With 2012 quickly approaching, Emelianenko needed only 2:29 of the
opening round to close the year-end mega-show, which lasted nearly 9
hours and featured MMA, Kickboxing, and Pro Wrestling bouts
respectively.

As the bout opened, Emelianenko threw a kick the was caught by the
Olympic gold medalist, however Ishii was unable to take down Fedor
after a brief clinch.  Fedor quickly found his rhythm before landing a
three-punch combo that broke Ishii’s nose and rendered him
unconscious.

The timing seemed poetic as mere moments after being announced as the
winner, event officials joined Fedor Emelianenko in the ring as the
arena ushered in the New Year.

The victory marks the sixth time Emelianenko has had his hand raised
on New Year’s Eve.

Full Results listed below:

Yusup Saadulaev  def.   Hideo Tokoro  KO (Slam) Rd 1  0:42
Antonio Banuelos  def.  Masakazu Imanari  Decision (Split)  Rd 2  5:00
Bibiano Fernandes  def.  Rodolfo Marques Diniz  Decision (Unanimous) Rd 2  5:00
Hayato Sakurai def.  Ryo Chonan  Decision (Unanimous) Rd3  5:00
Tatsuya Kawajiri def.  Kazuyuki Miyata Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke) Rd2  4:54
Megumi Fujii def.  Karla Benitez   Submission (Armbar) Rd 1  1:15
Bibiano Fernandes  def.  Antonio Banuelos  TKO (Punches)  Rd 1  1:21
Hiroyuki Takaya def.  Takeshi Inoue  Decision (Unanimous)  Rd5  5:00
Shinya Aoki  def.  Satoru Kitaoka Decision (Unanimous)  Rd5  5:00
Fedor Emelianenko  def. Satoshi Ishii  KO (Punches)  Rd1  2:29

For information on M-1 Global, go to the official M-1 website,
www.M-1Global.com and M-1 Global Facebook fan page

About M-1 Global:

Founded in 1998, M-1 Global (www.M-1Global.com) has established itself
in the realm of mixed martial arts (MMA) as the premiere entity for
discovering and developing the world’s next-generation of superstar
fighters. With offices in St. Petersburg, Amsterdam, New York City,
Washington DC, Los Angeles and affiliates in Kuala Lumpur, Seoul,
Tokyo and Paris, the M-1 brand has staged over 70 events worldwide
including the M-1 Selection and M-1 Challenge events and its
co-produced Strikeforce events in the United States. Captivating the
live, television and broadband audiences with its superior production
values and match-ups, M-1 events boast some of the sport’s top names
including Fedor Emelianenko, Andrei Arlovski, AleksanderEmelianenko,
Gegard Mousasi, Alistair Overeem, Ben Rothwell, Melvin Manhoef, Roman
Zentsov, Stephan Struve and rising stars Shamil Zavurov, Guram
Gugenishvili,  Alexander Sarnavskiy and Vinny Magalhaes. 2011 marks a
breakthrough year with two Selections tournaments across Eastern &
Western Europe, North America and Asia and a full calendar of
Challenge events fuelled by a talent-rich contention system ranking
M-1 Global’s Champions amongst the greatest in the sport.

M-1 Global’s greatest asset is the number one heavyweight fighter in
mixed martial arts history, Fedor Emelianenko. With daily coverage on
all MMA-related websites in the world, and articles in Time Magazine,
LA times and New York times, Fedor and M-1 Global make a lifetime
match serving as the catalyst to grow MMA in the 21st century.

Story and Photo Courtesy of Igor Golubchik, M-1 Global MMA

John Laurinaitis comes out to open the show with a short promo, talking about how it’s the 25^th year anniversary of Survivor Series but also the 10^th year anniversary of his tenure in the WWE. He tells us to sit back and enjoy the show. Live I could barely hear any of this because the crowd was booing so much.

• United States Championship match: Dolph Ziggler(c) vs. John Morrison

Despite the fact that the fans in attendance spent the majority of this match cheering for Zack Ryder, these two delivered a very solid effort and had a really nice match to open up the show. They lock up and Ziggler scores a takedown before slapping Morrison’s head and bailing to the floor. Ziggler comes back inside and they do some more grappling with both guys going for the arm before Ziggler hits some punches and stomps Morrison in the corner. Ziggler hits a dropkick and a headlock takeover, but Morrison gets up and they run the ropes. Ziggler avoids a hip toss but Morrison catapults him into the corner, clotheslines him to the floor, and hits a twisting plancha over the ropes. Morrison gets distracted with Vickie Guerrero, allowing to Ziggler to hit a neckbreaker for 2. Ziggler hits an elbow drop and applies a modified chin lock. Ziggler throws Morrison down by his head and chokes him with his boot. Morrison gets fired up after a slap from Ziggler and attacks him in the corner, but Ziggler scores with a half nelson frontal slam for 2. Morrison blocks a sleeper attempt and hits some clotheslines, a dropkick, and the moonlight drive for 2. Ziggler scores with a roll up out of the corner for 2 but Morrison counters a German suplex attempt and hits the flash kick for 2. Ziggler applies the sleeper, Morrison counters with one of his own, Ziggler tosses him off, and Morrison hits a tilt a whirl DDT, only for Vickie to put Ziggler’s foot on the ropes during the pin attempt. The referee then ejects Vickie from ringside and Ziggler gets a small package for 2. Both men go for roll ups and Morrison misses the flash kick, allowing Ziggler to hit a famouser for 2. Morrison blocks the sleeper hold again and hits a shining wizard, but Ziggler gets his knees up to block Starship Pain. Ziggler hits the Zig Zag for the win. After the match Ziggler started to cut a heel promo before Zack Ryder came out, much to the happiness of the crowd. Ziggler started to beat him down but Ryder hit his finisher and celebrated. This was a strong opener with a hot crowd and a lot of near falls and back and forth action. Match Time: 10:43     Star Rating: ***1/4

• Lumberjill match for the Divas Championship: Beth Phoenix(c) vs. Eve Torres

Thankfully they got this out of the way early. The crowd was mostly unresponsive to this, and for the most part it was a typical short Divas match. They lock up before Eve punches Beth and jumps at her, only for Beth to catch and drop her. Eve hits a kick for 2 and Beth goes outside, but the lumberjills roll her back in. Eve hits a neckbreaker and a standing moonsault for 2. Eve is distracted by the heel Divas, allowing Beth to hit a kick, some stomps, and a catapult into the bottom rope. Beth applies a facelock, but Eve fights up, hits a kick, and launches Beth into the corner. Eve hits a dropkick and a running elbow strike, but Beth gets her knees up to block a senton attempt. Eve counters the Glam Slam and applies the modified triangle hold, which still looks awful. Both girls go for roll ups before Eve heads up top for a moonsault, only for Beth to trip her up to prevent it. Beth then hits a crazy looking Glam Slam off the top rope for the win. Awesome finish to an otherwise forgettable match. When is Kharma coming back to give Beth some legitimate competition? Match Time: 4:34     Star Rating: *3/4

• Survivor Series Elimination match: Team Barrett (Wade Barrett, Jack Swagger, Dolph Ziggler, Hunico, and Cody Rhodes) vs. Team Orton (Randy Orton, Sheamus, Sin Cara, Kofi Kingston, and Mason Ryan)

This was very disappointing given the talent involved. Ziggler and Kofi start the match with a bit of grappling before they run the ropes. Ziggler avoids the Trouble in Paradise and hits a dropkick for 2. Ziggler blocks the SOS, but Kofi tags in Orton, who instantly hits the RKO to eliminate Ziggler. The heels then huddle up, but Orton attacks them and the faces all clear the ring. Kofi and Cara then go for stereo planchas to the floor, but Cara totally botches his dive and crashes and burns to the floor. Everyone is then left standing around as trainers aid Cara, who is badly injured. Justin Roberts announces that Cara is eliminated. Rhodes and Orton then resume the match, with Orton hitting an uppercut before tagging in Ryan. Ryan drives Rhodes into the corner, shoulders him, and hits a flying knee strike. Rhodes then bails to the floor and tags in Hunico. Ryan tosses Hunico and tags in Kofi, but Hunico launches Kofi into the corner and covers for 2. Barrett enters and applies a chin lock. Kofi eventually fights out before both men clothesline each other. Ryan and Hunico get tags, with Ryan hitting 2 backbreakers and a fall away slam followed by a military press drop. Rhodes gets a tag and hits the beautiful disaster kick followed by Cross Rhodes to eliminate Ryan.

Sheamus enters and locks up with Rhodes before attacking him in the corner. Sheamus hits a clothesline, a back elbow, and the clubbing blows in the ropes followed by a suplex for 2. Rhodes sends Sheamus to the floor, where Barrett clotheslines him and drives him into the apron. Barrett hits some punches in the ring before Hunico hits a slingshot dropkick followed by some shots to the back. Sheamus hits a back body drop before tagging in Kofi, who hits a big clothesline off the top to Barrett. Kofi hits a dropkick and the Boom Drop before knocking Rhodes off the apron. Kofi rolls up Barrett with a sunset flip for 2 before hitting the rope assisted Pele. He then hits the move to Swagger, but Barrett big boots him in the ropes and hits the Wasteland to eliminate him. Orton then comes in with punches, but Barrett sends him to the floor, where Hunico hits a suicide dive. Swagger and Rhodes then work over Orton with stomps and punches in the ring, and Rhodes hits a front suplex before applying a face lock. Orton shoves off a bulldog attempt and tags in Sheamus. Sheamus hits some shots to Swagger and a shoulder block off the top rope before tossing Hunico outside. Sheamus hits the Irish curse backbreaker but Swagger avoids the High Cross and Barrett runs into the ring. Sheamus then gets disqualified for attacking Swagger in the ropes and not breaking at 5. After being eliminated, Sheamus hits the Brogue Kick to Swagger and Orton covers for the elimination.

