best served cold

Welcome to this post-vengeance edition of The Aussie Mouthpiece blog. Let's get straight into it. It's vengeance time.

Decent video package to open up talking about chaos, which was really the theme througout the night, as we would soon find out.

So we start with the Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger vs AirBoom for the Tag Team Titles. I think this was the right way to start, but I didn't like the idea of Ziggler having to wrestle stwo matches in a row. Could have swapped Sheamus and Christian for Ziggler and Ryder.
Anyway, onto the match. I'm not going to go through everything, no play by play results here, just in case you were wondering.
Was a really good match, good to see a few double team moves by AirBoom. Kofi hit a huge monkey flip on Dolph, which, in all fairness was made so huge by the way Dolph made it look. He is so good. Seriously. World title for Dolph. It's going to happen soon.

Speaking of Dolph, he was wearing some new ring attire. Looked kind of like a singlet, similar to Swagger's gear, but he hadn't "put the straps on". He didn't pull it up for either match, which I found a bit odd. But it looked decent.

One of the weirder points in the match was Evan Bourne knocking Swagger down, going for a pin, and then when Swagger kicked out, he didn't get up. Instead he stayed laying on the ground and Bourne tried to hit the Airbourne. It makes sense I guess, it just seemed weird. If the guy was down on the ground, hit the finisher and then go for the pin instead of essentially giving him time to recover.

The crowd didn't seem to be into the match all that much either. A few cheers, but no huge pops or anything.
Another thing, you can really notice the difference between how good Dolph is, and how only ok Swagger is. There's just something that Ziggler has that Swagger doesn't.

I liked the finish, with Kofi and Evan both hitting their finishers, but Ziggler getting pinned doesn't make sense. It should have been Swagger.
So now, it makes Ryder look weaker if he wins, because he beat someone who had been hit with two finishers just minutes earlier, and if he doesn't win, it makes him look weaker because he can't even beat a guy who's had two other finishers hit on him, only minutes earlier. It's a no-win situation.

It helps make Dolph look good though if Dolph wins.

So let's get into the US Title match

Airboom and Swagger remain at ringside, but what was interesting is that it was AirBoom interfered, throwing Ziggler back into the ring, and therefore getting ejected from ringside by the referee. it was good to see it's not just the heels that get that treatment.

So like i said earlier, Ziggler didn't show off his new attire in either match. Kinda strange. And Ryder looked like he'd dyed his hair... red? orange?.. maybe some fake tan went into his hair.

I liked the finish with the super kick. Ziggler is money. Once again though, the problem is now Ryder is the guy who couldn't beat the guy who got pinned 10 mins earlier.

I am really sick of Michael Cole. It's the wrong kind of heat. The product would be better without his constant banter, his constant jokes at the expense of JR, and also, the fact that he spent a fair bit of time talking about what was trending on twitter, rather than talking about what happened in the ring.

I get that it's about telling stories for the WWE commentators, but surely you can spend two seconds and say "he's got him in a boston crab", rather than "so and so is trending worldwide on twitter"

Beth Phoenix vs Eve (Diva's title match)

What the hell kind of "music" is that? Here's the answer. Eve's new music is only a little worse than the skills of MOST of the divas.  So it was pretty bad.

Not really a lot to say about this match, I like the running story of Beth wanting Eve to cry. I liked Eve using a triangle choke, even though her legs weren't locked half the time. And I liked that Beth won. That's really about it.

Sheamus vs Christian

Once again the crowd didn't seem to care too much about this match. Quite frankly neither did I. I really like sheamus, but Christian is really boring to me. I wish he was better. I remember hearing when he won the Title in TNA. I was just like, Really? that guy??
I really hope that was the end of this little feud, Sheamus should be in the title picture. Henry vs Sheamus was a surprisingly good match at Summerslam, I'm sure they could do it again.


Punk/HHH vs Awesome truth.

First of all, that "promo" by Miz and Truth was awful. "You know who sucks?" YOU TWO DO! Childish humor. It would have been funnier if they were trying to be dirty with it. Who really believes that's how Miz and Truth would talk to each other backstage? And if you do, you may need to have your head examined.

Good slower pace to this match, Triple H looks in good shape, Punk looks like he's having fun.
Really good match, great old school vibe.
And then of course, the "complete shocker" of Kevin Nash returning. I mean, I guess it was a shock, but it was an expected shock I guess. But even though it was not shocking, he definitely made a big impact.

The Jacknife always looks great, but man, Triple H landed awkwardly. It looked brutal. I don't think Triple H was hurt, but he certainly sold it like he was. Really good finish though, and it was the right decision to have Truth and Miz win, and definitely the right decision to have them win the way they did.


