Welcome to the Silverdome

Welcome to the Silverdome. A place where one man looks at the wonderful and intricate world of Professional Wrestling.

Saturday, July 30, 2011

The Silverdome Match of the Week: The Championship Shuffle

As we come to the end of July, it has been one amazing month for wrestling fans.  WWE and TNA put on their best PPVs of the year, Raw once again became must-watch TV and it looks like the WWE is finally listening to the fans.  Unlike last week, this week was not as hectic.  It was still exciting nonetheless.  On Raw, we saw the returns of J.R. and John Morrison in between some great matches.  Two of those matches were for the WWE Championship.  We saw some big things happen with the WWE Championship situation, but we will get to that a little bit later.  On Smackdown, Triple H announced Christian vs. Randy Orton in a No Holds Barred Match for the World Heavyweight Championship at Summerslam.  We also saw the beginning of two new feuds in Wade Barrett vs. Daniel Bryan and Mark Henry vs. Sheamus.  Both of these feuds have potential and could be part of Smackdown’s contribution to Summerslam.  It will be nice to see where they go from here.  As like last week, this week was filled with great matches across the board.  In the end, John Cena vs. Rey Mysterio from Raw knocked out both The Miz vs. Rey Mystero and Alberto Del Rio vs. Kofi Kingston also from Raw and Christian vs. John Morrison from Smackdown to win the Silverdome Match of the Week.

This week’s Raw began with Rey Mysterio defeating The Miz in the final match of the WWE Championship Tournament.  Rey walked away with his first WWE Championship.  Ever the fighting champion, Rey agreed to give John Cena his rematch for the WWE Championship in the main event of Raw.  In a great turn of events, we were treated to another WWE Championship match in the same night.  As veterans of the game, Cena and Mysterio started the match rather slow as both superstars tried to feel out their opponent.  Cena and Rey battle over control of the match by trading a series of headlocks, back suplexes and bulldogs.  Cena tried to take charge of the match, but Rey threw the Leader of the Cenation to the floor.  As John recovered from being thrown on the floor, Rey launched his little body onto the ropes and hits Cena with a springboard plancha.  After that high-flying spectacle, Cena and Rey battled on the floor.  Rey would go onto try and Irish Whip Cena into the steel steps.  Cena countered Rey’s attempt and tried to send Rey into the steel steps, but the luchador would jump onto the steps instead.  As Rey made his way off the steps, Cena dropped the WWE’s Biggest Little Man with a thunderous clothesline.  Cena would roll Rey back in the ring in order to go for a pin, but Mysterio kicked out at two.  When Cena and Rey made it back to the ring, as good ol’ Jim Ross, who by the way was calling this very match, would say business was about to pick up.  John Cena and Rey Mysterio began to pull out all the stops.  Move-after-move, counter-after-counter, these two superstars were neck and neck.  From STFs and Attitude Adjustments to 619s and big splashes, both superstars pulled out all their finishers.  Even at one point in the match, Rey Mysterio reversed John Cena’s STF into a STF of his own.  Cena would eventually power out of the hold.  The two popular superstars continue to fight it out until Cena goes for about his third attempt at the Attitude Adjustment.  Again Rey counters the move and kicks Cena into the second rope thus setting up for the 619.  Mysterio would then go for his finisher for another time.  As Rey went for the 619, Cena got back up and caught the King of Mystery on the rebound with one impactful AA.  John Cena’s fourth and final AA was the end of the match as he would get the pin and win the WWE Championship.  Immediately after the match, Cena’s victory celebration was interrupted by Living Color’s “Cult of Personality”.  It was a little confusing until CM Punk, the true WWE Champion, made his return.  Raw would go off the air with John Cena and CM Punk both holding their own WWE Championship belts high.  This little dilemma does set up what should be another excellent match between these two at Summerslam, but personally I think it could have been done a lot better.  All-in-all, the whole WWE Championship Tournament felt rather worthless with the fact that Rey Mysterio, the winner of the tournament, held the title for about an hour and the return of CM Punk.  Many people including yours truly, believe that CM Punk is the true WWE Champion.  Even if WWE can come up a reasonable claim for Cena to be the WWE Champion, it will feel shallow to Punk’s claim.  It would have been easier to either make the final match in the WWE Championship Tournament be a Triple Threat Match between John Cena, The Miz and Rey Mysterio or to never of had this tournament to begin with.  Even with these storyline complaints, this match was still a great match and definitely worth checking out if you have not gotten the chance.

Well on this week’s Monday Night Raw, Triple H will be addressing the WWE Championship situation.  We will have to see where WWE goes from here, but it should be good.  If you are a betting man/woman, it would be safe to bet on CM Punk vs. John Cena WWE Title vs. WWE Title at Summerslam.  That is all for this Saturday.  Remember to check out the Silver Wrestling Report on tribalwrestling.com.  Here is the link, http://tribalwrestling.com/the-silver-wrestling-report-july-24-30/.  Dear readers until next Saturday, have a good and safe week ahead.  Cheers.

Changes to The Silverdome

The only constant in this world is change.  With all that has happened so far this summer with me, it is time to make a few changes to the blog.  Sadly it will not be a cosmetic change as I am not the greatest of artists.  It will be a change in the content (both the amount and types of articles) you will be seeing on this blog.

