The Silverdome Match of the Week: A World Heavyweight Classic

With less than three weeks of build, WWE managed to pull off a PPV worse than last year’s Over the Limit with this year’s incredibly horrid event.  At least this year’s Over the Limit was better than Victory Road, but that is not saying much.  WWE bounced back with a pretty good set of shows.  Raw introduced some much needed new feuds such as Alberto Del Rio vs. the Big Show, The Miz vs. Alex Riley and possibly either R-Truth or CM Punk vs. John Cena.  On Smackdown, a new No. 1 Contender for the World Heavyweight Championship was crowned in Sheamus.  Sheamus will be challenging Randy Orton for the World Title in the main event of next week’s Smackdown in what should be a really good match.  TNA continued what they have doing for months now; same nonsense, just a different week.  At least TNA gave us one great match in Kurt Angle vs. RVD for a main event.  Now only if they put more matches like this one on Impact Wrestling.  It is quite shocking for a 2-hour show like Impact Wrestling, which is supposedly all about wrestling, to have the same amount of time or even less dedicated to wrestling than a 1-hour show like Superstars; just some food for thought.  This week same many great matches contested all week long, but only one of them can win the Silverdome Match of the Week.  This week’s winner ousted Kofi Kingston vs. Drew McIntyre, from Raw, Santino Marella vs. Zack Ryder from WWE Superstars, Kurt Angle vs. RVD from Impact Wrestling and Cody Rhodes vs. Daniel Bryan and Christian vs. Mark Henry vs. Sheamus both form Smackdown to win this week’s award.  The Silverdome Match of the Week is Christian vs. Randy Orton from last Sunday’s Over the Limit PPV event.

For the past five months, the World Heavyweight Championship scene has been producing the best title matches in the WWE.  Each and every PPV this year, the World Title match has outshone the WWE Championship match.  The trend continued this Sunday when Christian got his rematch against Randy Orton for the World Heavyweight Championship.  From the very start of the match, the crowd in the KeyArena was completely engrossed in this match as they chanted and cheered throughout the entire bout.  Christian and Orton started with the very common opening series of lock-ups, headlocks and shoulder blocks.  This series would start a gradual build as Captain Charisma and the Viper would exchange bigger and harder moves throughout the match.  They would eventually build to the point where they would be pulling out all their heavy-hitters.  Randy Orton and Christian exchanged move after move, but to no avail as they would either kick out of the pin attempt or reverse the move.  Both superstars were so evenly matched that it was incredibly hard to execute their finishers.  Christian reversed many of Orton’s attempts at the RKO and Orton would reverse Christian’s many attempts at the Killswitch.  One impressive counter was when Orton reversed Christian’s spear into his signature powerslam.  The counters and reversals would continue until Orton would hit the RKO immediately after reversing one Christian’s attempts at the Killswitch in order to retain the World Heavyweight Title.  After the match, we got some nice hints at an eventual heel turn for Christian as the Pontiff of the Peepulation showed a reluctantly shook Orton’s hand.  The handshake came after Christian had pushed Orton away from helping him up.  These hints along with Christian’s reaction to Orton inadvertently costing him the No. 1 Contender’s Triple Threat on Smackdown just screams a heel turn for Captain Charisma.  Hopefully this eventual heel turn will turn into another run as World Heavyweight Champion for Christian.

Another eventful week in the World of Wrestling is complete.  Hopefully the WWE starts announcing the matches for their upcoming PPV, Capitol Punishment and TNA announces a few more matches for the ninth annual anniversary PPV, Slammiversary IX.  Other than the World Title match between Randy Orton and Sheamus this coming Friday on Smackdown, no other matches or segments have been announced for this week’s batch of wrestling shows.  Sorry for the late post.  I hope you enjoyed this article and have a great week.  Cheers.

Truly Limited: Review of WWE Over the Limit 2011

This year’s Over the Limit PPV event is proof that three weeks are not enough time to build a quality PPV.  Watching Raw this week was far more enjoyable than watching this show and it was on free television.  WWE Over the Limit had so many flaws that it put last year’s mess of a PPV to shame.  R-Truth and Rey Mysterio had no chemistry, which made for one sloppy and incredibly underwhelming opener.  Sin Cara vs. Chavo Guerrero had so much potential going into Over the Limit, but numerous botches and one-sided offense kept this match from reaching its true potential.  Everybody in the audience and watching at home were all expecting Kharma to be involved in the Diva Title match (during or after).  So when Kharma did not show up, it was one big letdown since she has been playing mind games with Kelly Kelly for weeks now.  These flaws were trumped by what took place in the main event.  Last Monday, the Miz teased that he found a way to make Cena say the dreaded two words, “I Quit”.  The Miz’s claim got many people including myself believing that he could possibly win.  Also the Miz’s little tease got many people actually intrigued in this match.  What we got was nothing close to what was teased.  What we got was the Miz and Alex Riley beating down Cena followed by asking him he wants to quit.  This little pattern repeated over and over again for 30 long, boring and tedious minutes until Cena went all Super Saiyan and made the Miz say “I Quit” in under a minute.  In one match, the WWE killed all of the Miz’s credibility as a main event star.  How on God’s Green Earth is the Miz ever going to be considered a threat to any main event star now?  It will be interesting to see how the WWE tries to fix this major setback in the coming months.

