Official Raw/Smackdown Aftermath, Ratings and Review Thread

[Jack-Hammer]

WWE Raw - July 26, 2010

Thumbs Up

John Cena & Chris Jericho - Good opening segment here, particularly with Chris Jericho reaffirming to everyone that he's still a heel and is as much as heel now as he's ever been. Cena did his job well, though the Super Friends comments were worthy of eye rolling at the least. There's still very believable tension between Cena & Jericho and I like the fact that no matter what Cena tries to do or say to get Jericho on his side, Jericho is still hostile towards him. The opening of the show was very solid for me.

Randy Orton vs. Jay Uso - The match in and of itself was nothing to write home about and, of course, Orton was going to win. Still, it was decent while it lasted though forgettable. I hope the WWE doesn't get into a habit of for tag wrestlers to lose singles matches, but at least Jay Uso got some exposure. The post match happenings with Sheamus, The Miz & Orton was the real payoff for the segment. The Miz teasing cashing in his MITB contract after Orton drops Sheamus with an RKO was a great touch, great intensity by The Miz. Orton's interference and hitting The Miz with the RKO, thus preventing The Miz from cashing in again, polished off the segment nicely. Great intensity from Orton as well. I do hope, however, that the WWE does intend to stretch out the teases from The Miz as the effect will quickly lose its luster if it becomes an almost weekly thing.

Sheamus & The Miz - I think that both these guys are doing well in building up what could be a potential match at anytime. The Miz is more aggressive and opportunistic in recent weeks and I like that he's not backing down or intimidated by Sheamus. Sheamus having to look over his shoulder and be wary of The Miz keeps the tension between the two of them taut and I like the fact that they haven't come to blows yet. It seemed to be right on the verge of happening last night but I like that it didn't. The WWE is slowly building this up and I'm enjoying it.

The Nexus vs. Team Raw - I thought this was a good 7 man elimination match. It lasted for about 12 minute and ultimately did what it was intended to do. The Nexus looked strong, all of them got a chance to show what they've got during the match, especially those that haven't said anything on the mic. The outcome was predictable of course, though I admit that I didn't expect The Nexus to make a clean sweep. The Raw guys did look kind of week, but the team in and of itself was made up mostly of second stringers. I wish that Evan Bourne had been given more time in the ring and put up more of a valiant effort against overwhelming odds. Still, it was a fun match and did show The Nexus as a functioning, cohesive unit with everyone on the same page.

Wade Barrett, Skip Sheffield & Michael Tarver - These three seem to be the designated mouthpieces at this time for The Nexus and all three did a solid job last night. Wade Barrett continues to be poised and confident on the mic and he does seem to come across well and believable as the leader of the group. Skip Sheffield was alright on the mic, nothing overly memorable, but he does well as the intimidating muscle of the group. Tarver's speech was eloquent and well spoken. Overall, just solid mic work from these three.

John Morrison vs. Ted DiBiase - As with Orton/Uso, there really wasn't much to write home about during the match in and of itself. It was decent while it lasted and I do hope the WWE eventually gives these two enough time to really do something. Also, as with the Orton/Uso match, the aftermath here was the story. The tension between R-Truth and Morrison was a nice touch and, personally, I'm kind of hoping that it might be the first sign of a possible heel turn for Morrison. I could understand if anyone thought the segment overall was a waste, but I thought that it did a good job overall in continuing the basic theme of last night's Raw, so I gave it a modest thumbs up.

John Cena & Chris Jericho vs. Sheamus & The Miz - A pretty good tag team match to close the show with. As for the match in and of itself, I'd give it a 4 out of 5. The match told a good story, it kept me entertained, it had a good length and I enjoyed the ending. At the conclusion of the opening segment, the anonymous Raw GM sent an email saying Cena & Jericho would be in a tag match. Sheamus & The Miz are announced as the opponents later. Overall, just a really entertaining tag team match featuring two teams in which the members of each team are distrustful and hostile towards their partners. Good action all the way through the match. Jericho nailing Cena with the Codebreaker and The Miz scoring the clean pinfall was a great touch. I was surprised to see Cena get pinned after hitting the Codebreaker and I like the fact that, once again, Sheamus & The Miz didn't start fighting each other. From a kayfabe perspective, The Miz gets a clean pinfall win over John Cena and it just works. The aftermath with Cena & Jericho fighting, then getting broken up by all the members of the team at SummerSlam, minus Bret Hart, was a nice touch. There was some pushing and shoving, Khali took out a few guys, Edge hits Khali with the spear, etc. and it just ended the overall storyline of last night's show well.

Thumbs Down

Edge vs. The Great Khali - There wasn't exactly a match between these two. It ended in a no contest after The Nexus comes down to the ring. If Edge won, Khali would be off the team for SummerSlam. However, the no contest ending put a kaibosh on that. I was hoping that The Nexus would take Khali out but they just let him walk out. I was disappointed because I was genuinely hoping that Khali would be taken off the team. Just kind of a weird, pointless segment really.

Alicia Fox vs. Brie Bella - Typical Diva stuff that you'll see on Raw. Alicia Fox gets the win in about 60 seconds. This was just filler, a piss break and nothing more. But, at least it didn't last long.

Overall Show - Thumbs Up - Raw was a very solid show overall last night. It wasn't as good as last week's, though I don't believe anybody could seriously expect that it would be. The common theme and overall story for last night's show was a comparisson between Team WWE and The Nexus. The Nexus is a cohesive, cooperative unit whereas Team WWE is a group of individual WWE stars that have major problems because of personal egos, past rivalries or a combination of both. Most of last night's happenings were geared towards The Nexus looking strong and the weaknesses of Team WWE being highlighted. It was a simple story, one that's easy to understand and entirely logical. The WWE Championship scene for SummerSlam continues to build nicely and as does the elimination tag match for the show. Overall, a very solid showing. I give last night's Raw an 8 out of 10.

 

[destroyman]

Did anyone else noticed that right before Orton RKO'ed The Miz he seemed to be cursing and calling stupid? Like what happened during Orton vs Kofi Kingston a while back? And then after he still seemed to be calling him stupid? I think he also smacked Miz in the face right before the RKO.

 

[KnowYoRole]

Did anyone else noticed that right before Orton RKO'ed The Miz he seemed to be cursing and calling stupid? Like what happened during Orton vs Kofi Kingston a while back? And then after he still seemed to be calling him stupid? I think he also smacked Miz in the face right before the RKO.

he didnt really smack him he like tapped his face so he could look up to give him an RKO. and i think he was just talking trash, don't think anything went wrong.

 

[MisterRob]

I really thought lastnight's RAW was a great show. I'd give it an A. There was really nothing about the show I didn't like and I thought WWE did an amazing job developing and moving feuds/storylines forward heading towards the PPV. The confrontation between John Cena and Chris Jericho to start things off was great. The matches were good lastnight and I loved the added angles within them revolving around tensions and inner strife between the RAW team. I enjoyed the Nexus match and their dominance, and the fact we got to see them in the ring performing and they certainly don't come across as rookies anymore. The segments between Sheamus and Miz were great, and the main event was a really good match and the ending afterwards was a solid ending to a very good show. This is how RAW should be all the time!

 

[Low_Ki]

Here is my take on RAW last night:

The opening segment went a long way to help mould the lines that have been metaphorically blurred from last weeks alliance between the heels and faces of the brand. Chris Jericho is still very good on the mic, and although he always comes off well, the 'hypocrites and parasite' lines have been so over used by him over the last year that they barely gathered any cheap heat at all last night. John Cena was okay, his voice does grate on me at times, constantly either being really hyperactive or really mellow. He need's an extra dimension in the way that he uses the mic, but overall, the segment (bar the ridiculous interruption by the 'Anonymous' GM) did what it set out to do.

