2013 NoDQ.com Awards – My Vote For… Worst Storyline Of The Year

Hey guys! Tom Robinson here. Yeah, made a little mistake in the last post. I stated that the last 3 categories I did were the last awards in the NoDQ.com awards. But as it turns out, there’s one more left! The worst storyline of the year!

The nominations are….

Dixie Carter as the heel boss – After AJ Styles berated TNA Owner Dixie Carter for ruining TNA, Dixie lost her cool and made AJ public enemy number one in her eyes. Dixie tried to go to all lengths to make sure AJ never won the TNA World Championship. She put in roadblocks, tried to get Hulk Hogan on her side, offered him incentives and even aligning herself with the Aces And Eights. After AJ won the title and walked out on her, Dixie began the hunt for HER champion that would take TNA to new heights. In a tournament to crown a champion, she found the champion that would join Team Dixie – Magnus.

Ryback the bully – After losing his feud with John Cena, Ryback began taking his anger out on these considerable smaller than him. Taking advantage of his size, he bullied around members of staff, interviewers and wrestlers all over WWE. This led to Ryback joining Paul Heyman in his feud with CM Punk saying that Punk had bullied Heyman and that he hated bullies.

Big Show taking orders from The Authority – With the new regime arriving, Big Show talked out against their actions in screwing Daniel Bryan out of the WWE Championship. In response, Big Show was made to pay. Firstly, the Authority booked him in a three on one handicap match with The Shield and forced Big Show to do nothing as Bryan was constantly on the receiving of beatings. It turned out that Big Show’s “ironclad” contract which was signed in 2012 by John Laurinaitis had many problems with it that made it not ironclad anymore, which may have been the dumbest attempt at tying up loose ends the WWE has ever done. Big Show eventually became Stephanie McMahon’s hitman and knocked out the likes of Daniel Bryan, The Miz and Dusty Rhodes at her command. At Battleground, Big Show had enough of the bossing around and got himself fired with KOs to Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton.

Bully Ray revealed as Aces and Eights president/Bully Ray’s marriage to Brooke Hogan – At the end of 2012, Austin Aries revealed that Bully Ray had started to date the daughter of Hulk Hogan, Brooke. This peeved off the Hulkster who didn’t trust Bully even after he saved him multiple times. This led to Bully being suspended and eventually to Bully proposing to Brooke. At the wedding in January, Hogan finally accepted Bully as a member of his finally and walked his daughter down the aisle. This led to Bully Ray being named number one contender for the TNA World Title at Lockdown. It was then that the bombshell was dropped that Bully Ray had been the leader of Aces And Eights all along.

Tito Ortiz and Rampage Jackson feuding in TNA – In June, Quinton “RAMPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGE” Jackson was introduced in TNA as part of TNA’s deal with the MMA organisation Bellator (a MMA company which they constantly plugged over and over again on Impact). Rampage had high ambitions in TNA and even joined up with the Main Event Mafia in the battle against Aces And Eights. What followed up was the August 1st reveal that Tito Ortiz had returned to TNA. Tito’s intention were unknown until the Steel Cage TNA World Title match between Bully Ray and Chris Sabin where Tito took out Rampage to prevent him from helping out Sabin.

Oh god. So many bad storylines. The thing I don’t get is why is the Bully Ray Reveal As Aces And Eights Leader storyline in this? I thought it was awesome. Especially when Bully Ray talked over the plan for Aces And Eights. Here it is below…

The Big Show storyline wasn’t that bad either. Stephanie McMahon was really good in this storyline “encouraging” Big Show to play ball. It was just when Big Show suddenly was overshadowing Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton that it became bad and was becoming too much to bear. I think this award is going to go to the “Ryback The Bully” storyline because it was just shocking having to watch these promos of him bullying people. From a business standpoint, you get why WWE did this. But after Ryback had just been feuding for the WWE Championship and against Chris Jericho, this made him look like a complete joke. Not to mention the execution of these segments were shocking.

Winner: Ryback The Bully

 

So there you have it. On the 1st of December 2013, I started the first of these posts going through the NoDQ.com awards and declaring my votes for each of them. And now on the 20th, all of these posts are done. Every vote of mine has been cast. But it’s up to you guys as to who wins these prestigious or not so prestigious awards like the one I just wrote about! To vote on these awards all you have to do is click on the link below and all of the awards for 2013 are up. Click on the links, cast your votes, and in early 2014 the results are revealed.

http://nodq.com/polls/

Here’s the link to all of my posts for the NoDQ.com awards…

Superstar Of The Year https://thearmbarexpress.wordpress.com/2013/12/01/2013-nodq-com-awards-my-vote-for-superstar-of-the-year/

Tag Team Of The Year https://thearmbarexpress.wordpress.com/2013/12/03/2013-nodq-com-awards-my-vote-for-tag-team-of-the-year/

Finisher Of The Year https://thearmbarexpress.wordpress.com/2013/12/03/2013-nodq-com-awards-my-vote-for-finisher-of-the-year/

Announcer Of The Year https://thearmbarexpress.wordpress.com/2013/12/05/2013-nodq-com-awards-my-vote-for-announcer-of-the-year/

Match Of The Year https://thearmbarexpress.wordpress.com/2013/12/08/2013-nodq-com-awards-my-vote-for-match-of-the-year/

PPV Of The Year https://thearmbarexpress.wordpress.com/2013/12/09/2013-nodq-com-awards-my-vote-for-ppv-of-the-year/

Breakout Star Of The Year https://thearmbarexpress.wordpress.com/2013/12/10/2013-nodq-com-awards-my-vote-for-breakout-star-of-the-year/

Catchphrase Of The Year https://thearmbarexpress.wordpress.com/2013/12/11/2013-nodq-com-awards-my-vote-for-catchphrase-of-the-year/

Faction Of The Year https://thearmbarexpress.wordpress.com/2013/12/12/2013-nodq-com-awards-my-vote-for-faction-of-the-year/

Comeback Of The Year https://thearmbarexpress.wordpress.com/2013/12/14/2013-nodq-com-awards-my-vote-for-comeback-of-the-year/

Headline Of The Year https://thearmbarexpress.wordpress.com/2013/12/14/2013-nodq-com-awards-my-vote-for-headline-of-the-year/

Female Of The Year https://thearmbarexpress.wordpress.com/2013/12/15/2013-nodq-com-awards-my-vote-for-female-of-the-year/

Theme Song Of The Year https://thearmbarexpress.wordpress.com/2013/12/15/2013-nodq-com-awards-my-vote-for-theme-song-of-the-year/

Babyface Of The Year/Heel Of The Year https://thearmbarexpress.wordpress.com/2013/12/16/2013-nodq-com-awards-my-vote-for-2013-babyfaceheel-of-the-year/

Feud Of The Year https://thearmbarexpress.wordpress.com/2013/12/19/2013-nodq-com-awards-my-vote-for-feud-of-the-year/

Worst Wrestler Of The Year/Worst Match Of The Year/Worst PPV Of The Year https://thearmbarexpress.wordpress.com/2013/12/19/2013-nodq-com-awards-my-vote-for-the-worst-of-the-worst/

 

WWE Night Of Champions 2013 Review – WWE Give Us The Worst Pay-Per-View Of The Year As Daniel Bryan Wins The WWE Title Off A Fast Count!

Wrestling fans, I am “Big Hungry” Tom Robinson here again. We’re coming off Night Of Champions with a lot of controversy coming off the main event and a lot of things to address because I really wasn’t impressed by last night’s event. Nothing really stood out for me, other than the main event. There was only one title change and all the matches seemed really flat to me, as did the fans for all but two of the matches. Let’s get to it…

An Impromptu Intercontinental Title match sees Curtis Axel FINALLY defeat Kofi Kingston

We start off the show with COO Triple H addressing the WWE universe and stating that the WWE Championship match between Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton would have ZERO interference, making it a fair one on one encounter. This was interrupted by Paul Heyman and Intercontinental Champion Curtis Axel, with Heyman making a last-minute plea to Triple H to cancel his and Axel’s handicap elimination match against CM Punk later on. Triple H started to mess with Heyman and Axel by questioning Heyman’s trust in Axel’s ability and refused to cancel the match. Curtis Axel then got the mic and suggests that Triple H is still holding a grudge over his defeat to Axel on May 20th 2013. Yes, Axel actually stated when his first victory over HHH took place. Axel’s talking got him into trouble as HHH would then put Axel in an IC Championship defence to start the show against the first person he sees when he goes to the back (which just so happens to be Kofi Kingston, the guy Axel has lost to a couple of times in the last few weeks. How convenient). Two things were really off about this segment I believe….

1. Triple H still having a grudge with Heyman and Axel sort of makes the new corporation seem sort of face if you will. It takes away the heat that the corparation has when he messes with fellow heel Paul Heyman.
2. I hated that the fans were chanting “BORING” during Axel’s promo. For god’s sake, give the guy a chance to talk. Yeah, Axel’s not the greatest talker but at least give him the chance at least without unleashing a “BORING” chant.

The match itself was really good in comparisons to their matches on RAW and SmackDown! over the last couple of weeks. Some really good near-falls during the match, including Axel kicking out of the S.O.S. Axel got the victory and gives himself confidence ahead of going up against CM Punk in the handicap match, which was actually upgraded to a No-DQ Elimination Handicap Match. Good way to start off the show.

 

Awkward Botch Ruins An Already Awkward Divas Title Match

Before AJ Lee’s Divas Title defence against Naomi, Natalya and Brie Bella in a fatal four way, Alicia Fox and Aksana both ended their alliance with AJ, with Layla possibly doing the same. This was like the shortest stable in WWE history! It lasted like 2 weeks and it could have actually been a decent stable if they didn’t lose their first match together last week on RAW. Anyway, it appears AJ will have no back-up against the 3 divas from “Total Divas” that she slandered on RAW 3 weeks ago.

To be honest, it was a decent effort by all 4 women. They tried to make the match as interesting as possible and you’ve got to commend them for that. All 4 women had their fair share of time to show their stuff. But to be honest, this never seemed to get the fans interested one bit. It felt so awkward and out of place. The only time the fans popped during this match was then Natalya locked in the double sharpshooter. Also, it didn’t help when the referee made a HUGE error near the end of the match…

Right, Natalya scoop-slammed Brie Bella onto Naomi who was taken out before. Anyway, Brie Bella’s laying on top of Naomi for about 20 seconds, Naomi’s shoulders were down, and the referee did NOTHING. He was supposed to make the count and all he and Natalya were doing was just staring at both women. Sure, it’s nice to stare at two women on top of one another but he should have made the god-damn count. Even the commentators were even yelling at him to make the count. It was one of the most awkward botches of the year in my opinion. Anyway, the one thing to take as a positive from this match was that AJ Lee retained the championship.

