Columnist Corner
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Every week, Bleacher Report Featured Columnist Graham "GSM" Matthews analyzes the weekly Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown broadcasts, as well as the monthly WWE pay-per-view events.
These reviews and recaps cover each segment, match, and an overall look as to how the program either succeeded or failed in making the show worthy of watching. |
Monday Night Raw SuperShow - May 14, 2012
WWE COO Triple H gets physical with Paul Heyman.
Strong promo to kick off the show featuring Triple H and Paul Heyman. I believe they could held off another week with Triple H's return until after Over the Limit, but it was one of the few highlights of this show. Both HHH and Heyman played their roles extremely role, and this segment has me intrigued regarding the Brock Lesnar angle going forward.
Good tag team match with WWE Champion CM Punk and United States Champion Santino Marella defeating Daniel Bryan and Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes. Punk had great chemistry with Rhodes throughout, and it was smart to have Punk and Bryan keep their distance going into Sunday. Santino felt like the odd man in this bout, whose comedic antics didn't do anything to enhance the action in this action. Santino's newfound feud with Rhodes feels a bit random, but at least it brought more star power to this match.
Quick Divas match that saw Beth Phoenix squash Alicia Fox. Like most Divas matches, the action was kept under a minute, so it didn't mean much other than getting Phoenix over as a threat to the title. However, that momentum was quickly diminished when Layla rushed the ring and get the better of the Glamazon.
Throwaway match between Big Show and Kane that served no purpose. Sure, Kane got the victory, but it meant nothing since it was due to a distraction from John Laurinaitis. The firing of Big Show showed nice emotion from Show, even if it was a bit over the top. The feud between Lauinaitis and Show seemed odd at first, but it's successful in the sense that it's getting heat on Johnny Ace. However, Show's "firing" was quickly forgotten by the end of the show since they only lasted about a week or two these days.
Decent match with WWE Tag Team Champions Kofi Kingston and R-Truth with Brodus Clay defeating Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger, and The Miz. The action was fine for what it was worth, but it wasn't given enough time to truly get anyone excited about the pending tag team title match at Over the Limit. Having Clay pin Miz to end the bout wasn't the best way to give anyone involved any real momentum going into the show on Sunday.
Read the conclusion of this review and more recaps at the Columnist Corner.
Good tag team match with WWE Champion CM Punk and United States Champion Santino Marella defeating Daniel Bryan and Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes. Punk had great chemistry with Rhodes throughout, and it was smart to have Punk and Bryan keep their distance going into Sunday. Santino felt like the odd man in this bout, whose comedic antics didn't do anything to enhance the action in this action. Santino's newfound feud with Rhodes feels a bit random, but at least it brought more star power to this match.
Quick Divas match that saw Beth Phoenix squash Alicia Fox. Like most Divas matches, the action was kept under a minute, so it didn't mean much other than getting Phoenix over as a threat to the title. However, that momentum was quickly diminished when Layla rushed the ring and get the better of the Glamazon.
Throwaway match between Big Show and Kane that served no purpose. Sure, Kane got the victory, but it meant nothing since it was due to a distraction from John Laurinaitis. The firing of Big Show showed nice emotion from Show, even if it was a bit over the top. The feud between Lauinaitis and Show seemed odd at first, but it's successful in the sense that it's getting heat on Johnny Ace. However, Show's "firing" was quickly forgotten by the end of the show since they only lasted about a week or two these days.
Decent match with WWE Tag Team Champions Kofi Kingston and R-Truth with Brodus Clay defeating Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger, and The Miz. The action was fine for what it was worth, but it wasn't given enough time to truly get anyone excited about the pending tag team title match at Over the Limit. Having Clay pin Miz to end the bout wasn't the best way to give anyone involved any real momentum going into the show on Sunday.
Read the conclusion of this review and more recaps at the Columnist Corner.
Friday Night SmackDown - May 4, 2012
Daniel Bryan delivers a forceful dropkick to Sheamus.
Strong segment featuring Daniel Bryan, Sheamus, and Alberto Del Rio to kick off the show. All men played their roles very well and furthered the feud nicely between all three of them. I was baffled as to why we'd be receiving the World Heavyweight title match at the start of the program, but luckily it ended quickly via disqualification to set up the rematch later in the show.
Fun match with WWE Tag Team Champions R-Truth and Kofi Kingston defeating Hunico and Camacho. It gave a good victory to Truth and Kignston to establish them as legitimate champs, while Hunico and Camacho had an impressive showing. I liked Abraham Washington hanging out with Primo, Epico, and Rosa on the stage, so hopefully the angle leads somewhere.
Typical match with Brodus Clay defeating Jack Swagger via count-out. The action was fine, but it was obviously too quick to mean anything. It benefits Brodus in the sense he's defeating former World Heavyweight Champions, but it's become too predictable at this point that it doesn't do much.
Great promo from Damien Sandow here. They built him up perfectly with the vignettes that have been airing in recent weeks, and he certainly delivered. As much as I would like to see him compete, it was smart to hold it off so it garners him more heat. I enjoyed the mini promo Derrick Bateman cut, mostly due to the fact that he mentioned his NXT match from a few months ago and actually applied to WWE logic. Ryback accepting the challenge was a pleasant surprise and gave him a victory that wasn't against a local athlete.
Solid tag team match with Big Show and Randy Orton defeating Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes and Kane. Everyone was able to get in some offense while providing entertaining action. As much as I don't like to see Rhodes get destroyed after just winning back the Intercontinental title, it was done so in an efficient way that didn't bother me as much.
Read the conclusion of this review and more recaps at the Columnist Corner.
Fun match with WWE Tag Team Champions R-Truth and Kofi Kingston defeating Hunico and Camacho. It gave a good victory to Truth and Kignston to establish them as legitimate champs, while Hunico and Camacho had an impressive showing. I liked Abraham Washington hanging out with Primo, Epico, and Rosa on the stage, so hopefully the angle leads somewhere.
Typical match with Brodus Clay defeating Jack Swagger via count-out. The action was fine, but it was obviously too quick to mean anything. It benefits Brodus in the sense he's defeating former World Heavyweight Champions, but it's become too predictable at this point that it doesn't do much.
Great promo from Damien Sandow here. They built him up perfectly with the vignettes that have been airing in recent weeks, and he certainly delivered. As much as I would like to see him compete, it was smart to hold it off so it garners him more heat. I enjoyed the mini promo Derrick Bateman cut, mostly due to the fact that he mentioned his NXT match from a few months ago and actually applied to WWE logic. Ryback accepting the challenge was a pleasant surprise and gave him a victory that wasn't against a local athlete.
Solid tag team match with Big Show and Randy Orton defeating Intercontinental Champion Cody Rhodes and Kane. Everyone was able to get in some offense while providing entertaining action. As much as I don't like to see Rhodes get destroyed after just winning back the Intercontinental title, it was done so in an efficient way that didn't bother me as much.
Read the conclusion of this review and more recaps at the Columnist Corner.
WWE EXtreme Rules - April 29, 2012
John Cena delivers an Attitude Adjustment to Brock Lesnar.
Quick match with United States Champion Santino Marella successfully retaining his United States Championship against The Miz. The promo from Miz before the match was well done, but the bout was too quick to mean anything. As I've said before, Marella doesn't need the strap, while a former WWE Champion getting pinned by a comedy figure doesn't do anything for Miz whatsoever.
Great Falls Count Anywhere Match between Randy Orton and Kane that was, much like their WrestleMania encounter, better than originally expected. The crowd died down a bit when they went backstage, but Orton and Kane had suspenseful back-and-forth action throughout that kept the Chicago crowd alive. Orton going over was predictable, so that wasn't a major miss. Cool finish with the RKO onto the chair as well.
Fun match between Brodus Clay and Dolph Ziggler that worked as a nice buffer. Initially, Ziggler got cheered while Clay got booed (thanks to his association with Hornswoggle), so this didn't seem to serve much purpose. However, the crowd warmed up to Clay while hitting his signature spots and Ziggler sold like a beast as usual. Good win for Clay, but Ziggler needs to regain credibility quickly.
Good booking in the Intercontinental Championship Tables match between Big Show and Cody Rhodes. The action was fine for what it was worth, but Rhodes winning the belt in the fashion he did was a smart way to protect Show and give Rhodes back the title. Although the crowd booed the World's Largest Athlete for attacking Rhodes following the bout, he won them over with those two impressive spots through to table. Nicely done.
Read the conclusion of this review and more recaps at the Columnist Corner.
Great Falls Count Anywhere Match between Randy Orton and Kane that was, much like their WrestleMania encounter, better than originally expected. The crowd died down a bit when they went backstage, but Orton and Kane had suspenseful back-and-forth action throughout that kept the Chicago crowd alive. Orton going over was predictable, so that wasn't a major miss. Cool finish with the RKO onto the chair as well.
Fun match between Brodus Clay and Dolph Ziggler that worked as a nice buffer. Initially, Ziggler got cheered while Clay got booed (thanks to his association with Hornswoggle), so this didn't seem to serve much purpose. However, the crowd warmed up to Clay while hitting his signature spots and Ziggler sold like a beast as usual. Good win for Clay, but Ziggler needs to regain credibility quickly.
Good booking in the Intercontinental Championship Tables match between Big Show and Cody Rhodes. The action was fine for what it was worth, but Rhodes winning the belt in the fashion he did was a smart way to protect Show and give Rhodes back the title. Although the crowd booed the World's Largest Athlete for attacking Rhodes following the bout, he won them over with those two impressive spots through to table. Nicely done.
Read the conclusion of this review and more recaps at the Columnist Corner.
Alumni Archive - Roger Gaylord
Roger Gaylord
Being one of the elite few to debut on the inaugural episode of AJM, Roger Gaylord has found success in the span of his three year NEW career including becoming a multiple tag team champion alongside his brothers, Greg and Gary, as well as emerge victorious as Intercontinental Champion in his own right. Following an attack from Billy Deadman a few months back, Roger hasn't been seen since, but his legacy of being an original will never be forgotten.
Meet more Next Era Wrestling Alumni by clicking here.
Meet more Next Era Wrestling Alumni by clicking here.
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