• Christian vs. Sheamus

After Christian’s entrance, The Miz and R-Truth are spotted in the crowd with tickets and are confronted by security and John Laurinaitis. This would start an angle with them throughout the PPV. Sheamus then came out and we had our opener, which was pretty solid. Sheamus controls Christian early with a headlock before Christian slaps him. Both guys try hip tosses and Sheamus hits a clothesline before chasing Christian on the floor. Christian drop toeholds Sheamus into the ropes and slingshots to the outside, but Sheamus blocks a slap and hits the clubbing blows to the chest in the ropes. Sheamus heads up top, but Christian shoves him off to the floor. Christian hits some punches back in the ring and chokes Sheamus against the top rope. Christian hits some more punches and a diving uppercut off the second rope. He tries a sleeper but Sheamus drives him into the mat. Sheamus hits a scoop slam but misses an elbow drop and Christian chokes him with his boot. Sheamus hits some shots but Christian hits a knee to the gut and a missile dropkick.

Sheamus hits some shots to the back, a knee drop, and some clotheslines followed by a scoop slam for 2. Christian escapes a slam, fails at a Killswitch attempt, and heads up top, but Sheamus catches him with an Irish curse backbreaker for 2. Both guys head up top, but Christian knocks Sheamus off and hits the rope-assisted Pele kick followed by a tornado DDT out of the corner for 2. Sheamus blocks the Killswitch and hits a corner clothesline followed by a knee to the head. Sheamus hits a big shoulder block off the top but Christian takes out his legs on the apron. Sheamus flings Christian out to the floor to block a baseball slide attempt, but Christian spears him on the floor and again in the ring for a near fall. Christian misses a top rope splash before both guys counter each other’s finishers. Christian backflips out of a back suplex attempt, but Sheamus avoids a charge from Christian in the corner. Sheamus then hits the Brogue kick for the win. Good match to open the show, felt a little stretched out though and Christian really needed the win. However, Sheamus winning wasn’t a surprise since normal-sized heels never win clean in WWE. Match Time: 13:41     Star Rating: ***

• Sin Cara vs. Sin Cara

For those who didn’t know, Mistico was the one in the blue attire and Hunico (Incognito) was the one in black. We’ll just call them Blue and Black for this recap. This was a good match but the crowd was completely unresponsive, likely due to unfamiliarity with lucha style matches. They lock up and Black goes for the leg early before attempting a surfboard-style submission, which Blue escapes. Black shoves Blue down, but Blue hits an arm drag. Black holds the wrists, but Blue does a backflip followed by a moonsault attempt from Black. Both men hit hurricanranas before Black hits a kick to the gut, only for Blue to hit a springboard head scissors. Blue arm drags Black to the floor before hitting a tope con hilo. Blue hits a kick from the apron but misses an asai moonsault. Black hits a springboard senton for 2 and applies a chin lock. Blue tries a handspring, but Black dropkicks him for 2, hits a chop, and sends Blue to the floor. Black does a huge plancha over the ropes to the floor and covers in the ring for 2. Black applies a chin lock before both men attempt cross bodies at the same time and collide. Blue hits some kicks, a handspring, and a headscissors followed by a big cross body off the top to the floor. Black hits a powerbomb for 2 back in the ring and heads up top, but Blue meets him there and hits an arm drag off the top. Blue hits an enzuigiri from the apron but misses a senton bomb off the top. Blue then hits a modified sunset flip bomb for the win. Though the crowd was totally dead, this was a really good lucha match. You can’t totally fault these guys for the pace they went at because this is the type of match they’ve been taught to have in Mexico. Had this taken place in AAA the crowd would have been going ballistic. Match Time: 9:47     Star Rating: ***

• WWE Tag Team Championship match: Air Boom(c) vs. Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger

Another pretty decent match, though this felt like an extended Raw match at times. Kofi Kingston applies a headlock early on before Swagger hits a shoulder block, but Kofi hits a facebuster and holds up Swagger for Evan Bourne to hit a double stomp off the top. Ziggler and Kofi get tags, and Kofi leaps off Bourne’s back with a shot in the corner. Swagger hits Bourne with some shoulder strikes in the corner before Ziggler comes in with some stomps and an elbow drop for a near fall. Kofi gets a hot tag but Swagger cheap shots him on the floor and Ziggler slams his head on the apron before applying a chin lock. Ziggler hits some more stomps and a dropkick, and Swagger comes in and controls Kofi with a reverse headlock. Bourne gets knocked off the apron and Ziggler gets some shots in on Kofi while the referee holds back Bourne. Swagger hits a side suplex followed by a Ziggler elbow drop for 2. Kofi hits a DDT and both guys get tags. Bourne hits a hurricanrana followed by the diving double knees for 2, then blocks a Famouser attempt from Ziggler and hits a standing shooting star press. Swagger then puts Bourne in the ankle lock, but Kofi breaks it up with a big cross body off the top. Bourne gets a small package for 2, and Ziggler hits a clothesline before tagging in Swagger. Swagger tries a superbomb off the top, but Bourne counters with a Frankensteiner off the top for the win. Heat segment dragged on a little but the match really got going by the finish, which came off nice. Nothing too special but pretty good. Match Time: 11:13     Star Rating: **3/4

• Hell in a Cell match for the World Heavyweight Championship: Mark Henry(c) vs. Randy Orton

Interesting seeing this go on fourth, as typically WWE really likes to space out the HIAC matches on this PPV. This was another pretty good match, and probably Mark Henry’s best match ever. Orton is all over Henry with punches at the start before they move to the outside, where Orton is able to send Henry into the cage. Orton stomps Henry in the ring and hits a knee drop, but Henry blocks the spike DDT and slams Orton’s head in the corner. Henry stretches Orton’s arm across the ring post, but Orton kicks Henry’s arm and leaps off the apron, only for Henry to catch him and drive him back first into the cage. Orton hits some shots, but Henry powerslams him in the ring for 2. They go back to the outside, where they trade shots before Henry hits a powerslam on the floor. Henry slams Orton’s head against the cage, picks up the steel steps, and hurls them at Orton, but Orton moves out of the way. Henry lawn darts Orton into the cage and presses his face against it.

Back in the ring, Henry hits a corner clothesline and a splash for 2 followed by a backbreaker. Henry applies a bear hug, stands on Orton against the ropes, and puts him in the bear hug again. Orton fights out with punches but Henry tosses him to the floor. He teases the World’s Strongest Slam on the steps, but Orton grabs onto the cage and kicks Henry. Orton drives Henry into the steps and the ring post before hitting a Thesz press in the ring followed by a dropkick, the spike DDT, and an RKO for 2. Orton sets up for the punt, but Henry catches him as he charges and hits the WSS for the win. After the match, Henry wraps a chair around Orton’s leg and tries to hit a splash on hit, but Orton avoids it and attacks Henry with the chair in the ring and up the entrance ramp. Henry eventually low blows Orton and bails. The match was solid but the post match was irritating, as both guys are merely continuing the feud and the HIAC solved nothing. Not a great HIAC but they used the cage, told a story, and had some bright spots. Match Time: 15:59     Star Rating: **3/4

Cody Rhodes then comes out in a suit for a promo a in a filler segment to kill time. He heels on the crowd before unveiling the classic Intercontinental title belt, which apparently will be replacing the current one. John Laurinaitis comes out and says Triple H has ordered Rhodes to defend the Intercontinental title right now. John Morrison then comes out and we have our impromptu match.

• Intercontinental Championship match: Cody Rhodes(c) vs. John Morrison

Yep, Rhodes is still in the suit for those who were wondering. Morrison tries a quick roll up before applying a headlock. Rhodes misses a clothesline and a dropkick and Morrison goes back to the headlock. Rhodes goes outside to take off his shirt and tries to walk away shortly after, but Morrison brings him back toward the ring. Rhodes then tries to get counted out by staying on the floor, but Morrison kicks him in the back and brings him into the ring. Rhodes hits a front suplex and a knee to the gut before applying a submission. Rhodes kicks a rope hung Morrison in the gut, but Morrison counters an Alabama slam attempt with a roll up. Rhodes applies a Figure Four, but Morrison gets the ropes. Rhodes hits some punches, a knee drop, and a headlock with a quick punch to the head. Morrison drives Rhodes into the corner and hits some punches and a dropkick followed by a Flux Capacitor for 2. Morrison hits a Pele but misses the Flash Kick and Rhodes rolls him up for the win. Total Raw match hampered by the fact that Rhodes wrestled in suit pants and Gucci shoes. Due to the way it was set up, whoever lost this thing was going to come off looking bad. Nothing to see here. Match Time: 7:23     Star Rating: *3/4

• Divas Championship match: Kelly Kelly(c) vs. Beth Phoenix

For the third straight PPV Kelly and Beth squared off against each other. Eve and Natalya are once again at ringside. Kelly hits some punches at the start followed by a Thesz press and more punches. Kelly kicks Beth from the corner and hits a diving clothesline off the top, but Beth counters a head scissors attempt with a backbreaker and hits an elbow drop. Kelly is hung up in the tree of woe and Beth hits a baseball slide before applying a modified dragon sleeper. Beth throws Kelly down by her head and spanks her before hitting a backbreaker and stretching Kelly’s back over her knee. Kelly gets a quick cover for 2 but Beth hits a rope-assisted suplex. Beth chokes Kelly against the ropes, but Kelly hits a neckbreaker before both go for roll ups. Kelly flips out of a Glam Slam attempt, but Beth drives her into the corner. Beth charges in the corner but misses, and Kelly hits a handspring elbow and a bulldog off the top for a near fall. Eve and Natalya brawl on the floor and Beth puts Kelly in a unique double leg submission. Natalya taunts Kelly on the mic as she struggles. Kelly gets the ropes, and Natalya hits Kelly with the mic while the ref is busy holding Beth back. Beth then hits the Glam Slam for the win. Good to see Beth finally win the Divas title but the match really dragged and suffered from some sloppy spots and a lack of crowd heat. It was going along fine at first but they just went too long here. Match Time: 8:28     Star Rating: *1/2

