The pay-per-view featured the debut of Mick Foley as a color commentator for SmackDown, replacing Jonathan Coachman. While I feel like Foley has more potential than Coachman, his debut was shaky and probably would have been better on an episode of SmackDown. Foley has great knowledge and personality but there were times where he would talk over Michael Cole during key points of the match. Foley would also make a good point and instead of letting it rest he would get diarrhea mouth and just keep going on and on and on until you just wanted to tell him to shut up. Mick should get his timing down in practice but I feel that they should have just let Coachman finish up at Backlash.

Below are my match by match thoughts in the order in which they occurred not in order of match rating.

Matt Hardy winning the United States Championship against MVP was a fine opener but I feel with the title change that this had to be a blow-off match. Whether or not WWE plans to end the feud between Hardy and MVP remains to be seen, however, I do not think that there is anything left and a rematch would be pointless. WWE made Matt Hardy look like a big jobber in his post-match interview where he told Eve this was the best night of his life and the high point of his career. Excuse me; winning a title that no one cares about is the high point of your career? Matt has had tons of breathtaking matches in WWE that got him and Jeff over more than nearly any tag team in wrestling history and he is going to say that a basic singles match for the US Title was the high point of his career? While I understand why WWE wanted to make the moment special given Hardy’s extended program with MVP, the choice of words was bad.

Chavo Guerrero and Kane had a mediocre match for the ECW Championship that ended with a predictable clean pinfall win for Kane to retain. WWE tried to make it look like Chavo had a chance but realistically Chavo should never be booked in a program against Kane. Chavo is too small to look competitive and as a result this match did not appear to be of pay-per-view quality. Bam Neeley’s involvement was limited and there were no outstanding spots. Both worked hard but in the end it was a title defense that Kane could have easily had as the main event on WWE TV. As for Mike Adamle, he is still terrible but it was funny how they ribbed him throughout the show, almost making it his gimmick that all of the announcers were acknowledging his faults. One of the most annoying things that Adamle did was roll his Rs a couple of times when saying the Guerrero name which he should have never done. He also did not know what a chop was and called some moves late. He didn’t do as bad as he could have although he didn’t get a whole lot of time to mess up.

Big Show vs. The Great Khali. Need I say more? I could have written my thoughts on this match before it even happened. Show did his best to try to make this work but it was a snooze fest and they lost the crowd within a minute. Big Show slammed Khali and hit him a chokeslam as it looked like Khali did not offer much help in either one. The bottom line is The Great Khali has phenomenal size but just because he has phenomenal size does not mean that he is worthy of being a WWE superstar. There are too many guys underutilized in WWE for someone like Khali to get pay-per-view time. I am sorry for the two or three Khali fans out there but the guy is not a good worker and never well be.

The silliest thing of the night was Chris Jericho being the special guest referee of Shawn Michaels vs. Batista. I asked one of my sources in WWE on Friday what the plans were for Jericho in the match and they told me they did not have a clue. Apparently nobody did as Jericho came out dressed just like any other referee with the ear piece and all and did a very good job. He had absolutely no impact on the match and looked just like Mike Chioda. After reading Jericho’s book, he probably was determined to be the best referee on the show since he had no involvement in the direction of the match. As for the match itself between Batista and Shawn Michaels, it was pretty much what you would expect. Don’t get me wrong, it was a lot of fun at certain parts, but there was nothing that made it a five star match. Michaels did a great job of selling his knee because it really did look like it buckled at the end. The finish was abrupt and out-of-the blue but it worked. This would have been a lot more entertaining if Jericho had of turned on Michaels and started a program. Nonetheless the match was of pay-per-view quality and is worth watching.

The 12-Diva Tag Team match was your normal WWE Women’s contest which featured a bunch of women in bright color costumes, getting some spots in so the company can promote that they have a women’s division. Beth Phoenix looked good as always and Mickie got her spots in to still look like a above average worker. Other than that, there was not much to it. Natalya did not get much time to shine as did either of the other divas other than some brief exchanges involving Michelle McCool. I just wanted to also note that Ashley Massaro needs to put on some weight. She looks too thin to compete with anyone at where she is right now.

Undertaker vs. Edge was another dandy. If there were two people that really knew how to work against one another it would be Edge and Undertaker. They knew that they had big shoes to fill with their WrestleMania XXIV main event and they provided a contest that was different from last month but at the same time still had the edge needed to make it seem very realistic. It started slow but progressed nicely. Undertaker did not hit a lot of vintage spots but used a more realistic approach with an MMA type fighting stance and of course the Gogoplata choke. WWE kept Edge a good heel by involving Hawkins and Ryder but at the same time not ripping off the match by letting it end in disqualification. The finish was brilliant as it looked like Edge had beaten the odds with a backslide into a rollup only for him to get caught in the Gogoplata and being forced to tap. The ending with Edge being taken out on a backboard with Vickie Guerrero coming out was great and not only made Edge still look credible but made Undertaker look like the monster that he needs to be.

The Fatal Four Way Elimination match was good but I did not enjoy it as much as Undertaker vs. Edge. I am more of a traditionalist and I feel that if you are going to do a title change, it needs to be in a pure, no BS wrestling match. Hardcore stipulations are fine for matches that advance angles or blow them off but they just don’t work for me in title situations. John Cena had some very good spots as did JBL before they were eliminated around the twelve minute mark. Hunter and Randy Orton worked very well together and proved even further why the match should have been a singles bout. The finish was fun but slightly overbooked with Triple H ending it with a Pedigree and the three count. It’ll be interesting to see what WWE does with Triple H as I know they’re going to want to do programs with him and JBL as well as him and Cena. I guess I have been spoiled with the singles greatness of Edge/Undertaker as well as the tremendous build TNA did with Samoa Joe vs. Kurt Angle. I just feel that the WWE Championship should be considered ‘larger than life’ and a bout involving four people with hardcore stipulations makes it look too gimmicky for my taste. The match itself was very good.

All and all this was not a bad pay-per-view and featured enough good things that you will probably want to watch it. MVP vs. Matt Hardy, Batista vs. Michaels, Undertaker vs. Edge, and the Fatal Four Way matches are all worth seeing. The rest of the undercard was solid in that it featured clean finishes and not a lot of BS. Order the replay at your own discretion as you may just want to save and wait for the DVD to come out. Remember to leave me your thoughts as I look forward to hearing from you.

The show opened with a very weird promo with Mike Tenay in the ring with all of the lights down. Tenay explained the stipulations of the main event and made it clear that if Samoa Joe lost tonight that his career was over. Like I said in my Lockdown coverage, it was downright creepy, and I thought that something had gone terribly wrong. Nonetheless it took us to the opening video package for us to get back to the arena. The bit where JB and Don West were in the crowd was fun and helped with the excitement of the record crowd.

TNA decided to open the show with the Xscape Match for the X Division Title. This was a good move to get the energy going for the event and to set the pace for the night. There were two spots in particular that stood out for me. One was Johnny Devine doing a Shooting Star Press off the cage, he missed and did not go off the top, but I did not know that Devine could even execute a SSP. Another one of the big spots in the bout was when Curry Man Christopher Daniels nailed an insane moonsault off the top of the cage onto Consequences Creed and Johnny Devine. The match was gaining good momentum and came down to Devine and Jay Lethal when it ended abruptly with the eliminated participants keeping Devine from escaping and allowing Lethal to get out. I would have rather seen Curry Man get the title here but they decided to keep it on Lethal. The match was good but it could have gone another couple of minutes with a better finish.

The match that gets my vote for the Worst Match of the Night was the Queen of the Cage bout which ended up being a short Impact style cage match between Angelina Love and Roxxi Laveaux. The match advanced the story line but did not do anything beyond that. All of the Knockouts came to ringside to have a brief fight on the outside which resulted in Love making it into the cage with ease. Roxxi finally got in and we had a very basic match that would have been better suited on free television. I do not understand why they did not cut this match out and give the Xscape match more time.

I still do not know how I feel about Kip James vs. BG James. The match was very basic and could have been on Impact. Kip dominated throughout, showcasing his strength, only for BG to eke out the win at the last minute. After the match they teased that the feud was over with BG extending his hand to Kip. Kip shook his hand only to turn on him to get some heat from the crowd. Not a big surprise here as it looks like this will continue.

Cuffed In The Cage was not the train wreck that I expected. I liked the way that creative booked Scott Steiner by having him come out and dominate only for four guys to team up and get him cuffed to the ropes. Don’t get me wrong, I still think the stipulation is incredibly goofy and hope to never see it again, but that was the right move to get Steiner out of there early. Since the company had the monsters beating up Eric Young in the back prior to the match starting, you had to figure that Super Eric was going to emerge. The spot of the match came when Kaz hit the Flux Capacitor off the top of the cage onto Jimmy Rave. Super Eric made a grand entrance with his crossbody off of the top of the cage onto four guys. I found it funny that it came down to Super Eric and Dustin because I do not feel like Dustin should even be in a pay-per-view match but it advanced the story line. Super Eric is over no matter how juvenile that it may be.