 

A disqualification sees RVD’s World Title Hopes Shattered By Alberto Del Rio

To be honest, this match was nowhere near as good as Del Rio’s recent title defences against Dolph Ziggler and Christian in recent pay-per-view, but it was at least a decent effort. The only thing that was off-putting about this match was the fact that it ended in a disqualification. When RVD got to the ropes after being locked-in the Cross-Armbrearker, Del Rio refused to break the hold and was disqualified. This hurts Del Rio’s credibility a bit as this is the second time in 3 PPV World Title defences that Del Rio’s retained the title on a disqualification. Del Rio should have made RVD tap out. Maybe their setting up a rematch at Battleground for all I know. At least I hope so because I think will a bit more time this match could be a lot more improved at Battleground.

 

The Miz and Fandango Are Given A Match On A PPV… why?

The Miz vs Fandango has been like the least appealing rivalry of the year and for some absurd reason they were given a PPV match. Really? I mean it’s bad enough that Fandango showed up to ANOTHER PPV but he has to go up against The Miz of all people? Two guys who I can’t stand right now and their match was such a bland match. I hope this is the end of their feud because the fact that I had to sit through that match just really wound me up. -.-

 

Ryback Helps Heyman Against CM Punk And Becomes The New “Paul Heyman Guy”

This match went exactly as I thought it would. Axel fights Punk. Punk beats Axel. Beats Up Heyman A Little Bit. Taken Out By A New “Paul Heyman Guy”. While I didn’t like the predictability of it all, I like the way it was executed. It was a really brutal exchange between Axel and Punk, with kendo sticks and chairs being used in the fray, as well as a table being set up. However, CM Punk would make Axel tap out, leaving Paul Heyman to Punk. After chasing him around a little bit, Punk finally got his hands on Heyman and beat the crap out of him with the kendo stick. He event handcuffed him and then unleashed a fury of kendo stick shots on Heyman. Just as Punk had finished the beatdown, Ryback made his way to the ring and speared Punk through the table. This proved to be enough to put Punk down for the count to three as Heyman picked up the victory over Punk.

I do feel that CM Punk should have took a lot more damage from Ryback before getting pinned. I think it should have been more than a spear through the table to put Punk away considering how resilient he was against Brock Lesnar during their feud. It seems a little bit unbelievable that Punk can take a beating from Lesnar and still keep fighting, but one spear through the table from Ryback and he’s done. However, this was a good way to introduce Ryback as the new “Paul Heyman Guy” though. Ryback does need Paul Heyman as his manager. Ryback’s bullying gimmick had to stop and with Heyman on board he could actually go places. But the question is, with Ryback supposedly on board, where does that leave Curtis Axel?

 

The Shield Retain All Their Gold At Night Of Champions With Dolph Ziggler and The Prime Time Players Getting A Taste Of “Justice”

Yep. The Shield still have all the gold they won back at Extreme Rules in May. Dean Ambrose defeated Dolph Ziggler to retain the US Championship and Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns defeated The Prime Time Players to retain the tag titles.

Let’s talk about the US Championship. It’s clear that Ziggler is still not sitting well with WWE right now just because the manner of his loss. No screwjob. No Shield-interference. He flat-out LOST to Dean Ambrose. It’s sad to see Ziggler being punished by WWE. I mean it’s not like the match was a great match anyway. It sort of felt like a TV match. It’s was OK, but it didn’t deserve to be on the card if it was going to be just… OK. If Ziggler was going to lose like we all knew he would, he should have at least had a great match with Ambrose which we know he’s capable of. But of course, when you’re in the WWE Dog House, the chances of you getting to look good goes right down the drain.

And the Tag Team Championship match. A very decent match and the fans were all over the Prime Time Players. Both guys looked strong against The Shield and I actually thought they’d beat The Shield near the end. But I think this might be just a prelude to their title win in weeks to come. I think after this match, the PTP look in a strong position to win the gold despite not winning in Detroit, Michigan.

So, up until this point, every champion has retained their championship. Only one champion remains to defend their title… WWE Champion Randy Orton…

 

Randy Orton Vs Daniel Bryan For The WWE Championship

It was not the greatest of main events. In my opinion, Daniel and Orton have had plenty of better matches than this one was. It was really slow paced and it ended abruptly (I’ll get on the ending in a bit). It was one of Orton’s better matches and it’s good to see Orton’s been developing his wrestling as of late. He’s had a couple of stellar matches in the last few months. But, of course the thing that annoyed me about the match was the result. Daniel Bryan won of the flying kick he used to win the title from Cena at Summerslam… oh and a FAST 3 COUNT BY SCOTT ARMSTRONG!

Really? The night ended with a fast count? I read somewhere after the match that the commentators were not meant to mention the fast count, but they should have said at least something about it, especially JBL. The Heel Commentator JBL would have PLENTY to say about a fast count. I mean yeah – if Daniel won of the fast count and Triple H came out and reversed the decision that night, it’d make sense. But we’ve got to wait until RAW to find out the fate of the WWE Championship? I

All I’ll say is this… if Daniel’s title win stands, then it was a daft way for it to go down, and his regaining of the title came WAY too soon. I mean what does that say of the heel regime when they don’t have the WWE Championship anymore? I hope Triple H reverses the decision of the match on RAW. Because a face winning the title of a FAST COUNT makes zero sense. And Orton would have gotten royally screwed if the result of the match stands. Let’s just hope for the best, because I am not happy with how that “title change” took place.

Overall it was a really under-whelming PPV. I think it was the worst PPV of the year so far. While the WWE, IC and Tag Team title matches were all decent matches as was Punk vs Axel and Heyman , the Divas match was EXTREMELY AWKWARD, the US Title match was such a disappointment and the World Title match ending made Del Rio look weaker as a champion. The crowd weren’t into half of the matches, and that’s worrying and really decreases how good a show is when the crowd isn’t into it? With Battleground only 3 weeks away and Hell In A Cell only 3 weeks after that, PPVs are coming in thick and fast and WWE are going to have a hard time building up each one. I just hope that RAW can recover a badly-delivered PPV.

That was the Night Of Champions review. I’m Tom Robinson!

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WWE Night Of Champions 2013 Predictions – Will Daniel Bryan Dethrone The Corporate Champion?

Wrestling fans, I’m “Dragon Dragon” himself Tom Robinson. I’m so good, I’m double the Dragon! XD

Night Of Champions PREDICTIONS! Which champions will retain their titles, and which contenders are going to walk out Detroit, Michigan a champion?

 

Pre-Show: The Prime Time Players vs The Real Americans vs The Usos vs 3MB vs Tons Of Funk in a tag team turmoil. Winners Face The Shield For The Titles On The PPV.

Background: On RAW, It was announced that with the tag team division heating up with the rise of the Prime Time Players and The Usos that a tag team turmoil will take place on the Night Of Champions Pre-Show to determine number one contenders to The Shield on the actually Pay-Per-View itself.

What Should Happen?: Either The Usos or The Prime Time Players Win. But if I had to pick out of them two, I’d say The Usos because their pre-show match with The Shield at Money In The Bank was an incredible tag team match and I really want to see The Usos finally get a run at the titles.

What Will Happen?: I’m going to say that the WWE are going to keep backing the Prime Time Players with this new push and have them challenge The Shield later on in the card.

 

“The Shield” Roman Reigns (c) and Seth Rollins (c) vs Whoever Wins The Tag Team Turmoil For The WWE Tag Team Championship

I’m going to just split this off for each possible outcome of the turmoil and judge each team’s chances of winning the titles if they get the shot and if they should win the titles. So…

3MB: To put this nicely…. there is no way in HELL of 3MB getting close to the tag team titles. So if by some divine intervention that they win the turmoil, 3MB will have literally a 1% chance of winning the tag team titles. Sorry guys. A 3MB Tag Team Title reign would be money though. XD

Tons Of Funk: Errrr… no. Tons Of Funk have jobbed to The Shield so much in the year that if they do get the title shots, I think they’ll just job to them again. Also, I really don’t think Tons Of Funk is in a remotely good position to be considered worthy to be champions. Way too far down the tag team food chain.

The All-Americans: Just for that huge spin on Santino Marrella on RAW this Monday, Antonio Cesaro deserves to win both the WWE Championship and The World Title never mind the Tag belts. I doubt that the All-Americans would win the titles if they won the turmoil, unless of course WWE are going to somehow turn them face and have them be a really pro-USA team or something. I’ll give them a 205 chance of winning the titles if they make it to the title shots. Do they deserve it? Hell yeah does Antonio Cesaro deserve it!….. oh and Jack Swagger deserves it too, I guess.

The Prime Time Players: With their new push due to Darren Young’s coming out, I wouldn’t be surprised if the PTP finally got the belts they should have had more than a year ago. Should they be champions if they do beat The Shield? It’s a good opportunity for WWE to capitalize on the Publicity. But if I do think there’s a team that should be given the belts, it should be…

The Usos: These guys NEED to get them belts. And their rematch with The Shield needs to happen. They’ve got a good thing going and it’d be a damn shame if the PTP’s push gets in the way of The Usos rise to the titles. I can see WWE giving the belts to The Usos if they do win the Turmoil like. But, that’s all down to if the WWE choose The Usos over the PTPs to win the tag team turmoil

 

Dean Ambrose (c) vs Dolph Ziggler for the United States Championship

Background: Dolph Ziggler was one of the first to speak out against Triple H’s actions at Summerslam via Twitter. As punishment, the RAW after Summerslam he was booked in a 3 on 1 handicap match with The Shield. This match eventually led to Ziggler receiving more beatdowns by The Shield, specifically the United States Champion Dean Ambrose. This eventually led to Ziggler being booked in an United States Title match with Ambrose for Night Of Champions on the SmackDown! before the event.

What Should Happen?: Dolph Ziggler shouldn’t really be competing for the US title anymore. It seems such a huge step down considering he was the World Champion in June. But I guess that’s what happens when you get in the proverbial WWE “Dog House”. Honestly, I’d rather not have Ziggler beat Ambrose to be honest, because once he gets a mid-card title again it’ll be hard for him to get back in the main title picture. Dean Ambrose wins.

What Will Happen?: Dean Ambrose wins, because Dolph Ziggler is in SERIOUS shit with WWE. Poor guy. 😦

 

CM Punk vs Curtis Axel and Paul Heyman in an Elimination Handicap Match

Background: After being double-crossed by Paul Heyman at Money In The Bank, CM Punk has been craving the chance to get his hands on Heyman. At Summerslam, he had to go through one of his clients Brock Lesnar in a No Disqualification match. Despite not being able to defeat Lesnar, he was able to lock in the Anaconda Vice on Heyman during the match. However, this was nowhere near good enough for Punk. While Heyman wanted to “take Punk back”, Punk wanted to get his hands on Heyman further. So Heyman set his other client, the Intercontinental Champion Curtis Axel. After a brutal brawl between Axel and Punk on the RAW after Summerslam, Punk vs Axel was made for the next week’s RAW. Due to a vote by the WWE Universe, if Punk was able to defeat Axel, Punk would be able to get Heyman in the ring post-match. Punk got the victory and seemed like he was finally going to get a little bit more than an Anaconda Vice on Heyman. However, Axel made sure that didn’t happen and with Heyman delivered a brutal beatdown with a kendo stick to Punk. An irate CM Punk confronted RAW General Manager Brad Maddox and demanded a shot at Heyman. Maddox granted Punk’s wish and made an Elimination Handicap match between CM Punk and the team of Heyman and Axel at Night Of Champions. With it being an elimination match, if Punk beat Axel first, he would have every right in the world to fight Heyman. With Curtis Axel suffering back-to-back defeats to Kofi Kingston in the weeks before NoC and Heyman being told that if he tried to get out of the match he’d be fired, the chances of Punk getting his hands on Heyman seems a very likely possibility.

