NXT Arrival Review – The Next Generation Of WWE Takes To New Heights!

NXT Arrival is the first mega show for the NXT developmental league. A huge milestone for the future stars of WWE to show us just what they’re made off. I’m not going to lie. Before this, I barely ever watched NXT so I decided to flick on NXT Arrival to see what the deal was with it. And boy was I blown away in as early as the first match!

Sami Zayn vs Antonio Cesaro

The Koji Clutch. Gee, I Wonder Who This Move Reminded You Guys Of….

You want to talk about a match that can tell a story? This was a fantastic representation of Zayn and Cesaro’s long-running rivalry. The underdog Zayn trying to earn the respect of the accomplished athlete Cesaro in what billed as the “Final Chapter” of their feud. The two put on a wrestling clinic at Arrival which had the NXT fans buzzing all over the place! This match was a great opportunity for these two incredibly talented wrestlers to show us what they’re made off. These two got a good 20 minutes to give us one hell of a performance. I enjoyed the storytelling of the match. Zayn trying to earn the respect of Cesaro by refusing to give up, refusing to die by kicking out of brutal uppercut after brutal uppercut. This match was really a match that hit all the right notes. To those that enjoy the storyline telling of wrestling, to those hardcore fans that just enjoy the technical wrestling part of it, this match is simply up your street. Fantastic finish to the feud.

Mojo Rawley vs CJ Parker

Parker Gets Ass To Face

OK, CJ Parker is a very… interesting character. A heel hippie? I’m not sure if this character is going to go that well, especially if he’s a heel. But only time will tell. I love Mojo Rawley’s gimmick of being ultra-hyped all the time! This is definitely the type of guy that would have lucozade with his bowl of Cheerios in the morning! This match wasn’t much good and it really was the breather for fans after that stunning opener between Cesaro and Zayn. I don’t like the fact that Mojo won the match by just sitting on him with his “Hyper Driver”. Again, these two characters are probably characters that are definitely going to be hard for people to get into. It was for me anyway.

Ascension (c) vs Too Cool for the NXT Tag Team Championship

Domination!

Boy, the returning Too Cool got nothing but the shit kicked out of them in this match against the team of Ascension for the NXT Tag Team titles. This was basically Too Cool being feed to the wolves. I don’t think a squash match like this would help the prestige of the NXT Tag Team Championship when they just beat up two old timers who had like 10% of offense in this match. Also, 75% of the match was just Grandmaster Sexay getting beat up by these two! Then again, Sexay wasn’t exactly as slick as he once was. You can’t really dish out a “You Still Got It” chant at Sexay like!

Paige (c) vs Emma for the NXT Women’s Championship

Paige Gives Emma A Dropkick For Her Troubles

First of all, I loved Stephanie McMahon coming out and putting over the NXT women’s division. She did a real good job at hyping up the match and the competitors. Also I loved her response to the “You Still Got It” chant by simply stating, “Ladies and gentlemen, I never lost it”! No woman could act as boss as Stephanie in a WWE ring.

The match between Paige and Emma was really good. The fans weren’t into it as much as the Cesaro/Zayn, largely due to the pace being slowed down to show off the skill of these two divas. NXT is the best place to go nowadays if you want to see actually good women’s matches these days. We had a lot of back and forth, and a lot of great spots like Emma’s Sit-Out powerbomb. Somehow, Paige was able to kick out! Interesting to note that Emma’s powerbomb got a “Better Than Batista” chant! I loved that! Also, Emma was a lot more ruthless in the ring as you’d expect. Acting a bit heelish when she was slapping around Paige near the end. Maybe that was just to show that she’s not just some happy-go-lucky diva. She’s got just a mean streak within her as Paige. Paige won with the “Scorpion Cross-Lock” submission hold. I’ve actually seen that move before and it’s really rare to see it in wrestling because it’s so difficult to pull off. But Paige could and Emma was not getting out of that and submitted. Really good match which I think lasted 10+ minutes which I loved to see.

Xaiver Wood vs Tyler Breeze

Watch Out WWE…

Errrr… actually this match never actually took place because of a certain tank of a Bulgarian, Alexander Rusev, taking out both men with ease. Making a clear statement before he embraces the main WWE roster with his presence.

Bo Dallas (c) vs Adrian Neville for the NXT Championship

The Two NXT Stars Battle For The Top Prize!

I was a bit disappointed with this ladder match considering all the hype that went into it throughout the show and before that. Neville was awesome in the ring and in a ladder match environment, but the same can’t be said for Bo Dallas. I really don’t get how he lasted 200+ days as champion. In the ring, he seemed really awkward in this match which is a shame for such a historic ladder match.

Bo Dallas, with his face like a rhino’s backside, was not able to stop the flying Geordie from grabbing the title after a “Red Arrow” onto Dallas on the ladder which looked like a pure peach of a finisher. Neville was able to become the fourth ever NXT Champion and ushered in a new era under a champion in NXT.

Definitely a great show! If you haven’t watched it yet, go watch it! It’s basically the show to watch if you’re like me. You never really watched NXT that much and want to know what the fuss was all about. The first match on the show was the greatest indication about why you should tune it. If this is an indication of the future of WWE, then we’re in for one hell of a ride boys and girls!

#ThrowbackThursday – Randy Orton: “Greatness Has Entered The Ring”

EVOLUTION IS A MYSTERY!

Evolution was a hell of a group back in the day. As the next genesis of the “Four Horsemen”, Evolution was a group that did exactly what the title says, it evolved those involved in it. With the wisdom of the Nature Boy Ric Flair and the leadership of Triple H, the two upstarts of the group ascended to levels of greatness that few have been able to match. The group met its end with the emergence of Batista who defeated his mentor Triple H to become the World Heavyweight Champion. But before the beast was unleashed, we had a believer of destiny who first entered the realms of WWE greatness with his Intercontinental TItle victory at Armageddon 2003.