I assumed the Randy Orton vs Jey Uso match was going to be a squash, and it was...kind of. Uso managed a small amount of offense but in the end it was obvious to everyone that Orton was going to come out on top. I thought the rKo on Shaemus was obvious but I love the fact they teased another Miz cash in only for it to be foiled again by Orton. Very good close to a short match.

The Nexus' match against the RAW lower card (bar Evan Bourne) was okay, not great. It had its moments, I just don't think they did a very good job of protecting the one man (Bourne) who has been getting a good push recently. The match ended very quickly when it was him by himself. An okay promo by Nexus to finish off the segment, although Skip Sheffield still doesn't sound too good on the mic, and Otunga's spinebuster still looks sloppy and horrible.

By now, I choose not to waste my breath on the Diva's segments.

Ted DiBiase getting a win against John Morrison was quite a shock for me, although it did go quite far to further the implosion of Cena's group angle.

The main event was good, Shaemus and The Miz actually make quite a good team. Was nice to finally see The Miz in a main event, and, even more than that, win it. He looked strong, and picked up the sneak win after Jericho's turn on Cena. The Miz looks like a true main event player and deserves a title at some point. The last scene in the show did well to bring it to a close, having all of Cena's group in conflict.

A good RAW this week, not quite as good as last week, but still strong in the places that it needed to be. Nexus still look like the undefeatable stable and Orton is still the most over thing in the WWE right now.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

The ratings for last night's Raw in and the WWE will probably be pleased. The show drew a 3.50 rating last night with both hours averaging the same rating with an average audience of 5.19 million viewers. Hour 1 took in 5.07 million with hour 2 taking in 5.31 million, which makes last night's Raw the first time both hours scored over 5 million viewers since the night after WrestleMania.

It's a strong rating for the show and the WWE probably wants to do all it can to keep its numbers somewhere in this ballpark if possible. That means they'll need to put on some strong shows in the coming weeks as Monday Night Football is just around the corner.

 

[klunderbunker]

Monday Night Raw
Date: July 26, 2010
Location: AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler

We’re in Shawn’s hometown tonight but apparently there is zero chance of him being there tonight. Also next week’s Raw will be taped, I’m assuming due to an international tour or something.

We open with a recap of the end of Raw last week which was indeed cool. Cena starts us off with no army this time. He talks about how Raw is in danger of being taken over by Nexus and while his team isn’t like the Justice League, they’ll be ok. He also points out that he is NOT Superman and throws out some other superhero references which make the geek in me smile.

Jericho comes out and doesn’t like the fact that Cena keeps saying it’s HIS team. Jericho wants to be the captain and Cena immediately agrees because it’s about beating Nexus. Nice there for some reason. This of course isn’t enough for Jericho as he keeps ranting and raving so Cena knocks his mic to the ground. Cena goes on another of his impassioned speeches. Does he have one of those for everything? Does he give one of those when he’s choosing what shirt to wear that day?

Jericho thinks Cena is also a threat to the business and after Summerslam he’s coming after Cena, who is the real threat apparently. And here’s an e-mail. It’s an elimination match in the 14 man match, and we get a preview tonight with Nexus vs. 7 Raw guys in an elimination match. Also Cena/Jericho vs. two guys the GM will pick. According to the GM, if you’re not down with that, he’s got two words for you. Solid opening segment.

We recap Miz almost cashing in last week which had me losing my mind. Sheamus comes to the ring.

Randy Orton vs. Jay Uso

Well it’s about time we had a good old fashioned squash. Oh what do you expect here? Orton hits his normal stuff, Uso gets a quick comeback and then the elevated DDT and RKO ends this in like 2 minutes. No rating of course but a perfect example of a squash.

Post match Jimmy Uso comes in and jumps Orton. Sheamus comes in too and kicks Jimmy’s head off by mistake. Sheamus takes the RKO and HERE’S MIZ! Sheamus has to be up to get the match started but as he’s getting up, Miz takes an RKO. For some reason that cancels his cash in. Whatever.

Edge is complaining to DiBiase about Khali being on his team. DiBiase vs. Morrison tonight apparently. Edge says if Cena doesn’t remove Khali then he will. Runjin Singh is there talking to someone but we can’t see who.

Back from a break and Miz and Sheamus are in the ring arguing. It’s e-mail time again and the people LOUDLY boo. Cole fucks up his one line by saying he’s received a manager. Cena/Jericho vs. Miz/Sheamus later.

We get a Summerslam moment from the original show, which has to be the IC Title cash-in as nothing else happened there. Hey I’m right.

Khali comes in screaming at Edge and Singh translates for him. Khali wants a match right now, actually speaking English. Edge says if he wins then Khali is off the team which Singh doesn’t say.

Great Khali vs. Edge

Lawler is going to be one of the 7 tonight apparently. The crowd is dead as Khali is dominating early on. After Khali misses a legdrop, HERE THEY COME! Edge runs and the ring is surrounded. They surround him but then go to one side…..and they let him go? Uh…ok then.

Nexus vs. Mark Henry/Jerry Lawler/Evan Bourne/Yoshi Tatsu/Goldust/Hart Dynasty

This is elimination rules. Tarver and Tatsu start us off here. Tarver gets rid of him in like 30 seconds with a reversed powerslam. What I mean by that is that he starts a powerslam and then whips him the other way. That looked awesome actually. Lawler comes in to beat up Gabriel to a solid pop. He kind of messes up a dropkick but the punch lands for two.

Back from a break we see Lawler going on to a Russian legsweep to Slater during commercial. The Harts beat up Slater for a bit. Smith has a powerslam ready but Gabriel interference leads to a jumping legsweep (in other words the Zig Zag) from Slater to end Smith and make it 7-4. Young interference and the one standing spinebuster from Otunga end Goldust.

Henry, the only chance they have, comes in and dominates. Sheffield and Henry have the power man showdown but the power of affirmative action makes Henry win. Garbiel comes in again and allows the huge clothesline to put out Henry. Kidd and Bourne are all that’s left and they don’t know who to send in. Kidd tries the springboard clothesline but takes the huge clothesline. Young comes in and uses the flipping full nelson to end it.

Bourne and Barrett come in and this doesn’t look good for the Raw guy. That lasts about 10 seconds as Wastelands end it. They beat up Bourne afterwards. They all cut short promos and say they’re a team but Cena’s team isn’t.

Rating: D. The wrestling here was just awful as it was everyone comes in and takes two moves and is gone. Nexus looks dominant and that’s good, but Bourne or Henry getting beaten inside of a move each? That’s just damn stupid. Henry DOMINATED and a single clothesline beats him? Not liking it as it just went on too long. This being like 4-4 would have worked FAR better.

Sheamus says Miz can’t beat him and challenges Miz to a match anywhere he wants. Miz says how about after Cena and Jericho beat him up? Sheamus gets in his face and comes off as pretty strong here.

Brie Bella vs. Alicia Fox

Well at least they’re switching things up a bit here. Alicia beats her up early and Jillian runs down to stop the switch. Axe kick ends this very quickly. No rating again but damn the Bellas look good. Jillian sings for her and gets beaten up too.

We come back from a break and here’s R-Truth.

Ted DiBiase vs. John Morrison

Uh…point of Truth being there? Whatever I guess. This is another short as hell match with DiBiase trying to cheat but Truth shoves his feet off the ropes. Morrison gets his head rammed into Truth’s and is rolled up for the pin. Truth and Morrison argue afterwards.

We reair the whole ending of Raw from last week to kill some time.

Orton says an RKO will determine the champion at Summerslam.

The Miz/Sheamus vs. John Cena/Chris Jericho

After the entrances take forever, we’re ready to go in the main event. Both teams argue over who should start and it winds up being Cena vs. Miz. The team with the face on it dominates as we go to a break. Jericho keeps showing off and it gets his team in trouble once in awhile. He takes over but gets kicked in the face by Miz. Seriously, Miz using a bit boot?

