The Great American Bash thoughts
Shawn Michaels found another way to steal the show on a pay-per-view.
Numerous times throughout his career, Michaels did it with his tremendous athleticism and wrestling skills. At The Great American Bash last night, Michaels and Chris Jericho had the best match on the show due to each man’s impeccable ability to tell a story in the ring.
There were a couple of big moves, but what really made the match memorable were the believable performances of Michaels and Jericho after Michaels suffered a laceration near his “injured” eye. Michaels did a great job of selling the injury and courageously refusing to give up, while Jericho’s facial expressions conveyed a sadistic side without being over the top.
The exclamation point on a perfectly executed angle was Jericho, still covered in Michaels’ blood, coming out at the end of the next match and proclaiming that Michaels’ career was over because he had suffered a detached retina. Jericho said that the worst had finally come for Michaels. Of course, we all know there will be more to come from these two – and I can’t wait to see it.
The other significant development on the show was that CM Punk was booked to look like he belonged in the same ring with Batista. He retained the world heavyweight title in a match that went to a double disqualification due to Kane’s interference.
Overall, the Bash delivered solid action and it advanced story lines. Three new champions were crowned, and the two matches that were of the least interest – Mark Henry versus Tommy Dreamer and Michelle McCool versus Natalya – were both kept short.
Here is a match-by-match look at last night’s show:
WWE champion Triple H defeated Edge: This was a good match, but these two are capable of having a great match. Before it began, Mick Foley said that he had no doubt that Edge loved Vickie Guerrero, which makes me think that Foley missed the point of the entire story line. As expected, outside interference by Guerrero led to Edge losing, although it didn’t go down the way I thought it would. Guerrero and Alicia Fox had a catfight, which led to Edge trying to spear someone (it wasn’t clear who he was aiming for, but the announcers made it seem as if he was trying to hit Fox, which wouldn’t make any sense). Edge ended up hitting Guerrero and then he walked right into a Pedigree for the finish. There were no Undertaker sightings – yet.
World heavyweight champion CM Punk and Batista wrestled to a double disqualification: The crowd reactions were interesting, as both guys were booed during the introductions. I liked the way the match was laid out, with Punk using his unorthodox style to counter Batista’s power game. I expected Batista to dominate the match, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that wasn’t the case. Batista sold Punk’s offense and made him look strong. They were having a good match until Kane showed up and attacked both men for the double DQ. Some fans will be upset by that finish, but sometimes a non-finish is the right one, and I think that is the case here. My problem was with the commentary after the match. Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler kept hammering home the fact that Batista clearly had the match won before Kane showed up. That’s not the story they should have been conveying. The story is that Punk, a huge underdog who is trying to prove that his title reign isn’t a fluke, stood toe-to-toe with Batista and held his own.
JBL defeated John Cena in a New York City Parking Lot Brawl: There probably are plenty of people who hated this match, but I found it entertaining. It reminded me of the empty arena, falls-count-anywhere match between The Rock and Mankind during halftime of the Super Bowl in 1999. In order to enjoy this one, I had to suspend my disbelief about Cena showing up without a scratch after being “grazed” by a speeding car last Monday on Raw, as well as the fact that these two guys were literally trying to kill each other. We probably could have done without JBL setting the car on fire with Cena inside. I liked the finish of JBL slipping out of the FU on the stage and then sending Cena off the stage and onto the windshield of a car, where he made the pin. I’m guessing that JBL’s victory means that these two will meet one last time in some kind of gimmick match at SummerSlam.
Chris Jericho defeated Shawn Michaels: It appeared as if Michaels was legitimately injured during the first minute, as he began favoring his ribs after taking an elbow from Jericho. If Michaels was hurt, it didn’t stop him from executing a moonsault off the top rope onto the floor, where Jericho and Lance Cade didn’t break his fall very well. The match picked up when Michaels began bleeding profusely near his injured eye after taking another elbow from Jericho. Jericho got wide-eyed upon seeing the blood and immediately went after Michaels’ eye. Jericho was relentless in his attack, and the blood – which was flowing from Michaels’ head and was smeared all over Jericho – really added to the drama of the match. In the hope spot, Michaels caught Jericho in a crossface, but Jericho escaped. The referee eventually stopped the match after Jericho took Michaels down to the mat, got him in a defenseless position and started pounding away at the eye. At that point, it looked more like an MMA match than a wrestling match. No offense to Cole, but a match this intense deserved to have Jim Ross calling it.
