Time to try to give Smackdown some attention. Green Day is still an immediate draw to the show no matter what the ratings say. We open with Edge, in a match. So far so good. The opponent is Alberto Del Rio so things continue to look up. We get a decent amount of match but, with Edge setting up for the Spear, Nexus arrives and lays out both competitors. We notice now that Barrett and Cena are not here. Big Show comes to the rescue, and Rey Mysterio shows up, then even Kane joins the posse and Nexus get driven off resoundingly.

Teddy Long books Nexus vs. Kane, Del Rio, Show, Edge and Mysterio. Dolph Ziggler is here without his cougar companion. We even get a recap of events from NXT in case you like to watch television on television. JTG is the opponent. Since I don’t watch Superstars I keep forgetting he is still employed. Ziggler destroys JTG and, just when you think Dolph might be learning to stand on his own, Kaitlyn shows up. That draws an angry Vickie to slap her NXT rookie. They end up with a match later.

We have a triple threat coming up between MVP (who has new music), Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre. Since this match will be on Smackdown next week and not at Survivor Series I’m predicting Rhodes and Drew to cost each other the match letting MVP sneak in for the win. At least at first Drew convinces Cody to gang up on MVP then settle things themselves. But, in the end, MVP does come out on top.

Nexus beats up Rey Mysterio putting his place in the 10-man tag match in question. Wade Barrett is in the UK so it looks like these guys went into business for themselves. Otunga is doing all the talking, setting up more tension between himself and Barrett. The Vickie/Kaitlyn match is a disaster, especially since Vickie wins with her feet on the ropes.

Nexus take down MVP and Kaval too. This kills any heat MVP might have built up in the previous match. Speaking of someone usually on Superstars, Chris Masters has to job to Tyler Reks. This is, in fact, a Superstars rematch with Tyler already up by one. I doubt there will be a third match.

Mysterio is just fine for the main event. Everybody gets along at first during the main event and Nexus carry themselves well enough not to look bad. Edge turns on Kane and Spears him but has another Spear ready for David Otunga to win the match. I’m not sure how any of this really helped Nexus.

Welcome to Smackdown, don’t expect to see The Undertaker. At least not live. I’m sure there will be clips galore. In fact, the show starts with some. Kane gets to pose by a tombstone and claim Taker will never be back. Yeah, right. Of all the people who could interrupt I was not expecting Alberto Del Rio. He’s just out for a title shot and boy does Kane flip out on him. The crowd is against Del Rio so much they still boo him attacking Kane. A face finally shows up as Rey Mysterio chases off Del Rio then hits Paul Bearer with a 619. Last run in goes to Edge, who Spears Rey and trashes the funeral set. Kane looked a little weak here, but it will be interesting to see where they are headed with this. Kane and Rey wouldn’t be a fresh feud and I doubt they would do a four-way at Survivor Series. Del Rio goes to Teddy Long to plead for the title shot. Long counters with a #1 contenders match between Del Rio, Rey and Edge. My money is on Edge. That answers that.

Why is Michael Cole here every week now? Three man announce teams aren’t working for WWE. Dolph Ziggler faces Daniel Bryan yet again, so I’m thinking these titles will be unified sooner rather than later. Still, the matches are so good that who cares? This match is faster paced than the RAW match and Daniel does some nice flipping and flying. With the amount of time these two have been given lately WWE must have more faith in them than I thought. Dolph takes Bryan down with a Zig Zag, but the ref gets knocked down too. Vickie tries to count the pin but the ref won’t allow it. That lets Bryan take Ziggler down with a high side kick and win three matches over Ziggler. Once again, there is controversy to the finish. And hey, Matt Striker knows the difference between figuratively and literally. I like how he occasionally tries to smarten up the trialogue.

Paul and Kane are upset. Cody Rhodes thinks he’s hotter than Kelly Kelly so Big Show wants him in a match. Rhodes claims to be a tag team wrestler now so Show says he’ll get a partner. Being in front of a hot chick gets Cody in trouble as he has to accept, and Show busts out a decent Scottish accent to mock both Drew and Cody at the same time. Jack Swagger, with eagle, faces Kaval. Smart money is on Swagger. Nobody has mentioned Kaval having a title shot in a very long time. It’s not a bad match but it’s short and there’s nothing really memorable before Swagger catches Kaval in the Ankle Lock and the rookie quickly taps out.

