Sunday, September 20, 2009

Breaking Point - September 13, 2009 - Montreal, Quebec, Canada

In this one book I own, The Checkerbee Fan Guide to Wrestling, it stated “Feuds are the lifeblood of professional wrestling. You can’t beat the heat of two superstars slugging it out over a title belt, family honor, relationship or just good old-fashioned hatred. Wrestling federations depend on exciting feuds to keep fans coming to the shows and watching pay-per-view events.”

Captain Lou Albano also stated in the book The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Pro Wrestling: Second Edition that in order to make a rivalry good or special you need the buildup, the participants, the stakes they are wrestling for, and how the rivalry is going to end. WWE has had some amazing feuds (i.e. The Hardy Boyz vs. Edge and Christian vs. The Dudley Boyz), but they also have had their share of flops (i.e. the “feud” between the NWO and DX). Every month, more or less, I will discuss how each feud came to be, give my opinion on if it’s good or not and who’s going to win, and, finally, give the results of each match. So lets begin with WWE’s most recent PPV, Breaking Point, shall we.

Chris Jericho and Big Show vs. MVP and Mark Henry for the Unified Tag Team Championships:

I see these two teams as being one in the same. You’ve got a loud mouth, but excellent wrestler teaming up with a gigantic, powerful man.

This feud started when Floyd “The Money” Mayweather was the celebrity GM on the August 24th edition of Raw. As many of you remember Show had a little rivalry going on with this little pipsqueak of a boxer last year, which culminated at WrestleMania 24. Of course, Show was still a little pissed off that he lost to him so both Jericho and Show called him out. At one point MVP came out to defend him and suggested they have a match. Mayweather stepped in and said that if MVP and his partner won they would face Jericho and Show at Breaking Point for the Unified Tag Team Titles. Well MVP decided to chose “The World’s Strongest Man” Mark Henry. Towards the end of the match Mayweather tossed in a pair of brass knuckles to MVP who used them on Jericho and got the pinfall.

During the next two weeks the only real build they had for this match were independent matches. On the August 31st and September 7th editions of Raw Show faced Henry and MVP faced Jericho. On Aug. 31st Henry won by DQ because Show used an exposed turnbuckle on his mighty foe while Jericho won his match against MVP. On Sept. 7th Henry beat Show in the Body Slam Challenge match after Santino Marella wasn’t able to pick up the behemoth while MVP was able to defeat Jericho in their second bout together.

I wasn’t really excited for this match since there wasn’t any real build to it, but I love Jericho and MVP so I figured it should be enjoyable. I'm leaning towards Jericho and Show to retain since they’ve been tagging a little bit longer than MVP and Henry and already have great chemistry together, plus (like my best friend/bro, Mike, observed) their music is synched together and they come out together so their going to be champions and an awesome team for quite some time.

In the end, they did retain when Show hit Henry with his powerful Knockout Punch and Jericho covered him for the three count. I don’t think this feud is done yet. We might be seeing the beginning of something. Whether it’s going to be great or not I can’t say for sure just yet.

Miz vs. Kofi Kingston for the United States Championship:

As far as I can remember there was no build what-so-freakin-ever for this match since they announced it a day or two before the PPV on WWE.com and through their mobile messaging (that’s how I found out). I looked back through onlineworldofwrestling.com and WWE.com to see if their was anything between these two. According to the two Websites there really wasn’t. Miz would come out saying how he’s the Miz and he’s awesome and he deserves a shot at the US title and blah, blah, blah. He got a shot at it on Raw on Aug. 31st in the fatal four way against Kofi, Carito, and Jack Swagger, but he lost with Kofi retaining.

Then on Superstars three nights before the PPV him and Jack Swagger went against Kofi and Primo. Since Miz won the match covering Kofi that earned him a shot at the title. Huh?!? Anyway, I think my bro, Mike, said it best when he stated that during the summer they were building Miz so much with Cena then all of sudden dropped him like a bad habit that he really doesn’t deserve a shot at the title. They need to BUILD and SHOW that he DESERVES it not just have him come out, say he’s awesome, and then out the blue get a shot. Whatevs.

This one I’m totally giving to Kofi since they did jack with this feud. If there was more build I might’ve gone with Miz, but since it seems like they have other plans with it (maybe a build to Hell in a Cell or Survivor Series) I say Kofi retains.

