WWE/TNA News: My Top 10 Moments of the Week

Another week of professional wrestling has ended.

WWE Raw surprised me and was a good show. Usually, the Raw before a pay-per-view tends to fall flat and disappoint, but the Monday Night Raw before the Royal Rumble did not disappoint.

TNA Impact Wrestling delivered another good show as well. TNA Wrestling has really been on a role lately, and I hope they can keep it up.

WWE SmackDown was great! It was definitely the best show of the week.

Here are my 10 moments of the week.

10. Angelina Love and Winter vs. ODB and Eric Young

While this wasn’t exactly a good match, it was pure entertainment from beginning to end.

Eric Young was hilarious in the beginning, as he ran around the ring, locked up with the referee and screwed with both Angelina Love and Winter.

When ODB got into the ring, things picked up and turned into an actual match. Even then, Young kept up with the comedy.

When ODB delivered a bronco buster, Young quickly rolled their opponent out of the way and wanted one himself.

I love the pairing of Eric Young and ODB. They’re great together and are making for some very entertaining television.

I really hope TNA keeps them together throughout the year.

As for Angelina and Winter, I’d prefer to see them having legit matches, but at least they’re getting television time.

9. Velvet Sky vs. Tara vs. Mickie James: No. 1 Contender’s Match

This was a decent match that I thought was going to be better, but it was a little slow.

What I liked most was that Tara won the match.

While I wanted to see Velvet take home the victory, Tara is a great choice.

She and Gail Kim know each other in the ring very well, and that should transition into a great match.

Frankly, I’m just glad Mickie James didn’t win.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan of Mickie. I’ve been a fan of hers since her early days in TNA as Alexis Laree, but there’s just too much of her right now.

When she returned to TNA in 2010, she was immediately pushed into the title picture and she has been there ever since.

While Velvet got to have her moment, Mickie was still there.

She’s become stale and just needs to take a break.

Thankfully, Tara will be getting the chance she deserves after being stuck with Brooke Tessmacher last year.

I don’t think Tara will win, but this feud will make for some great matches.

8. Chris Jericho Finally Speaks

This past Monday on Raw saw the return of Chris Jericho’s Highlight Reel.

Jericho continued to tease the crowd before running off again. This time, though, he actually came back.

He brought out the t-shirt cannon, but he didn’t actually shoot out any shirts as he grabbed one of the cameras.

He then grabbed the mic and was about to speak, but he showed a highlight video of himself instead.

When it ended, he finally spoke. Chris Jericho’s first words back were, “The Royal Rumble will be the end of the world as you know it.”

Jericho once again teased the fans here and he did it more than ever before. At first I thought it was going to result in him not saying anything once again.

While it was only one sentence, that sentence was very cryptic.

The Ayatollah of Rock ‘n’ Rolla could be referencing a number of things by saying that the world will end at the Rumble.

Does it mean he plans on winning? Were those “It Begins” videos meant for someone else as well?

I guess we’ll just have to wait until the Royal Rumble event.

7. Zema Ion vs. Alex Shelley

This was a good match that had some nice back-and-forth action and had a good pace to it.

Shelley looked great in the ring after being gone since about September. There was no ring rust whatsoever. You can tell he’s ready for the best in the X-Division.

Zema Ion looked good as well. I like the new haircut and character.

During the match, he got really paranoid over his hair and face, and tried to get the cameraman to shut off the camera.

While Austin Aries has a narcissistic character, it’s nothing like what Ion exhibited.

If TNA really lets him roll with it and pushes him, he could become a huge star in the X-Division.

The feud between Austin Aries and Alex Shelley should be awesome. Both are great in the ring and on the mic.

It’ll create some some entertaining segments and phenomenal matches.

6. The Miz Is No. 1

R-Truth and Miz have been at each other’s throats since the final Raw of 2011, when Truth returned from an injury he sustained from Miz after Survivor Series.

For the past three weeks, Truth has been embarrassing the Miz and leaving him down and out.

This past Monday on Raw, they were finally set to go one-on-one but argued backstage first. John Laurinaitis was angered by the arguing and made the stipulation that the loser of the match would be the first entrant in the Royal Rumble match.

When it was all said and done, R-Truth picked up the victory.

I think that having Miz come out as No. 1 could really benefit him. The once “must-see champion in WWE history” has lost a lot of steam since losing the WWE Championship to John Cena in May.

Miz went from a dominate and annoying heel champion to being R-Truth’s punching bag.

Having Miz come out first in the Rumble and last until at least the final four could really bring some of that heat back.

Seeing him save himself constantly or having him hide under the ring for a bit could create the illusion that Miz could really win the match and go on to co-main event WrestleMania with the Rock and John Cena.

I highly doubt he will win the match, but imagine if he did. It would be huge to see a heel enter at No. 1  and survive the 29 other wrestlers to win the whole thing.

5. Samoa Joe vs. Matt Morgan

This was a good match between two great wrestlers.

I’m loving this feud between the tag-team champions and Samoa Joe and Magnus.

I was worried that TNA wouldn’t follow up on the Joe/Magnus team after their loss at Genesis, but my worries quickly went away when they attacked Morgan and Crimson on Impact Wrestling after the pay-per-view.

Joe and Magnus have become a cohesive unit and have proved to work great together.

They have had the champion’s No. 1 for the past couple of the weeks and are really making them look strong.