If you have not figured out by now, WWE Over the Limit was bad.  Even through all the crap, there were a few shining moments, actually three to be exact.  The first was the WWE’s acknowledgement of the unfortunate passing of “Macho Man” Randy Savage.  It was nice to see Vince McMahon put their differences with Savage behind him and go through with this simple gesture.  Despite its blemishes, Sin Cara vs. Chavo Guerrero was very enjoyable match; the second best match of the night.  The third and final moment was the excellent back-and-forth match that Randy Orton and Christian had.  They truly outshone everyone on this PPV with their stellar performance.  In the end, all the garbage on this PPV far outweighs those three shining moments.  Not even the greatness that was Randy Orton vs. Christian can entice anybody to pay for this entire PPV.

R-Truth def. Rey Mysterio

My Rating:  6/10

Ezekiel Jackson def. Wade Barrett by DQ – Wade Barrett retains the Intercontinental Championship

My Rating:  5/10

Sin Cara def. Chavo Guerrero

My Rating:  7.5/10

Big Show & Kane def. CM Punk & Mason Ryan to retain the WWE Tag Team Championship

My Rating:  5.5/10

Brie Bella w/ Nikki Bella def. Kelly Kelly to retain the Divas Championship

My Rating:  4.5/10

Randy Orton def. Christian to retain the World Heavyweight Championship

My Rating:  9/10

Jerry “The King” Lawler def. Michael Cole in a “Kiss My Foot” Match

My Rating:  5.5/10

John Cena def. The Miz in an “I Quit” Match to retain the WWE Championship

My Rating:  4/10

Overall, WWE Over the Limit was a horrible PPV.  The lack of proper build hurt this show from the very beginning.  Hopefully the WWE learns from this failure and cuts down on the number of PPVs a year; one PPV a month is more than enough.  Trying to build two PPVs in one month could easily have been done back when PPVs were exclusive to either Raw or Smackdown, but it is close to impossible to do it in the WWE’s current state.  Go out of your way to watch Randy Orton vs. Christian, but there is no reason to waste your precious time watching this PPV.  My overall rating for WWE Over the Limit is a 5 out of 10.  

The Silverdome Match of the Week: Captain Charisma and the Celtic Warrior

Coming off the heels of the rather underwhelming TNA Sacrifice PPV, all sights turn to the WWE’s next PPV offering in WWE Over the Limit this coming Sunday.  WWE had their go home shows this week for the PPV event this Victoria Day weekend.  Both Raw and Smackdown were pretty good, but did not really sell you on the fact of paying another fifty dollars for a second PPV in the month of May.  TNA Wrestling launched their rebranding of their flagship show formerly known as TNA Impact, but more on my thoughts on first episode of the newly christened Impact Wrestling later in this article.  In other news, ROH has been sold to the Sinclair Broadcast Group and is going to be producing a new TV show starting this September.  For ROH fans that do not get any stations owned by Sinclair they can catch the show on the Internet.  This is great news for some of us who could not catch the show on HDNet or find the ROH TV show on any of the streaming sites.  Cannot wait until September; the WWE and TNA might see some steep competition for the Silverdome Match of the Week once the ROH TV show starts.  Now that we are on the topic of the Silverdome Match of the Week, this week’s winner beat out the likes of Jeff & Karen Jarrett vs. Kurt Angle & Chyna from TNA Sacrifice, CM Punk vs. Kofi Kingston and Alberto Del Rio vs. Rey Mysterio both from Raw and Drew McIntyre vs. Evan Bourne from Superstars to win the award.  This week’s winner of the title of Silverdome Match of the Week is Christian vs. Sheamus from Smackdown.

This week’s Smackdown started off with a bang as Christian and Sheamus tore down the house.  Christian and Sheamus went back-and-forth trading a series of closed fists, knees and uppercuts.  Sheamus would soon take control with a boot straight to head of Captain Charisma.  Sheamus took this chance to land a few good strikes on the dazed Christian.  Sheamus’ advantage would not last long as Christian would reverse the Celtic Warrior’s attempts to bring the Instant Classic crashing to the floor outside the ring.  Instead Christian would send the Irishman to floor below.  Christian’s advantage would not last long though as Sheamus would knock Christian off of the top rope causing the Pontiff of the Peepulation to take one hell of a tumble to the outside.  This time Sheamus would hold on to the momentum he just gained by slowing down the match to his pace.  Sheamus used his advantage to wear down Christian with some slams, knee drops and forearms.  Momentum would swing yet again when Christian reversed Sheamus’ slam in to an inverted DDT.  Christian and Sheamus would go on to trade move-after-move, near fall after near fall in one exciting seesaw battle.  These two superstars would pull out all the stops in order to get the win.  Eventually Sheamus tried to end the match with the Celtic Cross, but Christian would escape the Celtic Warrior’s grip and roll him up for the win.  Great showing from both superstars to open up Smackdown as Christian was made to look strong going in to his World Title match against Orton.  Even though Christian went over when everything was said and done, Sheamus was still made to look as dominate as ever.

