WWE NXT 09/26/12
Michael McGillicutty defeats Bo Dallas in an excellent match using the running neckbreaker.
Leo Kruger defeats Jake Carter.
Ryback destroys Aiden English and Frances Doray.
Richie Steamboat defeats Kassius Ohno using an inside cradle. Ohno attacks Steamboat after the match.
Thoughts: McGillicutty and Dallas are huge stars for the future of WWE, as are Steamboat and Ohno. The best way to introduce Ohno to the roster now would be to bring him in as a face and have him feud with Cesaro over the US Title. What better way to make people care about the US Title again than to have two INCREDIBLE wrestlers feud over it? Ryback being on the show was pointless, but that’s what WWE does with filler material. Kruger and Carter worked a decent match but it was very short; I’m actually surprised to see Carter continuously losing all the time given who his father is(Vader). Kruger doesn’t really seem like anything that special to me. Great show overall because of the opening and closing matches!
WWE Superstars 09/27/12
Heath Slater defeats Yoshi Tatsu.
Layla defeats Eve in non-title match.
Ted Dibiase defeats Michael McGillicutty.
Dolph Ziggler defeats Kofi Kingston.
Thoughts: I love the Encorre group and I love the idea of lower card guys being relevant as a stable. Slater is a hard worker along with Mahal and McIntyre. The group could flourish if the storyline is allowed to progress. Layla and Eve bore me, but I’m glad WWE continues to have divas matches and puts in at least some effort towards having a legitimate division. Ted Dibiase is talented, but Michael McGillicutty is better and should be pushed immediately. Dibiase being so injury prone would make me hesistant to give any sort of boost up the roster. Ziggler and Kofi continue to put on great matches together, and this was good as usual.
WWE Smackdown 09/28/12
Big Show comes out and says he wants the World Heavyweight Championship. Randy Orton comes out and announces that their match tonight is for a title shot against Sheamus at HIAC. Alberto Del Rio interrupts the duo and tries to stake his claim at another World Title Shot. Orton lands an RKO on Del Rio and walks away.
^Short and to the point; this is how I like to see my opening segments on a show if it isn’t going to be a wrestling match. Now we’ve set the tone for the main event between Show and Orton.
Santino is defeated by Antonio Cesaro when he uses the neutralizer.
^Does anyone else want to see someone new challenge for the US Title? We know Santino isn’t going to become champion again, so why continue to make us watch the same match over and over? Like I said when I was talking about NXT, why not bring Kassius Ohno to Smackdown as a face and make the biggest rivalry in the history of the US Title?
Beth Phoenix goes one on one with Natalya. Beth escapes a sharpshooter and then Natalya kicks out of a glam slam. Beth defeats Natalya with a victory roll. Eve comes out after the match and tells Beth she is indefinitely suspended until the investigation into the attacks on Kaitlyn are concluded.
^AWESOME match! These two really gave it their all in this one! The storyline suspension I suspect is because of Beth leaving the company and leaving the door open for her return. I’m just glad WWE finally gave us this match, and in Beth’s hometown of Buffalo as an added bonus.
Booker T tells Teddy Long he is going to have an eight team tag tournament to determine the number one contender for the tag team titles. Beth Phoenix comes in and asks Booker why she is suspended. Eve comes in and says she has the authority to suspend her, but Booker says she doesn’t and reverses the suspension. Eve ducks the blame and says that Teddy told her to do it.
^GM controversy is getting very old. Now the lack of Beth being suspended probably means she’ll be sticking around through October and letting this storyline continue. Regardless of whether or not you like the Kaitlyn/attack storyline, we had an awesome divas match come from it between Beth and Natalya.
Wade Barrett defeats Zack Ryder using the souvenir elbow.
^Short match showcasing the Barrett dominance once again. I’m okay with it, but I wish it had gone a couple more minutes with a little more offense from Ryder. I’m also excited to see the slow rise of Barrett continue, and if I could get in the minds of WWE creative I might suggest a Royal Rumble win or perhaps a WM match with the Undertaker in 2013 for Barrett.
