RIP MIke Awesome

RIP Mike Awesome, you will be missed,

New ROH World Champion

And so ends the reign of Homicide as Pro Wrestling NOAH's Takeshi Morishima wins the ROH world title. Now there really is no arguing about whether this is a world title or not!

In a weekend that has seen some major shake-ups in ROH (including the setting up of 3 potential new factions) perhaps the most shocking news has been the title win by the big man from Japan. While many did not expect Morishima to be beaten by Joe in New York on his debut, almost no-one reallistically thought that Morishima would beat Homicide for the title in Philly (espceially when Morishima is heading back to Japan after next weekend's show!) However ROH kept it's fans second-guessing with this huge upset. The potential ramifications of what will happen if their champion were to take the belt and return to his homeland for unkown period of time has got the message boards buzzing and it will be interesting to see just what affect this has on future ROH shows, especially the shows in the UK where Morishima is allready booked to appear for NOAH in Japan while ROH is in the UK.

With ROH fans wondering just how booker Gabe Sapolsky could trump last year's incredible Milestone series of shows, it is looking like the 5 Year Festival has allready gotten off to a flying start. Whether it is the Samoa Joe farewell tour, the new factions based around Aries, Strong and Evans or this massive title change. Once again it shows that Sapolsky sure as hell knows how to keep the super-smart ROH fans guessing and long may it continue!

TNA Against All Odds 2007 (or why everything is all Vince Russo's fault!)

Not everything in the world is Vince Russo's fault. Global warming isn't Vince Russo's fault. World hunger isn't Vince Russo's fault. Bird flu isn't Vince Russo's fault. But Sports Entertianment is and that's what is killing TNA right now. The inroy is though, that the ratings are actually up, so perhaps he is doing something right after all. However not in my mind. Last year TNA was on the cutting edge of pro-wrestling. It was forward thinking, exciting and most important of all, different, to WWE. However since Vince Russo has taken over we have seen a return to the kind of car-crash TV that was such a feature of the Nashville-era of TNA and the dying days of WCW. We've seen a million and one angles, shoots that are works that are shoots, women wrestling men, meaingless celbtirty camoeso. Just about the only thing we haven;t seen is midgets in trash cans, but with WWE having a mini-Boogeyman now, perhaps that is a step too far even fro Russo to go down again.

Now that's all well and good, it livens up the prgram and makes it more than a dull old fashioned wrestling program. The unfortunate side-effect is that it has come at the expense of the one thing that TNA prided itself on. Wrestling. Why is 'wrestling' such a dirty concept in 2007 that even programs that claim to be about nothing but wrestling, are actually ashamed to put it on their programs. WWE have been guilty of this for years, and now TNA have gone from being Total Non-stop Action, to Total Non-stop Angles. The irony though, is that when WWE fans are crying out for something different from the lame ECW shows and goofy episodes of Raw, TNA is not presenting them with anything different. Instead, they are putting on the same embarassing cra that WWE peddles week in and week out, however it features the guys who were 'not good enough' to last in WWE and so comes across as even more second rate. With WWE heading into Wrestlemania and putting a renewed focus on the in-ring work as a way of getting over 2 main events they seem to have only just decided on, TNA is allready at a disadvantage. When WWE are putting on crappy pay-per-views on a fortnightly basis, TNA have a fighting chance by putting on quality wrestling, but when WWE get the big guns out, during their most focused time of the year, then TNA are going to be in trouble. If TNA persist with fat naked Oily guys, Christy Hemme's bad soap opera acting and Bob Backlund, then they are going to be in trouble. Because WWE had one of the best Royal Rumbles they have had in years and are building a really strong Wrestlemania card, so Vince Russo, let's hope you have more than one card left up your sleeve, cos you;re going to need all your booking tricks to make TNA a success from here.

Overall verdict: U (ungraded)
"Until TNA start putting together decent shows, without naked oily guys having wrestling matches, I'm refusing to watch them."

Samoa Joe to leave ROH in March

Legend and icon are words that get used far too often these days to refer to someone who is of merely above average importance. However when referring to Samoa Joe and his importance to Ring of Honor, then these terms seem to hardly do justice to a man who has been the heart of soul of the company for the past 3 years. It's fair to say that without Joe there might not have been a Ring of Honor in 2007. His near 2 year title reign in 2003/4 gave the company stability at a time when it was going through the kind of internal upheavals that have seen other company's fold. His 60 minute matches with CM Punk gave the company an identity and helped elevate it from being 'just another indie', while his 5 star match against Kenta Kobashi in 2004 helped establish ROH on the world stage and secured his position as one of the best wrestlers in the world today.