Jericho is wrestling like a face here. He can’t make the tag as we’re firmly in the main event tag formula here. Cena gets the hot tag and after he beats up Sheamus a bit he walks into the Codebreaker and Miz pins him. Miz just pinned Cena in the main event of Raw. Jericho puts him in the Walls afterwards but Cena counters into the STF. Khali comes down to break it up so Edge comes down and spears him. Truth and Morrison come in and they argue. Khali lays some of them out to end the show.

Rating: D+. Pretty boring match here as this was more about Cena vs. Jericho than anything else. That’s ok I guess but the lack of anything interesting here hurt it a good bit I think. I wasn’t huge on this at all really and it never really got going. Jericho working as a face is always pretty fun though

Overall Rating: B. This was more storyline building which was the main idea of the show. This worked fine for what it was. We didn’t really have a ton of good wrestling but the angles were advanced and we have a lot of drama thrown into the two main event matches. That’s the most important thing they could do here and this came off quite well again. I liked the show and it worked. Good show.

 

[tehblogger]

Interesting stuff from Monday night. Miz is definitely shaking the place up, another attempted cash-in getting foiled just before the bell rang. Orton is getting absolutely insane pops, the place went nuts when he hit the RKO on Sheamus. Morrison continues to job to DiBiase, but that's ok, as it's not as if DiBiase's doing anything other than cheating or getting lucky, or both, and the match tonight was more about furthering the whole group implosion angle. Nexus continue to impress, with Barrett always excellent.

It will be fun to see what happens come Summerslam. The booking is very, very solid right now, this is much better than the usual summer fare. Great stuff all round from creative, and it will be great to see where the storylines go.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

WWE Smackdown - July 30, 2010

Thumbs Up

Kane's Promo - Last night's Smackdown started off with Kane doing a promo in the ring with a casket by ringside. Kane has been on a roll for the past few months and gave another strong performance on the mic last night. The slow, morbid music that played does help to give his promos something of a more menacing kick. I know it's probably just a matter of time before Kane is revealed to be the one who attacked The Undertaker and I have to say that I'm not as low on that idea as I was a few months back. As I said, Kane has been on a roll and has been more interesting than he has in years. It could possibly be a pretty interesting feud. I still think I'd have rather it'd been someone other than Kane, but this could still turn out well.

Christian vs. Drew McIntyre - This was a great opening match for the slow. Christian and McIntyre work well together, Christian generally works well with anyone and McIntyre has improved lots. Since it appears that Christian might not be turning heel and McIntyre's push has cooled some, this could be a fun mid-card feud. Christian got the win around the 13 minute mark and it was just a fun match all around.

CM Punk - I liked this little mini-segment with Punk dressing down the SES. A few legitimately chuckle worthy moments and Punk was strong on the mic. I'd like to see the SES become a real force again and actually become a dominant faction. At any rate, a pretty decent all around little segment.

SES Beats Down The Big Show - I think this may have really been the only way to keep the segment from being a loss because a match between Show and Luke Gallows just won't cut it. I think the WWE knows that. The SES seemed like a cohesive unit and performed a pretty decent beatdown. Punk And Serena stomping on Show's right hand is a nice touch, makes sense after all as it's the hand he uses for the chokeslam.

Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler - These are two other wrestlers that work really well together. They had a very good match against each other last week and I thought last night's was even better. I think what gave it a kick is that Kofi basically went apeshit on Dolph Ziggler and just went to town on his ass. Vickie slapped Kofi and it just set him off and he just kept beating on Ziggler until the ref DQ'd Kofi at around the 14 minute mark. I don't think I've seen Kofi that passionate since his feud with Randy Orton. I think that's been the one factor that's really been missing from Kofi and I hope it sticks around.

Rey Mysterio vs. Jack Swagger - Great match to close the show with. Mysterio and Swagger continued their streak of great matches last night, this one being a no DQ match. The action was all over the place and eventually wound up out by the waterside. Swagger was pretty aggressive toward Mysterio during the match and looked strong throughout. The match ended in a no contest as Kane comes out after Mysterio managed to get Swagger off of him for a bit and chokeslam's Rey into the Gulf of Mexico, a little payback for last week. Strong match to close the show with.

Thumbs Down

The Big Show vs. Luke Gallows - Not really much to say about this match. Gallows is decent inside the ring, but he's not good enough to carry Show and Show can be mortifying to watch if he's not in there with someone really good. Just a forgettable 2 minute match and, as I said earlier, the beatdown of Show by the SES is really the only thing that kept the segment from being a total loss.

Michelle McCool vs. Tiffany - Pretty standard fair for Smackdown. The match went about 3 minutes, but it was slow and plodding pretty much the entire time. Tiffany needs a lot of improvement, though I will say that the superplex she performed on McCool was a nice spot in an otherwise forgettable match. McCool gets the win after hitting the Faith Breaker, AKA Styles Clash. I will say that I have to congragulate Drew McIntyre on the fact that he's able to bed down with Tiffany every night.

Overall Show - Thumbs Up - Smackdown was another strong show this week and continues to be a show where you're pretty much guaranteed to get a really good 2 hour wrestling show each week. A few good promo segments, three great matches and some continued build towards SummerSlam for the World Heavyweight Championship feud between Kane & Mysterio. Really, the only bad thing about the show was the Divas, as usual, but there really aren't any serious complaints. Overall, I give last night's Smackdown an 8.5 out of 10.

 

[mrbrownstone]

As usual last nights SD was a very good show.

We start off again with Kane in the ring alongside a casket. He cuts another amazing promo and says that Rey was the one who atacked Taker, yeah theres no way that really happened , they are not gonna turn him heel. By the way Kane knows this cause Taker woke up, said Reys name and went back to sleep. Anyway Kane says he is gonna make Rey suffer then stuff him in the casket so it will probably be a casket match which should be good. This was another amazing Kane promo as he continues his hot streak.

Christian vs Drew: This was another good match from these two as they continue to have great chemistry, this match is given alot of time during the break Drew hits a shoulderbreaker on the steel steps which looks great, I hope he uses a shoulderbreaker as a regular move, he needs to add a few more moves to his arsenal. Anyway Christian wins with a roll up.

Cody gives us some grooming tips while wearing a green face mask, loving these promos.

Albertio Del Rio vingette is show they cut to the crowd and still no one cares.

Backstage Punk cuts an awesome promo (shocking hey) about how the SES have been useless recently and how they didnt stop the Big Show from unmasking him, basically he rips them apart.

Show vs Luke Gallows Goes aboout two mins before the SES gets involved for the DQ post match they all step on his right hand (Shows face looks hilarious BTW) this makes sense as it is the hand he uses for the chokeslam and the KO punch.

Kofi/Ziggler: Much like Christian/Drew these two have very good chemistry and put on another good long match here. Vickie slaps Kofi they Kofi goes absolutely psycho on Dolph who gets the DQ win and a title shot next week. Kofi showed signs of his aggression during his Orton fued which is definitely a good thing.

Jack Swagger was interviewed backstage and said he wasn't in the mood for stupid questions. He said he's going to beat up Rey, break his arms, and throw him in the Gulf of Mexico. Good Promo

Vickie comes out and says instead of Layla vs Tiffany we have Mccool vs Tiffany, it is still a championship match though

McCool vs Tiffany Boring divas match McCool gets the win after Layla interfered and McCool hit the Styles Clash (or Faithbreaker as she calls it)

Post match Teddy pops up on screen and says there can only be one Womans Champ and if they dont decide by next week he will decide for them, I smell a Laycool break up but I hope I'm wrong.

