DaveyBoy’s Wrestling Menu – BFGlory Review, SDown + CyberSunday Predictions
Submitted by DaveyBoy on Saturday, November 4, 2006 at 7:03 AM EST
THE WRESTLING MENU #201
Welcome one and all to the 201st edition of The Wrestling Menu, the column that is sure to satisfy your taste buds when it comes to discussing all things wrestling.
Between writing my super long 200th column mid-week, replying to everyone's feedback, contributing to a column in the LOP Forums & being flat-chat at work, I have done enough writing for a month over the past week or so. Because of this, I will pass on some super long & elaborate introduction today in this special weekend edition of 'The Wrestling Menu'. I will only point out that those looking for reader feedback for my Rookie Rankings won't have to wait too long for it. I will post them this coming Wednesday in edition #202. If you are yet to read my 2006 Rookie Rankings column, you may still do so by clicking on the following link: http://www.lordsofpain.net/news/2006_/articles/1162357608.php
So... it's on with the show.....
APPETIZERS – SmackDown Review
As loyal readers of mine will know, I don't often do television show reviews. But due to this special Saturday edition of 'The Wrestling Menu', I felt it was just too timely to pass up the opportunity today. Apologies to my fellow Melbournian Rudi who has been doing a fine job of late recapping the WWE's Friday offering for LOP, but I can assure you this will be a once in a blue moon thing for me mate. Plus, I've never been very in-depth with my tv show reviews, so head on over to Rudi's recap in the 'results' section of LOP for a more detailed look at this particular episode.
- We begin the show with Rey Mysterio limping to the ring. Crutch-assisted, I thought he'd never get there... Although, he probably still bettered The Undertaker's time! Rey explains that he requires knee surgery after the beating he took from Chavo Guerrero in their "I Quit" match from 2 weeks ago. He speaks well concerning his will to return in the future & the crowd reacts favorably. Chavo predictably interrupts to some good heel heat & taunts Mysterio a little before attacking his knee. Benoit predictably makes the save to close this sufficiently decent opening segment.
- A great choice for the opening match sees Kendrick & London in a non-title tag match against KC James & Idol Stevens. Fairly similar to their good 'No Mercy' bout in that it had a frenetic beginning & a solid middle portion. If anything though, this had a better finishing sequence due to result unpredictability stemming from the non-title stipulation. I thought it was over when Stevens hit a nice sky-high back-breaker, but the champs fought back & got the win in their usual entertaining style. The booking of the result in a non-title match confused me a little, but this was an undoubtedly above-average tag-team match.
- Backstage, Teddy Long introduces King Booker to his bodyguard for the evening; Batista. These 2 are being wisely kept together but apart, if that makes sense. Hopefully, that will create more anticipation & interest for their eventual title rematch, whenever that takes place.
- Our pre-advertised tag-team match is up next & it sees the return of the Brothers Of Destruction as they take on Kennedy & MVP. To sidetrack a little, in starting to do research on MVP for my Rookie Rankings column, I discovered that he is actually younger than he looks, so I suppose we need to be patient with him & hope he doesn't stink up the joint in the meantime. He actually looked the best he has thus far in this bout, even though it wasn't anything too special. The heels get counted out & then disqualified, but Teddy Long restarts the match twice for the benefit of the fans.
Kane & 'Taker appear as if they will dominate from there, practically competing against each other to see who could do the most damage to an opponent. But the heels actually get in some decent offense. A double chokeslam & tombstone eventually gets the job done though for the storyline brothers. Dragged out a little too long for my liking, but better than it had any right to be & the type of old-fashioned television tag-team match that I actually enjoy & deem more than useful. Line of the night went to JBL during this match: "Poor MVP has lost 18 rhinestones (from his outfit) so far".
- A nice change of pace follows as we get a non-title cruiserweight match between Gregory Helms & Jimmy Wang Yang. Yang has miscellaneous diva search contestant #4 (Amy) accompanying him to the ring & begins the bout frenetically by flying all over the squared circle. Helms doesn't really do much while all this is happening to be honest. The redneck hits his top-rope moonsault, but a Sylvain Grenier distraction allows Helms to get the sneaky roll-up victory. Matt Hardy makes the save afterwards & I'm certain we'll get a tag match between these 4 next week. Another non-title win to a champ confuses me a little, but this bout was decent enough as Yang is genuinely entertaining in the ring.