The women’s tag team match was the best match on the Lockdown undercard. I feel like a mark because I had no idea of Raisha Saeed’s past and did not know that she could go. Saeed, better known as Cheerleader Melissa in promotions such as SHIMMER, is the real deal. I fully expected Gail Kim and Awesome Kong to carry the match before it began and was pleasantly surprised when Saeed proved that she is very capable of working with the company’s top Knockouts. Gail had the spot of the match when she hit a hurricanrana off of the top of the cage on Saeed. While Gail may lack emotion in her facial expressions, she is the best female worker in the business today. She worked just as fluently with Saeed last night as she has with Kong in pay-per-views past in what were some of the best women’s wrestling matches that I have ever seen. I wouldn’t mind a Kim/Saeed feud after seeing this one. ODB stayed out of the way and did not do anything spectacular but she ended up eking out the win for her team. Kong was not as much of a factor in the match which was the right call from creative because you do not want her as Champion to appear weak.

Booker T & Sharmell vs. Robert Roode & Payton Banks was a disappointment. I thought that the match was going to be an intense blow off match between Roode and Booker and while they did provide some good spots - the finish was abrupt and ugly. After the match, Roode chewed out Banks in a complete repeat of what has already been done with him and Traci Brooks. As much as I like both Roode and Booker this program was stale before this match. Sharmell getting the pin was - abrupt and ugly. Sharmell is not a wrestler and should not be working matches. Bobby Roode is an up and coming superstar and deserves a more serious run with Booker. I feel that it is worth mentioning that Roode has the best drop kick in the business only second to Randy Orton.

The Lethal Lockdown match between Team Cage and Team Tomko was by far the match of the night. As I wrote in my “Richard Reacts” piece during the pay-per-view coverage, you would have to be a pretty sour person to have not been entertained by this one. The action built slowly with AJ and Christian working together first with the intensity picking up as everyone else entered. The spot of the match was when everyone had entered and James Storm and Christian Cage were working on top of the Lockdown structure. Christian is insane - he did not have to do what he did last night. When Storm’s leg pierced the cage I thought that someone was going to get hurt. I was stunned when AJ setup the ladder on top of the structure with Cage on the table. When Christian popped off of the table I thought that it was a good tease but had no idea what I was about to witness. Christian went on to climb the ladder with AJ already on top to duke it out. To make a situation that was already dangerous as hell even more insane, James Storm climbed the ladder to join the fight. So now we had three men on top of a ladder which was on top of a steel cage that was above a wrestling ring. I held my breath when the ladder toppled and Cage and Styles went crashing through the table. The spot with Storm breaking a beer bottle over Matt Morgan’s head only for Rhino to end up leveling Storm and getting the pin was a good way to finish. After the intense action on top of the structure - it didn’t even matter who won. It also didn’t matter who else was in the match as Sting did not play a big factor. Mega props to Storm, AJ, and Christian although they all three need to be told to never do that again!

TNA did as good of a job as ever with the build for Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe. They plugged the match throughout the event and made me very eager to watch. I told Ryan before the match that on paper it had five star potential if Kurt didn’t get carried away pretending like he was in the UFC. Joe came out serious as ever, determined to win the strap. When Kurt came out wearing boxing/MMA trunks barefoot I smelled trouble. Frank Trigg did guest commentary and Marcus Davis was at ringside with Joe. The match started slow with a lot of worked MMA - a style that I am very much opposed too. The problem with passing a worked match off as a shoot is that you are basically telling your audience that everything that you just watched isn’t real but this is the real deal. That is the wrong message to send and I do not think that the majority of pro wrestling fans or the majority of MMA fans are going to accept it. The match started gaining momentum when they started mixing in the traditional professional wrestling that we all love. The finish was overbooked but that isn’t a big problem with workers as good as Joe and Angle. Angle went for the Olympic Slam, Joe countered, ended up hitting the Muscle Buster for the pinfall. There were a lot of near falls and near submissions which made this entertaining. This match was good - very good - but it could have been the match of the year had it been pure professional wrestling. It ended up taking a back seat to the Lethal Lockdown match but it was still probably the second best match on the show. They had the crowd throughout but that was probably due to the tremendous job that the company did in building towards the match. Nonetheless the time is now for Samoa Joe as the new TNA Heavyweight Champion.

In conclusion Lockdown was a fun pay-per-view and I would recommend watching it. The Lethal Lockdown match itself is worth checking out and you won’t want to miss the women’s tag match or Angle vs. Joe. There were enough good spots in the under card to keep you from going to sleep. Skip right through Queen of the Cage and Kip vs. BG and you’ll be just fine. If you would like to check out my pay-per-view report of the event which is still online with pure match results and my immediate opinions, click here.

In what I would say was one of the worst matches in WrestleMania (if you can even call it a match) history, Kane defeating Chavo Guerrero to win the ECW Championship in under 10 seconds was repulsive. It is not the fact that Kane won the title because Kane is a veteran in the company and is capable of holding a title, but it is how they did it. The less than 10 second squash match might as well have featured Chavo Guerrero laying down in another “finger poke of doom” moment and letting Kane walk out with his title. What little respect that the ECW Championship had left was devalued last night when the brand’s champion was booked to look inferior and insignificant on the grandest stage of them all. Imagine if you were a casual fan that only watches wrestling a couple of times a month but you tuned in for WrestleMania and saw that – would it make you want to watch ECW on Tuesdays?

The 24-Man Battle Royal was going to be my vote for worst match of the night, until the ECW Championship “match” occurred. The Battle Royal was way too quick and was just a glorified dark match. I guess it was fine for what it was as the 24 superstars in the match did help the crowd get ready for the event. Kane didn’t look extremely dominant in the Battle Royal but he easily took care of Chavo. Again, what does that say about the ECW Championship?

BunnyMania was actually not as bad as I expected. They kept it quick and used Snoop Dogg very effectively. I expected Santino Marella to affect the finish just as he did and thought that the spot with Snoop kissing Maria fit the situation perfect. I originally picked Maria over Melina in the bout but I understand how WWE creative booked Beth Phoenix by keeping her dominant while pushing Maria’s heat with her ex. Did anyone else notice that Beth’s butt was hanging out of her pants in several spots of the match? She might be the Glamazon but she is still very attractive.

I have to admit that I was disappointed by the Belfast Brawl featuring Finlay and JBL. I was thrilled that WWE opened WrestleMania with the match but I expected more. The match seemed like it was finally starting to gain momentum when JBL and Finlay “went home” out of the blue with JBL seemingly winning easily. It was not horrible but there was nothing to warrant WrestleMania excitement. I expected them to use juice but was not surprised when they decided to keep it dry. You never want to use blood too early in a wrestling event and with a match that lasted under 10 minutes, it was not necessary.

Umaga vs. Batista was exactly what I thought it would be. It was a match that featured some solid power spots, but nothing more. It was a filler match to give Batista his own singles bout on the card and a chance for the Samoan Bulldozer to move brands if WWE still wants to go in that direction. As I mentioned in my report last night, Umaga’s spinning heel kick to Batista was very solid and Batista getting Umaga up for the Batista Bomb was exciting. Batista had some trouble with it as he was falling backwards but you can’t fault him for executing it on a guy as big as Umaga.

Floyd Mayweather in a professional wrestling ring – to say that I was concerned was a tremendous understatement. WWE got so much mainstream press for the Mayweather vs. Big Show bout I knew that all eyes from a mainstream perspective (especially from the US sports world) would be on this match. I was praying for the sake of the company that it would work. I have to admit that at about five minutes in I was getting concerned. They were losing the crowd but Mayweather was still drawing good heel heat. When Mayweather’s handlers pulled him out of the ring, business picked up and the match turned out very solid. The chair shots from Mayweather onto Big Show were executed very well and Floyd did one hell of a job with the brass knuckle shot on Show. The knockout was a good finish because of Mayweather’s undefeated streak as a boxer and the greatest fighter in the world. Mayweather drew so much heat it left me feeling like he will be back for more.

The Money in the Bank ladder match was very good. It was not the best Money in the Bank ladder match ever, not even close, but it was still a good effort from all seven performers. John Morrison is absolutely insane for completing that moonsault out of the ring onto the outside with a ladder. That was one of the riskiest spots I have seen in a WWE ring in a long time. There were a couple of spots where I thought that Shelton Benjamin had been killed. The risks that all seven performers took were very real and they should all be praised for their efforts. I was not surprised about Matt Hardy’s return during the match and felt like it worked well to pick up on his feud with MVP. I was surprised that CM Punk got the victory and I have to complain about how WWE has booked Chris Jericho. Jericho’s return to the company was the most talked about thing all fall and now he is just another one of the guys. He returned and had some very good matches with Randy Orton only to have a weak program with JBL and was inserted into the Money in the Bank ladder match. With Jeff Hardy gone you have to wonder where that leaves Jericho. Jericho is not just another one of the guys – he is the former Undisputed Champion and one of the best workers in the company. He should have won the title shot and I worry about where the company is going with his character.