First and foremost, I need to let you guys and gals know that I am now a guest writer for tribalwrestling.com.  I provide one exclusive article a week for their website.  That article is my weekly Silver Wrestling Report.  So I am not rushing to write three articles a week (two for the blog and one for Tribal Wrestling), I am cutting down the amount of blog posts from two to one post every Saturday except for weeks leading up to a WWE or TNA Pay-Per View.  Those weeks I will be posting two blogs, a preview and the regular Silverdome Match of the Week post.  If I feel up to it, I will post an extra blog every once and awhile. 

Now if you are thinking to yourself, “He did not mention anything about reviews.”  That leads me to the next thing I would like to talk about.  I am cutting out reviews of all upcoming WWE and TNA PPVs.  The reason is that I have decided that I will no longer be watching illegal streams of these shows.  This is a morally ambiguous subject amongst many hardcore wrestling fans including myself.  Everybody has their own opinion and I am not here to change it or justify it.  I now believe that it is wrong to watch a PPV for free no matter the quality of the product or the price.  In a ways, streaming is like stealing and even if it is not noticeable, it does hurt the companies that provide said product.  I am not going to go into this huge topic as it is not my purpose.  I am just going to back to what I did before.  Read reviews and watch highlights of the PPVs in order to make my decision on what PPVs I will buy on DVD.  I am not completely cutting out reviews, they just will not be as frequent as they use to.  I have tons of old wrestling PPVs from WWE, TNA and ROH that I can review, so expect more of those.

Well I hope everybody who reads this blog understands my reasons for these changes.  It is not that I am afraid of anything that will come of streaming wrestling PPVs; it is just the right thing to do.  In no way do I recommend that anybody illegally stream or download PPVs, TV shows, movies, video games or other media.  Wrestling means a lot to me, so giving up watching every PPV will be hard.  I just do not want to hurt the industry I love by only taking and not giving back.  Enough of my drawn-out explanations, the Silverdome Match of the Week will be up later today and the Silver Wrestling Report will be up on tribalwrestling.com by the end of the weekend.  Make sure you come back to check those articles out.

Saturday, July 23, 2011

The Silverdome Match of the Week: CM Champ

Saturday has finally come and things in the hectic World of Wrestling have seemed to calm down.  It has been one of the craziest weeks in WWE history.  Starting with last Sunday’s incredible Money in the Bank PPV, history was made this week.  CM Punk won the WWE Championship and took it with him to free agency.  On Raw, Mr. McMahon put together an 8-man tournament in order to crown a new WWE Champion.   Later that same night, Mr. McMahon was relieved of his duties as Chairman of the WWE and Triple H was announced to be McMahon’s successor.  On Thursday, CM Punk crashed WWE’s panel at the San Diego Comic-Con and had a little war of words with Triple H.  Finally on Friday, Smackdown Money in the Bank winner Daniel Bryan announced he will be cashing his Money in the Bank briefcase at WrestleMania 28.  If you have not noticed by now, it was a newsworthy week.  Even though the great amount of news, there were a lot of great matches all week long.  The two amazing Money in the Bank Ladder matches from Money in the Bank, R-Truth vs. Rey Mysterio from Raw and Randy Orton vs. Kane in a Street Fight from Smackdown were among the best, but none of them come close to the Silverdome Match of the Week.  This week the award goes to a match that could possibly be the Match of the Year, the Silverdome Match of the Week is John Cena vs. CM Punk from last Sunday’s Money in the Bank PPV event.

After a full month of build, the match every fan eagerly anticipated happened last Sunday at Money in the Bank in Chicago.  The crowd in Chicago was on their feet as their hometown hero, CM Punk and the defending WWE Champion, John Cena.  The atmosphere in the Allstate Arena was just electric as the crowd was completely engrossed in this match.  The match started out quite slow with both Punk and Cena trying to get a feel for one another.  These early moments of the match consisted of quite a few holds and lock-ups and many series of reversals between Punk and Cena.  About halfway through the match things started to pick up when Punk and Cena started to pull out their big hitters.  CM Punk and John Cena started throwing everything and the kitchen sink at each other.  Punk hit not one, but two stiff knees while Cena was leaning against the ring ropes before hitting his signature knee into a bulldog combination.  That was later followed by Cena pulling out his top rope leg drop on two separate attempts, which he connected on the second attempt.  We got some excellent back-and-forth action that kept everyone in the audience and at home on the edge of their seats.  CM Punk would later get Cena back by hitting the GTS.  Unfortunately for Punk, his knee connected with Cena’s ribs instead of his head, which caused Cena to fall out of the ring.  Trying to get the win, CM Punk would try to connect with the GTS yet again.  This time Cena would reverse the move into the STF.  With the Chicago crowd cheering him on, Punk used every ounce of strength in his body to pull himself towards the bottom rope.  Cena would thwart Punk’s attempt to break the hold by dragging the Straight-Edge Superstar to the middle of the ring and locking in the STF again.  When it looked like Punk ran out of luck, he reversed the STF into the Anacoda Vice, but Cena would escape the hold.  Eventually Cena hit Punk with the Attitude Adjustment that caused the Punk fans around the world to cringe.  As the refs hand went down for the three count, Punk’s arm shot up and with that the Punk faithful in Chicago cheered at the top of their lungs.  The loudest cheers I have personally heard since Shawn Michaels kicked out of that thunderous Tombstone back at WrestleMania 25 (when J.R. has his out-of-body experience).  In an effort to put Punk away, Cena hit a second AA on a tired CM Punk and again Punk would kick out.  After about 30 exhausting minutes, Mr. McMahon and John Laurinaitis made their way down the ramp.  As soon as John Cena locked in the STF, Vince called for the WWE belt and the bell to be rung.  He sent Laurinaitis to make sure of it.  Laurinaitis was making the turn around the ring when John Cena intercepted the Vice President of Talent Relations with a thunderous clothesline.  Before getting back in the ring, Cena gave one disappointing glance McMahon’s way.  Once Cena made it back into the ring, CM Punk was there to hit a glorious GTS to put an end to this classic.  With a CM Punk win and a chaotic ending along with some excellent wrestling and storytelling, CM Punk vs. John Cena will most likely be one of the most memorable matches of this decade.  It capped off on incredible Money in the Bank PPV event and showed why we all love wrestling.  Unless there is another match with this much great wrestling, storytelling and emotion, John Cena vs. CM Punk will no doubt be the Match of the Year.

