CHIKARA King of Trios 2011 Night Two (4/16/11)

CHIKARA King of Trios 2011 Night Two
April 16th, 2011
Asylum Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 700+

Less than 24 hours after the opening round of the 2011 King of Trios tournament, the action continues in the famous Asylum Arena in Philadelphia (or the ECW Arena if you want to harken back to the 90s). Tonight's big matches include the four quarter-finals matches of the Trios tournament, as well as two four-way elimination matches in the Rey de Voladores tournament, with the winners facing off in the finals the following night. Enough preambling, on to the show!


Your hosts are Ultramantis Black, Gavin Loudspeaker, Bryce Resmburg, and Leonard F. CHIKARAsan among others


Colt Cabana vs. Archibald Peck

Peck has the bizarre gimmick of a marching band-leader, but the guy's so good with his character that he never makes it seem that silly. As you might've guessed from the participants involved, this is a laid-back comedy match for all intents and purposes. Peck gets a few bits and pieces of offense in, but otherwise it's all Colt avoiding and countering everything the inept Peck throws at him. Peck tries his finisher three different times and each time Cabana counters. Peck gets crotched on the top rope but his valet hands him her baton and distracts the ref long enough for Peck to nail Colt with the baton and pin him with a flying headbutt off the top at 9:13. An entertaining opener that gives Peck a bit of heat, but nothing special. **


King of Trios 2011 Quarter-Finals Match
F.I.S.T. (Chuck Taylor/Johnny Gargano/Icarus) vs. Team Osaka Pro (Atsushi Kotoge/Daisuke Harada/Ultimate Spider Jr.)

Team Osaka Pro impressed again in their return to CHIKARA the night before with a victory against the Throwbacks in the first round, while FIST easily disposed the young Team Australia in the first round to get here. These two teams actually faced off in last year's tournament, but with slightly different line-ups. Crowd is solidly behind Team Osaka Pro here as Harada and Icarus start us off. Icarus continues to get X-Pac like heat from the CHIKARA fans. Harada nails him so hard with a forearm that he stumbles to the floor and into the front row. Gargano and Spider are in next, with Spider getting the better of him with a headscissors and spinkick. Taylor and Kotoge hop in next and Kotoge shows off his speed again by running the ropes. He locks on a leg vicegrip around Chuck's neck and Harada locks in a figure four for the double submission while Spider hits the Rolling Thunder in a neat spot. FIST takes back the upper hand by working over Spider in their corner and trading frequent tags. Icarus delivers a pair of snap suplexes to Spider and then transitions right into a guillotine choke. The fans rally behind Spider while he makes his comeback before he gets the hot tag to Harada. Gargano and Icarus hop in to interfere but Harada gives Icarus an overhead release belly-to-belly suplex right into Gargano in the corner! Harada nails Gargano with a big double-stomp off the second rope but only for two as he counters with a variation on the Sliced Bread. Kotoge misses a top-rope lionsault but nails Taylor with a kick anyways for two. Spider eats a sick Tiger suplex from Icarus that gets a very long two and the pace has noticeably picked up. Tags are out the window at this point as Harada and Kotoge hit a series of tandem moves on Gargano and Taylor. Double enziguri staggers Taylor and a snap suplex/frog-splash combo is just barely broken up by Gargano. Icarus looks done after a DVD/superkick combo but he manages to kick out and plant Harada with a DDT. Icarus eats a nasty knee but again Gargano is there for the save. Some absolutely crazy sequences of counters and reversals at this point, too fast for me to even call as the crowd chants "This is awesome!". Kotoge eats the assisted ace crusher from FIST but Spider makes the save only to eat the Sole Food from Taylor, followed by a crazy double-stomp/wheelbarrow suplex combo that has to be seen to be believed, but once again the save is made however. Everyone spills out to the floor and Spider goes for a big tope, but Taylor rolls him up from behind and pulls the tights for the cheap win at 19:15! Crowd is pissed about the finish, which means it accomplished exactly what it intended to. This was wall-to-wall action from these six men with some insane tandem offense and some of the craziest sequences of moves piled on top of each other that I've ever seen. Best match of the tournament to this point. ****


Backstage Zack Sabre Jr. promises to win his match tonight and rename the tournament the "King of the Armbars". Jericho might have you beat there Zack.


Rey de Voladores Qualifying Elimination Match
El Generico vs. Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Pinkie Sanchez vs. Marshe Rockett

This is the first qualifying match in the Rey de Voldores tournament, which roughly translates to "King of the High Flyers". Elimination rules and the last man remaining goes onto the finals tomorrow night. The BDK referee Derek Sabato is the official here again, but he was fair and impartial the last night so maybe it won't matter, though with fellow BDK member Pinkie Sanchez involved it might be a different story tonight. Sabre showboats early on while putting the moves to Sanchez in the early going. Sabre locks on a nasty armbar but Pinkie gets the rope break. Generico and Rockett pop in next and feel each other out with wristlock exchanges. Fast paced stuff from these two until Pinkie tags himself back in. Rockett makes him regret that decision with stiff knife-edge chops almost immediately. Sabre hops back in he's met with the same chops from Rockett as well. Sabre grabs Generico's arm and bends each of his individual finger backwards like a pissed off loan-shark. Generico tumbles to the floor from a low bridge by Pinkie, who hops in the ring and begins choking Sabre. Sabre catches Pinkie in mid-air and delivers a nifty variation on the Tiger suplex and tags Rockett in, but Sabato refuses to acknowledge the tag. Pinkie goes for a springboard but Generico nails him with a dropkick in mid-air. He tries to follow it up but Sabato blocks off Generico. Rockett will have none of this though and destroys Pinkie with a suicide dive to the floor. Sabato distracts Rockett back in the ring long enough for Pinkie to nail him with a huge DDT, and Pinkie eliminates Rockett at 13:19.

Sabre tries a quick roll-up on Generico to no avail. Generico misses a Yakuza kick and eats a nasty jumping sidekick to the back of his head from Sabre for a close two count and the crowd begins to rally behind Generico with the "Ole" chants. Sabre goes back to the armwork on Generico but Pinkie springboards back in and hits a seated senton on Sabre to eliminate him as well at 15:59.

Pinkie works up a head of steam and hits a Shining Wizard on Generico to try and end this one quickly, but Generico kicks out. He goes for the top-rope brainbuster on Pinkie but Sabato pulls him off. Generico shoves him and tries it again but Pinkie hangs him in the tree of woe and hits a seated senton on Generico for a close near fall. Generico hits a sit-down Michinoku driver on Pinkie but Sabato counts so slow that a five count turns into a 2 count somehow and Pinkie gets the shoulder up. CHIKARA official Wink Vavasseur has seen enough at this point though and he comes out to...tell Sabato to change his shirt? Sabato reluctantly takes off the BDK shirt and throws on a CHIKARA referee's shirt, which freaks Pinkie out. He runs right into an exploder suplex into the turnbuckle from Generico though, and then gets absolutely nailed by a Yakuza kick and Generico nails him with the top-rope brainbuster for the win at 20:47! Lots to enjoy here, from the antics of the BDK ref to some great exchanges between Sabre and Generico and finally the super-hot finish, a good match that gives Generico momentum going into the finals tomorrow night. ***½


Backstage the Osirian Portal promise to become the 2011 King of Trios champion. There's something really weird about hearing Amasis and Hieracon speak as they both have the voices of inner-city thugs and they're all decked out in crazy Egyptian outfits. I kind of wish some of the masked men in CHIKARA would remain silent sometimes.


King of Trios 2011 Quarter-Finals Match
The Osirian Portal (Amasis/Ophidian/Hieracon) vs. Team Dragon Gate (Akira Tozawa/Super Shisa/KAGETORA)

This should be good, the Dragon Gate guys always seem to bring it when they come to CHIKARA. Both of these teams have very similar in-ring styles, and they mesh very well together in the early-going. Amasis and Tozawa trade big chops and Shisa tags himself in. The Portal try isolating Shisa in their corner for a bit until Tozawa gets fed up and he and KAGETORA interfere again. Tozawa plays the role of the isolated one now as the Portal gang up on him in their corner. Tozawa blocks a cross-body from Amasis with his knees and tags Shisa back in. Amasis takes an extended beatdown next as the Dragon Gate boys work him over with submission holds. Amasis gets the hot tag to Hieracon though who fights off both Tozawa and Shisa. He rolls up Tozawa while delivering a German suplex to Shisa at the same time in a cool spot, but KAGETORA hops in and nearly kicks his head off for a near fall. Amasis and Shisa trade nearfalls next until Shisa hits a big piledriver for a near fall. Shisa locks an STF onto Amasis who nearly taps before Ophidian can break things up. Tozawa nails Ophidian with a bicycle kick but Ophidian counters right back with a superkick. Ophidian takes out both Shisa and KAGETORA with a suicide dive on the floor and then springboards in with a senton for another extremely close two count. High angle Saito suplex gets another near fall on Amasis, but Hieracon breaks it up and DDTs Tozawa. The Portal triple team Shisa while his partners are down and Amasis finishes him off with the 450 splash for the win at 21:08. Another fun tournament match as all six men worked well together and the match just flew by as a result. ***¼


Eddie Kingston vs. Arik Cannon

We take a break from tournament action for a battle of two respected talents on the indies. Kingston comes out rocking a Sweet 'N' Sour t-shirt in honor of the late Larry Sweeney. Kingston nails Arik with a big Saito suplex early on and Cannon bails to take a breather, but Kingston dives out after him with a tope. Kingston's got some nice agility for having such a big gut. Both men try (and fail) to deliver a brainbuster on the concrete floor, and things break down into a brawl just like you'd expect from these guys. Cannon lays in some forearms on Kingston and then delivers Total Anarchy (snap twisting neckbreaker) to him while he's hung up on the guardrail, dropping him headfirst to the concrete floor! Back in the ring they trade some more stiff forearms and slaps and a t-bone suplex on Kingston gets two. Cannon throws everything he's got at Kingston: a brainbuster, Saito suplex, and a second Total Anarchy but Kingston kicks out of them all. Kingston avoids a moonsault attempt and backfists Cannon before hitting him with the Sliding D for the pin at 9:18. Fun stuff from these two, but I'm not a fan of that ending. Cannon throws all he's got at Kingston, who kicks out of it all, and then Kingston wins with a weak move like the Sliding D? **¾


After the match Kingston is visibly emotional as he and Cannon hang a Larry Sweeney shirt on the top rope and embrace. Touching moment.


Backstage The Colony promise that this will be their year to win the King of Trios.


The Colony (Fire Ant/Soldier Ant/Green Ant) vs. Bruderschaft des Kreuzes (Tim Donst/Delirious/Jakob Hammermeier)

BDK screwed the Colony out of the King of Trios in last year's finals (though that was a different BDK team), so they're looking for vengeance here tonight. It's worth nothing also that earlier in the day at the Fan Expo CHIKARA does each year for King of Trios, the BDK and Tursas held a bodyslam challenge, and Green Ant came out dressed exactly like Lex Luger was when he famously body-slammed Yokozuna on the USS Entrepid back in the summer of 1993, right down to the fanny pack. He nearly bodyslammed Tursas as well until Hammermeier attacked him from behind and the BDK ran off. Anyways, onto the match itself. Funny spot to start where all three of the BDK members get head-butted by the Ants in a circle with each BDK member stumbling from one headbutt to another from the Ants. The BDK bail to the floor but Fire Ant gets catapulted over the top and wipes them all out on the floor. Things settle down eventually as the BDK try isolating Fire Ant in their corner. Delirious gets some nice heat beating down on Fire Ant and then tags Hammermeier in to pick up the scraps. Donst hops in next and hits a gut-wrench suplex on Fire Ant for a near fall. Finally he tags out to Soldier Ant, who wipes out Delirious on the floor with a tope suicida! Green Ant jumps in next and counters a delayed vertical suplex from Donst into a near-fall. All six men are in the ring again as they all trade tandem forearms at the same time in a neat visual. Donst jumps onto the apron with a chair and distracts the ref so Tursas can come in to interfere, but instead Green Ant body-slams him! The crowd goes crazy for that as the commentators sell the slam like they just witnessed the 1980 US hockey team's "Miracle on Ice". He puts Hammermeier into the Torture Rack and that's enough for Jakob to submit and give The Colony the win at 13:05. Another really fun match in the tournament thus far, and one that showed the Colony getting a measure of revenge on the BDK for last year's defeat while also putting over Green Ant like a CHIKARA hero for slamming Tursas. ***


Rey de Voladores Qualifying Elimination Match
1-2-3 Kid vs. Amazing Red vs. Frightmare vs. Obariyon

This is the second qualifying match for the Rey de Voladores finals tomorrow night, and the same elimination rules apply. Obariyon, one half of the Batiri tag team, is definitely the odd man out here as all three of his opponents are far more accomplished. I'm still marking out over Waltman reprising the 1-2-3 Kid persona. Red and Frightmare start us off. Bryce Resmburg puts over how influential Waltman was for this kind of high-flying action as Red gets hit with an early hurricanrana. Frightmare bails to the floor and Red follows him out with a springboard somersault senton! Kid and Obariyon are in next and the veteran easily outwrestles him on the mat. Big clothesline takes Obariyon inside out but he moves out of the way to avoid the bronco-buster, so Kid takes him out on the floor with a slingshot splash instead. Obariyon gets some nice heat for blocking a suicide dive by Frightmare and he follows it up with a Shining Wizard for a two count. They do a triple sleeper spot and then Kid hits the bronco-buster on Obariyon. Obariyon blocks the Spanish Fly suplex attempt from Red on the top and then leaps off, planting him with a big DDT to eliminate Red at 13:59.

Kid works away at Obariyon in the corner almost immediately, and then nails him with the X-Factor, but Frightmare breaks it up so he can hit his finisher (the Kneecolepsy) and Obariyon is eliminated at 15:15.

Frightmare dives out to the floor and wipes out the Kid as soon as Obariyon is eliminated. He misses a somersault senton off the top and both men jockey for position on the top until Waltman delivers a Super X-Factor off the top rope to eliminate Frightmare and advance to the finals at 16:29! Great finish there. This took a few minutes to get going but once it did this was more fast-paced fun that did a great job of putting over Kid as still having a good bit left in the tank for his match with El Generico the following night. ***


After the match Waltman has two words for the fans---"Thank You!".


King of Trios 2011 Quarter-Finals Match
Team Michinoku Pro (Great Sasuke/Dick Togo/Jinsei Shinzaki) vs. Mike Quackenbush/Jigsaw/Manami Toyota

Good choice for the main event. Jigsaw and Sasuke start us off, and once again Sasuke is just wearing trunks, which just looks WRONG after so many years of rocking the awesome karate jumpsuit. They trade some basic holds and Quack and Shinzaki jump in to do the same. The fans call for Toyota and she tags in to face off with Dick Togo, which is quite the interesting match-up of Japanese legends. Toyota proves her toughness quickly though as she takes none of Togo's shit, nailing him with a missile dropkick and tagging Jigsaw back in. Shinzaki does his famous rope-walk spot and already things are starting to break down as everyone hits the ring and trades shots. Sasuke dropkicks the other four men on the floor and Manami Toyota flies off the top with a cross-body block to wipe out all 5 men! Back inside Jigsaw plays the man in peril as the M-Pro team works him over. Quack and Toyota team up on Sasuke for a bit and then Quack somersaults out of the ring to take out Shinzaki on the floor! Toyota rolls Sasuke around in the ring and gets a near fall. He blocks a lariat from Toyota though and just like last night he grabs a chair, and just like last night he swantons right onto the chair, crushing it! Moonsault from Toyota gets two. Jigsaw hits a brainbuster on Togo, but he gets the shoulder up as well. Togo rolls Jigsaw up for a near fall and then transitions right into his signature crossface, but Jigsaw gets the rope break. Togo delivers the pedigree to Jigsaw and goes to the top, but Jigsaw gets right back up and superkicks him stiff on the turnbuckle. Triple H would be so pissed if he saw that. Jigsaw goes coast-to-coast from one turnbuckle to another with a crazy missile dropkick, but Shinzaki breaks up the count. Quack locks Sasuke into the CHIKARA Special but Shinzaki breaks it up with a pair of vicious palm-strikes right to Quack's throat. Quack eats a chokeslam from Shinzaki, a pedigree from Togo, and a missile dropkick from Sasuke but somehow he STILL kicks out, so Sasuke nails him with a powerbomb for the win at 21:28. A few fans chant "Match of the Year!", which is being rather generous. This was still an excellent main event though and it was a lot of fun for longtime puro fans to see Toyota in the ring with the Michinoku Pro originals. Solid way to finish off Night Two. ***½


That does it for Night Two, stay tuned for Night Three.

Bottom Line: As much fun as the first night was, Night Two upped the ante considerably with a brilliant opening contest that's one of the better Trios matches I can remember seeing in a long time, and tons of fun and well-worked matches to round out the card. Not a bad match to be found here, and although it would have been nice to get a change of style in between all of the high-flying Trios matches, the whole show came off very entertaining and sets up the final night very well. Another easy Thumbs Up.


Score: 8/10

WWE Friday Night Smackdown 5/6/11

WWE Friday Night Smackdown 5/6/11
May 6th, 2011
Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
Attendance: ???

In the interest of full disclosure let me just start off this review by saying that I read the spoiler for this show already, and that one major thing that happened on this show really pissed me off as a fan. I'll address it when we get to it and try to be as objective as possible, but remember, just like you I am at the end of the day a fan. And fans are a fickle bunch, aren't we?


Your hosts are Michael Cole, Booker T, and Josh Matthews


We open the show with a great video package highlighting Christian's quest for the World title and his win at Extreme Rules. As the show officially kicks off Christian comes out to a huge pop. There are tons of Christian signs in the crowd. Before Christian can even begin to speak on the mic he's interrupted by the a chant for his name. Finally he says that the crowd will have to bear with him as he's waited 17 long years to be able to raise the World title above his head proudly. He talks about how all of his life-long dreams pale in comparison to the feeling of actually standing before the crowd as the new World Heavyweight Champion. He says he got a text from Edge right before he came out here that said "Enjoy this night because you earned it" and Christian is visibly getting emotional here as his voice trembles slightly. He says without Edge and his peeps he wouldn't have made it this far. Before he can get much further though, Mark Henry comes out to interrupt him and asks Christian for a title shot. Christian cracks a funny joke on Henry and suddenly the Great Khali's music hits and he comes out to the ring and throws his hat into the ring for a title shot. Ranjin Singh claims that the Great Khali has wrestled white Bengal tigers into submission, I shit you not. What a batshit crazy thing to say. Of course as soon as Khali is done challenging Christian, out comes Randy Orton to a monster pop. Orton looks incredibly strange with the lame neckbeard he's got growing on his face. Orton of course wants to throw his name into the hat as well for a title shot, so finally Teddy Long comes out and decides the fans will choose who Christian's opponent is tonight. They chant and cheer for Randy obviously, so it's Christian vs. Orton for the World title tonight in our main event.


Backstage the Great Khali and Ranjin Singh run into Jinder Mahal. Jinder criticizes Singh for having Khali dress up in a pink tutu on Raw.


Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan

Oh hell yes, this is the way to start the show. I'm overjoyed that Bryan was drafted to Smackdown as he was totally lost in the shuffle on RAW and being on the "wrestling" brand can only help him. Cole is still all over Bryan's case. Sheamus overpowers Bryan early with his raw strength but it's not long before Bryan begins utilizing his speed to avoid Sheamus. Bryan dropkicks Sheamus out of the ring and then flies out after him with the tope suicida. Back inside Sheamus hits a huge backbreaker as we cut to commercial. When we return Bryan is fighting out of a headlock, but ends up getting hit with another high angle backbreaker. Sheamus pounds away at Bryan on the ropes and then knees him right in the face on the apron. Bryan's selling here is excellent as Sheamus gets a two count back inside the ring. Bryan manages to block a superplex attempt and nails Sheamus with the missile dropkick to pop the crowd. Bryan utilizes his lethal kicks to chop Sheamus down to size so to speak and a final shot to the temple gets Bryan a near fall. Bryan gets taken inside-out by a clothesline from Sheamus who then attempts the Celtic Cross, but Bryan counters out of it and sends Sheamus to the apron. Sheamus goes for a slingshot shoulderblock, but Bryan grabs his arm in mid-air and locks him into the LeBell lock! Sheamus eventually is able to get the rope break though. Bryan goes to try another tope suicida, but this time Sheamus sees it coming and nails him with the Brogue Kick right as he attempts the move (psychology!). Back in the ring Sheamus gives Bryan another Brogue Kick for good measure and gets the pinfall victory at 5:38 (shown). Reasonably, this match shouldn't be as good as it was with only 5 and a half minutes of TV time. But my GOD did they pack a lot into that five minutes. There was the psychology of Sheamus taking the tope early in the match and then being able to see it coming towards the end, Bryan's selling was great during the extended beatdown sequence in the beginning of the match, and all of it wrapped up in your basic power vs. speed formula. About as good of a five minute TV match you'll ever see. ***¼


Cody Rhodes comes out to the ring next and accuses Rey Mysterio of adding insult to injury at Extreme Rules by searing his eyes with the mist. He claims that he's exposed Mysterio as the gutless coward he is. He says that he once again can see through everyone here tonight and that they're all ugly. Cue Rhodes paper bag assistants to hand out paper bag masks to the front row. Everytime I see this I'm reminded of Ugly Bob from the South Park season two premiere. Rhodes takes off, having garnered some nice heat as usual. Looks like the Rey feud is over.


We go over highlights of the tag team title match that the Big Show and Kane had with Wade Barrett and Ezekiel Jackson at Extreme Rules before Big Show makes his entrance to the ring to face Big Zeke in singles action. Zeke comes with the Corre, so naturally Kane comes out next to back-up his partner as we cut to commercial break.


Big Show vs. Ezekiel Jackson

We return from commercial by joining this match already in progress. Show mixes things up early with a nice takedown and front face lock on Jackson but Zeke counters out by giving Show a back body drop in an excellent display of strength. Jackson hammers Show in the corner and then gives him a big body slam, but Show kicks out at two. Both men begin trading punches and Show shoots Zeke into the corner, ramming him with the almighty power of ass. Show signals for the chokeslam but The Corre attack Kane on the outside so he goes out to make the save. Show wipes out The Corre outside the ring but eats a boot to the face on his way back into the ring and Jackson gives him a lariat for the win at 3:34 (shown). This was actually far better than you'd think it would be, as Show actually looked motivated for once and Ezekiel played off the power vs. power dynamic very well. Not bad at all for the time it was given, and it gives Zeke a rub by beating the giant. **


After the commercial break we recap the Rock's birthday celebration on RAW this week. Great video package of the show's highlights.


Layla vs. Alicia Fox

Layla beat her longtime BFF Michelle McCool in a Loser Leaves WWE match this past Sunday, and since then has been trying to convince the divas backstage that she's changed. Crowd still boos her out of habit because of the music, but there are atleast a few cheers. To put over Layla's face turn Cole goes all heel on her, questioning her actions as Layla lays some kicks into Fox and nails her with a neckbreaker for the quick victory at 0:52. After the match Kharma (Awesome Kong) comes out to wreak havoc once again, so Layla splits. Fox nails her with a kick from behind but Kong no-sells it and lays her out with a lariat and the implant buster. Apparently Fox is so inept in the ring that she separated her shoulder trying to take the bump for the lariat, so don't expect to see her anytime soon, not that it matters. The match itself was just a squash for Layla, but it wasn't offensively bad or anything, so it atleast gets ¼*


Backstage Wade Barrett, Heath Slater, and Justin Gabriel confront Ezekiel Jackson about possibly splitting ways, but Jackson beats him to the punch (literally) and attacks Barrett! The Corre take the upper hand though and beat Zeke down, slamming what appears to be a huge dish rack onto him as they leave and we cut to commercial. Looks like Zeke might be in store for a big push down the road.


When we return from commercial Chavo Guerrero has joined Booker and Josh at the commentary table for the next match with Sin Cara, which is a nice move reminiscent of when WCW used to bring in Mike Tenay when they had the luchadores on Nitro.


Sin Cara vs. Tyson Kidd

Looks like they ditched Primo for Tyson Kidd to put over Cara's offense here and on house shows. We've got the same blue and gold lighting deal as last week, which is actually kind of annoying honestly. Cara misses a springboard back elbow but nails Kidd with a tilt-a-whirl headscissors. The action spills out to the floor where Cara delivers a hurricanrana on Kidd on the floor. Cara tries rolling him back into the ring but Kidd nails him with a dropkick and he crumples to the floor. Kidd follows it with a snap suplex on floor before tossing Cara back into the ring. A big "Sin Cara" chant starts up as Kidd gets a near fall. Cara responds with a flurry of kicks and a handspring back elbow. Cara flies off the top rope with a cross body block for two. Both men jockey for position on the top rope until Cara delivers the C4 suplex to Kidd off the top rope for the win at 2:48. Very energetic squash for Cara, give these guys ten minutes and you could have a great match. **


After the match Chavo Guerrero goes to the ring and shakes Sin Cara's hand in an intense staredown. So it looks like they're going to have Cara feud with Guerrero, and that's really a great choice for his first feud. Chavo knows both the classic lucha style and the current WWE style of wrestling, and he can help guide the younger Cara/Mistico to some great matches down the line I'm sure.


Backstage Todd Grisham asks Teddy Long if it's fair for Christian to have to defend his title so quickly, and Long says he's doing it for the fans.


World Heavyweight Title Match
Christian © vs. Randy Orton

Although I already know the outcome to this match before-hand, I'm hoping I can still enjoy the contest itself. We get the big match intros and everything, so the atmosphere is great here to start out. Orton takes the upper hand early with his power but Christian sends him to the floor and then nails him with a dropkick. He tries a slingshot splash to the floor but Orton moves and we take a commercial break. When we return Orton is working away at Christian's midsection with stomps. This is downright strange honestly as Orton is working this match as a heel would beating down Christian mercilessly, but the crowd loves him so they're not booing and thus it seems like they don't care, even though they clearly do.Orton works back bearhug on him and the crowd begins to rally behind Christian, who breaks the hold. Randy gives him a Cactus clothesline to the floor though as we yet again cut to commercial even though we just did that two minutes ago. When we return Christian has Orton in a headlock. Orton hits a big back suplex on Christian and both men are down. Orton nails him with a dropkick and a series of clotheslines, but Christian counters being shot into the corner by nailing Orton with his boot. Missile dropkick off the top gets a two for Christian. Orton fights off a reverse DDT but gets hung up on the top rope. Christian hits a big cross-body block off the top and the crowd totally buys into the near fall. Christian hits a big back elbow off the top rope but Orton counters with a snap powerslam for two. Christian tries for the Killswitch but Orton evades and plants him with the second-rope DDT for another hot near fall. This crowd is going crazy for this match right now. Orton tries for the Angle slam but Christian counters with a reverse DDT for yet another incredibly hot near fall. Orton tries and succeeds in delivering a second Angle slam and looks to set up for the RKO but Christian has it scouted and shoots him off the ropes, trying for the Killswitch again. Orton escapes that though and Christian leaps off the second rope only to have Randy give him an RKO in mid-air for the pin and the title at 10:06 (shown). As a title match, this was fantastic stuff. Both men were hugely over and the crowd was hot for everything they did, both guys worked hard, and the finishing stretch was simply outstanding. Aside from some annoying clipping, this was a great main event match. ***½


After the match Orton celebrates and leaves, leaving a crushed Christian behind in the ring. He gets his fair share of cheers to end the show as he lingers around the ring, staring at the center of the mat where he was just pinned. We close out the show with Christian walking to the back, dejected. I could go on a lengthy rant here about how Christian was never even given a chance to show his worth as a champion, but I've already done that in several places and I'm sick of repeating it. If there's one thing to take out of tonight's show though, it's that Christian is still a world class talent as he showed several times throughout the night. He finally got his due, and while I would have liked for it to have lasted longer, he'll always have that moment at Extreme Rules with his title win. I say keep your chin up fellow peeps, because Christian probably won't be leaving the Smackdown main event scene anytime soon.

Bottom Line: Whether you agree with the decision to have Christian drop the belt so soon or not, tonight's show was extremely entertaining. Sheamus and Daniel Bryan kicked things off with an excellent TV opener, Sin Cara looks to potentially have his first program on the horizon with Chavo Guerrero, and the main event was excellent. All in all, a great episode of Smackdown and an easy Thumbs Up.


Score: 8.5/10

CHIKARA King of Trios 2011 Night One (4/15/11)

CHIKARA King of Trios 2011 Night One
April 15th, 2011
Asylum Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance: ???

One of the most anticipated tournaments in wrestling every year is CHIKARA's annual King of Trios event, a 16 three-person team tournament spread out over three days every April. Every year this event gets a ton of praise from everyone in attendance and is one of CHIKARA's top selling DVDs, so I figured it was about time I went ahead and checked out this tournament. I've followed CHIKARA on and off for about a year and a half now and saw probably 6 or 7 of their 2010 shows on DVD, but I haven't followed them as closely as I do other indy promotions so you'll have to forgive me if I'm not up-to-speed with some of the storylines, feuds, or wrestlers. Some of the teams for this year's tournament include an all-Minnesotan team of Sean Waltman, Arik Cannon and Darin Corbin, a Michinoku Pro contingent team consisting of the Great Sasuke, Dick Togo, and Jinsei Shinzaki as well as the rag-tag team of Mike Quackenbush, Jigsaw, and Joshi legend Manami Toyota to go along with many other teams of CHIKARA and US indy wrestling regulars. All three shows got a lot of praise as usual, so let's get started with night one.


We open the DVD with a touching opening video tribute to the late Larry Sweeney, who sadly took his own life a few weeks before this event took place. Sweeney was a beloved man on the independent circuit, especially in CHIKARA, and he rightfully gets a 10 bell salute before the show begins as all of the wrestlers surround the ring and pound the mat while the entire audience chants Sweeney's name. This leads us into an excellent graphics package to hype the tournament, which is very professional looking and makes this show really look legit.


Your hosts are Bryce Remsburg, Gavin Loudspeaker, and a revolving doors of color commentators.


Backstage El Generico and 3.0 argue over who the team leader is in a funny little segment.


3.0le (El Generico/Shane Matthews/Scott Parker) vs. The Osirian Portal (Amasis/Ophidian/Hieracon)

This should be a solid opener as I'm familiar with all six guys here and the Osirian Portal in particular are an incredibly entertaining stable of wrestlers that have become a viral video hit with their hypnotizing of their opponents routine. Ophidian and Matthews start us off as Ophidian taunts Shane with some acrobatic maneuvers. Generico and Hieracon (the newest member of the Portal) tag in quickly and do a nice exchange of armdrags. Standing dropkick gets Hieracon a quick two and Generico's partners encourage him to pull off Hieracon's mask, the biggest no-no in CHIKARA. Generico teases poking him in the eye but shakes his hand instead, only to poke him in the eye anyways which pops the crowd like you wouldn't believe. Generico runs off like he just got caught with his hand in the cookie jar and hides underneath a table at ringside. Very light-hearted opening contest as you can tell, and as soon as I type that the whole thing breaks down into a sweet dance contest between the two teams, complete with cheesy dance music playing and all. Generico does the Macarena and the crowd is eating this all up like they're watching a Benoit-Guerrero mat classic, and so am I. The comedy continues with a hand-holding wave between the wrestlers and the audience and if you aren't smiling at this match by now, you need to lighten up. Things finally settle down to something resembling a wrestling match again as Generico gets worked over in the Portal's corner. He gets the hot tag to Shane Matthews and both members of 3.0 double-team Hieracon. Ophidian tries to break it up and gets speared in mid-air for a near fall. He eats an exploder suplex into the turnbuckle from Generico and then gets covered again for another close near fall, but Hieracon makes the save. Ophidian comes back with a big moonsault on Parker but his pin attempt is broken up as well. Matthews eats a Gory bomb and a double-stomp from the Portal but Generico breaks it up. Hieracon wipes out the rest of 3.0le with a moonsault to the floor with Amasis and Ophidian hit simultaneous top-rope splashes and get the win at 18:12. This match just flew by and was a great choice for the opener. Wacky, entertaining fun to start the tournament off and save room for other matches to go the crazy high-spot route. **½


Backstage Team Australia promises to upset F.I.S.T. in the first round tonight and win the entire tournament. Nice of CHIKARA to bring in some Australian talent that doesn't get a lot of international exposure.


F.I.S.T. (Chuck Taylor/Johnny Gargano/Icarus) vs. Team Australia (Tama Williams/Percy T/Kabel)

The Team Australia members are from the NHPW promotion in Perth and are all making their debuts on US soil. Percy T looks like your stereotypical pale and skinny indy kid while Kabel looks like an Australian version of Kane complete with mask while Williams actually has a good look, looking like a larger more muscular version of Paul London. Gargano and Percy start us off with some nice feeling out moves. Kabel tags in next and is apparently known as the biggest wrestler in Australia. He tosses Icarus around a bit with ease. Taylor tags in and gets double-teamed a bit by Team Australia until FIST returns the favor on Percy T. Percy gets worked over for a while by FIST and the heels taunt their opponents and the crowd while continuing the beatdown. He eats a pair of ace crushers from Gargano and Taylor for a near fall. Percy nails Icarus with a neckbreaker though and gets the lukewarm tag to the big giant Kabel, who cleans house on FIST with ease. Kabel and Percy hit a sloppy Doomsday Device on Icarus and Tama follows it up with a nice frog splash that gets Team Australia a close two count. Taylor hits the Sole Food on Percy and Gargano finishes him off with a facebuster for the win at 11:13. Crowd didn't seem to care for the Australians much despise FIST's heel antics through out the match, but Tama Williams looked impressive and I'd like to see more of him down the line. **


Backstage Tim Donst cuts a promo about being chosen as the leader of the BDK team this year and his choices of Delirious and Jakob Hammermeier as his partners this year. Donst has seemingly become more confident in his promo cutting skills since the last time I saw him.


Bruderschaft des Kreuzes (Tim Donst/Delirious/Jakob Hammermeier) vs. Da Soul Touchaz (Willie Richardson/Acid Jaz/Marshe Rockett)

BDK is like CHIKARA's version of the NWO, a stable that has slowly taken over almost every aspect of the promotion since it's creation, only they're far more entertaining and devious than the NWO ever was. Da Soul Touchaz somehow remain hugely over with the CHIKARA fans despite continuing to use Soulja Boy as their theme music. Eddie Kingston has joined the commentary team so things immediately become more amusing to listen to. Big Willie overpowers Hammermeier quickly and he runs off to tag Delirious in. Delirious has become extremely interesting again in CHIKARA for the first time in years since turning heel and changing his ring gear up. He tries chopping away at Willie but his strikes have little effect on the big man. Willie hits a big dropkick for a near fall and tags Rockett in who hits a leg lariat on Delirious for a near fall of his own. Donst tags in next and delivers the dreaded purple nurple to Rockett. It's always fun to see someone with a great wrestling background like Donst use over-the-top heel tactics like that. Hammermeier tags back in and tries for a Razor's Edge but Rockett counters out and hits him with a big Yakuza kick, tagging in Acid Jaz in the process. Delirious and Donst double team Jaz for a bit and rip his doo rag off, drawing the crowd's boos. Donst nails Jaz with a trio of rolling gut wrench suplexes but Acid gets the shoulder up just barely. Donst tries a powerbomb but Jaz sprays water in his face and gets the tag to Willie, who plays possum and draws Donst in for a big delayed suplex. Jakob gets tossed in and finally gets his comeuppance, eating a super sitout spinebuster off the top rope while Jaz tosses Rockett over the top rope to take out Delirious with a nasty senton. Donst distracts the ref with a chair, allowing the big Tursas at ringside to interfere and slam Jaz to the mat, draping Jakob over him for the cheap win at 11:23. Decent little match here with the BDK solidifying their roles as one of the heel teams to beat in the tournament thanks to Tursas' interference. Would have liked to have seen Da Soul Touchaz go a bit further in the tournament, but oh well. **


After the match Delirious is confronted by the Spectral Envoy and for a moment seems to recognize his old friends and looks to snap out of the hypnotic state BDK has put him in, but the other members of BDK quickly attack the Envoy and put a stop to any possible reunion.


Mike Quackenbush/Jigsaw/Manami Toyota vs. Amazing Red/Joel Maximo/Wil Maximo

This match got a lot of praise from the live crowd, and with these six it's bound to be entertaining. Manami Toyota is making her return to CHIKARA after an extremely successful pair of shows she worked for the company last September. Toyota gets a great reaction from the crowd again. Jose Maximo, one of the original SAT members, retired last summer and has since been replaced by Wil Maximo, who I believe is their cousin (as is Red). Jigsaw and Wil start us off with some nice hold exchanges. They trade bit kicks to the head and Jigsaw follows Wil out to the floor with a tope suicida, transitioning right into a DDT on the floor. Red and Quack are in next and Red gets a magistrate cradle for a two count. Toyota tags in next and hits a big dropkick to Red's back before wiping out Wil with a Yakuza kick and locking in the Muta lock! No comedy to be found here, just pure high-impact wrestling that's almost too fast to call. The Maximos and Red draw some boos by triple-teaming Jigsaw and knocking Toyota to the floor, hitting a trio of stereo kicks to Jigsaw's head for a near fall. Jigsaw eats a 'rana but gets the tag to Quack, who's fired up and hits some lightning fast kicks on Red followed by a DDT on the ring apron. A springboard splash gets Quack a near fall but one of the Maximos breaks it up. Toyota hits a missile dropkick off the top on Wil and Jigsaw follows it with a bridging German suplex but Red breaks it up and hits a spinning DDT on Jigsaw that has so many revolutions I'm getting dizzy just watching it. Red misses a pair of roundhouse kicks and eats one to the face from Quack, who turns around just in time to be met Joel with a back-to-belly piledriver that drops him right on his damn head! Oh MAN that was nasty. Luckily Toyota breaks it up at two. Jigsaw hits a double-stomp off the top, Quack follows it with a swanton bomb, and Toyota tops it all off with a big moonsault on Joel, but Red breaks it up at two. Jigsaw takes a nasty assisted ace crusher from Red and the Maximos and then eats a delayed German suplex from Wil all in rapid succession, but somehow Jigsaw kicks out. Toyota leaps from the top rope with a cross body to wipe out Red while one of the Maximos attempts the Spanish Fly on Jigsaw, but Quack breaks it up. Quack hits him with the '68 Comeback Special, one of Larry Sweeney's old finishers and Jigsaw follows it up with the 12 Large Elbow off the top, another one of Sweeney's trademarks, which is enough to get them the three count and the win at 10:11. Non-stop action from these six but I'm a bit pissed they only got ten minutes here, we certainly could have cut some time off a few of the other comedy-oriented matches for this. Still, this was an excellent six person tag match that provided fast-paced action and paid loving tribute to the late Larry Sweeney. Best match of the tournament so far. ***½


Backstage Team Dragon Gate introduce themselves.


Team Dragon Gate (Akira Tozawa/Super Shisa/KAGETORA) vs. The Spectral Envoy (Hallowicked/Ultramantis Black/Frightmare)

Great to see some of the lesser known Dragon Gate guys like Shisa and KAGETORA get a chance to shine here tonight in their continental United States debut alongside the always excellent Akira Tozawa. Akira and Frightmare start us off as Mike Quackenbush joins the commentary team. Frightmare hits a hurricanrana that sends Tozawa to the floor and teases a suicide dive, but Tozawa jumps into a fan's lap in the front row to hide. Ultramantis and KAGETORA tag in now, and Mantis is hugely over with the CHIKARA fans as he armdrags KAGETORA around the ring a bit until Hallowicked and Shisa tag in. Hallowicked gets sent to the floor by a drokick and Frightmare and Ultramantis double-team him for a bit in their corner. Shisa comes back though and locks a double abdominal stretch on both Mantis and Frightmare! Tozawa nails a dropkick on Frightmare and KAGETORA tags back in to take advantage of him. Quack puts over Shisa with a story about Jorge "Skayde" Rivera thinking the world of him, which is surprising considering the big falling out Rivera had with Quack and CHIKARA last year, with Mike even noting that he "doesn't appear for this company anymore". Shisa locks Frightmare into a Mexican surfboard and Tozawa tags back in. Frightmare and Hallowicked fight him off and send Tozawa and KAGETORA to the floor where Frightmare follows them out with a somersault senton. Hallowicked nails Shisa with a running knee in the corner and then hits him with a Rydien bomb for a two count. Things break down from here and tags are pretty much out the window as KAGETORA nails Ultramantis with a series of kicks to the back of his head. Ultramantis counters with the Cosmic Doom (Michinoku driver), but KAGETORA kicks out at two somehow. Ultramantis eats a bicycle kick and a huge Saito suplex from Tozawa, but Mantis kicks out as well. Tozawa misses the springboard diving headbutt (to this day I still have never seen him hit that move successfully) and he eats a three-man Doomsday Device from the Spectral Envoy for two. Shisa hits Frightmare with a headscissors off the top and Tozawa tries the springboard diving headbutt again, and actually manages to hit it this time! By god, he's finally done it! The Dragon Gate team all over Frightmare now, with Tozawa wiping him out with a delayed German suplex before diving out to the floor and taking down Ultramantis and Hallowicked with the tope! Shisa finishes off Firghtmare with the Yoshi Tonic (Canadian Destroyer to you TNA fans, though Shisa invented it) to give Team Dragon Gate the win at 13:34. This was a whole lot of fast-paced fun and successfully managed to show off Super Shisa and KAGETORA's talents in their US debuts. Tons of expertly executed high-impact move sequences in this one as well. ***



Team Osaka Pro (Atsushi Kotoge/Daisuke Harada/Ultimate Spider Jr.) vs. The Throwbacks (Matt Classic/Dasher Hatfield/Sugar Dunkerton)

Classic is Colt Cabana's alternate masked persona and you can really see the size difference between him and a lot of the CHIKARA regulars. Kotoge, Harada, and Spider are all from the great Osaka Pro promotion in Japan, and all three are extremely talented men who I've become a big fan of over the last year. Dunkerton and Kotoge start us off and immediately Dunkerton wants to challenge him to a foot race, so they do a running of the ropes sequence with referee Bryce Resmburg even counting them down for the foot race which Kotoge wins pretty clearly. This could probably be a pretty good wrestling match if they wanted it to be, but they go the comedy route here again. The ref calls a "foul" on Dunkerton and gives Kotoge Sugar's basketball for a pair of foul shouts through Sugar's arms (complete with Dasher Hatfield trying to wave his arms behind Sugar for the distraction) and the crowd is eating all of this up. Dasher and Spider tag in now and actually do a bit of wrestling, trading armdrags and hip-tosses. Spider "shoots" an imaginary web at Dasher and Sugar and both men sell it like expert mimes, getting thrown into one another by Spider's webs. Matt Classic is not amused by Spider's antics though and refuses to sell the imaginary spider web! The gall of that man! Classic tugs the imaginary spider web back and catches Spider in a big bear hug before he bails to the floor. Classic locks the old Iron Claw onto Harada's head and credit to Harada as he sells it like death. Classic gives both Harada and Kotoge a big double suplex but he eats a missile dropkick moments later from Spider. Spider hits a variation on RVD's Rolling Thunder for a two count but Dasher breaks it up. Harada hits a slingshot splash to the Throwbacks on the floor and Kotoge follows him out with a nice somersault senton. Matt Classic teases a dive himself but settles for an axe-handle off the apron, which Spider, the fans, and the commentators all sell like he just did a corkscrew moonsault plancha. Dunkerton hits a nice piledriver on Kotoge back in the ring but Harada breaks the cover up and sends a stiff knee into Sugar's face. Dasher gives Harada a Death Valley Driver but Spider breaks that cover up as well so Dasher gives him a Jack-Hammer, but Spider kicks out as well. Classic attempts a devastating splash from the bottom rope (my god!) but Spider rolls out of the way and then rolls him up with a magistrate cradle for the win at 17:04. Another extended comedy match, but as usual the comedy here was really well done and this never came off as boring or cheesy. A bit long-winded but more wacky fun as only CHIKARA can deliver. **½


The Colony (Fire Ant/Soldier Ant/Green Ant) vs. Sinn Bodhi/Obariyon/Kodama

This match is being refereed by Derek Sabato, the BDK's own personal referee and the big angle here is whether or not he'll screw The Colony again as he did in the finals of last year's King of Trios tournament, when he cost them the match with a fast-count for the BDK. Soldier Ant and Obariyon start us off with some basic early match feeling out stuff until Soldier hits the saluting headscissors on him and tags Fire Ant in. Kodama comes in and he and Fire Ant do a nice sequence of counters and armdrags. Green Ant tags in and locks a cradle submission in on Kodama who fights it off quickly and tags Sinn Bodhi (better known to WWE fans as Kizarny) in. I've never really seen the appeal of Bodhi or why Jake Roberts chose to menter him, but I'm always willing to have my mind changed. All three members of The Colony hit a trio of simultaneous dropkicks on Bodhi in the corner. Lots of traditional heel tactics from the team of Bodhi and the Batiri, which is kind of amusing given their bizarre appearances. Green Ant takes a beatdown from the heels for several minutes until he finally gets the hot tag to both teammates, who clean house on the Batiri and Bodhi. Fire Ant gets catapulted out of the ring with a senton and wipes out all three of his opponents and the crowd comes alive a bit for the finishing stretch. Green Ant blocks a split-legged moonsault back inside and locks a Texas cloverleaf on one of the members of the Batiri. Fire Ant takes out Bodhi with a big senton over the top rope to the outside floor while Soldier Ant and Obariyon trade forearms in the ring. A TKO-Stunner combo from Soldier Ant gets a close two count, but Obariyon kicks out. The Colony finish off Obariyon with the Ant Hill triple-team move at 16:32 for the win. Surprising to see the BDK ref count the three there, but you had to figure The Colony would make it out of the first round atleast. The work here was good, but the crowd was a bit complacent for most of it and the whole thing came off a bit dull as a result. **¾


Team Michinoku Pro (Great Sasuke/Dick Togo/Jinsei Shinzai) vs. Team Minnesota (1-2-3 Kid/Arik Cannon/Darin Corbin)

Sean Waltman is making his CHIKARA debut tonight, and he's doing so in the 1-2-3 Kid persona for the first time in nearly fifteen years, which was one of the main selling points on this whole show for me, being a longtime fan of Waltman's. Waltman even shaved his beard to appear more Kid-like, and he does look great here, much better than he did in TNA. It's great to see Shinzaki as well, as he's fallen on hard times recently when his home and noodles restaurant in Japan were destroyed by the tragic earthquake in March. Sasuke is wearing tights instead of his trademark robe, which just looks weird. Kid and Shinzaki get in the ring and the crowd begins chanting "1995!", referencing the great matches these two had that year in the WWF. Waltman gets on the mic and says "This is what it's all about" before apologizing for not cutting his hair into a mullet to complete the 1-2-3 Kid look. Cannon and Togo start us off instead, as this is Togo's final trio of shows in the US in lieu of his promised retirement in June. They trade a few moves and Corbin and Sasuke tag in and do an amusing "slow-motion" sequence, which Sasuke plays along with greatly. The fans, ref, and commentators all play along as well as it really seems like you're watching this match in slow motion and it's a simply hilarious visual, especially referee Bryce Resmburg's facial reactions to it all. Kid and Shinzaki are back in next and Kid does his old rope-flip into an armdrag sequence he used to use, complete with vintage 1-2-3 Kid karate chop hand-motions and all. Not to be outdone Shinzaki does his trademark walking-of-the-ropes spot, a move Undertaker could never perform with even half the grace or balance as Jinsei can. Corbin tags in and Team Michinoku team up on him in their corner. Togo hits a huge slingshot senton on Corbin but he fights both Togo and Sasuke off and tags Kid back in. Kid goes for the Bronco Buster but Sasuke moves out of the way and Cannon tags back in and delivers a snap suplex for a two count. He locks a standing texas clover-leaf on Sasuke and then transitions right into a variation on the Muta lock. Sasuke fights him off with a spin kick and tags Shinzaki, who springboards in with a tomahawk chop. Togo and Cannon trade stiff chops until Togo nails him with a superkick. Cannon fires right back with one of his own though and a brainbuster gets a near fall. Blockbuster off the top gets Sasuke a near fall on Corbin and he bails out of the ring to bring a chair into the ring. Surprising to see Sasuke apparently losing his cool, but then they go right back into another slow-motion sequence. Sasuke is better at the slow motion stuff than Corbin is! Corbin gets set up on a chair and Sasuke goes to the top for a swanton bomb but Corbin moves and Sasuke goes right through the chair! The action spills out to the floor now and the Kid flies off the top rope with a somersault, wiping everyone out. Kid misses a senton on Sasuke back in the ring and gets rolled up for a close two. He nails Sasuke with the X-Factor but Shinzaki breaks the pin up at two. Togo hits a combo DDT/STO on Cannon and Corbin and Sasuke goes for afterwards on the floor but misses and lands back-first on the concrete! Togo leaps off the top rope back inside but Corbin hits him in mid-air with an ace crusher! Togo counters by locking him into the crossface while Sasuke locks Kid into the straight-jacket stranglehold. Togo nails Corbin with the pedigree and then finishes him off with his signature back senton off the top to give his team the win at 22:51. A great way to cap off the first night of the tournament, the performances from Kid and the Michinoku Pro guys were incredible given their combined ages at this point. Corbin and Cannon seemed out of place, but everyone tried hard and the last five minutes were down-right excellent, so all-in-all a great main event. ***½


After the match Waltman gets on the mic and tells the crowd to give it up for the Michinoku Pro guys, leading them in a chant. Waltman gets a lot of shit from wrestling fans, but he was a class act, a gentleman, and a huge success over this weekend of shows according to all reports, having even left a heartfelt note to all of the CHIKARA wrestlers when he left thanking them for what he described as one of the best weekends of his entire life.

Bottom Line: CHIKARA kicks off the 2011 King of Trios with a fun night of six man tag team action and hilarious comedy wrestling, just as you'd expect from them. While there isn't anything on the show that really stands out as a must-see contest, there are several very good and well worked matches here and nothing is truly bad on the entire show. A very good start to this year's tournament and a show worth checking out. Thumbs Up.


Score: 7.5/10

WWE RAW 5/2/11 --- The Rock's Birthday Celebration

WWE RAW 5/2/11
May 2nd, 2011
American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida
Attendance: 16,000 +/- ?

We're less than 24 hours removed from the big Extreme Rules PPV, and we've got two new World champions in John Cena and for the very first time (finally), Christian. Tonight is a big night and a big episode of RAW though because it's The Rock's birthday and he is in the arena for tonight's show in what's being advertised as the "biggest birthday celebration in TV history". With the huge news last night that Osama bin Laden has been captured and killed by US forces breaking I'm sure we can also expect a patriotic tone to tonight's show, so let's jump right in.


We open with a video package showing new clips of the 9/11 attacks and George W. Bush's subsequent address to the nation. Fast forward to two nights later during the special September 13th live edition of Smackdown, which was one of the first big major public assemblies since the attacks. Credit to Vince, this was a hell of a show ten years ago (good god has it really been that long? I'm getting old) and the clips still put across the emotion of that night tremendously. We go to the live opening where the returning Lillian Garcia is in the ring to sing the National Anthem. Always nice to see Lillian again and she does a great job here as always. She leads the crowd in a big "USA!" chant after she's finished and this is quite the moment. New opening video package for the RAW theme song as well, highlighting some of the new members of the RAW roster who've come over in last week's draft.


Your hosts are Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, and Josh Matthews


Tonight John Cena defends his newly won WWE title against The Miz in a re-match in our main event.


The Rock's music hits next and The Great One is live and in the building tonight on RAW! He gets his usual monster pop that still puts most of the current roster to shame. On his way to the ring he throws up the "U" hand gesture sign for the Miami of University, his alma mater. As usual Rock takes his sweet ass time getting to the ring before he finally picks up the mic about five minutes later. "Finally, The Rock has come back...(long suspenseful pause)...home". As always the crowd is eating out of his hand the minute he begins speaking. Rock says he has one thing to say before we start..."We got him!" in reference to Osama, prompting another round of "USA!" chants. Rock thanks the men and women of our armed forces and decides to lead the crowd in an impromptu Pledge of Allegiance, which just about everyone in the crowd joins him in doing. Huge crowd tonight by the way, this place has to be nearly full. Rock shows a picture of himself in high school, rocking the Menudo-like mustache but makes up for it by claiming to have gotten more pie with that mustache than King Kong Bundy in a bakery. Next he recaps his time at the University of Miami and the Orange Bowl he helped them win and lets everyone know he's ready to party tonight. He gets midway through the "If ya smell" catch phrase before suddenly the lights flicker and Michael Cole gets on the mic as the anonymous RAW GM has sent an e-mail, but before Cole can read it The Rock tells him if he has the nerve to interrupt the Rock on his birthday, he should atleast be decent enough to come into the ring to read the email to The Rock's face. He calls Cole a "drunk hobbit jack-bag bitch", whatever the hell that is, and Cole is not amused. Cole says he's not the same kid that Rocky used to punk on TV ten years ago and that he's a winner now. Cole takes off his jacket to reveal a Kevin Garnett Boston Celtics jersey! As a Celtics fan, Cole just went up in my book. He brags about all the titles the Celtics have won and claims they're going to add one more this year. Hardcore heel stuff here for Cole in Miami, but as a Boston boy I'm loving this and Cole is coming off like a babyface to me. Cole gets into the ring and says that the RAW GM demands an apology from The Rock for his actions back at Wrestlemania, and if he doesn't apologize he's going to shut down the Rock's party tonight. Cole adds that he too wants an apology for all of the embarrassment that he's caused him over the years. The Rock apologizes to Cole and offers his hand to him, which Cole accepts, and then he says "Go Heat" and gives Cole the Rock Bottom and the People's Elbow to the crowd's delight. The Rock invites out Mr. 305, rapper and singer Pitbull, who gets a surprisingly big pop from this crowd. He sings a strange little Spanish song that sounds like a Taco Bell advertisement to me, but hey, I don't speak Spanish so what are you going to do. He continues performing and a bunch of Miami Heat cheerleaders come out to do background dancing during the performance. I'm not exactly a Pitbull fan, but the crowd seemed to enjoy this and he is a Miami celebrity, so it makes sense. Before the commercial break we get a pre-taped message from Lebron James and Dwayne Wade wishing The Rock a happy birthday and doing the "If ya smell" catchphrase. Cool that they were able to get those two to do that. Lawler and Matthews hype a match between John Morrison and R-Truth as we go to commercial. Fun opening segment that got the crowd all kinds of fired up for the show.


When we return from commercial we're joined by the Hall of Famer Jim Ross at the announcer's table! I really wish they'd just bring him back full-time since he shows up to commentate on RAW every week anyways. John Morrison comes out for his match against Truth next, but before he can even get to the ring he's jumped from behind by R Truth, who gives him the What's Up (reverse STO) on the ringside floor. We cut to commercial again and as we return we get another birthday message for The Rock, this time from Jimmy Kimmel.


Maryse vs. Kelly Kelly

Hey, look, a wrestling match! Oh wait it's the divas, nevermind. Atleast they chose the two hottest divas. Hopefully Kharma comes out to destroy these two, and literally as soon as I type that, her theme music hits and here comes the former Awesome Kong. She hits the ring and gives Maryse the big implant buster, which I guess is going to be her new finisher in the WWE. She sets her attention to Kelly next but just walks off instead, leaving Kelly a frightened mess in the ring. We never heard a second bell, but it's obviously a no contest within seconds. [N/R]


Backstage The Miz complains to Alex Riley about losing the title last night before promising to win back the title later tonight. The next birthday message to The Rock is from his Fast Five co-star Paul Walker, who looks like he's aged 20 years since I last saw him. When we return we get another birthday message, this time from his co-star in The Other Guys, Samuel L. Jackson, who looks like he's about to go to the park to feed some pigeons. Backstage The Rock is talking up the divas about singing a Happy Birthday song to the First Lady. Teddy Long and Vladimir Kozlov wish him a happy birthday as Santino walks up dressed as The Rock's new character in the Fast and Furious film. Hornswoggle runs in moments later dressed as The Scorpion King but he has a tooth ache apparently, so he calls in the Tooth Fairy, played by the Great Khali. This is one bizarre segment. To sum up my feelings, here comes Ron Simmons to say his trademark "DAMN!" for the first time in a few years. Always nice to see Ron, who like The Rock is also a former Florida college football great. Our next birthday message is from Steve Carrell, who does a great job wishing The Rock a happy birthday against his will.


WWE Title Match
John Cena © vs. The Miz

Cena surprisingly doesn't get booed out of the building in The Rock's hometown. Surprising to see this go on at the half-way point in the show, so I'm guessing the end of the show will feature some interaction between Cena and The Rock. This has got a big match feel to it and the thing hasn't even started yet. Miz tries working a side headlock to start but Cena shoots him off quickly and gives him a hip-toss dropkick combo for a quick one count. Big bulldog gets another near fall for Cena. Alex Riley jumps up on the apron and quickly eats a clothesline from Cena, but it gives Miz enough time to deliver a clothesline of his own to Cena. Miz ties up the ref while Riley attacks Cena on the floor. Back inside The Miz hits a double axe-handle off the top for a near fall as we cut to commercial while the dueling "Let's Go Cena!" "Cena sucks!" chants start up. When we return Miz delivers a neckbreaker to Cena for a close two count. It's astounding how much better the in-ring action comes off with Jim Ross back at the commentary booth, as everything immediately becomes more credible just from his play-by-play. Miz misses his running clothesline into the corner and gets hit with a pair of big shoulderblocks from Cena. Cena hits the Five Knuckle Shuffle and goes for the Attitude Adjustment, but Miz appears to poke him in the eye and then gives him a big boot. Cena grabs The Miz and locks in the STFU but Miz gets the rope break quickly. Miz comes back with a high-impact DDT but Cena gets the shoulder up at two as this crowd is red hot into this match. Riley distracts the ref for a bit while The Miz exposes a turnbuckle pad, but Cena blocks getting thrown into it and tries for the Attitude Adjustment again, but Miz counters with a great reverse DDT/neckbreaker combo for another close two count. Miz looks for the Skull Crushing Finale, but Cena blocks it and gets tossed into the ref, sending him to the floor. Cena locks in the STFU again and The Miz taps, but there's no ref. Cena celebrates like he's won while Riley hits the ring to interfere. Cena tries for the Attitude Adjustment on Riley but Miz slams the steel briefcase into Cena's midsection and delivers the Skull Crushing Finale. The ref recovers and goes to make the count but somehow Cena kicks out at two! Miz gets up and walks right into the Attitude Adjustment from Cena though, but he too shockingly kicks out at two! Kicking out of the Attitude Adjustment? That definitely gives Miz some credibility points. Riley distracts the ref again and The Miz grabs the WWE title belt and smashes it into Cena's face, and gets the cover for the cheap win and seemingly wins back the title at 9:19 (shown)! The ref sees that the title belt is already in the ring though, and he reverses the decision, DQing the Miz and giving the title back to Cena. Creative finish to a very hot and exciting television title match, this was probably the best singles match these two men have had together yet. ***


Ellen DeGeneres and Tyler Perry both wish The Rock a happy birthday.


When we return we see a video that was shot after the Extreme Rules went off the air last night in which John Cena got on the mic after he won his match and announced to the live crowd that Osama bin Laden had been caught and killed (or as he put it "compromised to a permanent end"). Cena says he feels damn proud to be an American, and the show ends with a military theme playing as he salutes the ecstatic crowd. I saw this on YouTube last night and it was a great moment then, and looked even better on HD film here.


Rey Mysterio/Kofi Kingston vs. Jack Swagger/Drew McIntyre

Alberto Del Rio comes out to ringside first to join the commentary team, for what reason, I'm not quite sure. Perhaps he'll be restarting the feud with Rey? Swagger and Mysterio start us off, and these two have always had very good chemistry together going back to their great series of matches last summer. Rey and Kofi utilize a bit of double-team offense on Swagger to start. We cut to commercial and when we return Swagger is working a headlock on Kofi. The heels isolate Kofi in their corner for a few minutes, building up heat for the eventual hot tag, and Kofi gets that hot tag moments later and cleans house on Drew with a big hurricanrana and a stiff kick that gets him a near fall. Kofi takes out Swagger and hits the Trouble in Paradise on Drew, and Rey follows it up with the 619 and a top rope splash for the win at 5:35 (shown). After the match Rey dropkicks Del Rio and they have a stand-off. Average formula tag match with a hot finish. **


Ludacris and Dan Marino both wish The Rock a happy birthday. Marino sounds like he's reading off a cue card.


Backstage The Rock congratulates Christian on his title win last night. I was hoping these two would interact at some point considering Christian was The Rock's self-proclaimed "favorite wrestler" back during his 2003 heel run, and I'm glad they were able to fit a bit of interaction between the two into the show. Vickie Guerrero shows up to crash the party with her boy-toy Dolph Ziggler and they give The Rock his birthday present...Mae Young. Wow she looks even more ancient than usual. Vickie and Dolph laugh about how old Mae is but The Rock shuts them up quickly by telling Vickie she'll never look as beautiful as Mae Young. He puts the both of them in their place and thanks Mae for coming out and then gives her a big kiss on the lips and tells Dolph that he gets more pie in one night than Ziggler does in a lifetime. He turns around though and standing right in front of him is John Cena, with the WWE title on his shoulder. He tells The Rock he's going to keep the title all the way until Wrestlemania 28 (cue the braindead pseudo-smarks crying their eyes out over another long Cena title reign) so that their match will be a title match, as promised. Rock tells him to "Just Bring It" and Cena wishes him a Happy Birthday before taking off. I've got goosebumps from that interaction.


George Lopez wishes The Rock a happy birthday and tapes on a lame eyebrow, proving yet again that you don't have to be funny or talented to have your own television show.


Kane vs. Mason Ryan

Ryan is accompanied to the ring by CM Punk, who's been notable by his absence tonight. I guess they don't want to give him much TV time if he really is going to let his contract expire and take a break from the WWE. Big Show is nowhere to be found surprisingly. JR lets us know this isn't going to be a "catch as catch can classic" (say that five times fast), which is a nice way of saying this is going to suck. Kane tries a side headlock but Ryan fights it off and takes him down with a shoulder-block. He scoop slams Kane and whips him into the corner only to eat a big boot from the Big Red Machine. Punk goes into the ring to try and interfere and Kane fights him off, but the ref calls for the bell anyways and DQs Ryan at 1:40. After the match the new Nexus hits the ring to attack Kane but he fights them off. He goes to chokeslam Ryan but Mason blocks it and delivers a side-slam as the Nexus continues the beatdown until the Big Show runs out to make the save, but Ryan takes him down as well with ease. That was one minute and forty seconds of my life I'll never get back, but the post-match stuff did a good job of putting over Mason Ryan as force to be reckoned with. DUD


Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa wish the Rock a Happy Birthday, as does Craig Ferguson.


The Rock's music hits again and he comes down to the ring as JR and Josh put over all of the money spent on The Rock's Team Bring It t-shirts going to the Wounded Warrior Project. He asks the fans if they had a good time tonight, which he gets a great pop for of course. He thanks his family at ringside tonight and holy crap all-mighty they apparently passed out birthday hats during the break as almost everyone in attendance seems to be wearing one. The Rock gives the fans his word that next year's Wrestlemania will be the biggest Wrestlemania of all time...when suddenly Mr. McMahon's music hits! The Chairman of the Board is in attendance! Vince comes out to the stage with a mic and wishes The Rock a happy birthday. You should be on your knees kissing the man's feet right now Vince considering him just showing up at Wrestlemania got you one million buys. He thanks The Rock for all he's done and gives The Rock his birthday present, an excellent video package highlighting The Rock's life and career, his family, and his comeback this year. Really great video package that not even P. Diddy's music could ruin. After the video package R&B singer Mya comes out and leads the crowd in a big Happy Birthday song. I always felt awkward when people were singing me the birthday song on my birthdays as a kid, so I can't imagine how awkward it must be having 16,000 people sing to you. Nice way to close off the show and it's clear that The Rock appreciates everything that was done for him tonight. He thanks everyone one final time, asks if they smell what The Rock is cooking, and that finishes off the show as streamers fall from the ceiling and The Rock's music plays us out.

Bottom Line: This was definitely a different kind of show, so be forewarned going in that if you're a fan of wrestling-heavy shows and dislike sports entertainment, you'll probably hate a large portion of this show. Still, even for the wrestling fans, we still got a great TV match tonight with John Cena and The Miz and the rest of the show was extremely entertaining and a fun night of festivities for both The Rock and the WWE fans. In the long run it's a bit of a throwaway show, but it's an extraordinarily entertaining one at that. Thumbs Up.


Score: 7/10

WWE Extreme Rules 2011

WWE Extreme Rules 2011
May 1st, 2011
St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, Florida
Attendance: 10,000*

The WWE rolls into Tampa, Florida for the all of the fallout from Wrestlemania as grudges are settled and renewed tonight in various gimmick matches. This show always seems to deliver a few entertaining contests, so hopefully this year will be no different.


Your hosts are Josh Matthews and Booker T


Last Man Standing Match
Randy Orton vs. CM Punk

Strange to see this go on first, but I'm not complaining. Punk is accompanied by Nexus (what is this, the first time we've seen them in a month?) but the Anonymous GM quickly sends an email, banning them from ringside. Punk exposes one of the turnbuckle pads before the match starts in an effort to gain an advantage, and it's not long before he's trying to toss Randy head-first into the steel, unsuccessfully. Punk grabs a kendo stick from underneath the ring before long and begins pounding away at Orton's midsection with it, putting Orton down for the first attempted ten count. Punk hits a big running knee into the corner and sets a chair up in the other. Orton avoids being sent into it and both men trade attempts at their finishers until Punk gets sent head-first right into the chair in the corner, tumbling to the outside floor in the process. Punk is down all the way to a 7 count, and he gets tossed back and forth between the ring apron and guard barrier so many times you'd think he was a pinball. Orton hits his snap powerslam right there on the floor and Punk barely makes it up at 8. Back inside the ring Punk avoids the RKO and nails Orton with the GTS, but Orton is back up on his feet by a count of 9. Punk follows up with a nasty Russian leg sweep onto a steel chair, but again Randy is up at the count of 9. Punk tries for the same move again, but Orton hits the RKO out of nowhere! Punk barely makes it up by the count of 9 and tumbles back out of the ring again, where he's promptly met with a clothesline over the guardrail from Randy. Punk wraps a steel chair around Orton's neck though and slams him throat-first into the steel post. Ouch, that always looks painful. Orton is back up by 9 though. Punk tries for the GTS on top of the announce table, which makes zero sense if you really think about it since the move wouldn't put him through the table and he's basically just getting the same impact on a higher ground. Orton counters anyways with the RKO though, and the table still doesn't break. Orton looks to hit the Punt on Punk next, but Punk counters and slams Randy face-first on the steel steps. Back in the ring Punk looks to leap off the top rope with a kendo stick, but Orton leaps to his feet with a kendo stick of his own and just canes the shit out of him repeatedly. Punk is limp on the top rope and he gets nailed with an RKO all the way off the top rope from Orton! Both men are out but Orton is able to get back to his feet at the count of 9 and Punk is counted out, giving Randy the win at 19:26. This was excellent stuff from start to finish and while Punk continuously losing every single month (I believe it's been a year now since he last won a match on PPV) is starting to get old, losing to a guy like Orton doesn't damage him at all. This was their best encounter yet, a fun and well worked LMS match with some nice weapon use and a sick finish. ***¾


Backstage Sheamus complains to Teddy Long about being booked in a last-minute tables match with Kofi Kingston. Not because he has to wrestle, but because he doesn't think Kofi is from the United States, and he wants to see his birth certificate. Yikes, Vince taking a shot at Trump? I'm shocked.


United States Title Tables Match
Sheamus © vs. Kofi Kingston

This is a last minute addition to the card, as I guess the Daniel Bryan feud is officially over for Sheamus. Lots of fisticuffs to start off (yeah, I'm bringing that word back). Kofi quickly sets up a table on the outside and sets Sheamus up on it for a splash, but the Irishman quickly gets back to his feet and tosses Kofi into the barricade. Sheamus sets up a table of his own and tries for the Celtic Cross on Kofi through the table, but Kingston counters out quickly. Sheamus hits a slingshot shoulder-block back into the ring. He sets another table up in the corner inside the ring and tries for a spinebuster, but Kofi counters with a sunset flip and avoids the table yet again. Kofi launches himself towards the table but Sheamus moves and nearly hits him with the Celtic Cross, but again Kofi escapes. He eats a huge bicycle kick on the apron but smartly jumps over the table set-up on the outside so as not to lose the match. Back inside Sheamus tries to powerslam Kofi off the top rope through a table, but yes, Kofi again counters. Sheamus can't deliver a suplex off the apron on Kofi and Kingston nails him with the Trouble in Paradise! He goes to the top rope and hits the Boom Drop off the top on Sheamus right through a table for the win and the title at 9:11! This had to be one of the most smartly worked tables matches I've seen in ages, with the focus actually being on both men trying to put each other through a table, and constantly countering and evading that table at the last minute. Too often these kinds of matches descended into mindless brawls, but this match had an actual logical flow to it. The action was good through-out and the finish was great as well, so all around quite the "bonus" match. ***


Backstage Todd Grisham catches up with R-Truth, who smells a conspiracy, but apparently can't spell the word. Truth lets us know the one thing he can't stand is a thief, setting his sights on John Morrison obviously. Might as well hold up a large sign that says "Truth will be interfering in the main event" while we're at it guys.


Country Whippin' Match
Jack Swagger/Michael Cole vs. Jerry Lawler/Jim Ross

Cole comes out wrapped in bubble wrap and gets on the mic to brag about his journalism accomplishments, claiming to have been "at Waco" as well as in Yugoslavia during their civil war. Credit to Cole if that's actually true, and I'll get started on the Waco jokes ASAP. This feud should have ended a month ago, but here we are. Everyone has their own leather strap to whip each other with, but Cole is covered in bubble wrap so the straps seemingly have no effect on him. A right hand to the jaw still works though, and King quickly "unwraps" Cole and whips him until Swagger tags in. Lawler gets beaten down for a bit until the tag is finally made to JR, who pops the crowd by whipping away at Cole. He tries an ankle lock but Swagger breaks it up only to get a low blow from JR. Cole rolls up JR for the win however moments later at 7:02. Boring and Cole wins again, meaning we're clearly going to get atleast another month of this feud. This does not please me. *


Backstage John Cena cuts a quick by-the-numbers promo with Todd Grisham.


Falls Count Anywhere Match
Cody Rhodes vs. Rey Mysterio

The video package for this match is simply superb, one of the best the WWE team has put together in a long time. Rhodes is starting to really come into his own in this new twisted Dr. Doom-like heel character, and this feud with Rey has put him over huge so far. Rhodes tells everyone they're "EXTREME-ly ugly" and has some lackeys pass out paper bag masks to fans in the audience. Rey is hot to start, hitting a flying headscissors on Cody out on the floor to start. Cody fires back with a dropkick though and gets the first near fall of the match in the aisle. They brawl up the stage and Rhodes is sent face-first into the titan tron display. Cody tries to escape by hopping off the stage, but Rey follows him with a big running seated senton off the stage for a two count. Rey is crotched on a guard barrier though and Rhodes clotheslines him off it for another near fall as both men begin working their way deeper into the crowd. They fight up the stairs and Rhodes locks on a Boston crab on Rey over the railing in a nifty little spot. They continue fighting up the stairs and into the backstage area as Rey tackles Cody into a pair of garbage cans. Rey hits a cross-body off of a concession stand and the fans backstage start chanting "This is Awesome!". They brawl back down the stairs and through the crowd and eventually make their way back to ringside. Rey gets slammed face-first into the steel steps for a near fall and Booker is in disbelief on commentary. In an unintentionally funny moment, Rhodes just picks up Rey like he was a child and tosses him into the ring. Rey hits a springboard cross-body for another near fall though. He hits a bizarre diving, spear-like headbutt off the top on Rhodes and tries for a springboard leg-drop, but Cody moves out of the way. Rhodes plants Mysterio on the mat with the Alabama Slam for a close two count. I always mark out seeing Cody use the Alabama Slam, showing how much Bob Holly taught him during their tag teaming days. Rey channels his inner Muta next and sprays a green mist right into Cody's eyes, giving him the opportunity to hit the 619 and a springboard splash for the win at 11:43. Another flat-out fun contest here and one that almost felt like a throwback to some of the fun hardcore matches of the Attitude era, with both men brawling into the back and using their surroundings to their advantage before finishing up back in the ring. Another good match in this feud. ***¼


Backstage Layla apologizes to the divas for her past actions and Kelly Kelly gives her some encouragement for her match against Michelle McCool tonight.


No DQ Loser Leaves WWE Match
Michelle McCool vs. Layla

Rumor is that McCool is looking to take some time off to be at home with Mark, so I expect her to lose here. Michelle attacks before the bell even rings, kicking Layla around for a near fall, but Layla counters back with some rights and lefts. A portion of this crowd is, surprisingly, behind Layla here. Michelle tries to sucker Layla in with a fake apology and nails her with a nice belly-to-belly suplex. McCool misses a boot to the barricade but is able to toss Layla off the barricade by her hair. Layla's offense just looks pitiful in this match and McCool practically looks like Manami Toyota in comparison to her. Layla kind-of hits a diamond dust but she quickly eats a superkick from McCool for another near fall. McCool looks to set up for her Styles Clash rip-off, but Layla escapes and nails her with a neckbreaker, but McCool gets her foot on the rope at the count of two. McCool nails Layla with her Styles Clash ripoff and tries for the cover, but Layla cradles her and gets the upset win at 5:23. McCool is gone from the WWE, and no one cares. This was surprisingly decent thanks to McCool carrying Layla around and making her offense look formidable. Layla was exposed here though, and any hopes of her being a big babyface in the divas division are dead I'd say. **


After the match Michelle McCool is crying int he ring when suddenly we hear the sound of a laughing woman...and it's the debut of Aweesome Kong AKA Kharma as she will now be known as! The fans seem in awe over the size of Kong as she hits the ring and nails McCool with a modified gourdbuster and cackles away like an evil witch as the divas look on in shock from the back. This would have been better if Kharma was beating up, say, a face, but it's a minor complaint. Glad to see Kong/Kharma finally making her TV debut and I look forward to her running roughshod over the entire women's division.


World Heavyweight Title Ladder Match
Christian vs. Alberto Del Rio

Another excellent video package to hype this one. As a huge fan of Christian's for nearly thirteen years now, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't emotionally invested in this one before the bell even rings. Cole puts over Del Rio's legit fighting background before the match. Mirko Cro Cop says Hello Alberto. Crowd is hugely behind Christian from the get-go as you'd expect. Booker calls Christian the single most experienced ladder match wrestler in the business, which is a good point as Del Rio tosses Christian underneath the ring. Del Rio grabs a ladder and Christian comes out the other side of the ring and nails him with a dropkick onto the ladder. Back inside Christian sets up a ladder and tries to climb it but Del Rio tosses him off quickly. Cole goes back into heel mode on commentary while Del Rio sweeps Christian's legs out from under him, slamming him into a ladder. Del Rio sets up another ladder between the ring apron and the announcer's table. Del Rio blocks a splash off the top onto the ladder and tosses Christian off the top rope, but he lands right on a ladder and hits a big cross-body off the ladder on Del Rio anyways! Back inside the ring Christian tries for the Unprettier, but settles for launching Alberto into a ladder in the corner instead. Christian climbs the ladder again but Del Rio delivers a huge armbreaker off the ladder to him! Del Rio eats a face-full of ladder (step-ladder to be specific) moments later though and Christian once again tries to climb but Del Rio catches him in a powerbomb that Christian counters with a hurricanrana. He backdrops Del Rio back into the ring back-first onto a steel ladder. Christian goes to the top with a ladder but Del Rio nails him with the running enziguri and Christian falls to the mat on top of the ladder he was just wielding. Christian hits a spear on Del Rio and the place explodes. I sincerely hope those people who thought Christian wouldn't get over as a babyface are watching this match. Christian climbs the ladder but Del Rio grabs him and hangs him from the inside of the ladder while he climbs. Christian tips the ladder over though and Del Rio falls to the canvas. Del Rio is right back up though, slamming the step ladder into Christian's face and setting him up on the ladder between the apron and table again. Del Rio goes for an elbow drop off the top but Christian moves and Del Rio takes an absolutely sickening bump on the ladder! That was a CRAZY bump. Christian sets up the ladder back in the ring and climbs to the top to grab the title, but Brodus Clay hits the ring and pulls Christian down from the top. Christian disposes of him quickly but eats a big dropkick from Del Rio. Del Rio locks in the armbar finisher on Christian's arm through the small step ladder, but there are no pins or submissions here obviously. Del Rio sets up a ladder and begins climbing it as the fans chant "We Want Edge!"...and here he is in a jeep, honking his horn at the entrance ramp! Christian uses the distraction to toss Del Rio off the ladder and climb to the top and grab the title for the win at 20:59. First things first, OH MY GAWD YES! Christian has finally silenced the critics and is your new World Heavyweight champion. Although things did get awkward a few times from Del Rio's inexperience in ladder matches, Christian held the whole thing together and guided his younger opponent to an entertaining match with the usual sick bumps and the sheer emotion and story of the whole thing put it over the top. Work was probably ***1/2-***3/4 ish, but the drama puts it over the top. I imagine I'll get a few e-mails over my generosity here, but I'll go ****.


WWE Tag Team Title Lumberjack Match
Big Show/Kane © vs. Wade Barrett/Ezekiel Jackson

Either this just got added to the show ten minutes ago, or they really dropped the ball on advertising this match. Slater and Gabriel, the former champs, are part of the lumberjacks alongside a slew of curtain jerkers, jobbers, and NXT rookies. Kane is the first to taste the cruel hand of the lumberjacks, but Big Show breaks it up moments later. Kane gets nailed by Big Zeke with a clothesline though. Zeke and Kane brawl for a bit before clotheslining each other and each man tags their partner in. Show finishes Barrett clean with the choke slam moments later to retain at 4:17. Just a match to throw out there and let the fans catch their breath in-between gimmick matches. These kinds of matches are very useful, but also usually very poor. *


WWE Title Cage Match
The Miz © vs. John Cena vs. John Morrison

Miz is rocking a new leather jacket and his badass credibility immediately goes up. Miz tries to escape as soon as the bell rings but the two Johns quickly bring him down before going into a nice sequence of moves with one another. Morrison hits a nice Russian leg sweep on Cena for a two count while Miz tries to climb out. Cena meets him up there though and nails him with a Bulldog off the top. Cena looks for the Five Knuckle Shuffle but Miz hits him with the Skull Crashing Finale, but he jumps up the cage to prevent Morrison from escaping instead of trying to pin Cena. Miz nearly climbs out but Morrison and Cena both grab him and give him a double suplerplex off the top of the cage, but Miz lands RIGHT on his fucking head, taking the move awkwardly. That was a cringe-worthy bump that silences the announcers and gets multiple replays. Morrison hits a springboard flying kick to the Miz and then nails Cena with the C4 Suplex (Spanish Fly for you SAT marks) for a close two count. Cena locks on the STFU on Miz, but the Miz crawls to the cage's door and almost climbs right out. Cena tries the same and fails, so he delivers a beautiful gut wrench suplex variation to Miz instead and then climbs to the top of the cage, following John Morrison who has reached the top. Miz goes to crawl out but Morrison slams the door in his face with his feet! Morrison gets racked on top of the cage door though. Miz grabs a hold of JoMo's leg and drags him back in just in time for John Cena to give Morrison a MONKEY FLIP. What the hell, did I really just see John Cena deliver a monkey flip?! Miz nails Cena with a big DDT for a near fall while Morrison recovers. Miz scrapes Cena's face against the cage for a bit until Morrison tries to climb out, but Miz follows him to the top and hauls him back in. Morrison springboards into a front facelock on top of the cage and then slams Miz's face into the steel, sending him crashing to the mat. Cena climbs up next but gets shoved off and Morrison just sits back and hits the Starship Pain off the top of the cage on both men! Incredible visual. Morrison tries to crawl out the front door, but R-Truth runs down and nails him with a knee. Truth jumps into the cage and closes the door behind him, as apparently he didn't get the memo that he's not booked in this match. He beats down Morrison for a bit and then nails Cena with a big scissors kick! Truth hits his reverse STO finisher on Morrison and then climbs out of the cage to a chorus of boos. All three men are down for a painfully long amount of time, until finally The Miz climbs to the top, but Cena meets him up there and both men trade shots on top of the cage. Miz tries to give Cena the Skull Crushing Finale off the top, but Cena counters with a super Attitude Adjustment off the top rope and gets the win and his 10th WWE title at 19:53. This didn't look very promising on paper, but luckily these matches don't take place on paper. Morrison brought the insane high spots, Miz brought the heat, and Cena brought the wrestling to tie it all together for a great main event. ***¾


And as I type this, Osama Bin Laden has been killed by the US military, dominating all channels on my television. Christian finally wins his world title, Cena brings the gold home for the women and children, and Osama Bin Laden is dead. Now is that a feel good end to a show or what?

Bottom Line: Extreme Rules continues it's streak of being one of the most consistent WWE PPVs of the year once again as they delivered a great show here that definitely picked up the slack from Wrestlemania. Not only is this show chock full of great gimmick matches though, it's also quite the feel-good show with Christian finally achieving his dream with his best friend looking on and Cena solidifying his spot in the WWE history books with his 10th WWE title win. Extremely entertaining show, Thumbs Up.


Score: 8.5/10

*Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter September 12th, 2011 by Dave Meltzer