WWE/TNA/ROH: My Top 10 Moments of the Week (May 13-18)

Another week of professional wrestling has ended, and it was a pretty good week.

Last Sunday, TNA Wrestling presented Sacrifice, and it turned out to be their best pay-per-view so far this year.

WWE Monday Night Raw was a decent show. The flow of it was weird, and it was kind of boring at times, but a few moments did make the list.

TNA Impact Wrestling was a solid show. While there were a few duds here and there, the pros of the night definitely outweighed the cons.

Ring of Honor Wrestling’s May 12th episode was a decent showing. It featured four matches, one of which featured a chaotic match of six wrestlers from the Chikara Pro promotion. The camera work was really off on this episode and it ruined the presentation of some of the matches.

WWE SmackDown was an overall solid show. It featured some good matches and finished the hype for Over the Limit very well.

When it comes to “Show of the Week,” I’m torn between Impact Wrestling and SmackDown. I enjoyed them both equally and much more than both Raw and ROH. It was a hard decision, but I’m giving it to Impact Wrestling this week.

Here are my top 10 moments of the week!

No. 10: Kofi Kingston and R-Truth vs. Titus O’Neil and Darren Young

Despite being shorter than I would have liked, this was a good tag-team match. It started out strong, and while it did slow down a bit in the middle, it picked right back up and finished on a high note.

I’m starting to like the pairing of Kofi Kingston and R-Truth. I wasn’t too keen on the team at first, as I felt they were put together only because Evan Bourne was suspended again. While that may have been the case, the two of them ended up working well together.

Titus O’Neil and Darren Young have been quite impressive since their SmackDown debut. I never really have the time to watch NXT or Superstars, so my first time seeing them as a team was on Friday nights.

Both wrestlers are quite talented and they make a great team.

As long as WWE keeps their push going and doesn't waste their potential like they did with the Usos, O’Neil and Young will be the tag team champions sooner rather than later.

No. 9: Chris Jericho vs. Randy Orton

I thought this was a good match that saw some nice back-and-forth action throughout it.

When Chris Jericho returned to the WWE, I knew that he’d be feuding with CM Punk. At the same time, I knew that it wouldn’t last his entire stint. Before he took off again to tour with Fozzy, I was hoping to see him go at it with Randy Orton.

The two of them have great chemistry together, as seen in this match, and it makes for a good showing in the ring. WWE would be crazy not to pull the trigger on this feud. The mind games these two could play with one another would be enough to entertain any fan.

And let’s not forget that it was Orton who took Jericho out last time with a punt to the head.

The disqualification finish of this match made perfect sense in my book. Both of them are heading into a World title match at Over the Limit and either of them could very well win the match.

The DQ finish allows for one to win without the loser looking weak.

While I have a feeling that Jericho will be feuding with Sheamus over the title after Over the Limit, I’m still holding out hope that Chris Jericho vs. Randy Orton goes into full swing sooner rather than later.

No. 8: Mr. Anderson vs. Jeff Hardy

Hardy and Anderson delivered a good match here with some nice back-and-forth action. The match saw neither wrestler have a clear advantage, and it made them look like equals in the ring.

The finish saw Anderson kick out at three, but the referee still awarded the match to Hardy. The same thing happened at Sacrifice, except with the roles reversed.

Both of them have questionable wins over the other and it’ll end up leading to a match at Slammiversary. They will undoubtedly put on another good showing at the PPV, but I hope that it will be the last match between them.

TNA can’t really decide what to do with them when it pertains to a storyline between them. Every time they come back together, they start out as a team but then start facing each other before moving on.

It happened two years ago at Sacrifice and it’s happening again.

Both of them need to just move on and do other things. I wouldn’t mind if TNA did make them into a team, but they would have to be serious about it and not break them up within a few months.

I would prefer to see them just get away from each other, though.

No. 7: Battle Royal to Qualify for Open Fight Night

Despite this being the textbook battle royal, I thought it was quite good. The final five brought both suspense and excitement.

One of the final five wrestlers in the ring was Garret Bischoff, so when I say suspense, I really mean terror. For a second, I thought that he would actually win the match, but thankfully, A.J. Styles kicked his head off before throwing him out.

The best part of this match was when it came down to Styles, Gunner and the X-Division champion, Austin Aries. As soon as Gunner went down in the corner, Styles and Aries went face-to-face and went at it.

They only fought for about a minute, but it was an exciting minute. Neither wrestler had the advantage the whole fight as they kept reversing each other’s moves. It only ended when Aries ducked a springboard from Styles and Gunner tossed out the champion.

Styles vs. Aries is without a doubt a dream match for TNA fans, and TNA would be crazy not to pull the trigger on it.

While I’d like to see them go at it at Bound for Glory, I’m not sure if I could wait that long.

The finish of the battle royal saw Styles win and advance to next week’s Open Fight Night. I was hoping for an Aries win here, but I’m equally as happy with Styles picking up the victory.

He’s been out of the title picture for too long and it's about time he gets back into it. 

No. 6: CM Punk vs. Kane

I wasn’t expecting much from this match, so when it turned out to be good, I was quite happy. Punk and Kane ended up working well with one another in the ring, and they delivered a good back-and-forth match.

Daniel Bryan was on commentary and was very entertaining. He definitely improved the calling of the match.

