Overall: Thumbs way up
Best match: Cena vs. Orton
Worst match: McCool/Beth/Natty vs. Kelly/Gail/Melina (though it wasn't bad by any means)
I was more than pleasantly surprised by this show and although I didn't go in expecting much from it, I came out thinking it was one of the best shows I've seen all year. Definitely worth the $40.00 purchase.
Miz vs. Morrison: Not a great match and I expected a lot, but I hope the feud continues because I would love to see more. Obviously I had high expectations for this battle mostly because it has been in the back of our minds for months now, but I think Miz's limited skills hurt this match and Morrison didn't do enough to make up for it. It's tough to blame him though because of the way it was booked. This match (and the segment on SmackDown) further cemented what we've known for years now, that Morrison needs Miz to carry the promos and Miz needs Morrison to carry the matches. In that sense, it was sort of sad to realize that these two are indeed finished for good because they are the perfect match. Still though, not bad by any means and a decent opener. I look forward to the possibility of future matches as their skills develop further. I was quite surprised by Miz winning clean.
Divas vs. Divas: One of the best Divas matches of the year, although that isn't saying much I suppose. It held my attention (which IS saying a lot) and there weren't any big botches, so thumbs up in my book. There were some solid near falls that actually served their purpose successfully and you could tell the crowd was actually into the action. The ladies proved that there is still hope for the Divas division, so job well done.
Batista vs. Punk vs. Rey vs. Undertaker: A solid match and pretty much what I expected from these men. Everyone worked hard and the match came off well worked. The Batista and Rey story was pulled off great by both of them, not only through the booking and spots which set up the post-match confrontation perfectly, but through the facials and emotions of the men as well. I thought for sure Punk was going over tonight, but I'm honestly glad that Undertaker retained. The last thing we need at this point is another title change in only three weeks build. I would have liked to have seen the heel turn take place on SmackDown and perhaps would have preferred it if Dave hovered around tweener status until after Survivor Series. It was painfully obvious that it was coming during the anti-climactic in-ring interview with Matthews and it should have waited. The beatdown and acting themselves were cheesy too, but I guess that I shouldn't have expected much given their abilities.
Team Raw vs. Team SmackDown: Great match and everyone came off looking good, especially some of the younger guys on Team SD (Hart Dynasty and R-Truth especially). Seeing David Smith work Shawn over gave me hope that the future is still bright. It was especially refreshing to see Raw do the job (Hunter taking the KO punch put a smug grin on my face that Chris Jericho himself couldn't duplicate), but it was done in a way that neither brand came off looking significantly weaker than the other, so kudos to the booking team.
Orton vs. Cena: Shocking to say the least. In the most unlikely of match, on the most unlikely show, from two of the most unlikely of men, I honestly think they put on what was easily one of the best matches I've seen in the last five years. From what I've gathered so far, the smart mark community is split between this match being just above average and it being an all time classic. My feelings definitely fall within the latter. Everything in this match was just phenomenal and was one of the greatest displays of in-ring psychology I've seen in a long, long time. Some of the pyro spots were over the top, but I think they served their purpose in what was booked as the final match in a three year feud and thus fit well into the context. Everything from bell to bell was gripping to say the least and Orton's facials and assumed thought process in the final minutes confirmed the fact that he is one of the best workers on the planet today. The final five minutes were just perfect, further defining the characters of the biggest superstars in WWE. I just can't say enough good things about the booking and hard work throughout this match and I would be happy to pay for the show again just to see it again.
Overall, a great showing by WWE.