ECW champion Mark Henry defeated Tommy Dreamer: Colin Delaney not-so-surprisingly turned heel and cost Dreamer the match. During a radio appearance last week, I said that it was just a matter of time before Delaney turned on Dreamer. It does seem like the turn happened a little too soon, however. The best part of the match was listening to Mike Adamle make himself sound like a complete goof. Before the match, Tazz pointed out that two titles already had changed hands and this could be the third. Adamle responded by saying, “I hope not.” So, what does Adamle have against Dreamer? Later, Adamle said that Henry missed The World’s Strongest Slam. “No,” Tazz said, “that was just a straight-up splash.” Adamle is such an embarrassment.
Shelton Benjamin defeated Matt Hardy to win the U.S. title: These two had a good back-and-forth match that the crowd was into. I liked Hardy holding the title, but Benjamin needs it more at this point. I’m hoping that Benjamin will finally get a sustained push.
Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins defeated Jesse and Festus, John Morrison and The Miz and Finlay and Hornswoggle to win the WWE tag team title: This was a solid opener with a surprising finish – at least to me. After Festus cleaned house and prepared to launch Jesse from the top rope onto Hawkins, I thought for sure the “Biscuits and Gravy” train was about to pull into the winners’ circle. But Ryder tripped up Festus, and Hawkins then pulled Jesse off the ropes and pinned him. So Edge’s two cronies now have title belts, but he doesn’t. I thought Hawkins and Ryder had potential when they were The Major Brothers, but I haven’t been as impressed with them since they aligned with Edge. It will be interesting to see what happens next with Morrison and Miz, who lost the belts despite not losing the fall.
Michelle McCool defeated Natalya to become the first WWE divas champion: I just don’t see whatever it is that WWE sees in McCool, who won by submission with the Brazilian Heel Hook.
Comments
Kevin, I second your puzzlement over what WWE sees in Michelle McCool. Maybe it has something to do with the Undertaker. I had a feeling Natalya was not going to win so I switched off.
Posted by: Jul | July 21, 2008 6:30 AM
Fortunately for us Brits, Great American Bash was not pay per view as long as you have Sky Sports over here. Though if I had paid for it, I would not have been disappointed.
The Jericho-Michaels match did indeed steal the show, not necessarily for the actual 'wrestling' which a couple of big moves aside, was slightly disappointing, but obviously for the great story they told. You almost actually believe the hatred and that everythign is real and that is as good as it can get really. My other main disappointment was Triple H Edge. Capable of so much better and perhaps we will see another match between them at Summerslam when perhaps Taker will return.
Punk Batista was so much better than I thought it would be and I enjoyed this match most other than Michaels-Jericho. Punk more than held his own and the double DQ did not disappoint in the slightest, but yet again the commentary and Punk getting chokeslammed by Kane and then Batista bombed don't do him any favours. Cena vs JBL didn't interest me at all but I really enjoyed this 'gimmick' match, and they both came of well out of it.
Natalya should have won - she is so much more believable than McCool. Whilst it makes sense to move the US title to Smackdown, I am never a fan of 'prestigious' titles - as they referred to it, being changed in a last minute match with almost no build up or history - similar to Kingston beating Jericho. I guess Benjamin could conceivable have a programme with Jeff Hardy.
All in all a very entertaining event.
Posted by: Wayne | July 21, 2008 7:15 AM
Wow. Another love note for McMahon Jr's crush Shawm Michaels the most overrated performer in wrestling history. Get a room already and stop with the Public displays of affection. Or I'll send the Iron Shiek over and he'll make you humble in his own special way!
Posted by: eric | July 21, 2008 9:54 AM
"I just don’t see whatever it is that WWE sees in McCool"
2 words: The Undertaker
Posted by: Adam Annapolis | July 21, 2008 9:56 AM
when is the undertaker comming back and is he still ganna be on smack down
RESPONSE FROM KEVIN ECK: I'd say pretty soon and yes he'll be on Smackdown.
Posted by: rickey | July 21, 2008 10:02 AM
Some random thoughts...
