The Silverdome Match of the Week: Punk and Cena III on Live TV

Coming off of the great Summerslam PPV, there were more questions than answers.  Questions that continued as the WWE rolled into Alberta, Canada for both Raw and Smackdown.  Two of those questions were in the forefront last Monday Night.  Who has been pulling the strings?  And who deserves to face Alberto Del Rio for the WWE Championship?  There will be more on the WWE Title situation later in the article.  We got more fuel for the first question during a segment in the middle of Raw between Triple H, Kevin Nash and CM Punk.  At the beginning of the segment, Triple H told Nash that he did not send Nash the text to stick it to the winner of Punk and Cena at Summerslam.  Then CM Punk came down and started calling the shots.  Punk said he does not believe a word either man is saying just before challenging Nash to a fight.  Triple H took the opportunity to step in and stop a fight, which caused Punk to turn his attention to the COO.  After a few insults from Punk, Nash took his chance to hit Punk with a blatant cheap shot.  Adding a little more fuel to the mystery surrounding Kevin Nash and who texted him at Summerslam.  Along with the great drama, we saw some really good to great matches from Raw, Smackdown and even Impact Wrestling.  Alberto Del Rio vs. John Morrison kicked off Raw with some great in-ring action, while Kurt Angle vs. Crimson was a solid main event for a dull episode of Impact Wrestling and Christian vs. Daniel Bryan from Smackdown was a great match, but just missing a little finesse to make it the best match of the week.  Speaking of the best match of the week, that award goes to the main event of Monday Night Raw, CM Punk vs. John Cena to determine the No. 1 Contender for Alberto Del Rio’s Undisputed WWE Championship.

At the beginning of Raw, John Cena and CM Punk made their way to the ring to debate on who deserved to face Alberto Del Rio at Night of Champions for the Undisputed WWE Championship.  The two argued while also taking shots at Del Rio.  Eventually Triple H made his way out and booked John Cena vs. CM Punk III for the main event.  The match was eagerly anticipated as both the Undisputed WWE Champion and John Laurinaitis were sitting at ringside to watch the main event of Raw.  The crowd in Edmonton was great as they were completely into the match.  The crowd was even a little resistant to John Cena, throwing back the leader of the Cenation’s t-shirt.  Right out of the gates, John Cena and CM Punk went right at one another trading a lot of holds and some mat wrestling.  Punk sent Cena into the ropes in order to knock “The Champ” down with a shoulder blo.  Cena got back up as Punk went for another shoulder block.  Cena leapfrogged the Straight-Edge Superstar with two shoulder blocks and a huge back body drop to set Punk up for the Five Knuckle Shuffle.  Right Cena tried to hit his signature fist drop, Punk caught John with a roll-up for a two count.  Punk took the advantage with a clothesline, a dropkick and his signature knee to the face followed by a bulldog.  Punk tried to keep the momentum on his side by going up to the top turnbuckle, but was distracted by Del Rio sitting at ringside.  That distraction gave Cena enough time to send Punk flying off the top turnbuckle to the unforgiving Rexall Centre floor.  Once the Punk and Cena were back in the ring, like Good Ol’ Jim Ross says business started picking up.  Punk and Cena tried everything in their power to hit their finishers on one another to no avail.  After Punk would fight out of the STF that Cena locked in when he reversed the GTS, Cena would lock in the Crippler Crossface (a hint at a certain wrestler from Edmonton, Alberta) on Punk.  Again Punk would fight out of the submission hold.  Cena tried to catch Punk off guard with a charge, but the Voice of the Voiceless dodged.  The momentum caused Cena run shoulder-first into the ringpost which gave Punk the right opportunity to hit the GTS on a dazed Cena.  Punk would go for the cover only for Cena to kick out at a count of two.  Punk then would go for an elbow drop (his tribute to Randy “Macho Man” Savage), but Cena moved out of the way before Punk could connect with the elbow.  Punk’s crash and burn would set-up Cena to hit an impactful leg drop off the top rope that only got Cena a two count.  Immediately after Punk kicked out, Cena hit the Attitude Adjustment on the self-proclaimed “Best in the World.”  Again Punk kicked out at a two count.  Punk and Cena would continue their incredible back-and-forth wrestling until Kevin Nash would make his presence known.  While Punk had Cena up on his shoulders for the GTS, Nash appeared on the stage with a mic.  Nash distracted Punk long enough for Cena to surprise Punk with another AA to get the win and become No.1 Contender for the Undisputed WWE Championship.  CM Punk and John Cena put on another amazing match; the only thing wrong with it was the ending of the match.  It was such a lackluster way a great wrestling match.