Despite a lacklustre 2006, where his role in TNA was becoming a constant bone of contention for ROH fans, Joe was gearing up for a much more significant 2007 as he began a feud with Pro Wrestling NOAH ahead of ROH's Japanese debut in July. However, just as that began to get going Joe has announced he is leaving ROH and the moment that all ROH fans dreaded has come to pass - Joe is leaving ROH.

Many will blame TNA and their drive to become a genuine number 2 company in America, and seeing as he is a contracted member of their roster then you cannot blame them for wanting to protect one of their most valuable commodities. However at the end of the day Joe has done everything and beaten everyone of any consequence in ROH, so perhaps it is time for him to move on before the fans get bored of him? If it is one thing that ROH prides itself on is stopping the product from getting stale and so perhaps now it is time for them to make the ultimate sacrifice and cut loose their biggest star before he becomes a liability rather than an asset.

For whatever reason Joe has made this decision he will leave behind him a body of work that is unparalleld in the company and he leaves a roster with too many superstar to name that have been made by working with him (Homicide, Austin Aries, the Briscoes, Bryan Danielson and more). Whatever happens in TNA he will always be an ROH legend and this will be Joe's legacy. Whatever happens to him down the road then he will always have the adoration of the ROH faitful to fall back on, because unlike any other member of that roster Joe is not just pro-wrestling, Joe is Ring of Honor.

We will miss you Joe!

TNA Final Resolution 2007

Ah Vince Russo. It seems so easy to blame you when wrestling goes wrong, yet we never praise you when things go right. Unfortunately, when you book shows like this month's FInal Resolution pay-per-voew can you blame us?

This was a prime example of everything that is wrong with the Vince Russo creative regime. Whether that's worked shoot promos, goofy finishes or over-lapping angles that cram in so much character development that you have no idea what the hell started all this in the first place. Unfortunately, subtelty is also a word which Vinnie Roo seems unfamalliar with and so instead of just one of these Russo trademarks (which could have been bearable) we got all of them and suffered as a result. All of which meant Final Resolution was a confusing, jumbled mess that felt like it was being watched on fast forward because so much happened at once. Unofrtunately, because so m uch happened, none of it became memorable and at the end of the show you just felt worn down and defeated by a company that is trying to present itself as a wrestling alternative, however it managed to completely undo all the good work that the wrestlers had achieved in the ring by giving us such bad endings to matches. Good wrestling can save a bad pay-per-view, but nothing kills good wrestling dead like bad booking and this was bad booking 101.

The show started with a Las Man Standing match between AJ Styles and Rhino which sums up this show to me. You have two grreat workers, who stole the show at Against All Odds with a fantastically worked and booked match, opening the show in a stipulation match that no-one cares about. To cap it all of though, after 15 minutes of solid work from both guys, the match ends with AJ Styles refusing to get up and he accepts a 10 count and gets the win. At what point did AJ STyles become a complete wuss who didn't want to compete and win matches?! Ok, I could understand if this had been a particularly bloodyt match and he wanted to escape fomr a beating in dramatic fashion but no. Instead we get stroppy AJ who cannot be bothered to win. Isn;t this the most decorated athlete in TNA's history? If so, why the hell would you have him act like this. At times Rhino and AJ were gelling in the ring as well as AJ and Joe did last year, but thanksfully those matches were under a different booking regime and so we were saved from hokey, nonsensical finishes like this one. But, as if one finish wasn;t good enough for this match, we still had to endure the post match 'beat down' which saw Rhino gore himself through a table on the entracen ramp. It begs the question, why wasn;t this god enough for the finish of the match? At least it would have made sense that way? But that is not the Vince Russo way, so we had to have this tacked on to the end of the match. Alas, things did not get much better from here on in.

