1) WWE Raw Thoughts on Daniel Bryan and the Miz
2) WWE Smackdown Thoughts – 5 Problems with Smackdown
3) TNA Impact Thoughts – Ranking the TNA Title Contenders
4) WWE NXT Thoughts – The Final 3
5) ROH Thoughts – Roderick Strong: ROH Champion
6) Guest Spot – Current WWE Direction Thoughts by Penny Sautereau-Fife
7) A Modest Response to Paul Heyman for Shooting on TNA
8) History Time – My 10 Favorite AWA Wrestlers
9) Match Review: Jake Ziegler on Jay Lethal vs. Kurt Angle
10) Personal Life – It’s My Birthday!
1) WWE Raw Thoughts on Daniel Bryan and the Miz
Apparently, the Miz’s master plan to become a main event star, as seen since the Real World nonsense, is coming to fruition. The guy used his celebrity to get trained and into the WWE. From there, he worked his ass off to be a great heel and competent worker. Now, he’s been doing a ton of PR and, well, from all reports, sucking up to all the right people to the point where Vince McMahon sees him as a huge positive and he’s very likely to be a main event star soon.
Daniel Bryan is arguably the only star since WCW and ECW folded to be made outside of the WWE umbrella. He’s a guy who walked in and was immediately known and bought into by a large majority of fans. Despite this, or perhaps because of it, Danielson was given a loser gimmick and buried by announcers. Still, he was over, and, after a well-run, if abbreviated feud with the Miz, he was made a major cog in the main event Nexus angle. When unforeseen circumstances cost him his job, the internet exploded and he became a bigger star than ever before, brought back in a main event angle at no less a show than Summerslam.
Now, these two stars are set to intersect. The Miz’s push is set to culminate with him as hot as anyone can be in the company’s eyes and holding Money in the Bank. Daniel Bryan just got a huge return and, although he was attacked by Miz, has already fought back and on Raw last night had the Miz tapping out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FctrRXe9FEs
For the first time since the Rock and Triple H, or perhaps Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar, the WWE has two new main event ready stars that they can elevate together, by putting on great matches and letting the feud elevate both. When one, likely Miz, wins the title an the other gets to challenge, their feud is then taken to another level and becomes a storied rivalry. Will this happen? The WWE is surely seeming likely to set it up and the Miz, at least, is sure to get to that top tier. Daniel Bryan has proven to have the skills and following to join him. The only issue is that on Raw it’s difficult to pull that trigger with Chris Jericho, Edge, John Cena, Sheamus, a soon to return Triple H and Randy Orton all vying for top spots.
Still, it’s about time for Smackdown to get serious, with the SyFy change imminent. Either taking the two hot new Raw stars, Bryan and Miz, or thinning the herd of talent atop the card, Danielson and Miz’s opportunity to someday main event Wrestlemania as enemies has never seemed better.
2. WWE Smackdown Thoughts: 5 Problems with Smackdown
1. A Lack of Mid-Card Faces.
Smackdown is rich with young heels looking to get better. From Cody Rhodes to Drew McIntyre to Dolph Ziggler, the heel side of the roster is absolutely stacked with guys who could rise to the top of the card with time. Unfortunately, the faces they wrestle are in no way ready to help them improve or elevate their game in the ring.
Kofi Kingston is the one young face on Smackdown with a potentially bright future, but he’s every bit as green as those he faces. Matt Hardy is more experienced, but no better, and as a perennial mid-carder in no position to elevate anyone. Christian is great, but not a face. Rey Mysterio is too far up the card, though he nearly elevated Ziggler about a year ago before a suspension, and Kane is suddenly a main event heel. Big Show is too busy crushing re to really be of use. Should a top guy be free, the first person they face is CM Punk, the most natural heel on the roster. There’s really nowhere for these young heels to go.
And don’t get me started on Jack Swagger. The guy spent half the year being pushed as a main event guy only for the WWE to forget it and push him right back down to where he was before his title run with MVP. Sure, faux-Kurt Angle didn’t work, but there was still a lot of push that went into this guy to just ignore it and put him with the weak MVP.
2. There are too many damn heels.
Beyond these three aforementioned young heels and CM Punk, there are also Kane and Jack Swagger. That’s six major heels, all of whom should be going over and rising up the card. A lack of faces is bad, but worse is the fact that most of those faces are far better heels.
We’ve already discussed Christian, but the dominant Big Show works far better as a heel so that he can tell the tried and true David vs. Goliath stories (no one roots for Goliath). Matt Hardy was easily at his best during his Version 1.0 days as a heel, and MVP has proven time and again that he’s ineffective and unable to stay over as a face, while as a heel, he was a rising star.
All of these wrestlers are added to the new Alberto Del Rio, who’s being pushed huge for being Hispanic as a foil for the recently main eventing Rey Mysterio. Del Rio will need a push and to be kept strong should the WWE want to make him a star fast, and by all reports, they certainly do.
That leaves Smackdown with 11 wrestlers who are best as heels. That’s simply not a viable ratio to do anything productive with the brand. There cannot be enough faces for this many heels, let alone when Kofi Kingston, Undertaker and Rey Mysterio are the only natural heels on the roster with any kind of credibility.
3. Undertaker vs. Kane is boring.
Kane is, at his best, a carryable, but not very good wrestler, seen by the fact that he’s had maybe ten good matches in a decade. Undertaker looks bad and old… really bad and old. He’s amazing when he can go, but he’s never looked worse and limped more noticeably. They had very little chemistry in both men’s prime, with their last major feud, the return of the Deadman being notably terrible. Now, Kane is being pushed as a top guy with the “shock†that he attacked his brother… yet again. I’ve covered why this whole push and run is so bad at great length already. This needs to not happen, or at least be done with soon.
4. There is no one on Smackdown who makes new stars.
Smackdown has four established Main Event stars. Undertaker, Big Show, CM Punk and Rey Mysterio. Kane and Jack Swagger are on the borderline, but neither is established atop the card. Of those men, only Undertaker has ever made a real star. Big Show has never been consistently at top level and is far more likely to crush a top guy than make one. CM Punk might be able to get a new star over, but most of his feuds with anyone but Mysterio or Jeff Hardy have been truncated for one reason or another. Rey Mysterio has, for one reason or another, never made anyone in his career to my recollection.
That leaves the Undertaker. Undertaker has made or helped make at least Brock Lesnar, Kurt Angle (Main Credit to Triple H and Austin), Batista (Main Credit to Triple H), Jeff Hardy (main credit goes to Triple H) and Edge (main credit goes to Cena). Does he crush some up and comers? Sure. Hey, at least he helps to make some stars too. The problem is, besides being old, he’s busy with a guy he simply cannot make a star- Kane. The last time he could have made a star was CM Punk and he instead completely crushed Punk.
This all leaves Smackdown with at on of young stars, but just enough old stars on top of them to prevent this from being the new guys show and being seen as stars in their own right.
5. The holding pattern.
So, all of these problems have left Smackdown in a sort of stasis where very little happens and nothing really changes. With all of these issues and none seeming to be addressed at all, there is, in my opinion of course, little reason to bother watching Smackdown.
3)TNA Thoughts: Discussing the TNA Title Contenders and what should be on Bound for Glory
TNA has, since they stripped RVD of the World Title due to being unable to do proper math and figure out how many dates their undefeated World Champion has left, decided on a title tournament rather than, you know, having RVD job so that someone could get the rub from defeating him. There are four men left in the tournament, with the final in two singles matches at the 9/6 No Surrender PPV and the final match at the month after’s Bound for Glory. Here is a discussion of the four men who are alive in the tournament and the matches they are in, as well as four men who are not, but could make for more compelling television were they the final four.
Jeff Hardy – Jeff Hardy has been solid in TNA this time, which is good, since last time he was a drug addled mess. Still, his legal issues have caused TNA to keep him around the upper mid-card so that if he’s suddenly off to jail, there is no PR nightmare. This is safe, but ultimately not intelligent. Hardy is a huge star from the WWE, the biggest they’ve ever gotten and could have at least been pushed hard to make a new star. Instead, he’s been the sidekick to whatever top face, usually RVD, needs help.
To make Jeff a star now is certainly not striking while the iron is hot, although he is the man in the final four I have least issue with, as at least he can be utilized to make someone else look good. Unfortunately, he’s being wasted on the one man in the company who’s sure to always make himself look great.
Kurt Angle – Angle has destroyed any drama their might be in this tournament with his vow to retire if he loses. Sure, his matches are good, but without the threat of him actually losing, they are almost entirely pointless. Also, he’s been atop TNA for the majority of his run there and the business he’s done as champion is clearly not where TNA want to be. Why exactly does that warrant yet another title run, then?
Match 1: Jeff Hardy vs. Kurt Angle – This match should be absolutely excellent. Jeff Hardy and Angle were both weaned on the WWE main event style and are two of the best to work that style in the past decade that are still alive (both are a step below Eddie and Benoit) and that are still active (and clearly below HBK, and it’s arguable about Hunter). With that, they should be able to put together a great match that potentially steals the show. This is a draw for this card, but, unfortunately, builds nothing new and, regardless of the result, leaves fans no reason to tune in next time as this won’t be a feud or a series. Still, you could do worse than a satisfied customer.
Ken Anderson – Ken is, simply, brutal in the ring. His character is obnoxious, but with fans behind him, so be it with his push. As bad as he is, though, he shouldn’t be allowed near the top of cards on major PPVs. TNA has an abundance of great in-ring talent to work with, so why push Anderson to the moon immediately? He should be working angles on the undercard with his voice getting these angles over and learning to work with younger guys who are better in the ring. I’d suggest allying with ECW guys since he supposedly shares a similar attitude and can use the rub and the ending up working with AJ Styles and Beer Money to get better than brutal in the ring, hopefully anyway. I’ve never seen a sign this guy could be good and never enjoyed any of his matches.
The Pope – The Pope is a great character, a good promo, and a potentially great wrestler… so why shouldn’t he be here? The guy is still green in the ring. He gets lost and fans know it. It’s all but impossible to fully get behind the guy, as the fans reactions usually show, due to him simply not having his timing and character fully down. Once more, TNA is flush with mid-card guys who are excellent in the ring and can lead him until he’s ready, as well as flush with young guys who actually are ready. Why bother with this push now? I’d suggest a feud with a Desmond Wolfe or Doug Williams to gain seasoning.
Match 2: The Pope vs. Ken Anderson – How exactly is this going to avoid exposing both guys? They almost have to go with a back and forth match and many near-falls to keep the crowd from noticing that there will be no story and no emotional investment to be found here. Also, as a second face vs. face match, this will simply not have the ability to get the fans to care on the level of the other semi-final match.
The likely main event of BFG: Ken Anderson vs. Kurt Angle – The first problem here is that we’ve seen this on the undercard of multiple PPVs this past year. Stuff on the undercard of minor PPVs should not main event the top PPV. Cena doesn’t face Orton second to last on Hell in a Cell then Main Event Wrestlemania, for example. The next problem is that the match was good, but their last top match was a huge, insane ladder match that this cannot hope to top. Do you really want a lesser match as the top one for the biggest show? Kurt Angle will also be expected to win by everyone. This could be a swerve, of course, with Anderson winning and Angle turning heel to not retire, but, ultimately that leaves us with a face vs. face second rate match with a very likely predictable finish and either a champion who is nowhere near ready in Anderson or a champion who business has already topped out under in Angle.
Now, let’s fix this using only guys TNA is currently pushing (this is simply so I don’t use Desmond Wolfe, who fully deserves it) who are ready for the push.
Samoa Joe – Joe simply deserves a big old push. He’s not only TNA’s most successful homegrown talent, he’s also arguably their top wrestler and has been on top of the top two drawing TNA PPVs ever. He is, despite a ton of bad booking, a consistently viable threat who can make opponents look good and for whom losing always seems like a big deal.
Matt Morgan – Matt Morgan has looked like a beast for most of the past year and, after finishing second best at last year’s Bound for Glory to Kurt Angle, should be ready this year to reach the top of the heap. Better, he’s as hot as can be as the new bodyguard, or, to put it more potently, Enforcer, of Ric Flair. With Flair as his mouthpiece, this guy can and should be huge.
Match 1: Matt Morgan vs. Samoa Joe – Morgan and Joe haven’t had a major feud, so this is a relatively fresh match. To get to this point, I’d likely have Joe go over Kurt Angle. Matt Morgan can win a clean match after a big fight build, similar to Joe vs. Angle at Lockdown that did a great buy-rate, with Angle, currently “retired†coming out, fuming that Joe beat him only to lose, and turning heel with a vicious attack. That leaves a deadly looking Morgan in the finals and the proven draw of Joe vs. Angle underneath at Bound for Glory
AJ Styles – Beyond being the man most associated with TNA, AJ Styles was also just the company’s champion for a long while and it’s absurd he wasn’t in the tournament to crown a new champion. As a new heel stable, Fortune would be really put over by having two men reach the semi-finals and AJ deserves to get at least this far.
Jay Lethal – After a great feud with Ric Flair limited only by Flair’s age, Lethal has already been forgotten and shunted back down the card. That shouldn’t be. One of the top young talents in TNA and fully homegrown, Lethal should be being put in a position to rise above where he was after the Flair feud. What better way to do that than to get this far in the tourney.
Match 2: AJ Styles vs. Jay Lethal – While Morgan and Joe would feel like a big fight, this could go out and just be an incredible back and forth athletic contest, entirely different from Joe and Morgan. Lethal gets the rub by being in there with TNA’s former star of the future and gets the huge win over the Ric Flair protégé, igniting Flair’s hatred once more, while freeing AJ Styles up to go face the ECW crew, hopefully now fronted by their ally Ken Anderson.
Ideally at Bound for Glory, we’d now have, at least:
Doug Williams vs. The Pope for the X-Division Title – This is here mostly to get Pope some seasoning. He doesn’t need the win, especially since Williams can cheat to get ahead. Still, it gives Pope a title match and a very good match all at the same time.
The Motor City Machine Guns vs. Desmond Wolfe and Brutus Magnus – The Guns need to keep the titles for a bit and this, a sure great match, keeps them over after their great Beer Money feud.
Jeff Jarrett and Jeff Hardy vs. Sting and Kevin Nash – Yes, I hate this match, but barring Hardy, the feud is built, so they might as well run it and see what they get. I’d really prefer Hardy vs. Sting in a battle of enigmas to see if you can get a few dream match buys, but with this built, you just live with it, put Jeff over, and see if you can get Hardy with a young talent thereafter.
RVD vs. Abyss – Since Abyss nearly killed him, RVD returns for revenge and gets it. If you can’t afford this, let Jeff Hardy have this match and slot someone else into Jeff’s spot in the previous match, like, say Kendrick, as a guy indicative of the new direction and have him win instead for the big rub.
War Games: Ric Flair, Frankie Kazarian, Beer Money, Inc, AJ Styles vs. Ken Anderson, Tommy Dreamer, Sabu, Team 3-D – You can take AJ and Anderson out and make them a singles match if you want, but go straight War Games formula here and let AJ get the pin to get heat back from losing last month. AJ transitions to an Anderson feud after this match.
Samoa Joe vs. Kurt Angle – Keep the cage down and do these two in a grudge match. Since Angle broke retirement, do loser is banned from the Impact Zone for 30 days, let Joe win, and force Kurt to rest his body.
Matt Morgan vs. Jay Lethal – With Flair riding high after his earlier win, now his star can face Lethal. It really, really doesn’t matter who wins as long as Lethal takes an absolutely unreal, long beating with great selling and well-timed comebacks, the crowd will eat this up, Flair will add importance by being present even though he’s bloody and have everyone the entire card put this over as the big one to determine the future of the company. Lethal should probably win to become the face of the company going forward and get the big celebration a la Bret Hart at Wrestlemania X, but I’d be fine with Morgan barely pulling it out and looking near invincible going forward with RVD, Hardy, and Joe (again) to beat to become a Brock Lensar-esque monster.
4) WWE NXT Thoughts: The Final Three
As of this writing, there are three men left on WWE NXT Season 2 and there is absolutely no wrong choice for the winner.
Kaval has been one of the more exciting wrestlers on WWE television. It’s disappointing to see his reported planned push go to Alberto Del Rio, as he was meant to be the one attacking Rey, but he’s still quite impressive, getting over with his unique offense and not appearing to be too watered down for WWE television. He stands to gain the most with a win, as if not, he might end up more Evan Bourne than Bryan Danielson.
Michael McGullicuty has been really, really solid. He’s very good both in the ring and on the mic and is often so all-around good that it almost seems predictable and boring. He needs a better developed character, but with time that will come. He’s at least as impressive as Ted Dibiase and Cody Rhodes were at this stage and hopefully will avoid their level of growing pains. A win would help ensure that.
Alex Riley, meanwhile, is a carbon copy of the WWE’s current golden boy, the Miz. He isn’t great yet in the ring, but the potential is there, as are the size and look. He’s already a great promo and a win would help his push with the abundance of heels on the roster. He probably needs this win least, as he can always be the Miz’s lackey for a time since he doesn’t need a jetpack on his ass to get to the top as some more seasoning before a major push wouldn’t hurt. Still, to push the importance of the Miz, I’d mostly expect him to win.
5) ROH Thoughts – Roderick Strong to be Champion?
Tyler Black’s likely last date for ROH is the 9/11 show from the Manhattan Center, ROH’s top venue, as an iPPV, ROH’s hot new format. At this show, Black will be facing Strong. Strong has been challenging for the belt since 2005, when he had great matches with CM Punk and then classics with Bryan Danielson, and has been a regular contender since, facing off against Nigel McGuinness, Austin Aries, Takeshi Morishima, and, of course, Tyler Black in multiple great matches.
The knock on Strong has always been that he’s bland and a bad promo. Both of these are true, but he’s as good in ring as anyone not in WWE or TNA and probably quite a bit better than most give him credit for (he’s clearly better than indy golden child Davey Richards, for example). He’s also a good test case to see how well managers work in today’s wrestling, as his promos are so bad, Truth Martini will likely be the one doing all of his talking for him. If the promos with the manager still work, and they should, ROH has their best rounded champion since Nigel McGuinness.
6) Guest Spot: Penny Candy
PENNY CANDY
By Penny Sautereau-Fife
Okay seriously, what IS Sheamus? Is he a badass asskicker heel or a conniving cowardly heel? Is he the tough guy that’ll beat up any comer or is he the devious chickenshit who’ll be as cheap as all get out to keep his belt? Does he know? Does Creative even know? NOTHING pisses me off more on a flagship wrestling show than its champion playing musical characters.
I had an argument with some kid on YouTube about this, (After I trounced his silly little “Drew MacIntyre rules and will be champ by Wrestlemania” delusions), wherein the kid thinks this makes Sheamus cool and edgy and unpredictable.
Sorry kid but there’s unpredictable and then there’s completely directionless. They need to decide who Sheamus is and run with it, or his second WWE Championship will be even more ultimately forgettable than the first one.
Daniel Bryan making Miz scream; Never gets old. Now if he’d just put the Cattle Mutilation on Cole I’d pay good money.
Oh gawd please kill me now… ANOTHER needless Santinoi Romance angle that will serve no purpose besides killing airtime and draw absolutely no money? Especially when his newest stalker looks like Grace Jones and Steve Buscemi’s drunken mistake? (Sorry Tamina but you SO drew the short straw in the looks deptartment, getting more of your Dad’s looks). The ONLY reason I can think of why they keep wasting airtime with Santino is to give partents 15 minutes or so to hit the hock stands and buy another TeeShirt.
Note to Creative; The fans are making their desires VERY clear; Turn Jericho Face. NO ONE wants to boo him. Pull the trigger on that soon, before you piss away the organic momentum to pull it off right.
And finally, a final thought; Hector Geurrerro was consider a lawsuit against Melina over her Summerslam outfit, but then remembered that would publicly remind people he’s the biggest joke in the family and give Chavo self-esteem via not being the laughingstock anymore.
We now return you to whatever life you’re living. Back to you Glazer.
7) A Modest Response to Paul Heyman for Shooting on TNA
My response: Hell Yeah!
8) History Time: My 10 Favorite AWA Wrestlers in no Particular Order
So, we’re doing AWA month in honor of the company being 50-years-old and, well, I’m honestly not the AWA expert that I am of many of the other territories (Mid-South, Memphis, World Class). Still, I’ve seen quite a lot of AWA over the year compared to most current fans and here are my 10 favorite guys.
1. Nick Bockwinkel – Apparently, Nick was a serious man who’s politics would make Triple H look bad, but good lord could he back it up in the ring. His series with Curt Hennig are some of the best matches ever and should be right up there with Flair vs. Steamboat and Flair vs. Windham as the best in America in the 80s. He was a traveling champion no less than Flair, also having amazing series of matches in places like Calgary and in Memphis.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNp1xkXEP60&p=464BCF8C1127AC73&playnext=1&index=71
2. Curt Hennig – I figure why beat around the bush? Hennig was an unreal worker who helped Shawn Michaels make the most of his potential and continually put on unreal matches with everyone he faced. As great as he was in WWF, he was probably even better in the AWA.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXQ4jEwe1Y8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCZqYa3FBTs&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaVwcvavoNo&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCmVCBGSnZI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ye3TohXAAtY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsLOtPbfbeA
3. Rick Martel – While many can argue that Hennig was better in WWF due to streamlining his gimmick and perfecting a character, it is all but impossible to argue that of Martel. A guy who surprisingly got the AWA Title, he was a top babyface as a serious technician and a true master in the ring long before he was ever in Strike Force.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epEWxR5EVEE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kFKejTmFSY&feature=related
4. Bruiser Brody – The legendary Wildman was either great or terrible in the ring depending on his mood, but regardless, this athletic big man was hugely over and incredibly ahead of his time. In order to not pay him, Verne Gagne tried to create Jim Nord into a junior Bruiser, which got us the Berserker, a failure that merely drives home how unique and awesome Bruiser was.
5. Wahoo McDaniel – You want to see a guy with a limited moveset who’s still awesome? The legendary tough man Wahoo McDaniel was excellent in the ring with very few moves. He was one of the most respected men in wrestling, whether in the AWA or the Carolinas.
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=F8AC2E36B02BB584&playnext=1&v=Ssm9N8enm2s
6. Adrian Adonis – I like talking about Adonis because he was such a joke in most people’s memory as an out of shape, fake gay man for the WWF, but prior to that, he was the man that carried Jesse Ventura in the ring as part of the East-West Connection, and one half of my favorite under-rated tag team ever, the North-South Connection with Dick Murdoch, and one of the best technical wrestlers in the world who also generated sick heel heat.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l067KMZfeJs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRz_LgdlFQc
7. Billy Robinson – As great a pure wrestler as to ever lace up the boots, he was a top wrestler in Japan and the AWA, as well as one of the better shoot wrestlers ever, who had a huge influence on UWF, UWFi and changing the course of wrestling history.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmovwWxMX0Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93D1pVPXUZo&feature=related
8. Sgt. Slaughter – As a kid, I marked huge for him due to GI Joe. As an adult, I was thrilled to find one of the best, most interesting brawlers of the past 30-years.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdWLpkX7r58&p=14A52D8B3B8629C7&playnext=1&index=14
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGcf6qiGh7M&feature=related
9. Ray Stevens – Another forgotten legend, much like Billy Robinson, he was considered one of the best wrestlers ever, working mostly in the AWA and California. His high impact style with heavy bumping is still the forerunner to the style of many major heels today, including guys like Edge and Chris Jericho. The original Crippler was one of a kind.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5c6AVWiNGI&feature=related
10. Stan Hansen – Last, but not least, my favorite AWA star ever, LARIATOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWQ_J5AQiWo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4zg0kDW0TA
9. Match Review: Jake Ziegler on Jay Lethal vs. Kurt Angle
MATCH #4: TNA X-Division Title Match – Kurt Angle vs. Jay Lethal
Angle has been the champion since 8.12.07 and this is his first defense. Not surprisingly Angle takes it down to the mat but Lethal reverses the armbar to one of his own and Angle goes to the ropes. Lethal gets a shoulderblock but Angle comes back with a high hiptoss. Angle takes Lethal down to the mat with a headlock. Lethal comes back with a hiptoss of his own and then a dropkick to the face. He goes up top and hits the double sledge for a two-count.
Angle comes back with a Buckle Bomb and kicks away. He hits a backbreaker for a two-count. He takes it back down to the mat and locks on a body scissors. A tilt-a-whirl backbreaker gets another two-count. Angle continues wearing the challenger down until Lethal punches his way out of a rear chinlock. Lethal goes for a clothesline and so does Angle and both men are down. Back on their feet Lethal hits a couple of clotheslines and a headscissors. Lethal hits an enziguiri for a near-fall. Angle comes back with an overhead release German Suplex for a two-count. He goes for the Olympic Slam but Lethal counters it to a DDT for two.
Lethal goes up top and Angle hits the pop-up belly-to-belly suplex for two. Angle goes for the Ankle Lock but Lethal kicks out of it and grabs an inside cradle. The champion kicks out at two and then hits three rolling German Suplexes for another two-count! Angle goes for another Olympic Slam but Lethal armdrags his way out of it and hits the Lethal Combination. He goes up top and hits the Elbow but Angle kicks out at two. Angle pops up and goes for a piledriver. Lethal rolls through for a two-count and Angle grabs him for another release German Suplex.
The straps come down for another Olympic Slam but Lethal slides out, only to get trapped in the Ankle Lock. Lethal rolls it into a small package to regain the X-Division Title in a huge upset at 12:19! That was a terrific veteran versus youngster match. Lethal went over clean as a sheet and while that should have made him and reinvigorated the X-Division, three years later neither the man nor the division are really any better off.
Rating: ***½
10. Personal Life: It’s My Birthday!
Okay, it’s my birthday Thursday and, due to turning 29, probably the last I’m going to want to celebrate for awhile, since 30 sucks. I was away all weekend, have plans from tomorrow through Saturday, then another B-day party the Saturday after. It’s Glazerpalooza and I kind of just want to get some rest and get ready, so I leave you with this bit of awesomeness:
