The Hardyz vs. MNM

Is it just me, but could this end up being one of WWE's feuds and/or matches of the year. From seeing the clips of Raw and ECW last night, this is beginning to look like a real money feud and I hope this doesn't just fizzle out after the ECW PPV. All 4 men involved in this match are so much better off as part of a tag division where they can shine, rather than being lost in the mix on their respective shows. These are the kind of teams that a division can be built around, whether that is on Raw or on Smackdown and in a way it reminds of 1999/2000 when you had Edge and Christian feuding with the Hardyz. Add in the Highlanders, London & Kendrick, Regal & Taylor you have the makings of an awesome tag division, capable of having some really fun matches. If not all 4 men (but more likely Mercury and Matt Hardy) could well end up in the same limbo that Carlito, Super Crazy, Charlie Haas and Chris Masters are in.

Let's just hope that WWE are keeping one eye on TNA and seeing how awesome their tag division has been for the last 6 months and maybe decide to copy them, because I think I am getting more excited about this match than I am for the Extreme Elimination Chamber and I don't think I'm the only one!

ROH Unfied

Ring of Honor became a true international company in August when they held their first shows outside of the US right here in England. The opening night, held in the spectacular Olympia in Liverpool, was an evening based around classic ROH rivlaries being given one more chance in the spotlight and was held infront of a, then record, 1700 fans. The show was headined by a title unification match featuring World Champion Bryan Danielson taking on England's own Nigel McGuinness in a match where there must be a winner. Also on the card Jimmy Rave continued his feud with Davey Richards and the Briscoes were given one last chance to win the tag team titles away from Roderick Strong and Austin Aries. For anyone who doubted that ROH in the UK would not put on a full-strength ROH show, this line-up sure proved otherwise.

The show opened with a 4 corner survival that pitted Matt Sydal and Colt Cabana against the UK's own, Johnny Storm and Spud. From the minute Colt's music hits, the crowd is red-hot for this show and this really adds an edge to all the matches. Cabana is greeted like a returning hero (probably as a result of his extensive time spent wrking in the UK) and he welcomes the fans to Ring of Honor in the UK. The match itself was pretty standard for a 4 Corner Survival with nothing exceptional stadning out. perhaps the only thing hich was noticeable in this match is just how much better in the ring Sydal and Cabana are than the guys from the UK. Sydal especially, is head and shoulders above Spud and Storm and is making a very strong case for ROH's break-out star of the year. A fun opener, but nothing to write home about.

Next up was one of the few disappointments of the show as Jimmy Rave took on Davey Richards. Richards is clearly a star for the futue and his match the following night where he teamed with matt Sydal against the Briscoes proved that he is a real star for the future. However this, 4th meeting between the two was one match too far for this feud and it failed to ever get above 2nd gear. To be fair, it wasn;t helped by the prescence of a bunch of obnoxious Liverpool kids who were yelling stupid things which made the fans start chanting back in response to try and drown them out. Although the chant of 'past your bedtime' is guarunteed to bring a smile to your face, the fact the it disrupted the match really did not help.

Unofrtunately after this disruption, it took a while for the show to get back on track. BJ Whitmer and Claudio Castagnoli had an OK match, which featured some nice brawling in the crowd. This brought out Chris Hero who in turn had a match with Colt Cabana which was pretty good, but lacked any real heat. Robbie Brookside faced Chad Collyer in an FWA title match which was very forgettable and Doug Williams and Jodie Fleisch had a pretty decent match against Go Shiazaki and Suwa of Pro Wrestling NOAH. As is so often the case on ROH shows, none of these matchs were bad, however they were very forgettable and for the most part had very little meaning in the grand scheme of ROH storylines. The arrival of Chris Hero was a nice surprise though and the heat he got on both nights in the UK show what a useful addition to the ROH roster he is.

Thank goodness then for the main events. One of ROH's current trends is for each show to featur a double main event - something borrowed from wrestling shows in Japan. This system has lead to some fantastic combinations in recent months and allows the shows to have more depth by giving the fans 2 main reason to buy the shows, rather than have to decide on whether a show is worth getting for one great match and a handful of average ones. For Unified we had the double header of Danielson vs. McGuinness and the Briscoes vs. Aries/Strong, and what a double header it was!

Tag team wrestling in ROH has undergone a complete rennaissance in the last 12 months and to watch Aries and Strong as champions you can see why. These are two bonafide ROH main eventers, having cutting edge matches that are as good as anything else that ROH is putting on. This match could easily have swapped place with the World Title match and it is a testament to their ability that Strong and Aries have enabled this to happened. It's a good job then that the Briscoes are more than equal to Aries and Strong in terms of heart, skill and determination. Since returning in the Spring, the Briscoes have been in unbelievable form and have not had a poor match. Their initial outings with the champs were some what underwhelming by the high standards that their matches have set ove the years, however this match eclipsed those tentative first efforts and, if anything, set the bar even higher for the quality of their future matches. This was a full-on, flat out fantastic match from bell to bell. All four men gave 110% and then gave that little bit more and put on about as good a tag team match as you could ever want to see. There was hard-hitting, great wrestling, high flying, near falls, drama, excitement, the works. With the added stipulation that this would be the Briscoes last chance at taking back the tag title belts from Aries and Strong, it meant that every near fall was greeted with an expecatant crowd who genuinely believed this would be the night that new tag team champs would be crowned. But tonight was not to be the night, and as with all great matches, both sets of men came out of this match more over with the crowd than when they began the night. The Briscoes lost none of their lustre by putting on a fantastic effort and Strong and Aries solidifed their claim to be the best tag team in wrestling by having one of the macthes of their careers with one of the very best tandems in wrestling today.

After that, it was left to the world title match to round off a great evenings wrestling. The average mid card was forgotten and the focus of the show was back on great wrestling, not stupid kids in the crowd. By giving the UK the first title change of 2006 and adding the stipulation that there must be a winner, this really adds to the drama of the match. Not to mention the fact that McGuinnes in his home-country gave the match an atmosphere that was reminscent of Bret Hart in Canada in 1997. The heel McGuinnes was turned babyface in one night thanks to the UK fans, however it was the quality of the match that would cement this turn, as well as establish Nigel as genuine ROH main eventer for the first time in his career.

Although the match starts slowly, the wrestling on display here is first class. With subtle references back to their previous matches, Danielson and McGuinnes soon use their rope breaks up and the match is down to the wire. The use of the Pure title rules was clearly a way to help make Nigel seem like more of a legitimate threat, however in my view it is the one thing that holds this match back from being a true classic. The convoluted rules of the Pure title, works fine for a mid-card belt, but for a main event it makes it that much more complicated. In a lot of ways, the match itself does not get going until both men have used up their rope-breaks. However the constant possibility of there being a count-out certainly helps heighten the tension when both men are fighiting outside the ring.

Despite this minor complaint, both men go above and beyond the call of duty in this match. Knowing that this is a career defining moment for him, McGuinness pulls out all the stops, going so far as to bust himself open hardway on the ring post with a series of sick headbutts. Unlike WWE matches were bloodshed has become common place and relatively passe, the use of blood in ROH is held back only for exceptional circumstances and in this case helped take the match to an even greater level. The look of determination in Nigel's eyes accompanied by the rapidly swelling lump on the top of his head give this match a real feeling of something special. In many ways it makes it more 'real' and as such the final minutes of Dragon trying everything he can to put away Nigel really helps make the match seem even more special as the crowd are on their feet and firmly behind the Pure champ.

Although the finish is some what anti-climactic, with Dragon winning thanks to referee stoppage after hitting Nigel with his MMA-style elbows, it again makes it seem more 'real'. By removing the feeling of sanitised sports entertainment that the fans are so conditioned to see in professional wrestling it made a special match that capped off a very important night in ROH history. A true must-see event for any fan of Ring of Honor or just wrestling in general.

Overall verdict: A-
"A lacklustre undercard cannot spoil a truly fantastic show. the double main event of Danielson vs. McGuinness and the Briscoes vs. Aries/Strong is as good as anything ROH has put on this year and both are genuine match of the year contenders. An ideal starting point for any UK fan looking to get into ROH and proof that ROH will take their UK shows just as seriously as their US one."

ROH Fight of the Century

It's true, you can have too much of a good thing. And ROH fans are certainly spoiled by the quality of matches they get on each and every show. This year alone, we've allready had the epic ROH vs. CZW feud and it's Cage of Death finale, a 5 star Dragon Gate six man match as well as guest appearances from the aforementioned Dragon Gate stars, Kenta, Naomichi Marufuji and even Lance Storm has come out of retirement for one more match in ROH. But it is not the quality of matches that spoils ROH fans, it is the the length of those matches that ash become the main bone of contetnion. In WWE 8 - 12 minutes consituitues a long match and more often than not you are left frustrated that a decent match finishes before ti really gets going. Whereas in ROH, main events are on average 25-30 minutes long with some going as long as 40 or 50 minutes. This abundance of quality wrestling can help make matches more meaningful as they are given the adequate time to tell the stroy. However at the same time it also takes away from those matches which truly need to be given the time neccessary to get across their significance. In 2004 when CM Punk and Samoa Joe wrestled for 60 minutes twice over the summer it was an uncommon occurrence and it helped garner ROH plenty of publicity from the wrestling press at a time when the history of the company was in question. However since that epic match we have seen Bryan Danielson wrestle Austin Aries for 75 minutes, Punk and Chris Daniels go 60 minutes in the summer of 2005 and Danielson up- the length of his match to 40 or 50 minutes on a frequently regular basis, with 2 60 minute draws since his match with Joe in August. With all these epic matches to chose from it takes away from those matches which truly deserve the extra time and the accolades that accompany these longer matches and as such the match which was billed as the 'Fight of the Century' ended up feeling anything but that.