If the Rhino/Styles finish had been the only 'cutesy' finish on the show, then I think I could have forgiven it, but this was just teh start of far too many pieces of Russo logic defying booking. Chris Daniels, Chris Sabin and Jerry Lynn followed the opener with a fun X-Division 3-way to follow this match, but again, it ended with a cutesy finish which ruined all the goodwork these great athletes had achieved in the ring. At times this match was like watching Daniels with Styles and Joe, however the finish with Sabin pinning Lynn out of nowhere to win the belt, although quite clever, was just another title change for the X-title after it had has been hot-potatoed around from wrestler to wrestler so many time over the last few months that I loose count. Becasue of this, the shock win of Sabin loses all meaning as we have seen this a hundred and one time before.

Byt this point, I thought I was beginning to get numb to the silliness, but no, we still had the Parazzi Championship Series final to come. After a ridculous promo from Kevin Nash and Bob Backlund (that made far too many jokes about the WWF) and we have a perfectly decent match between Alex Shelley and Austin Starr ruined by Kevin Nash's bad jokes and a ludicrous angle at the end that saw Austin Starr begin a feud with Senshi and Bob Backlund in a matter of minutes. And don't even get me started on what a stupid idea it was to have judges at ringside, one of whom was a piss-take of a WWE chjaracter and one who was a piss-take of one of their own stars!!

After all this, I was almost looking forward to the Petey Wiliams vs. James Storm match as it seemed that this would just be a squash match and Storm would continue to prepare for his eventual match with Chris Harris next month. however that was not to be the case and instead we got the debut of Miss Jackie and a load more shenanigans at the end involving Gail Kim, some handcuffs and a beer bottle, really, who cares?

And at this point we are not even half way through the show!

Next up came one of the low-points and one of the highlights of the show as VKM hit the ring to declare themselves the winner of their feud with WWE. Now, call me crazy, but wouldn't it have been a more convincing victyory if someone from the other side had at least acknowledged their opponents. However I guess that doesn't matter in VKM world and so we were treated to this garbage. As they waxed lyrical about the merits of DX (including saying a get well to their former rival with the busted wheel!!) Christy Hemme reminded us of just why TNA have not been asking her to appear on camera much of late as we were given some of the worst sub-afternoon soap opera actng that I have ever seen. Wittering on about women in wrestling and Chyne, the fans began to chant 'We Want 'Wretling' and by god were they on the money with this. On one hadn,m TNA pride themsleves on not being like WWE, but then do crap like this! There was room for another match during this garbage and the irony of a duo who are 'at war' with WWE for insluting the fans of wrestling being involved in a 'skit' which is too bad to even appear on Monday Night War really makes you wonder who in the TNA brain trust thought =this would be a good idea to put on a pay=per-view. the fact Kip James got a better face reaction for his heel promo running Christy down should tell you what the fans were thinking, because whether what he was saying was meant to get him heel heat or not, it stopped this segment quick and that is probably the most pop-worthy thing the former Mr Ass has done in his ntire run in TNA - back to the options ads please Kipper!

Fortunately, after that car-wreck, the show actually started to improve - well, it couldn't have gotten much worse.

I've written at tlength my feelings on the Joe vs. Angle feud so I won't go into it again here. However suffice to say, I thought this they best match they've had. It was just a shame it came in less than 3 months from Angle's debut, however I have a feeling that this won't be the last we will see of this feud. After the diatribes I have writtne above it seems a little weak to only write so few words on this match, however it's lack of criticism really sums up what an attritional ordeal watching this show was. Whether it was the low expectations I had for two of my favourite wrestlers in this [supposed] final match or simply that I had had enough of this crap by now, I found myself enjoying the match quite a bit and so finally light was beginning to appear at the end of the particularly gloomy tunnel that was Final Resolution.

Which left us with just the main event to go. Ignoring the fact it was yet another 3-way I found this match something of a guilty pleasure. Sure, the build up has been corny and the revelations about Abyss' secret past are cheesy as hell, but it's wrestling, it's meant to be a bit lame. It's just a shame that the rest of the card could not be left alone to give this some room to breath. Without the god-awful undercard this should have been a really strong main event with an interesting, if slightly cliched booking. Instead it was like eating jelly cubes and cake at the end of 8 courses from an all you can eat buffet. Instead of being a pleasant guilty pleasure, it was just a sickly overdose on top of all that other unhealthy garbage. And just as you forget what the previous 8-courses consisted of as you sit down for this match which you know surely annot be good, you find yourself enjoying it, because it's the last thing you will remember. It wasn't the best, but at the end of the day you are just glad it's over. And that is what Christian's win felt like. At least what ahs gone before is over. It doesn't matter that this is the third title switch in 6 months, it doesn;t matter that Abyss has been made to look like a chump (so has Sting) but it's over and we can go back to our diet for 4 weeks now before the next TNA over-eating/over-booking bonanza begins.

