Wednesday, August 18, 2010

The 23rd Annual Summerslam:The Results

I'm probably the last person on the internet writing about last Sunday's PPV but it's been a busy week and I'm just getting around to it. For my first PPV predication thread I did pretty good, I went 3-1-2 on matches (one went to a DQ and one got thrown out). Overall it was a good show with a fantastic main event. Let me get into it.

Intercontinental Championship Match
Dolph Ziggler (c) vs. Kofi Kingston (My Pick:Dolph, Result:No Contest)
This match was starting to get really good until Nexus got involved for no real reason. Why did they HAVE to get involved here? It made no sense at all. From what I'm hearing this just means they will have the rematch at Night of Champions. Whatever, it still annoyed me, then again maybe that was the point.

Divas Championship Match
Alica Fox (c) vs. Melina (My Pick:Melina, Result:New Divas Champion, Melina)
Yes!!!! I was so excited to see Melina win and to get that belt off of Alica, she didn't deserve it. Now Raw has a great wrestler as champion again. I didn't get the aftermath with LayCool unless they are going to unify the belts at NOC. If so, awesome. If not, what was the point?


The Big Show vs. The Straight Edge Society (CM Punk, Luke Gallows and Joseph (not Joey) Mercury with Serena) (Handicap Match) (My Pick:SES, Result:The Big Show)
I knew I shouldn't have gone against my instincts! For handicap matches, this one was actually pretty good. The SES actually did look really strong, I didn't quite understand Punk walking off like he did, but I guess he'll explain that on Friday. Big Show won after chokeslamming Mercury onto Gallows and pinning them both.

This is the part where I will say something about The Miz, what a promo he cut in the middle of the show. It was amazing to see how much heat he was getting and him insulting all the members of Team WWE was fantastic. It was entertaining and had me laughing really hard. Him saying he was going to join Team WWE was perfect setup for later in the night.

 WWE Championship Match
Sheamus (c) vs. Randy Orton (My Pick:Sheamus, Result:Randy Orton by DQ)
I was trying to remember the last time that a WWE Title match came on so early in a show. This was a great match. By far the best match Sheamus has had in his short career and Orton showed why he's a perfect anti-hero. The crowd LOVES him. After Orton kicked out of the bro kick I was sure that Orton was going to win the belt, but Sheamus got himself DQed and then Orton beat the shit out of him after the match. I will say I loved the "We Want Miz" chant after Orton RKOed Sheamus onto the announce table and knocked him out. The day Miz finally wins the title will be a landmark day of shock and surprise.


World Heavyweight Championship Match
Kane (c) vs. Rey Mysterio (My Pick:Kane, Result:Still World Heavyweight Champion, Kane)
I really expected this match to come on before the WWE Title match. But whatever, I don't book the shows. The match was alright I guess, honestly Mysterio had NO chance of winning this match. The whole thing was just a setup for Undertaker to come out the casket and attack Kane. What was a massive surprise was that Kane got the upperhand on a weakened Taker and tombstoned him, setting up a NOC match between them.


Team WWE (John Cena, Bret Hart, Chris Jericho, Edge, John Morrison, R-Truth and DANIEL BRYAN) vs. Nexus (Wade Barrett, David Otunga, Justin Gabriel, Heath Slater, Darren Young, Michael Tarver and Skip Sheffield) (Elmination Match) (My Pick:Team WWE, Result:Team WWE, Cena getting the final fall making Barrett tap out to the STF)
This was a fantastic main event. The major surprise of Daniel Bryan being on the team was fantastic and it was a rare occasion where I didn't mind being wrong. (I picked Triple H as the mystery teammate) This was as exciting as a elimination match as I've seen in years. The fact that they put over Bryan was fantastic and well deserved. It does also seem like they are going to get Jericho and Edge back together in the new reform tag division, I have no problem with that. Having Cena be the hero wasn't a big shock at all. People always seem to have a problem with Super Cena finishes, I never do. Sure it seemed very abrupt but it was damn sure exciting. Plus it was a great way to end an great match and a fun show.

