see coming and when you watch through again you notice so many things that you did not the first time. If you like action films then you will love 12 Rounds, if you don’t you will hate it. I would certainly have no problem recommending it and will be checking out John Cena’s commentary version of the film once I have finished writing this blog.

On the subject of Cena, I really enjoyed his match with Triple H on RAW the other night and I thought Cena did a great job with selling that this really could be his last match on RAW. Whilst I fully expect Cena to defeat Orton (with a little help from DiBiase) at Bragging Rights, this latest instalment in Cena vs Orton has been done pretty well and at least has us believing that there is a chance Cena might not win and end up on Smackdown or EC…(like that would happen!) Triple H and Cena always deliver in matches against one another and this was one of the best one on one matches on RAW so far this year. I recommend checking it out.

Ok lets talk some TNA, I would like to take a moment to talk about the sudden and shock news that TNA swooped in under WWE’s noses and signed Nigel McGuiness. Now whilst nothing has been confirmed for sure yet (as in, it hasn’t been posted here on WNW) I have read plenty of rumours stating that WWE were dragging their heels on the deal and taking too long to send Nigel his contract so TNA jumped in and snapped him up. Now this is a HUGE coup for TNA as McGuiness is one of the best workers in the world and will no doubt become a household name through his work for the promotion. I mean upon debuting he has been put in just about the biggest feud possible in the company, besides challenging straight for the title. (I am not going to spoil it for people you do not read the Impact spoilers) My one complaint is McGuiness is now going under the rather ridiculous moniker of Desmond Wolfe. I would argue that Nigel McGuiness has become a name in his own right and is probably the most recognisable independent worker in the world other than Bryan Danielson. McGuiness is bigger now than CM Punk, Homicide, AJ Styles, Joe or Chris Daniels were when they left ROH and deserves to wrestle under his own name yet he has been saddled with this STUPID name. Nigel McGuiness is recognisable to wrestling fans as such and this just makes TNA look incredibly STUPID. It seems to always be the way with TNA in that they do something so right and then so very wrong straight after it. I urge all wrestling fans to bombard Borash and the TNA message boards and Twitter pages expressing just how dumb renaming one of the biggest names in professional wrestling is and how TNA should let McGuiness use his actual ring name rather than Desmond Wolfe! There are several things I want to talk about coming out of this week’s impact tapings but I shall discuss them next week when I review Smackdown so I do not spoil it for anyone.

Ok on to this week’s ECW

We immediately open the show with Abraham Washington announcing he is hosting the show and cracks some black jokes once again and is interrupted by Chris Jericho who gets a mixed reaction. Jericho asks where the general managers office is and Washington tells him it is down the hall. Abraham tells Chris he would love him to be a guest on the show sometime and Jericho tells him he is sure he would before walking off. Atlas helpfully tells us he thinks that was a no.

Number One Contenders Match For The ECW Championship: Yoshi Tatsu vs Zak Ryder

Matthews and Striker welcome us to the show and the new ring announcer Lauren announces this is a number one contenders match for the ECW title. Yoshi is out first to his hideous music and gets a small pop whereas The Man Zack Ryder draws some heat during his cocky entrance. The two lock up and Zack nails a quick arm drag takeover ‘Woo Woo Woo’ from Zack and the crowd join in! A schoolboy from Zack gets an early one count but Yoshi fights back with a drop toe hold and a roll up for a one count as an enormous ‘Yoshi’ chant breaks out from the crowd. Zack taunts Yoshi and strikes away dropping him to the mat before whipping him to the turnbuckle but Yoshi leapfrogs Ryder and hits a pair of innovative arm drag take downs before hitting a standing drop kick for a near fall. Yoshi tries for a double underhook move but Zack powers him into the air and drops him on to the ropes. Baseball slide from Ryder sends Yoshi to the outside and Zack follows him out and tosses him back into the ring and scores a near fall. Zack arrogantly stomps away and drops a knee before charging Yoshi into the corner and chocking him with his leg. Scoop slam from Ryder and he then begins to work over Yoshi’s arm before hitting a stiff kick to the ribs and applying a body scissors submission hold. Yoshi elbows free and counters with a jack knife for a near fall. Zack is immediately back on the offence though and charges Yoshi in the corner and drops some shoulders but Yoshi evades the third charge and connects his roaring elbow dropping both men to the mat. Zack is up first but Yoshi nails a series of stiff kicks and connects a big running knee before an enzuguri for a near fall. Yoshi fires up the crowd and heads to the top rope but Zack is quickly there only to get crotched and both men tumble to the outside as we go to commercial. Back from the break and Ryder has a seated abdominal stretch applied. Yoshi powers to his feet and elbows free before dropping to the mat and nailing a kick to Zack’s face. Yoshi continues to sweep and kick Zack from the mat before nailing some chops and a back body drop before catapulting Zack into the turnbuckle and connecting a big running double knee to the back. Yoshi connects with a beautiful rolling pin attempt but it is only good for a near fall. Drop kick from Yoshi gets another near fall followed by a school boy for another two. Yoshi applies a hammerlock but Zack comes back with strikes and kicks and tries to toss Yoshi out of the ring but he lands on the apron nails a roundhouse kick to the head and hits a springboard splash for the pinfall and victory.

Result: Yoshi Tatsu defeats Zack Ryder to become the number one contender for the ECW Championship **3/4

Chris Considers: Very enjoyable opener here with both men looking very impressive. Yoshi Tatsu is a star on the rise and it is amazing how over he has gotten with so little exposure. Zack Ryder is still The Man and this loss does not hurt him in the slightest. I think a Yoshi vs Christian title match will be very exciting and innovative and I cannot wait to see it!

Rosa is backstage with Tiffany telling her how excited she is to be part of ECW. She is interrupted by Chris Jericho and Tiffany asks him what he is doing here. Jericho says like any good general he is looking to improve his army and is here scouting talent from ECW to see if any are good enough to become a part of team Smackdown. Tiffany tells him that he cannot just barge in and cherry pick ECW talent and refuses to let him recruit any of her talent. She tells Chris he is welcome to stay and watch the show and he looks disgusted and walks away.

We see Regal and the Roundtable discussing Yoshi’s title shot before Jericho interrupts. Jericho and Regal exchange pleasantries. Jericho runs down Tiffany and Regal agrees saying that Tiffany only thinks she calls the shots. Jericho tells Regal he would rather have Jackson and Kozlov on his team than Cryme Tyme but Tiffany interrupts and demands to know what is going on. She says due to Regal’s continued disrespect that is exactly why he is on the outside looking in at the ECW Championship Picture. Tiffany tells Jericho he is no longer welcome and asks him to leave. Jericho tells Tiffany he is sick of her attitude and as one half of the Unified Tag Team Champions he can go to any show he chooses and do whatever he wants. Tiffany agree and says rather than just watch the action he has just earned himself a match against the best ECW has to offer: The ECW Champion Christian!

Chris Considers: Tiffany is appalling as ever on the mic but Jericho more than made up for it. Jericho vs Christian = awesome! I am so happy I got to cover this show!

Match 2: Sheamus vs JT Quinn

I still prefer Sheamus’ FCW theme but since his music has been remixed it is slightly better. Sheamus quickly forces Quinn in to the corner and hits some big knees before dragging him in to the centre of the ring and hitting another huge knee. Running kick from Sheamus drops Quinn and he pins him only to drag his head up at the last moment and indicate the punishment will continue. Sheamus drags Quinn to his feet and hits his Uranage Back Breaker but once again will not pin for victory. At this point Shelton Benjamin hits the ring and the crowd erupt. The two engage in a slug fest and Shelton sends Sheamus tumbling to the outside but is quick to follow and continue the beating before rolling him back in the ring and connecting a nice German Suplex sending the Irishman rolling from the ring. Shelton rips his shirt off and tells Sheamus to bring it but he backs up the ramp in retreat.

Result: Sheamus defeats JT Quinn via disqualification ¾*

Chris Considers: This squash achieved exactly what it set out to in that it put Sheamus over as a truly wicked heel that likes to punish his opponent and furthered things between Sheamus and Shelton. I cannot wait to see a match between these two! Shelton has impressed me how he has gotten over as a babyface and it should mean he wrestles to his full potential once again!

We get the John Cena vs Randy Orton feud recapped with a very long video which was very well done. If this was anyone other than these two I would be excited to see this match but Orton wrestles such a slow methodical style I seriously think he will send me to sleep and Cena better bring his A Game and hit more than the usual 5 moves over and over again in this one!

In Ring Segment: Paul Burchill, Katie-Lea Burchill and The Hurricane

Katie-Lea is seriously hot! Burchill gets on the mic and talks about Helms has been pretending for years that he is something he is not and he has been adulated as a hero for it. Burchill says here he is a finely trained professional athlete, well spoken with good family values and yet he is booed. Burchill says he doesn’t get it and perhaps it is an American thing as in England out heroes are men and women who have thrived in arts, science and politics but the fans are so bereft of anyone to look up to that they have turned to a tart who wears underwear and rescues cats from trees. Burchill says his victory for last week was a victory for sanity and honesty and the fraud that is known as the Hurricane has been exposed and eliminated. Burchill demands Helms comes to the ring and unmasks and admits Burchill is the better man. Throughout this segment Burchill was drawing a tonne of heat. ‘Stand Back! There’s a Hurricane coming through!” Hurricane walks to the ring looking despondent and Burchill demands the mask which Hurricane gives him only to reveal it is not Helms under the mask but someone else. Burchill quickly drops the imposter with a knee and tosses him from the ring and gets ready for Helms but Hurricane appears from behind with a green and black Kendo stick and wails away at Burchill sending him scurrying from the ring in fury. Hurricane poses and the fans go wild!

Chris Considers: Despite the somewhat overdone ‘who is under the mask’ storyline this feud has been really well done and has featured some fabulous ring work from both Burchill and Helms. I really wish ECW would get some more exposure as these two have worked hard enough to earn a pay per view match in my opinion. Either way the blow off match should be very, very good and I cannot wait to see it!

Main Event: Chris Jericho vs Christian

Words cannot describe how excited I am to see this one! Even though we only have fifteen minutes left, this should be awesome! Jericho comes out to plenty of heat and poses with his tag belts in the ring staring at the crowd with distain. Christian gets a good pop as always and acknowledges some ‘Peep’ signs before posing on the turnbuckles with the ECW Championship. Jericho is heckled by the fans as the match gets underway. They lock up and Jericho bails to the outside to huge heat from the crowd. Jericho applies a quick headlock but Christian powers out and the two have a test of strength and jockey for position before Christian shoulder charges Jericho to the mat for an early one count. Jericho nails a kick to the gut and strikes away talking smack to Christian which infuriates the ECW champion and he comes back with strikes only for Jericho to counter with a spinning elbow before connecting a knee to the head and forcing Christian into the corner. Jericho chokes Christian and whips him across the ring before connecting a clothesline and going for the Lionsault but Christian is quickly up and he shoves Jericho to the outside before hitting a nice drop kick through the ropes sending Jericho back to the ground. Christian fires up the crowd as we go to commercial. Back from the break and Christian leap frogs Jericho and connects a nice rolling mule kick for a near fall. Headlock takeover from Christian and he keeps the hold locked in but Jericho powers up and forces Christian into the corner. Jericho tries a running clothesline but Christian elbows him off and comes off the top rope with a beautiful missile drop kick for a very close near fall. Jericho grabs ducks under the ropes and stands on the apron before giving Christian a big back body drop over the ropes to the outside. Huge heat for Jericho as he bounces Christian’s head from the steel steps and drops him on to the security wall before tossing him back into the ring. Huge ‘You Suck’ chant for Jericho and he mocks the crowd before arrogantly stepping on Christian in the ring. Captain Charisma comes back with a huge slap but Jericho is quickly back in control and hangs Christian up in the middle rope and chokes him by standing on his back until the referee reaches four. Back suplex from Jericho nets another near fall and Christian rolls to the corner. Jericho strikes away and connects an overhead takeover and keeps the hold locked in demanding the referee ‘ask him’ Christian battles to his feet and connects some strikes before hitting a schoolboy from nowhere for a near fall. Jericho fights back with a clothesline for a near fall before punching away at Christian on the mat. Jericho continues to mock the crowd and goes for the Lionsault but Christian evades it and strikes away and hits a big shoulder block before coming off the top rope with a diving back elbow. Christian calls for the Killswitch but Jericho counters out only for Christian to hang Jericho on the middle rope and choke him just as Jericho did earlier. Christian leaps over Jericho to the outside and nails a vicious slap before heading back to the top rope and attempting another missile drop kick which Jericho counters into the Walls of Jericho only for Christian to counter with an inside cradle for a near fall! Fantastic sequence! Jericho nails a step up enzuguri for a near fall and is very frustrated, headbutt from Jericho but Christian counters a Bulldog attempt with an inverted neck breaker before calling for the Killswitch once again. Jericho counters with a schoolboy but quickly changes his mind and goes for the Walls but Christian struggles causing Jericho to catapult him into the turnbuckle but Christian quickly nails a quick springboard sunset flip from the top rope which Jericho somehow counters and this time the Walls of Jericho are locked in. Christian screams in agony but eventually makes it to the ropes. Jericho misses a running knee and gets hung up in the middle rope allowing Christian to drag him off and nail the Killswitch for the pinfall and victory.