The Rhodes Scholars defeat the Usos to advance to the semi finals of the number one contenders tag titles tournament.
^A lot of people have talked about this tag team being a step backwards for both Rhodes and Sandow, but I don’t agree with that analysis. Rhodes and Sandow are both in limbo as they move up the ladder, and that’s mostly because the main event scenes are set right now and you can’t just thrust people in there and disrupt everything. The chemistry between Rhodes and Sandow means we’re going to be treated to their entertainment both on the mic and in the ring. I don’t like the loss for the Usos, and that’s because I feel they are the most overused and undervalued tag team in WWE at the moment. They’re making the Ascension look good on NXT, and they’ve made Primo and Epico look good in the past. When is it going to be their turn? Despite all that, I love the tag team tournament concept because it really helps show just how much the tag team division is thriving at the moment. It also makes the title shot against Kane and Daniel Bryan that much more meaningful because it’s not just a throw together match at Hell in a Cell.
Sheamus comes out for his segment on MizTV and interrupts the talking Miz. Sheamus says he would be glad to face either Orton or Big Show at HIAC. Dolph Ziggler and Vickie Guerrero interrupt. Vickie starts talking and Dolph cuts her off to speak for himself. Ziggler tells Sheamus he will cash in on him after his match at HIAC. Sheamus and Ziggler brawl. Sheamus gets the upper hand and the segment ends.
^I like the potential rivalry of Sheamus and Ziggler. Even having seen these two wrestle a few times already, I’d like to see more of them together with the sort of chemistry they have. Great segment here, but I didn’t see much here that helped the Miz out. Losing to Ryback Monday and now having a pointless “talk show” where he barely says two words feels like the IC Champion is being buried.
Alberto Del Rio attacks Randy Orton backstage before his match with Big Show. Del Rio attempts to replace Orton for the match. Orton attacks Del Rio on the ramp and faces the Big Show. Big Show defeats Randy Orton to become the number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship. Show knocks out Orton with the WMD after the match. Show gets on the mic and tells Sheamus he’ll see him at HIAC.
^Big Show and Orton wrestled a really good match together. The near falls at the end gave this thing the extra boost
to be in a 3 3/4 star category(very impressive for Big Show). This was a solid closeout for a solid Smackdown!
News Items
Goldberg/Ryback: Goldberg tweeted that Ryback is not quite the next Bill Goldberg. In response to Bill, I say thank goodness for Ryback. Ryback as a wrestler can do FAR more in the ring than Bill Goldberg was ever capable of. Ryback is also young, unselfish, and doesn’t possess the ego that Goldberg still has. Goldberg had his magic moments and some decent matches, but Goldberg is just like Kevin Nash in the sense that he’s overrated and buys into his own hype far TOO MUCH. Goldberg can keep tweeting all he wants, but we know it’s from his insecurities of knowing just how much better other wrestlers are than himself.
Samoa Joe: Joe is now a grand slam champion in TNA along with AJ Styles after capturing the TV Title on Impact. As far as the development of TNA Wrestling goes, Joe deserves a lot of credit for some incredible moments in the history of the company. I consider it a damn shame that neither Joe or AJ have competed for the World Title anytime recently. To me, a company should develop its own stars and keep them at the top where they belong.
Kelly Kelly: K2 has been released by WWE per her request. Good for her, and good riddance. Can we please get some more of Beth and Natalya before Phoenix leaves?
WWE/Hulu: WWE shows are now available on Hulu one day after they air. I love this, especially for viewers that don’t always have access to a television. If WWE were smart, they might’ve stuck with the original plan of setting up several new television shows with the site until they were able to launch the WWE Network.
That’s all for this edition. Lots of different stuff will be coming between now and Hell in a Cell, like Thunder and Lightning’s second inductee in our Pure Pro-Wrestling Hall of Fame, and a l look at Superstars who never won the WWE Championship. Until next time, thanks for reading!
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