• Triple Threat Hell in a Cell match for the WWE Championship: John Cena(c) vs. Alberto Del Rio vs. CM Punk

This was easily the best match on the show, and was really good outside of the anticlimactic finish. The three men play a bit of cat and mouse early on, keeping their distance from each other and moving in and out of the ring until Cena and Punk both go after Del Rio and take turns wailing on him in the corner. Eventually Cena and Punk have a standoff and tease their finisher before Cena winds up on the outside. Del Rio ends up on Cena’s shoulders on the floor and Punk does a suicide dive that sends both men into the cage. Punk hits a neckbreaker to Del Rio back in the ring and grabs a chair, but Del Rio shoves Punk off the steel steps and into the side of the cage. Del Rio hits a backbreaker to Cena before getting another chair and wedging it in the corner. Cena hits his shoulder blocks and the side suplex followed by the Five Knuckle Shuffle, but Del Rio escapes the Attitude Adjustment, only for Punk to hit him with a roundhouse kick before hitting an STO to both men at the same time. Punk sets up a table on the outside and runs along the apron to hit the high knee to Cena but Cena blocks the bulldog attempt and shoves Punk off the apron into the cage wall. Del Rio hits Cena with a chair, sets it on its legs, and hits a backbreaker to Cena on the chair. Del Rio puts Cena in the tree of woe, but misses with a charge and hits the ring post. Cena then stands on the top rope, but Punk shakes it and Cena ends up crotched. Punk hits a Russian leg sweep to Del Rio for 2, but Del Rio comes back with a clothesline before catching Punk in a chin lock. Cena then breaks up the hold with a flying leg drop onto both men.

Punk hits a big kick to the Del Rio before him and Cena collide. Punk and Cena trade shots before Del Rio breaks up a Go to Sleep attempt from Punk and hits both men with a chair. Del Rio stacks both men on top of each other with the chair between them, and comes off the top rope with a diving senton onto the pile. Del Rio gets near falls on both men and tries for the cross armbreaker, but is sent to the floor. Cena hits a sudden AA to Punk, but Del Rio breaks up the cover and hits an enzuigiri to Cena. Del Rio tries for the cross armbreaker on Cena, but Punk breaks it up with a slingshot senton over the ropes. Punk hits Cena with the GTS, but Del Rio pulls him out of the ring and sends him into the cage, and then the ring steps before throwing a chair at him. Cena catches Del Rio with an inside cradle for 2, but Del Rio brings Cena to the outside and throws him into the cage before hitting him in the leg with a chair. Punk hits Del Rio with some clotheslines, a scoop slam, and the Savage elbow drop back in the ring. Cena hits Punk with the shoulder blocks and the side suplex, but Punk kicks Cena in the head when he goes for the Five Knuckle Shuffle. Punk heads up top but Del Rio shoves him off and Punk falls through the table on the floor.

Cena puts Del Rio in the STF, but Ricardo Rodriguez knocks out a referee on the outside, gets the key, unlocks the door, and enters the Cell with a steel pipe. Cena then gives Ricardo an AA onto the floor outside the Cell, but Del Rio hits Cena with the pipe, knocks him outside the cage, gets the key, slams the door shut, and locks Cena out. Del Rio hits a German suplex to Punk for 2, but Punk blocks a second attempt with a roll up attempt. Punk heads up top, but Del Rio hits a big enzuigiri for 2. Punk blocks the cross armbreaker and hits some kicks, a dropkick, the high knee/bulldog combo, and a springboard flying forearm for 2. Cena tries to get in but can’t open the door. Del Rio hits Punk with the pipe and Punk goes for the GTS, but Del Rio hits a couple more shots with the pipe for the win. Frustrating finish for various reasons. They hot shotted the title once again, which proves that the company literally will do just ANYTHING to make sure that Cena never loses cleanly, even though it would have made far more sense to have Del Rio retain at Night of Champions and at this PPV rather than doing a title switch for the fourth PPV in a row. And since Del Rio was going over here, they just had to give Cena an “out” for losing and an excuse to rematch these guys at the next PPV, where Cena will probably win the title yet again. The finish just felt really flat after such a competitive and action packed match. This was really good stuff despite the fact that the cage was only used sparingly. It doesn’t hold up to the classic Hell in a Cells as it felt more like a traditional 3-way at times, but this was still a worthy main event. Match Time: 24:11     Star Rating: ***3/4

After the match, two men in black hoodies got in the cage and started attacking Cena. They quickly revealed themselves as Miz and R-Truth, and they were wreaking havoc in the Cell, attacking everyone including the referee and even some cameramen. Triple H, Laurinaitis, security, and the whole locker room poured out to try and get the cage open, and the idea was that Del Rio had the key and was still inside the cage, so they had no way in. JR was selling this beautifully on commentary. Eventually they got bolt cutters to break the chain and open the door, at which point police officers ran into the cage to arrest Miz and Truth. Once they got outside the cage, Triple H started beating up both of them as guys tried to hold him back, and Triple H decked Laurinaitis as he was being held back. Very good angle to close the show, this and the main event itself were the clear highlights of an otherwise dismal show.

Overall PPV Rating: 6.5/10

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.com for three years.

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• WWE Tag Team Championship match: Air Boom(c) vs. The Miz and R-Truth

This was a good choice as the opener, and was for the most part pretty well worked. Kofi Kingston starts the match with Miz, and they lock up before breaking in the corner. Kofi gets a 2 count off a big right hand, and then holds Miz for Evan Bourne to hit a diving double stomp off the top. Kofi scores a near fall on Miz before hip tossing Truth. Kofi and Bourne hit a double dropkick to Miz and head up top to hit stereo dives onto the heels on the outside. Truth takes advantage after Miz cheap shots Bourne, hitting some punches and choking Bourne against the ropes. Miz tags in and scores a near fall before applying a chin lock. Bourne gets up but Miz sidesteps a dropkick attempt and hits a double shoulder block with Truth. Miz hits some punches, but Bourne fights back with some kicks and counters the Skull-Crushing Finale by tossing Miz to the floor. Kofi gets a hot tag and hits a series of shots followed by the Boom Drop, but Truth hits a cheap shot as Kofi readies for the Trouble in Paradise. Kofi hits the SOS to Miz for a near fall, and Truth snaps Kofi’s neck over the ropes, allowing Miz to hit his modified DDT for 2. After seemingly not tagging in, Bourne hits the diving knees off the top but misses the shooting star press. Miz hits a DDT and Kofi breaks up the pin. Miz tags in Truth, but the ref doesn’t see the tag and is busy holding back Truth while Miz goes for a pin after hitting the SCF. Miz yells at the ref about it and eventually shoves him down, causing a DQ. The finish made sense with the “conspiracy” storyline with Miz and Truth, but it’s just not a good idea to book DQs in PPV openers. The match was going along nicely but the finish takes it down a peg. Match Time: 9:56     Star Rating: **3/4

• Intercontinental Championship match: Cody Rhodes(c) vs. Ted DiBiase

This was decent, but nothing more, pretty much a Smackdown quality match. Ted applies a chinlock early and hits a boot to the face before going after Cody’s mask. Cody then takes advantage and hangs up Ted in the ropes where he kicks him in the gut. Cody slaps him in the face, and Ted tackles Cody and punches away at him. Cody backflips out of a suplex attempt and hits the beautiful disaster kick for 2. Cody hits a front suplex and applies a camel clutch, which he transitions into an arm submission. Ted fights out, but Cody comes back with punches and stomps him against the ropes. Ted avoids a charging Cody in the corner and hits a backbreaker, but misses a dropkick. Cody hits a boot to the head and applies an abdominal stretch before sliding down and sneaking in a shot to the head. Ted fires back and hits an atomic drop followed by a flying knee and a sitout spinebuster for 2. Cody goes for the beautiful disaster again, but Ted dropkicks him in mid-air. Ted sets Cody up on the top rope, but Cody rakes the eyes. Ted tosses Cody to the mat and then rips the mask off. Ted celebrates and goes to hit Cody with the mask, but Cody rolls up Ted and hooks the tights for the win. Crowd wasn’t into this and the finish made Ted look completely stupid. Just an alright match, nothing special about it. Match Time: 9:49     Star Rating: **1/2

Christian then comes out for a promo. He dissed Buffalo and talked about how he deserved one more shot at the world title. He got the crowd to chant “one more match” until Sheamus came out. Sheamus dissed Christian but offered to help him get another shot at the title as long as Christian’s first title defense is against him. Christian accepts and Sheamus starts up the “one more match” chants again before hitting Christian with the Brogue Kick. Total filler segment designed to kill time.