With this show being built around only the thrid encounter between Joe and Danielson, it was inevitable that the undercard would not eature anything that was intended to overshadow the main event, however it still featured some strong wrestling matches that helped make the show as a whole very enjoyable. The opening match between Colt Cabana saw the inevtibale comedy sheanigans between Cabana and Rinauro's Embassy cohorts and made for a fun opener. After a mercifully short ROH student match between Shane Hagadorn and Bobby Dempsey, we had a very good 4 corner survival match that pitted Nigel McGuinnes, Chris Daniels, Jay Lethal and Claudio Castagnoli against each other. One of the things ROH does so well with these undercard matches is to take seemingly 'filler' matches and give them meaning. The continued rivalry between Castagnoli and Daniels was developed while McGuinness was kept strong while building towards his title match in the UK on the next show.

The Ultimate Endurance match that followed was the second of this weekend's shows and saw tag champs Austin Aries and Roderick Strong take on the more high flying group of teams such as Irish Airbourne, teh Briscoes and their Generation Next temamates Matt Sydal and Jack Evans. Irish Airborne are being given the slow build in ROH and have replaced Dunn and Marcos as the underdog tag team du jour in ROH, however they seem to be much more able in the ring than the Ring Crew Express and thei shock win over the Briscoes in the opening fall will help open up a potentially great feud for them in the next few shows. The fan reaction to this upset tell you a lot about how much the ROH fans love the Briscoes and despite us not getting to see the Briscoes vs. Aries and Strong on this occassion, it helps whet the fan's appetite for the match that the two teams will be having in Liverpool at the next show. With the Airborne's elminated, we are left with the fromer Generation next in the ring, and wehile not as good as these four could probably do if given a proper two on two match with some heat behind it, this was a lot of fun and show just how good ROH's tag division is right now as well as proving that tag team wrestling can be good in 2006.

After that we had our only disappointing match of the evening as Homicide and BJ Whitmer took on Steve Corino and Adam Pearce. This was a continuation of the climax of the ROH vs. CZW feud which saw Pearce align himself with Jim Cornette and attack Homicide after Cage of Death. Whitmer, who had also been turned on by Pearce earlier in the show would come to the aid of Homicide against Pearce and nemesis Steve Corino who is back in ROH for one last match with Homicide as part of the 3 wishes which Homicde asked for in return for joining Team ROH in the cage. Alas, apart from some choice heling fo the crowd from Pearce and Corino at the beginning of the match, this was a very longwinded and uneventful match-up which was all about building the feud and not having a great match. Whitmer and Homicide both came out of the match looking very strong and Pearce and Corino worked really well as a couple of old-school heels, but this was definitely the biggest disappointment of the night in terms of in-ring action.

We then come to our first of 2 main events. After his disappointing match with AJ Styles at Death Before Dishonor 4 this was make or break for Davey Richards as he faced off against Kenta. Richards is clearly an ROH superstar for the future, however with the incredibly fickle nature of the ROH crowd he needs to be pushed slowly, but confidently and this was an important step for his run in ROH. After the Styles match he had lost a lot of his lustre and being put in with Kenta, a man who has only faced top ROH names in his run so far was a big test. Fortunately for Davey he passed with flying colours and had the match of his career against his 'Japanese mentor'. A brutally stiff affair with lots of really hard kicks and strikes that, for me, managed the almost impossible task of eclipsing Kenta's debut against Low-ki as his best solo outing in ROH to date. Davey also managhed to erase that temporary blip in his run so far and looks set for a slow but confident push to the top in ROH. Certainly the prospect of matches against ROH heavyweights like Bryan Danielson, Samoa Joe or Roderick Strong and Austin Aries cannot be far off. However in the meantime the prospect of a feud with the Briscoes who he and Kenat had temed up to face the previous night should keep on the road to the top of ROH.

Which leaves us with the 'Fight of the Century' to go. Ever since Danielson won the belt back in September of 2005, this was the biggest match he would have to face. ROH booker Gabe Sapolsky has wisely kept these two apart for as long as possible and as such the anticipation of these two icons of ROH meeting managed to create a genuine feeling of a marquee match-up. The fact that these three had only met twice before and that they had won one each helped build the anticipation, as did the running battles that the two had waged over the previous months -from Danielson's treachery in the Cage of Death to Joe's mindgames at the Destiny show this was a rivalry that has been given the slow build and is very reminiscent of Taz and Sabu in ECW, which is not surprisng given Sapolsky's links to Paul Heyman.

As I said earlier, this was a match that was expected to go long and deserved to go long. However the abudnance of long and important matches that had surrounded this meeting managed to take away from it and as such it made the 60 minute draw seem an ineviability and anti-clmax at best. Which is a shame, because both men worked incredibly hard and told a really great story that, if the match had happened at another show at another time could have been a true classic. I am sure that in the eyes of the ROH faithful this will become something of a cult-classic, much as the prvious match between Danielson and Joe at Midnight Express Reunion has become. Howewver, when you look a the big picture, this match was built up so well and match that followed it just did not match up to it. That is not to say that it is a disappooitnemtn, however you have to wonder whether this match will have the longevity that the Joe vs. Punk match had and that is a shame because these two men deserve to have a classic match-up that stays with them for the remainder of their careers.

Overall verdict: B+
"Although this show is built around the double main event, the undercard is still very strong and very entertaining. With only one average match on the undercard, it is unfortunaetly as a result of the predictable nature of the main event that stops this show becoming a true classic. Davey Richards has a career match against Kenat though and is probably a better reason to buy the show than the main event."

The greatest moment in TNA history

Forget the debuts of Raven, Rhino or Christian. Forget the great matches such as AMW vs. XXX or Styles vs. Daniels vs. Joe. Forget the return of legends such as Sting, Randy Savage or Lex Luger. Forget the arrival of the 6 sided ring, forget the move to Spike, forget the first monthly pay per view. This Thursday was, bar none, the most signifcant moment in TNA history.

In one 3 minute segement, TNA finally arrived on a major stage. Bu havingKurt Angle appearin on Impact, a genuine superstar of wrestling finally appeared on TNA TV. And by having him confront TNA's most important homegrown talent, in Samoa Joe, it signalled to the world that TNA could actually be a genuine alternative to WWE. In my view, this is as important a moment to TNA as McMahon screwing Bret was for WWF or Hogan turning heel was for WCW. Prior to this moment, Bound For Glory was an above average card, not a must-see event. However with the promise of a 'confrontation' between Angle and Joe it instantly becomes a must-see and must-buy event for both hardcore and casual fans alike. This kind of interest is something TNA could not achieve with months of build for Sting vs. Jarrett and has the potential to be the moment that establishes the future of TNA in the eyes of the wrestling world.

CM Punk in Japan

Some how, without WWE management noticing, CM Punk seems to have gotten himself over with the WWE fans. What's more pictures of him in Japan are plastered all over wwe.com at the moment! Here are some of my favourites!

WWE No Mercy 2006 preview

It's WWE No Mercy pay per view weekend and you have to ask yourself, really who cares? The line-up is less than thrilling, so much so that WWE have seen fit to change the main event less than a week before the show. Not a single match on the show feels like a genuine main event, even with the rearranged line-up. The rematch of Booker T vs. Batista from Summerslam was the original choice for the main event, but after their lacklustre match at Summerlsam this was changed to Booker vs. Lashley. These two had some decent matches when Lashley was US Champion, but he is nowehere near ready for a main event role without there being something of a back up. At a dual-brand (or should it be tri-band these days) show that would be fine, but not when this match is supposed to be selling the show. The same is true of Batista vs. Finlay which was the other match of note to be merged into the now fourway main event. Now Finlay has been a revelation since her returned, but he is not a main eventer. His in-ring skills will certainly help caryy Batista to a decent match, but would you pay to see this? I thought not.

Then you have the least logical of all the matches on the show. Undertaker vs. Ken Kennedy. The first title defense from the new US Champion on pay per view is against.... the Undertaker?!?! Unlike Raw who are using their secondary belt as a great way of getting over their young talent, on Smackdown it is almost completely ignored and Kennedy is put in with Undertaker in the veign hope that this might bring Kennedy up to his level. Surely it would have made more sense to let Kennedy work his way up to the top spot by having decent matches rather than put him in with Taker, who should be helping to bolster the main event as he is one of the few 'stars' they have left on Smackdown.

The you have Rey vs. Chavo in a falls count anywhere match. The tasteless exploiation of the Eddie Guerrero name contnues, but ofrtunately this match seems to have fallen off the radar a little bit over the last few weeks, perhaps it's because the fasn have stopped caring about either man. What was once the focus of the brand is now an after thought. On the good side this measn this stupid angle will soon run it's course. On the bad side, it means two of the brand's best wrestlers are not being used to put on good matches. Let's hope that this changes sometime soon!

WWE Unforgiven 2006

There is definitely such a thing as too much of a good thing and a case in point is this month's WWE Unforgiven pay per view. Once upon a time, all a wrestling match needed to giver it some heat was too men, a grudge and maybe a title belt to spice things up a little bit. These days, you need a 15 foot steel cage, more blood that a Saturday night in A & E and every household item bar the kitchen sink - and even then it's not enough. By promoting a show with both a Hell in a Cell AND a Tables Ladders and Chairs match, WWE managed to dilute 2 of their strongest gimmick matches and diminish the impact of both matches. Nopt since the heights of the Monday Night Wars have we seen such a loaded card of wrestling which wasn't a Wrestlemania and unofrtunately WWe failed to capture the special atmosphere of their signature event and this show came across as just another WWE show - albeit a quite decent one.