What Should Happen?: I don’t care how much internet fans bum off CM Punk, Curtis Axel needs to beat Punk. WWE have done a really bad job at promoting this themselves. While Punk and Heyman have delivered wonders on the mic in the build up, the fact that Axel is being made out to be such a weak opponent for Punk is just ridiculous. Axel being the IC Champion should have been booked to look strong against Punk, like he did when they brawled on the RAW after Summerslam. If WWE are giving up Axel this early then it’s a damn shame. While it seems inevitable that WWE are going to introduce a new “Paul Heyman Guy”, what’s wrong with the old one? Give him a decent win for once. Axel beats Punk.

What Will Happen?: This is probably one of the most predictable matches of the god damn year. Punk’s going to be Axel. Heyman’s going to try to escape from Punk. Punk’s going to get some digs in. And then this new “Paul Heyman Guy” will help Heyman out. I’m guessing this guy will probably appear to attack Punk causing a disqualification, but either way Punk will end up the one being laid out at the end of it.

 

AJ Lee (c) vs Natalya vs Brie Bella vs Naomi in a fatal four way match for the Divas Championship

Background: 8 days after Summerslam, AJ Lee appeared after a divas match between Natalya and Brie Bella, two divas that have starred in the new “Total Divas” reality show. AJ delivered a scratching promo bad-mouthing the divas, accusing them off being interchangeable, useless women that weren’t good enough to be wrestlers so they were given a reality TV Show. AJ said that the majority of the divas on the show had to “suck up” to the right people to get to the WWE and that Natalya was only in WWE because of her association with the Hart family and her father being WWE legend, Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart. These comments infuriated the divas on the show so much that they attacked AJ when she appeared to watch the number one contendership divas title match between Natalya, Brie Bella and Naomi 2 weeks ago on RAW. With a number one contender not being crowned, Stephanie McMahon gave Brie, Natalya and Naomi a shot at the title in a fatal four way with AJ at Night Of Champions.

What Should Happen?: AJ Wins. If another result happens, I give up on the divas division. I could sort of accept Natalya as champion, but she’s still an incredibly bland diva despite having tremendous wrestling abilities. But AJ has the overness and the mic skills to be champion, and no-one is really worthy enough to be champion yet. Especially not Naomi or Brie Bella.

What Will Happen?: AJ Wins… somehow. AJ will likely be taken out the picture earlier on, but will come in later to steal the victory. While I think WWE will be tempted to put the belt on one of the “Total Divas” due to the series coming to an end, I still think with how heavily AJ’s been booked that she’ll be champion for a LONG time.

 

Alberto Del Rio (c) vs Rob Van Dam for the World Heavyweight Championship

Background: After Ricardo Rodriguez inadvertently cost World Champion Alberto Del Rio a non-title match with Rob Van Dam a month ago, Ricardo suffered a beatdown and a firing from his employer Del Rio. After a couple of weeks out, Ricardo returned and announced that he would be the new personal ring announcer of Rob Van Dam. A week later, RVD was given a non-title match with Del Rio. If RVD won, he would get a shot at the World Championship at Night Of Champions. And luckily for RVD… he did!

What Should Happen?: I stressed this on my article on Del Rio for WhatCulture, Del Rio needs to keep beating his competition in a clean and fair way to keep up the prestige of the title up and Del Rio’s legitimacy as champion up. While having Ricardo turn on RVD and join Del Rio again would be the sensible thing to do to get Ricardo of RVD’s case, a Del Rio clean, submission victory would be huge for him. So just like how Del Rio submitted Christian at Summerslam, Del Rio should do it again to RVD. Oh and one other thing… please keep RVD and Ricardo apart. Seriously, that partnership won’t be missed.

What Will Happen?: I’m guessing WWE will just ignore me and have Ricardo screw over RVD and help Del Rio retain the title. Yawn. But whatever the case, Rob Van Dam will probably not win the World Title.

 

Randy Orton (c) vs Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship

Background: At Summerslam, Daniel Bryan defeated John Cena after a hard-long battle with COO Triple H as the special referee to win the WWE Championship for the first time in his career. But coming out to ruin the party was the WWE Championship Money In The Bank holder Randy Orton. Just as it seemed like he wasn’t going to bother cashing in the briefcase, Triple H stunned us all as he hit Daniel with the Pedigree – giving Randy the opening he needed. Taking advantage of opportunity, Orton cashed in and pinned Daniel to become the new WWE Champion. Triple H justified his actions the next night on RAW, stating that Randy Orton being Champion was “best for business” and that Daniel Bryan should not be the one to be the “face of the company”. An irate Daniel tried to ruin Randy’s coronation as WWE Champion, but was foiled by Triple H’s newly hired guns The Shield. Despite being considered nothing more than a B+ by the new corporation, Daniel was given his rematch clause at the title for Night Of Champions. However, the corporation has not made Daniel’s road to that event easy. The Shield has been constantly set on Bryan by Triple H, with just about every superstar in WWE being to scared of being fired to speak out against it or help Bryan out.  Despite the odds, Bryan stood tall at the end of this Monday’s RAW having beaten Dean Ambrose and laying out Randy Orton. But will he stand tall as champion at the end of Night Of Champions?

What Should Happen?: Orton wins. How bad would the corporation look if their champion would have lost the title within a month of winning it? Sorry Daniel, but he should wait a little longer before getting the gold. Orton needs to establish himself as THE guy in the WWE right now.

What Will Happen?: Orton retains. I don’t see someone turning heel to help Orton win. I just think Triple H is going to screw Daniel over somehow. I think it’ll be like when Mankind was screwed out of the title at Rock Bottom 1998. Daniel will make Orton pass out to a guillotine lock or something and then Triple H will come out and say “Since Orton didn’t get pinned or submit, Orton remains champion”. I know this corporation is not going to be exactly like the one in late 1998 and early 1999, but I do think some similar stuff will happen. Daniel’s getting screwed at Night Of Champions.

That was the Night Of Champions predictions. I am Tom Robinson. Follow me on Twitter. Follow @TomRobinson5199 and the official Armbar Express Twitter account @ArmbarExpress for blog updates and other wrestling news. Also, please read and share this new article I’ve had published for a website called WhatCulture! at this link. It’s an article by me which stresses why the Cruiserweight Division needs to be brought back to the WWE. If you click on my name at the top of that article, you’ll hopefully be able to see the other article’s I’ve uploaded on that site including one on why WWE are getting it right with Alberto Del Rio as World Champion at this link.

Random YouTube Video Of The Day! I’ve actually had a really hard week this week so I really needed to listen to a very inspiring speech  and I found one from the Rocky Balboa film which really did give me the drive to put all the shit that’s happened in the past and move forward. If you ever feel like you just wanna give up and need that drive to keep you going on watch this video. Anyway, I’ll see you later on in the week for the Night Of Champions review and possibly a RAW review. Keep connected with the @TomRobinson5199 and @ArmbarExpress Twitter accounts to keep up with all the projects I’ve got going on for the blog and for WhatCulture! Expect a lot of Social Media activity in the build up to my return to uni.

09/09/2013 RAW Review – Edge Returns And Speaks Out Against The Regime

‘Sup guys? I am the “One Man Gang” Tom Robinson with the RAW Review. A great RAW it was on Monday being held in Toronto, Canada, which is always a lively place especially for WWE. We had a lot to look forward too. Edge’s return, Goldust vs Randy Orton. Let’s get down to it!

The Returning Edge Speaks Out Against The New Regime… and his friends suffer the consequences

Great opening to the show. Edge made his return to his hometown Tornoto, Canada. Got a THUNDEROUS pop from these Canadian fans. The fans are always great when you come to Canada. It really is “Bizarro World” there. Edge justified the reaction and did some incredible work on the mic. I think when he comes back, he does help with the stories he’s put with. Here he’s helping the Daniel Bryan vs Randy Orton feud. Before when he’s made these sporadic appearances, he’s help the rise of Team Hell-No, the Cena/Lesnar feud and even with Christian’s feud with Randy Orton. He’s definetly had the upper-hand in the verbal exchange with Triple H in the opening segment, and he decimated Randy Orton on the mic. He came up with a line to Orton which was something like “While my spine is in a really bad way, I least I have one”, which I thought was a great line. Anyway, after being torn apart by Edge on the mic, Triple H stated while he couldn’t really have The Shield attack Edge or put him in a match since he doesn’t work in WWE, he could go after his friends. And with that, Christian was on the receiving end of a Shield beatdown. Great opening, but again… Randy Orton seemed overshadowed by Edge, Triple H and Daniel Bryan. He only said like three sentences through-out the entire thing, and I’m sorry if I keep saying this every week but he needs more mic time.

Oh on a side note, I love how Tony Chimel has become Edge’s new personal ring announcer. Just whenever Edge returns, Chimel is brought in to unleash his patterned voice-break!  XD

Edge and Triple H have an intense backstage segment. Edge gets kicked out.

Edge and Triple H had a REALLY intense backstage segment after Christian got taken out. You can tell that the real venom Triple H had within him as heel came back because of the way he growled at Edge. Triple H could make brushing your teeth sound intense. That’s a quality that I’ve always admired him for. Yeah, at times I’m not his biggest fan, but I love him when he’s heel. You can sort of forget about how you feel about him personally when you see him as a heel just unleashing anger. Anyway, Edge got kicked out and obviously the Canadian fans booed. Both Edge and Hunter were awesome here.