- Hey, who said that tag-team wrestling was dead? We get our 3rd tag match of the night (sort of) as Krystal & Miz take on Layla & Vito. Standard stuff which was thankfully kept short. The heels get in practically no offense until Krystal gets the roll-up victory. Old Man Boogey comes out afterwards & poor Krystal gets wormed for the 2nd successive week. Whoever re-signed this silly ba$tard has a lot to answer for in my opinion!
- Lashley defeats Jamie Noble in a short squash match next. Served its purpose I suppose, although I would have preferred if it wasn't Noble who was the one getting squashed. Couldn't they have brought out a Gymini twin or someone like that? Anyway, Tatanka viewed the bout from the entrance ramp & he was decked out with brand spanking new black & white face-paint to signify that he is now a heel. He also did some after-match mic work which set up his heel character sufficiently, but fell flat from a delivery standpoint. More intensity will be required from Tatanka in the future if he is going to somehow pull off this heel turn successfully.
- Following some rather ho-hum backstage segments involving Batista & Booker throughout the night, the Animal heads to the ring & calls out Finlay. A stock-standard pull-apart brawl ensues. It was decent in setting up their match for next week, but came off as disappointing purely & simply due to it's main-event positioning. I really hope there was some kind of after-show dark match for the live crowd, because it fell flat as a finale from where I sat.
Overall, I actually think this was a solid & above-average episode of SmackDown. In fact, it's the type of episode that signifies why SmackDown is still worth a watch & often betters the same week's episode of Raw, despite not having the star-power on it's roster, nor the effort put into it's booking. The first hour was very good & relied on quality over quantity. The second hour clearly fell away & I think this individual episode would have come off a lot better if the shorter matches were dispersed more evenly through the show & the Kane/Taker vs MVP/Kennedy tag match was used as the main-event of the evening. But all in all, this was a thumbs up from me.
MAIN – Bound For Glory Review
For those that cannot recall my previous PPV review columns, this is the key that explains what the final PPV Rating means:
<50: Ask for a refund for not only your money, but also your time. [F] (Armageddon '04)
50-54: Mediocre & disappointing. [D] (EG: Royal Rumble '06)
55-59: Average. [C] (EG: New Years Revolution '06)
60-64: Worth A Watch. [C+] (EG: No Mercy '06)
65-69: Good event that was worth the money. [B] (EG: SummerSlam '06)
70-74: Very good. [B+] (EG: Unforgiven '06)
75-79: Make sure you add this ppv to your video or dvd collection. [A] (EG: One Night Stand '05)
80+ : Make sure that the video or dvd is locked in a safe & cannot be erased. Memorable. [A+]
Please note that this is the second TNA pay-per-view that I have seen thus far this year. The previous one was 'Slammiversary' back in June, which finished with a PPV rating of 67.
Also please note that I did not get to see the pre-show half hour that included a Bobby Roode vs Lance Hoyt match. Even if I had, I would not have included that in amongst my PPV rating.
AUSTIN STARR Won the Kevin Nash Open Invitational X-Division Gauntlet Battle Royal: Austin Starr & Sonjay Dutt started in the ring for this match where another wrestler was added every minute & eliminations (up until the final 2 remaining) were over the top-rope battle-royal like. All up, 16 wrestlers were involved, or 17 if you include referee Slick Johnson's short cameo. The bout started off well with some nice sequences between Starr & Dutt, which was continued with the next few entrants, especially the athletic Jay Lethal. However, a combination of the short 60 second gaps between entrants, the lack of early eliminations & the proliferation of what I can only describe as comedy wrestlers such as D-Ray, Norman Smiley, Sirelda & a midget, really bogged this match down.
