In Your House

[tbarrie]

On 2/21/2017 at 9:18 AM, Yo-Yo's Roomie said:

Mickie James Vs Maryse: Maryse is the Divas champ. Amidst the talk of the rumoured Cena/Nikki Vs Miz/Maryse match, no-one seems to have mentioned (or remembered) the fact that Maryse is dangerously awful in the ring. I mean, she got the heel mannerisms down okay, but in every other area she looks completely incompetent.

I think her heel mannerisms were a lot better than "okay". Don't remember enough of her ring work to comment, though.

[The Natural]

On 09/01/2017 at 9:01 PM, Brian Fowler said:

Oh god I love that second Chamber match from that show. Nearly perfect.

Best ever Elimination Chamber match.

[cwoy2j]

On 2/22/2017 at 2:12 PM, tbarrie said:

I think her heel mannerisms were a lot better than "okay". Don't remember enough of her ring work to comment, though.

Her hairflip ddt was kinda cool but she was pretty terrible in the ring from what I remember.

[John from Cincinnati]

I remember that NOC Ziggler-Mysterio match being quite dull. However, I've got fond memories of them having a hot opener at SummerSlam the following month. I know that isn't part of this project, but I'd love to know if you concur.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

When I did my big ranking of all the Summerslam matches, I had Rey/Dolph at number 23, so yeah, I liked that one quite a bit. I CONCUR!

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

WWE Breaking Point 2009.

Chris Jericho and The Big Show Vs MVP and Mark Henry: MVP is really over. They could have done so much more with him, even though he wasn't that good of a babyface worker. Henry looks great here, on the other hand. Jeri-Show work really well together. Decent opening match.

Kofi Kingston Vs The Miz: I didn't remember Kofi holding the US title for this long. Figured he was losing it here, but he actually goes over. They're really making the push to make Miz seem more legitimate, as he dominates most of this match. Perfectly acceptable match.

Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase Vs Shawn Michaels and Triple H: My big takeaway from this is that this really should have been a huge victory for Legacy. They basically go toe-to-toe with DX, out-fight and out-think them, and then make Shawn Michaels tap out. This is against guys who are booked as company legends and very rarely do jobs under any circumstances, let alone these. So, I kinda wonder why this didn't propel Legacy to the next level, or more appropriately, why the company didn't really attempt to get them to that next level. This was a pretty good match. They brawled all over the arena, it was fast paced and felt fairly chaotic. Not much in the way of quality/believable near-submissions, but the surprising finish helps the match seem more memorable.

Kane Vs The Great Khali: This was utter tripe. It always amused me how Ranjin Singh was suddenly Khali's brother. This was a singapore cane match, and they really killed that gimmick with relentless cane shots.

Christian Vs William Regal: Now this was tremendous. This is legit one of my all-time favourite feuds. These two just had fantastic chemistry and brought the best out of each other every single time. Regal is definitely the MVP of this match. Everything he does is so nasty, every cover has a forearm or knee to the face. At one point he just running knees Christian in the face, then drops a knee to his head, followed by another knee-strike for good measure, and you wonder what exactly Christian did to deserve this mauling. I also love Regal's suplex variations. Christian retains, but Regal comes out looking like a real badass.

Randy Orton Vs John Cena: I Quit match. This is... something. The Passion of the Cena maybe. Man, Orton is just such a weird motherfucker. He looks so odd, like something out of the X-Files. He looks like an alien clone who you think is a bad guy because he's killing humans, but then you find out the real bad guys (the government) have infected him with cancer to study the effects. Cancer-stricken clone, that's Orton's real calling. I was set to like this as they just went at it from the bell, but then Orton took over and I felt like a lobster in boiling water, being lulled to my eventual death. Orton's big mistake was putting the handcuff key around his neck. You knew that was going to back-fire on him. He should have put it around his cock. Much safer. More cane shots. Shit weapon. The shots don't look very impressive (especially when you've seen Kane and Khali do the same thing ad infinitum earlier in the show) but leave some really nasty welts on Cena's body. A chair to the back and I believe Cena has an orgasm. Cena's fired up comeback is good, and I like the handcuff-assisted STF and Orton quickly quitting for the finish. You believe Cena would rather die than quit, whereas Orton is all about self-preservation. Just think they could have told this story in much more entertaining fashion.