Result: Christian defeats Chris Jericho via pinfall ***1/2

Chris Considers: I did not want this match to end! It was so refreshing to see Christian wrestle another main event level talent again and this match was absolutely fantastic. If they had been given another ten minutes this would have been a five star affair! So many fantastic counters and reversals between two guys who were made to wrestle each other! Hopefully this will be a wake up call to WWE management to see just how awesome Christian is and perhaps move him to Smackdown as he has done pretty much all there is to do on ECW! Seeing this has just made me want to see more each and every week!

This was a fantastic episode of ECW! Probably one of the best I have seen since I began writing an ECW review blog before I joined WNW! Storylines and feuds were developed and even though ECW once again has NO REPRESENTATION on PPV Bragging Rights was still plugged with the appearance of Chris Jericho. Wrestling wise both the number one contenders match and the main event were excellent, whilst the Sheamus squash match furthered issues between him and Shelton. All in all you couldn’t really ask for more from an hour long show and I urge you all check out this episode of ECW as despite the crappy recent ratings it still delivers far more quality wrestling and decent booking in one hour than RAW can manage in two!

This week’s match of the night was Christian vs Chris Jericho and the show scores 9.5/10

That is all for this weeks blog. Be sure to check out Paul covering Smackdown over the weekend and I will be back posting the Talent Exchange from my hotel as I have free Wi-Fi access there. Email me on a_agreement_called_forever@hotmail.com , add me on facebook: www.facebook.com\wnws.chris.jacks or follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/WNWsChrisJacks I would love to hear from you!

Ten Points to Consider from ECW
• Jericho sure put Abraham Washington in his place! I am so glad we only got 30 seconds of Abe rather than the usual ten minutes!
• It still amazes me just how quickly Yoshi Tatsu has gotten over, especially considering whilst he is very good in the ring he does not have the fancy high spot moves like Bourne or Mysterio
• Such a pity the no doubt awesome title match between Christian and Tatsu will be on next weeks ECW rather than on PPV where it belongs!
• I do wonder where this whole Regal/Tiffany feud is going. I am seriously thinking we will have a power struggle at some point down the line and hopefully my fellow Brit taking control in the Land of Extreme!
• Sheamus is awesome! I cannot wait to see things between him and Bejamin culminate in a match. Shelton has gotten over well as a babyface during this feud and it will be interesting to see him unleash his full repertoire of moves wrestling as a babyface once more
• Katie-Lea is gorgeous!
• Burchill and Hurricane may have been feuding for some time now but it has been ever so well done, with excellent ring work and mic work from both men and I really wish creative would give them a ppv match to blow off the feud as this is one of the better feuds going in WWE right now
• Jericho doesn’t even have to cut promos when the crowd was this hot! Just his slight interactions and mocking was enough to generate heat that most wrestlers can only dream of! Quite simply Chris Jericho is the best in the world at what he does!
• The main event was a timely reminder that Christian deserves so much more in WWE, this was the most enjoyable TV match since Morrison vs Mysterio and so exciting to watch!
• It is such a shame that despite putting on such a quality hour of wrestling that WWE is not even giving ECW pay per time at Bragging Rights…

My top ten matches of the year so far in WWE

1: The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels – Wrestlemania – April 5th 2009
2: Legacy vs DeGeneration X – Breaking Point – September 13th 2009
3: CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy – Smackdown – August 28th 2009
4: Rey Mysterio vs Chris Jericho – The Bash – June 28th 2009
5: Rey Mysterio vs John Morrison – Smackdown – August 4th 2009
6: CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy – Summerslam – August 23rd 2009
7: Rey Mysterio vs Chris Jericho – Smackdown – July 10th 2009
8: Jeff Hardy vs John Morrison – Smackdown – July 31st 2009
9: John Morrison vs CM Punk – Smackdown – June 26th 2009
10: Rey Mysterio vs Chris Jericho – Judgement Day – May 17th 2009

Watch any WWE programming you miss at www.Dailymotion.com , your online source for TV shows!

This started as an extension of my ECW Blog this week but I ended up going in to such detail with it, Richard and I deemed it worthy of being a separate piece especially considering we did not have a reacts/considers blog for Bound For Glory up already. I mentioned in last weeks Smackdown blog that I had written a sizeable preview to the show which was made redundant when I had a family emergency on Sunday and could not get my blog up till Monday. One of the things I said was Bound For Glory is TNA’s biggest test to date, this for me was a moment that they could either sink or swim when it came to the booking and putting the right people over and showing that the company was taking a positive direction going forward rather than relying on aged stars who should not be in the ring, let alone holding titles and rather pushing their own phenomenal home grown talent. Well I am pleased to say that TNA delivered on this 100% and showed that sans Jarret, they are serious about creating new stars, distancing themselves from pushing WWE/WCW cast offs. I know we all had plenty of fears about Russo and Ferrera, but aside from a couple of decisions I would have booked BFG exactly as they did and I cannot commend the work rate of all the wrestlers and how well the show came off.

Ultimate X Match for The X Division Championship: Chris Sabin vs Alex Shelley vs Suicide vs Homicide vs Daniels vs Amazing Red © with Don West

This was one hell of a match! It showcased exactly why the X-Division is so awesome and highlighted just how lacking WWE is when it comes to fast paced high flying action like this! Some people criticise these matches for being spot fests but I was gripped from start to finish! There were some fantastic sequences and crazy bumps during this one, and all six men worked their hearts out and put on one of the most memorable pay per view openers in recent history. No one wrestler particularly stood out as each man was on it but I do think Amazing Red proved he deserves to be holding the belt, the spot where he gave Daniels a top rope huricanranna to the outside was insane! We saw some great team work from the MCMG and so many great individual moves it is impossible to recap them all. Quite simply check this match out, you will not be disappointed! Probably one of the top five matches of the year from any promotion! Putting Red over was absolutely the correct decision as it solidifies him as a legitimate champion and sets up so many possible exciting feuds leading out of this. It was a shame Pope missed the match but the MCMG more than made up for it.

Chris’ Star Rating: ****3/4

Knockout Tag Team Championship Match: Taylor Wilde & Sarita © vs The Beautiful People

Before this one started Lacey was sent to the back so at least we were guaranteed no interference. The Beautiful People have a good gimmick but their ring work sucks and Madison Rayne is no Angelina Love! Thankfully this one was kept mercifully short and Wilde and Sarita rightfully retained their titles. Hopefully with the wealth of talent in the Knockout division, TNA can give them some more credible opponents for Turning Point.

Chris’ Star Rating: *1/2

TNA Legends Championship Match: Kevin Nash © vs Eric Young vs Hernandez

Whilst Eric Young double crossing Nash was very predictable leading into this one, it was still a toss up between him and Super Mex for who would be leaving with the belt. This was an enjoyable match, despite Nash’s incredibly limited in ring repertoire. Eric Young has become one of the top heels in wrestling and he showed it during this match with his interactions with both Nash and Hernandez. The back drop that Hernandez hit on Young towards the end of this match was BRUTAL! Hernandez is a World Champion in waiting and I expect it will not be too long before he is stepping up to challenge for the belt. The go home sequence here was fantastic with Young pulling down Nash’s straps to get him ready for the Jack knife only to betray him and take him out using Hernandez and pin him for the win. Good match and a great call putting the title on Young as this sets up all sorts of possibilities going forward!

Chris’ Star Rating: ***

Full Metal Mayhem for the TNA & IWGP Tag Team Championship: Team 3D vs Beer Money Inc vs The British Invasion © vs Scott Steiner and Booker T ©

This match may be a bit gimmicky for some tastes but for me this was TNA’s equivalent of TLC. The only problem with this one is it featured two wrestlers well past their best: Booker and Steiner as well as one hopeless rookie in Brutus Magnus and of course one big useless lump in Rob Terry. However Booker was thankfully taken out of the equation (and TNA) early when he was stretchered out after taking a DWI from Beer Money. This match was fast paced, exciting and filled with crazy bumps and spots. Steiner actually impressed the hell out me in this match and although I know Kendra hates the way he suplexes people as it looks unsafe, in this match it just added to the brutal feel of things! His Frankensteiner on Williams was also very impressive! Beer Money in my mind once again solidified their position as the top tag team in wrestling as despite not leaving with the gold, they sure as hell were the star performers in this match. Team 3D have still got it without a shadow of a doubt and I was pleased to see them recapture the IWGP titles. Rhino getting involved was expected after all of his recent troubles with 3D and kept them from having a clean sweep as well as setting up a future feud for the tag titles (if he can find a partner he doesn’t try and destroy!) I seriously question the decision to put the TNA tag titles on TBI because Magnus is appalling and needs some serious seasoning before he can legitimately hold a top title. I marked out when Zak Wylde nailed him with a chair! Williams is an outstanding worker but needs a better partner. If only TNA would let McGuiness debut as himself he would have been the perfect candidate! This match showed that whilst WWE is improving in the tag team department, TNA is still miles ahead in this division and that is largely thanks to 3D and Beer Money! This was another outstanding match and I recommend checking it out!

Chris’ Star Rating: ****

Knockout Championship Match: ODB © vs Tara vs Awesome Kong

This one ended up being quite controversial due to Tara’s spat with Kym Couture mid way through and their subsequent denials that it was a work. Whilst that remains to be seen I thought this match was good but not half as good as Flash and Hamanda from Impact the other week. ODB is sadly just not in the same league as either Kong or Tara and I really question the decision to keep the title on her, especially seeing as how many talented women are behind her in the division. ODB would be better suited to tag team action with Roxxi challenging for the tag belts, leaving the really awesome wrestlers to challenge for the title. Its not that ODB is awful, she could wrestle rings round Kelly Kelly etc, it is more that the likes of Kong, Tara, Flash etc are so good! The go home sequence of this match was very good with Saeed and Kong having some miscommunication leading to ODB nailing Kong with a face buster on the chair Saeed had given Kong to use. This sets up all sorts of possibilities for a Kong vs Saeed feud and that would be phenomenal! So a good match, but by no means outstanding.

Chris’ Star Rating: **1/2

Submission Match: Bobby Lashley Goldberg vs Samoa Joe

I would say that besides the Knockout Tag Match, this was the only match on the card that I really did not enjoy in the slightest, nor was I expecting too. I like Bobby Lashley, I thought he was great after being pushed to the sky on ECW, but so far in TNA he has bulldozed through everyone he has faced with ease. Joe is one of the best workers in the world and to have him job so completely and quickly to Lashley is a disgrace. I also hate the fact that 80% of Lashley’s offence is MMA based. I like MMA but this is not MMA, this is pro-wrestling and despite the fact Lashley does both he needs to focus more on his wrestling in TNA rather than constantly trying to be an MMA fighter, I mean after Joe nails two Uranages (which is the finisher of half the current ECW roster!) Lashley is completely unaffected and applies a lame choke hold to finish the match. Lashley is becoming the Goldberg of TNA and I fear it is only a matter of time before he is main eventing ppvs and I hope TNA hold this off for awhile or at least insist Lashley works more as a pro wrestler and less as an MMA fighter when he is in the six sided ring!

Chris’ Star Rating: *

Monsters Ball Match: Abyss vs Mick Foley with Dr Stevie as special guest referee

Despite this match having one of the most predictable outcomes of the evening, I challenge anyone to watch this and say they were not entertained. It was not the greatest technical wrestling match you will ever see, it was not even the best Abyss match you will ever see taking this as a hardcore brawl it would be hard to find complaint with it. Yes I know if you have seen one Abyss hardcore match, you have seen them all but I thought this was one of the better ones and even though Foley is well past his prime, he still gave his all in this one and put in a very convincing performance. I am particularly fond of matches like this right now because WWE does not do them and I commend TNA for sticking to their guns and continuing to produce non PG wrestling such as this. Some of the spots in this match were truly brutal such as Abyss’ early tumble from the scaffold, Foley taking a drop toe hold into barbed wire and Daffney being sent though a barbed wire table! This fulfilled every expectation I had of it and I enjoyed it for what it was and that was a very good hardcore match. Hopefully Abyss can have one final blow off match with Stevie (barbed wire massacre anyone?!?!) and then move on to wrestle like we know he can!

