WWE Wrestlemania Revenge Tour 2011 - Belfast Ireland Review 14/4/2011

Cena Pushes the Truth in Belfast


By Phil Allely

WWE main eventer John Cena graciously allowed the spotlight to shine on R Truth during the second night of the Raw tour in Belfast, Ireland last night.

In front of a pumped up 8000 sell-out crowd Cena took to the mic praising Truth’s assistance in saving him from a post-match beat down by Miz/Alex Riley and the young stars dedication to the business, nicely hyping up their match with Miz at Extreme Rules.

Cena’s main event bout for the WWE Title was a real crowd pleaser too, with action taking place in and out of the ring, the pair gelled well together. Miz’s stooge Riley was the key factor though, running in to cause a DQ finish, the cunning champion retaining his gold.

The rest of the card saw Evan Bourne take flight on numerous occasions, his ‘Air Bourne’ finisher putting Riley down for the three count to open up proceedings in style.

Percy Watson won some new fans with his demolition job on high flyer Tyson Kidd, the up and comer was very over in a quick but well-paced outing.

The Uso’s and Santino Marella (with Tamina) had what appeared to be a handicap match next, fortunately as things looked bleak, the injured Vladimir Kozlov sprinted to the ring to a huge pop and bullied his way through the Samoan pair. A cobra from a rested Marella ending things nicely.

John Morrison and Dolph Ziggler’s heated encounter was an early match of the night contender, both pulling out all of the stops to keep the rabid fans happy. The always impressive Starship Pain giving Morrison the win.

Divas champion Brie Bella (with Nikki) faced off against Eve in a decent Divas brawl, the ever improving Miss Torres however fell short on regaining her belt.

Randy Orton and CM Punk then tore the house down with their ‘fans choice’ battle, the street fight was just what the Irish fans wanted and saw some still spots involving a Kendo stick, steel chair, the ring steps and the ring post. Punk saw defeat but as Orton dug deep and hit a surprise RKO.

Mexican newcomer Sin Cara made his Irish debut next, putting on fair showing against Primo, there were plenty of flashy and attention grabbing in-ring moments before the latest masked superstar to join the WWE grabbed the pin.

The penultimate match-up saw Daniel Bryan (with Gail Kim) tackle Ireland’s own Sheamus. The mighty Celt was more than up for the challenge, overcoming the La Bell Lock and other in-ring abuse to nail a big boot assisted pin.

WWE brought their A-Game to Belfast and the tour certainly lived up to its Wrestlemania Revenge moniker. It was nice to see the effort being put into the card and storylines continue through the night, the build up to Extreme Rules and push for R Truth (amongst others) were a very positive aspect as well. Especially in a week where the wrestling world has lost yet another main eventer, as Edge retired due to injury. The pushing of new/young talent as credible main eventers really is key to the WWE’s future success these days.

The tour continues across the UK, Ireland and Europe for the next two weeks.

Wrestlemania 27 PPV Review

WWE: Wrestlemania 27 Collector's EditionWWE Wrestlemania 27 - Pay-per-view Review

By Phil Allely

Wrestlemania is the WWE’s biggest and grandest event of the year and it usually delivers on its promise of being ‘the granddaddy of them all’. However this year things were slow to build for the event and it was only when Undertaker and Triple H re-appeared on our screens to build up their match, that things picked up steam for many of us.  The inclusion of The Rock as host , Stone Cold Steve Austin as a special guest referee and even women’s legend Trish Stratus was stepping back into the ring, the stage was set for one memorable night, right?.

The mania card was looking very good indeed prior to the event and with some nice pre-show work there seemed to be a  lot of hype around many of the matches, of course with Shawn Michaels retired and Undertaker in pretty bad shape his match with Triple ?H was going to have to be something spectacular indeed for the ‘Dead Man’ to pull of another high profile win and retain his undefeated streak at Wrestlemania.

The Rock kicked things off with a long tirade, where he verbally sparred with John Cena and wound the full house into a frenzy with his antics. The only negative point being the proposed US title match was scrapped and replaced by Rock’s introductory speech.

In the first title match of the night there were high hopes that challenger Alberto Del Rio would leave the Georgia Dome with the World Heavyweight Title around his waist. Champion Edge was selling an injured arm and worked very hard indeed to make the WWE newcomer look even more impressive than he is naturally. Christian, Ricardo and Brodus Clay at ringside helped keep things moving on also, after some near falls and nice moves things ended swift enough after one distraction too many saw Edge nail a hard looking spear to retain his belt.

Cody Rhodes has finally found himself character wise in the WWE and now his protective face mask wearing persona has really got some heel heat on him. His opponent Rey Mysterio (this year in superhero costume) gave his all in this one, although fans seemed indifferent throughout. The finish came as Rhodes worked on Rey (legitimately) injured knee and used Rey’s own knee brace to assist his Cross Rhodes finisher for the surprise win.

Next up The Corre faced the team of Kane, Big Show, Santino Marella and Kofi Kingston. Not a huge amount to speak of here though, things quickly degenerated into a full on brawl and each man hit his finisher before a Cobra and Knockout Punch combo by Show and Marella put Heath Slater down for the three count.

Randy Orton and CM Punk’s feud continued in style as both went all out to impress the sell-out crowd. This one was a great was for each to showcase their talents, there were plenty of near falls, stiff exchanges, signature moves and a great finishing sequence. Orton pulled of the win after he intercepted a Punk aerial move with a mid-air RKO.

The 2011 Hall of Fame Inductees come out next to a nice ovation, introduced by Mean Gene Okerland it’s nice to see the lovely Sunny, Abdullah the Butcher, Road Warrior Animal, Paul Ellering, Bullet Bob Armstrong and Hacksaw Jim Duggan, comedy star Drew Carey is there too. The roof lifted off the arena when star inductee Shawn Michaels music hit.

A returning Jim Ross and Booker T joined the announce team as Jerry Lawler made his Wrestlemania debut against Michael Cole. Steve Austin as guest referee proved to be a good move indeed, he instantly wound up Cole’s second Jack Swagger and did his best to maintain order in a chaotic grudge match. Lawler did exact a fair measure of revenge on Cole, but Austin’s over-eager refereeing saw Lawlers tap-out victory overturned.

Triple H versus The Undertaker was a very good No Holds barred effort by both men. The fact that it had two superb Michaels/Taker matches from previous years to attempt to match was a downside though.  Taker as always really upped his game and showed some slowness, but no less willingness to absorb punishment in pursuit of a good match. Triple H was in fine form too, the pair hit some nice moves, risky manoeuvres and snatched a few near falls along the way. Things quickly went down the weapons route with chair shots, even Trips trusty sledgehammer being used, but ultimately proving to be no match for a determined Taker.  A Hells Gate submission hold saw a weary ‘Dead Man’ pull off another Mania win and clock up his 19th undefeated match at the annual event.

Snooki, Trish Stratus and John Morrison then took LayCool and Dolph Ziggler in a lively and short mixed tag team bout. This positioning was surely a move by the WWE to slow things down a bit intensity wise after such a gruelling match prior to it. Ziggler, Morrison and Vickie Guerrero all kept this one in its zone. Stratus didn’t seem to have missed a beat since her retirement, Snooki pulled off a few decent moves and LayCool played their roles well indeed. Snooki put Michelle McCool away to pull off the win for her team.

Finally it was main event time and both Miz and John Cena has an awful lot f work to do to appease a crowd who had yet to witness a real true Wrestlemania moment in the ring or a title change. Cena and Miz do work well together and they put forth a heck of a match. The crowd just seemed to drift off at times during it though. As the action ramped up Alex Riley stuck his nose into proceedings to distract the referee, however it failed as Miz inadvertently knocked Riley out with the briefcase instead of Cena. The action spilled out to ringside where both men got counted out for the No Contest decision.

Luckilly The Rock decided to ignore the Raw GM’s email messages and restart the bout. This time it was no DQ, No Count out etc., it didn’t last long though as Rock blasted Cena with a Rock Bottom to allow Miz the win and to keep his cherished gold.

Wrestlemania was in no way a flop of a show, many of the matches were above par and well received by those in attendance too, there just wasn’t that spark and tingle of excitement that Mania usually brings with it. Perhaps it is the fact that according to reports many of the matches were rewritten early in the day, or perhaps it was because the WWE at present is short of real top line talent, Batista, Jericho, Michaels are all out of the equation for now at least. Two of the star attractions were retired grapplers Steve Austin and The Rock, plus of course the Undertaker/Triple H feud was hastily thrust upon us after the other ideas for them were put on the back burner for now. But WWE then pulled off the coup of the century during the following nights Raw, on that show (which usually draws one of the highest ratings of the year) The Rock made the announcement that he would step back into the ring and face John Cena at Wrestlemania 28. So there you have it this years Mania was all one big build up to next years one, interesting, different and a wonderful swerve by the WWE, roll on 2012s event.

Kofi Kingston DVD Review - Boom, Boom, Boom, WWE Magazine Freebie 2011

WWE Special DVD Review: Kofi Kingston - Boom, Boom, Boom.

By Phil Allely

As a special bonus for WWE magazine readers this DVD was included in the April edition of the UK version. Featuring a nice snapshot of the  career to date of high-flying young WWE superstar Kofi Kingston, the single disc takes in three of the exciting young grapplers best matches to date.

Match quality wise things are perfectly placed here as Kofi introduces each match and explains the build up to it and its repercussions on his future career. Kicking things off we have a match that came very soon after Kingston’s WWE debut and it is for the Intercontinental Title, this battle with Chris Jericho (at Night of the Champions 2008) is a really great way to start things off and is genuinely enjoyable viewing, it also see’s Kofi raise his first ever WWE title belt

Next up we have a fun and inviting encounter with The Miz at Breaking Point 2009, where Miz and Kingston embark on a nice looking  marathon of near falls, high risk moves and thrilling encounters.

Finally it’s the turn of Randy Orton to face off against Mr Boom Drop. This match from TLC 2009 has it all and you really do side with the fan favourite Kingston throughout. Orton does his bit to make the match a near classic and Orton’s skills ensure that Kingston looks like a star as well.

Kingston makes for an amiable host during this one hour plus special release, he provides the links in a natural and nicely out of character style. It’s nice to see the real Kofi come out and to hear how he feels about his WWE tenure to date and his past in-ring exploits as well.  We get to see some amateur footage of him, hear a few road stories and even see his own home and personal merchandise collection.

This DVD may not be the most in depth profile of a WWE superstar, but It is a perfect example of how to put everything into one clear and concise place when it comes to putting together a character profile concept.  I am sure Mr Kingston will indeed find himself the subject of a more extensive release soon, considering his rapid ascent through the ranks and his talent for picking up titles as well.

WWE magazine with this free DVD is on sale at all good newsagents now.

WWE TLC 2010 DVD Review

WWE DVD Review – TLC Tables Ladders & Chairs 2010


By Phil Allely

TLC 2010 was a thoroughly enjoyable pay-per-view offering from the WWE and one that considering its reliance on gimmick matches could have gone wrong in many ways. The card itself saw a few major lines continue, one being the on-going feud between Nexus leader Wade Barrett and John Cena, others included WWE Champion The Miz defending his recently won title against former champ Randy Orton, Intercontinental champion Dolph Ziggler taking on Jack Swagger and Kofi Kingston and Kane defending his World Heavyweight Championship in a four-way brawl with Edge, Rey Mysterio and Alberto Del Rio.

This DVD of course features the above entertaining TLC battles Cena/Barrett (Chairs), Miz/Orton (Tables) and Kane/Edge/Mysterio/Del Rio (TLC), Ziggler/Kingston/Del Rio (Ladders), plus a nice ladder match between Sheamus and John Morrison, the first ever Divas Tag Team Tables Match between the combos of Natalya/Beth Phoenix and Lay-Cool, plus a WWE tag team Championship bout with Santino Marella and Vladimir taking on Nexus duo Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel.

So just what does this release have to offer the home video collector of WWE events? Well having the thrilling gimmicks on hand to assist and improve/enhance any moves is a bonus for each bout. Many of which of them are indeed heightened by the addition of such prop, each performer also stepped up to the plate to risk their bodies as well. The action throughout has a decent pace in each match. There are also some standout moments too including, some ladder based stunts, a double sharpshooter by Natalya on Lay-Cool, a festive Big Show appearance, Vickie Guerrero precariously hanging off a ladder and some highly inventive use for the tables, ladders and chairs on hand.

TLC proved to be a surprising event in many ways, titles changed hands, feuds ended and some were kick started. Many of the superstars were more than likely pretty sore after the gruelling situation they put themselves in as well. Whilst some PPVs are watch one only events, this one has some durability on that front due to the gimmicks involved, extras wise there is a post-match interview with John Cena only however.

TLC 2010 is available now from www.silvervision.co.uk and all good retailers.

Coming soon from Silver Vision:

The Big Show – A Giant’s World

WWE Tagged Classics - Rebellion 2001/Insurrection 2002

DX – One Last Stand

WWE Over the Limit PPV Poster

DVD Review WWE Raw The Best of 2010

DVD Review: WWE Raw - The Best Of 2010




WWE’s flagship TV show Raw is perhaps its best known product and is also recognised as the longest running episodic programme on television (clocking up 900 plus episodes to date). This three disc set contains some of the most exciting, imaginative and entertaining things to have happened on the weekly show during 2010.



Raw like its stable mate Smackdown has featured many pay-per-view quality matches over the past few year sand 2010 was a year where the show itself was essential viewing week in week out.



Broken down into monthly chunks this box set has cherry picked the best bits from Raw and put them all in one place, making this perfect for everyone and of course meaning that we can all finally own and re-watch the great action and in-ring entertainment as it unfolded on TV, for the very first time on DVD.



2010 kicked off in style as WWE legend Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart made a return to promotion after a decade , his triumphant return, hatchet burying with arch rival Shawn Michaels and ex-boss Vince McMahon made for great viewing and led to some nice storylines along the way. Of course this was also the year that we bade farewell to Shawn Michaels after his Wrestlemania re-match with Undertaker saw him fall short in ending the Phenom’s winning streak. Featured here are Shawn’s final Raw match and a his retirement speech, plus a nice match with Triple H as DX.



Elsewhere you can once again see how despised heel Randy Orton moved to the good side and became one of the company’s most liked faces in a short space of time. There is the Miz’s unrivalled rise to champion status and the formation and growth of the Nexus faction, all of which paved the way for many of the events that feature here.



Each month gets a quick rundown of highlights and then we see in full some of the events that transpired and often led into the upcoming PPV or next feud for those concerned.



All in all Raw - Best of 2010 has over 20 made for television bouts and each one is a cracker. Ones to watch out for are D-Generation X taking on CM Punk/Luke Gallows and ShowMiz for the Unified Tag team Titles, WWE Champ Sheamus tackling ECW Title Holder Christian, Chris Jericho against Evan Bourne, the King of the Ring final with Sheamus facing John Morrison and many others. There are also nice video pakcages showcasing the Shawn Michaels/Undertaker feud to date, a Piper’s Pit segment featuring Randy Orton and John Cena and a nice finishing piece looking back at the year that was.



The best thing about this DVD set is that even the most ardent of fan won’t have these matches on disc already and that makes them all the more irresistible to have.



WWE Raw The Best of 2010 is available now from www.silvervision.co.uk and all good retailers.



Upcoming releases from Silvervision include:

WWE Survivor Series 2010

WWE Tagged Classics: Wrestle fest ‘88 & ‘90

WWE Live in the UK (recorded November 2010)

WWE Top 50 Superstars of All Time

Miz interview highlights

WWE Champion The Miz recently spoke with IGN.com. Here are some of the highlights:


IGN TV: The other night on RAW you sent a very strong message. You think that was heard loud and clear by The Rock?



The Miz: I think it was heard by everybody, because let's face it, they were trying to make me feel like I was second fiddle. It literally felt like it was Cena/Rock, Rock/Cena… And I'm the WWE champion! Excuse me! Hello! I'm the guy that everyone should want to be and they're going and doing their little raps back and forth, calling each other Fruity Pebbles and stuff like that. What are we, in third grade? Grow up, kids!



IGN: Rock's rumored to come back to RAW before Mania. Are you ready to face him?



Miz: Absolutely. I can't wait to go verbally with him, because people are always like, "He's the best verbal guy in the WWE ever." And if they say that, then watch and learn, kids. You'll see the new guy.



IGN: So are you ready for the experience of main eventing WrestleMania?



Miz: Oh my god, are you kidding me? I'm the main event of WrestleMania! Last year I started the show, now I'm closing the show. So it's kind of a whole year of working really, really hard and to get that top spot, that top billing, is amazing. And going in as WWE champion… Not many people get to say that. I think 40 people have been WWE champion in the entire existence of the WWE, so it's kind of cool to be one of those people and going into WrestleMania, and hopefully coming out -- which I think I will, just because I'm The Miz -- winning. Or as Charlie Sheen would say, "Duh, winning!"

WWE Survivor Series 2010 DVD Review

WWE Survivor Series 2010 DVD Review




By Phil Allely



The annual WWE Pay-Per-View Survivor Series is a thanksgiving tradition in th US, the event itself usually consisting of many Survivor matches (where teams of five fought for survival). The matches were often between people who rarely if ever met in the ring and saw some great combinations of unlikely team mates, creating excitement and a very different format than every other event offered by the company during the year. The 2010 effort saw only one such match feature and whilst not on a par with previous years the card was decent and continued some of the years greatest storyline threads with ease. Not bad when you consider the fact that the WWE itself had announced last year that the event would cease to exist after 2009.



The Nexus/John Cena alliance factored highly in proceedings and Cena’s WWE carer lay on the line in the main event, swhilst many of the company’s big hitters (Undertaker, HHH, CM Punk) were out with injuries the rising faction saw itself pushed to the hilt to fill the void.



The opening match saw United States champion Daniel Bryan tackle third generation star Ted DiBiase. Bryan locking on his LaBell lock for the relatively easy win, to retain his gold. Post-match The Miz and Alex Riley attacked Bryan.



Celtic Warrior Sheamus fell to John Morrison next, the Irishman and the high flyer worked very well together, each getting the chance to shine and tease their finishers. A nice looking running knee by Morrison after some back and forth action ended this one perfectly.



Dolph Ziggler and Kaval had a blast in the following Intercontinental match-up. Both seemed to be on fine form and blended well in the ring. Kaval was impressive in his style and Ziggler stepped up to the plate to meet him. A Ziggler tights assisted roll-up saw him retain his belt however.



The Team Del Rio versus Team Mysterio Survivors Series Elimination bout had some terrific in-ring action. The eliminations came thick and fast and number advantages swapped place regularly before the inevitable two-on-one situation loomed its head. The oddity here being it was the face team of Rey Mysterio and Big Show who had the advantage of heel Drew McIntyre. A 619/choke slam combo saw the Scot fall and the little and large duo stand tall as survivors for their team and match winners.



Hart Dynasty member Natalya took on the WWE Divas Championship co-holders LayCool (Michelle McCool/Layla) next in a handicap match for the title. No matter what the devious LayCool threw at her Natalya’s skill and determination saw it fail. The talented young lady was more than fit for them and won the title to boot, following a few heated exchanges and a good looking Sharpshooter submission hold.



Kane’s World Heavyweight Title defence against Edge was a well paced and heated encounter that showed both at their best. The only problem here was the end, as both men attempted their finishers, Edge seemingly pinned Kane to win the gold, however the ref then overturned his decision and stated that both men had their shoulders down for the three-count and the result was a tie. Kane retained his belt for another while, whilst Edge got some form of revenge by battering him after the match.



The Tag Team Title match was a no-brainer really, not many thought that the team of Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov could wrestle the straps from the Nexus duo of Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater. Marella and Kozlov had some nice moment in the ring, but this really was all about Nexus and the factions members (minus Cena) did prove to aid the decision, distracting Marella for a Slater pin to keep their prized belts.



The long-awaited main event came next, with Nexus banned from ringside it was up to special referee John Cena to hold order in this one, he also had the stipulation that if Wade Barrett failed to win the title hewould be fired for the WWE.



Barrett did hold his own well against the more street smart and savvy WWE Champion Randy Orton. The stipulations and Cena’s presence did help maintain crowd interest throughout. A few near falls occurred and both combatants hit their respective finishers. It was Cena who would seal his own fate though. Barrett was too busy arguing and shoving Cena that he lost track of Orton and walked into the match winning RKO.



A shocked Orton watched on as Cena acknowledged his fans and walked away from the ring, perhaps forever.



Survivor Series had a good blend of matches and exciting storyline developments throughout the card. The Survivor Series match was nice to see, Natalya winning the Diva gold and Beth Phoenix return will boost that division and Kane’s win will keep his Edge battles ongoing until some more guys come off the inured list. The big story was of course the (storyline) firing of John Cena, his feud with Nexus has yet to meet its natural conclusion and he is mentioned on future event blurb, so we must assume the WWE has some interesting twists and turns to offer up as this one moves on.



The events of the following evenings Raw were special too, as The Miz did the (dis)honourable thing and cashed in his Money in The Bank case to win his first World Title. So in the space of a few days the WWE clawed back some very valuable fan interest with some solid events. The return of some top names soon and the eventual reveal of who the mysterious Raw General manager is may well be the icing on the cake for them.



This DVD release features not only the Survivor Series in its entirety, but the events form Raw where Miz cashed in his MITB title shot.



All in all a very worthy addition to anyone’s collection.



Survivor Series 2010 is available now from www.silvervision.co.uk and all good retailers.



Coming soon on WWE DVD are:

WWE Raw - The Best of 2010

WWE Tagged Classics - Wrestle fest ‘88/Wrestelfest ‘90

WWE Live in the UK -2010

WWE Top 50 Superstars of all Time

WWE Elimination Chamber 2011 PPV Review

WWE Elimination Chamber 2011 Pay-Per-View Review




By Phil Allely



The Elimination Chamber is one of the WWE’s best gimmick matches and one that harks back to the glory days of the cage match, where feuds ended inside the steel confines of the cage and old scores were settled with a lot of violence and hefty dose of blood. These days of course the WWE is PG rated and blood is something they try their best not to show on screen if they can. That however doesn’t stop cage and gimmick matches being intensely enjoyable and great live entertainment.



Following hot on the heels of the Royal Rumble Elimination Chamber 2011 was another step along the road to Wrestlemania for many involved and made for very good viewing too, as storylines continued, title chases built and some surprises kept us all on our toes.



Things kicked off nicely with Royal Rumble winner Alberto Del Rio facing off against Intercontinetal Champion Kofi Kingston. The action was crisp, Del Rio and Kingston blending well together to make a nice opener for the PPV. The rising star that is Del Rio finally winning with his arm breaker finisher to out the non-title match to bed and progress with momentum onto this years Mania.



Next up was the first Elimination Chamber bout, this one was the Smackdown brands chance to shine as Drew McIntyre, Kane, Rey Mysterio and Big Show (replacing the fired Dolph Ziggler) all went on the attack within the steel structure to wrestle the World Heavyweight Championship from Edge.



There were some pretty decent exchanges as each man entered the fray and the fight began to pick up speed. Edge held his own form the start and even as the bodies began being pounded, battered and flung onto as much exposed steel as possible it always looked as if he could achieve the impossible and leave the match as champion. As the eliminations started to reduce opponents it was Edge who was able to outsmart Mysterio to retain his gold.



His celebrations were short lived though, as Del Rio ran in to began to assault him, luckily Edge’s (storyline brother) Christian made his timely return to the WWE and chased off Del Rio.



Booker T then made his way to the ring to introduce another perosn who will join him as trainer on the upcoming Stone Cold Steve Austin hosted series of WWE Tough Enough, it was none other than former Women’s Champion Trish Stratus. Booker and Trish had some fun in the ring to the enjoyement of all in attendance before the action started again.



The unlikely and yet amazingly ‘over’ tag team of Vladimir Kozlov and Santino Marella were defending their gold against members of new faction The Corre (Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel), with Ezekiel Jackson in their corner too, things were one-side for the defending champs in this one. Kozlov and Marella did have their moments, but this was all Corre, Gabriel was able ti pull off the win and net the belts after a nice 450 splash on Kozlov.



A fun segment then saw Vickie Guerrero face off against Teddy Long over the firing of her beau Dolph Ziggler, Kelly Kelly made her return to the company. LayCool made a run-in to attack Kelly, fortunately Trish Stratus made the save and unleashed a beautiful double bulldog on the pair to round off a fun return by two of the fans favourite Divas.



Up next was the match many of us have been waiting for decades to see, Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler in a WWE Title match on PPV and this time he just may have a chance to raise the one title that has eluded him over the years. Lawler’s feud with WWE Titlist The Miz and colour commentator Michael Cole had already hit fever pitch by their point and the crowd were as pumped up as 61 one year old Lawler was.



The match itself was very good considering The King’s age and Miz’s relative newness to this level of bout. Both men traded the advantage, Lawler hit some nice moves for near falls and of course Cole and Miz’s second Alex Riley got themselves into the mix at times too. All of which set up nicely the finishing sequence, after missing a piledriver Lawler was hit by a big kick and then a ‘Skull Crunching Finale to see his dreams of WWE gold slip through his fingers one more time (although his now planned match with Cole at Wrestlemania will see him achieve that dream of appearing on the biggest event in the WWE year).