CM Punk Vs The Undertaker: I think Punk is getting more PPV main events during this run than he did during his year-long run. This was going fine, with Punk playing a great chicken-shit heel, but then the finish happened. So, so shitty. Shitty Teddy Long nonsensical storyline, shitty we're in Montreal so let's do another screwjob, shitty let's ruin a perfectly good match and piss everyone off bullshit. Hate.

Match of the night: Regal Vs Christian- 4 stars. DX Vs Legacy- 3.5 stars. 

Show rating: Well, I think the tag match is the only one that satisfactorily delivered on the 'breaking point' gimmick, but maybe I'm only saying that because DX did a job. A couple of good matches (one great), some average stuff and some downright terrible. There's a way-too-long Pat Patterson/Dolph Ziggler/John Morrison talking segment to enjoy too. 2.5 stars.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

WWE Hell in a Cell 2009.

CM Punk Vs The Undertaker: Punk defending his world title. Really doesn't seem to be any point having this in the cell. I mean, these two have pretty good chemistry, and the match is fine, but this is more like a TV match that happens to be inside a cell. I believe this came off the back of Punk pissing off Taker for not adhering to the dress code or some such bullshit, and there were lots of theories going around about that being the reason the match was so short (around 10 mins), and not really wrestled like a typical cell match would be. Again, I thought the match was okay, but it's a real letdown as a Hell in a Cell match, and a disappointing end to Punk's title reign, which really hit the skids once Taker got involved anyway.

John Morrison Vs Dolph Ziggler: I've got no time for Morrison, who is defending the IC title here. This is pretty much the match you would expect these two to have, with Morrison retaining. They really waited a long time to pull the trigger on that first IC title reign for Ziggler.

Mickie James Vs Alicia Fox: They're trying to present Fox as a strong contender for Mickie's women's title here, but I don't think anyone is buying it. She shouldn't really be in this spot at this point in time. Pretty standard defense for Mickie.

Chris Jericho and The Big Show Vs Batista and Rey Mysterio: This is a better match, and an extended feud between these two teams probably would have been great. Some callbacks to the Jericho/Rey series as Jericho goes after Rey's mask. Another really good Rey performance, and he and Show have some good interactions. Jericho and Show continue to be booked really strong. They should give Jeri-Show another little run on the current roster. Could be fun.

John Cena Vs Randy Orton: Cena is going in as champ. I think I would probably call this my least favourite feud ever. This is a shitty cell match. Again, they don't really incorporate the cell all that much, but these two don't even have the chemistry to overcome that. Hilarious moment when Orton ties Cena up in the ropes and locks on a fucking chinlock. Surprisingly, Orton goes over with no shenanigans. 

Drew McIntyre Vs R-Truth: It would be easy to call this a nothing match, given it's spot on the card and the lack of crowd heat and, well, it is a nothing match. Drew would become one of my favourites, but there's little sign of that here.

Kofi Kingston Vs Jack Swagger Vs The Miz: Another multi-man US title defense for Kofi, and amazingly, he retains again. This is another weak match, although Swagger takes a nasty Trouble in Paradise.

Triple H and Shawn Michaels Vs Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase: The rematches from the last ppv continue. This is the rubber match between these two teams, and I think this has been a good series. Again, I wonder why it didn't really elevate Legacy at all. Probably because at the end of the day they were still just lackeys for Orton. This is a really good idea for a match, with Legacy locking Hunter out of the cell and having their way with Shawn, but I think the section with the handicap match just goes on way too long, and it really stretches credibility to have Shawn surviving what is really a brutal beatdown, just to have him immediately back on his feet dishing out punishment once Hunter gets back in the cell. The idea of Legacy being too cocky and inexperienced to just put Shawn away when they have the chance, whereas DX waste no time in putting away Cody when the roles are reversed is good. In the end I don't think it did as much for Legacy as it should have.

Match of the night: Not a lot to get excited about. I'll go with the tag team title match at 3 stars, and also give 3 stars to Punk/Taker and DX/Legacy, although both those matches could and should have been much more.

Show rating: A very disappointing show overall. The cell matches all underperformed, for varying reasons, and there was nothing else on the card really noteworthy except that tag title match. I'd say avoid this one. 2 stars.

[BurningBeard]

The funny thing about Punk acting pissy and flouting the WWE dress code and being punished is that any time he is at a UFC event now he feels the need to dress like Connor McGregor. 

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

WWE Bragging Rights 2009.

The Miz Vs John Morrison: The first 'Bragging Rights' match is the US champ Vs the IC champ. This is something like a year and a half prior to their falls count anywhere match on Raw, and it's hard to imagine them having a match that good in them watching this. I hate the build-up to this too, based around who is the Marty Jannetty of their team. Jannetty may be a sad state of affairs, but neither guy at this point could lace his boots, or hope to have the connection with the fans that he did. Miz wins to put Raw 1 up.

Michelle McCool, Beth Phoenix and Natalya Vs Melina, Kelly Kelly and Gail Kim: The Smackdown divas are a way stronger team on paper than the Raw girls, and pretty much dominate this. Teasing a feud between SD champ McCool and Beth. Series tied at 1.

The Undertaker Vs CM Punk Vs Batista Vs Rey Mysterio: As a four-way, this is pretty standard stuff, but what this should really be remembered for is Batista's heel turn on Rey. Really well-done angle. Josh is a dick for trying to interview these guys right after they lost the match. Batista is genuinely scary when he looks at Rey and says he's going to rip his head off. Rey begging for mercy like a great sympathetic face, but Batista has no mercy. Powerful stuff.

Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Kofi Kingston, The Big Show, Cody Rhodes, Jack Swagger and Mark Henry Vs Chris Jericho, Kane, The Hart Dynasty, R-Truth, Finlay and Matt Hardy: Deciding match for the Bragging Rights trophy. Raw team is way stronger on paper, and the fans are firmly on their side. Pretty solidly laid out with the most popular guy on each team (Shawn and Matt) taking turns playing fip, before it all breaks down and Show turns on Raw to give SD the win. Could have given the match more time. Show's KO punch on Hunter looks terrible. It was nice seeing the SD team all celebrating together. Gave it a bit of a real sports feel. They could have made more of this, and built some interesting storylines and rivalries of it, but I think it was pretty much forgotten by the following week.

Randy Orton Vs John Cena: Anything goes iron man match. There were elements of this I liked, and elements I hated, which is pretty much par for the course with these two guys. I mean, on the whole, Cena's performance is really good. He goes into no-sell mode a bit too easy for some of his comebacks, but generally sells well, and his fire is really great. His big comeback in the finishing stretch is really good. Orton is fucking dire as usual. The sequence where he's trying to blow Cena up with the pyro, like he's fucking Wile E. Coyote is just terrible ('fucking' is not a verb there, just to be clear). Cody and Ted doing a run-in was kinda stupid too, but at least they set up Kofi coming in to even the odds with a backstage bit earlier. So they at least tried to make sense of it, but you wonder why they didn't just beat Cena down at the start of the match. So really, Cena's performance saved this for me, and I do give these guys credit for going an hour, even though there was a fair bit of stalling and dead space (which is to be expected anyway). I'm not sure how I feel about the finish, with Orton tapping to the STF with just seconds to go. Better a heel does it then a babyface, I guess.

MOTN: Would probably have to give it to the main event, honestly, for degree of difficulty if nothing else. 3 stars for that and the Bragging Rights tag. Really hard to have that many guys in a match and not at least come out with something fun.

Show rating: An interesting show more than a good one. The Batista heel turn is probably the best wrestling of the night, but the iron man is definitely something worth seeing and making your own mind up about.  

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

WWE TLC 2009.