Rhodes then stomps Orton in the corner repeatedly and hits some punches, but Orton comes back with a clothesline, knocks the other heels off the apron, and hits a snap powerslam followed by the spike DDT. Barrett distracts Orton on the outside and Hunico gets set on the apron, but when he springboards in Orton catches him with a mid air RKO to eliminate him. Orton hits his signature backbreaker to Barrett and the RKO to Rhodes, but Barrett surprises him with the Wasteland to eliminate Orton and win the match. The match reads a lot better than it was executed. On the PPV it came off a little bit better than it did live but the crowd really died after the Sin Cara botch, and it took them a long time to get back into the match. The match was not structured very well, with the faces getting an instant advantage with the quick elimination of Ziggler as well as the fact that there were way too many slow moment and rest holds for a match like this. The Sheamus disqualification also came off very flat. There were a lot of talented workers here but this just didn’t deliver. Kudos to WWE for doing the right thing and putting over Barrett and Rhodes but the match was just alright. Match Time: 22:10     Star Rating: **3/4

• World Heavyweight Championship match: Mark Henry(c) vs. The Big Show

Well, this certainly ended the streak of overachieving Mark Henry matches. This dragged heavily and was very dull. They go to lock up a couple times, with both guys shoving each other off before Henry bails to the floor. Show gets a takedown in the ring but Henry gets the ropes. Show surprises Henry with an arm drag and Henry goes to the floor. Show attacks Henry in the corner but Henry dives at Show’s knee, slams his knee down, and applies a knee bar. Show eventually kicks Henry off but Henry hits a clothesline. Show hits a DDT as the “Boring” chants rain down. Show comes back with head butts, clotheslines, a corner splash, and a shoulder block, but Henry blocks the chokeslam and hits the World’s Strongest Slam for 2. Henry gets 2 more near falls off a splash and an elbow drop. Henry then runs Show into the post on the outside and shoulder tackles him through the barricade into the timekeeper’s area. That got the crowd excited. Show beats the count in the ring and Henry hits some head butts, but Show shoves off a superplex attempt and hits a superkick. Show then heads up top and hits a huge diving elbow drop that the place goes insane for. Henry kicks out of the cover, dodges the big punch, and hits a low blow for a disqualification. Show knocks out Henry after the match and hits an elbow drop with a chair around Henry’s leg. The DQ finish felt very flat considering the match was finally getting momentum. Overall the match was fairly boring, but at least live it was fun because of all the random chants the crowd entertained themselves with. On the PPV it was just…bad. I hate these DQ finishes in PPV world title matches, especially on a big PPV like this. Match Time: 13:04     Star Rating: *3/4

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

This undoubtedly stole the show, and saved it as well. Punk was hugely over here; with the crowd red hot from the get go. Howard Finkel even makes an appearance at the start to announce Punk’s entrance. They lock up at the start and break in the ropes, and then Del Rio applies a side headlock before they run the ropes. Punk hits an arm drag and targets the arm with an arm bar and a hammerlock. Punk hits a shoulder block and an arm drag before going for the Anaconda Vise but Del Rio escapes to the floor. They lock up again and break in the corner, where Del Rio lays into Punk with kicks before Punk retaliates with some of his own. Punk hits a hip toss and a dropkick before Del Rio goes outside again, but Punk hits a suicide dive to the floor. Back in the ring Punk hits a cross body off the top for 2 before cinching in a key lock. Del Rio fights out and beats on Punk in the ropes, and Ricardo Rodriguez scores with a cheap shot as Del Rio distracts the referee. Punk chases Ricardo around ringside and Del Rio kicks Punk through the ropes. Del Rio slams Punk’s arm onto the steel steps on the outside and hits a big forearm off the top rope in the ring for 2. Del Rio applies an arm bar, but Punk hits an arm drag and goes for the Go to Sleep. Del Rio escapes the GTS and hits an arm DDT before applying another arm bar. Punk eventually fights up and boots Del Rio in the corner, but Del Rio hits a tilt a whirl backbreaker for 2 followed by a diving clothesline off the top rope. Del Rio misses a kick through the ropes and crashes to the floor. Del Rio snaps Punk’s head over the ropes from the apron, but Punk big boots a charging Del Rio and both men are down.

They get up and trade punches and kicks before Punk hits a neckbreaker for 2 followed by the high knee/bulldog out of the corner combo. Punk hits a springboard clothesline for 2, but Del Rio again escapes the GTS and hits a back stabber for 2. Punk blocks a German suplex attempt and rolls up Del Rio for a near fall. Punk misses another high knee in the corner and Del Rio hits an enzuigiri for 2 followed by a double knee arm breaker. Both guys go up top and Punk shoves off Del Rio before teasing the Savage elbow drop, but Del Rio crotches him and kicks his arm. Punk avoids a charging Del Rio in the corner and hits the Savage elbow off the top for 2. Del Rio counters the GTS, Punk counters the cross arm breaker, Punk misses a kick, and Del Rio catches Punk in the cross arm breaker. Punk makes it to the ropes and goes for the GTS, but Del Rio shoves him off, only for Punk to big boot Ricardo off the apron. Del Rio then rolls up Punk for 2 and Punk hits a roundhouse kick for 2. Punk then applies the Anaconda Vise, and after struggling and clawing at Punk’s face, Del Rio finally taps out. After the match Punk jumped into the crowd to celebrate with the fans and really sold the title win. This was a really good, almost great match with some awesome false finishes and great technical work. Live it was even better because of how hot the crowd was for Punk. Here’s hoping that the WWE gives Punk a nice, lengthy run with the belt to restore some prestige to the title. Match Time: 17:16     Star Rating: ***3/4

• The Miz and R-Truth vs. John Cena and The Rock

First let me say that the atmosphere at Madison Square Garden was electric for The Rock’s big return to the ring after a 7+ year absence. Just seeing The Rock back was amazing and a truly special moment for all wrestling fans. However, as far as a wrestling match goes, this wasn’t exactly stellar. The crowd was booing Cena all the way through and couldn’t care less about the heels. Rock and Miz start, with the Rock applying a headlock and hitting a shoulder block before they run the ropes. Rock then busts out arm drags to Miz and Truth before sending Truth to the floor and catching Miz with a La Magistral cradle. The heels regroup on the outside before Truth tags into the match. Rock applies a headlock to Truth before both men try to target the other’s arm. Truth does a cartwheel before missing a kick, and Rock hits a punch followed by a fisherman’s suplex. The referee is distracted with Cena and doesn’t count the pin though, leading to Rock having words with Cena. Miz and Cena then tag in, with Cena hitting a couple snapmares, a monkey flip, and a dropkick. Truth tags in, and Cena hits his shoulder blocks and the side suplex, but stops the Five Knuckle Shuffle to taunt Rock, allowing Truth to hit a clothesline and stomp Cena in the corner. Miz then stomps Cena and hits a boot to the head, leading to a near fall for Truth. Truth applies a chin lock and tosses Cena into the ring post when he fights up. Truth slams Cena’s head on the apron on the outside and applies a seated head scissors in the ring. Truth kicks Cena to the floor and gets a 2 count. Miz tags in, escapes the Attitude Adjustment, and hits a low DDT for 2 followed by a corner clothesline. Truth hits a cheap shot and tags in, hitting a double suplex with Miz’s help. Truth applies a reverse headlock and hits some shots in the corner before Miz comes in with some punches.

Cena tries to fight back but Miz clotheslines him for 2. Truth hits an elbow drop for 2 followed by a leg drop. Truth leaps off the top and Cena catches him, but Truth counters the AA and hits a reverse falcon arrow for 2. Miz hits a pair of boots to the head, but misses a third and Cena applies the STF, only for Truth to break it up. Truth tags in and Cena hits the AA. Miz comes in, knocks Rock off the apron, and applies a chin lock while Truth drops Rock on the barricade on the outside. Miz and Truth hit a double flapjack to Cena for 2 and Truth applies a reverse headlock. Truth misses a leg drop, and both men make tags. Rock hits a DDT to Miz and the Rock Bottom to Truth. Rock puts Miz in the sharpshooter, but Truth breaks it up by hitting the Shut Up. Cena hits a belly to belly slam to Truth and takes him to the floor. Miz hits some shots to Rock, but Rock drops him with a spinebuster and hits the People’s Elbow for the win. After the match, Rock and Cena had a posedown of sorts and had some words with each other before Rock laid out Cena with the Rock Bottom. Rock’s offense looked good and the last few minutes of the match were well executed, but the majority of the match dragged badly. Miz and Truth’s repetitive and generic offense made this a very dull and boring match for the most part. This match is going to be praised heavily because of The Rock’s involvement, but when he wasn’t in the ring the match was not very fun to watch. Miz and R-Truth felt completely out of place and Cena looks completely weak now. The whole match felt like something that could have main evented a Raw leading up to Wrestlemania XXVIII. It didn’t even progress the storyline, as we are pretty much exactly where we were before the match. It wasn’t bad, and seeing The Rock wrestle again was a memorable moment, but the match itself wasn’t very good. Match Time: 21:32     Star Rating: **3/4

Overall PPV Rating: 6.75/10

• 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

• #1 Contender’s match: Kid Kash vs. Jesse Sorensen

The winner of this match would be the #1 contender to the X Division Championship. This was a fairly decent opener, and it would be nice to see TNA start more of their PPVs with fun, X Division style matches, besides matches for the X Division title. They chain wrestle at the start, with Sorensen applying a waistlock and a hammerlock before both men hit arm drags. Kash hits a kick and some shots to the head, but Sorensen hits some punches and an arm drag followed by an arm bar. Kash fights up and takes some shots from Sorensen, but drop toeholds him into the corner. Kash hits a nasty looking release front brainbuster and a kick to the head followed by some slaps. Sorensen comes back with some chops, a leg lariat, and a dropkick for 2. Sorensen hits a neckbreaker and a top rope cross body for a pair of near falls, but Kash comes back with a scoop slam, a knee drop, and some knee strikes to the gut. He shoves the ref but the ref shoves back. Kash hits a release suplex and a slightly botched springboard moonsault off the top for 2, but Sorensen hits a lifting reverse suplex slam for the win. Had a couple rough moments, but this was a solid opener all around. Match Time: 7:56     Star Rating: **1/2

• Bound for Glory Series match: Bully Ray vs. James Storm

Going in, they went with the idea that whoever had the most points after both of the BFG Series matches tonight would be the winner of the series. This was very dull and Bully Ray once again showed that while his heel character is very good, his wrestling still leaves much to be desired. Ray stalls a lot early on, leaving the ring several times and yelling at/staring at the crowd. After a few minutes Ray starts things off with some shots in the corner, then whips Storm into another corner to kick and punch him. Storm avoids a charging Ray and hits an arm drag before cinching in a cross arm-breaker. They played it up like Storm had to win via submission in order to get enough points to win the series. Ray makes it to the ropes and they circle each other before locking up again. Storm hits an arm drag and applies the cross arm-breaker again. Ray escapes to the floor and Storm slams his arm on the steps, but Storm gets beer sprayed in his eyes. Ray hits some head butts in the corner back in the ring, but Storm counters the Bubba Bomb and again applies the cross arm-breaker. Ray gets the ropes, but Storm puts him in a sharpshooter, only for Ray to make it to the ropes again. Storm gets Ray on the mat again and applies a Fujiwara arm bar, only for Ray to counter with a roll-up for a near fall. Ray backdrops Storm over the ropes, but Storm lands on the apron and hits an enzuigiri. Storm accidentally spits beer in the ref’s face before cinching in the cross-armbreaker again. Ray taps out, but the ref rules Ray the winner by disqualification. Total BS finish for a crucial match in a tournament to decide the #1 contender for TNA’s biggest show of the year. The match itself was very one-dimensional and boring, with Storm going for submission after submission and Ray stalling a lot. Not good, and the finish only worsened things. Match Time: 11:50     Star Rating: *1/4

