offical wwe thread

ECW on Sci-Fi Results: 7-15-08

Results courtesy of PWTorch.com (direct link to Caldwell's complete report)

1 -- MIKE KNOX vs. SHANNON MOORE

Knox dominated early, but Shannon Moore had a nice nearfall with a top rope splash. Knox put an end to any potential upsets by nailing the Knox Out for the pin and the win. Yipee.

WINNER: Knox in 2:00. Basic squash. Same thing we've seen from Knox for months. (1/2*)

2 -- CHAVO GUERRERO (w/Bam Neeley) vs. EVAN BOURNE

Bourne started on the offensive with a shoulder twist on Chavo's left shoulder. Tazz plugged the Smackdown wedding with Chavo as best man. Bourne went high-risk, but Chavo knocked him hard to the floor. Bourne came back with an arm drag out of the corner before nailing the standing knee-tuck moonsault for a nearfall. Bourne followed with a smash to the gut in the corner, then he went up top and nailed the Shooting Star Press on Chavo for a clean pin and the win. Crowd was definitely hot for the finish.

WINNER: Bourne in 3:00. I'm surprised by the finish of Bourne winning clean, but WWE definitely appears to be strongly behind Bourne. It seems like a classic WWE test of a young talent to see how he/she responds to a little success and a strong push before committing to a long-term investment. Nice to see Bourne having a significant opportunity. (*)

3 -- WWE tag team champions JOHN MORRISON & THE MIZ vs. JEFF HARDY & U.S. champion MATT HARDY -- non-title match

After a solid six minutes of action, the match broke down in typical Hardy showcase match fashion. They appeared to be going for a typical finish of the Hardys winning clean as Jeff set up the Swanton Bomb on Miz, but Morrison yanked Miz to the outside. They cut to a break. Nice change of pace from the predictable babyface victory formula to show the heels not being completely incompetent in the booking.

After the break, the tag champs worked over Jeff in their corner. Jeff finally fought back and came off the top with a Whisper in the Wind on Miz. Matt started stomping his feet at 15:00 to encourage a hot tag, which occurred to pop the crowd. Hardy cleaned house until Morrison dropped him on the mat for a quick roll-up resulting in a two count. Matt then caught Morrison out of the corner with a sweet Razor's Edge into powerbomb for a nearfall. The action broke down and in the confusion, Jeff nailed Morrison with a Swanton Bomb to a huge reaction. Matt, the legal man, made the cover for the win.

WINNERS: Hardys in 17:00. Really nice, exciting tag match featuring two of WWE's top TV stars. It would still be nice to see Miz & Morrison pick up a win, even if that doesn't fit the feel-good-ending formula, but can't complain about a solid-to-good tag match. (**1/2)

TNA Impact! Results: 7-17-08

Results cortesy of PWTorch.com (direct link to Caldwell'scomplete report). Condensed here to in-ring results only.

1 -- X Division champion PETEY WILLIAMS (w/Steiner's freak) vs. KAZ -- X Division Title match

Petey teased the Canadian Destroyer at 2:00, then Kaz blocked and tried the Wave of the Future, but Petey blocked. Petey tried a springboard move from the apron, but Kaz caught him in mid-air with an Ace Crusher for a nearfall. Kaz then spiked Petey's neck into the mat, but freak distracted the ref when Kaz had the pin. Kaz chased freak around the ring and back into the ring. Kaz still nailed the Wave of the Future on Petey for the apparent pin, but Petey kicked out just in time. Announcers talked about Kaz continuing to be frustrated by everything happening in his life heretofore. Suddenly, Petey rolled through on a bridge pin into a bridge pin of his own with a hook of the tights for the pin and the win.

WINNER: Petey in 5:00. Fine match, but the sudden cut-backstage-immediately-after-the -match left the finish flat with Kaz's plight suddenly an afterthought. (*1/4)

2 -- MATT MORGAN vs. JIMMY RAVE (w/Christy Hemme)

Christy took off running a few seconds into the match. Morgan with a swinging pancake slam for the win. Christy then led Lance Hoyt to the ringside area. Hoyt said he's the toughest SOB and if Morgan wants a gig, he has it.

WINNER: Morgan in 1:00. Squash. (n/a)

2b -- MATT MORGAN vs. LANCE HOYT (w/Christy Hemme)

Apparently Hoyt is now Lance Rock. Ridiculous. Morgan with an overhead slam on Rock before hoisting him up on his shoulders. Hemme distracted the ref, though, allowing Rock to take control. Morgan quickly came back and nailed the swinging pancake slam for the win.

WINNER: Morgan in 2:00. Squash II. Nothing much here. (n/a)

3 -- KNOCKOUTS GAUNTLET MATCH -- #1 Contender's match

This started off with Gail and Jacqueline, then Angelina Love joined the fracas. One-minute intervals for more knockouts joining the action. Salinas was out fourth. They alternated babyfaces and heels, with Velvet coming out fifth and Roxxi sixth. Apparently it's a War Games-style gauntlet match. Salinas kinda stumbled over the top rope for the first exit. Steiner's Freak came out seventh and circled the ring before starting to grab some folks. Traci (no Brooks) was out eighth. Awkward TV ensued between SF and Traci. Christy Hemme then came out ninth, and ODB rounded out the field. Cut to a break.

Freak, Christy, and Traci were eliminated during the break. So much for Traci's deal with Cornette. ODB was out next. Suddenly, Roxxi was out. Roxxi then yanked Jacqueline to the floor despite already being eliminated. Reverse battle royale anyone? So it's Gail, Angelina, and Velvet. Shocking stuff here. Gail and Angelina struggled against the ropes, then Gail eliminated Angelina. With it now one-on-one, Velvet shocked Gail with a roll-up to win the match and earn the title shot. Gail and Angelina were equally shocked at Velvet's win.

WINNER: Velvet Sky in 18:00. Not a good battle royale, but the finish was interesting to give someone new a chance at the title. It also sets up tension between Angelina and Velvet, while Gail continues to play the Kaz role of coming up just short lately. (1/2*)

4 -- JOHNNY DEVINE vs. ERIC YOUNG vs. SONJAY DUTT

Don West totally ripped on women by ripping on Val for saying Dutt has feelings. A little bitter? West said he's been married for 17 years. Tenay said it sounds like personal problems. Well, it's obvious what the new acronym for this company should be. WHW - women-hating wrestling. Match started with Devine and Young having an awkward exchange before Dutt tried to get involved. Dutt was knocked out to the floor, but then he snuck into the ring and landed a chopblock on Young for the win.

WINNER: Dutt in 2:00. Nothing to see here. (1/2*)

5 -- BOOKER T (w/Sharmell) vs. CONSEQUENCES CREED -- Stretcher match

Booker toyed with Creed early, then Creed knocked Booker to the floor. Booker was not pleased with this embarrassment as they cut to break.

Creed was slightly in control out of the break, but Booker knocked his head off with a spin kick. Tenay was handed a memo that for next week, Sabin & Shelley have challenged Beer Money for a strap match. Also, Karen's Angle debuts, the six-man elimination match, and Taylor vs. Velvet for the Knockouts Title. Booker knocked out Creed and put him on the outside. EMTs then strapped Creed to the stretcher and they took him across the yellow line for the decisive win.

Post-match: They were about to put Creed into the ambulance, but Joe emerged from the ambulance and KO'ed Booker. Joe put Booker inside the ambulance and told the vehicle to speed off. Sharmell tried to smash Joe with a baseball bat, but Joe ripped it away from her and asked where she got it. Announcers speculated Sting was involved. Joe tossed the belt down to end the show.

WINNER: Booker in 8:00. Not a memorable match. Creed hadn't been on TV for seemingly months, so tossing him into the sudden underdog role just fell flat without weeks of build-up to the moment. Fine ending to the show with Joe having the one-up, but they really overplayed the Sting mystery card on this episode. (*)

WWE Smackdown Results: 7-18-08

Results courtesy of PWTorch.com (direct link to Park's complete report).

1- FINLAY & HORNSWOGGLE vs. RYDER & HAWKINS
Edge scolded Finlay before the match for constantly cheating and said Hawkins and Ryder were too smart for that. Edge introduced himself as special guest referee. Edge threw the shillaleigh up the aisle before the match. Edge ref’d in his tux (white pants, grey tie, white shirt, grey and black vest).

Edge was very aggressive in scolding Finlay early on. Ryder and Hawkins were dressed similarly as Edge, only with black pants and plain grey vests. Foley got in his first “me so Horny!”line. Finlay hit the Celtic Cross, but was speared by Edge, then pinned by one of the heels.

WINNERS: Ryder & Hawkins, at 2:14.

2- BIG SHOW vs. MVP & SHELTON BENJAMIN & VLADIMIR KOZLOV & GREAT KHALI

Tough night for Show. That heel side would be a cool Survivor Series team. In any event, Show threw Benjamin into his own corner after a lock-up. He tagged MVP in. Before touching Show, he tagged Kozlov. Kozlov was unsuccessful on a throw, so Khali tagged himself in. They shoved each other, and Khali got some punches in, then clotheslined Khali down. Show took on all the heels, but Benjamin was getting the best of him when the referee called for the bell, presumably disqualifying the heel squad for all running into the ring.

WINNER: Show, via DQ, at 1:54.

3- CHERRY vs. NATALYA

Natalya attacked and punched Cherry in the face. Then she locked in the Sharpshooter and Cherry tapped.