• Fatal Four Way match for the United States Championship: Dolph Ziggler(c) vs. John Morrison vs. Alex Riley vs. Jack Swagger

This was a lot of fun, and also easily the best-booked match of the evening. Riley squares off with Ziggler and Morrison with Swagger to start. Riley hits a neckbreaker but Swagger hits him with a shoulder block and some punches. Riley hits an STO but Ziggler sends him off the apron into the steel steps. Morrison rolls up Swagger for a near fall, and then hits a dropkick to Ziggler into a cover on Swagger. Swagger hip tosses Morrison to the floor and hits Ziggler with a clothesline and a big boot. Riley hits Swagger with a TKO but Vickie puts Swagger’s foot on the ropes during the pin attempt. Morrison hits the Flash Kick to Ziggler, but Ziggler comes back with a Famouser for 2. Morrison hits an uppercut and both guys head up top. Ziggler blocks a superplex attempt and hangs up Morrison in the tree of woe. Riley then goes up top in the corner, but Morrison springs up and hits a German superplex to Riley off the top. Swagger then leaps up top and hits a super belly to belly suplex to Ziggler. Morrison hits some clotheslines and a dropkick followed by a tornado DDT to Swagger. Morrison hits a Flux Capacitor to Riley for 2, but Riley blocks a Starship Pain attempt. Ziggler then catches Riley in the sleeper just as Swagger puts Morrison in the Ankle Lock. The faces escape the holds and Riley hits a lifting DDT to Swagger. Swagger puts Riley in the Ankle Lock and ducks a Flash Kick from Morrison before giving him the gutwrench powerbomb. Ziggler then shoves Swagger aside and covers Morrison for the win. Energetic and fast-paced match that told a nice story with Swagger and Ziggler. Had some great spots as well. Match Time: 8:20     Star Rating: ***1/4

• World Heavyweight Championship match: Randy Orton(c) vs. Mark Henry

Considering Henry’s usual work rate and limitations, this was better than usual from him. They lock up at the start but Henry quickly tosses Orton into the corner. Orton fires away with punches and kicks at the knee before hitting a boot to the head and stomping Henry. Orton sends a charging Henry to the floor, where Henry rips the cover off the Spanish announce table. Henry lifts up Orton back in the ring, but Orton escapes and tries for the RKO, only for Henry to toss him off and big boot him. Henry charges into Orton in the corner and tries for the World’s Strongest Slam, but Orton escapes and applies a sleeper. Henry backs Orton into the corner to force a break and hits a huge right hand that sends Orton off the top to the floor. Henry drives Orton into the apron on the outside before hitting a head butt back in the ring and stretching Orton’s back across the ring post. Henry stands on Orton’s back against the ropes, and then hits a scoop slam and a running splash for 2. Henry hits a shoulder thrust and an elbow drop for 2 followed by a kick to the chest and a knee lift, but misses a splash after Orton hits some kicks and punches. Orton hits some mounted punches and more shots in the corner, and then hits a dropkick after some clothesline attempts fail. Henry hits a head butt, a clothesline, and the WSS for 2. Orton blocks a Vader Bomb attempt and hits a low DDT followed by a spike DDT, but Henry grabs the ropes to break the pin attempt. Henry kicks at Orton and Orton tries for the RKO, but Henry shoves him off and hits the WSS for the win. After the match Henry sold the win big in a post match interview with Josh Matthews. Match had solid storytelling to carry it through the slow pacing. Henry as champion is going to be tough to stomach after the high quality world title matches between Christian and Orton, but it was built up well and Henry’s matches aren’t quite as bad as they used to be. This was decent but not really PPV quality. Match Time: 13:10     Star Rating: **3/4

• Divas Championship match: Kelly Kelly(c) vs. Beth Phoenix

Although their SummerSlam match was fairly decent, this rematch was just used as a buffer before the double main event. Early on Kelly hits a hurricanrana off the top and applies a headscissor submission in the ropes, but Beth takes the advantage afterwards and catapults Kelly into the bottom rope. Eve attacks Natalya on the outside but Beth takes out Eve. Kelly gets a small package and a schoolboy for a pair of near falls. Kelly hits a kick, but Beth flips her and slams her down before setting her up top for a superplex. Didn’t look pretty and Kelly almost hurt her legs. Beth lifts Kelly up for a powerbomb but Kelly counters with a roll-up for the win. Bad decision here as Beth absolutely should have won, plus they did nearly the exact same finish as the match last month. Very typical Divas match, which is a little disappointing considering Beth’s skill. Match Time: 6:30     Star Rating: *1/2

• WWE Championship match: Alberto Del Rio(c) vs. John Cena

This was probably the best match on the show, though it wasn’t great or anything. Cena applies a headlock early on, but Del Rio escapes and bails to the apron. Cena fires back with some shots and a bulldog before the ref ejects Ricardo Rodriguez from ringside. Cena misses a charge into the corner and Del Rio kicks Cena before shoving him into the Spanish announce table on the outside. Del Rio hits a diving right hand off the top and applies a chin lock. Cena fights out and hits a gutwrench suplex for a near fall and a snap suplex. Del Rio hits his falling knee armbreaker and a big boot for a near fall. Del Rio stomps Cena’s arm and applies a chin lock, but Cena fights up and hits a belly to belly slam before both guys clothesline each other. Del Rio hits a lariat but misses a leaping body guillotine, and Cena hits a suplex followed by the shoulder blocks, side slam and the Five Knuckle Shuffle. Del Rio escapes the Attitude Adjustment and hits a back stabber, but Cena avoids the cross arm-breaker and hits a dropkick. Cena heads up top, but Del Rio hits an enzuigiri and Cena falls back into the ring. Del Rio hits a tilt a whirl backbreaker followed by some kicks in the corner before hanging up Cena in the tree of woe. Del Rio misses a headfirst dive and Cena hits the diving Famouser off the top for 2. Del Rio hits a German suplex and a diving senton off the top for 2 counts before applying the cross arm-breaker. Cena breaks the hold by lifting up Del Rio and slamming him down to the mat. Cena hits the AA and Ricardo runs back down to the ring. Cena uses the distraction to apply the STF, and Del Rio struggles for a while before finally tapping out. Terrible, terrible decision to take the belt off of Del Rio. Cena says flat out on Raw that Del Rio was not on his level, and then he makes him submit at the PPV. This is why the WWE has such a hard time making new stars and why it’s hard for guys to get over in front of this audience. The match itself was good but tainted by the bad booking. Nice sequences but nothing near the quality of the Punk/Cena matches. Match Time: 17:32     Star Rating: ***1/4

• No Disqualification match: CM Punk vs. Triple H

The stipulation was that if Triple H lost, he had to resign as COO of the WWE. This was extremely disappointing, mainly due to the horrendous booking in the latter half of the match. Punk attacks Triple H on the outside during his entrance and tosses him into the timekeeper’s area. Triple H comes back with some shots and whips Punk into the barricade before tossing him over the announce table and laying into him with punches. Both guys stand on the announce table and tease their finishers before Punk bails to the ring. Punk hits some punches and counters the Pedigree, but misses the high knee in the corner and falls to the floor. Triple H slams Punk’s leg into the ring post and drives him into the barricade, but Punk hits some shots, whips Triple H into the barricade, and hits a high knee against the steps. Triple H sends Punk over the barricade and hits a diving right hand off the barricade before they brawl through the crowd. They eventually make their way to the stage, where Triple H catapults Punk into one of the video screens, only for Punk to backdrop Triple H over the video screen into the area where guys walk out for their entrances. Punk hits a diving lariat off the screen and throws some duffle bags on Triple H. Punk slams Triple H into the video screen before they move back down the ramp, with Punk hitting some kicks.

Punk puts Triple H in the ring, gets a chair, and hits a huge chair shot to the back for 2. Triple H hits a spinebuster and throws Punk headfirst into the chair in the corner. Triple H clips Punk’s leg on the floor and slams his leg into the post repeatedly before hitting his leg with a chair. Triple H teases a Figure 4 but Punk kicks him into the steps. Triple H grabs a monitor but Punk hits a roundhouse kick and puts Triple H on the Spanish announce table. Punk heads up top and hits a diving elbow drop through the announce table. Both guys get back in the ring, but The Miz and R-Truth suddenly run out to attack both men. Miz hits the Skull-Crushing Finale on Triple H and Truth hits the Shut Up on Punk. They put Punk on top of Triple H for the pin, but Triple H kicks out. Miz argues with the referee, and the ref eventually punches Miz, only for Miz and Truth to beat down the referee. John Laurinaitis then comes out as Punk and Triple H attack Truth and Miz before Triple H hits Punk with the Pedigree and goes for the pin. A second referee comes down, but goes to check on the first referee rather than counting the pin. Punk hits the Go to Sleep and the second ref gets in the ring to count but Truth pulls out Punk during the pin attempt, despite the fact that Truth and Miz LAID PUNK ON TOP OF TRIPLE H FOR THE PIN 3 MINUTES AGO. Punk hits Truth with the GTS on the floor and tries a springboard, but Triple H kicks him in the gut and hits a Pedigree for a near fall.

Kevin Nash then comes down to the ring through the crowd, and punches out both guys. Nash attacks Triple H in the corner and tries for the Jackknife powerbomb, but Punk attacks Nash. Nash fires back with punches and hits Punk with the Jackknife, Nash goes after Triple H on the floor, but Triple H hits Nash with a sledgehammer. Triple H then hits a third Pedigree on Punk in the ring for the win. This was a huge clusterf**k. It seemed like this match was booked by Vince Russo. Way too much overbooking and interference. Yes you could justify the individual components of the overbooking, but there were simply just way too many things going on at once here. Miz and Truth ended up looking like complete idiots and jobbers after this, and Punk looked bad for taking the pin AND getting beat up by Kevin Nash. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that Triple H called this one, because the only people who didn’t look completely terrible after this were him and his buddy Nash. The match itself was going along fine before the crazy final minutes. Felt like a TNA main event. Just a total catastrophe that did no one any favors at all, and really ruined a show that wasn’t totally awful prior to this match. Match Time: 24:09     Star Rating: **

Overall PPV Rating: 5.5/10

• The Miz, R-Truth, and Alberto Del Rio vs. Kofi Kingston, John Morrison, and Rey Mysterio

The show opened up with an unadvertised trios match in what appeared to be a combination of Raw’s predominant upper midcard feuds. Not surprised to see they added this match considering that the pre-announced card lacked a definitive opener. Kofi and Miz lock up at the start, with Kofi applying a headlock before they start to run the ropes, only for Kofi to hit a monkey flip. Morrison gets a tag, hits a double shoulder block with Kofi, and hits a corkscrew leg drop. Truth gets a tag, but Morrison is all over him with punches and hits a kick to the gut followed by the springboard flash kick. Truth comes back with a slap and shoves Morrison off the top turnbuckle to the floor before slamming his head on the apron. Truth applies a snapmare and a chin lock back in the ring before Miz comes in, hits a running boot to the head, and applies a chin lock of his own. Morrison hits a kick to the head before Kofi gets a tag. Kofi comes in with a diving clothesline off the top, but Miz counters the SOS. Kofi hits a springing cross body out of the corner and the Boom Drop before both men go for their respective finishers, only to have them countered. Kofi hits the SOS, but Del Rio breaks up the pin. Kofi dropkicks Del Rio, but Miz hits a cutter-facebuster type move for 2. Truth then hits a reverse falcon arrow for a near fall. Del Rio kicks Kofi in the gut and slams him down. Kofi kicks off Del Rio, but Miz hits him with a suplex. Kofi rolls Miz up for 2 before fighting out of a chin lock and hitting an arm drag followed by a sunset flip. Rey and Truth get tags, with Rey hitting a seated senton off the top, a springboard cross body, and a kick to the head before setting both Truth and Miz up for the 619. Morrison does a twisting dive onto Del Rio on the outside and Rey hits the 619 to Truth, but Miz rolls to the floor. Kofi does a springboard plancha to Miz on the floor, and Rey finishes Truth off with a top rope splash for the win. Good, fun opener with a hot crowd and some nice spots. Great way to start things off. Match Time: 9:37     Star Rating: ***

