WWE/TNA/ROH: My Top 10 Moments of the Week (May 20-25)

Another week of professional wrestling has ended, and it was a decent week to say the least.

WWE presented Over the Limit last Sunday and it was a great pay-per-view! While the event did have some duds, like Brodus Clay, Ryback and the main event, the rest of the show more than made up for it.

WWE Monday Night Raw was just awful, I thought. I found myself bored throughout the entire night. The only part I found exciting was the closing moments of the show.

TNA Impact Wrestling delivered a decent show. The first hour was a major dud and if it wasn’t for the few moments included this week, TNA’s second Open Fight Night would have been a failure.

Ring of Honor continues to be a week behind but the May 19 episode of ROH Wrestling was a solid show! ROH delivered from start to finish.

WWE Friday Night SmackDown was an entertaining show but I didn’t really like anything enough to include it this week. There wasn’t really anything that stood out to me.

When it comes to “Show of the Week” it definitely goes to WWE Over the Limit, but between the weekly television shows, I’m giving it to Ring of Honor this week.

Here are my top 10 moments of the week!

No. 10: Kofi Kingston and R-Truth vs. American Perfection

This match for the WWE Tag Team Championship was a good showing of tag-team wrestling.

Kofi Kingston and R-Truth are really starting to convince me that their partnership was a good idea. When Truth appeared with Kingston, my first thought was that he was only there to replace Evan Bourne.

Whether that’s true or not, they have shown that they have chemistry as a team and are able to put on a good match.

Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger have been together for a while now but have usually been stuck in ridiculous storylines. I had almost forgotten how good they are as a team, but this match reminded me of their chemistry.

This match gives me hope for WWE’s dwindling tag-team division. It’s been quite a while since the titles have been defended in a match worth watching, but these two teams delivered something quite good.

While it’s going to take more than two teams to revitalize their once-great division, this is a step in the right direction.

No. 9: Layla vs. Beth Phoenix

Divas champion Layla and her challenger Beth Phoenix delivered one of the best Divas matches in recent memory at Over the Limit. Both women performed well in their match, which leads me to believe that their feud could help revitalize the Divas division.

Beth Phoenix is without a doubt the best wrestler on the women’s roster. She has proven that time and time again as she has outwrestled almost every other Diva in the WWE.

The ones that could keep up with her were able to deliver a good match, but good women’s matches in WWE are few and far between.

The majority of the time the WWE Universe is fed a 30 second to a minute match between the Divas. That doesn’t give them any time to use their skill in the ring.

While most of the Divas are models, quite a few of them have worked hard to train and have been able to deliver a good match when WWE gives them the time. Thankfully, this match was on PPV and the two of them were given 10 minutes, which was actually more than the Intercontinental Championship match.

When given the time, the WWE Divas can put on a good match; Layla and Beth Phoenix proved that here.

I hope that when this feud does end that Beth wins the title. That way the division can keep moving up with a feud between her and Kharma.

No. 8: The Bully Ray/Joseph Park Segment

Since Bully Ray became a heel last year, his mic work and overall actions in the ring have been unmatched. He has evolved into one of best heels in the business today.

He has produced pure gold on the mic and his segments are always one of the highlights each week on Impact Wrestling. This week’s episode was no different.

When Hogan eliminated him from getting a title shot right when the show started, I was worried that he wouldn’t be appearing beyond that. Thankfully, TNA gave him a segment despite it being Open Fight Night.

Much like all the rest, this turned out to be a very good segment that also featured Joseph Park. Bully Ray is the true definition of a bully as he intimidated the lawyer and eventually beat him with his chain.

Abyss is really making this Joe Park character his own. As he stutters on the mic and his hands shake, he makes me believe that he’s really nervous about being in front of a live crowd and of what Bully Ray may do to him.

There are some storylines in pro wrestling that you can just tell where it’s heading. I can’t even make a guess as to where this is going.