WWE:NXT-And Then There Was Three (8/17/10)

Well last night was a huge night for NXT. Due to the facts that they are taping next week's show in advance, they really want to make all eliminations on live TV so that there are no spoilers, and they want the finale to be on August 31st, there was a double elimination last night. It was a very good show to be honest. The wrestling was good, the promos were good and there was no dumb challenge. The only weird part was the lack of a poll, which just means to me that no matter what the fans actually voted for, the WWE knew who they wanted in their Top 3. Which, to be honest, is no big deal this week especially.

Eliminations:
 "Showtime" Percy Watson: This guy really grew on me over the this season and his promos were actually getting better. His promo last night about his 3-D lifestyle (desire, determination, and dedication) was really good and really reminded me alot of Kurt Angle 3 Is. I hope he gets a legit chance to shine on his own or even in a tag team with MVP. The one thing is that he didn't really belong in the top three with the talent that got there. He was my #4 going into this week so it wasn't a major disappointment or shocker.

Husky Harris: Goodbye! Finally! His promo tonight was terrible and Kaval had to carry the match he had with him. I even felt bad for Michelle McCool when he was hitting on her. Good riddance, stay off my TV set.

The Top Three:
Kaval: This was a big duh. He was either #1 or #2 all season long in polls and he's even on a two match winning streak. His interactions with LayCool has been fantastic and his wrestling has been even better. And last night's promo/rap was awesome and really entertaining and showed alot of personality that he needed to show.

Michael McGillicutty: Another duh. Same as Kaval on the rankings. It just bothers me that they had him lose to Zach Ryder on a very important night. He was on such a tear for weeks and then lost two of his last three. Kinda dumb to me. I think he's going to be a great hell down the road just like his dad (Mr. Perfect, Curt Henning). 


Alex Riley: Well this was obviously going to happen because he's so big with the company, esp since he's the FCW Champion and Miz's rookie. His promo was okay, better than Husky's for sure. Again I don't know why they had him lose to Kofi this week, he really could have used that win going into the final two weeks. Overall though he deserves to be here, he is soooo hated by the fans that he's going to be around for a long time.

Sunday, August 15, 2010

WWE Summerslam 2010 Predictions

Tonight is the 2010 edition of the of the big four WWE PPVs, Summerslam. This year's show is pretty stacked and has a HUGE elmination tag match that has been the most hyped and over storyline of the summer, maybe even the year.

Team WWE (John Cena, Bret Hart, Chris Jericho, Edge, John Morrison, R-Truth and ???) vs. Nexus (Wade Barrett, David Otunga, Justin Gabriel, Heath Slater, Darren Young, Michael Tarver and Skip Sheffield) (Elmination Match)
Wow Nexus has come a long way since the NXT Finale back in June. They went from little known Rookies to a major faction. Now comes this major 14 man tag match that I thought they would have saved for Survivor Series but I guess they wanted to end this storyline sooner so they has something new and fresh for the Series in November. Back to this match though. The big story going in is who will be the seventh man on Team WWE since the Nexus took out The Great Khali on Raw last Monday night. They hinted at The Miz which would be pretty cool but I'm going to say that this is where Triple H makes his big return. With that being said...
Winner: Team WWE

WWE Championship Match
Sheamus (c) vs. Randy Orton
Didn't we do this match back in January at the Royal Rumble? But things are different now. Back then both men were heels and it was more or less a setup for the implosion of Legacy then about the title. Now Orton is mega babyface and Sheamus has actually turned into a credible champion. The added stipulations actually add alot too which is needed to help both mean. If Orton loses, there will be no rematch PLUS is anyone interfers, they will be suspended by the GM so that makes it a 100% guarantee that we will have a clean winner. While I would love to see Orton win the belt, I think the champion needs this victory, especially with possibly Triple H, or even The Miz, right around the corner so...
Winner: Sheamus

