Randy
Posts : 48
Join date : 2012-07-16
Age : 33
Location : Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Character sheet
tf: sm klr
 | | Subject: Bragging Rights 2010 Sat Oct 13, 2012 2:29 pm | |
| ening Match: Daniel Bryan vs. Dolph Ziggler (w/Vickie Guerrero).
No titles on the line. The announcers annoy me out of the gate as Striker says "maybe once in your lifetime do you get to see someone buried alive." Yeah, but I've seen a ton of buried alive matches, so it seems I am cursed to live in interesting times. They follow that up with Cole's bizarre Vickie Guerrero adulation even though it was Striker who was in love with her at the last PPV and Cole was making fun of him for it. Awesome start to the match as Ziggler tries to get cute on the mat and Bryan makes him pay for it by reversing to a LeBell attempt. Ziggler escapes and hides behind Vickie, so Bryan jumps off the apron, over Vickie and nails Ziggler in the mush with a knee. Back in, Bryan hits a stiff corner dropkick. FUCK YOU AN' YO' FACE, ZIGGLER! Dolph snaps Bryan's neck on the middle rope to stop the momentum. Nice reverse powerslam by Dolph. The match slows as Ziggler wears Bryan down with a crossface-chickenwing. Bryan blocks a charge but misses a second corner dropkick and falls hard. Great bumping from both guys here. For some reason, Striker makes fun of Vickie again. Jesus, at least have continuity within the match. Bryan avoids a charge and kicks the shit out of Ziggler. That sets up the backflip and flying clothesline. FLYING GANMENGIRI! Striker corrects Cole when Cole says Ziggler is "literally getting his head kicked off." THANK YOU, STRIKER. Bryan hits a roundhouse kick that nearly makes Cole accurate. Ziggler comes back with a thrust kick out of nowhere. ONE, TWO, THR-NO! Bryan blocks the Zig-Zag and goes for the super backdrop suplex. ZIGGLER SHIFTS! ONE, TWO, THR-NO! BRYAN REVERSES THAT! ONE, TWO, THR-NO! Dear Lord. They both go for crossbodies and SMACK in the middle of the ring. Holy fuck this is fantastic! They recover and exchange rollups, but Ziggler comes out of it with the Fameasser. ONE, TWO, THREE! Oh, but Bryan's foot was on the ropes. Dolph locks in the sleeper, but Bryan makes the ropes. Ziggler gets pissed and starts slapping Bryan in the head, but Bryan yanks Ziggler down into the LaBell Lock at 16:13. The finish was a bit anti-climactic, but the previous 16 minutes rocked it! The fans were really into Bryan (and, to some extent Vickie), and both he and Ziggler picked it up. To think, Bryan has actually pared down his style quite a bit. Best non-gimmick opener in some time, and, in fact, just as I was about to post this, I saw that it tied with Shawn vs. Taker on WWE.com's MOTY poll. Wouldn't go that far, but damn, it's a great match. ****1/4
In the back, Miz takes credit for Bryan's win and declares himself team captain. The Santino/Punk exchange over the snacks and beverages was classic, mainly because Punk is so gruffly serious. "I said there might be snacks and beverages."
Drew McIntyre and Cody Rhodes complain that there is no competition for them. No shit. The Anonymous Raw GM (via Cole) puts them in a match.
WWE Tag Team Titles: Drew McIntyre & Cody Rhodes vs. John Cena & David Otunga.
Otunga insists on starting and, of course, gets his ass kicked. He gets out of trouble and tags Cena with a chop to the chest. Cena destroys Cody, and now Otunga wants back in. The strategic issues hurt them as Cody attacks Cena from behind while they're arguing. They beat on him for a while, but Cena gets sick of it and finishes Cody with the STF at 6:28. Afterwards, Cena gives Otunga the Attitude Adjustment. Why did the Nexus let Cena keep his own music, much less use it for their victory? Minor point. No one cares about the tag titles, and this was just a plot point to advance Cena vs. the Nexus. *
Ted Dibiase (w/Maryse) vs. Goldust (w/Aksana).