Overall verdict D+
"One of the worst pay-per-views in recent memory made all the much worse by being over-booked and crammed full of too much crap. Good wrestling will always be killed by bad booking and this is 3 hours worth of proof as to why."

Rumble Recall: The Royal Rumble 2000

The Royal Rumble in 2000 was a watershed pay-per-view for me. As the first show to be broadcast as part of a deal between (the then) WWF and UK TV channel, Channel 4, it was the first live wrestling pay-per-view I was able to watch and I know I am not the only one for which this is true.

Held in Madison Square Garden, the Royal Rumble in 2000 came at a point where the WWF was at the peak of their Attitude-era success adn would herald a legendary run of pay-per-views that were both commercial and critical successes. With Steve Austin out getting back surgery and the Undertaker out injured as well, the end of 1999 saw the ascendancy of Triple H and the Rock to the very top of the company and continued the feud which these two had been engaged in on and off for the past 3 years. Triple H was in the middle of his storyline dominance of the WWF with on-screen (and later real-life) wife Stephanie MacMahon. Taking control of the WWF after dispatching daddy Vince at the previous month's Armageddon pay-per-view, the MacMahon-Helmsley faction turned their attentions to one of the company's other top babyfaces, Mick 'Mankind' Foley. Another rivalry from HHH's past that was to be re-kindled, it saw the bullying bosses sack Mankind only to have a 'superstar revolt' led by the Rock. With Austin gone, Rock would take his role as the company's lead babyface, and thanks to a moment of rare on-screen solidarity, Rock got Mick re-instated. Challenging HHH to a street fight at the Rumble, Foley claimed that Mankind could not get the job against the diabolical HHH, but that he knew a man who could. Removing the patented Mankind mask and the torn white shirt, it revealed a Cactus Jack t-shirt and Mick Foley had once again unleashed his most violent persona. Foley would go on to use this same reveal against Randy Orton and Edge in the following years, but neither of those would have the same impact that this moment did. The street fight that main evented the undercard of the Royal Rumble in 2000 was the kind of blood-soaked, hardcore brawling classic that would come to personify Mick Foley's career. Everything from chairs and tables to handcuffs and thumbtacks were used in this brutal encounter and would not only help to further seal Mick Foley's reputation as one of the top stars of that era, but also legitimise HHH as a bonafide main event heel.

The Rock on the other hand was engaged in a war of words with a 7 foot monster called the Big Show. These two former champions would be the focal point of Rumble match as the lou-mouth, arrogant Rock was looking over-come this monster who felt he had been unappreciated since his arrival in the WWF and deserved a run at the world title. With these two the

However, unlike other Rumble shows, this card was about much more than just the main event and the Rumble match. The show opened with the debut of ECW stuperstar Taz, facing the undefeated Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle. Angle would go on to dominate the WWE in the following years whereas for Tazz, this was probably the pinnacle of his WWF-run until he became an announcer. However on the evicdence of this match and the response Tazz gets from his hometown crowd you could be blamed for thinking their fortunes would be very different.

An bog-standard WWF bikini contest (famous only for Mae Young disrobing) and a lacklustre Intercontinental title match between Chris Jericho and Chyna would fill out the card alongside one of the forgotten classics of 2000. At the No Mercy pay-per-view, the Hardyz and Edge and Christian and made names for themselves in the first ever tag-team ladder match. At the Rumble then, it was time for the other legendary tag-team of that era to get in on the action as the Dudley Boyz challenged the Hardyz to a tag-team tables match (another WWF first). The Dudleyz were, perhaps, more succesful than any other of the ECW alumni during 2000 and matches like this were a large reason why. Leaving broken tables and borken bodies left, right and centre, this brusing encounter would go to lead into the first triangular ladder match at Wrestlemania and eventually the classic TLC matches later that year. However this match stands out above nearly all of thos for it's innovation, it's stiffness and it's daring insanity. Unlike later table matches where one table breaking would be enough to end the match, the Dudleyz and Hardyz smashed up tables offensively, defensively and sometimes, just for the hell of it. The final exclamation point of Jeff Hardy diving onto Bubba Ray Dudley from the balcony would seal Jeff's reputation as one of the most daring highflyers of his generation, but would also damn him to a life of crazy bumps and risks trying to emulate this great moment.