The main event was of course the Raw Elimination Chamber, there was no title belt on the lien this time, just the small matter of being able to go to Wrestlemania and take on the champ for the gold. With a prize such as that on offer hopes were high indeed for this one.



Shaemus and John Morrison started things off and got the pace going for the others. They were soon joined by Randy Orton, CM Punk, R Truth and eventually John Cena. A malfunctioning pod saw Punk get eliminated and re-instated (by the ever present RAW GM computer), this let everyone have a fair shot at the match it seemed and all went for it with gusto. The final three remaining were Morrison, Punk and Cena, after some nice sequences Punk eliminated Morrison and felt the force of an Attitude Adjustment from Cena on the steel for his trouble. Cena was then easily able to pin Punk and win his spot on the Wrestlemania card.



Elimination Chamber 2011 was a fun and interesting event, the build up to Mania was well paced and the return of Trish and Kelly were nice to see. The addition of Booker T to the commentating roster and the tag Title change are fresh and welcomed ones too. Miz not laying down for Lawler was a disappointment to many, the king fully deserves a title run, even a short one for his dedication to the sprt, but perhaps he himself is happy enough to be in a title match and to know that he will make it to Wrestlemania at long last.

WWE Bragging Rights 2010 DVD Review

WWE Bragging Rights 2010 – DVD Review


By Phil Allely

Bragging Rights is the only WWE PPV event in the year where the company’s two brands fully battle it out for supremacy . This year was no different with a 7 on 7 tag team elimination bout between key Raw and Smackdown being one of the highlights of the card.

Featuring (Raw) Miz, Sheamus, CM Punk, John Morrison, R Truth, Santino Marella and Ezekiel Jackson against (Smackdown) Big Show, Edge, Rey Mysterio, Kofi Kingston, Jack Swagger, Alberto Del Rio and Tyler Reks. The match itself had its fair share of in-ring action and moments, the end result going down very well with the fans too. The trophy was won by the best team on the night, the level of talent involved and various set-pieces etc. all make this a good match to have on DVD and watch a few times to get the full benefit of what went down.

Elsewhere World Heavyweight Champion Kane and his brother Undertaker had a painful looking Buried Alive brawl for the gold. Taker was of course out looking for revenge after some recent losses to his sibling, Paul bearer’s presence and the involvement of Nexus helped mask the limited movements of Taker and as usual he seemed to be more than willing to put himself through more abuse than he should to please his fans.

Ted Di Biase and Goldust’s fight over the Milion Dollar belt was a short affair, it did have its moments, but the cat fight and post-match beat down were the highlights really.

Daniel Bryan and Dolph Ziggler’s Champion versus Champion match-up was a great opener and as usual both stepped up to the plate to deliver the goods. Ziggler’s second Vickie Guererro was in fine form too. The pair of combatants proved the point with ease, as to why at that time they were the United States and Inter-Continental champion’s (respectively).

John Cena’s storyline with nexus took a surprising turn when he was teamed with Dave Otunga to take on WWE tag team Champs Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre. Cena took control of the match and Otunga barely got a look in, the action was decent, but not as exciting as it could have been, the ending was a pleasant surprise though.

Natalya’s challenge for the Diva’s Championship was a thoroughly enjoyable one, tackling one half of the co-champions LayCool (Layla). Of course Michelle McCool played a big part in proceedings and Miss Neidhart was double-teamed and cheap shot assaulted as often as possible throughout.

The main event was an above average affair and may be the match that sways people’s choice to purchase this DVD release. The match pitted Nexus main man Wade Barrett against WWE Champion Randy Orton (for Orton’s Gold), John Cena was in Barrett’s corner too, the stipulation being if the nexus member failed to win the bout Cena would be fired. Orton’s intensity, Barrett’s improving in-ring skills and Cena’s acting all helped elevate this to decent main event material and of course the obligatory run-in/ref bump etc. all helped too.

On the extras front Bragging Rights 2010 has an interview with the Smackdown Team and a short piece on the Undertaker.

Bragging Rights 2010 is a good addition to your WWE DVD collection, the matches were all worth seeing and some of the storyline developments and feuds were at their peak here.

Bragging Rights 2010 is available now from www.silvervision.co.uk and all good retailers.

More Jim Ross Blog Highlights

Jim Ross is back with another blog over on jrsbarbq.com. Here are a few highlights from this entry:


Jerry Lawler and his match with The Miz:

"Any one who thinks that it's simply not possible for Jerry Lawler, at age 61 and on a week where he buried his 90 year old mother, to win the WWE title against the Miz this Sunday at the Elimination Chamber needs to rethink their position. It is possible and it damn well could happen. I agree that the King is the underdog going in but what a story for the ages it would make if the WWE HOF'er did win the title. I'm not saying bet the farm on it but IF Jerry Lawler were to somehow, by hook or crook, defeat the Miz Sunday it would be one of the hottest topics around the WWE water cooler in years.



