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WWE Smackdown Results: 11-20-09

Results courtesy of PWTorch.com (direct link to Park's complete report). Condensed here to in-ring results only.

1- BATISTA vs. MATT HARDY

I really didn’t need to see this re-match. Batista went to the outside right off the bat, where he pulled Matt. Hardy got the best of him there too, but Batista got him coming back into the ring. Batista threw Hardy face-first into the middle turnbuckle to take control, then slammed him to the mat for two. Batista worked the lower back of Hardy and worked a chin-lock about 1:20 into the match. Pretty early for that, leading me to believe this’ll be a relatively short match. Jaw-breaker got Hardy out of a bad situation. Elbow to the back of the head off the second rope by Hardy. Twist of Fate was shrugged off and Hardy got out of a Batista Bomb. DDT followed it up for two. Rake of the face by Batista, who elbowed out of a Side Effect. Chop block took Hardy to the mat. Hardy with a drop-toe hold into the second buckle, but Batista dropped him face-first in the corner. Spinebuster shook the ring. And another. One more for the road. He seemed to have a minor bloodied lip. Batista Bomb finally sent Hardy packing.

WINNER: Batista, at 4:25. They really protected Hardy here, more than I thought they would.

2- DREW MCINTYRE vs. FINLAY

Double-leg takedown by Finlay started the match. McIntyre got away and fled to the outside, but did not find safety out there. Finlay chased him down and the two continued to brawl in the ring. Finlay kicked away at McIntyre in the corner as the ref struggled to separate them. Finlay had a handful of hair as the ref got him back. McIntyre went after Finlay’s eye with a right hand behind the ref’s back. As he tried to recover, McIntyre hit a swank version of his double-arm DDT for the win.

WINNER: McIntyre, at 1:39. McIntyre won in short order, but from bell-to-bell, they didn’t give him much.

3- JOHN MORRISON vs. DOLPH ZIGGLER- TWO-OUT-OF-THREE FALLS FOR THE INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP

Ziggler went for a few quick covers, but got nothing out of it. Standing dropkick from Morrison in retaliation, then a flying heel kick. He got a two-count from that. Morrison dodged a boot and tripped Ziggler up. Starship Pain, but Dolph moved and Morrison landed on his feet. Morrison then did a springboard 450 over the top rope and onto Ziggler on the outside. He brought Ziggler back in, but Ziggler lifted his knees on the Starship Pain. Ziggler went to capitalize, but Morrison hooked him in an Inside Cradle for the first fall, at 2:13. Completely unbelievable that it would be that short. Anyway, they went to break before the second one could begin.

Back to the match, Ziggler got a two count during the second fall. Striker noted that Morrison’s ribs and back were being worked on throughout the break. Roll up by Morrison for two, then a Zig Zag from Ziggler for the second fall at 7:04. Once they got started for the third one, Ziggler kicked Morrison in the mouth for two. High elbowdrop in the ribs for two. Ziggler continued on offense and took Morrison off his shoulders and onto his knees as he fell back for a gut-buster. Ziggler intensified the pain quotient by twisting Morrison’s torso around the ring post. High X-Factor face-plant for a two-count by Ziggler. Morrison countered a suplex with a DDT. He then set up Starship Pain, and this time hit, and retained the title.

WINNER: Morrison, two falls to one, at 10:46. Really disappointing. Not the match itself, but how it was booked. Most of their one-fall matches (including last week’s) went longer than this. Where does Ziggler go from here?

4- MICKIE JAMES vs. LAYLA

Mickie sent some forearms into the kisser of Layla, then landed a Thesz Press. I hope Matt Striker brings out the chalkboard to explain the Survivor Series Elimination match possibilities. Dropkick by Layla while Mickie was on her knees. That got two, despite the pleas from Layla. Roll-up into a bridge by Mickie, nicely done, for the win.

WINNER: Mickie, at 1:10.

After the match, Layla got the mic. I’m glad they’ve given Layla some outfits to show off her body. She said that Mickie should look at the Titan-Tron before she starts partying. It was a rooster crowing. Michelle McCool, with a farm in the background, called Mickie “Piggie James.” She even sang “Old McDonald,” inserting Mickie as the pig. They even did the Looney Tunes ending with the “That’s all folks!” with Mickie’s face as a pig. You stay classy, WWE.

5- REY MYSTERIO vs. TYSON KIDD

Kidd tripped up Mysterio on the top and put a knee into the throat. Hard whip into the buckle by Kidd. Hard kick in the back and a cover got two. Still nothing from Batista. Rey kicked away at the head of Kidd, but Kidd landed a dropkick to Rey’s face for two. He missed a springboard elbowdrop though. After Kidd rolled through a hurricanrana, Rey kicked him in the face and got two on a pin attempt. Rey set Kidd up in the 619 position, but Kidd slipped out of the ring. Rey went to the top, but Batista shoved Kidd out of the way so Rey would have to jump on him. The ref called for the bell, which Striker disagreed with.

WINNER: Kidd by DQ, at 2:36. Good, high-energy match between the two. I’d like to see an extended contest between these two.

After the match, Rey jumped onto the announce table and then onto Batista, sitting down on him as he fell backward onto the chair he was sitting in. Batista tried to chase Rey around ringside, to no avail. Batista was left angered in the ring.

6- CHRIS JERICHO & BIG SHOW vs. THE UNDERTAKER & KANE

Taker and Kane came out at the same time. Kane didn’t vacillate at all when the bell rang, attacking Jericho at the outset. Taker then came in and wailed away at Jericho himself. Finally, Jericho grabbed the ropes on a whip and tagged in his bigger half. The two giants went toe-to-toe in the middle of the ring. Show missed a punch and Taker hit him with rights of his own. Taker put his boot up on a Show charge, then nailed him with a flying clothesline. Double-team clotheslined Show over the top. Jericho checked on him as they went to break about 2:30 in.

Taker clotheslined Jericho as he came out of the corner. The Dead Man planned to go Old School, and did so successfully. Double boot by the Brothers of Destruction and Kane’s pin got a two-count. Kane went for a chokeslam, but Big Show speared him. Show was the legal man at this point, and cornered Kane in the heel section of the ring. Jericho did some cheating behind the ref’s back to soften Kane up a little more for his tag partner. Kane fought back from his knees, but speaking of, Show kneed him right in the face. Jericho came in and applied the boots to Kane. Lionsault landed right on Kane’s knees. Both men went for tags- Jericho was successful, Kane not so much. Big Show struck Kane in the ribs with his massive fists, then set Kane on the top rope. He went to the middle rope, but Kane knocked him down. Kane, off the top, hit a not-so-good-looking clothesline. Show tagged Jericho and Taker tagged in as well. Snake Eyes in the corner on Jericho, followed by the running boot and legdrop. Only got two on the cover. Taker knocked Show off the apron, then he grabbed Jericho by the throat. Jericho turned it into a roll-up and tried a Walls of Jericho, but Taker caught him in the Hell’s Gate. Before he could tap, Show legdropped Taker. The match broke down at this point and all four men brawled on the outside. Show was thrown into the barricade and into the announce bay. We have a Lauren Mayhew sighting! I think it’s a count-out by now. They went to double-chokeslam him through the table, but Jericho broke it up. But he barely affected the faces, and they threw him into the ring. I guess we’re still going. Chokeslam by Kane, but Show pulled Kane out of the ring and decked him with a right. Taker grabbed him by the throat on the apron, then caught Jericho with a boot. Show came in the ring and chokeslammed Taker. Show stood tall in the ring, then got Jericho to his feet. Jericho gave him a Codebreaker and went to grab the World Heavyweight Title. He fled the ringside area as Grisham and Striker debated on whether or not Jericho knew he was giving the Codebreaker to Show. I still didn’t hear a bell, but I saw the ref counting Jericho out, so let’s say….

WINNERS: Taker & Kane, by count-out, at about 15:00. Interesting end of the match.

Jericho stood tall with the World Title on the top of the ramp as Show and Taker recovered in the ring. The show faded out at this point.

WWE Survivor Series PPV Results: 11-22-09

Results courtesy of PWTorch.com (direct link to Caldwell's ongoing report).

1 -- TEAM MIZ (U.S. champion THE MIZ & DOLPH ZIGGLER & JACK SWAGGER & vs. TEAM MORRISON & DREW MCINTYRE) vs. TEAM MORRISON (IC champion JOHN MORRISON & MATT HARDY & EVAN BOURNE & FINLAY & SHELTON BENJAMIN) -- Survivor Series match

The match started with Bourne and Swagger against each other to continue their mini-feud from Raw. Bourne played Jerry to Swagger's Tom early on, but the cat caught the mouse and nailed a vertical suplex before bringing in Ziggler. Striker tried to cover for the imminent "untraditional falls happening in the first minute" by saying wrestlers will try to get early falls to eliminate opponents. Meanwhile, Cole told the audience this is the future of WWE in the match. Heels continued to work over Bourne, who finally broke free and nailed a huracanrana on Ziggler for the first close nearfall of the night. Hardy and Bourne then hit double elbow smashes from the second rope on Ziggler. Hardy then tagged in Bourne, who went up top and nailed the Shooting Star Press on Ziggler for the pin. McIntyre then jumped right in and nailed a double arm DDT on Bourne for the pin. Finlay jumped right in to go after his heated rival. Sheamus then tagged in and had a big stare down with Finlay. Finlay was distracted for a second, allowing Sheamus to smash him with the big boot for a pin to score another elimination.

At 6:00, we had Ziggler, Bourne, and Finlay out of the match. Sheamus went to work on Hardy while the announcers discussed Sheamus and Lawler's brewing feud. Miz and Hardy, both wearing a lot of purple with their ring outfits, knocked each other down and Swagger tagged in to work over Hardy. Morrison then tagged in for the first time and went to work on Swagger. Morrison shoved Swagger into the corner, then nailed his flying chuck, but the heels broke up the pin attempt. Ref Armstrong was knocked down in the process, which caused some confusion and a new ref slipped into the ring in the background. Morrison then set up Swagger for the Starship Pin for the pin. Miz then came right in to go after Morrison, his former tag partner. Miz nailed his flying corner clothesline and played to the crowd before going up top for a double axehandle for a two count. Shelton then tagged in for Morrison from behind and nearly pinned Miz with a surprise attack. Shelton went nuts with a flying attack before executing a Northern Lights suplex on Miz for a two count. Shelton then busted out a German Suplex with a bridge for a two count. They cut to a shot of ref Scott Armstrong being checked on for a concussion ringside. Meanwhile, Miz nailed Shelton with the Skullcrushing Finale for a pin.

At 15:00, Hardy and Morrison were left against McIntyre, Miz, and Sheamus. McIntyre quickly went after Hardy to begin working him over. Hardy made a comeback with a neckbreaker and leg drop from the second rope, but McIntyre kicked out of a pin attempt. Announcers continued to talk up McMahon hand-picking McIntyre, who ducked a moonsault from Hardy and nailed his double-arm DDT for the pin. So, we're down to Morrison alone. Classic Survivor Series storyline progression with an upstart babyface facing tough odds. Morrison went to work on McIntyre, then Sheamus entered and pounded the crap out of Morrison. The heels then began a methodical attack on Morrison. You have a pale white guy from Ireland, a reasonably-tanned guy from Scotland, and a spray-tanned guy from Cleveland who lives in Los Angeles. That's a trio.

At 20:00, Morrison began a comeback on all three. He blasted Miz with a kick strike, then wanted a flying chuck on Sheamus, but Sheamus blocked with a kick strike in mid-air. Sheamus then followed with a running Razor's Edge on Morrison. Crowd sensed it was over, and Sheamus made the cover for the win. Sheamus and McIntyre stood tall with victory in hand while Miz played the classic American heel dragging himself to his feet in victory. Eliminations: Ziggler by Bourne at 3:58, Bourne by McIntyre at 4:12, Finlay by Sheamus at 5:14, Swagger by Morrison at 12:12, Shelton by Miz at 14:58, Hardy by McIntyre at 17:15, and Morrison by Sheamus at 20:55.