Well if you thought that TNA turned a new leaf last week by changing the name of TNA Impact to Impact Wrestling, you are sorely mistaken.  It is the same old crap, just a different name for the show.  For how aggressively TNA has been pushing the “Wrestling Matters Here” tagline, it is funny to see as much time or even more dedicated to promos and backstage segments rather than actual wrestling.  Also TNA decided to take this opportunity to put the final nail in the coffin which was the X Division.  It is sad to see a division that severed as a cornerstone for this company and made up its identity be disrespected in this way.  There was a time when the X Division defined how great TNA was.  You could always rely on the X Division stars to put on the best display of athleticism each night.  Some of TNA’s main event stars such as AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels and Samoa Joe saw their start in the X Division.  This humongous burial of the X Division looks to be the start of bigger feud, which we will see the pay-off in the coming months.  Personally I do not care anymore.  TNA has poorly managed this division long enough that I rather see the X Division gone for good than go on watching this once proud division and its talent be mocked week-in and week-out.  This first episode of Impact Wrestling was one big misstep.  There was only one part of the show that was interesting and that was seeing Mr. Anderson dressed up as Sting’s attire from the 80s and attacking the Icon.  It was short yet very effective.  My advice to TNA, if you are going to push that “Wrestling Matters Here” is more than just words, actually dedicate more time to actual wrestling rather than promos and backstage segments.  Also one more thing, get a new creative team.  Sorry for the long-winded rant dear readers, really needed to get that off my chest.  That is all for May 22^nd.  Hope everybody enjoys Over the Limit this weekend and have a fun and safe long weekend.  Cheers. 

Push It to the Limit: Preview of WWE Over the Limit 2011

In the sea of gimmick PPVs that the WWE has been putting on in recent years, WWE Over the Limit sticks out like a sore thumb.  It has no gimmick to go with it; it does not have anything special to distinguish it from other PPVs.  Over the Limit harkens back to a few years ago when the PPVs were not as predictable.  Now there is no real surprise when we will see certain gimmick matches like a Hell in a Cell Match or an Elimination Chamber Match at their corresponding PPVs like the Hell in a Cell PPV or Elimination Chamber PPV.  It is good to have gimmick PPVs ever once and awhile, but having them too often takes the surprise out of the announcement of the corresponding gimmick match.  This years’ Over the Limit could bring a little nostalgia to older wrestling fans looking for a less predictable PPV or a painful reminder to those who witnessed last years’ train wreck of a PPV. 

This year WWE Over the Limit has the huge task of making up for last years’ disaster, but sadly seems set-up to fail.  Over the Limit comes only three weeks after Extreme Rules, which is far too soon in my opinion.  WWE just finished a great entertaining night in Extreme Rules and had to go straight into building to this PPV.  Oh wait one second.  Instead of building to Over the Limit, the WWE decided to dedicate the whole Raw after Extreme Rules to appease The Rock’s ego with his birthday celebration.  The weeks leading up to this PPV have been good, but feel rushed.  There is usually a month between PPVs, so three weeks feels like they are cutting it close.  At the moment, Over the Limit 2011 has plenty of potential, but personally I feel that it will be nothing more than a throwaway PPV.  Hopefully WWE can prove me wrong and put on a show worthy of your buck this Sunday, May 22^nd from the KeyArena in Seattle, Washington for WWE Over the Limit.

Chavo Guerrero vs. Sin Cara

It is so nice to see Chavo Guerrero actually wrestling again.  He has been jobbing to Hornswoggle for too long.  Now Chavo has been put in a little feud with the WWE’s newest luchador, Sin Cara.  Given a good ten minutes, these two can go out there and put on one exciting match to really kick start this show.  Sin Cara will most likely get the win in his first PPV match, but it would be nice to see the WWE continue this feud a little longer.

My Prediction:  Sin Cara wins

Big Show & Kane (c) vs. CM Punk & Mason Ryan for the WWE Tag Team Championship

The New Nexus and CM Punk have been in a stalling pattern as of late.  They need something to reestablish them as the dominant faction in the WWE now that the Corre is on its last leg.  So give them the Tag Team titles in order to open up more storyline options for Punk and his crew.  If Show & Kane beat Punk & Ryan, it could mean the end of the New Nexus and more misuse of the great talent that is CM Punk.

My Prediction:  CM Punk & Mason Ryan win the WWE Tag Team Championship

Wade Barrett (c) vs. Ezekiel Jackson for the Intercontinental Championship

The Corre looked like they were destined for great things, but after getting squashed again and again by Big Show & Kane they were revealed as nothing more than a poor man’s Nexus.  With frustration at its peak within the group, Ezekiel Jackson was excommunicated from the Corre, which set-up this match.  The only real purpose of this match is to get the IC Title off of Wade Barrett, who has done next to nothing as champion.  The WWE needs to start re-building the credibility of the IC Title and hopefully that will start with Big Zeke becoming champion this Sunday.