Chris’ Star Rating: ***1/4

Matt Morgan vs Kurt Angle

Going in to this match it was very hard to pick a winner. One thing was for sure and that was it was Morgan’s moment to prove he belonged in the main event and I think he accomplished this and some with a towering performance and even though he did not win the match, he showed he can hang with one of the best in the business and I think it is only a matter of time before Matt Morgan becomes TNA champion. This was a superb match which told a fantastic story and had so many great moments that it would be once again impossible to recap them all. I really enjoyed how both Morgan and Angle could not put each other down with their signature moves and finishers and in the end it was a simple victory roll from Angle which sealed the deal. This was a perfect example of a knowledgeable veteran managing to out wrestle his less experienced but more powerful opponent and sets up so many interesting options going forward. Some people will yap that Kurt should have put his ego aside and put Morgan over here but I disagree, Morgan kicked out of Angle Slams, Olympic Slams, powered out of Ankle Locks but in the end was simply outsmarted by Angle and if anything this will make the moment Morgan does finally overcome Angle that much more significant because in their next match Morgan can learn from his mistakes here and not allow Angle to out wrestle him and the torch can truly be passed so to speak. Kurt shaking Morgan’s hand after the match was a nice show of respect and reminded me of Undertaker and Jeff Hardy following their memorable ladder match for the unified title. This was the best match of the night and in my opinion second only to Undertaker vs Michaels for MOTY. Absolutely perfect!

Chris Star Rating: *****

TNA Championship Match: AJ Styles © vs Sting

Realistically nothing was ever going to be able to follow Morgan vs Angle but AJ and Sting pulled out all the stops and delivered a very solid main event that may or may not be Sting’s final match. Going in to this one I was hoping and praying that TNA did the right thing and kept the title on AJ who has deserved this run for more than anyone else in the company in recent times. This match told a very good story and was the perfect example of a face vs face encounter. A good clean, competitive match with no outside interference or over booking. Then spot where Sting bent the guardrail was brutal and AJ not letting Hebner make the count out was a nice show of respect as well as solidifying Styles as the ultimate babyface. The fact AJ absorbed all of Sting’s offence and managed to kick out of Tombstones, Death Drops and power out of the Death Lock made this the passing of the torch moment it needed to be and Sting showed that he is not afraid to put the right guys over if he needs to. If Sting never wrestles again this will defiantly be one of his top ten matches and I hope if he does return it is to work with some of the up and coming guys like Hernandez and Eric Young. Sting’s post match promo was emotional and the fact the crowd are still so hot for him suggests that he may well go another year which I would be more than happy to see if he continues to produce matches like this one, of course working with a world class talent like AJ helps no end and the fact he has beaten Sting cleanly one on one has instantly legitimised him as a major, major player in TNA and I hope he has a long and dominant title run.

Chris’ Star Rating: ****1/2

TNA Bound For Glory achieved everything it set out to accomplish and throughout the show it had the big event feel that was needed for TNA’s biggest ppv of the year. We had three superb matches in The Ultimate X Match, Morgan vs Angle and The TNA Championship Match whilst The Full Metal Mayhem Match, Legends title Match and The Monsters Ball were very good. The Knockouts were not their best but the title match was still decent whilst Lashley vs Joe was the only real disappointment but then I think we knew it would be. Bound For Glory was a hundred times better than Wrestlemania 25 which only really delivered with one match and I would say is probably the best pay per view of the year so far from either WWE or TNA. I strongly urge all of you to check out the replays and order the DVD or at the very least check out Angle vs Morgan and The Ultimate X Match. TNA receives a lot of criticism when they get things wrong but at Bound For Glory they got things very right and both the company and the performers involved deserve all the praise in the world right now!

Chris’ Star Rating for TNA Bound For Glory: ****1/2

I shall be back in a few hours with Chris Reviews ECW. I hope you have enjoyed this TNA special and it if the feedback is positive it may become a regular thing!

Hey everyone and welcome to this week’s edition of Chris Reviews Smackdown. In this week’s blog I shall be discussing Shane McMahon’s resignation, my distain at the idea of Booker T returning to WWE, the diva trade and analysing the show. Please feel free to leave some feedback via the comment board or drop an email to a_agreement_called_forever@hotmail.com  

Before anything else I would like to send my thoughts out to the friends and family of Captain Lou Albano who sadly passed last week. His legacy within the world of professional wrestling shall live on and his work forever admired and studied by those within the industry as perhaps one of the greatest examples ever of the Wrestling Manager. Captain Lou will be missed but never forgotten.

First off my apologies this blog is up so late, I had an incredibly busy work schedule on Saturday and then a sudden family emergency meant I was out all day after work yesterday. What this does mean is the sizeable preview section I wrote for TNA Bound For Glory is now somewhat redundant but I rather than analysing the show now I shall do it in next weeks blog.

So it seems like Booker T seems intent on returning to WWE after Sunday’s Bound For Glory PPV. Now Booker has had a lacklustre run in TNA and a poor backstage reputation. In my opinion Booker needs WWE far more than WWE needs Booker at this point in his career. Ever since he was drafted to Smackdown along with the Dudley Boyz in a re exchange for Triple H his, once one of the hottest prospects in all of wrestling became a lacklustre and lazy worker who seemed to be just going through the motions. The man who once displayed such innovative and exciting ring work became stale and predictable and his mic work, once highly entertaining and enjoyable became unintelligible babble. I firmly stack the blame for this at the feet of Triple H who absolutely killed Booker’s momentum during their feud and his subsequent burial at Wrestlemania 19 was the final nail in the coffin and Booker never recovered from the blow and it seemed to permanently blight his career all the way up to his final match at Summerslam 2007 where he was once again humiliated by Triple H. If Triple H had done the correct thing and put Booker over he could have realised his amazing potential and gone on to be one of the biggest superstars on the planet, however Triple H, clearly feeling that his spot was under threat used his backstage pull and influence to stop this from happening. Upon initially joining TNA Booker seemed to regain some of his lost spark but this soon faded and he became stale and unintelligible once again. What I am trying to say is Booker’s career slide was not entirely his fault but he certainly has done nothing to help matters and if he returns to WWE then he really needs to step up his game and work hard to show he can still be the man he once was. If as expected he returns to ECW then Booker should put his ego to one side and start helping the young talent on the brand get over and use his experience to help rather than hinder them because in my opinion during his TNA run Booker has in essence become like Triple H and surely instead of repeating the same mistakes, he should try and learn from them because with an ego like he currently has, there is no place for him in WWE.

I think WWE made its best decision in a long time when it reshuffled the women’s division last week on RAW. Whilst I feel that Smackdown shall certainly miss Melina, we have been more than compensated with the arrivals of Beth and Mickie James. I think Eve is something of a loss as she had certainly shown promise but now with Beth, Mickie, Natalya and Michelle we have a fresh division and plenty of exciting match oppertunities. RAW as well will benefit because rather than the endless Mickie vs ??? they now have so many exciting options such as Melina vs Jillian, Melina vs Gail Kim, Melina vs Alicia and Melina vs Eve. The Bellas I guess will remain eye candy, despite their in ring skills and Rosa being sent to ECW may be her last stop before being released as she has so far been appalling and other than Katie Lea has no real feud options on the brand.

So the biggest news last week was Shane McMahon’s resignation from WWE. I have to admit I was quite surprised as I always saw Shane taking over from Linda in the long term in WWE, although as Richard has since reported it always appears that Shane was ready to step aside when Vince did for Stephanie and Hunter to run things. I have to commend Shane for all the amazing things he has done for WWE over the years both on camera and behind the scenes. In the ring Shane has put on some crazy matches and taken insane bumps that a non wrestler had no means to take, but Shane always went above and beyond to make his opponent look like a star such as Steve Blackman, Kane, Kurt Angle and of course more recently Randy Orton. Behind the scenes Shane has secured many lucrative contracts for WWE, perhaps most famously being the brains behind Floyd Mayweather’s Wrestlemania 24 appearance. Shane’s commitment and drive can never be questioned and I honestly think WWE will miss his work rate and innovation. However Shane is now free to pursue other avenues and I am sure based on what we have seen during his time in WWE, that whatever Shane pursues will become successful. I would not be surprised to see Shane become a major player in a MMA promotion that will step up to rival UFC and for Shane to forever imprint his legacy in the MMA world just as he father has done with professional wrestling.

So with that slightly reduced pre show notes out of the way thanks to my now redundant Bound for Glory preview lets take a look at this week’s Smackdown.

Grisham welcomes us to the show and hypes tonight’s main event between Batista and Rey Mysterio as well as a special champion edition of The Dirt Sheet. Michael Cole is filling in for JR this week and the prospect of hearing the word vintage 5000 times fills me with dread!

Opening Segment: Teddy Long, Chris Jericho and Kane

Teddy Long announces that Bragging Rights takes place in 9 days and as well as the championship matches there will be a special 7 on 7 tag team match between Smackdown and RAW to determine which brand is superior. Long talks about how as general manager he intends to uphold Smackdown’s great history and heritage and ensure it prevails as the dominant show. He says he has had to make a tough decision to counter RAW’s team DX, Cody, Jack Swagger, Kofi, Big Show and Mark Henry and introduces the captain of team Smackdown: Chris Jericho. Jericho makes his way to the ring to huge heat from the fans. Jericho says finally after years of incompetence and prejudice Teddy has made the right decision and made Jericho the captain of the team and people may not like it but that is just the way it is. Jericho says as the face of this show he has to address the possibility of John Cena returning, Jericho says when Orton beats Cena he will be banned from RAW and will want to return to where it began but things have changed and there is a new man: Jericho and if Cena wants to return he has to go through him. Jericho says he has led the locker room by example and by honesty and integrity and he is the corner stone of Smackdown and he is the best in the world at what he does and the reason why all of the parasite fans are here tonight. Jericho gets huge heat for this. Jericho says as captain of Smackdown he has to put together a team who will listen to his every word and do exactly what he says and he will lead them to the promised land and beat RAW. Jericho runs down DX and gives their book a heel plug and criticises the mindless sheep fans for buying DX merchandise. Jericho rips up the DX book and throws a tantrum and says he will do the same thing to DX at Bragging Rights. Kane’s music hits and he stalks to the ring to a pop from the fans. Kane gets in Jericho’s face and questions if Team Smackdown is Jericho’s team and tells him they need to talk. Kane says he has been listening to Jericho’s every word and tells him he is out here to inform him he is now the co-captain of the Smackdown Seven. Jericho says of course he is and he was just about to announce that and with Kane’s strength and Jericho’s immense intellect RAW does not stand a chance. Kane says DX and all of team RAW can all go up in flames and poses as his fire pyro explodes.

Chris Considers: Awesome promo from Jericho here, I really liked how he played off the crowd and then Kane who also made a good impact on the mic. Kane is an obvious choice for Team Smackdown seeing as how there are so many big men on Team RAW. I like the idea of qualifying matches for team places as it makes each standard match important.

We are reminded how the ever so PG Snoop Dogg is guest hosting Monday RAW, yep the renowned gun toting, dope smoking gangster will be WWE’s face of PG this Monday!

Match 1: Triple Threat Team Smackdown Qualifying Match: Finlay vs Mike Knox vs Dolph Ziggler

Finlay gets a decent pop from the fans, whilst Knox draws little reaction. Ziggler gets a tonne of heat and seems the most obvious choice to qualify here although as Knox showed at No Way Out, he can be pretty solid in multi man matches. Ziggler eyes Knox and Finlay as he enters the ring. As the bell rings Dolph tries to team up with Knox who promptly drops him with a clothesline. Finlay sends Knox over the ropes before nailing Dolph with an uppercut and bouncing his head into the turnbuckle. Finlay whips Dolph across the ring and connects a shoulder charge and an uppercut but Dolph comes back with a kick and clotheslines Finlay over the ropes before taunting him but Knox charges him off the apron only to be pulled from the ring by Finlay. Finlay strikes away but Dolph hits a nice standing drop kick on Finlay and tosses Knox back in the ring and covering for a near fall. Dolph strikes away and hits his high impact elbow and covers again but Finlay breaks up the pin. Finlay covers Dolph for one before hitting a lariat on Dolph and an elbow drop on Knox. Scoop slam from Finlay on Dolph earns a near fall. Dolph is up and striking away but Finlay fights back and sets Dolph up for a superplex but Knox is there and connects an electric chair on Finlay but cannot make the cover due to his selling of his earlier leg injury from Finlay. Dolph comes off the top rope with a flying cross body and pins Finlay for two but Knox is able to break it up. Knox beats Dolph around the ring and hits a solid vertical suplex for two. Knox covers Dolph for a near fall and immediately covers Finlay for another two count. Dolph connects with the Zig Zag (what a horrible name) on Knox and looks to have the match won but Finlay breaks up the pin and smashes Dolph with a big European uppercut. Dolph comes back with a kick but Finlay continues to hit uppercuts and the two slug it out before Dolph drops the Irishman with a drop kick for a near fall. Ziggler whips Finlay across the ring but Finlay gets a boot up before connecting the Celtic Cross (which has apparently been renamed Rolling Thunder) on Dolph. Knox is on his feet but Finlay nails him with Rolling Thunder as well but the feat clearly takes it out of the Irishman. Knox is up first and he forces Finlay into the corner but as he staggers away Dolph nails a flying clothesline on Finlay only to turn into a charging clothesline from Knox. Knox connects his jumping kick and Dolph which sends him rolling from the ring and Konx then hits his running cross body on Finlay who simultaneously strikes with the shelaighlee. Both men are down and Finlay goes for the cover but Ziggler yanks Finlay from the ring and covers Knox for the victory himself.

