Bleacher Report - Articles by C C

The Clock is Ticking for Ring of Honor Champion Nigel McGuinness

C C — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 12:39:52 -0400

Nigel McGuinness, the current Ring of Honor champion, reached the milestone of being champion for one calendar year this past Monday.

Nigel won the title last October from Japanese powerhouse Takeshi Morishima at the company's "Undeniable" PPV and obviously has not lost it since, with 22 successful title defenses.

But Nigel has been on thin ice lately, nearly losing the title in a four-way elimination match at "Death Before Dishonor VI" in August against Bryan Danielson, Claudio Castagnoli and Tyler Black, who nearly took the title from him.

He has also faced El Generico, Roderick Strong and Jimmy Jacobs since then and faced tough challenges in each match. Somehow he just always finds a way to come out on top.

The question is, will Nigel be able to continue his title reign into 2009? I think not, and I see him losing the title at one of ROH's upcoming events to finish off 2008.

McGuinness is scheduled to face Bryan Danielson on their next PPV and Naomichi Marufuji has also been granted a title shot sometime in the future, most likely at "Final Battle" 2008 in Manhattan.

I say at Final Battle because Nigel cut a promo after his match at DBD VI, saying there was no one left on the ROH roster who he hadn't already successfully defended his title against (although there is clearly a few) and he had prove himself as the top champion because of this.

Marufuji was standing at the entrance stage pointing at Nigel, basically implying he wanted a title shot and Nigel hadn't defended the title against him yet.

ROH makes their return to Manhattan with Final Battle December 27th, which would continue this storyline from the ending of the last Manhattan show, as well as be a significant time for Nigel to lose the title.

It would only mark 14 months of him holding the title, thus not allowing him to pass Bryan Danielson's 15-month reign as champion, the second longest in company history behind Samoa Joe.

So take this as my prediction: The clock is ticking on Nigel McGuinness' title reign and I see it ending in the foreseeable future, most likely to Naomichi Marufuji at Final Battle 2008.

Ring Of Honor: Truly Rising Above

C C — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 12:05:32 -0400

Ring Of Honor, the top indy organization in pro-wrestling today is getting ready for their upcoming lineup of shows which should give their fans some top quality action that will finish off what has already been a great year for the company.

If you have never seen an ROH event then you are truly missing out on some of the best quality wrestling on the market today. I recently attended their "Death Before Dishonor VI" show at the Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan. This was not the first ROH event I have attended, but I will say it was better than the first two that I attended (Manhattan Mayhem in August of '07 and the "Rising Above" PPV last December) which really impresses me.

On the other hand, I also attended a WWE house show a week after I went to DBD in August and it just didn't compare. Now I know it was just a house show and I wasn't going into it expecting a great wrestling event for the ages, but it was in Wildwood New Jersey where they hyped the show a good amount as it is a huge vacationing area, so I was expecting a pretty good show (it was decent, three out of five I'd give it).

My point is that I love knowing that I am going to get something better than the last show I attended when I go to an ROH show and knowing that I will not be let down by a bunch of mediocre performances by their wrestlers. Their talent is some of the best out there and this is a fact, not just my opinion.

Many of their stars have gone onto WWE and TNA as most people know, but the sad thing is they just don't compare to what they once were in ROH. It's not their fault, I understand that it's a completely different stage working with the big name companies compared to the indy organizations.

ROH has grown over the years since it was founded in 2002 though, and even more so now than ever. They made their PPV debut last summer and put one out about every two months. Unfortunately these shows are all pre-recorded and don't actually debut on PPV for a couple months after they actually happen, but that doesn't bother the average ROH fan. They know whenever they turn on an ROH DVD or order one of their PPVs they are not going to be let down.

The company's catchphrase "real wrestling, for real fans" truly captures their essence in providing quality shows for their fans. They know wrestling fans are tired of the same old rivalries and trashy promos they get from the weekly wrestling shows, and pride themselves on giving the fans something new and different at every show.