Randy Orton retains the WWE Championship. Are you surprised? I wasn’t because of the placement of the match. It was not booked as the main event and we had already seen one title change during the event. You had to figure that Undertaker was going over so the odds were very unlikely that WWE was going to change all three titles in one night. The triple-threat match itself with Orton, John Cena, and Triple H was a very good match. I liked the story that was told in this match. Triple H and John Cena looked as determined as ever but Randy Orton defied the odds once again and proved that he is a legitimate WWE Champion. All three of these guys worked their butts off and that is something that I have come to expect from Orton, Triple H, and Cena. It will be interesting to see where WWE plans to go with the WWE Championship as there have been all kinds of rumors, but I can’t complain about Randy Orton retaining.

Undertaker and Edge had the second best match of the night and on any other night at any other event it would have been the show stealer. The match started out slow which was needed because the match ended up going nearly 25 minutes. There were a lot of vintage Undertaker spots where he ‘rope walked’ with Edge that were executed to perfection. Edge showcased his selling abilities by taking perfect bumps and showed his versatility with textbook drop kicks. The finish was outstanding with the first referee getting knocked out and Charles Robinson running as fast as he could to get in for the count only for Undertaker to get a two count. Edge ended up tapping in Undertaker’s Gogoplata Choke to win the World Heavyweight Championship. A brilliant match!

The match of the night (and I’m sure that most of you will agree) was Shawn Michaels versus Ric Flair. I warned those who were reading my live coverage to bear with me as I knew that it was going to be tough. Michaels and Flair did exactly what they needed to do. Flair got in all of his vintage spots playing the ‘dirtiest player in the game’ with the chop block, eye poke, and discrete low blow that the referee doesn’t see. It was so much fun to watch! Michaels took some huge risks, missing one moonsault out of the ring onto the announce table and another connecting onto Flair at the bottom of the ramp. Flair used the Figure Four Leg Lock and Michaels was able to sneak in some premature Sweet Chin Music for some near submissions and falls. I fought back tears when it was time to “go home” as Michaels dialed up Sweet Chin Music one last night. Michaels hesitated, hit it, pinned Flair and told him that he loved him. It was very classy of Shawn to leave the ring immediately to give Flair the moment to himself. I wish that more would have been done at the end but I’m sure that Flair had it just as he wanted it. I got emotional when he kissed his children and walked to the back in tears. Thank you Ric Flair – you are a legend and the greatest of all time. I’m going to miss you.

In conclusion WrestleMania XXIV is a must see event. Order the replay, buy the DVD, there are memories in this pay-per-view that you will want to save forever. I’m getting chills just thinking about what a privilege that it was to cover Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels. There were lighting problems during the event that were annoying and WWE really dropped the ball with the ECW Championship but overall the pay-per-view was outstanding. Any publication that indicates otherwise is bitter on the business. If you are a true wrestling fan and could not appreciate the greatness in the career finale of Ric Flair then you need to follow another profession. We witnessed the greatest of our industry, our Michael Jordan; go out in style last night. Congratulations WWE on a tremendous pay-per-view!

The show opened with Kane squashing Elijah Burke in a very short match. Burke went for the Elijah Express but ending up getting served with a chokeslam. I’m told that despite Elijah jobbing the past could of weeks; he still has a bright future in WWE as the feeling is that he is simply not ready for any kind of push. Since Kane will be featured on WrestleMania and is one of the favorites to win the Battle Royal to face Chavo Guerrero, he was given the squash match.

I like the Colin Delaney character. It’s something so different that it works. He did some brilliant acting in the backstage segment last night with Armando Estrada and Chavo Guerrero. Colin is the guy that everyone can look up too and root for because he is not “chiseled out of stone” or a large monster. He just looks like your average young man looking to fulfill his lifelong dream. It’s a great character and he’s not a bad wrestler either. Four participants were added to the 24-Man WrestleMania XXIV Battle Royal – Kane and all of Luke Parks’ favorites – Big Daddy V, Mark Henry, and The Great Khali. The Battle Royal is going to be kept short so don’t get too afraid.

Kofi Kingston is a work in progress. Here is a guy with good ring abilities but it is going to take time for him to build up his crowd reactions. Things seem like they are getting better for Kofi as the crowd seems to be responding to him more, but Kofi isn’t a guy that is going to get over immediately. He had a very basic match with developmental worker James Curtis who I felt like did a good job of selling. I love Kofi’s theme music!

The Festus character is, um, interesting… but I liked how CM Punk told Jesse that he had an uncle that was just like Festus after three bottles of wine on Thanksgiving in the backstage segment. I thought it was funny just because it is something that most of us can probably relate too. As for the six-man tag match it was basic and predictable. They gave it some time but made it obvious that it was just to setup the Festus & Jesse vs. WWE Tag Team Champions John Morrison & The Miz on Friday’s SmackDown. You could tell that they didn’t want Shelton to stand out as he had a very limited role in the match. How would you feel if you were told to play a character like Festus – would you do it? I swear you could not pay me enough.

The Floyd Mayweather and Big Show videos that aired during ECW were pretty well done. WWE does a great job of compiling “real-life” type videos and tributes and is really something that they should do more of. WWE is promoting Big Show/Mayweather on all three brands so they are sure that they hit all demographics and try to capitalize as much as possible on Mayweather’s celebrity status. I’m nervous about the WrestleMania match between the two because I just don’t see how it can work, but we’ll see.

The Eddie Graham Hall of Fame induction video package was very good as well. It will be nice to see Dusty Rhodes induct Graham into the Hall of Fame in a couple of weeks in Orlando.

Colin’s interview with Tazz was exactly what it needed to be; a kid that is determined as ever to fulfill his lifelong goal. No matter how smart of a fan that you are, there is no way that you weren’t rooting for him against Chavo. The match began at 11PM so you had to have figured that it was going to be short. It was, as ECW Champion Chavo Guerrero hit the Gory Bomb for the pinfall, keeping Colin from getting an ECW “contract”. You had to know that they were not going to let Colin get the win on Chavo before WrestleMania, not even in a surprise.

All and all ECW was the basic storyline advancing show that it is each week. For those expecting hardcore action and drama that was featured in the original ECW, keep on dreaming. ECW is pretty much like WWE’s national televised developmental territory and is just SmackDown light. I am actually OK with that because if the company did not have the brand they would not have a platform to build up talent like Colin Delaney and Kofi Kingston in front of a national audience. There really is no such thing as a brand extension in WWE and even if you want to still think in terms of brands – there are two – Raw and SmackDown/ECW.

That’s all for this week’s special ECW blog. If you are interested in writing this short piece each week please send me and email with a sample blog just as you would post it on the website.

Destination X 2008 was actually booked pretty good but there was nothing that made me jump out of my seat and proclaim it to be outstanding. There were a lot of gimmick matches and things setup for storyline advancement, which is fine for a pay-per-view that no one expects much from. The biggest thing that I think that TNA accomplished with the pay-per-view was that they were able to advance certain storylines (and end others) while building towards next month Lockdown pay-per-view which will feature TNA Champion Kurt Angle defending against Samoa Joe. Let’s take a look at the matches.

I liked how the show opened up with the #1 Contenders Match for the TNA Tag Team Titles. The work in this match was pretty good as I felt like all three teams — The Motor City Machineguns, LAX, and The Rock & Rave Infection — had some good spots. Hernandez stole the show with his tremendous display of strength and athleticism. I thought Don West was going to have a heart attack (as I do on many occasions) when Hernandez connected on the suicide dive out of the ring. The match was not spectacular but I thought it was a fine opener to get the crowd into the event. TNA did the right thing by putting LAX over.

“Black Machismo” Jay Lethal retaining the X Division Championship over Petey Williams was the match of the night. On paper the match looked to be superior to everything on the card and in the end, both Lethal and Williams delivered. I fully expected a dirty finish with Scott Steiner and Rhaka Khan getting involved but I wasn’t pleasantly surprised (again) by TNA creative when Lethal won clean. Steiner, Khan, So Cal Val, and Sonjay Dutt all got involved but there was still a pinfall for Lethal to retain which is always nice. It is matches like this that I wish that we would see more of in TNA. Why not mix AJ Styles back up with the X Division? TNA could really stand out with their X Division and they should push it more to create a competitive edge. WCW did it back in the 90s with their cruiserweight division and TNA should do it today.

