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/

 

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.

WWE Extreme Rules 2013 Predictions: The Game And The Next Big Thing Do Battle In The Steel Cage – WHO’S GOING TO WIN?

Hey there WWE fans, I am “The Excellence Of Execution” Thomas Robinson here with my WWE Extreme Rules predicitions! The pay-per-view has a pretty decent card on actually. Although it’s suffered set-backs with Great Ones bailing, The Best In The World resting and the World Champion injured, WWE actually haven’t done THAT bad with the card. I mean sure it could be better, but WWE were really hindered by losing the star power of CM Punk, The Rock, Undertaker and Dolph Ziggler. Anyway, let’s run down the card.

THE SHIELD VS THE WORLD – United States Championship: Kofi Kingston (c) vs Dean Ambrose/ WWE Tag Team Championship: “Team Hell-No” Kane (c) and Daniel Bryan (c) vs “The Shield” Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns

Background: The Shield have been whooping all kinds of ass since debuting in November and gained huge momentum by being victorious at Wrestlemania, defeating Team Hell-No and Undertaker in London, and taking The Undertaker out. But now it was time for The Shield to focus on getting the gold, and The Shield targeted the United States Champion Kofi Kingston and WWE Tag Team Champions Kane and Daniel Bryan. Dean Ambrose has been given a US Title shot against Kofi Kingston at Extreme Rules. Reigns and Rollins got a Tag Title Shot against Kane and D-Bry for the PPV.

What I think Should Happen?: The Shield win. BELIEVE IN THE SHIELD!

What I think will happen?: The Shield win. Kingston was basically a transitional champion, and Team Hell-No have held the tag titles for long enough. BELIEVE IN THE SHIELD!

SMACKDOWN’S CURSADE VS SMACKDOWN’S POWER TRIP – Strap Match: Sheamus vs Mark Henry/ Extreme Rules Match: Randy Orton vs Big Show

Background: At Wrestlemania 29, The Big Show, Randy Orton and Sheamus battled The Shield in a 6 man tag. However, the team of former world champions was not enough to take down the Shield. Upset with Randy Orton tagging himself in, Big Show angrily KO’d both Sheamus and Orton and left. The next night on RAW, Big Show interrupted the Randy Orton vs Sheamus match and attacked both his Wrestlemania partners. However, he specifically targeted his attacks Orton and delivered a huge beatdown on The Viper. On SmackDown!, Sheamus himself was attacked backstage by “The World’s Strongest Man” Mark Henry, and was attacked again by Henry on the RAW afterwards. Henry and Big Show teamed up to defeat Sheamus and Orton (cleanly might I add) on SmackDown!. Sheamus then got his own back on Mark Henry, and attacked him backstage. It was eventually announced that both feuds would be settled at Extreme Rules, with Sheamus taking on Mark Henry in a strap match, and Big Show taking on Randy Orton in an Extreme Rules match.

What I think should happen?: I think the heels should get the victories. It’d make sense for Mark Henry to defeat Sheamus and continue his huge wave of momentum coming of the Elimination Chamber and his Wrestlemania victory over Ryback. To be honest, Big Show vs Randy Orton is that much of an interest to me. I just think that Randy Orton toppling the giant Big Show so easily at Extreme Rules just doesn’t seem right. Mark Henry and Big Show win.

What I think will happen?: I’m going to go for Mark Henry for the strap match, because I think they want him to keep up his momentum and challenge John Cena for the WWE Title after Ryback is done with Cena. As for the Orton/Big Show match, I think they’ll have Orton win. I don’t think they want Orton to lose too many high-profile matches, and I think they want him to go after Ziggler and the World Title, and losing to The Big Show might not help him in that sense. Mark Henry and Randy Orton win.

REMATCH OF THE DECADE – Chris Jericho vs Fandango

Background: Fandango, SOMEHOW, defeated Chris Jericho at Wrestlemania 29 with the flukiest of victories. However, Fandango did gain another victory on the RAW after when the FANDANGO-REVOLUTION began, with the fans singing Fandango’s theme song during his match with Kofi Kingston. However, that match ended up with Chris Jericho laying out Fandango. Over the next couple of weeks, Chris Jericho would gain little spades of revenge, costing him his match with R-Truth via count out and constantly attacking him after matches. Jericho also faced Fandango in a dance-off last week on RAW. The two will settle their differences at Extreme Rules in an actual WRESTLING rematch. Will the Fandango Revolution continue or will the Ayatollah Of Rock ‘N’ Rolla finally defeat Fandango?

What I think should happen?: CHRIS JERICHO WINS! PLEASE!