Wiki tells me that the dark match for this was R-Truth pinning CM Punk, which is interesting.

Christian Vs Shelton Benjamin: This is your ladder match for the ECW title. Infamous 'let's steal the show' build. I started off liking this. They were working hard, and it looked nice and snug. Christian got busted open hardway really early on, which also gave the match a nice focus. Then it started to fall apart quite badly. Mistakes crept in, and it became really convoluted in the way they were setting up and telegraphing the spots. In the end I would say this is easily the worst match Christian had over the course of the year, and I don't ever want to see Benjamin wrestle again.

Drew McIntyre Vs John Morrison: Now, this was a good match. Morrison defending the IC title, and Drew really just grounding and dominating him, which is the only way to get a good match out of Morrison. Drew wins the belt in pretty convincing fashion.

Michelle McCool Vs Mickie James: We're in the thick of the "Piggy James" angle here, which was just so horrible. God, I hated Lay-Cool so much. It seemed like around this time WWE had so many gimmicks and characters that were just put out there to annoy the fanbase. These, heel Michael Cole, John Laurinaitis, Vickie Guerrero. Like, it didn't feel like real heel heat to me- more just 'get these off my TV' heat. But maybe I was just being worked. Anyway, this angle seemed particularly mean, although the match here is a decent short match. McCool retains her title with a boot to the face.

John Cena Vs Sheamus: Tables match for the WWE title. Quite a boring match. I don't think tables match generally yield very interesting results, and this was hurt even more by the fact that Sheamus seems well out of his league here. To say his ascent to the title came out of nowhere is perhaps an understatement. And then his win is really booked as a total fluke, with Cena pretty much just losing his balance and falling through the table.

The Undertaker Vs Batista: Speaking of matches that don't tend to yield strong results, here's a chairs match for the World title. Striker tells us that Taker has been in cell matches, inferno matches and buried alive matches, but perhaps no match as brutal as a chairs match. Shut the fuck up. Striker really is the pits. He goes on to tell us that Batista has an advantage because he has denser bones than Taker, and thus the chair shots won't hurt him as much. Lawler and Cole openly laugh at this one. This is an okay match, but I think they could have done more with a less restrictive gimmick. Another shitty finish as Batista hits a low-blow and a chair shot to win the belt, but Teddy Long comes out and orders the match to continue as chairs are legal but low blows are not. Taker then hits a quick tombstone for the win. Batista's pouting after the match is good value.

Randy Orton Vs Kofi Kingston: Man, they really missed the boat on Kofi here. Everything they did with him was pretty much perfect - from destroying Orton's car, to the MSG attack where fans were chanting his name, to the way he stormed into Orton's lockerroom prior to this match and called him a coward in front of Legacy - but then they get to the match and he does a job and goes back to being a midcarder. So frustrating, and I wasn't even a Kofi fan. The match is fine, but nothing memorable.

Chris Jericho and The Big Show Vs Triple H and Shawn Michaels: TLC match for the tag titles. Fairly mundane match for the most part. Didn't really feel as violent or chaotic as it should. Jericho nearly has a disaster towards the end when he doesn't get enough distance on a bump over the top rope and thus doesn't bump through the table like he was supposed to. I liked the creativity of the finish, as the ladder in the ring was broken in half, so Triple H holds it up so Shawn can climb up and get the belts. Yeah, weak TLC match overall.

MOTN: God, is it really Drew and Morrison? Yeah, i think it is. 3 stars.

Show rating: Other than the surprise of Sheamus beating Cena, I don't really see any reason to ever watch or think about this show. 2 stars.

[cwoy2j]

Quote

Chris Jericho and The Big Show Vs Triple H and Shawn Michaels: TLC match for the tag titles. Fairly mundane match for the most part. Didn't really feel as violent or chaotic as it should. Jericho nearly has a disaster towards the end when he doesn't get enough distance on a bump over the top rope and thus doesn't bump through the table like he was supposed to. I liked the creativity of the finish, as the ladder in the ring was broken in half, so Triple H holds it up so Shawn can climb up and get the belts. Yeah, weak TLC match overall.