-Ryan Niepagen
WWE Bragging Rights: Thumbs Up Best Match: 7 on 7 Tag Match Worst Match: Divas Match (by default as it wasn't too bad) Show started out well with the Miz/Morrison match. I thought Morrison was winning, because I can see him moving ahead more than I can see Miz, but obviously Smackdown had to lose this match. The women's match was fine. Again had to figure that Smackdown was winning, because otherwise the seven on seven match wouldn't mean anything. Fatal four way was entertaining, although I thought it would go longer. I guess they aren't ready to take the belt from Taker. Not surprised to see Batista turn, but seems kind of dumb for him to turn on someone when they are both competing for the title. Not like Batista doesn't know it's every man for himself. Would like to see the title back on Punk though. Seven on seven was a fun match, although they didn't really do that much. Each guy only was in a short time. I had a feeling Smackdown was winning, but thought they should have pinned someone other than Kingston. At least Jericho and Show are still together I guess. Main event was solid, although they did stall too much. I think they should have eliminated the intervals, but that's just me. Some good spots in the match. Hopefully we can move into a new direction now, although not sure where Orton goes if he is not challenging Cena. Robb Block Thumbs Up
I'm only going to give feedback on the ironman match because when it was announced my reaction was that I wasnt going to watch the show based on it being the main event. But because the show was free on Sky Sports I decided I would watch.
I take back what I said about Cena & Orton leading into this match because it was a really well worked match. Where I thought the time would drag, I got really into this match and the time flew by. It was paced really well and Cena and Orton left it all in the ring. The reason this match worked most for me was because WWE did a great job of making it feel like a big deal. During this match I forgot that Cena & Orton had had match after match and title change after title change in recent months because it felt like it came down to this match and this was the end of the feud. I think it was the right result because Raw is the right place for Cena to be.
It's interesting that even thought John Cena and Randy Orton have met far too many times in recent years, WWE were able to make this one match on a B PPV feel more important than anything that appeared at Bound for Glory last Sunday. I watched the whole show on Bravo on Wednesday night and nothing came close to matching the air of importance of this match on "TNA's Wrestlemania".
The rest of the show was fun and the show as a whole is a thumbs up but I just think that John Cena and Randy Orton deserve credit for ending this on a really good match. I'm sure somewhere down the line they will fight again because a last match is never a last match in wrestling. But for now it was a very good full stop to this rilvary
Tom McCarthy
morrison vs miz good divas ok... surprised melina took pin since kelly kelly was in fatal 4 way was quick and ok.. could see batista turn coming with josh in the ring wwe ok... too much nonsense... rko hurts more than a tv monitor.. now falls count anywhere cena is bleeding and cole says if doctor comes out its fall for orton and now dble pin legacy come out.... too much non sense... orton has decisive lead ... no 4 to 3 is not decisive. cena wins with 5 secons left... what about the 30 seconds rest period... and the fall orton didn't get wen doctors came in to check cena ,cole said if that happened orton gets fall... Paul Astolfo toronto Dear Dave,
I give the UFC 104 event a thumbs in the middle pushing more towards up. The best match IMO was Stevenson/Fisher. The worst fight was the Main Event. It was just such a bore. I felt Shogun won until I watched the fight again and can see how Machida edged him out. Still, both did so little it was a toss up.
Cheers,
Anthony J SullivanDave:
Watching, and more importantly, listening, to Michael Schiavello call the Sakuraba match from DREAM 12 was incredible. The excitement in his voice, and the amazing call of, "WORSHIP THE GOD OF JAPANESE MMA" was stunning. Machida-Shogun might get all of the attention this weekend, but Schiavello made that fight seem like it was the single most important event of the year.
-Mike CoughlinDave,
Just wanted to drop you and Bryan a quick note.
The interview you did with Paul Heyman was outstanding. Heyman is
nothing if not captivating, and his passion and insight for the
business is rivaled by few people.
There's that old expression: "I wish I could have been a fly on the
wall." Listening to that show, it was like being a fly on the wall
during a great conversation between the three of you, three unique
individuals who have all carved out their own niche in the industry.
Listening to the interview, it really hit home just how much this
business needs someone like Paul E. Dangerously. He was often ahead
of the curve, and very frequently had his finger on the pulse. I
only wish he were still involved today. As Heyman mentioned in the
interview, he is now part of the older generation. But damn, that
younger generation could sure learn a lot from him. It's really a
crime for him to sit on the sidelines. Hopefully Dixie Carter was
listening. Or better yet, hopefully Shane O'Mac was listening.