The divas have a costume contest for Halloween. Not even a match? A costume Battle Royal? Heh. Just as I complain Teddy Long swerves us with an eight-Diva tag match. The various superhero costumes let the announce team geek out but, mostly, this is a comedy match. I get a snack. Edge and Rey aren’t going to be friends in this match. Drew and Cody think Nexus are pathetic and they want their titles back. Big Show, the man of many partners, calls on Kofi Kingston to join him this time out. For some reason the match doesn’t interest me. The end comes when Drew doesn’t enter the ring to save Cody from a Chokeslam and Big Show picks up the win. Drew and Cody promptly break up their team which is better for all concerned.

The entrances for the main event and the following commercial last until 9:47. The bell rings then, at 9:49, we go back to commercial. That’s just disrespectful of your audience. Once we get back to it the match is quite decent. All three guys get to show their strengths but the crowd ultimately gets behind Edge. There are three false finishes that I would have bought as an ending, but Edge spears Del Rio while Mysterio is on his shoulders and the Toronto native is on his way to Survivor Series as #1 contender. Kane knows it too, and puts on a pyro show to prove he’s not scared.

All in all it was a good wrestling week and Smackdown is the cherry on top. Great in-ring action and very little garbage other than the Divas. And I have to say, I could watch a lot more Daniel Bryan/Dolph Ziggler matches.

It feels like WWE has been having a lot of Pay Per Views lately. Smackdown is the last stop before Bragging Rights so let’s see what they can do to push one of their less popular shows. We open with the 7 members of both teams (minus R-Truth who still can’t get into Canada) in the ring and Teddy Long letting them book their own matches. Miz put himself, Jackson and Sheamus on one side which Show counters with himself Kofi and Rey. Edge challenges CM Punk, Morrison wants Alberto Del Rio and Jack Swagger goes after Santino. Tyler Recks keeps his mouth shut. Oh and Kane takes on Randy Orton as we already heard.

The six-man tag starts right away. Matt Stryker shows he is, or at least was, a comic book fan by referring to this as Secret Wars. Despite putting more powerhouses on the RAW side it’s Smackdown who picks up the win when Mysterio hits a Splash off Big Show’s shoulders. So Smackdown looks strong again, pointing to RAW winning on Sunday. Swagger takes on Santino but, for some reason, Hornswoggle takes issue with Swagger’s Soaring Eagle. Most of this is a joke and Swagger picks up yet another win for Smackdown. Stryker: “Santino is going to need Cobra and Destroy to get out of this one.”

Now that Cody Rhodes is one half of the tag team champions maybe he should stop having solo vignettes. Del Rio and Morrison put on an okay match, but Del Rio wins for Smackdown, again. We’re also only at the halfway point when the Edge/Punk match gets underway. It is a bit odd to have two guys who were just traded for each other defending their new brands. Did Cole just say Evan Bourne is injured and out for four months? My cable goes out just as Miz and Alex Reilly attack Edge, causing a DQ, one-by-one the rest of the team come out to hit a move or two then get taken out and wait for the next guy. The cycle ends with Punk coming back to GTS Mysterio then eat a Spear from Edge. I know Smackdown is on a new network but do we have to push them this hard?

We get more annoying Diva crap as LayCool dresses as The Hart Foundation. They face Natalya and Kelly Kelly in a tag match. We learn that Layla will be the one to wrestle on Sunday which is annoying when Natalya makes Layla submit because it pretty much ensures that LayCool is retaining Sunday.

Kane and Rady Orton put on a better match than I was expecting out of them. Both look strong but Kane loses the match when the lights go out and Taker’s music plays. The show ends with the return of a classic bit as Undertaker comes up through the ring and drags a screaming Kane down and out of sight.

Over on TNA the heels are running the show. No Hogan and no more Dixie Carter means Bischoff is running the show. He puts Ken Anderson, who has one arm in a sling, against Kazarian in an Ultimate X match. If he can survive he’s the number one contender. Bischoff plants seeds of doubt in RVD’s mind that more of his friends will turn on him before putting him in a tag match with Sabu against Beer Money.

