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| These ladies can work, yo |
I watched what I couldn't watch live on my DVR this week. Here's what stood out:
Matches
Colt Cabana vs. Erick Stevens on ROH on HDNet - This was a fun if bland match at spots. I'm not particularly thrilled with Stevens, who's okay, but has a bunch of boosters on the Web that overrate him. Also, he looks a lot like Ben Stiller, doesn't he? I thought Cabana carried this match, especially with his pin combinations. The counter out of the Dr. Bomb at the end was super-spiffy if you ask me.
Sara del Rey vs. Daizee Haze on ROH on HDNet - Wow, talk about leading with your best foot forward. If ROH wants to build a women's division, they couldn't have two better women to use as a base. Fantastic match that was built on Daizee bumping like crazy for SDR's rough 'n tumble bully offense. I underestimated Daizee in the past, but I know the score now, and del Rey doesn't have a bad match with anyone. The time limit draw worked to put both women over and was probably the best finish possible for this match, especially if the endgame is a Final Battle match or the introduction of a Women's Title.
Trent Barretta vs. Curt Hawkins on Superstars - Wow, this is the second match between these two that made my MOTYC long-list and the third to reach the honor roll. Mikey Whipwreck is doing something right with these kids up in the NYWC. It started out slowly, but right before the break, with Hawkins throwing Barretta into the guardrail. What we got after the break was a hot match built upon Hawkins not wanting to get shown up by the younger Barretta two weeks in a row. Hawkins winning with something other than the Heat Seeking Elbow was a nice touch too. I liked that neckbreaker-rotation DDT. I may be high, but I think both guys deserve more time on Smackdown, and in particular, I think a properly booked feud between Hawkins and Chris Masters for the IC Title would be neat.
Madison Rayne vs. Sarita on Impact - This was a fun little brawl, although nearly everything surrounding it was wrong. It featured another pointless and abrupt turn with Sarita and Rayne at odds. IT had the Champion lose in a non-title scenario (even if the KO Title is kinda worthless due to other bad booking decisions lately). But the action out of context was pretty nice.
Kofi Kingston vs. Jack SWAGGAH~! on Smackdown - Wow, this was a really fun match, although it had its share of missteps. Both guys looked very strong, even SWAGGAH~! in defeat. I thought the All-American American American American American carried the action early as Kofi got in his own way a few times. Swagger's leg work was really good all throughout the match, and his submission game was on point as usual. Towards the end, Kofi looked a lot better, hitting probably the best Boom! Drop I've ever seen from him. I also liked his counter to the Vader Bomb and he hit one of the best Trouble in Paradise kicks I've seen from him. Good if not great match.
MVP vs. Drew McIntyre on Smackdown - Nice brawl with great psychology. MVP was really awesome selling the arm, especially on doing the everyday things like trying to do a leapfrog out of the corner off a whip. I'm continuing to enjoy McIntyre as a worker, even if he's still dryer than overcooked turkey breast as a character. Really good match.
Rey Mysterio vs. Dashing Cody Rhodes on Smackdown - I thought the finish was a bit overbooked, but the action was good in the ring. A standard Rey match, but the part I enjoyed most was the "NOT IN THE FACE" schtick by Rhodes at the beginning of the match. Good stuff.
Shows
ROH on HDNet - I thought this was a pretty good show. I thought that the women's match should have been the main event, because really, what's a foregone conclusion of Davey Richards over Daivari going to mean in the last slot? I did like the segment between the Kings of Wrestling and the Briscoes too.
Superstars - The show had one good match this week, albeit it was a great match, but after that, it went down steadily. Even though I liked three of the four wrestlers in the tag match, I couldnt' get into it, although I will say I would rather watch Santino's pseudo-comedy/half-serious in-ring work than watch, I dunno, say, Davey Richards and Shingo Takagi or Kota Ibushi kick each other a lot, no sell it, then drop each other on their heads and no sell that too. I've grown tired of seeing handicap matches, especially in feuds that go nowhere. Ultimately forgettable second-half of the show this week, although I did enjoy catching that kid who made the scowl at Miz winning the title make the RAW Rebound. That was pretty nice.
Impact - Wow, so they spent an entire show pimping the return of Dixie Carter just so she could show up in the overrun (THE FUCKING OVERRUN) and advance her feud with Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan by slapping them with an injunction? Oh my fucking Lord, I hate Bischoff, I hate that they've turned TNA into a courtroom procedural drama. I hate that they keep doing the same non-finish main events each week. I hate that they have so much potential and just want to flush down the toilet. Fuck this company.
Smackdown - All four KOTR qualifiers were either good matches or in the case of Show/ADR, had very well-done finishes. However, I just can't in good conscience feel good about a show with such a terrible main angle. Let's see, Edge, having kidnapped Paul Bearer, threatens to push him down a flight of stairs while bound up and gagged in a wheelchair? He induces him to shit his pants? And builds a dummy just to run over so he can continue to go back on his promises? AND HE'S THE FACE? Ugh, I want to punch Michael Hayes and all his writers for shoveling this horsecrap as the main angle for Smackdown.
Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein - Please visit his site to view the plentiful amounts of pictures he's taken for DGUSA, ROH and other indie feds: Get Lost Photography
Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!
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