Super EY! Oh my. Eric Young & Kaz vs. Black Reign & Rellik was next and I probably would have enjoyed it if I were 10 years old. However, I’m not and this was incredibly silly. I have mentioned it several times how I hate the Eric Young gimmick where he is “scared” of monsters and I often question why TNA creative thinks that this angle is over or will ever get over. I guess it was fine for an undercard match and I have to give it to Russo for not putting Dustin over but all of the silliness affected the enjoyment of the actual wrestling aspect of the match. If TNA is looking at changing their direction more towards focusing on athleticism than why are we seeing goofy angles such as this? The storyline advanced but I wish it would have ended. Dustin — you suck.

Awesome Kong’s title defense against ODB and Gail Kim was a good match although it was not flawless. Gail Kim and Kong work very well together and I hope to see more between them in TNA. If ODB were left out of this match it probably would have been the best match on the card, like previous Kim vs. Kong pay-per-view matches. Nonetheless the match accomplished what it was meant to be and that is another strong showing from Awesome Kong while advancing the storylines.

Curry Man & Shark Boy vs. Team 3D w/Johnny Devine. Where do I begin? The match was far too gimmicky for me to enjoy. Like I’ve said on numerous occasions, Team 3D are good workers but their entire anti-X Division storyline is just stale. Hopefully it is over after they “made weight” last night and we’ll be onto better things. Shark Boy and Curry Man are fine for some humor on Impact but I don’t like the fact that I’m paying to watch the goofy gimmicks on pay-per-view. They are as insignificant to me as Funaki would be on a WWE pay-per-view. This match was incredibly boring because I simply didn’t care.

The letdown of the night was Booker T vs. Robert Roode. They were hooked together with a strap and had a very short, basic match that ended in Roode going over in a dirty finish. Why the hell TNA would do something like this is beyond me. Booker is supposed to be one of your top guys and Roode is one of your up and coming guys. Why not use Booker to put Roode over clean at an event without any silly gimmick match or stipulation? Booker is just another one of the guys now and that’s a real shame. If you read my Premium PPV preview than you saw that I called the return of Sharmell, but who cares?

Elevation X matches suck – I’ve never seen a good one. Rhino vs. James Storm was no different as both basically sat on top of the structure until Storm was dropped off and through a table. West and Tenay tried to save it with the talk of how dangerous of a match it was and they tried to show as many goofy crowd shots as they could, but in the end it was your typical Elevation X match. Would it kill TNA just to have some good clean wrestling matches? Fish market street fight, stand by your man strap match, Elevation X, 6 man tag, why can’t we just see a regular wrestling match?

The six man tag main event with Kevin Nash, Samoa Joe, and Christian Cage taking on Kurt Angle, Tomko, and AJ Styles was actually a very solid match. It would have been better had it been an Impact main event rather than a pay-per-view main event but there were enough good spots to keep me from burying it. I liked the finish how they had Tomko tap out to Joe, building him towards next month’s showdown with Angle. I would have liked to see them put Joe over Angle but that was wishful thinking as Angle is unstoppable on TNA pay-per-view.

In conclusion TNA Destination X was a solid effort. It was not anything spectacular but it wasn’t bad either. It was a placeholder show and was worth the cash for a boring Sunday night. I would not order the replay because there are better events out there (Ring of Honor Rising Above) but I do not feel ripped off after watching. I have to give credit to TNA creative because they did the right thing tonight and wrote a solid show. I didn’t understand Roode vs. Booker but other than that the booking actually made sense. The crowd wasn’t near as alive as other TNA pay-per-views outside of Orlando and the size of the crowd looked to be a letdown. I’m not sure how much papering was done, although I think the company should stick to smaller venues until they can actually produce sellouts.

Delirious decked out in red and black defeated Brent Albright in a quick fast-paced match to get the fast paced first hour of the show underway. The way that it was setup with Hangman 3 already in the ring, the match looked impromptu as Albright revealed that he was wearing the green mask of Delirious. Albright connected on some very good suplex spots as there was one spot in particular when he hit a dragon suplex into a running powerslam on Delirious. Albright’s power really shined throughout the match as he delivered devastating open hand chops. Delirious was flying around everywhere and I thought it was over when he hit Shadows Over Hell off of the top rope. The finish was outstanding as Albright connected a scoop slam on Delirious only to get caught in a roll up for the pinfall.

The victory led to Hangman 3 all attacking Delirious only for Kevin Steen and El Generico to hit the ring which eventually led to the Tag Team Scramble featuring Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black, Steen & Generico, Jack Evans & Ruckus, and the other two members of Hangman 3 Adam Pearce & BJ Whitmer. Before the match began Jigsaw had an insane dive out of the ring onto the Necro Butcher. No matter how many dives I see through the ring to the outside, I can’t help but mark out every time that it happens.

As for the Tag Team Scramble, Kevin Steen and El Generico really stood out, as they should have with them going over. In my mind Steen and Generico are the second best tag team in the world right behind Jay and Mark Briscoe, I really enjoy watching them work. Generico displayed his high-flying ability throughout the match, hitting a really good cross-body off the top rope onto BJ Whitmer. Ruckus and Jack Evans are absolutely insane. Their spots made for a very enjoyable match as Evans pulled out the 630° senton off the top rope onto Whitmer. Why does Whitmer take all the crazy spots? He had a frog splash off the top rope onto Generico that I thought was going to result in a fall. There were a lot of near falls in the match with Generico and Steen finally pulling through after hitting their finishers on Jimmy Jacobs.

I can’t say enough about the team work of Steen and Generico. They are perfect compliments to one another with Steen displaying a tremendous amount of strength and Generico showcasing his high-flying athleticism. All eight men really worked hard in this one and I think that’s a testament of the entire promotion. Everyone that goes out there works their rear end off, sacrifices their body and career to entertain the fans. Overall the Tag Team Scramble was a very enjoyable fast-paced match that was a whole lot of fun.

After the match we went quickly to a backstage segment with Jay and Mark Briscoe. They came off very realistic as Jay said that they go to the dingiest bars in every town they travel too, drink everyone under the table, and start fights just for the hell of it. I doubt that statement was too far from the truth.

Continuing the fast-paced transition we went to Sara Del Rey vs. Lacey vs. Daizee Haze, all three already in the ring. Again I don’t like to complain, especially about a show this good, but they probably could have cut this match out because it felt rushed. Nonetheless the action was really good as the Women of Honor set the standard just as the men do. Tammy Sytch was featured at ringside and she even looked surprised at some of the spots that were pulled off. Daizee Haze stood out with her missile dropkick off the top rope. Sara Del Rey proved that she is one of the best submission female wrestlers in the industry as she pulled out some stuff that I had never seen before. Not to be out done Lacey held her own, nailing a pretty crazy double royal butterfly spot. Haze went over in the end.

I tried to catch my breath before Davey Richards vs. Erick Stevens but I wasn’t even through exhaling before it was underway. I hate to sound bias but Erick Stevens is one of my favorite up and coming wrestlers. There are just some guys that get it and Stevens is one of them. Stevens improves every time that he works and I love his move set featuring that sit down Pumphandle powerbomb and perfectly executed powerslams. They did an angle with Daniel Puder in the crowd distracting Stevens, which ended up in Richards getting the win. The finish was really cool as Davey Richards hit a missile dropkick off the top rope into a Kimura Lock on Stevens. Stevens ended up tapping and called out Puder after the match.

Larry Sweeney came out and introduced himself to Daniel Puder. Sweeney is great; he’s definitely the best manager in the business today. He draws excellent heel heat and I liked how they used this segment to setup the next match between Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli.

Chris Hero’s look bothers me. I guess that is what they are going for but there is no way that you could pay me to do that gimmick. Nonetheless Castagnoli vs. Hero was a quick ten minute match featuring lots of diving European uppercuts from Castagnoli. Hero impressed me with his agility and there was one spot where I thought he broke Castagnoli’s neck. Hero literally dropped Claudio right on his head and if that didn’t hurt, he did one hell of a job selling it. Castagnoli picked up the win with the Ricola Bomb.

All of the above action was done in under an hour as I looked up at the clock on cable box and it was 10:55 PM Eastern. Wow, talk about 55 minutes of nonstop action. After Claudio defeated Hero, Dave Prazak quickly ran through the cities that they visit and promised that any Ring of Honor event that is held, the action is just like it is tonight. I believe him and while Prazak is one of my favorite play-by-play guys in the business, he needed to slow down.

After a cool split screen backstage segment featuring the Age of the Fall and the Briscoe Brothers, it was time for the Relaxed Rules match between Bryan Danielson and Takeshi Morishima. Finally we got some ring entrances as Morishima came out first followed by Danielson. Morishima quickly got on the offensive, taking out Danielson before he could even get to the ring. Danielson was busted open immediately. I’m guessing that he bladed too deep because he was covered in blood, it looked like he had been shot. Morishima proved once again that he is one of the best workers in the world with a missile dropkick off the top rope that he pulled off after he hit one of the best lariats I’ve ever seen, sending Danielson to the outside. It took Danielson awhile to get some offense going, finally slowing Morishima down with a triangle choke submission hold on the mat. The stiff work between these two in this match was some of the most realistic that I have ever seen. I liked how the match ended in DQ as Morishima who finally got so pissed off, he laid out an official, getting disqualified. Prazak did a great job as passing it off as realistic as he was “outraged” by Morishima’s actions. You can criticize it for being short but it was the best eight minute hardcore match that I’ve ever seen. The blood, stiff forearm shots, and lariats made this one of the top bouts of the night. It’s amazing how an eight minute match in Ring of Honor can outdo something that TNA and WWE could do in twenty. Remember the Abyss/Judas Mesias match on the last TNA pay-per-view? It didn’t even come close to what Danielson and Morishima did in this one.