I admit that I legitimately have an emotional investment in this one because of my friendship with Jerry and after seeing first hand what he went through this week.



At least can we all agree that stranger things have happened in WWE over the years can we not?



Miz might not realize it today but Miz will be a better wrestler over the long haul after the learning experience that he will have Sunday night competing with the King."



The underrated William Regal:

"William Regal's brief yet effective cameo on the vintage (ugh) Khali Kiss Kam Monday night on Raw was yet another example of how talented the Brit truly is and why I consider Regal one of the most underrated talents in WWE. He's also a legit tough dude let me assure you."

New Jim Ross Blog Highlights

Jim Ross is back with another blog on jrsbarbq.com. Here are highlights:


SmackDown going live:

"No...I don't ever see Friday Night Smackdown going live, full time IE weekly. It might happen occasionally but it isn't cost effective or travel friendly to do live TV on Mondays, Fridays, and some Sundays and still try to do live event touring. Makes no sense."



The Angle-Jarrett storyline in TNA:

"An emailer asked me what I thought about recent TNA storylines involving Mr. and Mrs. Jeff Jarrett and their children. I'm not a regular viewer of TNA first of all but what I have seen of this storyline that's allegedly based in reality isn't my cup of tea. I could care less what the adults do in their storyline but having minor children involved doesn't personally work for me. TNA isn't my hill to die upon and I harbor no ill will toward them but I find it challenging to believe that some individuals actually think that this is effective, episodic TV."



Tonight's Elimination Chamber:

"I'm anxiously looking forward to Sunday's Elimination Chamber PPV from WWE that emanates from Oakland. Obviously, and based on precedent, the Chamber bouts will occupy the majority of the ring time on this event but my focus is on the King vs. Miz bout for the WWE Title. Miz will likely see every trick in the wrestler's handbook in this one and I don't expect this title bout to be a marathon. It can't be a marathon bout if The King Jerry Lawler wants to win the WWE Title IMO. The 61 year old WWE HOF'er, who buried his 90 year old mother on Wednesday, needs to essentially tell us what time it is and not how to make the watch when Jerry looks to make history. Not only would Jerry be the oldest WWE Champion ever, or so I think, he would also be in rarefied air as a WWE Hall of Famer who wins the title after being inducted into the WWE HOF."

The Miz Interview Highlights

WWE Champion The Miz recently spoke to sgvtribute.com and below are the main highlights from the story:




Getting a Deal following Tough Enough: "I tried out. Made it. Didn't win. But impressed the execs enough that they gave me a (development) contract to go to the Deep South (and train)," he said. "I stopped doing reality shows, took a payout, went there and hoped for the best."



Winning his first-ever WWE Championship; "(There were) so many emotions that went through my head (when winning the belt). When I first won it, when the 1-2-3 happened, I couldn't control my excitement, it was just exuding," he said. "Once I got the title, it kind of went to an 'oh my god' moment, it takes your breath away," he continued. "And when I was up on the second rope, I remember raising the belt going, 'Oh my god, I'm raising the WWE Championship as the WWE Champion.' And I felt myself choke up, I felt myself getting teary eyed. And I was like, 'Wait a second. You can't do that. You're the WWE Champion.' "Then I went out of the ring, (Alex Riley) was there and we both celebrated together. Feeling his excitement made me feel even more excited," he said. "So that's kind of the first three minutes of my WWE Championship (reign).



The Infamous "Miz Girl": "(She) made my championship reign, it was great. That's how pissed off people were of me (winning)," he said. "Everyone thought I'd be the first person to get the Money in the Bank contract and lose. Everyone thought so, but that didn't happen."

Miz Interview Highlights

The Miz was recently interviewed, here are highlights:

You've told the story before about when you first came to the WWE that there were various people in the locker room who were not very supportive of you. What is the locker room like now when it comes to you and where you are at this point of your career?




The locker room is great now. It's completely different because a lot of those veterans are gone, that old school mentality is kind of gone and it's a whole new school kind of attitude and feel. It's fresh, it's new, it's exciting and the locker room is pretty good. I mean, obviously, you still have a couple of jealous, wandering eyes who see me and see that I have the title. Obviously, everybody wants that. Everybody wants my spot so I have a target on my back which is fine. I'm more than willing to have a target on my back. The fact is, you're going to miss every time because I'm still going to be the WWE Champion for a very long time.



You talked about how you changed your look and how important that has been for you. Please explain to me the popularity of John Cena and him still being able to wear jorts (jean shorts)?



I know. How do you wear jorts? That style left in the 80's or the 90's and he just keeps trying to being them back and the poor guy has no style. I mean, he has ugly purple and orange and whatever shirts he comes up with but the kids love it. The kids can wear exactly what we wears. Let's face it, there's no bigger I guess you can say than John Cena besides me. If you can get away with wearing jean shorts nowadays you must be pretty confident in yourself.



Have there been any particular guys in the WWE that have helped influence you? For me, I think I see some characteristics in you from Chris Jericho and various things he did. Did he influence you or was there anyone else that did?