Their talent goes above the rest with a broad range of technical, speedy, and high-flying wrestlers that make up their roster. The wrestlers also show great character with their gimmicks, cutting hilarious promos that would never have a chance of passing through the creative team of the big companies.

ROH also has close ties to the major Japanese promotion Pro-Wrestling NOAH allows them to bring in some of the best Japanese wrestlers who never fail to impress.

The top organizations will always be there to watch every week (well maybe not always) and they are the true heart of the pro-wrestling industry without a doubt. But it's nice to know there's a company out there actually putting on wrestling shows for the fans.

By wrestling I mean WRESTLING, not wrestling half of the show and talking the other half!

Don't get me wrong, ROH still has in ring promos and such, but for the most part you know you're going to get TNA (TRUE non-stop action) when you walk into the building for an ROH show or turn on one of their DVDs, which is why Ring Of Honor (to quote on-air commentator Dave Prazak) "truly is rising above!"

RAW Recap For October 6th 2008

C C — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:22:30 -0400

The show opens with Michael Cole telling us they are live from the Key Arena in Seattle.

Chris Jericho enters for a promo to pretty much no reaction from the crowd, although it is more of a reaction than when he entered last night at No Mercy. Jericho has a decent bruise on the left side of his mouth which he obviously suffered at the hands of HBK last night.

Jericho tells us Mike Adamle is meeting with the McMahons tonight, so he will be the GM running tonight's show. He tells us tonight will feature HBK V. Lance Cade in a no DQ match. Jericho then goes on to show he also suffered a chipped tooth last night which is definitely noticeable whenever he opens his mouth.

The new No. 1 contender Batista then interrupts Jericho and comes down to the ring. Batista goes on to tell Jericho to "pick a number" to which Jericho responds by asking what he's talking about. Batista tells Jericho to pick a number of days until he loses the title to him.

Jericho responds saying that the number would not matter he could defend the title tonight and he will make the name Batista synonymous with "failure." Batista then goes on to give Jericho a spine buster to end the promo.

Next we see a promo for a match later tonight which will be Rey Mysterio and Matt Hardy V. Kane and Mark Henry

After the commercial break they show a clip of what wasn't seen during the break which is Jericho reminding Batista he is tonight's GM which means he can strip Batista of his #1 contendership. Rather than that he decides to make Batista defend it again tonight against JBL with none other than himself as the special guest referee which is the main event tonight.

Next we see William Regal sitting ringside in his throne getting ready to watch the next match

"Glamarella" V. Jamie Noble & Mickie James

Pre-match Santino cuts one of his typical goofy promos and says he has a new favorite NBA team, revealing an Oklahama City Thunder t-shirt and hat he has. Rather funny, I really enjoy Santino's character.

The match starts off with the two women squaring off for about a minute until both tag their male counterparts in. Jamie Noble gets the momentum for the most part until Santino gets a quick roll up for the win. Short match, pretty pointless. After the match Jamie Noble goes outside the ring to brawl with William Regal.

After the brawl they cut backstage to HBK's locker room where he cuts a heated promo about how Jericho has to send Cade to do his dirty work for him and how he "still has gas in the tank" after last night's match.

Next Match

Ted DiBiase V. Kofi Kingston

This is Ted's first singles match in a long time, I think only his second one since debuting in WWE. Anyway, the match starts with Kofi taking the first offensive only to lose it quickly to Ted. They are fighting a rather technical match using submissions and holds mainly to this point.

Kofi starts using his quickness giving Ted a few kicks to take him down then going up top to hit a flying forearm. Kofi is dominating at this point leading to Cody Rhodes coming up to the ring apron and distracting Kofi. Kofi turns his attention to Rhodes allowing Ted to get Kofi in the Million Dollar Dream and hit a Russian leg sweep and get the pin.