WINNERS: Team Miz (Miz, Sheamus, McIntyre) at 20:55. Slow match at times, but the overall emphasis on Miz's top heels was well-done. Sheamus continues to gain more and more exposure as a legit heel who could be a threat to John Cena or DX down the line. McIntyre had a nice showing as a future top heel on Smackdown. Fine opening match. (**1/2)

WWE Survivor Series PPV Results: 11-22-09

2 -- REY MYSTERIO vs. BATISTA

Bell sounded and Rey kicked Batista in the knees before setting up an early 619, but Batista slipped to the outside and brought Rey to the floor to ram him into the ring apron. Striker reminded us of the Hold Harmless agreement, which takes me back to my previous career in real estate law reviewing HH documents day after day for three years. Ugh. Back in the ring, Batista teased an early Batistabomb, but Rey slipped out and took out Batista's legs to begin an attack. Rey wanted the 619 again, but Batista caught Rey's legs and positioned him for the Bomb again. Rey escaped again and flung Batista through the ropes to the outside. Rey then hit a baseball slide through the ropes before nailing a running sentaun off the apron. Striker said Batista is one of the few people to see Rey behind the mask. No, that was not a shot at the small audience for WCW Nitro at the end of days. It was classic forgetfulness history. Rey nailed the 619 on his third try and scored a nearfall. He then went up top and channeled Eddie Guerrero, which drew boos. Crowd was not buying into Rey trying to use Eddie to get over. Batista blocked the top rope splash from Rey, then he nailed a spear and delivered a Batistabomb center ring. Crowd cheered Batista, who stared down at Rey to decide what to do next. Batista took off his elbow pads, then delivered a second Batistabomb. Crowd chanted, "One more time" as Batista stared down at Rey. Rey sold being limp and lifeless, then Batista delivered a third Batistabomb to the crowd's delight. Ref had enough and called for the bell. Rey could not continue, so Batista was declared the winner.

Post-match: Medics and refs spilled into the ring to check on Rey to sell the angle as the announcers sold disgust. Meanwhile, Batista grabbed a chair and scattered the officials. Crowd with a loud "Batista" chant as Batista sat down in the chair. He teased smashing Rey, then dropped the chair to boos. Batista then helped up Rey and put him on his shoulder. Batista teased taking him out of the ring, but then dropped Rey into the chair with a powerslam. Crowd chanted "One more time" and "Batista," but Batista walked out of the ring to cheers. He turned at the top of the ramp and looked into the ring as Rey was strapped to a gurney with a neckbrace.

WINNER: Batista via referee stoppage at 6:50. Holy backfire, WWE. Announcers did their best to explain Batista being a jerk for trying to injure the fan-friendly Rey Mysterio, but things like Rey trying to channel Eddie will not win over an audience. Batista, meanwhile, is a refreshing badass character for the first time in a very long time, so the audience is going to buy into him. If this was in another city other than Batista's hometown, I don't believe the reaction would have been much different. The pro-Batista reaction was enhanced since they're in D.C., but the vocal minority wants a guy like Batista to cheer for. (*1/4)

WWE Survivor Series PPV Results: 11-22-09

3 -- TEAM KOFI (KOFI KINGSTON & MVP & MARK HENRY & R-TRUTH & ECW champion CHRISTIAN) vs. TEAM ORTON (RANDY ORTON & TED DIBIASE & CODY RHODES & WILLIAM REGAL & C.M. PUNK)

Henry and Orton started things off and Team Orton ran interference to distract the ref allowing Cody and Ted to take the knees out from under Henry. Orton then dropped Henry mid-ring with the RKO for an early pin before the first minute was up. After a pause to collect themselves, Team Kofi sent MVP into the ring, but MVP took a beating in the heel corner. Truth then tagged in and Team Orton also ran a distraction to set up Punk for the Go 2 Sleep on Truth. Punk with the pin on his new rival, Truth for another early pin. Christian entered for Team Kofi, but Team Orton went to work on him as well. Christian then blocked a corner attack by DiBiase and executed a sunset flip for a pin out of nowhere on DiBiase. After a few exchanges by multiple participants, Kofi scored a pin on Regal to even the sides at three apiece.

At 7:00, Christian and Cody battled before Cody locked his legs around Christian with a leg scissors to slow down the pace. MVP then tagged in and dropped a Ballin' elbow drop on Rhodes with the announcers noting the local Wizards NBA team needing some help. Orton then distracted MVP, which gave Cody just the slightest opening to hit Cross Rhodes for the pin. Down to Kofi and Christian for the babyfaces. About a minute later, Christian entered and nailed the Killswitch on Cody for the pin.

At 12:00, it was two-on-two with Orton beginning an attack on Christian. Orton bumped Kofi off the apron for good measure, then walked over to Christian, who tried a surprise small package, but only scored a two count. Orton tried to follow with the RKO with a Punk distraction, but Christian hit the Killswitch. Crowd was hot for an apparent pin, but Punk broke up the pin. Christian cleared out Punk, but then Orton sprung with an RKO for the pin. So, we're down to Kofi vs. Orton and Punk. Crowd hot for Kofi, who squared off with Orton, only to have Orton bail and tag in Punk. Announcers noted that Punk and Kofi are former tag champs. Boy, that seemed like a really, really long time ago. Kofi and Punk took their time talking out things, then they came to blows. Punk teased the G2S, but Kofi slipped out and missed the Trouble in Paradise. Both men squared off after the exchange and the crowd applauded.

At 16:00, Punk went to work on Kofi with a mat hold while the camera focused on Orton pacing ringside watching Punk do his dirty work. Kofi then broke free of the mat hold and went for a splash, only to have Punk knee him in the gut. Punk then measured Kofi for a running knee strike and he connected, but Kofi blocked the running bulldog part two. Kofi slowly went up top, but Punk crotched him and they battled up top. Kofi finally dropped Punk to the mat and came off the top with a high crossbody splash for a close two count.

At 20:00, Kofi made his fired-up comeback, but Orton distracted Kofi. Punk tried to roll up Kofi from behind, but Kofi rolled through into a pin for a three count. Orton tried to storm into the ring to follow up, but Kofi nailed him with the Trouble in Paradise kick for the pin and the win. Cole quickly drew attention to Kofi pinning two former World champs in a matter of six seconds. Eliminations: Henry by Orton at 0:51, Truth by Punk at 3:13, DiBiase by Christian at 5:10, Regal by Kofi at 6:50, MVP by Rhodes at 10:10, Cody by Christian at 11:34, Christian by Orton at 13:25, Punk by Kofi at 20:43, Orton by Kofi at 20:50.

WINNERS: Far too many pins early on, but it served the purpose of focusing on the key issue between Kofi and Orton at the end of the match. Kofi was obviously the star by the end of the match after a good middle of the match with Christian and Kofi vs. Punk and Orton. This match had more "big moments" compared to the opening traditional Survivor Series match to be slightly better. (***)

WWE Survivor Series PPV Results: 11-22-09

4 -- WORLD Hvt. champion THE UNDERTAKER vs. Unified tag champion CHRIS JERICHO vs. Unified tag champion BIG SHOW -- World Hvt. Title match

The bell sounded and Jericho and Show were on the same page early on with a double-team attack on Taker. Jericho then clotheslined Taker to the floor, but Taker landed on his feet and dragged Jericho to the outside. The match moved to the floor where Taker went to work on Big Show. Jericho then avoided a big boot from Taker and Taker spilled into the front row. Show and Jericho continued their double-teaming strategy on Taker with a variety of weapon-based attacks before dragging him back into the ring to work over Taker some more. Taker avoided a corner attack by Jericho, then made a comeback, only to have Show drag him to the floor. However, Taker blocked a whip and whipped Show into the ring steps. Back in the ring, Taker punched Jericho in the face and went to work on Jericho's left shoulder. Taker wanted the Old School walk-the-ropes, but Jericho blocked and dropped him on the top rope. "Where's Carlito?" sign made air as Jericho and Taker battled up top with Jericho winning the battle via a superplex from the top.

Jericho tried to follow with the Lionsault at 7:30, but Taker blocked, only to have Jericho slap on the Walls of Jericho. Taker teased a rope break, but Jericho dragged him back to center ring. Show slowly - and I mean slowly - made his way back into the ring, through, and chokeslammed Jericho to break up the hold. Show wanted a chokeslam on Taker, but Taker countered in slow-motion with a DDT. All three men were down, then Jericho came to first and attempted pins on both men, but scored nearfalls only. The match reset with Taker in control, then he knocked Show to the outside. Taker wanted the Last Ride on Jericho, but Jericho had the title belt and he smashed Taker in the head on the way up. Jericho slowly went for a cover, which gave Taker enough time to kick out. And a second time. Jericho then teased a Tombstone, but Taker countered, only to have Big Show give Taker the Big Punch. Show had a pin, but Jericho kicked Show in the head. Jericho had a pin, but Show kicked him away. Jericho suddenly tried the codebreaker on Show, but Show punched him in the face.

At 13:00, Show stalked Taker and dropped the straps to mock Taker. Show did his big chokeslam signal and taunted Taker, only to have Taker slap on the Hell's Gate submission center ring. Show had nowhere to go and he tapped out to give Taker the victory to retain the World Title.

WINNER: Taker via submission at 13:37. Had some good moments, but an overall sluggish match with Show held back by the knee and Taker's body banged up. Good final two minutes teasing several believable nearfalls, but everyone in the building knew Taker was going to retain the belt. Smackdown's top storylines will most-likely progress with a Jericho-Show break-up tease and Batista possibly next up for Taker. (**1/2)

WWE Survivor Series PPV Results: 11-22-09

5 -- TEAM MCCOOL (Divas champion MICHELLE MCOOL & LAYLA & ALICIA FOX & JILLIAN HALL & BETH PHOENIX) vs. TEAM MICKIE (MICKIE JAMES & KELLY KELLY & Divas champion MELINA & EVE & GAIL KIM)

I get the feeling this is going to be a fast one with plenty of quick pinfalls. Layla was the first one out via Kelly. After Gail and Jillian were eliminated, Beth took out Eve and Kelly. Melina came in, though, and scored a surprise pin on Beth. Mickie and Alicia picked up their former Raw battle before Mickie was sent to Smackdown and Mickie came off the top with a splash on Alicia for a pin. So, we're down to McCool vs. Melina and Mickie. After a nice exchange of nearfalls with a fast pace, Melina scored the final pin on McCool with her modified Canadian Destroyer to win the match for her team. Eliminations: Layla by Kelly at 1:14, Gail Kim by McCool at 3:05, Jillian by Eve at 3:43, Eve by Beth at 3:50, Kelly by Beth at 4:10, Beth by Melina at 4:42, Alicia by Mickie at 6:25, McCool at 10:42.

WINNERS: Team Mickie (Mickie and Melina) at 10:42. The early pinfalls were expected for the buffer match, then the focus on McCool vs. Mickie and Melina was well done to conclude the match. Beth had a chance to shine as well. (*1/2)

And Super Cena wins it again.