I'm wondering what the plan is with Cena? His failure to recapture the WWE Championship and now him being on the losing end of a feud with JBL in my view has dropped his status considerably. I think it would be great if Cena turned heel and somehow ended up aligned with JBL when it's all said and done.
The Michaels/Jericho feud is one of the best I've seen in the WWE in a long while. Very intense, complex and loaded with realism. I really don't see where Cade's involvement will lead him though.
I'll be honest - with Tony Atlas now in the fold and recently turning on Dreamer on ECW's weekly broadcast, I didn't see him being screwed over by Colin Delaney as well. I am looking forward to the repeated canings that Colin will no doubt recieve.
Shelton winning the U.S. strap was a surprise too, considering he hasn't really made a big impact lately anywhere and has sort of been lost in the ECW and Smackdown shuffle over the last year. Many folks were screaming for a Benjamin push however, so it'll be interesting to see where they go from here with him. I was disappointed to see Hardy lose it so soon though, although I do see him gunning for the ECW Championship now. Not to mention, this is prime opportunity for the creative heads to add a new title to the ECW roster (I say they bring back the Television strap, which was huge in the original ECW).
Batista's ego really needs to be put into check if he think C.M. Punk is not a viable opponent. I would be so happy to see an underdog like Punk humble Batista, who's head has clearly inflated over the last two years. I'm curious about where they are going with the Kane angle though? This may be the last chance at pushing him as a dangerous monster.
Finally Ryder and Hawkins have some real identity! Where do Morrison and Miz go from here?
I'm really surprised Chavo hasn't jumped Edge yet. While Edge is sorting out his marital problems, I'd like to see The Undertaker come back and just go straight for HHH.
And yes - Adamle NEEDS TO GO! They should be forcing this guy to learn the craft or get the %@$!* out!
Posted by: Devin Kelly | July 21, 2008 10:03 AM
Foley missed the point of the entire story line? Umm ... Edge is in love with Vicky, Edge makes a mistake that ruins the relationship, Edge still loves Vicky, Edge tries to spear Fox to prove he still loves Vicky and win her back, Edge spears Vicky by mistake, Edge is horrified with his action. Seems fairly straightforward to me.
I agree that Cole & King did a bad job selling the Punk & Batista storyline. I thought Punk carried that match so well that it would have been my match of the night if we had received a clean finish.
RESPONSE FROM KEVIN ECK: I thought the whole point of the Edge story line was that he was just using Vickie because she was in a position of authority. Otherwise, she's not really his type, wouldn't you say?
Posted by: Din | July 21, 2008 10:07 AM
I think a program now with Punk and either Jericho and/or Shawn Michaels could be a big draw and those two would be good choices to work to help solidify Punks championship-worthiness.
Posted by: AMC | July 21, 2008 10:24 AM
As much as CM Punk was made to look like a viable champ during the match, I thought the finish did a lot to undermine that. The announcers pretty much telling us Punk was about to lose before Kane's arrival was bad enough, but for Batista to again lay him out after the match was over the way he did on RAW made Punk look weak again. Was that really necessary? The seeds for a rematch were already in place without Batista again being made to look like he owns Punk.
And while Y2J and HBK told a good story, it made for a herky-jerky match to watch with the ref constantly stepping in to check Michaels every 30 seconds. After awhile it became obvious he was going to stop the match with the number of times he pushed Jericho away and made a big production about checking the eye.
And while I have no problem giving Benjamin a push, it does seem after making Hardy wait forever to finally take the US title from MVP, they gave him a pretty crummy run as US champ.
And any match that features a car being set on fire with another man in it and a man attaching jumper cables to another man's testicles s a bit much for me. Now that JBL has finally beaten Cena at a PPV match I was hoping these two could just stop wrestling each other.
Posted by: Glen | July 21, 2008 10:54 AM
Kind of thought it was a bore. I reallllly enjoyed the Michaels/Jericho match. The Cena/ JBL match was great because they literally did throw their bodies in "the fire" as far as effort and pain goes. Being thrown into a windshield can't feel wonderful. That was a great match! Edge and HHH had soooo much more to give. I thought that this PPV was more of a stepping stone to Summerslam which is too bad because i liked the card. I hope SS is amazing because they added to the excitement....
RESPONSE FROM KEVIN ECK: It was a steppingstone to SummerSlam, but I still thought it was good in and of itself.