My Prediction:  Ezekiel Jackson wins the Intercontinental Championship

Jerry “The King” Lawler vs. Michael Cole in a “Kiss My Foot” Match

Is there really a point to talk about this match anymore?  To have extended this feud for as long as the WWE has is ludicrous.  This feud should have ended at WrestleMania, now the fans will not be happy unless Cole gets completely obliterated by the King at Over the Limit.  Hopefully the third time is the charm for Jerry Lawler.

My Prediction:  Jerry “The King” Lawler wins

Rey Mysterio vs. R-Truth

What a transformation we have been seeing from R-Truth in the last few weeks.  His character is the most interesting on Raw at the moment and his continued downward spiral has made for some great television.  With John Morrison out for a few months, WWE had the pull the trigger for this match sooner than they planned for.  At this point, WWE can go two ways.  Have R-Truth win and push him to be the next challenger for the WWE Championship or have Mysterio win and continue R-Truth’s downward spiral and this feud.  So look forward to an interesting match between these two come Sunday. 

My Prediction:  R-Truth wins

Brie Bella (c) vs. Kelly Kelly for the Divas Championship

This match will serve only one purpose.  To get the title off of Brie Bella and on to Kelly Kelly, so she can drop the title at the next PPV to Kharma.  Since Extreme Rules, Kharma’s attacks on the Divas have garnered more attention to the Divas division than it has seen in years.  Expect Kelly Kelly to get the win followed by more mind games from Kharma.

My Prediction:  Kelly Kelly wins the Divas Championship

Randy Orton (c) vs. Christian for the World Heavyweight Championship

Five days after winning the vacant World Heavyweight Championship, Christian defended his title against Randy Orton in one of the finest television matches this year.  Sadly enough in the end, Christian would succumb to a RKO to end his first World Title reign.  After the match, we all saw a side of Christian that has never been seen before, his obsession with the World Title and the first hints at a possible heel turn.  Now at Over the Limit, Christian will get his chance to reclaim the World Title.  It would be best for the WWE keep the title on Orton and have Christian turn heel in the frustration of losing to Orton yet again.

My Prediction:  Randy Orton retains

John Cena (c) vs. The Miz in an “I Quit” Match for the WWE Championship

So the Miz has walked in to a trap.  An “I Quit” Match is John Cena’s territory.  On three separate occasions the likes of JBL, Randy Orton and Batista could not do it.  In all honesty, how is the Miz going to do what these superstars could not?  He could pull something out of the Rock’s playbook and knock out Cena and play a recording of Cena saying “I Quit” because there is no other way he will make Cena say those two words as they go against his Super-Cena “Never Say Never” gimmick.  John Cena will most likely vanquish the Miz once and for all this Sunday and go on to face either Alberto Del Rio or R-Truth for his WWE Championship in the coming months.

My Prediction:  John Cena retains

Hopes are not high for WWE Over the Limit, but with around two to three weeks of build WWE is the only one to blame for our dread.  The more time to build a PPV the better; fans will get more excited for well-built matches than rushed bouts.  On the plus side, at least it looks like the WWE announced all the matches for Over the Limit before the PPV this time.  It sure is possible for Over the Limit to continue the WWE’s string of good PPVs, but fans fear for the worst.  Now it is in the WWE’s hands to prove us wrong.

The Silverdome Match of the Week: Triple Threat Bonanza

After all the craziness of last week, the World of Wrestling calmed down quite a bit.  The WWE decided try and build a few matches for their PPV in two weeks on Raw this week.  Due to the WWE’s valiant efforts, they put on a much better show than last week’s massive ass kissing that was The Rock’s Birthday Celebration.  Smackdown continued to deliver a solid wrestling show with a lot of build for really compelling feuds like Sin Cara vs. Chavo Guerrero, Ezekiel Jackson vs. Wade Barrett, The Great Khali’s heel turn and Christian vs. Randy Orton.  We also got to see the seeds planted for an eventual confrontation between Michael Cole and Kharma, which would be awesome to see.  Sign me up Michael Cole hitting ripped into pieces at the hands of Kharma.  To say the least, Smackdown looks to have a better position going into Over the Limit next Sunday.  The most news this week came from TNA Wrestling, but if you are an Internet-savvy wrestling fan you probably know all the news already.  TNA Impact is no more as it is now called Impact Wrestling (TNA is claiming it will be all about wrestling, but we will see), Mick Foley is “The Network” representative, Chyna, along with her enormous assets, is Kurt Angle’s “Chosen One” to take out Karen Jarrett, Chris Harris will be Matt Hardy’s tag partner at Sacrifice and Mr. Anderson is the new No.1 Contender for the TNA Heavyweight Championship.  Meaning we got a better than average Impact this week.  Hopefully TNA’s new supposed focus on wrestling will result in a good showing this Sunday at Sacrifice.  It was another good bunch of matches across all wrestling programs this week, but only the best are chosen for the Silverdome Match of the Week.  Kofi Kingston vs. Jack Swagger on Raw, Chris Masters vs. Drew McIntyre from Superstars and Daniel Bryan vs. Sin Cara and Christian & Randy Orton vs. Mark Henry & Sheamus both on Smackdown are the best of this week, but the Silverdome Match of the Week goes to the main event of Raw, Alberto Del Rio vs. the Miz vs. Rey Mysterio to determine the No. 1 Contender for the WWE Championship.