It was 11:07 PM Eastern by the time Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Rocky Romero & Roderick Strong in a 2 out of 3 falls match for the ROH Tag Team Titles began. Two matches left, and nearly an hour to kill, obviously they were saving the best for last. The first fall featured some really good action as Roderick Strong nailed some picture perfect dropkicks. Jay & Mark worked so well in sync with their spots leading to tags. However, my favorite spot during the first fall came when Rocky Romero hit a springboard into a DDT onto Mark Briscoe. Strong hit the Gibson Driver on Jay to get the first fall — the first fall that the Briscoe Brothers had taken in a 2 out of 3 falls match since 2004.

It didn’t take long for Mark & Jay to avenge the fall by getting a fall of their own only about six minutes later. Mark hit a corkscrew press on Roderick into a fall which I felt like was a superb spot. Mark ended up pinning Roderick for the second fall after hitting a jackknife into a bridge for the three count. It only took the Briscoe Brothers about four more minutes to gain their second fall to win the match, hitting the Spike J-Driller which was badass.

The main event was up next with Nigel McGuinness putting the ROH World Title on the line against Austin Aries in what I can say with confidence is the best match of 2008 so far. Nigel was busted open only five minutes into the match as it looked to be hardway with Aries connecting on a dive outside the ring onto Nigel who appeared to have smacked his face on the guard rail. The crowd was pretty split which I never find surprising at a Ring of Honor event. One of the best spots of this five star match was when Aries nailed his Heat Seeking Missile (Suicide dive through the middle and bottom ropes) onto the Champion on the outside, only for Nigel to hit Tower of London. Another really good spot featured McGuinness connecting with a lariat off the top rope onto Aries, sending him to the outside. Aries sold so well it looked like it killed him. However, he wouldn’t be outdone as Aries ended up fighting McGuinness off and nailing a picture perfect brainbuster on Nigel on the guard rail. Aries hit several sweet drop kicks and brainbusters. Finally Nigel was able to get the win with a Jaw Breaker for the cover.

There is nothing that I can say that will do this match justice; all I can say is that you have to see it. I don’t care if you’re a casual fan, a hardcore fan, or hardly a fan at all, you will be absolutely amazed at the work of Austin Aries and Nigel McGuinness. I cannot say enough about how their styles complimented one another to put on a very realistic looking wrestling match that will even make the smartest fan feel the drama. I found myself screaming at the television just like it was a professional sporting event. Ring of Honor passes their World Title off as something coveted which is exactly how a World Title should be perceived.

The pay-per-view ended with a huge brawl backstage with all of the Ring of Honor factions going at it, a very realistic way to end a stellar pay-per-view.

Ring of Honor sets the bar so high for professional wrestling in the United States it’s going to make WrestleMania seem dull. Everyone that worked Rising Above gave it 110% which is something that does not happen in any other promotion in North America. There is not one match that I would suggest that you miss and for the price this pay-per-view is a steal. I could not possibly give a higher recommendation than what I am giving for Rising Above. This pay-per-view features some of the best work that you will ever see in a professional wrestling ring. Ring of Honor makes it cool to be a professional wrestling fan as it is a promotion that you do not have to be embarrassed to follow. Thank you Ring of Honor for giving real wrestling fans something to enjoy. I don’t care if it’s boxing, mixed martial arts, or professional sports, you won’t get more action than what you will get in this two hour masterpiece.

We arrived at the Thomas & Mack Center at around 3:45 PM PST (6:45 PM EST) to find thousands of people gathered around outside of the building. WWE had their WrestleMania XXIV Fan Axxess tour stuff setup. The stop featured displays, memorabilia, and all kinds of interactive attractions that everyone seemed to enjoy. Tommy Dreamer, Justin Roberts, and Hillbilly Jim were at the festivities doing a meet and greet. All three spoke and joked with fans, with Roberts and Dreamer even doing their best Howard Finkel impersonations. People were interested at first but when DX music was played loud outside, everyone looked the other way in hopes of catching a glimpse of Triple H or Shawn Michaels. Lou E. Dangerously was outside talking with other employees, he did not speak but I did see him refuse to take a picture for a fan who wanted one of him and Dreamer (why someone would even ask is beyond me). Dreamer, Roberts, and Hillbilly Jim signed autographs.

When the doors finally opened at the Thomas & Mack Center it was pure chaos. I have been to WWE events all around the United States and have never been to a venue as unorganized as the Thomas & Mack Center. They had crowd control barriers setup everywhere and forced people to form this huge line that went all around the building. Ever seen 10,000+ people try to form a line? It was definitely a scene. To make matters worse there was this loud lady with a blow horn in charge. Let’s just say she didn’t make any friends with the people that had been waiting outside for hours. The arena was less than half full by the time the dark match started because of the lack of organization.

I know I’m in Las Vegas for business but I decided that a cool Bud Light would taste good after being outside in the above average temperatures. Ryan and I approached the beer guy to find out that it was $6 a beer. $6 for ONE beer! It was one of those slightly larger plastic bottles but still, 6 freaking dollars! I was one and done with the beer drinking. However, there were people putting them down like they were going out of style as one guy was so inebriated by the time that the event was over, he could not stand up. Ryan and I saw them selling beer right up until the end of the event so unlike most other venues which cut off alcohol sales; it seems as if they kept selling at the Thomas & Mack Center. If you are one of the people that bought the $6 beers, more power to you. The cab driver told me on the way back to our hotel that when he goes to events at the venue he puts a twelve pack in his wife’s purse. Now that’s someone thinking with their head.

The dark match was Kane going over against Shelton Benjamin. The crowd was completely behind Kane, however, there was not much of a crowd in the building during the match because the Thomas & Mack Center sucks. One guy at the concession stand told me that the selection of merchandise was very limited but I didn’t buy anything or check it out so I can only tell you what he told me. I was very surprised at the age of the audience. Most of our section was filled with young children with their parents/grandparents that they had drug with them. One guy had the audacity to ask me to show him my ticket because he thought that Ryan and I were in his seats. Since he was with his two small children, I decided to be nice and showed him my ticket (I held it upside down but at least I showed him). He figured out that he was in the wrong row (he should have sat beside the morons downing the $6 beers).

Lilian has an excellent voice as she sang our National Anthem. All of the announcers got good reactions from the crowd except for Jonathan Coachman who had a tremendous amount of heat. I did see one kid flip Joey Styles the bird while an event staff member told him not to do it. The kid ignored him and continued to tell Styles that he was number one. Mayweather’s seats were reserved and while I didn’t know that it was going to be him and his posse occupying them at the time, I figured the seats were reserved for a reason.

Onto the matches the event opened with what I felt like was a good choice in Chavo Guerrero and CM Punk for the ECW Championship. There was really nothing noteworthy other than Chavo got the win clean which I felt like had to happen to make him look legitimate. I liked how Chavo hit the Frog Splash for the finish I would like to think that Eddie would have wanted it that way.

I really enjoyed the SmackDown Elimination Chamber match. WWE took the weak parts out of the bout early (Big Daddy V and The Great Khali) so the contenders could get some work. I don’t mark out much at events but I did partake in the “you can’t wrestle” chant directed towards The Great Khali. Khali has massive size but his in-ring work is horrid. Big Daddy V isn’t much better, even though you should hear how loud his chops sound live. MVP and Finlay worked solid and the Hornswoggle bit was fun but hats off to The Undertaker and Batista. Both of them worked their rear ends off tonight. Everyone in the building was behind every move as their work really had the crowd into the match. People were gasping at every spot and that is what makes a good wrestling match. WWE put Taker over to send him to WrestleMania. I expected it and it looks like we will see Edge’s undefeated streak vs. Undertaker’s undefeated streak for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. The only complaint that I had with the match was that WWE did what I was told was an injury angle with Ranjin Singh during the match as they put him on a backboard after he took a stiff boot from Undertaker while the match was going on. It looked legitimate to me, but it was a work, and that irritates me. From what I understand, it wasn’t shown on PPV nor were they taping it, so it was just a major distraction live.

I’m tired of the Ric Flair retirement angle. The guy has had a career with such longevity and this is the best thing WWE can come up with? Flair makes Kennedy tap in the Figure Four and even though they made it a respectful win by Kennedy tapping, there wasn’t a whole lot to the match. The crowd was obviously behind Flair with heat on Kennedy but they were not as into it as you might think.