• Mark Henry vs. Sheamus

Much like Henry’s match with Big Show last month, this was surprisingly not totally awful. They lock up at the start before Henry hits a shoulder block. Sheamus unloads on Henry with a ton of punches and clubbing blows to the back, but Henry hits some elbows and tosses Sheamus to the floor. Henry tosses him back inside and hits a shoulder block and a running splash for 2. Henry then hits a pretty impressive coronation for a 1 count. Sheamus hits some shots, but Henry hits a backbreaker and gets Sheamus in the Sammartino backbreaker rack. Sheamus escapes but Henry whips him into the corner and steps over him. Henry misses a splash and Sheamus comes back with some double sledges and knee strikes to the head. Sheamus then hits some shots to the chest in the ropes and a knee to the head before the two collide in the middle of the ring. Sheamus kicks Henry and hits a shoulder block off the top for 2, but misses the Brogue kick. Henry hits a clothesline, but Sheamus escapes the World’s Strongest Slam and hits a Brogue kick that sends Henry to the floor. Henry hits some shots on the outside, rams Sheamus back-first into the post, and then slams him through the barricade into the crowd. Henry goes back into the ring, Sheamus can’t beat the count, and Henry wins via count out. Good booking to protect both guys and the barricade spot was pretty nice, but the match was fairly dull despite the solid storytelling. Not too terrible but not very good either. Match Time: 9:22     Star Rating: *3/4

Cee Lo Green then came out for his advertised performance. He performed the PPV’s theme song “Bright Lights, Bigger City” as well as a modified version of “F*** You”. Interesting to see him perform that second song on a PG show. The audio wasn’t coming in very clear for the first song but it turned out alright. Performance didn’t seem to be completely necessary but it did make the show feel like a big deal.

• Divas Championship match: Kelly Kelly(c) vs. Beth Phoenix

Kelly is all over Beth at the start with punches and kicks, but Beth just tosses her off during a head scissors attempt. Kelly knocks Beth to the floor and hits a diving clothesline off the second rope to the floor. Back in the ring, Beth counters a backslide and hits a clothesline followed by a military press drop onto the ropes for 2. Beth puts her boot to Kelly in the corner and does a Samoan wrecking ball. She rubs Kelly’s face in her ass before applying a chin lock. Kelly escapes, but Beth catches her in a Sammartino backbreaker rack. Kelly fights out with elbows and hits a neckbreaker and some forearms, but Beth powerslams her into the corner and hangs her up in the tree of woe. Kelly escpaes and rolls up Beth for 2, but Beth comes back with a sidewalk slam. Beth hangs Kelly up in the ropes and kicks her in the head, but Kelly repeatedly slams Beth’s face into the mat. Beth blocks a handspring elbow attempt and goes for the Glam Slam, but Kelly counters with a victory roll for the win. This was much, much better than the usual Diva fare but suffered from a lack of crowd heat. It told a solid story and was a decent little match, but the wrong girl went over for sure. Match Time: 6:33     Star Rating: **

• Wade Barrett vs. Daniel Bryan

This was a very nice showcase for both guys. They got a little more time than usual and delivered a solid back and forth match. Barrett starts with some shots to the back, a headlock, and a shoulder block, but Bryan comes back with a kitchen sink, a dropkick, and applies a hammerlock. Bryan does a leap frog and a drop down followed by a dropkick, but Barrett responds with some shots in the corner. Bryan hits a dragon screw and an IED before trying for a surfboard, but he can’t get Barrett up so he just stomps his legs. Bryan hits a running kick to the chest and backflips out of the corner, but Barrett hits a black hole slam and a boot to the head followed by a rope-assisted backbreaker. Barrett applies a chin lock, but Bryan fights out and hits some elbows, a running elbow strike, and some uppercuts. Barrett responds with a flying forearm strike and chokes Bryan against the ropes before laying in some knee strikes and kicking Bryan to the floor. Barrett applies a rear chin lock back in the ring, but Bryan fights out, hits some kicks, and crotches Barrett on the ropes. They fight on the apron and Barrett goes for the Wasteland, but Bryan fights out and kicks Barrett to the floor, where Bryan hits a running knee strike off the apron. Bryan hits a missile dropkick back in the ring for 2, but Barrett avoids Bryan in the corner and hits a big boot. Bryan escapes the Wasteland again and cinches in a guillotine, which he transitions into the LeBell Lock, but Barrett makes it to the ropes. They go up top, and Barrett crotches Bryan on the top rope before hitting a vicious clothesline off the ropes into the ring. Barrett then hits the Wasteland for the win. Bryan really should have gone over here but they still have time to build him up before Wrestlemania next year so Barrett winning wasn’t a terrible move. Definitely the highlight of the undercard and a really solid, competitive match with some good near falls. Match Time: 11:47     Star Rating: ***1/4

• No Holds Barred match for the World Heavyweight Championship: Christian(c) vs. Randy Orton

Before the match, Christian introduces Edge, who he says will be watching his back in the match. Edge talks about everything that’s happened since Christian won the title, then calls him a bitch and leaves. Way to make Christian look credible before this big match. That aside, this match was awesome. The best match these guys have had andone of the best matches of both guys’ careers. Orton circles Christian at the start before they trade punches, with Orton beating on Christian in the corner before Christian comes back with some shots himself. Orton hits a clothesline but Christian snaps his neck over the ropes and hits a diving elbow strike off the top. Orton hits a back body drop, some stomps, and a knee drop, but Christian comes back and stands on Orton’s back on the ropes. Orton tries for the spike DDT, but Christian counters and sends Orton to the floor. Orton sends Christian into the barricade and takes apart the announce table, but Christian escapes an RKO attempt on the table, and then takes his title and tries to escape through the crowd. Orton catches up to him and lays in the punches in the stands. Eventually Christian is thrown over the barricade back to ringside, and Orton hits some mounted punches in the ring. Christian sends Orton shoulder first into the ring post before getting a kendo stick and repeatedly striking Orton with it. Christian presses the tip of the stick against Orton’s throat and covers for a near fall.

Christian misses a shot with the kendo stick but hits a shoulder block for 2. Orton avoids a charging Christian in the corner and rolls him up for 2. Christian hits a spinebuster for a near fall and leaps off the 2^nd rope with the kendo stick, but Orton dropkicks him in mid air. Orton hits some clotheslines and a snap powerslam before grabbing the kendo stick. Christian hits a kick, but Orton counters a missile dropkick attempt with a jackknife cover. Orton hits a Thesz press, Christian counters the spike DDT, and Orton counters the Killswitch before hitting his signature backbreaker. Christian avoids the punt and tries to crotch Orton against the post, but Orton uses his legs to pull Christian into the post. Orton then takes out two tables and slides one into the ring. Christian rams Orton into the apron and sets up the other table on the floor. Orton slams Christian’s head on the table before they head up top, where Orton hits a superplex onto the table laying flat in the ring. Ouch. Orton sets up that table in the corner and tries to send Christian into it, but Christian hits a reverse DDT. Christian misses a spear, but counters the RKO and sends Orton to the floor. Orton sends Christian into the steel steps and takes them apart, setting up the lower half against the apron. Christian slams Orton’s head on the steps before taking apart the Spanish announce table and hitting Orton with a monitor. Christian tries for an RKO on the Spanish table, but Orton counters and hits an RKO himself through the table.

Orton tries another RKO in the ring, but Christian counters and hits the Killswitch for 2. Christian then gets two steel chairs and sets Orton up for a conchairto, but Orton avoids it and hits Christian in the gut and the back with the chair. With Christian on the apron, Orton hits him with the chair again, causing Christian to fall off the apron through the table on the floor. Orton tosses some trash cans and another kendo stick into the ring. Orton misses a stomp on the steps, but is able to powerslam Christian through the table in the corner. Orton hits Christian in the back with a kendo stick and hits a spike DDT onto a trash can. Christian hits a kendo stick shot and springboards out of the corner, but Orton catches him with an RKO in mid air onto the steel steps for the win. Crazy, brutal match that would be a definitive feud ender. Christian took a ridiculous amount of punishment, maybe a bit too much, but this match was all about Orton’s revenge. Given the way this match had been built up, Christian really needed the win to avoid looking like a chump, and I still don’t like how Orton beat him in all their matches except for one where he got disqualified, but this match was excellent. The storytelling and psychology were extremely good and both men played their roles to perfection. Easily one of the best WWE matches of the year. Match Time: 23:42     Star Rating: ****1/2

• Undisputed WWE Championship match with Triple H as Special Guest Referee: CM Punk(c) vs. John Cena(c)

The main event of the evening was the highly anticipated rematch between CM Punk and John Cena after their classic at Money in the Bank last month. This wasn’t quite as good as that match, but was still an excellent follow-up. After some circling, they once again start off with a lot of chain wrestling, with both men applying headlocks and doing some mat work before Punk applies a chin lock with a body scissors. Cena fights out and hits a gutwrench suplex followed by a fisherman suplex before applying a rear chin lock. Punk is up, but Cena hits a scoop slam and an elbow drop before going back to the chin lock. Punk fights out with an arm drag and a big boot followed by some knees to the gut and a kitchen sink. Punk hits some falling head butts and applies a body scissors, but Cena fights out. Both men try suplexes near the apron, but Punk just dropkicks Cena to the floor. Punk kicks Cena in the gut back in the ring and applies an interesting arm-trap, neck-wrench submission. Cena fights to his feet and turns it into a tilt-a-whirl side slam. Cena hits a flying shoulder block but Punk prevents a second with a knee strike for 2. Punk misses the high knee in the corner and Cena hits some shoulder blocks, but misses the side suplex. Punk hits a downward spiral and puts Cena in a Koji clutch. Cena fights out and applies a modified STF, but Punk counters that into the Anaconda Vise, which Cena then counters into a Crippler Crossface. Punk makes it to the ropes and sends Cena to the floor before hitting a suicide dive. Triple H gets to 9, but instead of counting to 10 he goes to the floor and tosses both guys back into the ring, wanting a definitive finish. Cena and Punk trade punches and kicks before Punk fights out of the Attitude Adjustment, but Cena hits a dropkick and the Five Knuckle Shuffle.