Result: Dolph Ziggler defeats Finlay & Mike Knox to qualify for Team Smackdown **1/2

Chris Considers: In my opinion the star of this match was Mike Knox, who looked very strong indeed and had me wishing WWE would utilise him more efficiently, however Dolph is the star on the rise and deserves to be on pay per view. This was a fast paced and exciting match that featured some great spots such as the electric chair, cross body from Knox and Dolph on Finlay and the crossbody, shelaighlee clash was very well done. I really hope Mike Knox can move on from this feud with Finlay and perhaps step up to challenge Morrison for the Intercontinental Title.

Match 2: Team Smackdown Qualifying Match: Cryme Tyme vs The Hart Dynasty

The crowd are hot for Cryme Tyme tonight and we get some comedic nerdy white kids trying to gangsta dance. Personally I would like to see The Hart Dynasty go through here as despite Cryme Tyme’s popularity, these guys are so talented they deserve a pay per view shot and the chance to work with guys like Shawn, Triple H and Big Show. Shad and DH Smith start things out and Smith immediately connects a cheap shot on JTG before hitting a low drop kick on Shad’s leg. Smith stomps away before tagging in Tyson who wraps on Shad’s legs around the ring post and applies a submission hold which the referee breaks. Smith is tagged back in and he immediately continues to work over Shad’s legs with wrenches and holds. Smith applies a half Boston Crab and then rolls it through into an ankle lock which looked awesome. Shad is able to power out of the move and hits an elbow to Smith’s face and make the hot tag to JTG who explodes into the ring against Tyson who Smith also tagged in. JTG hits a somersault elbow and a leg drop before connecting a cheap shot on Smith and setting up Tyson and hitting the Mug Shot for a near fall. JTG stalks Tyson but is distracted by Smith allowing Tyson to strike with a roll up for a near fall. Shad nails a huge diving clothesline on Smith and JTG goes for a neckbreaker but Tyson with an amazing flipping counter into a pin attempt for a near fall. Tyson bounces JTG’s head off the ropes and tries for a springboard strike but Shad delays the move by grabbing his foot and after Tyson has kicked him off JTG is able to avoid the move and hit his tilt-a-whirl neck breaker for the pinfall and victory.

Result: Cryme Tyme defeat The Hart Dynasty to qualify for Team Smackdown **

Chris Considers: Whilst I personally would have put The Hart Dynasty over here I can understand that Cryme Tyme are a bigger draw and with pay per view buys an issue WWE will want their biggest draws on the show. This was a very good if slightly short match that featured some superb wrestling from Tyson and Smith such as Smith’s half Boston Crab into Ankle Lock and Tyson’s amazing flipping pin counter. JTG is always fun to watch as well and should provide a good foil for the likes of Kofi and Swagger in the Bragging Rights match.

Jericho is backstage with Michelle and tells her as Captain of Team Smackdown, at which point Long reminds him that he is Co-Captain, Jericho then says there are three Smackdown vs RAW matches and Smackdown needs to win at least two and whilst he is confident his team of warriors will triumph in the seven man tag match he cannot guarantee Morrison will beat The Miz and he wants to know he can rely on Michelle to get the job done. She tells him that he is the best in the world at what he does and she appreciates that. She tells him that she makes history and can beat any diva on any brand at any time. Mickie pops up and says she is excited to come to Smackdown. Mickie says to Jericho if he is looking for someone to beat the RAW divas then he should look no further than someone who has already beaten every diva on RAW. Michelle storms off and runs into Beth who tells her that now she has been traded she shouldn’t plan on keeping her title for too long.

We see Vince chatting on the phone but he is interrupted by CM Punk. Vince asks Punk if he wants something. Punk says yes he does and the fatal four way match that Teddy has planned is ridiculous and Punk is not feeling it. Vince agrees and says that is exactly why he is on probation and Punk asks what about him as he deserves his one on one rematch with Undertaker. Vince says he did like the idea of Punk had last week with a submission match against Undertaker with Scott Armstrong as referee and Teddy Long at ringside. Vince said it will be like a return of Montreal when the three of them conspired against Undertaker, which Vince called a brilliant idea and says he wishes he could have though of it. Punk asks if Vince is calling off the Fatal Four Way and he says no as that is a fabulous match that has already been advertised. Vince says however that Punk will get his shot one on one next week on Smackdown with the stipulations he set last week.

Chris Considers: Damn it! I am away at a family wedding next weekend and Paul is covering Smackdown and I am doing ECW. Why is it whenever I am away Paul always gets to cover AMAZING matches! I will certainly be checking that out when I return on Monday!

Match 3: Team Smackdown Qualifying Match: Eric Escobar with Vickie Guerrero vs Matt Hardy

Vickie appears to an astonishing amount of heat and introduces her new boyfriend Eric Escobar who comes out to a somewhat generic latino theme. Matt Hardy receives a heroes welcome but lets face it he has no chance in this match, not only because of his unfair punishment but because it is clear WWE have HUGE plans for Escobar since they have paired him with Vickie. Huge ‘Hardy’ chant erupts and the two lock up and Matt connects a knee and some strikes before hitting a backslide for an early one count. Escobar sets up for a suplex only to get caught in an inside cradle from Matt for another one count. Matt slugs away but gets dropped by a big shoulder block and Eric then hits a series of vicious seated strikes before pulling Matt to his feet and dropping him with a big clothesline before applying a headlock which he breaks only to connect a scoop slam. Eric misses a splash and Matt connects punches before nailing the Side Effect for as always a near fall. Matt heads to the top rope and hits his diving elbow. Vickie at this point climbs on the apron and screams at Matt and the referee about an injured ankle and whilst the referee tends to Vickie, Escobar hurls Matt into the ring post before rolling him up with a handful of tights for the pinfall and victory.

Result: Eric Escobar defeats Matt Hardy via pinfall to qualify for Team Smackdown *

Chris Considers: I am starting to get seriously annoyed with WWE’s burial of Matt Hardy for no good reason. He should be challenging for main event spots but instead is doing jobs to debuting talents? Not good! This was also a none to impressive debut from Escobar who’s entire wrestling output in this match was a scoop slam. I have seen plenty of his work from FCW and he is one hell of an athlete and capable of so much more. I hope WWE gives him the opportunity to do this.

The Dirt Sheet featuring Intercontinental Champion: John Morrison & United States Champion: The Miz

The Miz is out first to heat from the fans and kisses the belt as he poses on the ramp. Morrison gets a nice pop and is sporting a new T-shirt. Morrison introduces himself and at Bragging Rights he will prove why being the Intercontinental Champion is far superior… wait he asks The Miz if he got his championship from WWEshop.com. Miz introduces himself and says WWE introduces a new concept in Bragging Rights and which show is superior is it RAW, Morrison interrupts and says or is it Smackdown. Morrison says they will also determine which member of one of the greatest tag teams in WWE history is superior. The Miz? (heat from the fans) or John Morrison (pop from the fans) The Miz says everybody knows he was the star of that tag team and throughout history, teams have broken up, one going on to fame and fortune and the other fizzling into security. For example Mark & Mindy: Mark was Robin Williams and who was Mindy? Morrison says there is Bill and Ted where Ted went on to become Neo and crack the Matrix whilst Bill ended up on the unemployment line where the Miz will probably end up which gets a pop from the fans. Miz laughs it off and says the list goes on: Wayne and Garth, Regis & Kathy Lee and of course The Rockers. Miz says when they broke Shawn Michaels went on to become SHAWN MICHAELS whilst Marty Jannety went on to become Marty Jannety and at Bragging Rights Miz will prove his is the Michaels and Morrison is the Jannety. Morrison says this is impossible because Jannety did not have sweet merchandise like his new T-shirt. Morrison mocks Miz for not having any merch before telling him that his mum has one. Miz says there cannot be two Jannetys so by default Morrison is the Jannety. Morrison says actually there can be Marty Jannety and Mizzy Jannety who would make a great tag team. Morrison says this is what happens when you don’t have a girlfriend. Miz angrily insists he has had tonnes of girlfriends which Morrison laughs off before saying Miz hasn’t changed and the only thing he has done is conformed. Back in the day Miz had his hat, his capris and scarf and had the courage to be himself. Morrison shows a graphic of what Miz used to look like before saying now he is a mixture of Michael Felps, Mr Ed, Pink and Big Dick Johnson. Miz laughs it off and says number one: he has great hair, number two: the women love his pearly whites and number three: he looks great in trunks. Morrison says if by good he means husky then yes. Morrison explains this is what mums call their kids when they are fat but don’t want to hurt their feelings. Miz is incensed and Morrison asks the crowd to make some noise if they think Miz is husky and of course the crowd erupt. Miz asks the crowd if they really think that and then says all these Miztakes are just jealous of his amazing body and at Bragging Rights he will prove what everyone has always known, that he is better than Morrison. Morrison says why wait, why not try and prove that right now and Miz says he is not going to do that in this second rate city, in this second rate state on this second rate show and he will do it at the ppv. Morrison asks Miz if he heard him correctly and then quite rightly states that all RAW is these days is a cheap version of Saturday Night Live and asks if The Big Bird is hosting next week. Morrison says if you want to see real action you tune in to watch Friday Night Smackdown. Morrison says he is sure people are sick of listening to the boring Miz. Miz erupts and says he is the most entertaining and charismatic superstar in WWE, he is the reason people watch Monday night RAW, he is the reason people are watching tonight, he carried Morrison for two years, he was the talent of the tag team because ‘IM THE MIZ AND IM AWESOME!’ which draws heat from the fans. Morrison says he is the Miz and all he does is run his mouth and all he heard for two years was ‘I’m The Miz, and I’ve got a catchphrase: I’m awesome, be jealous” Morrison tells The Miz to shut up, this is Smackdown and unlike RAW they don’t just sit around and talk, Morrison tells Miz to get up and do something, to get up and act like a champion, to prove something. Morrison dares Miz to take a shot before hurling the mic away. The two stare down and Morrison begs Miz to take a shot and the crowd erupt in to a ‘husky’ chant. Miz backs down looking furious. Morrison gets back on the mic and says that is what he thought and tells Miz he will see him at Bragging Rights before calling him Jannety once again.

Chris Considers: I am huge fans of both of these guys and this was one hell of a promo that did so much to build the match between these two at Bragging Rights. When these two are together sparks fly and I cannot wait to see the match, in fact I can honestly say it is the only reason I am ordering the ppv. The comments Morrison made about RAW were spot on and in this segment he voiced what all of us real wrestling fans have been saying for a long time: that RAW pretty much sucks!

Match 4: Team Smackdown Qualifying Match: R-Truth vs Drew McIntyre

The feud between these two is recapped as we see Truth walking backstage looking focussed. Truth makes his way to the ring rapping as always and seems pretty over as always. McIntyre arrogantly struts down the ramp and smiles at Truth as he enters the ring. Truth blocks a kick and Truth strikes away but McIntyre comes back with a kick only for Truth to fight back and slides and leap frogs over Drew’s charges before hitting an athletic arm drag take over. Drew eats a drop kick and is sent flying from the ring and Truth flies over the tope rope taking Drew out on the outside as we go to commercial. Back from the break and Drew has a headlock applied in the centre of the ring. Drew breaks the hold and whips Truth into the ropes but Truth tosses Drew over the top rope. Truth is selling his injuries though and follows Drew out and limply tosses him back into the ring. As Truth climbs on the apron Drew slams Truth into the ring post and hauls him into the centre of the ring and covers for one. Drew hits a series of seated strikes as we see Jericho and Long discussing strategy backstage. Drew applies an chin lock before connecting a scoop slam and heading to the middle rope and he goes for a double knee drop but Truth hits a really nice counter and gets two feet up before leaping to his feet and avoiding a charge. Truth cartwheels away and splits under another charge before connecting a big flying leg lariat for a near fall. Drew evades a Scissor Kick and sets up for his underhook DDT but Truth forces him into the corner before clotheslining Drew from the ring. Truth goes for a Bulldog onto the steel steps but Drew counters and slams Truth onto the steel and rolls back into the ring leaving R-Truth on the outside and unable to get back into the ring before the count of ten.

Result: Drew McIntyre defeats R-Truth via countout **1/2

Chris Considers: I am normally not a fan of count out endings but felt this one worked particularly well. Drew out smarted and out wrestled the more experienced Truth here and showed plenty of promise. I am really high on the young Scot and feel he has made the biggest impact on debuting that I can remember for some years. He rightfully gets another ppv appearance and hopefully will get a real chance to shine in the seven on seven match. Truth is another guy that should be pushed more than he is due to his phenomenal crowd responses but WWE seem reluctant for him to be used as anything more than enhancement talent which is a real shame.