While WWE has been using the disqualification finish a bit too much lately, I thought it was a good idea here.

With Bryan hitting Kane from behind with a chair, it not only means a loss for Punk, but it leads the Big Red Monster to believe that his opponent was the one to swing the chair.

I actually loved that Punk got dismantled by Kane after the match. It keeps Kane looking like a monster after losing two feuds in a row and gets some much needed heat for Bryan.

After WrestleMania, the fans turned on WWE and started to cheer for him. Heel heat is something he desperately needed as a bad guy and having someone do his dirty work for him certainly gives it to him.

No. 5: Davey Richards vs. Rhino

Out of the four matches, the main event of the May 12th episode of ROH Wrestling was the best of the night. I thought the match was quite good, as Richards and Rhino went back and forth in the ring.

This was the first full match I’ve seen featuring Davey Richards, and the man is quite the talented wrestler. Richards is without a doubt one of the best Ring of Honor has to offer, and his 321-day reign as ROH World champion shows that.

Rhino performed well in this match as well. This was the first time I’ve seen him wrestle since TNA in 2010, and he seemed better than ever. He was in shape, had more energy and was at the top of his game. I’m glad to see the Man Beast back on television.

These two wrestlers worked well together in this match and it presented well on screen. For the majority of the show, the camera work was just off with bad angles and random shots of the crowd not even cheering.

The crew seemed to get back on track with this match, and I’m thankful they did.

No. 4: The John Cena/John Laurinaitis Segment

I wasn’t expecting this segment to be as good and entertaining as it was. I figured this would be boring and put me to sleep, but I was surprised at how well the segment went.

This is the most entertaining I’ve seen John Cena in a while, and he definitely earned some points with me. The face of the WWE knows how to cut a promo and this was no different.

He had me laughing the entire time!

Laurinaitis was Laurinaitis and was boring and entertaining at the same time. That’s why I love his character overall; he’s so boring that it’s entertaining.

The ending with the letter from the board of directors was a great way to end it. Big Johnny has been on a rampage as of late.

He was partially responsible for Brock Lesnar attacking Triple H, he attacked an employee then booked himself in a match against the employee and he fired the Big Show for no real reason.

With the two stipulations—if someone interferes, they get fired, and if Johnny Ace loses the match, then he’s fired—a lot of intrigue was added to the contest.

I hated the idea of this match the second it was made, but now I want to see it. I want to see Cena beat the hell out of Laurinaitis and get him fired, but at the same time, Big Johnny’s character is really evolving and I want to see him stay.

I can officially say that I’m excited to see the match and how it plays out.

No. 3: Sheamus vs. Randy Orton

I was surprised when this match started with 30 minutes left of SmackDown. A match that long on WWE television? It’s almost unheard of!

I’m glad it got the time it did, though, as it certainly needed it.

This was one of the best SmackDown main events I’ve seen in a while, as both Sheamus and Randy Orton delivered a great back-and-forth match. Throughout the 30 minutes, the momentum shifted from one to the other, and it helped make the match quite enjoyable.

The Celtic Warrior and the Apex Predator have a history, having fought on Raw over the WWE Championship in 2010. Two years later and they still have that chemistry in the ring.

I kind of wish that the World Championship match at Over the Limit was just Sheamus vs. Orton. With both of them in the match, and with the talent of Chris Jericho, the fatal-four way match should be a good showing, though.

Oh, and Alberto Del Rio is in the match as well. 

No. 2: Samoa Joe vs. Kurt Angle

I’ve been waiting a long time to see Samoa Joe and Kurt Angle go one-on-one again, and my wait came to an Thursday.

I thought this was a great match, as these wrestlers renewed their rivalry from 2008. It’s like they picked up right where they left off. The match featured some very good back-and-forth action, and TNA made the right call putting this in the main event.

In fact, they produced one of the best main events seen on Impact Wrestling in a while.

Angle showed here why he is still one of the best in the business right now. He may have slowed down a bit over the years, but the man can still out-wrestle anyone.

The Samoan Submission Machine reminded TNA fans exactly who he was in this match. The company has ignored him for far too long; he deserves a spot in the main event.

While I don’t think anyone else but Bobby Roode and James Storm will be holding the title this year, it would be nice to see Joe or Angle take on Roode during the summer.

No. 1: TNA Sacrifice

Last Sunday, TNA Wrestling presented their best pay-per-view of the year in Sacrifice. From beginning to end, the men and women of TNA worked hard to deliver great matches, and that’s exactly what they did.

From Christopher Daniels and Kazarian becoming the new tag team champions to Bobby Roode retaining the TNA World Heavyweight Championship in a ladder match, this event was something to see from top to bottom.

Personally, I felt that Austin Aries vs. Bully Ray was the match of the night, but it was followed closely by A.J. Styles vs. Kurt Angle. Just seeing both of those matches alone made the time watching this PPV well worth it.

Sacrifice was the perfect way to start the summer, and it’s going to be hard to beat.

With TNA’s 10th anniversary show, Slammiversary, coming up, as well as PPVs like WWE Money in the Bank, TNA Destination X and SummerSlam, it could very well happen.

All I know is this: with PPVs that have a history of being solid shows coming up, Raw becoming three hours permanently and TNA going live, this is going to be one hell of a summer to be a wrestling fan!