After commercial there is another Jericho promo backstage with him talking to Randy Orton. He tells Orton how he has been just telling everyone about his accomplishments and hasn't been able to do anything since he's been injured. He goes on to say he is going to put Orton to work tonight but the promo ends abruptly leaving us to wonder what Jericho means.

Next is a promo about John Cena's injury featuring an interview with Batista regarding the injury. They go on to detail what really happened to Cena (herniated disk in his shoulder) and show clips of him in the hospital and his recovery process.

After commercial they show highlights from last nights PPV.

Rey Mysterio & Matt Hardy V. Kane & Mark Henry

Rey enters (still masked) to a good pop from the crowd. There's no denying Mysterio is really big with the younger crowd and I think that played a part in him keeping his mask on last night, it makes him a colorful character which I think appeals to kids.

Hardy gets a solid reaction although not as much as Rey, and Mark Henry gets no reaction at all. Kane then enters to a few cheers from the crowd, and they try to make it look as if Mysterio is worried about tonight's match, holding his head as if he doesn't know what to do.

Mysterio and Kane start off the match with Mysterio using his quickness to get the early advantage. He tags Matt in after about 30 seconds and the two begin double teaming Kane. Kane recovers and begins dishing it out to Hardy, then getting the tag to Mark Henry. Hardy is able to get the tag to Rey and both men begin a double team assault, taking out both Kane and Henry.

They cut to commercial and upon returning we see Hardy and Henry going at it in the ring. Rey and Matt have worked on taking out Mark Henry's knee during the break and hope to expose the weakness to win the match.

Hardy tags Rey back in but Henry is able to get the advantage back over Rey after he attempts and pin and Kane gives Rey a blow to the back of the head from the outside. Henry then throws Rey out of the ring. Kane gets tagged back in and begins his assault on Mysterio. He beats on him for a couple minutes until he goes up top for an axe handle slam which Rey avoids.

After this Rey tags Matt back in and he holds the advantage, until Henry is tagged back in and the match goes back and forth from here on out pretty much. Rey eventually hits a 619 on Kane leading to Matt going up top to finish Kane off.

Henry on the outside grabs Rey when he attempts to take him out and throws him onto the top rope knocking Hardy off the ring post into a choke slam by Kane for the win.

HBK V. Lance Cade No DQ

Match starts with Lance Cade dominating early. He tosses HBK out and grabs a table from under the ring. Cade is pounding on HBK outside the ring and the crowd starts a prominent HBK chant.

Cade now sets the table up and proceeds to grab HBK and slam him through the table. Cade throws HBK back in the ring and then grabs a chair. He goes back in to attempt hitting HBK with the chair but fails when HBK recovers with a few quick blows. He gets the chair from Cade and hits him in the head with it taking him down.

HBK proceeds to hit Cade about 13 times with the chair all over his body, following it with a pin which gets him the win. After the match HBK proceeds to hit Cade about five more times with the chair which the crowd loves. The ref makes HBK stop and he leaves the ring just looking really pissed off.

After the commercial Jerry Lawler is cutting a promo to promote Cyber Sunday. He says how Santino Marella will defend his IC title against whoever the fans choose. The three choices are Roddy Piper, Goldust, and Honky Tonk Man.

After the promo Great Khali enters talking about his recent interview with Johnny Knoxville. They show a video of the interview and Knoxville asks Khali about the size of his " tally whacker." Apparently Khali gets angry over this and tries to flip a table over on Knoxville.

They cut back to the ring where Khali challenges Knoxville to a match next week on Raw. So we should probably expect that to happen. Khali goes on to host "the kissing game" which involves the cameras focusing on different couples throughout the crowd hoping they will kiss each other.

After a few couples they focus on Lillian Garcia who Khali walks up to and proceeds to kiss. Pretty dumb segment, don't know why they added it on.

Kelly Kelly V. Jillian

They come back from commercial cutting even more garbage with John Morrison and The Miz. Jillian is in the ring also and does a rendition of smells like teen spirit since they are in Seattle hometown of Nirvana. Kelly Kelly then enters as her opponent followed by Cryme Tyme.