The bookers clearly went for entertainment value & while it partially had the desired effect on the live crowd, it didn't do a great deal for me, nor let the genuinely talented wrestlers involved show their true skill. Only when Petey Williams appeared as the final entrant did the action settle down a little. But even then, the bout ended prematurely & anti-climactically at the 17 minute mark when Starr pins Lethal with a Brain-Buster. While this wasn't terrible, it actually disappointed me a fair bit. The structure was all wrong... What booking there was ended up being over-booked... And I'm really unsure if anyone got anything out of it apart from winner Starr. The rating may be a little harsh if anything, but this should have been better. Match Rating…6.5
TEAM 3D defeated AMERICA'S MOST WANTED, THE JAMES GANG & THE NATURALS in a Four Corners Tag-Team Match: Considering the size of some of the guys involved in this bout, the pace was kept swift at the beginning & didn't let up until an interesting 4 man powerbomb/suplex combo. From there, the match completely breaks down & it soon becomes evident why the big fellas were moving around so quick at the start. AMW & the James Gang brawl to the back, leaving The Naturals to take on the veteran Dudleys. D-Von unrealistically kicks out of the young teams double-team finisher & Team 3D then hit their finisher soon after to win the match at just the 7 minute mark. That makes 2 successive multi-man bouts that began well & then just broke down into disappointing & anti-climactic matches. This was way too short & apart from a few double-team moves, there was hardly any semblance of tag-team action. Not terrible by any means, but while entertaining in patches, this was another disappointing effort. Match Rating…6
SAMOA JOE defeated ABYSS, BROTHER RUNT & RAVEN in a Monsters Ball Match: Jake 'The Snake' Roberts is the special guest referee in this 'No DQ' bout & even he looks fitter than a clearly out of shape Raven. And what the hell was with that mask that Raven wore out to the ring!?!?!? Joe's 3 opponents initially target him & they do slow him down for a while to allow them to duke it out amongst themselves. Joe hits a nice over the top-rope plancha to get back involved, but his opponents decide to add some hardcore to the bout by heading up the entrance-ramp. Abyss & Runt climb a scaffold where the masked monster sends Runt down to the stage & then dives down on to him. Of course, we only see that via replay due to some typically ordinary TNA direction!
Back in the ring, Abyss puts together some decent sequences with Raven & then Joe, and it isn't long until he brings his thumb-tacks into the ring. Following some good DDT byplay between Raven & Jake, Samoa Joe hits a nice senton on Abyss over the thumb-tacks for the victory at the 11 minute mark. Ok hardcore type of match that I was actually expecting a lot more from to be honest. The planned big spot was disappointingly missed by the cameras & wasn't really all that special anyway. Raven is well past his best, while Joe did his best to adapt to a style that doesn't truly suit him entirely. This may have simply been better as a 1 on 1 bout between Joe & Abyss. Match Rating…6.5
ERIC YOUNG defeated LARRY ZBYSZKO in a Loser Gets Fired Match: I hate everything about Zbyszko... He annoys the crap out of me & hasn't done anything useful in professional wrestling for over 20 years! Nothing changed here as this was total filler that lasted all of 3 minutes & that was mainly stalling. Following some reversal games of an abdominal stretch, Larry removes a foreign object from his tights, only to have Young use it & gain the victory to keep his position on the TNA roster. Couldn't the match at least have shown me whether or not Young can wrestle!?!?!? Match Rating…3
At this stage, there was a segment where a rather sick sounding Jim Cornette discussed the Samoa Joe & Kurt Angle incident from the previous week's episode of Impact. This brought Angle out to the ring & he received some mic time where he didn't really say anything of note. Joe stormed the ring though & the 2 had a pull-apart brawl where they both showed great intensity. Handy segment, but nothing really special. Not long enough to include in the PPV Rating.
CHRIS SABIN defeated SENSHI to Win the X-Division Title: Just note that I'm not even going to try to describe every move performed within this 13 minute match as I had a little trouble keeping up at times. The opening to the bout was very solid, although I didn't get the sense of any real history or feud between the 2 initially. There just didn't seem to be any story unfolding. But the 2 worked their literal a$$es off & the competitive nature of both men soon became the story & got the live crowd deeper & deeper involved.