Swagger/Rey This is No DQ by the way. After a bit of stuff in the ring they take it to the crowd and eventually backstage, in a funny bit while they are backstage the elevator opens up behind them and some people get to see up close. This spills outside the arena, eventually Swagger ends up in the Gulf and he says he cant swim, you would think that one of his awards would be a swimming trophie. Anyway Kane shown and chokeslams Rey into the Gulf for the no contest.

Overall: This was an excellent show as usual there were 3 very good matches and 2 very good promos. The only low was the Divas match and that was kept short. Very Good show 9/10.

 

[klunderbunker]

Smackdown
Date: July 30, 2010
Location: American Bank Center, Corpus Christi, Texas
Commentators: Matt Striker, Todd Grisham

More of the build to Summerslam here which isn’t likely going to be much. It’s Rey vs. Kane which doesn’t blow my skirt up at all. Other than that there isn’t much at all. Also we’re all just waiting for the whole inevitable KANE DID IT thing. The show is on now so let’s get to it.

We open with a brief recap of last week where Rey said he wanted to win and Kane said he’ll get Taker’s attacker and Rey won the title shot. Oh and we see the world champion getting beaten up by a midget.

Kane is in the ring to open the show. He says Taker has moved and said two words: Rey Mysterio. There’s a coffin behind him too. The music going on in the background helps a lot. The fans aren’t thrilled with this as I don’t think anyone believes that Rey did it. He does point out that it was Rey that gained the most from getting rid of Taker by winning the world title. Kane promises to hurt Rey a lot. I really don’t buy him as the culprit. It just doesn’t fit in the slightest.

Rey vs. Swagger tonight….again.

Christian vs. Drew McIntyre

This should be good. The announcers argue over who is the more accomplished of the two and Striker says Drew due to his early success. Todd points out that Christian won a title in his debut (light heavyweight which evolved into the Cruiserweight Title) to just end the argument. Christian puts him on the floor early and it’s pretty one sided. Nice dropkick sends Drew into the apron.

Drew hides under the ring and jumps him in a cool spot. He works the arm which makes sense as it takes away the Killswitch. We take a break and come back with Drew working the arm even more. The good thing here is that he switches to another hold instead of the original one which while it doesn’t help it much, it keeps it from looking boring. I love hammerlock slams.

Christian makes his comeback with some solid stuff and either uses the right arm or sells the hell out of the left which is always a great thing. Drew gets in one good shot and takes over again though. Nice little touch. Springboard sunset flip gets two for the Canadian. TWO JUMPING BACK ELBOWS IN THE SAME MATCH!!! Oh this is already awesome. Future Shock is reversed into a small package for the pin. Good match but a VERY sudden ending.

Rating: B. This was chock full of selling and psychology so obviously I love it. Drew did a very good job of mixing up the offense here as other than posting him I don’t think he did a move more than once. Also on the small package, Christian had the leg hooked with the RIGHT arm, making a lot more sense. This was a very solid TV match.

More grooming tips from Cody, this time about good skin.

Alberto stuff. Yeah moving on. He’s playing pool this time.

Punk yells at the SES. His hair is growing back. He says do something tonight or get out.

Big Show vs. Luke Gallows

Gallows has a bit of red in his singlet now which is a nice little twist on the boring stuff he usually does. In a cool bit Show gets Chimmel to come up and put the mid next to the chest of Gallows when he chops it. The sound didn’t work but the idea was there at least. Gallows gets knocked to the floor and the beatdown is on as the SES jumps him for the DQ. They hurt his hand and Punk takes the sling off so he’s fine I guess? Mercury is choking him and his eyes are great. No rating since the “match” was a few kicks and chops.

Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler

We see a quick recap of Vickie costing Kofi the win last week. I still can’t stand her. This is non-title and if Dolph wins he gets a title shot next week. Ziggler dominates for the most part here, injuring Kofi’s ribs early on. He even busts out a reverse slam which is a cool move. The problem here is that he’ll likely wind up by going with the sleeper to end it which has nothing to do with the ribs.

We get a Tom Arnold and Roseanne reference just to make this either awesome or awful. Answer as to which of those it is coming later. After a LONG beatdown, Kofi starts making his comeback. This has been quite good actually. Ziggler hits a Fameasser (Striker says it made Kofi famous) for two. This is a prime example of why he doesn’t need Vickie: he’s having a very solid match with one of the most well rounded guys on the roster. Why does he need Vickie?

She slaps Kofi and he gets all pissed off and beats the hell out of Dolph. He goes so insane that it’s enough for a DQ. Dolph is thrown onto the announce table and this is a damn beating. Referees finally pull him off and Ziggler is declared the winner. Solid match here and a great post match thing.

Rating: B-. Another good match here with neither guy being able to beat the other definitively. I like seeing Kofi show emotion like this as he doesn’t do it enough. He just snapped and couldn’t take it anymore which worked well for him. I liked this as Smackdown continues this whole wrestling thing and it’s working. What an idea.

Swagger doesn’t want to talk about being left off Summerslam or about his dad. Instead you should ask him about what he’s going to do to Rey tonight. He more or less says he’s going to destroy him and throws in some borderline racial lines. Swagger threatens to throw him in the Gulf of Mexico.

Tiffany and Kelly, both looking GREAT, are coming to the ring.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Layla vs. Tiffany

I like Laycool’s theme song actually. Again, are women smacking their hips together supposed to be hot? It still amuses me that she’s a former GM. And here’s Vickie to ruin the hotness factor of this show. She makes it Michelle vs. Tiffany for the title instead. Ok then.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Michelle McCool vs. Tiffany

The longest part of this match is the two of them fighting for a suplex off the top. You can tell that was supposed to be a huge spot but the problem is that it’s something you see fairly often in regular wrestling, making it not seem anything special here. Layla interferes and it sets up the Faithbreaker to end it with a good shot of Michelle’s ass.

Rating: N/A. This was another short match as I guess they knew there was no faith in having Tiffany in there. This division is DYING for Beth to come back to it, but then there’s nowhere to go after that. Also, when is Rosa going to do anything? Boring match but the girls were all hot.

Teddy pops up on the screen and says they have to pick ONE champion or next week he will.

MORE Alberto stuff. I absolutely cannot stand this guy at this point. It’s the only stuff in WWE I fast forward that isn’t a commercial.

Rey Mysterio vs. Jack Swagger

This is No DQ. Striker makes a Jesus reference to say Rey is fighting through an ankle injury. Rey’s ankle is of course just fine now until he needs to sell the damn thing. Yeah he can’t run but he can hit springboards. After a break we’re back with Rey taking over while Striker talks about his spirit.

We hit the floor and go into the crowd. Striker calls Rey garbage in Spanish. Rey kicks the hell out of Swagger’s head and we’re getting close to going to the back. Yep we’re there now and everything is green for some reason. We’re getting an old fashioned hardcore match here which is usually very fun. In a cool bit some people come out of an elevator right in front of them fighting. I want to come out of an elevator and see two former world champions fighting.

They go outside which is always cool. It has to be hot out there in Southern Texas in late July so this can’t be easy. ALL Swagger here and has been for a few minutes now. They keep having to dodge cars and we get a Midnight Cowboy I’M WALKING HERE from Swagger. They head to the water and Rey starts fighting back. No commentary either which is a nice touch.

Swagger gets thrown over a railing and you can see the water coming up to the banks from the Gulf. Rey jumps onto Swagger and they’re maybe 10 feet from the water. Rey can throw some damn kicks. Never seen him do that before. Swagger tries to press slam him into the water but Rey reverses into a headscissors and there goes Swagger, who says he can’t swim. Rey turns around into Kane who throws him into the water too, ending the show.

Rating: B+. This was a good old fight and that’s what it was supposed to be. This wasn’t supposed to be about wrestling but rather just a big ass fight where Swagger was trying to put Rey out of the title picture. The water thing was good with Kane sneaking up on them. It’s a very creepy feeling that you could make it all the way out there and not see him, but it’s also believable since the camera was facing away from where he would have been the whole time. This was a good fight and it worked very well I thought.