Curtis Axel’s Disqualification Sees Paul Heyman’s Confidence “Slip” Away

Curtis Axel has a rematch with Kofi Kingston (who defeated Axel on SmackDown! in a poor booking decision in my opinion). It proved to be a short match as Curtis Axel gets disqualified early on for being too aggressive and ignoring the ref’s 5 count. This was followed up by Kingston hitting the Trouble In Paradise on Axel post-match, further unsettling Axel’s manager Paul Heyman. Since the handicap match between CM Punk and the team of Heyman and Axel at Night Of Champions is an elimination match, Axel getting disqualified could mean that Heyman would have to step in the ring with Punk. With his confidence in Axel dropping, Heyman dropped to the floor after apparently slipping on some water. Heyman tried to use this as an excuse to get out of the handicap match, until General Manager Brad Maddox had WWE’s Dr Samson check Heyman. After Heyman was cleared, Punk came out with kendo stick in hand and brutally beat Heyman’s personal doctor (which Heyman brought because he didn’t trust Canada’s doctors) with it. I’ve got two complaints…

1.  I get that Curtis Axel getting beat over and over and Heyman’s confidence dropping is supposed to make Axel look weak as hell in comparison to CM Punk. But, WWE have got to take into account that Curtis Axel still holds the very prestigious Intercontinental Championship. If Axel loses to a regular mid-carder like Kofi over and over, the title loses prestige. And considering the pay-per-view their handicap match is taking place is called “Night Of Champions”, he still needs to look strong against Punk and I don’t think WWE have got it right by making him look bad.
2. The fact that Brad Maddox and WWE doctors had to come out to clear the heel Paul Heyman to compete kind of takes away from the supposed evil empire of Triple H if there hindering the heels. Sure, Paul Heyman and Triple H have history blah blah blah, but it makes Brad Maddox almost seem like a face when he’s helping CM Punk. It takes away some of the evilness from the Triple H empire.

And I know a third complaint from you guys would be that CM Punk has had little to no interaction with the Triple H regime yet which completely throws continuity out of the window. But then again, WWE booked themselves into that corner when they decided that the Paul Heyman/CM Punk feud would continue after Summerslam. Having Punk drift of from the feud to confront Triple H in the build to Night Of Champions is not good for his own match. I personally think CM Punk will get involved in the “Corporation 2.0” storyline or whatever you want to call it. I just think it’ll be either after Night Of Champions, unless him and Heyman have some more unfinished business after NoC. I don’t think they’ve forgot about Punk as far as the main storyline is concerned.

Booker T tells Big Show to stay professional

OK, I have no idea what Booker T’s role in WWE is supposed to be anymore now he’s been sacked as SmackDown! General Manager. Two weeks in a row on RAW, Booker T has acted as Yoda to superstars and told them to “stay professional”. Is he just supposed to keep doing this each week or has WWE actually got something for him in mind? Booker T needs something other than this. Put him back on commentary or something. These backstage segments are becoming a little tedious.

Dolph Ziggler’s run in the dog-house continues as he loses to Bray Wyatt

This is a grave period for Dolph Ziggler fans as he is in the proverbial “dog house” of WWE. This week, he went down to Bray Wyatt as he beat him with the Sister Abigail to win. It’s a shame that drops to this level only a couple of months after he lost the World Title. Now it seems like it’s going to be a LONG way back to the top for Ziggler. He tried talking himself out of it by defending the Corporation 2.0 storyline in this article. But I doubt he’ll be anywhere near the title picture in the near future, which is a shame.

AJ Lee decimates Jerry Lawler On Commentary

Yeah, my 2nd top highlight of the show was AJ Lee’s commentary during the 6 women’s tag team match between the team of Natalya, Brie Bella and Naomi from Total Divas and the team of Layla, Aksana and Alicia Fox who are a part of AJ’s new crew. The Total Divas won a very short and un-interesting women’s match. But the best part was the commentary. AJ was at ringside and she just ripped Jerry Lawler to shreds. Really feisty on commentary, She ripped Jerry by saying “I’m a little too old for you Jerry. I’m 26. I heard you like them young” which was a really good line. I put the link to the match and her commentary below. You really should watch/listen to this. Great way to hype up the Divas title match at Night Of Champions.

Alberto Del Rio makes quick work of R-Truth, Fandango distracts The Miz

Del Rio picked up a submission win over R-Truth in preparation to his World Title match against Rob Van Dam. Slapped on the cross-armbreaker, R-Truth tapped, game over. Fandango also distracted The Miz during his match with Damien Sandow, costing Miz the match after Sandow rolled him. This thing with Fandango constantly interrupting matches is really getting annoying, as is this feud. I swear, this feud between Miz and Fandango is so bland and dull as are the both of them. -.-

Santino Marrella Returns To RAW To Upset Antonio Cesaro

A very entertaining match here between Antonio Cesaro and the returning Santino. I loved that Santino was starting to look like a good grappler in the match. Of course he’s a good wrestler, I’ve known that for years. It’s just WWE never seem to let him showcase that talent, and he might be getting that chance to. Also… Antonio Cesaro did one of the greatest feats of strength I’ve ever seen him do, which was in fact my top highlight of the show. He did his giant swing on Santino… and swung him for about 30 seconds non-stop! It really was incredible. Here it is…

Unbelievable strength. And despite all of Cesaro’s swinging… he still lost. XD

Ryback lays out RVD after getting this disqualified

A short but sweet match saw Ryback get DQ’d and follow it up with a Shell-Shocked To Rob Van Dam. The booking for the end of the match seemed a little off. Why did they have Ryback destroy RVD and make him look weak before his World Title match with Del Rio? Especially considering that RVD bested Ryback in a battle royal a month or so ago. They must have something big for Ryback to have him attack the number one contender for the World Title a week before his match.

Randy Orton Dashes Goldust’s chance to get Cody Rhodes rehired

It was a really good match between these two. Mostly because of the build around it. While it wasn’t a technical classic of a match, there was a lot of emotion behind it. Goldust showed that he was still as slick as he’s always been in the ring. The fans were into it and I loved it when Goldust hit Randy with his brother Cody Rhodes’ finisher “Cross Rhodes”. However, Randy ultimately prevailed. It was a really good match with a lot of feel towards. That was added on in the backstage segment afterwards when Stephanie rubbed salt in wounds and called him a loser. She berated Goldust with such vindication. She really has that venom in her voice as well similar to her husband Triple H. Having her do a segment is always great to see.

Daniel Bryan Finally Gets The Upper Hand On Randy Orton

After weeks of the Corporation 2.0 getting the best of Daniel Bryan, Daniel finally got his own back firstly with a win over Dean Ambrose. It was a good match and he beat him clean and beat of the Shield as well. Post-match, The Shield attack Daniel with Big Show being forced to watch on. Then the WWE Champion Randy Orton came down to the ring claiming to have Triple H’s permission to tell Big Show what to do. He instructs Big Show to knock Bryan out just as he did last week, but Big Show refused. Randy said he’d pick him up for Show, but Bryan served up a flying knee to Orton. Bryan then posed with the WWE Title. It’s good that WWE finally give Daniel something to cheer about. It doesn’t make it seem that the Corporation 2.0 is over-whelming Daniel and that he’s actually got a chance. It was a good way to end RAW.

Overall, good RAW in Canada. Great match between Goldust and Randy Orton and some great promos being cut by all sorts of people. AJ Lee, Stephanie McMahon, Edge, Triple H and even Goldust all delivered goods on the mic in build up to the pay-per-view this Sunday. I’ve just got a question… why isn’t the US Champion Dean Ambrose on the card considering he himself is a champion and all titles are supposed to be defended at Night Of Champions?

That was this week’s RAW Review. I’m Tom Robinson. Don’t forget to follow me on Facebook and Twitter. Follow us at @ArmbarExpress on Twitter and go to https://www.facebook.com/ArmbarExpress to like the Facebook Page. My Twitter account is @TomRobinson5199 so gives us a follow there as well. Also, its great to see that my Alberto Del Rio article on WhatCulture is getting a lot of views. It’s got 1000+ views since it was published on September 1st which is awesome. I’ve got something else planned on that site so stay tuned. And also, today’s the 12 year “anniversary” of the September 11 attacks. Thoughts and prayers to those affected by them horrific attacks 12 years ago.

Random YouTube video of the POST! A video I’m made of Cesaro swinging Santino… with the sound being replaced by a very appropriate song. Let’s just say this song will spin you right round! XD Someone had to do it!

17/06/2013 RAW REBOUND – Brock vs Punk, AJ vs Stephaine, and Ziggler’s Revenge

Hello lovely, lovely wrestling fans. I am “The One Man Gang” Tom Robinson. And YES, I am actually reviewing RAW! And it was a good RAW. With a LOT to talk about. I want to focus on a couple of things….

Mark Henry’s “Retirement”

MARK HENRY: Certainly Digging The Suit Bro

Yeah after a dozen of cryptic messages on Twitter teasing a potential retirement, Mark Henry interrupted WWE Champion John Cena’s promo late on in the episode of RAW. Mark Henry came out and made a typical retirement speech which was actually pretty funny. He basically thanked the fans and said “I’m coming home”. He then went to hug John Cena… and delivered a WORLD’S STRONGEST SLAM to the champion and saying he’s still got a lot in the tank. Mark Henry made an emphatic statement and challenged Cena for the WWE Championship. Later on, the match was booked by Vickie Guerrero for Money In The Bank. Just a little curious why WWE would go this route if Daniel Bryan was supposed to be next line for a title shot? Sure, Daniel did hint at challenging for the WWE title himself last night but I’d figure they wouldn’t announce a WWE Title match at Money In The Bank such a short amount of time after the last one. Maybe things will change. Maybe D-Bry might fight Henry for the spot at Money In The Bank. We’ll have to wait and see.

Unlikely Alliances Sees Zeb Colter and Antonio Cesaro Join Forces

ANTONIO CESARO AND ZEB COLTER: Yeah, because this makes total sense right?

Really WWE? Really? This has no logic in it at all. You’re telling me that Zeb Colter, a man who has banged on for months about being a “Real American” and people from other countries coming into America and taking their jobs, is suddenly going to join forces with a Swiss-Born man who shits on America all the time Antonio Cesaro? This is probably the dumbest thing WWE has ever done. Yeah if WWE had Colter change his ways and start appreciating foreigners it’d make some sense. But Colter said Cesaro embodies a “Real American”. It’s hypocritical and it baffles me beyond belief. How can this alliance possibly work? It’s ridiculous. Oh yeah, his match with one William Regal (yes he got a match on RAW for once) was a short but sound technical wrestling bout. It’s nice seeing grapplers like this squaring off. We need more on the scene in WWE.

Damien Sandow defeats Sheamus… sort of

DAMIEN SANDOW: Big Victory For The Intellectual Saviour Of The Masses

Well Sandow won a handicap match with Cody Rhodes, but it’s cool that Sandow’s not walking out of this feud (assuming it’s over) winless. Big win over a top superstar for Sandow, even if it was off a roll up. Sandow beat Sheamus and that’s awesome.

“The Instant Classic” Christian Returns After 10 Months On The Shelf

CHRISTIAN: Returning Christian Acting Like He’s Won The Olympics

Good news for the Christian Coalition. Christian returned and defeated Wade Barrett (-.-) on his return. It’s nice seeing Christian back around Money In The Bank period. I hope that Christian gets pushed back into the World Title scene, especially with Del Rio as World Champion. His match with Barrett was short, but the return got the fans excited and let’s see what Captain Charisma has in store for us.