WINNER: Natalya, at :32.

Vickie demanded the ref start her match immediately. “It’s my turn!” she screamed.

4- CHERRY vs. VICKIE GUERRERO

Vickie simply pinned the already injured Cherry.

WINNER: Vickie, at :03. “I win! The bride wins!” Vickie crowed. What a heel.

5- JIMMY WANG YANG vs. BRIAN KENDRICK

“Jimmy looks quite rested, doesn’t he JR?” said Foley. Kendrick had a new outfit, new music and bodyguard, named Ezekiel. Kendrick worked Yang’s arm, and Yang did the same to Kendrick. Hurricanrana by Yang, then a clothesline that sent Kendrick over the top. Yang went face-to-face with Ezekiel, allowing Kendrick to take Yang down. Straight kick to the jaw by Kendrick. He went back to the arm. Hammerlock slam by Kendrick, but cover only got one. He then applied a key-lock on Yang. Yang came back with a missile dropkick off the second rope, then a modified enziguiri for two. Yang went for a moonsault, but Ezekiel climbed the steps to distract him. Kendrick pulled Yang off the top, then hit Sliced Bread #2 for the win.

WINNER: Kendrick, at 4:49. Good match, and the Ezekiel-Kendrick pairing is intriguing.

6- MR. KENNEDY vs. UMAGA

Kennedy tried the hit-and-run tactic, and that worked....for a few seconds. Hard shoulderblock by Umaga was the first high-impact move of the match. Umaga missed a diving headbutt and Kennedy came back after getting his feet up on a splash attempt. Kennedy, though, couldn’t connect on his running kick, as Umaga elbowed him down. Nerve hold by Umaga. Knee-lift by Umaga, then back to the nerve-hold. Samoan drop, then a break.

Umaga had the advantage throughout break, according to JR. Kennedy tried to slam Umaga but couldn’t, thanks in part to the nerve hold from earlier in the match. Headbutt off the second rope by Umaga missed, as did a splash in the corner. Kennedy’s roundhouse kick put Umaga down for two. Mic Check was blocked, and Umaga hit the Samoan Spike for the win.

WINNER: Umaga, at 13:12. Slow match, with most of the first half being Umaga using the nerve hold.

7- JOHN MORRISON & THE MIZ vs. JESSE & FESTUS

Jesse whipped Morrison into Festus, who nailed John with an uppercut. Monkey-flip out of the corner by Jesse. High cross-body got two. JR said Morrison reminds him of “Ravishing” Rick Rude. Miz worked over Jesse for a while, until Festus made the tag. He took out both tag champs himself. Rocket Launcher got two, with Morrison interfering to break it up. Festus hit his finisher on Morrison outside the ring and Miz finished Jesse with the Reality Check inside.

WINNER: 3:57. OK preview match for the Bash.

8- MATT HARDY vs. JEFF HARDY

This is a non-title match. Foley noted that former U.S. champ Magnum T.A. was backstage visiting during the night. Hip-toss by Matt, in which Jeff almost landed on his head. Jeff with a split-legged pinning combination for two. Matt came back and clotheslined Jeff over the top rope after Jeff skinned the cat to get back in. Matt cinched in a front face-lock type sleeper, but Jeff backed him into the corner. Jeff missed a Swanton and Matt hit a moonsault for two. The entire wedding party (well, Edge’s side....we never saw Vickie’s bridesmaids) interfered and attacked both men.

WINNER: Double DQ, at 4:36. Good while it lasted, but I was looking forward to a 10-minute match.

The Aftermath of the matches...

-The Wedding reception continued in the ring, with the wedding party and Edge on the mic. Edge and Vickie were seated on stools in the ring. Edge continued to sweet-talk Vickie, then introduced a video package put together by the Smackdown production team (“they haven’t even slept!” proclaimed Edge). It was similar to the one that has previously aired on Smackdown. Finally, The Game interrupted.

He only came out to the top of the ramp, and said that he promised that he wasn’t out there to say he was secretly married to Vickie Guerrero. The live crowd didn’t seem to get it. HHH said they’re love warms his heart, and he has some nice gifts for them. One of them is a video of his own for them. The stationary camera video showed Edge sitting on a couch (dated 7/17/08). The door knocked and Alicia Fox walked in. They discussed some wedding planning things, until it became evident that Edge was leaning in toward Edge. Triple H stopped the video and said Edge clearly isn’t happy with the video, so he promised to fast-forward through to the good part. Somehow, this presumably secret, hidden camera started close-up, then panned out. Edge complimented Alicia on her perfume then began to caress her shoulder. Edge then complained of a problem in his trapezoid and conned Alicia into massaging it for him.

HHH stopped the video again as Edge complained about his previous neck injuries and how he’s always in pain like that. Edge ordered the wedding party to go after Triple H. He said that led him to gift number two....his trusty sledgehammer. That stopped the guys in their tracks as HHH continued with the video. They picked up with Edge massaging Alicia’s back. In the video, Edge made some not-so-kind comments about Vickie’s undergarments. Again, Trips stopped the tape. “This is awkward,” he said. He said he didn’t watch it before he made it, and this part kills gift #3, a pair of granny panties (mentioned by Edge in the video). He finally cut to the chase and cued the video back up. Edge made his move on the video, by taking her glasses off. They kissed, but Alicia pulled back (all the while smiling). Then they made out hardcore. Alicia was almost in tears in the arena as Vickie physically attacked Edge. Edge left the ring as Vickie continued to scream. This would’ve meant so much more if they didn’t already have a show-long fight last week.

does anyone here watch AAA (lucha libre)?

btw, thanks for the shoutout, Arcademan.

TemJin3000 said:

does anyone here watch AAA (lucha libre)?

btw, thanks for the shoutout, Arcademan.

Click to expand...

No prob, sir. As far as the AAA, I'd like to watch it more than I have, which is rarely but once in awhile I'll be flipping through the channels, see it being shown on one of the Spanish stations and watch what's going on. Some of those matches are real wiild, some don't make sense at times and there, the action's eveywhere. WWE and TNA could use a lesson or two from them.

WWE Great American Bash PPV Results: 7-20-08

Real-time results courtesy of PWTorch.com (direct link to Caldwell's ongoing report)

1 -- WWE tag champions THE MIZ & JOHN MORRISON vs. FINLAY & HORNSWOGGLE vs. HAWKINS & RYDER vs. JESSE & FESTUS -- WWE Tag Title match

Good pace to this early on with members of all four teams picking up frequent tags to keep the crowd interested. Hornswoggle took a hot tag at 8:00 and dropped Hawkins with a spinning head scissors to a nice pop. Jesse then decided to steal his heat with a blind tag before being knocked to the outside. Festus had enough and ran into the ring to clear several houses. Out of nowhere, Hawkins knocked Jesse off the top rope and pinned him on the corner to win the tag titles.

WINNERS: Hawkins & Ryder in 10:00 to capture the WWE Tag Titles. Fine match. Curious finish. They are determined to push these interchangeable "brothers" at all costs. ECW now has one less reason to tune into the show with Miz & Morrison now just a second-tier tag team without the belts. (* 1/2)

WWE Great American Bash PPV Results: 7-20-08

2 -- U.S. champion MATT HARDY vs. SHELTON BENJAMIN -- U.S. Title match

Ross and Foley calling this one as well. Apparently they do not trust Mike Adamle to call more than one match live despite Hardy being part of the ECW brand. Yes, breaking news that Matt Hardy is on the ECW brand. Ross provided an interesting factoid that the U.S. champion has never lost the belt on a Bash show. Foley said his son, Dewey, has selected Shelton as one of his favorites because he does things other people can't. Well that doesn't mean he wins matches, which should be the focus. Interesting dueling chant of "Let's go Shelton" vs. "Let's go Hardy" with the males battling the females. Match quickly accelerated into second gear about six minutes in after Hardy scored a close two count. Hardy with a two count on the side effect, then he wanted the Twist of Fate, but Shelton blocked and smashed Hardy in the lower back. Hardy tried to come back with a moonsault, but Shelton got a knee right in the forehead. Ouch. Shelton then nailed the "pay dirt" fallaway facebuster in center ring. Shelton made the pin for the win to capture the U.S. Title.

WINNER: Shelton in 10:00 to capture the U.S. Title. I like the title change here, as Shelton is capable of so much. Of course, ECW loses yet another title. Every month, they chip, chip, chip away at the ECW brand. As for the bout, a very good mid-card title match. Potentially a stand-out match on the show. (**1/2)

WWE Great American Bash PPV Results: 7-20-08

3 -- ECW champion MARK HENRY (w/Tony Atlas) vs. TOMMY DREAMER (w/Colin Delaney) -- ECW Title match

Very slow early on. Crowd was quiet, which meant we had to listen to Adamle cover the dead air. At 3:00, Henry wanted a big splash, which Adamle called the world's strongest slam, but Dreamer moved out of the way. Dreamer followed with a DDT, then he went up top for a splash on Henry. Colin even hopped on the apron to do the E-C-W pose, but then Colin yanked him down over the top rope in mid-air. Delaney heel turn! Delaney heel turn! Henry followed with a big splash in center ring for the pin and the win. Everyone hates Tommy apparently. Colin then left the ring with a big smirk as Henry celebrated with Atlas. Adamle was unbelievably disingenuous calling Colin's actions despicable.