We see Rey and Batista backstage and they embrace. Batista says Rey is his brother and this match feels wrong. Rey jokingly asks him if he is scared. Batista says at Bragging Rights he is going to have to put their friendship aside as Rey knows how much the title means to Batista. Rey says this is ok and he would expect nothing less and he also has championship aspirations. After some more sucking up Batista and Rey embrace and Dave walks away smiling. I never thought I would reference this ever but Cryme Tyme had an edition of Word Up called Bromance and that is what I was feeling here! I like face vs face rivalries but this is just too much sucking up and makes me nauseous!

We get a recap of The Montreal Screw Job version 2 which is pretty redundant if you ask me seeing as how Undertaker so easily dealt with Punk at HIAC, however with our rematch next week it seems Vince is determined to drag this one out!

Promo: The Undertaker

The Undertaker walks on to camera to some spooky music and says that is has been said history has a way of repeating itself, but not in his yard. CM Punk, Theodore Long, Scott Armstrong, once again the three of them have decided to tempt their fates and try to rest the holy grail from Death’s grip. Undertaker tells them that once they enter Hell’s Gate, there is no turning back and at Bragging Rights he will take Punk’s soul and in one week’s time he will give Punk his last rights.

Chris Considers: As always short, to the point and effective from Undertaker. It makes me wish they would give him more mic time!

Main Event: Rey Mysterio vs Batista

I really do not want to cover this! Rey should be wrestling guys like Jericho, Punk, Bourne etc, you know guys who are actually skilled in the ring! This has the potential to be worse than Rey vs Henry from Tribute to the Troops a couple of years ago! Frustratingly Batista gets a far bigger response than Rey! Open your eyes wrestling fans!!! Surely even kids can tell that Rey is a hundred times more interesting and innovative to watch than Batista!? Well with only eight minutes left this isn’t going to be long at least! Rey applies a waist lock but Batista easily powers out. Rey goes for a springboard cross body but Batista catches him with ease but rather than hitting a move just throws Rey off. Rey goes for a hammerlock but Batista laughs and hurls him off. Batista slides under Rey’s legs but Batista hurls Rey from the ring. Rey charges back in and the two smile at each other as we go to commercial. Back from the break and Batista whips Rey into the corner. The two lock up and Batista shoves Rey off but Rey fires back with a low drop kick and hits several quick kicks to Batista’s legs before drop toe holding him in to the ropes. Rey goes for the 619 but Batista ducks and goes for the Batista Bomb but Rey flips over his shoulders and nails a kick to the gut but runs straight into a Spear. Batista looks upset he just had to do that as the referee begins to count Rey out. The referee gets to nine and Batista makes two quick near fall pins. Rey tries to fight back but Batista drops shoulders in the corner and drops Rey to the mat. Big running kick from Batista for another near fall before applying a standing bear hug which he drops to the mat. The crowd rally behind Rey and he elbows his way out and ducks under a clothesline and tries for a springboard attack but Batista catches him only for Rey to attempt a sunset flip but Batista hauls him up for a slam but Rey wriggles free and hits a chop block followed by kick to the head and sends Batista into the ropes with a drop kick, Rey connects the 619 but as he tries for the Hurricanranna Batista catches him and goes for a slam but Rey somehow hits the move and pins Batista and even though Dave clearly gets his shoulder up the referee did not see it and awards Rey the victory. After the match Punk hits the ring and nails Rey with a GTS to the fury of Batista who storms the ring but Punk who flees through the crowd. Batista helps Rey to his feet and they embrace as Smackdown goes off the air.

Result: Rey Mysterio defeats Batista via pinfall *1/2

Chris Considers: This match started off as a complete joke but actually turned really competitive and left me wanting more. The screwy finish was irritating as if the match had been given more time Rey could have done the sportsmanlike thing and had it restarted but with a pretty loaded show I guess they had to make this a quick one. Punk striking at the end was good as it kept the heat on him but with a babyface loaded fatal four way I would have liked to see things break down a bit more between Rey and Batista

This was a very good Smackdown in that it really build the pay per view and made you want to order it. I have to admit Team Smackdown looks fairly weak on paper compared to Team RAW but with the way guys like McIntyre are being pushed, there is no way they will be the ones getting pinned. I feel sorry for The Hart Dynasty and really think WWE should utilise them better as they should Mike Knox who certainly looked the best in the triple threat match. Drew McIntyre impressed me once again and I am really enjoying his push. Eric Escobar had a forgettable debut, sadly at the expense of the deserving Matt Hardy, I will be happy when the business with Jeff is resolved so Matt can get his career back on track because things are certainly not looking good for him right now. The best part of this Smackdown was The Dirt Sheet, Miz and Morrison were both fabulous on the mic and the way Morrison ran down RAW was priceless. I would happily part with $40 just to see that match, I realy think it will be that good!

This week’s match of the night was Drew McIntyre vs R-Truth and the show scores a good 8/10

That is all for this week. My apologies once again for the lateness but family has to come first sometimes. As I mentioned earlier I am away at a family wedding this weekend so Paul is filling in for me and will be handling posting The Talent Exchange. I will be covering ECW this week which means I shall be back on Wednesday evening with my thoughts on the show as well as a full review of TNA Bound For Glory which I started watching tonight and so far am very impressed.

Email me on a_agreement_called_forever@hotmail.com , add me on facebook: www.facebook.com\wnws.chris.jacks  or follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/WNWsChrisJacks  I would love to hear from you!

Here are ten points to consider coming out of this week’s show:
• How great was Chris Jericho’s opening promo, with all the time he spends on RAW these days his presence is sometimes missed on Smackdown but this was a timely reminder that when his tag title run is done he shall return to the A show!
• Despite Ziggler’s win, it was Mike Knox who stood out in that match for me and I feel he should have got a place on Team Smackdown
• Likewise The Hart Dynasty blew me away with their technical prowess in their short qualifying match, the counters and techniques they used were flawless and it is a shame we could not have had JTG and Tyson on the team
• Paul is a lucky man getting to review the title match next week! That will be my first port of call when I get back Monday morning! Perhaps my hotel at the wedding will have SKY so I can catch up over the weekend!
• A disappointing debut from Escobar in my opinion but since I regularly catch FCW I know what he can do and hope WWE let him actually wrestle to the best of his ability rather than this.
• As I said last week Matt Hardy does not deserve this treatment… such a shame
• The Dirt Sheet’s one night reunion was awesome! Morrison hit the nail on the head when he said RAW was like a cheap version of Saturday Night Live and Smackdown is the show where they do things rather than sit around and talk about them! This segment built the match at Bragging Rights so much and I cannot wait to see it!
• Another great showing from Drew McIntyre, I really hope he gets to shine for Team Smackdown at Bragging Rights, I think some exchanges between Drew and Swagger and Drew and Cody will be exciting to watch!
• Despite the somewhat farcical start and finish I did enjoy Batista vs Mysterio for what it was and actually wished it had gone longer so their friendship could have been strained further to help even the heel/face ratio in the Fatal Four Way!
• Michael Cole went the whole night without saying vintage!!! If only he could apply that to his RAW commentary!

My top ten matches of the year so far in WWE

1: The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels – Wrestlemania – April 5th 2009
2: Legacy vs DeGeneration X – Breaking Point – September 13th 2009
3: CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy – Smackdown – August 28th 2009
4: Rey Mysterio vs Chris Jericho – The Bash – June 28th 2009
5: Rey Mysterio vs John Morrison – Smackdown – August 4th 2009
6: CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy – Summerslam – August 23rd 2009
7: Rey Mysterio vs Chris Jericho – Smackdown – July 10th 2009
8: Jeff Hardy vs John Morrison – Smackdown – July 31st 2009
9: John Morrison vs CM Punk – Smackdown – June 26th 2009
10: Rey Mysterio vs Chris Jericho – Judgement Day – May 17th 2009

Smackdown Power 10

1: The Undertaker
2: CM Punk (-1)
3: Rey Mysterio (+1)
4: Batista (-1)
5: John Morrison
6: Dolph Ziggler
7: Chris Jericho
8: Kane
9: Drew McIntyre (+1)
10: Eric Escobar (NE)

Watch any WWE programming you miss at www.Dailymotion.com  , your online source for TV shows!

Hey everyone and welcome to this week’s edition of Chris Reviews Smackdown. In this weeks blog I shall be discussing my thoughts on Hell in a Cell, the current situation of short title reigns and analysing the show. Please feel free to drop an email to a_agreement_called_forever@hotmail.com or leave me some feedback via the comment board

First off my apologies this blog is up late but due to work commitments I had hardly any free time over the weekend, topped off with the fact I was very ill yesterday. In short it has not been a good weekend!

I could talk about several things coming out of last week’s RAW but the main thing I want to talk about is the stupid amount of short WWE Championship and Heavyweight Title reigns we have seen this year. Now the WWE title has changed hands an unbelievable 7 times since the Royal Rumble whilst the World Heavyweight Title has now changed hands 8 times in the same period. In my opinion this is a very bad thing as it is turning titles which were previously thought of as prestigious, into nothing more than props to advance current storylines. It has also given the likes of Edge, Batista, Randy Orton and John Cena far more title reigns than they should have had at this point in their careers and none of their recent reigns will ever be held in the same regard as the likes of Hogan, Flair, Diesel etc who all held the majority of their world titles for a respectable amount of time. It is shocking think that both Randy Orton and John Cena are just one title win away from equally Bret Hart’s seven reigns when they are so early into their respective careers. I know plenty of people were complaining when John Cena had his year long title reign between 2006 and 2007 but at least it actually meant something when Randy Orton won the belt, albeit after Cena vacated the title through injury. This glut of quick reigns also cheapens pay per views as major title changes were usually saved for a big show like Summerslam or Wrestlemania. These days it is common to see title changes at B & C level pay per views, which takes away from the “Big Four” format we have seen in previous years. This run of quick reigns is unlikely to end any time soon as Undertaker is in no physical shape to hold the belt for any decent length of time and I see it as very unlikely that John Cena will loose the Iron Man match with Orton, in fact the only reason I think creative did a WWE title change was to extend this never ending feud because they have flat out failed to establish any new stars on RAW. I am a lifelong WWE fan but I can honestly say that I am starting to get quite down about the way the product is heading. The PG programming is really starting to bother me as is the slapstick variety garbage that RAW has become. It wasn’t that long ago I would religiously stay up to watch RAW live at 2am and the week leading up to a PPV I was excited about it all week, but now I am hardly bothered because the “main events” are so stale and repetitive. Smackdown has been the saving grace during this period of decline but ever since Batista made the switch and we saw the Montreal Screw Job v2, the show has taken a sharp nose dive in terms of quality wrestling which saddens me as I never want to be writing these blogs for something I am consistently not enjoying. Lets hope that WWE realises the error of their ways and steps it up considerably over the coming weeks otherwise they will continue to alienate their already dwindling fan base…

Ok so lets take a look at the Hell in a Cell pay per view. I tanked in my predictions here but I think that had a lot more to do with WWE’s questionable booking and wanting to swerve the fans, rather than the show being particularly hard to predict. HIAC reminded me very much of a TNA pay per view, in that the wrestling was generally good but the booking left a lot to be desired.

The show opened with the biggest disappointment of the night and that was CM Punk vs The Undertaker. Now once again both Punk and Undertaker wrestled very well in the time that they were given but this match was ridiculously short for a world title match and despite some use of the cell early on, this didn’t really feel like a real HIAC match, like some we have seen in the past. CM Punk certainly has lost some of his credibility after being so comprehensively beaten and I cannot fathom why WWE would strap Undertaker when he is clearly not in the best physical shape and this change strongly suggests this is just a stop gap reign until the belt inevitably returns to Batista at either Bragging Rights or Survivor Series.

Chris’ Star Rating: **

Next up was probably one of my favourite matches of the night in John Morrison vs Dolph Ziggler. One thing that really hurt this match was the rather dead crowd and for whatever reason they did not seem to take Dolph seriously as a heel despite how well he has been built up on Smackdown. We saw some excellent mat wrestling in the early stages followed by some memorable spots later on and the go home sequence was fantastic with an excellent series of counters leading to Morrison picking up the win with Starship Pain. The aim of this match was for both men to impress and I felt they did this in leaps and bounds. I think the decision to keep the belt on Morrison was the correct one as it allows this feud to continue which will eventually give Dolph a bigger rub when he finally overcomes Morrison.

Chris’ Star Rating: ***1/2

After all of her recent heat and botches I was very surprised that creative kept the belt on Mickie James. This match with Alicia Fix could have been kept on RAW, giving more time to the Punk vs Taker match. What we saw wasn’t awful and Alicia certainly showed promise in her first singles match on PPV, her Northern Lights Suplex in particular was quite impressive. I would not be opposed to this program continuing and Alicia eventually winning the belt in order to freshen up the women’s division on RAW.