Last week the Miz lost his rematch for the WWE Championship against his nemesis, John Cena due to disqualification.  In order to get another chance the Miz would have to go through the likes of Alberto Del Rio and Rey Mysterio, who both were eager to challenge for the WWE Title since being drafted from Smackdown.  Thus the Anonymous Raw General Manager a Triple Threat Match between the three superstars to determine who will earn the right to challenge John Cena for the WWE Title at Over the Limit.  The Triple Threat Match started with a bang as Alberto Del Rio, the Miz and Rey Mysterio went full force at one another.  Mysterio would gain the first advantage of the match as he would run circles around the Miz and Del Rio while landing some well-placed kicks.  Mysterio tried to set-up a double 619 early in the match, but it was stopped by a clothesline from Del Rio.  Del Rio’s clothesline would give Miz a chance to roll-up an unknowing Del Rio for a near fall.  These three superstars would battle for control throughout the match, exchanging big moves hoping to get the win and breaking each other’s pin attempts.  The pace of this match was so good that you were never left with a moment to rest.  There was always something to keep you invested in this match.  You were on the edge of your seat as the match was so close that any of the three competitors was worthy of becoming No. 1 Contender for the illustrious WWE Championship.  Eventually the Miz’s apprentice, Alex Riley would come down to ring trying to make-up for costing the Miz the WWE Championship the Raw prior.  Alex Riley would cause enough of a distraction to give the Miz a chance to roll-up Rey Mysterio for the 1-2-3.  So next Sunday the Miz will meet John Cena at Over the Limit in an “I Quit” Match for the WWE Championship.  It is not hard to say that this Triple Threat Match was one of the best main events and matches that have taken place on Raw this year.  After last week’s boring promo-dominated Raw, it was good to see WWE put more focus on wrestling this week.

It has been a regular yet exciting week in the World of Wrestling.  Next week will see the WWE’s final effort to make us care about Over the Limit next Sunday.  On the Smackdown side of things, everything is looking fine, but Raw needs to do a lot this week to personally make me care about what they will have to offer at Over the Limit.  Do not forget to at least check out TNA Sacrifice tomorrow.  We could possibly get good PPV from the company that is all about wrestling now.  We’ll see tomorrow if TNA is true to their words.  Well it has been has big week.  Have cracked 1000 views and got our first comment.  Thank you to everybody who reads my articles every Saturday.  It means a lot.  Please keep the comments as I would love to hear more from my readers.  So that is it for another Saturday readers.  Have a wonderful week and remember to get regular dosage of pro wrestling.  Cheers.

Woo Woo Woo! The WWE Should Know It

In the latter half of the last decade social media took off with websites such as YouTube, MySpace, Facebook and Twitter.  Social media is now one of the most dominant ways we communicate with one another in this day and age.  So it would not be long before professional wrestlers would join the craze.  WWE has gone as far as mention certain tweets during their television programs to put over the current storylines.  WWE has effectively used Twitter to put over many of their storylines, but what about an actual superstar?  One superstar that was tired of waiting for the WWE to push him, he decided to do it himself.  That one superstar was the Long-Island Iced-Z, Zack Ryder and YouTube show called Z! True Long-Island Story.

Back in mid-2009, Zack Ryder was climbing the ranks of then third brand ECW with his unique ring attire and his Long-Island attitude.  Zack Ryder reached the main event picture of ECW as he went on to challenge then ECW Champion Christian for the title and would force Tommy Dreamer to leave the WWE.  With all the build while he was in ECW, Zack Ryder’s future looked to be bright when he was sent to Raw once the ECW brand came to an end.  But that never came to fruition as Ryder was lost in the shuffle of the WWE’s flagship show and would be regulated to frequent appearances on NXT as a pro or WWE Superstars.  Then earlier this year after about a year of waiting to be pushed, Zack Ryder would do it on his own with the power of YouTube.  Z! True Long-Island Story started in February of this year and has been going strong gaining close to or over 100 000 views per week.  Z! True Long-Island Story is Ryder’s platform to put himself over as a character in the WWE and speak out on many things in the WWE and pop culture.  It has really shown the WWE Universe how funny and unique Zack Ryder is.  Ever since this web series started, the Zack Pack (Zack Ryder fans) has grown tenfold.  It is not uncommon for you to see many Zack Ryder related in the crowds at Raw and Smackdown every week or hear huge pops whenever the Long-Island Iced-Z makes an appearance on Raw or PPV no matter how big or small it is.  The only question now is when will the WWE finally pull the trigger on Zack Ryder’s well deserved push?  Ryder’s popularity rivals that of John Cena and Randy Orton.  Whenever the WWE finally puts Ryder back on Raw on a regular basis in either singles competition or tag team competition with former tag team partner Curt Hawkins, they will be in store for a rude awakening.  The WWE Universe want new talent brought up the ranks, not just John Cena, Randy Orton and sometimes Rey Mysterio hogging the limelight.  Personally, I think we will see the hardcore wrestling fans, myself included, turn against them for new and potentially better talent found in the younger superstars.  The “Ryder Revolution” as it has been called has started; it is only a matter of time until the WWE finally stops resisting and listens.