Overall verdict: A+
"One of the best Rumble shows of all-time from a period where WWF was at the peak of it's success. A must-see tables match and an amazing street fight help fill out a card that perhaps personififed everything that was great about wrestling in the late-90s."

WWE's invincible babyfaces

It's the day after WWE's New Year's Revolution and inevitably all the chatter in the IWC is all about the HHH's quad tear that is looking set to have him sitting on the sidelines until the scond half of 2007. However in my mind that is not the big story coming out of NYR 2006. What I want to know is why the hell did none of the heels manage to win?! Based on results alone, the top heels on Raw are now Chris Masters and Kenny Dykstra which means Raw is in a lot more trouble than losing the Game for a month or two.


Unlike last year, where the buzz around Edge winning the title after cashing in his Money in the Bank title shot was all about how WWE could think on the fly and come up with something genuinely unexpected that could make even the most cynical fans get over-excited, this year's show was all about keeping the status quo. Unfortunately that status quo involves the chosen one's (HHH, Shawn Michaels and John Cena) remaining strong at the expense of [debatably] other more deserving talent. Their defeats of Randy Orton, Edge and Umaga means that the top 3 heels on the brand all suffered big-time losses at the hands of the increasingly dominant babyfaces. When Edge and Orton got one over on DX before Christmas and the 40 year-old pranksters were finally given opponents who stood a chance to winning against them (unlike the Spirit Squad or the Macmahon's) and it looked like we might for an interesting feud which could carry these 4 men up until Mania if they wanted it to. However last night the now serious DX didn't even worry about pinning them, they just beat them to living hell. Now, call me an old fart, but isn't that what the heels should be doing ahead of the big-time babyface comeback? One beating does not make a feud but one hell of a beating sure ends one. To cap it all off, DX don't even bother pinning them and inflicting the ultimate humiliation of taking away their tag team titles? Why? Because they don't mean a damn thing no matter who holds them. Don't believe me then check out the lack of interest in the tag team turmoil and the non-pushing of Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin and it should make abundantly clear just how tag teams are view in WWE.


Which brings us to Umaga, who prior to last night was one of the most interesting characters on Raw for the simple fact that he was actually allowed to get some heat! Eeven it wasn't always the most logical (like his beat down on Jeff Hardy) at least he was being lined up for something. Unfortunately this moment was at New Year's Revolution and with one swift roll-up that has now gone and another character has been steam-rollered by super-champ and we have yet another meaningless title match with no real buzz behind it. Unfortunately I don't think this is going to the last we see of this feud but as is so often the case in wrestling today once the first match is out the way neither WWE or TNA give the fans a reason to care about what happens next as what happens in the first place wasn't particularly interesting or original and they wander why the ratings are dropping. I'm not saying Umaga should have won but surely there are more interesting finishes than having Cena roll-up the Samoan Bulldozer and have him get off scot-free. But then again, if Umaga really is WWE's attempt at copying Samoa Joe in TNA then it should only be inevitable that his undefeated streak ended with a whimper rather than a bang.

Matches of the Year

Another year has come to an end and so, inevibaly, it becomes time to start scatching your metaphorical beard and start contemplating just what were the best matches of 2006.

It's been a far from vintage year for WWE as they have focused increasingly on entertainment over great wrestling. This year has been more about DX and Big Dick Johnson than 5 star matches and as a reulst, even Wrestlemania was a decidely lacklustre affair. Not even the arrival of the new ECW brand could rescue the in-ring content from mediocrity and by the end of 2006 we ended up with three almost identical brands putting out below average wrestling. Great young in-ring workers like CM Punk, Shelton Benjmain, Chaarlie Haas, Carlito and even more established names like Super Crazy and Gregory Helms have languished on the outskirts while muscled up mnsters like Chris Masters, Test, Bobby Lashley and the Great Khali have been given the spot light. As such, there are only two matches on my list from WWE, one featuring two veterans having a classic wrestling match just to prove that they still had it in them and one spot-fest featuring several young-guns who would not be given the chance to succeed in any other environment as they are too small to be anything more than novelty acts.

