Before anyone asks, I figure that since NXT is supposed to be a competition, we’re eventually going to have to see someone get eliminated. As I’m writing this section before this week’s episode airs, I should mention that I’m not anticipating the first cut this week. I wouldn’t be surprised to see someone get the axe next week, though.

The eight competitors are paired according to where I think everyone stands at the moment.

Leaders of the Pack
Daniel Bryan (0-2): Even with an 0-2 record, this show is really Daniel Bryan and everyone else. He’s been the focus of the entire show for two weeks, and the simple fact of the matter is that everyone’s favorite American Dragon hung with Chris Jericho in the main event of the first show. That speaks volumes in my book.

Wade Barrett (1-0): Let’s see. Barrett is paired with the World Heavyweight Champion. I believe he’s the biggest of the Rookies. He’s a good talker. He’s also got a win over the guy listed above. Seriously, the man’s got a real shot of going all the way to Raw. Don’t be surprised if he and Bryan are in the final and he gets the win (even though I’ll pick Bryan until he gets eliminated).

On Solid Ground
Justin Gabriel (1-0): Gabriel impressed last week in his debut, showing off some decent high flying moves in a tag win with his Pro, Matt Hardy. The fact that Gabriel’s holding gold down in FCW leads me to believe that he’s got a pretty good shot of winning it all.

David Otunga (1-1): The non-kayfabe reason for Otunga’s position is his association with Jennifer Hudson, but the simple fact is that R-Truth’s rookie dominated in Week 1 and lost only through interference in Week 2. Of course, his first match was only 10 seconds long and somehow hideously bad, but that’s beside the point.

On the Bubble
Skip Sheffield (0-1): While not the best wrestler of the bunch, Sheffield proved himself to be wildly entertaining last week. I’m hoping to see some more of that each and every week. The fact that he was on Raw yesterday makes me think that Skip will be hanging around for a while. YEP YEP YEP.

Darren Young (1-1): Young hasn’t had much of a chance to shine or show his gimmick, but the pairing with Punk bodes well. He’s got a win under his belt over David Otunga. When he actually starts showing some personality, we’ll get more of a feel of where Young belongs.

Heath Slater (1-0): I’m sorry, but Slater does absolutely nothing for me. He failed to impress in Week 1 and has yet to show me anything about him that doesn’t scream “I’m a generic midcard face and dumb as a brick to boot!”

NXT to Leave
Michael Tarver (0-1): Tarver’s gimmick is that of a knockout artist, and in his first match, not only did he lose, he failed to even show that devastating knockout punch. It wouldn’t have been hard to showcase it even in losing – he could’ve accidentally knocked out tag team partner and Pro Carlito, costing them the match – but the fact that he didn’t do much of anything makes me think Tarver’s tenure is not long for this earth.

Slater and Tarver, you’re on notice. When Elimination #1 happens, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s one of them.

Enough space has been wasted, so it’s time for me to move on to the actual show!

Following highlights of last week, we open with R-Truth and David “A-List” Otunga heading down to the ring. Matt Striker is backstage and once again explains the voting process that the Pros will eventually go through.

Match #1: R-Truth and David Otunga v. The Miz and Daniel Bryan
R-Truth asks the crowd what’s up and The Miz and Daniel Bryan come down to ringside. Cole notes that Bryan is wrestling in his home state. It’s worth noting that Miz and R-Truth will be facing off against one another for the Unified Tag Team Titles.

The Miz grabs the microphone before the bell and points out Daniel Bryan’s record and the fact that he hasn’t proved anything to The Miz, the WWE Universe, and the Pros. If Bryan takes the fall, The Miz promises he will be thrown off NXT and will never become a WWE superstar.

Bryan and R-Truth start off by locking up and countering quick holds to gain dominance. R-Truth puts Bryan in a headlock and Bryan whips him into the ropes. R-Truth pushes him to the ground, and then bounces off another set of ropes. Bryan leapfrogs him but eats a clothesline. That gets a 2 count, and the two quickly get on their feet. Otunga gets tagged in and the two hit a shoulderblock that gets a quick kick out. Otunga tags R-Truth back in and Bryan starts connecting fists. R-Truth lays in a kick and another big clothesline before Bryan gets tossed to the outside. Miz is soon tossed, and Otunga and Truth work together, tossing Truth over the ropes into the duo as we head to commercial.

As we head back from the break, I should note that Cole mentioned on commentary that the WWE Universe also plays a part in voting, so I’m a little confused as to how this voting process is going to eventually work. We’ll see, I guess.

Bryan’s in control, locking in a number of submissions on Truth. He has a big stretch and then breaks it for a chinlock. Truth eventually powers out of it and goes for the ropes, only for Bryan to be ready with a charging knee. He tags in Miz, who puts Truth in a facelock. R-Truth puts him on the canvas and goes for the tag, but Miz blocks it by hodling Truth over the shoulder. Truth counters that into a rollup for 2. Miz lays some fists into Truth on the floor before the ref tells him to break it. He puts Truth on the middle rope and tries to choke him, getting a 4. He goes for a charging kick, only to be denied. Miz tries an ankle lock to block Truth from getting the tag, but he can’t get it locked in and Truth tags in Otunga.

Otunga quickly shows his power with big fists. Miz hits a kick and goes to the top, but gets hit with a powerslam. The pin attempt is broken up by Bryan, and Miz uses that to throw Otunga into the ropes, basically neck-first. Miz staggers into his corner and Bryan uses the opportunity to tag in and climb to the top, hitting a big double stomp. He pushes Otunga into a corner and begins kicking away. Bryan blocks a corner charge by bouncing off the ropes, dodging a powerslam attempt, and putting in a heel hook in the middle of the ring. Miz tags in while the heel hook is in, and that causes Pro and Rookie to go at it. Truth uses the distraction to hit a big kick on Miz and Otunga picks him up and slams him for 3.

Winners: R-Truth and David Otunga
Thoughts: The second best match NXT has had thus far (behind Bryan-Jericho…funny how one guy was in both of those matches). Bryan looked great, and though he didn’t get the win AGAIN, the storytelling was once again brilliant. Bryan had the win with the heel hook, only for The Miz to sabotage it. The crowd is clearly into everyone’s favorite American Dragon. Miz and Bryan’s dynamic is great and Otunga looked alright in his limited action – which is what he needs as he develops. R-Truth was definitely solid, more than carrying his still green partner.
Rating: **3/4

After the match, Miz is screaming at Bryan and tells him he’ll be out of NXT if he doesn’t go away. Bryan acts as if he’s going to slap him, but he walks off.

Heath Slater is shown backstage, talking about his run-in with Carlito last week. Slater says that Carlito needs to look out, because he’s looking for revenge. Their match is after the break.

Back from commercial, Matt Striker asks The Miz if he’s let Daniel Bryan down. As The Miz talks about being a champion, Bryan comes out and says that every partner The Miz has ever had carried him. The Miz says he’s the talented one, but Bryan says that if he’s talented, then why was the one who lost the match?

Background information on Justin Gabriel is highlighted, showing his FCW work and his British-Japanese hybrid wrestling style. Gabriel talks about his chances and how he’s come so far.

In the locker room area, Matt Hardy points out that Gabriel is the first NXT Rookie to beat a Pro and that he’s main eventing again this week against Wade Barrett. As they’re strategizing, Jericho and Barrett come into the locker room. Jericho tells Gabriel that he needs to be at the top of his game. Gabriel says he’s not intimidated, and Barrett says that he destroyed Bryan. Hardy says that Gabriel is better.

Match #2: Heath Slater (with Christian) v. Carlito (with Michael Tarver)

I’m telling you, Tarver’s in rough shape considering that he’s not wrestling again. Carlito says Slater should be honored because he spit in his face last week. Cole defends Carlito’s actions due to the notoriety that Slater achieved. Carlito goes to spit the apple again, and Slater immediately starts laying in fists. Carlito whips him into the ropes and hits an elbow. The two are separated as the bell has yet to ring, and we go to commercial.

Back from the break, Carlito’s got an arm lock on Slater in the middle of the ring. Slater powers up and pushes Carlito into a corner. ‘Lito kicks him and starts choking him. The two exchange pushes, and Slater throws Carlito to the outside. ‘Lito looks flustered and talks with Tarver quickly. Carlito kicks Slater in the gut and pushes him into a corner, again laying in a bunch of fists. He whips him into the other corner, and Slater dodges a charge. He lays in some fists and then kicks Carlito after getting whipped off the ropes. He can’t capitalize, though, as the One Man Rock Band gets rocked with a big boot. He goes for a cover, which gets 2. Carlito puts in a headlock and clubs at Slater’s back. ‘Lito tosses him to the outside, but Slater lands on the apron and leaps over ‘Lito and tries for a rollup, only to see it blocked. Carlito puts on an arm stretch, but Slater breaks it. He can’t gain any momentum as he’s pushed into a corner. Carlito goes for what looks like a bronco buster but misses. Slater then hits a big clothesline and nails a facebuster, which gets 2.

Slater charges at Carlito but eats a spinebuster. Carlito goes to the corner for his apple, but Christian has it. He tosses it at Tarver, and Carlito clearly is distracted by the thievery. He tries for a Backstabber, but Slater blocks it and goes for a rollup, only getting 2. Slater goes for a lariat but is pushed into the corner. Carlito goes for a rollup, but Slater rolls through and gets the 3.

Winner: Heath Slater
Thoughts: Not bad. Carlito did about as good as he’s capable of doing, and Slater worked hard. He did a lot to impress this match. I’m already regretting saying he does nothing for me. He still seems fairly generic, but it’s good to know that he can carry his own in a match.
Rating: **

We profile Darren Young, who notes how hard he’s worked. He talks about being ready to party and always having fun –he’s here to entertain the crowd, and he resolves to succeed.

Next, we’re backstage with Young and the Straight Edge Society. Punk points out that Young needed him to win. Young respects the Straight Edge lifestyle, but he wants to live his life the way he wants. Punk tells him that he needs to embrace Straight Edge to succeed. Before the commercial, we see clips of the Undertaker-Shawn Michaels feud.

Back from the commercial, we get coverage of the Batista-John Cena feud, which I really feel is the best built match for what seems like a very good WrestleMania XXVI up to this point. Even with Taker and Michaels, I’m sure this is main eventing and I’m actually okay with that.

Main Event: Match #3: Wade Barrett (with Chris Jericho) v. Justin Gabriel (with Matt Hardy)

Barrett starts off with a strong kick and punch and then whips Gabriel into the ropes, Gabriel nails a leg sweep and gets 2 on a pin cover. He goes for the top rope but Barrett catches him and throws him into the corner, laying in some hard fists. He stretches Gabriel in the ropes and uses the ropes for leverage to drop Gabriel to the ground. He gets a 2 count and then works on an arm stretch. Gabriel powers out by elbowing Barrett’s knee. The crowd chants “USA” despite neither competitor being American. Gabriel is whipped into the ropes and hits a roundhouse kick and a big windup elbow. That gets a 2 count.

Gabriel leaps from the apron to the ropes and is placed in a Fireman’s carry, but slips out before Barrett can capitalize. Gabriel rolls Barrett up for 2, and Barrett kicks him in the gut. Barrett hits Gabriel with a rope-assisted backbreaker, getting 2. Barrett hits 3 big slams and then hoists Gabriel on the top rope. Jericho screams about how methodically Barrett works as Gabriel pushes the big Brit off the top. Gabriel uses the moment to hit his 450 splash, and that’s all she wrote.

Post-match, Jericho charges into the ring and sends Hardy to the outside. Jericho hits the Codebreaker on Gabriel and he then locks in the Lionheart. Jericho and his protégé celebrate in the ring as we fade for the week.

Winner: Justin Gabriel
Thoughts: Barrett looked good in losing, showing off a pretty good power game. Gabriel showed off his versatility and his ability to take abuse fairly well; he also showed that he can win out of nowhere, meaning he’s got potential. As for the match itself, there was nothing technically wrong with it, but I must admit that it wasn’t that enthralling. All I know is that with time, both of these guys can become big deals.
Rating: **1/4

Overall Thoughts: Let’s see…all three matches were good, one of which bordered on very good. We had a lot of development in the Bryan-Miz relationship and Gabriel and Barrett show they have the goods. PLUS, Slater did a lot to improve his stock in my eyes AND there were no stupid moments this week a la last week’s closing. I’d argue that from an all-around perspective, Episode 3 was the strongest in NXT’s young history.

That’s going to be it for this week. For those who follow independent wrestling, I will be at Evolve 2 this Saturday, and I’m going to do my best to present either a write-up or appear on the podcast for the first time in ages to give my rundown. If I go with the podcast, I promise I will have a better microphone than in previous appearances. If you’re not into the independent scene, then you know where and when to look for the review of Episode 4 of NXT!

The 5^th year festival had just concluded and Samoa Joe’s emotional farewell served as a the backdrop for another historical set of shows. Without two major stars and the world title, could Ring of Honor put on another unforgettable weekend? The Dragon Gate folks are back, and two of them are bringing Ring of Honor gold. Jimmy Jacobs and BJ Whitmer have a war to end, a war that started in Detroit almost one year to the day. And then there’s crazy Mark Briscoe…

-Taped on March 30, 2007 from Detroit, Michigan

-Your hosts are Dave Prazak and Lenny Leonard

-Rebecca Bayless’ boobs introduce us to various fans from around the country and world. Much like Bayless herself, this segment was usless.

-Video package showing highlights of the Dragon Gate wrestling at various Ring of Honor shows. Tonight will introduce us to three newbies as well. Susumu Yokuska, Masaaki Mochizuki, and some guy named Yamato.

-Chris Hero (w/Larry Sweeney and Tank Toland) vs. Matt Sydal vs. Colt Cabana vs. Adam Pearce (w/Shane Hagadorn)

None of these guys had any major issues to deal with on this night, hence participating in an opening four corner survival. Sydal and Cabana start. Hero is quickly tagged in, and this was during his flippy period. You wanna talk about a guy who’s changed in three years? Wow. Cabana tries to work the arm, but Hero flip-flops himself out of a wristlock. Big pop and Cabana is appalled. Cabana offers his arm, and Hero obliges with a wristlock. Cabana sneezes his way out of it and does some flips. Crowd goes apeshit. Schoolyard trip almost gets three. Another roll-up almost gets three. Cabana screws around with Hero some more, before Hero flees to the outside. Sweeney and Toland implore Hero to go back into the ring. Sydal tags in once again and he gets an armdrag. Another. Now Cabana is disheveled. Pearce tags himself in and immediately eats a standing moonsault. Pearce hits a chokeslam with authority. Powerslam only gets two. Hero comes in and headbutts Sydal in the midsection. Atomic drop and Pearce returns to the ring. Pearce bites away and hits a Stinger splash. Hero pokes Sydal in the eye and hooks a cravat. Double team by Hero and Pearce is quashed. DDT off the back of Pearce on to Hero. Sydal dives for a tag on Cabana. Jabs and a big elbow for everyone, almost one for Todd Sinclair too. Pearce with rights. Flying apples. Cabana uses Sydal’s head and legs as a battering ram. Dropkick on Pearce but Sydal quickly rolls Cabana up for two. Boot from the top by Hero. Another for Sydal. Release suplex and here come the elbows. Sydal with an enziguri and a headscissors. Pearce to the top but Cabana gets a hurancanrana. Sydal misses a dropkick to the outside. Hero teases a dive but doesn’t deliver. Cabana just tosses him. Sydal gets his dive. Pearce has brass knuckles and he punches Cabana in the face. Fucking garbage ending to an okay match.

-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Adam Pearce/11:15/**

-Okay match but a screwjob in the opener is a dumb idea.

-Erick Stevens vs. Alex “Sugarfoot” Payne

This is Stevens debut in Ring of Honor, and it doesn’t last long. Doctor bomb  and we’re out.

-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Erick Stevens/:24/N/R

-Briscoes interview. I wish we could get subtitles for these two. They say something about bringing the belts back and challenge any team in the world. Better watch those challenges guys. You never know who’s in the building.

-ROH vs. Dragon Gate: Masaaki Mochizuki vs. Davey Richards

I feel like I’ve seen these two wrestle elsewhere. Must have been a dream or something. Don’t want to open the gate on that one.  The story here is that both men like to kick, so ROH thought these two wrestling was a good idea. Davey refers to Mochizuki as a Jap, thus taking  us all back to a time when being racist was okay and accepted in the U.S.A. Davey tries to pearl harb… shit. He attacks him from behind, but Mochizuki kicks him… a lot. Half crab. Mochizuki bounces Richards around a number of turnbuckles. A big kick off the second rope sends Richards to the apron. One more complete sends him out. To the outside and it’s more kicking. Mochizuki tries a kick with Davey leaning on the ringpost. He misses and makes a nasty sound. Davey takes control and he kicks a lot too. Such aw wide variety of offense these two are featuring in this match. Inside the ring and Davey applies an Indian deathlock. More work on the leg. Snap suplex before applying another leg hold. Half crab but Mochizuki reaches the ropes. Knee by Mochizuki. High stiff kick. Big running kick. Struggle over a suplex, and Richards uses various kicks to parts of the body. Alarm clock and a German suplex only gets two. Bodyslam and Richards calls for the shooting star express. He flips the crowd off and eats knees. Two more kicks. Spinning brainbuster. 1-2-NO! Full nelson that Davey fights out of and hits a boot. Back and forth. Davey with another leg submission. He goes up for a moonsault, but Mochizuki eventually rolls into a sunset flip for two. Double lariats. Mochizuki with two final kicks to the side of Davey’s head. 1-2-3.

-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Masaaki Mochizuki/10:41/***

-Pretty good match involving these two, but you got the sense that these two could do a lot better once Davey got some experience under his belt. Lots of kicking and not much else. Still, the shots were good enough and I was reasonably entertained.

-Bruno Sammartino talks to the fans. Larry Sweeney ,Tank Toland, and Chris Hero come out. Sweeney says Hero is a better athlete, and he challenges Sammartino to an arm wrestling contest on behalf of Hero. Nigel McGuinness comes out to save the day. He beats up all three members of Sweet ‘n’ Sour. Sammartino even gets a forearm in for old time’s sake. Crowd eats it up.

-Christopher Daniels promo. He says that he and Homicide, his opponent tonight, are two of the most successful wrestlers in Ring of Honor. Daniels says he’ll beat Homicide just as he did Samoa Joe one year ago in the same building.

-Anything Goes: Jimmy Jacobs and Lacey vs. B.J. Whitmer and Daizee Haze

Little did we all know what that match last year would turn into. Jacobs and Whitmer engaged in numerous battles throughout the year. Jacobs took Whitmer out in Chicago during the summer, and Colt Cabana became involved when it was discovered he was having a tryst with Lacey. Cabana won his feud with Jacobs back at Fifth Year Festival: Chicago, but these two pressed. The next night, the feud would be settled in a cage. Tonight, it’s just some final interaction before the big battle. Haze and Lacey had their own issue too. This is literally just a brawl that goes on inside and outside of the ring. Haze and Lacey are the ones who primarily stay in the ring. Ring of Honor seemed even more intent on getting the women at this point then even the year before. Still didn’t work. Whitmer and Jacobs fight in the crowd. Haze and Lacey are sort of having a wrestling match. Whoever thought the majority of the screen should be on the ring while a little part in the corner shows the crowd brawl is an idiot. Haze and Lacey have periods of doing nothing, but the men are doing all kinds of wacky stuff outside the ring. The men come inside the ring and resume brawling. This is the cue for the women to go outside.Whitmer threatens to powerbomb Jacobs just as he did in New York back in June. All four competitors ends up in the ring. Jacobs nails Haze and hits a spear. Haze’s shoes come flying off and off into the crowd they go. Lacey hits an implant DDT for the victory.

-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Jimmy Jacobs and Lacey/9:50/*1/2

-The only purpose of this match was to preview the following night’s mayhem.

-Lacey gets on the stick after the match… the microphone you pervs. She offers a reward and the crowd chants “Show your tits.” They hug, and Jacobs moves his eyebrows at the camera in a great character moment. She finishes by saying more will come (HA!) if Jacobs beats Whitmer the next night.

-Jack Evans says he’s the future and talks about being attacked by Roderick Strong back at Fifth Year Festival: New York City. Solid calm promo from an underrated promo guy.

-Ring of Honor Tag Team Title/ROH vs. Dragon Gate: Shingo and Naruki Doi (champion)Jay and Mark Briscoe

Quite the story to this match. Jay and Mark won the tag team belts at Fifth Year Festival: Chicago and appeared ready to engage in another long title reign. That is until the following week when they turned around and lost the belts to the Dragon Gate duo at Fifth Year Festival: Liverpool. The Briscoes dismantled each other the night after losing to “toughen themselves up.” This is the rematch for the title. Everyone expected a classic match with loads of insanity before the Briscoes became the four-time champions.

There’s always a “but…” thrown in there. In this case, Mark Briscoe tried performing a shooting star press from the top turnbuckle  on to the floor. What happened is only known by Mark, but he landed on his head, and chaos ensued. Somehow, the match continued while folks were attending to Mark on the floor. Even Gabe Sapolsky made an on-camera appearance. At first, it seemed Mark was seriously injury, but thankfully (and as is usually the case) the situation looked far worse than it actually turned out to be. Mark would come back to connection within a month to resume his wrestling career. Some great storytelling would come out of this injury two weeks later when Mark came back to help his partner against Kevin Steen and El Generico.

It’s amazing that I’ve watched this match multiple times, but the only two things I remember about this match are Mark’s shooting star press and Jay Briscoe’s Jaydriller to win the titles. The crowd seemed to be in a haze as Mark laid on the floor and the match went on. I can’t believe this continued, and I’m not saying Ring of Honor was wrong for continuing, but it was strange to see worked pro wrestling going on with such a dramtically real-life situation going on outside the ring.  Jay wins the belts by himself in front of a stunned crowd. You’ve never heard a Ring of Honor crowd so eerily silent for so long.

-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: NEW ROH Tag Team Champions-The Briscoe Brothers/16:03/ N/R

-Under the circumstances, I’m not comfortable rating this match. This was about as good as you could expect considering everything that happened in this chaotic situation.  Props to Shingo, Doi, and Jay for improvising and coming up with  a finish that made sense.

-If you thought that was the end of the chaos, W-R-O-N-G! Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin, better known as the Motor City Machine Guns, come out to challenge for the Ring of Honor tag team titles. Then, on one of the all-time dick moves, they attack Jay. Great way to garner heel heat if nothing else.

-Intermission time. Good news. Mark Briscoe isn’t dead. Larry Sweeney doesn’t care about Mark Briscoe, but he does care about Nigel McGuinness humiliating him.

-ROH vs. Dragon Gate: Pelle Primeau vs. Yamato

Want to see understand the difference between wrestling schools? I present Exhibit A. Yamato and Pelle Primeau were very early in their wrestling careers. This was a very basic wrestling match between two guys early in their career. Three years later…

Yamato is one of the best wrestlers in the world. He could easily be the Open the Dream Gate champion soon enough and is a prominent member of the DG USA roster. I could probably make an argument that he’s one of the best wrestlers in the world. Pelle Primeau is… still on the undercard and on the preshow. He’s on the Pro Wrestling RESPECT roster, a roster made up of all the students of Ring of Honor. As great as Ring of Honor has been, their inability to grow their own talent has hurt them and contributed to depth problems. Guys like Rhett Titus and Mitch Franklin aren’t good enough to qualify for main events, so Ring of Honor has to constantly be on the look-out for outside talent across the country. I sure have talked a lot about a match that ended up going two minutes. Yamato picks up the win in two minutes with a German suplex. Better days would be ahead for him.

-Winner/Time/Rating: Yamato/2:23/1/2*

-Larry Sweeney doesn’t appreciate what happened earlier tonight, so he’s hired Brent Albright to take one Nigel McGuinness out.

-Brent Albright (w/Larry Sweeney) vs. Nigel McGuinness.

Match starts out hot and heavy. Nigel controls much of the early portion. Flurry ends with a knee to the back/forearm to the chest combo and a short clothesline. Albright begs off but quickly fires back with punches. Lots of punches. Forearm exchange but Albright remains in control. Chinlock. Albright hits a German suplex and blows snot on Nigel. Feel like I’ve seen that before. Albright figure fours the head shoulder and almost gets three. Another exchange of strikes. Lariat by Nigel. Forearm and a shot to the throat. Palm strikes. He tries a Tower of London but tries a charge. Albright tries to counter but gets hit with a lariat. Tower of London attempt once again, but Albright gouges the eyes. Cross body from Albright! Nigel reverses into a two. Albright hits a European uppercut and a belly-to-belly suplex. To the top again goes Albright. Another Tower of London attempt gets countered into a crowbar by Albright. Forearm exchange and Nigel is selling the arm. Jawbreaker lariat misses, and it’s time for another crowbar. Albright brings him back into the middle of the ring. Nigel barely reaches the ropes. Albright misses a blind charge. Tower of London, but Sweeney distracts the referee. Nigel turns his attention to Sweeney, and Albright hits a 6-1-knee and neckbreaker. Superkick by Nigel. Hero comes out to distract Nigel now. Albright takes advantage with a modified Dragon suplex. 1-2-3. I was digging this match until the distractions lead to the finish.

-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Brent Albright/10:59/***

-Homicide vs. Christopher Daniels

Battle of two men who each appeared on the very first ROH show all those years ago. I’ve enjoyed these two when they’ve been involved in tag team matches in TNA, but I can’t say I’ve ever completely been into their singles matches. Daniels attacks ‘Cide from behind in an odd bit of business. ‘Cide quickly comes back, and they brawl on the outside. Daniels backdrops legs of Homicide into the edge of the table. Homicide responds by sending Daniels into a pair of the guardrails. In the ring, Homicide hits an over the shoulder belly-to-belly suplex. Daniels deposits Homicide to the outside once again. Bodyslam and Daniels hits Homicide with a chair. Thumb to the eye and they head inside. Back suplex and Daniels twists the neck. Crossbody and right hands from Homicide. Daniels quickly takes Homicide back down to the mat. Slingshot into the bottom rope. Uranagi sets up for the Best Moonsault Ever. Daniels doesn’t deliver the BME though.  Homicide kicks out and they battle in the corner. Palm thrust and iconoclasm by Daniels. Chokes and Daniels looks like a disgruntled individual. Homicide fights back with a flying acecrusher. Series of punches before a T-Bone suplex, Daniels flees toward the entranceway, but ‘Cide hits a tope con helo. Attempted lariat, but ‘Cide ends up applying a DDT. Three vertical suplexes in a row in tribute to Eddie Guerrero. To the top, and Daniels goes for a superplex. Homicide sends him down and hits an elbow. Clothesline in the corner, but Daniels responds with a leg lariat. Blue thunder powerbomb follow-up. Roll-up battle leads to the Koji clutch by Daniels. ‘Cide gets his foot on the ropes. Uranagi countered into an armdrag. Daniels gets an STO, but the referee stops at two when he sees feet on the ropes. Another battle on the top rope, and Homicide hits an acecrusher off the second rope. LARIAT! 1-2-NO! Cop Killa countered into Angel’s Wings. 1-2-NO! Last rites, but Homicide gets a jacknife cradle for three.

-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Homicide/15:01/***

-Adam Pearce and Shane Hagadorn come out to seemingly attack Homicide for no reason until Jim Cornette of all people comes out to join in on the fun. ‘Cide and Cornette had feuded immediately after the CZW/ROH feud ended. Cornette disappeared into the night after “The Bitter End” as commissioner, and I guess this was a one night return. Albright applies the crowbar to Homicide as well before a gaggle of babyfaces  come out to help Homicide. Very noticeable that Colt Cabana was one of the people out there helping. Just one year ago, they were enemies. Now what?

-Roderick Strong vs. Jack Evans

I’m going to go out on a limb and say this is the best tag team to never win the Ring of Honor world tag team titles. I guess you could make an argument for The Young Bucks, but they weren’t around for nearly two years in the company like these two were. Strong broke These two, in addition to being a great team, had an one of the best matches in the history of Full Impact Pro. Basically, they set a standard there that they never were able to match or top. This match is a perfect example.

Don’t get me wrong. This was still perfectly acceptable wrestling, but I feel like these two could have gone even farther. I very much feel like that was this show in general. There were a number of good matches on paper, but in a lot of cases, they didn’t meet expectations. Obviously, Mark Briscoe’s unfortunate injuries played a big role in that. These two start out brawling since they now hate each other, and they don’t need a feeling out process. Things settle down a bit before Evans hits some of his high-flying stuff. Strong slows the pace down tremendously but still finds a way to deliver some vicious chops. I don’t know what it is, but Roddy just didn’t have as good a matches as a heel. His work as a babyface was so much stronger. Disgusting spot as Strong simply drops Evans on to the floor from the apron.  Strong spends much of the match working over Evans’ back while using various disgusting stretching spots that probably don’t hurt but look visually disgusting. Double stomp to the back of Strong also looked brutal too. Number of really good spots, but the match as a whole never gelled to the point where I thought this was even a borderline four star match. Gibson driver leads right into the Stronghold and a tapout victory for Roddy.

-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Roderick Strong/22:43/***1/2

-I think I enjoyed this match a little bit more than on past viewings, maybe a ¼* difference in the rating from what I thought in the past. This also went way longer than I remembered too.

-Rebecca Bayless’ boobs inform us that Mark Briscoe’s condition has been upgraded to alive, or something like that.

-Dragon Gate vs. Ring of Honor:  Team Dragon Gate (CIMA, Ryo Saito, Susumu Yokusuka, and Dragon Kid) vs. Team Ring of Honor Austin Aries, Claudio Castagnoli, Delirious, and Rocky Romero

One of the negatives about Ring of Honor during this Wrestlemania weekend was that not a lot of issues were out there to be resolved.  That’s why there were was a four corner survival and a couple of other matches thrown together just for the sake of having them. This match is also a clear illustration of that. You had a mixture of guys coming together from Ring of Honor take on a mixture of guys from Dragon Gate guys. Romero had just returned to the company on a full-time basis while Claudio was being given a second chance to prove himself to Ring of Honor. Just three weeks after Mania weekend 2006, Claudio turned his back to join Chris Hero and Team CZW. This was his chance at a mea culpa.

While the rest of the card had its’ ups and downs, this show certainly had a spectacular main event with tons of back and forth action that you would expect from this contest. You had a number of interactions that happened on just this one night. An example would be Claudio against Dragon Kid. Too bad those guys never had a one-on-one match because Claudio’s best opponents tend to be the ones that are smaller than himself. What other big men would eat the entire déjà vu? Although this wasn’t necessarily a match-up that happened only once, Delirious’ interaction with CIMA is always fun. Of course, the final third contains the kind of insanity and innovation that was such a major part of the 2006 Wrestlemania weekend. CIMA finally wins with a crossfire powerbomb on Delirious.

Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Team Dragon Gate/27:54/****

-Jimmy Jacobs promo. This promo and the one shown on the next night’s DVD might be two of the greatest promos in Ring of Honor history. In fact, these might be two of my favorite promos of all time. This night’s promo was about the history of their feud and the violence that has come from it. “I love you big brother” is a great creepy way to end things.

Final Thoughts: After re-watching the 2006 Mania shows immediately before this one, the thing that struck me of the most about All-Star Extravaganza was just how inferior it came off. That’s not to say the show was bad at all because there a number of good matches. But when you combine Mark Briscoe’s injury with a lack feuds in the company overall, you don’t get the nearly the same level was was achieved the year before. I’d give this a minor thumbs up for what is here, and the fact that it does set up Supercard of Honor II nicely.

Tomorrow, we examine the end of another epic feud, the sequel to the Dragon Gate six man tag, and THE FIP TITLE IS ON THE LINE!

Those familiar gongs sound around the arena, as out comes The Undertaker! Yeah TNA, how ‘ya gonna’ beat that?! Undertaker almost trips his way into the ring, he’s quite the unlucky little bugger lately huh? Last week, according to Taker, is symbolic to what Shawn Michaels’ life has been reduced to. Shawn’s obsession with ending the streak will cause him to pay the ultimate price, his storied career. What Michaels needs to understand is that after Wrestlemania there will be no tomorrow’s, no celebrations or sense of triumphs. Only the same dark cloud hovering over his head for the rest of his life. Or he could go back to flipping hamburgers again? In 3 weeks, the Deadman proclaims that Shawn Michaels’ career will Rest in….

Before Undertaker gets to finish, HBK’s music comes on, considering it’s Paris Fashion week (I’m not gay, honest) Michaels really doesn’t look very fashionable. Wearing a leopard print jacket and very blue jeans, we won’t be seeing HBK on the catwalk anytime soon. Back to the action and Michaels admits that for a year he has been constantly thinking about the streak, one day however he woke up and this “metaphorical” cloud was gone. The reason he cost Taker the title was because he had no choice, Undertaker however didn’t have to interfere last week. For the first time ever, Undertaker’s scared. Undertaker warns Shawn to choose his next words very carefully. Those words are simply “fear”, as Michaels keeps it coming, telling the Deadman that he wanted the Career on line to intimidate him. Michaels knows he can beat him, that’s why he accepted the stipulation. Nobody lives a perfect life, nothing lasts forever and at Wrestlemania he’s going to prove it. Undertaker’s doubtful, he’s wondering if Michaels is a man exuding confidence or a man full of pitiful desperation. Michaels denies being desperate, last year he would have taken a countout, DQ, anything. This year, with so much on the line, he proposes no countout, no disqualification, the only way to win is by pinfall or submission. Make no mistake about it, Michaels is going to kick Taker’s teeth down his throat and beat him. Undertaker accepts, Shawn has chosen his own demise. Taker can see that Shawn does truly believe he can defeat him, which is probably what makes him Mr. Wrestlemania. Not this year. In Taker’s opinion, Michaels might very well be the greatest to step in the ring. But at Wrestlemania 26, Undertaker will open up the gates of hell and unleash a fury never seen by any human before, to make sure that Shawn’s career is over. Michaels tells Taker to “keep telling yourself that”, after Wrestlemania the dark cloud will return, hanging over Undertaker. Inside the cloud will be an image that will haunt Undertaker for the rest of his life, that being Shawn Michaels ending “the streak”.

Well that was awesome, obviously. The No DQ stipulation is a very clever strategy, to have a straight up match like last time would be idiotic, since there’s no chance for these two to ever top that. A brawling through the crowd type of match will work far more in their favour, since it will be fresh and less likely to be criticized by smarks for “not being as good as last year”.

Kelly Kelly, Gail Kim and Eve Torres vs. Alicia Fox, Katie Lea Burchill and Maryse. A trainwreck as always, culminating in Eve climbing the top rope, jumps off and flips Maryse into a cross armbreaker, as the Diva’s Champion taps out!

Winner: Eve Torres, Gail Kim and Kelly Kelly.

Thoughts: -1,000,000. How dare they job out Maryse to Eve Torres!

Backstage with Hornswoggle and Criss Angel. Now, I’m British as some of you may know, so this Criss Angel is a complete unknown to me. Why does the douchebag spelt his name “Criss”, it doesn’t make you “kooky” or “wacky”. The Bella Whores, subtly promoting his Las Vegas show. Criss swallows some string, the end of it comes out from underneath his eyelid. Well that’s disgusting. The crowd are booing, they boo even further as Jillian Hall comes in, singing. Angel makes her voice disappear, as the crowd finally cheer.

Out now are the Miz and Big Show, plus The Miz has a microphone! He reminds us that last week R-Truth and John Morrison earned the right to face them for the tag titles at Wrestlemania. He compares the two to Lex Luger and British Bulldog, who joined forces to “bore millions” at Mania XI. They’d rather face the Bushwackers since they are a real team, it’s a disgrace no one in the locker room can come up to their level. They claim to be the last truly great tag team in WWE. Miz and Big Show vs. Morrison and Truth. Why are we having this Mania match now? The action goes to the outside, where Show attacks the duo and the referee calls for the bell. Morrison and Truth aren’t happy, as they take out Show and throw Miz into the crowd. Morrison says they just showed how real they can get, as Truth does his annoying little catchphrase.

Winner: No contest.

Thoughts: What the hell was that?

Josh Mathews introduces his guest, the ever present dick wad, John Cena. Cena admits that he hasn’t beat Batista, he’s had his neck broken, his title taken away and there’s no argument to what Dave said last week. The only thing John can do is try his hardest to beat him. Josh Mathews asks Cena if he’s anticipating a Batista interference tonight, Cena replies “I’m counting on it”.

Mr. Charisma Evan Bourne is thanking Criss Angel for giving him a MITB qualifier against William Regal tonight. Skip Sheffield comes in, ass kissing the duo as Regal demands silence, before Sheffield keeps asking for magic tricks. Regal calls his rookie a muppet, mocking him repeatedly before Criss asks Regal to write a number. William writes 56, Sheffield congratulates his mentor on his number. Criss Angel closes his eyes, before looking deep into Regal’s eyes before, counting from 50 to 60. He correctly picks 56, as Sheffield marks out, delighted. Loving the Regal/Skip combo, probably my favourite of the NXT duo. Yeah you heard that right internet fans.

Legacy vs. Randy Orton.

As Legacy make their entrances they are attacked from behind by Orton, who catches them by surprise. Orton enters the ring after some shots, waiting for his ex-proteges to enter. We return from the commercial as the bell rings, Rhodes decides he will be the first to take on Orton. Orton and Rhodes battle back and forth, before Rhodes slithers over to his corner, tagging in his fellow black hole of charisma and personality. DiBiase boots Orton square in the face, before running straight into a clothesline. Rhodes gets tagged in now, as the duo use the numbers game to their advantage, Rhodes savagely booting the hell out of Orton. Rhodes distracts the referee as DiBiase chokes Orton, classic heel shenanigans there. Orton catapults Rhodes to the outside, as we head to the commercial. Orton is trapped in the Legacy corner, fighting his way out with rights and left. Clothesline by Orton to Rhodes, as he knocks DiBiase off the apron. Neckbreaker by Rhodes, as he throws Orton to the outside, DiBiase drop kicks him to the mat. Rhodes gets tired waiting and joins DiBiase outside, slamming Orton into the steel steps. A huge Randy chant starts, as Legacy twists the arms of Orton and punch him in the stomach. That really is one of the worst double team moves I’ve seen from a tag team. DiBiase locks in a sleeper hold, which Orton of course fights out of, only to be met with DiBiase’s trademark variation on the clothesline. Rhodes gets tagged in and drop kicks Orton, beating down on his previous leader. Frequent tags from Legacy, this match has gone pretty long, what the hell are they doing at Mania? Orton suddenly starts the fightback, taking both men on with two successive scoop slams. Vintage Orton as he connects with the backbreaker, before looking over to the Wrestlemania sing, punching the mat. Rhodes slides back in though, before being thrown back out by Orton, who fails to see DiBiase sneak up behind him. DiBiase drops Orton with the Dream Street, 1…2…3!

Winner: Legacy.

Thoughts: ***. Well that was enjoyable, plus Legacy beat Orton. What I simply can’t fathom is what happens at Mania as a result?

Not content, Rhodes picks Orton up, before connecting with the Cross Rhodes. Both do the classic Randy pose as we head backstage…

The awesome Batista is backstage, bragging about getting into the head of John Cena. He gives his word as WWE Champion that he won’t get involved in John’s match tonight, also wishes him luck tonight. Just a thought, if you’re not in action tonight Dave, why are you topless and wearing nothing but a pair of trunks.

HHH comes out, reminding us all that he humiliated, injured and cost Sheamus the WWE Title. Before we get any awful Triple H “comedy”, Sheamus interrupts, barely giving HHH a second to address his moronic fans. I must say, Sheamus is something of a guilty pleasure, it might not be “cool” to like him, but who cares? Sheamus intends to make a statement out of HHH, at Wrestlemania. HHH runs through Sheamus’ first year, reminding everyone that Sheamus has never been at Wrestlemania. Until he makes his name at Mania, his accomplishments mean nothing. Years before, HHH was in the same scenario, a rising star trying to make a name for himself. At Mania he tried to make a statement by facing the biggest star in the company, but got crushed. After falling into obscurity he clawed his way back, fighting his way back up. Those who beat Hunter at Mania have gone on to amazing things, John Cena, Batista to name but a few. The majority failed however, falling into a pit of obscurity, a footnote. Well that’s cause you squashed them Hunter! Booker T perhaps?

HHH wants Sheamus to be sure that he’s ready to lay it all on the line, the Irishman looks somewhat confused. He backs up a bit, before going on the attack, only to be clotheslined out of the ring by HHH. HHH gets tripped to the outside, met with a elbow by Sheamus, who misses with the bicycle kick. HHH sends himself and Sheamus into the crowd with a clothesline, as Sheamus gets jumped on from behind. Sheamus throws HHH into the announcer’s table, as both men get back inside, Sheamus falling pray to the spinebuster. Sheamus slides to the outside, as HHH’s music blares.

From a good segment to bad, as a shaven Santino Marella is backstage with Criss Angel. Marella wants to show a trick, which fails, as he challenges Angel to do better. Four cups are set on a table in front of them, empty, as Angel picks up a sushi knife. He wants Marella to place one of the cups on the very sharp sushi knife, which is pointed upwards. Angel squashes two empty cups, really dragging it out before he successfully squashes the third empty cup, leaving the last cup, where inside stands a sushi knife. The crowd don’t react whatsoever.

Evan Bourne vs. William Regal. MITB Qualifier.

The last MITB Qualifier in fact, I think it’s evident who SHOULD qualify. On commentary is an incredibly over rated tool, Christian, with his idiotic protégé, Heath Slater. Regal schools young Bourne, knocking the crap out of him with knees and uppercuts. Bourne fights back with some kicks, before being met with a elbow off the ropes. Beautiful tiger suplex by Regal, which Cole calls “a throw”, as Skip Sheffield cheers on. Regal goes for his running knee but falls into a spinning heel kick by Bourne, who climbs to the top rope and connects with Air Bourne.

Winner: Evan Bourne.

Thoughts: ½. Evan Bourne is in the MITB purely for the Air Bourne spot. Incredibly short match plus Christian was on commentary, so a thumbs down.

Next week is “Wrestlemania Rewind”, where Big Show will face John Cena, Randy Orton will face HHH and here’s the good one, Shawn Michaels will face…..Chris Jericho! On top of that, Vince and Bret sign the contract for their Mania match up, presided over by Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Criss Angel comes out, sucking up to the fans as every single Guest Host does. Angel is here to present the main event, I think you mean introduce. First up, John Cena, Angel screams his name so hard, his voice cracks. Soon after Angel introduces the opponent, Vince McMahon, who Lawler describes as “no slouch in the ring”. Insane. Vince McMahon gets a microphone, telling the fans that they’re going to see their idol getting beaten. It’s no ordinary match however, it’s a gauntlet match, the first opponent being Vladimir Koslov!

Gauntlet Match. John Cena vs. A lot of guys.

Powerslam by Koslov, as McMahon stands in the corner, able to tag himself in at any time. Repeated head butts by WWE’s Ivan Drago, dropping Cena with a chokeslam type move. McMahon asks for the tag, which is granted, as he goes for the pin, 1…2… kick out. Next out is McMahon’s favourite new superstar, Drew McIntyre, who immediately goes on the attack. McIntyre tags in Vince again, who rolls Cena over and goes for the pinfall, 1…2…kick out again. Another superstar comes out now, it’s Jack MF’N Swagger! We return from the commercial and Swagger is flat on his back, met with the Five Knuckle Shuffle, before going for an Attitude Adjustment. Swagger reverses however, planting Cena with a power slam. Swagger also connects with his leaping frog splash, before trying it again, on order from the Chairman of the company. The second time works too, as Vince tags himself in, 1…2…kick out again! Vince goes for another cover, 2 count again. Up next, Mark Henry, uh oh. Henry reluctantly drops Cena with a World’s Strongest Slam, as he tags in McMahon. 1…2…kick out yet again. Vince grabs the microphone and the ring bell, before announcing this match is now No DQ. Henry pleads with McMahon not to do it, stepping in front of him. The devious chairman hands Henry the ring bell, ordering him to knock out his friend. Henry throws the ring bell away, before turning around and being met with one hell of a spear, courtesy of Batista! For some reason out comes Kofi Kingston, sending Batista to the corner with a drop kick, before Batista drops him with the Batista Bomb. Vince slides back in with the ring bell, as Cena fights back against Batista, knocking him out with a clothesline. Cena now turns his focus to the boss, who drops the ring bell to the outside, trying to convince Cena he’s innocent. Cena lifts Vince up for the Attitude Adjustment, but Batista comes to the rescue, knocking Cena down with the spear. Batista hoists Cena up, before dropping him with a vicious Batista Bomb. Vince pins Cena once more, 1…2…3!

Winner: Vince McMahon.

Thoughts: *1/2. Like the majority of matches leading up to Mania, the importance is more on the storylines, rather than match quality.

So whilst recapping this week’s Raw, I realized something. This year’s Wrestlemania is ridiculously predictable. Let me prove it to you…

Cena vs. Batista: Cena is clearly winning that one.

Edge vs. Chris Jericho: Edge will also be winning.

Legacy vs. Orton or whatever: Orton will win.

Punk vs. Rey Mysterio: If it’s Hair vs. Mask, Mysterio will win too.

MITB: Christian will win and feud with Edge.

Vince vs. Bret: Bret will win.

However, Undertaker and HBK is very unpredictable.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m very very much looking forward to this year’s Mania, but those matches all have a pretty obvious winner.

Final Thoughts: Decent enough show this week, full of great promo’s as has been the norm with Raw lately. Not much in the match front, and Criss Angel is a douchebag.

To celebrate the first battle in the Monday Night War II, how bout a song? This song is High Road by the mighty Broken Bells, do enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mkr19RSG6k Thank you for reading and remember to come back same time next week, for an action packed Raw.

Mike Tenay and Taz hype the in-ring return of Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair. Apparently, that is happening…right now! Abyss and Hogan make their way to the ring. Hogan says that since AJ Styles and Ric Flair decided to change the rules, this is their wrecking day. Styles and Flair come down to the ring, leading to…

Opening Match: Hulk Hogan and Abyss vs. Ric Flair and AJ Styles
Abyss catches Styles with a press slam. Flair tags in and trades chops with Abyss. Flair gets back body dropped but responds with a low blow. Hogan decides to interject but Styles lays him out with an enzuigiri. The match breaks down…STING’S MUSIC HITS! Sting is in the ring with his baseball bat. HE HITS HOGAN AND ABYSS!! Styles and Flair aid in the attack by utilizing a steel chair. Hogan and Abyss are bleeding badly as security comes out to stop the attack. Hogan gets on the microphone and says that he will finish this before the night is over. Hogan makes a no disqualification match for later tonight. Call this a no contest in just over two minutes. I can’t believe I was right…another no contest in the opening match. TNA hyped this match for weeks and actually delivered a no contest. I know that Hogan said there’s going to be a rematch before the night is over. But they just threw away Hogan and Flair’s return to the ring in a two minute match that ended in a no contest. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Dixie Carter tries to confront Sting backstage. Sting says “I owe you nothing” and walks away.

Jeremy Borash is backstage with Flair and Styles. Flair says that Sting has finally come to his senses. Flair is going to make a statement tonight. Hogan and Abyss are leaving in an ambulance tonight.

Abyss is furious backstage. So am I, Abyss, so am I.

Brooke Hogan is shown crying backstage. This is actually getting ridiculous.

Kazarian is in the ring. When he decided to walk away from TNA, he had some doubt. That doubt is gone now. He came back to reignite the flame of the X Division. Daniels interrupts and claims that he will be the one to lead the X Division. Doug Williams comes out and ensures them that the X Division is in good hands with him being the champion. Eric Bischoff finally interrupts. Thanks Eric, we needed a voice of reason. He makes an X Division Title match: Williams vs. Daniels vs. Kazarian…

Match #2: X Division Title: Doug Williams © vs. Kazarian vs. Daniels
Everyone trades rollups. Daniels catches Williams with a leg lariat. Kazarian hits a northern lights suplex on Daniels while pinning Williams for a two count. Kazarian lands a dive to the floor onto his opponents. Daniels is sent into the ringpost. Williams connects with a charging knee on Kazarian and Daniels adds a slingshot elbow drop. Daniels lands a springboard moonsault on Kazarian and follows with a death valley driver. Kazarian connects with a double springboard dropkick and hits a barrage of offense. Williams blocks Angel’s Wings and we almost get a double pin. Nah, not in TNA. Kazarian lays out Daniels with a swinging neckbreaker. Williams hits Chaos Theory on Daniels to retain his title in 7:00. Extremely solid action and the kind of match that should be the norm on Impact. The only problem is that they gave away Kazarian/Williams before the pay per view. Either way, at least I can say there was a decent match on this show if nothing else.

Shannon Moore runs out after the match and hurricanranas Williams. He connects with a spin kick and Williams retreats. Bischoff announces it will be Williams vs. Moore at Destination X. Neat!

Jeremy Borash is backstage with Dixie Carter. She puts him in a match tonight, but she won’t tell who he’s up against.

Match #3: Knockout’s Tag Team Titles: Taylor Wilde and Sarita vs. Velvet Sky and Madison Rayne vs. Tara and Angelina Love
The titles have been vacated as Awesome Kong and Hamada failed to defend them in the last 30 days. Good enough reason for me. Wilde connects with a spin kick on Tara and Sarita adds a stunner. Sky keeps screaming like an annoying you-know-what on the apron. The Beautiful People hit stereo dropkicks on Wilde and Sarita. Love enters and cleans house. Tara goes for the Widow’s Peak but Daffney interferes and lays her out with the belt. Rayne covers Tara to make the Beautiful People the new Knockout’s Tag Team Champions in 2:00. Fine advancement for the Tara/Daffney program. However, I hate seeing the titles change hands in a match this worthless. Especially because this contest had a chance of being decent, with some solid talent involved.

Christy Hemme is backstage with D’Angelo Dinero. He will be facing Desmond Wolfe tonight. Speaking of him, Wolfe attacks Dinero and starts going to work on the left leg with a chain. Wolfe makes his point and walks away.

Jeremy Borash is backstage with the Beautiful People. They are annoyingly excited. Borash brings out champagne and everyone continues to act immature.

Sting comes to the ring and waits for his opponent. ROB VAN DAM ENTERS THE IMPACT ZONE THROUGH THE CROWD!!!

Match #4: Sting vs. Rob Van Dam
RVD connects with a spin kick and hits rolling thunder for the win in about 15 seconds.

After the match, Sting attacks RVD with his bat. He even lays into some referees before Hogan comes out and stares him down. Hogan tries to enter the ring but security holds him back. Sting gets a shot in on Hogan with his bat and heads to the back. Probably the most underwhelming debut I’ve seen all year. Hogan also doesn’t look like he’ll be able to compete later, so his no disqualification match may be in jeopardy. Cross the line!

Kevin Nash and Eric Young make their way to the ring. Nash has a contract for a match against Scott Hall and Sean Waltman…AT DESIGNATION X!! Yes, Nash called it “Designation X”. I am not kidding. We go to commercial…back from break, Hall and Waltman appear in the crowd. Security rushes the ring just in case something happens. Hall calls Nash a sellout and says that when he wins at Destination X, Hall wants money for it. He said something like that. See, Hall isn’t the most coherent talker. Bischoff appears on video and promises Hall and Waltman a contract if they win at Destination X. Hall and Waltman accept the deal. Waltman slaps Young and they start brawling. Bischoff gives Young permission and we have a match…

Match #5: Eric Young vs. Sean Waltman
Waltman hits some offense in the corner but gets back dropped. He misses the bronco buster and Young hits a piledriver for the victory in 1:00. This was terrible. They hype the eventual confrontation between these four men and Young just finishes Waltman in a minute.

The United States Army is in the Impact Zone for Kurt Angle’s entrance. He calls out Mr. Anderson and introduces him to the men and women who fight for our country. Angle says he will defend the soldiers when female dogs like Anderson degrade them. They will have a match at Destination X. Mr. Anderson interrupts on video backstage, so Angle goes back and finds him. They brawl into the Impact Zone. In the ring, Anderson hits Angle with the dog tags. He tries to leave but the soldiers block him. Angle and the soldiers get some shots in on Anderson. Angle hits the Angle Slam and holds up the American flag in the ring. This was a pretty effective segment that the crowd was rabid for.

Bubba the Love Sponge of all people is backstage with Hulk Hogan. Earl Hebner walks in and asks Hogan for a second chance in TNA. Hogan obliges and tells Hebner to stop his match tonight if things get out of control.

They run down the Destination X card: Generation Me vs. Motor City Machine Guns in Ultimate X and AJ Styles vs. Abyss stand out to me.

Jeff Jarrett confronts James Storm backstage and punches him for some reason. Mick Foley tells them to take it into the ring as we go to commercial.

Match #6: James Storm and Robert Roode vs. Jeff Jarrett
Back from commercial, Beer Money is beating Jarrett down at ringside. Apparently Mick Foley is the special referee. I have no idea what’s going on. Roode lays out Jarrett with a spinebuster and Storm hits the Eye of the Storm. Jarrett finds an opening and clotheslines Roode to the floor. He sends Storm out as well. Roode sends Jarrett into the guardrail. Foley gives Jarrett the barbed wire bat. Jarrett goes to use it but Slick Johnson takes it away. Roode low blows Jarrett and Beer Money hit the DWI for the win in 4:00.

Hogan is backstage with Abyss. Brooke runs in and asks Hogan not to participate in his match tonight. Hogan says that he has to go out there and Brooke requests that it be his last match. Hogan promises that this is the last time he will wrestle.

Match #7: No Disqualification: Ric Flair and AJ Styles vs. Hulk Hogan and Abyss
Flair connects with some shots in the corner on Hogan but gets back dropped. They take the action to the floor and Flair is already bleeding. Hogan bites him to open the wound and lays in punches. Abyss adds some punches of his own. Hogan whips Flair with his belt. Flair finds an opening after a low blow and tags out. Styles takes control of the match and the heels isolate Hogan. Hogan slams Flair off the top and makes the hot tag. Abyss cleans house, connecting with a double clothesline. He hits corner charges and chokeslams his opponents. Styles lands a springboard forearm on Abyss. Everyone starts brawling. Hogan and Abyss hulk up. Abyss hits the Black Hole Slam on Styles for the victory in 8:00. Fine for what it was. Flair bled buckets, Hogan was Hogan, and Abyss was put over in the end.

After the match, Desmond Wolfe attacks Abyss with a chair. Flair takes out Hogan’s knee. D’Angelo Dinero comes out to make the save before Styles lays him out. JEFF HARDY IS HERE!! He cleans house and hits the Twist of Fate on Styles to end the show.

Check out the new podcast in the coming days for general thoughts on both RAW and Impact. Let’s just say that I won’t be too positive towards Impact. And that shouldn’t be anything new.

Match #2: Necro Butcher and Mark Briscoe vs. Erick Stevens and Joey Ryan
Necro is back to feuding with The Embassy and I can’t say that I’m excited. This is also the start of Stevens’ run with the stable. The faces rush the ring and start brawling. Stevens catches Necro with a knee from the apron and Ryan connects with a dropkick. The Embassy isolate him until Mark blind tags in. Well that was the worst hot tag I’ve seen in awhile. Mark lands a missile dropkick on Stevens but gets caught with a samoan drop. The Embassy now work over Mark but he eventually makes the tag after hitting a back drop on Ryan. Necro sends The Embassy to the floor and lands a rolling dive off the apron. Mark randomly uses a chair, which for some reason doesn’t draw a disqualification. I really hate this. Everyone starts brawling on the floor, with Ernie Osiris blatantly getting involved. Back in, Necro blocks a superkick and punches Ryan. Stevens and Necro start trading punches. Claudio Castagnoli interferes, drawing the disqualification at 10:22. Nobody is ever going to care about this feud. Nobody. The match completely sucked and it didn’t get any better once it broke down. In fact, it got even worse. Then the finish happened and I gave up. Apparently, Ernie Osiris can interfere but Claudio Castagnoli isn’t allowed to. I hated every minute of this match. DUD

Jay Briscoe runs out to even the odds. Everyone starts brawling some more. It still sucks. Claudio and Jay are left in the ring, leading to…

Match #3: Jay Briscoe vs. Claudio Castagnoli
Jay hits a dropkick along with a gourdbuster. Prince Nana provides a distraction, allowing Claudio to gain control. He shows his power with a dead-lift gutwrench suplex but Jay comes back with a crossbody. Claudio connects with a dropkick but gets flatlined into the turnbuckles. He catches Jay with a backbreaker, who responds with a death valley driver. Claudio stuns Jay up top with a bicycle kick and hits the UFO for the victory at 6:46. Too short and uninspired. I could definitely see these two having a good match, especially with Claudio at the top of his game currently. This wasn’t it. *½

Kenny King comes to the ring accompanied by Austin Aries and Rhett Titus for his match with Tyler Black. Aries gets on the mic and informs Black that he may not make it through tonight without a series injury.

Match #4: Kenny King vs. Tyler Black
They have a back and forth exchange. Black tries for a springboard, but Aries and Titus interfere to stop him. That draws the disqualification at 1:17. The heels continue to attack Black after the closing bell. Colt Cabana and Grizzly Redwood run out to save Black from a spike piledriver. Jim Cornette enters the picture and makes a six-man tag team match, leading to…

Match #5: Tyler Black, Colt Cabana, and Grizzly Redwood vs. Austin Aries, Kenny King, and Rhett Titus
Black lands a dive to the floor onto all of his opponents. He handles Aries in the ring while everyone else brawls around ringside. The match settles down as the faces start working over Titus. Both teams trade control until Aries catches Grizzly with a clothesline and the heels isolate him. He flips out of a double team back drop and makes the tag. Cabana cleans house, landing a springboard moonsault onto Aries and Titus. Black follows suit with a springboard clothesline. Cabana hits the flying asshole on Aries and King. Black adds an F5 to lay out Aries. He tries for a bucklebomb but Aries hurricanranas out of it. King stops a Colt 45 and hits a spinebuster. Titus catches Cabana up top with the Sex Factor and then Aries locks in the Last Chancery. Black breaks up the hold. Everyone starts connecting with strikes on each other with Aries standing tall. Grizzly takes off his suspenders and wails Aries with a clothesline. Titus shoves Grizzly off the top and to the floor. Black hits the bucklebomb on Aries and follows with a superkick. Cabana locks in the Billy Goat’s Curse on Aries for the win at 15:19. Solid action without ever reaching a higher plateau. There’s a part of me that wishes they would have let King and Black try to improve upon their match at Survival of the Fittest by keeping the singles match booked. Ultimately, this achieved its goal of making Cabana into a contender for the ROH World Title, although I don’t think anyone will actually buy that he can win the belt. **¾

Match #6: Bobby Dempsey vs. Tony Kozina
Kozina goes after the left leg early. Dempsey hits some body slams but gets lured to the floor. Kozina follows out with a springboard moonsault. Back in, Kozina avoids a charge by taking out the bad left leg. He follows by springboarding into a bulldog but walks into a big lariat. Dempsey hits a death valley driver for the victory at 4:11. Ring of Honor genuinely cannot figure out what they want to do with Dempsey. He hasn’t had direction for awhile and most of the momentum he had after Caged Collision has disappeared. *

Match #7: Delirious vs. Roderick Strong
These two had a lackluster feud in 2007. Fortunately, they haven’t met since then so this match feels somewhat fresh. Strong tries to pin Delirious while he’s frozen in the corner. They both miss baseball slides and Strong connects with some chops. Delirious drapes him across the ring apron and follows with a dive from the top rope. Back in, Strong avoids the Panic Attack and hits a leg lariat. He takes over until Delirious comes back with suplexes and a neckbreaker. Delirious gains control until he tries to chop Strong…bad idea. Strong returns the favor and hits a backbreaker. Delirious lands a missile dropkick along with the Panic Attack. Strong connects with an enzuigiri and hits a power slam. Delirious counters a slingshot falcon arrow into a swinging neckbreaker. Strong just throws Delirious into the turnbuckles and locks in a boston crab. Delirious reverses into a rollup for a two count and synchs in the cobra stretch. He turns it into a cobra suplex and hits Shadows Over Hell for a nearfall. Delirious Panic Attacks Strong to the floor but gets caught in mid-dive with a kick. In the ring, Strong hits a backbreaker and transitions into the Stronghold. Delirious makes the ropes. Strong adds another backbreaker and they trade forearms. Strong hits a gutbuster along with a yakuza kick. Delirious answers with the Chemical Imbalance II for a nearfall. Strong hits a flurry of offense but falls victim to a cobra suplex. Delirious follows with three Panic Attacks for a two count. Strong catches him off guard with a small package for the win at 18:33. Both men were working hard and they managed to have a spirited match, something I couldn’t say of their previous work. I’m not in love with the finish, but ROH is really focusing on keeping Delirious looking good. He’s had a lot of focus put on him lately and is coming off as more legitimate. This was a good match and both competitors came out of it for the better. ***¼

Match #8: Chris Hero and Davey Richards vs. Kevin Steen and El Generico
Generico snaps off a few armdrags on Richards. Hero tries to lay out Steen with roaring elbows to no avail. Instead, he starts to work over Steen’s previously injured left leg. The faces get some shots in on Richards, with Generico targeting his ear. Of course, Steen takes this to the next level by biting Richards’ ear. Hero tags in and the momentum swings. The heels isolate Steen until he lands a missile dropkick on Richards and makes the hot tag. Generico takes out Hero with a flying hurricanrana followed by a blue thunder bomb. Hero blocks a corner yakuza kick with a roaring elbow. The heels now work over Generico until he avoids a diving headbutt from Richards and makes the tag. Steen hits a lungblower on Richards along with a cannonball in the corner. He follows with a superkick on Hero and a powerbomb on Richards. Generico clotheslines Hero to the floor and follows out with a dive. Steen hits a crucifix slam on Richards but finds knees on a swantan attempt. Richards accidentally enzuigiris Hero and gets laid out with a stunner from Steen. Generico lands a flying crossbody on his opponents and hits a michinoku driver on Richards. He gets caught with the Alarm Clock and a tombstone for a two count. Hero connects with rolling elbows. Generico hits a half nelson suplex on Hero and a yakuza kick on Richards. Steen follows with a pumphandle neckbreaker on Richards. Generico trips up on a dive attempt and Steen lands a frog splash on Richards. Hero connects with a rolling elbow on Steen and follows with the Deathblow for a two count. Generico hits a top rope brainbuster on Richards while Hero puts on his golden elbow pad. He lays out Generico and goes to cover but Generico isn’t the legal man. Steen locks in a sharpshooter on Hero for the victory at 27:50. This was an extremely good tag team match, but a little too long for what they were trying to accomplish. To be quite honest, this show had been pretty mediocre up to the main event. It seems like these two teams were told to go out and have an epic match to make up for the rest of the card. They tried but the epic feeling came off as forced. The beginning parts were fun and the finishing stretch was as fluid as expected. It’s just that the middle portion felt overly dragged out. Still, this was a fine way to end the show. Unfortunately, it couldn’t save the show. ***½

*This DVD comes with three matches edited out from the Double Feature II release. They include:
-Kenny King and Rhett Titus vs. Necro Butcher and Delirious
-Brent Albright vs. Jimmy Rave
-Chris Hero vs. Necro Butcher
No offense to any of the matches, but I really can’t bring myself to review them. They aren’t going to feature any action that will make this DVD worth purchasing, as there was a reason that they were cut from Double Feature II. However, I just thought it was worth a mention in case anyone needs to see more Necro Butcher in ROH.

Overall: Boiling Point is one of the weakest efforts of the year for Ring of Honor. The show took place after television tapings and it was treated as an afterthought. At least it came off that way. The final two matches are worth watching but in no way save the show. ROH tried to add some extra value to the DVD by adding in some previously unreleased matches. However, if you take a look at the matches, there’s nothing to become excited about. I can safely recommend skipping this show.

Todd Grisham and Matt Striker introduce the show and Grisham reminds us we are three weeks away from WrestleMania 26.  Tonight, Edge will take on The Big Show in the Main Event, and the 2010 Royal Rumble Winner is on his way down to the ring.  They show us highlights of Edge facing The Miz one week ago and hear the commentators tell us about Edge surviving 29 other Superstars to win the Rumble.  Personally, I feel this is misleading.  Edge was one of the last men in the ring at the Rumble and most of those 29 stars were already eliminated.  Yet, they make this claim year in and year out.  Only a few men can actually claim to have outlasted 29 men to win the Royal Rumble, those who started in the No. 1 and No. 2 spots.  Shawn Michaels, Rey Mysterio, Chris Benoit, and sadly Vince McMahon can claim this distinction.  I understand why the WWE talks about the Royal Rumble Winners this way, but, still, I personally find it misleading.  Anyway, I digress, there’s a show to review.

Edge talks about being concerned for his Mania opponent, Chris Jericho, because Chris has been saying the same things over and over for the last couple of weeks, yet Jericho continues to get Speared by Edge, emphasis on the word Speared.  Edge says the same thing will continue to happen, week after week, until WrestleMania.  Edge and the crowd start chanting “Spear, Spear, Spear” until one half of the Unified Tag Team Champions and Edge’s opponent for the night, The Big Show hits the arena.  Show is coming off another successful title defense on Monday, defeating DX.  He’s greeted by Edge who reminds us that Miz got speared last week and the Big Show is going to get speared. But Show responds that Edge isn’t the only reason he’s here because he finds out who ShoMiz’s opponents will be at WrestleMania.  Big Show talks about what he’s going to do when he gets his hands on Edge and Edge asked if he’s going to get eaten.  Well, Show says he eats pieces of crap like Edge for breakfast and Edge channels Happy Gilmore.  The Rated R Superstar gets in Show’s face and threatens a spear.  Show charges and the crafty Edge pulls the rope down, dumping Big Show out of the ring.

Backstage Teddy Long is in his office when Drew McIntyre comes in.  Vince McMahon has expunged McIntyre’s loss to Kane last week, so the Intercontinental Champion is still undefeated.  Drew is therefore entered into another Qualifying Match against Matt Hardy, which is next.  McIntyre offers Teddy a handshake as a thank you and Long simply walks away.

Money in the Bank Qualifier
Intercontinental Champion Drew McIntyre vs. Matt Hardy

The Intercontinental Champion is officially announced as “The Undefeated Drew McIntyre” so I guess thanks to the power of the Chairman, a loss no longer matters.  If a loss doesn’t matter, then you could further theorize that a match doesn’t matter.  And you could even then go on to say that if there is no need for matches, there is no need for the WWE.  But, World Wrestling Entertainment presses on, and so will I as Matt Hardy comes to the ring with Justin Gabriel, his NXT Rookie.  McIntyre looks to win this early, going on the offensive as soon as the bell rings.  The fans are chanting for some Mattitude, though, and it fires up Version 1.  They take their fight outside the ring where Hardy gets slammed chest first into the barricade.  Drew McIntyre rolls in the ring looking for a possible count out.  We get a commercial and come back to learn that Drew has been focusing on Hardy’s back as the fans continue to chant for the Hardy brother.  McIntyre hits a fantastic Northern Lights Suplex with a bridge, but can’t get the pinfall.  The Intercontinental Champion looks to be in clear control of the match, but Hardy fights him off in the corner and comes off the top with an elbow, following it up with a Twist of Faint attempt, but it’s reversed.  Drew turns it into a Future Shock DDT attempt, but that is countered.  Drew puts Hardy to the mat and bridges over, but Matt kicks out and reverses it into a roll up that nets Matt Hardy the win and a spot in the Money in the Bank Ladder Match.  He also gives Drew McIntyre his second loss in as many….wait…no…officially this is his first official loss.  Thank you Todd Grisham for saying “Drew McIntyre loses again for the first time.”  Drew, in frustration, throws the cover off the announce table while the fans tell him how they feel.  He gets in Strikers face telling him, and those who can hear Drew through Striker’s microphone, that he WILL be at Wrestlemania.

Rating:  **

Winner:  Matt Hardy (w/Justin Gabriel)

The Money in the Bank Ladder Mach now has Christian, Shelton Benjamin, Jack Swagger, Kane, Matt Hardy, Dolph Ziggler, and MVP.  One spot remains open for the chance to climb the ladder and get that contract for a guaranteed chance at a World Title.  Morrison is backstage with…someone…talking about his parkour a little bit.  That only makes me respect the man more, because parkour is tough.  I don’t know personally, but I’ve seen how tough it can be.  R-Truth comes in and they talk about losing their chances to be on WrestleMania and tonight is their last shot.  They look focused.  Truth has some ideas for tag team names and the two brainstorm with ideas like “Dis ‘n’ Dat,” “Black Magic and The White Shadow,” and “Rock ‘n’ Rap.”  They agree on “The Unified Tag Team Champions.”

We get a quick preview of Rey Mysterio vs. Luke Gallows before The Gold Standard Shelton Benjamin comes to the ring.  He’ll face off against fellow Money in the Bank Qualifyer, Dolph Ziggler.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Shelton Benjamin

The two men meet in the center of the ring with a headlock from Shelton.  The veteran will be competing in his 5^th Money in the Bank Ladder Match.  In the ring, Ziggler locks on a sleeper, but Shelton counters out with a jawbreaker, but the damage was enough for Dolph to get control of the match.  He works to keep Benjamin grounded and reduce his air supply.  The almost white-haired warrior is all over The Gold Standard, but Shelton twists to his feet following a monkey flip and connects with a kick to the back of Ziggler’s head.  The match then becomes much more even as both men go back and forth with an advantage.  Shelton avoids a Zig Zag and hits Paydirt leaving Dolph out on the mat.

Rating:  ** ½

Winner:  Shelton Benjamin

This was a good match between two of the better wrestlers in the WWE.  I hope that Benjamin gets pushed higher up on the card.  He deserves it.  He’s been around for a while and has the credentials and skills to be a contender.

We get a promo about Shawn Michaels “My Journey” the newest DVD focusing on Michaels, and backstage Rey is giving his daughter a Mattel action figure as Tiffany comes in to keep an eye on her while Rey Rey heads ringside for his match.  The Straight-Edge Society come out first, and our Savior, the Pastor of Purity CM Punk has a microphone.  He’s criticizing parents for letting their kids support Rey Mysterio.  Subconsciously, Punk says, the kids are just trying to fill the neglectful void their parents left.  He compares Rey to all the neglectful parents.  Punk calls everyone in attendance cowards, just like Mysterio.  Rey is not a superhero and he refuses to face Punk Man-to-Man.  Rey takes cheap shots and has stripped Punk of his chance to become a 3 time Money in the Bank winner.  Mysterio put his hands on Luke Gallows for no reason, and our Straight-Edge Savior tells Luke it wasn’t his fault and the Pastor wants his Detoxified Disciple to make Rey Mysterio pay and suffer.  Luke’s not just fighting for himself or CM Punk, but for an entire Society.

Luke Gallows (w/CM Punk & Serena) vs. Rey Mysterio

The fans pop wildly as the Ultimate Underdog makes his way down to the ring to face the Straight-Edge Soldier that is Luke Gallows.  He gives his shirt to one of the fans Punk had taunted and interacts with several others on his way to the ring.  Gallows comes out swinging, clearly overpowering Rey from the starting bell.  Rey puts on some speed and brings Gallows down with a head scissors, but Luke overpowers him again as we see CM Punk’s NXT Rookie, Darren Young watching on from backstage.  The fans want a 619, but Rey is in no position to do that or any more as Luke Gallows stomps him in the corner.  Gallows puts his head down and Rey kicks him in the face.  Luke charges in and Rey pulls the top rope down, sending his bigger opponent to the floor where Punk comes over and whispers instructions.  During a commercial break, Rey tried to mount some offence, but when the cameras return, Gallows is quickly back in control of the match.  Gallows sends Rey to the floor but does not want to win by count out, he wants to send a message to the Ultimate Underdog.  Rey, again, fights to come back but is met with a fall away slam by the big man before Luke locks in a bear hug.  Mysterio punches out of the hold, but is sent into the corner.  Gallows charges in and Rey leaps over, sending Gallows shoulder into the ring post and the masked wrestler quickens the pace, hitting a handful of springboards before Gallows overpowers him once more.  Rey manages to climb the ropes, but is met with a punch and Gallows follows it with a big splash, but Rey kicks out and locks in a submission that looks like Jimmy Jacobs End Time.  Gallows gets to the ropes and is left prone for a 619, but Serena comes onto the apron to prevent it.  Punk comes in the other side to distract Rey and Luke comes in for a powerbomb, but Rey shifts his weight and Gallows falls backwards with Mysterio on top of him for the win.

Rating:  ** ¾

Winner:  Rey Mysterio

Punk comes in the ring, but Rey slips out of the Straight-Edge Savior’s grasp, avoiding a GTS and escaping before more damage can be done.  Punk looks furious and this rivalry is only heading up.

Backstage Big Show is backstage with Chris Jericho.  Jericho is congratulating Show, but Show doesn’t think it’s sincere.  Jericho wants Show to chokeslam Edge for him and Show says he’s not doing anything for “One Way Jericho” any more.  It was always about Jericho, never about the team and Big Show is doing this for himself.

No. 1 Contenders Match for the Unified Tag Team Titles
John Morrison & R-Truth vs. Cryme Tyme (JTG & Shad Gaspard) vs. The Hart Dynasty (Tyson Kidd & David Hart Smith w/Natalia)

As Truth comes to the ring, we’re shown the confrontation between R-Truth and his NXT Rookie David Otunga from this last Tuesday.  A lot is on the line in this match as three dynamically different tag teams hope to go on to WrestleMania to face The Big Show and The Miz.  Morrison starts the match with Shad Gaspard and the big man takes control.  As they toss to another commercial, Shad tags out to JTG.  Cryme Tyme team up on John Morrison before DH Smith tags himself in and hits a series of suplexes to John Morrison.  The Friday Night Delight desperately needs a tag, but finds himself in Cryme Tyme’s corner and would rather bring his partner in.  As Tyson Kidd gets the tag, Morrison does roll over to R-Truth and The Truth comes in the ring.  Morrison gets up and sends Shad and Smith to the floor, leaving the two legal men, Tyson Kidd and R-Truth, to fight in the ring.  Truth hits the Lie Detector for the win and “Truth & Wisdom,” as Matt Striker deemed them, will go on to WrestleMania.

Rating:  ** ¾

Winners:  John Morrison & R-Truth

Both men celebrate in the ring and John Morrison seems to channel Booker T with a Spinnerooni of sorts, break dancing in celebration.  After a commercial, LayCool is backstage kissing Vickie Guerrero’s ass and thanking her for helping Michelle win the Women’s Championship last week.  They present Vickie with a “Simply Flawless” tank top and I hope to GOD Vickie doesn’t wear it in public.  Beth Phoenix walks into the scene and asks when she’ll get her shot at the Women’s Championship.  Guerrero scoffs at her and claims herself as the most dominant Diva on Smackdown (gross) and Phoenix isn’t going to get her shot any time soon.  Vickie warns the Glamazon not to cross her and tells her to ask Mickie James if she needs any proof.  The Main Event is up next.

The Big Show vs. Edge

Both times Edge has come to the ring tonight, announcer Tony Chimel has sounded like he’s either got a serious man crush or is going through a 2^nd puberty.  His voice has cracked both times he’s announced the arrival of the Rated R Superstar.  That’s not relevant to the match, of course, but I thought it was kind of funny, so I wanted to share.  The No. 1 Contender to Jericho’s World Heavyweight Championship starts off using speed to avoid The Big Show at first, but Show catches him and sends a couple of head butts to Edge, taking him to the match.  Edge rolls out of the ring and uses the ropes on Show, but the big man is barely fazed and comes back on the offensive.  He taunts the Rated R Superstar, asking if Edge has any more jokes as he steps down to the floor and picks Edge up off the apron.  Edge sends him into the ring post and starts to mount some offense, but Show overpowers him again.  The World’s Largest Athlete seems to enjoy torturing Edge and Striker points out that Jericho has to be backstage enjoying it as well.  Show puts Edge in a sleeper on the mat, but Edge breaks out of it with a jawbreaker, but again Show is on the attack, grounding Edge in the corner.  Show climbs to the second rope, but the Rated R Superstar avoids the splash and starts to build some momentum.  He hits a bull dog on Show, but only gets a 2 count as the big man pushes Edge off him with authority.  Show looks for a chokeslam, but Edge turns it into a DDT and looks for a spear as Show gets to his feet.  He hits the 500lb Big Show with the spear to win the match.

Rating:  ** ½

Winner:  Edge

The fans pop loudly for the spear and the win before Jericho tries to sneak in behind Edge and hit him with the title.  Edge ducks and turns around to connect with a “spear, spear, spear, spear, spear!!”  Edge stands victorious in the ring as Jericho’s weekly spear prescription is filled.  There are two more Smackdowns until WrestleMania, and Edge looks to spear Jericho on each of them as well as The Granddaddy of them All.  The show ends with a nice show of Jericho under the Tron holding up his title with Edge on the screen raising his hands high.

This wasn’t a terrible Smackdown, but nothing monumental either.  Things look to be heating up, though, as we “Edge” closer to professional wrestling’s Super Bowl, WrestleMania.