Nothing much has been announced for Raw tomorrow.  On the flip-side an awful lot has been announced for Tuesday’s live Super Smackdown.  Both Raw and Smackdown superstars will be at the special show and two big matches have been announced, Alberto Del Rio vs. Sin Cara and Christian vs. Randy Orton in a Steel Cage for the World Heavyweight Championship.  Super Smackdown should be one exciting event to say the least.  Also this Thursday, Impact Wrestling will leave the confines of the Impact Zone for Sting vs. Kurt Angle for the TNA World Heavyweight Champion, AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels and the return of Jeff Hardy.  Sounds like it will be one big week in the World of Wrestling.  So until next weekend dear readers, have a good wrestling filled week.  

The Silverdome Match of the Week: Destiny Rolls On

After the excellent show that was July’s Money in the Bank PPV, everybody seemed to be prepared to be disappointed by Summerslam.  To our pleasure, it looks like WWE hit another home run with Summerslam.  I personally did not watch last Sunday’s PPV extravaganza, but there I am eagerly anticipating buying it on DVD when it comes out.  The big news that came out of the Biggest Party of the Summer was all about the WWE Championship match and what happened after that match.  In the main event of Summerslam, John Cena and CM Punk went hold-for-hold, move-for-move until CM Punk would get the controversial pinfall following the GTS in order to become the Undisputed WWE Champion.  Controversial pinfall, you may be thinking.  In the heat of the moment, special guest referee Triple H did not see that John Cena’s foot was on the bottom rope.  CM Punk won the match, but he did not leave Los Angeles with the WWE Championship.  No thanks to Kevin Nash.  Big Sexy jumped the guardrail and hit Punk with his signature Jackknife Powerbomb before being cashed out by Triple H.  In all the chaos, Alberto Del Rio ran down to the ring and cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase on a dazed CM Punk.  Like the many who have cashed in Money in the Bank before him, Del Rio walked away with WWE Title and his destiny fulfilled.  It was an action-packed cliffhanger ending that did an excellent job of getting fans to tune into the following Monday Night Raw from San Diego.  The WWE proved yet again that they are must-watch television.  Along with the great storylines captivating us wrestling fans at the moment, the WWE has continued to put on some the best wrestling matches you can find on TV.  This week was no different as we saw two great matches on Raw in John Morrison vs. R-Truth in a Falls Count Anywhere Match and Alberto Del Rio vs. Rey Mysterio for the Undisputed WWE Championship and a really good 20-Man Battle Royal on Smackdown.  Even with all those quality matches, Alberto Del Rio vs. Daniel Bryan for Smackdown takes home the Silverdome Match of Week.

On last weeks’ Smackdown, Smackdown Money in the Bank winner Daniel Bryan faced off with Raw Money in the Bank winner Alberto Del Rio in a valiant, but nonetheless losing effort.  A week later, Del Rio returned to Smackdown with his newly won Undisputed WWE Championship.  During his address to the Smackdown crowd, the Mexican Aristocrat challenged anybody backstage to face him one-on-one in the ring.  Wanting some redemption for losing to Del Rio the week prior, Daniel Bryan answered the WWE Champions challenge.  Del Rio and Bryan start their match with a lock-up.  From the lock-up, these two superstars exchange some punches, forearms, headbutts and kicks while jockeying for position and the advantage.  After the back-and-forth offense at the beginning of the match, Del Rio started to attack his favourite body part, the arm.  The Mexican Aristocrat started his dissection of Daniel Bryan’s arm with an impactful armbreaker from the top rope.  Del Rio would continue his dissection of Bryan’s arm with an arm bar followed by a series of kicks and elbows to the damaged arm.  Throughout the rest of the match all of Del Rio’s offense was directed towards Bryan’s arm in order to soften it up for his signature cross armbreaker submission.  Even with an injured arm, Bryan would not go down without a fight.  The American Dragon would catch Del Rio off guard with an elbow and boot while in the corner.  Daniel Bryan would take advantage of the surprised WWE Champion and unleash a huge amount of offense.  From a thunderous series of kicks to a big flying clothesline, Bryan was finally in control.  Del Rio would try to target the arm, but Bryan would reverse the move and send Del Rio to the floor.  With Del Rio on the floor, Bryan would jump out onto the ring apron and hit the Mexican Aristocrat with a flying knee.  After the flying knee, Bryan would send the WWE Champion back into the ring.  With the match completely in his corner, Bryan took a few liberties and try to hit a few moves off the top rope.  After a couple failed attempts, Bryan would hit the Mexican Aristocrat with a perfectly placed missile dropkick, which only got the American Dragon a two count.  Del Rio and Bryan would trade a few kicks and suplex attempts until Daniel Bryan turned Del Rio’s tilt-a-whirl into his Guillotine submission hold.  Del Rio looked to be fading, but eventually pulled together enough strength to ram Bryan into the corner thus breaking the hold.  That would signal the end for Bryan as the WWE Champion would lock in the cross armbreaker submission on the injured arm.  Bryan could not fight the pain as he was forced to tap out to the WWE Champion.  Even in defeat, it was an excellent effort by Daniel Bryan as he pushed the new WWE Champion, Alberto Del Rio to his limit.  Del Rio has been on the roll of a lifetime.  In one year, this superstar has won the Royal Rumble, claimed the Money in the Bank briefcase and won the WWE Championship.  The question now is who can stop this phenom?