What I think will happen?: Chris Jericho wins. As much as a 2nd win over Jericho would properly get Fandango over, Jericho needs a win before he gets back. And I don’t think a loss to Jericho will hurt the Fandango Revolution.

NUMBER ONE CONTENDERSHIP FOR THE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP – I Quit Match: Alberto Del Rio vs Jack Swagger

Background: The night after Wrestlemania 29, Dolph Ziggler cashed in his Money In The Bank briefcase on Alberto Del Rio to become the World Heavyweight Champion. On SmackDown!, during Ziggler’s celebration speech, Del Rio and Del Rio’s opponent for Wrestlemania 29, Jack Swagger declared their interest in a World Title match. After Swagger prevented Del Rio from getting his rematch on RAW the next week, a triple threat was made between Ziggler, Del Rio and Swaggger for Extreme Rules with the title at stake. The match was made a ladder match by Del Rio the next week. HOWEVER, after Swagger attacked Ziggler with a ladder the FOLLOWING week, Ziggler was taken out of the injury with a legitimate concussion. So the decision was made to have Del Rio and Swagger face off in an I Quit Match at Extreme Rules, with the winner facing Ziggler once he’s back from injury.

What I think should happen?: Del Rio wins. And NO, the reason is not because Swagger should be punished for being dangerous in the ring, or for taking Ziggler out or for his marijuana business before Wrestlemania. I think Del Rio should win because it’d make a lot more sense for Del Rio to go up against Ziggler afterwards than Swagger.

What I think will happen?: Del Rio wins.

THE FINAL ENCOUNTER (I think) – Steel Cage Match: Triple H vs Brock Lesnar

Background: A 1-year old gets settled tonight at Extreme Rules inside the Steel Cage. More than a year ago, Triple H’s arm was broken by Triple H. Since then Brock Lesnar defeated Triple H at Summerslam, and Triple H returned the favour at Wrestlemania by defeating Lesnar and keeping his career in tact. Lesnar’s representative Paul Heyman proposed one FINAL match at Extreme Rules – Triple H vs Brock Lesnar – IN A STEEL CAGE MATCH. In London, Triple H replied with an emphatic Pedigree to Paul Heyman, accepting the match. 2 weeks later, Lesnar and Heyman invaded WWE headquarters. While there Brock assaulted employees, teased Rock/Brock II and trashed Triple H’s office. The two would have one final confrontation on RAW this week, scrapping in a steel cage.

What I thinks should happen?: Brock Lesnar wins. While I’m OK with Triple H winning the battle at Wrestlemania, Lesnar should be the one to win the war, especially if he wants to remain a dominant force in WWE. Triple H – do what’s best for the company.

What I think will happen?: Well firstly, someone will win by escaping the cage. And I think Lesnar will be the one that wins. I think they’ll have some finish in which Lesnar inadvertently escapes tthe cage, or Heyman will distract Triple H or something. I don’t think they want either man to lose in the cage.

SUPERMAN VS DOOMSDAY – WWE CHAMPIONSHIP: John Cena (c) vs Ryback in a Last Man Standing Match

Background: At Wrestlemania 29, John Cena defeated The Rock to win the WWE Championship. The next night, after a match with Mark Henry, Ryback saved Cena from a beatdown by Henry. He then delivered the meat-hook clothesline to Cena and dropped him with a Shell-Shocked, turning heel and declaring his interest for the WWE Title. Ryback justified his actions by stating that Cena never helped him in the battle against The Shield while he’s helped out Cena time after time. Cena then challenged Ryback to a fight the next week and in typical Cena-Villian style, he backed down and did nothing while The Shield attacked Cena. Cena returned the favour in London, but then saved Ryback at the last minute, and then dropped him with the Attitude Adjustment. Then Cena got “injured” while wrestling at a house show, when Ryback threw Kryptonite at him. XD However, the Last Man Standing match at Extreme Rules was booked for the WWE Title, and the injured Cena suffered numerous attacks by Ryback in build up to the match.

What I think should happen?: I think Ryback should get the win, primarily because he can not afford a SEVENTH PPV defeat in a row. Yes, John Cena’s title reign has only just started, but Ryback needs to prove he’s not all show, and how irrelevant will he become if he can’t win the big matches.

What I think will happen?: John Cena wins. Ryback loses again. Superman saves the day. -.-

That’s the Extreme Rules Predictions done and dusted. I’m Tom Robinson, and I will be watching the PPV myself (not live because I have to be up early in the morning. :() and I hope the PPV delivers. 🙂

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!

09/05/2013 TNA Impact Wrestling Review: “The Monster” Abyss Returns To Battle The Aces And Eights!

HE’S BACK!