• TNA Women’s Knockout Championship match: Mickie James(c) vs. Winter

This was yet another terrible Knockouts match with a lot of unnecessary overbooking and interference. Mickie hits a missile dropkick right from the start and goes after Angelina Love on the floor before Winter follows. Mickie whips Winter into the steps and slams her head on the guardrail, but Winter hits some shots back in the ring. Mickei hits a headscissors out of the corner and kicks Love through the ropes, but Winter hits a suplex before applying a bow and arrow. Mickie flips Winter over, but Winter hits a clothesline and throws Mickie down by her head before choking her against the ropes, and Love chokes Mickie while Winter distracts the ref. Winter hits a backbreaker and stretches Mickie’s back over her knee, then hits a second backbreaker. Winter applies a chin lock, but Mickie gets the ropes and does a jackknife cover for 2 followed by a neckbreaker. They trade shots before Mickie hits some clotheslines, a flapjack, and a kick to the head. Winter gets her foot on the ropes during the cover and Mickie applies a single leg Boston crab. Winter gets the ropes and Love hands her the title. Winter misses a shot with the belt and has a tug of war with the ref over it. Mickie rolls up Winter for 2 and goes for a tornado DDT out of the corner, but Love pulls Winter out of the ring to the floor. Mickie hits a Thesz press to Winter off the apron and chases Love up the ramp. The ref counts and both girls make it back in, but Love comes back down and grabs Mickie. Winter accidentally spits blood in Love’s face and while the ref is checking on Love, Winter spits the blood in Mickie’s face and covers for the win. The last couple minutes featured a ludicrous amount of overbooking and the match literally followed the exact same formula of their Hardcore Justice match as well as having the EXACT same finish. This sucked and accomplished nothing. Match Time: 8:38     Star Rating: 1/2*

• TNA World Tag Team Championship match: Mexican America(c) vs. Devon and D’Angelo Dinero

Much like the previous match, this was hampered by too much interference. Devon and Anarquia start with a lock up, with Devon taking control. Devon and Pope tag in and out to work Anarquia’s arm before Anarquia hits an elbow and tags in Hernandez. Devon hits a clothesline and Pope hits an elbow strike off the middle rope. Pope hits a drop toehold followed by a diving headbutt from Devon, and Devon follows with a hip toss to Anarquia. Pope hits an atomic drop and holds up Anarquia for a shoulder block from Devon. Rosita distracts the ref, but Pope kisses her on the apron before dropping her to the ground. Pope hits a hip toss and teases the Wassup with Devon, but Anarquia hits a back elbow and whips Hernandez into Devon in the corner. Hernandez then launches Anarquia into Devon and Sarita hits a dropkick off Hernandez’s back while the ref is distracted. Hernandez applies a bear hug and hits a shoulder block when Devon fights out, but Devon hits a spear. Both guys make tags and Pope hits some clotheslines, dropkicks Hernandez, and then hits a shoulder block and a coronation to Anarquia. Pope hits a top rope cross body but Hernandez breaks up the cover. Anarquia hits a back suplex followed by a diving splash from Hernandez, but Devon and Pope whip the heels into each other before hitting a double shoulder block. Rosita and Sarita try to interfere but the faces give them spankings. Pope tries to suplex Anarquia from the apron, but Anarquia counters it into a cover, and he gets the pinfall as Rosita pulls Pope’s foot from the outside. Typical TNA style tag team match with way too much overbooking and interference to the point where it greatly took away from the wrestling. What could have been a solid tag team encounter was hampered by excessive nonsense, which is a shame because the wrestling itself wasn’t terrible. This has become per the norm for this company in 2011. Match Time: 9:43     Star Rating: **

• Samoa Joe vs. Matt Morgan

While not a particularly good match, this was acceptable and a bit better than expected. Morgan fires away at Joe at the start before Joe comes back with some chops in the corner. Morgan hits some chops and strikes of his own followed by the rapid fire elbows and a Samoan wrecking ball. Morgan chokes Joe against the ropes and hits a leaping body guillotine followed by a guillotine leg drop on the apron. Morgan hits some shots on the outside, but Joe rakes the eyes before hitting a suicide dive out of the ring to the floor. Joe takes Morgan back inside where he hits some punches in the corner, but Morgan slams Joe’s head on the top turnbuckle and hits a top rope cross body for 2. Joe snaps Morgan’s arm over the ropes, hits a running knee strike, and chokes Morgan against the ropes. Morgan hits some shots, but Joe hits a clothesline and an enzuigiri for 2. Joe leg drops Morgan’s arm and applies a modified Kimura. Joe hits a chop in the corner, but Morgan comes back with some strikes before Joe hits some punches, only for Morgan to hit some of his own and a discus clothesline. Morgan hits some more punches, a corner splash, and a side slam for 2 before going for a chokeslam, but Joe rakes the eyes and hits a belly to belly slam before going for the Coquina Clutch. Morgan drives Joe into the corner to break it, but Joe cinches it in with a body scissors. Morgan makes it to the ropes and Joe argues with the ref, and Morgan hits the Carbon Footprint out of the nowhere for the win. The ending totally came out of nowhere and the match slowed down considerably after a good start, but this was still a passable encounter with decent storytelling. Match Time: 11:37     Star Rating: **1/4

• Bound for Glory Series match: Gunner vs. Bobby Roode

Similar to the Storm/Ray match, this was a very dull match that failed to deliver PPV quality action. They lock up and chain wrestle at the start, with Roode targeting Gunner’s arm. They go to the floor, with Roode slamming Gunner’s arm on the apron and stretching it against the ring post. Gunner kicks Roode and drops him face first on the apron, but when he charges, Roode sidesteps him and he hits the post. Roode stomps the arm and applies an arm bar back in the ring, but Gunner hits a DDT and an elbow to the head. He shoves Roode into the corner, and Roode hits an elbow, but Gunner knocks him down and catapults him neck-first into the bottom rope. Gunner wrenches the head and applies a headscissors on the mat. Roode fights out and goes for a Fujiwara arm bar, but Gunner hits a clothesline and a neckbreaker before applying a full nelson. Roode breaks the hold with a charge into the corner and they trade shots. Roode applies a Fujiwara and Gunner counters, but Roode hits a spinebuster before going back to the Fujiwara, only for Gunner to get the ropes. Roode hits some stomps but Gunner kicks him off. Roode hits a kick but Gunner hits a running knee strike before attempting another full nelson. Roode breaks that hold and counters a fireman’s carry with another Fujiwara, which he transitions into a crossface for the submission win. Gunner sold the arm well and the match had solid storytelling, but the match was literally all Roode working the arm, making it very one dimensional and difficult to get into. Technically it was well worked but it was also really boring. Match Time: 11:59     Star Rating: **

After the match, Eric Bischoff comes out and books Robert Roode vs. Bully Ray for later on in the show to decide the winner of the Bound for Glory Series, since Roode and Ray had the same exact amount of points. They should have just made things easier by announcing in advance that the winners of the two BFG series matches on the PPV would meet in the finals later in the night.

• TNA X Division Championship match: Brian Kendrick(c) vs. Austin Aries

Though nothing great or must-see, this was by far the best match of the night. This was a nice improvement from the X Division title match at Hardcore Justice and these guys showed better chemistry with each other. Aries goes for a waistlock early on, but Kendrick twists the arm and goes for a Fujiwara, only for Aries to go for a headlock. Kendrick applies a headscissors on the mat, but Aries escapes with a headstand and hits a dropkick. Kendrick hits some arm drags and a drop toehold followed by a kick to the head, but Aries avoids the sliced bread and bails to the floor, where he avoids a baseball slide kick from Kendrick. Kendrick whips Aries into the guardrail, but Aries sends Kendrick into the ring post and hits a Russian leg sweep into the post. Aries covers Kendrick in the ring for 2 and chokes him against the ropes. Aries hits a slingshot double sledge over the ropes to the apron followed by some chops, a back elbow, and a jumping elbow drop. Aries applies a unique submission before transitioning into a headscissors and boxing the ears. Kendrick hits some forearms, but Aries hits an atomic drop/STO combo, only for him to miss the pendulum elbow drop.

Kendrick hits a jawbreaker, but Aries counters an enzuigiri and tosses Kendrick into the corner. Kendrick big boots a charging Aries and hits some dropkicks, sending Aries to the floor, where Kendrick hits a suicide dive. He hits a missile dropkick back in the ring for 2 and a tornado DDT, but Aries gets his foot on the ropes. Kendrick goes for the sliced bread, but Aries tosses him to the floor, where he misses a suicide dive and crashes into the guardrail. They trade shots back in the ring before Aries sends Kendrick back to the floor and hits a twisting slingshot dive to the outside. Kendrick goes for several roll-ups back in the ring, but Aries hits a forearm and a rope hung twisting neckbreaker for 2. Aries misses the 450 and Kendrick tosses him into the corner before hitting a dragon suplex for 2. Kendrick goes for sliced bread, but the ref gets in the way. Aries uses the distraction to hit a twisting brainbuster for the win. Good back and forth match between these guys with some really nice near falls, and it’s great to see Aries as the X Division Champion, as he seems like an ideal guy to build that division around. Not a blow away match but on this show it really stood out. Match Time: 13:24     Star Rating: ***1/4

• Bound for Glory Series Finals: Bully Ray vs. Bobby Roode

Since it was the BFG Series finals, they did formal introductions. Much like the other BFG Series matches, this really plodded along and was very bland. Ray again stalls at the start by jawing with the fans before they lock up. Ray hits a chop and they lock up again, breaking in the corner where Ray hits another chop. Roode hits some shots but Ray punches him, only for Roode to hit a clothesline that sends Ray bailing to the floor. Ray applies a headlock and hits a couple shoulder blocks. Roode takes Ray down and applies a crossface, but Ray counters out. Roode hits a chop and some shots in the corner, but Ray hotshots him on the ropes and hits a neckbreaker followed by a splash for 2. Ray tries to cover 2 more times but Roode kicks out. Ray hits some slaps and chops while yelling at Roode, but Roode won’t back down and fires back. Ray whips Roode into the corner, but Roode hits a diving neckbreaker off the second rope. Ray hits a uranage and the Bubba Bomb for 2, but he misses a diving senton, allowing Roode to hit a spinebuster for the win. Nice to see Roode get the win but the finish was very anticlimactic and the match was far too slow paced despite the solid storytelling and characters. Ray plays a great heel but he just doesn’t bring it in the ring, which is a problem when he’s this high up in the card. Match wasn’t bad, but not a very definitive conclusion to a tournament that lasted several months. Match Time: 12:28     Star Rating: **1/4

• 3 Way match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship: Kurt Angle(c) vs. Sting vs. Mr. Anderson

This wasn’t necessarily a bad main event, but the whole match was incredibly predictable and the crowd was completely dead. Angle bails at the start before coming back inside the ring, and Sting and Anderson start double teaming him with stomps and corner splashes. After taking out Angle, the faces lock up, with Sting hitting a hip toss and a headlock before they go to the corner. Anderson hits some shots before Angle pulls him to the floor and clotheslines him. Sting hits some shots to Angle in the ring and takes out his leg before hitting an atomic drop, a kick to the leg, and a suplex for 2. Anderson hits a clothesline and an elbow drop to Angle, chokes him with his boot, and hits a neckbreaker. Sting breaks up the cover and hits some shots to Anderson before choking him with his boot. Sting has Anderson in a waistlock, and Angle gets behind him to do a double German suplex spot with all 3 guys. Angle kicks Sting’s head and suplexes him for 2 before applying a chin lock with a body scissors. Sting fights up and hits some elbows and clotheslines followed by a corner splash. Sting hits a DDT for 2 but Anderson breaks up the cover and goes for the Mic Check on Angle. Angle blocks and hits the 3 Germans (separately) on both Sting and Anderson.