There is no rest for the weary.  This week looks to continue the rather hectic atmosphere.  This Monday’s Raw marks the first of show with Triple H as new WWE Chairman and after Punk’s little stunt at Comic-Con it looks like The Game will have a lot to address.  Also scheduled is the final match of the WWE Championship Tournament between Rey Mysterio and The Miz.  It should be one exciting Raw that no wrestling fan should miss.  Well that is all for this late Saturday night.  Just one more thing, please check out my exclusive article for tribalwrestling.com.  It is my Weekly Rundown of the week’s events in much more detail than you see here.  Here is the link, http://tribalwrestling.com/the-silver-wrestling-report-july-17-23/.  I am hoping to get it up by tomorrow or Monday.  Until next Saturday dear readers, cheers.

The WWE Gets Punk’d: Review of WWE Money in the Bank 2011

What the fans want and what really happens are two different things.  Going into Money in the Bank, most fans wanted to see CM Punk leave with the WWE, but few actually thought the WWE would go through with it.  Many thought that there would some sort of screwjob like back at Survivor Series 1997.  It looked that way when after about 30 exhausting minutes, Mr. McMahon and John Laurinaitis made their way down the ramp.  As soon as John Cena locked in the STF, Vince called for the WWE belt and the bell to be rung.  He sent Laurinaitis to make sure of it.  Laurinaitis was making the turn around the ring when John Cena intercepted the Vice President of Talent Relations with a thunderous clothesline.  Before getting back in the ring, Cena gave one disappointing glance McMahon’s way.  Once Cena made it back into the ring, CM Punk was there to hit a glorious GTS for the 1, 2, 3.  In that moment the rabid crowd in Chicago and fans around the world, including myself, all jumped for joy.  The WWE finally gave us what we wanted and it made for one of the greatest moments in the company’s history.

Money in the Bank 2011 was not a perfect show, but it was an amazing show nonetheless.  Other than the rather lackluster pair of matches in the Diva’s Title match and Mark Henry vs. the Big Show, the rest of the card delivered in spades.  To start of the PPV, we got one insane Money in the Bank Ladder match where we saw the American Dragon, Daniel Bryan grab the Smackdown briefcase.  It was a shock to many.  A lot of people thought Wade Barrett, Sheamus or Cody Rhodes would walk away with the briefcase.  Then after the two lackluster matches, WWE put on another amazing Money in the Bank Ladder match.  This time we saw Alberto Del Rio unmask Rey Mysterio in order to grab the Raw briefcase.  What followed that was a great match between Randy Orton and Christian.  Some people might hate the ending, but I personally love it.  While on the defense, Christian spits into Orton’s open-mouth.  Christian’s disrespectful act enrages Orton to the point that Orton used his foot to punt Christian’s privates thus disqualifying him from the match and crowning Christian the new World Champion as the stipulation stated.  It was a great way to continue this feud into Summerslam and made Christian look like a bigger heel for stooping so low to win the World Title.  What came after that was the greatness mentioned in the above paragraph, CM Punk vs. John Cena, the Match of the Year.  Money in the Bank was one magical PPV that will be remembered for many years to come.  From the action in the ring to the crowd in the Allstate Arena, this show was absolutely amazing.  If you somehow missed Money in the Bank, finish reading this review and go watch it.  Order the replay, buy the DVD, this PPV deserves to be in watched by every wrestling fan young and old.  Money in the Bank 2011 truly defines why we all watch and love professional wrestling.