Posted by: Adam B. | July 21, 2008 11:06 AM
It would be nice if they gave Shelton a true push. He seems like a star waiting to happen. I fear that having him beat MH was simply a way to eventually get the title to Jeff Hardy and give him another chance to show he can handle the responsibility before they risk having him be the WWE Champion. I do think it will be a long time before they allow Edge to get near the title again. Or else they would have kept the Vicki-Edge couple angle alive. At this point the guys who would be after the title are mostly faces which would allow Triple H to go heel as he appears to desperately want to do. Just my take.
Posted by: Walt Hollman | July 21, 2008 1:01 PM
Kevin,
Don't you think at this point Adamle's bad announcing is a work?
RESPONSE FROM KEVIN ECK: I do wonder sometimes of it is a work. I 'm just not sure.
Posted by: Johnny | July 21, 2008 1:03 PM
Both Night of Champions and Great American Bash saw three new champions crowned and one mid-card swerve (Cody Rhodes at NOC and Colin Delaney at GAB).
While that alone was not worth the price of a pay-per-view, it will make the events worthwhile. I was irritated last year when most mid-card swerves and title changes occurred on TV, not on PPV.
I believe the majority of title changes should happen on PPV (granted not "all," just "most"). I hope WWE has also decided that their PPV audience should be treated better since they pay almost $15/hr.
Posted by: Kay | July 21, 2008 1:19 PM
Thats pretty funny Adamle actually said that. It would be funny if he just happen to discover that wrestling was fake and then told everybody in the middle of a broadcast. "Well folks, Tommy Dreamer is going to win this match because thats what the run down list back in the guerrilla position says will happen."
Posted by: Elevation | July 21, 2008 2:20 PM
I really don't get the Michelle McCool hate. When Trish Stratus won the women's title for the first time, she was BRUTAL and would usually trip and fall at least once a match. She was much, much worse than Michelle, who is just now winning her first title after nearly 4 years with WWE.
RESPONSE FRO M KEVIN ECK: It's no so much her ability as a worker (which, I guess, is servicable), it's her persona/character. She just doesn't stand out. But that's only my opinion, and it could change. You mentioned Trish Stratus -- she was another one that I didn't get at first, but she eventually won me over.
Posted by: chris | July 21, 2008 3:02 PM
i think your wrong about michelle....matt hardy should have won, tommy dreamer should have won, finlay and hornswoggle should have won, batista should have won, im glad triple h and michelle won, and i defanantly think shawn michaels should have kicked jerichos ass!
Posted by: kara aka CHERRY | July 21, 2008 3:12 PM
I disagree with virtually everything you said. The Bash was terrible. Every match except the Jericho / Michaels one stank. None of the performers really seemed to be that concerned about being there, and there wasn't a single minute in the whole show that came within a million miles of being believable.
The "street fight" match was one of the worst I've ever seen. Were these guys even trying to entertain? The set-ups were pathetic, the wrestling was weak, and the trash talking was, well, camp, to be honest. I'm a JBL fan, but if those two hadn't been as far up on the card as they are that would have been grounds for both their asses to get sent to FCW.
I can't help but think that the worse the Edge / Vickie thing gets recieved the more the guys in the back keep pushing for it. It's awful, it's diving the ratings, and it defeats the purpose of moving HHH and Jim Ross over to Friday nights.
Also, it's no secret why HHH has the belt AGAIN, but come on man, take one for the team and let someone else get a proper run with it - it's your inheritance that's getting (thrown) away the longer you hold it.
"Is he alive or is he dead?" - We really don't care. Take your mask out of the bag and put it back on or go back to the mid-card. You aren't scary without it.
The Jericho / Michaels match wasn't even that good either. It just wasn't as awful as the rest of the show. Once you saw where they were going with it, it just took forever to get there.
This is a company that can do much better than this. Whatever has been going on in the background, maybe even it's just complacency in being the only show around (TNA is still there, but the ratings are back down and levelling out). Whatever it is, it's really affecting the quality of their output, and it's getting worse.
For the record - no-one on that show put half as much effort into their performance as McCool and Neidhart. For whatever their skills might be like in the ring, it was plain to see how much they WANTED to be there.
Morrison and Miz will be fine - they were the only tag team in that match that work at a title level. And I don't say that lightly. Dave Finlay started wrestling not far from where I grew up - the man is a legend to have gotten back to where he is after WCW pushed him to the bottom of the card in the 90's.