WINNER: Henry in 5:00 to retain the ECW Title. Colin turning heel was so great. Clearly the top moment of the show thus far. Match wasn't anything to write home about, especially with a lack of post-production available for Adamle, but a fine conclusion to set up storylines on TV. (3/4*)

WWE Great American Bash PPV Results: 7-20-08

4 -- SHAWN MICHAELS vs. CHRIS JERICHO

Michaels a sick knife-edge chop early in the match after they had a stare down to set the tone. Michaels grimaced after delivering a forearm blow, possibly knocking his wrist silly for a second. Jericho then nailed a springboard dropkick that knocked Michaels off the apron to the floor. Jericho sold a left knee injury before going to the floor to fling Michaels back inside. Jericho focused his attack on Michaels's ribs, then he slapped on the Walls of Jericho at 7:00. Michaels escaped, then he went up top, but Jericho crotched him across the top turnbuckle. Jericho couldn't capitalize, though, so Michaels nailed a splash on Jericho before tuning up the band. Suddenly, Lance Cade came to ringside and Michaels kicked him through the ropes. Jericho tried to come back with the codebreaker, but Michaels hung onto the ropes to block the finisher.

At 11:00, Michaels and Jericho had a standing battle before Michaels hip-tossed Jericho over the top rope onto Cade on the floor. Michaels dragged himself to the apron and went for a moonsault on both men. Michaels got about 25 percent Cade, 25 percent Jericho, and 50 percent floor on the move. They returned to the ring where Michaels came up bleeding from the eye-area. Really nasty cut. Jericho then saw blood and his eyes became really big. Jericho landed a direct blow to the eye and the ref checked for whether Michaels wanted to continue. Ref admonished Jericho, allowing Cade to kick Michaels square in the face from the floor. Michaels didn't want to stop the match, then Jericho picked up Michaels and landed successive head butts to the eye. Jericho became lackadaisical, then Michaels slapped on a crossface out of nowhere. Jericho powered to his feet, though, and flung Michaels face-first across the bottom rope.

Ref continued to check on Michaels, who was bleeding all over his body and the ring. Jericho found his moments to keep landing right hand blows as Michaels spilled blood. Cole and Lawler took a serious tone as Michaels tried to pull himself to his feet with a nasty red color covering his face. Jericho landed more forearm blows until the ref jumped on top of Jericho and called for the bell. Official decision was Jericho winning with Michaels unable to continue. Post-match: medics came to the ring and helped Michaels out of the ring as they did crowd shots of the women in the crowd looking very concerned.

WINNER: Jericho via ref stoppage in 19:00. This one will be heavily-debated, as some people won't like the match conclusion because it wasn't a four-star classic that some people expected. But, this was a darn-good storyline-oriented match on the middle of a PPV card. Two pros telling a real, authentic, believable story. It went a bit long at the end, but they played into the fact that WWE doesn't have a standard rule for when a ref can stop a match due to a wrestler unable to continue. Overall, though, this was the realism we want to see in wrestling and there are only a select few wrestlers who can carry that out in the ring. Michaels and Jericho are at the top of that list. (***)

WWE Great American Bash PPV Results: 7-20-08

5 -- MICHELLE McCOOL vs. NATALYA -- Smackdown Women's Title match

Ross said that for the first time in 52 years, WWE is adding a second Women's Title. Natalya with a sick surfboard stretch a few minutes into the match to show off her strength, but Michelle countered into the heel hook. Natalya quickly escaped, then wrapped Michelle around the ringpost. She followed with the Sharpshooter in center ring, but Michelle grabbed the bottom rope for a break. Michelle then slapped on the heel hook and Natalya screamed in pain trying to grab the ropes, but Natalya eventually tapped out. Michelle wins the first divas title.

WINNER: Michelle McCool in 5:00. Good match. Not particularly memorable given the short amount of time, but a solid effort from both ladies sticking to a basic formula. (*)

WWE Great American Bash PPV Results: 7-20-08

6 -- World Hvt. champion C.M. PUNK vs. BATISTA -- World Heavyweight Title match

Decent reaction for Punk and a mixed reaction for Batista as they came to the ring. Lillian Garcia handled the formal ring intros with Batista mainly booed. Punk was booed too. First six mintues was about Punk using his martial arts attack to counter Batista's power offense and big-man submission holds. Batista hit a spinebuster at 7:00 and called for the end, but Punk grabbed the ropes to block the finisher. Punk landed a running knee in the corner, then a roundhouse kick to the head for a two count. Punk then wrapped Batista's arm across the top rope with a submission hold and went for another submission hold on the mat, but Batista countered into a near-three count on a roll-up. Punk hit a spinning back fist, but Batista with a rebound clothesline off the ropes.

At 10:00, Batista became too aggressive and rammed his shoulder into the ringpost. Punk then followed with an attempted splash, but Batista slammed him hard on the floor with a spinebuster. Batista dragged Punk back into the ring. Meanwhile, Kane came to ringside and attacked Batista, causing the ref to throw the match out. Kane then entered the ring and grabbed Punk around the throat to give him a chokeslam. Kane picked up his trusted bag and left the ring. "Is he alive or is he dead?" Kane shouted into the camera. He then turned around and floored a cameraman with a big boot to the face. Official decision was a Double DQ. Batista and Punk both came to their feet in the ring, with Punk holding the World Title belt in the air. Batista didn't like that, so he kicked Punk in the gut and give him a Batistabomb. Batista threw down his elbow pads while clutching his left arm selling an injury before leaving. Punk eventually sat up in the ring smirking while Batista stared into the ring frustrated. Punk no-sold a little here to show toughness as he stood on his feet pointing to the title belt over his shoulder.

WINNER: No Contest in 12:00. Well, let's find some positives. Punk had a good showing to hang with Batista and win over the live crowd as the match progressed. Action progressed nicely and they had a good balance of offense throughout. Otherwise, it's tough to take two non-finishes to two of the marquee matches on the PPV. (**1/4)

WWE Great American Bash PPV Results: 7-20-08

7 -- JOHN CENA vs. JBL -- New York City parking lot brawl

A limo pulled up in the parking lot where a group of vehicles were in a circle. Looked like the intro to a WWE video game parking lot brawl. JBL slipped out of the limo dressed for a business meeting. He took off his jacket and pulled out a tire iron. More crazy camera shots as the assigned referee said no one has seen Cena. JBL then hopped onto the hood of a car as Cena showed up in one of the cars and tried to run over JBL. Cena cut a promo on JBL as he tried to choke him out with car cables. Cena stuffed JBL into the hood of a car before strapping the cables to JBL's balls. He "electrocuted" JBL's manhood with some added post-produced sparks to make it seem real. They had a standing brawl that JBL won by knocking Cena to the floor. JBL pulled Cena onto the hood of a car and landed a swinging neckbreaker for a nearfall. A DDT on the hood of the car led to another nearfall.

Note here that this is total silence except for select grunts and groans from Cena. JBL then smashed Cena head-first through the glass windshield, which should have busted him open if this were real. Alas, this is a lame concept gimmick match where there are no rules of continuity, so anything goes. JBL then stuffed Cena in the backseat of a car. He picked up some lighter fluid from his limo and walked back over to the car. JBL doused the car with fluid as the ref told him he's taking this too far. JBL pulled out a lighter and dropped the lighter on the car. JBL stared at the car as it was covered in flames. Some dudes with fire extinguishers quickly put out the flames before Cena emerged. He apparently Hulked up with the threat of fire consuming him. Cena knocked out JBL and put him inside a car before hopping onto a forklift. He rammed the prongs of the forklift into the car before picking up the car with the forklift and driving it across the backstage area.

A camera followed the action as Cena drove the car to the ringside area. Cena hopped off the forklift and stood on top of the car holding JBL. JBL fell out of the car, then Cena brawled with him on stage. Cena delivered a Five Knuckle Shuffle on stage before calling for the FU. JBL slowly came to and reached his feet. Cena hoisted him in position for the FU, but he stopped and surveyed some other options for where to drop JBL. He walked across the stage, but JBL hopped down to his feet and chucked Cena off the stage into the windshield of the vehicle on the floor. JBL hopped down and covered Cena for a three count. Afterward, JBL slowly crawled down to the floor and was helped to his feet by referees. He looked a bit stunned. Cena was bleeding from the forearm-area as he came to. Announcers went silent as the camera told the story of two men bruised and battered. Cena showed dejection as the fans near the stage chanted, "Cena" repeatedly.

WINNER: JBL in 17:00. Well, this was pretty terrible backstage in the "video game" portion of the "match." Things were slightly better once they came to ringside and told a simpler story. Memorable for all the wrong reasons here. Just so much wrong with the elements of this storyline, with the obvious questions of why cops weren't there with the men attempting vehicular homicide and just plain old murder. Over-done to seemingly promote WWE's films division. (n/a)

WWE Great American Bash PPV Results: 7-20-08

8 -- WWE champion TRIPLE H vs. EDGE -- WWE Title match

After ref Mickie Henson gave pre-match instructions, the bell sounded, and Edge flew right at Hunter with a knee to the face. That's a hot start. Hunter quickly ended it by knocking Edge to the outside and slamming him into the guardrail. Edge regained control once the match settled into a more one-on-one competition rather than Edge trying to make it a personal grudge match. Ross and Foley went the MMA route with some of their commentary to give it a more realistic feel. Plenty of good counters and reversals as they went back-and-forth during the mid-point of the match.