Having made his name as the legend killer, Randy Orton won the IC championship as the entire group earned gold at the Armageddon PPV. Randy Orton has selected the recently named RAW General Manager Mick Foley as his next victim (who had previously been booted in the head down a flight of stairs by Orton). Being on the receiving of multiple beatdowns by Orton and the group, Foley left his position and the company putting people under the impression that he was a coward. That was until the Royal Rumble in 2004. Orton was the number two entrant in the match and did well to last a good 30 minutes in the match. However, his impressive performance came to a halt as the hardcore legend Mick Foley eliminated Orton leading to a huge scrap after both men were eliminated. Foley and Orton locked up in the ring at PPVS twice. Their first encounter was at Wrestlemania XX  where Orton pinned Foley in a 3 on 2 handicap match. The second time was Backlash 2004…

In what was a brutal encounter, Orton and Foley took each other to the limit. Foley delivered every brutal attack he can think of at Orton, but Orton refused to play down quietly and it resulted in Orton picking up the most important victory in his life. It was the victory that allowed him to on up in the card and towards the big one… the World Heavyweight Championship. After losing the Intercontinetal title to Edge, Orton earned the right to compete for the World Title at Summerslam. And in what was a sound encounter, Orton picked up the victory over Chris Benoit to become the youngest world champion in history.

But the next night on RAW, jubilation turned into decimation as Triple H wasn’t too happy about other members of the group winning the title he believed was his. Evolution delivered a bigtime beat down on Orton to “teach him a lesson”. But Orton didn’t prove to be a great learner as he spat in HHH’s face the next week to cement his turn from bad to good.

Orton’s rise to fame was played out really well since he returned from injury in 2003. Orton played his role as the cocky twat really well and he had a number of high-profile feuds as Intercontinental champion against the likes of RVD, Mick Foley and Edge. It was a great way for Orton to be catapulted into stardom.

How I Would Book… Rey Mysterio vs AJ Styles

In an interview earlier on this month, AJ Styles spoke to SLAM magazine and he gave the magazine a nice indictiation as to a possible dream match if he were to wrestle any opponent of his choosing. He said…

“Seriously, some (dream matches) for me are with guys that I may never get the opportunity to wrestle. I’d like to wrestle Rey Mysterio, I think he and I could really tear things up. There are definitely some guys in the Fed (WWE) that I think I could have good matches with, that would also be dream matches for the fans as well. But who knows if that ever comes or not.”

AJ Styles vs Rey Mysterio is defiently probably one of the most talked about dream matches in wrestling history. I certaintly would’ve like to seen these two mix it up. I remember in 2006 when Rey Mysterio was the World Champion at the peak of his career and I just started watching TNA and AJ Styles, I’ve paid some serious cash to see these two at the time compete. The quickness of Rey Mysterio, the athletic abillity of AJ Styles. In my mind, this sort of match would have been the greatest match of all time. However, years later I’ve matured. The likelihood of this actually happening is very low considering Rey’s physical well-being and AJ’s stance on joining the WWE. Rey could himself theoretically join TNA, but I just don’t see it. But if a match between these two was somewhat possible… how would you book it?

I mean these are two characters with very different personalities that how would a feud manifest between these two, particularly in this day and age? I personally have one idea about how to book it. I’m not sure if you’re going to like it, but I would like for you guys to send me ideas about how you would book it and hopefully I can actually do a post on it comparing peoples ideas and we can generate a lot of thoughts together. This is a forum for public debate after all. XD So tweet them @ArmbarExpress, send me an e-mail tomrobinson5199@gmail.com. Whatever , I’d love to start building relationships with you guys. Anyway, here’s how I’d do it.

It starts off on the RAW after Elimination Chamber. I know that’s already happened (and you can read my review about it on this link) but that’s where I’m starting it in this scenario. Assuming that Rey was healthy, Rey Mysterio is in the ring teasing retirement. He’s saying stuff like “I don’t know if I can do this anymore” and “I’ve done all I can and wrestled everyone there is to wrestle” etc. He’s saying that there’s nothing for him in WWE anymore and he’s about to leave but then Evil Ways by Blues Saraceno hits! Again, this is assuming that WWE is allowed to use the theme! They might actually because they used it for a Undertaker/CM Punk promo before! Anyway, AJ makes his way onto the stage. He has the lone wolf gimmick (which I personally love). He enters the ring and does his hand pose. It’s still dark from his entrance when he and Rey have a little staredown. AJ stares at him and then walks towards the Wrestlemania sign and points at it. He goes back to Rey and offers his hand. Rey accepts the handshake and the match is on… but then AJ delivers the STYLES CLASH!

AJ cuts a promo the next week stating that its his time to take what is his at WWE. AJ says the first step into gaining wrestling immortality is by “putting down old yeller” and cutting Rey’s throat for good. AJ delivers an ultimate heat-generator by saying that he’s going to make sure he sends Rey down to where his buddy Eddie is. This pisses of Rey. This brings out the intensity of the feuding and gets people more involved. It’s now more than just a match. It’s a legit feud that has fuel added to the fire. This eventually leads to Wrestlemania XXX, where Rey beats AJ. AJ offers his hand to Rey and says that he’s sorry. The handshake is accepted but Rey leaves the ring saying I’m finally ready to move on…

 

24/02/14 RAW Review – Undertaker and Hulk Hogan returns as all eyes are at Wrestlemania XXX

Tom Robinson’s RAW REVIEW!

Hulk Hogan’s Return

Whatcha Gonna Do Brother?

HUGE moment here with the return of the Hulkster. I love how Hogan just, and I said this in a recent NoDQ.com column, oozes enthusiasm and charisma about him just being there. The fans were still popping like crazy for the Hulkster. It’s funny that the so-called “modern-day Hulk Hogan” John Cena is still hated worldwide, and yet the original comes back and gets the biggest reaction of the night. People just see Hogan and pop and that’s incredible to see. He’s someone who appeals to everyone in a weird way. He appeals to fans from back in the day to even the new PG audience. He had the crowd at the palm of his hands and he delivered a quality promo as usual to hype up the WWE Network… and Wrestlemania 30!