Punk counters the AA with a sunset flip, but Cena escapes and tries a jackknife cover. Punk counters that and hits a roundhouse kick for 2. Punk goes for the Go to Sleep, but Cena fights out and hits a corner splash followed by a powerslam. Cena heads up top, but Punk hits a high knee and Cena falls into the ring. Punk then leaps off the second rope with a bulldog for 2. Punk attempts a springboard from the apron, but Cena avoids it and cinches in the STF, but Punk makes it to the ropes. Punk then counters the AA, but Cena counters the GTS and hits the AA for a near fall. Cena heads up top and misses the diving famouser, allowing Punk to hit the GTS for 2. Punk then heads up top and hits a Randy Savage elbow drop for a 2 count and a huge pop. Cena scores a near fall with a small package and unloads on Punk with punches. Punk hits a kick and a high knee followed by a second GTS. Cena gets his foot on the ropes but Triple H counts the pin and Punk is the Undisputed Champion. Cena argues with Triple H after the bell but leaves peacefully. Triple H raises Punk’s hand in the ring, congratulates him, and leaves to let him celebrate. The finish came off a little flat but there will obviously be follow-up to this. They were on their way to potentially matching the Money in the Bank match, as they definitely had the crowd with them and were working a really great match, but it ended before it could reach that level. The match was definitely much more storyline-driven than their initial encounter but this was still outstanding. Who knew that John Cena would be able to pull off such technically sound wrestling? These guys have awesome chemistry and produced another great PPV main event for the WWE this year. Match Time: 24:09     Star Rating: ****1/4

BUT WAIT!!!!! As Punk is celebrating in the ring, KEVIN NASH is suddenly behind him and hits a clothesline followed by a jackknife powerbomb. Triple H run back down and Nash runs away, and Alberto Del Rio then hits the ring with a referee to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase. This leads to…

• Undisputed WWE Championship match: CM Punk(c) vs. Alberto Del Rio

Del Rio instantly hits a running kick to the back of the head for the win. I like the way they are setting up this storyline with CM Punk and Triple H, but Del Rio being the champion is a big mistake. The guy is not yet a credible main event player, and he isn’t that over with many of the live crowds. Del Rio has all the tools to be a huge superstar but once again the WWE has jumped the gun by randomly giving a midcard heel a world title in order to make him seem important. It hurt Sheamus, it RUINED Jack Swagger, and now what will it do for Del Rio? If nothing else this whole situation is just devaluing the WWE Championship, because the main focus of Raw is going to be this Punk/HHH storyline, with the WWE title taking a backseat and Del Rio being secondary. Totally disagree with giving this guy the title but it’s going to be quite interesting to see how this Punk storyline continues. Match Time: 0:12     Star Rating: N/A

Overall PPV Rating: 8.25/10

In-ring segment:

It seemed as if the show was going to start off with the Triple H vs. Sheamus Street Fight, but the two got into a brawl backstage with Sheamus getting the upper hand and laying Triple H out. This would be the start to an angle throughout the PPV where it was uncertain whether or not Triple H would be able to compete. After this, ShoMiz came out to cut a promo about how they were the best tag team ever. Teddy Long then came out and, after much dragged out bickering with The Miz, made an impromptu Gauntlet match pitting ShoMiz against up to four tag teams. The first team to beat ShoMiz would receive a tag title shot the next night on Raw. This segment was far too long and definitely could have been left off the PPV, but it was originally scheduled for last Monday’s Raw, when most of the Raw roster and crew were stuck in Europe.

1.    Tag Team Gauntlet match:

The first team to come out and face ShoMiz was John Morrison and R-Truth. Miz beats on Morrison for a bit before Morrison hits an arm drag, tags in R-Truth, and helps his partner hit a double hip toss to Miz. Big Show gets the tag and launches R-Truth across the ring before hitting a huge chop. Miz is then tagged in and hits a running kick to the face for a near fall before putting on a rear chin lock. R-Truth fights out of the hold and hits a heel kick, and both men tag in their partners. Morrison hits a dropkick before both men fight in the corner. Morrison puts on a triangle choke, holding onto Show while both men are against the ropes. The ref counts to five and Morrison and Truth have been DQ’d. Yes the first match on a PPV called Extreme Rules ended in a DQ. The next team out was MVP and Mark Henry. They try for a quick pin on the fallen Big Show, but Big Show kicks out and tags in Miz. Henry beats on Miz before MVP gets in there, hits a big knee, and the Ballin’ Elbow. Show big boots Henry but MVP sends him to the outside. MVP hits the Playmaker on Miz, but Big Show hits the Knockout punch to MVP from the outside and Miz gets the 3 count. The Hart Dynasty enters next and quickly hit the Hart Attack on Miz to win the title shot. This whole segment was supposed to be on TV and I can see why. Not a good way to start off the show. Match Time: 5:23 (Bell to bell action for all 3 matches combined)     Match Rating: 3/10 (For all 3 as a whole)

2.    CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio

The stipulation was that if CM Punk lost, his head would be shaved bald. This was a very good match between these two and ended up being far more satisfying than their Mania encounter because of how much more time they were given at this PPV. Punk kicks Rey in the stomach before going to work on him in the corner with a ton of kicks. Punk hits a big forearm but Rey comes back with a dropkick and some more strikes before Punk sends him to the outside. Both men are at ringside where Rey hits a headscissors sending Punk into the ring apron. Back in the ring Rey tries for the 619 but Punk counters with a Go to Sleep attempt. Rey avoids the GTS but Punk slams him down to the mat for a near fall. Punk distracts the ref, allowing Serena to kick Rey in the gut. Punk brings Mysterio to the outside again where he continues to kick away at him before throwing him back into the ring and hitting a slingshot senton for a two count. Punk chokes Mysterio with his legs but Rey fights out. Rey rolls through a sunset flip attempt and kicks Punk in the head. Punk beats on Rey in the ropes before Luke Gallows gets a cheap shot. Punk hits a backbreaker before putting on the bow and arrow hold. Mysterio counters it into a pin attempt but Punk kicks out, kicks Rey, and hits several leg drops in a row followed up by an unsuccessful pin attempt. Punk then puts Rey in the Gory Special, which is countered by Rey with an arm drag. Punk tries for the hold again but Mysterio counters it with a pin attempt. Mysterio hits a hurricanrana sending Punk into the second turnbuckle before he kicks Punk off and goes up top, only for Punk to knock him off. After a Serena distraction, the ref ejects both her and Gallows from ringside. Punk is upset and Rey takes advantage by hitting a baseball slide and an Asai moonsault to the outside. Rey rolls Punk back in the ring and hits a springboard seated senton but Punk kicks out at two. Mysterio tries for a springboard cross body but Punk counters with a mid-air dropkick for another near fall. Punk hits a diving clothesline and some forearm strikes, but Rey counters a GTS attempt with a roll-up for a near fall. Punk hits a huge kick but Rey kicks out of the pin attempt. Punk charges Rey in the corner, misses, and Mysterio hits a hurricanrana and a 619. All of a sudden, someone in a hoody appears at ringside and slides a chair into the ring. While the ref is removing the chair, Rey goes to the outside where the hooded man, possibly Joey Mercury or Low Ki (aka Senshi from TNA or Kaval, his current name in WWE developmental), hits a reverse powerbomb to him. Punk rolls Mysterio back into the ring and finally hits the GTS for the win. Very happy that Punk won and a very, very good match between these two. WWE finally gave these guys the time they needed. Match Time: 15:59     Match Rating: 7.5/10

3.    Strap match: Shad Gaspard vs. JTG

This was a decent strap match between the former Cryme Tyme partners but far too short. They didn’tJTG hits a few punches to start things off, but Shad hits a big blow and touches 3 turnbuckles in succession. JTG prevents Shad from touching the fourth by whipping him with the strap. JTG continues to whip Shad with the belt before Shad sends him to the outside. JTG holds Shad back, hanging him up against the ropes from the outside before returning to the ring. JTG touches 3 turnbuckles but Shad prevents him from touching the fourth before going outside the ring. Shad uses the strap to pull JTG into the ring post and whips him with the strap several times. Back in the ring Shad chokes JTG with the strap before touching 3 turnbuckles in succession. What he doesn’t know is that JTG had touched all 3 as well. JTG suddenly hits the box-cutter and touches the 4^th turnbuckle to win the match. It was going along fine but it ended too early. Match Time: 4:42     Match Rating: 4/10