At 15:00, Hunter and Edge battled up top in a power struggle that epitomized the match thus far. Edge landed a superplex to get the best of that battle, but both men were out cold on the mat. Suddenly, Vickie's wedding planner came to the ringside area and grabbed the WWE Title belt. She ran over the ringside area and placed the belt down for Edge, but Vickie stormed the ringside area and knocked out the wedding planner. Vickie grabbed the title belt and entered the ring, only to have the wedding planner attack her. They brawled in the ring with ref trying to play peacemaker. Suddenly, Edge speared the crap out of Vickie when he was aiming for the wedding planner. Edge was shocked at the turn of events. Edge lost his focus and walked right into the Pedigree from Hunter for the pin and the win. Post-match, Vickie clutched her stomach in pain as a medic checked on her. Pregnancy angle anyone? Hunter was shown standing tall on stage to close the show.

WINNER: Hunter in 17:00 to retain the WWE Title. Well, the finish sent the fans home happy, but three non-clean or non-traditional finishes to three of the marquee matches on the show was disappointing when WWE had a good streak of relatively clean finishes on their recent PPVs. Match was pretty much in first gear for most of the time, with flashes of excitement to keep the crowd interested. Fine, but not memorable main event to cap off a bridge PPV to Summerslam. (***)

Arcademan said:

No prob, sir. As far as the AAA, I'd like to watch it more than I have, which is rarely but once in awhile I'll be flipping through the channels, see it being shown on one of the Spanish stations and watch what's going on. Some of those matches are real wiild, some don't make sense at times and there, the action's eveywhere. WWE and TNA could use a lesson or two from them.

Click to expand...

WWE and TNA could also do well with a couple of their wrestlers (TNA not so much, for obvious reasons).

one of the unfortunate yet still fun(ny) reasons to watch AAA is cuz most of their matches involve botches...lots of 'em. sure i have the utmost respect for wrestlers putting their bodies on the line....but it still won't stop me at chuckleing every time a wrestler fucks up a high risk move.

the tv station (depending on where you live) to watch AAA is called Galavision. the best time to catch it should be 4 p.m. on sundays.

WWE RAW Results: 7-21-08

Results courtesy of PWTorch.com (direct link to Caldwell's complete report). Condensed here to in-ring results only (since they did a lot of jawwing during the first half of the show)

1 -- LANCE CADE vs. PAUL LONDON

Cade won this on pretty quickly with a hard shoulder tackle to work over the shoulder before landing a sit-down Rock Bottom for the easy pin.

WINNER: Cade in 3:00. Not much here. Crowd was into it early, but the outcome was inevitable. Hopefully it leads to something for London after losing a series of squashes. (3/4*)

Post-match: Cade took the mic and said that if that wasn't enough to bring out Michaels, then maybe this will. He brought out Chris Jericho to take a bow for ending Michaels's career last night.

2 -- KELLY KELLY vs. BETH PHOENIX

Bell sounded and Beth bullied Kelly into the corner with a shove to the chest. Kelly tried to use her quickness with a leg sweep and short dropkick before attempting a roll-up in the corner. Beth blocked, however, and took Kelly in the air for a running slam across the way. Beth slapped on a mat hold as the fans tried to rally behind Kelly. Kelly made a nice comeback and countered the double chicken wing stretch into a roll-up, but Beth rolled through into a wheel barrow implant buster for the decisive pin.

WINNER: Beth in 3:00. Actually, this was a good divas match. Kelly showed good offense and Beth was able to show off her power offense in a decisive win after Kelly put up a competitive fight. Nicely done. (*)

3 -- JBL & World tag champions CODY RHODES & TED DIBIASE, JR. vs. JOHN CENA & CRYME TYME (J.T.G & SHAD GASPAR)

Cena started off with Cody and maintained eye contact with JBL throughout his work on Cody. Ted and Shad then took tags, and Ted took the wrong end of a t-bone suplex that knocked him silly for a few seconds, almost to the point of not being able to kick out of a pin attempt in time. Ted slingshot JTG across the top rope to regain control for his team, then the heels worked over JTG for some time. JTG tried to come back with a roll-up, but Cody kicked out and made another tag to Ted to continue working over JTG. Fans chanted for Cena as Cody eventually lost control for the heels. JTG crawled over to his corner and finally made the tag to Cena. DiBiase also took a tag as Cena went off on DiBiase with trademark moves. The action broke down into a melee as JBL took off running through the crowd. Cena piled up the tag champs in the corner, then took them up on his shoulders. He flung Cody off with an FU, then dropped DiBiase with a traditional FU for the pin and the win. Impressive. Cena then hugged his dad ringside before celebrating the victory with Cryme Tyme.

WINNERS: Cena & Cryme Tyme in 10:00. Formula six-man tag match, but they laid out a nice, smart match to eventually showcase Cena's strength 24 hours removed from the beating at the PPV. I would have liked to have seen WWE get some more mileage out of the JBL-Cena brawl, but the announcers did a fine job mentioning the injuries from last night throughout the show. Tag champs aren't at that Spirit Squad level of jobbing-to-the-stars, as they have a credible program to work with, but it's worth keeping in the back of the mind. (**)

4 -- Women's champion MICKIE JAMES & IC champion KOFI KINGSTON vs. PAUL BURCHILL & KATIE LEA

Action broke down early with Burchill tackling Kofi from behind with a chopblock to start an attack on Kofi's lower body. At 2:00, Mickie and Katie started brawling on the floor. Burchill and Kofi got involved, then Burchill smashed his ankle into the ringpost. Burchill then hit a neckbreaker in center ring and made the cover for the win.

WINNERS: Burchill & Katie in 3:00. Good win for the heels to establish some credibility for their respective title chases. The villains have to get the upper hand at some point on the show, so this was a good spot. (*)

5 -- SANTINO MARELLA vs. D-LO BROWN

Good response for Brown here despite being off TV for seemingly forever. Brown with the signature set-up moves leading to a top rope Lo-down for the easy pin and the win.

Afterward, Beth hopped into the ring to stare down Santino. She just stood there glaring at Santino, who finally pulled himself to his feet and begged off. Beth then smacked Santino in the face. They had a mini-brawl that consisted of exchanging standing waist locks until pausing to stare down each other. Breathing heavily, they stopped and stared at each other. Santino then put his hand on Beth's shoulder in a forward manner. Beth did the same. Oh dear. This led to a brief, awkward liplock that popped the crowd. Santino was so confused by what just happened. He quickly left the ring with a Mr. Bean-like random series of facial expressions. Beth was merely mad. Or just confused. Oh, this was great.

WINNER: D-Lo Brown in 2:00. Good return for Brown, but the obvious story was the liplock between Santino and Beth. That was classic. (1/2*)

6 -- World Hvt. champion C.M. PUNK vs. BATISTA -- World Heavyweight Title match

They returned from break and Lillian Garcia handled the formal ring intros after the ref gave Batista the commercial break to regain his bearings. Punk quickly focused his attack on Batista's head to work on the body part affected by Kane's pre-match chokeslam. He continued to work over the body part until Batista started his comeback at the top of the hour.

Batista made his comeback, then Punk went for a turnaround splash off the top, but Batista ducked and nailed a big spear. Batista wanted the finish, but JBL suddenly ran to the ringside area and Batista ran to the outside. The ref called for the bell when JBL attacked Batista. Groan. The action spilled into the ring where JBL KO'ed Punk with a clothesline from hell. Cena then sprinted into the ring and brawled with JBL until JBL ducked a punch and Cena accidentally hit Batista. Cena and Batista had a stare down, then they teased finishers on each other. Referees spilled into the ring to break up a potential fight as the show closed.

WINNER: No decision in 9:00. Well, that's another disappointing ending to a major title match. WWE is playing with fire with the non-finishes, even if it did lead to the inevitable Cena vs. Batista confrontation. Punk's "journey" to a credible title defense is an interesting story that seemingly will be followed for weeks and possibly months at this pace. Plenty of potential match-ups going forward with SNME and Summerslam on deck. Probably a tag match on SNME, but I don't see WWE giving away Cena vs. Batista at Summerslam. (*1/2)

ECW on Sci-Fi Results: 7-22-08

Results courtesy of PWTorch.com (direct link to Caldwell's complete report). Condensed here to in-ring results only.

1 -- TOMMY DREAMER vs. COLIN DELANEY (w/ECW champion Mark Henry and Tony Atlas)

Dreamer quickly went on the attack in this one. Colin tried to make a comeback with fists of fury, but Dreamer cut him off in the corner and landed the basement dropkick. Dreamer then set up Colin for the DDT to win, but he paused for a second before smashing Colin into the mat. Dreamer with the pin for a decisive win.

WINNER: Dreamer in 3:00. Well, they didn't get a whole lot of mileage out of Colin's heel turn, except reinforce his character as a total loser. It was funny hearing Adamle and Tazz pile on, as if they had been waiting months to rip on Colin. (*)

2 -- EVAN BOURNE vs. JAMES CURTIS

Hey, good to see Curtis back on the show with the facial hair of doom gimmick. Chavo tried to get his heat back for losing to Bourne last week because his mind was on other things, such as the Edge-Vickie wedding. Chavo said he can't wait to get his hands on Bourne. Match started with Curtis working over Bourne in the corner before Bourne ducked a clothesline. He tried a monkey flip, but Curtis held onto the ropes to block. Interesting.

