Best Match of 2012: A.J. STYLES & KURT ANGLE vs. KAZARIAN & CHRISTOPHER DANIELS "TNA SLAMMIVERSARY"

These four are four of the best wrestlers in the business. They feuded off and on all year and had a ton of good single and tag-team matches. For one reason or another this one just clicked more than the others. The final few minutes featured an epic flurry of near-falls and finishing-move kick outs. It was fast and intense and high drama in a promotion that is sorely lacking in it. This match was born out of a lame AJ's love-child storyline, but it didn't feature any gimmicks or weapons or run-ins. It was just plain great wrestling.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoWeOJI84CA

WWE TLC

Sunday, December 16th, 2012 from Brooklyn, NY

CODY RHODES & DAMIEN SANDOW vs. REY MYSTERIO & SIN CARA "TABLES MATCH": Sandow is a very amusing heel. The one problem is that he is not an entertaining wrestler. Sin Cara is an entertaining wrestler but he hasn't been a singles wrestler in a year ever since his positive drug test and/or the crowd didn't really care about him. So you throw these B-wrestlers in tag teams and fill shows. The crowd tonight was epic. They chanted, "Cody's mustache!" very loudly during this match because Rhodes has a new mustache and I guess that's a funny chant? An okay match. Sin Cara got tossed through a ring side table. Nothing revelatory. ** (out of ****)

ANTONIO CESARO vs. R TRUTH: Cesaro is a good heel. He's a mediocre wrestler. R Truth is stale, old, weird. Not a good match. 1/2*

KOFI KINGSTON vs. WADE BARRETT: Kofi should be the champ. Or should he? Kind of sad that they push Boring Barrett. *

THE SHIELD vs. RYBACK & KANE & DANIEL BRYAN "TLC": Without Jeff Hardy, there hasn't been a ton of big spots in these TLC matches lately. One guy in The Shield was thrown off a ladder by the stage by Ryback through four tables. Ryback was put through the Spanish announce table. Bryan got power bombed through a table and was pinned. It was good, albeit not great. The one problem was that Punk got hurt so they put this match together instead and thus didn't have anything hanging above the ladder so there wasn't a lot of climbing ladder/falling off ladder/jumping off ladder excitement. ***

EVE vs. NAOMI: Who are these women? -No Stars-

THE BIG SHOW vs. SHEAMUS "CHAIRS MATCH": The Big Show hit Sheamus with a really big chair and won. I actually didn't even see this because the sound went off during this and I was attempting to get it back on my Ipad. Not that the announce team is so great, though, that I had to hear them.

ALBERTO DEL RIO & THE MIZ & THE BROOKLYN BRAWLER vs. 3MB: Yeah...The Miz and Del Rio are good guys now and it just doesn't work. Three Man Band is hilarious, though. *

JOHN CENA vs. DOLPH ZIGGLER "LADDER MATCH": Good match. This crowd was loud and awesome. AJ came out and turned on Cena by pushing him off the ladder. Pointless but God forbid a heel win clean. Ziggler wins...a briefcase he already won in July. ***

TNA FINAL RESOLUTION

Sunday, December 8th, 2012 from Orlando

Okay. First off: what's with this ppv's awful name? Second off: why'd I watch this? The card was awful. I used to really like TNA but ever since Hogan and Bischoff and that crew showed up it's seemingly gotten worse and worse. There are highlights (last month's ladder match) but they're fewer and far between. Oh, well.

JAMES STORM vs. KAZARIAN: An un-announced match and a bad one. *1/2

RVD vs. KENNY KING: Okay, one guy is past his prime and the other just isn't that exciting. God, the X-Division has gotten so fucking bad. Jesse Sorensen is lucky he got out. *

CHAVO & HERNANDEZ vs. JOEY RYAN & MATT MORGAN: Hernandez did his top rope, head first dive even though the last time he did it he landed on his head. I like Joey Ryan's character but this match was as average as Chavo. Why did the good Guerrero have to die? The match ended in a DQ when Morgan pulled the ref out of the ring. *1/2

BULLY RAY vs. AUSTIN ARIES: Not bad. Not good, either. It was eh. Bully as a face doesn't work. *1/2

TARA vs. MICKIE JAMES: Kind of dull. *

ANGLE & SOMOA JOE & WES BRISCO & GARETT BISCHOFF vs. ACES & EIGHTS: I watched this match and still don't know who Wes Brisco is. And Garett sucks. And Kurt Angle got injured. And Aces & Eights are lame. I was hoping this would be mayhem but it was sterile. *1/2

AJ STYLES vs. CHRISTOPHER DANIELS: Good match. Daniels, a heel, won clean. The WWE never does that. **1/2

JEFF HARDY vs. BOBBY ROODE: Mediocre. Hardy is old now, Roode has always been a boring wrestler. This was the main event nobody cared about. **

WWE SURVIVOR SERIES

Sunday, November 18th, 2012, from Indianapolis

BRODUS CLAY & TYSON KIDD & JUSTIN GABRIEL & REY MYSTERIO & SIN CARA vs. TENSAI & TITUS O'NEIL & DARREN YOUNG & PRIMO & EPICO: This stale, dull show opened with an un-announced traditional elimination match. It was entertaining, but with no build up, who cares? ** (out of ****)

EVE TORRES vs. KAITLYN: I read the paper. *

ANTONIO CESARO vs. R-TRUTH: More paper. The WWE roster isn't bad, just boring. 1/2*

AJ/VICKY SEGMENT: Tamima is Vicky's new "enforcer." AJ is actually the most entertaining "diva" in the WWE in a long time. Why? She doesn't wrestle.

BIG SHOW vs. SHEAMUS: Boring until the end when there were some near-falls and a ref bump. Sheamus sucks. On RAW they even gave him the "What?" treatment. *1/2

TEAM FOLEY (RANDY ORTON & KOFI KINGSTON & THE MIZ & DANIEL BRYAN & KANE vs. TEAM ZIGGLER (DOLPH ZIGGLER & ALBERTO DEL RIO & DAMIEN SANDOW & DAVID OTUNGA & WADE BARRETT): So the day after Hell in a Cell they set up a Team Foley vs. Team CM Punk match for this show but a week later changed it and now we had this pointless dreck. The WWE needs new writers and fast. *1/2

RYBACK vs. CM PUNK vs. JOHN CENA: The plan for the past few months has been for The Rock to fight CM Punk at the Royal Rumble for the title. This plan would not make sense if CM Punk wasn't the champ. So the WWE does the worst thing ever and introduces an undefeated, new, fan-friendly star into the title hunt. Why? I'm not entirely sure. I guess to sell ppv's, although Cena vs. Punk would have done the job better. They probably didn't want Cena to lose again to Punk at Hell in a Cell...but he lost here, anyway, and Ryback was undefeated but has now lost in the main event at two straight ppv's. Logic? So now it's a matter of: how can WWE keep the title on CM Punk in the strangest ways possible? God forbid he win a match clean. Last month the ref was evil and during this match three NXT stars beat up Ryback and put him through the -guess- Spanish announce table (earlier, Punk & Cena teamed up to put Ryback through the regular announce table). This match had two table breaks but a poor ending (we already saw a NXT invasion). A very weak show. **

TNA TURNING POINT

Sunday, November 11th, 2012, from Orlando

SOMOA JOE vs. MAGNUS: I can't stand Magnus. He's so cookie cutter. * (out of ****)

ODB & ERIC YOUNG vs. TARA & JESSE: Another comedy fest. If you're a redneck maybe you loved this. Eric Young should be the TNA champ, though. *

RVD vs. JOEY RYAN: Really? The X-Division used to be incredible. *1/2

DOC vs. JOSEPH PARK: I miss Abyss. 1/2*

CHAVO GUERRERO & HERNANDEZ vs. CHRISTOPHER DANIELS & KAZARIAN: Hernandez landed on his head at a house show so he didn't do his top-rope, head-first dive in this match. **

JAMES STORM vs. BOBBY ROODE vs. AJ STYLES: Without blood and weapons, Roode and Storm are dull. **

KURT ANGLE vs. DEVON: Still waiting for a Bubba/Devon clusterfuck. *1/2

JEFF HARDY vs. AUSTIN ARIES "LADDER MATCH": Seriously sadistic. This was brutal. Hardy took a ton of sick falls in this one, landing like a marionette every time. The final was clever; Aries grabbed the controls that raised the titles higher so Hardy had to bring out a bigger ladder. Hardy gave Aries a twist of fate on a ladder on the top rope then won it. Great match. ***

WWE HELL IN A CELL

Sunday, October 28th, 2012 from Atlanta

RANDY ORTON vs. ALBERTO DEL RIO: Orton is apparently filming a movie but still on all the shows. This means that Orton is almost literally walking through the motions. Not good. *

DANIEL BRYAN & KANE vs. CODY RHODES & DAMIEN SANDOW: As much as I like the comedy of Bryan and Kane...I'd rather see Bryan in main event title matches. *1/2

THE MIZ vs. KOFI KINGSTON: Kofi will never be a head-liner no matter how exciting he is. The Miz was a head-liner. Go figure. *1/2

ANTONIO CESARO vs. JUSTIN GABRIEL: Cesaro is at least funny. Gabriel at least does the top-rope flip splash finisher. 1/2*

REY MYSTERIO & SIN CARA vs. THE PRIME TIME PLAYERS: Basic. *1/2

SHEAMUS vs. THE BIG SHOW: So The Big Show won the title clean. Really? He's so old and dull. **

EVE TORRES vs. KAITLYN vs. LAYLA: Boring. 1/2*

CM PUNK vs. RYBACK "HELL IN A CELL":  I wrote this last November: "This means that Punk had the title in July, Cena in August, Punk in August, Del Rio in August, Cena in September, Del Rio in October, now Punk in November. Way to make it special." Are they reading my blog? Punk has had the title for almost a year. Wow. This match was the best of the night but not really that good. I loved the finish, though. Ryback was ready to deliver his finisher when the ref low-blowed him and Punk rolled up Ryback to pin him and end his Goldberg-esque undefeated streak. At least it was something different...and Punk needs to keep the title so he can lose it to The Rock at The Royal Rumble. What I loved was that the guys climbed on top of the cell. When was the last time the frigging cell was actually used? Nice unique ending albeit on RAW they didn't even bring out the evil ref. **1/2

TNA BOUND FOR GLORY

Sunday, October 14th, 2012 from Phoenix

RVD vs. ZEMA ION (8:04): This is the "Wrestlemania" show...but was it really a big show? The main event had zero heat or build up besides a tournament that Hardy won. Roode and Storm have been feuding but they had already fought in a bigger, title match in the Spring. The big difference in this show was the crowd. A hot, loud Phoenix audience of 5,530 certainly helped. To open they had RVD win the X-Division title. He isn't even in the X-Division. It was mediocre with some good high flying moves. ** (out of ****)

SAMOA JOE vs. MAGNUS (9:15): The crowd chanted, "This is awesome!" during this match. It wasn't. They're both big guys so any move they deliver looks destructive. Good but nothing special. **

BOBBY ROODE vs. JAMES STORM (17:35): A bloody, cluster fuck, ECW-esque match that was by far the match of the night. Who knew these two would ever be in a good match? First off, the original plan seemed to be Roode keeping the title until this show and headlining against Storm. Instead they were in a match early for no title. I hate these two. They're boring. This match was sick, though, and super engrossing. They used trash cans, thumbtacks, canes, beer bottles, and went through a table. Storm wore a crimson mask. Epic and awesome. ***1/2

JOEY RYAN vs. AL SNOW (8:32): I was hoping this feud would get Tazz out of retirement but no, Al Snow and head came out of retirement. The crowd chanted, "We want head!" Matt Morgan showed up to help Ryan win and get a TNA contract. *

CHAVO GUERRERO & HERNANDEZ vs. KURT ANGLE & AJ STYLES vs. KAZARIAN & CHRISTOPHER DANIELS (15:39): Chavo sucks, okay? And this was a good match but he just does not fit into this dynamic. Angle was awesome, Kazarian landed hard on his shoulder from the top rope to the floor, Hernandez lept over the top rope. A lot of excitement when Chavo wasn't in it. **1/2

TARA vs. MISS TESSMACHER (6:21): Well the ref was hot. Tara brought out her special, Hollywood boyfriend post-match and it was some guy from Big Brother and the crowd chanted, "Who are you?" Funny. *

ACES & EIGHTS vs. BULLY RAY & STING (10:51): D-Von was unmasked as the leader of Aces & Eights. The original plan was Bischoff. Bully Ray came out with Sting makeup. Hogan came out and did all his moves. Bully Ray went through a table. This storyline sucks but I do like D-Von as the bad guy because I see some bloody Dudley battles in the future. *1/2