This is strange as the two women battle it out in the ring Cryme Tyme and Morrison/Miz are arguing over the commentary of the match. They are standing on opposite sides of the announcers table just arguing back and forth with The King and Cole acting as moderators. I love how they totally under mind the Women's match with this, but Kelly Kelly ends up winning.

After the break they return with even more on John Cena. They show a bunch of clips of the other superstars embracing how tough he really is.Cena is due back soon so they're trying to hype his return basically.

JBL V. Batista Number One Contender Match

Jericho enters followed by JBL, but after JBL's entrance we see Jericho whisper in Lillian Garcia's ear. She looks at him baffled and he tells her "JUST SAY IT" to which she introduces William Regal as the special guest timekeeper.

But Jericho is not done, he then has her introduce Randy Orton as special guest commentator. They cut to commercial and upon returning Batista enters to a good pop from the crowd, probably the biggest of the night. The match opens with both men squaring off, crowd chanting Batista pretty loudly. He gets the early advantage and begins working on JBL's knee.

Going for the pin, Jericho counts very slowly to one allowing JBL to kick out. He gets him in a figure four which he holds for about 30 seconds until JBL gets the rope break. Jericho is trying to encourage JBL throughout the match also. JBL is able to get back on the offensive for a short while but he quickly loses it back to Batista.

They take it outside the ring and JBL is able to get a few shots in on Batista until Jericho tells him to get back in the ring. JBL walks around to the other side with Jericho following, allowing Regal to attack Batista from the timekeepers table. JBL and Jericho go back into the ring followed by Batista getting thrown back in.

JBL covers but Jericho cannot count fast enough for him to get the pin. Batista is able to recover and ends up giving a spear to both Jericho and JBL. Realizing he took out Jericho he starts to panic, only to be saved by Mike Adamle who comes out with another referee to call the rest of the match. Batista goes for the pin but JBL has been given to much time and kicks out.

Batista then goes on to give him a Batista bomb which he secures the victory on. Jericho watches from the outside trying to get back into the ring to stop it from happening but is unable to recover in time.

After the match Mike Adamle comes out and says he finds it funny how Jericho named himself special guest referee for tonights match. He says he met with the McMahon's and they told him to "stir things up a bit." He decides to do so by saying Jericho will defend his title at Cyber Sunday with the fans choosing the special guest referee. The choices given are Randy Orton, HBK, or Steve Austin to whom the fans cheer loudly for.

No surprise here with the Austin deal, everyone knew he was coming back for Cyber Sunday, but looks like they're already gonna be pushing this PPV getting some good hype behind it like the last few. Overall a decent show, had some good promos but nothing special. I'd give it 3.5 out of 5

WWE Confiscates Crowd Signs They Deem "Inappropriate"

C C — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 09:25:29 -0400

For as long as I can remember, wrestling fans (especially in WWE) have had a love affair with making signs to hold up at the live events they attend.

For most, I would assume they make the signs with the intent to hopefully get their three seconds of fame when the camera focuses on their sign saying something quirky or possibly offensive.

Personally, I've never made a sign to bring to a wrestling event, although I can't say the thought didn't come to mind when attending my first WWE event (Smackdown in '99).

But fans will now have to think twice about what they are going to write on their signs. According to various reports in the past few weeks, the company, as well as building security, are now confiscating signs they deem inappropriate, offensive, or anything they downright don't want to be seen on their shows.

I'm sure this isn't something totally new and has happened many times throughout the years of the popular crowd signs at wrestling shows, as they would not let someone hold up a sign saying "F*** (insert name)" or such profane things to that degree.

However after a report of a WWE official confiscating a fans sign directed towards HBK saying "Has Been Kid" at last night's No Mercy PPV I think they are taking this a little too far.