The Pope is a face now and he gets AJ Styles in Street Fight. Bischoff plays fair and bans Fortune from ringside. It’s a title match and a fine, roughhouse match; until Abyss, not technically a member of Fortune, runs in and destroys The Pope. Did this elevate The Pope? Maybe a little, but not much. Later, Pope is mad Samoa Joe didn’t come to his aid. Still later, Jeff Jarrett and the two “security guards who are actually rookie wrestlers” take Joe out.

In diva crap, Miss Tessbacher needs to become a wrestler now and WWE’s Katie Lea Burchill is here, but they’re calling her Winter and I get a weird “mad Ophelia from Hamlet” vibe off her. Mickie James beats Sarital then Tara attacks her post-match. Oh and that Jersey Shore rip off I want to see gone gets to beat Amazing Red. Team 3D wants one last title match, after which they will retire. I hope they manage to put on a good final match. I hope they put over the Guns then I hope they stay retired.

The RDV/Sabu v. Beer Money match doesn’t last long before Sabu brings a chair in the ring and accidentally throws it in RVD’s face. 1) He hit RVD 2) Had he hit his target they would have been disqualified anyway. RVD goes after Sabu and EV 2.0 has to pull them apart. Anderson gets a Fortune beat down before the match. They drag him to the ring, not technically interfering because the match has not started yet. Kazarian almost wins before Anderson recovers. Anderson wrestles the match one-handed and still manages to keep it entertaining. Then they make a big mistake. Anderson brings out a ladder. Now I watched the very first Ultimate X match, which Kazarian won 7 years ago, and there was one rule: No ladders. Now they forget all about that? There is no point whatsoever in an Ultimate X match if ladders can be used. Real fans care about the details. Now, perhaps he would have been disqualified had he succeeded, we’ll never know. Fortune runs in and destroys Anderson before he can get the X and Matt Morgan just puts Kazarian on his shoulders and he claims the win that way. Anderson gets a steel pipe and chases off Fortune, only to be ambushed by Jeff Hardy with a steel chair. If you like a little blood in your wrestling then TNA trumps WWE hands down.

The finish is Flair and Bischoff heading off to go clubbing together, but Kurt Angle, pipe in one hand, the other in a sling, trashes their limo. This was actually a pretty good show. Yes, there was a lot of crap I’d prefer not to see, but unlike last week it seemed to all come together. Could the common denominator in TNA booking good shows be leaving Hogan off camera?

Bragging Rights is sponsored by Smackdown vs RAW 2011. Would it be cynical to think this is the only reason they have this particular event? I happen to think WWE simply has too many Pay Per Views, with 3 in a six week span build up is going to suffer. Did we need Hell in the Cell? Wouldn’t it have been better to have two more weeks to build to Bragging Rights? I won’t be seeing the show so I don’t know how much it matters to me. I’m not agonizing over the fact that I’ll miss it.

I like Green Day so Smackdown’s new opening makes me happy. We have an Undertaker stunt double standing on the outside of the Rose Garden in Portland. Smackdown has stolen RAW’s idea of having qualifiers for the Bragging Rights team and the first match is Rey Mysterio versus one half of the tag team champions, Cody Rhodes. You figure the tag champs will want to defend at Bragging Rights and Mysterio should go over anyway. It’s a better match than most of the qualifiers on RAW, despite the predictable ending.

Kaval talks his way into a match with Big Show where, if he lasts five minutes, he can earn a spot on the Bragging Rights team. Apparently we get yet another Kane/Undertake match at Bragging Rights, but they’re actually going to do a Buried Alive match in the PG era. Jack Swagger versus MVP for the third spot is at least hard to predict. More comic antics from the Soaring Eagle, but Swagger gets the anklelock on and MVP taps almost immediately.

Next Alberto Del Rio gets his shot and with Chris Masters as his opponent you know he’s going to qualify easily. It doesn’t help that the announce team, which has Cole again and Big Show sitting in as well, barely mention Masters. The match at Bragging Rights is not elimination, it’s one fall to the finish. Edge also gets a shot at the team and, again, you know he’s going to win even before Dolph Ziggler is announced as his opponent. Kaval actually does last five minutes against Big Show so the team is coming together as well as RAW.  Tyler Reks, a new guy I don’t even remember, comes to challenge Kaval for his spot. Kaval is game, but in rough shape after facing Show and Reks quickly beats him.