The AJ Lee/Stephanie McMahon Confrontation

AJ LEE AND STEPHANIE MCAMAHON: If you could have any two women in a WWE segment, it’d likely be these two.

Now I LOVED this segment. Two of my favourite women in professional wrestling history engaging in a confrontation on RAW. The similarities between these two are so evident and AJ held her own against Stephanie on the mic. It’s good that the Divas Champion AJ has got a chance to have a verbal exchange with someone as important in WWE as Stephanie. AJ is also documented of being a HUGE fan of Stephanie and this has to be a little buzz for her too. This was a great segment and when it gets uploaded on YouTube (Give it time. It will) watch it. This was such a great segment to see. Of course, Kaityln and the rest of the divas sort of ruined it at the end but I bet a lot of you were buzzing after watching that segment. I know I was.

POWER IS EVERYTHING – Vince McMahon, Triple H and Stephanie battle for control of RAW

I’m starting to dig this storyline of power-struggle between the McMahons. Who doesn’t like a good family feud? It was class seeing Vickie Guerrero in the middle of Triple H and Vince arguing about how to handle business and Stephanie getting a little bit of input too. This storyline could really work, but I didn’t get why the Triple H vs Curtis Axel thing was sort of dropped? I mean they did advertise it on WWE.com. Hmmmmmmmm.

Daniel Bryan Injured In Battle With Randy Orton

DANIEL BRYAN: Hurt After NoDQ match with Randy Orton

Yeah, apparently this was not a storyline injury. According to this article in NoDQ.com, “the storyline where Daniel Bryan suffered a stinger during his match with Randy Orton was actually a legitimate injury. Bryan was originally scheduled to win against Orton, but once the injury occurred, plans changed and the match was stopped.” Yeah, this may have been the reason why Bryan was pulled from Money In The Bank but I hope this isn’t too serious. Daniel Bryan is on a roll. He’s super-over with the fans, his in-ring has been exceptional. The writers are behind him. However, an injury will cause all that momentum to crack. He is still scheduled to compete against Dean Ambrose on the SmackDown! tapings so I wonder if he’ll be pulled.

Alberto Del Rio Turns His Back On The Fans And Dolph Ziggler Gets Revenge

DOLPH ZIGGLER: Payback For Getting Beat at errr… Payback

Funnily enough, RAW actually started with the World Heavyweight Champion. When was the last time the World Champion started-off a RAW post-PPV? Normally it’s either John Cena or some other mega-star. I guess they want the World Title to mean something again. And I think that was confirmed when CM Punk of all people confronted the new World Champion (we’ll get on to CM Punk in a bit). Anyway, Del Rio vs CM Punk was booked for the main event. The match was alright, but it ended in a count out when Del Rio chose the cowardly route out of the match with Punk. And while he ran, Ziggler attacked Del Rio! Ziggler got a great reaction. The fans wanted Ziggler to come out all night and Ziggler got a massive FACE reaction. This double-turn with Del Rio turning heel and Ziggler turning face might actually be a stroke of genius on WWE’s part. Now on to the big one….

Brock Lesnar confronts CM Punk

CM PUNK AND BROCK LESNAR: If you watched this, you got goosebumps.

Yeah, what a way to end RAW. The show saw CM Punk seemingly show Heyman the door. He said he’s always going to be a Paul Heyman guy, but he needs to be by himself right now and gain momentum. And Heyman agreed to not get involved in his match with Del Rio. Then CM Punk won via count-out against Del Rio. CM Punk celebrates in the ring. BUT THEN…..

HOLY SHIT! LET THE ROAD TO SUMMERSLAM BEGIN! Brock Lesnar comes out at the end of Raw and F5’s CM Punk. What a class ending. This feud has been rumoured and talked about for years! And now it’s finally coming to fruition. It’ll likely be Summerslam. I don’t think these two will clash at Money In The Bank. I think this is just laying the ground work. CM Punk will do something else at Money In The Bank and fight Lesnar at Summerslam. The battle of the Paul Heyman Guys! I’m looking forward to the next couple of months in the build up to this match. It appears CM Punk will be the face in this feud and that’s fine. It’s gonna be a hell of a journey from now until Summerslam for these two. HERE COMES THE PAIN!

Anyway! Epic RAW. Loving everything that went on last night. There are a couple things I haven’t talked about like Chris Jericho’s match with Heath Slater and Curtis Axel vs Sin Cara but there was a lot of things going on last night. I just had to focus on the big areas of last night. Really good RAW heading into Money In The Bank. A couple of returns, a couple of confrontations and we saw BROCK LESNAR. It was probably the best RAW I’ve seen all year. And yeah, that beats the RAW after Wrestlemania. Just a great night of wrestling and drama last night.

That was the RAW review. I’m Tom Robinson and I want too leave you with this random theme song that is really fit for the real man’s man. XD

WWE Payback 2013 Review – CM Punk vs Chris Jericho III, Shocking Title Changes And Double Turns In Chicago

Morning wrestling fans, I’m “The Ultimate Warrior” Tom Robinson here with a review of WWE Payback. Yes, I watched it live last night! 1am to 4am. Shattered at the end of it, but it was certainty worth it. WWE put on a great show here. I think it was just better than Extreme Rules, and that’s saying a lot considering how good Extreme Rules was. Anyway, let’s get down to the REVIEW!

Curtis Axel Gives His Father The Perfect Father’s Day Present With The Intercontinental Title

CURTIS AXEL AND PAUL HEYMAN: A “perfect” end for Curtis Axel

We kicked off the show with a decent triple threat Intercontinental Championship match. Chicago booed The Miz, sort of on the fence with Wade Barrett… but cheered the hell out of the son of the late “Mr Perfect” Curt Henning, Curtis Axel. It was a slick match with a really cool ending. And Chicago went wild when the inevitable happened – Axel became the new champion following his father’s footsteps. As Miz had Barrett in the figure four (still being booed), Axel covered Barrett for the pinfall while he was locked in the submission. A clever way to end the match. As much as I don’t like Wade Barrett losing the title, this was a great moment mostly due to the Chicago crowd going nuts, especially when Axel hit his father’s Perfect-Plex. Good opening to Payback

AJ Lee FINALLY wins the Divas Championship In The Best WWE Women’s match In Years

AJ LEE: Totally marked out when this happened. 🙂

AJ and Kaitlyn really did have something to prove. TNA unleashed the epic Last Knockout Standing match between Gail Kim and Taryn Terrell at Slammiversary a couple of weeks back, and WWE had to top that if WWE at all cared about their divas division. And I for one was really impressed with what AJ and Kaitlyn were able to pull off last night. For one it lasted a hell of a lot longer than most divas matches in WWE. Second, the match had great story-telling behind it. Remember, these two started in WWE together in 2010, been a tag team, slapped each other in the place a lot, break each other’s heart and finally have the one on one encounter. These two actually put on a decent show in Chicago. Was it on the par with Gail vs Taryn? No. But I wouldn’t be surprised if more matches will result in better quality in the ring. AJ is already a great women’s wrestler. Kaitlyn is improving and we could see that here. AJ winning is definetly something that should have happened ages ago. But, at least it’s finally happened and I actually marked out when it did.

I hope this feud continues on. I want to see what these two can REALLY do together. If WWE play it right, they can use these two to rebuild the women’s division into something worthwhile. I think this feud will continue because Kaitlyn’s starting to become the emotional wreck AJ was last year, when she cried after losing the title. To be honest, I thought the crying was a little over the top. In fact my exact thoughts at that time was….

US Champion Dean Ambrose Retains After Count Out Win Against Kane

DEAN AMBROSE: BELIEVE IN THE SHIELD!

A little bit disappointing match with a disappointing an end. I’m not a big fan of matches ending in a count out, especially PPV matches. PPV Title matches should always have a legit winner by pinfall or submission. This match seemed pretty much like the match they had on RAW except the ending was different. I think if they’d given Ambrose and Kane a no dq match, things would have actually been a little bit better. I think they will do that eventually because of the DQ and Count Out endings in their last to matches.

The Whole F’Ing Show Comes Back At Money In The Bank!

This promo video is purely orgasmic. RVD back in the WWE. Back where he belongs is awesome. As much as I like TNA, Rob Van Dam wasn’t really a fit there. Him back in WWE was epic and the fans just chanted “RVD” the rest of the night in Chicago. Even if this is a short-term contract for Van Dam, the time he is back will be the time I will be most appreciative of. There are so many matches I want him to have while he’s here. Matches with CM Punk. Matches with Daniel Bryan. Matches with a lot of superstars. RVD is here and I am loving this. He has been one of my favourites since I started watching wrestling and it’s great to see him back.

Double Turn Shocker Sees A New World Champion!

ALBERTO DEL RIO: Another Del Rio title reign… can he really cut it as a World Champion?

And his name is….

Yeah, total shocker here. An incredibly one-sided match which Alberto Del Rio targetted Dolph Ziggler’s head saw Del Rio regain the World Title in a very hell way. Because of Ziggler’s recent concussion Del Rio delivered brutal kicks and brutal attacks to Ziggler and a superkick to the face was enough to pick up the win for Del Rio. Not exactly a fan of Ziggler’s title reign being cut short, but I’ll give WWE credit for the Double Turn. The crowd was rightly outraged and Del Rio gained a LOT of heat. Del Rio was gaining heat anyway against this pro-Ziggler crowd, but after the manner of his victory and the promo cut afterwards Del Rio was booed by all. Ziggler refusing to stop the match also gives him a lot of credibility as a face. But now we have a new champion in Del Rio and we had a double turn, with Dolph Ziggler turning face and Del Rio turning heel. It was kinda cool to see because double-turns are really rare nowadays. I’m not exactly sure I’m looking forward to Del Rio as champion again, but Ziggler as a face will be amazing to watch. I hope he gets the title back PRONTO.

CM Punk vs Chris Jericho III – The Return Of Punk

CHRIS JERICHO AND CM PUNK: Locking up in Chicago

For the third time in Pay-Per-View Chris Jericho and the returning CM Punk clashed and for the third time in pay-per-view they blew the roof off the place. Such true technical wrestling ability combined with the quickness and pure talent both Punk and Jericho provided. This match was easily the best in their trilogy with near-fall after near-fall and epic moment after epic moment. This will go down as one of the best matches of the year and these two were a delight in Chicago and Chicago loved every second of it. After an epic encounter, it was CM Punk who reigned supreme… again. I would’ve like for Jericho to get a victory over Punk for once but I’m sure Jericho’s going to get the win… eventually. But this was Punk’s night. I wonder what the future has in store for the Best In The World.

AGAIN! Randy Orton doesn’t turn heel! -.-

DANIEL BRYAN: Nice suplex off the top of the turn-buckle. He’ll be champion again. You wait and see!