Because of loaded main events, someone at WWE actually made the senisble decision to not overload the undercard and as such we actually had 3 really good wrestling matches, all of which were given enough time to tell an interesting story and actually be cometitive. The first of these was the Intercontiental Championship match between Johnny Nitro and Jeff Hardy and was a perfect example of how the IC title should be used in WWE. These two young athletes [attempted] to have a high-paced, competitive wrestling match and darn near pulled it off. By having these young guys go out and have good matches, with as little silliness as possible, WWE actually managed to make the IC title seem important and gave these 2 the oppurtunity to showcase just what they could do. Unfortunately neither man is the next Chris Benoit or Eddie Guerrero and at times the match was very disjointed, but it was perfectly fine for what it was. If WWE were to continue to put on matches like this, then they could well draw back in many of the fans they have alienated over the past year as bad angles can be forgiven if they are acccompanied by some decent wrestling because that is what the majority of fans really want. In many ways, this match could have done with being swapped with the Randy Orton vs. Carlito match which came before the main event, as this was another strong wrestling match between two young athletes who are still establishing themselves in WWE. The main difference though, was that Carlito and Orton put on a much more exciting match, which would have been a stronger opener, however it makes sense to split the title matches up. Let's hope at the enxt show we see someone like Super Crazy, Shelton Benjamin or Charlie Haas given the chance to show what they can do in this position, because if they do, then the future of the Intercontinental division is in good hands.

Before we get to the third of our strong undercard matches it might be worth mentioning the two matches that filled out the remainder of the card. Although not spectacular, Umaga vs. Kane and The Spirit Squad vs. The Highlanders were both perfectly fine wrestling matches. Not great, but not bad either. At this point the show wqas looking pretty strong and ironically it was the main events that would stop it from being a great show, not these realtively meaningless undercard matches.

The third match of consequence on the show was the Women's Title match between Trishc Stratus and Lita. With the history that these two women have together, it was always going to be a good encounter, the only thing that was going to hold it back would be the booking and how much time it was given. Fortunately Trishs' 'retirement' match was given the repestc that WWE seldom gives it's performers and thanks to a decent amount of time and nice a history package, this was one of the highlights of the night, not an excuse for a snack break. Trish winning in her home town with a sharpshooter was a nice touch, however the lack of any post-match celebration really took away from what could have been a real 'highlight reel' moment. But then again, this is the women's division in WWE, should we really be surprised!

This brings us to our main events. Hell in a Cell, was wisely placed in the first half of the card so as not to burn out the audience and as such lacked the fire that previous matches had. As you would expect there were tons of high spots, loads of blood and a DX win. In the grans scheme of Hell in a Cells, it was not the worst (Unertaker vs. Big Bossman at Wrestlemania XV still has that accolade) , but it was by no means up there with the very best. Part of the problem was that this i yet another match where the owner of WWE is given the chance to get himself over at the expense of talent. When you think of talented individuals like Shelton Benjamin or Charlie Haas, who can't even get on the show, then you have to wonder what the point of this match was. Without the emotional sub-plot of previous great Cell match like HHH vs. Cactus Jack or Brock Lesnar vs. Undertaker, this just became a series of high-spots with lots of blood. It was Hell in a Cell by numbers, just without the huge spot on the top of the cage (which thank goodness they didn't even attempt!!) and as such took an important WWE siganture event and just made it into another match. Something WWE can not afford to do considering their own falling fortunes in the pay per view business. (Oh, and the less said about Vince showing his bloody face in Big Show's bloody backside the better. That was a truly disgusting moment!!).

So that just leaves our main event, and thank god they put this match on last. A lot has been said over the past months about Cena's position at the top of the card and whether he deserves it or not, however based on this performace, then I don't think anyone can argue with him being WWE's top guy, whether you like it or not. However, what WWE cannot forget, is that part of the reason he is now viewd as their top guy is because of Edge. Edge is WWE's top heel and is a genuine main eventer, however he has only gotten to that stage because he has beaten Cena, cleanly. Cena needed to be beaten by Edge as much as Edge needed to beat him. This in turn has given us a genuine feud, something WWE has not been able to master since the glory days of Rock vs. Austin. These guys are shown as being on an equal footing in the company and this gives both men a credibility that WWE could not manufacture when Cena was first given the belt. Sure, the fans still boo Cena, but at least he is getting a reaction. Fans want to boo the guy they hate and for smart fans, that means Cena, the man who has been given everything and not earned their respect (like Edge or Kurt Angle). WWE's smartest move in the last 6 months has been to ignore this reaction, not try and push Cena down the fan's throats and in return, the fans who boo Cena have been given a heel who is on the top of his game who they can cheer. By giving a feud this amount of heat, the fans ignore Cena's shortcomings in the ring and are simply swept along for the ride - which after all is what 'Sports Entertainment' is all about. As a result, the TLC title match was a rally fun match which, although not a classic, feels more like another chapter of an epic feud and as such managed to achieve what Hell in A Cell did not and allowed all those involved in the match to get over, no matter who won and who lost. Even though this was yet another quick title change, you get the feeling that Edge will be plotting his revenge before too long and whether or not that is next month or next year, this ia feud that cane be constantly re-visited and that is what good wrestling should be all about.

Overall verdict: C+
"By no means a classic, but still one of the better WWE shows in recent months. The solid matches helped gloss over the more goofy moments and make the undercard worth watching, while the top 2 matches were both abov e average. Unofrutnately the prescence of 2 major gimmic matches on one show diulted the importance of both matches, however by putting the title match on last, they at least helped Edge and Cena to continue their feud and not be over-shaowed by the McMahons and DX."

TNA No Surrender 2006

When people look back on TNAs No Surrender pay per view at the end of the year, it's safe to say that all they'll remember is the final 30 seconds. By teasing their big announcment for the whole show and then actually delivering news which caught the entire wrestling world by surprise, TNA not only created an unprecedented buzz for itself, it also managed to gloss over what was, for the most part, a decidedly below average pay per view.

The anouncement that Kurt Angle has come to terms with TNA is huge, there's no doubt about that. Combined with the news they are going to primetime with Impact as well as the return of Vince Russo to creative, TNA has a buzz surrounding it at the moment which is bigger than ever in the companies history. Whether good or bad, people are talking about TNA for once and as the old adage goes, there's no such thing as bad publicitiy. The only obvious downside is that all this buzz and speculation not only over-shadowed this weekend's show, but is also over shadowing a lot of the build for their Bound for Glory show. Although the show as a whole was decidely poor, there were 2 excellent matches in Christian vs. Rhino and the tag team Ultimate X as well as a very significant angle played out involving Samoa Joe and the NWA title belt. Unfortunately with all the hype currently being around TNA signing that aren;t currently in the ring, the actual in-ring product has taken a back seat, which is a worrying move for a company that should be priding itself on it's quality wrestling - after all, WWE sure as hell isn't!

After a string of very solid pay per views, No Surrender featured that kind of fragmented booking and average wrestling that you would expect from a show which has felt like an after though all along. With the main event of Jeff Jarrett vs. Sting settled for Bound For Glory, the build for No Surrender lacked the usual focus of a title match and as such felt somewhat of a filler show in the weeks leading up to it, much like WWE single brand pay per views. Thank goodness then for Christian Cage vs. Rhino and the Ultimate X tag match. Prior to that, the show was punctuated by ridiculous booking and matches that were far from exciting. Despite being a crowd favourite, Eric Young was never going to carry muscle-bound goof A-1 to a good match and this was a very underwhelming opener. Then, during the Petey Williams vs. Jay Lethal and Senshi vs. Chris Sabin matches we saw the babyfaces imitate Jackass and do crazy stunts to help them win their matches. Now call me stupid, but isn't one of the points in Jackass that fans aren't supposed to emulate them? This now makes Dutt, Lethal and Sabin look even more stupid. The laxative angle with Lethal and Williams was just embarassing and made the X Division look like amateur hour, while the shenangians in the Sabin vs. Senshi match ruined what was otherwise a really strong bout. Thank god the crowd voiced their dissatisfaction here and at the Impact taping and hopefully we'll see an end to this current storyline. God knows, after this and the Kevin Nash debacle, the X Division desperatly needs to get back to putting on some awesome matches and go back to being a positive for the company, not an embarassing negative.



So it was, that nearly half way through the show we got out first match of any meaning that wasn't punctuated by silliness. Christian and Rhino had a really good match that followed up on their weeks of really interesting build since Christian's heel turn. Although it didn't make much sense at the time, you cannot argue with the quality of promos that have built to this match and Christian is back to being the slimy heel he is so good at portraying. Rhino is also reaping the rewards and his stock is definitely on the rise as he has more than carried his side of things in thie feud and as such the match definitely felt like a main event match with main event stars. Although slow to get going, they told a great story - so great, that you don't even mind there being a ref bump at the end as it actually adds to it rather than seem like a booking crutch. By adding the idea that Rhino had a concussion going in, it gives Rhino an excuse for his clean loss and so I don't think we will be seeing an end to this feud anytime soon, which is no bad thing. With Bound for Glory being in Rhino's hometown, I can see a big babyface win at the next show, but for now this was a really solid match which has helped get over both guys and helped save the pay per view at this point.