JEFF HARDY vs. AUSTIN ARIES (23:03): Long and surprisingly void of excitement. This is TNA's "Wrestlemania," right? Where are the big Swanton Bombs off stages? Hardy is too old and Aries has been a dull champ. The final flurry was good when the 2.5 counts were flowing but overall it wasn't that good. **

WWE NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS

Sunday, September 16th, 2012 from Boston

SIN CARA vs. REY MYSTERIO vs. THE MIZ vs. CODY RHODES: This, surprisingly, was a pretty good show. I think one reason is that there was mostly wrestling without a lot of bullshit, although the ending of the night was pretty lame. I also was half asleep so maybe that's why I enjoyed it (wide awake and paying close attention to anything WWE related means you spot the badness). Apparently, The Miz and Sin Cara had a match on Smackdown that was so bad it had to be heavily edited...but this match was good. I like four ways because there's usually never a dull moment. **1/2 (out of ****)

KANE & DANIEL BRYAN vs. KOFI KINGSTON & R. TRUTH: I like that Kane and D-Bryan are in anger management class and sort of like Laurel & Hardy or some sort of comedy duo these days. It's funny...and when was the last time Kane was a part of anything entertaining? Well this duo won the tag titles. **

ANTONIO CESARO vs. ZACK RYDER: Yeah...Cesaro is from Switzerland and a former rugby player. He's TNA material. He did have a cool uppercut move, though. *1/2

RANDY ORTON vs. DOLPH ZIGGLER: Ziggler is more entertaining than Orton and even the crowd agreed by cheering him and booing Orton. An okay match...but for no title on a show about titles. **

LAYLA vs. EVE TORRES: Well the women have a storyline. Eve beat up the girl that was going to be in this match so Eve got the spot and...oh, did I mention that it's a bad storyline? 1/2*

SHEAMUS vs. ALBERTO DEL RIO: Another dull match with these two. *

CM PUNK vs. JOHN CENA: A good, almost great main event. I guess the WWE learned how to produce a classic by re-watching the last few Undertaker Wrestlemania matches; make the guys kick out of every finisher. And Cena also kicked out of a Rock Bottom and the finale had Cena running up to Punk on the top rope to suplex him off like Kurt Angle does. Cena pinned Punk and won...but the ref said that both of their shoulders were down so it was a draw. A long (27 minutes) match with a lame finish. The crowd did chant, "This is awesome!" so I'm assuming they got their money's worth. ***

TNA NO SURRENDER

Sunday, September 9th, 2012 from Orlando

JEFF HARDY vs. SOMOA JOE: Um...why did these two wrestle Thursday just to wrestle again tonight? It was good but nothing spectacular. Sadly, both guys haven't been in a great match in awhile. **

BULLY RAY vs. JAMES STORM: Well...Bully is only good if tables, barbed wire, fire, or something destructive is in the ring. Storm is just dull. This was boring but at least the big Storm ain't getting the title. *

MISS TESSMACHER vs. TARA: Not good. *

AUSTIN ARIES vs. THE ARM BREAKER: Yes, the champ of the company wrestled a masked man with no name in a match with no ref or ending. 1/2*

ZEMA ION vs. SONJAY DUTT: Dutt is a good, entertaining wrestler. Zema is getting there. It was typical. **

RVD vs. MAGNUS: Eh. *1/2

CHRISTOPHER DANIELS & KAZARIAN vs. AJ STYLES & KURT ANGLE: Angle is hurt, but honestly you couldn't tell. It wasn't as good as their match of the year in June but it was the best of the night. **1/2

JEFF HARDY vs. BULLY RAY: Unwatchable. Hardy was hurt by the Aces & Eights during the Aries/Arm Breaker match that had the locker room come out and fight the bad, masked dudes. So Hardy was hurt, didn't do anything, then at the end miraculously won. Um...I'd rather see an epic, hardcore classic. 1/2*

WWE SUMMERSLAM

Sunday, August 19th, 2012 from Los Angeles

DOLPH ZIGGLER vs. CHRIS JERICHO (13:05): TNA must be really good this year, right? Because this show was perhaps 2012's worst ppv of the year. First off, this opener was for nothing. But on RAW they fought with big stipulations; Jericho loses and he's fired, Ziggler loses and he forfeits his MITB contract. I understand you want to get ratings for a 3 hour RAW (they're 3 hours now for no good reason...perhaps they want to slowly die off like WCW) but Summerslam is supposed to be the 2nd biggest show of the year. And this match was the best on the show and not all that good. ** (out of ****)

KANE vs. DANIEL BRYAN (8:02): At least Bryan won. Why is Kane still wrestling? 1/2*

THE MIZ vs. REY MYSTERIO (9:09): Really? Really? Still pushing The Miz? *

SHEAMUS vs. ALBERTO DEL RIO (11:22): Del Rio will never be in a good match. Just realize that already and get rid of him. 1/2*

R. TRUTH & KOFI KINGSTON vs. PRIME TIME PLAYERS (7:07): I just love the tag title division. There's, like, one team in it now. *

CM PUNK vs. BIG SHOW vs. JOHN CENA (12:34): Funny...but they did the same thing in this match that TNA did last week. Punk and Cena both put on submission holds on Show and two refs rang the bell but AJ came out to restart it. Punk has been the champ since last November. Wow. This match was dull. First off; Kane and The Big Show suck and have always sucked. I think Shane O'Mac was the only one ever to get a good match out of them. & he quit the company. *1/2

BROCK LESNAR vs. HHH (18:45): So...Cena had a great, messy, bizarre match against Lesnar in April. You'd think HHH would put on a better one, right? You would be wrong. This was 19 boring minutes. & it was obvious Lesnar wouldn't lose both of his WWE matches this year, right? So HHH taps out and loses. What a downbeat way to end a show. I'm falling asleep. 1/2*

TNA HARDCORE JUSTICE

Sunday, August 12th, 2012 from Orlando

CHAVO GUERRERO JR. & HERNANDEZ vs. KID KASH & GUNNER: Mediocre opener, although it's funny how Chavo is doing all these entertaining moves like a moonsault. Where was that Chavo in WWE? *1/2

ROB VAN DAM VS. POPE D'ANGELO DINERO vs. MR. ANDERSON vs. MAGNUS "FALLS COUNT ANYWHERE": The Pope got ambushed by Aces and Eights, the new, masked group of thugs...so The Pope wasn't in this match. The funny part was when Magnus couldn't find a chair and yelled, "Where's a fucking chair?" for everyone to hear. This probably should have been called a Chairs Match. **