Hey wrestling fans. I am the “Shockmaster” himself, Thomas Robinson and I’m here to talk to you about a shocking return on Thursday at the end of TNA IMPACT WRESTLING! Also, we have new developments in the AJ Styles storyline to talk about as well as everything else which includes 5 Hour Energy plugs, D-Lo Brown being treated like a bitch and tag team matches galore on Impact Wrestling!

First things first. Sting and Kurt Angle came down to the ring and called out AJ Styles, who they hoped would team with them in the 6 man tag team main event against the Aces And Eights that night. Angle demanded an answer from AJ, but as with his usual MO as of late, AJ remained silent. Sting then cut a promo about how AJ helped built TNA and talked about his accomplishment, but AJ was STILL silent and left the ring. Pissed off at AJ being “disrespectful” towards them, Angle angrily approached Styles on the ramp and the two scrapped in a good-old pull apart brawl. I love these sorts of segments. Pull-apart brawls are a great way to have the tension building up for weeks pour out, and it gets AJ doing something different from his old usual “silent treatment” as we’ve seen for a couple of months. However, this scrap leaves the Stinger in the ring by himself, wide open for an attack by the Aces And Eights. Mr Anderson, Devon and Bully Ray come out to attack Sting, with Devon and Ray dropping Sting with the 3D. A great way to start the show and build up the main event.

“Hardcore Country” Mickie James and the TNA Knockouts Champion Velvet Sky defeated Tara and Gail Kim in a knockouts tag team match. A very short tag team match that wasn’t really anything special to be frank. However, Gail Kim did attack her partner Tara after the match, continuing the “Gail Kim needs Anger Management” storyline. You’ve got to believe that something’s going to come out of this. At least I hope something does. Gail is quality in the ring, and I for one would not mind her getting another Knockouts title reign.

Next, Aces And Eights took to the ring to take care of “Club business” as Bully Ray put it. The TNA World Champion Bully Ray was pissed off at D’Lo Brown for losing an I Quit match to Kurt Angle last week. This was basically a segment to confirm that D’Lo Brown is in the “doghouse” right now with Aces And Eights, and Bully told D’Lo to give up his vest and accompany DOC at ringside for his match with Magnus. However, that match saw D’Lo inadvertently cost DOC the match. After this, a backstage segment which saw Bully threaten D’Lo with a hammer saw D’Lo downgraded to a “prospect” in Aces And Eights. In other words… D’Lo Brown has become the official bitch of the Aces And Eights. This was a great segment to show off tension within Aces And Eights, and to show off Bully Ray’s “tough love” towards his Aces And Eights members. It’ll be interesting to see if they replace D’Lo after a while or whether they’ll just have Bully makes examples out of everyone in the group.

Speaking of tough examples, group members DOC, Knux, Wes Brisco and Garrett Bischoff assaulted Magnus backstage in a brutal beatdown to the Englishman so he would not be able to team with Kurt Angle and Sting in the main event. Running out of time, Hulk Hogan said he had someone on the phone who’s ready to step up and get there to help them in the main event. I wonder who it could be?

Austin Aires and Bobby Roode had a hell of a tag team match with Christopher Daniels and Kazarian. I seriously enjoyed that tag match, and the 4 were really effective in the ring together. There was just one problem… the special referee James Storm. Urghhh. Really TNA? You just couldn’t let these two teams have a legit match? Storm delivered a Super Kick to both Daniels and Aires and walked out on the match he was supposed to officiate. A legitimately good tag team match ended because the referee decided to walk out. But of a disappointing ending if you ask me. Mind you, justice was served when James Storm was attacked backstage by what I’d assume was Daniels, Kazarian, Roode and Aires’ doing. Good. However, that does beg the question as to who the number one contenders will be. I hope it’s someone different. Hell, I’d take Robbie E and Jesse as the number one contenders. Brisco and Bischoff from the Aces And Eights going after the titles would be something new. Anyone other than the same old teams from the last couple of months.

Kenny King and Chris Sabin did a segment hyping up the triple threat match also involving Petey Williams for the TNA X Division title next week. Not exactly a great promo from either man, but the match next week speaks for itself. Chris Sabin, Petey Williams and Kenny King could produce something special next week, and it’s a match I’m very much looking forward to.

MAIN EVENT. Since Hulk Hogan’s mystery partner for Kurt Angle and Sting never showed up, it appeared to be a 2 on 3 handicap match with Angle and Sting facing Devon, Bully Ray and Mr Anderson. A decent main event with a cool but confusing ending. Aces And Eights got the advantage and it looked like Bully and Devon were gonna put Sting away with the 3D. However, we saw the return of “The Monster” ABYSS, who marched down to the ring to take on the Aces And Eights. Chokeslamming Anderson, dropping Bully Ray and hitting the Black Hole Slam on Devon, Abyss was whooping all kinds of ass. And Abyss would go on to… pin Devon to win the match. Wait. So it was a 6 man tag all along? I don’t get that ending. The match started off as a 2 on 3 handicap match and it for some reason changed into a 6 man tag mid-match? Talk about confusing.