Posted by: Anonymous | July 21, 2008 3:27 PM
Shelton over Hardy = panic booking.
Posted by: Amos | July 21, 2008 3:42 PM
Vitriol much, Eric? Too bad that Kevin isn't the only one who touts Shawn Michaels as the best in-ring performer of his generation, one of the greatest of all time, and one of, if not the, best in the business today.
I won't comment on the show yet, as it is waiting for me on my DVR when I get home. However, I do hope that when The Undertaker returns, he gets the revenge pay-off over Edge and Vickie, though I'd settle for Edge if they really intend to turn her face.
Posted by: Mina | July 21, 2008 3:47 PM
Look, I'm a tireless champion for HBK. I've been a fan since the Rockers, but I'm getting a little tired of him only wrestling during PPV's. He has wrestled only one match on RAW since Wrestlemania, (if you want to call that a match, he climbed in the ring kicked someone in the face and left) and we all know that he is getting up there. But if you aren't up the task of regular TV, then I think its time for you to wrap it up. Some of us don't feel like paying $50 a month to watch you wrestle Shawn.
Cena and JBL was about as fun to watch as a Highlander feud. The five year olds should have gotten a kick out of that match. Still can't believe that they went with the ole cable battery hook up to the (testicles) routine. sighs
CM Punk and Batista, eh.
Trips vs. Edge was my number one for the night. Edge just has the ability to make people hate him just by raising an eyebrow. This is a good feud and will get better once the Undertaker gets caught up in the middle of it.
I guess it was a decent showing. I'm anxious to see what happens on RAW.
Detached retina, please.
RESPONSE FROM KEVIN ECK: I think Shawn Michaels is a lot more (legit) banged up than most people realize. He scales back on house shows and TV matches so that he can go all out on PPV. He's earned that right as far as I'm concerned. I feel like I get my money's worth from him on PPV.
Posted by: Jeff | July 21, 2008 4:34 PM
Good read. but ill tell you EXACLTY what \ WWE sees in the stale Michelle Mcool, she dates the Undertaker. So in my opinion, thats the only reason she won the title last nite. Naddie is a FAR better worker than Mcool. SO i gues dating people in high places does help your carrer, (i.e. Triple H)
Posted by: CJ | July 21, 2008 4:35 PM
Wow....8 matches where a monkey could have predicted the winner...all that for $40????
RESPONSE FROM KEVIN ECK: Guess that makes me dumber than a monkey, because I missed a couple.
Posted by: Eric | July 21, 2008 4:35 PM
I am a little disappointed that Matt Hardy only got to have one successful PPV title defense, but I can't think of two people who were more deserving to have a great title match than he and Shelton. I wouldn't mind the two of them trading the belt back and forth in the coming months, but at the same time I could easily see both competitors moving on to more brand-specific things...
I was really hoping for a CM Punk win, but I could've been fine with a Double DQ finish if not for the Batista Bomb at the very end. It's almost as though the WWE is booking Punk to look like an arrogant ass who's in over his head. We'll have to wait and see how it all plays out...
...and am I the only one who gets a little bothered each time either Triple H or Shawn Michaels performs the Crippler Crossface? It just...seems wrong to me. Anybody else at all?
Posted by: Greg Manuel | July 21, 2008 5:41 PM
I'm with Eric.
Posted by: jack in hebron | July 21, 2008 6:04 PM
after reading the first sentence , i had read all that i needed to know . the manlove continues - not that there's anything wrong with that .
Posted by: jack in hebron | July 21, 2008 6:15 PM
I am going to have a tough time buying Colin Delaney as a heel. The 1-2-3 Kid was a believable heel because he was quick on his feet and hard to corner. He could antagonize babyfaces by running away as he taunted them. Can Delaney do that? I think his best talent is bump taking, an attribute best used by babyfaces.
RESPONSE FROM KEVIN ECK: Actually there is a lot of value in a bump-taking heel.
Posted by: Christopher | July 21, 2008 6:21 PM
"Actually there is a lot of value in a bump-taking heel."
I agree that there is value in a monster heel who take anything that 95% of the babyfaces can dish out, but Delaney is ill-suited for the role of monster heel. Then again, if you want to present a face and a heel as equals, I suppose that they would have to bump each other alot. With that in mind, I can't argue vigorously with your response.