This was followed by the Ultimate X match between Konnan's LAX group and AJ Styles and Chris Daniels. In many ways, this deserved to be the main event as once again Styles and Daniels helped steal the show by putting on one of the best Ultimate X matches in TNA history. These two have really found their niche in the tag division as well as revitalizing tag team wrestling in TNA. Homicide and Hernandez though, more than held their own in this match and the LAX gimmick is becoming one of the best parts of the TNA product right now. When it came to who won this match, either team could have walked off with the gold and it would not matter. However, thanks to Chris Daniels' insane dive from the corner post of the Ultimate X structure, Styles and Daniels regained the belt and we are set for a rubber match at Bound for Glory which should very well steal the show once again.



Then finally we came to our main event. Although the idea of this match has seemed very forced and like a filler main event, you can't fault the build up for it. Although I would have preferred to see Ultimate X close the show, this match was a dran sight more entertaining than many expected. Although the build saw the emphasis put on the fans getting their revenge on Jarrett, TNA did an excellent job of refocusing Joe's role in the match on the final Impact and by bloodying Joe and having him cut that superb promo, we finally got the heat in the match that was missing all along. As such, the match kept a nice balance of fans getting to hit Jarett and joe getting his revenge and coming across like a star. It's easy to forget that with all that's been said about Jarrett pushing himself as the top guy when he doesn't need, but the man can still have a really strong match when he needs to and he showed he can still cut it in the ring with this match. He put over Joe and made him look a million bucks, while taking the pin clean in the middle of the ring after taking only one muscle-buster. Admittedly he was a little bit quick to get up on his feet once the match was over, but fair dues to him, he took the loss and has set-up an intriguing issue between himself and Joe for the coming months.

Overall verdict: C+
"A definite filler show that people will only really remember for the final 30 seconds. On the plus-side this means some stupid booking and average matches will now be forgotten. But on the down side three very good matches in Christian/Rhino, Jarett/Joe and Ultmate X will be never ge given the admiration they deserve."

ROH Death Before Dishonor 4

There have been some surprising events in the world of professional wrestling over the years. Whether it's Eric Bischoff appearing on Raw, David Arquette winning the WCW World title or Mae Young giving birth to a plastic hand, you must never say never in the world of pro wrestling. And so it was, with a little surprise, that we found Ring of Honor promoting it's 4th Death Before Dishonor show, by main eventing it with a 'Cage of Death' match (the signature event of fierce rivals, Combat Zone Wrestling). Could this really be a sign of things to come for ROH?

Fortunately not. The ROH vs. CZW has revitalized Ring of Honor at a time when competition for a wrestling fan's hard earned dollar is getting more competitive than ever. However few could have predicted 12 months ago, that Chris Hero or Necro Butcher would be regular members of the ROH roster. Or that ROH would be embroiled in a violent feud with it's arch rival of CZW in the rings of the Philaphia wrestling arenas, not behind the scenes as they did in 2002/3. However where ROH has prospered, unfortunately CZW has not followed suit. Despite a number of reasonably high-profile appearances by ROH regulars, CZW has failed to capitalize on the buzz that has generated around this feud and as such it is at a Ring of Honor event (albeit one headlines by a CZW staple) that sees the climax of the feud, rather than at a CZW show.

It's is rare that a show can truly be called a one-match card, but alas DBD4 is one of those cases. It's not that the under card is bad, more that it is simply not as good as the main event. As is so often the case with an ROH show, the undercard features matches which are better than many other indie show's main events, but in this case, they all played second fiddle to the main event. In the matches of note Nigel McGuinness defeated Roderick Strong by count-out to retain his Pure Title, the Briscoes helped continue the development of new tag team Irish Airbourne by giving them a solid thrashing and AJ Styles and Davey Richards proved that great workers can still have average matches. Even the world title match that saw Bryan Danielson take on 'CZW's own' Sonjay Dutt was overshadowed by the main event. Despite a strong outing from both men, this match was cut short and was more memorable for the very partisan crowds rather than the in-ring action. (One clever touch ROH has added to these shows, is the precence of 'CZW bleachers' which allow the crowd to be much more vocal and unbiased and as such create a much more fervent atmosphere which you can still feel even on DVD.)

Prior to the main event, Jim Cornette continued one of the main angles coming into this show and discussed his request of Homicide to be the 5th member of Team ROH. Homicide had said he would only be in Team ROH if he was granted 3 wishes, which Cornette said would give him too much power in ROH. This brought out ROH World Champion Bryan Danielson who said he would join Samoa Joe, Ace Steel, Adam Pearce and BJ Whitmer in the cage and would not ask for any wishes from Cornette.

With all these elements in place, as well as the mysterious 5th member of team CZW and the presence of former 4 Horsemen manager JJ Dillon guarding the gate door our main event was on. ROH would win the coin toss and have the man advantage which meant that you know things would not be going ROH's way. The arrival of Samoa Joe to be the first man in the cage was somewhat of a surprise given the regard in which Joe is held by ROH fans however this was not his match and so it made sense for him to be first in. As a result of what would happen later in the match it led to many speculating that this 'easy ride' that Joe was given in Cage of Death was because of his commitments to TNA. Whether this was the case or not, is not a matter for debate here, however ROH booker Gabe Sapolsky has maintained there was no pre-meditated plan to keep Joe 'safe' during the first part of this match. Certainly the way that Joe's summer has panned out in regards to his feud with Bryan Danielson would back that argument up, however on intial viewing it does seem strange for such a prominent member of the ROH roster to play such a minor role in this major match.

It's a good thing then that the performances of the other men involved in the match more than makes up for the lack of Samoa Joe. Once Danielson takes Joe out of the match by clipping his knee, ROH is left with the numbers disadvantage that few would have foreseen when they saw ROH win the coin toss and as such sets up the arrival of Homicide to the match perfectly. The fact that prior to this, CZW revealed it's 5th member to be Eddie Kingston, a man who has nothing but bad words to say about ROH, made this matter even more dramatic as the story of Cage of Death unfolded perfectly before the fan's eyes. With both this surprise entrant and the (albeit obvious) arrival of Homicide to save the day, ROH proved that no matter how smart your fanbase, good story telling can outdo great workrate and technical perfection any day. The fans were taken along on a fantastic journey with this match and the climax of Homicide pinning Nate Webb after a a copkiller into a barbed wire board perfectly captured the whole essence of the ROH vs. CZW feud and provided yet another highlight reel moment from the brief history of ROH.

The angle which followed the climax of Cage of Death saw Jim Cornette grant 2 out of 3 of Homicide's wishes (a world title match in New York and a rematch with long term rival Steve Corino) but he would stop short of allowing Low-ki to return. This led to an heel turn which saw Cornette, Pearce and Dillon seal Homicide in the cage and put the boots to him, setting up a Homicide vs. Cornette feud for the remainder of the year. In a lot of ways this felt like an angle too far after the emotionally draining show that had come before it. However this was the perfect time to do it as it was fresh in the people's minds and helped retain the momentum that ROH so desperately needs in order to keep itself relevant in the modern wrestling world.

Overall verdict: A+
"As good a Ring of Honor show as you'll see and a prime example of how even the smartest of smart fans can still enjoy a good old fashioned brawl between good guys and bad guys."

WWE + Taste = Not likely

I suppose I should expect nothing less from a company who shamelssly exploit the death of one of their own wrestlers. However I felt the mention of Steve Irwin in the Matt Striker's Classroom segment on ECW TV this week went beyond the bounds of what any reasonable person could regard as good taste. We all know WWE is the lowest common denominator when it comes to television, howevber it is crass and tasteless remarks that help put it there and will prevent it from ever raising itself above gutter level., What relevance Steve Irwin had to a WWE broadcast is beyond me and the fact that it was made with a few days of his untimely death is beyond anything which any right minded person should expect to see mad fun of on their TV. Now Vince and co I am sure wil tell you that what they were doing was being topical and trying to garner heat for Striker. However what it really proved is that WWE is trash TV and it has tarnished what has been otherwise very strong run of telvision from the ECW brand.

Summerslam 2006 some quick thoughts

Rather than go with the usual review and analysis of this year's Summerslam, I thought I would post some random thoughts which occurred to me while getting ready to write this article.

1. There were only 7 matches on the card

2. Of those 7 matches only one of those was a tag team match (and even then, neither team were tag champions).

3. Because there were only 7 matches on the card it meant that there were only 16 people involved in pre-advertised matches on this show.

4. 7 of the 16 men involved were over 40 while 3 of those were over 50.

5. There were 4 part-time wrestlers on the show (a quarter).

6. Of the 16 men on Summerslam only 3 had debuted since the year 2000 (I don't count Chavo, Rey and Booker here who made their WWE debuts in 2001 but had allready been wrestling for many years prior to this in WCW).

7. There were only 3 title matches on the show, despite WWE having 9 championships.

8. The Extreme Rules match for the ECW world title was the second match on the show and was not the most Extreme match on the card, despite being for the championship of Extreme Championship Wrestling.

9. There were no cruiserweights on the show.

10. There were no matches involving women. Not even Divas! (except Lita who was involved in the main event!)

Apart from these minor points this was a pretty good show. There were a lot of fun matches and it made for an entertaining spectacle. Unofrtunately many of the points raised above are indicative of just why WWE is suffering with decreasing pay per view buyrates and ever decreasing TV ratings. Until new stars are made, then it can only get worse for WWE.

Overall verdict: B+

ROH in Broxbourne (8/13), Live report

Ring of Honor concluded it’s UK debut with a sold out show in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire last night (Sunday August 13th). Following on from the previous night’s ‘traditional’ ROH show in Liverpool, this show was built around the idea of a series of international dream matches featuring talent from the UK, Japan and the US.

