1.    Smackdown Money in the Bank Ladder match: Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Christian vs. Cody Rhodes vs. Matt Hardy vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Kane vs. Big Show

The show kicked off with a bang as the opener was Smackdown’s Money in the Bank Ladder match. This match was a bit better than expected and was a lot of fun to watch. Everyone gangs up on Kane and Big Show at the start but the big guys fend them off and have a stare down with a ladder in the ring. Show takes down Kane with a shoulder block and tries to climb the ladder, but one of the rungs breaks when he steps on it. Show fends off Christian, Ziggler, Kofi, Drew, and Hardy before tossing the ladder onto Kane outside the ring. Everyone goes after Show on the outside, sending him into the steps. A brawl ensues and McIntyre props a ladder up against the side of the ring, then catapults Christian into it. Drew slides the ladder into the ring, sets it up, and climbs, but Hardy throws another ladder against his back. Christian and Hardy prevent each other from getting the briefcase and fight to the outside. Christian and Ziggler fight atop a ladder with Ziggler getting hip tossed off the ladder and Hardy pushing it over, sending Christian to the mat. Christian hits the Killswitch to Rhodes before hitting a double DDT with Hardy to Kane. They sandwich Kane in some ladders before Christian sends Hardy into a ladder leaning against the bottom rope. Christian scales a ladder but Cody pushes it over and Christian flies out of the ring onto Big Show. In the ring, Kane eats a Trouble in Paradise from Kofi and a Twist of Fate from Hardy. Kofi climbs a ladder but Rhodes takes him down with a back suplex off the ladder. Hardy and Kofi climb but Drew pushes it over, sending both men into the ropes. Dolph stops McIntyre from reaching the briefcase, but McIntyre throws him out of the ring. Kane puls out McIntyre and tears apart the two announce tables. Kofi dropkicks a ladder into Kane’s face before beating up McIntyre on the outside. He lays him across the Spanish announce table, sets up a ladder, and hits a huge Boom Drop off the ladder through the table.

Ziggler tries for the briefcase but Show shoves over the ladder and chokeslams him. Hardy and Christian try to take down Show with a ladder, but Show puts them down and splashes the ladder that is now lying on top of the two. Show then introduces an enormous ladder (both in height and width) to the match and struggles to get it in the ring. Rhodes hits Show with a ladder and tries for the case but Ziggler takes him down. Show tries to climb the huge ladder as Kofi springboards onto the other side. Show tries to put him down but Kofi hits a huge DDT. Cody hits a Cross Rhodes to Kofi onto a ladder before Ziggler hits him with a Zig Zag as he started to climb. Show tries to climb but Kane pushes the ladder over, sending Show out of the ring. Chaos with a ton of people going up the ladder at once, and Kane starts chokeslamming people as Cody gets close. Kane tries to climb but Ziggler jumps on him with a sleeper. Everyone starts to throw ladders on top of Show, burying him under the pile. Kane tosses Dolph out, chokeslams Kofi onto the pile of ladders, and then chases Cody up the ramp. Kane sends Cody head first into the back of an armored car set up beside the ramp/stage area. Hardy and Christian double powerbomb Kane off a ladder before climbing it. They fight at the top for a bit but eventually both of them fall off into the ropes. Drew tries for the win but Kane chokeslams him off the ladder and unhooks the case for the win. The amount of time this match got was stunning, clocking in at nearly a half hour. A very good opener that was a bit too long at times but still a really strong match. Wasn’t thrilled with Kane winning but at least it made sense. Match Time: 26:25     Match Rating: 7.5/10

2.    Divas Championship: Alicia Fox(c) vs. Eve

This was a pretty by the books, humdrum Divas match. Fox and Eve lock up with Fox getting a takedown and keeping hold of the collar and elbow. Eve gets control with a side headlock and goes for some covers before hitting a dropkick. Eve tries for a tornado DDT but Alicia sends her to the mat. They fight on the outside with Eve getting slammed into the apron. Alicia goes for a quick cover in the ring but gets two. Fox is all over Eve, hitting a backbreaker and keeping Eve over her knee. Fox works the back with a submission but Eve hits a monkey flip. Eve hits a cross body and some dropkicks before connecting with a standing moonsault. Eve goes for a flipping senton off the top turnbuckle but Alicia gets the knees up and hits the Axe Kick for the win. Bland Divas match but they were put in a tough spot going on right after that opener. Match Time: 5:54     Match Rating: 3/10