Angle and Anderson fight up top, with Angle being sent to the mat only to pop back up and hit a super belly to belly suplex for 2. Sting backdrops Angle to the floor and puts Anderson in the Scorpion Deathlock, but Angle eventually breaks it up and hits the Angle Slam to Sting for 2. Angle then hits an Angle Slam on Anderson for 2 before putting Sting in the Ankle Lock. Sting rolls out and Anderson hits the Mic Check on Angle, but Sting hits the Death Drop on Anderson. Angle pulls Sting out of the ring, and Hulk Hogan grabs Sting from the crowd to rub something in his eyes. A “blinded” Sting then tries to give the referee the Scorpion Death Drop, but Angle hits a low blow and the Angle Slam on Sting for the win. Another ridiculous finish with dumb shenanigans, and it looks like wrestling fans’ worst nightmare is coming true as Sting is apparently facing Hulk Hogan at Bound for Glory. This match here was okay, but everything went exactly as you’d expect it to aside from the goofy finish. Nothing terrible but a very flat way to close the show. Match Time: 15:33     Star Rating: **1/2

Overall PPV Rating: 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

It was not to happen, as Henderson knocked out Fedor at 4:12 of the first round to retain his light heavyweight championship and improve his overall record to 28-8. A quick start by both fighters set the pace and potential finishing punches were being thrown one after the other. Henderson appeared to get the better of the early exchange and “The Last Emperor” countered with some strong right hands, eventually putting the champ down.

The Fedor of yesterday would have been able to finish the job right there and then, but Henderson was able to gain the advantage after surviving from the canvas. “Hendo” was able to get Fedor’s back and reverse the position, throw a barrage of punches before being waved off by referee Herb Dean.

Fedor’s comments after the fight were not sugar-coated and he felt that Dean jumped the gun. Using words like “early” twice made it obvious how he felt, but he may have a point. “I was ready to continue fighting,” Fedor (31-4) said at the post-fight press conference.

It did appear that Dean was cowering over the fighters and made his move hastily, but that is tough to say when you are not the one seeing exactly what the referee is. Dean has been around the sport long enough and his decision should be respected.

Fedor was coy about his future plans, saying things like it is “God’s will” if he fights again and “life goes on.” He has certainly lost more than a step in the past year and should seriously think about hanging ‘em up.

Fedor’s legacy amy be more important than a few wins late in his career. He may be Strikeforce/M-1 Global’s main draw, but that will only go so far as his performances get worse. With Dana White and the UFC pulling the strings, the questions only broaden.

The affiliation with its umbrella company may give Strikeforce some leeway, as their overhead is not as much of a concern as it was when they were footing their own bill. But they still want their own identity, and Fedor has been ‘the man’ in that promotion.

White has always had something for Fedor and may want to see him stick around. But losing is not going to make things better. Sure, Silva and Henderson are big-time fighters, so Fedor has nothing to hang his head about.

Perhaps a few wins against lesser opponents can clear the picture up for all involved.

1.    R-Truth vs. Rey Mysterio

Solid choice for an opener. Truth cuts a promo heeling on the fans before the match about how he had to park with the fans and walk in the rain before the show. They lock up at the start and Truth backs Rey into the corner. Rey hits a kick but Truth responds with one of his own, only for Rey to hit a kick to the head and send Truth to the floor. Rey runs across the apron and jumps off with a hurricanrana to the floor. Rey heads up top, but Truth pulls him down into the tree of woe and stomps him. Truth hits some punches before Rey drop toeholds him into the corner, but Truth grabs Rey’s head and runs him across the apron to send him headfirst into the ring post. Truth covers for 2 and applies a reverse headlock. Rey fights to his feet, but Truth hits a kick to the gut and a reverse falcon arrow. Truth applies a brief modified camel clutch in the ropes before he stomps Rey and stretches his body across the post from the floor. Truth covers for 2 before hanging up Rey on the top rope. They fight in the corner, with Rey hitting some kicks before diving off with a second rope bulldog for 2. Rey hits a second rope springboard cross body, a kick to the head, and a top rope diving seated senton, but Truth comes back with the Lie Detector. Rey has Truth set up for the 619 but Truth bails to the floor. Rey kicks him through the ropes, but Truth crotches him on the apron. Once they get back in the ring, Truth hits the leaping downward spiral for the win. After the match he smashes a water bottle in Rey’s face. Short but well wrestled opener with an unfortunately dead crowd. Truth needed the win for sure. Match Time: 8:12     Star Rating: **3/4

2.    Intercontinental Championship match: Wade Barrett(c) vs. Ezekiel Jackson

This took things down a peg after a pretty good opener. Barrett is slow to make contact at the start but goes after Jackson with punches. Jackson launches Barrett in the air to fight out of a reverse headlock and stomps him. Barrett hits a punch and some kicks before Jackson overpowers him and sends him to the outside. Jackson blocks a kick and knocks him down in the ring before hitting some kicks in the corner. Jackson whips Barrett into the corner and hits a back elbow. Barrett says he hurt his neck but he was faking it and goes after Jackson with punches before sending him shoulder first into the ring post. Barrett hits some punches on the ground before hitting a diving elbow drop. Barrett applies a rear chin lock, but Jackson fights to his feet. Jackson escapes the Wasteland, but Barrett hits a kick and a pumphandle slam for 2. Jackson sends Barrett into the post and hip tosses him into the ring, where he hits some clotheslines, a corner splash, and five consecutive scoop slams. He has Barrett in the torture rack when the rest of the Corre runs down for a disqualification. Jackson fights back at first but they all beat him down. Aside from the stupid, terrible finish, the match was horrible. Just punches and kicks and lumbering around from two big guys who can’t work that well. DQ finishes to title matches on PPVs are also ridiculous. Match Time: 7:28     Star Rating: *

3.    Sin Cara vs. Chavo Guerrero

This match was a little bit disappointing, and it could have been a show stealer. They do some good mat wrestling early before Cara hits a headscissors and sends Chavo to the floor. Cara hits a huge spinning tope dive to the floor, and then hits a second headscissors that sends Chavo into the barricade. Chavo comes back with some shots in the corner in the ring, but Cara hits a top rope moonsault to a standing Chavo. Cara kicks Chavo in the gut, but Chavo is able to rebound with a jumping knee strike in the corner. Cara hits a dropkick and a springboard arm drag, but Chavo hits a kick to the gut and some punches. Chavo targets Cara’s leg, but when he heads up top, Cara kicks him to the floor. Cara then hits a diving cross body off the top to the floor. Cara hits a kick to the head and a springboard hurricanrana back in the ring. Cara hits some more kicks and a handspring back elbow. Cara hits an enzuigiri from the apron and a springboard cross body. Chavo attempts the Gory Special, but Cara fights out and hits a really sloppy tilt-a-whirl headscissors-type move for the win. I think it was supposed to be something similar to La Mistica but they messed up and Chavo just fell on his face. The match was too short to hit its potential and it felt too much like an exhibition for Cara due to Chavo getting such little offense. The botched finish hurt it as well. Match Time: 7:23     Star Rating **1/4

Alberto Del Rio then comes out for a brief promo, where he heels on the fans before Kane and Big Show come out to interrupt. Kane basically tells him to scram and the Nexus make their entrance for the tag title match.

4.    WWE Tag Team Championship match: Kane and The Big Show(c) vs. CM Punk and Mason Ryan

This was another forgettable, TV quality match. Ryan and Kane start the match with a lock up, but Ryan quickly sends Kane to the mat. Kane twists Ryan’s arm and Ryan hits a shoulder block before Kane comes back with some strikes. Ryan hits a scoop slam and tags Punk, but Kane throws Punk face first into the corner. Show gets a tag and hits a chop, steps across Punk’s back, and then hits two more chops to Punk’s chest and back. Punk avoids a charging Show in the corner and tags Ryan. Ryan hits a shoulder block and an elbow drop before tagging back to Punk. Show applies a bear hug before Kane gets a tag. Kane hits a boot to the face, some corner clotheslines, and a side slam. Kane hits a top rope diving clothesline, but Punk escapes the chokeslam and tags in Ryan. Punk kicks Kane on the floor and Ryan drives him into the apron. Punk beats on Kane in the corner and hits a high knee, but Kane throws him off when he attempts a bulldog. Punk dropkicks Kane in the leg and tags in Ryan, who drives Kane into the corner and powerslams him. Kane hits some shots and Ryan hits a kick, but Kane hits a kick and suplex and both men are down. Ryan tags Punk, who hits an elbow drop and some stomps but misses a diving elbow drop. Both guys get tags and Show hits some clotheslines, a corner back splash, and a shoulder block. He teases a double chokeslam on Punk and Ryan and they fight him off, only for Show to hit a double clothesline. Punk is sent to the floor, leaving Ryan to fall victim to a double chokeslam for the win from Kane and Show. Mostly dull, boring match that felt like a total waste of Punk. Match Time: 9:05     Star Rating: *1/2

5.    Divas Championship match: Brie Bella(c) vs. Kelly Kelly

Even for WWE Divas standards, this was bad. Kelly has Brie in a lame version of a tarantula through the ropes before she hits a top rope cross body. Kelly does a stinkface before Brie sends her to the floor, where Nikki attacks her. Brie snaps Kelly’s arm over the bottom rope, and then twists and kicks her arm. She then applies a really long arm bar. Kelly finally gets up and hits a Thesz press and some punches before slamming Brie’s head against the mat multiple times, totally forgetting about the arm. Kelly stomps Brie against the ropes, but the ref backs her up, allowing Brie to swap out with Nikki. Nikki hits a sloppy X Factor for the win. This was a waste of time, both of these girls are awful, and we didn’t even get a Kharma appearance. Match Time: 4:02     Star Rating: DUD