Edge vs. Rey Mysterio surprised me until I learned that Mysterio was really working with a torn bicep. WWE kept it short and it was probably as bad of a Mysterio match as you’ll ever see but you have to give it to Rey for working. It was disappointing to me because I always look forward to watching Mysterio wrestle live but I understood the injury. They put Edge over clean which they were forced into with the injury.

After the match The Big Show returned. He got a pretty loud pop but the segment didn’t make a lot of sense. Show comes out, cuts the cheesy “I missed you guys” promo, only to attack Mysterio for no apparent reason. OK, so the young crowd went from “we love you Big Show” to “you suck Big Show.” The Floyd Mayweather inference was expected when you add up the backstage segment with Rey from earlier in the show, Mayweather’s seats, Big Show’s unexplained attack, and the fact that WWE wants a celebrity at WrestleMania. I guess they are going to do something with Mayweather and Big Show at Mania. Luke posted on the site earlier that Mayweather actually broke Show’s nose. Ouch. Did everyone see Shane McMahon? He didn’t say anything, so I don’t know what all that was about.

John Cena and Randy Orton had an excellent match. The crowd was absolutely on fire throughout the duration of this one. You would have the crowd chanting “let’s go Orton” only for louder chants of “let’s go Cena” in response. Ryan predicted the DQ finish so I can’t say that it was a surprise. It looks like it will be Triple H vs. Randy Orton at WrestleMania unless somehow Cena is able to get on the card in a three way match. I’d put my money on the latter.

I enjoyed the RAW Elimination Chamber match. One of my favorite spots was when Umaga got a Superkick, codebreaker, pedigree, and insane swanton bomb. Jeff Hardy is amazing and I didn’t even understand how over that he has gotten until I saw his reaction live. Folks, he got a tremendous reaction and I really hope that he remains a contender in WWE throughout 2008. The spot where JBL got eliminated then came back and cleaned house with a chair was goofy. Real goofy. Another thing that didn’t make sense was Triple H eliminating Shawn Michaels. Hunter and Shawn have so much momentum with DX I don’t see a reason to destroy that. I thought maybe it was the beginning of a heel turn for Triple H, however, after he defeated Jeff Hardy to win the match and the title shot, he helped Hardy to his feet and raised his hand in the ring. It made even less sense when Hardy went to the back and Triple H started making the DX sign with his arms raised above his head. Maybe I’m missing something but couldn’t they just have let Hardy eliminate Michaels?

All and all No Way Out was a fun event to attend. It was a solid pay-per-view but nothing spectacular. I can’t make a recommendation on whether or not to order the replay because I need to see the tape just so I can see how the show came off on television. There were some really good spots and some questionable booking calls but it was an enjoyable time. Next up is WrestleMania, let’s hope we are treated to some excellent WWE TV leading up to the flagship pay-per-view.

A lot of my criticism towards TNA held up last night as creative made their usual mistakes of booking storylines that didn’t make logical sense and the always irritating overbooked finishes. The apparent Tomko heel turn at the end of the pay-per-view, helping Kurt Angle retain the TNA Championship made me laugh for a good 10 minutes after the event was over. Out of all the mistakes that TNA creative makes, you would think that they would try and do a better job. Tomko, a guy that has basically become the number one babyface in the company based on crowd reactions in Orlando, suddenly screws over Christian Cage and aligns himself with Angle. I can’t wait to see how they try to explain this one. We have sat through weeks and weeks of TNA TV with the entire saga between Angle and Christian, Tomko and AJ, with Tomko expressing his desire to be “independent” only for him to change his mind at the drop of a hat and make a major impact in a PPV main event. It makes no sense and is really goofy. I’ll talk more about this as we get into the matches.

“Bullet” Bob Armstrong & BG James vs. Tomko & AJ Styles for the TNA Tag Team Championships was fine to open the pay-per-view. I thought they made Armstrong look a little too credible being able to hang in there with Tomko for as long as he did but I didn’t want to begin to gripe too early. Styles’ work stood out the most to me in this match as he once again showed how big of an asset he is to TNA Wrestling. I would like to see a long program between Tomko & Styles and The Motor City Machineguns for the tag straps but with TNA creative, that’s never a very good possibility because that may just make sense.

The surprise match of the night for me was Traci Brooks vs. Payton Banks. This was just a filler match and both of them worked their rear ends off. I didn’t like how the fight spilled out onto the outside so early in the event but both of their work in their ring not only surprised me but impressed me. You can tell that Banks has worked hard to get her shot at a legitimate run in the company and Traci is usually very solid in the ring.

I could not see TNA Wrestling giving Petey Williams a TNA Title shot and I was right as Scott Steiner defeated him to win both cases. However, Williams really shined in this one and I felt like he carried Steiner throughout the match. Williams showed how agility can make up for size in the ring. I was very entertained throughout this match and if I would have been booking the pay-per-view, I would have opened with this one. They could have swapped the position of this match and the Tag Titles match and I felt like it would have made more sense, but once again, TNA creative doesn’t do things that make sense. Steiner worked solid but he still comes off as tremendously overrated to me. The guy used to have a rock solid body but now he’s just flabby and slow. He’s still got muscles but he looks like hell. I guess they plan on feeding Steiner to Angle but I don’t see him reigning as TNA Champion.

Eric Young vs. James Storm could have been a television match. The storyline between the two “drinkers” has gone on way too long and hopefully it ended last night. It made sense to bring Rhino back here since there was nothing else very entertaining about it. I hate how TNA uses their pay-per-views to promote iMPACT as Rhino’s promo that he cut after the match was irritating. He said that he had a lot to talk about but it wasn’t the place but iMPACT was. I paid $30 and instead of a heated promo I get a plug for iMPACT. Thanks TNA creative, as a paying customer, I appreciate that.

Let’s face it; things have not looked pretty between Awesome Kong and ODB. Coming off a feud with Gail Kim that outshined the male wrestling on the last two pay-per-views, this match had a lot to live up too. However, it didn’t even come close and I feel like Banks vs. Brooks was a better women’s match. Don’t get me wrong, I think that the ODB character is entertaining but maybe they rushed her in the Women’s title picture too soon. When you are working with someone as big as Kong, agility helps. ODB, being bigger herself, doesn’t have much agility or high-flying attacks in her arsenal. I think this just shows how good of a wrestler Gail Kim actually is and that she is the top woman in the company.

For the most part, I hate gimmick matches but if I told you that I wasn’t looking forward to the Barbed Wire Massacre match, I would be lying. I thought that TNA handled the situation where they had to explain why the match had to be held in Orlando very well. Cornette explained the real nature of the contest and that is exactly what needed to happen. As for the match itself, it was the usual Abyss blood bath, but he bled far worse than Mesias who did the job. This should end the Abyss/Mitchell storyline, at least for awhile, as there is really nowhere else for the storyline to go. The crowd in Orlando seemed to have thoroughly enjoyed the match but I think a lot of the people marked out a little too much. It was a solid effort but nothing spectacular and probably would have been just as effective if it would have been another hardcore match that could have aired live. I still wonder how the live crowd in Greenville reacted while the match aired.

Booker T vs. Robert Roode in their Grudge Match was a lot of fun. Roode has tremendous potential as he is outstanding on the mic and very solid in the ring. I say this all the time; Roode is a feature mega star of the business. I enjoyed the work in this one and I expected the no contest finish. What confused me was why the referee decided to start a count out now. It seems like in TNA now that the referees only count out a match whenever the feel like it. I guess that this is just another blunder by TNA creative and the lack of logical sense when booking match endings. The ending of the match which featured Roode throwing Banks out of the Cadillac to speed out of the arena was priceless.

Jay Lethal stole the show during the Team Lethal vs. Team 3D & Devine match. Shelly and Sabin worked well as usual but they didn’t shine like Lethal did. Lethal was outstanding and proved that he is a very special talent. Many had this as the match of the night candidate and while I do not feel like it lived up to that, it was a very good pay-per-view match. Lethal’s arsenal along with his gimmick makes for a very entertaining wrestler. The heel crowd shined during this one as they continuously shouted “we want tables” at the Dudleys, in which, they finally set one up. Lethal’s flying elbow through the table was the perfect finish for him to recapture the X Division title.

Given his health problems and the way that he left WWE, there have been a lot of doubts regarding Kurt Angle. However, last night once again he proved that he is still one of the best if not the best the technical wrestlers in the world. Angle worked an outstanding match with Christian Cage during last night’s main event. The German supplexes, the near falls, the tremendous selling ability of Christian made this match a dandy. The first 15 minutes of this match were of 5 star quality until TNA creative overbooked the finish and had a ton of interference. However, that should not take away from what Christian and Kurt showcased in this bout. In my opinion they had a much better match than what they did at Final Resolution and should be commended for their superb ring work. Every spot was made very believable and while I felt like Kurt Angle would retain they teased us a couple of times with some close near falls.