DEVON vs. KAZARIAN: Not bad. These guys were doing some vicious moves. **1/2

 MISS TESSMACHER vs. MADISON RAYNE: Rayne is "in love" with ref Earl Hebner so he let her win the title. Eh. *

BULLY RAY vs. JAMES STORM vs. JEFF HARDY vs. ROBBIE E "TABLES MATCH": Aces and Eights showed up but didn't do anything. Bully put Hardy through a table to win. Robbie E went through a table by himself. **

ZEMA ION vs. KENNY KING: This show had a good card but didn't turn out that good. This match, obviously, wasn't going to be good no matter what. 1/2*


A.J. STYLES vs. KURT ANGLE vs. SAMOA JOE vs. CHRISTOPHER DANIELS "LADDER MATCH": I guess because these guys are veterans and not stupid...but nobody did any death defying leaps off the ladder. It was good but nothing special. **1/2

AUSTIN ARIES vs. BOBBY ROODE: The worst thing about TNA this year was the fact that Roode has been in every ppv main event. He lost this match and thus has no re-match. Good. They did a neat bit where both guys pinned each other and the match had to re-start...but Roode is a bore and this was dull. *

WWE MONEY IN THE BANK

Sunday, July 15th, 2012 from Phoenix

DOLPH ZIGGLER vs. DAMIEN SANDOW vs. SIN CARA vs. CHRISTIAN vs. CODY RHODES vs. TENSAI vs. TYSON KIDD vs. SANTINO MARELLA "LADDER MATCH": This has become my favorite WWE ppv. I mean, two ladder matches guarantees two good matches. The only other show that guarantees two good matches is the Elimination Chamber ppv. & I love Wrestlemania, sure, but I love ladder matches more. And even though I picked Ziggler and Cena to both win and they did, they were both good matches, this one being a zany clusterfuck of a match with missed spots and sick spots and a wild energy to it. The sickest spot had Tensai tossing Dolph over the announce table and onto the announcer's chair. The catch? Dolph flew through the air and landed upside down on the chair and bounced off. It was scary. Definitely one of the best WWE matches of the year. ***1/2

SHEAMUS vs. ALBERTO DEL RIO: Yawn. 1/2*

TITUS O'NEAL & DARREN YOUNG vs. PRIMO & EPICO: I read the paper while this was going on.

CM PUNK vs. DANIEL BRYAN: Good match. They used a chair, a table, and kendo sticks. AJ didn't really sway the match...so what was the point of her being the ref? Punk put Bryan through a table from the top rope to win. ***

RYBACK vs. CURT HAWKINS & TYLER REKS: More paper.

LAYLA & KAITLYN & TAMINA SNUKA vs. BETH PHOENIX & NATALYA & EVE TORRES: More paper. Really...the WWE can't put a good 3 hour show together? There were 3 matches that didn't even belong on RAW.

JOHN CENA vs. BIG SHOW vs. THE MIZ vs. KANE vs. CHRIS JERICHO "LADDER MATCH": Good not great, but it had some interesting stuff that made it stand out. Like Cena tossing Show through the announce table early. Kane being suplexed onto a ladder. Cena won, cashed in his briefcase on RAW to announce he'll face Punk at the 1,000 RAW on July 23rd. Everyone says this means a Punk heel turn. We'll see. But it looks like Summerslam will be Lesnar/HHH and Cena/Punk which ain't bad. ***

TNA DESTINATION X

Sunday, July 8th, 2012 from Orlando

RUBIX (JIGSAW) VS. MASON ANDREWS (SCORPIO SKY) VS. LARS ONLY (JOHNNY YUMA) VS. DAKOTA DARSOW: There were a lot of "stars" not on the show tonight; no Bully Ray, Mr. Anderson, Jeff Hardy, Abyss. This show felt like a CZW Best of the Best type of show...which isn't bad...but it would have helped if we knew who any of these guys were (they had them on only one Impact). This was wild but also a mess. **

KID KASH VS. MASON ANDREWS: Yes, Kid Kash is still wrestling. I saw him in ECW at the ECW Arena in, like, '99. He's still mediocre. *1/2

DOUGLAS WILLIAMS VS. KENNY KING: King jumped ship from ROH who fired him. He's got a dumb name and isn't all that exciting. *

SONJAY DUTT VS. RASHAD CAMERON: Dutt has a crazy finisher. He leaps off the top rope and does a flip and lands feet first on the opponent's chest. Sick! I also saw him at the ECW Arena at CZW's Cage of Death X. I guess that says something about TNA's star power. **1/2

ZEMA ION VS. FLIP CASANOVA: Jesse Sorensen came out before this match to say that he will return, win the X-Division title and then the World title. Zema, if you forget, broke Sorensen's neck by accident. I like Zema. Go figure. **

KURT ANGLE VS. SAMOA JOE: Not good. Bad finish. Joe choked out Angle and the ref called it. Jeez, remember when these guys were in the main event burning the house down? It felt stale, bygone. **

A.J. STYLES VS. CHRISTOPHER DANIELS "LAST MAN STANDING MATCH": Great match that I missed most of thanks to an internet stream failing. The finish had AJ giving Daniels his face plant finish off the ramp through a table. ***

KENNY KING VS. ZEMA ION VS. SONJAY DUTT VS. MASON ANDREWS "ULTIMATE X MATCH": They haven't had a great Ultimate X match in a long time. I remember them always being stellar. Not sure what happened, but I guess the wrestlers haven't been as good. Dutt got hurt but came back out late to take a hard bump off the X in the center of the ring and Zema won. **1/2

BOBBY ROODE VS. AUSTIN ARIES: This, like every Roode match, was not good...but Aries won the title clean and that was shocking and awesome. It's nice to be surprised. **   

WWE NO WAY OUT

Sunday, June 17th, 2012 from East Rutherford, NJ

SHEAMUS vs. DOLPH ZIGGLER: Good opener. Randy Orton was suspended for using steroids and then Alberto Del Rio got a concussion so this left Dolph Ziggler to take the spot against Sheamus. Perhaps the best match of the show (and if you couldn't tell by that, the show was awful). **1/2 (out of ****)

SANTINO MARELLA vs. RICARDO RODRIGUEZ "TUXEDO MATCH": Yeah...a match where you have to rip off the other person's tuxedo. A leftover from the Russo era? 1/2*

CHRISTIAN vs. CODY RHODES: Kind of stale, although name a good match Cody has ever been in. Yeah. *1/2

PRIMO & EPICO vs. TYSON KIDD & JUSTIN GABRIEL vs. TITUS O'NEAL & DARREN YOUNG (THE PRIME TIME PLAYERS) VS. USOS: Who are these people? There was one good spot where one dude jumped off the top rope down onto seven people. But look at this card...most of it is worse than a RAW card. *1/2