Batista vs Alberto Del Rio

DEAL WITH IT!

The rematch from last night’s Elimination Chamber wasn’t exactly the greatest of sights. Interesting thing to note that Batista was acting very heelish during his entrance and the match itself which now makes it seem absolute clear that Batista is now in a tweener role in WWE which does seem kinda strange. Especially with the promo he cut post-match. Randy Orton distracted Batista to allow Del Rio to win (which was quality to see). Orton cut a decent promo on the Animal talking about how the fans were booing him. Batista’s “comeback” wasn’t anything special but from the way he was sounding and acting, this promo all but cemented his status as a tweener. It’s weird thinking that at the main event of Wrestlemania 30, we’re going to see a heel taking on a tweener in a match for the main title. It’s just goes to show what a strange era we are in. No longer is it the era of the good guy vs the bad guy. What Vince McMahon supposedly said about having no more faces and heels in WWE anymore is starting to ring true. Hmmm.

Big E Langston vs Antonio Cesaro

Time To Go Swinging!

A better than average match, but nothing near to the Jack Swagger vs Big E Langston match from last night. These two wrestlers are very great in-ring performers but the chemistry is not really there yet. This could easily be worked on if a feud is in the works. However, this match seemed rather stale but the fans were into it which is an important factor to take into consideration. Jack Swagger got Cesaro DQ’d after attacking Big E which is starting to cause cracks within the Real Americans camp.  When Big E got revenge, Cesaro levelled him with a sick looking Neutralizer which looked like it could’ve broken Langston’s neck. Of course lifting someone like Big E for a move like that is easier said than done, but it would be best to take better care when doing moves like that to big men.

John Cena Attacked By The Wyatts

Follow The Buzzards!

John Cena was all business on RAW as he demanded answers from the Wyatts. He talked about the future needing to get through him to step into the limelight in WWE, which drew out the family. Bray Wyatt cut a promo about Cena being a liar and being a man with empty promises. His promo resulted in a scrap between the Wyatts and Cena. This beatdown was rather weak but it got the job done. Of course, it probably was booked to be a bit worse considering they had a stretcher already for Cena. Cena looked liked he tweaked his leg during the beatdown when Eric Rowan got his leg to take him down.

Cena looked bad during that beatdown after he tweaked the knee. It’s worrying for the WWE considering their plans for Wyatt vs Cena at Wrestlemania, but I still think that Cena could probably be OK for Wrestlemania. Cena’s a trooper and he’ll probably just go all out if he is properly injured. Also, I have a history of being completely wrong about Cena’s physical well-being. We don’t know yet just how bad it is so all we can do is guess. But I hope that WWE have a quality Plan B for the Wyatts if their worst fears are confirmed.

Christian vs Sheamus

The Irishman Slaps The Texas Cloverleaf On The Canadian!

A decent match between the two. The fans were so annoying during this match. These two wrestlers were putting in a decent performance and all they did was rehash the lame-ass “Randy Savage” and “Jerry” chants that was going on when Sheamus fought Randy Orton the night after Wrestlemania 29. You know, the one when they chanted everyone’s names? I mean if a match is actually boring, I’d understand. But this was actually decent if you were actually paying attention and not acting like a bunch of jackasses. Speaking of acting like a bunch of jackasses, the commentary booth really did do this match injustice, because they weren’t paying interest in this match either. Your job is to analyze the match, and all they were doing were making jokes about Christian. Come on guys.

Daniel Bryan vs Kane

BOOM! Head Kick Bitch!

After confronting the Authority backstage in the “pre-show”, Daniel Bryan was put in a match with Kane for tonight. Ironically this match was very boring and nearly put me to sleep, but the fans were going nuts for it. What the? Seriously… fan logic these days. I just could not get into this match but that didn’t stop the fans from chanting “YES!” all over the place as Bryan picked up the win. Bryan reasserted his request for a match with Triple H at Wrestlemania 30. You see, Punk? You see what you’re missing out on?

Emma vs Summer Rae

The “Emmalock”… And People Call Me Corny!

Two things that made this match not completely suck:

1. Summer Rae just being there. Definitely a star in the making and looked rather stunning I must admit. 🙂
2. Santino Marrella at ringside. He was actually quite funny at ringside!

Everything else… sucked. Pure and simple. I mean the Emmalock was applied really well but I honestly can’t think of any other positive things to say about it. I hate Emma’s stupid gimmick. I hate her dance moves. And I hate the fact that the fans are actually getting into it and doing the dances. What the? How can you actually get invested in this character? Someone please explain to me what it is about her? Surely not that dance because that dance has to be the worse dance I’ve ever seen. If you actually did that dance in Middlesbrough (where I live) you’d actually get knocked out clean because of how much of a twat you looked. -.-

The Usos vs New Age Outlaws

Not A Great Night For Road Dogg To Say The Least

The Usos won… yey! Please just put the belts on them already!

Roman Reigns vs Bray Wyatt

SUPERMAN PUNCH!

What a difference in 24 hours. At Elimination Chamber, the fans were all going nuts for the Wyatt Family and The Shield and on RAW they just didn’t care about the Roman Reigns vs Bray Wyatt match. Granted, it wasn’t that great of a match  but it’s the Shield vs The Wyatts. At least show a bit of care about it. It ended up in a huge brawl when Dean Ambrose got Roman Reigns disqualified. I honestly hope if Cena’s injury is legit that they continue the Wyatt/Shield feud. Make it like an elimination or possibly do something different like an elimination chamber at Wresltemania 30! Why not?

Undertaker Returns – Undertaker vs Brock Lesnar Signed For Wrestlemania XXX!

There Ain’t No Grave Can Hold My Body Down…

What a chilling segment this was. Undertaker back in the WWE for Wrestlemania. And it is official that Brock Lesnar is his next Wrestlemania victim. After Brock Lesnar was given an open contract to fight anyone he wanted at Wrestlemania, Taker stepped up to the plate and stabbed Lesnar in the hand with a pen! You talk about a jaw-dropper! And then Taker sent Lesnar through a table with a chokeslam as RAW went off the air. Definitely the road to Wrestlemania is under way. However, I hope Undertaker takes care of his unfinished business with the Shield first!