In only a few months, Z! True Long-Island Story has become an unbelievable success.  The release of a new episode is a topic that many wrestlers mention on their Twitter feeds.  Also Z! True Long-Island Story has gone on to influence former tag partner, Curt Hawkins to start his own web series, Callin’ Spots with Curt Hawkins.  Z! True Long-Island Story is not the first web series of its kind, but it is no doubt the most influential to how superstars will get themselves over with the fans in the near future.  So fellow readers and members of the Zack Pack continue to support the Ryder Revolution anyway you can.  Bring Zack Ryder signs to WWE live events; follow him Twitter, like him on Facebook and try to buy his sold-out T-Shirt on wweshop.com.   Woo Woo Woo!  You know it, I know it and the WWE will soon know it!

The Silverdome Match of the Week: The Peeps’ Joy Turns to Sorrow

With a week just as eventful as our ever-changing world, the WWE had some huge yet extremely polarizing news this week.  The week started off with the extremely satisfying Extreme Rules PPV.  That PPV saw two major championships changes hands.  The WWE Championship sadly went back into the hands of the one John Cena, the World Championship would find a new home, but that will discussed in a bit.  Then on Raw we got all had the honour to watch one of the worst Raw’s in the past year.  Yes, The Rock is one of the greatest wrestler’s of all-time, but there is no way that the WWE should dedicate a whole 2 hours of their flagship program to a birthday celebration that does nothing to further any storylines.  If the WWE did not notice they have another PPV in less than 3 weeks in Over the Limit.  The Rock’s birthday should have been used to further storylines leading to that PPV and also leading to his match with John Cena, but we did not get much of that.  We got build for another feud between Alberto Del Rio and Rey Mysterio and Mason Ryan’s split from the New Nexus.  In two hours that is all that we got, nothing else other than everybody kissing the Rock’s candy-ass (pardon my French).  On the total opposite side of the spectrum was Smackdown.  It had all the great build that for some reason Raw was unable to do.  Smackdown gave us a glimpse at some of the feuds that will be on the forefront of Smackdown in the coming weeks and maybe months such as Ezekiel Jackson vs. Wade Barrett and Chavo Guerrero vs. Sin Cara.  From Randy Orton vs. CM Punk in a Last Man Standing Match and John Cena vs. The Miz vs. John Morrison in a Triple Threat Steel Cage Match form WWE Extreme Rules to Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus and Christian vs. Randy Orton from WWE Smackdown, there were a lot of matches deserving of the Silverdome Match of Week.  None of them as deserving as Christian claiming his first World Heavyweight Championship in a classic Ladder Match against Alberto Del Rio from Extreme Rules.

Christian’s climb to the top of the food chain on Smackdown was never easy.  Christian faced many adversaries.  His most current roadblock was thanks to one Alberto Del Rio.  Back in October of last year, Del Rio took it upon himself to take Christian out of competition for the rest of the year.  Christian would return from injury back at WWE Elimination Chamber and make his first order of business, delaying the destiny of Alberto Del Rio.  The Christian along with his best friend Edge would battle the likes of Alberto Del Rio and his associates, Brodus Clay and Ricardo Rodriguez over the World Heavyweight Championship.  Due to Edge’s sudden retirement in early April, Christian would go onto battle Alberto Del Rio at Extreme Rules in a Ladder Match to determine the new owner of the vacant World Heavyweight Champion.  Once the bell rang, these two superstars went full force at one another.  Not long into the match all hell would break loose as Christian and Del Rio introduced the ladders into the match.  Christian and Del Rio would battle over the ladders, using them to cause further damage to one another and also using them to set-up some unique offense such as Christian hitting a crossbody on Del Rio from the top of a ladder after Del Rio pushed Christian off of the top rope or Del Rio hitting Christian armbreaker from the top rungs of a ladder.  These two battled for quite awhile before Ricardo would get involved.  Ricardo tossed Del Rio a chair, which he wrapped around Christian’s arm and try to slam against the ring post like back in October 2010.  Christian would reverse Del Rio’s attempt the reinjure him and Del Rio’s cranium into the post.  With Del Rio’s brains scrambled, Christian would hit the spear in tribute to Edge.  Looking like he had the match won, Christian started to climb the ladder only for Del Rio to pull his legs through the rung.  Del Rio’s act of desperation got Christian stuck in the ladder in a crucifix-like fashion.  Christian would escape in time to prevent Del Rio from grabbing the title, but was met with a kick to the face by the Mexican Aristocrat.  The force of Del Rio’s kick laid Christian out on the ladder that was suspended between the ring apron and the announce table.  Alberto Del Rio would try to seize this opportunity to take Christian out of the match and would go for an elbow drop.  As Del Rio was in mid-air, Christian rolled off the ladder, which would result in an unfortunate crash landing for the Mexican Aristocrat.  With what looked like a clear opening, Christian would try to climb the ladder and retrieve the title he waited 17 years to hold.  Christian was only a fingertip away from doing just that when Brodus Clay would make his presence known.  Unfortunately for Brodus, Christian would dispatch of him quickly only to be locked in Del Rio’s cross armbreaker finisher.  Alberto Del Rio’s destiny looked to finally be in reach, but as he scaled the ladder, Edge would come out in a Jeep and distract him.  Edge’s distraction would give Christian enough time to send Del Rio plummeting into the arms of Brodus Clay and Ricardo Rodriguez.  With that final act, Christian would climb the ladder for the final time and retrieve the one title that had eluded him for his entire career, the World Heavyweight Championship.  For everyone watching in the crowd and watching at home, it was one amazing feel good moment.  Alberto Del Rio and Christian stole the show at Extreme Rules and put on a match that will go down as the best of 2011 for sure.