Daniel Bryan def. Heath Slater, Justin Gabriel, Wade Barrett, Sin Cara, Cody Rhodes, Kane and Sheamus to win the Smackdown Money in the Bank Ladder Match
Rating:  9/10

Kelly Kelly def. Brie Bella to retain the Diva’s Championship
Rating:  5/10

Mark Henry def. Big Show
Rating:  6/10

Alberto Del Rio def. Rey Mysterio, The Miz, Kofi Kingston, Evan Bourne, R-Truth, Jack Swagger and Alex Riley to win the Raw Money in the Bank Ladder Match
Rating:  9/10

Christian def. Randy Orton by DQ to win the World Heavyweight Championship due to the stipulation of the match
Rating:  8.5/10

CM Punk def. John Cena to win the WWE Championship
Rating:  10/10

Overall, WWE Money in the Bank 2011 is the best PPV of 2011, just beating out Elimination Chamber.  Money in the Bank had everything that makes a phenomenal PPV.  It had amazing wrestling, an incredibly passionate crowd and many reasons for fans to tune into Raw to see the fallout.  There is no doubt that Money in the Bank 2011 will be remembered for years to come.  This show is a pivotal part of WWE history, even wrestling history.  Money in the Bank is worth every penny you will spend.  So make sure you own this event when it comes out on DVD.  It is a PPV that should be in every wrestling fans collection.  The overall rating for WWE Money in the Bank 2011 is 9 out of 10.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

All In: Preview of WWE Money in the Bank 2011

For as long as I can remember, a secondary PPV like Money in the Bank has never been this eagerly anticipated.  Never has a secondary PPV had felt as big as Summerslam, Survivor Series or even, dare say it, WrestleMania.  And it is all due to one match, John Cena vs. CM Punk for the WWE Championship.  With all that has happened these last four weeks, every wrestling fan feels that something big is going to go down Chi-Town.  This something could change the landscape of the WWE for the rest of 2011 and even into 2012.  There is no doubt that Money in the Bank should be one big show that will have the whole wrestling world watching as the stakes are as high as they come.

Due to the popularity of the Money in the Bank Ladder match, last year WWE took this once WrestleMania tradition and gave the match its own PPV.  Last year, Money in the Bank was one of the more successful PPVs of 2010.  This year, Money in the Bank looks to continue the success with two stacked Money in the Bank Ladder matches and possibly the most anticipated WWE Championship Match of the Year.  WWE Money in the Bank 2011 comes to us from the Allstate Arena in Chicago, IL this Sunday July 17th.

Kane vs. Sin Cara vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Wade Barrett vs. Cody Rhodes vs. Justin Gabriel vs. Heath Slater vs. Sheamus in the Smackdown Money in the Bank Ladder Match

The first of two Money in the Bank Ladder matches belong to the superstars of Friday Night Smackdown.  Other than Kane and Cody Rhodes, all the other guys in this match have never been in a Money in the Bank Ladder match before.  So this match could be very interesting to say the least.  Like every multi-man ladder match, there should be a lot of great action and crazy high-flying spots.  Out of all the superstars in this match, the two that need the Money in the Bank briefcase are Cody Rhodes and Wade Barrett as they are both in a staling pattern as of late.  With what looks like to be a budding feud between Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase, Wade Barrett will most likely take down the briefcase and become relevant again.

Prediction:  Wade Barrett wins the Smackdown Money in the Bank briefcase

Big Show vs. Mark Henry

What on paper looks to be a pretty boring big man match could be the sleeper hit of this PPV.  Mark Henry has put on a few good big man matches in the last little while.  He could pull another one off with the Largest Athlete in the World.  It should be great to see the World’s Strongest Man and the World’s Largest Athlete collide on Sunday.  Expect Mark Henry to get the win and solidify himself as the baddest monster in the WWE.

Prediction:  Mark Henry wins

Kelly Kelly (c) vs. Brie Bella for the Diva’s Championship

Since Kharma left due to her high-risk pregnancy, the Divas division has lost all the momentum from Kharma’s debut.  The Divas that can wrestle are barely seen on TV anymore while the models with no wrestling ability fight over the butterfly belt.  Speaking of models with no wrestling ability, Kelly Kelly and Brie Bella do not deserve to be on this great card.  Unless these two divas pull out something we have not seen from them, this match will most likely be everyone’s bathroom break.

Prediction:  Kelly Kelly retains

Alberto Del Rio vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Alex Riley vs. R-Truth vs. The Miz vs. Evan Boure vs. Jack Swagger in the Raw Money in the Bank Ladder Match

The superstars of Monday Night Raw face off in the second Money in the Bank Ladder match.  Personally, I think that Raw’s Ladder match will be the better of the two Ladder matches.  It has a great mix of four Money in the Bank veterans and four Money in the Bank newcomers, which should make for some great action.  It is hard to pick who will walk out of this match with the Money in the Bank briefcase because there are many ways WWE can go with it.  Out of the competitors, I think that R-Truth will win the briefcase only to lose it to John Morrison down the road.  This switch would finally push Morrison to the main event while adding another element to R-Truth’s insanity.

Prediction:  R-Truth wins the Raw Money in the Bank briefcase

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

It has been nice to see this great feud go on for so long, but it is time to end it.  Randy Orton has dominated this feud from the very beginning, so Christian should win back the World Title at the very end.  Christian can still lose the title to whomever wins the Smackdown Money in the Bank, but Christian has to beat Randy Orton at Money in the Bank.  A Christian lose will undermine his place as a main event heel and a formidable contender for the World Title.