4.    Extreme Rules match for the World Heavyweight Championship: Jack Swagger(c) vs. Randy Orton

While this match was not quite as “extreme” as many people would have hoped for, it still had its spots and featured some very solid wrestling. Swagger proved himself as a more than capable main eventer within this match and worked well with Orton. They told a good story with Swagger wanting to keep the match in the ring and Orton being the one to use the weapons and be more in control when the action spilled to the outside. Swagger uses his mat wrestling early on with single-leg takedowns and rolling Orton around the ring for a bit with a waist lock. Orton gets up but Swagger sends him into the corner and buries his shoulder into Orton’s midsection. Swagger goes outside and grabs a chair but Orton kicks it away. Swagger rolls back in the ring and tries for a quick kick on Orton, but Orton sees it coming and retreats, causing Swagger to roll right back out  as well. Swagger hits a huge Northern Lights suplex on the outside before sending Orton into the barricade and the ring apron. Swagger tries for a pin in the ring but Orton kicks out, and Swagger pounds on Orton before putting his boot to Orton’s throat. Swagger hits a suplex and brings Orton right back up. Orton hits a few punches but Swagger hits a belly to belly suplex. Swagger stomps on Orton before hitting another suplex and a belly to belly slam. Swagger charges Orton in the corner but Orton comes back with some quick offense. Swagger regains the advantage, goes outside the ring, and grabs his title belt. Swagger tries to use the belt but Orton responds with a series of uppercuts. Swagger hits a couple slams to Orton but when he tries for a Vader Bomb Orton gets the belt and hits Swagger in the gut with it. Orton hits a few clotheslines and powerslam for a near fall before Swagger rolls onto the ring apron. Orton tries for the spike DDT but Swagger suplexes him out of the ring to the floor. Swagger goes to the outside and grabs a trash can, but Orton takes it away and hits Swagger in the face with it twice. Orton stomps on Swagger back in the ring but misses a knee drop, Swagger rolls to the outside and grabs a chair, but when he tries to reenter the ring Orton hits the spike DDT. Orton sets up the chair and tries to RKO Swagger on it, but Swagger counters and throws Orton back first onto the chair. Swagger then hits the gutwrench powerbomb for the win. Pretty good, enjoyable title match. Match Time: 14:02     Match Rating: 6.5/10

5.    Street Fight: Sheamus vs. Triple H

Triple H storms out of the locker room and it looks like we are going to get this match after all. This match definitely had pacing issues but it told a good story with Triple H selling the neck/arm and Sheamus was really put over well. Sheamus tries to hit Triple H with the pipe but Triple H ducks and lands a ton of punches before clotheslining Sheamus over the top rope to the outside. Triple H jumps Sheamus from behind, slams his head into the announce table, and slams him into the ring barricade multiple times. He puts Sheamus back in the ring and hits a spinebuster, but can’t do the Pedigree due to the injured left arm and Sheamus hits a back body drop. The action again moves to the outside where Sheamus alternates between slamming Triple H into the ring barricade and pounding away at him. Sheamus is all over Triple H with punches back in the ring and gets a near fall. Sheamus continues the assault with a couple knee drops and more strikes before putting on a submission targeting Triple H’s neck and arm. Sheamus transitions to a sleeper as Triple H fights out with a back suplex. Triple H bails to the outside and Sheamus follows, hitting a neckbreaker. The fight moves back into the ring where Sheamus goes shoulder first into the ring post and Triple H hits a DDT, hurting himself in the process. Sheamus hits a urange before going right back to pounding away at Triple H with punches. Sheamus hits a powerslam but Triple H kicks out of repeated pin attempts. Sheamus goes to the outside, grabs the steel pipe, and returns to the ring. Triple H knocks the pipe away and hits a big knee, but Sheamus catches a charging Triple H with the pipe for a near fall. Triple H backdrops Sheamus over the top rope and leaves the ring but Sheamus is able to get a kendo stick. Triple H sidesteps a charging Sheamus and sends him into the steps before wailing away at Sheamus with the kendo stick, causing Sheamus to retreat up the ramp. Triple H tries for the Pedigree but Sheamus backdrops him onto the ramp. Sheamus throws Triple H back into the ring and hits a bicycle kick. The ref checks on Triple H and Triple H shoves him away and does the suck it taunt, but Sheamus hits 2 more bicycle kicks consecutively to win the match. Triple H tried to walk out on his own but Sheamus appeared on the stage and delivered another kick, resulting in Triple H having to be carted out on a stretcher. This was a solid match between these two but I found their Mania match to be better paced and more entertaining. Match Time: 15:51     Match Rating: 6/10

6.    Extreme Makeover match for the Women’s Championship: Michelle McCool(c) vs. Beth Phoenix

This match was set up similar to the Jeff Jarrett/Chyna Good Housekeeping match from No Mercy 1999. This was a pretty entertaining match and certainly much better than what we usually see from the Divas, but as is the case with most women’s matches this was very, very short. The girls lock up before Beth breaks, hits a few uppercuts, tries for a roll-up, and hits a second rope clothesline. Michelle goes to the outside while Layla and Vickie distract Beth. Michelle capitalizes by spraying Beth in the eyes with hairspray. Michelle attacks Beth with an ironing board in the ring before putting on a body scissors. Michelle gets an iron but Beth gets a roll-up for two. Michelle regains the advantage and dropkicks the ironing board into Beth in the corner. Michelle takes out another ironing board but Beth hits a dropkick. Layla and Vickie hold back Beth on the outside, but Beth moves and Michelle accidentally sprays Layla and Vickie with some hairspray. Beth slams Michelle into a table before sending her back into the ring. Beth hits Michelle with a bucket and sets up the ironing boards side by side. Beth tries for a superplex but Michelle counters and sends Beth backfirst into the ironing boards. Michelle tries for the Faith Breaker but Beth hits the Glam Slam to win the title. Fun but brief women’s match. Match Time: 6:37     Match Rating: 5/10

7.    Steel Cage match: Edge vs. Chris Jericho

These guys once again delivered a great match on PPV, and this was also WWE’s best cage match in several years. Great storytelling and great usage of the cage throughout made for a very enjoyable match. Jericho hesitates to enter the cage in the beginning and grabs a steel chair, hitting the cage with it. Edge hits a baseball slide to Jericho, slams him into the ring barricade, throws him in the ring, and slams the door shut. The chair was dropped and left at the floor just beside the door. Jericho tries for a quick escape but Edge pulls him down and beats on him in the corner. Edge slingshots Jericho, but Jericho springs up on to the ropes and scales the cage again. Edge again stops Jericho in his tracks and slams him from the top turnbuckle. Edge sends Jericho face first into the cage before choking him against the ropes. Edge tries for a spear but Jericho moves and Edge goes right into the cage. Jericho hits a slingshot dropkick and sandwiches Edge against the cage wall. Jericho slingshots Edge into the bottom rope, hits a side suplex for a near fall, then puts on a chin lock. Edge fights out of the hold and backdrops Jericho into the cage. Edge hits a few clotheslines, a flapjack, and a facebuster but Jericho kicks out of the pin attempt. Jericho comes back with a kick and a one handed bulldog before trying for a Lionsault, but he lands on his feet and tries for another escape. Edge pulls Jericho down onto the top rope but Jericho grabs Edge’s legs and takes him down to the mat right into the Walls of Jericho. Edge can’t get a break when he makes it to the ropes, but does use them to crawl up and send Jericho into the cage. Edge tries for an impaler but Jericho counters and tries for the Walls. Edge fights out, big boots Jericho, and then gets set for the spear. Jericho tries to crawl out through the door and grabs the chair. Edge gets the chair and tosses it in the ring but Jericho slams the door in Edge’s face. Jericho walks out onto the steps, but then turns around and heads back into the ring, wanting to deal out more punishment. Jericho tries to hit Edge with the chair but Edge hits a spear for a close two count. Jericho climbs to the top of the cage but Edge drags him back inside. They fight on the top rope with Edge crotching himself and Jericho going over the top of the cage again. Edge reaches through the cage at the top, grabs Jericho by the arm, and pulls him back to the top of the cage. The two straddle the cage and trade punches before Jericho climbs down onto the top rope and slams Edge’s leg against the cage. Edge is on the ropes and knocks Jericho to the mat, but Jericho hits a crazy springboard Codebreaker and crawls over for a pin attempt. Edge kicks out and Jericho tells Edge to stay down, continuing to go after the injured leg. Edge comes back with some strikes before sending Jericho into multiple sides of the cage. Jericho tries to escape yet again but Edge pulls him down and slams him into the cage repeatedly. Edge watches as Jericho tries to crawl to the door but Edge kicks him in the ribs and starts assaulting Jericho’s ankle, slamming it into the cage door. Edge tortures Jericho by wrenching and twisting his ankle and stomping it multiple times. Edge lets Jericho get up and hits a big spear for the victory. There was great storytelling throughout this match and a fitting conclusion to this feud with Edge getting his revenge. I enjoyed this a bit more than their Wrestlemania match due to the cage and longer length. Match Time: 20:00     Match Rating: 8/10