LAYLA vs. BETH PHOENIX: Ugh. Women wrestling. 1/2*

HUNICO vs. SIN CARA: Really? On a ppv? 1/2*

C.M. PUNK vs. DANIEL BRYAN vs. KANE: Good, not great. Thank Kane. **1/2

RYBACK vs. ROB GRYMES & DAN DELANY: Goldberg! 1/2*

JOHN CENA vs. BIG SHOW "CAGE MATCH": So The Big Show beats the shit out of Cena. Then Brodus Clay shows up with a steel chair and won't let Show out. Then Kofi climbs the cage to prevent Show from escaping and then Ryder does the same. All of this interference helps Cena give Show the Attitude Adjustment and climb out to win. Thus Vince McMahon fires John Laurinaitis and then Cena tosses him threw the Spanish announce table. A good clusterfuck of an ending. **1/2



        

TNA SLAMMIVERSARY

Sunday, June 10th, 2012 from Arlington, Texas

AUSTIN ARIES vs. SOMOA JOE: A terrific match, albeit a little short. Fuck...Somoa Joe has been losing for decades, right? Remember when he was the TNA champ? ***

HERNANDEZ vs. KID KASH: Eh. Hernandez did a great over the top-rope leap down onto the floor and Kash, although Hernandez did look like he landed on his shoulder. I see a wheelchair in your future, big man. **

DEVON & GARETT BISCHOFF vs. ROBBIE E & ROBBIE T: Not good. 1/2*

MR. ANDERSON vs. JEFF HARDY vs. RVD: Good. And I guess it's a surprise that Mr. Kennedy won, although not surprising that he lost in the title match on Impact to Bobby Roode (the winner of this got a title shot). **1/2

JAMES STORM vs. CRIMSON: So Crimon's Goldberg-like winning streak ends. So what was the point of this winning streak? At least Goldberg won the title and the winning streak went somewhere. Crimson's winning streak was a year of beating B-stars. *

MISS TESSMACHER vs. GAIL KIM: So what does Tessmacher mean, anyway? Is it some sex joke like Ms. Hancock was? The women's division in TNA hasn't been the same since Awesome Kong left. *

JOSEPH PARK vs. BULLY RAY: Really? REALLY? What is this storyline, anyway? Park is supposed to be Abyss' brother but we all know he's Abyss without a mask. So Park rolls under the ring mid-match and Abyss comes out and choke slams Bully Ray then goes back under the ring and Park comes out. I know everyone on wrestling internet sites hates hardcore wrestling but that Abyss/Bully match earlier in the year with barbed wire was fucking awesome. **

A.J. STYLES & KURT ANGLE vs. KAZARIAN & CHRISTOPHER DANIELS: The best TNA match in a LONG time. The final few minutes were a crazy flurry of activity and it was wild and entertaining and fun. Great match. ***1/2

STING vs. BOBBY ROODE: Please, Sting: stop wrestling. Also, Bobby Roode stop wrestling. 1/2*

WWE OVER THE LIMIT

From Raleigh, NC



BATTLE ROYALE (CHRISTIAN): The winner of this un-announced match got to face either the U.S. Title holder or the IC title holder. Christian obviously won. It was typical. **

R. TRUTH & KOFI KINGSTON vs. DOLPH ZIGGLER & JACK SWAGGER: Didn't even realize the WWE still had a Tag Team division. I will say that for some strange reason the commentary tonight by Cole, Booker, and King was hilarious, bizarre, and entertaining. *1/2

LAYLA vs. BETH PHOENIX: Sloppy. Awful. -No Stars-

SHEAMUS vs. RANDY ORTON vs. CHRIS JERICHO vs. ALBERTO DEL RIO: The match of the night. Seriously. The final five to ten minutes was a wild frenzy. Good stuff. ***

BRODUS CLAY vs. THE MIZ: The Miz was in the battle royale. Yep, him and Christian wrestled twice tonight. The Miz did dance The Thriller pre-match. That was interesting (sadly, they couldn't afford to use the music). *

CODY RHODES vs. CHRISTIAN: Very dull. 1/2*

C.M. PUNK vs. DANIEL BRYAN: Good, not great. Really looked like a ROH match. Long, holds, back and forth. A crap WWE finish, though; Punk was in the Yes Lock but rolled over to pin Bryan and then Punk tapped. So kind of a lame ending but a good match. **1/2

RYBACK vs. CAMACHO: More "Goldberg!" chants. 1/2*

JOHN LAURANAITIS vs. JOHN CENA: Cena beat up Big Johnny, sprayed him with a fire extinguisher, doused him with water. Big Show came out and KO'd Cena. This was unGodly awful. -No Stars-

TNA SACRIFICE

Sunday, May 13th, 2012 from Orlando

CHRISTOPHER DANIELS & KAZARIAN vs. SOMOA JOE & MAGNUS: I missed this match...but we have new tag teams! Does anyone care? Where are the Motor City Machine Guns, anyway?

GAIL KIM vs. BROOKE TESSMACHER: I missed this match, too. Lazy.

DEVON vs. ROBBIE E. & ROBBIE T.: Kind of still mad they split up the Dudley Boyz. Not because I like them but because now we have to sit through Devon matches. * (out of ****)

MR. ANDERSON vs. JEFF HARDY: The finish was super awkward. Anderson rolled up Hardy for a quick pin that might have been a 2 and a 1/2 count. After the pin, Anderson spoke to the ref and stood in the ring looking like a mistake just occurred. Either way, it wasn't that great. *1/2

CRIMSON vs. ERIC YOUNG: Eric Young might be TNA's most entertaining wrestler...but even he couldn't make a Crimson match watchable. *

AUSTIN ARIES vs. BULLY RAY: This was the match of the night. Austin Aries is phenomenal. Funny, a high-flyer, sarcastic, semi-evil, and all around fun to watch. His entrance proclaims him to be "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived." He even had a good match with Bully Ray. **1/2

KURT ANGLE vs. A.J. STYLES: Eh. It was twenty-minutes, so-so. **

RVD vs. BOBBY ROODE "LADDER MATCH":  No big spots but at least it was semi-entertaining. RVD is lucky he's still alive as he got destroyed. He did a Five Star Frog Splash off the top rope and Roode moved and RVD landed on his knees onto a ladder. He lept onto a ladder and got his foot stuck in an awkward maneuver that left him dangling. The finish had him kicked off the ladder where his head landed onto a chair. Roode is officially now the longest reigning TNA champ. **

WWE EXTREME RULES

From Rosemont, Illinois

KANE vs. RANDY ORTON "FALLS COUNT ANYWHERE": This was, shockingly, the best match Kane has been in for years. And it wasn't even that good! They brawled all over the building...so I guess the secret to having a good Kane match is to not let him actually wrestle. **1/2 (out of ****)  

BRODUS CLAY vs. DOLPH ZIGGLER: Short. Mediocre. 1/2*

BIG SHOW vs. CODY RHODES "TABLES MATCH": The Big Show was kicked by Cody Rhodes and fell off the apron and stepped through a table, thus he lost the IC Title. Groan. Then he put Cody through two tables and the last time it was a patented Mike Awesome-over-the-top-rope toss. Nice. *1/2  

SHEAMUS vs. DANIEL BRYAN "2 OUT OF 3 FALLS": Great match. I guess now it makes the WWE look bad for only giving their best wrestler 18 seconds at 'Mania. The first fall was a DQ because Bryan was kicking Sheamus too much. The second fall was because Sheamus passed out. The last fall had a Brogue Kick and Bryan lost. It was long but one of the year's best. ***1/2

AARON RELIC & JAY HATTON vs. RYBACK: Yawn. The crowd chanted, "Goldberg!" because Ryback is...oh, who cares? -No Stars-

 CHRIS JERICHO vs. CM PUNK "CHICAGO STREET FIGHT": A little awkward and slow early but it picked up at the end with a ton of gimmicks. Punk used a fire extinguisher and lept off the top rope and onto Jericho and the Spanish announce table. Punk's sister was ringside and slapped Jericho. Chairs and canes were used. These two just don't mesh well but it had enough craziness to work. & my god the crowd was awesome tonight. ***

NICKI BELLA vs. LAYLA: Boring filler. When's Kharma coming back? -No Stars-

BROCK LESNAR vs. JOHN CENA "EXTREME RULES MATCH": Wow...a good main event. & they cheered Cena. & he pinned Lesnar...then said he was taking a vacation. First off, Brock looked like he really hurt Cena. Both guys bled and both were practically falling all over each other and out of the ring at one point or another. Cena gave the FU to Brock onto the steel ring steps in the ring and won. Two refs were knocked out and a medic tended to Cena's head wound during the match. A total cluster fuck and dull early but it was insanely watchable. This was a really good show. ***

TNA LOCKDOWN

From Nashville

GARETT BISCHOFF & RVD & MR. ANDERSON & A.J. STYLES & AUSTIN ARIES vs. ERIC BISCHOFF & GUNNER & KAZARIAN & CHRISTOPHER DANIELS & BULLY RAY "LETHAL LOCKDOWN": At least the crowd, which Wrestling Observer writer Bryan Alvarez dubbed "the morgue," got into the countdown to each wrestler during this match (every three minutes a new guy came in). This match didn't go anywhere, though, and the tables and ladders atop the cage weren't even used. It was a lot better than most of this show, though, and watching Eric beat up his son with a kendo stick was humorous in a bad, Vince Russo way. **1/2

SAMOA JOE & MAGNUS vs. THE MOTOR CITY MACHINE GUNS: Missed most of this. The beginning was so so.

GAIL KIM vs. VELVET SKY: Missed most of this. Gail Kim is just not exciting without Kong.

HOGAN & FLAIR: Perhaps the second best moment of the night. Flair did his usual schtick; telling the crowd to shut up, asked a fan how his wife can do it with him because he's so fat, told a girl to ride Space Mountain, and then falling on his face for no reason. Hogan came out and punched him. So I guess it's Flair vs. Hogan this year? Wheel chair match? Social Security check on a pole match?

CRIMSON vs. MATT MORGAN: Wow. This was so boring! Even the ending was boring. Crimson, still undefeated, climbed out of the cage to win. -No Stars-

KURT ANGLE vs. JEFF HARDY: A great match. Angle put Hardy on his shoulders and delivered a top rope Olympic slam. Hardy did two Swanton Bombs off the top rope and then did one off the top of the cage. Say goodbye to your ribs, Angle. Sensational. & the morgue woke up for that spot. ***

ERIC YOUNG & ODB vs. ROSITA & SARITA: I wasn't really paying attention to this...but Tazz' commentary was slightly funny.

JAMES STORM vs. BOBBY ROODE: Mediocre. The best part? Storm's hot wife at ringside. It kind of turned into a glass cage match at the end when Roode broke a bottle over Storm's head. I'm reaching. Storm bled...and lost. Storm super kicked Roode and Roode fell out of the cage and thus won. Storm was drunk...so I guess him being an idiot is logical. It was as good as it probably could have been. **

WRESTLEMANIA XXVIII

From Sun Life Stadium in Miami

DANIEL BRYAN vs. SHEAMUS: Dave Meltzer wrote this early Sunday: "Daniel Bryan's first real WrestleMania match, so he hopefully gets the time to have a great one." He got 18 seconds. Yep. I didn't even see this, as I started watching at around 7:11 PM. First off, Daniel Bryan is one of the WWE's best in-ring wrestlers. That he was pushed at all and given the title was probably enough of a surprise...but for them to not even let him showcase his skills on the big stage is a travesty. Either one of them was legit hurt or the WWE wanted an early surprise...who knows? This just put a sour taste in every wrestling fans mouth. The worst decision ever.

KANE vs. RANDY ORTON: Ugh. Orton is the WWE's second biggest star, right? So why is he losing to Kane? This was dull. 1/2* (out of ****)

CODY RHODES vs. THE BIG SHOW: Very boring. Although Rhodes is at least good on the mic. It's something. 1/2*

BETH PHOENIX & EVE TORRES vs. MARIA MENOUNOS & KELLY KELLY: Menounos is an announcer for Extra, some entertainment show. And apparently she wrestled with two broken ribs. Hardcore! It was mediocre. *

THE UNDERTAKER vs. HHH "HELL IN A CELL": For about ten of the 30+ minutes this was the greatest match of all time...but the finish sucked and the Cell wasn't really used and HBK Super Kicking 'Taker mid-match made no sense. I did like this more than last year's...but they did fall into the usual schtick of just letting them kick out of each other's finishers and thinking that we'd actually believe HHH had a chance of winning. The ending was bad because the last few minutes had all the drama sucked out of it. HHH was dead, lifeless, and 'Taker pinned him. The back and forth was what was exciting...why not have a pin amidst that? Still...it was a good match and the best of the night. ***

TEAM JOHNNY (MARK HENRY & THE MIZ & JACK SWAGGER & ZACK RYDER & DREW MCINTYRE & DAVID OTUNGA) vs. TEAM TEDDY (ZACK RYDER & GREAT KHALI & SANTINO MARELLA & KOFI KINGSTON & R-TRUTH & BOOKER T.): The ending was good when Zack Ryder was on fire. His psuedo-girlfriend turned on him and Team Teddy lost and The Miz got the pin. This means that Lauranitis gets to be the GM of Smackdown and RAW. Teddy? Send TNA your resume. **

CM PUNK vs. CHRIS JERICHO: I was looking forward to this...but it was slow, awkward, and didn't get exciting and fast until the end. The crowd was also dead for most of it. Punk just has not been in a great match in forever. Maybe he isn't the best wrestler in the world? Jericho tapped out to the Anaconda Vice after a back-and-forth of submission holds. **

THE ROCK vs. JOHN CENA: A good match with a stellar finish. Nice. The crowd was of course the highlight. Every finishing move delivered made the fans reach an orgiastic frenzy. & it's Wrestlemania...so they both kicked out of everything until Cena attempted The People's Elbow but The Rock lept up and gave him The Rock Bottom and won. This not only made Cena the loser but made him look like a jackass. I thought they didn't want to do that? A great finish. ***

TNA VICTORY ROAD

Sunday, March 18th, 2012, from Orlando

JAMES STORM vs. BULLY RAY: This was a minute long match. Not sure the point...but Storm had to be on the show since he is main-eventing next month's Lockdown ppv. ** (out of ****)

AUSTIN ARIES vs. ZEMA ION: Aries grabbed a phone and tweeted mid-match. That was probably the highlight. Yes...THAT was the highlight. Ion also did the same move that broke Sorenson's neck. Is he allowed to still do that? **

SAMOA JOE & MAGNUS vs. MATT MORGAN & CRIMSON: So Crimson turned on Morgan. Nobody cared. 1/2*

ROBBIE E vs. DEVON: Devon won the TV title...a belt I didn't even know TNA had. They shouldn't have split up The Dudley Boys simply because now we have to watch them in two matches instead of one. *

GAIL KIM vs. MADISON RAYNE: Ugh. Women's wrestling. 1/2*

AJ STYLES & MR. ANDERSON vs. KAZARIAN & CHRISTOPHER DANIELS: Kind of a typical TV match. AJ is too good for this. **

JEFF HARDY vs. KURT ANGLE: Not as good as you would expect. Angle held the ropes to win. These guys are sadly past their prime. Still...probably the best match on the show. **1/2

STING vs. BOBBY ROODE: Not slow but not particular good. The big problem was that the Lockdown ppv next month already has Roode vs. Storm so what's the chance of Sting winning? Sting did his finisher Death Drop move but hit the back of his head on a chair by accident in a spot that looked real. If it wasn't real it was an awful way to end it because Roode pinned him after it. After this Roode taped Sting's wrists to the ropes and was going to hit him with a chair but Dixie pleaded for him to stop. This was another bad show for TNA. *1/2

WWE ELIMINATION CHAMBER

From Milwaukee

C.M. PUNK VS. CHRIS JERICHO VS. THE MIZ VS. R-TRUTH VS. KOFI KINGSTON VS. DOLPH ZIGGLER ELIMINATION CHAMBER MATCH: Good opener with a weird, anti-climatic finish. Jericho ended up being kicked in the head by Punk and falling out of the chamber (the door was open because Jericho threw the eliminated Kofi Kingston out). Jericho was knocked out and couldn't continue. So Punk ended up beating The Miz to win. I guess this sets up a Jericho/Punk 'Mania title match. **1/2 (out of ****)

BETH PHOENIX VS. TAMINA SNUKA: I didn't pay much attention to this. Honestly? Get rid of this awful Divas division for good. *

DANIEL BRYAN VS. GREAT KHALI VS. BIG SHOW VS. WADE BARRETT VS. CODY RHODES VS. SANTINO MARELLA ELIMINATION CHAMBER MATCH: It started slow with The Big Show and Barrett but it got very good in the middle and the ending, with Santino and Bryan left, was great, high drama. The crowd loves Santino...so would it kill the WWE to give him a big win for once? There were some cool spots in this one, although The Great Khali, who lasted like thirty seconds, was awful. The Big Show ripped off the chains at the top of Bryan's pod and climbed down into it and beat him up before Bryan was technically even entered in the match. & The Big Show threw Bryan through the plastic pod door that broke open. For the second straight year the Smackdown Chamber match was better than the RAW one. Sheamus came out post-match and slammed Bryan. This sets up a 'Mania match nobody wants to see. ***

JACK SWAGGER VS. JUSTIN GABRIEL: Filler. & awful. John Laurenitis came out with Christian, Alberto Del Rio, and Mark Henry to wage a war against Teddy Long earlier in the show...which means there was a lot of filler crap in this show. I say just have two, one-hour Chamber matches and call it a night. 1/2*

JOHN CENA VS. KANE AMBULANCE MATCH: This should not have been the main event, as both Eve and Zack Ryder were missing (that, and any semblance of excitement). Cena won. Kane pretty much got destroyed and looked pathetic, although he did choke slam Cena through the Spanish announce table. Cena did his finisher off the top of the ambulance and Kane fell off somewhere, presumable onto a cushioned mat, but we couldn't see the landing. **

TNA AGAINST ALL ODDS

Sunday, February 12th, 2012, from Orlando

ZEMA ION VS. JESSE SORENSEN: Zima Ion did a moonsault off the top rope and onto Sorensen outside on the floor. Ion's knee hit Sorensen's head and he had to go to the hospital. The match just ended. Apparently, Sorensen suffered a C1 vertebrae fracture with spinal cord edema. Scary shit. They say he's slowly regaining the feeling back in his arms and legs. Not sure if Sorensen was supposed to put his hands up or if it was just a freak accident. He's a good, new wrestler. Wish him all the best. Not a good way to start a show.