6.    World Heavyweight Championship match: Randy Orton(c) vs. Christian

At long last we finally got something worth paying for on this PPV. Orton and Christian clearly have some really strong chemistry and delivered another extremely good match. They go to lock up, but Christian goes for a quick roll up. Orton gets a near fall of his own and applies a headlock, but Christian gets up. They run the ropes, with Christian hitting a leap frog and a shoulder block. Christian hits a second rope missile dropkick before they run the ropes again, with Orton hitting a leap frog and back elbow. Christian sends Orton to the floor and hits a baseball slide dropkick. Back in the ring, Christian hits a scoop slam and applies a chin lock, but Orton is able to fight to his feet. Christian hits a dropkick and applies another submission, but Orton again gets out and hits a punch followed by a dropkick. Christian goes up top, but Orton hits several punches and a top rope superplex for 2. Christian gets a near fall of his own and Orton hits some clotheslines, only for Christian to come back with a spinebuster. They trade shots before Christian hits a double sledge and a reverse DDT. Orton blocks a dropkick and tries for a jackknife cover, which Christian counters with a roll up of his own. Christian counters the Angle Slam with an arm drag and snaps Orton’s neck across the top rope after a series of more counters. Christian hits a top rope diving head butt, but Orton comes back with his backbreaker, some stomps, and a knee drop. Both guys counter each other’s finishers and Orton catches Christian in a Billy Goat’s Curse. Christian gets to the ropes and hits a kick before heading to the corner. They tease the same spot that finished off Christian in the Smackdown match, but Christian thinks twice and scores a near fall with a sunset flip out of the corner. Orton blocks Christian’s flip up kick in the corner and hits a spike DDT. Christian fights off the RKO and sets up for a spear, but Orton catches him with a snap powerslam for 2. Orton sets up for the punt, but has second thoughts, allowing Christian to hit a spear for 2. Orton then counters the Killswitch, Christian counters the RKO, Orton counters the Killswitch again, Christian does a back flip, and Orton hits a sudden RKO for the win. Great match with some excellent storytelling elements and even some good psychology. This may have been even better than their Smackdown match. Match Time: 16:51     Star Rating: ****

7.    Kiss My Foot match: Jerry Lawler vs. Michael Cole

Cole gets on the mic and says that he can’t compete as he reads aloud a doctor’s note, which claims that Cole has athlete’s foot. The ref says the note is no good and calls for the bell. Lawler rips off Cole’s pants and stomps him several times before hitting a punch and a dropkick. Cole slams Lawler’s face against the steps on the outside and throws him into the barricade. Cole takes off his shoe and sock, revealing his very dirty foot underneath. Lawler punches Cole and sends him crashing through the Cole Mine cubicle. Lawler hits a diving fist drop back in the ring for the quick win. Eve comes out after the match and hits a standing moonsault on Cole to get back at him for dissing the Divas. Jim Ross then comes out and douses him with BBQ sauce. Cole tries to walk away and calls everyone a bunch of losers, but then Bret Hart comes out. Hart puts Cole in the Sharpshooter in the ring, and Lawler puts his foot in Cole’s mouth as he’s stuck in the hold. This was a good way to blow off the program and was executed exactly as it should have been at Wrestlemania in the first place. This was a fine segment and didn’t overstay its welcome. Match Time: 3:02     Star Rating: N/A

8.    I Quit match for the WWE Championship: John Cena(c) vs. The Miz

This was certainly not what people expected. Miz comes out with Alex Riley and gets on the mic to offer Cena the chance to quit right at the start. Cena declines and runs wild on both men, hitting a bulldog and an Attitude Adjustment to Miz before applying the STF, only for Riley to break it up and attack Cena. Riley is sent to the outside and Cena hits his shoulder blocks, the side suplex, and the Five Knuckle Shuffle to Miz. Miz counters the AA with a reverse DDT backbreaker/neckbreaker combination. Cena hits an AA but Riley hits him with the briefcase several times. Riley slams Cena, who refuses to quit as the mic is stuck in his face. Both heels throw Cena outside the ring and ram him into the barricade. They take apart the announce table and bash Cena with monitors. Cena comes back with punches but Miz sends him into the steel steps. Miz hits a DDT on the lower half of the steps and offers Cena the chance to quit as Riley holds the upper half of the steps. Cena says no and Riley slams the steps on his shoulder. Riley holds up Cena’s arms above his head as Miz gets a kendo stick and repeatedly hits Cena with it. Cena still won’t quit. Riley and Miz ram Cena into the barricade and throw him down onto the ramp. Miz hits a DDT on the stage and Cena still won’t quit. Miz kicks him in the head and Cena falls to the floor beside the stage.

Riley holds up Cena against the boom camera and Miz gets on the mic to tell Cena he’s going to whip him with a strap. Cena again doesn’t quit and Miz whips Cena several times. They head back towards the ring, and Cena fights back, throwing Riley into the ring post, only for Miz to hit him in the back with a chair. Miz misses a chair shot in the ring and Cena hits some punches before Riley comes inside. The ref is down after a collision with Riley as Miz hits a reverse DDT. Miz hits a Skull-Crushing Finale onto a chair set up between the middle and top ropes. Miz taunts the crowd and goes back and forth with some little kid in the front row. Cena ends up hung up through a dismantled barricade and still refuses to quit, just before Miz hits him with a chair. We then hear “I Quit”, but it sounds like a recording, and the bell is rung and Miz is announced as the winner. The ref then comes to and finds Riley’s cell phone on the ground, and that they just played a recording and Cena didn’t quit. The match is then restarted and Riley goes to hit Cena with the WWE title, but misses and hits Miz. Cena then gives Riley an AA through the announce table. Cena chases Miz around ringside and up the ramp, whipping him with his belt. Cena catches Miz in the STF on the stage and Miz quits. What a lame finish. Cena gets destroyed for almost 25 minutes only to get the win in a minute? The match reads better than it was executed. There was a lot of stalling, lengthy pauses, and too much of Miz getting on the mic throughout. Easily one of the most ridiculous PPV main events that I’ve ever seen. It wasn’t even much of a match, just an extremely long, one-sided beatdown with an unrealistic conclusion. It just seemed to never end and dragged on forever. Match Time: 24:52 (Total bell-to-bell time)     Star Rating: N/A (Asinine)

Overall PPV Rating: 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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1.    Last Man Standing match: Randy Orton vs. CM Punk

Interesting, but strong choice to open the show. Both guys circle each other at the start before Orton starts on offense with some punches, a clothesline, and a kick to the chest before he sends Punk to the outside. Orton hits an uppercut on the outside before they head back into the ring, where Punk is able to hit some punches and a knee drop, only for Orton to retake the advantage with a kick, snapmare, and a knee drop of his own. They return to the outside, where Punk hits Orton with a kendo stick before tossing Orton back into the ring and grabbing a second one. Punk stays on offense and hits a back suplex, but Orton is eventually able to make a comeback, hitting Punk with a kendo stick and a clothesline. Orton tries for a spike DDT, but Punk is able to counter it and catapult Orton into an exposed turnbuckle, which Punk uncovered before the match began. The ref counts but Orton gets up as Punk sets up a chair in the corner. Punk hits a high knee in the corner, but Orton is able to avoid a bulldog into the chair. Orton counters the Go to Sleep, Punk counters the RKO, and Orton counters the GTS again before throwing Punk face first into the chair, sending Punk to the floor. Punk gets up at 6, but Orton rams him back first into the apron and powerslams him on the floor.

Orton takes apart the announce table, but Punk hits him with a roundhouse kick. Orton gets up, slams Punk face first on the announce table, and hits a nasty Angle Slam on the barricade. Punk is up at 6 and gets into the ring, where he counters the RKO and hits the GTS. Punk slides a chair into the ring and hits Orton with a Russian leg sweep on it. Orton is up at 8 and Punk sets up the chair on its legs, but Orton hits an RKO. Punk is up at 9 and bails to the floor, but Orton clotheslines him into the crowd. Orton tries for a spike DDT off the barricade, but Punk counters and rams Orton back first into the ring post. Orton gets up at 9, but Punk wraps a chair around Orton’s throat and rams him throat first into the post. Orton gets up at 9 and Punk hits a ton of punches. Both guys end up on the announce table, where Orton hits a sudden RKO. Punk gets up off the table at 8 but stumbles to the floor. Orton tries for the punt but Punk catches him and drops him face first on the steel steps. Orton gets up at 9 and goes into the ring. Punk heads to the top rope with a kendo stick in hand, but Orton pummels Punk with the other kendo stick and hits an uppercut. Both guys are up top and Orton hits a super RKO into the ring. Orton gets up at 9 but Punk doesn’t, and Orton gets the win. Very good match with some really nice spots. What kept it from being even better were the excessive amounts of counts whenever anyone would hit a move, which tends to happen a lot in WWE last man standing matches. Still, a huge improvement on their Wrestlemania match. Match Time: 20:10     Star Rating: ***1/2

In a quick backstage segment, Teddy Long informs Sheamus that he will defend his United States Championship in a Tables match against Kofi Kingston. I wish they announced this ahead of time.

2.    Tables match for the United States Championship: Sheamus(c) vs. Kofi Kingston

For a last minute add-on, this was pretty good. Kofi hits some punches and kicks in the corner at the start, and Sheamus responds with kicks of his own, only for Kofi to take him down and hit some more punches. Kofi goes to the floor to get a table from under the ring, but Sheamus throws him into the barricade. Sheamus gets another table but Kofi knocks him down. Kofi sets up a table on the floor and puts Sheamus on it, but Sheamus rolls off and tosses Kofi into the barricade. Sheamus teases a High Cross through a table on the floor, but Kofi escapes, only for Sheamus to hit some punches and put him back in the ring. Sheamus ends up on the apron and Kofi hits some strikes, but Sheamus hits a slingshot elbow strike over the ropes into the ring. Sheamus gets another table from under the ring and yanks Kofi’s arm over the top rope. He hits Kofi in the gut with a table from the outside, then drops the table on top of him in the ring. Sheamus stands on the table (and Kofi), then steps on Kofi’s face. Sheamus sets up the table in the corner and slams Kofi’s face on it, but Kofi is able to hit a sunset flip and a double stomp. Kofi ends up crotched (sort of) on the table, but is able to escape the High Cross. Kofi ends up on the apron and eats a bicycle kick, but the impact causes him to overshoot a table on the floor. Sheamus sets up a table in the ring and teases a powerslam off the top, but Kofi hits some punches, only for Sheamus to knock him down. Sheamus teases a suplex over the ropes through a table on the floor and Kofi hits the Trouble in Paradise, but Sheamus takes a bump on the apron and misses the table. Sheamus gets to his feat and winds up on the table, and Kofi jumps off the top rope onto Sheamus, putting him through the table for the win. It was expected that Sheamus would lose his title since they can’t have both the US and Intercontinental titles on Smackdown. Good match here with a nice story of Kofi’s constant escapes from potentially devastating moves from Sheamus. Match Time: 9:12     Star Rating: ***

