WWE vs. TNA: Who's Been Better This Week? (Nov. 25-Dec. 1, 2012)

Hello, and welcome again to another exciting article in my WWE vs. TNA series in which every week for the rest of time, I will watch, review and analyse the main output of both promotions and select the best show of the week.

This week, both companies are firmly between pay-per-views, a time when you can expect the output to lag. So how did they do? Let's take a stroll down this past week's memory lane and find out.

WWE Raw, Nov. 26

The show's opening "Tonight on Raw" promo was absolutely dire. If the WWE wants to borrow something from TNA, it should be the good, solid TV matches with results.

As with last week, the show opened with a Ryback match. Titus O'Neil looked credible, or at least as credible as anyone's allowed to look against Ryback. Ryback's time in the ring was then allowed to drag on beyond the point of interesting, as he was granted a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match against CM Punk at TLC. If anything other than those three who keep attacking Ryback interfering and Punk retaining happens, it'll practically be a swerve.

Alberto Del Rio defeated The Great Khali while Hornswoggle bit Ricardo Rodriguez on the bottom outside the ring, which is no doubt hilarious if you're about five years old.

The interview promo given by the three men who attacked Ryback (and whose names I'll probably have to learn soon) was reasonably interesting. At least they're trying to give them character, when really it's clear they're just around to give Ryback a justifiable loss to CM Punk before The Rock. That being said, I don't think the interview was so good it was worth playing twice.

Tamina Snuka (who has regained a surname since she was last around) easily put away Alicia Fox. I'd much rather see Tamina with the Divas Championship than feuding with AJ Lee.

This week's Vicki Guerrero/John Cena/AJ segment was as dire as ever, with AJ at the height of her irritating mannerism powers and reminiscent of her time as general manager in that respect. Even Dolph Ziggler couldn't save it this time, and the promise of a match that night with Cena that they'll clearly save the result of for the pay-per-view didn't pique my interest much, either.

Following the result of the Raw Active poll, it looked like things would pick up for Raw. We had Daniel Bryan vs. Rey Mysterio, John Cena vs. Dolph Ziggler and CM Punk vs. Kane to look forward to. All three matchups are capable of delivering, so you'd expect at least one to do so.

Rey Mysterio vs. Daniel Bryan was pretty good, with a very unexpected result. I've said before that since the formation of Team Hell No, Kane has been the more protected of the two, and you certainly couldn't picture him losing to Mysterio.

John Cena vs. Dolph Ziggler exhibited a terrific chemistry between the two. Cena abruptly remembering his knee injury and the clowning around of the ending was to be expected, but the wrestling was great. I hope they do have a PPV match; I'd love to see them given more time with no disruptions.

For a TV match, Cena vs. Ziggler seemed unbeatably good, but Sheamus vs. Antonio Cesaro rivaled it. There were a couple of times when I genuinely thought Cesaro might have it, and I like to think I'm no sucker.

CM Punk vs. Kane was a bit of a disappointment. As soon as the interferences started, the match stopped flowing and ended with a fairly poor Go-to-Sleep. My excitement at the potential Tombstone, which was averted (as usual), may be clouding my judgement, though. As for the mystery, no doubt The Shield (as they're known) work at the behest of Paul Heyman, possibly unbeknownst to Punk.

Raw got off to a dismal start with a Hornswoggle segment and Vicki/AJ segment in quick succession. Happily though, from then on the show was great, with a series of high-quality matches. Proof that the WWE can match Impact in the TV wrestling stakes if it really wants to.

TNA Impact, Nov. 29

Impact opened with more about the alleged relationship between Bully Ray and Brooke Hogan. And while I've hated the AJ affairs on both promotions, this is entertaining so far. Perhaps that's because it's only been going on for one week, but Austin Aries is very much TNA's CM Punk—he's great on the mic and in the ring, and he's best as a heel, which a lot of people cheer anyway. It's just a shame he isn't world champion. 

Mickie James defeated Gail Kim in a great opening match.

Christian York had another strong showing, this time against Bobby Roode, though it wasn't as good as his match last week with Jeff Hardy because it was more difficult to believe that he could win. A win out of nowhere against the champion in his first match under contract would have been not only unheard of, but a massive push if they wanted to make him an immediate big thing. However, having lost there, he's not then going to go over the No. 1 contender.

It might have kept him very relevant, but they wouldn't sacrifice the short-term hype for the World Championship match (which Hardy will almost certainly win) to create a huge push. They're not pushing York that much, and it's not something either promotion would ever do for anyone.

James Storm and AJ Styles defeated Christopher Daniels and Kazarian. Some good action as ever, but I find it very difficult to approve of any Christopher Daniels match which he does not win.

Matt "midcard" Morgan defeated Doug Williams. His cape and trunks were more interesting than the actual match.

I still don't know how much of a work Gut Check is. When they talked about Wes Brisco's match not being that good despite his winning, that suggests there's some reality in it. On the other hand, Al Snow's absence (Aces and Eights, I'll wager) and the frequent mentions of Kurt Angle's support suggests an entirely kayfabe affair.

Having an X-Division Championship match as the main event struck me as unusual in a good way. Giving it prominence on a TV show helps the title's prestige, rather than the WWE formula of having a non-title singles or tag match featuring main event-level talent. Imagine how much bigger of a deal the Intercontinental Championship would seem if a title match main-evented Raw. And I don't see a reason not to on shows when they're some weeks away from a PPV.

Rob Van Dam vs. Austin Aries was great while it lasted, and it told a story. Ending the way it did was probably the right thing; you couldn't have Aries as X-Division champion as it would seem like a more permanent drop down the card for him (as has been the case with RVD), or else it would become a prop for Aries and secondary to his character.

Impact was a great show from start to finish, though a bit more time for a couple of the matches would have made it even better.

WWE SmackDown, Nov. 30

SmackDown opened with one of John Cena's usual face and inoffensive promos that we've become accustomed to over the years, and then he had a match with Alberto Del Rio.

I've pointed it out several times before, but it happened again here: When Alberto Del Rio goes to the top rope, there's no move he can ever go for when he jumps—it is only ever to get dropkicked on the way down. Usually, it's by Randy Orton; this week, it was from John Cena. A blight on an otherwise terrific and quite unusual match (unusual because it opened the show and ran for over 10 minutes).

Team Hell No's promo showing them getting along was very sweet. My worry about them has always been that the novelty might wear off without new ideas, but they're still going strong as one of the best things in the company.

The Great Khali defeated David Otunga. I'm a sucker for Khali. He's got a fun theme and he's fun when he dances and he's generally big and silly. I can't help liking him, at least when his wrestling is kept to a minimum. I have no such soft spot for Hornswoggle.

Team Hell No and Kofi Kingston defeated The Prime Time Players and Wade Barrett. A great match in which everyone had a moment to shine and had enough time to make it a proper contest, which is just as crucial.

Damien Sandow's promo may be the best scripted segment of 2012. It was very funny. His match with Tyson Kidd was short but sweet, too.

Two members of the Three Man Band defeated The Usos. If I was them (or scripting them), I'd have Kofi Kingston in my sights. The tag team division's already very crowded, and Wade Barrett should be competing for world titles.

The main event of Sheamus vs. Dolph Ziggler had a sadly predictable interference finish, as is to be expected when neither man can really afford to look weak. Expect a John Cena and Sheamus vs. The Big Show and Dolph Ziggler tag match next week.

The ending of the last match aside, SmackDown was a slick and entertaining show. There's definitely been a shift in emphasis onto the wrestling in the WWE TV shows this week (as well as last week's SmackDown), and for me it's paying off.

Conclusion

Show of the Week: WWE Raw

It's been the best week for the TV shows across the board since I started this series; in fact, it's only the first 20 or so minutes of Raw that let it down. The WWE's "A show" still gets the nod, however, as its matches were of unbeatable overall quality. With most other weeks' competition, though, Impact and SmackDown could have won easily.

Match of the Week: Sheamus vs. Antonio Cesaro

It's no mystery as to why this week's been so good: it's the matches. Rey Mysterio vs. Daniel Bryan, John Cena vs. Dolph Ziggler, Bobby Roode vs. Christian York, Austin Aries vs. Rob Van Dam, John Cena vs. Alberto Del Rio, the SmackDown six-man tag match and Sheamus vs. Dolph Ziggler were all great. With the bad weeks, it's difficult to pick any match deserving of being named Match of the Week. This week, I had the opposite problem—and it's a nice problem to have.

Thanks for reading, and all comments, thoughts and opinions are appreciated.