Abyss is obviously Joe Park, so does that mean the Monster finally snapped and created his own brother? It could be that simple or it can be a lot more complicated than that.

I’m hoping the TNA fans finally get some answers come next week’s live episode.

No. 7: Christian Returns and Wins the Intercontinental Championship

As the Over the Limit preshow was coming to an end, entrants to a battle royal began to make their way to the ring. The match was to open the show and the winner got to choose to challenge for either the Intercontinental or United States Championship.

The usual mid-card and lower level superstars entered into the match but then a surprise happened. The final superstar to enter was Captain Charisma and he went onto win the match and challenge Santino Marella for the United States Championship.

Later on in the night, though, he changed his mind and challenged Cody Rhodes instead.

Christian and Rhodes ended up having quite the good match, which was an overall great addition to the card.

I wish that this battle royal would have happened on Raw so that the match would have been hyped a bit but at least we know that this will lead to a feud between these two wrestlers. The wrestling alone is something to be excited about.

While it’s great to see Christian win a title he hasn’t held since 2003, I kind of wished that he went for the United States Championship instead. Santino may be over big time with the fans but his character doesn’t really make for a good title holder.

Seeing Christian win the belt would have brought some legitimacy back to the title.

Either way, Christian is back and the WWE mid-card should be stepping up its game!

No. 6: Austin Aries vs. Joey Ryan: Gut Check Match

X-Division champion Austin Aries rarely disappoints in his matches. This was no different as he took on Joey Ryan in a Gut Check match. These two wrestlers put on a good match with constant back-and-forth action.

Aries continues to prove why he is one of the absolute best in TNA Wrestling right now. He’s got the look, the talent, the charisma and everything else that makes a great wrestler.

Even though the X-Division has taken a back seat lately, Aries has been a big factor in the revival of the division. At the same time, he may be killing it.

A Double is well on his way to the main event, which is resulting in him competing in less X-Division matches. As great a champion as he has been, he needs to lose the title for the division to get back on track.

I think the perfect person for him to lose it to would be Joey Ryan. Even though I have never had the opportunity to see him wrestle, I have heard of Joey Ryan. Most of what I heard was good things and that held true in this match.

I was quite impressed with his ability in the ring and his unique look. His character seems to contrast with Aries’ and it could make for a hell of a feud.

TNA would be crazy not to sign Ryan and push him in the division immediately.

No. 5: Sheamus vs. Randy Orton vs. Chris Jericho vs. Alberto Del Rio

Fatal four-way matches can sometimes be chaotic and out of control while others are outright boring. This one between world champion Sheamus and his three challengers, though, was a good showing of action, chaos and storyline advancement.

All four men in this match performed very well and it made for a hell of a championship bout. There were even a few moments of suspense as there were times when it seemed like Sheamus would lose his World Heavyweight Championship.

That suspense was more towards Alberto Del Rio, as I don’t think he should be anywhere near a world title. He’s boring on the mic and he’s boring in the ring.

This match was a rare exception, but I think that’s mostly because of the other three and their ability to sell for Del Rio.

This match also helped set up the SmackDown main event for No Way Out. Alberto Del Rio continued his quest this past Friday by winning a No. 1 contender's match, but I have a feeling that Orton will be added to the match somehow.

This match turned out to be an entertaining one to watch and helped make Over the Limit the PPV it was.

No. 4: ROH Wrestling

The entirety of Ring of Honor’s May 19 episode of ROH Wrestling makes the list this week. The show featured three matches, all of which were quite good.

The first was Mike Bennett vs. Eddie Edwards as the two men delivered a great back-and-forth match. Both wrestlers are quite impressive in the ring.

The next match was a strange handicap match featuring Michael Elgin up against Grizzly Redwood and Kamel Dickenson. Elgin’s opponents were originally facing each other but it turned into a handicap match after Elgin’s manager, Truth Martini, paid them a thousand dollars.

Elgin pretty much killed Dickenson, which left Redwood by himself. Redwood kind of reminds me of Spike Dudley. He’s a small guy and is obviously the underdog in every match. He looked good against the massive Elgin, though.