Decent RAW with a star-studded line up! I love that the big stars are coming in now. Batista, Randy Orton, Hulk Hogan, John Cena, The Wyatts, The Shield, Daniel Bryan, Triple H, Brock Lesnar and Undertaker all in the same show! Hopefully things can get better from here!

WWE Elimination Chamber 2014 Review – Wyatts And Shield Tear The House Down In Quality PPV

Here it is ladies and gentleman. The Elimination Chamber PPV. A PPV with a lot of buzz and anticipation about it. Six men beating the hell out of each other in an all-out faction war. Six men beating the hell out of each other for the richest prize in the WWE. This was going to be a hell of a show and it certainly started out that way. I already did about Jack Swagger vs Big E Langston in an earlier blog today and that was a sensational opener to the show but then we progressed on with the Tag Team Championship match between the New Age Outlaws and The Usos.

New Age Outlaws vs Usos

Samoan Drop To The Ass Man… What A Sentence That Was! XD

Not a bad match. It was a hurt by the great contrast in styles from both teams. The Usos are really fast paced while the veterans the Outlaws were slow and steady. So when the Usos were picking up the pace, the Outlaws could barely keep up. It was still entertaining though and I’ve loved the consistently good PPV Tag Title matches that we’ve had for the last year now. A bit of humour in it and the fans were really into it (might have been helped from the match before like). The Usos were unfortunate not to win, but their time will eventually come. Hopefully it’ll come at Wrestlemania, but probably not since they’ve already lost once. If they had not lost clean, then they’d have a legit excuse for a rematch. However they did. I do wonder if not the Usos, then who’ll be the number one contenders for the titles heading into Wrestlemania 30?

Titus O’Neil vs Darren Young

Headlock After Headlock… I Might As Well Call This Blog The Headlock Express!

Titus O’Neil vs Darren Young. I’m not going to lie… not that interesting of a match. I mean it was nice to see these two lock up on a  PPV and they truly deserve it, but it wasn’t anything special really. To be honest, it was just getting these two on the PPV that was important and not the match. But it might have helped the match a little bit if the announcers were actually paying attention and not making references to Ric Flair the entire match. -.-

The Shield vs The Wyatt Family

If I Could Only Use One Picture To Describe This Match, This’d Be It… Total Anarchy!

You know if you have bought the WWE Network or are going to purchase the WWE Network, go back to this PPV and just reply this match over and over and over again. You want to talk about epic. This is the personification of epic. These two factions have been building up to this day for so long. The battle of supremacy between the top two stables in the company had finally arrived… and it more than lived up to the hype!

22 minutes this match went on for… and the fans were already chanting “This Is Awesome” before the match started. Myself and the fans were so amped up for this all out war between The Shield and The Wyatts. And it started off exactly as you’d expect… total anarchy. The two came to blows before the bell even rang. Instigated by Dean Ambrose, the two clashed before being restrained and the six man tag team match would begin.

The intensity of this match was so evident. This hardly resembled a wrestling match as it did a FLAT OUT FIGHT! I loved all the brawling and the fighting the two did in this match. Dean Ambrose was really good in that department as he’s a great scrappy fighter. Just wild fists flying. The psychotic nature of his character was played out really well especially when you’ve got the crazy-ass Wyatt Family in the ring with them.

One person that really impressed me in this match is Seth Rollins. Despite his high-pitched voice making him as convincing of a bad guy as Bugs Bunny, Seth was really on top of his game. I loved it when Seth landed on his feet after Luke Harper attempted a top rope german suplex. The athletic ability of this guy is off the charts and the fans were buzzing for this as well as the reminder of that particular 30 second segment involving Seth. He was quality through-out but that one in particular was amazing. If you go back and watch this match, you’ll get the segment that I’m on about.

Luke Harper was really good in this match too. Because of all the hype Bray Wyatt gets, you forget about Harper and Rowan of the Wyatts. These two were as good in the ring, if not better, than Bray Wyatt. Luke definitely was. Especially when he did the suicide dive to the outside, which was followed by Seth Rollins dive to the outside which were both really well coordinated!

It’s just the wild nature of this match that made it so awesome. The match direction and pace would change in such a heartbeat that the cameramen couldn’t even keep up! It was quality seeing Bray Wyatt and Dean Ambrose spill out into the crowd which was a nice added touch. Harper and Rowan chokeslamming Rollins through the announce table was really well done. And the finish as well.

Roman Reigns did his best to overcome the Wyatts on his own after Ambrose and Rollins were out of the equation. Superman punches and spears were dished out left and right, but it was Bray Wyatt who got the last laugh with the Sister Abigail for the win!

DAMN! That was an awesome match. I highly doubt there will be a better match than that this year. Just for the craziness that the match provided is more than enough for me! I love unpredictability and it had it. I love a good old fight and we saw a HELL of a fight! This will be hard to top by anyone this year! So worth the hype and I would replay this over and over again if I could, because that was freaking awesome. And you can now with WWE Network! Which we were reminded about, every 5 minutes of the PPV! -.-

AJ Lee vs Cameron

I dig it… just saying.

You want to talk about an awkward match. God. This was just so painful to watch. I mean AJ tried her best, god bless her. But this seemed so awkward. Even ending was awkward with Tamina nearly costing AJ the title. It’s hard to find anything positive to say about this match. Somehow after that amazing match between the Wyatts and Shield, the WWE were able to completely kill the mood of the night. And it ended the streak of actually decent matches. This was just dud all over it. God WWE, just get some more divas in the division will you? And no, I’m not talking about the woman with the worst dance moves of all time, Emma. -.-

Batista vs Albertoooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Dddddddeeeeeelll Riiiiiiiiooooooooooooo!

Eat My Boot Perro!