World Heavyweight Championship Match
Kane (c) vs. Rey Mysterio
Is this match even about the title at all? The whole storyline has been about the Undertaker, it's been really pathetic to be honest. I have to say that it is very awesome to see Kane with a world title after all these years. As for this match the ending really depends on when Taker comes down to get involved. If it's during the match, Rey will win back the belt, but I see Taker make his return after the match which means...
Winner: Kane

Intercontinental Championship Match
Dolph Ziggler (c) vs. Kofi Kingston
If you asked me what IC title match I expected to see at Summerslam a few weeks ago, I would have actually said Kofi vs. "Dashing" Cody Rhodes. But they (storyline) Dolph started dating Vickie Guerrero and that led to Dolph getting a big DQ win over Kofi which led to him winning the belt the following week on Smackdown. So now here we are, Dolph is champion for the first time as a singles competitor and Kofi has a huge new rage edge to his character. I will say that if this is the start of the young stars getting massive pushes and storylines, I'm all for it. As for the match itself, I love Kofi but this title reign is too new and it took over a year to get to this point so...
Winner: Dolph Ziggler

Divas Championship Match
Alica Fox (c) vs. Melina
I said a few weeks ago on my Twitter account that if the main reason that Alica Fox won the title was to hold on to it till Melina's big return, then I had no problem with. Well here's the match that I've been waiting for. So, because as much as I don't like Fox and think she's a terrible wrestler, to keep this short and sweet...
Winner: Melina

The Big Show vs. The Straight Edge Society (CM Punk, Luke Gallows and Joey Mercury with Serena) (Handicap Match)
When this storyline started I figured it would have led to a Show-Punk match. But then Punk got injured so the storyline had to change. That led to Punk being de-masked and Mercury being de-masked and shown as the fourth member of the SES. The only thing I can see is Gallows turning on Punk, but honestly I don't see the happening. Officially I picked the Big Show but I don't think that would good for the SES so for storyline purpose and the the fact that the faction needs some major credibility...
Winner: The Straight Edge Society

WWE:NXT (8/10/10)

This past Tuesday the newest NXT Rookie poll came out and there was yet another elimination.

1. Kaval
Yes!!! Kaval won this week and then moved back up to the #1 spot. If things go the way they are going, he should be able to win this show. Why do I have thoughts of a Rey Mysterio-Kaval World Title match?

2. Michael McGillicutty
This is the one man that can very easily steal the show from Kaval. He dropped down a spot, but it doesn't really stop him momentum.

3. “Showtime” Percy Watson
Wow, I actually thought that a couple of rough weeks for him would have dropped him down the poll little lower. I almost thought he could have been on the block. But I guess his contagious personality is just keeping him a float at this point.

4. Husky Harris
Wow, this was a HUGE surprise. Fine he's not as bad as I made him sound the last poll and he does look a little better in the ring but he really needs a better finisher, or else he will definately hurt someone or himself.

5. Alex Riley
This was the biggest shocker of the show. This I didn't expect at all, and by the reactions no one else did either. I figured he would have been in the top three for the remainder of the show. I guess this is the first time that it's majorly obvious that the fan voting actually means something this season.

6. Lucky Cannon
Well, it was only a matter of time I guess. He was good in the ring but not good enough to last long on the same stage as Kaval, McGillicutty and Riley. I really wanted Harris to go before him but this really isn't too big of a loss.
 
This coming Tuesday is a huge double elimination, which means the show is reaching the end, as quickly as it started.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

American Idol Judging Disaster

Wow. What a difference a few months makes. At the end of May I blogged about the finale of American Idol. On that night it was a question in my mind if I would watch the show after Simon left. I was set to watch Season 10 with an open mind, especially since at least they would just be replacing one judge, even though it was their biggest one.

Then Ellen announced she was leaving the show. It's no real big loss even though I thought she did a really good job last season. With that in mind I figured that just means that there would be a three person panel, like the old days.

Then word came around that Kara got fired. She was not only good looking but very intelligent in the music industry and did a great job judging the show the last two seasons.

So now what? That leaves Randy Jackson and some random celebrities to make the new panel?