Drew McIntyre finally shows up for the last qualifying match and Kofi Kingston is his opponent. Smackdown has had to squeeze in all the same qualifiers RAW had to, but because it’s not padded out with Nexus storyline even this very short match seems better than RAW’s matches. Kingtson gets a clean win. It’s just a pity all these matches have gone the predictable way.

The blowoff of the show is more Kane versus Undertaker promos.  Kane is cutting some nice promos lately, but if you don’t look forward to the match they are going to have to blow it off, what does it matter? Taker doesn’t speak but comes out on top of the fisticuffs for a change then creates magic explosions and the urn gets dropped. There’s no rhyme nor reason to who comes out of these exchanges.

Okay, so over at TNA “They” turned out to be Bischoff, Hogan, and the Jeffs, Hardy and Jarrett. So Bischoff has already trotted out his second good idea ever, turning Hogan heel. I’m so glad I didn’t pay to see that.  Eric also swapped contracts last week and Dixie turned control of the company over to Hogan and Bischoff. They are out to yak at first. He’s Hollywood Hogan again, just in case you weren’t already blindly aware of the derivativeness. And, now that TNA is totally dominated by heels, it’s Fortune who interrupts them… But they end up hugging. The claim is being made Kurt Angle is gone from TNA. Sting and Kevin Nash turn face for a bit of balance, but here’s the problem, this is the culmination of months of story building. It should be a huge deal, but I’m already bored. It doesn’t help that we’re a third of the way into the show and we haven’t had a match!

The knockouts get the first action of the night as Madison Rain demands a rematch with new champion Tara. Madison expects Tara to just lay down and she does. So it wasn’t a match after all. This ticks off Mickie James. There’s someone from Jersey Shore here tonight, but that’s best ignored.

Kurt is supposed to retire, but he’s not sure he should after getting screwed. That draws Jeff Jarrett. Their back and forth is pretty good, but it’s still not a match. With security’s help Jarrett gets Kurt handcuffed then slams his head into the stage. This actually draws the ire of Tazz who backs them off. Kurt’s neck is supposed to have been injured yet again so they’re playing up how Kurt could be really hurt. Samoa Joe’s mad at Jarrett too. Now more than halfway through we get a real match as Abyss takes on Joe. Even this match is ridiculously short as Abyss hits Joe with the ring bell for a disqualification. RVD has to chase Abyss off after the match. RVD wants Jeff Hardy, but Bishoff decides he has to face Mr. Anderson tonight for the shot.

The Pope has to face Fortune since he’s been friendly with Nash and Sting. Another joke of a match which leaves the main event as the only real match of the night. Those of you with DVRs had better have learned by now you need to record Reaction to see the end of this show, but even this match ends in a Jeff Hardy run in and inconclusively. TNA is trying so hard to be something special and it’s not working.

An odd week. Lots of matches, but only a few of them are actually good. RAW has the more compelling storylines, but worse wrestling, while Smackdown has action but the Kane/Taker feud is interminable.  NXT is just annoying and TNA can’t do anything right. There never seems to be a week where everybody is firing on all cylinders. It would be nice if it ever happened.

My apologies for the slow down of articles, but I just got my hands on Dead Rising 2 and I can’t put it down. They took the awesome original game and added to it, making it even more awesome. This isn’t the only cool game coming out soon, we have these new and classic gems that are coming out…

X-Men: The Arcade Game
One of the best arcades ever is finally coming to a home via the X-Box Marketplace and PS3s. The game allows for 6 player co-op online or a 4 player local co-op. The game is unchanged from the classic version, it allows you to play as Wolverine, Storm, Cyclops, Dazzler, Colossus or Nightcrawler as you battle the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and Magneto across levels. Included in the Brotherhood are Pyro, the Blob, Wendigo, Nimrod, the White Queen, Juggernaut and Mystique. One thing that is really cool is that the game allows for Online Drop-in when multiplayer is activated. This allows your friends to jump in on the battle at any time while playing. The game will be available for download at the end of the year.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II
You don’t have to be a fan of Star Wars to enjoy the Force Unleashed, it is for everyone that likes epic sci-fi or action stories. Once again you take on the role of Starkiller, Darth Vader’s once apprentice, as you hunt down his long lost love and avoid Vader. You’ll have to harness the full powers of the Force and wield dual lightsabers as you battle through worlds from all of the Star Wars movies. The game comes out later this month on October 26th, 2010.

WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011
The latest edition of the wrestling franchise promises an ever changing gameplay based on players decisions, which can lead to “spontaneous WWE action in and out of the ring”.  They are trying hard to make each match unique to keep gameplay fresh and unpredictable.  The game features 70 superstars including the ones you’d expect like John Cena, Rey Mysterio, Kane and the Undertaker, but in addition to them are legends including Jake “The Snake” Roberts, Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, The Rock, and Bret “The Hitman” Hart to name a few. Something to really look forward to? An online Royal Rumble, hell yeah. You can get your hands on this also on October 26th, 2010.

What video games are you looking forward to?

Hell in a Cell. It has provided some of the greatest moments in WWE history… But this is the PG era. Can a PG Hell in the Cell live up to the bloodier brawls of the past? The opening promo wants us to believe Hell in a Cell is a demonic, possibly even sentient construct. It’s a brand new cell and it’s certainly big. But it seems cleaner, less rough around the edges. Like it wouldn’t hurt that much to hit it. I guess they wanted to reduce the odds of unintentional cuts since it would be weird to stop a Hell in a Cell match to patch a cut.

Our opening contest is a Triple Threat Submission match for the United States Championship. John Morrison comes out first and there’s no sign of a heel turn as he gives his sunglasses to a small child in the audience. The champion comes out next, which is still wrong. Miz is last so he can get on the mic before the match. Well, no point in having Miz on a PPV and not letting him talk. Miz claims to have been the mentor of both of them. Without him they’d be nobodies. Without them he’s still be a star because he has the “It factor.” The last guy who claimed that was David Otunga. That’s not good company to be in.

The match features very little in the way of alliances. If you like submission wrestling this is a great match. These guys bust out some old school moves. The problem is Striker calls everything as a “variation” of a move. I think Matt Striker even refers to one as the Haas of Pain. Didn’t think Charlie Haas would get a shout out from WWE any time soon. It’s also nice that everyone involved remembers if there are no disqualifications there are no rope breaks. Bryan busts out Cattle Mutilation which leads more annoying banter from the three-man announce team of Cole, Striker and the King. I keep trying to hear what they call John Morrison’s training technique. Wikipedia is no help but it sounds like “harcore.”

They fight all over the arena and use the arena environment to their advantage. At one point Miz locks a hold on Morrison while Morrison is threaded through the metal railing on the steps. The action eventually winds up near the entrance ramp. Miz uses a rolling stagehand’s equipment box, the same type they always use at the end of NXT obstacle courses. Bryan tries for the LaBell lock at every opportunity. Miz hits a Skull Crushing Finale on Morrison to the concrete floor. A DDT on the floor once took people out for months. Now people shrug off finishers on the outside. Who says people were tougher in the old days?

Morrison Spidermans the lighting grid onto the decorative cell wall beside the entrance ramp. The Splash he hits on both men from about twelve feet in the air prompts a “That was awesome” chant from the crowd. Morrison traps Miz in a Texas Cloverleaf a Dean Malenko shout out! But Miz’s apprentice, Alex Reilly, runs out and takes Morrison out.  That opens up Bryan to lock the LaBell lock on The Miz on the entrance ramp. Miz holds out longer than you’d expect, but taps out to give Bryan the title. Alex Cole finally admits that Daniel Bryan is for real, but he still thinks he’s a nerd. Absolutely awesome opener. Fired up the crowd and gave them something to pop for.

I don’t want to see Legendary. Screw off.

Next up we go into a Hell in a Cell already as Sheamus and Randy Orton lock up for the WWE Championship. As I feared, the cell really isn’t menacing anymore. It looks pliant and clean-edged. I’ve seen baseball diamonds I’d be more scared to be thrown into. To make up for it the pair has to use both ring steps as weapons. That ramps up the macho factor a little. But mostly the match is a long running brawl, which I consider the most boring style of wrestling. Orton takes damage to the ribs early on and it becomes the story of the match. Sheamus exposes a turnbuckle but, as is often the case, it comes back to bite him in the arm. At the end Sheamus brings the ring steps into the ring and it backfires again. Orton Scoop Slams him onto the steps. That’s only good enough for a two. Sheamus finally succeeds in using a weapon as he whacks Orton a few times with a steel chair.

