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. **