Prediction:  Christian wins the World Heavyweight Championship

John Cena (c) vs. CM Punk for the WWE Championship

The match we have all been waiting for, the underdog vs. the dynasty, the Chicago Cubs vs. the New York Yankees, CM Punk vs. John Cena.  The build-up to this match has been nothing short of phenomenal.  In four weeks, CM Punk has won over most of the WWE Universe that use to boo him.  CM Punk has become a full on anti-hero much like the iconic Stone Cold Steve Austin.  For WWE to let Punk go without at least making sure he will return to the company in the future will be a grave mistake, one that could eventually hurt the WWE.  With all that has happened in the weeks leading to this match, a normal ending to this match would just be anti-climactic.  The ending will most likely include some outside forces like Vince McMahon or Colt Cabana.  When all is said and done, CM Punk will be holding the WWE Title high in front of the rabid Chicago crowd.  There are so many more story opportunities with CM Punk as WWE Champion than John Cena.  Long live CM Punk, the Voice of the Voiceless and soon to be new WWE Champion!

Prediction:  CM Punk wins the WWE Championship

WWE Money in the Bank 2011 truly has that WrestleMania feel.  Unlike many other secondary PPVs, the results of Money in the Bank will have a lasting effect on the landscape of the WWE as we know it.  This feeling does not happen very often.  The last time I can remember was Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels, The Streak vs. The Career back at WrestleMania 26.  So go out of your way and make sure you watch Money in the Bank.  It is a PPV you DO NOT want to miss.

The First Step: Review of TNA Destination X 2011

After so many disappointing PPVs, TNA finally put together a show that was worth watching in Destination X 2011.  Destination X was not the home-run that many wrestling fans, including yours truly, thought it would be, but it was a great first step for the company.  Now TNA needs to use all the good publicity they received from this PPV and continue to put on a quality product.  Everything accomplished with Destination X would be for naught if TNA just went back to what it has been doing for the past few years.  It is time for TNA to prove that wrestling actually matters by putting on more PPVs like or better than Destination X.  Hopefully TNA paid close attention to the fan reaction from this PPV because we wrestling fans approve and we want more.

If you have not noticed by now, TNA Destination X was a really good show.  It had plenty of good to amazing matches and a few okay matches.  There was nothing on this card that was as horrible as some matches put on PPV earlier this year.  It would have been nice for TNA to bring in some former X Division stars such as Sonjay Dutt or Petey Williams for the two challenge matches we got.  At least we got the one night return of Shark Boy.  Even though there were high expectations for RVD vs. Jerry Lynn and AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels, the Four Way match between Austin Aries Low Ki, Jack Evans and Zema Ion stole the show.  It was one amazing match that was very reminiscent of the great multi-man X Division matches TNA use to put on.  There were great spots, non-stop action and one great atmosphere.  For the first time in a long time, the TNA crowd did not sound like they were going through the motions.  From chants of “Sign Them All” to “This is Wrestling”, the crowd was into every moment of the Four Way.  The only bad part was the Four Way stole the thunder out of the two matches that had to follow it.  With all this great action, it would be a disservice to any wrestling fan to miss out on this PPV.  TNA fan or not, Destination X 2011 is definitely worth your time and money.  

Kazarian def. Samoa Joe
Rating:  8/10

Douglas Williams def. Mark Haskins
Rating:  6/10

Eric Young & Shark Boy def. Generation Me
Rating:  6.5/10

Alex Shelley def.  Amazing Red, Robbie E & Shannon Moore in an Ultimate X Match to become the No.1 Contender for the X Division Championship
Rating:  8/10

Rob Van Dam def. Jerry Lynn
Rating:  8.5/10

Austin Aries def. Low Ki, Jack Evans & Zema Ion in a Four Way Match to win the TNA Contract
Rating:  9.5/10

Brian Kendrick def. Abyss to win the X Division Championship
Rating:  6.5/10

AJ Styles def. Christopher Daniels
Rating:  8.5/10

All-in-all, TNA Destination X is the best PPV TNA has put on all year.  Personally it is the best show I have seen from TNA since Turning Point 2009.  It is a great first step for the company.  Now TNA needs to do is continue to improve the quality of their product.  If they continue to do so with the coming PPVs, TNA may be able to bring in fans old and new.  So go out and either order the replay or buy the DVD when it comes out in a few months.  This show is definitely worth it.  The overall rating for TNA Destination X 2011 is 8 out of 10.

Sunday, July 10, 2011

The Silverdome Match of the Week: One Step Closer to Destiny

After the busy week we had in the World of Wrestling, this week things seemed to calm down, sort of.  This week Raw was in disarray, all thanks to Punk and his controversial promo from the week before.  John Cena met face-to-face with Vince McMahon.  Cena and McMahon argued about CM Punk’s suspension.  In the end, McMahon reinstated CM Punk, but it came at a price.  Vince gave Cena an ultimatum.  If CM Punk walks out of Money in the Bank with the WWE Championship, John Cena will be fired!  Seems like this whole John Cena vs. CM Punk angle has gotten even more interesting.  Other than the continued saga of John Cena, CM Punk and now Vince McMahon, there were no other news-worthy stories in the World of Wrestling.  This week saw quite a few quality matches grace our television screens.  In the end, Alberto Del Rio vs. Rey Mysterio vs. R-Truth from Raw bested both Jack Evans vs. Tony Nesse vs. Jesse Sorensen and AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels vs. RVD vs. Jerry Lynn for the Silverdome Match of the Week.

Due to Punk’s suspension, the WWE needed to find a suitable replacement in the WWE Championship Match booked for Money in the Bank.  So this match was made.  Once the bell rang, Del Rio rushed R-Truth stunning the psychotic superstar.  Right after taking down Truth, Del Rio went straight for Mysterio.  Rey tried to avoid the Mexican Aristocrat’s onslaught, but it was no use.  Del Rio took down Mysterio and immediately went for an early cover.  After the failed pin attempt, Del Rio turned his attention to R-Truth who was outside on the ring floor.  Del Rio battled with Truth until Mysterio went for a dive through the opening in the ropes.  The King of Mystery would never reach his mark as Truth would intercept Rey’s dive with a fist to the face.  From that moment, R-Truth took control of the match sending both his opponent’s into the barricade and continually beating down Del Rio and Mysterio.  Truth’s reign of dominance over Del Rio and Mysterio would come to an end with one incredible move.  R-Truth went to hit a superplex on Mysterio when Alberto Del Rio came out of nowhere and lifted Truth on his shoulders.  Del Rio’s little move gave Rey enough time to hit a Doomsday Device-like splash on R-Truth while he was sitting on Del Rio’s shoulders.  Once all three superstars recovered from the big move, all hell broke loose as each man went for everything they got.  On two separate occasions, both R-Truth and Alberto Del Rio tried to hit a suplex on Rey Mysterio only to be stopped by the other superstar.  Del Rio then tried for a German Suplex on Rey Mysterio, but Mysterio would block the move.  While Del Rio had Mysterio in his grip, Truth hit a sunset flip on the Mexican Aristocrat which gave Del Rio enough momentum to send Mysterio flying.  With the advantage, R-Truth hit the Axe Kick on Mysterio and went for a pin attempt.  As the ref’s hand was coming down for three, Mysterio kicked out.  Looking to take the advantage, Del Rio rushed full force at Truth.  R-Truth dodged right before Del Rio connecting thus causing Del Rio to run right into the ring post.  Del Rio’s failed shoulder tackle gave Mysterio enough time to recover and hit R-Truth with the 619 and splash finisher.  As Mysterio went for the pin attempt Del Rio ran in and locked Mysterio in the Cross Armbreaker for the submission victory.  With this victory, the Mexican Aristocrat, even though he will not be receiving his title shot at Money in the Bank due to CM Punk being reinstated, is one step closer to his self-proclaimed destiny.  No matter if CM Punk or John Cena walks away with the WWE Championship match at Money in the Bank, Alberto Del Rio is the next one in line for a title shot, but you… you already know that.

We got one exciting week ahead.  This Sunday night, TNA Wrestling presents their all X Division PPV Destination X.  Expectations are high for this PPV with the return of the six-sided ring and TNA’s focus on actual wrestling.  Then on Monday, Raw emanates from Boston in what should be an explosive show as CM Punk makes his final appearance on Raw.  On Thursday, TNA presents a rather packed episode of Impact Wrestling capped off by the newly psychotic Sting challenging Mr. Anderson for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.  It should be one crazy week to say the least.  Well that is all for this weekend.  Have a wonderful and rather hot summer week and see you next week.  Cheers.  

Saturday, July 9, 2011

The X Division Is Back: Preview of TNA Destination X 2011

Since TNA’s inception, the X Division has been a key part of what made TNA Wrestling what it was.  The X Division has always been a part of TNA’s identity.  In the last few years, TNA has dropped the ball with this once great division.  When wrestlers like AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels and Samoa Joe moved onto the main event picture, TNA could not elevate the other X Division stars to fill the void.  The closest TNA came to filling that void was with Jay Lethal, but TNA dropped the ball yet again and released him a few months ago.  At this point in time, the X Division has been buried so often that it seemed like no hope.

Now here comes Destination X to rescue.  What was once a primarily throwaway PPV in the month of March now is much more important.  For the first time in the PPVs history, Destination X will be an all X Division PPV (what it should have been from the start) and as an added bonus, the six-sided ring will be brought back for one night only.  In a time when TNA continually shoves their new “Wrestling Matters Here” slogan down our collective throats, it is nice to see a PPV that actually focuses on wrestling rather than TNA’s convoluted storylines.  It is a step in the right direction for the company.  Now the question is will TNA continue to strongly support the X Division after Destination X?  We will have to see when Destination X originates from the Impact Wrestling Zone in Orlando, FL this Sunday, July 10th.

Douglas Williams’ Open Challenge

Douglas Williams is a very talented wrestler so whoever accepts this challenge should be able to put on one great match with him.  The question is who will that be?  TNA has a plethora of X Division stars that have left the company from guys like Petey Williams and Sonjay Dutt to Shark Boy and Kid Kash.  Personally, I think Jay Lethal will answer the challenge.  It will be TNA’s way of saying sorry for releasing him a few months back.  No matter who expects the challenge, Williams will most likely get the win to keep the British Invasion looking strong before their eventual match with Mexican America.

Prediction:  Douglas Williams wins

Alex Shelley vs. Amazing Red vs. Robbie E vs. Shannon Moore in an Ultimate X Match for the No.1 Contendership for the X Division Championship

There is no way you could have an all X Division PPV without the Ultimate X.  It is nice that TNA will finally be giving time to all these guys who have not been on Impact Wrestling for at least a month.  No matter what this match should be nothing short of great.  Out of all of these high-flyers expect Alex Shelley to walk away with the No.1 Contendership.  TNA needs something for Shelley to do while Chris Sabin recovers from injury and chasing the X Division Title sounds like a good idea.

Prediction:  Alex Shelley wins the No. 1 Contendership for X Division Championship

Abyss(c) vs. Brian Kendrick for the X Division Championship

This little feud has played out for far too long.  All anybody wants to see is to get the X Division Title off of Abyss’ waist.  Not saying that Brian Kendrick and his stupid gimmick deserve to hold the title, but he is an improvement over Abyss.  We will see how well this match turns out, but expectations are low. 

Prediction:  Brian Kendrick wins the X Division Championship

Samoa Joe vs. Kazarian

Samoa Joe solidified his dominance in TNA while participating as a member on the X Division back in 2005 and 2006.  How things can change so drastically in only five years.  Now Joe is nothing close to dominate in TNA.  Well for Kazarian, his stock in TNA has grown in those same five years.  Now on the brink of TNA’s main event picture, Kazarian has been stagnant for the past month or so.  This match is very important for both men.  For Samoa Joe to get his career back on track and for Kazarian to finally break the glass ceiling to TNA’s main event picture.   These two will most likely bring all they got and could possibly steal the show right out from under RVD, Jerry Lynn, AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels.

Prediction:  Kazarian wins

Rob Van Dam vs. Jerry Lynn

This match was suppose to main event last year’s Hardcore Justice PPV.  A year later, TNA has finally delivered on RVD vs. Jerry Lynn.  These two have put on some classic bouts back during their days in ECW.  Honestly, all the excitement I had for this match is gone.  This match will be something special no doubt about it, but it is a year too late in my opinion.

Prediction:  Rob Van Dam wins

Zema Ion vs. Jack Evans vs. Low Ki vs. Austin Aries in a Four-Way Match for a TNA Contract

In the four weeks leading up to this PPV, TNA put on a series of Three-Way matches between former and future X Division stars.  Those matches served as qualifying matches for this Four-Way match where one former or future X Division star will walk away with a contract with TNA Wrestling.  Those Three-Way matches were nothing short of amazing feats of wrestling ability.  From the twelve men that competed in those matches, we are down to the best of the best.  This match should be one excellent showcase of the great action that the X Division can produce.  Whoever wins this match will definitely deserve that TNA contract.

Prediction:  Jack Evans wins the TNA Contract

AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels

The rivalry between AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels has been well documented in the annals of TNA history.  Two of the best wrestlers who ever stepped into a TNA ring, AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels have been the blood and soul of TNA Wrestling for years now even though these two have not always been treated as such.  This match is the perfect main event for an all X Division PPV.  This match should not disappoint.  AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels have the potential to be the best match of 2011.  It should be one hell of a show.

Prediction:  AJ Styles wins

It has been a long time since we have all been looking forward to a TNA PPV.  TNA Destination X 2011 is just around to corner.  Time to make our voices heard and make sure that TNA knows that we want more shows like Destination X.  If you have the money, go out and order Destination X or buy it on DVD when it comes out.  Support the product that you want to see.  Maybe then TNA will listen.

Saturday, July 2, 2011

The Silverdome Match of the Week: “I Can’t See With These Lights!”

Well it has been two long weeks since we had a Silverdome Match of the Week.  It is nice to finally be back.  This week was rather slow match-wise with only a few Match of the Week quality matches.  This week was not as slow news-wise.  Starting with Davey Richards finally claiming the ROH Championship on Sunday to CM Punk’s worked shoot on Monday to Sheamus’ impactful return on Smackdown, it was one packed week.  With only a few matches worthy of the award, Christian vs. Sin Cara from Smackdown took down both Low Ki vs. Matt Bentley vs. Jimmy Yang from Impact Wrestling and Daniel Bryan vs. Ted DiBiase also from Smackdown to win the Silverdome Match of the Week.