Curtis went back on the offensive and tried to wrench Bourne's neck, but Bourne came back with a nice high-angle huracanrana in center ring. Bourne then laid out Curtis in the corner before hopping up top. He nailed the gorgeous Shooting Star Press to a strong crowd reaction for the pin and the win. Afterward, Chavo and Neely tried to corner him in the ring, but Bourne escaped for higher ground to leave the heels wanting to get their hands on him.

WINNER: Bourne in 4:00. That finisher is so sweet. Nice action here, although a bit slow at times with Curtis not a seasoned technician at this point in his infrequent ECW run. Fine for a Bourne showcase. (*)

3 -- THE MIZ vs. FINLAY (w/Hornswoggle) vs. MATT HARDY vs. JOHN MORRISON -- #1 Contender match to ECW Title

Miz and Morrison quickly found themselves on the floor to start the match. Finlay and Hardy had a brief stare down, which led to a lock-up and test of wills. Miz and Morrison took advantage to attack them from behind to set up a mini-tag match. Real nice exchange leading to a four-man stand-off as they cut to a break.

They had a series of nearfalls out of the break, with Adamle having one of those moments where he got lost without a map trying to keep up with the rapid-fire action. Morrison then knocked Finlay to the outside and went after Hornswoggle, but Finlay smashed him across the back and clotheslined Morrison over the guardrail to the front row. Finlay followed to the front row, but Morrison chucked a brew into Finlay's face. Miz then came to Morrison's aid and they set up a big catapult-into-clothesline-into-elbow-smash on the floor to presumably KO Finlay.

At the top of the hour, Miz and Morrison re-entered the ring to double-team Hardy in center ring. Morrison told Miz to check out Finlay, then he suddenly rolled up Hardy for a nearfall. Miz, stunned, turned back around to find Morrison trying to sneak one in. Hardy tried to take advantage of the disagreement with a roll-up on Morrison, but Morrison kicked out and Miz clotheslined Hardy. Miz and Morrison decided to work together, but Hardy fought them both off when Morrison accidentally kicked Miz in the face. Hardy smashed Morrison with the side effect, but Morrison kicked out. Finlay suddenly re-entered the picture and nearly pinned Hardy, but Morrison broke it up. Finlay cleaned house with a major burst of energy, then he came off the second rope with a missile dropkick on Morrison for a nearfall. Whew.

They took it home with Hardy nailing a double bulldog on the tag champs. Finlay then nearly scored a pin on Hardy with a big clothesline, but Hardy kicked out. Finlay wanted the Celtic Cross on Miz, but Miz hot-shot him across the top rope. At 17:00, Hornswoggle got involved, which temporarily gave Finlay control until Morrison smashed him in the face with a kick. Morrison wanted a big springboard kick on Hardy, but Hardy kicked him in the gut in mid-air and hit the Twist of Fate on Morrison. Hardy with the pin for the win.

Post-match: Hardy pumped his fist in jubilation. Henry and Atlas then came out on stage. Henry held his ECW Title for Hardy to get a good look, then Hardy stared him down to close the show.

WINNER: Hardy in 18:00 to become #1 Contender. That, my friends, was a heck of a TV match. Probably the best ECW TV match we've seen this year. Good energy, nice counters, crowd involved, good finish, and desperation/sense of urgency from all four men trying to get their hands on an ECW Title that was presented strongly on TV tonight. Excellent conclusion to the show. (***1/2)

Here's a picture of the new ECW Champion belt:

TNA Impact! Results: 7-24-08

Results courtesy of Pro Wrestling.net (direct link to Powell's complete report). Condensed here to in-ring results only.

1. Consequences Creed defeated Eric Young and Johnny Devine and Jimmy Rave (w/Lance Rock) in a four-way in 4:00. There was a series late in the match with everyone scoring nearfalls. Creed fought off Divine Intervention and turned around a rollup attempt to pin Devine. After the match, the heels roughed up Creed until Abyss came out for the save.

Powell's POV: The announcers sold the storyline that Abyss keeps coming out to rescue people when they're in trouble. The other end of the storyline is that he is trying to fight off his violent tendencies. In this case, he picked up a chair and dropped it. Of course, the fans want him to use it.

2. Matt Morgan pinned Cory Chavis in 2:20. Tenay acknowledged Morgan's debut on "American Gladiators" as "Beast." Morgan has joined Batista in doing the "Goldberg jump." In the end, Morgan finished off Chavis with the Hellevator finisher...

Powell's POV: Really nice energy from Morgan this week. The live crowd picked up on the energy and stayed with his reaction.

3. Robert Roode and James Storm (w/Jacqueline) defeated The Motor City Machine Guns in a strap match in 7:45. In this version of the strap match, both teams are attached to each other by the strap. It's not a country whipping strap match or a fans revenge strap match, but the creative team member with the fetish for watching men whip each other still gets his rocks off. I'm just kidding, but not really.

In the unintentionally hilarious moment of the night, Tenay watched the Guns crotch Storm and Roode with the straps and said, "You've gotta be loving this more than anyone, Don West." He followed up by pointing out that West was strapped by the heels, but it was really awkward before the followup.

Late in the match, Jacqueline passed handcuffs to Storm. Sabin rolled up Roode, but Storm hit him with the handcuffs. Roode rolled up Sabin and scored the pin. Afterward, the heels used the straps to whip Shelley until LAX ran out for the save...

Powell's POV: Leather straps and handcuffs. What the hell? This is getting weirder every week. Maybe they should put Jackie in "The Gimp" outfit from Pulp Fiction

4. Taylor Wilde pinned Velvet Sky (w/Angelina Love) for the TNA Knockouts Title in 0:05. The bell that you can barely hear on television rang while Sky was talking to Love in the corner. Widle ran over and rolled her up for the win. The ring announcer stated that it was a new TNA record for shortest match. Afterward, Sky said she wasn't ready and dared her to give her another match.

5. Taylor Wilde defeated Velvet Sky (w/Angelina Love) to retain the TNA Knockouts Title in 0:20. This time the ring announcer noted that she set a new record for winning two falls in 25 seconds. Afterward, Love asked who Wilde was dating to get the special treatment in TNA. I've wondered that myself. Love offered Taylor $5,000 if she could win a third straight fall.

Powell's POV: Why pay her five grand when you could have just double dared her?

6. Taylor Wilde beat Velvet Sky (w/Angelina Love) by DQ to retain the TNA Knockouts Title in 6:15. Apparently, the gimmick was that Wilde had to pin Sky because Love ran in and broke up the pin attempt for the DQ. The heels beat up Wilde and gave her the brown bag treatment. The crowd chanted for ODB. They got ODB and Gail Kim. For some reason, ODB came out chewing on a turkey leg. No shit. Really...

7. Kurt Angle and Team 3D defeated A.J. Styles and Christian Cage and Rhino in a tables elimination match in 14:00. All six men were legal so they brawled in and out of the ring. Team 3D was about to put Styles through a table, but Rhino and Christian broke it up and put Devon through the table to eliminate him from the match. Rhino gored Brother Ray, but Angle snuck into the ring behind the heels and hit his three opponents with a chair.

During the break, Rhino tried to gore Angle, but Brother Ray pulled Kurt out of the way and Rhino charged through a table set up in the corner of the ring to eliminate himself. Dummy. Devon returned to the match and helped Ray hit 3D on Christian through a cage while Angle held the referee and prevented him from seeing the interference. The ref turned around, saw Christian lying on a broken table, and ruled that he was out of the match.

Johnny Devine ran out to help Brother Ray. He threw powder at Styles, but A.J. ducked and the powder blinded Ray. Brother Ray put Devine through a table because he was blinded and through he was putting Styles through a table. Moments later, Styles shot Angle into Ray, who fell off the ring apron and through a table at ringside for the elimination.

The match came down to Styles and Angle. A.J. placed Kurt on a table and then climbed to the top rope. Frank Trigg ran out and hit Styles with a kendo stick. Angle hit the Olympic Slam through a table to win the match...

Powell's POV: All that just for a repeat finish from the pay-per-view? Disappointing finish, but an entertaining garbage match. Not nearly as good as the pay-per-view match. Still a solid television match, though. Um, wasn't Sting supposed to be with the heels? Did I miss something or was that heel claim completely ignored once the match started?

The Official 2008 Wrestling Thread

With my apologies to orochi_lubu, original creator of the Official WWE Thread in which this thread would truly be impossible to do. Thank You.

Since there's some ongoing issues with the original wrestling thread, I decided to start a new ongoing thread. If somehow the situation with the old thread is rectified, these posts will be moved over to it. Until then, I will repost this week's results that can also be found on page #300: post #7496 (Note if you click the last page or latest new post option on the thread title page, the thread will NOT load!

WWE Great American Bash PPV Results: 7-20-08

Real-time results courtesy of PWTorch.com (direct link to Caldwell's ongoing report)

1 -- WWE tag champions THE MIZ & JOHN MORRISON vs. FINLAY & HORNSWOGGLE vs. HAWKINS & RYDER vs. JESSE & FESTUS -- WWE Tag Title match

Good pace to this early on with members of all four teams picking up frequent tags to keep the crowd interested. Hornswoggle took a hot tag at 8:00 and dropped Hawkins with a spinning head scissors to a nice pop. Jesse then decided to steal his heat with a blind tag before being knocked to the outside. Festus had enough and ran into the ring to clear several houses. Out of nowhere, Hawkins knocked Jesse off the top rope and pinned him on the corner to win the tag titles.

WINNERS: Hawkins & Ryder in 10:00 to capture the WWE Tag Titles. Fine match. Curious finish. They are determined to push these interchangeable "brothers" at all costs. ECW now has one less reason to tune into the show with Miz & Morrison now just a second-tier tag team without the belts. (* 1/2)

2 -- U.S. champion MATT HARDY vs. SHELTON BENJAMIN -- U.S. Title match

Ross and Foley calling this one as well. Apparently they do not trust Mike Adamle to call more than one match live despite Hardy being part of the ECW brand. Yes, breaking news that Matt Hardy is on the ECW brand. Ross provided an interesting factoid that the U.S. champion has never lost the belt on a Bash show. Foley said his son, Dewey, has selected Shelton as one of his favorites because he does things other people can't. Well that doesn't mean he wins matches, which should be the focus. Interesting dueling chant of "Let's go Shelton" vs. "Let's go Hardy" with the males battling the females. Match quickly accelerated into second gear about six minutes in after Hardy scored a close two count. Hardy with a two count on the side effect, then he wanted the Twist of Fate, but Shelton blocked and smashed Hardy in the lower back. Hardy tried to come back with a moonsault, but Shelton got a knee right in the forehead. Ouch. Shelton then nailed the "pay dirt" fallaway facebuster in center ring. Shelton made the pin for the win to capture the U.S. Title.

WINNER: Shelton in 10:00 to capture the U.S. Title. I like the title change here, as Shelton is capable of so much. Of course, ECW loses yet another title. Every month, they chip, chip, chip away at the ECW brand. As for the bout, a very good mid-card title match. Potentially a stand-out match on the show. (**1/2)

3 -- ECW champion MARK HENRY (w/Tony Atlas) vs. TOMMY DREAMER (w/Colin Delaney) -- ECW Title match

Very slow early on. Crowd was quiet, which meant we had to listen to Adamle cover the dead air. At 3:00, Henry wanted a big splash, which Adamle called the world's strongest slam, but Dreamer moved out of the way. Dreamer followed with a DDT, then he went up top for a splash on Henry. Colin even hopped on the apron to do the E-C-W pose, but then Colin yanked him down over the top rope in mid-air. Delaney heel turn! Delaney heel turn! Henry followed with a big splash in center ring for the pin and the win. Everyone hates Tommy apparently. Colin then left the ring with a big smirk as Henry celebrated with Atlas. Adamle was unbelievably disingenuous calling Colin's actions despicable.

WINNER: Henry in 5:00 to retain the ECW Title. Colin turning heel was so great. Clearly the top moment of the show thus far. Match wasn't anything to write home about, especially with a lack of post-production available for Adamle, but a fine conclusion to set up storylines on TV. (3/4*)

4 -- SHAWN MICHAELS vs. CHRIS JERICHO

Michaels a sick knife-edge chop early in the match after they had a stare down to set the tone. Michaels grimaced after delivering a forearm blow, possibly knocking his wrist silly for a second. Jericho then nailed a springboard dropkick that knocked Michaels off the apron to the floor. Jericho sold a left knee injury before going to the floor to fling Michaels back inside. Jericho focused his attack on Michaels's ribs, then he slapped on the Walls of Jericho at 7:00. Michaels escaped, then he went up top, but Jericho crotched him across the top turnbuckle. Jericho couldn't capitalize, though, so Michaels nailed a splash on Jericho before tuning up the band. Suddenly, Lance Cade came to ringside and Michaels kicked him through the ropes. Jericho tried to come back with the codebreaker, but Michaels hung onto the ropes to block the finisher.

At 11:00, Michaels and Jericho had a standing battle before Michaels hip-tossed Jericho over the top rope onto Cade on the floor. Michaels dragged himself to the apron and went for a moonsault on both men. Michaels got about 25 percent Cade, 25 percent Jericho, and 50 percent floor on the move. They returned to the ring where Michaels came up bleeding from the eye-area. Really nasty cut. Jericho then saw blood and his eyes became really big. Jericho landed a direct blow to the eye and the ref checked for whether Michaels wanted to continue. Ref admonished Jericho, allowing Cade to kick Michaels square in the face from the floor. Michaels didn't want to stop the match, then Jericho picked up Michaels and landed successive head butts to the eye. Jericho became lackadaisical, then Michaels slapped on a crossface out of nowhere. Jericho powered to his feet, though, and flung Michaels face-first across the bottom rope.

Ref continued to check on Michaels, who was bleeding all over his body and the ring. Jericho found his moments to keep landing right hand blows as Michaels spilled blood. Cole and Lawler took a serious tone as Michaels tried to pull himself to his feet with a nasty red color covering his face. Jericho landed more forearm blows until the ref jumped on top of Jericho and called for the bell. Official decision was Jericho winning with Michaels unable to continue. Post-match: medics came to the ring and helped Michaels out of the ring as they did crowd shots of the women in the crowd looking very concerned.

WINNER: Jericho via ref stoppage in 19:00. This one will be heavily-debated, as some people won't like the match conclusion because it wasn't a four-star classic that some people expected. But, this was a darn-good storyline-oriented match on the middle of a PPV card. Two pros telling a real, authentic, believable story. It went a bit long at the end, but they played into the fact that WWE doesn't have a standard rule for when a ref can stop a match due to a wrestler unable to continue. Overall, though, this was the realism we want to see in wrestling and there are only a select few wrestlers who can carry that out in the ring. Michaels and Jericho are at the top of that list. (***)

5 -- MICHELLE McCOOL vs. NATALYA -- Smackdown Women's Title match

Ross said that for the first time in 52 years, WWE is adding a second Women's Title. Natalya with a sick surfboard stretch a few minutes into the match to show off her strength, but Michelle countered into the heel hook. Natalya quickly escaped, then wrapped Michelle around the ringpost. She followed with the Sharpshooter in center ring, but Michelle grabbed the bottom rope for a break. Michelle then slapped on the heel hook and Natalya screamed in pain trying to grab the ropes, but Natalya eventually tapped out. Michelle wins the first divas title.

WINNER: Michelle McCool in 5:00. Good match. Not particularly memorable given the short amount of time, but a solid effort from both ladies sticking to a basic formula. (*)

WWE Great American Bash PPV Results: 7-20-08

6 -- World Hvt. champion C.M. PUNK vs. BATISTA -- World Heavyweight Title match

Decent reaction for Punk and a mixed reaction for Batista as they came to the ring. Lillian Garcia handled the formal ring intros with Batista mainly booed. Punk was booed too. First six mintues was about Punk using his martial arts attack to counter Batista's power offense and big-man submission holds. Batista hit a spinebuster at 7:00 and called for the end, but Punk grabbed the ropes to block the finisher. Punk landed a running knee in the corner, then a roundhouse kick to the head for a two count. Punk then wrapped Batista's arm across the top rope with a submission hold and went for another submission hold on the mat, but Batista countered into a near-three count on a roll-up. Punk hit a spinning back fist, but Batista with a rebound clothesline off the ropes.

At 10:00, Batista became too aggressive and rammed his shoulder into the ringpost. Punk then followed with an attempted splash, but Batista slammed him hard on the floor with a spinebuster. Batista dragged Punk back into the ring. Meanwhile, Kane came to ringside and attacked Batista, causing the ref to throw the match out. Kane then entered the ring and grabbed Punk around the throat to give him a chokeslam. Kane picked up his trusted bag and left the ring. "Is he alive or is he dead?" Kane shouted into the camera. He then turned around and floored a cameraman with a big boot to the face. Official decision was a Double DQ. Batista and Punk both came to their feet in the ring, with Punk holding the World Title belt in the air. Batista didn't like that, so he kicked Punk in the gut and give him a Batistabomb. Batista threw down his elbow pads while clutching his left arm selling an injury before leaving. Punk eventually sat up in the ring smirking while Batista stared into the ring frustrated. Punk no-sold a little here to show toughness as he stood on his feet pointing to the title belt over his shoulder.

WINNER: No Contest in 12:00. Well, let's find some positives. Punk had a good showing to hang with Batista and win over the live crowd as the match progressed. Action progressed nicely and they had a good balance of offense throughout. Otherwise, it's tough to take two non-finishes to two of the marquee matches on the PPV. (**1/4)

7 -- JOHN CENA vs. JBL -- New York City parking lot brawl

A limo pulled up in the parking lot where a group of vehicles were in a circle. Looked like the intro to a WWE video game parking lot brawl. JBL slipped out of the limo dressed for a business meeting. He took off his jacket and pulled out a tire iron. More crazy camera shots as the assigned referee said no one has seen Cena. JBL then hopped onto the hood of a car as Cena showed up in one of the cars and tried to run over JBL. Cena cut a promo on JBL as he tried to choke him out with car cables. Cena stuffed JBL into the hood of a car before strapping the cables to JBL's balls. He "electrocuted" JBL's manhood with some added post-produced sparks to make it seem real. They had a standing brawl that JBL won by knocking Cena to the floor. JBL pulled Cena onto the hood of a car and landed a swinging neckbreaker for a nearfall. A DDT on the hood of the car led to another nearfall.

Note here that this is total silence except for select grunts and groans from Cena. JBL then smashed Cena head-first through the glass windshield, which should have busted him open if this were real. Alas, this is a lame concept gimmick match where there are no rules of continuity, so anything goes. JBL then stuffed Cena in the backseat of a car. He picked up some lighter fluid from his limo and walked back over to the car. JBL doused the car with fluid as the ref told him he's taking this too far. JBL pulled out a lighter and dropped the lighter on the car. JBL stared at the car as it was covered in flames. Some dudes with fire extinguishers quickly put out the flames before Cena emerged. He apparently Hulked up with the threat of fire consuming him. Cena knocked out JBL and put him inside a car before hopping onto a forklift. He rammed the prongs of the forklift into the car before picking up the car with the forklift and driving it across the backstage area.

A camera followed the action as Cena drove the car to the ringside area. Cena hopped off the forklift and stood on top of the car holding JBL. JBL fell out of the car, then Cena brawled with him on stage. Cena delivered a Five Knuckle Shuffle on stage before calling for the FU. JBL slowly came to and reached his feet. Cena hoisted him in position for the FU, but he stopped and surveyed some other options for where to drop JBL. He walked across the stage, but JBL hopped down to his feet and chucked Cena off the stage into the windshield of the vehicle on the floor. JBL hopped down and covered Cena for a three count. Afterward, JBL slowly crawled down to the floor and was helped to his feet by referees. He looked a bit stunned. Cena was bleeding from the forearm-area as he came to. Announcers went silent as the camera told the story of two men bruised and battered. Cena showed dejection as the fans near the stage chanted, "Cena" repeatedly.

WINNER: JBL in 17:00. Well, this was pretty terrible backstage in the "video game" portion of the "match." Things were slightly better once they came to ringside and told a simpler story. Memorable for all the wrong reasons here. Just so much wrong with the elements of this storyline, with the obvious questions of why cops weren't there with the men attempting vehicular homicide and just plain old murder. Over-done to seemingly promote WWE's films division. (n/a)

8 -- WWE champion TRIPLE H vs. EDGE -- WWE Title match

After ref Mickie Henson gave pre-match instructions, the bell sounded, and Edge flew right at Hunter with a knee to the face. That's a hot start. Hunter quickly ended it by knocking Edge to the outside and slamming him into the guardrail. Edge regained control once the match settled into a more one-on-one competition rather than Edge trying to make it a personal grudge match. Ross and Foley went the MMA route with some of their commentary to give it a more realistic feel. Plenty of good counters and reversals as they went back-and-forth during the mid-point of the match.

At 15:00, Hunter and Edge battled up top in a power struggle that epitomized the match thus far. Edge landed a superplex to get the best of that battle, but both men were out cold on the mat. Suddenly, Vickie's wedding planner came to the ringside area and grabbed the WWE Title belt. She ran over the ringside area and placed the belt down for Edge, but Vickie stormed the ringside area and knocked out the wedding planner. Vickie grabbed the title belt and entered the ring, only to have the wedding planner attack her. They brawled in the ring with ref trying to play peacemaker. Suddenly, Edge speared the crap out of Vickie when he was aiming for the wedding planner. Edge was shocked at the turn of events. Edge lost his focus and walked right into the Pedigree from Hunter for the pin and the win. Post-match, Vickie clutched her stomach in pain as a medic checked on her. Pregnancy angle anyone? Hunter was shown standing tall on stage to close the show.

WINNER: Hunter in 17:00 to retain the WWE Title. Well, the finish sent the fans home happy, but three non-clean or non-traditional finishes to three of the marquee matches on the show was disappointing when WWE had a good streak of relatively clean finishes on their recent PPVs. Match was pretty much in first gear for most of the time, with flashes of excitement to keep the crowd interested. Fine, but not memorable main event to cap off a bridge PPV to Summerslam. (***)

WWE RAW Results: 7-21-08

Results courtesy of PWTorch.com (direct link to Caldwell's complete report). Condensed here to in-ring results only (since they did a lot of jawwing during the first half of the show)

1 -- LANCE CADE vs. PAUL LONDON

Cade won this on pretty quickly with a hard shoulder tackle to work over the shoulder before landing a sit-down Rock Bottom for the easy pin.

WINNER: Cade in 3:00. Not much here. Crowd was into it early, but the outcome was inevitable. Hopefully it leads to something for London after losing a series of squashes. (3/4*)

Post-match: Cade took the mic and said that if that wasn't enough to bring out Michaels, then maybe this will. He brought out Chris Jericho to take a bow for ending Michaels's career last night.

2 -- KELLY KELLY vs. BETH PHOENIX

Bell sounded and Beth bullied Kelly into the corner with a shove to the chest. Kelly tried to use her quickness with a leg sweep and short dropkick before attempting a roll-up in the corner. Beth blocked, however, and took Kelly in the air for a running slam across the way. Beth slapped on a mat hold as the fans tried to rally behind Kelly. Kelly made a nice comeback and countered the double chicken wing stretch into a roll-up, but Beth rolled through into a wheel barrow implant buster for the decisive pin.

WINNER: Beth in 3:00. Actually, this was a good divas match. Kelly showed good offense and Beth was able to show off her power offense in a decisive win after Kelly put up a competitive fight. Nicely done. (*)

3 -- JBL & World tag champions CODY RHODES & TED DIBIASE, JR. vs. JOHN CENA & CRYME TYME (J.T.G & SHAD GASPAR)

Cena started off with Cody and maintained eye contact with JBL throughout his work on Cody. Ted and Shad then took tags, and Ted took the wrong end of a t-bone suplex that knocked him silly for a few seconds, almost to the point of not being able to kick out of a pin attempt in time. Ted slingshot JTG across the top rope to regain control for his team, then the heels worked over JTG for some time. JTG tried to come back with a roll-up, but Cody kicked out and made another tag to Ted to continue working over JTG. Fans chanted for Cena as Cody eventually lost control for the heels. JTG crawled over to his corner and finally made the tag to Cena. DiBiase also took a tag as Cena went off on DiBiase with trademark moves. The action broke down into a melee as JBL took off running through the crowd. Cena piled up the tag champs in the corner, then took them up on his shoulders. He flung Cody off with an FU, then dropped DiBiase with a traditional FU for the pin and the win. Impressive. Cena then hugged his dad ringside before celebrating the victory with Cryme Tyme.

WINNERS: Cena & Cryme Tyme in 10:00. Formula six-man tag match, but they laid out a nice, smart match to eventually showcase Cena's strength 24 hours removed from the beating at the PPV. I would have liked to have seen WWE get some more mileage out of the JBL-Cena brawl, but the announcers did a fine job mentioning the injuries from last night throughout the show. Tag champs aren't at that Spirit Squad level of jobbing-to-the-stars, as they have a credible program to work with, but it's worth keeping in the back of the mind. (**)

4 -- Women's champion MICKIE JAMES & IC champion KOFI KINGSTON vs. PAUL BURCHILL & KATIE LEA

Action broke down early with Burchill tackling Kofi from behind with a chopblock to start an attack on Kofi's lower body. At 2:00, Mickie and Katie started brawling on the floor. Burchill and Kofi got involved, then Burchill smashed his ankle into the ringpost. Burchill then hit a neckbreaker in center ring and made the cover for the win.

WINNERS: Burchill & Katie in 3:00. Good win for the heels to establish some credibility for their respective title chases. The villains have to get the upper hand at some point on the show, so this was a good spot. (*)

5 -- SANTINO MARELLA vs. D-LO BROWN

Good response for Brown here despite being off TV for seemingly forever. Brown with the signature set-up moves leading to a top rope Lo-down for the easy pin and the win.

Afterward, Beth hopped into the ring to stare down Santino. She just stood there glaring at Santino, who finally pulled himself to his feet and begged off. Beth then smacked Santino in the face. They had a mini-brawl that consisted of exchanging standing waist locks until pausing to stare down each other. Breathing heavily, they stopped and stared at each other. Santino then put his hand on Beth's shoulder in a forward manner. Beth did the same. Oh dear. This led to a brief, awkward liplock that popped the crowd. Santino was so confused by what just happened. He quickly left the ring with a Mr. Bean-like random series of facial expressions. Beth was merely mad. Or just confused. Oh, this was great.

WINNER: D-Lo Brown in 2:00. Good return for Brown, but the obvious story was the liplock between Santino and Beth. That was classic. (1/2*)

6 -- World Hvt. champion C.M. PUNK vs. BATISTA -- World Heavyweight Title match

They returned from break and Lillian Garcia handled the formal ring intros after the ref gave Batista the commercial break to regain his bearings. Punk quickly focused his attack on Batista's head to work on the body part affected by Kane's pre-match chokeslam. He continued to work over the body part until Batista started his comeback at the top of the hour.

Batista made his comeback, then Punk went for a turnaround splash off the top, but Batista ducked and nailed a big spear. Batista wanted the finish, but JBL suddenly ran to the ringside area and Batista ran to the outside. The ref called for the bell when JBL attacked Batista. Groan. The action spilled into the ring where JBL KO'ed Punk with a clothesline from hell. Cena then sprinted into the ring and brawled with JBL until JBL ducked a punch and Cena accidentally hit Batista. Cena and Batista had a stare down, then they teased finishers on each other. Referees spilled into the ring to break up a potential fight as the show closed.

WINNER: No decision in 9:00. Well, that's another disappointing ending to a major title match. WWE is playing with fire with the non-finishes, even if it did lead to the inevitable Cena vs. Batista confrontation. Punk's "journey" to a credible title defense is an interesting story that seemingly will be followed for weeks and possibly months at this pace. Plenty of potential match-ups going forward with SNME and Summerslam on deck. Probably a tag match on SNME, but I don't see WWE giving away Cena vs. Batista at Summerslam. (*1/2)

ECW on Sci-Fi Results: 7-22-08

Results courtesy of PWTorch.com (direct link to Caldwell's complete report). Condensed here to in-ring results only.