In 2005, TNA became a major player in the world of professional wrestling with a series of amazing matches between Samoa Joe, AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels. Although the company has retaiend much of the momentum these matches gave them, TNA has again relied on those three men to carry the workload for TNA. The tag team of Styles/Daniels helped carry the company over the summer, while Joe has been a prominent player, albeit it in a greatly restricted role since his move to the heavyweight division. 2006 has also seen the continued influx of former WWE names as well as the arrival of Vince Russo into creative that has moved the product away from it's strong in-ring work ethic that was a highlight of those early pay per views. Although the product has improved greatly, it is alarmingly close to WWE in style and content and as such the logic holes that come with sports enterteinment have creeped back into TNA damaging a lot of potentially great match-ups, for example the first Angle vs. Joe match which many thought would be a shoe-in for match of the year.

Which leaves us with just ROH and the indies consider and thank god they are there as this has been the year ROH became the high water mark for professional wrestling in the US (and beyond!). After a strong 2004 and an outstanding 2005, ROH managed to do the unthinkable and actually improved in 2006. The title reign of Bryan Danielson went from stregth to strength, the ROH vs. CZW feud made independent wrestling exciting again and the tag title reign of Austin Aries and Roderick Strong helped revitalize the mid-card as well as giving ROH another main event option to help elevate some of their below average shows into must-sees. Add to this the arrival of Kenta from Japan for an extended run, the Dragongate stars at the Wrestlemania triple shot, the shows in the UK, the road of Homicide, the return of the Briscoes and development of young talent like Matt Sydal and Davey Richards and ROH is looking stronger than ever for 2007.

So here it is, my definitive list of matches of the year for 2006:

1. Brian Kendrick & Paul London vs. MNM vs. the Hardy Boyz vs. William Regal & Dave Taylor (WWE Armageddon)
2. Austin Aries & Roderick Strong vs. Jay & Mark Briscoe (ROH Unified)
3. Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinnes (ROH Unified)
4. Team ROH vs. Team CZW (Death Before Dishonor IV)
5. LAX vs. Styles/Daniels - Ultimate X (TNA No Surrender)
6. Americas Most Wanted vs. Styles/Daniels (TNA Slammiversary)
7. Roderick Strong & Jack Evans vs. the Briscoes (ROH Best in the World)
8. Blood Generation vs. Do Fixer (ROH Supercard of Honor)
9. Undertaker vs. Kurt Angle (WWE No Way Out)
10. Samoa Joe vs. Scott Steiner (TNA Slammiversary)

WWE Armageddon

And so ends the five weeks of five consecutive wrestling pay per views. They've varied from good (TNA Genesis and Turning Point) to OK (Survivor Series) to the downright awful (December to Dismember) so it can hardly be a surprise that expectations were low for Armageddon. Holding a show so close to Chrsitmas was always going to be a problem, however adding to that the lacklustre state of WWE creative that won't allow a brand to plan any further ahead than the next pay-per-view (even if that show is for another brand) and you can't help but be sceptical. The line-up ahead of the show was also far from fantastic and showed just how the Smackdown brand is aching for star power that they had to draft in John Cena to help boost the buyrate. However in the end, it was an unanounced surprise match that most people will remember this show for and one that, if they had anounced it ahead of the show would more likely have generated some actual interest in the show, but I guess that isn't WWE's way in 2006.

The 4 team ladder match that the fans were given as a 'reward' for battling through all these shows was such a refreshing breath of fresh air that it could well be set to gate crash many peoples match of the year lists. The tag title match between London/Kendrick and Regal/Taylor looked to be match of the night on paper, however the addition of a ladder and the Hardy Boyz and MNM made this a real throwback to the year 2000 when Edge, Christian, the Hardyz and the Dudleyz were having innovative match after innovative match. If anything, this match really reminded you just what is missing from WWE in 2006 - excitement, danger and all out insane action!! This fact could not be emphasised more than by Joey Matthews mangled face after the botched ladder spot, that reminds fans that this is still dangerous and although unfortunate, gave this match an element of reallism that has been missing from so many other contrived gimmick matches where people are supposed to believe implausible injuries.