Chris’ Star Rating: *1/2

The Unified Tag Title Match turned out to be really, really good, much better than I was expecting. Batista and Big Show’s involvement was kept to a minimum and the majority of the match focussed on some more outstanding wrestling between Chris Jericho and Rey Mysterio. The finish with Mysterio coming off the top rope into a KO punch was awesome! The decision to keep the belts on Jeri-Show was the right one in my books and I am really enjoying their run and how the tag team division has been rebuilt since Edge and Jericho first captured the titles.

Chris’ Star Rating: ***1/2

John Cena and Randy Orton has probably their best match in recent memory but I was very surprised this match was so low down the card! This did have the big match feel it needed to and for once Cena did a good job selling Orton’s offence. This did not really feel like a HIAC match and was more a standard wrestling match inside a cell but it was still miles better than anything these two have done against each other all year. The decision to put the belt back on Orton is ludicrous in my opinion as it needlessly extends this feud as well as giving Cena another short title reign. If Creative had done a decent job building the likes of Swagger on RAW then there would have been no need to have ANOTHER Cena vs Orton match, but sadly due to RAW being almost entirely focussed on a combination of Cena, HHH, Orton, HBK and guest hosts, that is exactly the situation we are in now. Can anybody say they are looking forward to watching John Cena and Randy Orton wrestle for an hour? I know I am not! I wonder how many Orton-Locks will be cracked out in that one!

Chris’ Star Rating: ***

Whilst I like the idea of Drew McIntyre being introduced to a pay per view audience, his match with R-Truth was nothing spectacular and could have been left for Smackdown and allowed further time to be devoted to the very lacking Heavy Weight Championship match. Obviously McIntyre was going over here to maintain his push and hopefully this will be the first of many ppv outings for the talented young scot.

Chris’ Star Rating: **

I have read plenty of mixed opinion regarding the US title match but I actually really enjoyed it. I think Swagger, Miz and Kofi all work really well together and despite the rather crappy build up featuring multiple belt thefts, this match was decent and featured some excellent spots and from an excitement point of view was probably the most dramatic match of the night, with plenty of pin attempts being broken up by the third man. The decision to keep the belt on Kofi only to strap Miz the next night on RAW is highly questionable to me as I will always feel that putting someone over on pay per view is far more of a big deal than doing so on free TV but it seems WWE may be starting to think otherwise. I am glad The Miz is now champion and hopefully we will get the Miz vs Morrison Bragging Rights match that Paul and I predicted in The Talent Exchange

Chris’ Star Rating: ***

The main event between DX and Legacy was awesome, as have been the majority of encounters between these two teams. This one could have gone either way but after Legacy trapped HHH came storming back with the blot cutters I just knew DX were going over. If anything the way this was booked makes Legacy look even better as they could have pinned Shawn at any time but chose to punish him further and this makes them even bigger and more arrogant heels in my opinion. DX were always going to win the blow off match in this feud and whilst I am sad to see this one end, I think we can all agree that Ted and Cody look a hundred times better than they did before it started. This also felt like far more of a HIAC match than either of the other two title matches and was my favourite match of the night. I will be watching with interest to see where Legacy go from here.

Chris’ Star Rating: ****

So HIAC was both a newsworthy show, in that both world titles changed hands, as well as a decent show from a wrestling stand point. I completely disagree with the decision to strap both Randy Orton and Undertaker and feel that Miz should have gone over on the PPV. If you want to see a show with decent wrestling and are not really bothered about current storylines, title changes etc then this would be worth picking up on DVD but if, like me, you enjoy shows that are both wrestled and booked well, then this would probably be one to avoid.

Chris’ Overall Rating for WWE Hell In A Cell: ***

Ok so lets move on to this week’s Smackdown.

The show opens with highlight stills of The Undertaker capturing the World Heavyweight title from CM Punk at HIAC. JR welcomes us to ringside and announces tonight’s main event will feature Batista vs CM Punk in a match up I have been dreading since the Animal’s return to Smackdown!

Opening Segment: Teddy Long, CM Punk and Vince McMahon

Teddy Long is in the ring and congratulates The Undertaker and says that The Deadman’s performance reinforces that Smackdown is the dominant brand in WWE. Long talks about the Iron Man match between Orton and Cena at Bragging Rights. Long announces that Cena is welcome back to Smackdown if he looses that match. CM Punk’s music hits and he limps to the ring before grabbing a mic questions why the general manager of Smackdown is talking about a RAW wrestler. Punk says Smackdown does not need John Cena, what it needs is a bit of focus from the esteemed general manager and Long’s focus should solely be on Punk right now. Punk says if Long is about to name a number one contender, then Punk’s name should be the only name on the tip of Teddy’s tongue. Punk says that Long and all of the people here know as the only straight edged world champion in WWE history Punk has a guaranteed rematch and it is bad enough that Long has Punk wrestling Batista tonight in this dump. Punk questions Long putting him against Batista, five days removed from the toughest match of his career. Punk demands that his rematch with Undertaker takes place in a submission match with Scott Armstrong as the guest referee and Long standing ringside watching. Punk says he will say when and where this match will take place. Long starts to reply but is cut off by Vince’s music and the chairman does his ridiculous walk to the ring whilst Punk screams at Long. Vince gets a mic and Long gives him a formal introduction. Vince says he tries to support Teddy in any way he can but his patience is wearing thin. What Long was about to announce is not going to please Punk at all and it certainly will not please the Undertaker. Vince questions why Teddy continues to provoke the Undertaker. Vince says Teddy was about to announce that at Bragging Rights the World Heavyweight Championship will be up for grabs but not in singles competition. Punk immediately cuts in and asks why but Vince cuts him off and says that Long was about to announce the Undertaker will defend the World Heavyweight Championship against CM Punk, Rey Mysterio and Batista. A fatal four way presented by Theodore Long. Vince introduces Rey Mysterio whilst Punk screams in fury at Teddy in the ring. Vince shakes Rey’s hand as we go to commercial.

Chris Considers: I enjoyed the back and forth between Punk and Teddy Long. Vince appearing was unexpected and unwanted but it continues the “feud” between Vince and Long. It was clearly Vince’s idea for the fatal four way but he is still trying to force the fact that it was Long’s decision to provoke The Undertaker. Quite how both Batista and Rey have earned title shots after loosing a tag team title match is beyond me seeing as surely guys like John Morrison and Matt Hardy would be more deserving!

Match 1: Rey Mysterio vs Chris Jericho

I don’t think these two could possibly put on a bad match against one another! Jericho struts arrogantly to the ring as we return from the break and we see highlight stills of the tag match at Hell in a Cell. The two lock up and Batista shoves Rey across the ring. Rey connects with a kick and nails an innovative wheelbarrow arm drag take over before hurling Jericho out of the ring with his feet. Flying cross body to Jericho on the outside but as both men get back in the ring Jericho connects a clothesline and stomps away before connecting a standing vertical suplex for an early one count. Jericho talks trash before choking Rey in the ropes and whipping him across the ring. Rey gets a boot up and connects with head scissors takedown but Jericho fights back with a military press slam and a drop kick to the head. Jericho catapults Rey into the middle rope before dragging him to his feet. Rey fires away with strikes but Jericho hurls Rey out of the ring as we go to commercial. Back from the break and Jericho has a seated half nelson applied and is demanding that the referee ‘ask him’ Rey kicks free and connects a quick schoolboy on Jericho for a near fall. Jericho somewhat botches an enzuguri as it makes no contact with Rey’s head and yet he falls to the mat as if hit by a freight train. Near fall for Jericho and he hurls Rey onto the top rope hanging him up before Jericho shoves him to the outside and poses to heat in the centre of the ring. Jericho drops a knee on the outside and tosses Rey back into the ring before connecting a crossbody over the ropes for a near fall. Jericho sets up Rey on the turnbuckle and drops some elbows before climbing the ropes and going to rip Rey’s mask off but Rey elbows him free and comes off the top rope with a seated senton followed by a springboard crossbody for a near fall. Jericho hits a kick to the gut and attempts a sunset flip but Rey rolls the move through and fires back with a low drop kick for another near fall. Rey knees away and dodges a clothesline and setting Jericho up for the 619 in the process but as Rey flies back through the ropes Jericho catches his legs and applies the Walls of Jericho which Rey sometimes counters with an inside cradle for a near fall, awesome sequence! Rey tries for another head scissors but Jericho counters into a torture rack which he drops into a back breaker for a near fall. Jericho is furious with the referee before stalking Rey and stomping away. Rey counters a running bulldog and sets Jericho up for the 619 but Jericho counters again ducking under a charging Rey and as Rey tries for a springboard splash Jericho locks on the Walls of Jericho right in the middle of the ring. Rey crawls for the ropes but Jericho drags him back to the middle of the ring but in the process Rey tries to wriggle free leading to Jericho hauling up for a slam but Rey counters with an enzuguri sending Jericho into the ropes. Rey finally connects the 619 followed by a springboard splash for the pinfall and victory.

Result: Rey Mysterio defeats Chris Jericho via Pinfall ***1/2

Chris Considers: Excellent quality tv match between two of the best in the business. It doesn’t matter how much these two go at it, they always deliver and this was no exception. This match has several wonderful sequences of multiple counters and Jericho does not look weak in defeat in any way. I can only hope the rest of the show is as good as this!

We see WWE’s Sports Centre moment plugging Ben Rothlesburger’s (sorry for the spelling) appearance and interaction between various superstars and DX effectively squashing Jeri-Show and all of the antics with DX and the Steelers.

Word Up – Cryme Tyme and Eve Torres

After the usual akas etc Cryme Tyme announce this week’s word is Eve and proceed to sleaze all over Eve and plug her match against Michelle next

Chris Considers: Not even worth mentioning…

Match 2: Eve Torres vs Michelle McCool (non title match)

I have been keen to see these two go at it as I feel Eve is one of the best young prospects in the women’s division. The two lock up and Michelle powers Eve into the corner before nailing strikes and kicks. Eve fires back with striking offence of her own but runs into an elbow. Eve leaps on Michelle and nails some strikes on the ground but Michelle rolls it through and connects strikes of her own. The referee gets both women to their feet and Michelle runs round the ring before trying to kick Eve as she follows but Eve catches her boot and nails a clothesline for a near fall. Michelle hurls Eve into the turnbuckle and connects a vicious running knee to the head before dropping a series of knees and leg drops on Eve in the centre of the ring. Nerve hold from Michelle followed by a seated headlock which Eve powers to her feet but Michelle keeps the hold applied and drops Eve back to the mat. Eve eventually powers out and tries an arm drag take over but Michelle counters with a cartwheel only to run straight into a big clothesline from Eve. Eve connects a pair of single leg drop kicks followed by a sommersault slam for a near fall. Eve cartwheels into a kick and sets of the Styles Clash but Eve counters with a roll up for a near fall. Michelle ducks a clothesline and nails a stiff kick to the jaw for the pinfall and victory..

Result: Michelle McCool defeats Eve Torres via pinfall **

Chris Considers: I enjoyed this match and it was nice to see someone different stepping up to challenge Michelle. Eve has shown she is far more than just eye candy during her time so far in WWE. I hope this feud continues and next time they are given a little longer as working with someone like Michelle will only further Eve’s development and I hopefully she will eventually work herself into the stale Women’s title picture.

Backstage Segment: Teddy Long, Vickie Guerrero & Eric Escobar

We see Vickie Guerrero and Eric Escobar backstage. Long interrupts and asks Vickie why she is in his office. Vickie says last week her boyfriend was announced as a new member of the Smackdown roster and she thinks it is completely unfair that Long does not have him in a match tonight. She also thinks the fatal four way announcement is unfair on CM Punk as he is not getting his one on one rematch and mathematically the match is also unfair on The Undertaker. Vickie says she does not understand why Long keeps poking a stick at The Undertaker. Long tries to say something about Vince but Vickie cuts him off and asks if Long was seriously about to suggest that it was Vince’s idea. She whispers something to Eric who tells Long something in Spanish which makes Vickie horny. Eric goes to drag her off but Vickie quickly tells Long he is still on probation.

Chris Considers: It is good to see Vickie back! Eric is also a very confident talker and I am eager to see him make his in ring debut after spending a record 4 years in development!