Jericho talked about this one a bit in his book. He said he literally smacked his mouth on the table on the bump you mentioned and he's shocked he didn't shatter every tooth in his mouth. He also said the spot where Show held him up on his shoulders was tough. They'd pulled it off before but it was harder to do in the match b/c Show was sweating and it was hard for Jericho to maintain his footing.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

Yeah, it looked bad. He didn't get enough distance on the fall, so had to really reach to make it to the table, and ended up just face-planting on the corner of it.

[Jimmy Trump]

On 11/3/2014 at 10:27 AM, Yo-Yo's Roomie said:

Bret Hart Vs The British Bulldog: This match saves the show really. Well, actually the show hasn't been that bad. But this match is way above everything else on it. Some great touches here, like Bulldog wearing the same tights he wore at Summerslam 92. They really play up that Bret has never beaten Davey.

I've always hated that they told that bold-faced lie on commentary when it was so easily disproved.

[John from Cincinnati]

The SummerSlam match gets a tonne of points for historical significance and atmosphere (in addition to being a great match), but I've always preferred the IYH match. Of course the blood helped a bunch in spite of (as I recall) them trying not to go in tight on Bret's face.

For a second, I thought the last Roomie reviewed was going to be the one with the Morrison-Sheamus ladder match. I've got that one as being one of the company's all-time an unheralded classics. So now that I've built it up like that, he's likely to find it underwhelming. 

Good shout on the Hardy-Edge cage match, which I'd never bothered to watch until I saw your glowing review. I've really enjoyed this project. 

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

WWE Elimination Chamber 2010.

Sheamus Vs Triple H Vs John Cena Vs Randy Orton Vs Ted DiBiase Vs Kofi Kingston: Kicking off with the Raw title match. The story in the early going is whether Sheamus can prove himself as champion (he starts the match with Kofi), and the tension between Orton and DiBiase. Orton and DiBiase are on the same page to begin with, double teaming everyone, but then Cody comes out and hands DiBiase a pipe. In a very contrived spot, DiBiase accidentally hits Orton with the lead pipe, and then decides to cover him, making Orton the first to be eliminated. There was a sense of shock involved here, but this whole Legacy break-up angle was so backwards. Obviously, DiBiase and Rhodes should have been the babyfaces coming out of this, as Orton had basically used them to do his bidding for months, and had no respect for them. DiBiase was then the next to go, being pinned by Kofi. This kinda took the gloss off DiBiase beating Orton. Kofi (by Sheamus) and Sheamus (by Triple H) followed in quick succession, and I was expecting an epic struggle between Hunter and Cena, but Cena whipped Hunter straight into the STF, and shockingly (to me) Triple H tapped out after a short struggle.

John Cena Vs Batista: So, right after Cena wins the title, Vince comes out and says he now has to defend the belt against Batista. This is an almost exact re-do of when Edge did the first Money in the Bank cash-in, except while that seemed cool and fresh, this just came across like another rehash of Vince vs top star. Batista did look badass though, and Cena made his normally pretty shitty spear look like death.

Drew McIntyre Vs Kane: Drew defends the IC belt, and gets a good match out of Kane. Kane levels Drew with a killer uppercut early on. Everything Drew does looks so good. He has his awesome entrance by this point too, and is really starting to look like a star. Clean win felt big.

Maryse and Gail Kim Vs Lay-Cool: This was supposed to be Kim vs Maryse for the vacant Raw women's title (not sure why it was vacant), but Vickie Guerrero came out and said since the Raw divas have been talking shit about the Smackdown divas, they now had to face two of them. Best not to ask why the SD GM can interfere in a Raw title match. Short match which saw Maryse inevitably walk out on Kim, who got beat.

The Miz Vs MVP: Miz is tag champ now, along with the Big Show, as well as US champ. MVP had Mark Henry with him. Decent match actually. I just think Miz works too strong. MVP's babyface offence is still terrible. Miz retains after Show knocks MVP out with the punch.