3.    Unified Tag Team Championship: The Hart Dynasty(c) vs. The Usos

This was a solid tag match but it definitely could have used more time and ended up coming off like a Raw match. Smith hits a powerslam to Jay right away before Kidd hits Jay with an aided hurricanrana. Jimmy gets a tag and pounds away at Smith before hitting a double team move with his partner. Jimmy is still all over Smith but Smith hits a back body drop and tags in Kidd. Kidd hits a dropkick and a ton of kicks in the corner. The Usos get a near fall after a double team following a blind tag. Jimmy tries for a top rope splash but Kidd avoids it and tags in Smith. Smith hits a shoulder block to Jay and Tamina distracts him, but Natalya scoop slams her on the outside. Kidd does a suicide dive onto Jimmy and Smith makes Jay tap out to the sharpshooter for the win. Decent tag match that suffered from a dead crowd and lack of time. Match Time: 5:54     Match Rating: 5/10

4.    World Heavyweight Championship: Rey Mysterio(c) vs. Jack Swagger

This was a very good world title match that had really strong wrestling and brought back memories of Rey’s match with Kurt Angle back at SummerSlam 2002. Swagger and Rey lock up, with Swagger slamming Rey into the corner before Rey tries to come back with some kicks. Swagger gets a hold of Rey’s left ankle and tries for the Ankle Lock but Rey counters and teases the 619. Swagger hangs up Rey in the tree of woe and charges at him, but Rey sits up and Swagger goes into the post. Mysterio dives onto Swagger on the outside but once they get back in the ring Swagger hits a huge super belly to belly suplex. Swagger stomps at the Ankle before taking Rey to the outside and slamming him into the announce table. Swagger wrenches at the leg back in the ring, with Rey eventually retaliating with some kicks. Swagger hits a botched powerslam and attempts a Vader Bomb, but Rey avoids it and scores with a kick. Mysterio sends Swagger into the corner and hits a split legged moonsault once Swagger goes down. Swagger comes back with a wheelbarrow suplex and hits the gutwrench powerbomb, but Rey gets his foot on the bottom rope. Mysterio hits a big hurricanrana and goes up top. Swagger follows and tries for a super powerslam, but Mysterio counters with a crazy tornado DDT off the top for a near fall. Rey hits the 619 but Swagger blocks the seated senton and puts on the Ankle Lock. Rey makes it to the ropes but Swagger hits 2 Vader Bombs. Swagger goes for the Ankle Lock again but Rey loosens his boot (in a nod to Eddie Guerrero vs. Kurt Angle from Wrestlemania 20) and the shoe comes off. He then rolls up Swagger to retain the title. Very good world title match, only issue was the lack of proper time for this sort of match. Match Time: 10:44     Match Rating: 7/10

After the bell, Swagger attacked Rey, but Kane made the save, chasing Swagger to the back. Kane’s music then hit, and he returned with a referee and his newly won briefcase. This led to…..

5.    World Heavyweight Championship: Rey Mysterio(c) vs. Kane

So Kane cashes in his briefcase the night of, and here we go. Kane goes after the ankle and slams it into the canvas, then hits a chokeslam and a tombstone to win the world title. I guess this means we will get Kane vs. Undertaker for the title at SummerSlam. I’m not thrilled about Kane but at least this sort of made sense. Match Time: 0:54     Match Rating: N/A

6.    Women’s Championship: Layla(c) vs. Kelly Kelly

And here we go with our second women’s match of the night. The first was tolerable, this was not. They lock up before Kelly hits a Thesz press and slams Layla into the corner a bunch of times. Layla fights off a handspring splash but Kelly kicks her to the outside. Layla kicks away at Kelly’s leg before hitting a baseball slide that sends Kelly to the outside. Kelly knocks Michelle McCool off the barricade and hits a double shoulder block on her with Tiffany. Kelly hits the K2 to Layla but Layla gets her foot on the ropes. Kelly tries for a roll up but Layla sits down with one of her own for the one. This was a piece of crap and a waste of time. Match Time: 3:59     Match Rating: 2/10

7.    Raw Money in the Bank Ladder match: Randy Orton vs. The Miz vs. Mark Henry vs. Ted DiBiase vs. John Morrison vs. Chris Jericho vs. Evan Bourne vs. Edge