In the end, he did. Holy crap what a surprise!!! Haha!! After Kofi hit Miz with the Trouble in Paradise he was able to pin him and win.

DX vs. Legacy in a Submission Counts Anywhere match:

OK, don’t get me wrong I was a huge fan of DX when they first formed in the late 90’s and when they returned in 2006, but now it just needs to end. You have two 40-year-olds (albeit two very handsome 40-year-olds) making sex jokes, telling everybody to suck it, and giving us a crotch chop. It’s just a little weird, to me.

Anyway, this feud actually started back at the end of July when Triple H couldn’t beat the clock against Cody and then on Aug. 3rd he was attacked by both Cody and Ted. That’s when he announced he was going to make one phone call. Everybody knew it was to Shawn. However, Shawn didn’t want to come back so Hunter had to go to him and do a little bit of convincing to get him back. On Aug. 10th Hunter went to an office building in Texas to find Shawn working as a chef and being bossed around by child. Really?!? The Showstopper being told what to do by a kid?!?

However, after some persuasion and a grill fire Shawn decided to come back. On Aug. 17th DX made their official return, but, thankfully, Legacy came out and attacked them from behind. It was great I’m not going to lie. Then at Summerslam the future met the past with the past winning the match; of course. Twenty-four hours after facing each other Legacy faced DX once again with Randy Orton teaming with Cody and Ted and Vince McMahon teaming with Hunter and Shawn. Aw…father-in-law and son-in-law are teaming up again. How sweet?!? This was all part of Vince’s birthday, which, in the end, must’ve been one of the greatest ones ever in his life. I mean between winning his match with DX and having Big Dick Johnson pop out of cake and dance in front of you half-naked it just can’t get any better than that.

Their feud continued on Aug. 31st when “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes decided to stab Cena in the back and all of Legacy attacked him. After some time Hunter and Shawn came flying down the ramp to attack Cody and Ted, but Dusty helped out his son by knocking Hunter out with his boot. Legacy got the upper hand that night, but on Sept. 7th it was a different story. After their match against Orton and Chris Masters Legacy came out and attacked them once again, but this time DX fought back bringing them into the backstage area. Legacy fled in a stolen car saving their energy for Breaking Point.

Even though I mentioned earlier that DX needs to end I’ll admit that this feud isn’t all too bad. I really like the build they’re doing with Legacy constantly attacking them and getting the upper hand on DX, which is something you don’t see too often happen; meaning you don’t really see a rookie getting over on Triple H. I really want Legacy to win just to prove that DX can’t always win them all, but I got a funny feeling that DX will win because God forbid Hunter loses to a rookie; especially since it’s a submission match he just can’t submit to the future of wrestling.

In the end, after starting in the ring, going to the ring area, fighting in the crowd, in the backstage area, and every other place you can think of, Legacy FINALLY beat them. As Cody put a figure-four leg lock on Shawn at a ring post and Ted put the Million Dollar Dream on him, Shawn tapped. It’s about time they lost, but you know this ain’t over by a long shot. It’s going to go into a hell in a cell and either end their with blood shed or at Survivor Series. All I know is this is a good future vs. past feud, hopefully with the future coming out on top when it’s all over.

Kane vs. The Great Khali in a Singapore Cane Match:

Wow…two giants facing off against each other. This is something new. NOT!! Giant vs. Kevin Nash, Undertaker vs. Kane, Andre the Giant vs. Black Jack Mulligan…need I say more. Most of the time, these matches end up to be really good because you have two wrestlers who know what the hell their doing and make it look amazing. However, these matches can also be terrible because you have two clumsy giants who can’t do much. Case in point, this feud.

Now I love Kane!! I always have since his debut in ‘97 during the very first Hell in a Cell between ‘Taker and Shawn Michaels, but Khali is the one I have the problem with. He’s very clumsy and only knows a handful of moves to use against his opponents including the vice grip, and the Punjabi Plunge. I feel this feud has already gone longer than what it should and, unfortunately, I don’t think it’s close to being done yet.