Overall Rating: A-. DAMN good show tonight with three great matches and storyline development and advancement throughout. It saddens me that so much of this is likely to be ruined by Vince in the fall when he puts “star power” on here to get the show looking good for Sy-Fy. Until then though the shows remain great as Michael Hayes uses very basic booking but long matches to turn things into something special. That’s always a good thing and it’s worked great lately. Excellent show.

 

[The Holy One]

Smackdown has been pretty good for a while now and tonight just followed that trend.
Kane's opening segment although very unbelievable did what it was supposed to further Kane's storyline while helping build the world championship match.

Drew McIntyre vs Christian
I might some of the few on here that are a McIntyre fan. He showed great in-ring work tonight with Christian and thought they put on a good match. The ending was very suprising but it should help in furthering the fued b/w the two.

"Dashing" Cody Rhodes imo might be the best thing going for Smackdown right now especially with those vignettes every week just gold.

Alberto Del Rio, I won't have much of an opinion on him until I actually see him compete.

Punk just makes me believe in the Straightedge lifestyle even more every time he talks.

Big Show vs Luke Gallows
I really can't say anything on the match but the beatdown after did help build the fued b/w Punk and Show which will probably lead to a match at Summerslam.

Kofi Kingston vs Dolph Ziggler
Dolph is slowly making me a believer in him again. Kofi and him work well together and I look forward to the title match next week and I hope Ziggler finally gets the championship. Also, it was nice to see Kofi show some aggressiveness again and I wish Dolph had a better looking manager in Vickie although she does help him get over as a heel.

Swagger's newfound mean streak has really made me believe that he belongs in the main event. I wish they would make the match a triple threat though.

Tiffany vs Michelle McCool
It was Diva's match so bleh. Although all ladies except Vickie were looking fine tonight. It also amazes me that both authority figures on Smackdown are involved in the Women's Championship situation than anything else on the show.

Rey Mysterio vs Jack Swagger
Another great match b/w the two, it just amazes me how well they work together. I find it odd that Jack doesn't know how to swim. It was good to sey Kane chokeslam Rey into the water at the end b/c it really helps add importance to their match at Summerslam.

Overall: I give this week's show an A. It had the perfect blend of good wrestling and promos with building towards Summerslam. I would like to see more of "Dashing" Cody Rhodes than just the promo though.

 

[Prax]

I'm sorry if it's been mentioned, but am I the only one who remembers Rey in pretty much the same angle, in the same body of water at Corpus Christi a couple of years ago in his feud with Chavo?

It doesn't matter anyway, it was well done and kinda funny to see Swagger do like an Olympic dive into the river and then say he couldn't swim . Rey taking a chokeslam back first into the water... OUCH. Must have stung.

Despite them doing something like this before, I thought they pulled it off, and the fight was a lot of fun.

Christian vs. Drew and Kofi vs. Ziggler were excellent matches. Love where all these 4 guys are going lately. This is what SD is for, building up the mid card into something legitimate, whether they lose these guys to RAW eventually or not...

Loved Punk's promo backstage and although Show vs. Gallows wasn't much of a match it progressed their storyline nicely.

Overall great SD, improvement over last week and great show on its own. Reading the spoilers for next week looks like they keep it up.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

WWE Raw - August 2, 2010

Thumbs Up

Opening Segment - Raw opened last night with a solid promo segment that started off with Edge saying how he didn't need Team WWE. As usual, Edge was very good on the mic and having R-Truth come out and confront Edge rather than Cena was a welcome change. Edge and R-Truth have kind of taken a backseat to Cena and Jericho so far and it was nice to see them get some time. Truth's mic time was solid and I liked that he stood up to Edge, as Edge is a much bigger star and it made Truth look strong.

Edge vs. Wade Barrett - This was a pretty decent 6 minute match up. Barrett got in his share of offense and he looked strong against Edge. He looked capable and that he belonged in the ring with Edge. I wasn't too wild about the ending with Barrett having The Nexus come down, particularly as Barrett really wasn't in much trouble. I'd like to see a longer match between these two. Nothing spectacular, but a solid opening match.

John Cena, Edge & Chris Jericho - Shortly after the Edge/Barrett match, Edge found Cena backstage and read him the riot act about not being down there for help even though Cena pointed out that Edge stated in his promo that he didn't want anyone out there with him. Edge quites the team and Jericho appears by Cena's side and repeats that Cena is as big a threat to the WWE as Nexus and challenges him to a match in which the loser quits the WWE Team at SummerSlam. It was good work by all three and moves along the angle of tension on Team WWE well.

Eve Torres, Gail Kim & Natalya vs. Alicia Fox, Jillian Hall & Tamina - For the first time in months, the Divas actually had a pretty decent match on Raw. The match was only about 3 minutes, but they did cram a lot of action into those three minutes. The action was overall better and more exciting than we usually see out of the Divas on Raw. Alicia Fox scored the win over Natalya. Melina's music hit as Alicia Fox was dressing down all the Divas at ringside, even those on her team, and came out to a very nice pop. Her return was a nice surprise, as I don't like to read spoilers. She looked good and gave the crowd what they wanted by taking Alicia Fox down. A good segment for the Divas on Raw and that's something of a rarity.

Sheamus' Promo - After his match with Goldust, Sheamus cut a solid heel promo. Sheamus is much stronger now than he was during his first run as WWE Champion. Sheamus put down The Miz & Randy Orton by saying he's gotten where he is through hard work instead of being a third generation wrestler or having an MITB briefcase. Sheamus mentioning that he hasn't gotten the respect or credit he deserves had a definite ring of truth to it with me as there are still quite a few among the IWC that just flat out refuse to give the guy his props.

John Cena vs. Chris Jericho - I was expecting a damn good match out of these two and they delivered. Very good work by both men, though it's almost impossible to have a bad match against Chris Jericho. Jericho got in most of the offense against Cena, something that I was a little surprised by, and looked strong throughout the match. Cena did eventually get the win around the 15 minute mark with Jericho tapping out really before Cena even locked the STF on. I'm not really sure why they did that and I'm hoping that there was some sort of point to it. After the match, Cena called out to Jericho and asked him to stay on the team. Jericho seem conflicted and I suppose the quick tap out to the STF has a purpose, somehow playing part of Jericho's overall conflition. I'm interested to see where they go with it. Overall, a great match.

Edge & Chris Jericho Alliance - I gave this a thumbs up because I like the potential of Jericho & Edge possibly becoming a team again. I know that nothing is guaranteed and it could all break back down soon, but I love the idea of them forming a tag team and injecting some much needed life and direction back into the tag team scene.

Randy Orton vs. The Miz - I enjoyed this match between Orton and The Miz. It wasn't spectacular, but it was a really good match overall and there's a lot of potential to work with here. The Miz looked strong throughout the match and looked like a legitimate main event competitor against Orton. Orton looked strong, as usual, and did his job of helping make The Miz look good while still beating him. Orton gets the win around the 15 minute mark by hitting the RKO. Raw goes off the air with him staring at Sheamus while "coiled" like a viper.

Thumbs Down

Sheamus vs. Goldust - There really wasn't much to say or much of a point to this 2 minute match. It was obvious that Sheamus was going to win and I'd have like to have seen more done with his match against Goldust. I know the point was to make Sheamus look strong, but he did that with Evan Bourne a few weeks back. Goldust is still good in the ring and I'd have preferred that they have an actual match.

The Great Khali vs. Ted DiBiase - In most circumstances, any match with Khali isn't going to be anything approaching great. Khali is just so big, clumsy and awkard that it's virtually impossible to work with him. I do like that the WWE is at least trying to make him seem to be signifigant as part of Team WWE at SummerSlam, but I'm just not really feeling it.