Please turn him! That’s all I ask of you WWE. He should have done it at Mania but he didn’t. He should have done it here but he didn’t. His tag match with Daniel Bryan against Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins wasn’t much special, but at least Randy Orton could have RKO’d Daniel again or something. Really disappointed. Speaking of disappointment…

Ryback vs John Cena – 3 STAGES OF HELL

JOHN CENA: Standing tall at the end of Payback

Yawn. Can’t believe I stayed up to watch this. Boring as hell. You know after their quality Last Man Standing match at Extreme Rules, I was expecting a good match here. Instead we got a short and unproductive Lumberjack match. We got boring as tables match. And we had an ambulance match that made you want to kill yourself. -.- John Cena walked out the champion and that was an awful way for the feud to end. It ends just like every other one of Cena’s feuds with big guys end. Batista, The Great Khali, Kane and now Ryback all end in the same god damn way. Go watch the endings to them feuds. It’s the exact same thing over again. -.- At least John Cena vs Daniel Bryan is lined up for Money In The Bank. CANNOT wait for that. We might actually see one of the matches of the year in MITB.

Anyway, that was the Payback review. I’m Tom Robinson. And I’m going to leave you with this great song declaring my love for the great place known… as Chicago.

13/06/2013 TNA Impact Wrestling Review: The New Main Event Mafia, Trouble In Aces And Eights’ Paradise and The Bound For Glory Series Particpants Decided

Evening wrestling fans, I am Tommy ” The Fucking Animal” Robinson. XD OK, seriously, TNA review. Last night we had the last of the Bound For Glory series qualifiers and the road to Bound To Glory  is about to begin. Who qualified for the series? Who’s got a chance for glory? Also, what’s next for Sting after losing to Bully Ray at Slammiversary, It’s time to TALK TNA!

Up until last night, only 3 participants were announced to be a part of the Bound For Glory series…

• Jay Bradley, who earned his spot by defeating Sam Shaw at Slammiversary.
• Hernandez, who earned his spot by defeating partner Chavo Guerrero last week.
• And Samoa Joe, who earned his spot by defeating Robbie E last week also

So, 3 wrestlers were already in the series and at the top of the show, Hulk Hogan awarded spots to the last two winners of the Bound For Glory Series, Bobby Roode and Jeff Hardy. In the opening segment, Roode declared that he would call out Jeff Hardy next week on Open Fight Night. Hogan responded by allowing the fans to decide who out of Roode and Hardy would be the first person to call someone out next week!

In the first Bound For Glory series qualifier of the night, “Bad Influence” Christopher Daniels and Kazarian defeated the new tag championship James Storm and Gunner in a sound non-title tag match, which resulted in both Daniels and Kazarian earning spots in the series. Bad break for Storm, who twice has came close to winning the series, but hopefully Daniels or Kazarian can gain high positions by the end of the series. If any of these two were to win the series, I would not complain.

In the second Bound For Glory series qualifier and in one of the most disappointing upsets ever, Joseph Park earned a spot in the series by beating the once 470 days defeated and returning Crimson. Crimson looked alright here and him not being in the series is a little bummer for Crimson has he tries to rebuild himself after being gone a year or so. Someone commented in a YouTube video suggesting that Crimson should be a member of Aces And Eights and you know… why not? He’d make a lot of sense as muscle for the group.

In a little break from the BFG series qualifiers, Velvet Sky gave new Knockouts Champion Mickie James a present… a document saying that Velvet was cleared to compete after her “ankle” injury. However, Mickie made sure that Velvet wasn’t ready by assaulting Velvet and turning heel in the process. She locked on a submission hold which looked painful as hell. Starting to like these new developments in the Knockouts Division with Gail Kim and Taryn Terrell stealing the show at Slammiversary, Taeler Hendrix coming back last week and Mickie James turning heel.

Back to the BFG series qualifiers, and we had Magnus earn a spot by winning the most random fatal four way I’ve ever seen. I mean it was a slow OK four way, but we had 4 guys in the match that looked so badly matched-up. Magnus, Rob Terry, Matt Morgan and Kenny King. It’s like TNA got a bowl of wrestlers names and picked out four at random and said, “OK, lets put these guys in a fatal four way”. With Rob Terry and Matt Morgan in the match the pace of the match slowed right down but there were some slick exchanges between Magnus and Kenny King and in the end , the Englishman walked away with the spot in the Bound For Glory series. Magnus – Representing good old England in the BFG series! Come on England!

Next up was the Stinger, who was kind of pissed off about no one in the back helping him during his match with Bully Ray at Slammiversary. His loss to him meant he was out the title picture… FOREVER!

Sting mentioned that Aces And Eights are like family having each others back and believed it was time for another family to return to TNA – THE MAIN EVENT MAFIA! Sting is assembling a NEW Main Event Mafia to battle the Aces And Eights! I’m loving this war – The Main Event Mafia vs Aces And Eights! This could be a great faction rivalry… the important word being “could”. We’ve seen how TNA’s faction vs faction rivalries have went down before. And well most of them kinda sucked. Fortune vs Immortal. Fortune vs EV 2.0. Main Event Mafia vs TNA Frontline. Main Event Mafia vs World Elite. Most of them have been rather terrible. But given how well the Aces And Eights storyline has done ever since it started a year ago, this could be an exciting part of the storyline. And if Scott Steiner returns to TNA and joins the Mafia, I will mark out. I know the odds of this happening a very slim like! The chances of this happening are like the chances of Samoa Joe retaining the TNA World Title at Sacrifice 2008. What were the chances of that happening? Well, I’m glad you asked! Take it away Scott!

Anyway, back to the Bound For Glory series qualifiers. Austin Aires vs Eric Young, Two very charismatic superstars who put on a great show, A seriously entertaining match between the two. Loved it when they started mimicking one another. Very slick match. But in the end, only one could advance to the Bound For Glory Series, and that one was Austin Aires, who defeated Eric Young off the Brain-buster for the win. Aires has never been in the BFG series, so its nice to see some new faces on the scene.

Next up was a 6 man battle royal with all the entrants being members of Aces And Eights. So we had DOC, Knux, Devon, Mr Anderson, Wes Brisco and Garrett Bischoff competing for the right to be in the BFG series. However, Aces And Eights didn’t take things too seriously….

Yeah, tension is boiling over in the club with DOC refusing to eliminate himself in the battle royal – but got eliminated anyway. Mr Anderson earned the spot in the BFG series. I’m just wondering why TNA would have DOC attack Anderson if he was going to get eliminated by Anderson anyway? If I was booking it, it would be down to DOC and Anderson and they’d have this intense argument in the match which leads to DOC reluctantly eliminating himself. And afterwards, have DOC go in a wild frenzy and possibly have him strike members of Aces And Eights. That’s the way I see it. Personally, I don’t like the thought of DOC possibly turning face. I think if there was anyone that had any excuse to quit the club/turn face, it’d be Knux considering he’s done jack shit since he was revealed as a member. But TNA have there plans and hopefully, something good will come out of this.

So far we’ve had 11 of the best TNA has to offer earn a spot in the BFG series. And we have only ONE spot remaining. Who was it going to go to… the Olympic Gold Medallist and TNA Hall Of Famer Kurt Angle or the new dark and phenomenal lone wolf AJ Styles? And the winner was…….. AJ Styles! He won a good TV match off Aces And Eights distraction and a roll up to earn his spot in the BFG series! Afterwards Aces And Eights beatdown Angle, until Quinton “Rampage” Jackson came in swinging a chain and coming to Angle’s aid! Very interesting end to Impact Wrestling.

And the final list of entrants in this year’s Bound For Glory Series IS:

• Jay Bradley
• Hernandez
• Samoa Joe
• Bobby Roode
• Jeff Hardy
• Christopher Daniels
• Kazarian
• Joseph Park
• Magnus
• Austin Aires
• Mr Anderson
• and…. AJ Styles

Anyway, thanks for reading the Armbar Express. I’m Tom Robinson! And for a random video, I’m going to leave you with this epic scene from last week’s episode of Imapct Wrestling! (Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter, following the username @TomRobinson5199)

TNA Slammiversary 2013 Review – Gail Kim and Taryn Terrell Steal The Show In The Best PPV Of The Year

GAIL KIM AND TARYN TERRELL: What happens when you put Gail Kim and Taryn Terrell in a Last Knockouts Standing match? You get insanity!

Evening wrestling fans, I’m The “King Of The Mountain” Tom Robinson here with a quick recap/review of Slammiversary last Sunday before Impact airs tonight.

I got to admit, it was a hell of a PPV. If all TNA PPVs delivered are going to be this good than this new four-PPV-per-year strategy may be a stroke of genius.

The show kicked off with the high-flying X-Division Championship Ultimate X match with Kenny King defending against Suicide and Chris Sabin. As usual, a quality Ultimate X Match with all 3 guys given plenty of time to showcase their skills. 15 minutes of high-impact, wham and bang stuff from the X-Division with Chris Sabin getting the Win. Hulk Hogan came out and re-assured Sabin that he’d get a chance to cash-in the X-Division title for a World title shot in the summer. It’s good to hear that the Destination-X Stipulation is still in tact despite Destination X not being around again. I think with that stipulation plus with the returning X-Division guys like Sabin, Suicide and Petey Williams, the X-Division is certainty on the right tracks and it can be a force to be reckoned with again.

We then got a segment with Hulk Hogan being confronted by Mr Anderson, Wes Brisco and Garrett Bischoff of the Aces And Eights which led to their match against Samoa Joe, Magnus and the returning Jeff Hardy. I loved Hogan’s segment with Aces And Eights, and him calling Garrett and his father Eric a bitch. Definitely giving the middle finger to any parental TV ratings that get in their way. XD Anyway, Team TNA won in an OK 6-Man Tag. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much from it anyway but at least this got Jeff back in the ball game and into the fight with Aces And Eights. I just hope TNA don’t have Jeff dominate them like Kurt Angle did for a period after they got full access at Bound For Glory.

Incredibly short and not that special match between Jay Bradley and Sam Shaw followed which saw Bradley pick up the victory with his BOOMSTICK clothesline, which provoked me to shout at the top of my lungs….

Anyway, this victory meant tha#t Jay Bradley is now in the Bound For Glory series. It’ll be nice to see Bradley having more TV time with his Bound For Glory participation.

Up next was supposed to be Devon defending the TV Title against Joseph Park. However after Joseph was taken out by Aces And Eights backstage beforehand, Devon was awarded the victory. However, Devon was then given a 2nd opponent for the night…. THE MONSTER ABYSS! And typically enough, Abyss won the title without breaking a sweat! What a badass! I really hope this is the end for the Joseph Park thing. Just let Abyss come back full-time and defend his title like he should. Anyway, great that Abyss is the TV champion. Not a great night for Aces And Eights so far…

And in a pretty good 16 MINUTE fatal four way elimination tag team match we crowned NEW TNA Tag Team Champions! Yes, Chavo and Hernandez were eliminated shortly after Christopher Daniels and Kazarian were eliminated for getting DQ’d. Then it came down to the team of Austin Aires and Bobby Roode and team of Gunner and “The Cowboy” James Storm. In a really back and forth finish to the match, Gunner made Aires tap to the torture rack to win the titles for him and Storm. I loved the ending to this match. It kept you in suspense thinking which team would win, and it was a great exchange between all 4 teams to be honest. A great elimination 4 way tag match. Honestly shocked by the result of this. I figured this team was just booked in the match just to make the numbers. However, it appears that these two are getting a run at the tag titles, and it’ll be interesting to see how they are utilized. At least it gets James Storm doing something. XD

Now we get on to the match of the night… Taryn Terrell vs Gail Kim in a Last Knockout Standing match. If you haven’t watched the match yet, here’s a YouTube link (Sorry that it’s flipped horizontally. I’m assuming this guy uploaded it this way to prevent it being taken down for copyright)….

UNBELIEVABLE! 10 minutes of f’ing insanity! When was the last time you saw women wrestlers do these sorts of things and take them sorts of bumps? It was so… brutal! Chairs were involved! Gail Kim ran head first into a chair which got me marking out. The fans were so into this match. HOLY SHIT chants and THIS IS AWESOME chants just erupted in Boston. This crowd was amazing through-out the night! But they loved this match. Taryn’s little diamond cutter of the stage onto the floor was insane. I bet you about 75% of internet wrestling fans that was giving Taryn beef over her wrestling have changed their mind over her now. That was a gutsy performance from both of them. TMZ uploaded some of the photos of Taryn’s bruises after the match. Click here for the link. If one of your women’s matches gets covered by TMZ, you know you’re doing something right. That’s probably the greatest women’s match I’ve ever seen. And I’m not overselling it either. Crowd were great, the women were great. It was just incredible what I was watching thinking “OH MY GOD!” Insane!

AJ Styles FINALLY got a new theme song as he made his down the ring to face Kurt Angle (who got inducted into the TNA Hall Of Fame. Good inductee, but a little bit early for him. I was hoping it’d be Jeff Jarrett). It was a really badass theme song too. I’ll post it down below. These two put on a good match. I’m not sure I agree with the decision to give Angle the victory. I think AJ needed to win if he was being built up to defeat Bully Ray and save TNA. A loss like this is not going to do AJ any good. Ended a little abruptly too, but it was still good. There was one really good sequence where Angle tried a top rope German Suplex on AJ, which saw AJ flipped and he ended up landing on his feet which I thought was incredible. It was a good match, but AJ should have won.

And finally, the TNA World Title match. Sting vs Bully Ray for the TNA World Title. It was a brutal no holds barred match. There was freaking piledrivers for gods sake. One of the most dangerous moves in wrestling which even Bully said wrestlers weren’t supposed to do. As you’d expect Aces And Eights got involved. And as you’d expect, they helped Bully win. Mr Anderson gave Bully the hammer, who smashed Sting in the head with it to retain the title. That means Sting is now out of the TNA World title picture… FOREVER! Muahahahahaha! Unless they pull out some bogus ruling that overturns the decision or something like that. And if they do that, TNA are a bunch of knobheads. XD Still a great match, to end a phenomenal PPV.

No doubt my favourite PPV of the year. There’s was a lot of action and some insane matches at Slammiversary. Really looking forward to what happens next in TNA. It’s a great way to begin the Road to Bound For Glory for TNA.

Oh and before I leave…. here’s AJ Styles’ new theme song. Pretty badass don’t you think?

TNA Slammiversary 2013 Predictions – Will Aces And Eights Steal The Show?

Evening wrestling fans, I am “The Alpha Male” Tom Robinson here with the Armbar Express. TNA Slammiversary predictions! Tonight’s the night. The 11th annual Slammiversary. Big matches, big announcements and big things expected for tonight’s Slammiversary. Lets run down the card…

Bound For Glory Series Qualifier – Jay Bradley vs Sam Shaw

Background: About a month ago, TNA made the announcement that 4 former Gut-Check winners would compete in a mini tournament to determine who the first confirmed entrant in the Bound For Glory Series would be. Gut Check Winner Christian York battled Gut Check Winner and Chiacgo-born Jay Bradley in a close encounter. However, it was Bradley’s Boomstick Clothesline that got him the victory that advanced him to the finals of the tournament at Slammiversary. The 2nd semi-final of the series was scheduled to be Alex Silva vs Sam Shaw. However, Aces And Eights took it upon themselves to take out Alex Silva backstage. This meant that Sam Shaw automatically advanced to the finals at Slammiversary. So it’s Bradley vs Shaw for the right to be in the Bound For Glory series. Will Double S Sam Shaw slide his way into the series, or will Bradley’s Boomstick put down Sam Shaw?

What Should Happen?: I’m honestly not bothered who wins. I’m happy already that one of these guys will finally get some spotlight now in TNA. Since winning Gut-Check, neither of these guys have done much in TNA. Being in the Bound For Glory series and picking up a couple of wins along the way can get them utilized a lot more in TNA. But if I had to pick someone, I’d pick Bradley, purely because I want to see his Boomstick clothesline and shout at the top of my voice….

What Will Happen?: It’s hard to call… errrmmm… Again, I think I’ll go with Bradley because I think with his “Boomstick” Bradley has got something marketable about it, and I think TNA would want to go with him because he’s only one out of the two competitors in this match that actually won a match to get to the qualifier. I don’t know. It’s hard to call this match, but I’m going with Bradley.

TNA Television Championship – Devon (c) vs (sighs) Joseph Park -.-

Background: Joseph Park’s feud with Aces And Eights began in the build up to Bound For Glory with Park being taken hostage by the group.  Park broke free from his captivity during The Aces And Eights match at Bound For Glory and assaulted members of the group. Joseph then competed against Aces And Eights member DOC at Turning Point, but lost. Park then attended wrestling school at OVW for a grand total of TWO WEEKS in order to get better prepared for Aces And Eights. He was then given the chance to fight Devon at Genesis, but was once again defeated. After Bully Ray betrayed TNA and Brooke Hogan at Lockdown, Park stepped in again trying to implement “Justice” by drawing up divorce papers. This didn’t sit too well with Bully Ray and Devon, who attacked Park. A couple of weeks later, Aces And Eights faced the wrath of Park’s brother Abyss who returned and whooped all kinds of Aces And Eights ass. After Abyss’ return, Devon promised to “take a piece out of his (Abyss) ass”. This angered Abyss’ brother Joseph who challenged Devon to a match. Devon told Park he had to earn his shot at him, and had him fight D’Lo Brown for his chance. Park won the match and a TV Title match at Slammiversary was set.

What Should Happen?: Park gets taken out backstage beforehand by Aces And Eights. Abyss replaces his brother in the TV Title match. Wins The TV Title.

What Will Happen?: Devon wins. If TNA have Joseph Park beat Devon for the TV Title, I will do this to my table…

TNA Tag Team Championship – Chavo Guerrero (c) and Hernandez (c) vs Bobby Roode and Austin Aires vs Christopher Daniels and Kazarian vs James Storm and Gunner in a Fatal Four Way Elimination Tag Team Match

Background: In April, Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez defeated Bobby Roode and Austin Aires to become Tag Team Champions for a 2nd time. Aires and Roode then began a squabble with “Bad Influence” Christopher Daniels and Kazarian over who should have a crack at the new champions. A Number One Contendership Match took place between the two teams with James Storm serving as special referee (because apparently, Storm doesn’t have anything better to do). After both teams were getting under the ref’s skin, Storm delievered Last Call Super Kicks to Daniels and Aires, ending the match in a no contest. The next week, a fatal four way elimination match was made between 4 teams for the PPV – Daniels/Kazarian, Aires/Roode, Chavo/Hernandez and James Storm and a partner of his choosing. After the likes of Shark Boy and Robbie E offered their help to James, the returning Gunner was picked as his partner.

What should happen?: Not exactly a fan of Chavo and Hernandez as tag team champions to be honest. Then again, I don’t want the tag titles changing hands every couple of months. It’d damage the prestige if it kept swapping between the same teams over and over again. So, I want Chavo and Hernandez to win and hopefully feud with some other teams.

What will Happen?: Chavo and Hernandez win. The way I see it, I think TNA want a face tag team to hold the titles for now… so they can serve as transitional champions until Aces And Eights get the belts. I think Aces And Eights will get their hands on the belts. It’s just a matter of when and which two members. Tazz mentioned the possibility of Wes Brisco and Garrett Bischoff winning the titles, but I personally want DOC and Knux to get the gold.

TNA X-Division Championship – Kenny King (c) vs Suicide vs Chris Sabin in an Ultimate X Match

Background: The X-Division has seen a number of returns from a number of former champions. Petey Williams and his CANADIAN DESTROYER came back in April, Chris Sabin came back from two torn ACLs in May, and Suicide returned 2 weeks ago. Everyone has been gunning after the X-Division Champion Kenny King. Sabin was involved in a triple threat for the title about a month ago involving champ King as well Petey Williams. However, Sabin was unsuccessful in winning, but stayed in contention as Petey was the one who got pinned. Suicide won a X-Division title qualifier in his return match, defeating Joey Ryan and Petey to earn a chance for the title at Slammiversary. With the new format in the X-Division, Kenny is set defend the title at the PPV against Suicide and Chris Sabin but things have gotten cranked up… because they will all compete… in an Ultimate X Match!

What should happen?: I’d mark out if Suicide won the title. I’m not saying I’d be pissed if Sabin or King won, but I loved the Suicide character back in the day and the new guy (T.J. Perkins) donning the mask impresses me. Sure Sabin winning would make sense, and King winning would bring a lot of credibility to him as champion. However, Suicide was just a character that captivated me when he was around, and I loved the fact that everyone wanted a piece of them. Him winning the title would be a great way to rebuild his character.

What will happen?: I sense a new champion being crowned tonight. Either Suicide or Sabin will win the title I think. If I had to pick I’d say Sabin because it would be the sort of triumphant-return-from-injury and I think they want to reward Sabin for coming back from all of injuries and stuff.

Gail Kim vs “The Hot Mess” Taryn Terrell – Last Knockout Standing

Background: At Lockdown, Gail Kim wrestled Velvet Sky for the Knockouts Championship with Taryn Terrell as referee. However, when Gail got physical with Taryn, Taryn attacked Gail costing her the title. Due to her actions, Taryn was fired as the Knockouts Referee. However, Taryn was signed onto the Knockouts roster meaning she could get physical with anyone she wants. And on Open Fight Night, she wanted to… hehe get “physical” with Gail Kim…

Gail Kim go out of the match with Taryn by having Tara come out and help her, hehehe, double-team Taryn. Taryn retaliated by attacking Gail Kim backstage. The next week, Gail Kim regained the advantage over Taryn when she defeated Taryn in a tag team match. In their first singles match against one another, Taryn would gain an upset victory over Gail. This led to Gail Kim attacking Taryn post-match, applying the figure four leg lock on the ring-post. After it was announced that Gail Kim and Taryn Terrell would compete in a Last Knockout Standing match at the PPV, Taryn got revenge. She attacked Gail backstage 2 weeks ago. And in their final encounter before the PPV, Taryn teamed up with Chris Sabin to defeat Gail Kim and Kenny King, getting the crucial advantagebefore Slammiversary.

What Should Happen?: I just want to say, I’ve really gotten into this feud so far. We barely see a decent diva feud any more. The Gail Kim and Taryn Terrell anger story is seriously intriguing, as the animosity between the two has been building for months, and all that intensity will just blow up in the Last Knockout Standing match. Since Taryn won their match a month or two ago, I think Gail should get the victory here and level things up at 1-1.

What Will Happen?: I think Gail will win to even up the score. I don’t think they’d have Taryn beat Gail again, especially in a match like the “Last Knockout Standing” match.

 

Magnus, Samoa Joe and Jeff Hardy vs The Aces And Eights (Wes Brisco, Garrett Bischoff and Mr Anderson)

Background: Jeff Hardy faced Bully Ray in a rematch from their World Title match on Lockdown in April. The match was Full Metal Mayhem, and was won Bully after he hit Jeff in the HEAD with a HAMMER and fell threw the table. Last week on Impact, it was announced by the newly-reunited Samoa Joe and Magnus that the Aces And Eights would take on Joe, Magnus and the returning Jeff Hardy in a 6 man tag team match.

What Should Happen?: As much as I hate to admit, Jeff Hardy’s team should win. While this would be a huge boost for Aces And Eights, it’d make zero sense for Jeff to make his return and lose in his return match. Then again, it doesn’t make sense to have Jeff fully recover from getting hit in the head with a hammer in less than 2 months. Surely a shot like that would at least paralyse Jeff or even kill him. And people call John Cena “Super Cena”.

What will happen?: Jeff Hardy’s team wins.

 

Kurt Angle vs AJ Styles

Background: AJ Styles returned to TNA in March, right after Lockdown. On his return, he decked James Storm with a clothesline. AJ became a man of few words, taking a more darker approach than before. AJ acted as a lone wolf rather than joining any team. This would include AJ watching superstars like James Storm and Kurt Angle getting beatdown by Aces And Eights. AJ refused declare what side he was on in TNA’s war with Aces And Eights, which irritated Kurt Angle, who brawled with AJ about 4 weeks ago. This led to people believing that AJ would joining Aces And Eights, and Mr Anderson even announced that AJ would be patched in to Aces And Eights. It was also announced that Kurt and AJ would settle their differences at Slammiversary 1 on 1. 2 Weeks ago, AJ attacked Kurt Angle as well as members of Aces And Eights with a hammer, making it clear that he wasn’t affiliated with anyone. He was going to be doing his own thing.

What should happen?: AJ Styles wins. You have NO IDEA how much I’d rage if Angle won.

What will happen?: AJ Styles wins. If TNA has any common sense.

 

TNA World Heavyweight Championship – Bully Ray (c) vs Sting in a No Holds Barred match. If Bully Ray wins, Sting can never compete for the TNA World Title again

Background: At Lockdown, Bully Ray shocked the world by winning the World Title and announcing that he was the President of Aces And Eights. General Manager Hulk Hogan blamed Sting for convincing Hulk to pick Bully Ray as the number one contender for the World Title in the first place. The two traded words for weeks, and this led to Hulk Hogan telling Sting to “get the hell out of my ring”. After a couple of weeks, Sting came back two aid Hogan in the fight with Aces And Eights. Hogan booked a number one contendership match between Sting and Matt Morgan, not wanting to make the same mistake of picking a number one conteder. Sting won the match and the match was set for Slammiversary. During a contract signing between the two, Sting asked Bully for a No Holds Barred match at the PPV. Bully agreed, on the condition that Sting promised never to wrestle for the TNA World Title again if he lost. Sting agreed to the stipulation and the stage is set for the showdown at Slammiversary. Will Sting take away a great deal of power from Aces And Eights, or is this the last time we see Sting compete for the World Title?

What Should happen?: Bully Ray wins.

What Will happen?: Bully Ray wins. I don’t think they’ll have Bully drop the title this early.

 

And finally….

Who Will Be The 2nd Inductee Into The TNA Hall Of Fame?

Who It Should Be?: Jeff Jarrett. Come on… he FOUNDED the god-damn company.

Who It Will Be?: I’m going to say Jeff Jarrett, but I would not be surprised if TNA pulled off the Dick Move of having Hulk Hogan be the 2nd inductee.

 

That’s it. The stage is set. Predictions done! Enjoy Slammiversary. I know I will.

16/05/2013 TNA Impact Wrestling Review: Big Matches And Stipulations Added, As The Road To Slammiversary Takes A New Direction

BULLY RAY AND STING: Face To Face ahead of their encounter at Slammiversary

Evening Wrestling fans, I am the “Phenomenal” Tom Robinson with another TNA Impact review for you as Slammiversary draws near.

We started off the show with Hulk Hogan announcing Kurt Angle vs AJ Styles for Slammiversary and wanting to say thanks to “The Monster” Abyss. And we got a Park alright. Unfortunately…

Joseph Park showed up instead. Urrrrgghhh. Really TNA? REALLY? Surely the Joseph Park character has surely had its day by now. Just please get him off TV and have Abyss back full-time. Anyway, Hogan’s had enough of Park’s crap and demands to know where Abyss is. This draws out the “Sergeant Of Arms” of Aces And Eights Devon and fellow member D-Lo Brown who was demoted to “prospect” level last week, which is the lowest of the low if you’re a part of Aces And Eights. Devon said he wanted to, and I quote, “take a piece out off his ass”. LOL. I might actually incorporate that line into my daily vocabulary. What a line. I’m really starting to like Devon on the mic. Anyway, Joseph got mad at Devon, and challenged him to a match. However, Devon said Joseph had to prove himself and D’Lo stepped up to the plate. So Hogan set up the match between Joseph Park and D’Lo Brown, and if Joseph wins, he gets a match with Devon. And if D’Lo loses, well… he’s in the shit.

Meanwhile, in the tag team division, the tag team champions Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez going up against Bobby Roode and Christopher Daniels respectably. In Chavo vs Roode, Chavo got disqualified because James Storm came out and spit beer in Roode’s face. And in Daniels vs Hernandez, Hernandez defeated Daniels off a James Storm distraction. After the Daniels vs Hernandez match, James Storm announced that it would be a fatal four way match for the TNA Tag Team Titles at Slammiversary. Chavo and Hernandez will be defending the gold against Daniels and Kaz, Roode and Aires, and James Storm, who will pick his own partner for Slammiversary. As much as I don’t like seeing the same old teams competing for the gold, James Storm being brought into play is a good way to mix it up. I’d mark out if James Storm chose “The Wildcat” Chris Harris for his partner at Slammiversary! America’s Most Wanted reunited would be a legendary moment that I’m sure true TNA fans will love.

Kurt Angle called out his Slammiversary opponent AJ Styles. However, he gets everyone’s favourite asshole… MISTEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR ANDERSOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!

Anyway, Mr Anderson cuts a decent promo and basically says that next week will be the “patching-in” of AJ Styles as a member of Aces And Eights, and dares Angle to come. However, Angle doesn’t want to wait and takes down Anderson. This brings out AJ, who takes down Angle with a kick. Nice segment. I really wonder what’s gonna go down next week with the “Patching-in”. And I’m looking forward to AJ vs Angle at the PPV.

Also, 4 former Gut-Check winners started off a mini-tournament to determine who gets a spot in the Bound For Glory series. In a match between two former Gut Check winners, Jay Bradley defeated Christian York in a quick match to earn the right to go to Slammiversary to try and earn a spot in the Bound For Glory series. Personally, I think Christian York should really be the one getting a spot in the Bound For Glory series. I’m not saying Jay Bradley isn’t worthy enough or isn’t talented enough. It would just make a lot more sense if the guy that’s actually been active in TNA since getting his contract would be rewarded for his work over guys like Jay Bradley who have only showed up once in a blue moon. HOWEVER, competing in the Bound For Glory series can give whoever wins the mini-tournament some much needed exposure and can give him a lot more air-time post BFG-Series. Who knows? For all we know, TNA may have them win it!

Gail Kim lost a non-title match to Knockouts Champion Velvet Sky via a roll-up (is it me or is too many women’s matches in TNA ending in roll ups?). It was a decent TV Women’s match, which included Gail attacking Velvet post-match in similar fashion to how she attacked Tara and Taryn Terrell in the last couple of weeks – figure four leg lock on the ring-post. Anyway, Mickie James was also given a Knockouts Tag Title match with Velvet next week so I hope to hell this match was much better than their match about a month ago.

Kenny King retained the X-Division Championship in a sound triple threat title match also involving Chris Sabin and Petey Williams. Petey got the wrong end of the stick and was the one that got pinned. This means that Petey is out of the title picture for a while and has to earn his way back in under the new X-Division rules. It’s a shame because I’m a big fan of Petey. It was also announced that at Slammiversary, Kenny King will defend the X-Division Title against Chris Sabin and the returning Suicide… in the Ultimate X Match. That will be an enjoyable match if TNA give them a lot of time at Slammiversary. I’m sure Sabin, King and whoever takes on the mantle of Suicide (likely Kiyoshi) can pull a terrific match together if given enough time.

Joseph Park defeated D’Lo Brown… unfortunately. Same old stuff with Joseph Park. D’Lo Brown kicks his ass for a bit. Makes him bleed. Park turns into Abyss. Blackhole Slam. And got the win. -.- However, I will admit. D’Lo looked very slick in the ring for someone who has barely wrestled in the last couple of years. I’m surprised how well he could move for someone his size and age. But because Joseph Park won, D’Lo will likely be in the shittest of shit with Aces And Eights. Nice seeing you D’Lo.

Contract Signing for the TNA World Title match between Sting and champion Bully Ray at Slammiversary. Jeremy Borash introduces Bully Ray who comes out and pushes Jeremy out the ring and calls out Sting and Hulk Hogan (Bully wanted Hogan to watch the contract singing go down). Sting proposes a stipulation for their match at the PPV… NO HOLDS BARRED! Oooooooooooooooooooooo. Bully Ray agrees to Sting’s stipulation as long as Sting agrees to Bully’s stipulation. If Bully Ray wins at Slammiversary… Sting can NEVER compete for the TNA World Title again!

Sting agrees to the match and a brawl between Bully and Sting breaks out to end the show.

A very interesting night indeed. It’s nice that some PPV matches are getting announced and the card is starting to take shape. Next week with the “patching-in” of AJ Styles at Aces And Eights, D’Lo Brown facing the fury of Bully Ray, the return of Suicide and the Knockouts Title match is going to be a hell of a show to build on the foundations set on this one. Anyway, that’s my TNA weekly review done. And I’ll see you with the Extreme Rules predictions later on today!