And for anyone that hasn't heard the show, do yourself a favor and
listen to it. That interview alone is worth the price of admission
(and that's without mentioning all the great interviews over the past
year like Flair, Hart, Foley, Lance Storm, Sammartino, and Cornette,
just to name a few).
Thanks for keeping wrestling coverage and analysis interesting and
entertaining, even when the actual product isn't so kind to its fans.
Josh Jabcuga
| Thumbs in middle for 104. Best Velasquez-Rothwell....Worst Sonnen-Okami I got to see this one live, and after going to 102 in Portland and now this, the seats I had last night were better but almost everything else fell short. Including my judgment in buying a premixed margarita at Staples that was pure sugar. The crowd was loud, and the tickets were a gift. But when it comes to the whole experience and how much it costs, it might have been better to just stay home and watch on TV. For the main event, from my seats, I saw Lyoto as winning the first 3 rounds. Obviously not many others agree with that. I may have had a different opinion watching on TV. But its not like Shogun blew him out. A ton of Mexican fans cheering for Cain, which was cool as I was too, but also booing Rothwell which I found to lack class. This guy is not a heel. Stoppage wasn't great, you could understand it, but it won't help Mazagatti. Cain was winning anyway. Big John might've done a better job there. Rumble Johnson looked great. If he can't make weight though he needs to move up. The undercard was decent, nothing great. Pat Barry made a good comeback from his loss to Hague. Struve is my dude, he's Dutch and threw a great triangle. Jorge Rivera is still good enough to hang around. Bader I had hoped would win more convincingly. Okami looked like he was sick or something. Sonnen is still the most boring fighter in MMA. Thumbs up for Dream. Kikuno almost had Alvarez in that neck crank. Can't remember when I've seen one done quite like that. Eddie got out and you could tell he was hurt bad..then wins with an arm triangle which seems to be the new hot finisher. Sakuraba made a pretty amazing comeback. I don't ever need to see him fight again, though. Zaromskis on the other hand I can't wait to see fight again. |
Matt Vandeventer
Howard Kleuter
Thumbs down. The card was okay but the decision in the main killed everything.
Best fight: Struve vs. Gormley
Worst fight: I guess Johnson vs. Yoshida for the squash factor. Nothing was either really bad or really great.
Sub: Struve
KO: Johnson
The Spike fights were okay. Barry vs. Hardonk had good action while it lasted and it's always fun to see speed kill size. Struve vs. Gormley showed the most technique of any fight of the night. Bader and Schafer was two good ground guys boxing not very well, and I thought Schafer won.
On the PPV, Johnson was just so much bigger than Yoshida that it didn't look like they were anywhere near the same division. Johnson looks like at least a light heavyweight.
Stevenson made the Fisher fight a lot harder than it had to be by waiting till the 2nd to take it to the ground.
Sonnen shocked with excellent boxing and looking super sharp vs. Okami, who looked clueless and reduced to throwing a 1-2 over and over. Career best performance for Sonnen and career worst for Okami. More ground guys boxing but Sonnen actually boxed WELL.
Neer and Tibau was a decent scrap. If Tibau would fight every fight by just slamming the other guy, letting him up, slamming him, letting him up... he'd never lose.
Cain looked great against Rothwell even though the stoppage was probably at the wrong time, but nothing was gonna change. Cain stepped it up and was hitting with power on the ground, which is something he needed to fix and apparently has.
The main, shit. Shogun proved it was the injuries that were screwing him up, got in great shape, managed the very difficult feat of curbing his natural aggressiveness and was patient and tactical and made Machida fight his fight, and reminded us all why Muay Thai > Karate. I thought he was shot and would wade in banging and Machida would pick him apart and kill him. But IMO Shogun won 4 of the 5 rounds and should get an immediate rematch.
Crimson Mask
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