Match 3: Intercontinental Championship Match: John Morrison © vs Dolph Ziggler

I am really hoping they do not do what they need with the US title in this match! Morrison gets a nice pop whilst Ziggler draws some heat on his way to the ring. The two exchange words as the bell ring and Dolph tries for a quick takedown and we get a nice amateur mat wrestling exchange between the pair. Ziggler hits a right hand followed by a fireman carry takeover for an early one count. Dolph applies a headlock on the ground at gets Morrison’s shoulders down for a one count. Morrison hits a fireman’s carry takeover of his own for a one count and both men get to their feet. Dolph drops Morrison with strikes but Morrison slides under Dolph’s legs fires back with a double leg drop kick for a one count. Another fireman carry takeover from Morrison and he then applies a headlock which Dolph eventually breaks and the two out counter each other with backslide attempts before Morrison connects an inverted backbreaker, side Russian leg sweep and spinning hand stand kick combination for the first near fall of the match. Maria makes her way to ringside and starts firing up Dolph who battles to his feet and an enzuguri attempt from Morrison who promptly nails a pele kick instead! Ziggler drops Morrison into the corner and hits a belly to back suplex with a bridge for a near fall. Ziggler sets Morrison up in the corner and connects a leaping elbow for a near fall. Ziggler repeatedly smashes Morrison’s head into the mat before dropping his high impact elbow for another near fall. Seated chin lock from Ziggler but Morrison battles to his feet only to get dropped by a kick from Dolph who arrogantly strikes and stomps away but he then walks into a kick from Morrison who comes back with strikes but Dolph counters with a powerslam for another near fall which infuriates Dolph. Mounted strikes from Ziggler and he then starts to work over Morrison’s arm before another seated chin lock which Morrison powers out of with an electric chair leaving both men down. Morrison hit a pair of strikes and drops Ziggler with a shoulder block and a clothesline followed by a flying leg lariat and a standing shooting star press for a near fall. Morrison nails a kick to the face takes Dolph over the ropes with a cross body. Dolph charges Morrison into the ring apron and grabs a chair which he sets up on the apron.. Dolph hammers away at Morrison in the corner whilst Maria takes the chair and sits back down. Flying clothesline from Dolph sends Morrison reeling and he follows up with a drop kick and scrambles for the chair only to find Maria sitting in it. Dolph is furious and walks straight into the Flying Chuck giving Morrison the three count and victory.

Result: John Morrison defeats Dolph Ziggler via pinfall (retains Intercontinental Championship) ***1/2

Chris Considers: Very solid match here once again between Morrison and Ziggler that featured some fantastic wrestling sequences. I really enjoyed the early mat exchanges! Dolph showed once again he was the real deal, hitting a number of impactful moves such as the belly to back suplex and powerslam. The finish was innovative and I imagine is going to cause all sorts of problems between Dolph and Maria further down the line. I hope this is not the last time we see these two go at it as they deserve at least one more pay per view outing.

We get an awesome video package highlighting Undertaker’s seven world title wins. This was one of the most awesome promo video packages I have ever seen! WWE really do such an amazing job with these!

Backstage Segment: Dolph Ziggler & Maria

We see Dolph and Maria walking backstage. Dolph is furious, he says he has two lives a personal and a professional life and he thought she could differentiate between the two. Dolph says in professional life he sees bright lights and has a big future before telling Maria in his personal life he doesn’t see her. He storms off and leaves Maria in tears

Chris Considers: Normally I wouldn’t comment on these backstage skits but I think this one is significant as I believe it will lead to a full fledged heel turn from Maria as she goes all out to win back her man and this will probably include interfering in Dolph’s matches on his behalf. I think Dolph and Maria could be the next Edge and Lita (minus Lita’s wrestling ability as Maria obviously has none!) and this could work extremely well if booked right, of course this could be the end of the road for the pair and Dolph could end up aligned with someone like Layla or Michelle but I hope they turn Maria as it would add something different to her air head character.

Rey and Batista are shown and Rey says he is sorry about HIAC and hopes Batista does not feel he let him down. Batista says they are a team and if they loose they loose as a team. Batista says Rey won tonight, he will win tonight and at Bragging Rights, Rey gets to be in the ring when Batista wins back his world title. Rey asks what about him? But Batista insists he will be winning and the two embrace.

Match 4: R-Truth & Matt Hardy vs Drew McIntyre & Kane

R-Truth makes his way out rapping away and gets one of the biggest pops of the night so far! Matt Hardy is also very over and poses to a big pop. Drew swaggers arrogantly down the ramp as Kane emerges to more of a pop than heat. Drew and Matt Hardy start out and a huge ‘Hardy’ chant erupts. Hammerlock from Matt which Drew reverses only for Matt to apply a headlock. Drew whips Matt into the corner but Matt dodges a charging elbow and continues to work over the arm before tagging in Truth who comes off the top rope with an axe handle before nailing some strikes but Drew comes back some strikes. Kane makes the blind tag and Truth is distracted by Drew and turns into a huge boot from Kane who stomps and kicks away before nailing a low drop kick for a near fall. Drew is tagged in and he nails a snap suplex for a near fall before making another tag to Kane who hits a big uppercut and tries for a sidewalk slam but Truth wriggles free and sweeps Kane into the tunbuckle but Drew makes the tag whilst Truth makes the hot tag to Matt Hardy and the two slug it out with Matt coming out on top. Big clothesline from Matt followed by a drop kick and diving leg into the ropes. Matt connects an elbow from the top rope followed by a Side Effect for a near fall which Kane breaks up. Truth hits the ring and send Kane to the apron with a drop kick but as he turns to leave the ring Drew nails a cheap shot only to turn into a Twist of Fate attempt from Matt but Drew counters and sends Matt into Kane who hits a big European Uppercut and Drew than hits his double underhook DDT on Matt for the pinfall and victory.

Result: Drew McIntyre & Kane defeat R-Truth & Matt Hardy via pinfall *1/2

Chris Considers: Things are really not looking good for Matt Hardy these days considering he was challenging CM Punk for the World Title at house shows a month ago. Drew and Kane worked surprisingly well as a tag team here but this match was something of a glorified squash, with Truth in particular getting very little ring time. Drew continues to impress me and I hope he may move on to feud with Matt Hardy as this will help elevate his young career no end.

In Ring Segment: The Undertaker

The Undertaker makes his way to the ring to a thunderous ovation and it appears he has now shed the Ministry of Darkness style attire he has been wearing as of late. Undertaker pauses as the crowd erupt before getting on the mic and saying he is the reaper of wayward souls and the world heavyweight champion. Big pop from the crowd. Undertaker says this belt is the holy grail of everyone who sets foot in the ring and this is why it is so important that he poses it because every wayward soul that crosses the path of The Undertaker but now consumed by the lust of fortune and fame, the recognition that this championship brings will lead them on a road that they wish they had never embarked, that road ends in his yard and for them it will be a graveyard. On October 25th 2009 in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania three men will tempt their fate on a new battle ground called Bragging Rights. CM Punk: Punk escaped Hell in a Cell, relatively in one piece, at Bragging Rights, The Undertaker will take his soul. Rey Mysterio: his tenacious heart is legendary, his courage unquestionable but make no mistake about it Undertaker will show him no mercy. This brings him to Batista: their battles from the past are epic but even his strength and rage will not be enough to save his soul. Undertaker says it is appropriate the match is called fatal four way because one by one each of them will fall beneath the shadow of The Undertaker and one by one they will each rest in peace!

Chris Considers: Awesome promo as always from Undertaker. This did a great job hyping the Bragging Rights match and from the way Taker was talking it suggests it may be an Elimination style match as he mentioned one by one they will each fall. That would be pretty great as I really enjoy elimination style multi man matches and even though I am against both Batista and Rey getting a title shot this was strong build.

Main Event: Batista vs CM Punk

Batista got his usual pop as he made his way to the ring. JR announced it was ‘time to feed the animal’ how fitting as that is probably exactly what is going to happen here! Punk draws some serious heat as he walks dejectedly down to the ring still selling his injuries from Hell in a Cell. Punk talks smack to a fan before posing on the top rope. Punk hurls his top at Batista and immediately flees the ring. The referee calls Batista off as Punk slowly makes his way back to the ring. Kick from Punk and he bails to the outside again to heat from the fans before sliding back in the ring and waiting in the corner. Batista forces Punk into the ropes and the referee breaks the hold and Punk hits some strikes and kicks but Batista counters and powers Punk into the corner and connects a charging clothesline. Batista whips Punk across the ring and he bails to the outside once again. Punk climbs to the apron and makes the referee back Batista off before getting back in the ring only to eat a kick. Batista forces Punk into the corner and Punk ducks under the ropes before bouncing Batista’s head off the top rope and trying for an axe handle straight into a kick. Batista goes for the Batista Bomb but Punk wriggles free and takes another time out as we go to commercial. Back from the break and Batista drops Punk with a shoulder block before connecting a suplex for a near fall. Strikes from Batista in the corner but Punk tries for a roll up only for Batista to shrug him off. Punk ducks a clothesline and kicks away but Batista catches his leg and applies an ankle lock but Punk quickly makes the ropes and takes a time out. Batista follows Punk and walks into a kick as he climbs into the ring and is hung up on the middle rope allowing punk to connect a top rope diving knee for a one count. Punk drops a succession of elbows before connecting a leg drop to the head for a near fall. Punk applies a seated headlock as Batista powers to his feet and connects an overhead takeover. Punk is straight back with kicks and a neckbreaker followed by a finger four headlock as Punk demands to know ‘who’s the man’ Batista powers out but steps up into a kick before countering a neck breaker and taking Punk down with a slam but both men are down. Punk struggles to his feet and Batista forces him into the corner and drops shoulders and strikes before whipping Punk across the ring and connecting a clothesline. Punk tries a cross body but Batista catches him and nails a powerslam for a near fall as Batista looks shocked. Punk drop toe holds Batista into the turnbuckle before connecting his high knee but Batista shoves him off before he can connect the Bulldog. Punk goes for another high knee but Batista catches him and nails a spinebuster and does his rope shaking but Punk bails to the outside. Punk tries to crawl under the ring but Batista follows and sets Punk up for the Batista Bomb but Punk grabs the top rope and turns the move into a headlock before kicking Batista off and rolling back in the ring picking up the win via countout. After the match Batista storms into the ring and nails Punk with a Batista Bomb just to make Punk look weak

Result: CM Punk defeats Batista via countout *1/2

Chris Considers: This match was slow and boring. I don not like Punk playing ultimate coward against Batista when we have seen him go toe to toe against Jeff and The Undertaker. Batista hit six moves during the course of this match which is four more than he managed in either of his pervious matches. The fact Punk won via countout only to get dropped by Batista immediately after the match was pathetic and shows just how big Batista’s ego is, that even in technical defeat he must still look stupidly dominant. I am worrying Punk is now going to slip back down the card as the main event gets dominated by Batista and Undertaker.

Overall this was a very solid edition of Friday Night Smackdown. The only parts I did not care for were the main event and I was not particularly high on the opening of the show. In addition the Drew & Kane vs Matt & Truth tag match was too short and one sided for my liking and I feel sorry for Matt Hardy having to work so low down the card when a few weeks ago he was almost on the verge of breaking into the main event. However Michelle and Eve had a promising match that brought something different to the women’s division and Undertaker delivered a superb promo. Jericho and Rey had a superb opening match and Dolph and Morrison stole the show with a great match for the Intercontinental title and the ending to that match and the subsequent dumping of Maria by Dolph has left several interesting possibilities for the coming weeks storylines.

The match of the night was John Morrison vs Dolph Ziggler and the show scores a good: 8/10

Once again my apologies this is so late but my working life is so hectic right now. I shall try my best to ensure I have the blog up in better time next week!

Email me on a_agreement_called_forever@hotmail.com , add me on facebook: www.facebook.com\wnws.chris.jacks or follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/WNWsChrisJacks I would love to hear from you!

Here are ten points to consider coming out of this week’s show
• How the hell do Batista and Rey go from losing a tag title match to becoming joint number one contenders for the world heavyweight title???
• What a fantastic match between Rey and Jericho, no matter how many times these two go at it, the result is always decent. Pity Jericho is usually on the losing end of these bouts though!
• How good to see a fresh challenger step up to face Michelle, I am all for an extended program between her and Eve as it will not only further Eve’s development but also freshen up the division
• How we have missed Vickie Guerrero! I wonder how long before she tries to rest control of Smackdown from Teddy Long???
• Superb TV match between Morrison and Dolph and such an innovative finish! I really hope this feud is extended further!
• I might be alone in this but I find the break up between Dolph and Maria fascinating as I think it opens up the possibility of a full heel turn for Maria and her transformation into a Lita-esque partner for Dolph albeit without the wrestling skills!
• Such a shame that Matt Hardy has fallen so hard and so fast, I cannot help but feel that it is not his fault either…
• Drew McIntyre is a star on the rise, I look to see an extended program between him and Matt that will push him up to the next level!
• Some people may get bored of Undertaker’s soul taking promos but I really enjoy them and feel that he is capable of cutting a more impactful promo in two minutes than most could hope for in ten!
• What a boring main event and how disgraceful Batista still had to bury Punk after losing. I am already praying he either a) retires after Wrestlemania or b) gets drafted back to RAW

My top ten matches of the year so far in WWE

1: The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels – Wrestlemania – April 5th 2009
2: Legacy vs DeGeneration X – Breaking Point – September 13th 2009
3: CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy – Smackdown – August 28th 2009
4: Rey Mysterio vs Chris Jericho – The Bash – June 28th 2009
5: Rey Mysterio vs John Morrison – Smackdown – August 4th 2009
6: CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy – Summerslam – August 23rd 2009
7: Rey Mysterio vs Chris Jericho – Smackdown – July 10th 2009
8: Jeff Hardy vs John Morrison – Smackdown – July 31st 2009
9: John Morrison vs CM Punk – Smackdown – June 26th 2009
10: Rey Mysterio vs Chris Jericho – Judgement Day – May 17th 2009

Smackdown Power 10

1: The Undertaker (+1)
2: CM Punk (-1)
3: Batista (+3)
4: Rey Mysterio (NE)
5: John Morrison (-2)
6: Dolph Ziggler (-1)
7: Jeri-Show (-2)
8: Kane
9: The Hart Dynasty (-2)
10: Drew McIntyre (NE)

Watch any WWE programming you miss at www.Dailymotion.com  , your online source for TV shows!

