Jack Swagger steals a victory over Randy Orton. Good opening segment featuring World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio, Randy Orton and SmackDown General Manager Booker T. Del Rio established his feud with Jack Swagger and his upcoming title defense at WrestleMania 29. Orton also played his role well and made it clear that his sights are still set on the World Championship despite coming up short last Sunday night. This promo helped hype the two main event matches for later in the show, so it was effective in that aspect. Nice match between Sheamus and Damien Sandow. These two always work well together and produced some hard-hitting action. Although the ending outcome was never in doubt, Sandow still looked good in defeat. Sheamus, on the other hand, remains directionless until he finds to someone to feud with going into WrestleMania. I'd be open to him chasing Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett as long as the rivalry isn't treated as a joke like it was on this week's Raw. Fine tag team match with Divas Champion Kaitlyn and Layla defeating Tamina and Aksana. The action was actually better than originally expected and there weren't as many botches as one would think. The Divas have hardly been featured on television this year, so this was a step in the right direction. While I'm content with Kaitlyn feuding with Layla over the title going into Mania, I'd much rather see AJ in contention for the strap given the storied history between her and Kaitlyn dating back to their NXT days in 2010.
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By Thomas Brunt WrestleMaina 29 plans being foiled, or up in the air is not good for business. We are two months away from Pro Wrestling's Grandest Stage in their annual WrestleMania pay-per-view, and this year it's going to be the 29th time for it to take place. A month ago, or maybe even a week ago, the match card, while far from complete in reality, would have been more than what it is right now, because right-now the pay-per-view card looks undecided. This is in part to recently named new #1 contender Jack Swagger potentially screwing up the World Heavyweight title picture for Mania, after being arrested following the SmackDown tapings on Tuesday night. Let's not forget about the WWE Title picture, which is still up in the air for storyline purposes, but we will hopefully know who will be wrestling The Rock for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania by the end of Monday's next installment of Raw as Cena and Punk will have a match against each other to determine the Rock's contender. What else do we have here? Oh yes, the Undertaker. The Deadman who is a perfect 20-0 at WrestleMania reportedly isn't in the best of shape to compete after having surgeries in the past, and pain taken from The Game, who has actually legitimately worn him at over the last two years. The only other thing here if anything, is seeing a rematch, which actually main-evented this past summer's SummerSlam pay-per-view with Triple H and Brock Lesnar, the predictability here after having Lesnar, surprisingly won the match back in August is pretty sky high, besides, we all know "Mr. Ego". Right now, a lot of WrestleMania 29's plans seem to be either screwed up or in the air. While Jack Swagger is responsible for himself and his actions, the creative writing team ultimately is responsible for having him win at this past Sunday's Elimination Chamber pay-per-view. With that being said, this can't be good for business, but we know Vince, he'll give us something, there isn't a question about it. Student Sports-Writer/Sports Editor for the "Hawk Newspaper" at Birdville High School, as well as the lead NFL columnist to "intheneutralzone".com, and a pro-wrestling blogger for "Next Era Wrestling". Follow his pointless sports-rants on Twitter: @ThomasSportsguy, and read his personal sports blog here: http://sportsguypressblog.wordpress.com/ By Graham "GSM" Matthews Solid segment to kick off the show featuring Hulk Hogan and Bully Ray. It established the TNA World Heavyweight Championship match for Lockdown and the night's main event. I'm not huge on Ray being in contention for the title at this point in time, but as long as it leads to him winning the strap and subsequently turning heel, I'm completely content with it. Entertaining eight man tag team match with James Storm, Joseph Park, Hernandez and Chavo Guerrero defeating World Tag Team Champions Bobby Roode and Austin Aries as well as Daniels and Kazarian. The exchanges between all eight competitors was enjoyable and everyone was able to get in their signature spots. This match didn't hold much significance, but it was fun for what it was worth. CM Punk challenges John Cena to a match on next week's Raw. Strong promo from John Cena and CM Punk to kick off the show. Cena is always at his best when he's taking the serious approach in his promos, so it was good to see that from him here. Punk's interruption was logical and mentioning that Cena has never beaten him (or least in a title match) was a nice touch. Cena came off as a moron for putting his WWE title shot on the line, but it was done in a way where it made sense and I don't have a problem with it. Punk vs. Cena is a major matchup, so I'm glad that they're hyping it for next week's show. Basic squash match with Mark Henry dominating Sin Cara. Henry is an absolute beast, so having him decimate Sin Cara here came as no surprise. Now, why in the blazing blue hell would you have The Great Khali come out to fend off Henry? I understand that Henry took Khali out last week on Raw, but this is not a feud anyone wants to see. If a rivalry with Khali is what they have in mind for Henry at WrestleMania, then I've officially lost all faith in the Creative team. Fine No Disqualification match between United States Champion Antonio Cesaro and The Miz. It was strange to see this match not hyped whatsoever, especially given the stipulation attached to it. The action was fine for what it was, but it was never given enough time to full develop into something memorable. Miz winning was logical in setting up a championship rematch for Mania, but I'd much rather see Cesaro take on a fresh face instead. Great match between World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio and Dolph Ziggler. These two have excellent chemistry with one another and managed to keep an exciting pace throughout the bout. However, this is the third time we've seen this match in the last three weeks, so it felt repetitive and obvious that Del Rio was going over. Ziggler's attempted Money in the Bank cash-in following the contest was unbelievable merely because Del Rio vs. Jack Swagger for the World title is set in stone for WrestleMania 29. Meaningless promo from Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett. All he did was air a trailer for a movie that he hardly stars in anyway. To make matters even worse, Sheamus basically made the entire segment feel like a complete waste of time, which it was anyway. If we're supposed to be getting Barrett vs. Bo Dallas for the Intercontinental title at WrestleMania 29 (a match I don't honestly want to see on the grandest stage of them all), shouldn't the build for that bout begin now? Throwaway six-person tag team match with Brodus Clay, Tensai and Naomi defeating Primo, Epico and Rosa Mendes. The action was harmless for the most part, but it definitely came off as nothing more than filler. It's disappointing that this tag team division has been relegated to this following its resurgence a few months ago. I don't hate the pairing of Clay and Tensai, but they simply don't do anything for me. Solid promo from Jack Swagger and Zeb Coulter. It tied in nicely with President's Day and Coulter's mic work was fantastic. Although some may see it as borderline racist, I'm personally fine with it since it does an effective job of garnering heat, which is what Swagger needs at this point. One of Swagger's biggest weaknesses has always been his way with words, so I'm glad that Coulter will be enhancing his act going into his World title match with Del Rio at Mania. |
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