Overall Show - Thumbs Up Last night's Raw as another very solid show and it featured a lot of wrestling content. The show had 6 matches and four of them ranged from pretty decent to great and even the two that weren't so hot weren't really terrible. The hype for the Team Raw vs. Nexus match at SummerSlam was built nicely, particularly as there seems to be two vacant spots on the Raw team now and The Nexus continues to sew discontent and mistrust on Team WWE with their approaches of The Great Khali. I've no doubt that Khali won't join Nexus nor is that the WWE's intention. The WWE Championship match was hyped well and The Miz continues to look like a legitimate main eventer. Overall, I give last night's episode of Raw an 8.5 out of 10.

 

[jkenyon81]

raw was really good. the matches were good, the promos were good and not too long.

the divas put on a good show. gail kim selling that throw into the corner was great along with her crossbody out to tamina. the only downer to me now is that it's obviouos that Melina will get the belt and hold it forever.... she's like a female HHH with that thing... i like her but come on, there are other divas.

i like how they are using kahli, makes him seem relevant. Debiase looked good, he didn't get punked out too bad. and might i add, i love Maryse as a valet and not wrestling. She is awesome.

The matches with the headliners, Orton/Miz and Cena/Jericho were better than i'd hope for on Raw. they were like shortened PPV matches.

Shaemus squashing Goldust is just what he needed. he needs to be perceived as dominant. and using clips of his little spat with goldust in ECW and using it like a Shaemus 1 year anniversary was pretty slick.

Barrett looked great against Edge, he is going to be huge... i mean i'm a regal fan, but this is a bad ass Englishman.

i cringed when both Cena and Orton "seemed" to have tweaked their knees

even the "hosts" had a funny skit, i enjoyed it enough that the premiere of Cenas new movie trailer didn't bother me, lol

if next week is as good as this week, then the set up for the Jericho/Edge vs. Cena/Hart is going to lead to another good raw.

 

[gd]

Odd show if I've ever seen one. Everything just seemed off. Crowd certainly didn't help either.

Decent opening segment, but how good can things be when Truth is one the mic? Not that great, I'd say. Edge/Barrett was decent, likely the best match of the night, but the ending kinda hurt it and left me wanting more. Edge quitting is a shame though, brotha. Damn shame.

Odd interaction between Jericho and Cena, but not nearly as odd as Morrison is looking nowadays. Really, what the fuck is wrong with him? Looks freaking ridiculous.

Diva's match was shit, as usual. The return of Melina was just strange. Not sure anyone cares.

Sheamus/Goldust was fine. Did find it odd that Sheamus took 15 minutes to set up his finisher. Good promo though, fella.

Second half of Jericho/Cena match was just a mess. Usually they work really well together. There was something way off about this one. Didn't get the ending either, although it did lead to a warm embrace between the two Canadians. I guess they'll just rejoin Team Duyba Dubya E in the main event next week, most likely.


Getting to see Singh and Maryse in the entrances of the Khali/Dibiase match made it good enough. Seeing the big man in a Nexus T-Shirt would make me giddy.

Ferrell should've been guest host, no? Funny dude. Good taste in women as well.

Orton/Miz was decent enough, but I cringe to think we made seen a full blown feud between these two. It'll eventually put me asleep, for realz.

 

[klunderbunker]

Monday Night Raw
Date: August 2, 2010
Location: AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler

We open with a recap of the calamity that was Cena’s team last week. They need to flesh out the card a bit for Summerslam. This show is taped last week. I wonder if that’s going to make a difference in how the show comes off.

Miz vs. Orton tonight.

Debut of the trailer for Cena’s new movie tonight.

And here’s Edge. He blames the fans for a lot of stuff but more or less takes over the Raw team as everyone else has. Edge says that the team is crumbling before his eyes and challenges Barrett to a match where he wants no interference. Here’s R-Truth who says Edge doesn’t want to listen to Cena. Truth says Edge will listen to him and that Edge has never had to fight for anything. Edge threatens to spear him and it’s E-mail time. Edge vs. Barrett is next.

Wade Barrett vs. Edge

See I told you it was next. Barrett beats on him slowly and is oddly dominant. It’s weird to see these guys in an opener like this but it’s hard to complain really. Now if this was Impact…..never mind. Edge gets a shot in to take Barrett down and I continue to marvel over his eyes. They’re always great when he’s in a zone. Edge goes for the Edgecution but is blocked.

Edge is wrestling like the older Edge here which is a very good thing for him. Wasteland is countered into the Edgecution but obviously dropping him on his head isn’t enough since we need a spear. The fans chant for Barrett but he calls for Nexus and Edge bails like an intelligent man, I guess giving us a no contest.

Rating: C-. Kind of hard to grade here since they were just stalling until the Nexus run-in. Barrett getting in the ring on his own is a good thing though as we need to show that these guys are indeed capable of having their own matches. This was a decent little thing though as Barrett dominated for the most part and Edge wasn’t dominating when Barrett called the troops down. He was winning to a degree but it was more of a stalemate. That’s key as Barrett looks equal to Edge which makes him look legit. Well booked match.

After a break Edge is looking for Cena and is pissed at Cena for not helping. He quits the team and Jericho is next to Cena. Jericho wants a match with Cena, loser leaves the team. Cena freaks but I guess agrees to it.

Summerslam Recall is Bret winning his first IC Title in what was indeed a great match.

Morrison and Khali are in the back and Morrison talks about movies like the Magnificent Seven, but Khali says there were also the Seven Dwarves. Khali vs. DiBiase later. And HERE THEY COME! Ah it’s just Tarver and Otunga.

Natayla/Eve Torres/Gail Kim vs. Alicia Fox/Jillian Hall/Tamina

Gail vs. Jillian to start and they call Gail a former women’s champion. I guess we’re just not going to talk about Jillian’s win anymore? This is your standard Divas match with no one caring at all until we get to the big brawl at the end. With six girls plus the Bellas and Maryse, how does this division suck so badly? A huge brawl lets Alicia kick Natalya in the head to end it. Alicia runs her mouth and says she’s beaten everyone. Cue Melina’s return and that gorgeous jet black hair. Alicia gets beaten up by “an all time great”. That’s just funny.

Rating: N/A. All to set up the Melina return which was nothing special really. It’s not Trish or Lita so it’s hard to really care. At least it’s some fresh blood in the division I guess.

Sheamus vs. Goldust

Orton had one of these last week so this makes sense. We lash back to last year when Sheamus was beating Goldust on ECW. Irish Curse and it’s all Sheamus so far. Brogue Kick and High Cross end it. No rating as it was just to show off his dominance and it was like 2 minutes long. I love these though so I’d rate it high.

Sheamus says he’s champion and that he’s awesome. Lots of mention of HHH which tells me that he’s not coming back for a few more weeks.

Chris Jericho vs. John Cena

Loser is gone from the team I guess. By my math Cena is about 837-0 against Jericho so I think I know where this is going. So apparently Cena has lost to Jericho in a one on one match one time: July of 02, which was Cena’s second televised match. Something tells me Cena wins here but I’m not sure. After some basic back and forth stuff Jericho hits a Codebreaker to put Cena on the floor. He gets two as we hit a commercial.

The taped thing is hurting this a bit as we’re on our second show for both the workers and the crowd which is tiring. The problem here is that Cena doesn’t want to fight because he doesn’t want to tear the team apart even more than it already is. Jericho yells at Cena and calls him a stupid man. Fameasser from the top but Cena has a bad knee now. He’s wearing black shoes which is a weird look for him.

And there are the Walls on the bad knee. Cena reverses into the STF and Jericho taps before the hold is even on. Most interesting. It was intentional too as yeah the replay shows Cena doesn’t even have his hands hooked and Jericho taps.