The show began with tag champ Austin Aries coming to the ring accompanied by tag partner Roderick Strong. With heavily taped ribs, an emotional Aries had to announce to the crowd that he would be unable to compete that evening as a result of broken ribs sustained in the match with the Briscoe Brothers the previous night. As the fans chanted Aries’ name, ROH champion (and Pure champion) Bryan Danielson came to the ring and berated Aries for not having the heart to compete and defend his championship for the UK fans. This led to Roderick Strong standing up to Danielson and challenging him to a match later that evening. After much stalling and crowd abuse, Danielson accepted his challenge and we were set for Danielson vs. Strong IV. While leaving, Danielson was attacked with a kendo stick by Pro Wrestling NOAH star SUWA, laying Danielson out on the floor.

The show officially started with the first ‘International Showcase’ match pitting Pro Wrestling NOAH’s Go Shiosaki against ROH’s BJ Whitmer. Taking a while to get going, this was the stiff, striking contest that you would expect from both men. The crowd was initially subdued, not because the match was dull, more that the UK fans were soaking up their first experience of a live ROH show. Chants were split between Whitmer - who the fans have taken to during the recent ROH vs. CZW feud – and Shiosaki, who I think got most of his chants because the fans enjoyed shouting “Let’s go Go”. After several vicious chops, forearms and head-drop suplexes, Shiosaki got the pin with a moosault, but both men were given strong ovations for a strong opening contest.

Next up was a 3-way pitting the talents of the UK’s best high-flyers. Spud, Johnny Storm and Jody Fleisch all got a strong reception from the fans, many of whom will have seen these three cut their teeth in the UK’s FWA promotion. After the usual high-flying, spot-based action, Storm got the pin on Spud with his wonderwhirl finisher. Although this was a slightly underwhelming match by ROH standards, props must go to Spud for taking a vicious looking powerbomb into the guardrail from Johnny Storm, which earned Storm a “you killed Spud” chant.

With all three men laid out in the ring exhausted, Chris Hero, Claudio Castagnoli and Chad Collyer rushed the ring and began attacking the Brits. Most of the fans were unaware that Hero would be present at the shows and as such he got a very heated reaction with fans throwing toilet roll and rubbish at the invading threesome. Coming to the defence of the British fans that Hero had been mocking on the mic came former Pure Champ Nigel McGuinness and UK legend Robbie Brookside. Challenging the Kings of Wrestling to a tag match, the subsequent 3-on-2 beat down on the Brits was halted by Colt Cabana who sided with McGuinness and Brookside to take on Hero who he had wrestled the night before. The resulting 6-man tag match was one of the highlights of the night, if only for the crowd and the heel’s reaction to it. Several new derogatory chants (far too rude to print here) were introduced to ROH fresh from the local football terraces and Hero, Collyer and Castagnoli over-reacted to every one. After a great back and forth match which saw the heels focus on the veteran Brookside, Nigel McGuinnes secured the pin after a Tower of London DDT and lariat on Chad Collyer. The Brits celebrated in the ring while the Kings of Wrestling, snuck out through the back door. With many fans regarding the ROH vs. CZW feud as over after Cage of Death last month, this was a great way to bring in the Kings of Wrestling to ROH as the tag division could desperately do with some top tier heels now that the Embassy team of Alex Shelley and Jimmy Rave has been put on hold.

Before we could reach intermission, ROH champ Bryan Danielson returned to the ring and challenged SUWA to a match so he could get his revenge for the earlier attack. SUWA charged Danielson and the two brawled around the ring and out into the crowd. At some point here, Danielson’s head was cut open and this led to a much more bloody than usual ROH title match. With two heels battling away, the crowd were split between the two, however Dragon secured the win with a small package in a short, but very hard-hitting encounter. The main point of interest, other than Dragon’s head wound, was the amount of abuse Danielson was taking to his back from SUWA. Would this be an issue in the later title match against the ‘Messiah of the Backbreaker’ Roderick Strong?

Coming back from intermission, it was time for Prince Nana of the Embassy to address the crowd. After making several insulting comments about the ladies of Liverpool who he had spent the previous night partying with (which earned him more cheers than boos) it was time for the UK debut of the ‘Crown Jewel’ Jimmy Rave. Despite Nana’s threats on ROHvideos.com that the throwing of toilet paper would not be accepted, Rave was not going to be given a free ride by the UK fans. Streams of toilet roll, many of them a nice shade of pink pelted the ring and Rave and Nana sold any direct hits like they had been hit by a thunderbolt. Rave’s opponent was the UK’s own Doug Williams, who got a great reception for his ROH return. The subsequent match featured the usual Rave/Nana cheating, combined with Williams’ excruciating looking submission holds. The crowd was also all over Rave and Nana with the Ghanian dictator hamming it up at ringside. Williams earned the pin with a chaos theory and the Embassy were seranaded out of the building with a rendition of ‘na-na-na-na, hey, goodbye’.

With Aries and Strong out of action it was left to the Briscoes, Matt Sydal and Davey Richards to steal the show with their pre-main event tag match – and steal the show they did. If there is a better tag team in wrestling today than the Briscoe Borthers, than I have not seen them. They are so polished and their moves are so well executed that they should be huge stars in this business. It is such a shame that tag team wrestling has become such a dirty word in 2006 because these are two of the best in the world at tag team wrestling. Matt Sydal and Davey Roichards on the other hand are no slouches, with Sydal fresh off a tour of Japan with Dragon Gate and Richards coming of a highly praised match against KENTA at the last ROH show. Another slow-burner, this match was not as high flying as the Briscoes’ match with Sydal and AJ Styles and was not as hard hitting as their encounters with Strong and Aries, however this was as good an example of tag team wrestling as you could ask to see. By uniting Richards and Sydal, it allowed them to use their offence in short bursts, which made them all the more effective. The highlights of the match were an awesome corkscrew suicide dive from Richards and a Matt Sydal moonsault, both to the floor. After numerous near-falls that saw the crowd on their feet for every near three count, the Briscoes’ secured the pinfall on Sydal with a cutthroat suplex/leg drop combination (after eliminating Richards with a Jay driller), however all 4 men earned a standing ovation from the crowd. This is a match that, if put on in front of a US crowd, would earn rave reviews for it’s hard-hitting excellence, so let’s hope that either ROH repeat this match stateside or that, upon the show’s DVD release, it gets the admiration it’s due for being a quite fantastic tag team contest.

With wrestling that good, the main event had a lot to live up to, however the two men involved were more than capable of putting on an awesome main event. With the Strong vs. Danielson matches getting longer and more vicious the more times they face each other, the fans were expecting something special here and with the bell-time for the main event being a surprisingly early 9.00 could it be that we would see a 60 minute draw out of these two?

With Danielson having already wrestled once that evening and sporting a still bleeding head, the two started off at full-pace right from the bell. Whether it was Strong chasing Dragon for slapping him during the early exchanges in the corner or the flurry of chops and forearms that built in ferocity as the match went on, this was every bit as hard-hitting as their previous encounters. It was therefore, something of a surprise to see the match stopped at just over 20 minutes after a flurry of vicious MMA-style elbows from Danielson who subsequently locked in the cattle mutilation to the now unconscious Strong. Although not a classic as the previous three have been, this was certainly a worthy main event and continues the story of Danielson and Strong’s hard-hitting rivalry. The final image of a bloody Danielson (now beelding from his mouth as well as his head) standing over the equally bloodied Strong (who had been cut open above his eye) will surely add another level of competitiveness to this match-up, as well as a level of sporting realism that WWE simply cannot (or perhaps will not) match up to.

Overall verdict: B+
“A fantastic show, albeit slightly short in time and number of matches. Having said that, there was not a poor match on the show and it really showed off to the UK fans just what ROH is all about. Whether it is the hard-hitting action, innovative high-flying and tag team action, or simple good old-fashioned fun wrestling with heels you love to boo and babyfaces you want to cheer, it had the lot. Whether the matches will pass the test of time is unsure, however the two tag matches will certainly warrant another viewing on DVD. In short, ROH did everything they needed to do to send the fans home happy and the news that they will be returning to the UK in March next year will certainly help make up for any short comings this show might have had.”

The return of Jeff Hardy to WWE

So Jeff Hardy is back in WWE. Quelle surprise. The rumours of a Hardy Boyz reunion have been buzzing around the internet ever since he left WWE in 2003. After Matt's departure from WWE last year it looked like TNA might have been the place that it would finally happen. However once Matt showed up on Raw it looked like it was only ever going to be a pipedream. With the Dudleyz/Team 3D and Christian and Jeff Hardy available to them, this could have been one of the matches that would draw people into watch TNA as these guys had some of the best matches from the most profitabel era of the company. Instead, with Jeff returning to WWE, it goes to show that if the money is right Vince and co are still the preferred destination for the majority of wrestlers in the US today - no matter how bad they may end up being treated.

Until Jeff's annoucement today, he has been off the radar ever since he no showed a number of key events for TNA last year. However the general perception was that he was still under contract to TNA or so it seemed. Although this is probably a great move for Jeff, it may not be such a great move for Matt. After suffering in WWE purgatory ever since he returned it looked like he was finally in line for a singles push as a result of his win over Ken Kennedy. However now with brother Jeff back in the company, it looks like a Hardy Boyz reunion is back on the cards. The only thing is, just who the hell will they be facing? In the 4 years since the Hardy Boyz heydays, the tag division has become the red-headed step child of WWE. Whereas once they were major draws, they are now an after though and as a result of poor booking and the wellness program there is only one recognised tag team on Smackdown these days (and only a handful more than that on Raw). Therefore, as great as it is to have Jeff back, it makes you wonder who they will be facing. At least the prospect of the Hardyz vs. London/Kendrick is enough to pique the interest of a cyncial old fan like me. However the Hardyz vs. Shelton Benjamin & Charlie Haas, MNM or even a reunited Edge and Christian or the Dudleyz would have been even better!

