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.

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.

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.