I understand that WWE is trying to promote a less vulgar, more family-oriented product, and that may be why they are confiscating signs saying things that may not be suitable for their program.

But something as simple as "Has Been Kid" just doesn't seem like it is grounds to be confiscated. And besides, it's not like the cameras HAVE to focus in on these signs, they could pick out a handful they deem "OK" to show and focus on those, right?

Other reasons I think that they are confiscating the signs for is for storyline purposes. This may not make much sense, but I seriously think it may factor into why they confiscate certain signs like the "Has Been Kid" sign which isn't offensive at all.

They want HBK to have a strong face character in his storyline with Jericho, and when the younger audience sees someone holding up a sign saying something like that it gives the impression that maybe HBK isn't the great wrestler they believe him to be.

I know it sounds ridiculous, and most people wouldn't even pay attention to these signs other than for comedic factor, but you can't put anything past WWE.

Overall the main problem I have with the situation is the fact that they are confiscating signs that have harmless sayings on them.

After all, we do have the First Amendment to the constitution which is allowing me to write this article right now and should allow these fans to hold up signs saying or showing what they think they are conveying to the rest of the wrestling world, at least to some degree.

Yes, the right to free speech is never absolute, and I agree that fans should not be allowed to hold up offensive signs or signs that may cause problems for the show.

But confiscating inoffensive signs simply because the company does not want them to be seen for whatever reasons is where it starts to bother me.

WWE No Mercy Results and Review

C C — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 15:49:16 -0400

Okay, so here are the results from tonight's "No Mercy" PPV. I'll also give my opinions on the matches and thoughts on the entire show at the end.

Pre-Show Dark Match: Carlito & Primo Colon V. John Morrison & The Miz

Carlito & Primo Colon win. Obviously, this wasn't aired so I have no review of the match, I just have the result, which I got from ewrestlingnews.com, so I figured I'd add it.

Opening Match

Matt Hardy (c) V. Mark Henry ECW Championship Match

Not much of a crowd reaction for Mark Henry. No pop obviously but also not many boos, pretty quiet for his entrance. On the other hand, a good pop from the crowd for Matt Hardy when he enters.

The match begins with both men grappling each other and Mark Henry taking the early offense. He gets the upper hand and proceeds to pound on Hardy with blows to the head and kicks to the stomach.

This continues for about another minute and a half until Matt Hardy reverses Mark Henry holding him up to put him on the turnbuckle for some sort of slam. Hardy loses the momentum quickly though, which leads to the two going back and forth with dishing out the attacks.

The match is rather boring to this point, but the fans seem to be into it getting behind Hardy who is pretty much losing the match to this point. Henry continues to dominate for about another three or four minutes until Hardy gains the momentum back.

He hits Mark Henry with an elbow off the top rope and then the twist of fate. Matt attempts the pin but Henry kicks out after two. The match continues for about another minute until Hardy hits another twist of fate, this time to get the three-count and retain the title.

My thoughts: Decent match to get the crowd into the event, although it was pretty boring. Not much to expect in an ECW title match, and the match went back and forth for the most part with Matt winning unsurprisingly. The young fans really love the Hardys, and Matt's doing great on ECW, so I don't see why he would lose the title anytime soon.

Next there is a promo with HHH and Jeff Hardy to promote some new WWE mobile promotion. The two talk back and forth with HHH saying how he is a big fan of Hardy's work and he wants him to give it everything he's got in their match tonight. Hardy says he appreciates it, but he will be priding himself on taking HHH's title tonight.

Beth Phoenix (c) V. Candice Michelle Womens Championship Match

I won't go into much detail with this match, but I will give the decision, which is Beth Phoenix winning with the Glam Slam, due to some inadvertent interference by Santino Marella.

Next is a promo from Kane where he says tonight will be the night for Rey Mysterio to be unmasked, and it will destroy his confidence and everything he hides behind. He also comments on the WWE fans, saying they too will be "unmasked" tonight. This leads into Rey's entrance to the arena...

Kane V. Rey Mysterio

Rey enters like he usually does, talking to the kids and giving them high fives. The match begins and Michael Cole makes a comment that Rey is wearing a Blue and Yellow colored mask to represent the ancient aztec warrior fighting colors, which he hopes will give him strength tonight. Interesting point.

Anyway, the match begins with Rey doing some quick reversals on Kane to gain the momentum, only to have it shut down by a big boot from Kane. Mysterio recovers and keeps going at Kane until he is stopped once again by a clothesline.

The match continues going back and forth between the two with Mysterio getting caught in many of Kane's moves, only to reverse them. Kane even goes on to try an rip Mysterio's mask off on his own during the match.

The bout ends when Mysterio goes for a splash off the turnbuckle to Kane who was standing outside the ring by the timekeeper. Kane pulls out a chair and holds it up for Mysterio to land on. Kane gets DQ'd and Rey will keep his mask on for now.

My Thoughts: Good match, didn't expect it to end the way it did. I thought Mysterio would lose and have to take off his mask.

Next is a promo with MVP talking on his cell phone backstage complaining to someone about how he doesn't have a match tonight. He goes up to Vickie Guerrero's locker room to be greeted by Big Show, who tells him she cannot be bothered right now.

After the promo, MVP makes his way out to the arena and cuts another promo saying how "if you're the Cleveland Cavs, you do not bench LeBron James" and how he should not be benched for tonight's event, since the entire WWE Universe revolves around him.

He goes on a bit more, only to be interrupted by Randy Orton, who comes out and says what MVP is talking about is actually him. The two continue to trash talk each other, possibly building a feud for when Orton returns, when "Simply Priceless" enter.

Cody Rhodes begins on the mic saying how Orton graduated high school but never went to college and just "coasted by on his high school reputation" until he became a wrestler.

Orton goes on to say he can tell they're trying really hard to impress him and maybe they can once they accomplish half of what he has. Orton proceeds to leave the ring as if he doesn't care about what any of them have to say.

MVP tries to tell Simply Priceless he wouldn't mind being a part of their team, until Ted DiBiase shuts him down by reminding him his father was not one of the greatest WWE superstars like theirs.

MVP goes on to leave the ring until CM Punk and Kofi Kingston come out and convince him to team up with them. The three run down to the ring to attack Simply Priceless, but Punk and Kofi stay back and let MVP go it alone into the ring.

They all go on to have a short brawl, and after it concludes they cut to a shot of Jericho and HBK preparing for tonight's match.

Next Match:

JBL V. Batista World Heavyweight Championship Number One Contender Match

JBL enters to no reaction except some boos. Batista is the complete opposite and he gets a tremendous pop when he enters. The match begins with the men exchanging blows until Batista takes the offensive.

JBL gets momentum back after a boot to the face and then goes for the clothesline from hell, which Batista avoids and then hits JBL with a spear. The two go outside the ring and go at it for about a minute until they go back into the ring.

Batista pretty much controls the match from here on out, and ends up winning the match on a Batista bomb.

JBL goes on to talk on the mic after the match when he is recovering, saying how it has been an awful week for him and how he thought he would surely be going on to face HBK or Jericho after tonight's match.

He says his "heart wasn't in this tonight and after the week on Wall Street, this is the most dramatic week of my life." He keeps talking about politics and other crap, until he is interrupted by Cryme Tyme, who are standing by his limousine backstage.

They tell him they're going to take his limo out on the town and have a bunch of ladies walk up to get in with them. Sgt. Slaughter hops in, too, which was the best part of the segment.

My thoughts: I'm not a fan of either of them, so I really wasn't sold on the match. It was a pretty quick match, only about 10 minutes surprisingly, but something I'm thankful of. The promo afterwards was horrible, besides the Sgt. Slaughter bit as mentioned.