Rating: C+. Not bad here but the outcome was never in doubt like I mentioned. These two have chemistry but they have a big glass ceiling over them and they’ve never broken that. The ending is interesting though and makes me wonder where this is going. Well maybe we get to find out right now.

Cena gets a mic and says he wants Jericho on the team but he won’t beg. Jericho doesn’t say anything and just walks off.

Back from break and Jericho and Edge are in a locker room. They respect each other and have an awkward moment. It’s E-Mail time though and it says Cena/Hart vs. Edge/Jericho on Raw with Nexus as lumberjacks.

Orton says he’s taken down HHH too and for a little longer. He wants Sheamus down there for the main event tonight.

We get the preview of Cena’s new movie. It’s about a guy teaching his brother how to amateur wrestle. It looks ok actually. Better than the ones where he’s a soldier.

Great Khali vs. Ted DiBiase

Barrett and Sheffield are here about a minute into this after nothing has happened. It lets Khali get the chop and vice for the win.

We get a thing about Will Ferrell and Mark Walhberg where the Bellas hit on Ferrell. He says they’re average for some reason. This is uh….weird.

The Miz vs. Randy Orton

Miz talks about how Orton is going to lose the title to him just after he wins it, which is his best case scenario. They’ve been doing a much better job about having the guys get mic time and it’s helping a lot I think. Orton beats him up a bit and Sheamus comes down to take us to commercial. Orton is dominating as we come back but Miz hits a big boot. OH COME ON.

Miz takes over for a bit and this is pretty much a formula match. Orton makes his standard comeback but Miz counters the DDT with a backdrop. Miz walks into an RKO to end it and Sheamus charges the ring as Orton is curled up in his stance, ending the show.

Rating: C+. Nothing that great here but it gives Miz more time in the main event which is good for him. Even though he didn’t win, he gets to rub elbows with Orton and more importantly he didn’t feel out of place there. This was a fine main event as it played well into the title feud. I still want to see a three way feud between these guys.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a different kind of show and while still good it just had a weird feel to it. I think that’s likely due to the taped aspect of the show. It worked well enough I think though as we continue the build to Summerslam. I can only assume Bret returns on Raw to unite everyone before the big fight at Summerslam. I’m not entirely sold on the possible heel turn that’s coming, but that’s WWE for you. Decent show but not as good as the previous ones.

 

[Chargersfan1901]

I thought it was a good show, but I'm honestly getting tired of the same matches happening with the mid carders. It's always the same matches, maybe a little mixed, with Dolph, Kofi, Drew, Matt, all of them. Something new needs to happen with them. Don't get me wrong, they put on great matches, but it's getting old. WWE needs to start putting in some other superstars for them to face. Even if its something like Kofi vs. Chavo, it's something new. I think that a Intercontinental tournament that takes place over a a month or two would add some story.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

WWE Smackdown - August 6, 2010

Opening Segment - I thought that the opening segment of Smackdown was pretty strong, which is surprising given that it partially consisted of a Rey Mysterio promo. Rey has never exactly been strong on the mic. He has improved a lot I think, but he's not really all that hot. I think Drew McIntyre's coming out is probably what saved the segment overall. I like the idea of these two having a feud as I don't look for Mysterio to regain the World Heavyweight Championship. Thumbs Up

Dashing Cody Rhodes vs. Matt Hardy - Pretty solid match between Rhodes & Hardy. The crowd wasn't into this match all that much, Rhodes has skill inside the ring but more heat is definitely needed. The match wasn't great, but it was a solid 10 or 11 minute match with Rhodes getting the win. Thumbs Up

Team LayCool - I know that the WWE is pretty high on these two and I know that they honestly do try hard, but I think it's time for this to end. The fiasco featuring LayCool this past Tuesday on NXT really just signified to me that it's time for them to go their seperate ways, but it looks like they're going to be continuing. Thumbs Down

Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler - This was another really good match between these two that ended up with Ziggler finally winning the Intercontinental Championship. Ziggler gets the win via the Zig Zag at the 11 minute mark due in part to some minor interference from Vickie. Vickie Guerrero's presence has been felt in these matches, but her interference has been minor and hasn't overshadowed Ziggler's performances. As with last week, Kofi went apeshit on Ziggler and beat his ass. I hope they keep this up with Kofi because it's very refreshing. I don't know if a heel turn is coming for Kofi or what, but they've rekindled a little fire in him and they need to keep it burning. Thumbs Up

CM Punk - I thought Punk cut a damn good promo last night, one of the strongest he's done in a while. He dressed down the SES once again, which probably means that the days of the SES are numbered. Punk comparing happiness to a weakness does make him seem more of a fanatic devoted to self discipline than we've seen in a while and it just worked for me. Thumbs Up

Kane - Kane's mini promo backstage with the casket was solid as was his reactions in the ring to Mysterio's accusations of him being the one that attacked The Undertaker. Kane denied it, saying that he loves his brother. When this whole thing first started, I was very much against Kane being the one that took Taker out but I honestly don't think I mind it now. Kane has been so good over the course of the past few months that I think he and Taker could make an interesting feud. Kane is more interesting now than he has been in a very long time. Thumbs Up

The Straight Edge Society vs. MVP, Chris Masters & JTG - An extremely short and forgettable six man tag match. There's not really much you can say about a tag match that goes for 3 minutes. It's just not nearly enough time for anything to happen. The SES did win the match, which was the right call, but this was just extremely forgettable filler. Thumbs Down

Rey Mysterio vs. Drew McIntyre - I thought McIntyre & Mysterio had the match of the night, very good effort on the part of both men. McIntyre has come a long way in my view over the past few months. I thought he was ok as IC champ, he definitely wasn't terrible, but he's just much better now overall in the ring, on the mic and has great heat. Even though McIntyre lost the match around the 15 minute mark, he looked strong in defeat and Mysterio kept the momentum going for himself heading towards SummerSlam. Thumbs Up

Overall Show - Thumbs Up - While I don't think Smackdown was as good as it has been in recent weeks, it was still a strong show overall. Three of the four wrestling matches on that show were all pretty good, some strong mic work on the show and continued build towards the SummerSlam World Heavyweight Championship match. The show was solid, but it didn't have the fire or energy that the past several weeks have had. Still, it was definitely far from a bad show. Overall, I give last night's episode of Smackdown a B-.

 

[klunderbunker]

Smackdown
Date: August 6, 2010
Location: Laredo Energy Arena, Laredo, Texas
Commentators: Matt Striker, Michael Cole

The show opens with the theme song which is the point of it I guess.

Rey comes out first and is limping. Not that that means anything since it’s Rey and he feels no pain. I guess it has to do with the enlarged heart or something. He talks about last week’s show ending and how Kane chokeslammed him into the water. That was kind of cool I guess. He says Kane is crazy. No way Rey is a heel. It just wouldn’t work at all.

Drew comes out instead in a SWANK suit and red shirt. He says Rey is a criminal, which I’m guessing will set up a match later. Somehow this takes almost five minutes with Drew just bitching at Rey the whole time.

Matt Hardy vs. Cody Rhodes

Striker sings the theme song and manages to get in a Haiti Kid and a Moondog reference which is awesome for the 80s. Cody hides after Matt wins for a bit and we take a break. Cody has what looks like a wrist brace on. I can’t get into this match for some reason. Rhodes keeps using a crossface minus the arm trap. Cody looks up at himself on the big screen to make sure he looks good. That was funny.

This is another long match that is pretty decent. They keep talking about how Rhodes is a win away from being a title contender. That makes sense too as the midcard over there is heating up pretty well. Matt blocks a big slam move out of the corner but Cross Roads ends it. Well that was quick.