The Undertaker Vs Chris Jericho Vs CM Punk Vs John Morrison Vs Rey Mysterio Vs R-Truth: Truth and Punk get us started. Punk is in full Straight-Edge Society mode now, and I really liked this group. They had good chemistry with one-another. I have to say, I found Serena really sexy too with the shaved head... Well, they basically have a short match with Punk pinning Truth within the 5 mins. Quickly just to say I hate how they introduce the new combatants into these matches. It's such an anti-climax. You do the count-down, then you do the stupid lights flashing where you can barely tell what's what, and then you have to wait for the pod to be unlocked. Classic WWE trying to milk the moment for all it's worth and just overdoing it. So Punk has time now to cut another promo, before Rey is released. Again, this is a short one-on-one match, with this time Rey going over before the next entrant is unlocked.These two had a good sequence to tease us for their upcoming feud, and the elimination was great, with Rey huricanrana-ing Punk from the top rope to the steel flooring, and then rolling him back into the ring to pin him. Great spot, and put over the steel structure really well. Jericho comes in next followed by Morrison as the ring filled up. Morrison is still shit, and fuck him pinning Rey. I was hoping for another all-star Rey chamber performance but it got cut short. Taker eliminates Morrison after a chokeslam on the steel, and then Jericho and Taker have a good little confrontation as the final two. Great finish as Shawn Michaels comes out from under the steel floor and superkicks Taker allowing Jericho to win the belt. Jericho, as always, has great reactions. Taker always took a sweet chin well, throwing his legs out from under him. Felt like a holy shit moment, though I think it was expected at the time that Shawn would cost Taker the belt. Much more fun than the Raw match, though I was hoping for another classic and it didn't really approach that level. I wish Punk had lasted longer and that Truth had got to interact with some different people, although I appreciate them doing something different at the start.

MOTN: That SD chamber match at 3.5 stars. Drew/Kane at 3 stars.

Show rating: Barring the diva match, nothing bad on this show at all. Quite worth a watch if you've nowt else to do. 3 stars.

[cwoy2j]

That's the match where Taker nearly got fried by the pyro during his entrance. Jericho said that Taker told him two things saved him; he had just dumped a bunch of water all over himself to slick his hair back and his duster kept most of the flames off of him. He was still in a bunch of pain during the match and you can see him wearing some kind of burn gel on his body the next night on RAW when he's having his in-ring confrontation with HBK. Y2J said the ringside attendants were giving Taker bottles of water to pour on himself while he sat in the pod to help alleviate the pain from the burning. If you ever need proof that Taker is one tough mofo, realize that he went in there and took bumps after nearly being burned to a crisp.

[cwoy2j]

Oh and Taker wanted to kill the pyro guy afterwards. He was fairly calm for a guy who nearly got burned alive but he was overheard telling Vince and some production guy that he didn't want to hear that the pyro guy was sorry, didn't want to hear what happened, just to get the guy out of the building before Taker found him. Like he wasn't yelling or pitching a fit, just calmly telling everyone to get that guy out of there before he found him and murdered him. A guy like Taker matter of factly saying something like that in a calm voice would scare me more than some guy ranting and raving.

[cwoy2j]

About 35 seconds in you can see what happened. There's a noticeable edit on the Network. IIRC, you see Taker come out to the entranceway, then it cuts to the guys in the Chamber while Taker's music is playing and then it cuts back to Taker standing outside the pod and taking off his jacket.

 

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

I totally forgot to mention that. You can actually see it on the network, and the commentators are talking about how they've never seen Taker enter a match that way (not referring to him being burnt, which I don't think they realised- just the way he throws off his coat and pretty much races into his pod all pissed off). Scary moment, and yes, Taker is one bad motherfucker.