I actually liked this match. It was a lot better than I expected it to be. And trust me, I never had that high of expectations for this match. Del Rio actually looked like a legit threat to Batista which is good. Even if he did do a pre-match attack on Batista beforehand. Del Rio looked stronger than you’d expect against someone like Batista. I really wished Del Rio would’ve won. But that was never going to happen. As much as I wasn’t a fan of Batista’s performance, Del Rio’s performance was outstanding. He made this match worthwhile and was very good in carrying Batista during that match. Another thing I wanted to point out is Batista is so loud when it comes to calling spots. I’m not sure if anyone noticed this, but I remember Batista bellowing out “REVERSE” just before Del Rio reversed his Oklahoma slam! Christ! Anyway Batista won….

Elimination Chamber Match – Randy Orton vs Sheamus vs John Cena vs Daniel Bryan vs Antonio Cesaro vs Christian

The Final Four….

It actually wasn’t a bad chamber match. It was anything that special like, but it was really good considering the wrestlers involved. I loved the exchanges Sheamus and Cesaro where having during that. Uppercuts and blows all through the match. It seemed like a proper brawl between those two. One thing for certain is that they were two tough old birds. I’d love to see a feud between these two because I loved them just beating the hell out of each other during that chamber.

Christian had a nice little showing in the chamber, possibly having the spot of the match with his splash off the top of a chamber pod onto Sheamus eliminating him. There were rumours that Christian was going to be taken out of the chamber but I’m kinda glad that he wasn’t. It was good having him in the chamber, but I’m a bit pissed that he didn’t last longer and was eliminated easily by Bryan.

One thing I didn’t like was the fact that made the smashes through the plastic seemed so hard-hitting and brutal when it clearly wasn’t. You had like Cole and Lawler treating it as if it were a car wreck when all they did was go through plastic. I remember when I think it was Cesaro that picked up a piece of broken plastic and rammed Sheamus with it and I was just thinking “Was that actually supposed to hurt him more?”. It looked weak as piss.

Anyway, it came down to the final four. Loved that Cesaro stared off the chamber and lasted longer than Sheamus. For a rising star like him that is a big claim to fame. However, I kinda wished he made it to the end or the final three. However, John Cena had something to say about that. It was a bit underwhelming to see the same old three people (Cena, Bryan and Orton) in the final three who had been feuding for the title ever since Summerslam of last year.

The Wyatts interrupted the match and helped eliminate Cena. It’s nice that they asserted themselves as the top faction of the WWE now by getting involved in the main event of the PPV. They attacked Cena and they’re probably going to feud with him. This is very GOOD news for the Wyatts.

And it came down to Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan. And of course, it was Corporate Kane that had the last word in the chamber by assisting Orton in eliminating Bryan from the match and retaining his title. Right decision having Orton win the match… but why was Kane the one who screwed Daniel Bryan and not Triple H? It was a really good point made by Aaron Bower of Bleacher Reporter in this article. If Bryan’s fighting Triple H at Wrestlemania, than surely he should be the one getting his hands dirty?

Anyway. Great PPV. A good build for Wrestlemania. A lot of people are going to be bummed about Bryan not winning, but Orton needed to win that chamber match. Orton vs Batista is happening. Triple H vs Bryan is happening. If you don’t like it… tough. But I’m sure Daniel Bryan will be winning the WWE World Title soon after Wrestlemania so just have a little patience.

On a side note, marked out every time Bad News Barrett showed up last night! He was on form big time here!

This was a really good PPV. Quality matches throughout the show. Great opener and a phenomenal six man tag team match between the Wyatts and the Shield. Definitely a match of the year candidate! I’d seriously recommend watching this again on the WWE NETWORK! XD

WWE Elimination Chamber Review: Big E Langston (c) vs Jack Swagger For The Intercontinental Championship

We kicked things off on the actual show with the Intercontinental title on the line as the All-American Real American Jack Swagger challenges the man who thinks 3 ain’t enough, Big E Langston.

A quality match to kick off the show with the Intercontinental title certainty not done any injustice with the performance these two put on.

Big E and Jack have both been wrestlers with both the athletic ability and the impressive strength to put fans on the edge of their seats. Thing is, none of these two have really had a chance to prove their in-ring potential…. until Elimination Chamber.

A lot of hard-hitting moments brought a lot of intensity into the match. There were also a lot of unique spots to the match that made it worthwhile. For example, when Big E speared Swagger into the steps. It looked a tiny bit shoddy like, but I admired the two for trying something different. And the fans were buzzing after it was well.

When Swagger took control of the match, the match pace slowed as you’d expect. However, things picked up again after Big E pulled of an impressive counter of the front facelock.

A very nice spot I liked was Swagger’s body splash being caught by Big E who nearly hit the Big Ending. Swagger got out of it and wriggled out to the apron. And then the  “Oh Shit!” moment of the match happened…

Big E Langston was somehow able to “pull an Edge” and was able to spear Jack Swagger through the apron and onto the floor! The fans were ecstatic, I was ecstatic! This was just an insane moments that I hope to get the chance to replay over and over. Especially with two big guys like Big E and Swagger, you’d just never see it coming amazing!

We had a nice little exchange between the two afterwards, with Swagger attempting to slap the ankle lock onto Big E. It looked painfully as hell for some reason. I don’t know why but it looked really well applied. Anyway, Big E was selling the injured leg well but was able to pull of a really unorthodox move for someone his size. He got up from the ankle lock while Jack was holding onto his leg and delivered an enziguri. It was still good to see it. The match ended with Big E hitting the Big Ending for the win.

A very nice opener to Elimination Chamber. The title was really helped by this match, because of how well it was executed. These two big guys, but athletic enough to deliever such an awesome match. I think both these men will benefit greatly from this match. What a performance by both men.

The rest of the Elimination Chamber PPV Review is coming up tonight. Do stay tuned. This was just a really good match which I wanted to give its own blog post. Stay tuned for the rest!

WWE Elimination Chamber News: Mick Foley’s Facebook Message, Christian Out Of The Chamber, Brock Lesnar?

