WWE/TNA: My Top 10 Moments of the Week (12/11-12/16)

This was a great week to be a wrestling fan.

We had TNA Final Resolution on Sunday and good episodes of Raw, SmackDown and Impact Wrestling throughout the week.

Even WWE’s Tribute to the Troops was quite the entertaining show.

There was quite a bit that I enjoyed this week, but only 10 can make the cut.

Here are my top 10 moments of the week.

10. Ted DiBiase vs. Heath Slater

I actually thought this was a good match. Both put on good performances here and it made for an enjoyable match to watch.

When he’s not getting squashed, Slater is actually pretty good in the ring. WWE should give him a chance to actually wrestle more often.

Ted DiBiase is really starting to come into his own. Since he created the DiBiase Posse, he has had a new passion for what he does.

His in-ring work is better and he seems like he’s getting better on the mic.

While these two may not be he future of the WWE, they are certainly the present. WWE should take advantage while they can!

9. Robbie E and Douglas Williams vs. Samoa Joe and Magnus

TNA began the Wild Card Tag-Team Tournament this Thursday and this was one of the matches.

The tournament will feature eight teams made up of random wrestlers. Think of it as two wrestlers becoming a team after drawing their names out of a hat.

The tournament is creating some unlikely teams, including these two, Abyss/Scott Steiner and Eric Young/ODB.

There were two tournament matches on Thursday, and this one was the best. It had a nice pace to it and was very back-and-forth.

Robbie was able to hang in the ring with Joe and Magnus, which shows me that beneath his ridiculous gimmick is a damn good wrestler.

Seeing the British Invasion face off was great and produced some really good back-and-forth between the two.

Joe and Magnus ended up making a really good team and they picked up the victory after Magnus prevented Williams from leaping onto Joe, and Joe delivered the Muscle Buster.

If Joe and Magnus can win the tournament, I hope they stay together as a team. Both have the power and wrestling ability to become a great pair.

This tournament was a very good idea, as TNA has run out of tag-teams to compete for the titles.

If the teams can produce matches like this, and better, then the tournament will certainly be a success.

8. Jeff and Karen Jarrett Have Been Fired

At last month’s Turning Point, Hardy beat Jarrett three times, and this past Sunday at Final Resolution, he defeated Jarrett again, this time inside of a steel cage.

Unlike their match last month, this one had a couple of stipulations.

If Jarrett had won the match, then Hardy would have been fired from TNA. Since Hardy won, though, he will now be wrestling for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship at next month’s Genesis.

Sting decided to add a last-minute stipulation to the match the day before the show. He said that on top of getting a title shot, if Hardy won, then one of the Jarretts would be fired.

This past Thursday, Sting made his decision.

Before he did, though, the Jarretts pleaded their cases to him.

While together, Jeff said he’d take the bullet, but Karen said she’d leave.

While talking to Sting, they threw each other under the bus. As Sting was making his decision, he showed them the footage which turned them against each other.

Then the Icon decided to fire both of them!

I’m happy with it, but at the same time I’m a bit conflicted, mainly with Karen’s firing.

It’s time for Jeff to step aside and let others have his spot. So I’m glad he’ll be off of television.

Karen was right in the middle of a big storyline, though. With her firing, there will be no closure in the Karen Jarrett vs. the Knockouts feud.

With her gone so soon, I guess there is light at the end of the tunnel. Now the Knockouts can get back to doing what they do best, and that’s wrestle!

7. Randy Orton and Zack Ryder vs. Wade Barrett and Dolph Ziggler

There has been a trend in WWE lately. That trend is tag-team matches, and what a trend it has been.

Quite a few of the matches have been very good, and this one is included in that group.

The main event of SmackDown was given plenty of time, and the four superstars made the most of it.

It was a great tag-team match that saw nice action with a good pace throughout it.

Each of the two feuds were advanced nicely and were given some good build heading into TLC on Sunday.

Ryder and Ziggler are hanging in the main event, and it gives me hope for the future.

This was a nice preview of Orton/Barrett and Ziggler/Ryder at TLC, and I am quite excited for those matches.

6. Anthony Nese vs. Zema Ion: Match 1 of a Best of 3 Series

At TNA’s Destination X pay-per-view there were quite a few debuts in the X-Division.

Only Austin Aries won the right to get a contract, but the majority of them were eventually signed to the company.

Since then, not many of those stars have been seen. Only Austin Aries, Jesse Sorenson and Kid Kash have had the spotlight over the past few months.

This past Thursday on Impact Wrestling, things changed.

Anthony Nese and Zema Ion are now in a best-of-three series of matches to determine who will be the fourth man wrestling in the X-Division Championship match at Genesis.

The winner will join champion Aries, Kash and Sorenson in a fatal-four way match.

Match one took place on Thursday and it was quite the good match.

There wasn’t a dull moment, as these two young stars flew between and over the ropes.

Nese was definitely the star of the match, but it wasn’t enough to defeat Ion, who picked up the victory with a beautiful 450 splash.

TNA gave these two the chance to shine and they did. I’m glad they’re giving two other X-Division stars a chance to compete for the title, as having Aries fight the same two guys every time gets a bit boring.

I can’t wait for the second match, as these two have the potential to steal the show!

5. Control

The mystery continued as WWE aired this video.

With every video something new is learned. In this one, the significance of the little girl was revealed.

According to the boy, she holds the secrets to the identity of the person behind the videos.

She spent the whole thing smiling until the smile disappeared and a look of seriousness came across her face.

What secrets does she hold? Who does she represent?

Like the other videos, speculation is running rampant. The two popular choices remain Chris Jericho and the Undertaker, though.

If I were to guess, the little girl represents Stephanie McMahon.

She could be bringing in Jericho to take down CM Punk or bring the Undertaker back from the dead to battle her husband Triple H for a position of power.

No matter who this is supposed to be, these videos are the best work WWE has done since the Undertaker/Shawn Michaels hype promos for WrestleMania.

I am very anxious for next week when we find out what the next clue will be.

4. Zack Ryder vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Cody Rhodes

A part of this past Monday’s Raw was the Slammys. Some people that got awards deserved them, while others left me scratching my head.

One award that left me shaking my head was the “Trending Superstar of the Year” award.

WWE set up a fatal-four way match between these four wrestlers and the first wrestler to trend on Twitter would win the award.

That’s a really stupid way to give out an award, in my opinion.

What wasn’t stupid was the match.

The match these four men put on was great. Not once did the match slow down and it was back-and-forth action throughout the entire thing.

While Dolph Ziggler won the match, Zack Ryder won the Slammy. I felt that Daniel Bryan was the star of this match, though.

WWE is finally letting him be the American Dragon, and he’s really coming into his own among the huge roster WWE has.

The other three wrestlers were great inside the ring as well and along with Bryan, they all put on a show.

This match showed me that these four athletes are without a doubt the future of the WWE.

I think 2012 will be the year we see some new blood holding World Championship gold with Ziggler, Bryan and Rhodes all winning one of the belts.

Ryder may be a long shot, but I see him as a solid mid-carder much like Christian was for much of his WWE career.

2011 is not over yet, though, and I’m excited to see what these men have in store for us in the final days of the year.

3. Bobby Roode vs. A.J. Styles: 30-Minute Iron Match for the TNA Title

Ever since Bobby Roode won the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, he’s been a thorn in the side of everyone that has gotten in his way.

Whether it was attacking Styles from behind or spitting in the face of Dixie Carter, Roode has been the quintessential heel.

Styles had the chance to stop Roode’s reign of terror at Turning Point and failed, but this past Sunday at Final Resolution, Styles was given one more shot.

These two wrestlers put on a phenomenal match. It was fast-paced and very back-and-forth.

Roode would pick up two victories in a row but then Styles came back with three in a row, putting him in the lead.

Roode would pick up that third win and tie the match 3-3.

With seconds remaining, Roode did what any heel would do, he ran out the clock.

With the match ending in a draw, Bobby Roode retained his title.

While I felt a bit robbed by the ending of the match, it was truly great wrestling by two great talents.

It’s a shame that their feud is over because that means Styles is out of the main event for the time being.

Roode’s next challenger is Jeff Hardy.

If TNA didn’t give the title to A.J. Styles, I hope they’re smart enough not to give it back to Hardy so soon.

2. Tribute to the Troops

Throughout the show we saw appearances from celebrities such as Hugh Jackman, the Muppets, Robin Williams and many more giving thanks to the troops as well as wishing them a safe and happy holiday.

Nickelback, Mary J. Blige and George Wallace performed for the fans, and though I didn’t catch any of that, I’m sure they put on good performances.

There was footage shown throughout the night of WWE superstars skydiving with soldiers, visiting West Point and the National Guard and an interview that Eve did with J.R. Martinez.

Overall, WWE Tribute to the Troops was a very entertaining show.

Tuesday night was a night to entertain the men and women who protect our country and the troops in the audience seemed to love the show.

The night was filled with good matches, such as Daniel Bryan vs. Cody Rhodes, Air Boom vs. Epico and Primo and the six-man tag-team main event.

The segments featuring the WWE superstars interacting with the troops were very entertaining as well.

The wrestlers definitely pulled out their best for this show!

At the end, John Cena thanked the troops on behalf of the roster, and then they all went ringside to celebrate with them.

This year’s Tribute to the Troops was a huge success, and it’s good to see a multi-million dollar company like WWE give back in some way. 

1. Kane Returns

As John Cena and Mark Henry were wrestling in the main event, something big happened.

An explosion of fire lit up the stage and the lights went out. Kane’s music started to play, and then he appeared!

The Big Red Monster was back, and it looked like he was heading for Mark Henry.

He was wearing an odd-looking mask. It kind of reminded me of the Man in the Iron Mask.

Henry ran off, and John Cena took a huge chokeslam.

As he stood over his body, Kane removed the metal mask to reveal one similar to the last one he wore, only this time it was all red and kind of looked like it was made of skin.

Kane is back with his mask on and I couldn’t be happier!

Kane has lost a lot of steam over the last couple of years and the return of his mask could rejuvenate his career.

With his chokeslam to Cena, Kane is making a statement. He’s showing everyone that no one is safe from his wrath, not even the face of the WWE.

The Big Red Monster is back with a vengeance. The Kane we got to know over the past few years is gone.

Like the Undertaker’s urn, Kane could see the mask as a power of some kind. With it back on, he could be unstoppable.

The WWE superstars are on notice. Kane is back, and no one is safe.