You also have to wonder, with Jeff's notorious problems with illegal substances how will he stand up to the new WWE wellness program. For someone who always maintained he never had a drug problem, how will he cope being back on the road around temptation? Not to mention, can the Hardy Boyz get over in a wrestling company where the high-flying moves of old have been reigned in in favour of a 'less is more approach'. It will be an interesting few months for the newly re-formed Hardy duo, but if one thing is certain, the teenage fans who cover themselves in body paint to go to TNA and scream for Jeff will be screaming into their myspace accounts tonight!

When being 'Extreme' is just too extreme for ECW!

Back in the 90s everything was extreme. It was one of those buzzwords that marketing geniuses used to make things sound more edgey and exciting. Want to make something sound more cool, call it Extreme, then it sounds like surfers and snowvoarders and other cool, young, youth-type things. If you want to make it even cooler, then why not remove the 'e' and call them Xtreme - not that's really hip!


However for Extreme Championship Wrestling, they were not relying on a cliche to make their name. In the mid-90s, the former Eastern Championship Wrestling was carving out a niche for itself strewn with broken tables (sometimes on fire), barbed wire and blood by the bucket load. The die-hard ECW fans will always tell you ECW was about more than just blood and guts, however it was the Extreme nature of the product that caught most fans attentions. For all the Guerrero vs. Malenko classics and high flying luchadores, it was the Rotten brothers tearing each other apart in a taipei deathmatch or Sabu and Terry Funk in a no ropes barbed wire match that got the majority of the headlines. However amid all this carnage there was one ever present constant. No matter how 'extreme' things got and how much blood was spilled, there was always a result. It may have not started as being an 'anything goes' promotion, but by the end an ECW wrestler couldn't seem to get DQed if they had gone out the back, picked up there rental car and drove it at their opponent at 60 mph. They would still have been expected to get out, hook the leg and let the ref count the 1-2-3.

So here we are in 2006 and after a brief hiatus, ECW is back. But as ECW fans we muct keep reminding ourselves, this is not the ECW of old. This isn't 1995 and the age of Funk and the Public Enemy, this is 2006 and the age of Vince MacMahon's vision of ECW. As such we have to accept a few changes; Kurt Angle and Big Show are now ECW wrestlers - OK. So is Test - OK? The old ECW stars are just just jobbers and will never win - right - oh, and there will be vampires and zombies - fair enough, I guess it is on Sci Fi. Oh, and we're going to have DQ finishes - now hang on! There really is only so much we can take!!

With the DQ ending of Batista vs. Big Show that now makes for the at FIFTH DQ finish of an ECW match (and two of those were title matches). Gone are the days of a bloody Sabu crawling through barbed wire to pin Terry Funk. This is ECW where you only use weapons when it's 'Extreme Rules' and for that you have to get Vince's permission before you can go and be extreme. After all, if all the matches were 'Extreme Rules' (as they all surely should be if this is Extreme Championship Wrestling) then WWE [un]Creative wouldn't be able to rely on the familliar crutch of DQ finishes for matches where they can't decide who they want to win - or rather who doesn't want to get pinned. Over the past few years, DQ finishes have become second only to ref bumps in my 'Most Hated things about WWE' list and now it is transferring to ECW - which is not a good thing. Sure, there are times when a DQ finish can add to a storyline, just look at Batista vs. Ken Kennedy for a prime example. However when you get screwy DQs every week then they lose all meaning. By building their story's around a 'Code of Honor', Ring of Honor have got to the point where DQs, ref bumps and count outs actually mean something in the context of their storys. For the most part, this is because they only have one or two of each a year. WWE on the other hand have 2 or 3 a week and as such they just become a tired old cliche. Add to this the inconsistency of refereeing as a result of poor storytelling and you have a minefield of inconsistent rule-making where heels won't get DQed for hitting someone in the face with chair, but a babyface will get punished for wearing the wrong colour tights. For those of us with an IQ which is in double figures, you can see why this might be a problem.

So please Vince, make the refs make sense and let the ECW guys do their thing without having to worry about DQs if they gt a little bit too rowdy and put someone through a table or hit someone with a chair. After all, this is what you brought the brand back for, to capitalize on this legacy of blood, barbed wire and brutality. Alas, at the moment you are making them come across like every other half-arsed brand that ever tried to make themselves cool by pretending they take things ' to the Xtreme' - at the end of the day, the fans just see right through it and you can't ever earn back credibility once it's gone, no matter how much money you chuck at the problem.

ECW + CM Punk = Ratings!

CM Punk makes his ECW in-ring debut in a fantastic stiff encounter with Justin Credible. Lots of high impact kicks and strikes, Punk has clearly been swapping tips with his good buddy Samoa Joe. Getting the win with an uranage into the anaconda vice submission hold, Punk was cheered mightily by the New York faithful and was put over like a star. Let's just hope this continues for him.

WWE Great American Bash

Last Sunday's Great American Bash was already a tough sell, when you consider that Smackdown has a roster decimated by injuries and talents raids. But when you throw in the atrocious booking and storylines that have held back so many talented wrestlers from showing their full potential, not to mention have resulted in a world champion who can never win and then it's hardly surprising that the GAB was not expected to break it's habit of being the worst drawing pay per view of the year. However things were looking better during the build thanks to the return of Batista and Ken Kennedy as well as the development of guys like Mark Henry, Bobby Lashley and Fit Finaly into a strong role on the brand in their absence. Unfortunately things were to take a turn for the worse when one of those few positives, Mark Henry, would injur his knee just 6 days before the show and require the main event to be completely re-booked. But that's not all. Just when things looked like they couldn't get any worse, WWE's wellness program flagged up several wrestlers with health issues and as a result Bobby Lashley, The Great Khali and Super Crazy were all told they were unable to compete on the show.


This makes judging the Great American Bash something of a tricky task. On paper, the card was not great to begin with and these last minute changes meant that two of the top angles had to be rebooked, as well as two of the main undercard matches. As a result, the show had an incredibly disjointed feel and some of the matches just made no sense whatsoever. However, as a long term move for the company this can only be regarded as a good thing as it means that the Wellness program is taking effect and doing some good, as in days gone by, talent would have been expected to work though these potentially dangerous health issues and beyond without any time-off to recover.

Therefore as it came time for the show to start, it could have gone one of two ways. If we were lucky, the powers-that-be in WWE would have completely thrown out large chunks of the card and we could have at least gotten an interesting wrestling card with some entertaining matches on it. Instead they tried to fudge it as best they could and paper over the cracks with, what they no doubt saw as clever little plot devices. Unfortunately this left a lot of the casual fans who had no idea what was going on and left the rest of us shaking our heads with bewilderment as they flipped from real-world to kayfabe on a minute to minute basis (Lashley was announced as having elevated liver enzymes and this was part of an angle, while Khali and Crazy were just pulled from their matches with no reason given) and ended up as a complete mess of a show which was definitely not worth the now increased price of $40.

Despite hard work from all those involved, none of the matches really managed to get out of second gear. Kendrick/London and Kash/Noble had a solid tag match, but it lacked the high flying or great wrestling that all 4 men are capable of. Finlay and Regal had a decent enough match, but when both men are heels and the whole storyline for the match was supposed to be them teaming up against Bobby Lashley then it just doesn't work. (Not to mention the whole leprechaun gimmick just isn't funny). I was hoping for a repeat of the fantastic Benoit vs. Finlay match from a couple of months ago here, however with the shoddy booking this was just never going to happen and the crowd, unfortunately turned on these 2 talented workers who deserve better.

By the time we reached the cruiserweight title match between Matt Hardy and Gregory Helms, it was going to take a miracle to rescue this show and unfortunately for the two men involved here, this match typified the evening when it comes to the shambolic nature of WWE right now. Despite the build for this match being based around Psicosis and Super Crazy's feud as a result of the break up of the Mexicools, Crazy was pulled from the match before it was even announced and Matt Hardy (who was originally in line for a match with Mr Kennedy) was put in his place. With Hardy and Helms' history coming up together in the Carolina indie scene, you would have thought this could have been a show-stealing match. However when the commentators point out that Matt Hardy is actually too heavy to be a cruiserweight (despite being a former CW champ) then the match loses all meaning and effectively all purpose. In the end, these two went through the motions and the final match that could have saved the show was over and things could only get worse from here on in as the Divas and Punjabi Prison matches were still to come.

However before we get there, I'd like to take a minute to address what was perhaps the biggest problem of the whole show, that being the commentary. When Michael Cole and Tazz were behind the commentary desk, they were the best in the business. Even when the show was wretched they would do their best and at least made it no worse than it already was. However JBL is just horrid as a colour man and did more damage than he did good throughout the entire show. Whether he was trying to get himself over at the expense of the talent, constantly contradicting himself, or just plain repeating the same tired old cliches again and again, Bradshaw was just terrible - which in turn put Cole off and dragged him down as well. If Bradshaw is going to continue, he needs to work out just what his announcing character is going to be and stick with it. One minute he was JBL the heel wrestler, then he was John Layfield the retired wrestler and the next he was the annoying goof who you get stuck behind you at a show who makes crass and irrelevant comments through out the show, ruining it for all those around him. On a weak show, to have an inexperienced announce team just made the whole thing that much more painful to watch.

