| Did not see the show, so I can't comment. But it seems someone could remake the "Ground Hog Day" movie, and whoever now plays the Bill Murray role keeps waking up the next morning and has to watch another Triple H/Randy Orton match. | Howard Kleuter Hi Dave, I would give "The Bash" a "thumbs down" overall, as I found it to be disappointing; it resembled bad WWE TV rather than a high-quality PPV event. I thought the "Scramble" match was ok, better than I expected because they changed the rules so that the participants arrived at intervals. Not sure about the pointless title changes, though even if they weren't officially recognised. Jericho VS Mysterio was the match of the night. I wanted to see where they'd go if Rey lost his mask, but I liked the finish where he had a "spare" one on underneath. Ziggler VS Khali was a waste of time, although I did enjoy the Kane comeback. However, who in their right mind wants to see another feud between him and Khali? As soon as Edge and Jericho were added to the tag-title match, it pretty much told the viewers that Edge and Jericho would become the new Unified Tag-Team Champions. Therefore, The Colons and Legacy looked like spare parts in the ring and in general, the match felt flat (also, why would Edge and Jericho [two singles main event guys] accept an offer of teaming up to win the tag-titles? They're not a proper tag-team and in story line parlance, aren't best friends, so why accept it when they would much rather a respective World and Tag-Title shot?). WWE have now ruined the "draft" ruling again, as Edge and Jericho will now be representing all 3 brands. Melina VS Michelle McCool was disappointing. They got little to no reaction and the match focused way too much on McCool working on Melina's leg. This one could have done with a bit more action. Punk VS Hardy was another letdown. It just didn't look or feel like a main event attraction, and the ending was awful. The first finish was a joke (since when does it matter if an opponent's leg is slightly under the rope on a pin? I've seen countless matches where a wrestler's entire body has been close to the corner and the pin fall has stood). How did the referee (Scott Armstrong) not see Punk's leg under the ropes immediately? Could it not be possible for Punk to move his body slightly after the "3" has been counted? They made it worse with the 2nd finish (Punk kicking the referee and get DQ'd). If they wanted a re-start, they should have had Punk beat Jeff CLEANLY, so there was no doubt as to who was the better man. Punk is still being portrayed as a "lucky loser", who's bumbling and conning his way through a World Title reign. Jeff is probably leaving in a month or so, so why not have him put Punk (who IS the Champion) over on his way out? Cena VS Miz was a joke. After building up The Miz in a strong fashion, they had him go out there and job to Cena within 5 minutes. Why make such a big thing about it being Miz's "first major PPV match" and then treat him like a complete loser who's clearly out of his league against a "real star" like Cena? The "3 Stages Of Hell" Match was another waste of time. Instead of building each fall slowly and in a manner where you thought anyone could win it, they simply rushed through the two first falls and then quickly jumped to the "Stretcher" Match. This part was actually ok at times, but it was so obvious that Legacy would interfere, although I must say I'm surprised that HHH lost. Then again, HHH might as well have won, as he completely destroyed all 3 men with his trusty sledgehammer (conveniently tucked under the stage). Instead of selling the beating, he simply did his "superman" routine and made sure that when all was said and done, all the attention was on him. Overall, there were aspects of "The Bash" that I enjoyed, however the negatives far outweighed the positives and had me worrying about the long-term future of this company. Matthew Evans Wales, UK | Thumbs in the Midle
Best Match: Jericho vs. Rey
Worst Match: Khali vs. Ziggler
It does not matter what WWE calls their late June spectacular pay per view, it usually ends up as the least popular of all their pay per views in any given year. Allow me to go through this slowly so I won't cause any injury to myself.
1. Was it necessary for Khali vs. Ziggler to even be a part of the pay per view? Never thought I would type that I feel sorry for Khali but considering he is jobbing to a former Spirit Squad member who now looks like Jeff Jarrett circa the second-go-round in the WWE, it's enough for anyone to feel sorry for the guy.
2. Rey Mysterio and Chris Jericho proved once again how to put together a match that will keep the people talking. Did anyone expect less from these two?
3. Now Edge and Jericho are tag team champions. We have been here before many times. Two big singles superstars win the tag team titles only to have a falling out and drop the belts to a random team. Honestly, I don't care about Primo, Carlito or Legacy to see any of them with the titles and I hate the unification factor. I say split the belts and give ECW their own for the Hart Dynasty.
4. Michelle McCool defeats Melina for the women's title. Well done. I really don't know what to say for this match. When I think about how they have unified the tag titles and yet they still have two women's titles and two world heavyweight titles, it makes me scream because they don't have the depth anywhere.
5. The ECW scramble match once again went to Tommy Dreamer. I got to say if they work long enough to get Tommy back to the way he was in ECW (especially around the invasion angle of 1997), he would be awesome. Enough of the clear-cut faces and heels on TV, in ECW, lines should be erased.
6. C.M. Punk vs. Jeff Hardy almost got my vote for worst match. A disqualification finish? Punk is an awesome heel, but again, Smackdown has no depth. Time to merge the WWE and World titles because Smackdown is a laugh and an injury away from another reign by The Great Khali.
7. Now I am going to crap on everyone who thought Cena vs. Miz should have been a more competitive match. Truth be told, I have no idea how the hell Miz still has a WWE contract. Does Miz have photos of McMahon and one of the Divas having sex in the locker room? This guy has a lot of talking abilities but overall, he is a dork. Let me repeat that, he is The Miz and he is A DORK! As annoying of a human being as The Miz happens to be, there is never a question in my mind as to why JBL despised him.
8. Orton vs. HHH ended the way a match at a house show or a televised main event would end. I was not looking for Rhodes and Dibiase to do the predictable run-in, I was looking for a McMahon double-cross. One of many things we have not seen in the WWE for a while. Speaking of things we have not seen in the WWE for a while, how long has it been since a Diva posed nude in Playboy? I say we get either Melina or Rosa Mendes to give us the honor.
Thanks for allowing me to rant, double thanks if you post it,
Herman Segle
Best match: Punk-Hardy
Worst match: Cena-Miz
There were some good matches, but not as entertaining as last
week's free RAW, so that nudges it to thumbs down.
Tag team adjustment was interesting. Punk is first rate in his role.
Sick of seeing HHH vs. Orton - enough! Interference in multiple matches
on a PPV not acceptable -- people are paying for this. They could have
damaged Miz even more, but it would have taken a real effort -- this was
pointless.
-- Mike Omansky
| Hi Dave, Just wanted to offer my thoughts on "The Bash". I give the PPV a thumbs in the middle, not a bad show, but nothing great to write home about. Best Match: Mysterio VS Jericho Worst Match: Cena VS Miz ECW Title Scramble Match: I thought this was a good match and good concept, once they figured out the rules. They seemed to change the rules about 3 times the past few weeks. I like the concept of a mini rumble and the pinfalls during the match. I thought Christian was going to regain the title for sure, and was pleasently surprised to see Dreamer win. Did anyone notice that after Dreamer scored the last pinfall before the match ended, he then tried another pin attempt on Mark Henry? I think even the participants were confused by the rules. I/C Title - Jericho VS Mysterio This was a great match, by far the best match of the night, reminded me of Steamboat and Savege from WM3, or something close to it. It was difficult for me to get excited over the idea of Mysterio losing his mask, since he wrestled for years in WCW without his mask, so I've seen his face hundreds of times. Jericho right now is at his career best as a top notch heel. I was never a big Jericho fan until this latest heel turn, and he seems to have perfected it with his "Bockwinkle" like interview style. Ziggler VS Khali I thought this was decent for what it was, since they just can't do anything with Khali other then his ring entrance. This was a good chance to elevate Ziggler, hopefully it does. I think the return of Kane did not do that much for the match, it would have worked better for Ziggler's push if he was able to destroy Khali by himself. But not a bad match for a former spirit squad member, and poor Khali who really looks like he struggles just to walk to the ring these days, he seems to be dragging his foot really bad of late. Anyway, I did not think it was the worst match of the night, but about as good as could have been expected. WWE Unified Tag Title Match I was not enticed about this match at all between the Colon's and Legacy, but adding Edge and Jericho to the match really peaked my interest. I thought it was a great last minute addition to an otherwise dull match, and I would have really marked out if it would have been Edge and Christian making a return. But Edge and Jericho winning the belts is just as good. Womens Title Match I thought this was one of the better womens matches in awhile, McCool and Melina are both good performers and this was a good match. Alicia Fox is very tall when compared to the other divas, she did not seem that big when she was with DJ Gabriel, whatever happend to him by the way? Anyway, really good match and with top notch selling by Melina. Melina just makes for such a natural heel, it's hard to take her as a face. But this was a good match. World Title I was really dissapointed with this match and the DQ ending. What a cheap way to end a match on a PPV. And I guess Hardy forgot his makeup bag, no "inigma" tonight I suppose. This was like Flair saving his title back in the 80's, which also pissed me off when they ended a title match like that. Although Punk seems to be turning heel and is doing a good job at it, the DQ ending is just lame in any title match. Cena VS Miz The worst match of the night! I don't care about either participant, especially the Miz. Are they punishing Cena for "12 Rounds" doing so poorly? He went from world champ and pushed to the moon, and now he is being punked out by the Miz. Even though Cena won and destroyed Miz, who cares? They should have just removed this match from the PPV, I don't think anyone else cares either. WWE Title: Not a bad match, other then HHH and Orton fighting each other has been done to death, and I'm just tired of seeing these two headline PPV's with each other. You would think if this match bombed at WrestleMania, why would it do better here? Even with the extra stips, I would have left the arena early as well if I was there live during this match. Just no match charisma between these two, at least not right now anyway, maybe if they keep them seperated for a year and then fight again. But I know Trips wants to be champ again, too bad he did not win the title back. That means we have to see them fight again, (yawn). What's the deal with Orton? I thought he had the same injury as Batista recently? Anyway, not a bad match, it's just that nobody cares about this fued except for Donald Trump and Vinny Mac. Thanks, Jon Southerland Clovis, Ca. |
Howard Kleuter Hi Dave, I would give "The Bash" a "thumbs down" overall, as I found it to be disappointing; it resembled bad WWE TV rather than a high-quality PPV event. I thought the "Scramble" match was ok, better than I expected because they changed the rules so that the participants arrived at intervals. Not sure about the pointless title changes, though even if they weren't officially recognised. Jericho VS Mysterio was the match of the night. I wanted to see where they'd go if Rey lost his mask, but I liked the finish where he had a "spare" one on underneath. Ziggler VS Khali was a waste of time, although I did enjoy the Kane comeback. However, who in their right mind wants to see another feud between him and Khali? As soon as Edge and Jericho were added to the tag-title match, it pretty much told the viewers that Edge and Jericho would become the new Unified Tag-Team Champions. Therefore, The Colons and Legacy looked like spare parts in the ring and in general, the match felt flat (also, why would Edge and Jericho [two singles main event guys] accept an offer of teaming up to win the tag-titles? They're not a proper tag-team and in story line parlance, aren't best friends, so why accept it when they would much rather a respective World and Tag-Title shot?). WWE have now ruined the "draft" ruling again, as Edge and Jericho will now be representing all 3 brands. Melina VS Michelle McCool was disappointing. They got little to no reaction and the match focused way too much on McCool working on Melina's leg. This one could have done with a bit more action. Punk VS Hardy was another letdown. It just didn't look or feel like a main event attraction, and the ending was awful. The first finish was a joke (since when does it matter if an opponent's leg is slightly under the rope on a pin? I've seen countless matches where a wrestler's entire body has been close to the corner and the pin fall has stood). How did the referee (Scott Armstrong) not see Punk's leg under the ropes immediately? Could it not be possible for Punk to move his body slightly after the "3" has been counted? They made it worse with the 2nd finish (Punk kicking the referee and get DQ'd). If they wanted a re-start, they should have had Punk beat Jeff CLEANLY, so there was no doubt as to who was the better man. Punk is still being portrayed as a "lucky loser", who's bumbling and conning his way through a World Title reign. Jeff is probably leaving in a month or so, so why not have him put Punk (who IS the Champion) over on his way out? Cena VS Miz was a joke. After building up The Miz in a strong fashion, they had him go out there and job to Cena within 5 minutes. Why make such a big thing about it being Miz's "first major PPV match" and then treat him like a complete loser who's clearly out of his league against a "real star" like Cena? The "3 Stages Of Hell" Match was another waste of time. Instead of building each fall slowly and in a manner where you thought anyone could win it, they simply rushed through the two first falls and then quickly jumped to the "Stretcher" Match. This part was actually ok at times, but it was so obvious that Legacy would interfere, although I must say I'm surprised that HHH lost. Then again, HHH might as well have won, as he completely destroyed all 3 men with his trusty sledgehammer (conveniently tucked under the stage). Instead of selling the beating, he simply did his "superman" routine and made sure that when all was said and done, all the attention was on him. Overall, there were aspects of "The Bash" that I enjoyed, however the negatives far outweighed the positives and had me worrying about the long-term future of this company. Matthew Evans Wales, UK | .hmmessage P { margin:0px; padding:0px } body.hmmessage { font-size: 10pt; font-family:Verdana } Thumbs down.
Best match: Punk-Hardy
Worst match: Cena-Miz
There were some good matches, but not as entertaining as last
week's free RAW, so that nudges it to thumbs down.
Tag team adjustment was interesting. Punk is first rate in his role.
Sick of seeing HHH vs. Orton - enough! Interference in multiple matches
on a PPV not acceptable -- people are paying for this. They could have
damaged Miz even more, but it would have taken a real effort -- this was
pointless.
-- Mike Omansky
|