This rivalry started at the Bash when Kane decided to interfere in Khali’s match against Dolph Ziggler. Why he did it?!? Who knows. At this point who cares. So then on July 3rd Kane went against Mysterio and after he beat him Khali came out to seek some revenge, but Kane retreated through the crowd. On July 17th Khali came out to attack Kane after his match with R-Truth, but Kane ran away. On July 24th Khali challenged Kane to come out and face him after his match with Mike Knox. Kane walked down the ramp, climbed the apron, but instead of going into the ring to face him Kane decided to back down and return to the backstage area. Do you see a pattern here?!? For the first time ever in his career Kane is not facing his foe. What the hell?!?
Finally, on July 31st Kane came out and interfered in Khali’s match against Charlie Haas and then on Aug. 7th Kane knocked him out to kidnap Rajin Singh. Now that’s the Kane I know!! On Aug. 14th everybody finds out the Rajin is actually Khali’s brother (um…they have to be brothers from another mother cause Khali is over 7ft tall and ugly while Rajin is around 6 ft tall and not that bad looking!! Haha!!), but as Khali came to his rescue Kane attacked him from behind with a lead pipe.

Then we go back to the “pussy” Kane on Aug. 21st when Khali came out to get revenge on Kane, but he retreated. They, finally, met up at Summerslam with Kane pinning Khali. But we ain’t done. The Smackdown after Summerslam (Aug. 28) Kane had a match with Mysterio where he was disqualified. After the match Khali came out and attacked him. On Sept. 4th they had another match, but it was a tag team match where Kane was paired with Mike Knox and Khali teamed with Finlay. Khali and Finlay were able to defeat the two brutes. Finally, on Sept.11th Kane attacked Khali before his match with David Hart Smith and was about to hit him with a Singapore Cane, but Khali retaliated with a Brain Chop and a Punjabi Plunge.

Wow…that took forever!!

I, honestly, don’t have a winner for this match. I should be saying Kane, but since he’s been backing down from every challenge Khali throws at him I can’t. It just shows me that he’s being a coward and doesn’t want to fight him. I don’t want to say that about Kane, but that’s how I’m seeing it. Unless he’s conserving his energy, but I highly doubt it.

In the end, Kane won with a chokeslam. AWESOME!! GO KANE!! But, unfortunately, I don’t think that’s the end of this feud. I don’t think they’re going to do a Hell in a Cell match, but maybe a Punjabi Prison match might end this on going rivalry. We can only hope.

Christian vs. William Regal for the ECW Championship:

Again, really not enough build for this match, but Christian is a great wrestler and so is William Regal so I think this is going to be a hell of a lot better than their 8 second squash match at Summerslam. By the way…that proved to me how much faith the bookers have in ECW at WWE’s big events that they only give them 8 seconds or, like at WrestleMania this year, no match at all.

But Regal won the chance to face Christian at Summerslam when he defeated Tommy Dreamer on the Aug. 11th edition of ECW. On Aug. 18th Regal teamed up with Vladimir Kozlov to go against Christian and Ezekial Jackson. When Jackson was tagged in he went to attack Kozlov, but instead turned around and attacked Christian. Who didn't see that one coming?!? Then Kozlov, Jackson, and Regal attacked Christian leaving him lying in the middle of the ring. Two days after their squash (Aug. 25th) Regal faced off with Christian again and if he beat him he would get his rematch at Breaking Point. He did win and then on Sept. 8th, after his cohorts Jackson and Kozlov beat Christian and Dreamer, he attacked both. That episode ended with Regal standing over Christian. A sign of things to come?!?

Even though I think it’s definitely time for Regal to hold a world title I don’t think it’s the ECW title he should be holding. I think Christian is going to retain with this feud going on to possibly Survivor Series.

In the end, with Jackson and Kozlov being banned from the ring, Christian was able to retain with his finisher the Killswitch, or the Unprettier, whichever name you want to go with.

Randy Orton vs. John Cena for the WWE Championship in an “I Quit” Match:

Oh my gosh I HATE this rivalry. This is the feud that seems to never end. I mean yeah in the past, wrestling has had some notable feuds like Ric Flair vs. Harley Race or Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Vince McMahon that have gone on for months or years, but those were good and entertaining. This feud is just boring and uneventful. I think once this one is totally over most fans will rejoice no matter who wins this war.

