The MITB match was originally created as a Wrestlemania match that would feature anywhere from 6-8 Superstars who had never (or not for a long time) been a world champion or who had never (or rarely) been in the main event. It would give that Superstar a chance to shine on an international stage and, as 10 Superstars climbed the ladder and retrieved the briefcase over the years, become world champion (to date, no MITB winner has unsuccessfully cashed in the briefcase). The MITB match was not created for a guy like John Cena, a 10-time world champion who has been in the main event of the list give pay-per-views while not holding a title and who can be in the main event simply by blinking his eyes. In fact, of the five Superstars in that MITB match last night, I would say that Cena’s character was the least deserving to win and the one who needs to hold that briefcase the least. However, what’s done is done and now the question is what happens from here. Obviously, as a super face who counts young children and teenage girls as his core audience, he will announce his intentions in advance and not cash it in on an injured champion, making him only the second MITB winner since its inception to do so (coincidentally, the only other Superstar to do it was Ron Van Dam against John Cena). What remains to be seen is when Cena decides to cash it in (Raw 1,000, SummerSlam, Wrestlemania?) and who will be the WWE Champion when he does so.

My other problem with the PPV last night is that for the seventh time this year the a world title match has not closed out the show. With the exception of the Royal Rumble in January, every other PPV this year has featured John Cena in the main event and yet he was not a world champion or a challenger for a world title any of those times. I am aware that CM Punk continues to tweet, including last night, that he does not care where on the card he is because he will simply steal the show every time, but while this is certainly true, it doesn’t negate the fact that by booking the PPV as they do, the WWE is telling us that John Cena is more important than either of the two world titles. The WWE needs to learn that John Cena is well enough established and loved that he does not always have to close a PPV show, that his match can be at the halfway point or the second-to-last match and both his fans and other viewers will be equally happy. The MITB PPV last night could have ended with CM Punk celebrated his title defense and did not have to end with John Cena celebrating his MITB win. The alternative to not putting John Cena in the main event every time is to just give him a world title already, which is seemingly going to happen soon given his victory last night. While I do not want to see Cena as the WWE Champion because I do not want him to ever break Ric Flair’s record and I think it is time to give other WWE Superstars a chance in the spotlight, at least then the WWE Championship would be defended in the main event.

The rest of the MITB PPV was good if not great. I correctly predicted every announced match which, when you take into account the fact that two of the matches are supposed to be among the most unpredictable matches in the WWE, makes for a less than stellar show. But all four announced matches were solid, one was a match-of-the-year candidate (you can guess which one) and even one of the unannounced matches was good if not puzzling in its participants and finish.

The PPV kicked off, as everyone predicted, with the MITB match for the World Heavyweight Championship contract. The match was good but worse than I expected it to be, as a number of spots in the beginning were botched and there were no “Holy S**t” moments like there have been in the past. Tensai power bombing Sin Cara into the ladder was cool and Tyson Kidd hitting a hurricane neckbreaker on Dolph Ziggler while jumping from one ladder to another was impressive, but that was about it. The best part of the match was that Santino Marella did not win and was hardly used, save for one spot where he was seemingly afraid to climb the ladder but his cobra sock puppet was not (yup, that guy is your United States Champion). The finish was a furious one as it saw nearly all eight participants up on the ladders at the same time but in the end Dolph Ziggler grabbed the briefcase for the win. Now that is the type of guy who should be winning an MITB match; I just hope that his eventual world title victory sets off a career more like Edge and CM Punk than other past winners like Jack Swagger and RVD.

The Miz came out between the first and second match to announce that he was back from filming a major Hollywood movie (I wouldn’t call “The Marine 3” a major Hollywood movie, but okay) and that he was tired of being looked over and was going to change all that be entering, and winning, the MITB match. Why they couldn’t bring back The Miz on Raw last week and announce his entry in advance is beyond me, but at least he was in it and the match didn’t take place with only the four previously announced Superstars. Obviously, Miz did not win the match but hopefully his return to the active roster also marks a return to the main event.

The World Heavyweight Championship match between Sheamus and Alberto Del Rio was better than I expected which is a credit to Del Rio, who rarely puts on a bad match. Sheamus retained his title but after the match Del Rio assaulted him, which leads me to believe that their feud is not over. Hopefully, when it does come to an end, it is Del Rio holding the World Heavyweight Championship high above his head. After the assault from Del Rio, Ziggler made his way to the ring in an attempt to cash in his briefcase, but Sheamus recovered before the match could start and hit Ziggler with a Brogue Kick. Hopefully this is not the beginning of something like that happening multiple times because it makes Ziggler look weak leading up to being the world champion.

In my blog post yesterday I asked why the tag team champions, Kofi Kingston and R-Truth, were on the YouTube pre-show and not the actual PPV and why they were facing a team that was not the #1 contenders for the titles. Now, after an unannounced match between The Prime Time Players (the #1 contenders) and Primo & Epico took place on the PPV, I am even more confused. The only reason it makes sense is because PTP and Primo/Epico actually have a feud going on, but what does that say when these two teams have a feud but the tag team champions do not? Furthermore, Primo & Epico defeated PTP, which makes the #1 contenders looks weak going into their eventual title match. I guess I should be happy that tag teams, and the titles, are being featured at all, but right now the division is really just one big clusterf**k.

The WWE Championship match between CM Punk and Daniel Bryan obviously stole the show. The added stipulation of it being a no disqualification match earlier in the day only made the show that much better and fans who were worried that AJ would steal the spotlight away from the wrestlers were proven wrong. In fact, at one point, she was accidentally knocked off the ring apron and taken to the back, giving Punk and Bryan a chance to really shine. As I tweeted last night, I am okay with AJ’s presence in the storyline so far because you get the best of both worlds – classic wrestling and soap opera drama. Eventually, AJ made her way back to the ring but still did not make a clear choice as to which Superstar she prefers. She took a chair away from Punk but also didn’t let Bryan grab a kendo stick and gave fair three-counts to both men. In the end she was taken completely out of the equation as Punk put Bryan through a table from the top turnbuckle and pinned him for the win to retain his championship. After the match, AJ looked upset that Bryan had lost, so where Punk, Bryan and AJ (and their feud/love triangle) go from here will be fun to watch.

Ryback defeated both Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks in a handicap match. I went to the bathroom.

As expected, the Divas were featured on the show and, as expected, it was not a title match. Instead, Divas Champion Layla teamed up with Kaitlyn (wrestling on her first PPV) and Tamina Snuka to take on and defeat the team of Beth Phoenix, Natalya and Eve Torres. While you will never hear me complain about six Divas being in the ring (especially when two of them are Kaitlyn and Eve) it really would take minimal effort to have a feud over the Divas Championship that culminates in a pre-announced match on a PPV. With Kharma’s status up in the air the Divas division looks a little weak, but the signing of female indy wrestling star Sara Del Rey gives it some hope for the future. As much as Beth Phoenix vs. Kharma would be a dream match, Beth Phoenix vs. Sara Del Rey would be epic as fas as women’s wrestling goes.

Money in the Bank Pre-Show

Kofi Kingston & R-Truth retained the Tag Team Championships against Camacho & Hunico
Four superstars with potential, but tonight was not the night to see it. I am getting the feeling that creative are running out of ideas for Kofi and Truth, and while I would like to see more focus on the tag teams in WWE, without a title change to another team, I do not see it in the near future.

Dolph Ziggler won the World Championship Money in the Bank match

Everyone in this match, except for Sin Cara, worthy of possessing the MITB briefcase. I will be honest, the match could have been better. Too many people thrown to the outside, and we really did not see a lot of crazy action expected in the Bank match until the last few minutes. Christian came close a number of times, but each one was thwarted. Tensai just caused destruction by powerbombing Sin Cara into a ladder, and throwing Ziggler clear across the arena floor, landing head-first into the announce position, and I swear he bounced upside down in a chair. Sin Cara nearly murdered Ziggler live on television after botching a top rope Spanish Fly moonsault. Tensai nearly killed Santino with a twisting powerbomb off the ladder than just did not land right. Botched moves aside, guys like Tyson Kidd and Damien Sandow really shined during the match. The end of the match came as Christian and Rhodes were close to grabbing the case however both men came crashing down. Ziggler saw the open chance, and ascended the ladder, winning the match.

The Miz announces he is a surprise entrant in the WWE Championship Money in the Bank match. Having been away from WWE for a few months to film The Marine 7: Desperate for Dollars, the most awesome man in WWE is back to reclaim his spot in the main event.

Sheamus defeated Alberto del Rio to retain the World Heavyweight Championship

A slow match, but a good one nonetheless. Sheamus is brawler while del Rio is more of a mat-based superstar, yet the two have a great chemistry in the ring. The match was intense, and again, showed why these two earned their main event matches. Alberto used his wide array of technical and submission-style wrestling ability, focusing on the arm and shoulder areas. Sheamus retaliated with his brute force, scoring with a Celtic Cross, and the Sidewinder slam. Appears Dave Finlay taught Sheamus well. Surprisingly, the match was kept mostly clean without interference from Ricardo Rodriguez. Del Rio nearly had the win numerous times, almost scoring the win after a Backstabber and a flying arm-breaker. Del Rio went for the armbar, but Sheamus powered out and nearly ripped his face clear off with a running knee-lift. One White-Noise driver followed by the Brough Kick, and the Celtic Warrior retained the gold. Post-match beat down, del Rio and Ricardo took out Sheamus, distraught over the loss. As Alberto finished his part, Dolph Ziggler came down to the ring, ready to cash in. However, the Mexican Aristocrat chose to argue with Ziggler, giving time for Sheamus to recover and to kick the head of Ziggler into the upper deck with a Brough Kick. The ref never rang the bell, so Ziggler still possesses the briefcase.

Primo & Epico defeated The Primetime Players

It looks like I may have spoken too soon. With Kofi and Truth at commentary, we get a tag team bout! I still have yet to be impressed by the newest pairing of Titus O’Neil and Darren Young, both NXT graduates. Not a long match, but a good one to show off two more tag teams in WWE. So, I count four teams now… The Primetime Players (O’Neil & Young), Primo & Epico, Hunico & Camacho, and the current champions of Kofi and Truth. Ok WWE, this is a good start, and you will soon have three hours of Monday Night Raw. Give these guys at least one match each week, and we will have something resembling a respectable tag team division once again.

CM Punk retains the WWE Championship against Daniel Bryan

I am a little disappointed that, once again, a match between CM Punk and Daniel Bryan is not the last match of the show. Especially at Money in the Bank, where a title match should be the final match, as to give the MITB match winner an opportunity to cash in before the night is over. In any event, this match, like all the others between these two, was no less than incredible. Tables, ladders, and chairs OH MY!! Words could not describe this one. Well, they can. AWESOME. INCREDIBLE. AMAZING. Give me Punk vs. Bryan every damn pay-per-view, and yes I will pay my $55 to watch ($5 extra for HD). AJ takes a hard bump early in the match, and she is walked to the back by officials. Punk and Bryan trade kicks, chops, punches, uppercuts, clothelines, baseball cards, submission hold, stock tips, and just about every other move you can think of. Bryan takes an early dominating lead with a takedown, and goes right into working over the shoulder and back to set up for the Yes-lock. Punk retaliates with a high-flying leg-lariat, and then scores with a clothesline sending the action spilling down to the arena floor. Punk then sends Bryan over the barrier and onto the time keeper. Punk takes the action back into the ring, and once again the two go tooth-and-nail. Come on people, are you not watching this? At least find it streaming someplace! This is an incredible match! TNA can suck it! Back to the action, and we get a Singapore cane to add to the mix! Did I mention this is a No-DQ match!? The cane is broken six-ways-to-Sunday and oh wait! Here she comes! AJ returns to the ring and taunts both men by bringing a chair and placing it dead center in the ring, taunting both champion and challenger. Bryan gets the chair first and just blasts Punk again and again with the chair. Bryan looks to gain the fall, but only nets a two and he pleads with AJ to get a three count. Punk then attempts a pinfall, but also only gains a two. Punk then takes the chair and proceeds to beat the almighty holy hell out of Bryan! If that is not enough, we get a table in the ring! Punk sets up the table, but Bryan is quick to intercept. Battling on the top rope, both men try to gain the edge, but soon Punk overpowers Bryan and takes him crashing down with a back suplex off the top rope! Punk covers, AJ counts, and the straight-edge superstar retains the WWE Title!

Ryback defeated Tyler Reks & Curt Hawkins
Oh, look, they beat up Ryback. Ryback fought back. Ryback ate them. Feed him more.

Layla, Tamina Snuka, Kaitlyn defeated Beth Phoenix, Natalya, and Eve
Was not a terrible match, but still not a good one.

Sigh, either the moment I have been waiting for, or the moment we all have been dreading. Michael Cole hypes up the fact that Cena has won all his “firsts” in WWE. His first WrestleMania match, his first Last Man Standing, his first TLC, his first Royal Rumble… etc… You know what, the match was not half bad. Except, the ending. I just cannot deal with this insanity anymore. Can he lose just ONCE?! Miz, Jericho, and Kane all gave a great performance. But, Cena won. Again. The match lasted a whole 15 minutes. It was very entertaining to see Big Show pull out a special uber-ladder for him to climb up, and for a moment, we thought he would win. He clobbered everyone with the WMD punch, and then out-of-nowhere, Cena runs up, hits Big Show repeatedly with the case, miraculously breaking it free from the chain, and winning the match.

All-in-all, it was a good pay-per-view, but the last match was rushed and frankly only had a few good moments, such as Big Show getting buried under a pile of ladders. As usual, the Punk/Bryan match stole the whole damn show. The SmackDown Money in the Bank match was quite awesome as well.

The 1000th episode of Raw is coming up, which means we get three-hours of Monday night wrestling. I hope you are all excited, as I am.

WWE Money in the Bank 2012 Preview and Predictions.

Author: Joseph Wade

First of all I’d like to make a comment on how poor this pay per view is this year. Obviously the WWE are hoping the gimmick itself will sell the show but they can barely assemble a Smackdown Money in the Bank match, even with only 4 guys in the Raw match – which is a travesty by the way. On top of that we have three matches, one of which is the pre-show and completely pointless. Speaking of which..

1. Kofi Kingston & R-Truth vs Hunico & Camacho in a Special YouTube Pre-Show match.
   God help whoever thought this match made sense. I know that The Primetime Players will likely be in action against Primo & Epico on the Pay Per View in some sort of ‘revenge’ match-up from No Way Out, but why not put both teams in against the Tag champs so they can gain a little credibility? The whole concept of having 2 tag teams barely make it to TV but always make PPV matches is ludicrous. The same can be said for jobbers R us – Hunico & Camacho. Why are they there? If they weren’t going to involve the tag champs in a legitimate tag match then why aren’t they in the money in the bank match? It makes no sense. Kofi & Truth will win & the only positive will be that it’ll be an un-needed crowd pleaser to kick things off.
   Winners: Kofi Kingston & R-Truth
2. Cody Rhodes vs Dolph Ziggler vs Christian vs Santino Marella vs Lord Tensai vs Sin Cara vs Tyson Kidd vs Damien Sandow in a Smackdown Money in the Bank Ladder Match for a World Heavyweight Contract match.
   Again, I’m not happy with this match. Both mid-card champions are there when neither are needed. Holding strong single’s Gold should be a privilege and at least one of the two should have (kayfabe) refused the chance to compete in the match because of the high risk of injury and loss of ability to defend the Gold should such an injury occur. It would have built the match as dangerous & the belt as meaningful. However, that’s not the situation we’re in so here’s what I think. Smackdown indicated that Cody Rhodes & Dolph Ziggler (arguably the two most likely winners) can work together but are likely to cross one another for a chance at the contract. Unfortunately, this usually means they’ll cancel each other out come Sunday’s PPV (unless a Summerslam match is on the way). Tyson Kidd & Sin Cara won’t win – enough said. Christian doesn’t need the contract & is a mid-card champ. This leaves Santino, Tensai & Sandow. I’d like to eliminate Santino given his gimmick but a Santino victory would put the match over as something anyone could win & he’d likely be the first to cash in and lose. It wouldn’t surprise me. Tensai shouldn’t get it but I won’t put it past them. Sandow would be beautiful. He’d go to cash in and then back out saying “no, no, no, I’m not ready” each time. It’d be great to see Sandow vs Bryan down the road. My heart says Sandow so I’ll go with that. I still have a nagging feeling that it could be Santino or Tensai though (especially given Tensai’s interaction with Vickie on Raw).
   Winner: Damien Sandow 
3. Sheamus (c) vs Alberto Del Rio for the World Heavyweight Championship. 
   No doubt there’ll be something between these two matches as a means of filling time (think Ryback vs Reks & Hawkins) so this will seem more of a main event than the slot suggests. Placing this match after the Smackdown Money in the Bank match reminds the audience that they’re watching what the previous guys were fighting so hard for. No need to confuse them with two Money in the Bank matches before two World title matches is there? This one will be tough & I’ve heard calls for ADR to win by DQ or default, but Sheamus will retain the title and send his run in to its fifth month at Summerslam. This should be a good filler match, not that the World Title should ever be filler in any scenario.
   Winner: Sheamus 
4. John Cena vs Chris Jericho vs Kane vs The Big Show in the RAW Money in the Bank ladder match for a WWE title match contract.
   A 4 man Money in the Bank match? Really? Really? (Yes, I’m hinting at The Miz because I think he’ll likely appear on the show now he’s done with filming The Marine 3). This match shows that Mr. Cena doesn’t feel safe entrusting the lower echelons of the WWE to use ladders on him. So, the WWE have thrown in 3 veterans to ensure he’s comfortable. Aww, sweet. In short, this match sucks. It’ll be entertaining enough but who cares for a winner? The Money in the Bank concept is the unleashing of a young stud’s career (Edge, RVD, Punk) and not some match that 40 year old men compete in. Honestly, who cares to see any of these guys face Bryan or Punk in the future? I don’t. They’re building Cena so strong recently that it almost seems like they’re fooling us in to thinking he’ll be victorious. For that reason I have a feeling it may be The Big Show who walks out with the contract. It won’t be Kane because he’s just got out of the WWE title feud & it won’t be Jericho as he’s touring the UK in August, so Big Show or Cena it is. I’ll go with Cena. It’s his first time in the match & they’ve done all they can to protect him. Cena wins setting up Cena vs Punk & a Punk heel turn.
   Winner: John Cena
5. CM Punk (c) vs Daniel Bryan with AJ as the Special Referee in a match for the WWE Title.
   Okay, why isn’t anyone complaining that AJ is being thrown in to a match between two of the best wrestlers in the world in a match for the grandest prize in the biz? Seriously, there’s huge potential for her presence to ruin what is a could be classic. Anyway, she’s there and she’s not shown her allegiance thus far. My prediction, CM Punk uses her to keep his title ensuring that he & Bryan do the old ‘switcheroo’ with Punk going heel & Bryan going face during the same match. It’ll be revealed that Bryan really loved AJ & Punk was using her. Punk goes heel and faces Cena at Summerslam. Heel through to Wrestlemania where he’ll hopefully face Stone Cold.
   Winner: CM Punk 

From  The  Pepsi  Center  in  Denver,  Colorado:

Tonight’s  General  Manager:   Zack  Ryder!!!!!!!!!!!!

1.  Alberto  del  Rio  with  Ricardo  Rodriguez  vs.  Sin  Cara.

THE  WINNER:  ALBERTO  DEL  RIO  VIA  SUBMISSION.

2.  Darren  Young  with  Titus  O’Neil  and  A.W.  (Abraham  Washington)  vs.  Primo  with  Epico  and  Rosa  Mendes.

THE  WINNER:  PRIMO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NOTE:  This  match  would  have  gotten  ”Match  of  the  Night”   if  someone  had  shut  off  A.W.’s  microphone!!!!!!!!!

3.  *A  TAG  TEAM  MATCH:  WWE  Intercontinental  Champion  Christian  and  WWE  United  States  Champion  Santino  Marella  vs.  Dolph  Ziggler  with  Vickie  Guerrero  and  Cody  Rhodes.

THE  WINNERS:  DOLPH  ZIGGLER  AND  CODY  RHODES!!!!!!!!!!!!!

4.  The  Big  Show  vs.  The  Great  Khali.

THE  WINNER:  THE  BIG  SHOW.

NOTE:  THIS  WAS  THE  SHORTEST  MATCH  OF  THE  WHOLE  SHOW.

5.  Tyler  Reks  with  Curt  Hawkins  vs.  RyBack.

THE  WINNER:  THE  UNDEFEATED  RYBACK.

NOTE:  This  match  was  somewhat,  yet  halfway  decent.

6.  Justin  Gabriel  vs.  Damien  Sandow.

THE  WINNER:  DAMIEN  SANDOW.

7.  **A  NON-TITLE  MAIN  EVENT:  WWE  World  Heavyweight  Champion  Sheamus   vs.  Chris  Jericho.

THE  WINNER:    SHEAMUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*-**:  THE  MATCHES  OF  THE  NIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ANALYSIS:  So  there  were  parts  of  this  week  that  were  better  than  RAW,  but  it’s  not  the  wrestlers  fault.

The show kicked off with a segment featuring Alberto Del Rio, where he first talked about how he was going to beat Sheamus at the MITB pay-per-view for the world title and then demanding that the fans in Corpus Christi, TX show him their papers. Sheamus came out to stop him but Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez got the upper hand and eventually repeatedly slammed the hood of Del Rio’s car on top of Sheamus, busting him open and taking him out of the battle royal later in the night. While I worry that Sheamus will win their title match next Sunday, at least Del Rio is being booked to look extremely strong going into the match between beating up both Sin Cara and Sheamus this week.

Unfortunately, the first match of the night was the worst match of the night and I worry that a lot of fans probably turned off their televisions as soon as it was announced. The match was a mixed tag team match featuring Antonio Cesaro & Aksana vs. Great Khali and Layla that saw Cesaro and Khali barely interact (and when they did it was Khali getting the upper hand) and Layla pinning Aksana for the win. First, any match with Khali in it is a waste of time. Second, if Teddy Long was booking this match to get revenge on Cesaro and Aksana for what they did to him and Khali was the best monster face opponent that he could choose, then it shows how thin the top of the roster is right now. Third, it would have been nice to see any other Diva team up with Khali and have Layla featured in a match later on that actually revolved around the Divas Championship. Luckily though, for those viewers that stuck around, the show picked up from there.

Last week, Cody Rhodes lost a tag team match that would have qualified him for the MITB match, but he didn’t take the pinfall so he lobbied the WWE Board of Directors to let him have another chance. They agreed but let Teddy Long pick the opponent and Long picked Christian, a man who Rhodes had yet to beat in a number of attempts. The two put on a classic, five-star match that was the highlight of the night an saw Rhodes cleanly pin Christian for a spot in the MITB match. In the next match of the night, Dolph Ziggler defeated Alex Riley in the second best match of the night for a spot in the MITB match, making Rhodes and Ziggler the clear favorites at this point to win the match.

An in-ring segment between Michael Cole, AJ, Daniel Bryan and CM Punk had the phrase “sloppy seconds” trending on Twitter last night. It started off with Cole interviewing AJ about her actions on Monday night when he pushed Bryan and Punk through a table but Cole never really let AJ get a word in edgewise. He then started to hit on her while his gold wedding ring shone under the lights, which was just weird. Thankfully, Bryan came out to confront AJ and tell her that he knew she meant to push only Punk through the table and that he still has feelings for her. Punk comes out next and tries being honest with AJ, saying that he likes her but that she’s mentally unstable and needs to seek professional help. AJ then goes and kisses Bryan, which prompts Punk to leave the ring, but then AJ follows Punk and starts kissing him before skipping off up the ramp.

The best part of the six-man tag team match featuring Santino Marella, Sergeant Slaughter and “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan vs. Hunico, Camacho and Drew McIntyre was that it was quick. The worst part is that this was McIntyre’s first time on TV in months and that, once again, the United States Championship was just a prop. Obviouslly, Marella’s team won.

In a Great American Bash miracle, Ryback actually faced a contracted WWE Superstar for the first time since making his debut. Whether facing Curt Hawkins alone is any better or worse (or harder or easier) than two local jobbers is a debate for another day, but at least Ryback’s character is taking a step in the right direction. I assume he’ll start beating two contracted WWE Superstars at a time soon, do that for a few weeks and then hopefully, finally move on to some legitimate competition.

The main event of the night was a 19-man battle royal where the winner would get to be the general manager of Smackdown next week. This still leaves the question of who will be the general manager of Raw next Monday, but WWE has six days to announce that. The match was less of a cluster than most non-Royal Rumble battle royals and even saw the continuation of some storylines, as Zzck Ryder eliminated Damien Sandow, Big Show eliminated John Cena and Punk eliminated himself to eliminate Bryan. In the end it was Ryder and Kane, who have had a history together in the recent past, and while Kane as the general manager would be great in a very weird sort of way, Ryder surprisingly won the match. This is easily the biggest win for Ryder in months, as since the Cena/Eve/Kane storyline ended he has more or less been forgotten or buried, so I’m excited to see what he does next week as the general manager.

I alluded to some backstage segments earlier in my post and they were all supposed to be at a backstage 4th of July barbecue hosted by Teddy Long. It was quite a sad barbecue, as no Superstars of note were in attendance, but thankfully the three segments at the barbecue were all quick and slightly entertaining. In the first one, Kane used his in-ring pyro technique to light the grill, in the second one, Brodus Clay beat up Heath Slater for his poor singing and then everyone danced and in the third (and best) one of the night, Sandow tried to break up the party but Ryder beat him up a little and then when trying to throw a bowl of punch at him, missed and splashed it all over Eve and her white (and now clearly see-through) dress.

A three (and a half) hour tour…

Join Kevin and Dusty through a magical odyssey of life and pro wrestling in this latest edition of Stunt Granny Audio! Kevin is planted firmly in the middle of a domestic dispute between one of his roommates and their baby momma. In classic Howard Stern fashion, Dusty drags it out on the air to entertain people. And then they focus their attentions on pro wres and the happenings of this week’s Monday Night Raw. Vince McMahon is the strangest human being in the entire world and desperately wants you to think he’s a stud who is hip and with it. What is greater: Vader’s age or Vader’s weight? Poor Sin Cara didn’t get his trampoline entrance. Poor Curt Hawkins didn’t even get an entrance. Can CM Punk shape the future of pro wres? All that and a whole lot more and it’s only going to cost you about 5o minutes of your measley life, so listen now dammit!

Stunt Granny Audio Show #190

The “highlight” of Raw last night was supposed to be John Cena vs. Michael Cole. Yup, you read that right. John Cena faced Michael Cole in the main event. And he didn’t just face Michael Cole, he stripped Cole down to his underwear, poured barbecue sauce all over him, made him apologize to Jerry Lawler and Jim Ross and then…. got pinned for the loss. Granted, that pinfall came after Tensai interfered, but the fact remains that John Cena lost to an announcer. With two weeks to go before Cena faces Big Show in a steel cage, he lost to an announcer. Although, I guess they do say that karma is a bitch, and so maybe that’s what Cena gets for picking Cole as his opponent.

You see, the show kicked off with Cole interviewing Cena and me agreeing with Cole more than I ever have before. Cole pointed out that after Big Show got fired Cena was more interested in doing a comedy act (the Ace Ventura routine) than backing up his friend and that, overall, Cena is uninteresting and overrated. John Laurinaitis then came out and said that since Big Show got to pick his opponent last week, Cena could pick his this week, but it couldn’t be himself because he was retired from singles action after defeating Cena at Over The Limit. So out of an entire locker room to choose from, he chose an announcer. Before that match at the end of the night, Laurinaitis said that the match between Cena and Cole would be a no disqualification match, but only if Cena could be Tensai first. Tensai kicked Cena’s ass for about 10 minutes before Super Cena emerged, pinned Tensai and then kicked off the aforementioned “match” with Cole. How is Cole defeating Cena supposed to make me want to purchase a PPV to watch Cena vs. Big Show?

By the way, on a side note, very little in the world of wrestling makes me happier than when the dirt sheet writers are wrong. Last week they wrote that WWE officials considered the Tensai character to be a “flop” and that he was going to be taken off TV and completely repackaged. Less than a week after those reports were posted, Tensai was in the main event of WWE Raw. Classic.

The only actual highlight of the night for me, and the only match or segment to successfully further storylines centered around the upcoming PPV, was the match between WWE Champion CM Punk and Kane with Daniel Bryan at ringside. The match was fantastic and the eventual addition of AJ at ringside continued and furthered the storyline involving all four people. Punk and Kane had a great match but when AJ ran down to ringside, Bryan went to go yell at her and Punk flew out of the ring and into Bryan. When Punk went back into the ring, he got caught in a chokeslam and, in a very surprising turn of events, got pinned by Kane. After the match, AJ went into the ring to check on Punk and Kane started to stalk her. Bryan attacked Kane but promptly got beaten down and then Kane started to stalk AJ again, but the two smiled at each other and Kane left the ring….

Kane pinning the champion, the addition of AJ to the storyline and the ongoing feud between Bryan and Punk not only make this the true main event of No Way Out but, so far, the only reason why I would buy or watch it.

Here are my quick hits on the rest of the show:

World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus defeated Dolph Ziggler for the second match in a row, but this time it was completely clean with no outside interference. When will WWE learn that Ziggler is ready for the main event but the way to get him there is not clean pinfall losses week after week? After the match, Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez attacked Sheamus at the top of the ramp, getting back some of the heat that Del Rio had lost two weeks ago when Sheamus did the same to him. The one cool spot was when Del Rio locked Sheamus in the Cross Armbreaker off the edge of the stage. This did help to further the Sheamus/Del Rio match at the PPV, but to me it is too little, too late. I was never interested in Sheamus as the champion in the first place, this match only interests me slightly more and the build to it has been too slow.

Sin Cara defeated Hunico and for the second week in a row I just didn’t see the same Sin Cara that we did before he got injured. Whether the injury scared him or WWE told him to tone it down is a question that will probably never be answered, so I guess the Sin Cara that we see is the one that we are going to get.

Ryback defeated two jobbers again. The only different this time was that it was on Raw instead of Smackdown.

Despite being destroyed by Big Show last week and being all bandaged up, Tag Team Champions Kofi Kingston & R-Truth defeated the new tag team of Curt Hawkins & Tyler Rex. Of course the champions should win that match, but they should have shown some effects from their injuries instead of flying all around the ring and Hawkins and Rex should have been made to look a little better. I agreed with the commentary that the tag team division is starting to heat up and that it nice to see, but where have Primo and Epico gone since losing the titles and signing with the All World Stable?

There were two backstage segments to note but for two very different reasons. The first was when Josh Mathews interviewed AJ about the look between her and Kane. AJ provided some great mannerisms and facial expressions as she went from explaining that she likes it when guys smile at her, demanding that Mathews look at her, asking him if he liked aggressive woman and telling him that he was her type while stroking his tie. Suffice to say, I am more interested in AJ than I have been in any other storyline involving a Diva since Kharma left. Speaking of the Divas, where were they last night? I guess one advantage of the expanded Raw is that there will be the chance, if the WWE takes it, to expand on the Divas division and storylines. Also, as much as I hate him being the champion, where was United States Champion Santino Marella? And where was Intercontinental Champion Christian? Where was the continued development of any storylines involving these two Superstars and their titles? And why, with less than two weeks to go, are there only three matches announced for No Way Out?

The other backstage segment involved John Laurinaitis and David Otunga and it was funny, but for all the wrong reasons. About two hours before Raw went on the air, WWE sent a breaking news text alert and posted on Twitter that Vince McMahon would be returning next week to evaluate Laurinaitis’ job performance. At approximately 9:40pm, Otunga found Laurinaitis backstage and shared the news with him, which seemed to be the first he was hearing about it. So I am supposed to believe that as much as Laurinaitis is on his phone and tweeting with the fans, I found out about this news nearly three hours before he did? Come on WWE, fixing little inconsistencies like this are little ways to make the shows better, but a lot of little things can go a long way.

By the way, wasn’t Vince McMahon fired a few months ago? I will actually have a new blog post addressing this later today or tomorrow so keep an eye out for that.

From  Greenville,  South  Carolina:

1.  *NON-TITLE  REMATCH  FROM  SMACKDOWN!:  WWE  World Heavy  weight  Champion  Sheamus  vs.  Dolph  Ziggler  with  Vickie  Guerrero.

THE  WINNER:  SHEAMUS!!!!!!!!!!!

2.  **Sin  Cara  vs.  Hunico  with  Camacho.

THE  WINNER:  SIN  CARA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

3.  A  2-ON-1  HANDICAP  MATCH:  Stan  Stansky  and  Arthur  Rosenberg  vs.  RyBack.

THE  WINNER:  RYBACK.

4.  ***ANOTHER   NON-TITLE  REMATCH  FROM  SMACKDOWN!:  WWE  Champion  CM  Punk  vs.  Kane.

THE  WINNER:  KANE.

5.  ****NON-TITLE  TAG  TEAM  MATCH:  WWE  Tag  Team  Champions  Kofi  Kingston  and  R-Truth  vs  Tyler  Reks  (formerly  known  as  Tyler  Black  from  Ring  of  Honor/ROH)  and  Curt  Hawkins.

THE  WINNERS:  KOFI  KINGSTON  AND  R-TRUTH!!!!!!!!!!

6.  *****THE  MAIN  EVENT:  In  this  week’s  main  event,  John  Laurinaitis,  as  part  of  his  People  Power  movement,  allowed John  Cena  to  choose  his  own  opponent.  With  that,  Cena  chose  Michael  Cole.  But,  Laurinaitis  stated  that Cena  will  face  Cole,  if,  he  battles………………Tensai  (the  former  Lord  Tensai).

So………….

John  Cena  vs.  Tensai  with  Sakamoto.

THE  WINNER:  JOHN  CENA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And  with  that…………..

A  NO-DISQULAIFICATION  MAIN  EVENT:  John  Cena  vs.  Michael  Cole.

THE  WINNER:  JOHN  CENA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*-*****:  THE  MATCHES  OF THE  NIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ANALYSIS:  Well,  let’s  put it  this  way……..John  Laurinaitis  didn’t  hog  the  microphone  for  much  of  the  night.  That,  and  it  was  fun  seeing  Michael  Cole  get  roughed  up  again!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WWE’s Over The Limit had very little story going into it and very little story going out but the action was tense and exhilarating and did the one thing that pro-wrestling should do: entertain the heck out of the fan.

We abruptly begin the PPV with a Battle Royale of sorts. Some face time is given to a couple of superstars that we haven’t seen on PPV. Guys like Alex Riley and Yoshi Tatsu are two that come to mind. I’ll admit that the battle royale was a strange way to open the show but it was different and exciting then the standard 10-15 minute video package opening. Plus we saw the return of Christian. And seeing the Peeps Leader is always a plus. Anyway this battle royale’s winner could choose either to face the IC Champ Cody Rhodes or the US Champ Santino Marella. After what was a bit of a cluster fuck and rough landings (Yoshi looks like he hurt his knee), Miz, David Otunga and Christian were the three men left. This is when the gears were turning in me head. Christian left because of injury and he was heel. So now you have two heels and Christian…Hmmmm??? Character change anyone? Long story short Christian wins and at that point chooses to face Santino for the US Championship later tonight.

I just have two gripes with this match. First, wouldn’t it have been better to have a young up and comer win so you can launch them into a mid-card level feud? A guy like Alex Riley comes to mind. Then you have the return of Christian. Before his injury he was working in the mainevent scene. Shouldn’t his return be a bigger deal? I never understood WWE’s booking philosophy and just stopped thinking about it because I knew I would hurt my brain.

Next up we have our Tag Team Champions, R-Truth and Kofi Kingston defending their titles against everyone’s favorite Jackoffs; The Showoff Dolph Ziggler and the All-American-American Jack Swagger. I don’t know what if anything is going on with Zig and Swag. Both have been circling the drain and their stint in the tag team division has amounted to nothing. The same can be said of Kofi Kingston. He has elevated his work but for whatever reason (I blame Orton) he just can’t get over the midcard hump ala Shelton Benjamin. The good thing about Kofi and Truth as champs is that you actually see them on tv and PPV. Unlike Primo and Epico who as talented as they were never had the confidence of the right people to be highlighted frequently. That really speaks volumes not of Primo and Epico but of the lack of tag team wrestling in the WWE. For whatever reason, the WWE has refused to build a tag team division and actually create storylines and have a program between tag teams. But whatever. The match itself was great and had me entertained throughout. Once again I am impressed by Kofi’s athleticism and Ziggler’s ability to sell anything. But unfortunately Ziggler did the job again and Kofi got the one two three for the retention. Great match but I really don’t know what’s next for the tag champs and the JackOffs.

Hey! We got a Tyler Reks and Curt Hawkins sighting! And they are taking away signs that besmirch the name of Mr. Entertainment himself: Johnny Ace! Glad WWE has a sense of humor about a policy they actually enforce.

Our next match is for the Divas Championship. The return of Layla was a great surprise and in my opinion a very underrated Diva. Layla’s opponent for the evening was another great Diva on the roster: former Diva’s Champ Beth Phoenix. This match actually had time and both ladies were allowed to cut loose. What usually is considered  the “bathroom break” for the show was a must see match. Layla of course retains which is nice but one could not happen to hear the “we want Kharma” chants and hope a program between Beth and Kharma is in the works.

Of course, let’s not have the World Heavyweight Championship match later in the show. Its a second rate title anyway right? Besides that little tick of mine this match was great for a fatal fourway that can usually get pretty hectic. The Mexican aristocrat Alberto Del Rio took on The Viper Randy Orton, the returning self proclaiming Best in the World Y2J Chris Jericho and of course the Champion The Great White Sheamus! I really didn’t understand why this match happened but didn’t really care when the match started. Somehow someway these professionals worked it out that each of them would have a moment(s) in this matchup. The match wasn’t sloppy or forced but instead was well-paced. Each guy hit his moves and the wrestling and clean and slick. Sheamus retains of course (thank whatever god you pray to). But again Y2J did the job! What’s the point of bringing him back if he doesn’t have a major title reign? I thought maybe Del Rio or Orton should do the job which would open up the possibility of a program down the line with Sheamus for the belt. Regardless, a White Noise here and our favorite pasty white brawler still slings gold around his massive arms.

Oh Miz how the mighty have fallen. You once main evented Wrestlemania and now you begin the show in an unannounced battle royale and facing a comedy superstar that will probably never hold any title. Once again, the Miz faces off against the Funkasaurus Brodus Clay. Pretty simple match here: Miz insults crowd, Clay dances away, Miz does the job (again), Clay dances with the girls and kiddies and this one is over.

Just to make it official after a brief run in with IC Champ Cody Rhodes. Christian changes his mind and decides he wants Cody and his IC championship. So, the match was set. Cody cuts a great promo on his way to the ring where he disses the great state of North Carolina. Wow, am I impressed with Cody. He has aged like a fine wine. He has only gotten better with age. He has quickly become a ring general (See Survivor Series last year after the Sin Cara botch. LOL). The crowd may not have been into it but Cody was trying to damndest to keep the heat on him and to get the crowd going for Christian. After a successful reversal, Killswitch Engaged! Christian become your new IC champ which disappointed me greatly because Cody just got the belt back. Why couldn’t Cody win dirty and let that begin a new program with a face Christian? I don’t get it and once again illogical booking hurts the overall WWE product. Anyway, Christian wins and becomes the new IC champion. Hopefully, we see a good long program come from this.

Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Every indie wrestling fan was waiting for this one. The American Dragon Daniel Bryan faces off against his long time friend and sometime rival the WWE Champion the Straight Edge Superstar CM Punk! Many of us smart marks knew this one would be an instant classic and easily match of the night. Guess what? It was. What made it less special was the fact that we have seen this before. We’ve seen this on Raw and Smackdown and a match with these two guys should be something special. Wrestlemania perhaps? We had little story going into this match and that’s okay because we knew the actual wrestling would be great. Each guy got a nice pop from the crowd and we heard plenty of “YES!” and “CM Punk!” chants throughout the night. We were given a very technical match and saw a couple of ROH moves. The physicality was ramped up as the match progressed and Daniel Bryan has really solidified himself as lightening in a bottle. The match was given a good amount of time and a great story was told. The ending was a little strange with Bryan entangling Punk in his YES lock but Punk reverses to put Bryan on his shoulders. The ref counts one two three but Punk two seconds later begins to tap. I guess this story line progresses and we’ll see an escalation down the road. Maybe an iron match? The match was great and Punk winning was the right move. He should have a long title reign to bring some luster into that god awful looking WWE Championship.

Feed Ryback MORE!!!! Feed Ryback MORE!!!! And …Goldberg….Goldberg!!! If you’re going to rip off Goldberg’s gimmick then go all the way! Give us the amount of wins Ryback has been accumulating. Ryback squashes Hunico…I mean Camacho (Damn it Lilian Garcia! This maybe a b level PPV but come prepared!). Feed Ryback MORE!!!!

Our final match of the night was of course: Mr. Entertainment, Mr. Excitement, The Executive Vice President of Talent Relations, The General Manager of both #RAW and #SMACKDOWN, The biggest toolbox in the world…Mr. Johnny Ace and his opponent… the only man whiter then Sheamus…the face of the WWE…the man who should have lost to Brock Lesnar at Extreme Rules…Wha da Up do You!…John Cena! This was a joke match and I clap for Ace for taking a humiliating beating from Cena. The outcome was obvious to. The WWE invested alot of time and money into the Ace character and they won’t just pull the plug just yet (look at the anonymous Raw GM gag). Cena looked good of course and there were some funny moments like dumping water in Ace’s oddly dressed get-up and dumping garbage on him but when Show came out and dragged a retreating Ace back into the ring any of us smart marks knew the fix was in. If you don’t know what’s really going on then let me spell it out for you: The WWE is trying to do everything possible to keep Cena away from the title picture. Show, of course, interferes and knocks out Cena so Ace can get the pin. A OMG Johnny Ace is still gainfully employed unlike most of America (that includes me). I guess Cena will now feud with the newly heel turned Big Show. Yeah…

Over The Limit promised very little but delivered in a big way. We had really really good wrestling tonight and some new feuds on the horizon. What I don’t get is this trend the WWE has with their b level PPVs being better than the big four. Somebody in creative has o fix it and fix it fast. And now that Raw is making the permanent transition to 3 friggin hours, what’s the point of a 3 hour PPV? Sometimes the WWE makes my brain hurt. If you haven’t seen the PPV, I suggest taking a look.

The cult like brood of NXT’s fans have a number of questions on their minds: Was Percy Watson responsible for a string of attacks backstage or was someone framing him? How were Tyler Reks and Curt Hawkins going to exact their revenge against Regal and Matt Striker? Were Maxine’s attempts to distract William Regal and take over the show ever going to pay off?

We will likely never know the answers to these questions as the WWE has dropped NXT: Redemption’s story lines in favor of an all match format similar to Superstars starting May 15th. While the new format, which introduces elements and performers from the FCW Developmental Territory, as well as Jim Ross’s return to commentary, sounds exciting in and of itself, it comes at the price of NXT’s creative freedom.

This move can not be blamed on the members of WWE Creative responsible for this show, as they would have no reason to justify the scrapping of their own hard work… Rather this effective cancellation must be the responsibility of “The Powers That Be” who don’t know a good thing when they see it and don’t realize that without television exposure in the United States, none of their properties will ever draw the size of audience they want.

It’s not out of character for the WWE to switch up or retcon entire story lines on a whim, but a whole sale scrap of entire show without warning or an opportunity to wrap things up is a slap in the face to thousands of fans who have made NXT must see viewing on YouTube and Hulu in North America, as well as on television worldwide.

Would an extra week or two to wrap things up really be too much to ask?

Though the show originally started as a hybrid wrestling/reality-competition series over two years ago, it dropped the competition element sometime last fall in favor for continuing story lines featuring nearly a dozen wrestlers doing anything possible to get off of the show and move to Smackdown. And even with a lack of television exposure in the United States, NXT’s new direction still managed to attract a small, but slowly growing internet fan base drawn to it’s confident storytelling and enthusiastic cast.

While Raw and Smackdown have fumbled around lately, neglecting large portions of their rosters in favor of one or two major superstars, NXT has given a voice and a home to its merry band of misfits who had fallen victim to a bloated WWE roster and had no where else to go but out the door.

NXT’s creative success over the last six months was likely due to the heads of the WWE leaving Creative well enough alone to write their own scripts and working closely with the cast. Its progressively melodramatic, soapy arcs as performed by its roster of initially untrained but increasingly confident actors, some of whom proved to be natural improv artists as the weeks went on, seemed somewhat out of touch with the current state of the WWE’s television programs but exceeded RAW and Smackdown’s abilities to sell logical ideas while keeping an eye on continuity.

There were weeks that were more focused on backstage action than what was going on in the ring, but eventually everything worked its way back to the squared circle.

You have to give props to a show that gave Tyson Kidd and Michael McGillicutty a solid, emotional program that worked in large part because it allowed Kidd and McGillicutty the time to develop on the mic with the kind of patience unseen in most wrestling today. Even more remarkable was that McGillicutty was never directly addressed as being Mr. Perfect’s son.

NXT gave us the team of Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks, at one point the self-proclaimed “Mid-Card Mafia.” Both were wrestlers that struggled for TV time on the big shows and seemed to be heading out the door until they found a voice as an obnoxious but dastardly duo. Their mic work and frequent appearances became a highlight of the show, Hawkins in particular being a master of handling exposition in an entertaining way.

But of all the unique elements that NXT has offered its viewers, not the least of which has been the treat of seeing the tangled web of romantic manipulations play out between Johnny Curtis, Derrick Bateman, Maxine, and later Kaitlyn. All four have proven themselves to be amongst the best performers in the WWE as a whole, with a comic timing almost unmatched. More remarkable given that Curtis and Bateman have only jobbed on the big shows and that hardcore fans had written off Maxine and Kaitlyn after a disastrous match in the fall of 2010. Although all four are beginning to pop up in very small roles on Raw and Smackdown, most potential fans of this quartet may never be given the opportunity to see how truly talented they actually are.

…Which is the blessing and the curse of NXT as a whole. There were so many great aspects to NXT’s twist on professional wrestling, yet many hardcore fans had written the show off before sampling it and casual fans never knew it existed.

The end seemed near as its miryad of story lines were beginning to converge and many of its players were being shuffled to other shows. If NXT was given another one or two weeks to wrap itself up before the format change, it would have satisfied its loyal fan base and given a nod of respect to the talents of its cast and writers. But the WWE has other, admittedly exciting plans, and now the old NXT simply exists as a fun experiment in attaching clearly defined story arcs to professional wrestling and having the patience to see them out.

(Fans of NXT may be interested in checking out Jeff Katz’s Wrestling Retribution Project, an upcoming 13-episode wrestling series that’s a hybrid wrestling/scripted drama program that features former WWE stars Chris Masters, Kenny Dykstra and Davari, as well as indie favorites Colt Cabana and Joey Ryan.)

I’m incredibly grateful to the cast and crew of NXT for their hard work over the last several months and proud that I was able to witness some truly gifted talents stretch themselves and excel.

Thank you to Johnny Curtis, Derrick Bateman, Maxine, Kaitlyn, Tyler Reks, Curt Hawkins, Tyson Kidd, Michael McGillicutty, Percy Watson, Titus O’Neal, Darren Young, Tamina, Trent Barretta, Yoshi Tatsu, William Regal, Matt Striker, Josh Matthews and all of the special guest stars and wrestlers who have appeared on the show (including Natalya, Alicia Fox, AJ and Alex Riley) for their contributions to the show… I hope the show’s writers go public at some point so I can thank them as well.

I will support everyone and follow their careers for as long as I still have a love for professional wrestling.

Thank you.

12. EDGE (c) vs. UNDERTAKER – World Heavyweight Title match, WrestleMania, 30th March 2008, Orlando, FL

This match had tremendous depth to it and culminated 12 months’ worth of hotshotting of the World Heavyweight Title on SmackDown, largely down to unforseen circumstances. And also adding in the fact that less than 12 months after his WWF debut, Edge was one of the Undertaker’s minions as the Brood joined the Ministry for a short period.

It all began the year previous at WrestleMania when Undertaker toppled Batista to win the belt and Mr Kennedy won Money in the Bank. An injury to Kennedy saw Edge weasel his way to the briefcase before a torn rotator cuff put Taker out and he was flattened by Mark Henry and then finally pinned by Edge to lose the belt.

In a bizarre turn of karma, Edge was struck down by injury and this allowed the Great Khali to win a Battle Royal and the title, which he then dropped to Batista, who in turn lost to a returning Edge, who had by this time screwed the Undertaker again. Taker dominated an Elimination Chamber match with some proper monsters to earn his title shot and, by this time, the fans were gagging to see Edge gets his backside kicked all over Orlando.

But the Ultimate Opportunist isn’t just going to lie down and he takes the fight to the Deadman by levelling him in the corner but the a big clothesline takes the champion to the floor and then Edge’s neck is snapped on the ropes.

Old School is blocked and then Taker fluffs on a Stinger Splash and ends up on the floor where Edge takes it to him again with a spear from the apron to the railing and then waffles him with a baseball slide. Shoulderblocks and stomps in the corner from Edge but he ends up taking a wicked bump off a blind charge and Taker follows out with his ‘Mania speciality, the tope con hilo.

Legdrop on the apron gets two but Taker can’t get the Last Ride and Edge takes advantage and hits a big boot for two. The champion continues the onslaught on the floor, launching Taker into the front row, and now the Deadman is favouring the knee. Edge takes advantage with a half crab but Taker rolls through for two and then Edge busts out a variation of the Edgecator to keep the pressure on the knee.

Slugfest is won by Taker and he backs Edge to the ‘buckle where he is squashed with two corner clotheslines. Snake Eyes but Edge counters the running boot by cutting Taker off with a sweet dropkick for two. Taker ducks underneath another lariat and it’s GOOZLE time but Edge counters into the Edgecution for two.

Edge goes to follow-up but this time Taker hits a massive chokeslam for two. Deadman to the top but he’s blocked and nailed with a superplex for another two. ‘Mania 17 spot as Edge goes up for punches in the corner and gets caught in the Last Ride but he manages to float over and counter with a neckbreaker for another two.

Block by Taker and this time he nails the Last Ride…WITH AUTHORITY but that only gets two, so it’s Tombstone City but Edge floats through that and nails an Edge-o-Matic for two in a fantastic counter. A collision knocks both men down and it’s Taker first up and he’s going Old School but the referee gets bumped on the way down.

The distraction allows Edge to hit a reverse DDT but he makes the mistake of trash talking the Deadman and gets GOOZLED. Ball shot counters that and Edge nails him with a handheld camera but there’s no referee to make the count. The champion makes the mistake of going for a Tombstone and its reversed by Taker to one of his own. Charles Robinson, doing his best Usain Bolt sprint, comes running down at breakneck speed but it’s only good enough for two and that was a breathtaking near fall.

Now here come Hawkins and Ryder and they get pasted with a couple of chokeslams but the distraction allows Edge to hit the spear, which gets a cracking near fall. He sets up for another one but Taker drops back and locks in the Hell’s Gate and Edge has nowhere to go and is forced to tap out!

Undertaker makes Edge submit to the Hell’s Gate to win the World Heavyweight Championship at 23:51

****3/4 – breathtaking stuff, especially near the end, from two of WWE’s top guys. Great story where Edge had a counter for everything Undertaker threw at him, until he left himself open for the Hell’s Gate. They would go on to have belters throughout the year.

The 14th episode of WWE Inbox, one of WWE’s YouTube shows, is now available for viewing above. In this episode, WWE superstars talk about what they felt when they made their WWE debuts, and they give advice to people who are looking at getting into the professional wrestling industry.