With that off my chest, we come to the final third of the show which, despite being the most affected by the talent cuts, ended up as perhaps the most entertaining (with the exception of the Diva's match which was just wretched!). By having Big Show substitute for Khali in the Punjabi Prison match, it at least meant we were in for a good brawl as Show has been on a roll since moving over to the ECW brand. Lots of blood and plunder made this a pretty decent big man match, however overly complicated rules and a goofy finish with Taker and Show falling through the cage wall prevented it from being better than many people had ever thought it would be.

Batista vs. Kennedy was a glorified squash, which put Batista over as a monster as a result of the DQ finish. Screwy finishes are often dangerous territory to get into when you want both men to come out of the match unbeaten, however the bloody nature of the match meant that Batista came out of it as a total monster, while Kennedy was not completely humiliated as a result. Unfortunately his generally poor performance in the ring (combined with a really underwhelming entrance) did that for him and there is still a long way to go with Mr Kennedy before he becomes a genuine main-eventer.


So by the time we got to the main event, it was something of a relief that the men involved were not horrible workers and that this might actually have the potential to be half decent. Ignoring the fact that Booker has earned himself a title shot, despite loosing to Bobby Lashley at least 3 times on TV, the King Booker gimmick has given a new lease of life to the 5-time WCW champ. Finally getting the main event push he should have had back in 2001, this match also saw WWE finally pull the trigger on the Chavo Guerrero heel turn as he cost Rey the match by nailing him with a chair, allowing Booker to get the pin and the belt. Although this will lead to a resurgence of the 'Eddie-storyline' which has been the main focus of Rey's underdog title reign, at least this allows Rey and Chavo a main event level program and their matches have always been very strong. It's just a shame that both men have had to be given this push as a result of Eddie's death. I could go on for ages about how insensitive this is and how it belittles Eddie's legacy as well as blurring the line between reality and 'wrestling reality' to the point that it is no longer there. However this is the direction they have chosen to go in and I just hope that both men are able to get a modicum of success out of this without tarnishing their relationship with the remaining members of the Guerrero family who are not caught up in the WWE circus.

Overall verdict: D+
"A weak card, made worse by the medical issues. Putting aside the positives that the implementation of the Wellness program is going to make to the life of the wrestlers, this was a poor show, which lacked any really memorable moments (perhaps with the exception of Booker's title win). With such a state of upheaval going into it, this either could have been a straight wrestling show with some fun matches on or a half-baked mish-mash of half finished angles and incomplete storylines. Unfortunately, WWE's constant obsession with blurring the lines between reality and the WWE world, meant we got the latter and so despite some strong work from all involved, the show lacked any kind of real entertainment that would elevate it above an average episode of Smackdown."

Looking back at Generation Next

This weekend saw the final match of one of Ring of Honor's most succesful stables, Generation Next as they teamed against the new generation of Davey Richards, Jerelle Clark and Irish Airborne (Jake and Dave Crist).

Generation Next was formed in the Spring of 2004 and originally comprised Alex Shelley, Austin Aries, Roderick Strong and Jack Evans. These four had all worked together on various east coast indies, as well as making a name for themsleves in CZW, IWA Mid South and on ROH undercards. However they had yet to breakthrough on to the main ROH roster, but that was until 5/22/04 and the the Generation Next show in Philadephia.


With TNA prohibiting many of it's big name stars like AJ Styles and Chris Daniels from working ROH after the 'Feinstein scandal' earlier in the year, ROH needed to create new stars and so booked a show based on the idea of allowing the next generation of ROH superstars to get a foot on the ladder. The original plan for the Generation Next show was to have 4 singles matches featuring young up and coming talent, which the fans could then vote on to decide which match they liked best. However, Shelly, Aries and co. decided to hijack the show and take their spots by force rather than rely on earning the fans approval. In the course of their first show, GenNext would target the Christopher Street Connection, Izzy, Dixie and Hydro of Special K as well as John Walters, Jimmy Rave and the Briscoes. The match which resulted from them taking on this final foursome would go for 40+ minutes and would go down as one of the very best multi-person tag matches in the company history and is still regarded as an all-time classic ROH match. GenNext had arrived and no-one was safe.

As ROH re-established itself following the departure of the TNA talent, GenNext would become the backbone of the company and the building blocks which booker Gabe Sapolsky would use to re-build ROH as a force in independent wrestling. As the first new generation of talent to come through ROH's doors since it's inception in 2002, it was up to GenNext to take on the mantle of those early ROH mainstays like AJ Styles, Chris Daniels, Low-ki and Bryan Danielson and keep the company going. While it was Samoa Joe and CM Punk who were gaining all the plaudits for their 60 minute matches, it was GenNext who were keeping the undercard from going stale by having great match after great match. In their first year they feuded with everyone from ROH Pure Champion Doug Williams, to the Second City Saints of CM Punk and Colt Cabana, to legendary figures such as Ricky 'The Dragon' Steamboat. Despite being arrogant heels, GenNext would earn the respect of the ROH fans thanks to their phenomenal matches and it would only be a matter of time before they would become crowd favourites.

As 2004 drew to a close, it would be a crucial time for the group. From the beginning their mantra had been that they would stick together as a group, only until they had secured the top spots in the company and with it, the championship gold that would give them the power they craved. So, as Austin Aries earned himself a world title shot against Samoa Joe at Final Battle 2004 it was make or break time for GenNext. Despite Shelley achieving strong support from the ROH fans, it was Aries who had risen to the top thanks to his epic matches with Bryan Danielson, including a 75+minute 2/3 falls match in August. With a world title match which he believed was his for the winning, Aries turned on Shelley at Final Battle and ejected him from the group. He would go on that evening to get the upset win over Samoa Joe and end the longest championship reign in ROH history. With the gold and the power secured, Aries persuaded Strong and Evans to join him and the second phase of GenNext's existance would begin.

As a result of Shelley's behaviour towards the ROH roster during his time in GeNext, he struggled to find any allies for his pursuit of Aries and the World Title and so would have to go it alone. Building to a world title match at Manhatten Mayhem, Shelley would struggle in vein to compete with the group he had started. As Shelley persued the world title, Aries would undergo a gruelling schedule of title defences as he tried to establish himself as a champion in his own right and get out from under the shadow of Samoa Joe's epic championship reign. Despite strong title matches against Colt Cabana, Homicide,Bryan Danielson and James Gibson, Aries would ultimately lose the belt to CM Punk and be faced with a much more potent opposition for the remainder of 2005.

Having failed to earn the repect of the ROH lockeroom, Shelley decided to go back to what made him succesful in the first place and joined up with the Embassy of Jimmy Rave and Price Nana. Proclaiming that he hadn't 'sold out' he had in fact 'bought in', Shelley aligned himself with a group who were on the rise after many months of being a mid-card comedy act. Thanks to Rave's feuds with AJ Styles and CM Punk, the Embassy were close to over hauling GenNext's position as the top heel faction in ROH and so Shelley saw his oppurunity to get his revenge. The ensuing matches between the two factions would see both sides recruit new additions to the group to sustain the increasingly violent and bloody encounters between the two factions. For GenNext they would recruit up and comer Matt Sydal as well as form a short term alliance with AJ Styles, while Prince Nana would recruit the monster Abyss as his enforcer as well as bring in part-time members like Spanky. The feud would culminate in a bloody Steelcage Warfare match in December of 2005 and would see the members of both sides secure their positions as genuine top players in ROH as a result of this match and feud - as well as Generation Next becoming the top babyface stable now that the Second City Saints had gone on hiatus with the departure of CM Punk to WWE.

As 2005 became 2006, new ROH commissioner Jim Cornette would look to put a greater emphasis on the tag division in ROH and so, despite Evans and Strong being the tag team of choice for GenNext, it would be the team of Aries and Strong who would finally secure tag team gold for the group. Roderick Strong had been the break out star for ROH in 2005 as a result of some phenomenal singles matches against AJ Styles, CM Punk, Matt Hardy and Bryan Danielson (as well as winning the 2005 Survival of the Fittest, deafeating Aries in the final). However it was his teaming with Aries that would cap-off his phenomenal run and cement his spot at the top of the card once and for all. At the time of writing this, the pairing of Aries and Strong have become the longest reigning tag champs in ROH history, putting on some outstanding matches against the likes of the Briscoes, old rivals the Embassy, the Rottwielers as well as Cima and Doi of the Dragongate promotion in Japan. However, perhaps the most unlikely opponent they would have to face would be their own stablemate, Matt Sydal. Despite earning his GenNext stripes in the war with the Embassy, Sydal was persuaded to side against his teammates by his mentor AJ Styles which would lead to an outstanding tag team contest that would headline the Fourth Anniversary show in March of 2006.


Despite the possibility of a GenNext split developing as a result of Sydal's desire for gold, (he would also go on to team with Samoa Joe against Aries and Strong) the group approaches this weekend's final match as strong as ever. All four members have been courted by the DragonGate promotion in Japan, while Strong and Aries have also worked for TNA alongside Alex Shelley. As all 4 current members of GenNext return for one last match it will be interesting to see what will happen to these guys now that they are no longer grouped together under the GenNext banner. Will Sydal and Evans attempt to set up a rival group or will another band of young up and comers rise take on their title of the new generation? Certainly their final opposition of Davey Richards, the Crist Brothers and Jerelle Clark could more than take on the mantle. However would they have the success that the original four members have gone on to achieve? Who knows. Certainly, when GenNext was formed in 2004, no-one knew just how succesful these four would go on to be. As the spectre of TNA and other promotions such as Dragon Gate pulling talent away from ROH looms once more, this time it is the likes of Shelley, Aries and Strong who will be the ones making way for the new generation. Lets hope that the next generation of talent who comes along and takes their spots will achieve the kind of long lasting legacy that the original four have. If they do, then ROH is in a very strong position in the months and years to come. And you know this..................man!