The abundance of gimmick matches in the Monday Night Wars has certainly devalued the significance of many match stipulations, however the lacklustre quality of many of those matches also helped. This 8-way ladder match though, reminded fans that, if done right, these kind of matches can be just as exhilrating and exciting as they used to be and, at the end of the day, most hardcore wrestling fans want to see high-paced athletic action, not bad comedy skits and tasteless angles.. This match was built fantastically around getting over all the participants in it and did a great job and no-one came out of this match any worse off for losing and that is what great wrestling is all about. London and Kendrick got the deserved win and proved that they are capable of hanging with more established teams. The MNM and Hardyz reunions, which were supposed to last for only a few shows, have given WWE a breath of fresh air and really proved that tag teams can be relevant in 2006. But let's not forget Regal and Taylor, who's roles were perfect as the whiley veterans who attempted to thwart the high-flying youngsters. In many ways, these two should have been the weak link that showed up the ludicrous nature of these kind of matches, but instead they were the glue that held the match together as the youngsters went from spot to spot. The bit where they threw the ladders out of the ring because they didn;t want to get involved in that kind of match was a really nice touch, while the moment when they were apprehensive about finally having to climb the ladder really gave the match some personality, and dare is say it, some depth.

Quite simply put, in this one match you had more emotion and drama than WWE have managed in 6 months of TV and pay per views. After this, the rest of the card was of secondary importance, but fortunately it was far from poor. Although nothing was as spectacular as the ladder match there were some fun wrestling matches (Helms vs. Wang and Benoit vs. Guerrero) and a very good Undertaker vs. Ken Kennedy match that will have definitely sent the fans home happy. The main event of Booker and Finlay vs. Cena and Batista was a filer match at best with none of the participants really clicking, but when you have had a phenomenal match on the undercard you can forgive a lot, even this average main event, as you have more than got your money's worth from the show. Let's just hope WWE acknowledge the fans response to these 4 teams and we don't see them return to mid-card purgatory when the new year begins.

Overall verdict: C+ for th show, A+ for the ladder match
"An above average show that seemed doomed to failure before it started, however it was rescued by 6 young athletes giving 150% and 2 whiley veterans knowing how to put a great match together. Worth getting hold of for the ladder match, but the rest of the card is far from poor and this is probably one of the better top-to-bottom shows WWE has put on this year."

TNA Genesis 2006

Hype is a curious thing. Without it, nothing would be special and everything would be just as important as everything else. Unfortunately for the wrestling business, hype is a very neccessary evil. Without it, no-one would buy the ridiculous number of wrestling pay per views, DVDs or merchadise and the wrestlers would be back working in bingo halls and circus tents. Unfortunately, when the month of November and December features 5 consecutive weeks of pay-per-views, you can't really blame TNA for hyping up the long anticipated match between Samoa Joe and Kurt Angle as being anything but 'the dream match of the decade'. After all, this is Kurt Angle who has had classic matches with just about anyone who is anyone in the wrestling world and he is going against Samoa Joe, the man who has had more 5 star matches in the last 3 years than anyone else in North America. On paper, this had classic written all over it, unfortunately when something is hyped to this degree, then it has to be something out of this world to even begin to live up to it. However, when you add in the idiosyncarcies of the wrestling business, then you begin to learn that there is no such thing as a sure thing and so instead of delvering a classic match for the ages, TNA delvered a confusing mess of a match that managed to do more damage than it did good, not only to one of it's top stars, but also to the rest of the show as a whole.

Forget all the talk of whether TNA should have held off on doing Samoa Joe vs. Kurt Angle until a later date, the build for this match had been fantastic. Unlike WWE where many of it's shows are forgettable, meaingless shows, this was a marquee match and was the focal point of the show. In fact, it was so focussed on, that you could argue it made the world championship match play second fiddle to it, however that is not something I have a priblem with and so I won't go into that at this point. At the end of the day, TNA needed to strike while the iron was hot with Kurt Angle and a match with Samoa Joe was the, wihtout a doubt, the match that most fans wanted to see. The probelsm was, with these two atheletes the hype got out of control. Would this be as good as Angle vs. Benoit from the Royal Rumble '03 or would it be as good as Joe vs. Kobashi from New York in 2005? In the minds of the fans it would be better, and so we get back to the subject of hype. Looking back, this match could never reallistically live up to the expecatiotns that the fans had placed upon it. However it could still have been a fantastic contest but,u nfortunately, TNA failed to capitalize on this buzz and in the end devliered a mediocre match that, rather than establish Joe and Angle as the next epic feud, made Joe look second-rate to a 'real' superstar like Kurt Angle. Not only did Angle make Joe tap (a first for TNA), but he ended his 18 month undefeated streak and all this in just over 15 minutes. Hardly an epic battle on the same level as Flair vs. Steamboat or even Joe vs. CM Punk. Now I know that not every great match has to last 30+ minutes. God knows, that is something I have been critical of ROH for doing. However, for a match of this much importance it could have gone a damn site longer. It's not even like it went at full pace for those 15 minutes as there was a riduclous amount of stalling at the beginning when Angle was outside the ring. The fact this caused Angle to be busted open, surely could have been used as away to put Joe over. However instead we got the bloody and battered Angle, making Joe tap after kicking out of the muscl-buster and escaping the choke. So there it is, after 18 months, the great saviour of TNA has been out wrestled by a WWE guy in his first match. The anlge afterwqards where Joe was refused the rematch seems to have been some kind of failed attempt to turn Joe face at long last and turn Angle heel and set up a rematch, however what really is the point? Angle complrehensively out wrestled Joe and made him look bush league compared to tghe guys in WWE. In the last year, Joe has gone from the centrepiece of the company thanks to his matches with Styles and Dnaiels, to a guy who's only clean pay per view win in the last year has been against an ageing Scott Steiner and against Jeff Jarrett (and even that was in a gimmick match where he had to be helped out by the fans). So much for TNA builidng the company around him. I guess that old WCW mentality still lives on abnd the moegrown guys are only as a big a star as the next guy to jump ship from the opposition.

As for the undercard, it was another consistentyly strong show with some poor matches that were soon eclipsed by some really good work. For every VKM vs. Kazrain, Maverick Matt and JOhnny Devine, there was a Chris Daniels vs. Chris Sabin or a Christian Cage vs. AJ Styles which were both excellent and a darn sight better than the disappointing main event. LAX and AMW had a fun brawl, however they failed to capture the excitement of AMW vs. Styles and Daniels, however it was the first matchg in their feud and with any lucxk this should develop into something really good as LAX are one of the hottest acts in the company right now (and if you need convincing of that, then check out the response they get when Jim Cornette threatens to strip them of the tag titles. I've not heard a crowd shift allegances quicker and they turn on Cornette in an instant).

Last but by no means least, I feel I should comment briefly on the NWA title match. For tyhe most part, this was another entertaining brawl, with Sting and Abyss seeming to work well togetherl. The only bones of contetniotn I had were with the spot where Sting hung Abyss by his feet in order to beat him with the bat and of course, the final result which I fgound very confusing. As far as the 'pinata' spot, it was completely ridcilous and was one of those moments which really showqed how 'fake' the wrestling business can be. Sure, do it at the end of the match wqhere the guy is beaten down and not going to put up a fight. However don;t do it in the middle of a amnatch where it takes 5 minutes to get it set up. Plus, why was he being so careful, surely if he wanted to hurt Abyss he would have hosited him up and dropped him down on his hgead!! As for the result, well, as cute an idea as it was, it reeked of Vince Russo and that is not a good thing. Why Sting got DQ-ed for shoving the ref when he had used thumbtacks and hoisted Abyss up on a rope I don't know. However it must have been an accumulaive thing as it was Sting who used the thumbtacks (even if he didn't bring them into the ring) and it was Sting who hoisted Abyss up while outside the ring. The problem is something that is rife within wrestling right now, and that is consistentcy. If this is going to get a DQ this week, then why have we not seen referees enforce the rules more in the past and will we see them enforce the same rules in teh future. Jeff Jarrett got away with as much referee abuse as Sting and he remained as NWA champ for months. Also, would it have hurt for them to do a little anagle ahead of this where te referees were told to execute more authrotiy, so at least this could have made a bit of sense. The same could also be said of the 'titles can change hand on a DQ'. Admittedly, that would have completely telegraphed the result of the match, but at least it would have made sense!!

Overall verdict: B-
"A decent show that failed to live up to the pre-show hype. Still a damn sight better than the majority of WWE shows thanks to the high standard of in-ring work, but the goofy booking of the main events pout a serious dampener on what should have been a blow-away event."

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.