WWE Survivor Series PPV Results: 11-22-09

6 -- WWE champion JOHN CENA vs. TRIPLE H vs. SHAWN MICHAELS -- WWE Title match

Immediately after the bell sounded, Michaels simply superkicked Triple H right out of the ring to deliver a big pop to shock the crowd. Cena sold shock as well. Michaels just stood there in the ring with a gleam in his eyes before going after Cena with a series of chops to the chest. Michaels and Cena went after each other as Cole and Striker talked up Michaels's history at Survivor Series, including Bret Hart in 1997. Meanwhile, Lawler was still shocked at the opening. Cena tried an FU at 2:45, but Michaels slipped out and went to work on Cena's previously injured neck. Michaels then slapped on the figure four leglock center ring. Four minutes and counting with Hunter still on the floor. Cena got back to his feet and they traded "boo" and "yay" blows before HBK ducked a flying shoulder tackle and Cena spilled to the outside. Michaels then came over the top rope with a plancha onto Cena. On the outside now, Michaels snapped to attention and cleared the announce table. No more fun-loving, sidekick Michaels, Cole said. That would have been nice for the build-up on TV. Hunter suddenly came to life and saved Michaels from an FU before Michaels cleared Cena over the guardrail. Hunter then approached Michaels and gave him a spinebuster through the announce table. Hunter shot Michaels a glare selling genuine hurt.

Back in the ring at 8:00, Hunter and Cena picked up the battle. Cole said HBK was still motionless. So, he'll take his rest and get a breather. They cut to a shot of Michaels selling lifelessness while Cole was shown standing up with notes in hand calling the action. Back in the ring, Cena blocked a Pedigree and catapulted Hunter into the corner turnbuckle. Hunter and Cena then had their "boo" vs. "yay" exchange with Cena nailing the running shoulder tackles before executing a sit-out slam. Cena then wanted the Five Knuckle Shuffle and he brushed the dirt off his shoulder before delivering. Cena teased the FU, but Michaels entered the ring and threw Cena into the turnbuckle.

At 12:00, Michaels and Hunter had a stare down mid-ring. Hunter chucked Cena to the outside when Cena tried to interrupt, then DX went to battle. Michaels kipped up after a double knock down, but Hunter dropped him with a spinebuster. Hunter wanted the Pedigree, but no one bought it as the finish because WWE has a bad habit of teasing finishers too often and Michaels back-dropped Hunter to the mat. Michaels wanted a top rope elbow, but Cena ran in and crotched Michaels to boos. Cena then went to the opposite corner and missed the top rope guillotine on Hunter. Michaels gathered himself, then came off the top with the elbow on Cena. Hunter then chucked Michaels to the floor and Cena suddenly came to life with an STF on Hunter center ring. A little Chris Benoit at WrestleMania 20 here. Hunter teased reaching the bottom rope, but Michaels snuck in with the Crossface on Cena working the injured neck. Barely any heat on this with the crowd not buying finishers. Cena then powered to his feet out of the Crossface, but Michaels elbowed out. Cena then dropped Michaels right into the STF. Michaels teased a rope break and teased tapping out, but finally grabbed the bottom rope.

At 17:00, everyone paused to reset. Michaels suddenly hit Cena out of nowhere with a superkick. Hunter then walked into a superkick from Michaels and Hunter fell on top of Cena. Ref didn't see it immediately, then he turned around and counted Hunter for a close two count on top of Cena. Crowd bought that nearfall. The vocal minority was now into it with a "Cena sucks" chant dueling with the "Let's go Cena" chant from the majority. Another reset and Cena hit the FU on Hunter. Cena was down, though, and Michaels pulled himself into the ring. Cena pulled himself over to Hunter at the same time. They each draped a hand over Hunter, who kicked out of the dual pin.

At 20:40, Michaels and Cena dragged each other to their feet to reset again. Hunter wanted the Pedigree on Cena, but Michaels superkicked Hunter. Cena then immediately FU'ed Michaels onto Hunter. Cena followed right up and made the cover on Hunter for the pin and the win. Post-match: Announcers sold being breathless from the finish. Cena took a deep breath, then celebrated by pointing toward the fans. He held up the title belt and posed before walking over to the National Guardsmen ringside to salute them. After a replay of the highspots, WWE closed with rotating shots of Cena standing tall on the entrance ramp and Cena and Hunter collecting themselves in the ring.

WINNER: Cena at 21:14 to retain the WWE Title. Default best match of the night, but didn't quite have that "must-see" main event feel to it. Some very good nearfalls at the end playing off HBK turning on Hunter boosted this to a strong three stars. TNA had a better all-around three-way main event last Sunday. WWE specializes in having better stories with their main events, but TNA even had a good "story" to their main event that didn't just rely on highspots from A.J. Styles, Samoa Joe, and Daniels. (***1/2)

Striker stole the show. He made Cole and the King look like absolute shit. Cole ignoring and dismissing him couldn't stop his awesomeness. I lol when he asked Cole what a controlled fenzy was.

Reality Check said:

Striker stole the show. He made Cole and the King look like absolute shit. Cole ignoring and dismissing him couldn't stop his awesomeness. I lol when he asked Cole what a controlled fenzy was.

Click to expand...

QFT! Striker should commentate on RAW cause I am so tired of Cole. Cole ALWAYS makes advertisements and saying RAW is this or RAW is that, etc. That shit gets annoying after a while. King is dull now so I won't go there.

I prefer for Striker to stay on Smackdown. As Smackdown is more wrestling based it would make better use of Striker's knowledge.

A reminder that WWE RAW is a three hour show so it will start an hour earlier tonight at 8 pm EST.

Tonight is my first time watching RAW for the first time in months and man does it suck! Smackdown is better than this! Hell, ECW is better than this! TNA Impact has gotten a lot better in terms of wrestling and i'm loving every moment of it!

WWE RAW Results: 11-23-09

Results courtesy of PWTorch.com (direct link to Caldwell's complete report). Condensed here to in-ring results only.

1 -- KOFI KINGSTON vs. DOLPH ZIGGLER -- Breakthrough qualifying match

Crowd with an early "Let's go Kofi" chant in the opening minute. Dolph went on the attack after Kofi missed with an early corner attack. He continued to ground Kofi with mat holds, then Kofi made a comeback at 3:00 with his aerial attack. Kofi then followed with a Boom Boom elbow drop. He teased the Trouble in Paradise kick, but Ziggler ducked. Ziggler then wanted his finisher, but Kofi grabbed the ropes to block. He followed with the TIP kick to make the pin for the win.

WINNER: Kofi Kingston at 3:54 to advance to the #1 contender battle royal. Basic four-minute TV match. The audience didn't think for a second Ziggler was winning, plus they didn't seem to be very familiar with Smackdown's Ziggler. (*)

2 -- SHEAMUS vs. FINLAY -- Breakthrough qualifying match

The bell sounded and Finlay smashed Sheamus to the outside right at Lawler's feet for him to get a good look at Sheamus. Back in the ring, Sheamus pounded on Finlay before finishing him off with the Outsider's Edge for the decisive pin and the win. Well, that was quick. Post-match, Sheamus wasn't done with Finlay, as he ran back into the ring to deliver more punishment. The action spilled to the floor where Sheamus gave Finlay a running bicycle kick over the guardrail to the floor. Announcers noted it's been a long time since Finlay has been manhandled like that.

WINNER: Sheamus at 1:58 to advance to the #1 contender battle royal. Very short match, but the emphasis was on making Sheamus look like a monster. Should be an interesting battle royal just based on the first two qualifiers in a Battle of the super-pushes. (n/a)

3 -- WWE champion JOHN CENA vs. C.M. PUNK -- non-title match

Punk played a good heel waiting for the right moment to lock up initially. Punk landed a series of kicks early on before yelling at someone in the front row to shut up. The momentary distraction allowed Cena to make a brief comeback before setting up the STF, but Punk easily escaped and slipped to the floor for a breather. Cena did the "this close" sign to Punk going to break.

Back from break, Punk was in control as the announcers talked about Punk cutting his teeth on Raw last year. Punk continued his methodical attack, but Cena fired back at 7:45 with his usual comeback routine. Cena dropped Punk center ring and delivered the Five Knuckle Shuffle at the top of the hour.

Cena teased the FU, but Punk escaped the finisher and wanted the G2S. Cena countered that, though, and slapped on the STF in center ring. Punk reached the ropes for a break, then came to his feet and nailed a kick strike that KO'ed Cena. Punk made a cover, but Cena kicked out. Punk followed with a high knee in the corner, but Cena predictably countered the bulldog and tossed Punk across the ring. Both men were down and out, then Cena pulled himself up to the top rope and hit the guillotine leg drop. Cena made a cover, but Punk kicked out. Good nearfall. Cena and Punk reset the action and Punk nailed a leaping leg strike for a two count of his own. Punk then airballed a flying splash in the corner and remained draped across the top turnbuckle. Cena then climbed up top and put Punk on his shoulders to deliver a top rope FU Attitude Adjustment. The big spot of the night led to Cena making a cover for the win.

WINNER: Cena at 12:00. The theme of the show is new blood, but everyone knew the same finish was coming with Cena winning. That said, Punk had enough offense to remain credible and come out of this looking strong combined with the pre-match promo. Of note, Raw 3, Smackdown 0 in matches tonight. (**3/4)

4 -- JACK SWAGGER & CHRIS MASTERS & CHAVO GUERRERO vs. MVP & MARK HENRY & R-TRUTH -- Breakthrough qualifying match

Swagger and MVP started things off against each other while Cole and Lawler chuckled about McMahon and Ventura replacing them later on. Masters tagged in and a few fans audibly chanted "steroids" at the Masterpiece. Chavo then entered and worked over MVP. Masters was back in when MVP escaped to bring in Truth. Lawler appeared to say "Hard Truth" as R-Truth cleaned house leading to a break down. Henry then scooped up Chavo and press-slammed him over the top rope onto Masters. Where's Jeremy Piven when you need him? Back in the ring, Truth nailed the Lie Detector spinning fist creating-movement finisher on Masters for the win.

WINNERS: Truth & MVP & Henry to advance to the battle royal at 3:05. No surprise here. We could use a match where the outcome is in doubt. Four very predictable match outcomes thus far. (1/2*)

5 -- RANDY ORTON vs. EVAN BOURNE -- Breakthrough qualifying match

The battle for St. Louis started with Orton trying to score quick early pins, but Bourne fired back with a double knee smash off the top rope for a close two count. Orton then caught Bourne off the ropes with a powerslam. He teased the RKO and he dropped Bourne center ring. He made the cover for the win.

WINNER: Orton at 1:28 to qualify for the #1 contender match. Seems like the set-up for Orton and Kofi to cost each other the battle royal to set up a singles match at the PPV. Or, worst-case scenario, we get another Cena-Orton match. That's the question for the end of the show to keep viewers tuned in - will fans be subjected to another round of Cena vs. Orton? (n/a)

6 -- INDIANS (Divas champion MELINA & KELLY KELLY & MICKIE JAMES) vs. PILGRIMS (Women's champion MICHELLE MCCOOL & LAYLA & JILLIAN HALL)

The match went about two minutes, then Michelle and Layla bailed from ringside fed up with the outfits and Jillian. Jillian then walked into a pin to give the Indians the win. Jerry Lawler was excited for the Indians to actually win something. Post-match: the Gooker entered the ring to celebrate with Lawler and Melina. Melina was having a good time, then the Gooker suddenly jumped Melina to reveal...Maryse. And we have a big return on the show. Maryse beat down Melina for a while, then took off the Gooker outfit to officially welcome herself back on the show. Perhaps Miz has a shot with her now that he has a title belt.

WINNERS: Indians at 2:08. Your basic WWE divas match focusing on looks and silliness more than actual wrestling. Up next for the Divas division: Melina vs. Maryse. (n/a)

7 -- DX (SHAWN MICHAELS & TRIPLE H) vs. HART DYNASTY (TYSON KIDD & D.H. SMITH w/Natalya)

The bell sounded and we start with Kidd vs. Michaels. If Michaels is still around in three years, this could be a PPV main event. Cole reminded viewers Natalya is the daughter of Jim Niedhart, which prompted a harmless shot from Lawler that she got her looks from her mom rather than Jim.