As an up-and-coming superstar, Sin Cara has been on an undefeated streak since he debuted in April.  Sin Cara has faced many different superstars from the likes of Jack Swagger to Evan Bourne, but a superstar like Christian would test everything this luchador had.  Sin Cara got the early advantage on Christian, which flustered Captain Charisma.  Christian would escape to the safety of the ring floor as Sin Cara would tease a cross body from the top rope.  In his frustration, Christian would complain about the special lighting for all of Sin Cara’s matches thus the subtitle for this post.  Eventually Christian would get the advantage over his masked opponent, but that would not last for long as Sin Cara would avoid Christian’s uppercut attempt.  Cara followed that up with a kick, which sends Christian to the arena floor.  That was the opening Sin Cara needed to hit a corkscrew plancha onto Christian.  Cara sent Christian back into the ring just to hit a corkscrew press on him for a near fall.  Christian and Sin Cara would go onto to trade some incredible high-flying and ground-based moves, which made for plenty of near falls between the two superstars.  Sin Cara pulled out every move in his playbook even his modified La Mistica finisher to put away Christian, but the high-flyer just could not put away Captain Charisma.  It came down to the very last moment as Sin Cara went for a handspring back elbow only to be caught by Christian.  Christian would try to go for the Killswitch only for Sin Cara to send him right into the turnbuckle.  In a last ditch effort, Sin Cara went for a headscrissors of sorts, but only for Christian to hang the luchador on the top rope.  The counter gave Christian enough time to hit one vicious spear to pick up the victory and give Sin Cara his first ever defeat in the WWE.  Even in defeat, it was an impressive showing from Sin Cara.  There are still a few things that Sin Cara needs to work out like communication in the ring and carefully pulling his high-flying offense before he makes the next big step in becoming a WWE superstar.  On the upside, hopefully the WWE will get rid of Sin Cara’s ridiculous lighting now that he has lost a match.  To be honest, it does not add anything to his matches; it is more of a nuisance.  Enough about the lighting, Sin Cara has a lot more ways to grow in the coming years.  One defeat will not stop Sin Cara’s rising star.

Another Silverdome Match of the Week, another Smackdown match wins.  This coming Raw this July 4th should be very entertaining as we all get to see the fallout of Punk’s worked shoot.  Really looking forward to seeing how all the WWE superstars react to the controversial promo.  This coming Thursday, be sure to tune into Impact Wrestling.  This week’s main event is going to be a Four Corners Match between AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, Jerry Lynn and Rob Van Dam.  Should be one hell of a match so make sure you do not miss it.  Well that is all for this Saturday evening.  Have a wonderful and safe holiday weekend and see you again next Saturday. Cheers.

CM Punk: A True Wrestling God

It takes one moment change the whole feeling about a show.  Last Monday’s Raw from Las Vegas was another average show from the WWE.  That was until CM Punk made this particular Raw a show that will be remembered for years to come.  It only took five minutes to take Punk’s image from an amazing yet underutilized superstar to a wrestling legend.  With one promo, CM Punk solidified his position as the greatest wrestler to step into a ring, a true Wrestling God.

Before coming to the WWE, CM Punk was a star in the independent wrestling scene.  From IWA to ROH to TNA, CM Punk was making a name for himself with some wildly-acclaimed matches against the likes of Raven and Samoa Joe.  Finally in 2005 the WWE took notice in this rising star and signed Punk to a developmental contract.  Punk would work in OVW, WWE’s developmental area at the time, until Paul Heyman would bring up the Straight-Edge Superstar to resurrected ECW.  CM Punk would take advantage of the opportunity to perfect the WWE-style of professional wrestling and build his fan base.  As a face, CM Punk had a huge amount of success winning the ECW, World Heavyweight, World Tag Team and Intercontinental Championships along with winning the Money in the Bank Ladder Match two years in a row.  CM Punk is also the fastest WWE superstar to complete the WWE’s Triple Crown Championship.  Even with all this success as a face, CM Punk’s true calling was that of a heel.  Upon winning his second World Heavyweight Title, CM Punk turned heel and began his crusade on the vices of drugs and alcohol.  Punk’s gimmick was one of a kind and produced disturbing results as the crowd would boo Punk’s preaching of a better clean life and cheer whenever he would mention drugs or alcohol.  During this time, CM Punk had some very memorable feuds with Jeff Hardy, the Undertaker and Rey Mysterio.  After about a year on Smackdown, Punk would move over to Raw where he would take the reins of commentating during the final two months of 2010.  Punk offered new life to Raw’s rather dry commentary and proved that no matter what role you put him in, Punk will nail it.  CM Punk would return to the ring in early 2011, taking control of the sinking ship that was the Nexus while feuding with the WWE’s two biggest draws, John Cena and Randy Orton.  Even though his feud with Orton was entertaining, Punk seemed to get continually buried by the Viper whenever they faced each other one-on-one.  After that feud, WWE Creative seemed to have no direction for Second City Saint that was until recently.  Just over a week ago, CM Punk defeated the likes of Alberto Del Rio and Rey Mysterio to become the No. 1 Contender for the WWE Championship.  Upon winning the No. 1 Contendership for the WWE Title, Punk announced that he will be leaving the WWE after his championship match at Money in the Bank in his hometown of Chicago and hopefully taking the WWE Title with him.  To build to his match with Cena at Money in the Bank, Punk put on the now infamous possibly worked shoot from last Monday night.  CM Punk spoke his mind and the WWE has supposedly suspended Punk.  We will just have to wait to see if the WWE’s resident punk makes it to July 17th in Chicago.

Hopefully from this little retrospective, you can see that CM Punk is a one of a kind wrestler.  He can do anything that you throw at him and exceed your expectations.  There is no other wrestler that can hold a candle to Punk in the ring, on the mic or in the commentator’s chair.  Among the Ric Flairs, the Triple Hs, the Undertakers, the Rocks, the Stone Cold Steve Austins, who are all considered some of the greatest wrestlers in this business, CM Punk stands above them all.  Last Monday night in Las Vegas was the moment that solidified CM Punk’s place amongst the greats of this industry.  CM Punk solidified himself as a true Wrestling God and possibly the greatest wrestler of all-time.