Survivor Series..25 years in the making.

SURVIVOR SERIES 2011
The 25th annual Survivor Series returned to the most well know and loved arena in the world, Madison Square Garden and it truly put 'Boots to Asses'.

SS for me was the best PPV WWE has produced in a long time and the main reason for this was the lack of mic work and the focus on what we watch the product for...WRESTLING!!

Don't get me wrong, when the likes of CM Punk, The Rock and Zack Ryder touch the mic they are golden, but recently all they have done is mic work and it became a 'their bark is worse than their bite' situation as they very rarely backed up what they were saying.

SS stepped away from this and focused strictly on the in ring action which was a refreshing change.

DOLPH ZIGGLER (C) VS JOHN MORRISON - US CHAMPIONSHIP
I had high hope's for this match as I recently saw Ziggler and Morrison preform live and they easily stole the show at the UK house show I was at. Not only this but it has been rumoured that Morrison is leaving on bad terms with the company shortly and was being buried so to see him thrust into a title match at SS had me hoping that they were trying for one finale push..however Morrison was once again used as a jobber to build heat on Ziggler for the inevitable Ziggle/Ryder showdown at TLC. Although this was the case Ziggler and Morrison still had an excellent match with ring work that most main event superstars could not rival, we had false finishes, excellent reversals and some great high spots.
Winner and Still US Champ...DOLPH ZIGGLER.

BETH PHEONIX (C) VS EVE - WOMENS CHAMPIONSHIP
This match was turned into a lumberjill match a few days ago in what could only be an attempt to make a failing diva's match seem more interesting. As talented as some of the diva's are there is a strict lack of charisma from most of the female wrestlers in the WWE and so not much could be done other then have the addition of a dozen pretty and scantily clad female surround the ring. The match was pretty standard although won with an impressive high spot of the Glam Slam from the top rope.
Winner and still champ...BETH PHEONIX.

5 ON 5 SURVIVOR SERIES MATCH
TEAM BARRET(Wade Barret, Cody Rhodes, Hunico, Jack Swagger, Dolph Ziggler) VS TEAM ORTON (Randy Orton, Sheamus, Kofi Kingston, Mason Ryan, Sin Cara)
Although this match played exactly like one would expect a typical SS elimination match to go, it was hindered by a few problems. Firstly Ziggler had to pull double duty as Christain was injured during the UK tour, and so he was eliminated very quickly. Sin Cara was eliminated early due to a botched somersault over the ropes in which he seriously injured his leg and will be out of action for at least 6-9 months, because of this the match seemed to rely on improvisation until the finale segment which was rather good. As Orton was the only member of TO left against 4 remaining member of TB, he pinned an already down Swagger and as Hunico went for a flying cross body was caught on the RKO and eliminated also. This left Orton with Rhodes and Barret to contend with and while he put in a good effort and hit the RKO on Rhodes the numbers game got the better of Orton and he was taken out by the Wade Slam.
Winners...TEAM BARRET (Wade Barret and Cody Rhodes not eliminated)

MARK HENRY (C) VS BIG SHOW - HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
Going into this match I was quite looking forward to this as unlike most rushed story lines at the moment the Henry/Show feud has been playing out and building for months now and this gives the match what so many others lack these days...a back story and a good build. The match was a back and fourth show of strength between Henry and Show who took turns overpowering each other. This built towards some great spots at the end of the match including Henry tackling Show through the barrier (followed by chants of Holy Shit!) and an absolutely epic elbow drop delivered from Show to Henry with a massive impact that got the crowd chanting for the late legendary Randy Savage. The match was abruptly ended when Henry purposefully delivered a low blow to Show and was disqualified.
Winner..BIG SHOW (titles do not change hands via a DQ)

ALBERTO DEL RIO (C) VS CM PUNK - WWE CHAMPIONSHIP
This is the match I most looked forward to due to CM Punk, for months he has probably been the WWE's top drawer yet has been criminally underused. The match opened great with Cm Punk inviting his own personal ring announcer (hall of famer Howard Finkle) however I was slightly disappointed with the match as it was your standard Punk/Rio showdown with both guys getting their trademark match moves in. I was happy with the ending as they avoided having a win with the well know finisher and had Punk use the Anaconda Vice to have Del Rio tap out.
Winner and new WWE Champion....CM PUNK.

On a side note although I was uninspired by the match I feel making Punk the champion is a good move for the company and if used correctly Punk could bring back some of the entertainment that has been missing as of late.

THE ROCK & JOHN CENA VS AWESOME TRUTH
Easily the most anticipated match of the last year and it wasn't a let down in many respects, firstly Rock was in the best shape of his life and definitely not rusty in the ring, he put the smackdown on both Truth and Miz while barely breaking a sweat and no one could tell he hadn't been in a ring in over 5 years. Also refreshing was that for the first time in 5 years Cena was not made out to be an invincible guy, as WWE obviously wanted Rock to look good, all of Awesome Truth's beat downs were on Cena, it was a delight to watch the over promoted Cena finally be a Jobber for the smaller guys. It's worth noting that Cena also got the biggest boo's of the night. The match was won when Rock delivered the most electrifying move in all of entertainment 'The People Elbow' delivered with more impact then ever seen. The Rock truly electrified the crowed. After Awesome truth had left Rock goaded Cena back to the ring and had a 'cheer off'. The Rock getting deafening cheers while Cena got unanimously booed by the NYC crowed...If WWE are not planning on turning Cena heel then I don't think theres any hope as Cena draws more heat now as a face then most heels at their prime.

Overall Survivor Series 2011 has been the best PPV I have seen this yeah and will be hard to beat. Let's hope CM Punk new entertainment era bring back a little love not seen since the attitude era.

WWE All Talk No Action

We all know that for a successful WWE show there needs to be an equal mix of charismatic talent, excellent promo's/mic work and some brilliant one of a kind matches...however recently I'm feeling more time goes to promo's then to actually wrestling.

Now don't get me wrong, CM Punks recent triad of abuse on the mic has been excellent and what the WWE has been lacking for so long, however after 3 weeks this abuse it becoming null and void as there is plenty of talk but no action.

At the height of WWE most successful period it was the mix of all the above that made the show brilliant, you had tension building promo's, run ins, backstage attacks, entire story lines that played out for months. At the moment all we have is Raw on repeat. We have the same triangle of promos coming from Punk/Cena/HHH and absolutely no action. How can the WWE get away with having its main stars just...talk!!

What we need is for some proper tension building, the way that rivalries such as Austin/HHH, Angle/HHH, Rock/DX. 

WE Know the WWE is capable, I am just hoping that they have been easing us into it week by week and that within a few months we will notice a definite change for the better within WWE.

Wrong wrong wrong WWE!!!!! CM Punk returns too soon to TV

The WWE has on their hands the potential for the best storyline in over ten years. CM Punk leaves the WWE with the WWE Championship after cleanly beating John Cena. Punk is then drip fed into the fans consciousness through the most powerful too in the world, the Internet.

He appears at the massive San Diego Comic Con to interrupt a WWE Q and A panel and proceeds to run rings around Triple H on the microphone. Mysteriously the clip appears on the web in seconds. He appears at a Ring of Honour event captured on a dodgy handheld camera or mobile phone. This less is more approach could have been filtered through the web for months, building the anticipation for when WWE extends the hands to Punk for him to have a long awaited re-match with Cena. All the ingredients were there to use cyberspace to its optimum capacity and give us glimpses of the errant WWE Champion.

What does WWE do? They bring him back with an unexpected 'appearance' on Raw. So unexpected that he has new music prepared and a new video wall. Must have been part of his new contract! Not only that but Cena wins back the WWE title (the other one) from Rey Mysterio who pointlessly held if for about an hour.

All the anticipation now seems to have gone and we can probably expect something like a ladder match with both belts suspeded from the ceiling to determine the true champion, possibly at Summerslam. What a let down that would be. The only chance Punk has to achieve true mega stardom would be to disappear from TV again and haunt Cena infrequently over the coming months. However I have a feeling WWE is going to make the biggest mess of storyline since the 2001 WCW/ECW invasion. Such a shame.

Does Smackdown need to be put to bed?

WWE Smackdown has been with us since 1999 and has witnessed some of the greatest non PPV matches in the WWE, however after 12 years on the air is it time for WWE to 'Layeth the Smackdown' on this show.

Smackdown first appeared on our screens during the height of the attitude era and undoubtedly one of WWE most profitable periods. Capitalising on the success of it's brand was a logical step and Smackdown was created to double the entertainment.

From 1999-2002 WWE superstars appeared on both Raw and Smackdown and story lines twisted via each show, however in 2002 after WWE's acquisition of both it's competing shows WCW and ECW, the WWE was over run with talent, former champions were forced to open shows and wrestle mid card. To combat this the WWE underwent a process they called a 'brand extention' in which they literally separated Raw and Smackdown into 2 different shows, thus allowing 2 different rosters and therefore more main event material.

When moving forward in time to 2011 and the swell of talent from the early 00's has wained down to just a few really talented wrestler and lots of 'filler'. An example of this filler is Smackdown 22/07/2011, this show had at least an hour of material which wasn't from the show itself, they had a 20 minuet re run of Raw, a match from 'the vault', a 'this day in Smackdown history' and loads of 'previously on Smackdown'.

The WWE no longer have the mass of talent they did in the early 00's not to mention that their stock is already 33% down on the previous year. At a time when the WWE is not making the money it is used to and struggling to find the talent they once had, maybe its time to let the show die. Get rid of Smackdown all together, combine the rosters to make a really impressive Raw roster and make Raw 3 hours long per week, this in addition to the WWE's recent move back towards the attitude era could mark the next stepping stone for the biggest promotion in the wrestling industry.

Congratulations Christian - Second World Title Reign Is Still On!

For long term fans of Christian the non-sensical booking around his first World Title win still rankles somewhat. Thrown into the main event spot due to the sudden retirement of real life best friend Edge, Christian found himself on a wave of both sentimental support and a sense of justification that he was now at the top of the card where he belonged.

And sure enough he beat Alberto Del Rio in a ladder match and won his first title in the WWE. The crowd reaction that night should have shown the management that they had a new babyface main eventer to get behind. Alas this was not to be and strangely Christian was booked to lose the World Title to Randy Orton at the following Smackdown taping.

The Internet was in meltdown and wrestling fans on the whole felt Christian had been cheated. Then he was turned heel!! The sentimental run in the wake of Edge leaving the WWE last all of around four weeks.

However this was in fact a positive sign as Christian has always been more effective as a heel. Thus after turning on Randy Orton the two have embarked on a feud throughout the summer which, after having the odds severely loaded in his favour, Christian won the title belt from Orton due to a DQ.

It was a cheap win but it does not matter one jot. Christian is now firmly planted in fans minds as the No.1 heel on Smackdown as he won the belt by causing Orton to lose his cool by spitting in his face. There is no more cowardly act.

So this week Christian survived the first TV show after his second title reign begins and hope spreads that the Smackdown writing team are going to get behind him this time. People should not forget that Chirstian has a pedigree of being on top, albeit in TNA, and played the role of heel champion perfectly well. Let us hope we see a return to the CLB (Creepy Little B***ard) character of around 7 years ago and that Jay Reso is given the strap till at least Summerslam. If creative give him a little free reign in what he is allowed to say and do then this next few month may cement him at a main eventer for years to come.

Money In The Bank 2011

Money In The Bank saw some of the most average and yet some of the best wrestling match's seen in the WWE for a long time.

Both 'Money In The Bank Ladder' match's were mediocre at best, a few years ago the mid card roster held such legends and The Hardy's, Edge & Christian and Eddie Guerrero competing in cutting edge matches like TLC and Table Matches. These days some of the competitors in the mid card roster wouldn't have even made a TV viewing in 2000 and therefore as high risk you want to make a match like 'Money In The Bank' the wrestler's currently at that level in the WWE simply don't have the talent of their predecessors. Even recent talent such as Rey Mesterio is being defeated by removing his mask rather then actual wrestling.

The typical gimmick match in the 'Giant vs Giant' match in Mark Henry Vs Big Show was a let down as there isn't really much too individuals of their size can do without a more athletic individual involved to loosen the match up. The token women's match also failed to live up to any form of expectations.

Thankfully the two main title matches, although not free from error, did not fail to deliver.

CM Punk Vs John Cena was an excellent 33 minuets of showmanship and true wrestling talent. CM Punks recent shift towards a 'Stone Cold' type person seems to be WWE's way of stepping back towards the attitude era and if the crowds reaction was anything to go by it was a welcome return. The only ever problem I have with Cena is his lack of ability when it come to hiding the fact he was talking to Punk throughout the match, although in Cena's favour was how he played up to the crowds negativity by acting a bit hurt by it all.

Although the main event was excellent and almost faultless, the real show steal for me was the World Heavyweight Title match between Randy Orton and Christian. A truly excellent piece of ring work on both parts that truly deserved any applause received. Christian played the part of the petulant wannabe to a level   not reached since Kurt Angle, and Randy Orton is simply amazing as the easily wound up maniac that made HHH's tenure a success. Christian has the experience and talent to stay main event level, his only let down is his size is too small and this makes him unbelievable as a threat to the WWE's main card roster.

Money In  The Bank proved once again that the WWE still needs work, but that when it counts they can still pull off a good old fashioned slobberknocker!!

"I Love You Pop!"

Although it was hard to keep a straight face when one of wrestling's supposed bad asses Triple H uttered the title words of this post after giving his father-in-law Vince McMahon the ultimate WWE pink slip, the underlying truth means a major potential overhaul for the WWE.

In storyline terms Triple H, part of the WWE management, represented the Board who felt Vince had made some bizarre decisions as of late, including letting CM Punk take the WWE Championship from the company and attempting to fire the franchise player John Cena.

The Board felt Vince was now in an untenable position and he was subsequently replaced by Triple H. This must have been strange for the younger audience as not all of them are 'marks' who, although they probably knew that Triple H was Vince's son-in-law, they might not know he works for the corporate machine as the last they knew he was causing The Undertaker to be stretchered out of Wrestlemania!!

However in real life Triple H (Paul Levesque) has been groomed to take over the day to day running of the company for over eighteen months. So those tears that you saw from Vince would be as real as anything he has ever displayed as this is a man who knows that he is facing winding down to a degree. Make no mistake though, behind the scenes he will still very much be the man in charge and everything will go through him I imagine.

And what of Triple H? Will he now be an on screen CEO? Will he look after both Raw and Smackdown....although let's face it, when did Vince ever go to Smackdown? And what of the pointless RAW GM storyline that has been going on for more than a year? Will that now be forgtton and do fans even ask themselves who it is anymore?

Whatever the case the landscape is changing. Triple H has always wielded power since around 2000, but now it is official. Watch out WWE Universe! The Game really begins now.