[The Natural]

12 hours ago, cwoy2j said:

That's the match where Taker nearly got fried by the pyro during his entrance. Jericho said that Taker told him two things saved him; he had just dumped a bunch of water all over himself to slick his hair back and his duster kept most of the flames off of him. He was still in a bunch of pain during the match and you can see him wearing some kind of burn gel on his body the next night on RAW when he's having his in-ring confrontation with HBK. Y2J said the ringside attendants were giving Taker bottles of water to pour on himself while he sat in the pod to help alleviate the pain from the burning. If you ever need proof that Taker is one tough mofo, realize that he went in there and took bumps after nearly being burned to a crisp.

 

12 hours ago, cwoy2j said:

Oh and Taker wanted to kill the pyro guy afterwards. He was fairly calm for a guy who nearly got burned alive but he was overheard telling Vince and some production guy that he didn't want to hear that the pyro guy was sorry, didn't want to hear what happened, just to get the guy out of the building before Taker found him. Like he wasn't yelling or pitching a fit, just calmly telling everyone to get that guy out of there before he found him and murdered him. A guy like Taker matter of factly saying something like that in a calm voice would scare me more than some guy ranting and raving.

 

11 hours ago, Yo-Yo's Roomie said:

I totally forgot to mention that. You can actually see it on the network, and the commentators are talking about how they've never seen Taker enter a match that way (not referring to him being burnt, which I don't think they realised- just the way he throws off his coat and pretty much races into his pod all pissed off). Scary moment, and yes, Taker is one bad motherfucker.

I concur with all this. Fortunate Undertaker wore his hat and leather coat instead of the sleeveless entrance attire with no hat.

[Brian Fowler]

The professionalism and toughness if that man doing that... It amazed me then, still does now. He never fucking shows it the whole match after speeding into the pod. Just insane.

Jericho's reaction to the superkick is amazing too. First shock that fades into an epic shit-eating grin.

[Curt McGirt]

Whoa, I've never seen nor heard about that until now. Taker is hard as fuck. 

If you want to see what would have happened to the pyro guy just go watch that David Flair in the shower segment again and imagine it ten times worse

[Curt McGirt]

On 4/13/2017 at 2:03 PM, cwoy2j said:

A guy like Taker matter of factly saying something like that in a calm voice would scare me more than some guy ranting and raving.

Remember, when Terry Funk got burned he overturned the whole locker room in a storm of cursing and raving. This is some serial killer shit here haha

[cwoy2j]

On 4/17/2017 at 0:34 PM, Curt McGirt said:

Remember, when Terry Funk got burned he overturned the whole locker room in a storm of cursing and raving. This is some serial killer shit here haha

Haha, yeah Foley wrote about that in his book. Imagine the ECW locker room, a bunch of drugged up, felonious misfits cowering in fear as a burned up old man rants and raves.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

WWE Extreme Rules 2010.

The show was set to start with Sheamus Vs Triple H in a street fight, but Sheamus attacked Triple H in the back. They brawled for a bit, until Sheamus knocked the Game out with an inanimate carbon rod. In rod we trust. It was actually a steel pipe, which is Sheamus's weapon of choice apparently. We go on to be told Triple H won't be able to compete tonight, but of course that turns out not to be the case. 

The Big Show and The Miz Vs R-Truth and John Morrison/Mark Henry and MVP/The Hart Dynasty: This was a gauntlet match which came about when Show and Miz waltzed out to complain that they don't have a match. When has that ever been a good idea? Teddy Long (of course) comes out to give them a match, and as Miz keeps running his mouth, Teddy keeps adding teams to the match. It was a goofy set-up, but worked. The winning team gets a future tag title match. The champs dispose of the first two teams, but then end up getting toppled by the Harts, who have Bret in their corner, and get a nice pop. 

Rey Mysterio Vs CM Punk: Punk's hair is on the line here, and the crowd is super into this. Really strong match, with some great nearfalls, and really good escalation into the finishing stretch. They both do a really good job at getting over the stakes of the match. Serena and Gallows end up getting ejected from ringside, but like all good heels, Punk has a plan B, as Joey Mercury debuts as the masked man and costs Rey the match. You could say the match deserved a better finish, but as the middle part of a trilogy, this works just fine.