Next is a teaser for the Big Show-Undertaker match summing up the feud for the past few weeks, leading up to the match.

Big Show V. Undertaker

Match starts with Undertaker giving some shots to Big Show's face. Show gets a kick in and throws Taker out of the ring. Undertaker jumps up on the apron and delivers some more shots to the face.

Big Show comes out of the ring and whips Taker into the barrier. Undertaker recovers and throws Big Show into the ringpost. Undertaker now has the strong offensive. They take it back into the ring, and Big Show gets the momentum back once again.

They continue going back and forth until Big Show goes for a chokeslam and Undertaker reverses it into a DDT. Undertaker tries to pin him, but he kicks out and after recovering removes a turnbuckle cover on one of the ring posts.

He throws Undertaker into it then proceeds to deliver some serious blows the head which knock The Undertaker out. Ref calls for the bell on a KO. He walks out acting as if he is confused where he is and having a difficult time walking straight.

My thoughts: I thought Undertaker would win and get his revenge from Unforgiven. Guess I was wrong as he basically got beaten pretty bad again.

Next is a screen showing a WWE mobile survey result as to who will win tonight's match: Jeff Hardy or HHH. 72 percent of fans think Jeff Hardy, while 28 percent think HHH. Then we see a promo to build up the match like usual.

HHH V. Jeff Hardy WWE Championship Match

Both stars are well received by the fans, about equal noise for each when they are introduced. The match starts with both men shaking hands, then HHH attacking Jeff when he turns his back.

HHH goes for a quick rollup pin after taking him down but Jeff kicks out, and the two square off. Jeff is making HHH fight his style of match, quick and fast, which is giving HHH a hard time.

Hardy gets the upper hand and controls the match using his reversals and quick maneuvering. He keeps up for about five minutes until he tries an aerial move on HHH after throwing him out of the ring which he misses.

HHH is now controlling the match for about five minutes also. The two men continue going at it, both pretty much exhausted and having trouble staying on their feet. The fans really want to see a title change and are really behind Hardy at this point.

Hardy attempts a Whisper in the Wind but HHH stops him. He then goes on to attempt a pedigree, which Hardy reverses and leads into both men attempting their finishing moves on each other numerous times, with each one countering the other's.

In the end, Jeff hits the swanton then goes for the pin, only to have HHH roll him up after a Jeff's two-count to win the match. Both men shake hands after the match.

My thoughts: Good match, thought that HHH would retain the title. Certain spots had me thinking Jeff might have a chance at winning, which made it a decent match in my opinion.

Post Match: HHH is congratulated by Arn Anderson (which I loved) and he is also stared down by Vladimir Kozlov, who will most likely be an upcoming contender for the title it seems.

Chris Jericho V. Shawn Michaels World Heavyweight Championship Ladder match

Jericho enters to no reaction whatsoever from the crowd, he also walks under a ladder on his way to the ring. Note: no Lance Cade. HBK gets a pretty good pop from the crowd and Jericho gets good heat; no surprises here.

The match starts with HBK on the offensive trying a Sweet Chin Music early, which Jericho avoids and allows him to get the momentum. They start using the ladders, and HBK makes the first attempt at the title.

Jericho stops him and brings him back to the mat to fight some more, until HBK makes another attempt which Jericho stops by pushing the entire ladder down.

Jericho is bleeding from the mouth at this point. Jericho gets his leg caught in the ladder which injures him and HBK capitalizes on this by putting him in a figure four.

He doesn't hold the momentum for long, though, and Jericho gets it back laying HBK between the ladder and slamming it shut with him in the middle.

After this, Jericho makes an attempt for the title, which HBK stops by knocking the ladder over. Jericho still holds the momentum, though, until HBK throws him into the ladder positioned on top of the ringpost.

After Jericho falls out of the ring, HBK takes the ladder and throws it on top of him and then proceeds outside the ring also. He goes on to slam Jericho numerous times with a ladder and then on to dismantle the announcers' table.