There were many wicked chops & kicks hit by both combatants, as Sabin appeared to get on top with a swinging DDT & then a huge charging big boot to the face. But Senshi kept kicking out at 2 & even hit his Warrior's Way stomp from the top-rope for a nearfall. Sabin got the title-winning victory soon afterwards with an anti-climactic roll-up at the 13 minute mark. Not perfect by any means, what I especially was impressed with in this match was the way both relatively small men bought as much impact to most things that they did than any heavyweight wrestler could have done. Tough to rate & I may be over-rating it a little, but I just loved the impact involved. Match Rating…8.5
CHRISTIAN CAGE defeated RHINO in an 8 Mile Streetfight: The match begins in the car-park as both men trade blows. They then head to a poorly lit area where a zamboni gets involved, as the 2 head back towards the ring. Rhino takes control through some shots with a street-lamp prop, but the momentum sways to the heel when an attempted gore leads to a wicked chair-shot to the head. Into the crowd the combatants go as it's Rhino that returns to ringside back in control. The War Machine gets busted open though when Cage hits him with a huge street-sign. Christian then hits the Unprettier for a near-fall & follows up with a ladder shot. He then places Rhino in a straight-jacket, but the referee soon frees him of the suit to even things up. I'm unsure what the point of using the straight-jacket was!
After a very awkward sequence of nothing, Rhino hits an awesome piledriver from the apron through a ringside table! But by the time he drags his opponent into the ring, he only gets a 2 count. Rhino looks to finish things off with a gore, but goes through a table himself. Christian gets a 2 count from that & another with a 2nd Unprettier. Cage then finally picks up the victory at the 15 minute mark when he stacks many chairs & a ladder on top of Rhino & then flays away with a chair at will. Inconsistent bout that reminded me a lot of ECW in that it had many moments of absolutely nothing (or things booked that resulted in nothing), but solid hardcore spots elsewhere. The piledriver & 2nd Unprettier (which was onto a table leg) were especially good here. Sufficiently entertaining variation for the card.
Match Rating…7.5
THE LATIN AMERICAN EXCHANGE (HOMICIDE & HERNANDEZ) defeated CHRISTOPHER DANIELS & AJ STYLES in a 6 Sides Of Steel Cage Match to Win the NWA World Tag-Team Titles: Actually begins as a tornado match, but does quickly settle into a traditional tag match. Good back & forth beginning to the bout, with Styles once more impressing with his mixture of athleticism & impact. He eventually gets busted open after being flung into the cage a couple of times, which allows LAX to isolate Daniels & the exclamation point comes in the form of a fork being raked on the Fallen Angel's forehead! That's not even mentioning the tequila chaser afterwards! Daniels finally fights back with a top-rope hip-toss of sorts & the faces then use the fork themselves to draw equal blood. A nice Pele kick from AJ keeps the champs in control & that leads to an impressive 3 man powerbomb/suplex combo & a cross-body block from the top of the cage by Styles!
A sequence of nearfalls from finishers follows, but Konnan slides in a coat-hanger to have Daniels choked out. The heels then isolate Styles which allows Homicide to hit his impressive Gringo Killer for the title win at the 15 minute mark. Top-notch entertaining stuff that was a nice combination of athleticism & hardcore action. While there were moments that were not as crisp as they could have been, this was predominantly well-performed & I was very impressed with especially Homicide from a tag-team that I only saw for the first time here. Intense, entertaining & impressive, this was a good mix of everything professional wrestling has to offer. Match of the night. Match Rating…9
STING defeated JEFF JARRETT in a Career vs Title Match to Win the NWA World HeavyWeight Title: Sting enters with a slightly different look in that he had some red face-paint mixed in with his usual black & white, while it should also be noted that influential new signing Kurt Angle is the special ringside enforcer for this main-event. Champion Jarrett gets the better of the opening 5 sequences & it's actually a surprisingly effective booking twist that sees Sting very frustrated. Double J shouldn't have spat on the challenger though as Sting fights back with a powerbomb & a clothesline to the outside, where Angle & Jarrett have their own little push & shove. Some ringside brawling leads to a nicely booked sequence where Angle stops Sting from using a chair & then cops an accidental shot from Jarrett as a result.