3.    Country Whipping match: Jack Swagger and Michael Cole vs. Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler

While this wasn’t dragged out as much as their Wrestlemania match, it was still atrocious. Cole cut a promo putting himself over before the match and was wrapped in bubble wrap, to protect against the whips. It was basically a no DQ match, with tags, where straps were provided as weapons. Lawler whips Swagger with the strap at the start before Cole comes in. Lawler tears the bubble wrap off Cole, but Swagger enters and whips Lawler several times. Cole whips Lawler himself and tags out to Swagger, who beats on Lawler but misses a Vader Bomb. Lawler comes back with punches and Cole begs him off, but Swagger hits a chop block and applies the ankle lock. Ross whips Swagger from the apron, allowing Lawler to hit a DDT and tag in Ross. It got ugly as Ross was visibly stiff, nervous, and sloppy. Cole was tagged in, and Ross tosses him into the ring, sends him into the corner, and hits a very weak shoulder block. Ross whips him with a strap and applies the ankle lock, but lets go in order to hit Swagger with a low blow, who was trying to interfere. Cole got a roll-up immediately after for the win. Why can’t they just let the faces win to end this incredibly ridiculous storyline? The match was all whipping and no wrestling, and the wrong guys won. There’s not much more you can say. Match Time: 7:05     Star Rating: *

4.    Falls Count Anywhere match: Cody Rhodes vs. Rey Mysterio

The show got back on track with another Wrestlemania rematch which was better than the first encounter. Cody hits some punches at the start, but Rey slides underneath him and hits a head scissors that sends Cody to the floor. Rey then slides under the ropes with another head scissors, but Cody scores a near fall on the floor. Cody punches Rey as they go up the ramp, but Rey slams Cody’s head into the titan tron. Cody ends up on the floor beside the stage, and Rey hits a seated senton off the stage to Cody on the floor. They then brawl into the crowd. Cody crotches Rey on the barricade but Rey sends Cody into a wall. They fight up the stairs in the crowd with both guys throwing punches. Cody applies a Boston Crab with Rey’s body trapped in the railing, and hits a head butt. They fight into the arena concourse, where Rey throws a crate on Cody for a near fall. Cody hits some punches and a nice rebound kick springing off a wall for a near fall. Rey hits a knee to the head and knocks down Cody as they head back into the crowd and down the stairs. Mysterio hits a kick but Rhodes is able to hip toss him over the barricade into the ringside area. Mysterio hits some punches and tries for the flip up bulldog, but Rhodes counters and slams him face first on the steel steps. Mysterio is able to recover and hit a top rope flying head butt to a standing Rhodes in the ring for 2. Mysterio misses a top rope guillotine leg drop, and Rhodes is able to hit some kicks to the groin and an Alabama slam. Rhodes sets Mysterio up in the corner, but Mysterio hits some punches and blows mist in Rhodes’ face (channeling the Great Muta?). Mysterio hits the 619 and a springboard splash to get the win. This was a fun match with some innovative spots and solid effort from both men. Mysterio getting the win was fine as he got revenge after Rhodes beat him at Mania. Match Time: 11:43     Star Rating: ***1/4

5.    No Count Out, No Disqualification match (Loser Leaves WWE): Layla vs. Michelle McCool

This turned out a bit better than most WWE women’s matches. McCool takes control early and sends Layla to the outside. Layla sends McCool into the announce table, but McCool knocks her down, kicks her, and gets a near fall in the ring. Layla ducks a big kick and hits 2 of her own. McCool begs off, but Layla hits some punches. McCool hits a belly to belly slam and they go outside again.  McCool misses a kick and is hung up on the barricade. Both girls end up standing on the barricade and crash to the floor. Both girls go back in the ring, where Layla hits a flip over stunner out of the corner for 2. McCool gets a near fall, but Layla escapes the Faith Breaker and hits her neckbreaker. McCool gets her foot on the ropes and soon after is able to counter a sloppy roll-up attempt into the Faith Breaker. McCool goes for the cover but Layla suddenly rolls her up for the win. McCool cries in the ring afterwards. All of a sudden, Kharma (aka Awesome Kong from TNA or Amazing Kong on the independent circuit) makes her WWE debut and gives McCool the Implant Buster in the ring, which was awesome. As for the match, they tried, but Layla is such a terrible worker that it wasn’t much more than average. But average is more than you can say for most women’s matches in this company. Match Time: 5:07     Star Rating: **

6.    Ladder match for the vacant World Heavyweight Championship: Alberto Del Rio vs. Christian

Unsurprisingly, this was the best match on the whole show. They do some back and forth early on, with Christian reversing an irish whip and knocking Del Rio down, only for Del Rio to come back with a kick and a scoop slam. Christian hits some punches and chokes Del Rio against the ropes, and then hits a back body drop and a diving uppercut off the second rope. Christian goes to get a ladder but Del Rio goes to the floor to stop him. Del Rio stomps Christian, kicks him in the head, and rolls him underneath the ring with his foot. Del Rio picks up a ladder, but Christian appears on the other side of the ring and does a baseball slide dropkick that sends the ladder into Del Rio’s face. Christian gets a big ladder and climbs in the ring, but Del Rio sends him to the mat before climbing himself. Christian pushes the ladder over, but Del Rio is on his feet and hits an enzuigiri. Del Rio stomps Christian and chokes him with his boot, only for Christian to dump Del Rio over the ropes to the floor. Christian is holding a ladder in the ring, but Del Rio takes his legs out from under him and Christian lands face first on the ladder. Del Rio takes a ladder and bridges it from the apron to the announce table. Christian tries to catapult Del Rio into the ladder bridge, but Del Rio blocks and hits some kicks. Christian puts Del Rio on the ladder bridge and goes to the top rope. Del Rio pushes Christian off, but Christian is able to land on a standing ladder on the floor and spring off with a cross body to Del Rio to the floor.

Christian ascends a ladder in the ring, but Del Rio knocks him down and sets up a ladder against the corner. Christian counters the cross-arm breaker and Del Rio counters the killswitch, but Christian is able to flapjack Del Rio onto the ladder. Del Rio ends up on the floor and Christian tosses a ladder on top of him. Christian climbs a really tall ladder in the ring, but Del Rio comes back in and throws a very small step ladder at him. In a really cool spot, Del Rio stands on the step ladder, holds Christian, and gives him a jumping double knee armbreaker off both ladders. Del Rio applies the cross-arm breaker for a bit before he sends Christian into a ladder in the corner. Del Rio charges but Christian avoids him and sets up the SUPER ladder. Del Rio tries to powerbomb Christian off the ladder, but Christian counters with a head scissors and Del Rio is on the apron beside the ladder bridge. Del Rio teases a suplex on the ladder bridge, but Christian backdrops him onto another ladder laying flat in the ring. Christian goes to the top rope and holds onto a ladder, but Del Rio hits an enzuigiri, causing Christian to fall to the mat and land on the ladder. Del Rio climbs a ladder and Christian knocks it over, only for Del Rio to send Christian out to the floor. Ricardo Rodriguez hands Del Rio a chair, but Christian sends Del Rio into the ring post.

Christian gets in the ring, waits for Del Rio, and hits a big spear. Christian climbs a ladder, but Del Rio pulls his legs through the rungs and he’s stuck (channeling the finish of the Edge vs. Jeff Hardy ladder match from Extreme Rules 2009) as Del Rio climbs on the other side. Christian gets free and pushes the ladder over. Del Rio kicks the step ladder in Christian’s face and sets him up on the ladder bridge. Del Rio goes up top for an elbow drop, but Christian moves and Del Rio crashes into the ladder bridge. Christian sets up a ladder in the ring and gets to the top, but Brodus Clay comes down to interfere and pushes the ladder over. Christian is left dangling in mid air, but ends up on the mat and pushes Clay into a ladder in the corner. Christian hits him with the step ladder and Clay ends up on the outside. Del Rio kicks a ladder in Christian’s face and applies the cross-arm breaker with Christian’s arm through a ladder. Del Rio sets up the SUPER ladder and climbs slow, but Edge appears in a Jeep by the stage and honks the horn. Del Rio is distracted and Christian pushes the ladder over, causing Del Rio to fall out of the ring onto Rodriguez and Clay on the floor. Christian sets the ladder back up, climbs, and grabs the title as Edge comes into the ring to celebrate with him. Amazing moment with Christian winning the title and the crowd went INSANE. This has been a long time coming and I couldn’t be happier about Christian winning a world title in WWE. He’s easily one of their most skilled performers and he’s very over with the fans. Aside from the memorable moment, the match itself was great. The psychology was awesome with Christian climbing to win during the whole match. This got a ton of time, Del Rio did a great job working the arm, and they mixed in some very good spots. Excellent stuff. Match Time: 21:14     Star Rating: ****

7.    Lumberjack match for the WWE Tag Team Championship: Kane and The Big Show(c) vs. The Corre (Ezekiel Jackson and Wade Barrett)

This match was not announced in advance, and was just a buffer between the two major title matches. Show hits a punch and a couple chops to Barrett before tagging in Kane, who hits a low dropkick, a corner clothesline, and a sidewalk slam. Barrett is able to send Kane to the floor, where the lumberjacks ambush him. Show beats up a bunch of the lumberjacks as Jackson works over Kane with some clotheslines, stomps, and punches in the corner. Barrett stomps Kane and gets a near fall, but Kane hits a few strikes on Jackson before both men are down after a double clothesline. They tag their partners and Show is all over Barrett, hitting a corner back splash before he’s sent to the floor via Jackson pulling the rope down. The lumberjacks beat up Show and Jackson hits him with a scoop slam in the ring, but Barrett tags himself in. He can’t do the Wasteland and Show hits a chokeslam for the win. Pretty much a Raw match, but fine for what it was. Match Time: 4:19     Star Rating: *1/2

8.    Triple Threat Steel Cage match for the WWE Championship: The Miz(c) vs. John Cena vs. John Morrison

This really surprised me and ended up being nearly as good as the ladder match. Miz has the advantage early, hitting some clotheslines and tossing both Cena and Morrison into the cage. He tries to toss Cena into the cage again, but Cena blocks it and hits some punches and a fisherman’s suplex. Miz and Morrison end up on the top rope and Morrison tries to climb out, but Miz pulls him back in. Miz and Cena then fight on the top rope and Miz hits some punches, but Cena hits a big bulldog off the top rope into the ring. Cena hits his shoulder blocks, side suplex, and the Five Knuckle Shuffle on Morrison, but falls victim to a Skull-Crushing Finale from Miz. Morrison tries to climb out again, but Miz pulls him in and they slug it out on top of the cage. Morrison and Cena are on the top rope and double superplex Miz (who was hanging by his feet from the top of the cage) into the ring. Morrison again tries to escape but Cena pulls him back in, only for Morrison to send Cena to the mat. Morrison tries for the flash kick, but Cena ducks and Morrison just hits Miz instead. Morrison hits a Flux Capacitor to Cena for a near fall and climbs again, but Miz stops him and powerbombs him into the side of the cage before hitting a knee strike to the head. Cena catches Miz in the STF and Miz calls for the door to be opened as he crawls to it. Both Cena and Miz almost crawl out and are pulled in by their feet, and Cena hits a gutwrench suplex to Miz back in the ring. Morrison and Cena trade punches on top of the cage as Miz tries to escape out the door, but Morrison swings the the door into Miz’s face with his foot. Morrison ends up crotched on the top of the open door, and Miz pulls him by his leg back into the ring.