Jay Lethal entered as Redwood’s partner and things picked up after that. Lethal and Elgin performed very well with one another and it turned this odd match into an enjoyable one.

The main event was an unlikely one as the Young Bucks took on the All Night Express. This was an exciting match of constant action and high-flying moves.

TNA were fools for letting the Young Bucks go; they alone are exciting to watch in the ring. They also make great heels as they brag about almost every big move they deliver and about how awesome they are.

The All Night Express were no slouches, either, as they make quite the team themselves.

Ring of Honor gets more and more impressive as the year goes by. I just wish they aired where I lived so that I can be up to date with the show.

No. 3: A Handicap Lumberjack Match Leads to a Massive Brawl

Now a brawl in WWE isn’t necessarily exciting as they happen all the time. I think there is something to this massive fight at the end of this week’s Monday Night Raw, though.

The overall show bored the hell out of me. There were times where I almost fell asleep. The main event between Sheamus and John Cena and their opponents American Perfection and Tensai was actually going pretty well. Seeing Sheamus and Cena interact with Ziggler and Swagger in the ring made for some good action.

When Tensai entered the match, though, I started to doze off again.

Anyway, the match was turning out to be a good one until the lumberjacks, who were all heels by order of John Laurinaitis, jumped into the ring and attacked Sheamus and Cena. The locker room then emptied and the faces saved them from the heels of the roster.

I can’t remember there being a massive faces vs. heels brawl like this in quite some time. I think it’s leading to a huge feud where the locker room will be divided.

The heels will be backing Big Johnny while the faces will be backing Cena, or maybe even Teddy Long.

If this is what the WWE has in store for the fans during the summer then I can’t wait! Next week, if they just ignore the fact that the entire locker room beat the hell out of each other, then it would be a storyline with so much potential just wasted.

No. 2: Bobby Roode vs. A.J. Styles; Roode Breaks a Record

Last week TNA presented a hell of a main event between Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe. This week they followed up with another one, this time between world champion Bobby Roode and A.J. Styles!

It’s great to see two TNA originals in the spotlight, especially when the title is on the line. They were given a 20-plus minute timeframe to have their match and they made the most of it. They kept a good pace throughout the time and delivered a lot of good action from start to finish.

When two wrestlers know each other well in the ring, they tend to put on good matches, and that’s exactly what happened here.

Styles keeps proving time and time again that he deserves to be back in the main event. If it wasn’t for the fact that I don’t think Roode will lose the title until Bound for Glory, I’d say Styles would be champion sometime this year.

Perhaps the Phenomenal One will be back in his spot next year.

With this victory, Roode is now the longest reigning champion in TNA history. The previous record holder was Styles, who failed to keep his record intact here.

Roode has been one of the best overall champions in TNA’s 10-year history. He certainly deserves the distinction of longest reigning champ.

No. 1: CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan

What can I say about this match that hasn’t already been said? This was an overall great match from two of the best wrestlers in the WWE. They gave the fans a wrestling clinic as they went at it for almost 25 minutes.

This match should have been the main event instead of the overall waste of space that was John Cena vs. John Laurinaitis.

Everything is pointing to a rematch between this two at No Way Out and I couldn’t be more excited. With the gimmick of their being “no way out,” I’d like to see these two go at it in a submission match or possibly even an iron man match.

The iron man stipulation is something best suited for the end of a feud, though.

Frankly it really doesn’t matter what kind of match these two have. As long as it happens, CM Punk and Daniel Bryan will be wowing the fans once again.

As the feud progresses I think that A.J. will be getting more and more involved. It looks like their leaning towards a Punk/A.J. “relationship” and that could bring a lot of intrigue to the storyline.

Her actions over the next couple of weeks will really shape what happens next.

Now if only this match could get the main event spot at the PPV instead of John Cena taking precedence over the WWE Championship for the fourth event in a row.