TNA Victory Road 2006

Over the past months, TNA has lost a lot of it's sizzle and this month's Victory Road pay per view was a prime example of this. After a strong showing last month, Victory Road lacked that blow-away match or angle that the fans would talk about and at the end of the day failed to elevate itself above average in all respects.


The main problem with the show was the return to the Jeff Jarrett vs. Sting angle which they have building on ever since Sting debuted at the end of last year. One of the strong plusses for TNA is that they have never been afraid of a a long build for a feud and that is something that seperates them from WWE and their hotshotted angles. However, one thing WWE is often good at is reading fan reactions and changing the product accordingly - Edge winning the belt at New Years Resolution when the fans turned on John Cena for example. With Sting and Jarrett, the problem is not that this feud won't deliver a strong angle and match, it's that this is not the feud that the majority of fans want to see at the top of the card in TNA. The over whelming support at Victory Road was for Samoa Joe. So with Joe being lined up in the main event and with a potential number one contedership in his sights, this was the moment TNA could have given him that one last push into the main event of TNA and helped create a major star. Instead, Joe was an after thought who, when you looked at it logically did not really belong in the main event as he had not been involved in the controversy at the end of the previous month's show. It also devalued Joe's unbeaten streak by putting him in another position where he didn't get pinned but didn't win either. When looked at alongside Joe's previous 'non-wins' in 3 ways against AJ/Daniels and Senshi/Dutt then Joe is all of a sudden not the unbeatable monster he is booked as. If they wanted to end the run then Senshi or Chris Sabin should have taken the X title off him. But now that he is supposedly in the NWA title picture, Joe should not be being put in a position where he is not viewed as a top guy, because he is their star of the future and they only have one shot at getting this right.

They are having similar problems with Christian Cage and this show did no favours for Captain Charisma at all. Considering this was the man who was screwed out of the title at the end of the last show thanks to Jeff Jarrett's sheanigans, you would have thought that Cage would have been a man on a mission. Instead he came off like a wuss who, when Sting broke up his potential winning pinfall, didn't even retaliate. For all the promos where he says how much the title means to him, if he doesn't act that way in the ring then his words ring hollow. He had a similar problem with the Abyss feud where he should have been looking to pummel Jim Mitchell and Abyss for interfering in his personal life but instead was happier sitting down and giving an interview. The arrival of Sting has affected Christian more than any other TNA wrestler and if they're not careful could waste a valubale oppurtunity to take advantage of a big-name former WWE superstar.

This underwhelming main event put a damper on what was an otherwise solid show. The problem with the whole show was the lack of any real blow away moment. Team 3D had a decent brawl with the James Gang and Abyss, the Naturals storyline with Shane Douglas developed and Senshi and Frankie Kazarian had an entertaining enough X Division title match - although the surprise return of Kazarian was a real anti-climax after his unceremonious deaparture at the end of last year. The highlight of last month's show was the tag title match between AJ Styles and Chris Daniels against America's Most Wanted and they attempted to repeat the success this month with a 6 person tag featuring Gail Kim and last month's problem solver Serelda. The only problem, was that what made the match so good last month was the angle involving the women as well as the 'last chance' nature of the storyline. Unfortunately this was missing this time around, and despite adding in the tease of an AMW split, this match failed to find the top gear that last month's encounter build to so well.

Ironically, for a company that has prided itself on wrestling over entertainment, TNA has managed to hit on 2 angles which have provided for some unexpected comedy moments and they ended up as the real highlights of the show. The Kevin Nash angle with the X Division initially seemed like a car crash waiting to happen as the 'big-man' attempted to destroy the little guys as we have seen so many times on WWE TV. However thanks to the inclusion of Alex Shelley as Nash's sidekick it has made the whole angle much more entertaining. So much so that the whole idea of Nash killing the X Division is pushed to the back of your mind as he is almost parodying his WCW persona and comes across as the deluded veteran trying to make his name at the expense of the younger stars. By including Shelley and his lackey Johnny Devine, it has allowed the opposition of Chris Sabin and Jay Lethal to get heat away from the veteran Nash and on to Shelley who plays the chicken heel that he has perfected in ROH as party of the Embassy. This allows the younger guys to work around Nash's limitations (that he cannot move in the ring because of his knackered knees) and instead allows him to cut the kind of entertaining promos that were the real reason the nWo was such a big draw in WCW.


Another faction that has often come under a, perhaps, unfair amaount of criticism has been Team Canada. This most recent angle has seen the dissolution of the group who were originally set up during the Nashville-era as a way of filling out the first World X Cup. A mainstay of the TNA tag scene, they have often suffered from a lack of personality and as such have been involved in predictable feuds that would invariably end up with Coach D'Amore and his hockey stick getting involved. However as they have broken up it has allowed for the development of Eric Young as one of the best characters in TNA. The goofy younger memeber of the Team who always went against whatever heelish antics they were up to, Young has become a fan favourite and his mis-treatment by his former team mates during the angle which played out at Victory Road helped get the fans behind him more than ever before. Eric Young is the character Eugene could have been in WWE if they hadn't rushed through the who story in a matter of weeks and over-pushed it to the point the fans hated it. How they handle him will now make or break the character, but after this show, they have a character that the fans engage with both in and out of the ring and that is a valuable commodity for a fledgling company like TNA.

Overall verdict: C-
"Lacking that one stand-out match or angle, Victory Road had that empty feeling of potential unfullfilled once it had come to an end. It was entertaining and nothing was worthy of being fast-forwarded, however there is nothing to go back and watch again. At a time when TNA need to be drawing fans in and keeping them interested in their product, this show could have put off more people than it brought in as the crown jewels that TNA has at it's disposal were not give the chance to sparkle in this instance."

The best promo of the new ECW

This week saw, without a doubt, the best promo of the new incarnation of ECW. So who was it by?

Paul Heyman? No.

CM Punk? No.

RVD? Dear god no!

It was actually done by Rhino on this week's edition of TNA Impact. In 3 minutes the last ECW champion made the brand seem more important and relevant than 4 weeks of TV on Sci Fi. Perhaps even more than the whole One Night Stand pay per view, Rhino vocalised just what ECW meant to the world of professional wrestling. In short, it represents everything that WWE is not and that is why WWECW will never succeed. It can't. The rebel promotion can never exist under the corporate umbrella of the company it is rebelling against. It's even more difficult to be rebellious when being controlled obssesively by the man who is single handedly responsible for much of what is wrong with the wrestling business in 2006.

So it is left to TNA, the little promotion that could. After 4 years of struggling to make a name for itself, many felt the arrival of ECW could spell the end for TNA as they were instantly relegated to 4th palce in the wrestling fans brand consciousness. However it seems TNA are looking to put up a fight and good for them. By being the rebel promotion that WWECW can never be, then perhaps they can find the viewers that WWECW has alienated. Certainly the reception they got in Philadelphia would suggest the fans are willing to give TNA a chance and with them putting on a strong wrestling show in the ECW arena, they did a better job of earning those fans loyalty than WWE did when it ran in the Arena.

So thank you Rhino, for saying what needed to be said. This is perhaps the most important moment in your career, let's hope you are finally allowed to be given the oppurtunity to succeed at the level you deserved ever since ECW closed in 2001. And let's hope that this is finally the storyline that can help make TNA go from glorified indie to genuine competitor for WWE. It was one hell of a way to start it.

ECW Dream matches

There's been a lot of negativity surronuding the ECW brand since it started (a lot of it coming from yours truly) but now that we pretty much know how the brand is going to be handled and what it is going to comprise of, what matches/feuds would you like to see?

For me the obvious one is Sandman vs. CM Punk. Punk could come out and be the first to avoid Sandman's weekly beatings and start a feud based on Punk's straight edge beliefs vs. Sandman's drunken antics. Punk has the potential to be the new Raven for this ECW generation and what better place for him to start than feuding with one of Raven's top rivals.

Next up I'd love to see Big Show vs. Tommy Dreamer done properly. Dreamer was the heart and soul of the old ECW and Big Show personifies the new ECW with it's strong WWE links. Dreamer could defend the honour of the old ECW and as long as he was given some offence and allowed to look like a legit threat against Big Show this could really work. Dreamer doesn't even have to win any of the matches, book it like the Raven vs. Dreamer feud and constantly have Dreamer screwed out of the win.

Sabu vs. Test. Hardly a dream match, but I think Sabu could get a lot out of Test and could give the big man the same kind of credibility that he has with his feud with Cena.

The FBI vs. Kendrick/London. Anything to give th FBI something to do! Plus Smackdown has has very little to do with the ECW crossover thus far and Kendrick and London could have some great matches with these (plus they only have one set of rivals of Smackdown since the Mexicools have been split up).

Jazz vs. Trinity. Both women can go in the ring, so why not let them?

Justin Credible vs. Balls Mahoney. Two guys who've been give the short end of the stick hus far in ECW. So why not put them together and see what happens. The cane swining credible against the chair swinging Mahoney has a lot of potential with both men being much ebtter workers than WWE has allowed them to be thus far.