1 -- TOMMY DREAMER vs. COLIN DELANEY (w/ECW champion Mark Henry and Tony Atlas)

Dreamer quickly went on the attack in this one. Colin tried to make a comeback with fists of fury, but Dreamer cut him off in the corner and landed the basement dropkick. Dreamer then set up Colin for the DDT to win, but he paused for a second before smashing Colin into the mat. Dreamer with the pin for a decisive win.

WINNER: Dreamer in 3:00. Well, they didn't get a whole lot of mileage out of Colin's heel turn, except reinforce his character as a total loser. It was funny hearing Adamle and Tazz pile on, as if they had been waiting months to rip on Colin. (*)

2 -- EVAN BOURNE vs. JAMES CURTIS

Hey, good to see Curtis back on the show with the facial hair of doom gimmick. Chavo tried to get his heat back for losing to Bourne last week because his mind was on other things, such as the Edge-Vickie wedding. Chavo said he can't wait to get his hands on Bourne. Match started with Curtis working over Bourne in the corner before Bourne ducked a clothesline. He tried a monkey flip, but Curtis held onto the ropes to block. Interesting.

Curtis went back on the offensive and tried to wrench Bourne's neck, but Bourne came back with a nice high-angle huracanrana in center ring. Bourne then laid out Curtis in the corner before hopping up top. He nailed the gorgeous Shooting Star Press to a strong crowd reaction for the pin and the win. Afterward, Chavo and Neely tried to corner him in the ring, but Bourne escaped for higher ground to leave the heels wanting to get their hands on him.

WINNER: Bourne in 4:00. That finisher is so sweet. Nice action here, although a bit slow at times with Curtis not a seasoned technician at this point in his infrequent ECW run. Fine for a Bourne showcase. (*)

3 -- THE MIZ vs. FINLAY (w/Hornswoggle) vs. MATT HARDY vs. JOHN MORRISON -- #1 Contender match to ECW Title

Miz and Morrison quickly found themselves on the floor to start the match. Finlay and Hardy had a brief stare down, which led to a lock-up and test of wills. Miz and Morrison took advantage to attack them from behind to set up a mini-tag match. Real nice exchange leading to a four-man stand-off as they cut to a break.

They had a series of nearfalls out of the break, with Adamle having one of those moments where he got lost without a map trying to keep up with the rapid-fire action. Morrison then knocked Finlay to the outside and went after Hornswoggle, but Finlay smashed him across the back and clotheslined Morrison over the guardrail to the front row. Finlay followed to the front row, but Morrison chucked a brew into Finlay's face. Miz then came to Morrison's aid and they set up a big catapult-into-clothesline-into-elbow-smash on the floor to presumably KO Finlay.

At the top of the hour, Miz and Morrison re-entered the ring to double-team Hardy in center ring. Morrison told Miz to check out Finlay, then he suddenly rolled up Hardy for a nearfall. Miz, stunned, turned back around to find Morrison trying to sneak one in. Hardy tried to take advantage of the disagreement with a roll-up on Morrison, but Morrison kicked out and Miz clotheslined Hardy. Miz and Morrison decided to work together, but Hardy fought them both off when Morrison accidentally kicked Miz in the face. Hardy smashed Morrison with the side effect, but Morrison kicked out. Finlay suddenly re-entered the picture and nearly pinned Hardy, but Morrison broke it up. Finlay cleaned house with a major burst of energy, then he came off the second rope with a missile dropkick on Morrison for a nearfall. Whew.

They took it home with Hardy nailing a double bulldog on the tag champs. Finlay then nearly scored a pin on Hardy with a big clothesline, but Hardy kicked out. Finlay wanted the Celtic Cross on Miz, but Miz hot-shot him across the top rope. At 17:00, Hornswoggle got involved, which temporarily gave Finlay control until Morrison smashed him in the face with a kick. Morrison wanted a big springboard kick on Hardy, but Hardy kicked him in the gut in mid-air and hit the Twist of Fate on Morrison. Hardy with the pin for the win.

Post-match: Hardy pumped his fist in jubilation. Henry and Atlas then came out on stage. Henry held his ECW Title for Hardy to get a good look, then Hardy stared him down to close the show.

WINNER: Hardy in 18:00 to become #1 Contender. That, my friends, was a heck of a TV match. Probably the best ECW TV match we've seen this year. Good energy, nice counters, crowd involved, good finish, and desperation/sense of urgency from all four men trying to get their hands on an ECW Title that was presented strongly on TV tonight. Excellent conclusion to the show. (***1/2)

TNA Impact! Results: 7-24-08

Results courtesy of Pro Wrestling.net (direct link to Powell's complete report). Condensed here to in-ring results only.

1. Consequences Creed defeated Eric Young and Johnny Devine and Jimmy Rave (w/Lance Rock) in a four-way in 4:00. There was a series late in the match with everyone scoring nearfalls. Creed fought off Divine Intervention and turned around a rollup attempt to pin Devine. After the match, the heels roughed up Creed until Abyss came out for the save.

Powell's POV: The announcers sold the storyline that Abyss keeps coming out to rescue people when they're in trouble. The other end of the storyline is that he is trying to fight off his violent tendencies. In this case, he picked up a chair and dropped it. Of course, the fans want him to use it.

2. Matt Morgan pinned Cory Chavis in 2:20. Tenay acknowledged Morgan's debut on "American Gladiators" as "Beast." Morgan has joined Batista in doing the "Goldberg jump." In the end, Morgan finished off Chavis with the Hellevator finisher...

Powell's POV: Really nice energy from Morgan this week. The live crowd picked up on the energy and stayed with his reaction.

3. Robert Roode and James Storm (w/Jacqueline) defeated The Motor City Machine Guns in a strap match in 7:45. In this version of the strap match, both teams are attached to each other by the strap. It's not a country whipping strap match or a fans revenge strap match, but the creative team member with the fetish for watching men whip each other still gets his rocks off. I'm just kidding, but not really.

In the unintentionally hilarious moment of the night, Tenay watched the Guns crotch Storm and Roode with the straps and said, "You've gotta be loving this more than anyone, Don West." He followed up by pointing out that West was strapped by the heels, but it was really awkward before the followup.

Late in the match, Jacqueline passed handcuffs to Storm. Sabin rolled up Roode, but Storm hit him with the handcuffs. Roode rolled up Sabin and scored the pin. Afterward, the heels used the straps to whip Shelley until LAX ran out for the save...

Powell's POV: Leather straps and handcuffs. What the hell? This is getting weirder every week. Maybe they should put Jackie in "The Gimp" outfit from Pulp Fiction

4. Taylor Wilde pinned Velvet Sky (w/Angelina Love) for the TNA Knockouts Title in 0:05. The bell that you can barely hear on television rang while Sky was talking to Love in the corner. Widle ran over and rolled her up for the win. The ring announcer stated that it was a new TNA record for shortest match. Afterward, Sky said she wasn't ready and dared her to give her another match.

5. Taylor Wilde defeated Velvet Sky (w/Angelina Love) to retain the TNA Knockouts Title in 0:20. This time the ring announcer noted that she set a new record for winning two falls in 25 seconds. Afterward, Love asked who Wilde was dating to get the special treatment in TNA. I've wondered that myself. Love offered Taylor $5,000 if she could win a third straight fall.

Powell's POV: Why pay her five grand when you could have just double dared her?

6. Taylor Wilde beat Velvet Sky (w/Angelina Love) by DQ to retain the TNA Knockouts Title in 6:15. Apparently, the gimmick was that Wilde had to pin Sky because Love ran in and broke up the pin attempt for the DQ. The heels beat up Wilde and gave her the brown bag treatment. The crowd chanted for ODB. They got ODB and Gail Kim. For some reason, ODB came out chewing on a turkey leg. No shit. Really...

7. Kurt Angle and Team 3D defeated A.J. Styles and Christian Cage and Rhino in a tables elimination match in 14:00. All six men were legal so they brawled in and out of the ring. Team 3D was about to put Styles through a table, but Rhino and Christian broke it up and put Devon through the table to eliminate him from the match. Rhino gored Brother Ray, but Angle snuck into the ring behind the heels and hit his three opponents with a chair.

During the break, Rhino tried to gore Angle, but Brother Ray pulled Kurt out of the way and Rhino charged through a table set up in the corner of the ring to eliminate himself. Dummy. Devon returned to the match and helped Ray hit 3D on Christian through a cage while Angle held the referee and prevented him from seeing the interference. The ref turned around, saw Christian lying on a broken table, and ruled that he was out of the match.

Johnny Devine ran out to help Brother Ray. He threw powder at Styles, but A.J. ducked and the powder blinded Ray. Brother Ray put Devine through a table because he was blinded and through he was putting Styles through a table. Moments later, Styles shot Angle into Ray, who fell off the ring apron and through a table at ringside for the elimination.

The match came down to Styles and Angle. A.J. placed Kurt on a table and then climbed to the top rope. Frank Trigg ran out and hit Styles with a kendo stick. Angle hit the Olympic Slam through a table to win the match...

Powell's POV: All that just for a repeat finish from the pay-per-view? Disappointing finish, but an entertaining garbage match. Not nearly as good as the pay-per-view match. Still a solid television match, though. Um, wasn't Sting supposed to be with the heels? Did I miss something or was that heel claim completely ignored once the match started?

Here's a picture of the new ECW Champion belt: