Thunder’s WWE B-Show Rundown 11/03/12

Saturday Morning Slam 10/27/12

Brodus Clay squashes Epico.

Kane talks about the Boogeyman, Papa Shango, the Undertaker, and himself as the most disturbing individuals in WWE history.

Kaitlyn talks about what you need to make a Halloween costume. Various WWE Superstars then talk about their favorite Halloween costumes.

Antonio Cesaro defeats Derrick Bateman.

Thoughts:

WWE NXT 10/31/12

The Usos take on Michael McGillicutty and Johnny Curtis. Jimmy hits the big splash from the top rope on McGillicutty for the win.

^Jey was LOADED with energy in this one, and we saw some awesome work from all four competitors in this match. Awesome tag team wrestling!

The Ascension come out after the match and stare down the Usos to keep their rivalry going.

Leo Kruger defeats Xavier Woods in a competitive matchup.

^The former Consequences Creed of TNA, Woods looked really good in this match with Kruger. I know Kruger is being booked to win most of his matches, but I enjoyed the competitiveness here between both men.

Byron Saxton interviews Big E. Langston. They talk about Langston insisting on keeping his opponents down for a five count instead of three. Langston talks about how he loves the number five like an obsessed madman. Vickie Guerrero interrupts him and introduces herself. She says she is here to recruit men for her stable and she tells Big E. that she thinks they could make each other very happy. Big E. says he has exactly what she needs and proceeds to clap powder in her face; she storms away.

^This was weird for me. WWE wants to push the Big E. character, but I find his mic skills to be dreadful. Vickie is awful for interaction and two weeks in a row of her appearing on NXT is a mistake in my opinion on the part of WWE. People don’t want to hear the woman talk now; what makes them think we want to her interact with developmental wrestlers?

Jinder Mahal comes out and wants to face Seth Rollins. Justin Gabriel comes out and says he wants the next title shot instead of Mahal. Drew McIntyre comes out next to stake his claim for why he should get a title shot next because he’s pinned Rollins before. Bo Dallas comes out and follows suit. NXT Commissioner Dusty Rhodes comes out and books a fatal four way next week between them to determine the number one contender.

^I like the booking here. Seeing four talented guys(yes, Mahal has improved drastically) go at it with just wrestling and no talking is exactly what WWE needs more of on television.

Roman Reigns defeats CJ parker.

^Reigns is actually the brother of former WWE star Rosey, and they are the sons of Sika(former Wild Samoan). Reigns is BIG in size and has impressive quickness with that taken into consideration. Good match here from both these guys.

Antonio Cesaro retains the US Title when he defeats Tyson Kidd in the main event using the neutralizer.

^Solid match. These guys are capable of having awesome matches, and that’s because WWE has a boat load of talent sitting in the mid card that could easily transition into the main event scene. What impresses me most about Cesaro is that a guy of his size is capable of having such good matches with such a variety of wrestlers. We’ve seen him work a good match against Brodus Clay, and then we’ve seen him have good matches with the likes of Zack Ryder, Justin Gabriel, and Tyson Kidd. WWE has to realize the potential they have with Cesaro. You would think they would repackage the foolish rugby gimmick and let this guy wrestle in a Randy Orton type role where he wins over the fans just for being so good.

WWE Main Event 10/31/12

Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara defeat Alberto Del Rio and the Prime Time Players. Orton hits the RKO on Del Rio immediately following a 619 from Mysterio to get the pinfall.

Wade Barrett defeats Tyson Kidd. Kidd and Barrett work a competitive four minute match until Barrett gets the upper hand and hits the elbow for the win. Barrett vs Sheamus is made for next week when Sheamus comes out after the match.

Thoughts: I love six man tags when the rivalries are in place and the chemistry is right, and this match had all the right components. Exciting match to hype for the show. The Barrett/Kidd match was short but fun to watch. Tyson Kidd is a guy that can have a good match with a broomstick(stealing from HHH) and the crowd will always go home entertained. I still consider it a shame that Kidd hasn’t even had a major single’s title push in WWE. I like the Barrett Sheamus match for next week, even if we have seen these guys go at it two or three times already. They have undeniable chemistry and a legit longstanding rivalry promises to be entertaining.

WWE Superstars 11/01/12
The Uso’s defeat Primo and Epico.
Brodus Clay defeats Michael McGillicutty.
Thoughts: I love seeing the Usos more than once a week on tv, and seeing them go against the talent of Primo and Epico is always a treat for true tag team wrestling fans. Brodus defeating McGillicutty…the regular readers will already know how I feel about both these guys. WWE needs to pull their heads out of their asses and realize that Brodus isn’t someone worth pushing. Awful.