For me, Cena vs. Orton kind of reminds me of the Vietnam War or the War in Iraq. They’re senseless wars that nobody wanted to happen, but the powers at be thought they were amazing ideas and went with it anyway. Plus, like the wars, this feud just keeps on going on and on and on. Luckily, the Vietnam War ended, but the War in Iraq is, unfortunately, still going on today for no good reason. So is Cena vs. Orton and it’s destroying people’s love for wrestling.

This lovely match-up seems to start up around the end of July of 2007. Then they met up at Summerslam for the WWE Championship (I was there and I don’t remember it being too good) where Cena retained. Orton would go on to punt Cena’s father in the head on the Aug.27th edition of Raw. They would go on face off at Unforgiven in 2007, No Way Out in 2008, then at WrestleMania 24, then at Backlash. Finally, on May 12th they faced each other one last time and that was it for over a year. Then in July they decided to start over again. Darn it!!

They met up at Night of Champions and Summerslam (why the same match at the same PPV?!? Come on WWE I know you guys are creative start thinking of new stuff please!!). By the way…their match at Summerslam was a total fiasco. When Orton got disqualified that should’ve been it. Not restarting that match over and over again. I was ready to walk out of Hooters I was getting so pissed off by this damn match. Anyway, the night after their crappy match Cena stopped Orton from leaving his match against DX and Vince and gave him the Attitude Adjustment to help them win. Also, that night Vince announced that at Breaking Point it was going to be Orton vs. Cena in an “I Quit” match. Oh yay.

On Aug. 31st, with help from Dusty Rhodes, Orton attacked Cena and then on Sept. 7th Orton, after his match, decided to cut a promo stating he was going to win because he wasn’t going to say “I quit”. That prompted Cena to come out, but Orton was ready giving him an RKO on a chair. Now we all know Cena. He’s not the type to give up and quit so guess who’s winning this match and becoming WWE Champion for the sixth time in his career.

In the end, Orton quits when Cena puts him in an STF with Orton’s handcuffed hand coming around his face. Wow…what a shocker. I’ll admit this though it was a brutal match. I mean Cena was truly being battered and beaten with those shots to the abdomen with the Singapore cane, but he’s superman so he can take it. Unlike Orton who when he’s handcuffed to his nemesis decides to act like a little bitch instead of fight. Great way to make your top heel look tough guys.

Finally, I saved the best for last…

CM Punk vs. Undertaker for the World Heavyweight Championship in a Submission Match:
This match I was so excited for, but at the same time it was way too soon. Mike and his girlfriend (my best friend), Marianna, agree with me that they did this too early. Three weeks to build a match. Damn, but you know what they did a pretty good job at it. I mean ‘Taker is amazing so you know this is going to be great and Punk has come so far and he’s doing so great as a heel. To be honest, his feud with Jeff Hardy was absolutely amazing and should go down as one of the greatest in history.
But I digress, let’s get back to Punk and ‘Taker. This rivalry started at Summerslam when, after Punk beat Hardy and become World Heavyweight Champion, ‘Taker returned and gave him a monstrous chokeslam in the middle of the ring. Five days after their brutal ladder match, Punk and Hardy faced off in a steel cage match where, as Teddy Long announced earlier in the show, whoever won would face ‘Taker at Breaking Point for the World Heavyweight Championship. Punk, obviously, won. Then on Sept. 4th as Punk was about to, possibly, end Matt Hardy’s career, ‘Taker came out and chokeslammed him through the announce table.

Finally, on Sept. 11th Punk and ‘Taker cut a great promo together to help build the match a bit more. ‘Taker came out first saying how he was going to win the match with Hell’s Gate, become World Heavyweight Championship, and take Punk’s soul (vintage Undertaker!! O God I’m sounding like Michael Cole. That’s not good!!). So Punk came out and said that ‘Taker has been preying on the peoples minds for over 20 years making them believe in the Undertaker; that he’s invincible, magical, and that he’s going to win at Breaking Point. He continued saying that he wasn’t going to be a victim because he’s stronger. Lastly, he will have the fans cheering for him saying no and being straightedge. ‘Taker replies with the fact that they won’t be saying no, but they will be saying “Rest in Peace”. Later on that night, as Punk celebrated winning his match against Matt, ‘Taker continues his mind games by appearing on stage with Punk’s title.