Not much has been announced for the coming week other than Kurt Angle vs. Crimson and Fortune vs. Immortal for Impact Wrestling.  It should be another set of exciting episodes of Raw and Smackdown as the WWE moves ever so closer to Night of Champions.  Until next Saturday dear readers, have a wonderful pro wrestling packed week ahead.  Cheers.

Biggest Match of the Summer: Preview of WWE Summerslam 2011

Coming off of Money in the Bank last month, WWE was in a state of turmoil.  The WWE Champion left the company with the title and the Chairman of the WWE was relieved of his duties.  Everything was up in the air and wrestling fans’ heads were spinning with all the speculation on what would happen next.  In the first time in what seemed like ages, the WWE was in total and utter chaos.  It made things unpredictable and incredibly exciting, but it may have acted like a double-edged sword as this PPV has been built around one match. 

That match is CM Punk vs. John Cena II.  It should be one incredible match, but a PPV like Summerslam, which should be the second biggest PPV to WrestleMania, WWE should have added more matches to this card and actually hyped up some of these matches other than the main event.  At this point in time, some of WWE’s biggest young superstars such as The Miz, Alberto Del Rio and John Morrison are not even booked.  To make this card feel as big as WrestleMania, WWE should have stacked it to the brim with the biggest matches of the summer like John Morrison vs. R-Truth and The Miz vs. Rey Mysterio.  The excitement that fans had leading up to Money in the Bank was for the event as a whole, the excitement for Summerslam has only been for CM Punk vs. John Cena and that could be a big problem for this show.  We will have to see as WWE Summerslam 2011 originates from the Staples Center in downtown L.A. for the third consecutive year this Sunday evening.

Daniel Bryan vs. Wade Barrett

Ever since the first season of NXT, Daniel Bryan and Wade Barrett have always been at odds with one another.  In the last few months, the two never really crossed paths with one another as Barrett dealt with the collapse of the Corre and Bryan was feuding with Cody Rhodes.  That all changed on July 17^th when Bryan took out Barrett just before grabbing the Smackdown Money in the Bank briefcase.  Now Barrett would like some revenge.  This match could lead into a long feud between the two great technical superstars.  Daniel Bryan and Wade Barrett should be able to pull out a great match if given the right amount of time.

Prediction:  Daniel Bryan wins

Kelly Kelly (c) vs. Beth Phoenix for the Diva’s Championship

The times are a changing in the Diva’s Division.  That is if Beth Phoenix and Natalya, the self-proclaimed “Divas of Doom”, have their way.  These two divas have taken it upon themselves to take out all the brittle models, which seem to dominate the division, and bring prestige back to the WWE’s Women’s division.  The only diva standing in their way is the current Diva’s Champion, Kelly Kelly.  Even though Kelly Kelly may act tough, you still have to back it up.  If she cannot back it up, the Fabulous Firebird will take the opportunity the squash the WWE’s version of Barbie and take the butterfly belt as a token of her victory.

Prediction:  Beth Phoenix wins the Diva’s Championship

Sheamus vs. Mark Henry

For the past few months, Mark Henry has been on a rampage destroying superstar after superstar.  Two of his most notable victims were the likes of the Big Show and Kane.  For a point, it looked like no one could stand up to this monster of a man.  Then came out the Celtic Warrior and with a thunderous slap the match was set for Summerslam.  WWE has not done a good job of hyping this match, but personally I am really looking forward to it.  This match will not steal the show, but it could possibly be one of the best big man matches we have seen in a long time.  I know I said the same thing about Big Show vs. Mark Henry, but a man can hope.