Rating: C. Not bad here but I couldn’t get into it. This got some time (shocking since it’s Smackdown isn’t it?) but it just never really got going. Cody is still good and Matt is good for stuff like this. He can fill in a place and let guys like Rhodes beat him. I believe back in the day this was called a jobber. Decent match but nothing great here.

Trailer for Legendary, which doesn’t look bad.

Alberto del Rio has something to say. I wake up at the end of it.

Rosa isn’t good enough yet for Laycool. They argue over the title and literally rip it in half. They get the other belt back from Long (they just gave it to him) and therefore leave with one full belt and both halves of the other. No clue what was solved there.

Intercontinental Title: Dolph Ziggler vs. Kofi Kingston

Kofi is ticked off to start and Ziggler runs. This has been ALL Kofi in the opening minutes. Dolph has never won a title apparently, so I guess the tag belts don’t count? We take a break with Kofi completely dominating. I’m not sure why it’s taking me so long to get anything written here but I just can’t think of much to say about this show. After all that dominance of course, we come back to having Kofi in an armbar.

Is there a sale on yellow and black trunks lately? Between Kofi and Lethal I get a bit confused. Vickie gets up on the apron and gets caught with Trouble in Paradise. Vickie then comes in and nothing of note happens. Ziggler pops up and hits the Zig Zag to get the title. Holy no selling Batman. It’s a kick to the head! Well at least he lays down afterwards which is a plus. Kofi jumps him after the match and a BIG beatdown ensues.

Rating: C+. Not bad here either and better than the opener, but it still just never got going. It was too short to a degree but at least the pin was mostly clean. Dolph gets the title FINALLY, a year after he should have but whatever. This was a good win for him as he needs the title far more than Kofi does.

Straight Edge Society is here. Show vs. the three males in the SES. They HAVE to win that. Everyone but Punk is happy and he demands them on their knees. Them getting happy makes Punk think they’re going to fall off the wagon, and if they do then they’re gone. He demands that they’ll be better and be happy when he says they’ll be happy.

Joey Mercury/Luke Gallows/CM Punk vs. JTG/Chris Masters/MVP

Sweet DAMN MVP has fallen a long way. Ballin doesn’t hit and a big boot from Gallows ends MVP. This was like a minute and a half long. I don’t think Masters was ever in the match at all.

Cody tells us how to trim our eyebrows.

More creepy Kane stuff and he doesn’t like Rey.

Rey Mysterio vs. Drew McIntyre

It’s 9:40 so this is going to get a lot of time. They mess up something which I think was supposed to be a clothesline and Rey is in trouble early. The fans chant Si Se Puede, meaning yes he can. Rey hits a nice running rana off the apron to the floor and Drew is in trouble as we go to a break.

Back from commercial and it’s Drew in control, including dropping Rey on the table in a painful looking spot. Drew dominating here even though there’s no way he’ll win is a nice touch. Even a brief comeback is stopped dead here. And then Rey gets a rollup off a springboard for the win. That’s how Drew needed to lose if he had to as he dominated a lot of the match here.

Rating: B-. Better here as Drew dominating is something he needed to do. Rey looked like he got lucky to win here which is putting Drew over but in a different way than you traditionally would. It’s not a classic or anything but it’ll do just fine all things considered. This was about setting up the announcement anyway so that’s all well and good.

Rey says he has news but here comes Kane. Drew jumps Rey and backs him into the casket but Rey runs to the stage. Rey says it wasn’t him but rather Kane, to the shock of no one with a brain. Kane isn’t really doing anything but kind of sneers. He keeps saying no and falls to his knees, saying he loves his brother, ending the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a little bit weaker this week but it’s still a solid show. Kofi nearly killing Ziggler after the match was a nice touch and the whole KANE DID IT is expected but not necessarily bad. This had fewer matches but they were mostly all long and served purposes. I wasn’t wild on this one but a big problem with that was the crowd was just spent after the double taping. Not a bad show but a step back from the past few weeks.

 

[mrbrownstone]

I feel that this weeks SD was pretty bad compared to the last few weeks. Reys opening promo was very boring and predictable, it was good to see Drew come out and get a taste of the ME scene as The Miz did on monday. The Hardy/Kofi match was ok but nothing special. The IC title match was pretty good but we have seen these two face off the past two weeks and this was pretty much the same match, good to see Dolph finally get the title. The SES Show match at summerslam sounds like filler to me and their match was nothing more than a squash. The ME was pretty good but nothing worht going out of your way for, nice to see Drew get a go against Rey but good to see Rey win. Afterwards Rey says Kane did it to the surprise of no one.

Overall pretty bad show this week 6/10

 

[Burnout]

Opening Segment:
I have mixed feelings for the opening segment. Since it was a Rey promo i didn't expect much atall, He was okay, nothing special or nothing awful, mediocure. Drew really didnt do anything for the segment, he seemed nervous on the mike, he was standing very tense for the whole time and Drew just really dosent fit into the main event scene. The opening segment was okay,

Cody Rhodes vs Matt Hardy:
I thought this was a pretty good match, cody is pretty darn decent in the ring as is matt, the match wasnt there to be a technical classic, it was for building up Cody rhodes even more. Cody is getting alot of time with matches recently and he is really looking like a credible intercontinental champion and if he can defeat a few more estasblished mid- carders like christain or kofi he'll be champio by the end o the year. As i said not the greatest match, but for what it's worth it was pretty good
***/5

Backstage with laycool:
Yep just break a prestigious title in half why dont you. It's going to look stupid goin to the ring, but im willing to let it play out

Dolph Ziggler vs. Kofi Kingston
Finally dolph becomes champion, this was a pretty good match but i just dont understand this crazy Kofi thing. He just came off as a major sore loser to me personally but maybe something will come from it. The match itslelf was good, nothing amazing but the two put in a good effort. I liked it.
***/5

SES vs. Job squad v.2This wasnt really about the match, it was more about building SES vs. Show at SSlam. Really forgettable match to be honest
N/A-5

Rey mysterio vs. Drew Mcyintyre:
This was a good match, not the greatest, and a damper was the fact rey said the attacker was kane, which took away from the match.
***/5

Overall show: Good 7/10

 

[The Doctor]

I highly enjoyed RAW tonight. It may not have been the best show, but damned if that ending didn't get me excited for Summerslam. The matches weren't fantastic, but I enjoyed Nexus beating everyone down, and the constant "will-they-or-won't-they-rejoin" with Edge and Jericho. The crowd helped a lot, too, I think. They were completely electric and made everything seem better.

Another thing that helped my enjoyment of the show was that I wasn't expecting a big angle or return, merely hoping for one. That meant I didn't get disappointed by the ending, which I actually loved because the crowd was just so hot when Edge and Jericho came back to the good side.

Decent show, great ending.

B

 

[Morpheus101]

Very entertaining Raw tonight, with all of the top stars having plenty of input. You have the whole Nexus thing going on, the "will they or won't they" factor of Jericho & Edge eventually deciding to rejoin team WWE, you have Orton & Sheamus's feud for the WWE Championship and the Miz continuing to be the rising star of WWE (decent match against Evan Bourne). You also had a very decent women's match between returning Melina and Alicia Fox (about time). The Nexus were also entertaining, ambushing several WWE superstars. No stupid annoyances either, i.e. ridiculous guest hosts or toilet humor.

Decent show - I give it an 8/10.

 

[Maestro48239]

I'm glad this Nexus BS is finally coming to an end, I'm getting sick of the constant beatdowns this group of no talent rookies are always handing out to the seasoned vets.

and hopefully they get someone besides Miz for sunday, he would be completely useless in the match.

also, I'm seeing hints of a jericho face turn. and they are doing it ever so slowly, which works for me!

the rest of the show I found pretty lackluster, the diva matches were pretty boring, and we got cheated out of 2 matches due to the Nexus.

once again, lets finish this nexus angle, they arent the nWo, and its getting old seeing these rejects coming out on top every week