Orton finally hits his RKO, but Sheamus manages to roll out of the ring. Sheamus dodges the punt and hits another Brogue Kick but, again, outside the ring. He gets two but, in the end, Mr. Orton delivers his initials onto the steel steps. 1… 2… 3! Orton retains. This was an okay match, especially for second on the card, but it really didn’t need to be a Hell in a Cell match. The ring steps and exposed turnbuckle mattered more than the cell. This could have been an No-Disqualification match and worked just as well. Do we need to have two Hell in a Cell matches on one show? Even if the show is called Hell in a Cell? Sheamus has become a credible main eventer and Orton is mad over. Pity they drew the short straw of importance on this Pay Per View. Orton delivers a better spot after the match when he climbs the outside of the cell, about twenty feet up, and parades the title on top of the steel structure.

Keep your useless NXT Divas off my PPV. NXT scares them off. Is this supposed to be a face turn. We’re reminded that if the other members of Nexus get involved in any way Cena wins.

Did you think Alberto Del Rio wouldn’t be on the PPV? Here comes the Mexican JBL right now. Jerry Lawler used to at least be a dirty old man. Now he just makes weak puns. Del Rio runs down Mysterio and Christian so it’s odd that it’s Edge who interrupts. Rumors are going around that Edge is not only turning face again but going to Smackdown to bolster it after the SyFy move. Edge isn’t the best face, but Smackdown does need a new on at the main event level. Edge continues his campaign against stupidity. A Chihuahua in a mask? Stupid. A scarf the size of a blanket? Stupid. Don’t tell Tom Baker that! The little wink? Stupid. Edge is still acting like a heel. Than again so is Randy Orton and they cheer him. Edge does seem to be getting some face heat here.

Just when we are about to get a fight Jack Swagger shows up. He’s mad at Edge over Spearing his Eagle mascot. Swagger has to point out it’s a real person inside that suit and demand Edge pay his medical bills. Edge gets brave but Del Rio ambushes him and Swagger attack. The E-GM ping goes off and the anonymous General Manager’s new computer tells Michael Cole that Edge will apologize tomorrow on RAW. And face Jack Swagger right now. Impromptu match!

Edge starts hurt so he’s at the disadvantage throughout. Again, face style booking. It’s odd but after two gimmick matches in a row it’s already odd to see things like rope breaks and count outs again. Swagger eventually gets the Ankle Lock cinched in. I hate when a wrestler grabs the rope, then gets pulled off, and the ref doesn’t still force a break. Edge rolls through the ankle lock anyway and hits a Spear for a win! So far tonight all the matches have been given plenty of time and none of them have been bad.

Click here to read Part 2 of the Hell in a Cell 2010 recap!

Smackdown arrives on SyFy with a brand new opening theme and sequence. It’s actually a big improvement. The big show kicks off with Dolph Ziggler defending his title against MVP. Not exactly big name superstars to open with. Let’s hope the match is solid… It’s not. It is all a set-up for Nexus, minus Wade Barrett, to attack. Ziggler takes the initial attack leaving MVP alone in the ring. They do the surround and attack move, then beat MVP down for Gabriel’s 450 Splash. Big Show finally shows up. I know he was slow, but he was no help to MVP. And even a giant falls to a four on one assault. You know what that means, it’s time for John Cena. Maybe if people stopped coming out one at a time they’d have a better chance. Nexus is busy beating down Cena when Big Show returns with a steel chair and drives them off. Barrett is on TitanTron. He’s just here to recap the stipulations of the match on Sunday. Apparently, he’s a friend of the network head so he gets to pick matches. Nexus vs. Big Show five-on-one and John Cena versus Kane. And here I thought they might be putting the early focus on actual wrestling.

Oh great, Michael Cole is here. We have an Undertaker/CM Punk match tonight. We get an 8-Diva tag match. There’s a few decent moves, but Hornswoggle shows up to mess with LayCool so it’s hard to take the match seriously. WWE is actually plugging Mick Foley’s new book despite Foley being with TNA now. We’re in Oklahoma so Jack Swagger gets to celebrate homecoming. He’s got a guy in an Eagle mascot costume with him. I wonder if that is an enemy in disguise. He’s upset he didn’t get a parade. So, he’s moved to Texas. Instead of the eagle betraying Swagger, Edge shows up. Edge is on a campaign against stupidity in wrestling. He’s Don Quixote now? Edge decks the eagle and Swagger runs off. That leaves Edge to Spear the eagle. Is he supposed to be a face here or what?

Sick of Nexus? Tough. They are lumberjacks for Cena’s match later tonight. Their match with Show is quick. Since four of them beat down Show earlier why would he have a chance against five? As is, once they get Show off his feet, each Nexus member locks a hold on one limb, except Barrett who puts a choke hold on Show’s neck. Show passes out quickly and gets two post match 450 splashes.

Undertaker is looking more Old School in costuming as Paul Bearer and the urn join him for his match with CM Punk. It’s the best match of the night so far, but that’s not saying much. Undertaker wins, of course, with a Tombstone Piledriver. Next up is Alberto Del Rio, still as awesome as ever. He promises Rey Mysterio and his personal ring announcer brings out a Chihuahua in a mask. Cute dog. It even has a brace on one paw. Then it’s time for the real Rey to return. Rey tries to 619 Del Rio, but the ring announcer gets involved again. That let’s Del Rio escape. Rey takes his frustrations out on poor Ricardo. That’s twice now that non-wrestlers have taken beatings. Remember, don’t try this at home.

Randy Orton is here tonight too. He faces his old pupil, Cody Rhodes. The match has barely started when Orton lands his RKO finisher, only to be attacked by Sheamus. The beating lasts longer than the match and we have yet to have one good match all night. Even the main event isn’t given much time and it also ends inconclusively when the lumberjacks attack and Undertaker appears to attack Kane. The final focus is on the brawl through the stands between the two “brothers”. Taker comes out on top, with the urn motivating him. Will that give him the title Sunday? I think so.

TNA again has a problem with split focus. Sure, they’re pushing Bound for Glory, but now they have a big live show three days before it and they’re trying to push that just as hard. So, at that show, we’re going to see Ric Flair versus Mick Foley in a Last Man Standing Match. It’s WCW all over again. Giving away money matches for free. Their promo is awesome, but it’s nothing new. These two already had their long running feud out in WWE. Just like ECW had a revival already in WWE. TNA always striving for new things to copy.

Tonight Kurt Angle faces Abyss in a Steel Cage. The Pope, Kevin Nash and Sting continue to complain about WCW. So, at Bound for Glory, Jeff Jarrett, Samoa Joe and Hulk Hogan will face Sting, Nash and Dinero. Hulk Hogan, who is recovering from back surgery, which they have admitted on camera, is supposed to step in the ring in ten days?! Do they really think anyone is going to pay to see that? Tommy Dreamer actually scores a pinfall as he and Rhino beat Beer Money. Jay Lethal and Amazing Red traded the X Division title back and forth at some house shows; but other than mentioning it and a few still shots neither one is actually on the show. Has the X title been reduced to Xplosion fodder?

Generation Me beat Ink Inc, but the Tag champs get Chris Sabin’s stolen title back from the #1 contenders. We tease more troubles in the top ranks, as an off-screen, unheard phone call from Hogan shows he’s behind Angle while Eric Bischoff likes Ken Anderson. Where the heck is Jeff Hardy tonight? Is he selling the Abyss beating? Kurt bleeds a bucket in the main event and carries Abyss to a decent match for a change. We carry on to Reaction yet again as Kurt teases a Moonsault off the top of the cage, but doesn’t deliver. That’s probably for the best. Abyss takes Angle out but the ref goes down in the process. Ken Anderson comes to Kurt’s rescue. Abyss takes him down too, rips the cage door clean off and goes for Janice. Kurt recovers and manages to take it (her?) from him. The ref never recovers, we don’t get a winner and we just go off the air with Kurt standing there holding Janice. Lousy ending people. You have to watch a lot of Reaction to see that Kurt refuses to shake Ken Anderson’s hand after the show.

Also on for next week is a Battle Royal including every man on the Bound For Glory card. That’s twenty-five men. And the prize? $100,000. Nice to see inflation hasn’t driven wrestling prizes up too high in the face of the global economic downturn. By now, next week’s show looks almost as interesting as the PPV and I don’t have to pay for it. So what inspires me to spend money on the second show when I’ve already had my weekly fill with the free one?

So what’s the verdict for the week? Nothing terrible happened, but I feel like nothing great happened either. TNA had the better wrestling while WWE did a better job building to their PPV. So a mixed bag of a week. Will Hell in a Cell be worth paying for? I haven’t decided yet.