JTG Vs Shad Gaspard: It looks weird in hindsight to have this on a ppv, but I have to say I quite enjoyed this. It's a strap match, and they manage to use the strap in some interesting ways (even though they do the same finish from every strap match ever- you know the one), and it doesn't outstay it's welcome at all. I thought after Shad turned heel that he might be a big star for them. I couldn't have been more wrong about that. Not sure why they didn't do anything at all with JTG after this either. It's like he went from winning this match straight to being a jobber.

Jack Swagger Vs Randy Orton: Extreme rules match for Swagger's world title. Seems really weird typing that. Swagger, for me at least, has to be the low point for the world heavyweight championship. He had no credibility going into the title reign, won it in fluke fashion, and never felt at the level of the guys he was defending against. Not to mention he started doing the monotone, Jericho-lite promo delivery immediately upon winning the belt. Completely shocked that he won this match without any shenanigans, pinning Orton with a gutwrench powerbomb. The match was very boring.

Sheamus Vs Triple H: Sheamus comes out demanding a forfeit victory, but Hunter courageously staggers out to do a sorry excuse for a job, making the whole thing about brave and tough he is, and not at all about Sheamus. The fact it takes four Brogue Kicks to put the mighty Hunter down says enough about this. Triple H then refuses a stretcher and walks out under his own power, before dutifully doing the stretcher job for the fifth Brogue Kick. One thing I'll say about Triple H though, is that he doesn't forget to sell the effects of the earlier beatdown at any point in the match. He's usually very good about that sort of thing. Sheamus still doesn't feel like a main event level talent.

Michelle McCool Vs Beth Phoenix: This was an Extreme Makeover match, whatever the fuck that's supposed to be. It sucked whatever it was, and looks completely retrograde compared to what the women are doing these days. Anyway, Beth took the title off Michelle, as Layla and Vickie overacted at ringside.

Edge Vs Chris Jericho: Another terrible match. Man, Edge really looks shot now. I don't know if it's the Achilles injury that did him in, or if he's just that ineffective as a babyface. Edge has been in more 3 star or above matches then anyone else during this project, but I kinda feel like he won't be adding anymore to his tally. Not if this is any indication. Jericho didn't exactly cover himself with glory here either, and it seemed the two just didn't mesh well at all. I also hate big grudge matches where the heel has the chance to win clean, but decides to dish out more punishment instead. Jericho has Edge beaten, but stops before taking the final step to the floor, and goes back into the cage. I understand hubris, but this doesn't fit Jericho's character at all, and really this should be a babyface spot anyway. Edge wins with a garbage spear.

John Cena Vs Batista: Batista said Cena's WrestleMania win was a fluke, so now we get this Last Man Standing match. I was enjoying this quite a bit as Batista decimated Cena, but then Cena completely no sold all of Big Dave's legwork and I said fuck this match. I mean, one minute he couldn't stand, then as soon as he transitioned back to offence, the leg was 100% fine, and he didn't even play it off as a rush of adrenaline or something. Shit like this is why I can never get along with the idea of Cena as an all-time great wrestler. So, I said fuck this match, but then they totally got me back into it again, with some huge spots, Cena's excellent in-the-moment selling, Batista's great heel instincts (he knows when to be calculated, and when to be totally unhinged, and when it's the latter, he comes off as genuinely scary), and both guys just having the star power and charisma to sell the stakes of the match. I wasn't keen on the finish, which had Cena duct taping Batista's legs around the ringpost so he couldn't get up. I don't like ending such a violent match with almost a comedy spot, and really cheating the stipulation of the match. And that's a total heel move anyway. WWE had a strange fascination with duct tape around this time. However, my four year old thought the finish was hilarious. I'm looking forward to the next match in the series.

Match of the night: Punk Vs Rey needed a better finish to take it to the next level, I think, but is still the match of the night, at 3.5 stars. Cena/Batista recover to earn 3 and a quarter stars. I'll give Shad and JTG 3 stars too, why not?

Show rating: Everything else on the show is pretty much trash (well, the tag match is fine for what it is). This is definitely worth watching for Rey/Punk and the main though. *** 1/4.