Posted by: Christopher | July 21, 2008 7:36 PM
I really wanted HBK to win! It was
a challenge because his eye was
injured.HBK`s the best
Posted by: shivek | July 21, 2008 7:37 PM
I'm happy with the Bash overall. Loved the HBK - Jericho match and I'm not a HHH hater, but I hope he loses the belt by summerslam or at the latest survivor series. I just hope they wait for a big PPV before giving the belt to Jeff Hardy.
Definetly glad Shelton seems to be getting a push, but it is a shame that the US and intercontinental belts are given to someone pretty much at the start of their push rather than it having a big reward like it used to be back in the Shawn Micheals/Bulldog/Bret Hart/Mr Perfect intercontinental days. It seems like now there is no real point having them. Paul Burchill for example is on the hunt for the IC belt and hasn't even been on a PPV yet. No offence to him, but bad booking on the WWE part.
I really hope this is the end of the Cena JBL stuff. I just can't get into their feud, though I think they could both have some good stuff if they had a makeover. Cena needs to be a heel for a while. I don't know who dreamed up the crap that kids will stop buying spinner belts if Cena was a badguy for a while.
If Punk and Batista have another match and punk wins (clean) then him getting bombed by Batista at the end of the match isn't necessarily a bad thing. It makes him look more like an underdog winner. But by itself it was very bad.
Hopefully Morrison and Miz losing the belts is the que for Morrison to get a push as a single. He is definetly star material. Very entertaining and great matches. As i said before about the IC and US belts, it is a shame that tag team belts are handed out like candy to the newcomers. They should have built up Ryder and Hawkins first.
Posted by: Rob | July 21, 2008 7:57 PM
With Miz and Morrison losing the titltes without being pinned, and Hawkins and Ryder as the new Tag Team Champions.... Is there a posibility of a face turn of Miz and Morrison?
I find this highly unlikely, but they weren't pinned, so they will ask for a rematch. And I can't remember the last heel vs heel match that was actually exciting...which means that probably I've never been excited about heel vs heel matches... unless they were top carders (and we now they are not)...
Or maybe another triple fatal mortal kombat way match to put another team that could play the face faction?
US, Divas and Smackdown tag championships were defended, so there is a posibillity that WWE finally decided to use a PPV to defend SD! minor titles, and another to defend those ones from RAW? It could be the right call if that is the case,don't you think?
Foley could say that Edge might like to find a way to rebuild his relationship with Vickie to recover the advantages of being laid with the boss or something like that, instead of saying that Edge is still in love with Vickie, which has no sense at all...
And with this being said, Edge trying to spear Fox could made sense. And his disappointment for hitting Guerrero instead could be justified also.
I think the story wasn't wrong, but announcers screwed things a little bit here.
Posted by: Gaston | July 21, 2008 8:06 PM
"...and am I the only one who gets a little bothered each time either Triple H or Shawn Michaels performs the Crippler Crossface? It just...seems wrong to me. Anybody else at all?"
Both Shawn and Trips have addressed this in interviews. The Crossface existed in wrestling prior to its use by Benoit. The WWE had largely kept its use out of matches. Shawn was the first to start using it when Sweet Chin Music was banned at Survivor Series. He decided to look towards more of a mat-based, technical and submission style. Generally, when the 'E needs someone to try something like this out, they look to Michaels. It was no different this time. Once Shawn had used it a couple of times, they decided that another wrestler should as well. Trips agreed to be that person.
On one hand, I can see why there is some measure of discomfort involved. On the other hand, there's no need to banish a move because the person who used to use it did horrible things.
Posted by: Mina | July 21, 2008 8:19 PM
Kevin...I did not see the show but checked the results and was really surprised by most of the outcomes.
The Shelton push is so overdue that it won't matter at this point, the fans won't care. However, is the "oldest young talent" (if you get my drift) and maybe they want to start turning the company over to the younger most experienced talent.
The Colin turn and Atlas addition will have me tuning in to ECW - good move for them...got me interested.
The Edgehead move was a good one, the fans will hate the fact that they have the belts and want to see them taken by someone...anyone...sounds interesting to me. I think Miz and Morrison will have successful singles runs now. They need not worry.
I love Punk but something is'nt falling into place for the championship run. It needs to be booked differntly...I'm not sure how though...I open for suggestions.