8.    Last Man Standing match for the WWE Championship: John Cena(c) vs. Batista

Anyone disappointed in the lack of “extreme-ness” in the undercard matches will be quite satisfied with the PPV’s main event. This match was just pure carnage, an awesome spectacle from start to finish. Cena and Batista lock up, followed by Cena ducking a punch and hitting a shoulder block. Batista goes to the outside and grabs a chair, but once he gets in the ring Cena slams Batista’s head into the turnbuckle and hits a bulldog followed up by a fisherman’s suplex, resulting in Batista being down for a 4 count. Batista is up and hits a huge clothesline, leaving Cena down for 5. Batista hits a big boot for a 3 count and counters an Attitude Adjustment attempt by sending Cena into the ring post. Batista works over Cena’s leg for a bit, slamming it into the ring apron and driving a chair into it. He slams down on Cena’s leg before hitting another big clothesline. Cena gets up at 6 but Batista goes back to the knee and hits a suplex. Cena gets up at 7 before rolling to the outside, where Batista squeezes Cena’s head against the apron. Batista goes to the outside but Cena lands a punch and sends Batista into the steps. Both guys get back in the ring where Batista puts on a Figure Four. Cena tries to break it but eventually rolls onto his stomach to reverse the pressure. Batista breaks and both guys are down for a 6 count before getting up and clotheslining each other. Cena hits a shoulder block, spin out powerbomb, and the Five Knuckle Shuffle, but Batista rolls to the outside and blasts Cena with a wrench from under the ring. Batista tosses a chair into the ring and throws Cena in, but Cena hits an AA out of nowhere onto the chair. Batista gets up at 9 as Cena goes up top, but Batista sends the ref into the ropes, causing Cena to crotch himself. Batista hits a spear and Cena gets up at 8. Batista hits another spear but Cena is again up at 8. Batista goes outside and grabs a table, sliding it in the ring and setting it up in the corner. Cena tries to put on the STF, but Batista kicks him off, right through the table. Cena gets to the outside at 7 but Batista slams him into the ring post. Batista picks Cena up at 7 and whips him hard through the barricade into the timekeeper’s area. Cena is up at 9 as Batista tears apart the announce table and sets up the steps adjacent to the table. Batista climbs the steps and sets up Cena for the Batista Bomb, but Cena counters with an AA to Batista through the table. Batista shockingly gets up just before the 10 count. Cena grabs another table from under the ring and slides it in before bringing Batista back into the ring. Cena tries for an AA but Batista fights out and hits a spinebuster to Cena through the table. Both guys are down, with Batista getting up at 6 and Cena at 9. An enraged Batista then hits a Batista Bomb, but Cena again gets up at 9. Cena gets the steps and slides them into the ring before putting Batista in the STF. Batista taps out, and then passes out, leading Cena to break the hold. The ref counts but Batista makes it to his feet at 9. Cena then pulls Batista backwards, crotching him against the ring post, before pulling out duct tape from under the ring (you read that right). Cena tapes Batista’s legs together, keeping him stuck to the post and unable to get up. The ref counts the 10 and Cena wins. The ending was a little weird but the rest of the match was so incredible that I can forgive them for the cheesy finish. I also commend WWE for finally giving these guys 20-25 minutes to put on a truly great match and also for having a PPV run right down to the final minute for a change. Match Time: 24:35     Match Rating: 8.5/10

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.com for over a year now.

1.    John Morrison vs. The Miz

The show kicked off with these two former tag team partners going at it. This match started off slowly in the beginning with both men applying a variety of headlocks but it got better as it went along. Morrison hits a nice flapjack followed up by a standing shooting star press for a near fall. Miz later comes back by hitting a clothesline in the corner followed by a running knee lift. The two exchange punches and kicks before Morrison misses a shining wizard and Miz goes for a roll-up. Morrison afterward connects with a springboard enzuigiri, but Miz gets his foot on the ropes when Morrison tries for the pin. Morrison then goes for a superplex, but Miz knocks him off the top ropes and jumps off to hit him with a double ax handle. Eventually near the end Miz goes for the Skull-Crushing Finale, but Morrison counters with a side Russian leg sweep. He goes up top to hit Starship Pain, but Miz knocks him off the top ropes before pinning him to win the match. Raw is now up 1-0 in the best 2 out of 3 mini-tournament going on within the PPV during the interbrand matches. Overall this was a decent opener hurt by a very weak ending. Match Rating: 5.5/10

2.    Smackdown Divas (Michelle McCool, Beth Phoenix, and Natalya) vs. Raw Divas (Melina, Kelly Kelly, and Gail Kim)

This was a surprisingly very good for a WWE women’s match. Kim starts the match by doing some good back and forth work with all of team Smackdown including hitting a nice hurricanrana to McCool. After taking some big power moves from Natalya, Kim makes the tag to Kelly, who hits a big headscissors initially, but the heels quickly regain control and begin to work her over while making quick tags. Phoenix hits a snapmare and puts Kelly in a chin lock while McCool hit a nice powerslam and a knee lift. Eventually Kelly is able to fight back into it by hitting a hurricanrana to Phoenix before making the tag to Melina. Melina does some good back and forth work with Phoenix and hits a big dropkick before getting a near fall with a roll-up. Phoenix eventually overpowers her and gets the win after hitting the Glam Slam. Smackdown has now evened the score at 1-1. A good women’s match that was only hurt by the lack of time. Match Rating: 5.5/10 (Keep in mind this is very good for a women’s match)

3.    World Heavyweight Championship: Undertaker(c) vs. CM Punk vs. Batista vs. Rey Mysterio

Despite not really getting a ton of time, this world title match was pretty entertaining due to the non-stop action, big moves, and near falls. Right out of the gate Punk goes after Mysterio and Batista and Taker go at it. Mysterio hits a seated senton to Punk and Taker connects with Old School on Batista. Batista eventually rebounds by powerslamming Punk before getting hit with a big boot from Taker. Taker then goes for a Last Ride on Mysterio, but Batista hits him with a huge spear. Mysterio and Batista then hit a 619/spinebuster combo but Punk breaks up Batista’s attempt at a pin. Taker is able to fight back into it by putting Hell’s Gate on Batista, but Punk breaks up the hold just when it appeared Batista was going to tap. Taker and Punk then go at it once again, culminating in Taker hitting the Last Ride and having a pinfall attempt broken up by Batista, who then takes on the Deadman. Taker and Batista exchange punches before Taker hits a chokeslam. After tossing Punk to the outside, Taker is hit with a Batista Bomb, but the pinfall is broken up by Mysterio. Mysterio and Batista then argue, allowing Taker to recuperate and hit Batista with a second chokeslam. Eventually this match comes to an end when Batista throws Mysterio out of the ring onto Punk before turning around right into a Tombstone and Taker retains his title. After the match, Batista blames Mysterio for his loss and attacks him during an interview segment, thus turning heel for the first time in almost five years. This segment was done very well and this match, although brief (clocking in at just under 10 minutes) was enjoyable. Match Rating: 6.5/10

4.    Team Smackdown (Chris Jericho, Kane, The Hart Dynasty, Matt Hardy, Finlay, and R-Truth) vs. Team Raw (D-Generation X, The Big Show, Jack Swagger, Cody Rhodes, Kofi Kingston, and Mark Henry)

With the score now tied between Raw and Smackdown, this huge brand warfare tag team match would decide who would take the Bragging Rights trophy. The match started off with R-Truth facing Cody Rhodes, stemming from their earlier backstage confrontation. The two do some decent back and forth action before Kane and Big Show get tagged in and the big men go to work. Show this a big shoulder block and leg drop before tagging in Swagger. Swagger starts to work over Kane but Kane hits a big right hand before tagging in Hardy. Hardy starts to get the upper hand on Swagger and hits a nice second rope leg drop. Swagger is eventually able to get the tag on Henry, who beats down on Hardy for a bit before tagging in Shawn Michaels. HBK hits a few chops but Hardy retaliates with a side effect before making the tag to Finlay. Those two go back and forth for a bit, ending with HBK hitting Sweet Chin Music. Almost right after hitting his patented move, he is caught with a Hart Attack from the Hart Dynasty. David Hart Smith is legal and goes to work on Michaels. I definitely would like to see a future DX vs. Hart Dynasty match after what these two teams did in this match. Jericho is eventually tagged in, which brought back memories of his great feud with Michaels from last year. Smith is eventually tagged back in and hits a big suplex to Michaels before tagging in Tyson Kidd, who misses a springboard elbow, allowing Michaels to tag in Triple H, who then cleans house. He does some good back and forth work with Jericho and the Hart Dynasty before Jericho misses a Lionsault, allowing Kingston to get a tag and enter the match. After hitting the Trouble in Paradise, Kofi’s pin attempt is broken up by the Hart Dynasty and the match instantly turns into an all out brawl outside the ring. Kofi goes to the top rope, but Big Show turns on Team Raw by hitting Kofi with a chokeslam and then hitting Triple H with a Knockout Punch. Jericho then sneaks in and gets the pin on Kofi and Team Smackdown is victorious. It was great to see WWE recognize Smackdown as their superior brand by giving them the win here. This was a pretty entertaining tag match but nothing we haven’t seen before. Match Rating: 6.5/10

5.    1 Hour Anything Goes Iron Man match for the WWE Championship: Randy Orton(c) vs. John Cena

Our main event was the 60 minute Iron Man match between Cena and Orton for the WWE title. I was worried that these two wouldn’t be able to entertain me for the whole hour and that the match should have been a 30 minute Iron Man match. Well, I did not enjoy the first 10 minutes of the match, and there was a 20 minute gap in the middle of the match that I did not enjoy, so a 30 minute match would have been much better. Still, they did enough right in this match to make it very enjoyable and possibly the best match they have ever had together. The match starts off with a ton of headlocks before Cena gets a quick fall a few minutes in by making Orton tap out to the STF. Just minutes later, Orton hits the RKO to tie the score at 1-1. The two then brawl outside the ring, which is when the match started to get pretty good. Orton smashes Cena’s head on the steel steps before hitting him with a TV monitor and a mic, resulting in Cena getting busted open the hard way on the top of his forehead. Cena fights back into it and hits his combination of moves and goes for the Attitude Adjustment, but while taking the move Orton hits the RKO and both men are down. With both guys having an arm across the other, the ref counts a double pinfall and the score remains tied, but now at 2-2. They did 30 second clock stoppages in between falls, and the one following this fall allowed medics to enter and clean up Cena’s bloody head (stupid PG rating). Cena then scores another pinfall after a top rope Attitude Adjustment to go up 3-2. Legacy then runs down to the ring and attacks Cena, and DiBiase hits Dream Street before dragging Orton on top of Cena. Kofi Kingston chases Legacy to the back with a chair (stemming from a backstage brawl with Rhodes earlier), but the ref counts to three and we are now tied again at 3-3. Orton and Cena then brawl up the entrance ramp and up to the stage. Orton slams Cena onto a control panel, resulting in an explosion. Orton then whips Cena through part of the set, causing another explosion and followed up by another pinfall from Orton, who goes up 4-3. We then ahd an odd sequence where Orton started playing with the pyro controls and hit many buttons trying to set off explosions near Cena. The fight returns to the ring where Orton beats down Cena very slowly for many minutes, which is what hurt the match as a whole in my opinion. In the middle of this long beatdown, Cena gets a small package to tie the score at 4-4, but Orton goes back up 5-4 after hitting an elevated DDT to the floor. Orton continues to wear down Cena until Cena eventually starts to make his comeback. The two go back and forth up and down the entrance ramp before taking the fight into the crowd. Cena chases Orton up to the top of a section and hits him with a garbage can before slamming him into a wall. Cena hip tosses Orton over the guardrail to take the fight back to ringside before smashing him into the barricades and the ring steps. A great spot follows where Cena launches Orton through the barricade before Cena sets up the ring steps next to the announce table. He then picks up Orton’s lifeless body and hits an Attitude Adjustment off the steps through the announce table followed by a pinfall to tie the score at 5-5.  Cena then grabs a wooden table and puts Orton on it in the ring, but when he goes for a top rope leg drop Orton moves and Cena crashes through the table. The two men exchange punches before Orton hits an RKO for a near fall. With the clock ticking away, Orton goes for a punt but Cena gets out of the way and puts on an STF. Orton tries to hang on but taps out as time expires and Cena wins the match 6-5 as well as the WWE Championship and the right to remain on Raw. A very good title match, the best these two have had all year. Match Rating: 7.5/10

Overall PPV Rating: 6.75/10

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 forwww.sportsgrumblings.com for roughly a year now as well.