Cody Rhodes vs Randy Orton.
I really liked the promo package for this match. We even saw some blood.
The match was good, not great, but once again, the crowd wasn't interested for the most part.
Best part of the match was the TWO moonsaults by Cody Rhodes. The first one that missed looked absolutely flawless.
The match was for the most part, predictable though. Good ending, with the "baggers" getting involved, but once again.. predictable.

Big Show vs Mark Henry
Great promo package once again. These video packages make you excited for the matches. Hopefully the WWE keep it up.
The start of the match was pretty awesome, two spots in particular. Mark henry was thrown, almost hip tossed back into the ring, and also Big Show hit him with a superkick. I love seeing guys this size doing things that you wouldn't expect them to do.
The rest of the match up until the ending was decent, with one huge double clothesline to start heading towards the finish.
And then the ending. Sure, it's been done before, but that doesn't lessen the impact. Show climbed the ropes, and Henry superplex-ed him, and the ring broke.
The big difference between this and the last time it was done (in WWE at least), is that the Brock Lesnar/Big Show spot ended the show. There was still one more match to go at Vengeance.

The other thing that made this such a great finish, was Laurinitis and Teddy Long coming out, helped sell the idea that it wasn't supposed to happen, and also the way Mark Henry walked out, instead of being stretchered out. That was awesome, he is so improved this year.

John Laurinitis gets a microphone and tells us that the show will go on, but not before introducing himself to us. Why did he need to introduce himself? He didn't. We've seen him on TV. I mean we've fallen asleep after seeing him, but we've seen him. No personality at all.

John Cena vs Alberto Del Rio  - Last Man Standing (in a broken ring)

Straight away I want to watch this match, simply because the ring is broken. It means they have to do things differently,and any time things have to change, it always makes more interesting viewing. Think about it.  No irish whips, no coming off of the top rope, no shooting a guy into the turnbuckles. Even further than that, it made it harder to use the apron, the ring posts, and the ring itself.

Del rio's reaction to the broken ring was priceless. His face looked like he just smelled something really bad or something.
Cena has a new shirt, new shorts, new colour. He's wearing camo shorts, and his new shrit is black with the words "Rise above hate" on it. I guess because he's wearing black we're back to getting serious Cena. No more fruity pebbles?

The start of the match was decent, but I think the fact that it was unique was the main draw at the start. Having a broken ring adds so much to the match.

There was a really nice spot with Alberto Del Rio being thrown from the ring, through where the ropes would have been, into the guardrail. It looked like a really hard landing, fairly brutal.

Also, the whole nut shot on the ring post with Rodriguez and Del Rio was great. Yes a funny spot, but it was a nice little break from the seriousness of the match, and really of the whole night.

And the fight went backstage! I don't remember the last time I've seen that. Brings back memories of amazing matches, Kane and Shane from Survivor Series 2003.. many hardcore matches.. I always enjoyed the backstage stuff.

And this was no exception. Cena toppling over that huge equipment case, and it really looking (at least for a second) that it had landed on Del Rio. Then a slam on top of the tipped over case. And finally the interview area basically being dropped onto John Cena. To me that looked like it would be the finish.

Now some people I noticed on twitter were saying "oh Cena just keeps getting up". But, I mean it's a last man standing match, not just a regular match. It's kind of a given that people tend to take more punishment in these matches. It wasn't about Cena not selling, it was about Cena not giving up. That's kind of one of his mottos. Del Rio didn't sell things for ages either.

Like falling through a table. He got up at 8. That's 8 seconds and he's back on his feet. From falling through a table onto concrete. Any other match that's not selling. Last man Standing, it's having the guts to keep fighting.

That's what I really like about Last man Standing matches. There's a ton of "this has to be it" moments.

And we get the amazing finish of Del Rio being smashed through a table by Cena, and then Miz and Truth running in and destroying Cena. But that wasn't the finish. The Ref was distracted by Miz and Truth, and therefore not counting Del Rio. So Cena is up at the count of 9, and then Del Rio gets the title belt and blasts Cena in the head with it, and that is the finish.

Really great match, especially because they had a broken ring. To me it sets up the survivor series match really well. something like Triple H, CM Punk, Rock and Cena on one team, with Nash, Del Rio, Miz and Truth on the other.

Overall I think this was a really good Pay per view, all decent matches, and the two main events really lifted the quality.
I'll give it.... 8/10.

Ok that's about it, I'll be back with my weekly blog in a few days, but until then, tha'ts it, and that's all.

People complain about cena's work, but it was a lst man standing match. they have to build to those "he got up at 9" moments.

The Calm before the storm No. 3

Welcome to another edition of the Aussie Mouthpiece blog. This quick post is the 3rd post in my Calm before the Storm series, which I write the day before Pay per views. Or in this case, hours before Vengeance.