ROBBIE E VS. SHANNON MOORE: Yeah...Shannon Moore is a bore. & Robbie E is funny and a semi-good worker. This was pretty uneventful. *

GAIL KIM VS. TARA: Well Kim isn't as good as she used to be. Or maybe Awesome Kong was that damn good. This was pretty lame. *

MATT MORGAN & CRIMSON VS. SAMOA JOE & MAGNUS: These four have fought a bunch of times lately...even at last month's ppv. The only difference was that Joe and Magnus won. *1/2

AUSTIN ARIES VS. ALEX SHELLEY: The match of the night! This dead, Orlando Impact Zone crowd, actually shouted, "This is awesome!" So maybe you can't blame the crowd when it's the show that sucks. **1/2

A.J. STYLES VS. KAZARIAN: Too long. & just okay. *1/2

GUNNER VS. GARETT BISCHOFF: A disaster. Eric Bischoff's son is, more or less, David Flair. That about sums it up. 1/2*

BOBBY ROODE VS. JEFF HARDY VS. BULLY RAY VS. JAMES STORM: This just was not good at all. Bully Ray had Jeff pinned but the ref was injured. Then Sting inadvertently hit Jeff with the belt and had to watch and count the pin for Bobby Roode. First off, Storm is fat and dull. Hardy is a shell of his former self. Roode is fairly pedestrain. Bully Ray is a good talker but a boring wrestler without weapons. So this probably was as good as it could've been. *

WWE ROYAL RUMBLE

Sunday, January 29th, 2012, from St. Louis

DANIEL BRYAN vs. MARK HENRY vs. THE BIG SHOW "CAGE MATCH": When they announced this as a cage match I knew that Bryan would win. Why? Because God forbid Bryan actually pin one of these guys. So he won by falling to the floor from the top. It was short and slow and awful. 1/2*

BETH PHOENIX, NATALYA & THE BELLA TWINS vs. EVE, KELLY KELLY, ALICIA FOX & TAMINA: Kharma showed up in the Rumble. So there are watchable women wrestlers...just not in this match. *

KANE vs. JOHN CENA: A double count out means this feud will continue. I don't want to see a re-match? Do you? After the count out, Kane went backstage and dragged Zack Ryder to the ring and gave him the Tombstone Piledriver. It was better than the cage match. That isn't really saying much. *

DREW MCYNTIRE vs. BRODUS CLAY: Clay is an obese wrestler that dances. Yeah. & this was a squash. On a $55 ppv. Really? -No Stars-

CM PUNK vs. DOLPH ZIGGLER: John Laurenitis decided to let another, regular ref call the match. It was slow until the finish that had Punk beating Dolph four times while the ref was hurt outside the ring and John was tending to him. Both the ref and John L. did the final pin and Punk won. It was mediocre. **

THE ROYAL RUMBLE (SHEAMUS): This was more of a comedy show than anything. We had Mick Foley and Socko verse Santino and his Cobra. We had all three announcers enter. The big surprises were Road Dogg and 'Hacksaw' Jim Duggan...but Sheamus beating Jericho at the end was shocking. A so-so Rumble. Entertaining in spots but not very memorable. **

TNA GENESIS

Sunday, January 9th, 2012, from Orlando

AUSTIN ARIES VS. JESSE SORENSEN VS. KID KASH VS. ZEMA ION: Good opener, although the X-Division has seemed pretty depleted lately (I saw Jay Lethal wrestle in ROH last Friday night). **

POPE VS. DEVON: Pretty much unwatchable dreck. This storyline has Devon's kids involved. Who cares? 1/2*

GUNNER VS. ROB VAN DAM: RVD is old and slow and lost. Mostly sad. *1/2

GAIL KIM VS. MICKIE JAMES: I missed this match (not on purpose, I swear).

ABYSS VS. BULLY RAY: A match with barbed wire. Hooray! So I love this stuff and most hate it...but it had thumbtacks and barbed wire boards and was slow but sick and I thought it was the match of the night. **1/2

MATT MORGAN & CRIMSON VS. SAMOA JOE & MAGNUS: So TNA had this tournament for the tag titles and the tag team champs won anyway proving the entire tournament pointless. And we continue on with the slow demise of the once top star, Somoa Joe. *

KURT ANGLE VS. JAMES STORM: An okay match. Storm is out of shape and a terrible wrestler. *1/2

BOBBY ROODE VS. JEFF HARDY: Roode kicked Hardy in the balls to lose by DQ but keep the title. Not a good finish to a show you're charging money for. And yet TNA did this last month, too. Have they officially given up? 1/2*

Best Show of 2011: WWE MONEY IN THE BANK

This show might be the best wrestling ppv ever. That's saying something considering everyone seems to think wrestling is in a lull. Even the WWE had a mediocre year, but this show was a great culmination of a terrific storyline and it also just happened to feature four really good matches. The Smackdown ladder match was one of the year's best. It featured Sin Cara being power bombed through a ladder and Daniel Bryan winning. The Raw ladder match was sloppy but entertaining and the Orton vs. Christian match was another good match in their string of good matches. There were two lousy matches on the show but the epic main event made up for it. CM Punk spent the end of June and half of July saying that he would beat Cena at this show for the title and leave the company because his contract was ending. In his hometown, amidst a raucous crowd, he did just that. It was a show full of high intensity with a stellar payoff. A show for the ages.

Best Wrestler of 2011: CM PUNK

There was really only one great match that CM Punk was in this year (his match against John Cena at July's Money in the Bank ppv), but he was the most entertaining, the best on the mic, the most interesting, the funniest, the freshest, and by the far the best thing about the WWE this year. It almost doesn't matter that his list of great matches was so small this year. When he finally got the go-ahead and went full bore with his anti-WWE campaign and told everyone that he was leaving the WWE with the title in July it made RAW the most intriguing it's been in a long time. The build up for MITB was epic and the match against Cena for the title and the crowd and the atmosphere at the show were legendary. CM Punk became a star and a good guy and it was awesome to see it unfold. His mic work on RAW was electric all year and when his music hit you got interested regardless. It was nice seeing a small guy from Ring of Honor finally ascend to the elite level and show us that he belonged there all along.

Best Match of 2011: EDGE vs. REY MYSTERIO vs. THE BIG SHOW vs. DREW MCINTYRE vs. WADE BARRET vs. KANE WWE Elimination Chamber

Surprisingly enough, 2011's best match featured three of the dullest wrestlers of the year; Barrett, Big Show, and Kane. But it did feature Mysterio and Edge, two of the year's best wrestlers. And it certainly helped that Drew Mcintyre acted like the match was real with his oh-so brutal treatment of everyone (a gruesome high light was when he launched Mysterio head first into one of the plastic doors). The end had Edge and Mysterio left and kicking out of each others finishers in a high-intensity flurry. Post-match, Alberto Del Rio ran out to beat up Edge and Christian ran out to beat up Del Rio. This truly had it all. It was epic and awesome and a masterpiece.