Back in the ring, some rather awkward moments see both men get a breather from a sleeper-hold & then a double cross body-block. The referee is about to count both men out at 10, but Kurt Angle enters the ring & Olympic Slams him to continue the bout. A Scorpion Death-Drop gets a 2 count, as does a Stroke. Sting then reverses a piledriver attempt from the champ & dangerously hits a piledriver (of sorts) of his own. Following another weary & awkward looking sequence, Jarrett locks in the Figure 4 Leglock & then an Ankle-Lock! Sting eventually escapes though & totally no-sells a guitar shot to the head, following up with the Scorpion Death-Lock for the submission title victory at the 15 minute mark. Successful main-event that was better than expected. Cleverly booked for a few reasons & Angle's presence alone helped out. It's a real shame that Sting's stamina just couldn't allow this bout to go a little longer, as the latter moments of this match were quite sloppy. Not sure about the no-sell of the guitar shot either! Match Rating…8
PPV RATING (55/80) = 69
Looking at the key, I have basically given the 2006 version of 'Bound For Glory' a 'B' grade & said that it was a ‘Good event that was worth the money‘. I think that grade & comment is right on the mark, as even though it got very close to the next range up, I didn't quite think that it deserved to be awarded a B+ grade due to some inconsistencies throughout the evening. While sufficient, the first 3 matches on the card were slightly disappointing in my mind, while the 4th bout was nothing but a crap filler. The event obviously improved from there quite dramatically & the final 4 matches all deserved to rate a 7.5 or better. It left fans with a more than favorable feeling towards the ppv, but a possibly slightly inflated one over the 3 hour duration. There are still some issues with TNA that have to be resolved, with direction & camerawork coming to mind immediately outside of the ring, while in the ring, way too many wrestlers kick out of their opponent's finishers! In conclusion, I'm unsure this event would have totally won over many casual fans switching over to see what TNA is all about, but I don't think it would have totally lost them either.
DESSERT
’Cyber Sunday’ Predictions
JEFF HARDY vs CARLITO for the InterContinental Title: While any match-up would result in a quality bout as the opener here, I feel Carlito will be voted in by the fans due to the simple fact that he is a face & the other 2 options are heels. It will then be an interesting dynamic at work because both men are receiving some positive reactions at the moment. I have to wonder if one of them will sort of play a semi-heel role in the bout & who knows whether or not that backstage segment from last Monday's episode of Raw could even have been a hint at a heel turn for Carlito anyway. It will be up to the 2 faces to instill the necessary competitiveness required to involve the crowd here & if they can do that, then the sky is the limit for this match. Result-wise, I would have to think that the WWE are pleased with the job as champion done thus far by Hardy, so I see no reason why he should lose the title just yet. Winner: Jeff Hardy
UMAGA vs CHRIS BENOIT: While Sandman is next to no shot to get voted in, the voting results will tell a story on a number of things here; Especially whether or not fans favor specific wrestlers (Benoit) over storyline history (Kane). That's not even mentioning the old 'Can Benoit be a draw' argument. Kane is indeed the safe bet to get the gig against the Samoan Bulldozer, but I'm going to favor Benoit being voted in due to the fact that he is stil rather fresh back from injury & in the fans minds right now. Plus, it would make a better match-up, as most will agree that Benoit can pretty much drag a respectable match out of anybody. Hopefully, this will be even & interesting, even if it will be Umaga who emerges victorious. Winner: Umaga
CRYME TYME vs CHARLIE HAAS & VISCERA vs THE HIGHLANDERS vs LANCE CADE & TREVOR MURDOCH in a Texas Tornado Match: In all honesty, it would not at all surprise me if a Fatal Fourway match got voted in here due to simplicity & lack of care. But a Texas Tornado match probably suits the competitors better & would result in a more entertaining bout (that would probably be shorter). I actually hope the WWE give some booking relevance to this bout, but I'm not holding my breath. Cryme Tyme win because they're the newest! Winners: Cryme Tyme
LITA vs MICKIE JAMES in a Diva LumberJack Match for the Women's Title: If the Submissions Match option gets to double figures, then I think the voting is rigged! Of the other 2 alternatives, it really is a coin toss & I wouldn't at all be surprised to see this take place as a No Disqualification Match. Either way, these 2 ladies can wrestle & should be able to put on a decent bout. The result is interesting, but I'd have to say that Mickie's current face character needs more building up & more crowd support. What better way to achieve that than to have her chase the title from the hated heel for a month or so & win it a little later. Winner: Lita
