WRESTLEMANIA 25

 (300 mins) $29.98
2009  WWE/Genius
Starring John Cena, Dave Batista Rey Mysterio, John Bradshaw, Jeff Hardy, Shaun Michaels.

 

On April 5, 2009 from Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas, all of the superstars from Raw, SmackDown, and ECW came together to celebrate a tremendous event that had been a quarter of a century in the making. WrestleMania 25 was an event that I had the liberty of attending and all I can say is that it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Sure there will probably be more times in my life that my butt is sitting in the seats of a Mania, but never again will be the twenty-fifth anniversary. 

Eight matches lined the card for Mania this year and topping it off was a match between Randy Orton and Triple H for the WWE Championship. It was a feud that had been building for months (possibly years) and had gotten extremely personal thanks to Orton being overly physical with Triple H’s now revealed family, the McMahons. The World Heavyweight Championship was also on the line as Edge defended against John Cena and the Big Show in a triple threat match. Our traditional Money In The Bank Match filled up the card along with an extreme rules’ match between Jeff and Matt Hardy, JBL versus Rey Mysterio for the Intercontinental Title, and a handicap match pitting Chris Jericho against three WWE legends.

WrestleMania is one of those Pay Per Views (PPVs) that has a tendency of being enjoyable no matter what. The matches could be subpar and expectations may not end up being met, but there is still the excitement in the air that allows the fans to find something to be entertained by sometime throughout the night. I’ll admit that some of the matches on the card looked a lot better on paper then they ended up being once it was time for the action to happen. Still it was a night full of big spots, powerful and high-flying moves, celebrities, and championships. I still can’t help but wish though that there would have been more matches like Undertaker versus Shawn Michaels and less matches like the Divas Battle Royal.

~ Money In The Bank Ladder Match: CM Punk Vs. Kofi Kingston Vs. MVP Vs. Shelton Benjamin Vs. Kane Vs. Mark Henry Vs. Finlay Vs. Christian – The MITB ladder match is always a great big “spot” match each year and usually ends up thrilling the crowd like no other. This year’s match was no exception and it was a great way to get the evening kicked off and hype up the already jacked up fans. One thing I like is that there are more and more power guys being added to the match like Finlay, Mark Henry, and Kane instead of just the high flyers. It adds to the excitement by not only watching people fly through the air and flip but also seeing wrestlers get slammed down or thrown around beyond their will. A great start to the evening and with a rather surprising result that actually didn’t thrill some of those in attendance.

~ 25 Diva Battle Royal To Determine The First-Ever Miss WrestleMania – Very pointless and over the top boring. The best part about it was the ending and aftermath since Santina Marella ended up winning “her” crown. It was more so a way of getting every diva imaginable on the card.

~ 3-on-1 Handicap Match: Rowdy Roddy Piper, Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka, & Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat Vs. Chris Jericho – Building for a long time leading up to Mania; this match pitted three legends against the man that thinks he is the living legend. The match itself was kind of slow going at first when Piper or Snuka was in there but things really began to speed up when Steamboat faced off with Jericho. If there was ever any question whether the Dragon could still go after so long out of the ring then this match surely answered that. Jericho and Steamboat put on a hell of a showing and I would have been overly pleased with it being just a singles match between the two of them.

~ Extreme Rules Match: Jeff Hardy Vs. Matt Hardy – The Brothers’ Hardy had been long time partners but it was high time for them to face off and there was no better way for Team Xtreme to do so then with “extreme rules.” I’ve seen better from these two but that doesn’t mean this match was tame by any stretch of the imagination. Jeff continued to be a bit more of the high flyer while Matt played the bulkier and more powerful brother with big chair shots, vicious shopvac hits, and one of the sickest Twists Of Fate that I’ve ever seen. Good stuff.

~ Intercontinental Championship Match: JBL (c) Vs. Rey Mysterio – Yeah I know there was a point for this match being what it was, but it was still ridiculous to have on WrestleMania.

~ Undertaker Vs. Shawn Michaels – There is no way that this match could be done justice by simply talking about it. It is far and above anything else that went on at WrestleMania 25 and quite easily the match of the year for 2009. Two long time veterans stepped into the ring after one stepping down from Heaven and the other stepping up from Hell, and they put on the match of their lives. Tons of near falls, great chemistry, constant excitement, and Undertaker taking a flying leap and literally almost dying on the floor of Reliant Stadium. You need to see this match to believe it and it is well worth the purchase alone.

~ Triple Threat Match for the World Heavyweight Championship: Edge (c) Vs. John Cena Vs. Big Show – Three men in the ring vying for the big gold belt and it wasn’t the most exciting match in the world, but it wasn’t awful either. It was rather back and forth between mostly Edge and Cena with Show adding the big power moves every now and then. I have to admit that the two person Attitude Adjustment from Cena was incredibly impressive even though it was only for a few seconds. I just kind of expected more from the World Heavyweight Title portion of the main event.

~ Introduction Of The 2009 WWE Hall Of Fame Inductees

~ WWE Championship Match: Triple H (c) Vs. Randy Orton – For every bit underwhelming that the first title match was; this second title match and main event of the evening was even more so. Both men had a lot to fight for as Orton was after the title and Triple H wanted revenge on the man that had been tormenting his family for the past month or two. It just really was rather boring and overly anti-climatic to what was a long but pretty damn enjoyable evening. Orton and Trips’ match just kind of dragged on without much excitement and not so much as even a showing from a single member of the McMahon clan which surprised me. Maybe Undertaker and HBK had taken everything out of me by this point, but it was just evident that both men could have put on a better showing. I’ve seen them do it before.

 

The Wrestlemania 25th Anniversary Blu-ray looks quite good here in this 1.78.1 anamorphic widescreen AVC encoded transfer, at least when you compare it to a standard cable broadcast. Presumably on par with what HD cable fans saw when they ordered it via Pay-Per-View, if not a bit stronger (the bit rate hovers around 22 - 30 Mbps);  there isn't as much crystal clear detail as there would be in a movie, but the picture quality is pretty strong when you consider the dark lighting conditions under which it was all shot. There are spots where skin tones look a little waxy and overly pink but this just could be because everyone is sweaty. Color reproduction is strong across the board and black levels look good. There are some mild compression artifacts if you want to look for them but aside from that, the image is good. Not perfect, but very good. There aren't any problems with hiss or distortion though some minor echo is present, which makes sense considering that this was recorded live inside and auditorium. An alternate Spanish language Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track is included, though there are no subtitle or closed captioning options provided.

Aside from the event itself, itself, the first disc contains a featurette entitled 25th Anniversary Of Wrestlemania - April 5th, 2009 - Lumberjack Match For The Unified Tag Team Championship which features Carlito and Primo battling against The Miz and John Morrison. This thirteen minute match is a home video exclusive isn't as exciting as the feature matches but it's worth a look and is presented in 1.78.1 AVC encoded high definition. Animated menus are included and a few WWE ads play before you can get to them.

The first extra on the second disc is the 2009 WWE Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony that features some great footage with Terry and Dory Funk, Koko B. Ware, The Von Erichs, Howard Finkel, Cowboy Bill Watts, Ricky The Dragon Steamboat, and last but not least, Texas' favorite son, Stone Cold Steve Austin. This featurette, which clocks in at over two hours and fifteen minutes and is presented in an ACV encoded 1.78.1 widescreen, starts off by looking at the greats from wrestling's past before giving all of 2009's inductees and chance to get in front of the podium to talk about their careers and express their gratitude for the award. It all ends, appropriately enough, with Steve Austin chugging a beer.

Also included on the second disc is a mammoth highlight reel that features clips from each one of the twenty-four Wrestlemanias that have come before this one. With a combined total of 55:40, this is a nice collection of clips from some of the now completely famous and instantly recognizable matches that made so many of us the fans that we are. Going all the way back to the first Wrestlemania at Madison Square Gardens, this is a fun look back even if it doesn't give more than a couple of minutes to each year's worth of insanity.

 

- Skip

 WRESTLEMANIA 25 BLU RAY available at DVDEmpire.com

 

 

CHRIS JERICHO: BREAKING THE CODE

 

The packaging is different than any other WWE three disk set. It has a slip cover over their traditional folded box. It makes the DVD stand out and look different when it’s on my shelf with my other rather large wrestling DVD collection.

At this point, I have only watched the documentary and a couple special features, so this will be updated or I will write a second blog about some of the matches.

I love the documentaries that WWE produces on these. Even though some of them are rather one-sided and feature revisionist history, when WWE sets out to be fair, they are just that. Chris Jericho’s documentary is narrated by him. It runs a little under two hours and covers his career really well.

There is a large amount of time spent on his WCW and ECW days. They talk about his breakthrough moments with those companies. The best is the 1,004 holds promo from Monday Nitro (which is also a special feature). Jericho talks about his frustrations in these companies very candidly.

All through this DVD one of the best features is Chris Jericho’s honesty. He shows why his book has been successful. He tells it like it is. Sometimes he seems to inflate his own skill, but he does have a point. He is one of the best wrestlers in history.

As his career comes to WWE, he discusses how frustrating it was for him to enter like a house of fire, but then not to be on PPVs as the year went on. He saw his own push be started and stopped in true Vince Russo fashion. One great lost moment from his early career is his championship “win” over Triple H. He was immediately stripped of the title of course. But this win is what he sees as his breakthrough in WWE.

Hearing Jericho’s perspective on being the first ever Undisputed Champion is also a great moment of this set. He discusses the run into Wrestlemania X-8 and says that he shouldn’t have been the main event, but was proud that he was.

Jericho’s career is full of more highlights that I can describe here and I’d suggest you check out this feature.

The last part of this DVD that I have to mention is Jericho’s discussion of how he reinvented his character. Jericho did something every bold when he took his entire act and buried it in the ground. Wrestlers often leave their thinking caps at home and do the same gimmick forever. Jericho refused to do this and that is what makes him one of the best ever.

 

-  Mike M

 

    MONEY IN THE BANK 2010

 

The first-ever Money in the Bank PPV event was recently released on DVD. This show featured two Money in the Bank Matches as well as a WWE Championship Match held inside of a steel cage. The stakes were very high for this show because every time the Money in the Bank contract has been cashed in, it has been converted into championship gold. For those that don't know, the Money in the Bank contract gives the holder of it the right to cash it in for a championship match whenever they want to within a year.

What I Said Then: This was a great event. This new PPV event had an excellent concept and an even better execution. I hope the WWE continues to have this event next year as well as having a Money in the Bank Match at WrestleMania XXVII. If you bought the event, it was worth the purchase price.

Has My Opinion Changed? No.

Overall Recommendation: The first three post-WrestleMania PPV events were all financial and critical disappointments. While financial numbers for this show won't be released for a few months, at least the trend of having shows not worth the price of the PPV has ended. Hopefully, one day the WWE will put every Money in the Bank match and the cashing in of the contract in on a DVD set. Until that day comes, I think this DVD is worthy of a place in your wrestling DVD library. 

Matches on this DVD:

  • DVD Extras: Kane and Nexus interviews
  • SmackDown Money in the Bank Match: Big Show vs. Christian vs. Cody Rhodes vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Kane vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Matt Hardy
  • Divas Champion Alicia Fox vs. Eve Torres
  • Unified Tag Team Champions The Hart Dynasty vs. Jimmy & Jey Uso
  • World Heavyweight Champion Rey Mysterio vs. Jack Swagger
  • The SmackDown Money in the Bank Contract is cashed in
  • Women's Champion Layla vs. Kelly Kelly
  • RAW Money in the Bank Match: Chris Jericho vs. Edge vs. Evan Bourne vs. John Morrison vs. Mark Henry vs. Randy Orton vs. vs. Ted DiBiase vs. The Miz
  • Steel Cage Match: WWE Champion Sheamus vs. John Cena

 

Jane Ortins 

 

 

FATAL 4 WAY 2010 

 

Not only was the execution of this event a failure, so was the whole concept of this PPV event. In my predictions for this event, I thought that it was going to bomb financially and doubted that we would ever see this themed PPV event take place ever again. While we won't know until next year whether this event will return, the show did bomb financially. According to the second quarter earnings for World Wrestling Entertainment, this show had only 143k buys which is significantly less that the 178k buys that The Bash, which was replaced by this event because of poor numbers, did last year. Over the Limit 2010, which took place only a few weeks before this had 197k buys. That is a one month drop of over 25%.

Overall Recommendation: I would skip this DVD. Despite several titles changing hands at this show, the matches were nothing but a backdrop for the larger story lines going on in the company. Both main event title matches were marred by interference to such an extent that it was easy to forget that there were matches going on in the ring. To make maters worse, the show ended very early for a PPV event. With all this extra time available on the DVD it would have been nice for the WWE to put something special and long on it to make up for a bad show. If you are still interested in buying this DVD, click here for the lowest price available via PriceGrabber.

Matches on this DVD:

  • DVD Extra: Nexus plot their sneak attack
  • Intercontinental Champion Kofi Kingston vs. Drew McIntryre
  • Fatal 4 Way Match: Divas Champion Eve vs. Alicia Fox vs. Gail Kim vs. Maryse
  • Evan Bourne vs. Chris Jericho
  • Fatal 4 Way Match: World Heavyweight Champion Jack Swagger vs. Big Show vs. CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio
  • US Champion The Miz vs. R-Truth
  • The Hart Dynasty (DH Smith, Tyson Kidd, & Natalya) vs. Jimmy & Jay Uso and Tamina
  • Fatal 4 Way Match: WWE Champion John Cena vs. Edge vs. Randy Orton vs. Sheamus

 

Jane Ortins

 

 

 SATANS PRISON

 

A traditional wrestling match consists of 2 men competing in a 16' x 16' ring, surrounded by 3 ropes, with the winner being the man to score a pinfall or submission on his opponent.  Wrestling promoters put 6-10 of these matches on a given card that people pay to see.  Shows are put on almost every single day in different cities.  Thus, it should seem pretty obvious to even the most novice wrestling fan that different types of matches would be created over time.  Some have been successful like the ladder match and steel cage match.  Others have failed like the Punjabi Prison match and anything involving a prize on a pole.  None, however, match the innovation and devastation of the Elimination Chamber match.  Created in 2002 by Eric Bischoff (at least that's what we're told on TV), the match was to separate the men from the boys.  The cold steel structure wrapped with miles of chain links were specifically created to provide a torturous environment for those who enter.  Merely looking at the  structure screams pain, as does the newest WWE DVD release, Satan's Prison: The Anthology of the Elimination Chamber.  While the matches were innovative and unique, this DVD was about as standard as it can get. 

Much like previous WWE DVD releases, this presentation comes as a 3 disc set.  The packaging looks good, and the opening video package gears the viewer up for the carnage to follow.  That excitement is curtailed as soon as the opening package ends though, as Todd Grisham appears on the screen.  It isn't so much that Grisham lacks talent as a broadcaster, but his delivery and energy on this DVD fail to deliver the excitement behind such an innovative concept.  Couple that with the fact that he has logged the same amount of time inside the chamber as everyone watching the DVD, and you know right away that the host will not provide any insight in regards to the matches. 

Those hypotheses turn out to be correct, as the DVD flows seamlessly through each Chamber match.  Every Chamber match in existence appears on the 3 disc set, from the debut match in 2002 to this February's dueling Chambers that saw John Cena and Chris Jericho emerge victorious.  In between each match, Grisham recaps the previous match and introduces the next with the occasional participant of a Chamber match stopping in to give some short insight.  Such commentators include John Cena and Edge, among others.  The comments provided are tepid at best, and it is tough to tell whether the comments are supposed to be provided in character or as performers outside of the character base.  Either way, they are there to recap the events just seen on the DVD, but something just feels off about these contributions. 

The only special features to speak of on all 3 DVDs are 4 video packages that have appeared to promote different Chamber matches.  This is perhaps one of the most disappointing parts of the DVD because this is often what separates a good DVD set from a bad one.  If you remember back to a couple of weeks ago, the Ricky Steamboat DVD had numerous extras that had range and gave you a lot of different ways to view Ricky the man and the performer.  This DVD provides none of that.  I expected interviews, promos from shows leading up the Chamber matches, and more in this section, but we were provided with a minimalistic approach at best. 

This DVD set is basically only attractive to those who want all the Elimination Chamber matches in one place.  For those looking for a behind the scenes look at the structure's creation, a story behind the creation of the concept (we all know Bischoff didn't actually come up with it behind the scenes), and the progression of the match as told by those who created and appeared in it, this is not the DVD set for you.  It is more a video compilation than a 3 disc story of one of the great creations in the WWE over the last 10 years. 

For me, this was an utter disappointment.  I have seen most, if not all of those matches, so to have them on DVD is no big thing.  When I watch these sets, I'm looking to learn something new, to get something I won't get from watching weekly WWE programming and pay per views.  This DVD provided me with none of that and I advise that unless you are obsessed with this match, stay away from this DVD set.  If you feel the need to sample it, please rent and do not buy.  Buying this DVD set is like buying a 12 pack of beer with 4 beers inside, there's just no value in it.  Thus, when this DVD set is released tomorrow, I advise you to stay away from it.  Even if the rest of your day is muddled with bad decisions, you will have made a good one by saving yourself that money. 

 

- Steve Leblanc

 

 SUMMERSLAM 2010

 

LIVE! From Los Angeles, CA

Intercontinental Championship
Dolph Ziggler vs. Kofi Kingston
Remember when winning the Intercontinental title was a big deal and would actually boost your career? Kofi goes nuts to start and dumps Dolph but goes splat on a dive to the outside and we get our first count out tease of the night. Do people really buy count-outs anymore? Back in, Dolph gets a few two counts before going to the rear chinlock. Already? Geez. A Kofi comeback goes nowhere and Dolph uses the Curt Hennig trademark snap neckbreaker for two before going back to the resthold. A couple jobber two counts do nothing for Dolph as the crowd entertains itself and Lawler shows open disdain for Matt Striker. Ziggler misses a blind charge, triggering a Kofi comeback and a Thesz Press that leads to the Boom Drop. High cross body but Dolph rolls through for two and he adds a Rocker Dropper for another near fall. Kofi meets Ziggler with a kick and looks to finish but stupidly yells “BOOM! BOOM!”...you don't think that could be telegraphing the move do you? Dolph counters with the sleeper but HERE COMES NEXUS and they get rid of Ziggler pretty quick. Kingston suffers the token Nexus beatdown and we have our first cheap finish of the night.
No Contest

-Barrett cuts a promo after the beatdown saying WWE isn't united so they will win tonight. Why didn't the whole locker room empty out or something? Why can't ANYONE treat these guys as real threats...even for just one night? It had a decent sequence towards the beginning but there was no finish and it started off real slow **. Run-in no contests on a PPV? What is this, 1997 Nitro?

-Backstage, Jericho and Edge try to convince Miz to see the light and join Team WWE.

Divas Title
Alicia Fox vs. Melina
Alicia works a headlock to start but makes the mistake of pissing off Melina and she lays in some abuse. She hangs Alicia in the corner and drops some knees, causing Alicia to claim a mouth injury and try to attack just like on Raw. She manages to injure Melina's knee but she stops selling that pretty damn quick and Fox switches psychology to the arm in a weird bit. Alicia works the arm for a bit before missing a blind charge and eating a dropkick. A move that looked like a face-first snapmare gets the pin in a weird spot and we have a new champion.
Winner and NEW Champion: Melina

-Kind of a foregone conclusion for Melina but that doesn't make it any better *. Lay-Cool decides they need some face time and come down to mock the new champion. Melina tries to attack but that proves to be a stupid decision as she gets destroyed and the heels stand tall.

Handicap Match
Big Show vs. Straight Edge Society
Big Show is wearing a cast on the right but hand BUT WAIT!!! He's just RIBBING and the right hand is just fine...wow, psychological warfare. Punk calls a conference after Show dominates but Show still gets rid of Gallows and Mercury pretty easily. Crowd actually chants for CM Punk and Show chops away in the corner, causing Punk to scamper to the outside. Since Big Show is an idiot, he tries to chop Punk against the ring steps and misses, re-injuring the right hand and getting attacked by all three Society members. Back inside, we get some triple teaming until Punk makes the mistake of charging into the corner and Show mounts a comeback. Now it's Show's turn to miss a blind charge and Punk uses high knees to set up a double bulldog with Mercury for two. Punk goes to the hand again but gets dumped and decides to head to the showers. That makes it easier for Show to chokeslam Mercury on top of Gallows and that's good enough for the pin.
Winner: Big Show

-Wow, so the Straight Jobber Society is destroyed by an overweight, non-drawing giant and we're supposed to still care about them? Maybe Punk can dump these losers and gain back at least some of the momentum he once had. This match was pretty much what you would expect **. Can I get some workrate around here?

-The Miz hits the ring, hopefully to save this shitty show, and says John Cena got on his knees to beg Miz to join Team WWE. John Morrison even admitted he is the Marty Jannetty of the former tag team! Now that's progress. After a great promo, Miz announces he will join Team WWE so he can lead them to victory (which, surprisingly, doesn't get much of a reaction). He even channels the Rock and does the whole “don't you people say my catchphrase!” deal which is good for a cheered heel like himself.

WWE Championship
Sheamus vs. Randy Orton
Memo to future bookers/promoters: The champion should ALWAYS make their entrance last, that's a major pet peeve of mine. Match starts slow until Orton stomps away and catches Sheamus with a clothesline before getting a kneedrop for two. Striker is starting to get real annoying with his “I'm going to drop all the old-school references I can into my commentary” style. Orton takes Sheamus to the outside and clothesline's him into the first row for a bit of a brawl. Back inside, we get the GARVIN STOMP and another knee drop for two. This booking is pretty ass-backwards with Orton dominating and the heel champion doing all the selling. Orton guillotines Sheamus on the bottom rope, causing him to roll outside where Orton slams him into the ring barrier. Finally, Sheamus gets some offense as he reverses a whip into the ring steps, establishing a shoulder injury and hopefully setting up our psychology for the rest of the match.

Back inside, Sheamus hits a short arm clothesline for two before going to the rear chinlock to plan a little bit. Orton blocks a suplex with one of his own and calls for a reversal on his hangman's DDT, which is what he gets as Sheamus back drops him to the floor. The champ sends him into the crowd barrier a few times before rolling Orton back in for a two count. Irish hammer gets another two count and a reverse backbreaker gets one more just for fun. Sheamus cuts off another clothesline as Striker steals my Irish hammer name and claims it as his own...bastard. Orton gets a counter for the double KO and fights to his feet for a backbreaker for two. Orton kind of remembers he's supposed to be selling the arm but, then again, it's not like Sheamus worked it over or anything in the past ten minutes. Powerslam hits for Orton and Sheamus hits the ring post on a charge to the corner so Randy brings him into the ring with a superplex, which gets two.

Randy gets a little too anxious though and runs into a backbreaker for two. Sheamus looks to finish with the pump kick but misses and tumbles to the outside like a big goof as Orton waits for him on the inside. Hangman's DDT brings Sheamus back in and he preps the RKO by beating up the poor ring canvas. The RKO hits because Sheamus forgets to counter it so Sheamus ends up getting a two count by taking Orton's finisher...Randy isn't going to like that once they get backstage. Sheamus tries for the Razor's Edge and Orton reverses but runs right into the pump kick...for two. That triggers a temper tantrum from Sheamus so he heads outside for a steel chair. The referee gets bumped off a tug-of-war for the chair and calls for the bell for the cheap ass finish.
Winner by DQ: Randy Orton

-Weak, weak, WEAK! Two title matches and two non-finishes at one of the Big Four is NOT a good way to repay fans who bought this thing. Orton counters a chair shot with a kick to the balls and preps the announce table for destruction. RKO on top of the announce table (which doesn't break) punctuates the match and makes Sheamus look like a total pussy. First good match of the card, but I'm not sure what the point of it was ***. Also, why didn't Miz run down with Sheamus clearly down and out?

-Did anyone EVER buy Rey Mysterio being the Undertaker's attacker? Seriously, I know we're supposed to “suspend belief” and all that crap when we watch wrestling but Mysterio wouldn't even strike fear into a high school sophomore.

World Heavyweight Title
Kane vs. Rey Mysterio
At this point, why not just rename both titles the “Raw title” and “Smackdown title”? It's not like anyone treats either one like the world title. There's a casket at ringside in case there are some REALLY stupid people in the audience who don't know what's happening here. Kane attacks to start and eats a dropkick for two but manages to slug out and avoid the 619 to send Mysterio to the outside. Rey runs away like a coward and hits a butt drop from the apron to the floor in order to gain control. Back in. Rey heads to the top but Kane destroys him and crushes Mysterio against the ring post with a baseball slide. More ring post punishment leads to a big boot that sends Rey to the outside yet again. Back in yet again and Rey gets sent to the corner for two and Kane works a bearhug. Rey Rey finally breaks and sets up Kane for the 619 but the champ counters with a clothesline. Hey, it's been almost 3 minutes...we need Kane to dump Mysterio to the floor again!

Rey tries to fight back into the ring but a Kane big boot sends him to the floor one more time. Rey trips up Kane and sends him into the ring barricade to stagger the champ and hits a top rope headbutt back inside the ring for two. That offense doesn't last too long as Kane hits a backbreaker for two then adds one more and turns it into a submission hold...at least he's staying consistent with the psychology. Rey breaks but runs into a sidewalk slam for two and Kane heads up top for his clothesline. Rey cuts him off but whiffs on the hurricanrana and Kane tries his clothesline but misses and injures his knee. Rey gets a flipping inverted DDT (called a “slop drop” by Striker for some God unknown reason) for two then adds a tornado DDT for another near fall. The announcers are desperately trying to explain the crowd's apathy to this match as a “stunned silence”...I say it's “not giving a flying f***”. Rey gets caught with a right hand coming off the top for two and Kane decides to open the casket for a chokeslam. Rey counters and tries the 619 but gets caught and dumped in the casket. Mysterio fights out and avoids a clothesline in order to the hit the 619 and almost gets the pin with a rollup off a springboard. Kane cuts off the offense with a big boot and a chokeslam gets the somewhat surprising pin to keep the title.
Winner and STILL Champion: Kane

-It's no secret that Kane is only holding the title until Taker returns to win it once again. Match started slow and the crowd really didn't give a shit but the last 2 minutes were pretty good **3/4.

-Kane tries to bury Rey and has to close the casket lid for *wink wink* to climb inside. Tombstone kills Rey dead but, of course, the Undertaker is waiting when Kane opens the lid of the casket. I'm glad the first thing he did once he got out of his coma was to put on his wrestling tights...that shows he means business. UT confronts Rey about attacking him but, as expected, reveals Kane as the true attacker and uses the HOGAN POINT (“Yoooooooooooou!”) to promise revenge. Taker tries to attack but he's too weak so Kane overpowers and lays him out. I really really REALLY don't want to see this match....pretty please?

-Does anyone really care about MVP anymore?

-Nexus absolutely, 100%, without question HAS to win this match to remain a threat on Raw. During the entrances for the main event, John Cena cuts off The Miz and announces his replacement for the match...

Elimination Match
The Nexus vs. John Cena, Edge, R-Truth, Chris Jericho, John Morrison, Bret Hart, and DANIEL BRYAN
HOLY SHIT!!! Talk about a surprise...I am legitimately shocked. I give tons of credit to WWE not only for bringing him back but also for actually being able to keep it a secret. Michael Cole is less than thrilled as Bryan starts off by locking a a guillotine choke on Darren Young and turning it into a crossface to get the first submission. Darren Young has been eliminated Jericho tags in and hits Justin Gabriel with a back suplex before bringing in R-Truth for a leg lariat and an Osaka Street Cutter for two. Gabriel comes back with an enzuigiri and tags in Michael Tarver for some right hands before he misses a blind charge and Morrison tags in for some punishment. Springboard kick sets up Starship Pain and that's good enough to put WWE up two men. Michael Tarver has been eliminated Wade Barrett calls a timeout and the heels regroup on the outside and show signs of being divided.

Skip Sheffield decides it's time for some pain and he overpowers Morrison but gets a little mouth and John smacks him. Sheffield recovers with a powerslam and works over Morrison with a pair of suplexes for two. Morrison begins to mount a comeback but Gabriel gets a kick in behind the referee's back and a CLOTHESLINE OF DEATH eliminates Morrison. John Morrison has been eliminated R-Truth runs in to defend his fallen tag partner's honor but quickly falls victim to another CLOTHESLINE OF DEATH and is following his partner to the showers. R-Truth has been eliminated Jericho jumps in but is quickly overpowered with a Sheffield press slam and Jericho gets stuck in the heel corner, which is not good. Barrett cuts him off with a submission hold but Jericho comes back for the double KO and he gets the hot tag to Bret Hart, might to the delight of the crowd.

Hart tees off on Heath Slater in the corner and adds an inverted atomic drop before trying for the Sharpshooter but getting stopped by Barrett tossing a steal chair in the ring. Hart grabs the chair and thwarts a Sheffield attack with the weapon, but that earns him a DQ in a rare dumb moment for Hart's character. Bret Hart has been eliminated Jericho takes advantage of the chair shot and catches Sheffield with a Codebreaker before bringing in Edge who gets a big spear and sends the powerhouse to the locker room. Skip Sheffield has been eliminated

Edge takes on Justin Gabriel and gets a flapjack for two but Gabriel takes his head off with a kick and gets his own near fall. Slater is brought in to continue the heat segment and he works over Edge with good intensity. Barrett checks in for his own brand of punishment and gets a backbreaker for two before going to the chinlock. Edge catches Barrett with a spin kick but gets caught with a spinning neckbreaker and David Otunga wants in. Otunga looks to finish but gets planted with a DDT for the double KO and it's hot tag Jericho as heel tees off on Mr. Hudson. Lionsault hits and Jericho locks in the Walls until Otunga has no choice but to tap out. David Otunga has been eliminated Jericho kicks Heath Slater's ass all around the ring and earns some “Y2J” chants for his efforts. He adds a top rope elbow but hits John Cena by mistake and falls victim to Slater's jumping neckbreaker for the pin. Chris Jericho has been eliminated Edge argues with John Cena after the decision, blaming him, and Slater sneaks up from behind with a rollup to get another elimination. Edge has been eliminated That leaves only Cena and Daniel Bryan but it gets worse when Edge spears Cena off the apron and Jericho adds some shots, leaving only Bryan to defend WWE's honor.

Cena gets tossed into the heel corner and gets beat down as the announcers debate the capability of Daniel Bryan and Cole goes nuts, yelling about how much Bryan sucks and the Miz is awesome. This is great stuff. Cena tries to mount a comeback but gets cut off and tries for a tag in a great bit of selling as this is quickly approaching mark-out territory. Gabriel works a submission and stops an Attitude Adjustment with a DDT for two. Wade Barrett tags back in and gets a sidewalk slam but Cena counters a suplex with his own for the double KO. Cena crawls for the tag and reaches...but gets cut off by Heath Slater and floored. Cena and Slater clothesline each other for another double KO and THIS TIME he makes the hot tag to Daniel Bryan as all the IWC craps themselves. Bryan suplexes the hell out of Slater and gets a big clothesline to send Slater to the floor. A dive between the ropes takes out Slater and earns a “Daniel Bryan” chant. Slater counters a wild kick to a rollup but Bryan rolls through and locks the crossface on to earn another tap out. Heath Slater has been eliminated Suddenly, the Miz runs down and clunks Bryan on the head with his briefcase, earning Barrett the easy pin. Daniel Bryan has been eliminated Hell, there's a good way to get people to hate the guy.

So it's Barrett-Gabriel vs. Cena and you knew John was going to be fighting against “insurmountable odds”.Cena avoids a corner clothesline and makes his “vintage” Cena comeback but Barrett tags himself in on the Attitude Adjustment attempt to stop the offense. The double team the shit out of Cena as the crowd starts to buzz and a Barrett big boot sends Cena to the outside. Gabriel clears the mats from the arena floor (a total old-school heat move) and Barrett plants Cena with a DDT on the exposed concrete (obviously very protected). Back in, Gabriel looks to finish with the 450 splash but Cena rolls out of the way at the last second and gets the pin on Justin. Justin Gabriel has been eliminated Barrett runs in to attack but Cena catches him in the STF and earns the tap out victory. Wade Barrett has been eliminated
Winners: Team WWE

-Well, it started off with one hell of a surprise and was booked AWESOMELY...until the end. What is the point of jobbing Nexus, especially after the Miz turned on everyone? I know the 12 year olds love the whole SuperCena bullshit but you've killed off a hot young heel stable that could have carried the company as an angle until the Royal Rumble. I'll get to the rest in the final word but, needless to say, it's a poor decision ****1/4.

Final Word
Well, it's pretty obvious that the undercard of this thing sucked but I kind of expected that going in. It was promoted as a one-match show and that's what it turned out to be. That said, the Daniel Bryan surprise was awesome and hopefully this means an actual push for him, at least to midcard level so we can get a different style consistently on Raw. However, booking another Super Cena match when you had Miz, Edge, AND Jericho all turning on Team WWE makes no sense whatsoever. I mean, if there was ever a win that would have boosted the Nexus and kept the heat on all the WWE guys, it was this one. So basically what you have now is a bunch of losers running around wearing the same t-shirt who have already choked away their big shot after being up 2 vs. 1 and hitting a DDT on FREAKING CONCRETE! You can definitely skip this one now that you know Bryan has returned.

-  Long Winded Ben

 

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