WWE Smackdown 11/02/12

The show opens with MizTV. Miz brings out Sheamus as his first guest. They end up bickering over losses and title reigns. Kofi interrupts and bickers with Miz. Big Show interrupts next and decides not to come to the ring right now. Miz charges Kofi and gets back body dropped to the outside to end the segment.

^Smackdown opening with a tag team match setup for the main event? That never happens! Oh wait. I liked the opener, but I think WWE needs to find more creative ways for guys to argue than to just point out one another’s losses. It’s wrestling; people win and lose. If that was the main selling point, nobody would have ever been able to trash talk Hogan or Undertaker for how rarely they were ever pinned(Cena, anybody?).

Darren Young defeats Sin Cara with the gutbuster.

^Good match. I’d like to see Young with a mid card title run in the future.

Rey Mysterio defeats Titus O’Neil with a rollup.

^Another good match. The rivalry for these two teams is fun and we get a lot of quality wrestling out of it. I’m impressed by how well O’Neil moves in the ring with a guy like Mysterio.

Natalya offers to be Booker T’s assistant while Eve is in Europe, but David Otunga does the same thing. Booker tells Otunga he needs someone to face the returning Khali tonight. Otunga spits coffee on Natalya. Natalya slaps him and he ends up spitting coffee on Teddy Long as well.

^Predictable but funny. I enjoyed this segment. It’s about damn time we see Natalya doing something on tv with a purpose.

Wade Barrett defeats Randy Orton with a rollup after a distraction by Ricardo Rodriguez.

^This was the third or fourth time now since Barrett’s return that we’ve seen him face Orton. I like their chemistry almost as much as I like his chemistry with Sheamus, but can’t you find something else to do with this guy?

Matt Striker interviews Alberto Del Rio about Orton. Del Rio says Orton is a crying girl. Orton attacks Del Rio and ends throwing hot coffee at him but hits Ricardo instead when he gets in the way. Orton continues to attack Del Rio until he runs away.

^After the quality match these two gave us at HIAC, I’m okay with their rivalry continuing into Survivor Series and perhaps capping off at TLC. Why not get the most out of this intense feud?

Khali defeats Otunga with a chop to the head for the three count. Natalya congratulates Khali after the match and admires his big hands.

^Bore and snore. What an awful match. Neither one of these guys know how to wrestle. Vince, do us all a favor and get rid of them both!

R-Truth defeats Justin Gabriel using little jimmy. They shake hands after the match.

^In contrast to the prior match, this was a wrestling fan’s dream. Both these guys are athletic, agile, and entertaining. I’m guessing this is the start of making Truth the top challenger for the US Title. The rivalry between Truth and Cesaro could be quite memorable if it’s given the proper attention and booking.

ShowMiz defeats Sheamus and Kofi Kingston. Show knocks out Kofi and Miz gets the pinfall while Sheamus goes after Show. Sheamus hits the brogue kick on Miz after the match.

^Quality main event. I like the Sheamus/Show rematch at Survivor Series and I like Miz and Kofi both being apart of the elimination match. What I like about the old school Survivor Series elimination concept is the fact that rivalries can continue through the month of November and we can see a little bit of a lot of different wrestlers in one ppv while still maintaining top storylines and feuds. Excellent show overall from Smackdown!

News Items:

Brad Armstrong: Armstrong passed away these week at the age of 51. I remember watching Brad on various episodes of WCW Saturday Night when I was much younger. Armstrong’s brother Scott is a WWE official(one who’s officiating techniques I often criticize) and his other brother is the Road Dogg, Jesse James(BG James). The Armstrong wrestling family is one with a rich history in the business and the loss of Brad is sad for the wrestling world.

CM Punk endorses Barack Obama: They’re both from Chicago, and Mitt Romney is awful. This will be my only mention of US politics this year.

Stevie Richards: Richards says he never got the opportunity to be a star in wrestling. Newsflash Steve, sometimes you either make yourself a star, or the fans make you a star. Despite being a good wrestler, Richards lacked overall charisma and never had the “it” factor to be considered a top guy by fans or promoters. I’ll just stick with one of my favorite quotes, “it is what it is.”

Hogan/Morgan: Hulk Hogan endorsed Matt Morgan. I’m sad by this because I don’t consider Hogan a good judge of talent. However, I’ve always been impressed by Morgan and I like his in ring ability for somebody of his size. TNA’s biggest mistake in my opinion was not putting the title on Morgan when he feuded with Jeff Hardy. Matt Morgan can definitely be a star in my eyes, but I don’t think Hulk Hogan is a good choice to help him get there.

That’s all for the rundown! I’ll be back with the Raw Analysis sometime Tuesday. Be sure to vote daily on our facebook pages for what superstar you want next to be inducted into our Pure Pro-Wrestling Hall Of Fame. The voting is going from now until Thanksgiving Day. Thanks for reading!

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