This was a great ladder match and managed to outdo the opener. This was better paced and had better spots throughout. Edge slides a ladder into the ring as he comes down to the ring, but most people go after Henry once the bell rings. Henry eats a corner clothesline from Miz and a dropkick from Bourne. Edge tries to climb the ladder but Orton yanks him down and pulls him to the outside where he goes to work on him. Morrison hits a kick to DiBiase but DiBiase clotheslines him, resulting in Morrison landing on a ladder. DiBiase hits Orton with a ladder but Bourne dropkicks it into his chest. Miz and Jericho go at it in the ring before Henry throws a ladder into them. Henry then hits a stunning leaping body guillotine to Miz, who was hung up in the ropes. Bourne tries to climb a ladder but stops to dropkick Jericho. He resumes climbing but drops down to hit a hurricanrana to Edge, sending him to the outside. Orton comes in and hits the spike DDT to Bourne, hanging Bourne’s feet on the rungs. Miz and DiBiase then go to work on Morrison, but Morrison sends both men into a ladder in the corner, hitting a flapjack to Miz and a drop toehold to DiBiase. Morrison, Edge, Jericho, and Orton fight separately atop two ladders but Henry shoves both of them over, only to be met with the diving knees from Bourne. In a comedy spot, Maryse climbs a ladder in the ring after checking on DiBiase. Morrison pulls her down and tells her to leave as Ted tries to sneak up the ladder. Morrison and DiBiase fight and spill to the outside, with Miz slamming Morrison into the barricade and catapulting Morrison into a ladder propped up against the ring post.

Morrison lands on his feet and uses another ladder to swing over to the ladder Edge is on in the middle of the ring. Morrison gets trapped horizontally inside the ladder, with Miz and Edge sliding another ladder through the rungs and slamming it onto Morrison. Edge turns on Miz and pushes the ladder over, sending Morrison into the corner. DiBiase goes for the case but stops to attempt a dive on Henry. Henry catches him and puts him down with a World’s Strongest Slam. On the outside, Henry gets hit with a Codebreaker from Jericho and a spear from Edge. A strange structure of ladders (one ladder leaning against an opened upside down ladder against a normal ladder) is then ascended by Miz, Morrison, Jericho, and Orton. DiBiase pulls down Miz, who falls face first into another propped up ladder. DiBiase falls on that flat ladder, which Edge and Orton then slide out of the ring with DiBiase on it. Orton hits Edge with an RKO but just as he hits the mat, Bourne hits him with a Shooting Star press. Bourne and Jericho fight atop the ladder, with Jericho hitting Bourne in the face with the briefcase and sending him to the mat. Jericho and Edge then trade punches at the top, and Edge gets the upper hand, knocking Jericho down. On Jericho’s way down, Orton strikes with a crazy mid air RKO. Orton then climbs the ladder and sends Edge into the upside down ladder. Miz pushes over the ladder Orton is on, rights it, then climbs up to unhook the case and win the match. They really put over Miz here and made it seem like a huge moment. He was very emotional and cut a nice promo after winning. Another lengthy Money in the Bank match that delivered and was flat out awesome (no pun intended!). Match Time: 20:34     Match Rating: 8/10

8.    Steel Cage match for the WWE Championship: Sheamus(c) vs. John Cena

This was a pretty average, solid main event from these two but was completely overshadowed by the other world title match and the ladder matches which preceded it. The cage was seemingly there to prevent this from happening but that only helps when the cage is actually used throughout the match. Sheamus tries to send Cena into the cage in the opening minute but Cena blocks and they lock up. Sheamus takes down Cena and goes to work in the corner. Cena comes back with a clothesline but Sheamus sends him face first into the cage. Cena comes back with some punches but Sheamus hits a huge running knee to the head. Cena ends up against the cage and Sheamus grinds his face against the wall. Sheamus with a knee drop but Cena hits a suplex out of nowhere. They trade punches before Cena hits a flying shoulder block, but flies into the cage when he attempts a second one. Sheamus hits a reverse DDT backbreaker and tries for an escape but Cena stops him. They fight on the top rope and slide over into the corner, where Sheamus hits a superplex. Cena tries for the Attitude Adjustment but Sheamus counters and hits a DDT. He hits some clubbing blows for near falls before locking in a sleeper. Sheamus puts on a body scissors to complement the sleeper, but Cena is able to get to his feet and starts to climb the turnbuckles with Sheamus on his back, but Sheamus drops down and crotches Cena in the corner. Sheamus tries to climb out but Cena pulls him down just as Sheamus starts to go over the top.

Cena hits his shoulder blocks, the spin out powerbomb, and the Five Knuckle Shuffle, but when he tries for the AA, Sheamus grabs the cage and tries to escape. Cena stops him and they fight on the top rope, with Cena slamming Sheamus into the cage. Sheamus falls to the mat and Cena tries for a top rope Five Knuckle Shuffle, but Sheamus avoids it. Sheamus ties Cena up in the ropes and tries to escape, but Cena breaks free and they fight on the top rope yet again, culminating with Cena hitting a bulldog off the top turnbuckle. Sheamus counters the AA again and hits the uranage backbreaker. Sheamus hits the bicycle kick for a near fall, followed soon after by Cena hitting the AA for two. The Nexus then come down the ramp, with Tarver holding bolt cutters. A referee nabs the bolt cutters and runs to the back with them. Nexus then demand one of the refs hand over the key to the cage, but the ref throws it into the audience. Back in the ring, Sheamus shoves Cena into the ref, who goes down as the Nexus corner the outside referee. Cena makes Sheamus tap to the STF but there’s no ref to see it. Cena tries to escape but the Nexus start to climb the side of the cage. Justin Gabriel fights with Cena at the top but Cena shoves him off the top of the cage into the ring. As Cena is held up by all the Nexus, Sheamus attempts an escape on the other side. Heath Slater tries to stop Sheamus but Sheamus fends him off and gets to the floor first to retain the title. After the match Sheamus hightailed it, and Cena threw Darren Young into the side of the cage before tossing the ring steps into Michael Tarver’s face. Cena takes Tarver’s arm band with him as he walks up the ramp to end the show. Good main event but it wasn’t that special at all. Fine storyline progression with the Nexus and it will be interesting to see where they go from here. We could be headed for a blow off at SummerSlam but it’s unclear at this point. Match Time: 23:07     Match Rating: 6.5/10

Overall PPV Rating: 8/10

My name is Jared Silberkleit. I am from Orange, CT and am a huge fan of pro wrestling. I mostly follow WWE and TNA but I also watch the smaller promotions such as ROH and DGUSA. I have been a lifelong WWE fan and have become a TNA fan over the past few years. Aside from wrestling, I also really love baseball and football and follow many other sports such as hockey and MMA. I have written for www.sportsgrumblings for two years.

Both fights will be contested on the live SHOWTIME® televised portion of the fight card. In the main event, unbeaten lightweight (155-pound limit) sensation Billy Evangelista (9-0) will battle with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt and electrifying brawler Jorge Gurgel (13-5). The live SHOWTIME telecast, which will include as many as five bouts, will begin at 11 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the west coast).

Both Del Rosario and Cash are California boys coming from Irvine and Fresno, respectively. Both are also coming off solid and quick first-round knockouts in their last fights. On Sept. 26, Del Rosario knocked out Lloyd Marshbanks in just 34 seconds at the M-1 Challenge in Rostov, Russia, for his seventh first-round KO in eight fights. In February, Cash knocked out Steve Gavin after just 26 seconds in the first round.

“We’re both big guys that just like to come out swinging,” said Del Rosario, who was a high school basketball star. “It could be a quick ending for either guy on Nov. 6.”

The southpaw Del Rosario said he is feeling good physically after suffering a broken left thumb and torn ligaments a year ago in September. The injury kept him out of January’s Affliction “Day of Reckoning” event. “It was tough sitting on the sidelines and having to watch for eight months,” Del Rosario said. “But it’s only made me stronger and hungrier to come back.”

He said he didn’t mind the travel to Russia. “I actually like it,” he said. “It gets you more pumped up when you’re away from home and seeing new things.”

“I’m so stoked to be fighting on a STRIKEFORCE card on SHOWTIME,” said Cash.  “I expect to see a guy across the cage who wants to fight. I’m a brawler and I want to finish this fight. He may have a little more experience than me but I’m a little hungrier.

Rockhold is a native of Santa Cruz, Calif., and a member of Team AKA, one of the country’s most fearsome fight squads.  Among his teammates are STRIKEFORCE World Lightweight (155 pounds) Champion Josh “The Punk” Thomson and MMA superstars Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch.

In his last effort, Rockhold made quick work of highly touted Cory “The One” Devela at a STRIKEFORCE Challengers event in Kent, Wash., back in June. The victory over Devela was Rockhold’s fourth straight and his third by way of submission.

Taking up judo as an adolescent, he went on to excel in high school wrestling competition, Rockhold captured first place in the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League and eventually reaching the California State Championships. Toward the end of his high school career, though, Rockhold began to gravitate towards Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, the combat art that utilizes choke holds and joint locks to finish opponents.

Just three years into his professional mixed martial arts career, Jesse Taylor has experienced a roller coaster ride while trying to beat back his inner demons and take advantage of the talent he was born with. He is attempting to notch his eighth consecutive win and continue the upswing that he set in motion after becoming one of the sport’s most infamous characters courtesy of reality television.

A former NCAA Division I wrestling star for Cal State Fullerton, Taylor ranked as high as number three in the Pac-10 conference before deciding to try his hand at MMA.  A trip to with the star-studded, Oregon based fight squad Team Quest eventually led Taylor to a successful audition for Spike TV’s seventh season of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality show.