The match began to fall apart with the overbooking of the finish. I don’t remember the exact sequence but it went something like ankle lock from Angle onto Christian, Angle Slam, Unprettier, Angle Slam off of the top, ankle lock from Christian onto Angle, interference, Tomko screws Christian, pinfall. I felt like it was a tremendous injustice to Angle for Christian to be booked to kick out of the Angle Slam not once but twice. Angle is your champion and his finisher should be effective. There was really no need for Christian to use the Unprettier and to let him use it only for Angle to kick out of didn’t do him any good either. I expected the interference from Styles and I thought that Samoa Joe played the enforcer role well. It was funny to watch Joe run Styles out of the building.

The ending of the match which featured Tomko’s unexplained heel turn on Christian made so little sense it was funny. It was the funniest spot of the night for me. As I mentioned at the begging of this piece, I laughed for a good 10 minutes after it happened because I could not believe what they did. Just when you think that TNA creative can’t mess things up any worse, they pull this. The fans have spoken; Tomko is your top babyface. So why in the hell are you turning him heel now? Christian is a babyface right now but that’s not going to last. Some people are just natural heels and Christian is one of those people. His smartass attitude and natural cocky promos make him too valuable for him to praise his peeps. He is better as a heel and why you turn Tomko who is pretty much the definition of a babyface is beyond me. Damn you TNA creative, why mess up a stellar main event for one of your goofy storyline blunders? Angle and Christian worked very hard to save what would have been a very mediocre PPV and TNA creative nearly took that away with one of heck of a goofy finish.

In conclusion Against All Odds was a solid pay-per-view. I probably wouldn’t order the replay because there is nothing that I would label “must see” but I didn’t feel ripped off with my purchase. To enjoy TNA you almost have to overlook the storylines because you’ll get so frustrated you won’t be able to stand it. I just took it as humor and laughed off the ridiculous ending. The backstage skits were very good as they usually are. I thought it was hilarious when Kurt Angle told JB that he loved him and AJ walked in. I also enjoyed the work of Scott Hudson; his serious facial expressions make him a good backstage interviewer. Karen Angle’s work with Kurt is unmatched in the wrestling industry. They come off as so natural because it doesn’t seem like they have to do a whole lot of acting. Karen Angle has emerged from being just “Kurt’s wife” to one of the better valets in the business. Her work at ringside as well as her work backstage is very entertaining. Kurt and Karen will renew their wedding vows on iMPACT this week which should make for some entertaining segments. I just hope they can somehow make sense of the Tomko heel turn because I sure as hell can’t.

Last night WWE put on one of their best pay-per-views in a long time. Not only did we have some very solid wrestling matches but we had some surprises that were not even leaked online. When WWE is able to surprise the Internet, they pull off a major victory and are able to deliver a show with shock value. One of the best things about last night’s event was the live crowd from Madison Square Garden. The sold out crowd of over 20,000 was on fire throughout the entire event as I don’t believe that I have ever heard a crowd as into a match as they were when Triple H and John Cena squared off in the Rumble match finals. Whenever you have a hot crowd in a world famous venue you are almost guaranteed a special event. It left me wondering – could WWE creative deliver? Last night, I felt like they did in a big way.

Before I get into the matches I wanted to voice my opinion about my only major complaint for the night. I’m not an expert of Standard Definition vs. High Definition broadcasting nor do I understand the different camera angles and shots like a lot of you do. However, during the Rumble feed that I watched in SD, the camera angles were awful. For some reason the shots could never get wide enough as there were numerous times in the Rumble match when all of the superstars were fighting in all four corners and I couldn’t see anything. In one spot I could hear HBK tuning up Sweet Chin Music, but I couldn’t even see it. This is a problem that I feel like must be corrected due to the fact that less than 40% of WWE’s viewing audience is watching the product in High Definition. While I feel like HD is big for the company they have to figure out a way to make SD customers able to get the same quality that we are used too. Last night the camera shots were the worst that I may have ever seen on a WWE pay-per-view.

MVP vs. Ric Flair was an excellent way to open the event. Flair delivered a good promo about his history wrestling in MSG and I liked how it came off as his “farewell” to the building and the crowd. I felt like the match wasn’t given enough time but due to the Rumble match I knew that some matches were going to be limited. With that being said I’m glad that they limited this one instead of making a more meaningful match shorter. I was surprised to see MVP tap in the Figure Four but I guess WWE creative felt like it won’t hurt his character with Flair being the legend that he is. If I were booking I probably would have had Flair win by being the “dirtiest player in the game” as I would not book an up and coming superstar to tap to a guy as old as Flair.

The one match of the night that I could have given a rip about was John “Bradshaw” Layfield vs. Chris Jericho. JBL is in terrible shape and should have stayed at the announcer’s table. If I were Jericho I would already be rethinking my decision to come back. I felt like it was a decent match for what it was and it gave the event a chance to have some color (blood) in it but I still do not really care about the feud. I understand how they have made it personal with JBL bringing Jericho’s kids in it and they let Jericho return the favor by strangling Bradshaw but I still don’t care. I would rather see Jericho work a program with someone like Mysterio where they could have some very solid wrestling matches. JBL is a solid worker but I feel like his style limits Jericho.

Rey Mysterio proved once again last night just how special of a performer that he is. I really enjoyed the World Heavyweight Championship match between him and Edge. It was booked perfectly in that they let Mysterio his 619 twice but had Edge “screw” Rey in the end. Mysterio was all over the place in the ring, selling his “knee injury” and still defying gravity with his aerial style. Edge, whose work level hasn’t been the best as of late, worked very solid with Rey and they had match that was much more than an afterthought. At any other pay-per-view this match had main event potential. The near falls from Mysterio made it very entertaining. I’m not sure if Edge worked so much better or if Rey just made him look a lot better. You will never be able to convince me that Rey Mysterio is not one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. There is no one in the world right now better than Rey and I mean that with all sincerity.

With a tough act to follow, Jeff Hardy and Randy Orton proved that they are very capable of working an outstanding match. This was my pick for singles match of the night. There were a lot of near falls which kept me wondering if WWE would do what I felt like was the right thing and put the belt on Hardy. However, I figured that they would play it safe and let Orton retain. One can only hope that Hardy does not get buried with John Cena back, although that is always a possibility. Hardy’s ring work was outstanding as his high flying antics complimented Orton’s picture perfect drop kicks and supplexes. As dry as Orton might be on the mic, he is an outstanding talent from a wrestling perspective. These two did an excellent job of telling the story in this bout and I felt like it could have gone either way throughout the duration. The best part of the match was the finish where Hardy went for Twist of Fate but Orton blocked and hit the RKO.

A lot of people asked me going into last night’s Royal Rumble match what was my favorite Rumble match ever. I always said that it was Royal Rumble 2004 until last night. Finally WWE gave us something that was not completely predictable and in what I feel like was the best Royal Rumble match of all time. There was a lot of storytelling in the match and WWE did not ruin it with humor as they left Hornswoggle out of it for the most part and added little bits of comedy when needed. They didn’t do anything stupid like book Great Khali over everyone or make Snitsky look like the next World Champion. Eliminations were slow for the most part, causing the ring to get crowded and that is one of my favorite parts about the match.

The surprises – “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, Jimmy Snuka, Chavo Guerrero, Elijah Burke, and John Cena were fine by me as the two legends made for a nice touch to give the match a nostalgic feeling and adding Guerrero and Burke made up for the lack of ECW on the show. John Cena was one of the biggest surprises that WWE has ever pulled off and I’m glad they waited until #30 to introduce him. I also enjoyed how the commentary was handled with everyone being involved. When The Undertaker was eliminated I knew that plans had changed but I fully expected Triple H to win it. They brought Cena out and I figured we were in for a dandy. Mega props for Batista who worked solid for over 37 minutes!

The final sequence of the match with Batista, Triple H, and John Cena was a lot of fun to watch. You have three of the company’s biggest stars all in the ring with one of the hottest crowds in several years. It was perfect and I thought that it was the right call having Batista go out to setup Triple H vs. Cena. Cena had to get booked over since he made such a shocking return but I felt like Triple H worked very solid to try and convince us otherwise. Like I mentioned above – when Cena and Triple H were exchanging right hands, the crowd reaction gave me goose bumps. It certainly appears we will see Cena vs. Randy Orton at WrestleMania XXIV.

All and all the show was worth $40. I don’t say that often but there was nothing bad from a creative standpoint. There were the annoying camera shots for me watching in Standard Definition but I wouldn’t let that stop me from watching this one again. I didn’t mention this above but WWE is doing the right thing by involving Santino Marella with Maria as his gimmick has more steam than just about any other gimmick in WWE. Order the Rumble replay and make sure that you do not miss this event. You may disagree with some of the outcomes (Hardy not getting the title or John Cena returning early) but you cannot disagree with the quality of wrestling, storytelling, and drama that Royal Rumble 2008 provided. WWE put on one of their best PPV efforts in a long time and hopefully they will not disappoint as we continue on the Road to WrestleMania.