Yeah, I still talk to Jericho a lot. When he came back that last time, that really influenced me a lot as well as Shawn Michaels. I've always been a big fan of The Rock. Those guys kind of influenced me as well as working with John Cena. Last year, I had a whole program with John Cena. Working with him taught me a lot at what I had to get, where I had to go to become a top talent in the WWE and become a main evener.

The Miz Interview Highlights

According to WWE champion The Miz, even if you dream big, work hard, train hard and set huge goals for yourself, you still won't be as awesome as he is.




"Only a special person can actually do it, and I did it because I'm that talented. Everyone else isn't," says the champ on the phone earlier this month from Los Angeles. "Jeez, how much of a jerk am I?"



A pretty big one, in fact, but that's part of Miz's character. And the 30-year-old grappler from Parma, Ohio, has earned the right to be cocky, having clawed his way to the top of the WWE ranks, where he's slated to appear in the main event when World Wrestling Entertainment brings its "Monday Night Raw" program to Joe Louis Arena on Monday.



Mike Mizanin, whose spiky hair and confident demeanor peg him as the frat boy next door, first gained recognition as part of "The Real World's" 10th season in 2001. It was during his MTV stint that he coined himself "The Miz" and declared his intentions to be heavyweight champion of the world.



He finally accomplished his goal just before Thanksgiving, when he defeated Randy Orton to win the championship on an episode of "Raw."



But The Miz is far from an overnight success.



Following "The Real World," Miz moved to L.A. and enrolled in a developmental wrestling school. The affiliation got him backstage at a couple of WWE shows, but the company showed no interest in pursuing him as a performer.



While still training, Miz rode the post-"Real World" gravy train and appeared on several seasons of the "Real World / Road Rules Challenge" and collected checks on the "Real World" collegiate lecture circuit.



Then, in 2004, he muscled his way onto MTV's reality series "Tough Enough," where the winner is awarded a WWE contract. He didn't win, but WWE execs were impressed with his skills, and signed him to a developmental deal.



After learning the ropes, The Miz in 2006 debuted in WWE but found he still had to go far before making it big.



"As soon as I got to WWE, everyone assumed I got a contract because I was on 'The Real World,' so everyone made my life a living hell," he says. "I didn't really have any friends. I got kicked out of the locker room. It felt like everyone was trying to find a way to get me fired."



He hung in there, and eventually began to gain traction as a performer in WWE's ECW promotion. He developed his character and showcased his microphone skills in vignettes with fellow wrestler John Morrison, with whom he eventually shared the WWE tag team title.



More titles followed, until Miz earned his shot at a WWE championship match at a pay per view event in July.



Defeating Orton in November was a highlight for the kid who grew up idolizing wrestlers like Mr. Perfect and the Rock and who bought a $15 plastic title belt during "The Real World" and declared himself the reality TV champ.



"I still can't believe I have it," says Miz of the heavyweight gold.



He has two belts, in fact, one for TV and one he keeps with him at all times.



"For me, it signifies that it's just the next step," he says. "I've been taking steps ever since I came to the WWE, and now I've built myself to where I'm the WWE champion.



"But it doesn't even stop there," he says. "Once you're WWE champion, you want it to be the best championship reign ever; you want the ratings to be the highest. You want the seats to be the most filled. You want to be the poster child for the WWE."



In that regard, Miz says he's willing to work to get it. He's looking to the Royal Rumble pay per view event, where the prize is a shot at the title that's around his waist.



"Last year, I was in the Royal Rumble for at least three seconds," he says of his quick dismissal in the 2010 match, "and now I'm the WWE champion. It's pretty incredible that everyone's fighting to get a spot, basically, to fight me."

Jim Ross' Recent Blog Entry Extracts

Jim Ross' Recent Blog Entry Extracts

Goldust's Injury: "Sorry to hear of Goldust's rotator cuff injury that will apparently require surgery. This is usually a 5-6 month recovery period. Don't forget about Goldust's biography that would make a good stocking stuffer and should be interesting reading. He's had a helluva life for such a young man. Hate to see anyone hurt, especially someone who has worked so hard to become relevant again. Last time I saw Goldust he was in, without question, the best physical shape of his life. Some day Goldust will likely be a great coach/teacher of the biz."




The Miz On TMZ: "WWE Champ The Miz gets a shot on TMZ later today (Wednesday) which he will no doubt knock it out of the park. Miz was tremendous on the Food Network cooking show, 'Dinner Impossible,' that we did a year ago at Summer Slam. He stole that show with ease and will like do the same on TMZ TV later today. Miz is a work in progress and it should be encouraging for WWE fans of just how good Miz can become in time if he stays healthy and focused on becoming the best antagonist in the biz."



Rey Mysterio's Popularity: "An emailer asked me why Rey Mysterio has become so popular while many of his fellow Lucha Libra stars did not become bigger in the USA. Firstly, Rey has 'it' and 'it' can't be manufactured. Rey also throughly understands all the ins and outs of the biz after starting in it when he was 14 or 15 years old. Rey also understands that 'less is more' and that doing 2-3 spectacular maneuvers in a match or a sequence is always better than doing a half dozen or more of them in such quick fashion that the majority of the eye opening maneuvers can't be processed or remembered minutes after they are completed."