But anyway, Abyss returning to TNA is brilliant. It’s been nearly a year since the Abyss character was last in TNA and him feuding with Aces And Eights will be a great sight to see. Personally, I think Abyss should really be the one challenging Bully Ray for the TNA title at Slammiversery and not Sting. However, I still think Abyss will get to Bully Ray eventually. Abyss has always been a favourite of mine, and I’m glad Joseph Park is out the way for now. Abyss coming back adds a little bit of spice to the TNA vs Aces And Eights war! I can’t wait to see next week’s developments.

Overall good show. It had a good opening and a great ending and it was a very enjoyable show overall with a great tag match with Daniels and Kaz vs Roode and Aires and other things. Great show.

Weekly Wrestling Round-Up: The Fandango Revolution, Dolph Ziggler Cashes In, Bully Ray Retains

Evening Wrestling fans, I’m the “Show-Off” Thomas Robinson and I’m here to show of my GIANT BEAST…..

…of a blog.

Yes, an eventful week of wrestling, which I’m going to sum up in one blog, as it’s difficult for me to do 2 separate blogs for RAW and Impact Wrestling on top of uni work and other things. So, for the foreseeable future, I am going to start blogging about RAW and TNA on the same blog at the end of the week or something. And I’m also going to add SmackDown! to the picture if it’s any good and if I can be bothered. So let’s get to it…

RAW

What a RAW it was this week. Largely due to the awesomeness of the fans in New Jersey. I always say that the fans can make a show, and this is certainly the case here. This was one of the best crowds I have ever heard, and that is NOT an exaggeration. They weren’t shitting on matches all night, they were having fun instead. Like in the Sheamus vs Randy Orton match, rather than doing chants like “Same old shit” and “Boring” they were just having fun and chanting random wrestlers’ names. JBL, HBK, RVD, Randy Savage, Jerry Lawler, even Michael Cole and Mike Chioda got chants. ECW chants were at large too! They did a wave during the match! There were “Thank You Big Show” and “Cotton Candy” chants when The Big Show interfered in their match. It wasn’t that great of a match, but it’ll always live long in the memory because of the fans.

There were all sorts of chants that night, and obviously the part that stood out the most was when the fans started humming Fandango’s theme, thus starting the Fandango Revolution! The fans humming his theme was made a lot funnier when Michael Cole pointed it out, and JBL and Lawler caught on. XD Absolutely hilarious. And to be honest, I’m not that big of a Fandango fan, but if this gets him incredibly over in time, then I’ll have to change my tune about him! His theme got to 13th in the UK iTunes charts which I think is absolutely incredible.

But the show wasn’t great, JUST because of the fans. There were a lot of moments that made this show awesome. Wade Barrett regained the Intercontinental Championship against The Miz in a better and longer match they put on at Wrestlemania. I loved the “Wade Barrett’s Barmy Army” chant during the match. But why did Wade Barrett lose the belt at Mania in the first place if he was just going to win it back the next night? Seems like a strange move to me.

Undertaker’s promo on RAW was interrupted by The Shield, who looked like they were about to pounce, until Team-Hell No made the save, which could suggest a 6 man tag at Extreme Rules. I loved how Daniel Bryan joined Undertaker and Kane in the Brothers of Destruction pose on the top of the ramp. He’s the only man beside Taker or Kane to do it, and it just shows how far he’s come. I mean he did lose to Big E Langston on Raw that night, but still you get my point.

Dolph Ziggler FINALLY cashed in Money In The Bank and became the World Heavyweight Champion! He defeated Alberto Del Rio to win the World Title! While I’m glad he’s champion, I’m not happy with the timing. I personally think he should have ran down the clock, and waited until Money In The Bank 2013 to cash it in. But, what’s done is done, and Ziggler was definitely one of the highlights of the show on RAW.

Lastly, WWE Champion John Cena’s Wrestlemania Victory speech was interrupted by “Mr That’s What I Do” Mark Henry, who demanded a shot at the WWE Title. However, SmackDown! GM Booker T (who apparently has the say on Raw too) told him he had to earn his shot and booked him in a non-title match with Cena. We also got the fans singing Mark Henry’s theme song when he came out! The match ended in a count out, which then saw Henry attack Cena. But then IN COMES THE CALVARY! Ryback attacks Henry, and gets him out the ring. He then helps Cena up and begins the “Feed Me More” chants before clobbering Cena with a clothesline to the delight of the New Jersey fans! He then hit the Shell-Shocked on Cena, and held the WWE Championship high! I personally don’t think that this is a heel turn though. I think he’s just sending a message to Cena. And, it appears they will be doing John Cena vs Ryback at Extreme Rules! However, what saddens me about that is if John Cena beats Ryback, that’ll be SEVEN pay-per-view defeats in a row. How can Ryback be considered a big player in WWE with all these losses?

TNA Impact Wrestling

Another live edition of TNA, and I do prefer the live editions to the tapped editions. However, this crowd was rather disappointing to be frank. Especially after the crowds of the last couple of months on Impact, and the Raw Crowd on Monday too. But, it was still a rather interesting show of Impact. Just a couple of points to talk about…

To be honest, the 2 out of 3 falls match between the team of Bobby Roode and Austin Aires, and the team of Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez was kind of a let down too. I love how they had Aires and Roode ambush Chavo and Hernandez from behind to get an easy first fall, and then Chavo got a quick 2nd fall afterwards. It was something different, and I always appreciate different. However, I don’t appreciate Roode and Aires dropping the titles. I don’t understand this. TNA had something good going with that team, and they for some reason wanted them to drop the belts? And to all the teams they could have dropped them to, why this team? I’m not a fan of the team of Chavo and Hernandez, and I do hope this was put in place for a cheap pop. Roode and Aires need them titles more than Chavo and Hernandez.

Taryn Terrell defeated Gail Kim in a grudge match between the two knockouts, in a fair match. The inclusion of ODB was a very funny inclusion, and it’s been a while since we’ve seen her, so it’s good to see her again. I think Taryn still needs more work in the ring, but she did look fine in that attire – AND THAT’S A PLUS IN MY BOOKS!

There was another angle involving AJ Styles and James Storm, with James interrupting Hulk Hogan’s conversation with AJ. “Bad Influence” Christopher Daniels and Kazarian came down to the ring, and both of them cut a good promo, asking for AJ to join them rather than the TNA Frontline or Aces And Eights. It’s nice that TNA have brought in a neutrality feel to the war between TNA and Aces And Eights. AJ Styles vs James Storm was booked for next week. Not exactly sure if it’ll actually happen, but if it does than great. I’d love to see them get it on next week.

And finally, Bully Ray retained the TNA World Title in Full Metal May-HEEEEEEEEEEEEEMM! It was an OK match. In comparison with Bully and Jeff Hardy’s previous TLC matches, it was shit, but as a match in general it was OK. There were cool spots, with Jeff doing the Swanton from the turnbuckle onto the outside which was rather cool. Bully won by hitting Jeff in the head with hammer, that sent him crashing through the table. Bully has won this chapter of the battle with TNA, but next week should have some new developments. I think it’s safe to say Bully is done with Jeff.

SmackDown!

A couple of quick notes. Firstly, Ziggler getting interrupted 3 times in the same promo was funny too see. Jack Swagger and Alberto Del Rio came out to declare their interest in the World Title, before Chris Jericho came out and ripped on Ziggler and AJ, calling the latter crazy, which made her go crazy. Jericho vs Ziggler was made for the main event, with Fandango at ringside. Alright match, followed by Fandango beating down Jericho. I think WWE edited the crowd an awful lot here. From what I heard in the tapings, the Fandango theme sing-song was quite load at the SmackDown! taping. Hmmm.

And secondly, a Triple H promo was interrupted by the 3MB, who was about to jump Triple H in typical stable style. That was interrupted by The Shield, who took out 3MB, and went after Triple H themselves. HHH was saved by Team Hell-No. It’ll be interesting to see what they do with Team Hell-No and The Shield for Extreme Rules. Will they just do a tag match, or will they do a 6 man tag with Undertaker involved? I’d like to see the later, if Undertaker is OK to do it. But a Shield “free-bird” run as champions would be cool with more. Or Reigns and Rollins could hold the tag titles, and Dean Ambrose could go for the main title. One of them two scenarios is OK with me. Either way, I think Team Hell-No’s days as Tag Champs are coming to an end.

And that’s it for me. The Big Three Shows of the week, covered in one MEGA-BLOG for you all. This is Tom Robinson, and I’m going to leave with this…..

Du-du! Du-du-du-du! Du-du-du-du-du!

#ThemeOfTheWeek XD

Wrestlemania 29 Review – Time Restraints Ruin The Biggest Wrestling Event Of The Year…with the exception of CM Punk vs Undertaker

Evening Wrestling Fans, I am Tom Robinson and it is time to review… WRESTLEMANIA 29!

 

 

The Intercontinental Championship Changes Hands On The YouTube Pre-Show

Really? REALLY? Really?

The only match of the show I actually watched live was WAY too quick. Yeah, it had a lot of big moves in the match, but it was a shame that Wade Barrett and The Miz were only given a grand total of 4 minutes on a 60 minute pre-show, which played promo package after promo package and featured a stupid segment involving Snooki. Seriously, why does this gal get Wrestlemania time over guys like Antonio Cesaro? Anyway the match itself ended with The Miz locking in the Figure 4 Leg Lock and making Wade Barrett submit to regain the championship. This match was such a disappointment, and the result was disappointing too. The Miz had a run with the IC title not long ago. Why is he getting another? And why the heck does Wade Barrett, a man who’s great on the mic and in the ring, lose the IC title in this fashion. These two had a match on RAW a couple of weeks ago which was better than this. Also, remember the triple threat IC title match involving Chris Jericho about a month ago. That was a great 3 way battle. But this was downright disappointing to see.

 

The Shield Defeat The SmackDown! Crusade… AND NO-ONE TURNS HEEL

Ain’t nothing stopping The Shield. BELIEVE IN THE SHIELD!

This 6 man tag team match was given 10 minutes, and in the 10 minutes put on a good show. There was a lot of cool spots in the match, and with a couple more minutes might have been a whole lot better. But there was problem. And no, The Shield winning is not a problem for me. I’m glad they won here. My problem was the fact that… NO ONE TURNED HEEL! What the heck? I was sat watching this match waiting for Randy Orton to RKO either Sheamus or Big Show, but DAMMIT, it never happened. Instead, Big Show KO’d Sheamus and Orton post-match, after Orton tagged himself into the match at the end, and got pinned. Dammit. Really wanted someone to turn heel. But the match was pretty decent. With a little more time, it could have been great.

 

Mark Henry Defeats Ryback.. Because He’s Fat

You’d think someone who has this sort of strength would not lose SIX Pay-Per-View matches in a row

This must have been the biggest monstrosity coming out of Wrestlemania. I wasn’t expecting this match to be like a Shawn Michaels/Undertaker classic or something, but by god this was boring. This was slow-paced as hell, and the ending was really stupid. After about 6 minutes of bearhugs and typical big man moves, Ryback hit his signature lariat clothesline, and was signalling for Shell-Shocked. He gets him up (which gets one of the best pops of the night) but Mark Henry falls on him, and pins him. Mark Henry pretty much won this match… because he’s fat. His fat allowed him to crush Ryback and pick up the win. An incredibly abrupt ending to the 8 minute match. What’s worse is that Henry went back in the ring to finish off Ryback, but Ryback somehow made a big comeback and hit the spinebuster. He would then, post-match, hit Henry with Shell-Shocked. If he was going to do a big move like that to Henry, why not have him do it in the match? Why did Ryback lose his 6TH PPV MATCH IN A ROW? 6? How is 6 PPV losses in a Raw supposed to legitimize as a contender. This was easily the worst booking decision on the night.

 

Team Hell-No Retain The WWE Tag Team Titles In A Great Match

YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES!

This was a match I thoroughly enjoyed. And I enjoyed it because the fans were really into it. I love how the start of the match teased a repeat of last year’s World Title match, with Ziggler kissing AJ and then nearly losing at the very start of the match. It was an  enjoyable to see. There were a couple of near falls (not as much as the main event had. XD) but in the end, Team Hell-No emerged victorious to the delight of the fans. Daniel Bryan got some really loud YES chants going, similar to last year. Good tag match. 🙂

 

FAG-DAN-GO beats Chris Jericho, despite being destroyed for about 95% of the match

The fact that this guy defeated Chris Jericho really upsets me. 😦

So, Chris Jericho. Gets a kick ass entrance with fireworks and stuff. Demonstrates his extensive arsenal of moves for the entire match (he is the man of 1,004 holds after all). He wrestles a guy who hardly does a damn thing in the ring… and loses? OK, they were trying to make it out to be this big upset and stuff, but this was plain ridiculous. Since when does Chris Jericho deserves to lose to this clown at Wrestlemania? To Fandango? I mean, if Fandango was going to beat Jericho on his debut, then shouldn’t he have done a lot more comprehensively than he did. He got one roll-up in at the end of the match and won. To be fair though, there were a lot of near falls in the match, and the fans were actually into it a lot. But the fact that it ended in one of the most abrupt of ways does not do Fandango that good. I mean yeah, he had a hell of an entrance with all them dancers and stuff, but that was such a flukey way to win, you can’t take him seriously. Jericho didn’t deserve to lose this.