WWE Fans. Tom Robinson here. Here it is. THE ELIMINATION CHAMBER!

 

 

Mick Foley’s Facebook Message To WWE

Now Mick Foley has been running a tear on Facebook as of late in regards to the WWE product. Most infamously, he berated the WWE about the Royal Rumble PPV after Daniel Bryan was not part of the Royal Rumble match. And just before WWE return to the PPV scene, Foley has released another statement on the social networking site about tonight’s event.

And the entire statement reads…

 

“DEAR WWE,

Please, please, please, please, have a great show tonight.

As a fan of pro-wrestling – have a great show.

As a father of four who has ordered every PPV for the past year – have a great show.

As the guy whose big Christmas present to his family was a family trip to New Orleans for Wrestlemania, even though he knew he wasn’t likely to appear on the event – have a great show.

On behalf of all those other dads or moms who have done the same thing; spent considerable money on an event that thus far is not capturing our imaginations – have a great show.

As a Disney fan who wouldn’t want to arrive at the Magic Kingdom just to find out all his favorite attractions were closed – have a great show.

As someone who still remembers how it felt to be 18 years old and see Jimmy Snuka dive off the top of the cage – to see the magic pro-wrestling was capable of creating – and knows you have the ability and personnel to make people feel that same magic – have a great show .

As the estranged son who still loves his WWE family, and, no matter what, in some strange way, always will – have a great show.

Sincerely,

Mick Foley”

 

You know, I appreciate as much as anyone when someone tries to play to the fans as an attempt to get a point across. It’s a real great wild card to use, Mick. But the one thing I don’t appreciate is you asserting yourself in the public domain by burying the product just before it starts. I mean what Mick is doing is damaging to the product itself. If he is truly as big of a “fan” of WWE as he’s making himself out to be with this tear-jerking speech about doing “what’s right for the fans”, then why doesn’t he just shut his mouth and let the product show you what it can do.

The WWE has already “appeased” the fans wishes by putting Daniel Bryan in the Elimination Chamber (whether that was originally intended or not we’ll never know). Also, we have the Swiss Superman Antonio Cesaro in the chamber as well which I’m sure Foley and the WWE universe will be most please about. Surely that should be enough for Foley to lay off the Facebook and watch these fine wrestlers put on a hell of a show for the fans. But no. Foley just had to interject himself some more. And why? I respect the hell out of Foley, but he needs to have a bit more faith in the product that he wants to make better. Bashing the product does it no favours.

 

Christian Being Taken Out Of The Chamber?

Word is coming out that tonight we’ll see the new heel in town Christian being taken out of the chamber for tonight’s main event. According to a website I currently write for PWMania,

“WWE officials were still considering an angle to take Christian out of tonight’s Elimination Chamber main event but at last word, if they do that angle, it will not be to give a spot to Brock Lesnar. No word on who would get the spot if they take Christian out.” (To read more about the rumours, click here)

Now Christian being the bait that’s being taken out of the chamber really does surprise me. Followers of the Armbar Express will know that I did a bit about Christian yesterday (see here). For someone that was just thrown right back in the WWE public domain with this heel turn, for them to take out of the chamber seems like horrible booking. I mean WWE’s booking has been really inconsistent as of late, especially with Daniel Bryan being turned heel and then back face again in the space of two weeks. But for Christian to be the one taken out would result in his heel turn being pointless by having him be discarded from the main event scene so easily. If Christian hadn’t turned, sure it’d make sense. But not if he’s just been shot back into the limelight. It just seems illogical. If I had to pick someone who had to be taken out, it’d have to be Sheamus. He’s just returned from WWE, but he’s still not as much in the public domain as Christian or even Antonio Cesaro for that matter.

 

Will Brock Lesnar Be At Elimination Chamber?

Funnily enough, that earlier report mentioned Brock Lesnar. Kane stated recently that Lesnar would be at Elimination Chamber despite WWE not hyping his appearance or even mentioning him in the last couple of weeks. This might have been WWE trying to keep his appearance a secret and Kane just dropped the blob or maybe Kane was just telling a complete bluff? But either way, I think Lesnar’s appearance would be a great addition to the PPV if he’s in it. Now that report said the possible Chamber casualty was not making way for Lesnar, but then again this is JUST a report. They’re not always concrete nowadays. I mean, WWE could easily change their minds from now until the PPV starts. Lesnar might be on standby for a PPV appearance or maybe he was just planned to be in the chamber all along. But it does surprise me that his “appearance” was not publicly promoted because of Lesnar’s stock when it comes to buy rates. Lesnar is a big pull for WWE and it doesn’t make sense that WWE would decide not to hype him up to bring in the buyrates.

Speaking as a fan, I’d love to see Lesnar at the PPV. If he makes his way into the chamber and wins it, that would get people buzzing for Wrestlemania big time! Seeing Lesnar dominate the chamber would be a really big crowd pleaser. Despite the fans bitching about part-timer Batista winning the Royal Rumble, I don’t think they’ll bitch as much about Lesnar winning the title. He’s the beast and the fans love seeing Lesnar as do I. No word of a lie, I’d mark out if Lesnar shows up tonight.

 

Anyway, thanks again for reading the blog. Follow the @ArmbarExpress on Facebook and like the Facebook page. And lets hope the Elimination Chamber kicks ass!

What Is WWE Doing With Christian?: Heel Turn Reaction

Wrestling fans, I am Tom Robinson.

A little post about Christian’s heel turn which began on RAW with his attack on Daniel Bryan and continued with his post-match attack on Sheamus on SmackDown!

Christian has always been a wrestler that has never really got his due in the WWE. I mean he’s been around A LONG time in WWE but he’s got little to show for it other than multiple Intercontinental title reigns, tag team title reigns and two VERY brief World title reigns. But he’s always seemed like a lost soul with hardly any direction nowadays in the world of WWE. He’s been a really good upper-midcarder but always seems to do jack. I figured when he returned in 2013 and feuded for the World Title vs Alberto Del Rio that it would be the re-genesis of Christian. He never won the World title but still provided a great showing and I honestly thought things could turn around for Christian. But then he was struck with injury.