I'm trying to figure out now before January comes around again, do I care or not? Do I want to tune in? If I tune in and the judges are terrible, do I stick it out because I might miss something special? Do I just give up on a show that I've watched for 9 years and even went to a few concerts over the years?

These are the questions that I don't have the answers to. Hopefully I will by January when the show's 10th season starts up, but for now I just don't know what to do about a show that has been ranked as one of my favorite for the better part of the last decade.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Hell's Kitchen:Final Four (7/27/10)

Alot of people don't even realize that I'm a big Hell's Kitchen fan. I haven't missed a season since Mandy got me started on it when I moved here. I think Gordon Ramsay is awesome at what he does and this show is always entertaining. This season has been a wild one, random eliminations and just craziness all the way around. But after last night, the show came down to the final four. So much like I always do, here are my thoughts on them at this point.

1. Jay
This guy is my pick to win the show. He's improved majorly over the last few episodes and is finally developing himself as a leader. He communicates and hasn't had a bad service in weeks. He was a dark horse weeks ago but now he could win the whole thing.

2. Autumn 
How the hell has she made it this far? She's been on the chopping block too many times to remember, she's had some terrible service. In my view she doesn't belong here. Maybe Ramsey sees something we aren't seeing on TV, but at the moment she doesn't seem to really have a chance in hell of winning.

3. Benjamin
Oh Ben. I can't stand this guy. He's arrogant and annoying. I thought for sure with all the communications problems they have had with him this season, he would have been gone. Ramsey gave him an undeserved pass this week. I won't be surprised if it's Jay vs. Ben in the finale in two weeks but he can't lead and run a kitchen on his own, thus then doesn't deserve to win this show.

4. Holli 
Now finally, Jay's little "g/f". I think she's really good in the kitchen, definitely stronger than Autumn. The only problem I see is that she's not consistent enough. She seems to always come through in the end but she seems to choke when it starts up. I don't think she's going to win this show, but I won't be surprised to be honest if she makes it to the final 2.

WWE:NXT-Good Riddance to Bad Wrestling (7/27/10)

Last night the latest NXT rookie poll came out and the latest elimination went down. Overall, I wasn't surprised at all but said elimination but I will give my latest opinions on the rookies and where I think they will end up as we go on in the competition.

1. Michael McGillicutty
This cracked me up this morning because they made this big deal out of him winning the immunity last week and he ended up not only not needing it, but ended up jumping to the #1 spot. It doesn't really surprise me, he is undefeated and word is finally getting to the fans that he is Curt Henning's son. He deserves to be here.

2. Kaval

Former #1, dropped down a spot. Weirdly I don't mind him dropping because it adds major realism to the ranking system. He's my personal favorite and the dark horse for this competition. I just wish he'd win more often.

3. Alex Riley

Ah, Michael Cole's favorite rookie. The guy that alot of people have ranked to win the show. I give this guy credit because he had a near-death concussion three weeks ago at FCW and is still not only wrestling but putting on very good matches. I won't be surprised if he becomes a major force to be reckoned with.

4. Percy Watson

Showtime is so entertaining. The problem I have is that he tries WAY too hard to get his gimmick over. He's a good wrestler and great on the mic, he's just got to turn the energy level down a tiny bit. Being too over-the-top might turn off alot of people at home and lead to an earlier exit than expected.

5. Lucky Cannon

The only issue I have with Lucky is the fact that he's boring. He doesn't have a great personality or even that good in the ring. I hope he improves but right now he has no chance to even be a dark horse.

6. Husky Harris
I was sooo hoping he was going home this week. I don't like this guy. He tries to be the "everyman". He says he's overweight and not in shape as part of his gimmick. I think it's pathetic. Also he's extremely sloppy in the ring and he's going to really hurt someone one day.

7. Eli Cottonwood

If Husky wasn't going to go home, I'm glad it was Cottonwood. He doesn't belong in a WWE ring. Go back down to FCW and get better please. He's sloppy in the ring, he can't talk and he's just blah. I'm happy to see him go and I'm glad the fans are realizing we have to start trimming the fat and getting to the GOOD wrestlers, not the crappy ones.