HD took control at the top of the usual second hour with Smith and Kidd exchanging tags working over Michaels. Hunter then took a tag at 4:00 and cleaned house on Kidd. Hunter followed with spinebusters on both men before trying to pump up the lethargical crowd for this match. The action broke down, then Michaels smashed Kidd with the superkick to set up Hunter for the Pedigree on Kidd for the pin and the win. Afterward, Hunter helped Michaels to his feet and DX posed.

WINNERS: DX at 4:58. Another predictable match. HD got a slight rub, but the post-match was more important. (*)

8 -- CRYME TYME (SHAD GASPARD & JTG) vs. LEGACY (CODY RHODES & TED DIBIASE) -- Breakthrough qualifying match

Cole and Lawler announced McMahon and Ventura will be back calling the action for the main event battle royal. After about three minutes of bland action, DiBiase dropped Shad with Dream Street to make the pin. Legacy now with three men in the #1 contender battle royal.

WINNERS: Legacy at 3:01. Just a tag match. This show has felt like complete filler since Punk-Cena. (1/2*)

#1 contender Battle Royal qualifiers
-- Kofi Kingston (Raw) beat Dolph Ziggler (SD)
-- Sheamus (Raw) beat Finlay (SD)
-- MVP (Raw), Henry (Raw), and R-Truth (SD) beat Swagger, Chavo, and Masters (Raw)
-- Randy Orton (Raw) beat Evan Bourne (Raw)
-- Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes (Raw) beat Cryme Tyme (SD)

9 -- BREAKTHROUGH BATTLE ROYAL -- #1 contender match

Back from break, everyone was in the ring except for Randy Orton, who slowly walked out to the ring to get the match started. Sheamus stood out early on for just waiting back in the corner looking to pick his spot. McMahon with a quick unintentional plug for the new "Blind Side" movie, saying the key to a battle royal is to protect your blindside. Meanwhile, Orton slipped to the outside and waited for his moment. McMahon and Ventura traded barbs while the action slowed to a crawl. They followed with a debate on the WWE refs allowing Orton to stay on the outside. Ventura told McMahon to hire new refs, while McMahon shot back that Ventura has power. And so the dilemma of absolute power in the Raw storylines continues. And out went R-Truth via Sheamus at 2:55 for the first elimination. Batista doesn't have to worry about anything tonight. Ventura said the only problem he has with Sheamus is he needs a suntan. MVP was then knocked out of the match. Henry teased eliminating Sheamus, but Legacy saved Sheamus.

At 4:00, Henry eliminated both members of Legacy. Sheamus then snuck up behind Henry to dump him out. So now it's Orton, Sheamus, and Kofi. A graphic flashed "Voices of: Jesse Ventura, Vince McMahon." Thanks for the heads up, WWE. Kofi and Orton paired off against each other, then Sheamus tried to get involved, but Orton dropped Sheamus with the fallaway backbreaker. Orton then tried to eliminate Kofi, but Kofi skinned the cat and eliminated Orton. Orton did the big bug eyes after being eliminated. WWE stayed with a camera shot of Kofi and Orton, then Sheamus came up from behind Kofi and eliminated him for the win.

WINNER: Sheamus at 6:23 to become #1 contender. And there's the earlier prediction coming through with WWE building up Sheamus as a monster to be a threat to John Cena and the WWE Title. Absolutely boring first three minutes, then a decent finish focusing on Orton-Kofi. Legacy, meanwhile, was a complete afterthought despite being in there with their leader, Orton. Time to hit the reset on Legacy. (3/4*)

Ring of Honor TV Results: 11-23-09

Results courtesy of PWTorch.com (direct link to DeRosenroll's complete report). Condensed here to in-ring results only.

1 – BRENT ALBRIGHT vs. KENNY KING (w/Rhett Titus)

During King’s ring entrance, an inset box aired the footage of King and Titus’s attack on Jerry Lynn several weeks ago. Albright opened the match by taking King down and controlling him on the mat. At 2:00, King managed to get the upper hand and take Albright down with a Japanese arm drag. King celebrated with a cocky dance, allowing Albright to hit him with a drop kick. Albright continued to control the match until Titus got involved by dragging King to the outside to give King a breather. Albright went to the outside and started chasing Titus around the ring, allowing King to catch the distracted Albright with a clothesline at 3:30.

King threw Albright back into the ring and began beating Albright down heel style. Albright mounted a comeback at 5:30 by avoiding the King’s Coronation and countering with a move that looked like a modified version of Samoa Joe’s old ST Joe. A few fans initially booed Albright’s comeback, but Albright got the crowd behind him at 7:00 by launching King over the top rope with an impressive-looking exploder and following it up with a head first dive through the ropes onto King on the outside. Titus distracted Albright, allowing King to try for a crossbody on Albright off the ring apron, but Albright caught King in midair and slammed him into the guardrails. Albright got back in the ring, pulled King up to the apron and tried to suplex King back into the ring, but Titus grabbed Albright’s ankle to enable King to shift his weight and come down across Albright’s chest and pin Albright’s shoulders with the help of Titus pulling on Albright’s ankle to give King some extra leverage.

WINNER: King in 8:00. Good match, but the finish was poor. If ROH is serious about pushing Kenny King, he should not need that much help from Titus to beat a mid-card babyface like Albright. The fans really want permission to start cheering for King, but Albright did a nice job of bringing the fans around to his side.

2 – D-LO BROWN vs. SAL RINAURO

Rinauro tried to cheap shot Brown during the hand shake by attempting an Irish whip, but Brown didn’t budge. Brown hit Rinauro with a few strikes, then threw him to the outside and played babyface to the crowd. He then hauled Rinauro back into the ring with a version of Nigel McGuinness’s Tower of London off the top rope. With Rinauro out in the ring from the Tower of London, Brown went to the outside, took a cell phone from the timekeeper and pretended to send a tweet. Mike Hogewood plugged his own Twitter feed. Rinauro teased a comeback, but Brown easily hit his finisher for the pin.

WINNER: Brown in 2:30. Below average match. Brown was last seen on ROH TV playing heel, but he seemed to go into business for himself in this match by playing for and getting a babyface reaction from the crowd. Poor Sal Rinauro has been saddled with a terrible jobber gimmick where he is afraid of everything and everyone. Logically, Rinauro should someday find his courage and start to win matches, but so far he is not getting any sympathy from the crowd because he comes across like such a loser.

3 – THE SUPER SMASH BROTHERS (PLAYER UNO & PLAYER DOS) vs BRANDON DAY & JOHN KERMON

Day and Kermon took an early advantage by cheap shotting the Super Smash Brothers during the pre-match handshake. They threw Player Uno to the outside and began double-teaming Player Dos, but Uno managed to blind tag his way into the match at 0:30 and catch Kermon with a hangman neckbreaker to turn the tide. This gave the Super Smash Brothers to display a few of their patented double team moves on Kerman. Day blind tagged Kermon at 1:30 but Dos failed to see the tag and kept attacking Kermon, allowing Day to elbow him from behind and turn the tide again.

As Day and Kermon isolated and worked over Player Dos, the announcers annoyingly talked about old video games. Ms. Pac-Man, Pong and Q-Bert all got more attention than the wrestlers in the ring. Dos turned the tide with a double Pele kick on Day and Kermon at 2:30 and got to Uno for the hot tag. Uno tried for a sunset flip on Kermon at 3:30, but Day, who was out on the floor, grabbed Kermon’s hands to keep him from falling over. Dos took out Day with a nice dive over the top rope and Uno quickly scored a leverage pin on Kermon.

WINNERS: The Super Smash Brothers in 3:30. Decent tag team squash match, but the announcers should have done a lot more to build up the Super Smash Brothers than talk about video games.

4 –ROH tag champions THE AMERICAN WOLVES (DAVEY RICHARDS & EDDIE EDWARDS with Shane Hagadorn) vs. THE YOUNG BUCKS (MATT JACKSON & NICK JACKSON) -- ROH Tag Title match

Nick Jackson started out against Richards and quickly took advantage with a series of arm drags. The gave the Young Bucks a chance to make some quick tags early on and display some of their trademarks double-team moves. The fans popped big for many of the Young Bucks’ high-flying moves. Richards finally managed to ground Matt at 2:00 with a kick to the gut-snap mare combination and tag out to Edwards. The Wolves proceeded to isolate Matt and beat him down with their trademark hard strikes as well as various heel tactics. Matt sold very well for the Wolves and did an excellent job getting the crowd into it each time he teased a comeback.

Matt finally reached Nick for a hot tag at 8:00 and Nick unleashed an incredible flurry of offence, highlighted by an amazing standing back flip over the top rope onto Richards outside the ring. The Wolves finally turned the tide at 9:30 when Nick went to the top rope and Richards, who was not the legal man, came around the outside and sent Nick crashing to the floor. The Wolves got a near fall on Matt at 10:00 after Edwards hit him with a shotgun dropkick from the top rope and Richards followed it up with a tombstone piledriver.

The Bucks regained the advantage at 10:30 when Richards went to the top rope but Nick reentered the fray and took Richards down from the top with a reverse hurricanrana. Nick then drove through the ropes onto Richards on the floor while Matt hit Edwards with a neckbreaker off the top for a near fall at 11:00. The Buck followed this up with their outstanding More Bang For Your Buck finisher, but Richards made it back into the ring to break up the subsequent pin attempt at 11:30. Richards then went toe-to-toe in a strike exchange with Nick and came out on top. Matt then went toe-to-toe with Richards and got the upper hand, only to have Edwards recover an intervene to save Richards. The Wolves hit a double team lung blower for a near at 12:00, then Edwards locked in a half crab on Matt. The crowd was on fire at this point. Nick tried to make the save, but Richards but him off and Matt finally had to tap out.

WINNERS: The American Wolves in 12:30. An excellent match from beginning to end. The Bucks got it off to a hot start, the Wolves did an excellent job as always building heat in the middle portion while Matt’s selling was excellent, and the finishing sequence was red hot. After the match, the announcers talked up how the Young Bucks had taken the champions to the limit. This is a fine example of how a team can lose clean but still get elevated by the match.

ECW on SyFy Results: 11-24-09

Results courtesy of PWTorch.com (direct link to Caldwell's complete report). Condensed here to in-ring results only.

1 -- ZACK RYDER (w/Rosa Mendes) vs. SHELTON BENJAMIN

Josh Mathews said Shelton will be named the #1 contender to the ECW Title if he defeats Ryder tonight. Crowd was behind Shelton, who is benefting from being presented as a babyface for a few months now. Ryder tried to bail from the ring, but Shelton flung Ryder back into the ring to work over Rosa's beau. Rosa sold concern ringside with Ryder taking a beating throughout the opening minutes of this one. Shelton then knocked Ryder to the floor and Ryder checked his teeth cutting to break.

Back from break, we got a close look at Shelton's Koko B. Hair while he was chatting with Ryder in the clutches of a devastating mat hold. Mic was too close to Shelton, who told Ryder to pick him up, which led to Ryder picking up Shelton for a back drop. Ryder then went up top and nailed a big splash for a two count. He went back up top again and nailed another top rope Superfly splash, but Shelton kicked out again. Ryder then punched Shelton several times, but Shelton started to no sell and "get all sorts of fired up," according to Mathews. Shelton then fired off a German suplex for a two count.

At 12:00, Ryder blocked a corner attack and wanted a leaping head scissors, but Shelton powerbombed Ryder across the ring into the top turnbuckle. After the buckle bomb, Shelton jumped in the air and nailed the Paydirt in center ring for the clean pin and the win. Afterward, Rosa could only pace around the ring in frustration. Meanwhile, Shelton is the new #1 contender. Post-match: ECW champ Christian came out on stage with the ECW Title belt over his shoulder. He posed a bit, then they just cut to a break.