He lays Jericho on the table and climbs a ladder he has set up next to it. Jericho is able to recover and climbs the ladder to make HBK and himself fall through the announcers' table.

Jericho takes most of the fall, and HBK is first to recover, but Jericho follows and both men go back into the ring. HBK tries setting up some sort of move off the top turnbuckle holding the ladder in front of him and Jericho kicks it into his face.

Jericho then gets on top of the ladder to exchange blows with HBK. HBK pushes the ladder down and then attempts a flying elbow, which Jericho blocks with the ladder.

Michaels is hurt but stays on his feet getting ready for a Sweet Chin Music. He goes for the kick but Jericho throws the ladder into him which takes him down. Jericho now has control, making strong use of the ladder on HBK.

He proceeds to pin HBK under the bottom rung of the ladder so he cannot escape, but when he gets about 3/4 up the ladder, HBK is able to push the ladder up, which leads to Jericho falling off the ladder and out of the ring.

Jericho is down outside the ring, giving HBK a good chance to win the match. He tries to get the belt getting all the way up, but Jericho is able to get back in the ring to knock the ladder over.

Jericho sets the ladder back up and begins climbing, followed by HBK. The two battle it out on top of the ladder and Lance Cade comes out to help out Jericho. HBK is able to knock Jericho off the ladder and is about to grab the title until Lance Cade comes out and pulls him off the ladder.

HBK knocks Lance Cade out of the picture and climbs back up the ladder with Jericho. Both men are in a "tug of war" with the belt and HBK inadvertently pulls Jericho back up to headbutt him and HBK falls of the ladder, allowing Jericho to grab the title for the win.

My thoughts: Great match, Jericho lost a tooth or broke one, because he was missing one after the match. He also got busted up again showing he's a true performer, I really like his work. Overall, great match. HBK was good as well.

Devils Drop First Preseason Game, May Be in for a Long Season

C C — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 06:30:54 -0400

After a 4-1 loss to Philadelphia in their preseason opener, the New Jersey Devils look as if they may be off to a rough start, but the team has high expectations for this season and they rightfully should.

The team has not lived up to their expectations for the past few years—especially after last year's first round elimination in the playoffs by the rival New York Rangers—but they are seen as a contender for Lord Stanley's Cup almost every season.

Sensing that there needed to be some sort of change after last season, GM Lou Lamariello signed two former Devils—Brian Rolston and Bobby Holik—off the free agent market over the summer. Both players were members of Devils' Stanley Cup winning teams (Rolston in '95, Holik in both '95 and '00), so many fans will be glad for the return of these two veteran centers, who should help to fill a void with the major scoring problems the Devils had last season.

The Devils still retain other key forwards such as Jamie Langenbrunner, Patrik Elias, Brian Gionta, Travis Zajac, Dainius Zubrus, and John Madden, who will all benefit from the re-signing of Rolston and Holik.

Since the Devils had a major problem with depth at center last season, adding the two centers will give the Devils' wingmen a great boost in their game. That will most likely convert into more goals scored.

Other veterans, such as Colin White, will still be with the team to help maintain their powerful defense that the team has been built so much around throughout the years.

And Martin Brodeur, the Devils' prized goaltender and winner of last year's Vezina trophy, will still be between the pipes for the team, and backup Kevin Weekes is still on board to give Brodeur a rest whenever he needs.

The Devils have suggested in the past that the workload of Brodeur could be reduced because he is growing older and Weekes is a suitable backup/replacement for him, but that wasn't the case last season as Brodeur started 77 of the team's 82 games. Either way, the Devils have what most consider to be the best goaltender in the game today, and they will have no problems in this area as long as Brodeur is around to protect the net for the team.

Overall, Devils fans should expect nothing special from the team this season. The team will most likely be a contender in the tough Atlantic division, and it would be surprising to see them play poorly this season, although there is the possibility they could be worse than last year if it all doesn't come together like they plan.