Sadly you cannot talk about Christian’s World Title win last Sunday without talking about what happened on Friday Night Smackdown.  Only a few days removed from winning the World Title in a rigorous Ladder Match, Christian would defend his newly won championship against “the Viper” Randy Orton.  These two would compete in one very competitive and entertaining bout that would sorrowfully end with the World Heavyweight Championship around the waist of the Apex Predator.  At first like many wrestling fans and Canadians, I was disgusted at the WWE giving Christian one abysmal reign.  After more thought and reflection, it was ignorant of me and many others to dismiss this title change as WWE pulling the rug out from under Captain Charisma without actually giving him time what he can bring as champion.  At this time, we all should give WWE the benefit of the doubt.  Hopefully this title change will lead Christian to reclaiming the World Heavyweight Title after either turning heel or being elevated as the new hero of Smackdown against a villainous Orton.  The ball is in your court now, WWE.  Do not make us peeps regret begging you to give Christian the World Title.  For all my fellow peeps, do not give up hope.  Keep on making your voices heard, cheer as loud as you can and support the Pontiff of the Peepulation anyway you can.  Well it has been a turbulent week.  Thank you for reading and until next week happy Mother’s Day and have a wonderful week.  Cheers.     

Extremely Satisfying: Review of WWE Extreme Rules 2011

After a rather disappointing WrestleMania, the WWE has bounced back with the very satisfying Extreme Rules last Sunday evening.  For one night only, WWE let their superstar go out there and put on a show that truly felt extreme within the limitations of WWE’s PG rating.  Ever match one the card was given plenty of time for the competitors to tell compelling stories.  This PPV was not without a couple issues.  For one, WWE continues their current trend to add additional matches to a PPV without any promotion.  It is a good thing to give fans more matches, but when you add these matches at the last minute they come off looking more like filler.  If the WWE promoted these matches beforehand, the fans might actually get into the match rather than go on a bathroom break.  One last thing, the Cole-Lawler feud has to end as their matches are always the low point of the PPV.  As mentioned many times in these posts, all people want to see is Cole getting his just desserts.  Continuing to prolong this feud will severely hurt the reaction for this inevitable climax.  These issues did not hurt the PPV that much, but hopefully the WWE can fix these in future PPVs.

Looking back at WWE Extreme Rules, it is a true highlight reel of how great the WWE can be.  Orton and Punk completely destroying each other, Kingston’s incredible crossbody leg drop on Sheamus through a table, Mysterio and Rhodes brawling through the St. Pete Times Forum, Kharma’s  (formerly known as Awesome Kong) devastating debut and Morrison’s Starship Pain from the top of a steel cage are all great displays of why we all watch WWE programming.  Even with all those grand moments, there is only one that defines this years’ Extreme Rules.  That is Christian standing on the top of a ladder holding the World Heavyweight Championship in victory.  Sadly this match was not the main event of the show as it was given to John Cena regaining the WWE Championship in a Triple Threat Steel Cage.  Personally, seeing Christian hoisting the World Title would have been much suited as the last image of Extreme Rules than John Cena hoisting it for the 10^th time.  It was a magically moment nonetheless.  If you were turned off by WrestleMania 27, Extreme Rules is just the PPV you need to watch.  It has all the action and entertainment that WrestleMania was surely lacking.  It is well worth your time and hard earned cash.