WINNER: Shelton in 13:00. No word on when Shelton receives his title shot, but WWE booked a nice match here to build up Shelton for the upcoming title match. Shelton showed good fire with his comeback after absorbing the two top rope splashes to continue building up crowd interest in his revitalized character. Ryder, meanwhile, just needs to bide his time and continue to impress management and his peers backstage with is in-ring performance even when booked to lose. Patience. (**)

2 -- VANCE ARCHER vs. ALEX REYNOLDS

Reynolds was billed as the local favorite looking for an upset victory over the intense Archer, who has the power to read the thoughts of his opponent by looking into his eyes, according to Mathews. Sure he does. Archer methodically took apart Reynolds Wrap before delivering his impactful reverse DDT finisher for the decisive win. His music didn't hit initially to sell the intensity of his post-match stare to the hard camera. Apparently the music technicians were mesmerized by his intensity and paused before hitting his music. Yeah, that's it.

WIWINNER: Archer in 3:00. Squash. WWE likes to build up their big men to be threats to babyface champions, so you can see where this is heading in a few months if Christian is still champ. (n/a)

3 -- WILLIAM REGAL (w/Ezekiel Jackson and Kozlov) vs. YOSHI TATSU

Even exchange to start before Regal started blasting Yoshi with knee strikes. He went to work on Yoshi's face trying to rearrange his nose and perhaps his orbital bone, then went to work on the back of the head trying to concuss Yoshi with elbow strikes. Yoshi suddenly came right back with a kick strike and scored the pin for the win. Wha?

WINNER: Yoshi in 3:00. Finish came out of nowhere, which was a good thing to tell audiences a finish can come at any time. WWE has to use the "out of nowhere finish" consistently, though, for it to be even mildly effective to train audiences to pay attention to the first few minutes of a mid-card-level match. (n/a)

Post-match: Regal and Kozlov entered the ring and just stared down at their fallen mentor, who staggered to his feet. Jackson shot him this look of "what was that?" Regal recovered and stared back at Jackson before pointing his finger at Kozlov, who tried to act. I don't even know what he was trying to convey. More tension as the announcers let it breath. The crowd wanted Kozlov and Jackson to blast Regal. Kozlov suddenly pointed his finger to the audience, then realized he missed Jackson's face and re-pointed at him to pass blame. Oh, Kozlov. They could have edited that blunder out. Anyways, Jackson wasn't taking the blame for this one, so he grabbed Kozlov and gave him a uranage. Audience went silent not sure how to react. Regal and Jackson then re-built tension with Jackson's face starting to twitch. He then dropped Regal with a uranage. Crowd popped for that. Jackson stomped out of the ring after being unjustly accused of Regal's loss, then Regal and Kozlov were shown recovering in the ring to close the show. Um, that came completely out of left field after Kozlov and Jackson were off TV for a few weeks. Kozlov's acting still isn't there. Not even close. Meanwhile, Jackson is apparently the new lumbering babyface on the roster to replace Batista, who turned heel. It appears WWE is going to find out if Jackson can do anything in the ring by working with Regal. "If he can't work with Regal, then he can't work with anyone."

WWE Superstars Results: 11-26-09

Results courtesy of PWTorch.com (direct link to Caldwell's complete results). Condensed here to in-ring results only.

1 -- U.S. champion THE MIZ vs. SANTINO MARELLA -- non-title match

Crowd was hot early on with a "San-tin-o, San-tin-o" chant. Santino pointed to himself in his humble routine and asked, "Me?" Santino teased the cobra strike early on, then tried to calm it down. Santino then executed a headlock takeover and declared "I got him!" He followed with a series of arm drags, but Miz blocked a third drag and started pounding on Santino with left hand strikes before settling into mat holds. Cole and Lawler talked turkey for the first Superstars on Thanksgiving, then Miz brought Santino to his feet and landed an emphatic clothesline out of the corner. Miz called a spot for Santino to tease a comeback, then Miz executed a neckbreaker for a two count. Miz is really developing that in-ring work to go with his heel personality. Miz then went up top, but Santino blocked and started his full comeback. Santino did a big Hulk Up and declared it's cobra time. Miz kicked Santino in the hand, though, with a big boot. He followed with the Skullcrushing Finale for the pin and the win.

WINNER: Miz in 6:00. Excellent TV match. Miz played his heel role fantastically while Santino's comedy routine fit the match and didn't overstay its welcome. Highly entertaining and worth watching on a DVR replay viewing. (**)

2 -- KOZLOV (w/William Regal) vs. GOLDUST

On commentary, Josh Mathews wanted to know whether Regal and Kozlov have communicated with Jackson since Tuesday to see where his head is at. Texts, emails, phone calls? Hm, Kozlov texting. Interesting. The match moved to the floor early on with Goldust ramming Kozlov into the ringpost before cutting to a break.

Back from break, Kozlov was in control working over Goldust with multiple headbutt strikes before executing a belly-to-belly suplex. Kozlov worked over Goldust's mid-section before missing with a boot strike. Goldust then made his comeback with a running bulldog before catching Kozlov in the air for a bodyslam and a two count. Regal was rather concerned ringside as Kozlov kinda blocked a move off the ropes. Clunky and awkward block. Goldust then visibly called a spot for Kozlov to go home. Thus, Kozlov hit his Iron Curtain uranage finisher for the pin and the win. Post-match: Kozlov was all-smiles, then Regal put a bigger smile of Kozlov's face with a running knee strike on Goldust to add insult to injury.

WINNER: Kozlov in 7:00. Goldust did his best to work around Kozlov's weaknesses as an in-ring performer trying to simulate a real competition. Rough finish, but Regal's facial expressions ringside were a good distraction from the in-ring action. Kozlov is a more marketable heel being kept in short-form matches where he's not exposed as a weak in-ring performer. (3/4*)

3 -- DOLPH ZIGGLER vs. R-TRUTH

Grisham said he spoke with Ziggler about being on a "six month plan" to become a champion in WWE, and Ziggler is currently on month five. Well, that's one way to explain six or seven IC Title match losses to John Morrison. Probably triple that number if you count the unaccounted-for-on-TV house shows. Match started with Ziggler in control, but Truth knocked him to the floor. Grisham and Striker debated why Ziggler hasn't been able to score a title win and Striker suggested that additional stroke of the hair is one second that he could use to score a three count instead of a two count. Ziggler started toying with Truth, but Truth came back with a dropkick through the ropes. Truth then came over the top with a missile-like plancha with his shoulder crashing into Ziggler and the ground. They cut to break with Truth asking what's up.

Back from break, Ziggler was in control working the left arm and shoulder that Ziggler smashed on the ground executing the missile plancha. Ziggler then knocked Truth to the floor and tried to get a count-out, but Truth broke the count and Ziggler aggressively attacked Truth. Ziggler continued the attack for a few minutes before Truth made a comeback, only to take a Sean Waltman-style faceplant from Ziggler for a two count. Ziggler then missed with a corner attack and Truth nailed his spinning axe kick off the ropes for a two count. Ziggler tried to come back with his finisher, but Truth countered with the Lie Detector spinning fist smash for the pin and the win. After the announcers recapped the finish, the show closed with Truth celebrating with the fans.

WINNER: Truth in 15:00. Solid TV main event. Ziggler played a good, aggressive heel to receive the focus during the match before taking the expected loss. WWE is behind Truth right now, so it will be interesting to see how far up the card he goes with Rey Mysterio now out of a top babyface slot. Truth does need to upgrade that finisher, though, if he's going to be considered a more credible potential main-event level act. All of the movement is created after the initial contact, which looks weak. A different kind of two-star match than the opener, which was at the two-star level for sheer entertainment purposes despite being half the match length of the main event. (**)

TNA Impact! Results: 11-26-09

Results courtesy of PWTorch.com (direct link to Wilkenfeld's complete report). Condensed here to in-ring results only.

(1) ABYSS vs. LASHLEY (w/CRISTAL)

Lashley tries to charge Abyss , but bounces off. Lashley's able to get Abyss into the corner, where he lays in with strikes. The ref pulls him off, and Abyss explodes out of the corner with a clothesline. Apparently Dinero and Roode are both going for heavyweight shots, which seems especially odd in Roode's case. Abyss chokes Lashley against the corner. Lashley gets up firing, but Abyss no sells them and locks in a Neck Vise. Abyss works the Bear Hug, which Lashley sells the hell out of. Lashley escapes with some short head butts and trips Abyss neck-first onto the ropes. He follows up with a series of clotheslines. Abyss creates some distance with a back elbow but then runs right into the Spine Buster. Lashley clotheslines Abyss out of the ring. When he follows him out and Abyss goes to punch him, he catches Cristal on the back stroke. He rolls Lashley into the ring, then realizes what he's done. He freaks out, which gives Lashley the opportunity to take him down with a Spear and finish him off with a Dragon Sleeper. Cristal gets up, and I'm not sure whether she's selling the ankle or just has difficulty jumping in high heels—I'm pretty sure it's the latter.

WINNER: Lashley. Lashley's looking crisper lately.

(2) DESMOND WOLFE vs. SUICIDE

Wolfe starts off with a bit of chain wrestling as the crowd reminds him that he tapped out. He hits a cool single-underhook Suplex, but when he tries to follow up with the wrist lock Suicide flips out. Wolfe knocks him down to the mat, sets him up in the corner, and hits a downright brutal running back elbow for two. Wolfe locks in something that resembles a Tazmission. Suicide starts to slip out, so Wolfe yanks him back into a shoulder block, then locks it in again. Suicide powers out and connects with a clothesline a dropkick. He hits an Oklahoma Roll, and smoothly goes to the apron to come back with a Slingshot Leg Drop for two. Wolfe goes to the corner, where he dodges a charge and whacks Suicide in the back of the head. He sets up for the Tower of London, but Suicide slips out. Wolfe looks for his running back elbow again, but gets cut off by a Thrusting Dropkick. Suicide gets whipped into the corner, but dodges a charge himself. He goes to the top rope, but gets caught by a really sloppy Tower of London for the kill.

WINNER: Desmond Wolfe. That could have been better, but was certainly watchable.

(3) D'ANGELO ("THE POPE") DINERO vs. KURT ANGLE

Wow—somebody drew the short straw. Kurt starts with a side headlock, but Dinero is able to take him over with an Arm Drag. Angles charges into another, which Dinero transitions ino an arm bar. Angle reverses into a wrist lock, but Dinero slips out and comes off the ropes with a high octane shoulder block. Dinero comes off the ropes again, but this time right into a Belly-to-Belley Suplex. A Vertical Suplex from Angle gets two. Angle works the chin lock; the Pope powers out, so Angle shoots him into the corner. The Pope comes back firing with strikes, but Angle somehow slips beside him and straight into a pair of German Suplexes. Before he can hit the trifeecta Dinero goes behind and nails one of his own. Dinero looks for a second. Angle slips out, but gets taken down with an STO for a long two count. Dinero continues the beat down, taking Angle to the ropes and leaping through them (putting his weight on Angle's neck). Angle rolls into the corner, where Dinero hits his delayed Elbow Drop. He looks for the DDE, but Kurt rolls out of the way and picks an ankle. Dinero kicks him off, but then gets up right into an Olympic Slam.

WINNER: Kurt Angle. That was almost a star-making performance for Dinero as he hung in with Angle. Angle agrees, as he shakes Dinero's hand after the match. Since when does an Olympic Slam keep down anyone?