Taylor’s success continued on the series as the California native won all three of his elimination bouts to secure a place in the season finale.  Before his scheduled appearance in the live Spike TV championship, Taylor’s reckless behavior in Las Vegas one night before the event cost him his hard-earned spot and the opportunity to launch his career into the next stratosphere.

Since the incident, Taylor has claimed that he has matured and re-dedicated himself to becoming a fighting champion.  Thus far, he has backed up his words, stopping Drew “The Master” Fickett in the first round (1:42) of action on October 2, 2008 and competing successfully nearly every month since January of this year.

On Aug. 15, Taylor suffered his first defeat after seven consecutive wins, losing to former International Fight League (IFL) champion, Jay Hieron at STRIKEFORCE:  Carano vs Cyborg at San Jose, California’s HP Pavilion. Also on Nov. 6, former Fresno State wrestling star and Fresno native Casey “The Underdog” Olson (11-3) will return to action in the cage in a lightweight matchup against an opponent to be determined.

Tickets for the STRIKEFORCE Challengers event are on sale at the Save Mart Center box office and select Save Mart Supermarkets as well as at all Ticketmaster locations (800-745-3000), Ticketmaster online (www.ticketmaster.com <http://www.ticketmaster.com/> ) and STRIKEFORCE’s official website (www.strikeforce.com <http://www.strikeforce.com/> ). Save Mart Center doors will open for the STRIKEFORCE Challengers event at 5:15 p.m. PT. The first live, non-televised, preliminary bout will begin at 6 p.m.

STRIKEFORCE Challengers is a proving ground for up-and-coming MMA fighters. The series is designed to provide today’s top prospects with the opportunity to step-up their level of competition and demonstrate their ability in a nationally televised event.

About STRIKEFORCE

STRIKEFORCE (www.strikeforce.com <http://www.strikeforce.com/> ) is a world-class mixed martial arts cage fight promotion which, on Friday, March 10, 2006, made history with its “Shamrock vs. Gracie” event, the first sanctioned mixed martial arts fight card in California state history.  The star-studded extravaganza, which pitted legendary champion Frank Shamrock against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Cesar Gracie at San Jose’s HP Pavilion, played host to a sold-out, record crowd of 18,265.  Since 1995, STRIKEFORCE has been the exclusive provider of martial arts programming for ESPN and, after 12 years of success as a leading, world championship kickboxing promotion, the company unveiled its mixed martial arts series with “Shamrock vs. Gracie.”  In May 2008, West Coast Productions, the parent company of STRIKEFORCE, partnered with Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment (SVS&E), an entity created in 2000 to oversee all business operation aspects of the San Jose Sharks and HP Pavilion at San Jose.

The monthly 500 Word Article Submission Contest on the Muscular Development website forums (www.musculardevelopment.com) has already begun posting some of the entries, with the winner having his/her article published in the print magazine. Voting will begin shortly and go until December 12. Is this a shameless ploy to get some votes for my entry, “Sweatpants and a Duffel Bag” by MuscleSport Mag? You bet, it is! To get your by-line in MD should not be taken lightly, and I’m not doing so. If you have never been on the boards, then you’re doing yourself a disservice. MD is the top publication out there and their website is loaded with great material. The forums are legendary, especially the ‘No Bull’ section. Sign up, post and don’t forget to vote every month.

Sweatpants and a Duffel Bag

Remember the first time that you hit the weights? Me neither, but it doesn’t really matter, I suppose. As long as there is a first time to think back to and that there’s been many more since then.

Yeah, the longer that you’ve been training the harder it gets to recall how bad those first few workouts were. Your form was totally off, hands in the wrong position and all. But you got your ass in there and, lo and behold, it wasn’t too much longer before you figured it out.

Watching the ‘big guys’ training near you, reading magazine articles and (if you had the balls) asking questions of the guy waiting for you to finish on the incline bench gave you the knowledge that you needed to make that jump. Before you knew it, you were on the answering end of those same questions.

Over the years, you’ve gone through enough changes but one thing’s remained consistent – no matter what you always found time to get yourself to the gym. Even if it was one of those pieces of home equipment with the rubber band weights. While the people you lived near or worked with made their January cameos to satisfy their fat consciousness, you took care of business.

It may get harder every year, but when you can look yourself in the mirror and say that you’re in the best shape of your life, you know that you’re doing something right. It’s a simple formula – take care of your body and reap the rewards. The kind that stares you down every morning when shaving.

“There goes that guy with the sweatpants and duffel bag again.” Is that what your neighbor thought to himself this morning when you waved to one another as he raked another bag of fallen leaves? Have fun with that cleanup, my friend. I have a little back and bis to take care of.