Aksana is one of the Diva participants on NXT. Striker relates the backstory relationship between Goldust and Aksana. She's here illegally, so he's going to marry her – but first, they have to go to Alaska to meet his parents where she'll be a whacky fish out of water. Well, it can't turn out any worse than his last marriage. Dibiase and Maryse have ZERO chemistry, and Dibiase's Kanyesque theme doesn't really suit him. I understand trying to recreate Ted Sr., but he's not that Ted Dibiase. Did they learn nothing from the Rock? They should take a cue from Marvel and have Ted Sr. play Norman Osborne with Ted Jr. being Harry, constantly trying to set himself apart but always haunted. Ted Dibiase should also take over S.H.I.E.L.D.. Goldie hits the butt-bump and clotheslines Ted over, but Ted crotches him and goes to work. Goldust slugs his way back but misses a crossbody and spills to the floor. Ted goes for Dream Street, but Goldust counters. Ted spinebusters him, and they collide for the double KO. That lull gives the chicks a chance to get into a catfight. Lawler points out that Aksana was trying to keep her dress down instead of defending herself. Usually, the announcers *cover* for wrestlers' tells. Goldust is so distracted that Ted is able to hit him from behind and get the win at 7:28. After the match, Aksana distracts Dibiase so that Goldust can hit the Final Cut. The losers leave with the belt. Not a bad match. In fact, Goldust looked really good, which is strange because the last time I saw him wrestle regularly, he was Black Reign, one of the worst wrestlers in a major promotion. **
Divas Title: Layla (w/Michelle McCool) vs. Natalya.
LayCool are excruciating before the match, but they get in a good dig on Brett Favre. Natalya hits the squat-thrust delayed suplex early. Nice. Layla dropkicks her to the floor but pays for it as Natalya drags her out. Michelle interferes and knocks Natalya down on the outside. Nattie wriggles out of a crucifix armscissors and powers into a bodyslam. She goes for the Sharpshooter, but Michelle yanks Layla to safety. Natalya goes after her and gets booted in the face. Layla rolls Natalya up for the pin at 4:49. *
World Heavyweight Title, Buried Alive Match: Kane (w/Paul Bearer) vs. The Undertaker.
Taker meets Kane in the aisle and pummels him. He did that in their first match. By the way, why did anyone think these two deserved a three-match series? Is the star power on Smackdown really that lacking? Taker beats Kane up and down through the audience. Back in, Taker tosses some chairs in the ring. Not my chair, not my problem. Kane fights back and hits a few chairshots to set up the chokeslam. Taker wins a slugfest as Kane tries to get him over to the burial site. Kane scurries away right to the hole and throws dirt in Taker's eyes. Striker: "The symbolism alone speaks volumes." Huh? Taker drags him down in the gogogadgetplata, and Kane taps. Meaningless, though. Taker rolls Kane into the grave, but he stops to stalk Paul Bearer. In fairness, Taker did try to kill him with cement. Suddenly, the Nexus runs out and attacks the Undertaker, saving Paul Bearer from a chokeslam into the grave. Kane recovers and knocks Taker out with the urn. He tosses it in, and Nexus helps bury Taker. Hey, didn't Taker get his power from the urn? Why would you give it to him? Kane shoos them off and uses his magical powers to drop dirt from the nearby bulldozer. That's a win at 16:56. After the match, lighting strikes the gravestone and Undertaker's symbol appears on it. Presumably, the Nexus' interference would have been explained if the Undertaker hadn't gotten injured. I know that's a pretty big leap, considering WWE Creative, though. Anyway, this match concept needs to die. The stipulations just require too much stupidity and boredom. Taker was too banged-up to deliver much, which begs the question – has a wrestler ever won "Match of the Year" and "Worst Wrestler of the Year" in the same year? DUD
The look on Lawler and Cole's faces says it all, although probably not intentionally.
Raw vs. Smackdown: The Miz, CM Punk, John Morrison, Ezekial Jackson, Santino Marella, R-Truth & Sheamus (w/Alex Riley) vs. The Big Show, Rey Mysterio, Jack Swagger, Tyler Reks, Kofi Kingston, Alberto Del Rio & Edge (w/Hornswoggle).
Reks makeover is an upgrade, but I would have rather seen Kaval in there instead of the… NOTHING that they had planned for him. Reks can get over doing other things. Morrison holds his own against Reks but tags in Santino, who gets Burning Hammered while going for the COBRA. Santino is gone at 2:38. Reks looks badass until Ezekial comes in. That brings in the Big Show. Show overpowers Zeke, and Team Smackdown utilizes quick tags. Zeke overpowers Kofi and Rey and drags Kofi over into the Raw corner. Kofi comes back with the Boom Drop on Sheamus. Sheamus gets his hand on the ropes to avoid getting pinned by the SOS and evens things up with the Irish Carbomb at 6:51.