1.    WWE Unified Tag Team Championship: Chris Jericho and The Big Show(c) vs. MVP and Mark Henry

This was not a good choice to have as the opener of the show. I didn’t have very high expectations but I assumed that Jericho and MVP would work well together and make this a decent tag match. Instead we got a very banal match that was nothing better than anything you would see from these guys on an episode of Raw. Jericho tried, again, but to no avail as he spent much of the match working with Henry instead of MVP. I don’t understand why WWE had Henry playing the babyface in peril for a good portion of this match when the guy is nearly 400 pounds! MVP did get some nice offense in on Jericho midway through the match and it looks like WWE might want to give him a push in the near future. Eventually Jericho gets the pinfall on Henry after a Knockout Punch from Big Show. Very slow and plodding tag team match, not the way you want to kick off a PPV. Match Rating: 3.5/10

2.    United States Championship: Kofi Kingston(c) vs. The Miz

I was very upset that WWE decided to remove the Morrison/Ziggler IC title match from the card so this match needed to make up for that loss. I felt it definitely delivered and made both guys look really good. Lots of fast-paced offense throughout this match and this might be Miz’s best singles match of the year. He has really matured into a fine worker and deserves a push on Raw. Both guys had their finishers reversed throughout this back and forth contest. Miz hits a nice top rope double axe handle at one point and hit a Russian leg sweep for a near fall. Not to be outshined, Kofi hit many cross bodies and also connected with his “boom-boom” leg drop. This match comes to an end after Kofi reverses the Reality Check and hits the Trouble in Paradise to retain his title. For the third straight time Kofi has defended the belt I felt he should have dropped it and I didn’t like him going over here. But at least he’s getting wins and a good run with this title. Good match. Match Rating: 6.5/10

3.    Submissions Count Anywhere: D-Generation X vs. Legacy

This ended up being the match of the night, even though it went a little too long and almost overstayed its welcome. This thing starts off as a very messy brawl through the stands, highlighted by the Canadian fans yelling “You screwed Bret!” at Michaels as he battled Legacy throughout the arena. But once everyone makes their way back to the ring, the match started to get good, really good. DX sandwiches Rhodes inside a chair, allowing for a unique double submission spot where Triple H puts on a Boston crab while Michaels has a camel clutch locked in, all while Rhodes was trapped inside the chair. In another cool spot, Rhodes had Michaels in a modified Gory special outside the ring. I enjoyed the way this match was booked in that they alternated between fighting in the ring and all over the arena throughout the course of the match. Another cool spot was when Rhodes and Michaels were brawling in the crowd and Michaels got knocked off the stands and took a long fall to the ground. Triple H then began brawling with both of Legacy and took them backstage. He hits a nice spinebuster to Dibiase through a table but he is able to recover and beat down Triple H with the help of Rhodes. With Triple H out, Legacy comes back out to the ring to take care of Michaels. After some good back and forth action, Rhodes has Michaels tied up with a figure four around the ring post and Dibiase locks in the Million Dollar Dream at the same time. Triple H stumbles out to the ramp, but Michaels taps out before his partner can get to the ring to help him. Very good match between these two teams, better than their match at SummerSlam. Match Rating: 7/10

4.    Singapore Cane Match: Kane vs. the Great Khali

This was an utter disaster. This was an atrocious match, one of WWE’s worst matches of the year.  And to think, I thought the weapons would help these two improve on their SummerSlam match. Both men had no clue whatsoever on how to sell kendo stick shots and did not even bother wrestling to make up for it. Basically it was just cane shot after cane shot after cane shot, supported by bad selling after bad selling after bad selling. Ranjin Singh gets involved by hitting Kane with a kendo stick, and Khali is once again distracted by his “brother”. Kane hits a surprisingly not-bad chokeslam for the win to end this monstrosity. Match Rating: DUD (0/10)

5.    ECW Championship: Christian(c) vs. William Regal

This was the match we should have gotten at SummerSlam. These two worked extremely well together and came very close to putting on the best match of the night. This is definitely Regal’s best match in years (given the fact thathe hasn’t really had the chance to put on really great matches recently) and Christian looks even more credible as champion after the end of this one. I really liked seeing Regal use the Regalplex for the first time in a while, which Christian sold perfectly (it almost looked like he was snapped in half). He also hit an exploder suplex and a very impressive rolling senton. Christian was just his usual great self, doing a good job of selling while also hitting many cool moves to keep the crowd interested, including his move where he jumps off the top turnbuckle and spins around into a sunset flip. The ending to this match was good as you saw Regal reverse the Killswitch, go for a knee to the head, Christian gets out of the way and hits the Killswitch for the win. Very good match between these two, one of ECW’s better matches of the year. Match Rating: 6.5/10

—In-ring segment—

After this the show quickly went downhill. Next up we had Pat Patterson get in the ring to mention that he’s from Quebec and that he was the first Intercontinental Champion. Dolph Ziggler then comes out to the ring to badmouth the guy with various bad “old man” jokes. No one cared and I was just begging for both men to leave the ring so we could move on with the main events. Eventually Ziggler attacks Patterson before Morrison makes the save. Couldn’t we have gotten the IC title match instead of this garbage?

6.    I Quit match for the WWE Championship: Randy Orton(c) vs. John Cena

This match was a bit of a disappointment for me, mostly due to the ending. It started off very slow for the first few minutes but quickly got very intriguing once Orton began to get control of Cena and brutally beat the tar out of him for a while. What they somewhat lacked in wrestling they made up for with excellent storytelling as you had Orton just looking like a sick sadist while Cena showed his drive and determination by repeatedly refusing to quit. Orton beat Cena with several weapons such as chairs, TV monitors, steel steps, and kendo sticks. He had him handcuffed for most of the match and the best part for me was when Cena was handcuffed to the ringpost outside the ring and Orton delivered many kendo stick shots to Cena’s ribs, which were shown to be bruised midway through the match. Cena eventually is able to break free later on when he retrieves the key to the handcuffs. He then handcuffs himself to Orton and proceeds to brutally beat him down for a few minutes. At this point I figured the slowness throughout the bout actually had a point as it was building toward a big finish. I was wrong. Cena out of nowhere puts a modified STF on Orton in the ring, using the handcuffs to choke Orton with his own arm. Instead of struggling for a little while or just breaking the hold altogether, Orton quickly says I quit and Cena is the new WWE Champion. This was a very anticlimactic finish to a very slow title match. It does get points for the great storytelling though. Match Rating: 6/10

7.    Submission match for the World Heavyweight Championship: CM Punk(c) vs. Undertaker

Looking at the clock when the bell rang, you knew this thing wasn’t going to get a lot of time as we had less than 20 minutes left until 11:00 ET. Still, this might have been WWE’s worst main event of 2009. I didn’t really like the way this thing was being booked initially, as you had Taker tossing Punk around like a rag doll and both men sloppily brawling outside the ring rather than trying to have a good technical match. Punk did a good job selling Undertaker as a huge threat throughout the match as he more often than not resorted to cheap offense and had a scared look on his face whenever Taker tossed him around. He also got a couple nice chair shots in the first couple minutes. It was OK but then just as we hit the 7 minute mark, Taker puts on Hell’s Gate and Punk taps instantly. What?? Anyway, Taker thinks he has won the title when Teddy Long comes out and says Hell’s Gate was banned by Vickie Guerrero a year ago and the match has to continue. Huh? The ban was lifted after Vickie’s fall out with Edge and Taker has used the hold in matches against Big Show and Shawn Michaels within the past year. So that really didn’t make any sense. Anyway right after the bell rings to signal the continuation of the match Punk puts on the Anaconda Vise and the ref instantly calls for the bell, even though Taker never tapped. Montreal Screwjob number two! Weird ending to a very short world title match, this pretty much confirmed that WWE considered Brekaing Point to be a throwaway. Match Rating: 4/10

Overall PPV Rating: 6.25/10

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.com for roughly a year now as well.

Sometimes you get what you wish for, but regret it in the end. That may just be the case this Tuesday on WWE’s ECW when the brash Jack Swagger faces Matt Hardy for the championship. It all fell into place for the undefeated newcomer when on this past week’s show, he defeated Finlay and Hardy survived a non-title match with the World’s Strongest Man, Mark Henry.

ECW general manager Teddy Long granted Swagger’s wish and he will get his shot at glory. As far as entertainment purposes go, look for Swagger to either win the belt or come damn close, setting up a long and drawn out war between the two. It makes perfect sense, with no one else in the WWE-offshoot faction being worthy of the throne. Besides John Morrison and The Miz (the ECW Tag Team champions), who else is marketable enough to deserve the championship?

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