Now he’s back and it appears that he’s taking a darker and heelish approach to his career with assaults of Sheamus and Daniel Bryan. Don’t get me wrong… I love Christian as a heel. When he was against Randy Orton in 2011 he was a tremendous counterpart for Orton. When he was heel in TNA, he was quality! He did some amazing trash talking and as the number one heel in the company he towed the line very well. However, WWE has never really given Christian his time at the top. Despite having as big a work ethic as anyone, WWE has never had Christian be the top face or the top heel in the company. WWE has always had these moments with Christian when he goes face or heel and goes over for a brief moment. Then all of a sudden, he sinks and is sat in the mid-card spot doing the exact same thing. And I think this heel turn won’t get very well because WWE don’t know how to use Christian.

With the likes of Randy Orton, Brock Lesnar and soon probably Batista being heels in the company, how is Christian going to stand out? He won’t. That’s the thing. It’s horrible to say, but Christian’s popularity and relevancy in WWE pales in comparison to theirs. And to be honest, as a face his status is even worse. It was such a bland turn in the middle of the show that it gives Christian little overness and not much people will care with these big time stars coming back to WWE. If they were really going to turn Christian heel, they could’ve waited until after Wrestlemania. This sort of booking is why so many wrestlers in WWE are so lost in the shuffle. A bunch of them going nowhere. And it’s not healthy.

I’ll admit that I’m going to enjoy Christian heel a hell of a lot more than I enjoyed him as a face. But it’s this lack of continuity with the superstars that has resulted such a lack of direction for so many superstars. And this heel turn proves that WWE don’t know how to use him as a face so they said “Fuck It” and made him a heel. It’s this lack of development in characters that really infuriates me about the product sometimes.

Hulk Hogan Returning To WWE As The Host Of Wrestlemania 30!

 

Guys, Hulk Hogan is back in business and in a NoDQ.com column I did today I talk about Hogan’s role at Wrestlemania 30 and what he can bring to the table. Link to the entire column is down below, but here’s a little sneak preview of the column below. Enjoy!

Today’s big news that many of us knew about but weren’t officially informed about has now been confirmed. At Wrestlemania XXX, not only will we see the likes of Batista, Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker but we also see the event guest hosted by a very special individual. A man who’s pressed giants over his head and chopped mountains down with the edge of his hand. This man helped turned wrestling and WWE into a worldwide phenomenon so it’s only fitting that the “Immortal One” returns to the land of the immortals one last time as its special host. I’m of course talking about the Icon… Hulk Hogan… 

Read on…

 

 

WWE Elimination Chamber 2014 Predictions

Yeah, yeah. Guess who’s back baby! It’s the lean, mean, prediction machine! Tom Robinson! With the Armbar Express! Hell Yeah!

It’s good to back guys! I’m back! I’m excited… sort of, for the Elimination Chamber. It’s been a rather hectic month or so since the Royal Rumble. We’ve had Brock Lesnar. We’ve had Batista. And we’ve CM Punk taking his ball and going home! Oh we’ve had it all! And now we approach… THE ELIMINATION CHAMBER!

Who will walk out the Chamber and into Wrestlemania as the WWE World Champion OF THE WORLD? Lets look at the card!

Titus O’Neil vs Darren Young

Background: January 31st 2014. On SmackDown! after losing to “Rybaxel”, Titus O’Neil decided that he had enough of Darren Young’s shit and turned on him, thus ending the Prime Time Players. Titus claimed he turned on Darren because of his quest to become a champion in the WWE. Darren would respond by assaulting Titus O’Neil backstage on the SmackDown! afterwards. This week, it was announced that these two would finally do battle at the Elimination Chamber PPV. Not the pre-show, but the PPV itself!

What Should Happen?: First of all, I want to state how shocked I am to see these two given PPV time. Pleasantly surprised and hopefully a lot more of these under-utilized roster members in minor feuds will actually get a bit of PPV time. It’s nice to see. I’m not sure what the future lies for Darren Young, but for Titus O’Neil the future seems bright! Anyway. Definitely want to see Titus go over in this one,  because I truly believe he’s got a great career ahead of him. Darren still has a bit of work to do before he’s ready for a big push in my opinion. Titus winning on a PPV could set him up nicely for Wrestlemania 30.

What Will Happen?: Titus O’Neil wins. I’m happy. Does the dog bark….

Note: To check out my NoDQ.com article on bit Titus O’Neil, click on this link to found out what I think about the dog-barking up-and-comer.

Big E Langston (c) vs Jack Swagger for the Intercontinental Championship

Background: Big E Langston has been rolling along smoothly as Intercontinental Champion. The likes of Curtis Axel, Damien Sandow and Fandango have come to challenge Big E only to be knocked down a peg by the big man. But Big E has another fearsome challenger challenging him for the gold at Elimination Chamber in the All-American Real American… American Jack Swagger. Swagger, who won the Elimination Chamber match this time last year, defeated Rey Mysterio, Kofi Kingston and Mark Henry in a fatal four way on SmackDown! last week to punch his ticket into the PPV with Big E Langston.

What Should Happen?: Man, how the mighty have fallen. Poor Jack Swagger. Well kids if you want a clear example about why you should stay away from the dope, Jack Swagger is a prime example. Here he is, a year on from his elimination chamber victory. And here is fighting for a mid-card title. Well, Big E Langston is clearly going over and he needs to keep his title going for as long as possible. Something tells me great things are on the horizon for Big E.

What Will Happen?: Forgone conclusion. Big E Langston wins (hope that doesn’t come back to bite me. :/).

New Age Outlaws (c) vs The Usos for the WWE Tag Team Championship

Background: Oh you didn’t know? Your ass better CALLLLLLLLLLLLL SOMEBODYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY! The New Age Outlaws should no signs of slowing down at the Royal Rumble when they defeated the Rhodes Brothers in the pre-show to win the WWE Tag Team Titles! They continued to roll back the years with back-to-back title defenses over the Rhodes and they hope to continue to relive their glory days as they face the high-flying, highly entertaining Samoan brothers the Usos. Can the Usos after all these years finally capture tag team gold or will the “Road Dogg” Jesse James and the “Bad Ass” Billy Gunn have two words for them?

