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Extreme rules/UFC 129 feedback



I may have the distinction of being the only international buy of this ppv, although I am looking forward to it in a strange way!
 
Hopefully no Cole yet doesn't mean he's going over then commentating!
 
Orton v Punk, last man standing - really good opener. Some brutal kendo stick shots. Orton winning ends the feud and the next week may show where Punk's contract status is!
 
A non advertised tables match between Kofi & Sheamus? Really? Crowd understandably down from the opener. It was a good match given it wasn't announced beforehand. Good pop for the finish. Didn't think Sheamus would lose just as cleanly as he did but hey! At least they didn't swerve off course. Bigger and better on the horizon for Sheamus.
 
Here comes Cole/Swagger v Lawler/Ross in the country whipping match. Cole looks more pregnant than usual. Please tell me this feud isn't  continuing now that Cole won? I know Vince loves him, but still.........Not quite what it could have been but it could have been worse. I think......
 
Rey v Cody, falls count anywhere. I was expecting a good match to help Cody continue to move up the ranks. Rey channeled his inner Great Muta with the mist at the finish. Started off great and slowed a little. Good but not great.
 
Layla apologising to the Divas in any other organisation would mean she was winning her match, but in WWE who knows!
 
Looks like I was right about Cole!
 
Layla v Mrs Undertaker, loser leaves WWE. They finishing with two straight heavyweight title matches? All things considered it was ok. Not good, just ok. Crowd seemed surprised with Layla's win. Sticking to the sensible booking for the most part so far, though both title matches could go to anyone at this point.
 
Yes!!!! It's Awesome Kong/Kharma! Thank you Vince! Trying to make her look like a bone fide monster. Bye bye Barbie no.1!
 
Christian v Del Rio, ladder match. They're setting Christian up to win the title a la Rey after Eddie died. Did Cole just say Del Rio was the nephew of Mil Mascaras? Not like WWE to do that! Some sick looking bumps from both in the match. Christian now has inherited the spear from Edge as well. Brodus interfering to stop Christian winning worked (relatively) in storyline. Brodus is cut open badly! Edge returned to distract Del Rio, allowing Christian to win the title. I really enjoyed this match, it was excellent - it could be career defining for Christian in Vince's eyes.
 
Lumberjack tag match anyone? I thought not. Ezekiel/Barrett v Big Show/Kane. Enough said. Well, I did think something needed to go in between the two title matches. Show pinned Barrett after the choke slam. Just dire - and even worse, they had the lumberjacks brawl after the match. Even more worrying, they're teasing dissension between Barrett and big Zeke again.
 
Morrison/Cena/Miz, cage match. Miz's bump on the cage superplex looked really scary. The match was really good. No surprise in Cena winning, even if I'd rather he hadn't.
 
Thumbs way up.
 
Worst match - tag title match.
 
Best match - ladder match.
 
Gary Mehaffy, Belfast, N. Ireland
 
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Thumbs Way Up

Best Match: Christian vs Alberto Del Rio
Worst Match: Layla vs Michelle McCool

It's amazing how good a PPV can be when you give your talented workers time to actually work.  While gimmicks are helpful and could be considered a "crutch," I think the time allotted and smart booking was what made everything come off so well tonight.  I can't speak highly enough of both the World Title and WWE Title matches.  I sincerely believe them to be legit MOTYC's at this point in time.  A re-watch tomorrow when the WOW factor has worn off will tell me if I'm right or not.  I PRAY that WWE doesn't do such a great job setting up Morrison to take that next big step and then take his knees out from under him.  He really was the star of the night and deserves to have the rocket strapped to his back.

--
Have a good one,
Justin Baisden

Thumbs up show 

Best Match: Christian vs. Del Rio 
Worst Match: Lawler and Ross vs. Swagger and Cole 

This show had some great wrestling and the all encompassing moment of Christian completing the Grand Slam and finally winning the World Title. The possibility of Christian finally being recognized by WWE as one of the best is what truly sold this show for me. Most of the rest of the card was pretty great as well, with Kofi's great landing on Sheamus that not only puts the spotlight on Kofi on Raw, but frees Sheamus up for a feud with Christian in what could be a Feud of the Year candidate. Why they put Cole over tonight is beyond me. They made me sit through that match, they could at least let me see Lawler and Ross win. Instead, Vince will continue to try to do the impossible: bury Jim Ross to the point where people will no longer wish that he was the play by play man instead of Cole. On a lighter note, Punk and Orton had a great end to their feud, and bearded Orton should be a good face on SmackDown, which is quickly becoming the brand to watch. Cena getting the WWE Title back tonight was the right move, and though I really think R-Truth should have been involved in the actual match tonight, what they wound up doing with him worked well. Though I hope he gets a title run over the next year, I want to see Cena go into WrestleMania as champ and make that match with The Rock the main event restores life and importance to the belt.

I had the opportunity to watch both the UFC and WWE PPVs this weekend, and I have to say, on an entertainment and quality scale, both shows were about even. They both had standout athletes and matches that were duds, and though they are different products, the comparisons this weekend are about even for me. I enjoyed both of them to a high degree, and it's unfortunate that this year's Extreme Rules will be killed as far as the buyrate is concerned. I'm actually very optimistic about the future of WWE. Then again, one screwed up Raw can change everything... 

Zach Hagenbucher from Rothschild, WI 

Thumbs Up
Best Match - Christian vs. Alberto Del Rio
Worst Match - Country Whipping Match
 
Christian's win was worth the entire PPV for me, but the entire card was very strong.  Don't understand the apparent continuance of the Cole/Lawler/JR feud.  The match was laid out well enough but there was no satisfactory payoff.  JR is obviously not a wrestler, but I thought he could have shown more fire with the strap.  Actually, Lawler was the only guy who seemed to know how to use one correctly.  I also thought the announcing was horrible.  Matthews' straightforward manner is a bore, Booker's cliches are annoying and Cole is a character who no one takes seriously.  There were some really good matches that could have been a lot better with JR/Lawler announcing.
 
On the positive tip - Cody Rhodes stepped up, Kofi's finishing move rocked, Kharma's entrance was well put together and John Morrison's creativity is a blast to watch.
 
Jason Singh
Vallejo, CA 
 
Hi Dave,

Thumbs Way Up!

Best match - Mark Hominick vs. Jose Aldo

Worst match - GSP vs Jake Shields

Best K.O. - Machida with a front kick on Couture

Best submission - Jason MacDonald with a triangle on Ryan Jesen

I was at the Rogers Centre and have to say UFC 129 lived up to the hype.

The highlights for me were: 

1. Round 5 of the Hominick vs Aldo fight. The crowd was going mental and the visual of Hominick with the hematoma and bloody giving Aldo shot after shot was pretty amazing. Hominick won a lot of fans with that performance even though he lost.
2. GSP entrance  to the cage.
3. Couture gets a well deserved standing ovation from the crowd after losing to Machida.
4. The UFC hype video before the PPV - the greatest video ever!!!
5. Jon Jones(with a GSP headband on) walking by seat and stopping to shake my hand after I yelled "Bones"!

The main event was a letdown but I think GSP will come back stronger next time.
If he fights Nick Diaz, that would be a great fight and we all know Diaz would make a great heel.

Also, the UFC Fan Expo was great. I got to meet and take pictures with Cung Lee, Jonathan Brokins, the Korean Zombie and Brittany Palmer.
Just a great debut for UFC in Toronto and I can't wait until they return.

Forbes Burlingham
Burlington, ON

WWE Extreme Rules: Thumbs Up
Best Match: Christian vs. Alberto Del Rio
Worst Match: Country Whipping Match
 
Overall a very good show from top to bottom.  Good opener with Orton vs. Punk.  Not sure though why some of these feuds continue for as long as they do when Orton has beaten Punk time and again, so not like Orton had any reason to even have this match, but if you forget about that then it was good.  Sheamus vs. Kofi was good, not great.  Again no reason for a tables match, but I guess they had to get the title off of Sheamus.  Hope Kofi gets a little push, cause he's lost a lot of steam as of late.  Rey vs. Cody was very good.  Rhodes also needs more a push.  Winning one match every so often, but losing way too much in between doesn't do anything for these guys.  Does anyone even remember that he won at Mania?  Ross and Lawler vs. Cole and Swagger had its moments for comedy mostly, but certainly wasn't much of a match, not that it could be.  Apparently this feud will continue way past the point that anyone is going to care.  Womens match was fine.  Liked Kharma's debut.  Hope she crushes everyone and dominates and builds to a feud with Phoenix further down the road.  Ladder match was excellent.  Really excited to see Christian become Champion.  Even had a Captain Charisma shirt on (hoping that wasn't a jinx and it wasn't).  Hope Christian gets a chance to run with it for a while, although he really doesn't have too many great heel opponents on Smackdown to work with.  I really do think this should have gone on last for the big celebration, but Cena always gets to headline.  Tag title was okay, but thought it was kind of late in the show to have another bonus match.  I didn't even recognize half of the lumberjacks (as I haven't seen NXT since it started on the website).  Cage match was good.  Though Miz was going to be in bad shape after that nasty suplex.  Was really pulling for Miz to retain as I figured Morrison wasn't winning.  Cena doesn't need the belt and them acting like he wasn't going to get another title shot is ridiculous.  Plus saying he hasn't been champion in ten months is not the way to make me feel sorry for him.  He's now a ten time champ when someone like Christian finally got the big one which would be more of a big moment in my opinion.  If Miz was losing shouldn't he have been trade to Smackdown since they need heels and Alberto is now on Raw?  Just a thought.  Too bad they didn't have some of these matches at Mania. 
 
Robb Block
 

Thumbs Up (Main Kept it from UFC 116 all time best level)

Best Fight: Jose Aldo vs. Mark Hominick (5 round war where Aldo shows vulnerability for the 1st time)

Worst Fight: Jake Shields vs. GSP (the string of over cautious points fests by GSP continues)

 

KO: Machida

Sub: Pablo Garza’s flying triangle

 

Dave, I know you constantly cite GSP’s dominance in touting him for best Pound for Pound.

But in MIXED Martial Arts, don’t you think best all around fighter is a consideration?

Best at Striking, Best on Top, Best from Bottom – always dangerous at any time from any position?

How does he compare to Fedor or Anderson Silva in that area?

How do you put a GSP highlight reel together besides training vids showcasing his athleticism?

Jabs against Koscheck? Mauling Fitch and BJ? That one armbar against Matt Hughes is starting to age.

Never mind GSP vs. Anderson, I don’t even want to see Diaz vs. GSP. Diaz vs. BJ Penn is the money fight to me.

Heck put Nate vs. KJ Noons on the undercard, book the stadium in Hawaii and put it on Showtime!

 

Bert Turelli

 

Thumbs Up
 
Best Match:  A tie between the 2 title matches
 
Worst Match:  The tag team title match
 
Overall I thought this was a great WWE ppv.  There were no terrible matches, just a couple that were subpar.  Here's the rundown:
 
Randy Orton vs CM Punk
Great opener with an awesome finish.  Randy Orton has started speeding up his ring style as of late, and it was much needed.  I loved the back and forth nature of this match and there were several times when I wasn't sure if Orton was going to win or not. 
 
Sheamus vs Kingston
This match was better than I thought it would be because I'm not a fan of tables matches at all.  Kofi had some really exciting spots in this match that really saved this from being another run of the mill tables match.
 
Jerry Lawler and J.R. vs Jack Swagger and Michael Cole
While technically not a good match, it was entertaining.  Much better than the tripe they had at Wrestlemania.  I thought the bubble wrap bit was humorous.
 
Cody Rhodes vs Rey Mysterio
Another great match.  Even though the stuff on the stairs was cliche and boring, the spots up in the concession area and in the ring were exceptional.  Cody's new gimmick is just awesome, and I hope they keep this brooding, aggressive personality even after they get rid of the mask.  He's much more interesting this way.
 
Michelle McCool vs Layla
Even though this wasn't a good match, I really appreciated the effort these 2 put into the match.  They tried their damndest to make this match good, and it wasn't the worst match on the card anyway.  The aftermatch segment with Kharma was very well done.  I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm actually looking forward to divas matches now that Kharma is here.
 
Christian vs Alberto Del Rio
Phenomenal match!!  There were so many excellent moments in this match.  One of the things I loved was how Del Rio would continually react to Christian pushing the ladder over, land on his feet, and counterattack.  It made it seem like he actually did his homework on past ladder matches.  The post match stuff with Edge and Christian was amazing as well.  It really put an air of importance on the fact that Christian finally won the world title.
 
Tag Team Title Match
Worst match of the show, but I didn't hate it.  I was really afraid they were going to do a lot of goofy shit in this match, but they didn't.  It's just that this match was the only one on the card that didn't feel special.
 
John Cena vs John Morrison vs The Miz
Another phenomenal match!!  One of the better cage matches I've seen in a long time.  John Morrison was awesome in this match, and I hope this finally solidified him as a main-eventer.  R-Truth's run in actually didn't hurt the match at all (unlike 99.9% of run ins), and has me excited to see the feud between Truth and Morrison.  The finish to the match was just amazing.  Miz took quite a few awesome/scary bumps in the match, and the Attitude Adjustment at the end was awe-inspiring.
 
Now, the problem I had with this show?  This was leagues better than the show that SHOULD have been better:  Wrestlemania 27!!  The matches felt more special than most of the matches did on Wrestlemania, and actually delivered.  I wish WWE could consistently deliver PPVs of this caliber.  Hopefully Wrestlemania 28 can match the quality of this supposed "B-show"
Clifton Knight
 
 

 

 
 
 

 

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