So I'll run down the card and give some thoughts.

I should point out this was a last minute decision to order Vengeance. I just have this feeling that something big is going to happen. And even so, seeing that Dolph Ziggler is wrestling twice, is a big enough deal for me to get it.

So the card.

Sheamus vs Christian.

I'm guessing either this or the Tag Team Titles match will open the show. I'd go with the Tag Team match, with the US title match later in the card, to give Dolph some time to catch his breath.
Anyway, Sheamus is really coming along well as a babyface, it still feels a little strange to me though.

I think that's just because I was watching when he first started, as a heel and working with Triple H. Then I stopped watching for a while, and when I start again, he's a babyface. Strange indeed.

But, Christian is obviously getting over as a heel, because he annoys the hell out of me. Should be a decent match. I'd like to see Sheamus in the title picture soon. Doesn't he have some unfinished business with Mark Henry?

I would like to see Sheamus win, but I won't mind either way.

Airboom vs Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger

I don't have much to say about this match. I guess it's there to try to keep the tag belts relevant, but what's going to happen? Are the newly formed "tag team".. and I use that term loosely.. are they going to drop the titles? What happens to them if they do?

I'll add into this Dolph Ziggler vs Zack Ryder (US Title match). The reason being that my predictions relate to both matches.

I like that Dolph is getting to defend his singles title. It's about time. Ryder getting a title shot is a really good thing too.
I just hope that it's not a once-off. Hopefully this all isn't a ploy by the WWE to get him to stop his youtube show.

I think we're going to see Ryder win the US title, while Ziggler and Swagger get the Tag Team Title belts. AirBoom can be built up more if they are chasing belts, rather than defending belts and barely scraping by.

Diva's title match.

At least it's not Kelly kelly. But.. did she get her re-match? Do diva's contracts not have that stipulation in them?
Ok not much to say. Beth will be great. Eve will look ok, and probably do a moonsault. But if Eve wins, it will kill the angle, kill all the momentum of Beth and Natalya, and basically cement the divas division as a joke.
Beth needs to keep the title, at least until survivor series, maybe even until Kong can return. Because really, there's no other Diva on the WWE roster, other than Natalya, that could give her a great match.

Beth has to win.

Randy Orton vs Cody Rhodes

This could steal the show. Because of Cody, and also because of the history between the two guys. They know each other well, both in terms of storylines and I would assume in real life as well.

I see Cody going over in this one. Vengeance on a whole feels like it's supposed to be building everything up, rather than solving problems and finishing feuds. So it would make sense to have Rhodes win. Build him up, make that Intercontinental title mean something.

Mark Henry vs Big Show (WHC)

I haven't watched Smackdown for the past few weeks. It's good to see Big Show back, but, let's face it. Big man vs Big man matches are never "5 star classics", but the last time these two met it was a decent match. Hopefully the same will go for this match.

Henry will win, but maybe not cleanly. Big Show might snap and get a chair and try to get revenge, something like that. Maybe someone interferes and starts an issue with Show.

Del Rio vs Cena (WWE Title)

Last man standing. These matches seem like they must be a lot harder to work out finishes for than they would have been 5 years ago. No chair shots to the head, or much of anything to the head really. Problem there is.. how do you knock someone out if you can't hit them in the head?

But, Cena has been good in these matches in the past. I think this will be a fairly good match. Will be a good test for Del Rio, and will maybe show a slightly different side of his character. Expect some interference, especially for the finish.

I think Alberto Del Rio will win. I hope Del Rio will win. Cena winning makes no sense, that would make 3 title changes in a month. Ridiculous. What does a belt mean if it's so easy to get? Where's the struggle.. the obstacles to get past?.. Del Rio has to retain the title.

CM Punk & Triple H vs Awesome Truth

I agree with whoever said it or wrote it, this has to/will be the main event. I'm seeing a fairly standard kind of a match, but the finish will be something akin to Night of Champions, but hopefully will make more sense.
I see Nash returning to at least try to cost Punk and HHH the match. I see Laurinitis making his presence felt, hopefully by nothing more than appearing at the entrance. Not by talking, that would put everyone to sleep.

I think the right thing to do is have Awesome truth get the pin, but once again definitely not clean. I'd like to see Punk and HHH win, but I think it would build Survivor Series more if they lose.

So that's about it. Will someone else interfere? Will we see Shawn Michaels, or Sean Waltman? BG James maybe? Who knows. But I think if all goes well, Vengeance could be a really decent Pay Per View.

That's about all I have to say, I'll be tweeting tomorrow during Vengeance, so if you read this and aren't following me on Twitter you can do so @TheOZMouthpiece
That's it, and that's all!