This one I’m undecided on, too, because I want ‘Taker to win, but that’s unfair to Punk who would be seen as a paper champion. He’s not, he’s actually a damn good champion. However, ‘Taker is not the one to tap and to have him tap out to Punk would be…just…wrong. So with this I really don’t know.

In the end, IT WAS ANOTHER MONTREAL SCREWJOB!!! Seriously?!? Are they kidding me?!? You’re really going to make a parody of something that really happened and that was truly devastating?!? Wow…I’m truly disgusted. ‘Taker had the match won when Punk tapped to Hell’s Gate. As he celebrated, Long came out and stated that Hell’s Gate was banned from Smackdown and ordered the match to continue. As soon as the bell rang Punk tried putting him in the Anaconda Vice. As soon as he had it in the bell rang, the ref ran for his life, and so did Punk. This is definitely going to continue. I hope they put them in a Hell in a Cell. That’ll be an amazing match that just might be compared to ‘Taker vs. Mick Foley (Mankind) at King of the Ring in ‘98.

Thanks everybody for reading and I hope you enjoyed. If you would like to send me any comments you may do so at wrestlingchick19@gmail.com. I would love to hear what you guys think so please don't hesitate to send something. Thanks again.

Much love and "Have a nice day!".

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Introduction

Hello my fellow wrestling fanatics!! Many of you don't know me so I'm going to take the time now to introduce myself and prove to you that I am a true wrestling fan capable of writing a blog on that amazing sport (or sport-entertainment, whatever you feel like calling it).

My name is Lisa. I was born and raised in the awesome, but smelly state of New Jersey. I have recently graduated from Fairleigh Dickinson University majoring in Creative Writing and having a double minor in English Literature and Communications. While I was going to lovely FDU I wrote for it's newspaper, The Metro, having my own wrestling column for three years. Unfortunately, my last year there they decided to stop my column since it wasn't related to the college so then all I wrote were movie reviews, which I will sometimes do on this blog in between PPVs.

My plan for this blog is to write my predictions for upcoming PPVs and also give the results to see how close I am. Sometimes I'm good. Sometimes I'm not. Hey, we're not all perfect! Also, like I just mentioned, if I get to go to the movies I'll write movie reviews in between that way I just don't lose my touch.

I have been a fan of wrestling ever since I can remember, which is about five years old, but I do remember watching G.I. Joe with Sgt. Slaughter so it could be before that. I remember cheering on Shawn Michaels at that tender age and always feeling bad for him because he was constantly landing on the ropes where the sun doesn't shine. Ever since then I've been hooked and I watch it RELIGIOUSLY!! I watch every Raw, ECW, Smackdown, WWE Superstars, and PPV (thank you Hooters in Wayne!!). I also watch TNA on Thursdays and I subscribe to WWE Classics on Demand. Back in the good ol' days (the 90's and early 2000's) I watched the original ECW, WCW Monday Night Nitro, and Thunder. I have been to over twenty wrestling events including Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, Summerslam, and Survivor Series and I have met numerous superstars and legends including Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, Triple H, Edge, Jake "The Snake" Roberts, and many others.

Now I know you guys must be thinking, "So what Lisa? I watch it religiously, too, been to many shows myself, and I've met wrestlers, but what makes you think you can write a blog on it." Well, let me tell you then. I have been studing wrestling for a very long time reading books and watching videos on it. If you still think I shouldn't be writing this then DON'T READ IT!!! Not to sound horribly mean, but it's that simple.

I will be publishing my first predictions for Breaking Point really soon (yeah I know it already happened, but what the hell) so be looking for that. Just to warn you guys I like to use sources (again I wrote for a paper so it's apart of me now) and my favorite one is onlineworldofwrestling.com so instead of constantly saying "according to onlineworldofwrestling.com" just guess if it's me talking or if it's the website. I will mention others if I decide to use a different source, though. Also, this is all totally my OPINION!! We all have opinions (and I would love to hear yours) but don't criticize me or tell me I'm wrong because I will tell you off. This is America and we do have freedom of speech so I will say my opinion on something and you can gladly tell me yours, but the moment someone says "You're wrong!" all hell will break lose.

Thanks you guys for reading. I hope you've enjoyed and I hope you guys become my loyal readers. Much love and "Have a nice day!"

*Please send me comments to let me know how I'm doing and to give me your opinions.*