Randy Orton def. CM Punk in a Last Man Standing Match

My Rating:  9/10

Kofi Kingston def. Sheamus in a Tables Match to win the U.S. Championship

My Rating:  7.5/10

Jack Swagger & Michael Cole def. Jerry “The King” Lawler & Jim Ross in a Tag Team Country Whipping Match

My Rating:  4/10

Rey Mysterio def. Cody Rhodes in a Falls Count Anywhere Match

My Rating:  8.5/10

Layla def. Michelle McCool in No DQ, No Count-out Loser Leaves WWE Match

My Rating:  7.5/10

Christian def. Alberto Del Rio in a Ladder Match to win the vacant World Heavyweight Championship

My Rating:  9.5/10

The Big Show & Kane def. Wade Barrett & Ezekiel Jackson in a Tag Team Lumberjack Match to retain the WWE Tag Team Championship

My Rating:  6.5/10

John Cena def. The Miz and John Morrison in a Triple Threat Steel Cage Match to win the WWE Championship

My Rating:  9/10

All-in-all, WWE Extreme Rules was a really good PPV.  Even with the Country Whipping Match and okay Tag Team Lumberjack Match, this show was solid from the first match introductions to the final bell.  Extreme Rules does an excellent job of closing the book on many of the feuds that dominated the first quarter of this year.  It also does a great job of setting up some feuds that will be dominating our times for the coming months.  WWE Extreme Rules continues the WWE’s string of quality PPVs that they have been delivering this year.  So go out, order the replay or buy this PPV on DVD.  Show the WWE the type of shows us wrestling fans want for our money.  My overall rating for WWE Extreme Rules is a well earned 8 out of 10.

The Silverdome Match of the Week: The Beast Known as Mark Henry

Last week was the calm, this week was the storm.  This week was quite busy with the whole WWE Draft.  30 superstars switched brands over the two day draft.  If you read the Top 10 WWE Draft Picks article from last week, I went 6 for 10; pretty good if I say so myself.  Looking forward to making the Top 10 WWE Draft Picks article an annual thing.  Also looking forward to seeing how the WWE Draft will affect both Raw and Smackdown in the coming weeks and months.  As the WWE Draft came to a close, the WWE has moved on to their next big event, this Sunday’s Extreme Rules.  With all the excitement, we got a lot of good matches.  CM Punk, The Miz & Alberto Del Rio vs. Christian, Mark Henry & John from WWE Raw, Christopher Daniels vs. Gunner for the TNA TV Title from TNA Impact and Christian & Randy Orton vs. Alberto Del Rio & Brodus Clay from WWE Smackdown were all worthy of the illustrious title that is the Silverdome Match of the Week, but there can only be one.  The one match worthy of the title of the Silverdome Match of the Week in Rey Mysterio vs. Mark Henry from WWE Smackdown.

For the last couple years, Mark Henry has become known to many of as a jolly super-heavyweight who has a fondness for the colour red.  That all changed last Monday Night when Henry turned on his tag team partners, John Cena & Christian, and cost Smackdown the final draft pick of the show.  Being drafted to Friday Night Smackdown, Mark Henry, along with his new found nerve, went to the Blue Brand with big things in mind.  The first challenge for the World’s Strongest Man would be one of Raw’s newest acquisitions in Rey Mysterio.  Right when the bell rang, Henry made a charge straight toward the WWE’s Biggest Little Man.  Mark Henry would get the best of the Rey Mysterio for the beginning of the match.  That was until Mysterio would start attacking the big man’s knees while they were on the floor.  Trying to get Mysterio away from him, Henry would shove his opponent into to the steel steps.  Henry would follow that desperation move by charging Mysterio yet again.  This time around Mysterio would move out of the way causing the World’s Strongest Man to collide into the steel steps knees first.  Rey Mysterio would take advantage of Henry’s mistake and go on the offence.  Mysterio’s offence would not last too long as Henry would go onto regain control of the match by tripping Mysterio while he was on the top rope.  Rey Mysterio would fall right into the Tree of Woe, giving Henry the opportunity to crush Mysterio in the corner with a splash.  In full control yet again, Henry would begin to toy with Rey Mysterio.  Henry’s overconfidence would lead to him missing a standing Banzai Drop, which lead right into a drop kick and a top rope West Coast Pop while Henry was sitting down.  Mysterio seemed to be gaining momentum when he reversed a splash from Henry into a 619.  As Mysterio ascended to the top rope, Cody Rhodes would run down to the ring and attack a vulnerable Rey Mysterio.  Rhodes actions cause Henry to be disqualified, but was not so bad.  Henry would get the last laugh by hitting his signature World’s Strongest Slam on Mysterio after he and Rhodes battled around ringside and in the crowd.  Even in disqualification, Mark Henry put on the best match he has had in a long time.  As a whole, this segment of Smackdown worked very well.  It furthered the feud between Rey Mysterio and Cody Rhodes leading to Extreme Rules and put over the fact that Mark Henry will a force to be wrecking with on Smackdown.

The WWE Draft is over, but the final wars between rivals being separated by the Draft will take place in less than 24 hours.  Much later today from the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Florida, WWE will be holding the Extreme Rules PPV event.  Make sure not to miss it.  Then on Monday, from Miami, Florida we will lay witness to The Rock’s birthday celebration live on Raw.  The next two days will be very busy for us wrestling fans.  That is all for this early Sunday, May 1^st.  Until next week dear readers, goodbye and have a fun time watching Extreme Rules.  Also remember to cheer for Christian (#ChristianForChamp).