Matt Morgan and Crimson may be getting the victories, but the challengers are leaving them down and out every time.

I can’t wait for their match at Against All Odds. It should be a great, physical match!

4. Jeff Hardy and James Storm vs. Bobby Roode and Bully Ray: Tables Match

This was a great match. It was very physical, violent and entertaining.

This match added to this feud and to the hatred these four wrestlers have for each other.

These four men were beating the hell out of each other throughout the night.

The show started with them fighting backstage, then in the ring with Sting and then in this match.

The faces got the win when James Storm delivered an elbow drop from the top rope onto Bobby Roode.

Their celebration didn’t last long, as Bully Ray beat the hell of out both Storm and Jeff Hardy.

Things ended with the bully powerbombing Hardy through a table from the top rope.

The spot itself looked sick and really added even more intensity to this feud.

This feud was taken to the next level. Soon, the Icon Sting may not be able to control it.

3. John Cena Embraces the Hate; Shows “Angry Face”

In the opening segment of Monday Night Raw, interim general manager John Laurinaitis booked Zack Ryder in a falls-count-anywhere match against Kane. If John Cena interfered, then Ryder would never receive his United States championship rematch.

The match ended when the Big Red Monster chokeslammed the Long Island Iced Z through the stage.

Kane dominated the entire match, while Ryder showed that he wasn’t going to give up despite the pain Kane was putting him through.

As the EMTs loaded Ryder into the ambulance, Eve blamed Cena for everything that has happened to Ryder over the past few weeks.

Josh Matthews then appeared to say that Cena must be “feeling awful” and wanted his thoughts. He didn’t say a word; he just looked directly into the camera and gave his best angry face.

Kane has been wreaking havoc in Cena’s life since his return and has now gone after, and injured, a close friend of his.

Cena’s angry face showed that he may have finally embraced the hate and that could spell trouble for Kane.

At the same time, I laughed uncontrollably when Cena showed his angry face.

To me, he didn’t really look angry. He looked more like he had to take a massive dump.

Obviously, he was supposed to be acting angry.

Either way, these new developments in the storyline will make for an intense match between Cena and Kane at the Royal Rumble.

2. CM Punk Puts John Laurinaitis to Sleep

This past Monday, fans were expecting a one-on-one match between CM Punk and John Laurinaitis. The match didn’t happen and Laurinaitis received a fax.

As David Otunga read the fax, it informed the fans that the board of directors was concerned over Laurinaitis’ recent decisions and his overall job performance.

His position as general manager will be under review next week, and the review will be conducted by chief operating officer Triple H.

Laurinaitis quickly apologized to everyone for his wrongdoings.

Instead of Laurinaitis, he sicked Carlton Banks on Punk. Otunga's attack didn’t last long, as Punk locked him in the Anaconda Vise and later kicked him in the head.

Laurinaitis wanted to shake Punk’s hand, and Punk did, but then he hit the GTS.

This was awesome to watch.

Laurinaitis did a great job on the mic. He’s really improving as a character.

This feud was really taken to the next level when Punk finally got some retribution on Laurinaitis.

The WWE Championship match at the Royal Rumble will be a very intense situation, and tensions will be so thick you will be able to cut them with a knife.

This not only set up possibly scenarios for the Rumble, but it set up many possibilities for next week’s Raw.

1. Friday Night SmackDown

For the first time since I started a weekly top 10 in November, an entire show makes it onto the list.

Friday’s SmackDown was just a great show from top to bottom.

The opening segment with Big Show, Daniel Bryan and Mark Henry was very good. Big Show and Henry were good on the mic and Bryan was great.

It really hyped up Sunday’s match and showed a lot of emotion.

It seemed like each superstar really cared about what he was saying.

Cody Rhodes vs. Justin Gabriel and Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus were good matches.

Gabriel held his own against the Intercontinental champion once again and has proven that he can deliver in the ring. Rhodes was great (as usual) and is the best champion that belt has seen in a while.

McIntyre looked good in the ring against the Great White Sheamus. I’m starting to like this “fired or not” storyline. I think it’s going to really benefit the Scottish wrestler in the long run.

The tag-team match and Hunico vs. Ted DiBiase were decent matches.

I’m not quite sold on Primo and Epico just yet, though, they make a great team. Santino Marella and Yoshi Tatsu make an entertaining pairing. I highly doubt WWE will follow through with the team, but I wouldn’t mind if they did.

It’s always good to see Rosa Mendes as well.

I’m really liking Ted DiBiase these days. His DiBiase Posse has really brought new life into his career, and it may have even saved his job. I could still care less about Hunico. He’s yet to really do anything to impress me.

Wade Barrett gave a great promo before Randy Orton returned to beat the hell out of him. It should be quite intense when they go face-to-face in the Royal Rumble match.

The Funkasaurus ate another jobber, and it was entertaining with all of his dancing or giggling, or whatever it is he does.

It’s just a shame that Alex Riley has fallen that far.

While Big Show vs. Mark Henry was an overall waste of time, the post-match attack wasn’t.

Bryan showed that he’s worried going into a cage match with Big Show and Henry. If he can’t take out Big Show with a chair, how can he survive inside a cage with him and Henry?

My only gripe about the show was the treatment of Natalya.

She’s one of the only legit wrestler’s WWE has on the Divas roster, and that’s how they treat her?

It’s just ridiculous.

Overall, though, it was a great show!