Punk and Rey go at it. Good idea. Crowd is firmly behind Punk, oddly enough. Del Rio tags himself in once Rey gets going, and Punk shoves Del Rio into Rey. Del Rio is upset and tosses Rey into the barricade, injuring Rey's wrist. Morrison tags in to take on Swagger and hits the Ki Krusher. He tries to block the pump splash, but Swagger grabs his ankle. Morrison twists out of it, hits a high kick, and eliminates Swagger with Starship Pain at 13:07. Reks attacks Morrison, but Sheamus comes in to even things up. The Brogue Kick sends Reks packing at 14:27. Show gets fed up and shoves Sheamus to the floor. Sheamus shoves down Hornswoggle, so Show goes after him and beats him up the aisle. He's so angry that he doesn't realize he's going to get counted out until it's too late. Sheamus and Show get counted out at 15:25. That's a good sacrifice for Raw. Edge avoids R-Truth's Axe Kick and spears him at 16:40. Same thing with Morrison only substitute Starship Pain. Bye bye Morrison via spear at 17:07.
Punk goes for the Go2Sleep, but Edge elbows out of it. He tries another spear, but Punk is wise enough to leapfrog. Del Rio tags himself in but falls victim to a backslide at 18:03. That leaves Edge versus Raw. Oh, but here comes Rey Mysterio returning to the match! Edge plays face-in-peril as the three remaining Raw guys take turns beating the crap out of him. The fans have a healthy "CM Punk" chant going, despite his heel status. Mysterio gets the hot tag, but Punk cuts him off. Punk goes for the Go2Sleep, triggering a series of rollup reversals. Rey hits the 619 and a slingshot splash to finish Punk at 24:06.
Jackson waylays Rey from behind, but Rey sets him up for the 619. Jackson swats him down to counter but gets DDT'd. The real 619 hits moments later. Rey eliminates Jackson with a botched springboard splash at 26:23. Miz attacks, but Rey ranas him against the ropes. Alex Riley sacrifices himself to take the 619, allowing Miz to block the slingshot splash. Rey rolls out of the Skull-Crushing Finale to make the hot tag. Edge finishes with the spear at 27:54. Cole suddenly switches teams to claim Smackdown as his home show. Haha. The match was quite good. There were a few rapidfire eliminations in the final third, which I don't care for, but they made sense in the context of the match. Plus, guys who have struggled to find a good role (Zeke, Reks) looked good here. ***1/2
WWE Heavyweight Title: Randy Orton vs. Wade Barrett (w/John Cena).
Nice of Barrett to let Cena keep his music and his merchandise. It's almost as if Cena being forced into the Nexus is meaningless. Barrett threatens to fire Cena if he doesn't win. The Anonymous Raw General Manger would probably hire him back, what with him being half of the tag champions and all. Orton gets tossed early and glares at Cena. Barrett pummels Orton and scolds Cena for not helping out. The match itself is brutally boring because both guys are natural heels. Orton is a cool antihero, but he's not sympathetic, so watching him get beatdown doesn't generate much emotion. The ref gets bumped, and Cena hops up on the apron, but Orton sends Barrett into him. That brings down the Nexus, but Cena has had enough and cleans house. Barrett demands to know what Cena's thinking, and Cena explains he threw them out so Barrett wouldn't get disqualified. That's actually a good excuse. Orton avoids the Wasteland and powerslams Barrett. Rope-assisted DDT! Orton readies for the RKO, but Cena jumps in behind him and hits Barrett with the Attitude Adjustment for the DQ at 14:31. See, Barrett wins the match, so he can't fire Cena, but Cena made sure he didn't win the title. Orton delivers RKOs to both guys anyway. The match didn't really do anything for Orton as a new babyface champ (and despite his position at the top of the card for nearly two years, Orton does need help establishing himself as a babyface). Instead, he was the third wheel in a rivalry between Cena and Barrett. *
This show was like Nickelback's career – started out with one classic hit and then turned to crap in a hurry. Bryan vs. Ziggler will likely wind up on some kind of compilation, and the elimination match, while fun, doesn't have the meaning it should, so this turkey gets an easy thumbs down.
Recommendation to avoid. | |
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