(4) HOMICIDE vs. ROBERT ROODE

Roode is, contra what Tenay said earlier, wrestling for the tag division. Homicide ambushes Roode from behind. Roode briefly creates some distance, so Homicide rolls to the outside and yanks Roode out with him. He rakes Roode's back and kicks his head. He rolls Roode back in and kicks him in the side of the head. He charges Roode in the corner and works some quick strikes. Roode suddenly comes back with a series of chops out of nowhere, so Homicide whips him into the corner. Homicide stomps on him, and locks in the oddly dull Asiatic Spike. Roode gets away but bounces back into a Spinning Elbow. Roode reverses an Irish Whip, but lowers his head too soon and gets nailed with a kick. Homicide tries to finish him off with a Gringo Cutter but gets tossed off. Roode gets him with a Decapitator Clothesline and a huge Tilt-a-Whirl Back Breaker for two. Homicide gets a questionably low blow and goes for a Gringo Killer. Its reversed into a Payoff attempt, which is re-reversed into a Cutter attempt, which Roode fights off. Homicide bounces back into a Spine Buster by Roode for the kill.

WINNER: Robert Roode. All of these matches have been great examples of lightning fast action.

(5) TRACI BROOKS vs. HAMADA vs. ALISSA FLASH vs. VELVET SKY vs. LACEY VON ERICH vs. MADISON RAYNE vs. SARITA vs. TAYLOR WILDE vs. TARA vs. DAFFNEY
Battle Royal, with special guest enforcer ODB for the #1 contendership

Taz makes an inappropriate reference to Von Erich's "ugly stick". Hamada takes Daffney out and over right to start. Flash tries to take out Traci, but Traci lands on the apron. Flash tries to fight her off, but Wilde and Sarita sneak up behind her and toss her over; Flash lands on the apron as well. She continues to fight Traci, until both are simultaneously dropkicked to the floor by Wilde and Sarita. They continue at each other's throats from the ground.

The Beautiful People are working over Sarita, and flip her over the rope. Hamada shoots Wilde off into the corner. Wilde catches her with a Leg Scissors and takes her over, but accidentally falls out herself. The Beautiful People are beating Tara around the ring, but when Rayne charges Tara Back Body Drops her over the top. Rayne lands on the apron, but when Sky charges Tara steps aside and knocks Rayne off. Sky briefly holds her own, and even tries to hurl Tara out. Tara reverses and tosses Velvet Sky to the apron. Sky connects with a shoulder thrust, but when she tries to come back in with a Spingboard-something Tara meets her with a Superkick to take her out.

WINNER: Tara. ODB raises her hand, but when Tara looks to share a swig of ODB's flask, ODB doesn't seem all that impressed by Tara.

(6) BOBBY LASHLEY (w/CRISTAL) vs. DESMOND WOLFE

Taz and Tenay argue over Wolfe-Angle was obviously the match of the year. Lashley locks in a Full Nelson, which I guess he picked up from his experience with the Master Lock Challenge. Wolfe just walks over to the ropes and gets the break. Wolfe tries for a wrist lock, but it's immediately reversed into one by Lashley. Wolfe tries to flip out, but Lashley hangs on. He tries to roll into some sort of choke, but Lashley still holds on, and knocks Wolfe off. An attempt to transition into a side headlock doesn't work well either. Wolfe backs Lashley into the ropes, but as the ref breaks it up Wolfe connects with a cheap shot elbow to the face. He locks in that Tazmission-y thing, but Lashley powers out quickly. They trade hammerlocks, but when Lashley ends up near the ropes Wolfe kicks them up into Lashley's throat. He goes for another running back elbow, but Lashley dodges and connects with a Spear. Lashley connects with an Inverted Shock Treatment and a Full Nelson Slam, but Wolfe kicks out after a long two count. Lashley picks Wolfe up and is about to get a Dragon Sleeper when Wolfe wrenches Lashley's arm and brings him to the mat. Wolfe goes for the Tower of London, but Lashley drops to his feet and right into the Dragon Sleeper. Wolfe gets over to the ropes, and when Lashley breaks his hold Wolfe locks in one of his own, wrapping Lashley's arm around the ring rope. Wolfe taunts into the camera, but in so doing loses track of the five count and gets himself disqualified.

WINNER: Bobby Lashley by DQ—lame.

(7) KURT ANGLE vs. ROBERT ROODE

Angle starts things off with a shoulder block on Roode, but Roode bounces right up. Angle backs Roode up into the corner and starts hitting straight right hands. Roode blocks one and comes back with a few of his own. He shoots Angle off into the ropes, misses the Back Body Drop but connects with the Reverse Neck Breaker for two. A Body Slam and a Leg Drop get two more. Roode Snapmares Angle down and floats over into another Neck Breaker. Before he can capitalize Angle flings him out of the ring. Kurt follows Roode out and bangs his head into the steel steps. He rolls him back in for a cover that barely gets two. A Suplex gets two more, so Angle locks into a reverse gut-wrench. Roode powers out but gets taken back down with the Belly-to-Belly Suplex for two. Angle Snapmares Roode back down and locks in a Body Scissors. Roode gets out, but Kurt transitions into a chin lock. Roode fights out of that two. Angle shoots him into the corner, but he gets his boot up and gets his float over Neck Breaker off the middle rope. Both men are down for seven, then fight to their knees, and eventually their feet. Roode gets the advantage, connecting with a big flying forearm for two. Angle suddenly picks an ankle, but Roode kicks him off. Kurt bounces back off the ropes and into a Spine Buster, but this time it only gets two. He looks for a Payoff, but Kurt slips out and connects with a German Suplex. Angle stalks Roode for an Olympic Slam, but it's reversed into an Arm Drag. Angle dodges a charge and connects right away with another Olympic Slam, but this one only gets two. Desmond Wolfe comes down to ringside and spits in Kurt's face. Angle goes to beat him up, and does so for about nine seconds before realizing that he should charge back to the ring. He makes it by 11, but that doesn't count.

WINNER: Robert Roode by count out. That BS ending made more sense, though it did make the other one retroactively less silly.

(8) ROBERT ROODE vs. BOBBY LASHLEY (w/CHRISTAL)
#1 Contender's Match for the Tag Team and/or World Heavyweight Championship

Lashley backs Roode into a corner, but grants the clean break. He connects with a sudden gut wrench and tries to turn it into the Dragon Sleeper, but Roode is right by the ropes. Roode gets a side headlock. Lashley shoots him off into the ropes; they trade leapfrogs, with Lashley eventually connecting for the advantage. He connects with a Body Slam and an Elbow Drop. He shoots Roode off into the corner; Roode tries to float over, but gets caught in position for a Power Slam. He slips out and shoves Lashley into the ring post. He yanks Lashley down to the mat.

Lashley is fighting off his knees when we get back. The crowd seems moderately excited by what they've been seeing. Roode takes Lashley into the corner and connects with some chops. He continues work on the left arm, taking Lashley down with a weak looking Fujiwara Arm Bar. Lashley is able to reach out his leg to the rope to break the hold. Lashley tries to punch his way back into it, but Roode takes him back down. He suddenly ducks clothesline and connects with a Full Nelson Slam. He hits a few clotheslines of his own. He takes Roode up for a Back Breaker, but Roode slips out and takes Lashley down with an Arm Bar Takedown for two. Roode looks for a Payoff, but Lashley hoists him up with a standing Back Body Drop. Lashley charges Roode in the corner, but Roode dodges. Roode connects with the Pay Off, but it only gets two. Lashley charges at him; he gets a boot up, but when Roode tries for the float over Neck Breaker Lashley dodges and connects with the Spear for the 1-2-3.

WINNER: Bobby Lashley.

Hulkamania's Australian Tour: 11-26-09

Results courtesy of PWTorch.com (direct link to arena report).

(1) Pimp Fatha (Godfather) defeated Heidenreich. The Pimp Fatha came out with three hos to the ring. He offered Heidenreich a night off with the three girls instead of fighting the match. Heidenreich took him up on this offer and left the ring. However, Pimp came up behind him and started the match on the outside. During this match, I noticed the ring was small and the ropes had a lot of give. The match was over in two minutes when Pimp Fatha Irish whipped Heidenreich into the corner and followed with a botched roll up. Heidenreich had come out of the corner front first and found Pimp Fatha at his feet. Heidenreich pretty much had to step around to fall on his back so he could be pinned.

(2) "Spartan 3000" Matt Cross and Shannon Moore went to a 10-minute time limit draw. This was match three of the Best of Three series for $25,000. This match was unfortunately very bad and I DO NOT mean this as a reflection of Shannon Moore. I believe, as much of an expert that I am, that the fault lay with the size and give of the ring and maybe Matt Cross's inexperience. The match didn't seem to gel. Shannon Moore was almost dropped on his head at one point. There was a very badly botched elbow move from the corner where Matt Cross was just too close behind Shannon to allow him enough space to back elbow. Instead, Shannon pretty much back pressed into him. And worse of all, in my opinion, was Matt Cross grabbing Shannon Moore's arm and suddenly Shannon Moore has pretty much Irish whipped himself into the opposite corner. As for the finish, Shannon had Cross pinned when the bell rang. The time limit was up and Shannon got on the microphone and pretty much demanded an extension. He asked for a ladder match with the $25,000 briefcase to be hung up and the crowd wanted it. Spartan agreed to it, "but not today!" This was met with Boos. Spartan then blindsided Moore and went under the ring to grab a ladder - a five-foot ladder. I guess the plan was to hang the briefcase on the top rope.

(3) Sean Morley (Val Venis) beat Nick Dinsmore (Eugene). This match went around ten minutes. Back and forth and maybe this was the match that almost brought the crowd back into the show with a couple of familiar faces. Sean played the heel again tonight. He said, with his old WWE voice, "Hello Ladies," etc. He presented little Nicky with an Australian stuffed toy koala. It was most probably made in China, as are most Australian souvenirs, which Dinsmore immediately took to in his Eugene persona. The end of the match came when Morley had grabbed the toy and threatened to rip in half, which terrified Nicky. Once Morley carried out his threat and threw the koala onto the mat, he kicked him in the head and covered him for the pin. I dare say, there was no Money Shot finishing maneuver due to the quality of the ring. There were no top rope moves all night.

(4) Kiara Dillon beat out Koa Marie and Stephanie Pietz in a lingerie contest. Big deal. Enough said.

[Intermission went for 20 minutes]

(5) Mr. Anderson (Mr. Kennedy) & Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake (w/Jimmy Hart) defeated Orlando Jordan & USO Fatu (Umaga). This was probably the match of the night. Once Orlando and USO came out, we waited to see who their opponents would be. First was Brutus. When his partner was announced, I was surprised because it seemed like a very odd pairing. This match was not so predictable. I honestly thought once USO tagged in against Brutus, it would be over in 30 seconds. Mr. Anderson wrestled most of the match, as I would dare say he was the most popular man on tour outside of Hogan and Flair. He did his opening mic spiel the same as in Melbourne and Perth, which the audience loved. It was good to hear Jimmy Hart on the megaphone at times for nostalgia. This match went around 12-15 minutes. The finish came when Orlando held Anderson up for a Samoan Spike from USO, but Anderson ducked and Orlando took the thumb to the throat. Anderson then got USO over the top rope and covered Jordan for the fall.