What Should Happen?: Personally, I don’t like seeing the Usos being on the receiving end of a defeat against these old-timers. I mean, the New Age Outlaws should be back to put people over not put themselves over. I mean if the Usos were to beat them at Wrestlemania or something, that would be a special moment. If they won here it would be a special moment and I personally believe a victory over the New Age Outlaws would be a great way to finally get the Usos the gold.

What Will Happen?: Of course the New Age Outlaws are not going to lose the belts this early into their reign. As much as I’d like to see The Usos come out on top, logic tells me that Billy Gunn and Road Dogg are walking out champions.

Batista vs Alberto Del Rio

Background: In what was a highly appreciated result by the WWE faithful, Batista won the 2014 Royal Rumble match to book his ticket to Wrestlemania 30 against whoever the WWE World Champion will be at the big dance. One man who had a big problem with the Animal was one Alberto Del Rio who has repeatedly clashed with the number one contender since Batista’s return. This has led to the match being booked – the “Mexican aristocrat” Alberto Del Rio vs “The Animal” Batista.

What Should Happen?: I’d personally like to see Alberto Del Rio win because I’m big Del Rio mark Perro! However, if the Royal Rumble winner lost just before his world title match that wouldn’t make him seem to good. So I’m going to have to say… Batista should win.

What Will Happen?: Batista wins.

The “Oh Shit!” Match Of The Night – The Shield vs Wyatt Family

Background: Ever since the emergence of the Wyatts in July, we’ve had two major factions dominate the WWE universe. The creepy and sadistic Wyatts as well as the “Hounds of Justice” The Shield. The two factions first came together in November here in England when the two clashed over who got to beat up CM Punk and Daniel Bryan. The two has had little interaction since, but the Wyatts gave the Shield a huge problem recently when their interference in a six man tag Elimination Chamber qualifying match cost all 3 members of The Shield a shot at the WWE World Title. Of course, The Shield wouldn’t take too kindly to that and called out The Wyatts. This eventually led to the match being announced for Elimination Chamber. At last, The Shield would take on the Wyatts for the first time in a six man tag team match. Which team will prevail? Which team will prove themselves to be the most dominant force in the WWE? And Michael… are there any cracks in The Shield?

What Should Happen? I don’t care who wins… just as long as I get to see a good old fight this Sunday!

What Will Happen?: The Wyatts win. As much as The Shield has been a pleasure to see as a unit, they’re going to break apart and the likelihood is it’ll happen at the Pay-Per-View. I just hope it goes down well.

Randy Orton (c) vs John Cena vs Daniel Bryan vs Antonio Cesaro vs Sheamus vs Christian in an Elimination Chamber match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship

Background: Randy Orton is currently the man in the WWE. Having beat John Cena two PPVs in a row, Orton has maintained his position as the top dog with a number of huge contenders looking in. But for how long can Orton maintain his status as the “face of the WWE”? With the Authority announcing an Elimination Chamber match the night after the Royal Rumble, Randy finds himself with 5 challengers coming after his title who all earned their way in through qualifiers. We have the veteran Christian who has been on the outside looking into the main event scene for a while now? He has the “one more match” he has longed for but will it be enough for Christian to seize the victory on Sunday? The returning Sheamus has never won an Elimination Chamber match before and with the stakes involved in this match, this is a must-win for the Celtic Warrior. John Cena has main-evented the last three Wrestlemanias. And after two disappointing defeats for the title before, can the third time be the charm for Cena who tries to make it for WM main events in a row? Antonio Cesaro. The dark horse of the match finally has the chance to showcase his impressive skill and ability in a big time PPV match. And after achieving victory over the champion last week on SmackDown!, can Cesaro mark his claim as the main man in the WWE? And lastly, we have Daniel Bryan. The leader of the #YESMovement! The wrestler the entire WWE universe got into a hissy fit about not being in the Royal Rumble match. The American Dragon walks into the chamber with the fans on his side, but will it be enough to see him become champion once more and headline Wrestlemania 30?

What Should Happen?: Phew! That was a long background! Anyway! What shouldn’t happen is WWE cave into the fans need and completely change the direction they’re heading to for Wrestlemania. If the plan is for Randy Orton to main event with Batista, fucking have the match. The old saying goes “No one man is bigger than the WWE”. Not Daniel Bryan, not CM Punk. No one.

What Will Happen?: WWE better not pull the same crap they pulled just before the Rumble when Bryan left the Wyatts TWO WEEKS, after joining them. I swear, that was worse than when John Cena was in the Nexus. At least that lasted a month! If they put the belt on Bryan just because of the constant bitching of the fans, than they are just making themselves seems weak. The fans will walk all over them and believe it or not, THAT is not best for business. Will they cave? No. If they’re smart and believe it or not THEY ARE smart, the original plan for Orton to win will happen. Orton wins.

Christ, I forgot how long these posts take to write-up! Anyway, that was the Chamber predictions! I’m Tom Robinson! And this is a PPV I’m actually looking forward to. Chamber matches are always fun and exciting. We have The Shield vs The Wyatts! Holy Shit! If I weren’t doing important shit in uni the day after, I’d definitely watch this live! But when I do it’ll be great to see!

Follow us on Twitter @ArmbarExpress. That account will be used a lot more frequently than usual. Think of it as a wrestling banter sort of Twitter account. Follow us on there and hopefully we can get good convos started on their about WWE, TNA or just about anything wrestling related. Send us a tweet. Lets talk. I’d love to hear what you guys have to say! Do the poll below about which match you’re most looking forward to. And hopefully, I’ll see you real soon. Also, check out the NoDQ.com columns section as I expect to have more content on there real soon and hopefully at PWMania.com as well. Until next time!