The Edge/Vikki deal is a bit of a coaster ride, but am I the only person that heard Adamle mistakely say on ECW last week that Chavo "looked dapper at the reception" when it technically had not taken place because Smackdown had not aired yet. Taz quickly tried to turn things around by saying "what are you talking about it has'nt happened yet!" Poor Adamle...
Posted by: Rob the barber | July 21, 2008 10:45 PM
I'm amazed at the number of whiney, stereotypical wrestling fans posting here. Some of you can't be pleased, so just go do something else instead.
I thought it was a quite good show, many good matches, and one great one.
Only thing I disagree with, Kevin:
"RESPONSE FROM KEVIN ECK: I thought the whole point of the Edge story line was that he was just using Vickie because she was in a position of authority. Otherwise, she's not really his type, wouldn't you say?"
Nah, I think you missed the point on this one, to be honest.
Posted by: David Worsley | July 22, 2008 1:19 AM
I did see the show at my local bar, it was pretty awful. We missed the first 2 matches. I then drowned out the last set with 4 long islands.
Posted by: Mr. Bronson | July 22, 2008 2:00 AM
"But if you aren't up the task of regular TV, then I think its time for you to wrap it up."
I'm not sure it's that. Jericho's been doing great work now, but he had a hard time getting over when he came back. I mean, this feud started because people were cheering HBK beating him up.
Hence, the protracted eye injury angle. Michaels has been wrestling house shows for several weeks... it's not that he's not up to performing. I think they're just trying to show that Jericho's done serious damage to him, to get him more heat, and it's been working (in combination with Y2J's great promo work). I want to see Michaels wrestling more, obviously, but I think this is helping give Jericho the focus and spotlight that he needs at the moment.
RESPONSE FROM KEVIN ECK: For sure, Michaels not wrestling on TV is partly due to selling the injury. But I also think there is the possibility that he is picking his spots because he is hurting. As for house shows, yes, he does them, but he has a lighter schedule than others.
Posted by: Ana | July 22, 2008 11:52 AM
"RESPONSE FROM KEVIN ECK: I thought the whole point of the Edge story line was that he was just using Vickie because she was in a position of authority. Otherwise, she's not really his type, wouldn't you say?"
Honestly? I agree with you, Kevin. That is why the interaction with Alicia Fox makes sense.
Posted by: Mina | July 22, 2008 11:57 AM
Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels...... I mean we all know that Everybody should follow Jericho's path because you will get everywhere by following his path
Of The Future.
His an honest man and a guy that everybody should RESPECT and all he wants is RESPECT and people have too give it to HIM!!!
JERICHO UR AWESOME IM FOLLOWING UR PATH EVERY STEP OF THE WAY!!!!
Posted by: isabel | July 22, 2008 6:22 PM
I don't know why the WWE hates original ECW and more importantly hates Tommy Dreamer!!!!!!!!! Delaney made a big mistake because now Tommy is Pied Off. It was the best ECW since ECW came back. Tommy finally got a win in original ECW land and when Teddy Long said Dreamer was the past, but also will be the future of ECW, I got chills, DID YOU???
Posted by: Mike | July 23, 2008 11:27 PM
Kevin,
I guess I see your point. I have basic cable and miss most of the PPV's. Michaels has been my favorite wrestler for years and it kind of sucks not getting to see him wrestle. I am going to a house show in August at Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, Pa and he is on the bill, so here's hoping that you are wrong about him being a legit injury.
But the fact that he has had one match on RAW since April speaks volumes. Maybe your right, I don't know.
Anyway, just sending this along in response to your response. I agree also, Michaels has earned a respite after all he has given us over the years. Its just bittersweet for us fans.
Posted by: Jeff | July 23, 2008 11:30 PM
Think of it this way, Jeff. If he takes this respite the way he has been doing, we get to see him talk on Monday nights, wrestle on PPVs and house shows, and he heals up faster and comes back to wrestling on Raw more often sooner. I'd rather see him talk, then not see him at all on Monday nights.
Posted by: Mina | July 25, 2008 12:21 PM
we still miss guys like The Rock , Brock Lesner, Bill Goldberg ...
please make a show on your slot like during Jerico's show, just to let us know how they are doing.
Posted by: Mpho Modise | August 6, 2008 3:46 PM