 

Alberto Del Rio Retains The World Title In A Quick, But Good Encounter With Jack Swagger

No Money In The Bank Cash In Here, As Del Rio Walks Out Of Wrestlemania The Champion

Despite being only 10 minutes long, this match was actually OK in my book. There was a lot of good technical ability demonstrated by both guys and sometimes in WWE, you hardly see just a straight up wrestling match. Sure, there were manager spots and stuff, but it was a great match with a lot of cool reversals and a lot of skill showcased. Again, this match should have went on a little longer. If they have a rematch at Extreme Rules, I hope it nears 20 minutes, because I’m convinced after watching this match that they can do a lot more together. And by the way, they didn’t show Jack Swagger’s entrance, which was him apparently coming down in a camouflage vehicle. OK, of all the entrances you could have not shown in the pay-per-view, why one which features someone coming down in a car? I would have loved to seen that. Oh, and the attire Alberto Del Rio came down to the ring in looked absolutely shocking. He was dressed in a white robe, and looked daft as hell in it. XD

 

CM Punk vs Undertaker – My God. What A Match

This streak is NEVER going to be broken. Accept It! 21-0!

Match Of The Night is undoubtedly this one. The Phenom, The Undertaker. The Best In The World, CM Punk. With Undertaker’s streak on the line. Also, Living Colour playing Cult Of Personality while CM Punk was coming down to the ring was a real epic moment. Best entrance of the night. The match itself was a hell of a match. We saw a good opening, starting fast-paced and taking it to the announce table, setting up a spot for later. CM Punk started gaining moment, and even did Undertaker’s Old-School manoeuvre on the Deadman, which I thought was an amazing edition to the start of the match. The match featured a lot of great momentum swings in the match, like when CM Punk turned a punch from the Undertaker into a swinging neckbreaker, which I thought was really well done. There was spot after spot which made this match so memorable. Other than the announce table not breaking when CM Punk did his diving elbow to the Undertaker on the outside, this match was really well choreographed. I love the bit at the end, where CM Punk did a GTS to The Undertaker, which didn’t even phase Taker, who just delivered the tombstone immediately afterwards! XD What a badass! Just no-sells the shit out of the GTS. Except it worked so well. CM Punk would kick out of the Tombstone. The two traded blows, and both men tried their finishers. GTS attempt after Tombstone attempt. The reversals for each finish into the other finisher was SOOOOOO well done. Taker countered the GTS with a tombstone attempt. Punk countered the tombstone with a GTS attempt, and so on. Incredible. But in the end, The Undertaker performed the last rites, hitting the tombstone on Punk to go 21-0 at Wrestlemania. That match was really something special. I applaud both men for that one. I had doubts other whether this match would be any good considering the uniqueness of both men’s styles, but that didn’t effect them. They put on a hell of a show.

 

Triple H Slays Brock Lesnar To Keep His Career Alive And Increase His Ego Even More

Triple H, don’t EVER do this AGAIN

I want to state that this match was WAY better than their first match at Summerslam. There were a lot more interesting spots, and the involvement of Shawn Michaels and Paul Heyman gave it a breath of fresh air as soon as things started getting dull. There were a lot of big hits from both guys in the match, which looked decent. But, the match was really slow-paced, and I started losing interest in it, to be honest. But things did get interesting near the end. What was strange to see was Triple H doing the Kimura Lock to Brock. Really? I really don’t like wrestlers who have no experience in MMA at all, trying MMA-like moves in a pro-wrestling match. Why bother? It just looked stupid. I would have flipped if Lesnar tapped out to the Kimura. Thankfully he didn’t… but he did take a Pedigree on the steel steps, which was enough for Triple H to beat him. I think this match overall was decent, but sometimes there was a lot of slow-paced action, and sometimes it’s just painful to watch.

 

John Cena Gets Redemption… and the WWE Championship

John Cena has the Crossface locked in during the WWE Title Match

Yes, John Cena was victorious in his rematch with The Rock for the WWE Championship. Not exactly unexpected. It was obvious it was going to happen. But the match was still good in my eyes. I don’t think it was as good as their first match last year, but it was actually really entertaining. The first 10-15 minutes or so was basically headlocks and shoulder blocks and stuff. It also featured a lot of cool counters in the match and the fans were really into this match too. And as I’ve stated so many times before, the fan reactions have a big influence as to whether a match or an event is good. And they were really into this match. After the first 10-15 minutes we had about 1000 near-falls, including The Rock kicking out of 2 Attitude Adjustments and a Rock Bottom and John Cena kicking out of 3 Rock Bottoms and a people’s elbow. It eventually finished with Cena hitting one final Attitude Adjustment after 500 counters to reclaim the WWE Championship.

 

I don’t think this Wrestlemania will go down as one of the best Wrestlemanias in the world. This pay-per-view suffered from really bad time restraints. We had entrances cut, we had match lengths cut. We even had the 8 person tag match cut too. Amazingly, with a 4 hour show, they struggled badly with time. We didn’t have single backstage segment on the main show. I mean, it was really shocking to see both the World Title match and the 6 man tag match going less than 12 minutes. Shocking. But, this event still featured a lot of new cool moments this year, and the 3 main event matches that all got 20+ minutes were very good matches on the whole. Lesnar vs Triple H II was actually good. Rock vs Cena I was good. But in the end, one match in particular will stand out above the rest. Undertaker vs CM Punk was the best match of the night, and looks likely to be a serious contender for match of the year.

21/03/2013 TNA Impact Wrestling Review – Bully Ray Tells The Tale Of Aces And Eights

 

Hey there, TNA fans. I’m Tom Robinson. And it’s time to talk… TNA.

On Thursday, a taping of Impact Wrestling was aired. And to be honest, I’m not that much of a fan of tapings. But, this one was a very unique show, with about a 1/4 of it or so given to Bully Ray to give us a story about his plan to become the TNA World Champion with Aces And Eights. Bully Ray is a very good story-teller, and TNA did a really good job tying up some loose ends, like how Aces And Eights D’Lo Brown stepped into the voting of Gut-Check to vote in fellow Aces And Eights member, Wes Brisco. Also, the way Bully Ray justified getting his ass kicked by fellow members of Aces And Eights by simply stating, “He was taking one for the team” was really well done. it makes it clear that this group does not run as dictatorship, like the Nexus did. Also, this story made it clear that TNA actually had a long-term plan for this storyline which is always good to see. Unlike WWE, which hardly ever has long-term plans nowadays, TNA sat down and said, “Right this is what’s going to happen in the next year with this story”, and they did it without worrying about whether online fans worked out what was going to happen. It was really well done. It makes the stable unique. Although it was a shame the group were not actually part of the taping itself (other than Bully Ray confronting his wife Brooke), they are still probably the best thing going in wrestling right now. With a live Open Fight Night next week, the next developments in the storyline should be interesting.

On the show, AJ Styles was set to be interviewed by Mike Tenay, who wanted to know why AJ attacked James Storm last week. But, as Mike was asking a question, Tazz interrupted and offered a spot in Aces And Eights for AJ (which was a really ballsy move from Tazz, who dissed AJ’s motorbike and told him he had to work his way up). I thought the interruption was kinda funny. Then James Storm confronted AJ and wanted to know why. However, AJ was still speechless and left the ring. I really do like this new attitude AJ’s got about him, and his storyline will no doubt be a phenomenal one… hehehe.

Also, Taryn Terrell was added to the Knockouts Division. Bobby Roode and Austin Aires retained the tag team titles in a fair match against Chavo and Hernandez but were beaten down by Daniels and Kazarian. Kenny King defeated Sonjay Dutt and Zema Ion in a triple threat to retain the X-Division Championship in a short match, which wasn’t really helped by Sonjay’s botches. But it’s always nice to see the X-Division in action. Matt Morgan defeated Joseph Park. And Hulk Hogan and Sting had another heated argument. Hogan told Sting to “hang out in the rafters and go disappear for a couple of years” which I thought was kind of funny.

Also, Jeff Hardy became the number one contender for the TNA World Champion, by defeating Samoa Joe, Magnus and Kurt Angle in a fatal four way. This match was made at the start of the show by Hulk Hogan in order to thank the leaders of the fight against Aces And Eights. But if Hulk Hogan wanted to win the war against Aces And Eights so badly, why put the 4 leaders of TNA against each other? Why have them beat the hell out of each other so Aces And Eights can pick up the scraps? Doesn’t really make sense in my eyes. But anyway, the match was not bad actually. Especially at the beginning of the match. It was really fast-paced, really entertaining and a really good display of talent by the 4 individuals. However, there were some sloppy parts of the match, especially the ending. It just looked really rushed, and the match ended so abruptly. Jeff hit the Swanton Bomb on Samoa Joe after knocking Magnus into Kurt Angle. He went for the cover on Joe, and got the win – EVEN THOUGH Angle broke it up before the ref made the 3 count. What the hell? It just looked so sloppy. At least, Bully Ray will defeat Jeff to retain the title, and Jeff can hopefully got RIGHT down the card.

To be honest, it wasn’t that great of a show in my opinion. I really enjoyed Bully Ray’s story of how he rose to the top of TNA. I loved his story-telling. But other than that, this episode was kind of a disappointment. BUT, we’ve got open fight night next week, which should be very a good show!