Prediction:  Sheamus wins

Christian (c) vs. Randy Orton in a No Holds Barred Match for the World Heavyweight Championship

This feud between Christian and Randy Orton will finally come to an end this Sunday and what a great way to end this feud.  For months now, Orton and Christian have been at each other throats fighting over the World Heavyweight Championship.  With the way their match ended at Money in the Bank, the No Holds Barred stipulation fits perfectly.  It should make for a phenomenally brutal title match.  When all the dust has settled, it will be Christian that gets the last laugh.  Christian should not relax for too long as a recently turned Celtic Warrior looks to be ready to challenge for that World Title.

Prediction:  Christian retains

CM Punk vs. John Cena with Triple H as the Special Guest Referee for the Undisputed WWE Championship

Money in the Bank came and went and in its fallout now stands not one, but two WWE Champions.  How could this dilemma have happened?  Well the cynical fan such as myself, would say it was due to poor booking on WWE’s part.  There were so many different story opportunities WWE could have gone with, the one they chose seemed a little sloppy in my opinion.  Enough of the complaints about the story behind this match, due to the classic these two had last month in Chicago, this match has a whole lot to live up to.  Hopefully WWE does not overbook the ending of this match, but naming Triple H as special guest referee kind of makes people think there will be some sort of screwjob-like finish.  After all things are said and done, it comes down to the two competitors in the ring.  There should be no doubt that CM Punk and John Cena will do anything in their power to make this match as good as or better than their match at Money in the Bank.

Prediction:  CM Punk becomes the Undisputed WWE Champion

When it comes down to summing up Summerslam 2011, it is not a one match show.  It just feels that way due to how much hype CM Punk vs. John Cena II has received compared to the rest of the card.  These last two months have been so exciting, but to be honest I am still a little cautious.  We will just have to tune in this Sunday at 8 pm to see if Summerslam can step out of the huge shadow that July’s Money in the Bank PPV casts.

The Silverdome Match of the Week: Holy Leaping Guillotine, Batman!

After two weeks, it seems that the WWE has finally got over all the crazy fallout from Money in the Bank.  Things definitely calmed down as the WWE looks towards next Sunday’s Summerslam extravaganza.  This week on Raw, the main event of the Biggest Party of the Summer was set in stone.  For the first time ever, one match will contain two WWE Champions battling to determine the Undisputed WWE Champion as CM Punk will face John Cena in the main event of Summerslam.  Also this week, we saw a resurgence of the Divas division in the heel turns of both Beth Phoenix and Natalya.  It looks like these two women’s wrestlers are teaming up to take out all the models that dominate this division on both Raw and Smackdown.  This team-up could be great for a division that has sparked little to no interest from the WWE Universe.  It will be great to see where WWE goes with these two in the coming weeks.  Aside from the news this week, there were quite a few great competitive matches.  This week saw Rey Mysterio & John Morrison vs. The Miz & R-Truth from Raw, Alex Shelley vs. Austin Aries from Impact Wrestling and John Morrison & Randy Orton vs. Christian & R-Truth from Smackdown vie for the Silverdome Match of the Week.  In the end, Daniel Bryan vs. Tyson Kidd from Friday Night Smackdown beat out all those great matches to become the Silverdome Match of the Week.

It was a rare sight to see Tyson Kidd in a match on Smackdown since he usually relegated to Superstars on a weekly basis.  It was a nice surprise.  Out of all the superstars to be facing, Tyson lucked out with another great technical wrestler in Daniel Bryan.  These two technical wrestlers start out the match with a Greco-Roman Knuckle Lock.  From there both Bryan and Kidd battle for positioning while still holding the knuckle lock, eventually Bryan would get the advantage and hit two separate Northern Lights Suplexes on Kidd.  Tyson would bridge out of each suplex and then send Daniel Bryan towards the turnbuckle.  Bryan would use his momentum to run up the turnbuckle and flip over Kidd.  Once Kidd turned around the American Dragon connected with a fearsome running clothesline for a near fall.  Bryan and Kidd start to trade various kicks until Bryan catches Kidd with a dropkick that sends the Last Graduate from the Hart Dungeon to the floor.  Daniel used the opportunity to fly through the ropes with a suicide dive onto Tyson.  Bryan tweaked his leg when he went for the suicide dive.  So when he tried to get back in the ring, Kidd hit Bryan with a kick.  As a result, Daniel Bryan’s injured leg was stuck in the ropes while the rest of his body was out on the apron.  Tyson Kidd used this little circumstance to his advantage and hit a sickening Dragon Screw Leg Whip that twisted Bryan’s leg around the second ring rope.  Tyson would continue to work over Bryan’s injured leg with kicks, elbow drops and various submission maneuvers.  While having his leg locked in the Indian Death Lock, Bryan would finally gain the advantage as he battled out of the maneuver.  Bryan connected with a Snap Suplex on Kidd then tried to climb the ropes.  Kidd would catch Bryan halfway and the two superstars would battle on the top rope.  After a few headbutts, Bryan sent Kidd to the mat, which set Bryan up to connect with one vicious Missile Dropkick that sends Kidd flipping head over heels.  Kidd and Bryan would continue to battle, hitting some impactful kicks on one another until Kidd would catch one of Bryan’s kicks and hit another Dragon Screw Leg Whip on Daniel Bryan.  After the leg whip, Tyson Kidd immediately locked in a single-leg crab on Bryan’s leg.  Bryan would reach the ropes to break Kidd’s hold.  Once the hold was broken, Bryan and Kidd were back at it trading big move after big move hoping to get the win.  With all that these two superstars had done to one another, Daniel Bryan used the last bit on energy he had to grab Kidd in an incredible Leaping Guillotine submission hold.  Kidd had nowhere to go as Bryan had the hold locked so he tapped to give Bryan the victory.  Even in defeat, Tyson Kidd brought the Smackdown Money in the Bank winner to his limits and put on one amazingly competitive match in the process.

We have two packed weekends ahead of all us wrestling fans.  This Sunday, TNA presents Hardcore Justice emanating from the Impact Wrestling Zone and next Sunday from LA, WWE will be bring us the Biggest Wrestling Event of the Summer, Summerslam.  It should be one big week ahead so make sure you do not miss it.  So until next weekend, my dear readers have a wonderful wrestling filled week.  Cheers. 

TNA Goes Hardcore?: Preview of TNA Hardcore Justice 2011

You may be wondering why the title has a question mark.  Why it questions “TNA Goes Hardcore?” rather than emphasizes “TNA Goes Hardcore”.  Well the reason being that for a PPV called Hardcore Justice, TNA has not announced any stipulation matches for the show or even mentioned that every match will be a No DQ match.  It is kind of baffling since the name of the PPV insinuates that this show will be a gimmick PPV much in line with WWE’s Extreme Rules PPV.  There is a “Viewer’s Discretion Is Advised” warning on all the commercials promoting Hardcore Justice, but there has been no mention on Impact Wrestling, TNA’s website or even these commercials if Hardcore Justice will be the gimmick PPV that we all suspect.  If it turns out to be what we suspect, what a promotional blunder by TNA to not mention this important information when promoting this PPV.  Leaving this information out of all promotion of this show has caused more confusion than anticipation.

Coming off the great Destination X PPV, Hardcore Justice has a lot to live up to.  Sadly the card does not look that promising.  With probably the most lackluster card I have seen TNA try and promote this year, none of these matches look to grab many fans interest.  A lot of these matches do not have enough build to feel like they deserve to be on PPV.  It would have been better off to put most of these matches on next week’s edition of Impact Wrestling rather than this PPV in order to give the PPV-worthy matches more time.  Personally, I hope that TNA proves me wrong and puts on a show that is as good as or better than Destination X.  Looking at the card right now, it does not look like TNA can do it.

Beer Money (c) vs. Mexican America for the TNA Tag Team Championship

Hernandez and Anarquia have been dominating the tag division for quite some time now with their Mexican America faction.  So finally months, TNA has finally decided to give these guys a shot at the Tag Team Titles.  With Robert Roode and James Storm both chasing the TNA World Title in the Bound for Glory Series, this match could be the perfect time for them to drop the titles to new up-and-coming tag team.  Beer Money and Mexican America should be able to put on a pretty good match that would work as the opener for Hardcore Justice.

Prediction:  Mexican America win the TNA Tag Team Championship

D’Angelo Dinero vs. Devon

The first of two Bound for Glory Series matches on this PPV will see Devon and The Pope finally go one-on-one.  TNA has been building a little feud between these two for months now.  The storyline behind this little feud, Devon is angry that Dinero hit on his wife, who has been sitting front row at every taping of Impact Wrestling for the past three months.  Yes, this storyline can be described as borderline juvenile, but here we have the match to end this feud.  Expect Dinero to get the win to move up the ranks of the Bound for Glory Series.

Prediction:  D’Angelo Dinero wins

Tara & Miss Tessmacher (c) vs. Sarita & Rosita for TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship

When TNA made the Knouckouts Tag Team Titles close to two years ago, they had enough women to support this title along with the Knockouts Title.  Now, two years later, TNA’s women division does not have enough women to support this tag title and are nowhere close to being considered important by the TNA faithful.  This match will be a throwaway women’s match that could easily have been booked for next week’s broadcast of Impact Wrestling.

Prediction:  Tara & Miss Tessmacher retain

Mickie James(c) vs. Winter for the TNA Knockouts Championship

A few weeks ago on Impact Wrestling, TNA booked Mickie James vs. Velvet Sky for the TNA Knockouts Championship.  That match never happened thanks to Winter, Angelina Love, ODB and Miss Jackie.  So why did TNA only book Winter to face Mickie James for the title at Hardcore Justice?  Velvet Sky is the hottest commodity (no pun intended) in TNA’s women’s division.  She is a fan favourite and many including yours truly, believe she should be in line for a Knockouts title shot rather than the likes of Winter and Angelina Love, who have done nothing to earn their title shots.  Mickie will be fighting against the odds, but she will most likely beat Winter at Hardcore Justice this Sunday.

Prediction:  Mickie James retains

Crimson vs. Rob Van Dam

Other than the interview segment after the tag match Crimson and RVD participated in, there has been absolutely no build for this Bound for Glory series match.  It will be nice to see if Crimson can up his game against a ring veteran like RVD.  If Crimson and Rob give it everything they got, this match should be good.

Prediction:  Crimson wins

Brian Kendrick (c) vs. Alex Shelley vs. Austin Aries in a 3 Way Match for the X Division Championship

Kendrick, Shelley and Aries, sounds like a recipe for greatness.  These guys have put on some of the best matches on Impact Wrestling in the past month and look to do it again on PPV.  For the past month, TNA has been pushing Aries as a big heel.   What better way to continue his push than for Aries to win the X Division Title one month after winning his TNA contract.  This match will no doubt steal the show this Sunday at Hardcore Justice. 

Prediction:  Austin Aries wins the X Division Championship

Mr. Anderson vs. Bully Ray

Ever since Anderson joined Immortal a month ago, nothing has gone right for the loudmouth.  He lost the TNA World Title to Sting, suffered not one, but two loses to Kurt Angle, got bashed with a steel chair from Bully Ray and shot to his manhood.  Just to say, it has not been a good month for Anderson.  After all the crap he has been through, Anderson deserves to take out all his frustrations on Bully Ray this Sunday.

Prediction:  Mr. Anderson wins

AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels & Kazarian vs. Abyss, Gunner & Scott Steiner in a 6 Man Tag Team Match

Since Lockdown, the feud between the two factions of Fortune and Immortal has gone absolutely nowhere.  So it was a surprise to hear that TNA booked this 6 Man Tag Team Match at Hardcore Justice.  For a match between the two biggest factions in TNA, sadly this match does not seem that important.  TNA has made no effort to actually build this match, so there is no reason for anybody to care.  Anyway, this match should be pretty good nonetheless.  The friction between AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels will most likely cost Fortune the match.

Prediction:  Abyss, Gunner & Scott Steiner win

Sting (c) vs. Kurt Angle for the TNA World Championship

On last week’s Impact Wrestling, TNA really tried to push this match between Kurt Angle and Sting to be the biggest match of the year.  Well it did not work.  TNA can say this match will be the best match of the year all they want, at the end of the day it will come down to how well Sting and Angle perform this Sunday.  Kurt Angle is no doubt in the best shape in years and Sting has seen better days.  Sting is the definitely the weakest link in this match, but if he can step up his game for Hardcore Justice we could be in for one great match.  Look to see Kurt Angle win the TNA World Title as TNA is trying to build a match between Sting and Hogan for Bound for Glory.  And that match does not need the World Title involved in anyway.

Prediction:  Kurt Angle wins the TNA World Championship

Well TNA Hardcore Justice 2011 has an uphill battle ahead of it.  Looking at the card on paper, there is no way lightning will strike twice for Total Non-Stop Action.  But TNA prove us all wrong and put on a wonderful show.  Show that Destination X was not just a one time deal.