(6) Junior Fatu (Rikishi) & Brian Christopher & The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobs & Jerry Sags w/Jimmy Hart) defeated Vampire Warrior & Black Pearl & Rock Of Love. It was announced as a four-on-four elimination match. Things went awry when Saggs was in the ring with one of the Rock Of Love guys and tagged in Black Pearl. Pearl yelled out that he wasn't on the same team, but the referee motioned him in. Junior Fatu was shaking his head in the corner asking Christopher what happened. He had four fingers up, but the match continued. Pearl eventually tagged in Christopher. Brian Christopher was eliminated by Vampire Warrior with a implant DDT when he was distracted by his falling pants. Nasty Boys were DQ'ed for brawling outside the ring with Rock Of Love with weapons. Not long after, Rock Of Love were counted out. This left Fatu against Vampire Warrior. Brian Christopher then came back out to aid Fatu when Pearl and Vampire Warrior were going to attack Junior with a chair with the ref down. The match ended around the 20-minute mark when Fatu pinned Black Pearl. That's right, Vampire Warrior was not eliminated and the match ended with Fatu as the sole survivor. Fatu was letting his frustration show a bit when the ref tried to raise his arm, but Fatu kept pointing at Vampire Warrior on the outside. I am sure Vampire Warrior was just as confused. Brian Christopher and Fatu then closed off with their dance routine.

(7) Hulk Hogan (w/Jimmy Hart) defeated Ric Flair (w/Lacey Von Erich) in the main event. This was a repeat of the Perth match from what I read. It was great to finally see Hulk in the flesh, but outside of nostalgia, there wasn't much to it. Even kids in the audience knew who was going to win. Yes, Hogan could hardly move around. They bled very early on, Hogan within 30 seconds. After run-ins by Heidenreich and Orlando Jordan were neutralized by the Nasty Boys, Flair called out USO Fatu. After Hulk was squashed in the corner, he Hulked up. He threw Fatu out of the ring and gave Flair the big boot. He called for the megaphone and yelled out "No Disqualification" before hitting Flair in the head with it. He than lay on top of Flair for the pin and the win. He posed for about five minutes before leaving.

Man, I missed an AWESOME impact last night. I feel REALLY bad too! D: That Australian tour looked awesome!

WWE Smackdown Results: 11-27-09

Results courtesy of PWTorch.com (direct link to Park's complete results). Condensed here to in-ring results only.

1- CRYME TYME vs. THE HART DYNASTY

You have GOT to be kidding me. They could put out a three-disc DVD of the televised matches between these two teams at this point. And that would be only the last six months. Tyson Kidd got the best of JTG, allowing David Hart Smith to tag in and hit a back-breaker. Kidd back in for a near-fall. Rear chin-lock, then Kidd again tagged in to up the action quotient. Striker continued to complain about the “questionable footwear” of JTG. Both legal men made tags and Shad came in and hit a second-rope shoulder tackle. A pin was broken up by Kidd. Smith, from behind, landed a Saito suplex on Gaspard to get the win.

WINNERS: Hart Dynasty, at 4:32. And again, nothing accomplished in this feud.

2- C.M. PUNK vs. MATT HARDY

They went to break seconds after the match started.

Punk was working on Matt’s arm out of break. Hardy missed a shoulder charge in the corner, hitting his shoulder on the ring-post. But Hardy caught Punk coming off the top with a Side Effect for two. Matt peppered Punk with some right hands in the middle of the ring. Bulldog by Hardy out of the corner. To the middle rope, legdrop for Hardy. Instead of capitalizing, he waited for Punk to get to his feet to hit him with the Twist of Fate. Gallows got on the apron and reached into the ring, bending Matt back over the top rope for the DQ.

WINNER: Hardy, via DQ, at 5:42. More of a way to “audition” Gallows.

Gallows continued the attack after the match, and held Matt for Punk to hit a spin kick in the gut of Hardy. Running knee to the face in the corner by Punk as Gallows held Matt. Punk laid in the elbows to the chest of Matt. Wade is going to be disappointed- no more “Biscuits and Gravy.” Galloway with what could be called a reverse full-nelson, then he picked Matt up and slammed him back-first into the mat. Kind of impressive. They didn’t have Gallows talk in this segment, so I’m sure they’re saving that for down the line.

3- BATISTA vs. KANE- #1 CONTENDER’S MATCH

How low can we go? Striker mentioned that the black glove Kane wears was the only thing left in the rubble when his house burned down as a child (by Taker, of course). Ah Striker, the master of ret-con. Or was that in Kane’s book? After a short standoff, the fight went to the outside, where Kane’s head was bounced off the padded railing. Back in the ring, low dropkick for two by Kane. Kane with some right hands on the Animal in the corner, but Big Dave came back with a rake of the face. Shoulders in the gut by Batista. Rear chin-lock, but Batista was backed into the corner by his opponent. Back elbow by Batista for two, then another rest-hold. Kane got to his feet and grabbed Batista by the throat, but Batista grabbed the ropes for a break. Kicks to the knee of Kane, and he tried a Batista Bomb. Kane back-dropped him and Kane seemed to want a powerbomb. Batista went back to work on the leg of Kane in the corner. He was down as Batista recuperated on his feet. They went to break about 5:00 into the match.

Batista was still working on the leg as we got a few replays of what happened during the break, mostly leg-related. Well, when one guy is on the mat almost the entire time, it’s a lot harder for this match to completely suck. Uh-oh, Batista brought Kane to his feet and the two traded soupbones. Kane, still holding his leg, got a clothesline in the corner. He got a foot up on a Batista charge and it found a place in Dave’s mush for two. Kane, to the top, but he missed a clothesline and came down hard on his injured leg. Spear by Batista, right into a cover, but only for two. Kane BARELY got Batista up for a sidewalk slam. Again, he went to the top. This time, he connected on the clothesline. He set up for the vaunted chokeslam, but Batista turned around and saw it. Kane charged the corner, but Batista dropped him face-first over the top buckle. He took out Kane’s leg again and got himself pumped up. Batista Bomb, no, Kane went after the knee of Batista. Chokeslam city, but Batista got his foot on the rope to break up the pin. He even had trouble doing that cleanly. Batista rolled out of the ring, but Kane followed, not allowing a break. Kane whipped Batista into the barricade, and Batista flipped into the timekeeper’s bay in an impressive spot. Batista though, caught Kane in the leg as Kane went after him. Batista got back into the ring at the count of eight, while Kane couldn’t make it back in.

WINNER: Batista, at 14:27. WWE clearly had confidence in these guys to give them nearly 15 minutes, despite what could happen. Still, a much better match than I anticipated, with a relatively good story. But did they really need to protect Kane with a count-out? Or give Batista a weak win as he goes to challenge Taker at TLC?

4- ERIC ESCOBAR vs. JOHN MORRISON- INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH

Morrison took Escobar to the mat, then to the outside, where Morrison landed his springboard moonsault (though Escobar had to wait around a little too long to catch him). Vickie grabbed Morrison as he went back in, allowing Escobar to come back outside and ram Morrison’s back into the apron. Bearhug back in the ring by Escobar. Side suplex for two. Morrison caught Escobar with a heel kick coming off the ropes. Batista-like shoulders into the gut of Morrison by Escobar. Flying Chuck kick connected and Morrison set up for the Starship Pain. It landed and garnered him the win.

WINNER: Morrison, at 3:19. I still think Escobar has something to offer, though he appeared to have trouble keeping up with Morrison here at times.

5- CHRIS JERICHO vs. THE UNDERTAKER

Taker cornered Jericho and worked him over, then Taker went Old School, jumping HIGH off the top rope as he brought his arm down across Jericho. Jericho tried to come back, but Taker shrugged him off and clotheslined him over the top rope. Batista stared coldly at Taker in the ring as they went to break about a minute and-a-half in.

The Smackdown /WWE logo in the bottom corner that usually signals them signing off appeared as they came back from break. Taker continued punishing Jericho, and hit a legdrop with Jericho draped under the bottom rope. Taker continued striking Jericho as Batista got up from the announce table and approached. Before he could get too close, Taker felt his presence, turned around and Batista slowly went back to his seat. As Taker tried to get back in the ring, Jericho dropkicked him off the apron. He threw the Dead Man into the stairs as Striker literally begged Batista for some insight. He did put the headset back on, but said nothing. Jericho continued on offense once the two went back into the ring. Rear chin-lock, and Jericho managed to get a lot of trash talk in while he grounded Taker. High dropkick by Jericho caught Taker as he came off the ropes. That got a two-count. Counter by Taker into a side suplex. Snake Eyes by Taker, then a running boot. Jericho battled out of a chokeslam, and hit with a running bulldog, then a Lionsault. Taker, out of nowhere, with a hand to the throat. Chokeslam was next and he set up for the Tombstone, but Batista interfered with a shot to the knee, drawing the DQ.

WINNER: Undertaker, via DQ, at 11:57.

Jericho got a Codebreaker on Taker. Batista retrieved a chair from ringside and lashed Taker with it several times. No real confirmation that it will be a “Chairs Match,” but Striker did say chairs would be legal in the match. After a replay, of the finish Batista with the chair was your closing image.

Hulkamania's Australian Tour: 11-28-09

Results courtesy of PWTorch.com (direct link to arena report).

(1) The Pimp Fatha defeated Sean Morley (Val Venis) in 5:00. Sean Morley entered the ring and carried on with his towel routine for about five minutes, keeping the towel in the ring to generate boos from the crowd. In comes The Pimp Fatha with four of the most uninterested, bored-looking hos ever to walk the ramp. Fatha offered the Hos to Sean for free if he wins the match, but for triple the cost if Morley loses. Sean agreed. It was a slow, plodding match ending after five minutes or so.

(2) Nasty Boys (Brian Knobs & Jerry Sags w/Jimmy Hart) vs. Rock of Love went to a Double Count-out. Rock of Love entered the ring and cut a small promo. A video showed Jimmy and the Nasty Boys coming out, then the Nasty Boys entered the ring. Rock of Love hit them with powder in the eyes, then threw them out. They brawled up the ramp towards the back and they were counted out. That was quick.

(3) Heidenreich defeated Nick Dinsmore (Eugen) in 8:00. Dinsmore was announced as Heidenreich's opponent, but Vampire Warrior's face and name were put up on the screen. Oops no. 1. Nick was reasonably over with the crowd. After back and forth action, Dinsmore gave Heidenreich a Rock Bottom, and signaled a Peoples Elbow, but Heidenreich caught him and put him away. Boos for Heidenreich.

(4) Black Pearl & Vampire Warrior defeated Brian Christopher & and Junior Fatu (Rikishi) in 10:00. Vampire Warrior had a good entrance, with suitable music and a credible gimmick. Standard sort of action until the very end, where Christopher suddenly lost all cohesion. Oops no. 2. I thought maybe he took a head knock, but I didn't see it. He missed a jump onto the second rope, then missed another move, then was thrown for an Irish whip into the ropes, but suddenly stopped before touching the ropes. He turned around and was put away by Black Pearl. Embarrassing ending for him, and the match. Afterwards, Junior Fatu knocked down The Pearl and stinkfaced him. Christopher, Junior, and the referee all did a dance in the middle of the ring.

(5) Nasty Boys (Brian Knobs & Jerry Sags w/Jimmy Hart) beat Rock of Love in 10:00. Suddenly, Rock of Love and The Nasty Boys reappeared at the top of the ramp with Jimmy Hart dragging a referee in tow. We have a hardcore-type match. They used empty large water bottles, chairs, a plywood sheet, cookie sheets, and more to various degrees. This was a bit more fun to watch, and the crowd started to get into it a bit more. One of the Rock of Love members had a small cut under the eye. After about ten minutes of pretty good action, Nasty Boys got the pin. I had never seen a semi-hardcore match live, and was impressed with the effort.

[20 minute intermission]

(6) Spartan 3000 (Matt Cross) defeated Shannon Moore in 15 minutes in a ladder match with $25,000 in a briefcase suspended above the ring. Another slow match, with a lot of positioning of ladders. Very quiet crowd for the most part. However the spot of the night was when Spartan 3000 reverse-somersaulted off the top rope onto a ladder that was covering a prone Shannon Moore in the ring. Shannon however, threw the ladder up striking Spartan 3000 on the way down. Dangerous looking move and looked great live. The crowd was very appreciative. They followed with some high falls off ladders, including a Shannon Moore leg drop leapfrogging a ladder off the top rope onto Spartan. Slow, but acceptable ladder match.

(7) Brutus "the Barber" Beefcake defeated Orlando Jordan in 6:00. Brutus was very slow in the ring, and the crowd was not into it at all. Brutus's tights split in an embarrassing place, which was picked up by the cameraman. Oops no 3. Brutus slapped on his sleeper hold, and Orlando was out for the count. Beefcake cut off about three inches of his dreadlocks, and Jordan had the usual reaction when he woke up.

(8) Uso (Umaga) defeated Ken Anderson (Mr. Kennedy) in 15:00. With talent like this, they put on a much better show than earlier on the card, and the crowd was much more into it. Ken Anderson did his mic work, then Umaga entered. Back and forth between these two, followed by a standard ref bump, Anderson covers for long enough, then a second referee runs out, counts two, then Uso kicks out. After another five minutes, Uso executed three quick high impact moves including a Samoan Spike, and Anderson was defeated. Much better.

(9) Hulk Hogan defeated Ric Flair in 20:00 in a No DQ match. Both wrestlers received huge ovations here and rightly so. It is such a shame that WWE own the rights to Flair's entrance theme. Both were very slow in the ring with lots of chops and clotheslines. Ric Flair entered with a lady in tow, and she got involved in the match. After about ten slow minutes, Flair targeted the cut on Hogan's head and Hogan started to bleed. Ric Flair's lady put Hogan in a sleeperhold when Hogan was on the floor, and she was covered in his blood. While adjusting her clothing, blood got all over her breasts, which was picked up by the camera. Heidenreich ran in and attacked Hogan, and the Nasty Boys ran in to assist Hogan. Hogan then attacked Flair's forehead, and he was also cut open. Both end up covered in blood. Flair did a mule kick, and the referee was also caught by it. Flair and his lady then both received a Meeting of the Minds from Hogan. That was probably unnecessary. In came Uso to assist Flair. Hogan hulked up and threw out Uso. An Irish whip and Flair drops to the Big Boot. Jimmy Hart threw in the megaphone, Hogan waffled Flair with it, and that's all she wrote. Flair was assisted up the ramp by Uso and his lady, then Hogan posed for the fans and pretended to walk out due to limited reaction. Jimmy Hart convinced him to stay, Hulk posed for another five minutes, then he walked up the ramp and left. Loud cheers for Hogan all night.

Dragon Gate USA Results: 11-28-09

Results courtesy of ProWrestling.net (direct link to arena report).

Attendance was around 700 to 800. There was a big accident on the highway which caused Jigsaw and Eddie Kingston to be late to the show.

1. Gran Akuma defeated Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson, Lince Dorado, Johnny Gargano, Gran Akuma, and Hallowicked to advance in the Open the Freedome Gate Title tournament. Jigsaw was originally supposed to be in this match but got to the building late which is why Hallowicked was in the match. This was a great opener with a lot of high spots which saw the Young Bucks use a lot of double team moves. Gran Akuma won the match with the moonsault which put him in the main event for the Open the Freedom Gate Title later in the night.

2. BxB Hulk defeated Brian Kendrick. A solid match, but I expected much more of these two. The crowd loved B.B. Hulk and were cheering for him throughout the match. It just seems to me that ever since Kendrick came back to the indies he just hasn't been on par to which I know he is capable of. B.B. won the match with a pinning combination and advances to the finals. After the match, Kendrick cuts a heel promo to the crowd and several people try to get him out of the ring, including Jon Moxley who helped Kendrick beat up the men who tried to get Kendrick out of the ring. It looks like Moxley and Kendrick might be teaming up now.

3. CIMA defeated Mike Quackenbush, Jorge Skayde Rivera, and Super Crazy to advance to the tournament finals. This was a good match that saw the mentor meet three of his pupils. Skayde looks old but this man can still move. Super Crazy looked out of shape but was solid here. Crazy even heeled it up by attacking Skayde's leg which did not please the other men or the fans. Lots of Lucha Libre maneuvers by all four men. CIMA won with a pinning cradle to advance to finals.

4. YAMATO defeated Davey Richards to advance to the tournament finals. A great hard hitting match which saw Richards focus on the arm of YAMATO. YAMATO focused on the knee/leg of Richards and used many ankle locks. One scary spot saw Richards throw YAMATO into the guardrail that sent a female fan to the ground. She got up and was fine which got a "She's Hardcore" chant. A very excellent match which saw YAMATO pull out the upset in many people's eyes with sitting tombstone. He advances to the finals which were now set with Akuma, YAMATO, CIMA, and B.B. Hulk.

5. Jigsaw defeated Eddie Kingston. This match probably won't air on the PPV. Kingston was supposed to be on the pre-show. A solid match which Jigsaw won with a double stomp off the top rope.

6. Naruki Doi and Masato Yoshino beat Shingo and Dragon Kid. Wow, an unbelievable match. One of the best I have ever seen live. The action was off the charts and all four men went all out in this one. By far the best match tonight. Yoshino made Dragon Kid tap to his trademark submission where he chokes the opponent with his legs. Lots of innovative spots and double team moves. This was Yoshino's first victory in DGUSA over Dragon Kid.

7. BxB Hulk defeated Gran Akuma, YAMATO, and CIMA in a four-way to become the first Dragon Gate USA "Open the Freedom Gate" Title. This match had elimination rules. People were thinking it was going to be YAMATO or CIMA that won the gold. A good match, not great as it was slow in spots. CIMA was the first man eliminated which shocked the fans after Akuma, who is affiliated with YAMATO, gave a low blow to CIMA, and YAMATO rolled him up for the pin.

The odds were against BxB Hulk but he managed to pin Akuma with a pump handle into a head first driver (sorry don't know what it is called) while YAMATO was on the outside. Good back and forth battle at the end which saw BxB Hulk prevail and win the title. After the match Davey Richards and YAMATO attack Hulk, which brought in Dragon Kid for the save. I believe Dragon Kid is next in line for a title shot.

Notes: Overall this was a good show with a lot of solid action. There were two standout matches being the tag match and Richards vs. YAMATO.

I decided to watch some Dragon Gate USA from last week and it was awesome!! See, I LOVE pro wrestling. I officially can't stand sports entertainment. RAW has gotten to the point where it's unwatchable. Smackdown too! EVERY week it's The Hart Dynasty vs. Cryme Tyme! GIVE ME SOMETHING DIFFERENT GOT DAMMIT!!

I finally caught up with Thursday's Impact and I have to say it was SERIOUSLY GOOD!

WWE RAW Results: 11-30-09

Results courtesy of PWTorch.com (direct link to Caldwell's complete report). Condensed here to in-ring results only.

1 -- Divas champion MELINA & GAIL KIM vs. MARYSE & JILLIAN HALL

Melina and Maryse were going to start, but Maryse played the heel and backed off to her corner to tag in Jillian without mixing it up with Melina. Maryse eventually picked her spot and picked up a win over the champion to get her hand raised and establish herself as the #1 contender to Melina's title.

WINNER: Maryse & Jillian at 2:57. Okay tag match. Jillian is a good enough secondary heel and she kept the match going before the ultimate finish to set up Maryse as the next contender to the women's division title on Raw. (1/2*)

2 -- RANDY ORTON vs. KOFI KINGSTON

The bell sounded after the ref checked with Kofi one more time, then Orton quickly went after the knee that was softened up by Legacy. The crowd tried to rally behind Kofi as Orton took apart the knee. Orton stalked Kofi then went back to attacking the knee. Ref threatened to DQ him, but he inexplicably didn't DQ Orton. WWE is quite inconsistent with how much leeway referees are given to determine DQs. Orton backed away, then Kofi made a brief comeback, but Orton finished him off with the RKO for the pin and the win.

Post-match: Orton picked up Kingston and wanted to continue the attack. He put Kingston in the corner and executed his elevated DDT straight into the mat after a pause for added effect. Orton did his viper-like stalk to go with his evil-eyes facial expression to sell the attack. Crowd chanted, "Randy sucks" to help sell the angle. Orton's music hit again as the announcers talked about Orton being a tortured soul and obsessed with revenge on Kingston, who seemingly pushed Orton too far.

WINNER: Orton at 3:08. The match outcome sets up Kingston for revenge at a later date, but why they went this route of Kingston taking a pinfall loss was questionable. Orton was at least awesome as the classic Orton heel getting his revenge on Kingston for the past few weeks. Good to see Orton strong again. Now they can set up a strong comeback from Kingston. (n/a)

3 -- U.S. champion THE MIZ vs. MARK HENRY -- non-title match

The bell sounded and Miz tried to mount Henry in the corner to attack him with right hand blows. They cut to a shot of Troyer sitting on stage with the same peculiar facial expression he's maintained the entire show. Miz came back on Henry with a kick strike to the chops for a two count. Miz then tried a springboard splash, but Henry caught Miz in mid-air with the World's Strongest Slam for the easy pin and the win. Announcers said this puts Henry in the U.S. Title chase. Post-match: Henry walked on stage and met with Troyer, who wanted to bring the ladies out for a celebration. Out came the Bella Twins, Kelly Kelly, and Eve for some highly awkward dancing. Henry then lifted Troyer on his shoulders to complete the dance number.

WINNER: Henry at 2:01. Miz can get his heat back from the loss, but this did absolutely nothing for him. It's one thing for the heel champion to be chased by potential contenders and show weaknesses that make a potential title chase intriguing, but it's completely different just to toss him aside with a basic squash. It would be like exposing the villain, capturing the villain, and throwing him behind bars in the opening scene of CSI and having nothing left to intrigue the audience for the next 55 minutes. It simply defies logic. This whole show has defied logic. I'm starting to think WWE has already packed up the plane to Iraq because they're phoning this one. (n/a)

4 -- Unified tag champion CHRIS JERICHO vs. TRIPLE H (w/Shawn Michaels)

Less than a minute into the match, Big Show's music hit and he stomped out to the ring still sporting a suit. Hunter was distracted, which allowed Jericho to take control. Show knocked over the cameraman and the screen went blank momentarily, then Show walked over to the announce table as they cut to break.

Back from break, Jericho was in control as Show was now positioned ringside on commentary. Line-up from left to right was Michaels, Lawler, Cole, and Show. Michaels and Show debated their respective abilities to climb a ladder before the top of the hour.

Hunter made his comeback at the top of the hour so everyone flipping channels for the over-run could see him in control and looking strong. Hunter then missed with a clothesline and Jericho grazed Hunter with an enziguiri kick for a two count. Jericho tried to follow with a Lionsault, but Hunter got his knees up to block. Hunter and Jericho then had a "boo, yay" punch exchange before Hunter exploded on Jericho with a clothesline for a two count. After Hunter scored a close nearfall, Show got up from his seat and KO Punched Hunter. Ref didn't see it, but he booted him. In the confusion, Michaels landed a superkick on Jericho. Ref turned around and saw Michaels involved, so he booted him. With the extra participants cleared from ringside, the match resumed with Hunter and Jericho KO'ed on the mat. Hunter stirred at eight, then Jericho at nine. Both men were up at nine, then Jericho wanted the codebreaker, but Hunter blocked and rolled up Jericho with a slight hook of the tights to put Jericho on the mat for the pin and the win. Next week, it's Jericho vs. DX in a handicap match.

WINNER: Hunter at 11:13. Good, basic TV main event selling one of the PPV main events at TLC. Good drama at the end with the extra involvement to build tension for the finish. Easily the best segment on an otherwise bad episode of Raw with WWE already halfway to Iraq on several fronts. (**1/4)