SHAWN MICHAELS & TRIPLE H vs RANDY ORTON & EDGE with Special Guest Referee Vince McMahon: The WWE have actually done a decent job in setting up the voting to be a little more even than it otherwise would have been here. But at the end of the day, I still feel that there are enough fans out there that want to see Vince's head get shoved up the a$$ of a heel wrestler once more. It's pretty much irrelevant with all 3 authority figures being heels anyway. The quality of this bout is very much up in the air, but there should be enough experience & professionalism to get the job done more than adequately. But please keep in mind that this feud is likely to continue (whether it be in singles or tag-team form), so expect some setting up to be done also. The result will be extremely interesting with many internet fans displeased about the DX dominance of late. I think all that suggests is that the heels get the win here. Winners: Randy Orton & Edge
THE SPIRIT SQUAD vs RIC FLAIR & 'ROWDY' RODDY PIPER for the World Tag-Team Titles: Piper should theoretically be a lock here simply for the fact that he has had some significant roles on WWE programming over the last couple of years. He would also be the most entertaining in the ring against The Spirit Squad, so I'm also hoping that he gets voted into this title bout. That's because the only real way this match can be any good is if it's booked in an entertaining fashion. I don't expect that the quality of wrestling will be any 5 star classic, that's for certain. As for the result, I have no real clue as to why & it leaves so many questions unanswered, but I have this funny feeling we may be seeing new tag-team champions here! Winners: Ric Flair & Roddy Piper
KING BOOKER vs JOHN CENA vs THE BIG SHOW in a Triple-Threat Match for the World HeavyWeight Title: No-one really cares about the ECW Title in this context, so it will either be Booker's or Cena's title up for grabs here. It wouldn't surprise me either way, but with Booker being an annoying type of heel champ, it's most likely to be his title on the line. Most people are thinking that there is no way that any of the champions will lose their title in this bout, but I am not so sure. A title change will result in fan conjecture & more cross-promotion between brands & we all know Vince likes that idea at present. Having said that, I'll play it safe & suggest that Booker will retain his title either with a cheap win or a DQ loss. Quality-wise, this bout could be anything from average to very good. It's most likely to be somewhere in between, although the WWE do have a way of getting the job done when it comes to PPV main-events usually. Winner: King Booker
Ok, so there we have the inaugural version of 'Cyber Sunday' (remembering that it was 'Taboo Tuesday' the previous 2 years). To be honest, I've never been a huge fan of the fan interactiveness concept in this form, although I can see why the WWE do this annually. Whether the stipulations were there or not, I can't say the card appeals to me greatly anyway, even though at least 3 matches have the potential to be very good. Seven matches have been booked thus far & I think it will remain at that due to the time taken up by drum-rolls before revealing the voting results of the fans. I say it time & time again; The WWE have a knack of making an ordinary card more than respectable, so let's cross our fingers that they can do the same thing here.
That is all for column #201. I hope you all enjoyed this special weekend edition of 'The Wrestling Menu'. If you would like to email me feedback on any of the 3 events/shows that I spoke of today, you are more than welcome to do so. I am also still open to feedback for my 2006 Rookie Rankings, so don't forget about them while you are at it. As per usual, I will reply to everyone. You can email me on DaveyBoy123@bigpond.com. But if you are an LOP Forums member, it would be much appreciated if you could leave feedback on my thread at http://www.lopforums.com/showthread.php?t=217&page=2
Back to Wednesday we go in 4 days time. In that column, I will have some feedback to my 2006 Rookie Rankings as I have already stated. I will also include my review of the 'Cyber Sunday' pay-per-view. Finally, I think it's time to talk about the lovely green quintet that we know as The Spirit Squad just as they are about to explode. As per usual, my column will be posted at the same Wednesday time on the same LOP channel. Until then, this is DaveyBoy signing off & asking you to remember that dinner is best served in 3 courses.
DaveyBoy’s Wrestling Menu. 2002-2006
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