Morrison kicks off Miz, but Cena gets a near fall on Morrison. Miz hits a DDT for a near fall and follows it up with a clothesline and some kicks to Cena’s head. Miz presses Cena’s face against the cage with his leg, but has to stop as Morrison tries to escape over the top. Morrison dangles over the edge and Miz pulls him in, then Morrison does the same to Miz. Morrison sends Miz to the mat and kicks away Cena, then hits a crazy corkscrew splash off the side of the cage onto both men in the ring. Morrison tries to crawl out the door, but R-Truth runs down and hits a knee to the side of Morrison’s head. Truth enters the cage, kicks Morrison several times, hits an axe kick to Cena, and hits a Paydirt to Morrison. Truth then climbs over the top of the cage to leave, showing he could have won the match if he was in it. Miz ascends the cage, but Cena pulls him back in and they have a slugfest on top of the cage. Cena tries to escape but Miz pulls his foot and both guys end up on the top rope. Miz tries for the SCF, but Cena hits a jumping Attitude Adjustment into the ring and covers Miz for the win. Cena winning was anticlimactic but Miz’s title reign was really lackluster and they needed to take the belt off him. It’s a huge mistake by WWE if they don’t give Morrison the title this year because he’s crazy over and always puts on an outstanding performance in his matches. This was a great cage match with a lot of drama, and everyone was working at a breakneck pace right from the get go, which was stunning seeing as the match was going 20 minutes. Awesome stuff all around with a lot of great spots, and Morrison and Truth were put over strong. Great match to end a great show. Match Time: 20:00     Star Rating: ****

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 three years.

In untraditional fashion, the show actually opened up with a promo from The Rock. Rock came out to a nice pop and talked for about 10 minutes. Basically he introduced the crowd to the show and tried to get them amped up. The promo definitely went longer than it needed to and some of Rock’s lines came off really cheesy and lame to be honest. After this we got a Wrestlemania-themed video package and an awesome opening pyro display.

1.    World Heavyweight Championship match: Edge(c) vs. Alberto Del Rio

This was a very interesting and questionable choice as the opener to say the least. Ricardo Rodriguez and Brodus Clay are at ringside for Del Rio, and Christian is in Edge’s corner. They lock up at the start and reach the corner, where the ref calls for a break. Del Rio cheap shots Edge in the corner, but Edge comes back with some punches and a back drop. Del Rio kicks Edge’s injured arm and takes it to him in the corner, but Edge is able to send a charging Del Rio outside the ring. Edge goes outside, but Del Rio sends him arm-first into the barricade. Del Rio scores a near fall in the ring and goes to work on the arm. They go back outside, with Del Rio slamming Edge’s arm into one of the announce tables before bringing it back into the ring. Del Rio charges and Edge avoids, but Del Rio is able to slide outside. Edge then hits a tope over the top rope onto Del Rio on the outside. Back in the ring, Del Rio scores a near fall and runs the ropes but Edge hits a spin kick. Edge hits a big boot and some clotheslines as he retakes the advantage. Del Rio drops Edge on his arm after some back and forth, but Edge counters the cross-arm breaker and gets a 2 count. Edge gets another roll-up attempt, but Del Rio is able to apply the cross-arm breaker. Edge makes it to the ropes, and then drops Del Rio neck-first on the ropes when he gets up. Edge heads up top but gets caught with an enzuigiri. Del Rio is distracted by Clay and Christian fighting at ringside, and gets rolled up for a near fall. Edge hits an Imapler DDT and sets up for the spear, but Del Rio sidesteps him. Ricardo distracts the ref and Clay pulls Edge’s arm into the post. Del Rio applies the cross-arm breaker, but Edge is eventually able to reverse it into a pin attempt. Edge applies his modified Sharpshooter as Christian and Clay struggle on the floor, with Christian springing off the apron with a huge tornado DDT. Del Rio breaks the hold and gets up, but Edge springs off the ropes with a spear for the win. After the match, Edge and Christian bust up Del Rio’s Rolls Royce (which was left on the stage from his entrance) with a crowbar and a lead pipe. Good opener with a hot crowd, but way too short for a world title match, and Del Rio should have won in many people’s eyes. The short length and low card placement made it feel unimportant. Match Time: 11:10     Star Rating: ***1/4

2.    Cody Rhodes vs. Rey Mysterio

Though far from the “show-stealing” performance that Rey claimed it would be, this was a solid undercard match, though the crowd was sufficiently less into this than the opener, probably because they don’t see Cody as being at Rey’s level. Rey came out in a Captain America-themed outfit. Rey hits an early hurricanrana off the top before Cody can take his jacket off, but Cody is able to drop him before taking it off. Cody tries to target Rey’s injured knee, then whips him into the corner and goes after the mask. Cody hits a kick off the ropes for a 2 count, then stomps Rey and applies a modified camel clutch. Rey tries a headscissors but gets dropped with an Alabama slam. Cody hits some more offense before they fight up top, with Cody hitting a nice stalling vertical superplex. Rey counters a backbreaker and sends Cody to the floor. They fight outside and Cody gets dropped face-first on the apron. Mysterio scores a near fall back in the ring, but Rhodes catches him coming out of the corner and hits a suplex. Mysterio sends Rhodes into the ropes and goes for the 619, but Rhodes grabs his legs. Rhodes slingshots Mysterio into the ropes for a near fall, and after a brief struggle, is able to tear Mysterio’s knee brace off. Mysterio fights Rhodes off the apron, and hits a top rope moonsault. Mysterio is able to remove Rhodes’ protective face mask, and Rhodes doesn’t even sell it despite it being the basis of this storyline. Mysterio sends Rhodes into the ropes and hits the 619, but Rhodes gets the knees up to block the splash. Rey hits a kick to the face for a 2 count, and then puts on Cody’s mask, hitting some flying head butts in a goofy sequence. Rey plants Cody and hits a diving head butt off the second rope. Rey takes Cody’s mask off and the ref goes to put it away, but during this Cody smacks a charging Rey in the face with his knee brace. Cody then hits the Cross Rhodes for the win. The right guy went over, and this was a pretty good match with a story. Lack of crowd heat hurt it as well as Cody no selling the fact that his mask was removed. Match Time: 11:59     Star Rating: ***

They then cut to a goofy backstage skit, where Snoop Dogg and Teddy Long were doing a talent show type-thing. William Regal did a rap, The Great Khali and Beth Phoenix did a duet, Zack Ryder did a hilarious rendition of Rebecca Black’s awful song “Friday”, and Chris Masters and Yoshi Tatsu did a performance of Queen’s “We Will Rock You”, with Yoshi singing and Masters pumping his pecs to the beat. Hornswoggle was out last and pretended that he couldn’t speak, but after Teddy and Snoop leave, he does a rap while the Bella Twins dance alongside him. Aside from Hornswoggle this was a funny segment, though I question why the Sheamus/Daniel Bryan US title match was bumped to the dark match and something like this was given some time.

3.    The Corre (Wade Barrett, Justin Gabriel, Heath Slater, and Ezekiel Jackson) vs. Big Show, Kane, Santino Marella, and Kofi Kingston

This went less than 2 minutes. Slater beats on Santino at the start, but Santino hits a hip toss and tags in Show, who hits a back drop and rams into Slater in the corner. Everything breaks down, and Kofi hits the Trouble in Paradise on Barrett. Kofi hits a plancha on Gabriel and Jackson, Santino hits the Cobra on Slater, and Show hits the Knockout Punch on Slater for the win. If you’re a fan of the Corre you probably hated this, but if this went longer than it did it could have been horrendous. Fine for what it was but it felt a bit pointless. Match Time: 1:32     Star Rating: N/A

We then had another wacky backstage skit, with Rock talking with Eve Torres until Mae Young comes on the scene, asking for “The People’s Strudel” (okay, that was funny). Rock makes some jokes about the elderly before Mae leaves with Eve. Steve Austin then appears in front of Rock, and they had a nice little stare down, talking about how they’re ready to kick ass tonight. Nice moment.

4.    CM Punk vs. Randy Orton

While this wasn’t necessarily a bad match, it was very disappointing considering the buildup and what both men are capable of. It was every methodical Randy Orton match you ever saw. Punk charges at Orton’s leg early, but Orton hammers him with right hands and some uppercuts. Orton clotheslines Punk to the outside and tries to send him into the steps, but Punk leaps over the steps and kicks them into Orton’s leg. Punk hits a diving cross body back in the ring for a near fall. Punk goes to work on the leg, propping it up in the corner and hitting a running high knee. Punk hits a knee drop to the leg, and then sets up Orton in the tree of woe to stand on his leg from the top rope. Orton fights out of the Go to Sleep and tries for the RKO, but Punk takes him down for a 2 count. They go up top and Orton hits a big superplex, but Punk retakes the advantage and wraps Orton’s leg around the ring post. Punk applies a Figure Four around the post from the outside before working over the leg back in the ring as Orton struggles. Orton breaks Punk’s leg hold and hits some clotheslines, a snap powerslam, and a side suplex after some punches. Both guys get to their feet and Punk hits some kicks before taking Orton down into the Anaconda Vise. Orton fights out and they fight on the apron, with Orton sending Punk into the post and bringing him back into the ring with a spike DDT. Orton sets up for the punt but his leg gives out in mid-stride. Punk laughs as both guys get up, but Orton tries for an RKO. Punk shoves him off but looks surprised. Punk goes for a springboard move, but Orton catches him in midair with an RKO for the win. Nice finish, but the wrong guy went over and the match never hit the level that most major Wrestlemania matches should be able to hit. This wasn’t a match that you couldn’t see on any other PPV, and in the end it was just never that exciting. Match Time: 14:46     Star Rating: **3/4

5.    Stone Cold Steve Austin as Special Guest Referee: Michael Cole w/ Jack Swagger vs. Jerry Lawler

Jim Ross was on commentary for this match, and remained there for the rest of the PPV. Booker T also came out to commentate. Although no one expected a classic match here, most people figured this would have been just a fun little segment. It was not. Cole came out in an orange amateur-wrestling style outfit, looking like a total geek, and cut a brief promo against Ross and Lawler. Austin made his entrance on the quad to a big pop. Cole hides at the start of the match in the “Cole Mine” cubicle, begging Lawler for forgiveness as Austin orders for the bell to be rung. Cole sticks his hand through one of the holes and shakes hands with Lawler, but Lawler keeps hold of his arm and pulls it repeatedly through the hole, ramming Cole’s face into the plexiglass. Lawler goes in the cube and they fight inside there for a little bit. They eventually get out of there and Lawler rolls Cole into the ring, but Swagger attacks Lawler on the floor while Austin wasn’t looking. Lawler gets up but Cole baseball slides him to the ground, allowing Swagger to put him in the Ankle Lock while Cole distracts Austin. Austin starts counting out Lawler, and Lawler enters the ring, only for Cole to start working over his leg. Cole continues his very slow, weak assault on the leg for a bit and hits a really weak Vader Bomb off the bottom rope. Cole mocks Lawler and pulls down one of his straps as the crowd chants “boring”. Cole applies the Ankle Lock but Lawler kicks Cole into the corner.

Lawler stomps away at Cole, and Swagger throws in a white towel as Cole is getting beat down. Austin just wipes his face with the towel and throws it back to Swagger. Swagger comes in the ring and Austin hits him with the Stunner. Cole and Austin jaw with each other and Cole slaps Austin. Austin pushes Cole right into a right hand from Lawler. Lawler hits a seemingly endless amount of punches on Cole as the crowd gets behind him a little. Lawler hits a dropkick, goes to the second rope, and jumps down with a fist drop, but he pulls Cole’s shoulders off the mat at 2. Lawler puts Cole in the Ankle Lock and Cole taps immediately, but Austin plays around and lets him struggle for a while before he calls for the bell. Austin and Lawler celebrate with beers, and Booker T comes in the ring to join the fun. Booker’s music hits and he does the Spinarooni, and joins the celebration with beers. Austin then hits Booker with the Stunner out of nowhere. The Raw General Manager e-mail alert then goes off, and Josh Matthews goes to read it. He says that Austin has overstepped his authority as the referee of this match, therefore Jerry Lawler has been disqualified and Cole is the winner. Lawler grabs Matthews off the podium and rolls him into the ring, where Austin hits him with a Stunner. This whole thing was just a long, dragged out mess of a “match”. It was about 3 times as long as it needed to be, they actually tried to have a wrestling match and it failed, and Lawler didn’t even win so what was the point? The whole thing was just horrible. Austin was as entertaining as he always is, but even he couldn’t save this. Wasn’t much of a match so I can’t really rate this, but this was definitely the worst thing on the show. Match Time: 13:45 (estimated)     Star Rating: N/A (But a BAD segment)

6.    No Holds Barred match: Triple H vs. The Undertaker

On a night marked by mostly lackluster, average-at-best wrestling, leave to two professionals to pull out all the stops to do something memorable at Wrestlemania. This was a spectacular match that prevented this show from being one of the very worst Wrestlemanias of all time. Triple H had a great entrance, as a bunch of warrior-type guys with shields lined up across the stage in near-darkness as Metallica’s “For Whom The Bell Tolls” played. Triple H then appeared in the center of the stage in his King of Kings attire with the skull mask and the robe. The lights go out, and then Triple H’s regular music hit and he made his way to the ring. Undertaker pretty much had his usual entrance, but it’s Wrestlemania so that always looks extra cool. They trade punches right at the start, with Taker quickly sending Triple H to the floor. They fight on the floor and Taker tears apart the Spanish announce table. Triple H suddenly tackles Taker through the plexiglass “Cole Mine”, destroying it. Triple H waits in the ring and Taker sits up in the wreckage outside. Taker fires away with shots in the ring, but Triple H hits a big forearm. Taker hits some shoulders and tries for Old School, but Triple H blocks it and tosses Taker off the top to the mat. Triple H clotheslines Taker over the ropes and they fight outside again. Triple H hurls Taker hard into the fan barrier and takes him over to Ross and Lawler’s (Lawler called the rest of the night with Ross) table, slamming Taker face first onto it. They go on top of it, with Taker countering the Pedigree and Triple H countering a chokeslam, and Taker backdrops Triple H hard from the table to the floor. Taker goes back into the ring as Triple H sells on the floor, and Taker runs the ropes and hits a crazy head-first dive over the ropes onto Triple H. Just like when he did it at Wrestlemania 25, he wasn’t caught properly and could have seriously injured his neck. It was still insane.

They get up, and Taker drops Triple H on the ring steps, which he sets up parallel to the Spanish announce table. Taker goes for a Tombstone on the steps but Triple H counters, only for Taker to lay him out by the table. Taker charges from the floor, but Triple H catches him and hits him with a spinebuster through the table. Triple H brings Taker into the ring, but Taker catches him with a chokeslam for a near fall. Taker hits some punches, but Triple H is able to turn the tide and hit some shoulder thrusts in the corner. Triple H hits some mounted punches and Taker tries for the Last Ride out of the corner, but Triple H counters. After a brief sequence of reversals, Triple H hits a spinebuster for a near fall. Triple H grabs a steel chair from the outside, but Taker kicks it in his face. Taker hits Triple H across the back with the chair, but when he tries to do it again, Triple H counters and hits the Pedigree for a 2 count. Triple H again takes Taker to the corner, but Taker is able to hit the Last Ride for a near fall. Taker does the throat slash and hits the Tombstone, but Triple H kicks out at 2 and Taker is pissed. Taker lays the chair down on the mat and tries for a Tombstone on it, but Triple H counters and DDTs Taker on the chair. Both guys get up slowly with the help of the ropes. Triple H hits two consecutive Pedigrees, but Taker kicks out both times. Triple H grabs the chair and hits Taker in the back with it a ridiculous amount of times before collapsing from exhaustion. He keeps yelling at Taker to stay down and Taker gets up, only for Triple H to hit him with a vicious chair shot straight to the head.

Triple H screams at Taker to stay down and asks what’s wrong with him. Taker grabs Triple H by the throat, but Triple H shakes his head and lets Taker get to his feet. Triple H does a throat slash and catches a charging Taker with a Tombstone, but Taker somehow kicks out! Triple H sells disbelief and goes to grab a sledgehammer from underneath the ring. He comes back in and drags Taker to the center of the ring, but Taker suddenly applies Hell’s Gate from out of nowhere. Triple H drops the sledgehammer as he begins a long struggle with the hold. He tries to counter it numerous times but fails, and tries maneuvering himself around to try and pick up the sledgehammer. He eventually grabs it, but can’t hold onto it because he’s too weakened by the hold. Triple H finally taps out after being in the hold for nearly 2 minutes straight. Taker looked to be seriously injured here, and you get the feeling that the match wasn’t designed initially with the idea that Triple H would tap out, so they may have called an audible with Triple H having a long struggle with the hold to avoid making him look weak with a normal tap out. After the match, medics come out to check on both guys, and Triple H is up to his feet first, seemingly waiting on Taker, who is still lying motionless on the ground. Taker was still laying there long after his music stopped and Triple H had left the scene, and the announcers weren’t saying a word, so this might have been legit. They brought out a cart (type of thing you’d see at an NFL game) and loaded Taker onto it as they drove him up the ramp. This was one hell of a match and easily the highlight of the night. This was an outstanding match of the year candidate that featured excellent storytelling and tons of dramatic, believable near falls. Taker put his body through hell here and Triple H really stepped up his game and had by far his best Wrestlemania 1 on 1 match ever. Amazing stuff. Match Time: 29:24     Star Rating: ****3/4

7.    Dolph Ziggler and LayCool vs. John Morrison, Trish Stratus, and Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi

Weird seeing this so high up on the card, but this was just used as a buffer before the main event and so that WWE could get their TMZ moment. Snooki slaps Dolph before the bell after some trash talking. Trish and Michelle start things off, with Trish hitting some chops and doing the Matrix move, but Michelle just kicks her to the mat. Trish hits a facebuster and they fight up top, with both girls tumbling off all the way to the floor. Trish sends Michelle into the barricade and punches Layla before doing a dive off the apron onto both of them. Trish scores a near fall and hits a big kick, but Dolph breaks up the pin. Morrison clotheslines him to the floor and hits Starship Pain from the top rope all the way to the outside onto Dolph. Snooki gets a tag and hits a handspring back splash into Michelle in the corner, then hits a handspring front splash onto Michelle in the middle of the ring for the win. Snooki had a solid performance and this was fine for what it was. A bit of a waste of Morrison and Ziggler though. Match Time: 3:17     Star Rating: *1/2

8.    WWE Championship match: The Miz(c) vs. John Cena

This was definitely not a good way to end the show and may go down as one of the worst Wrestlemania main events of all time. Both guys got their own elaborate video packages before their entrances, and Cena had a big choir singing a gospel version of his theme song (prior to his regular music) for his entrance. After formal introductions, they lock up, with Miz applying a side headlock and Cena fighting him off. Miz tries for some more headlocks before they run the ropes, and Cena hits a hip toss. Cena applies a side headlock, but Miz backs him into the corner and drops him before stomping at him. Miz whips Cena into the corner and hits his running corner clothesline for a near fall. Miz hits some punches, but Cena hits a gutwrench suplex. Miz slams down Cena for a near fall, but Cena avoids the corner clothesline this time. Cena hits the top rope Famouser, but runs into the turnbuckle when he charges Miz in the corner. Miz hits a big kick for a near fall. Miz hits some more punches and kicks Cena to the floor, but hits a running knee to the head for a near fall in the ring. Cena comes back with some shoulder blocks and hits his comination of moves, culiminating with the Five Knuckle Shuffle. Miz counters the Attitude Adjustment with a DDT. Miz hits a backbreaker into a neckbreaker for a 2 count. Cena rolls up Miz for a near fall as Alex Riley distracts the referee. They trade shots and Miz again escapes the AA with the help of the ropes. Cena puts Miz in the STF, but Miz escapes and distracts the ref, allowing Riley to send Cena into an exposed turnbuckle. Miz hits the Skull-Crushing Finale for a near fall.

The ref takes a bump and Riley hits Cena with his briefcase. Miz covers for a near fall. Riley argues with the ref and Miz goes to hit Cena with the case, but he hits Riley when Cena moves. Cena hits the AA, but only gets 2. Miz rolls outside and Cena clotheslines him into the timekeeper’s area. Cena then tackles Miz over a second security wall into where the fans are. The referee then counts them both out and the bell rings. Wow. The Rock then comes out, and the Raw GM e-mail alert goes off. They can’t be serious. Rock then begins reading the e-mail, but quickly stops, says it doesn’t matter what the GM thinks, and throws down the laptop. He says that Wrestlemania is not over and that he’s restarting the match under no disqualification rules. Both guys slowly get back to the ringside area and roll into the ring, where Cena tries for the AA again. Miz is able to escape, and Cena turns around right into the Rock Bottom from The Rock. Miz then covers Cena for the win. Rock retreats up the ramp after the match, but has a distant staredown with Miz. Rock then rushes the ring, unloads on Miz, and gives him the People’s Elbow. Wrestlemania ends with Rock celebrating and standing on the middle rope in the corner. This was just an overbooked mess. Prior to the countout, the match itself was very basic and typical; pretty much very average, routine stuff from both guys. Then the main event of Wrestlemania ends in a screwjob, and both champion and challenger wind up laid out after the match. So the two men who main evented the biggest show of the year both looked like chumps and one of them is the WWE Champion. Great booking. Match was also way too short for a Wrestlemania main event. Much like Triple H vs. Randy Orton from Wrestlemania 25, the main event was totally flat and left a sour taste in the mouth. But on this show, that’s just par for the course. Really lackluster conclusion to a disappointing, barely okay show. Match Time: 15:21 (Total bell-to-bell time)     Star Rating: **1/2

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.