Homicide & Hernandez defeated Lance Hoyt and Jimmy Rave with Christy Hemme with a clean finish. Hernandez proved in this bout just how good of an athlete that he is. His dive to the outside combined with his power spots are extremely rare in professional wrestling. Most guys over 300 pounds can’t fly and not only can Hernandez fly but he can execute it with perfection. Lance Hoyt, another big guy that can fly, had an outstanding mooonsault onto Hernandez. Homicide and Rave were decent but the big men stole the show by mixing their power and agility. LAX got the win as I expected, however, Martinez didn’t get involved until the end. Don’t get me wrong, Martinez is hot but she looks to have a little bit of a guy on her. Nonetheless I’m glad that TNA creative did the right thing with the LAX victory here. Martinez’s debut could have been booked better but it accomplished what it was supposed to do. It was a short match but perfect for an opener with some very decent spots.

Kaz defeated Black Reign clean with a pinfall. I felt like Kaz carried the match and I was relieved to see the company let Kaz go over. I’m not crazy over this feud as I’m not very high up on Dustin Rhodes. Maybe it’s the goofy gimmicks that he has had in the past but I just do not find his character to be very entertaining or bizarre as intended. Kaz on the other hand is an up and coming superstar and he showed once again tonight that he can make just about anyone in the company look good.

I guess Karen Angle’s ankle is better? I enjoy Kurt and Karen’s backstage segments with JB. Maybe it’s because they are married and they don’t have to do a lot of acting but I usually find them entertaining. Karen is absolutely beautiful and she looked absolutely stunning tonight in that gold dress.

Tonight’s women’s championship match between Gail Kim and Awesome Kong was another very solid bout between the two women. There was an insane spot on the outside where Kong slung the body of Gail Kim into the security rail. I have to give props to Kong for executing without hurting Kim and to Kim for a very realistic sale. One of my favorite sequences of the bout came when Kong was on the outside and Kim was lying in the ring with half her body on the apron. Kong came with a chair but Kim blocked it. Kim went off the top rope to the outside only to be caught in the air by Kong. I thought that spot really showcased both these women’s talents. The weak part of the match came with the overbooked finish. Kong taking out one referee didn’t make a lot of sense, especially since it cost her the Women’s Championship last month at Turning Point. However, this was a no DQ match so it continued. So not to be surprised Kim capitalized on momentum with several chairshots on Kim only for Kong to try and take out another referee. This time it costs her the win for the second pay-per-view in a row. I didn’t like how it happened. After the bout they made Kong still look powerful but tonight should have been her night to get the title. I have a real problem with the duplicate finishes on consecutive pay-per-views. However it was not bad enough to ruin the match. The crowd was red hot throughout and very much behind Kim. TNA definitely has an edge on WWE with their women’s division. Let’s hope they don’t screw it up!

ODB interrupting Styles and Karen angle in the men’s bathroom was hilarious. I don’t care who you are or where you from, you have to be able to relate to the ODB character. Karen Angle is sexy, plain and simple she is sexy. Damn how I envy AJ Styles for that segment where she kissed him.

Judas Mesias defeated Abyss clean after he gave him Straight From Hell onto the barb wire wrapped chair. This match could have been a lot better. It started off far too slow and had way too much James Mitchell interference. I guess it was necessary to continue Michell’s obsession with Abyss but I expected more violence in the match. It didn’t make a lot of sense how they freely got away with chairshots without getting the DQ call and would have made more sense if they would have made it a no DQ match. I don’t know if Abyss really bled or if it was just that bloody substance that was spit out of Mesias’ mouth but the finish was nice as Abyss took Straight From Hell on the barb wire. Good to see that Russo did the right thing again and let Mesias go over. Like I said in my preview this morning, an alternate finish would have gridlocked the feud.

Did Kevin Nash really say that he put asses in seats? Nash is far past his prime and is hardly a draw for me anymore. I guess Nash has his fans out there but I don’t find a tall gray haired man very intimidating.

I liked how Crystal at least acknowledged the fact that Sharmell wasn’t even a wrestler. At least they know the mixed tag match is a goofy idea.

Booker T and Sharmell defeated Robert Roode and Ms. Brooks via a Sharmell pin on Brooks. Very good booking from TNA creative in this one. Sharmell pinning Brooks not only keeps the Booker/Roode program going but helped the falling out between Brook and Roode. This was a very good old school wrestling match. I look at Robert Roode like a young Booker T. Both men can do it all. They can talk, they have the look, and they can wrestle. This was a good match despite the crowd chanting “boring” at one moment. I’m not sure what the crowd found boring about the bout but I thought it was very well done. I was glad to see TNA utilize Booker vs. Roode while minimizing Sharmell vs. Ms. Brooks. The segment afterwards with Roode laying out Sharmell was perfect. I like how Tenay and West sold it by West taking off his headset. This drew a lot of heat from the loud crowd and kept Roode with the jerk persona. I think it’s safe to say that Booker T vs. Robert Roode is going to continue and I feel like this was a good way to start things off. What looked like a disastrous match on paper turned out to be pretty decent.

Not the match of the night as I expected. I guess Team 3D’s contract situation with TNA is not as serious as first thought. The company booked them over with Brother D-Von getting the X Division Title to win the match. Some of the best spots from the match were a perfect DDT by Chris Sabin and Alex Shelly’s nasty bump that he took after a dive to the outside. I liked how they added the tables and kindo sticks and understood the finish. The reason this match did not live up to its potential is due to the fact that Team 3D has no business in an Ultimate X match. They are not agile enough to move freely in the structure and it only made sense that they “cheated” to win the belt. Jay Lethal had some good spots including one nasty bump after a springboard into a ladder held by Team 3D. An Ultimate X match is supposed to be about high flying antics and superstars that are very agile. I can’t help be disappointed with this match as I was expecting much more. Devine didn’t do enough but Sabin, Shelley, and Lethal did fine. Like I said, I understood the finish but didn’t expect it due to Team 3D’s contract status with TNA. It was a decent match but nothing like I expected and is not worth going out of your way to see.

AJ Styles and Tomko retained their tag team titles after pinning Samoe Joe after Kevin Nash walked out on him. I was blown away by the finish based on information that I got that Joe and Nash were going to be formed into a strong team only to break up later. Maybe they want to go into a different direction and continue a Joe vs. Nash feud. Whatever the case Styles and Joe carried this match. Tomko was decent but Nash was downright worthless. I don’t think he was in for more than one series before walking out. I don’t understand the booking nor do I understand why TNA continues to treat Kevin Nash like main event superstar. AJ Styles hit several solid drop kicks and Joe did his normal routine in the ring. Maybe it’s the Ring of Honor influence that sets these two so far apart from their partners, but if it wasn’t for them this match would have been a disaster. It was a decent match but could have probably fared better as a main event on iMPACT instead of a pay-per-view match. I expected a title change here and didn’t get it. It turned out to be a disappointing handicap match. Why doesn’t TNA utilize their television to advance storylines instead of their PPVs? I don’t understand.

The main event which featured Kurt Angle over Christian Cage to retain the TNA World Championship was a very solid bout. The match was filled with pure professional wrestling that you would come to expect from both Cage and Angle. Christian hit a sweet dive to the outside onto Angle. Angle hit his normal supplexes as well as a very nice moonsault. It became pretty clear in the match that Christian is now a babyface as the crowd chanted “Instant Classic” throughout. My problem with the match was the over booked finish. I mentioned it in my preview how I hoped that the company would start out the new year without overbooking the finishes. It didn’t happen as Christian hit the Unprettier a couple of times and Kurt Angle got the Olympic Slam a couple of times as well. Angle even tapped in his own ankle lock at one time with the referee’s back turned. Styles chose Angle and screwed Christian Cage as he did it just as I was told earlier. Styles pretended to side with Cage only to screw him and cost him the World Title.

Final Resolution was a decent pay-per-view. There were no title changes, no bloody wars, and no standout match of the night. The best matches were between Gail Kim and Awesome Kong and Kurt Angle and Christian Cage. The biggest disappointment of the night would have to be Abyss vs. Judas Mesias as I felt like they could have done a lot more with it. I didn’t like how Samoa Joe and Kevin Nash vs. Tomko and Styles turned into a handicap match after Nash walked out and felt like it belonged on iMPACT.

I would not go out of my way to order the replay. There is some solid wrestling on the show but nothing that I would label as must see. Kim vs. Kong was entertaining but it happened last month with not much different of a finish. Angle vs. Cage was good and is worth seeing but not worth paying for the replay. A fair effort from TNA Wrestling in 2008 but Final Resolution could have been a lot better.