Welcome once again Prediction Enthusiasts to another action packed edition of The Talent Exchange, with I, ‘ECW Guy’ Paul Smith and my accomplice in predictions, ‘The Man That Reviews The Friday Night Show’ Chris Jacks. So WWE has finally decided to be merciless and we now have Hell in a Cell as our early October PPV offering. Personally, I think that the three cell matches, especially not in amazingly heat filled feuds will kill the gimmick as the big draw as it once was, but it will be a while before we can truly see whether that is the case. Bad Cell matches are few and far between, and that is why I am trying to be optimistic towards this show. The lack of an ECW match also shows how important that brand is. So with that said, onto the predictions.

Hey guys. I know I am cutting it pretty fine with this one but I was so exhausted when I got in from work earlier I fell asleep and only woke up a short time ago. My predictions will not be hugely detailed here so I am sorry but things are so busy for me right now and I hope you don’t think any less of me. I always try and give my all but 35 days in a row is seriously hard work… I am not even going to be able to watch the show tonight as I am up at 6am tomorrow so I will have to check out the replay when I get home tomorrow night.

Paul Predicts: R-Truth vs. Drew McIntyre

Well this one is apparently a last minute addition to the card. And at least they’ve built to a PPV match instead of just throwing it on there. Dew must be popular backstage with a PPV debut, a Vince McMahon rub and a lot of promo time for a new guy. What’s also funny is that this must be R-Truth’s first PPV appearance since the Royal Rumble. Poor guy. Anyway, I assume this will be a quick match used mainly to get Drew over, especially with R-Truth getting the upperhand on the beatdowns the last couple of weeks.

Paul’s Predicted Winner: Drew McIntyre

Chris Predicts: R-Truth vs. Drew McIntyre

Despite the late addition the feud between these two has been built really well and Drew McIntyre has impressed the hell out of me on Smackdown. He can talk, has a good look and is very talented in the ring (as seen in FCW) so hopefully this hould be a really good match. There is no way Drew is not going over in this one on his PPV debut!

Chris’ Predicted Winner: Drew McIntyre

Paul Predicts: Divas Championship Match Mickie James © vs. Alicia Fox

Mickie James has been in some of the worst women’s matches I’ve ever seen in the last few weeks, and couple that with a popped implant and the fact that Alicia Fox is still green as hell…I really fear for this match. This is gonna be straight up awful. Hopefully this will go quick or it will really kill the crowd. As for a winner, I don’t think Alicia carrying the women on RAW is a good move now or a good move ever.
Paul’s Predicted Winner: Mickie James (retains Diva’s championship)

Chris Predicts: Divas Championship Match Mickie James © vs. Alicia Fox

This one has train wreck written all over it and this should have been Michelle and Melina instead. Alicia has actually looked pretty decent lately but as Paul pointed out Mickie has been in some of the worst women’s matches ever. That match from RAW on Monday with Rosa rivals Bella vs Bella for worst match of the year. Mickie has backstage heat, implant problems and has had a fairly long (by today’s standards) reign so I see a title change here. Sure Alicia is green in the ring but so was Maryse when she won her first title and she came out ok

Chris’ Predicted Winner: Alicia Fox (New Divas Champion)

Paul Predicts: Triple Threat Match for the United States Champion Kofi Kingston © vs. The Miz vs. Jack Swagger

At least creative has tried to make something of a story with these three guys, and I can only commend them for that even if the actual story has been a little dodgy. The thing is, it’s been a long time since I’ve actually wanted to see a RAW midcard match from a story perspective rather than a ‘this could be a good match’ because of the workers involved. That pattern still hasn’t changed here. Ever since he’s won the title I’ve predicted Kofi losing the title but this time I really really believe it. I think The Miz wins here, just to freshen things up a little bit.

Paul’s Predicted Winner: The Miz (New United States Champion)

Chris Predicts: Triple Threat Match for the United States Champion Kofi Kingston © vs. The Miz vs. Jack Swagger

This has been an enjoyable feud and the US title actually means something again. I am with Luke on the belt stealing thing kind of sucks but I real like the animosity between heels in Miz and Swagger. I actually think Swagger is well above US title status and depending on the result of the WWE title match, may even get a main event run. I see The Miz finally capturing the gold here and possibly having an inter-brand champion vs champion match with John Morrison at Bragging Rights which would be awesome!

Chris’ Predicted Winner: The Miz (New United States Champion)

Paul Predicts: Unified Tag Team Championship Match Chris Jericho & Big Show © vs. Batista & Rey Mysterio

I think that while the actual feud coming in has been lacking this time round with Batista just being ownage and Jerishow just losing all over the place to various different people, the actual match could be one of the best yet of this tag reign. Jericho and Mysterio we know have good chemistry after their incredible feud earlier this year. I also quite like Jericho and Batista’s work and I think of Jericho as one of the few people that can still carry Big Dave to a decent match. And of course for the casual and younger fans they get to see the big Big Show lock up with little rey Mysterio and of course another shot at seeing the battle of the big with Batista. With few other teams for JeriShow to feud with, I see there being a rematch to this so for this match, even while I think Batista and Rey could end up champs again, I’m gonna give it to JeriShow.

Paul’s Predicted Winner: Chris Jericho & Big Show (Retain Unified Tag Titles)

Chris Predicts: Unified Tag Team Championship Match: Chris Jericho & Big Show © vs. Batista & Rey Mysterio

Well at least Batista is not in the title hunt… lets see if he can manage more than two wrestling moves in this match! I think as long as Show and Batista’s involvement is kept to a minimum this has the potential to be a show stealer as we all know how well Rey and Jericho work together. Whilst I do not see anyone pinning Batista on his return to PPV (or any other time for that matter), there is no way Rey and Batista are walking out as champions. It will probably be an innovative KO Punch once again. Perhaps as Rey goes for a 619 or something leaving Jericho to get the pin

Chris’ Predicted Winner: Chris Jericho & Big Show (Retain Unified Tag Titles)

Paul Predicts: Intercontinental Championship Match John Morrison © vs. Dolph Ziggler

While I expect nothing but a great match out of these two, the feud coming in just hasn’t been as solid as I would have expected. The pair’s mic work has just been a little sub par and at the end of the day WWE relies on you to be able to carry a feud with that stuff when you’re on TV once a week. Anyway, Dolph looked strong, pinning Morrison this week and we pretty much know what that means right? I can see this being an enjoyable match with perma-contender Dolph being on the losing side of things once again and I could see that leading to a Miz vs Morrison, US vs IC, RAW vs Smackdown match at Bragging Rights.

Paul’s Predicted Winner: John Morrison (retains Intercontinental Championship)

Chris Predicts: Intercontinental Championship Match John Morrison © vs. Dolph Ziggler

Great minds clearly think alike as Paul has the same thoughts about me for the Bragging Rights match! I actually cannot remember such a tough match to predicts as this! This match has show stealer written all over it and it is great to see John Morrison finally back on pay per view where he belongs. I do not see Ziggler going over here because it is too early into Morrison’s run to end it just yet. The key thing will be to have him looking strong in defeat which I am sure will happen and this feud can then be put on hold till perhaps Survivor Series where Dolph can finally claim the belt and Morrison can be promoted to the main event.

Chris’ Predicted Winner: John Morrison (retains Intercontinental Championship)

Paul Predicts: Hell in a Cell Match: D-Generation X vs. Legacy

Time for young Cody and Ted to cut their teeth inside the Cell then. And apparently DX have never been in Hell in a Cell, according to Jerry Lawler. Which would be okay if he meant as a team but EVEN THEN, he is forgetting (not unreasonably actually) the cell match DX had against the McMahons and Big Show. With their promo last Monday, DX have made this feel all like a big joke, which a Cell match should never be, and that has radically lost my interest in this one. I can’t see Legacy going over in this feud and if there’s any justice this will be the end of the feud and as such I think DX picks up the victory here.

Paul’s Predicted Winner: DX

Chris Predicts: Hell in a Cell Match: D-Generation X vs. Legacy

This is the best feud in WWE right now in my opinion. Ted and Cody look like legitimate stars now and as long as Hunter does not let his ego run riot this should be a very good match and probably one of the best of the night. I actually think DX will put Legacy over here to set up a final showdown at Survivor Series next month. I cannot wait to watch this when I get home tomorrow!

Chris’ Predicted Winner: Legacy

Paul Predicts: Hell In a Cell Match for the WWE: John Cena © vs. Randy Orton

So coming off what was a good match last time round doesn’t change the fact that this feud has overstayed it’s welcome and has been massively overlong and overdone. So having rematch number one million wont help things, especially when youre supposed to really care about a feud to put it in Hell in a Cell (making all of these feuds bad choices to put in there). So while I expect this to be somewhat entertaining (maybe a little optimistically), I don’t know who the winner is going to face outside of the usual suspect of TRIPLE H. All the same, Randy Orton got AA’d on top of a cage and pinned after a tombstone all in one week. He’s a total bitch if he loses this one.

Paul’s Predicted Winner: Randy Orton (New WWE Champion)

Chris Predicts: Hell In a Cell Match for the WWE: John Cena © vs. Randy Orton

Here we come to the worst feud in WWE. I am sick of these two going at it. I am sick of Cena’s same old promos and non selling and I am bored of Randy Orton taking fifteen minutes to walk to the ring! Can anyone see Cena losing this? He always overcomes the odds etc but Orton has been booked as a total pussy and needs some vengeance. Plus we come to the biggest problem with RAW right now: this is Orton’s last shot at Cena whilst Cena is champion so after that who is there to step up and challenge Cena… Jack Swagger is the only other heel of any note on RAW right now but I don’t want to see him fed to Cena. Of course with the interbrand stuff at Bragging Rights the next challenger is not an immediate problem but other than Orton there is no legit heel to challenge for the belt unless of course DX put over Legacy and then Ted or Cody could arguably claim a shot against Cena. Hmm tough call due to WWE’s lack of new stars but would they really switch the belt so soon… I am going with The Immortal John Hogan for the win.

Chris’ Predicted Winner: John Cena (retains WWE Championship)

Paul Predicts: Hell in a Cell Match for the World Heavyweight Championship: CM Punk © vs. Undertaker

So once again we look at the situation of it not looking wise to take the title off CM Punk while he is doing so well and is over as a heel, but also how do you have him beat the legendary Undertaker, a guy most of the fans wont accept as being on the same level as Punk. Interesting situation, and I really don’t think, unless we get another screwjob, there is any way of Punk retaining here. I was nearly swung by the lack of a ‘guaran-damn-tee’ from Rock, which is usually a tell that what will happen will happen, but with everything else, I just have the feeling that Punk loses, which I don’t know, will probably lead to Taker vs Batista Part 793720582 somewhere down the line. This feud hasn’t been quite as good as I would have liked, but at the end of the day, it’s the Hell in a Cell gimmick that is supposed to draw here, not the feuds.

Paul’s Predicted Winner: The Undertaker (New World Heavyweight Champion)

Chris Predicts: Hell in a Cell Match for the World Heavyweight Championship: CM Punk © vs. Undertaker

A lot of people seem to forget Taker put over Brock in HIAC and I see no reason why he wont do the same for Punk here as a win for the only straight edge world champion in history will really cement his place at the top of the pile in WWE. I hope this match headlines and I hope it gets a decent amount of time unlike at Breaking Point. This wont be exactly clean, hell I would not be at all surprised for Vince to come out and screw Taker since he has been hinting he was behind the whole Montreal thing! Hell maybe even Vickie and the debuting Eric Escobar will interfere, who knows, but I do see a CM Punk victory

Chris’ Predicted Winner: CM Punk (retains World Heavyweight Championship)

So there you have it. If I had my way there’d be a double title change at this show, which shows just exactly what I expect from WWE these days. Unfortunately, I wont be able to attend the Live Chat tonight due to a new schedule that would mean waking up three hours after the PPV had ended my time, just to get to University on time. So I may be unable to get to a live chat until at least Armageddon/Tables Ladders and Chairs in December and then we will have to see my timetable for the next semester. Anyway, enjoy the show and see you soon for some ECW action.

I will be not be able to make the live chat either due to my crazy work schedule. Hell I am not even watching the show till tomorrow. This is the first one I have missed live for a couple of years so that sucks. I hope you all enjoy it and have a great week!