Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Monday Night Raw recap 7/30/12

It is safe to say this show was doomed right from the beginning.

Due to a fire, caused by the pyro test at the beginning, the arena had to be evacuated before the show started. I will however, give major props to the WWE for getting all of the fans back into the arena before the show went live on USA.

Even though the WWE did not use any pyro throughout the show, it seemed to go off without a hitch.

As for the show itself, I feel it was a let down.

There was a lot of fantastic wrestling, however, it just seemed to be missing something.

I will touch on that a little more, so let us get right into the recap.

The show started off with CM Punk coming out, to a huge pop, to address the crowd and Jerry Lawler's comments from Raw 1000, saying he "turned his back on the WWE Universe." Punk cut a very good promo here. This wasn't the "pipe bomb" type promo that everyone was expecting but one that made Punk look like he didn't make the complete heel turn. Punk basically states that The Rock was gifted the title shot and that The Rock feels that he is better than Punk. Punk also stated that The Rock was lucky that he didn't "drop him" then. The Big Show then came down and interrupted Punk. The Big Show basically said that the only reason Punk is still the champion is because of him. He almost tapped out until Show did what he did. The Big Show vows to become the next champion. Cena runs out and goes after The Big Show. Show shoves Cena away and heads out up the ramp.

Justin Roberts is in the ring to announce the new Raw GM, AJ Lee, who I must say, is a flatout dime piece. That woman is phenomenal. AJ says that her first decision as GM is regarding the main event, Cena v The Big Show for the #1 contender and winner gets a title shot at Summerslam.

Next up was the United States Champion, Santino Marella vs Alberto Del Rio in a non-title match. Go figure. I am truly getting sick and tired of Santino not defending this damn title. It is getting ridiculous. Del Rio gets the victory in this ok match. Del Rio stood over a defeated Marella and stated that he will no longer wrestle in anymore matches, unless it is for the World Championship.

Brodus Clay was in the ring dancing with the Funkadactyls when Vickie comes out. She wants to show them how to dance. Honestly, I felt I was in hell during this segment. Vickie looked like she was having a seizure while dancing. This was freaking atrocious. For once in my life I was thankful that Damien Sandow came to the ring. He revisits the ass beating he received from DX last week. Sandow then attacks Clay by stomping and kicking him. He did break the necklace that Clay always wears as well.

Bryan is outside of AJ's office. He musters up the courage to go in there and confront her. AJ lays down the law saying she wants to start fresh. She in turn makes a match against Sheamus in a match type that the WWE Universe can vote on. It turned out to be a Street Fight that was voted on. This was by far the best match of the night. Both Sheamus and Bryan did really well and they worked well together. They continued to fight all over, in the ring, up the ramp, etc. The steps were tossed into the ring, they used kendo sticks. This was a great match. As Sheamus was setting up for the White Noise on the steps, in the ring, Bryan countered and sent Sheamus into the ropes. Sheamus came back and blasted Bryan with the Brogue Kick. Sheamus pulled Bryan off the steps, to the mat and pinned him for the win.

After this, Bryan was still in the middle of the ring. This was all crazy crap. R-Truth and Kofi come down with Little Jimmy into the ring. Bryan, who was still upset ends up kicking the imaginary person, Little Jimmy, out of the ring. Then 4 men, in white coats come down to take the crazy person, R-Truth away. Then AJ comes out and states that Bryan is the one they need to take for a psychiatric evaluation.

Titus O'Neil w/ Darren Young & AW come to the ring as he is set up to face Kofi. This match wasn't that great as Titus gets the victory.

Punk and Cena are in the back and Punk is explaining his actions to Cena and tells him that he doesn't care who wins tonight, then leaves.

Heath Slater is in the ring and calls out any current WWE Superstar since the legends went back to the retirement home. Out came the Viper, Randy Orton. Orton received a massive pop from the crowd in Cincinnati. Orton, fresh off of suspension came out and pretty much destroyed Slater after hitting him with the RKO. It was great to see Orton back on Raw.

Bryan is shown talking to a doctor and says he doesn't need a mental exam, but the fans and AJ do. There was too much of this crap in this episode.

Next up was a tag match with Christian & Chris Jericho vs The Miz & Dolph Ziggler (w/ Vickie Guerrero). This was a pretty solid match as well. There was a lot of good spots with these guys. I definitely enjoyed this match. The match ended when Jericho hit the Codebreaker on the Miz and got the pin. Dolph then ran into the ring and nailed Jericho with the briefcase.

More Bryan and doctor crap.

Tensai was in the ring. His feud with Tyson Kidd was set to continue when Kidd made his entrance. This match wasn't too bad as Kidd did tease a couple roll ups for the win. However, as Kidd hit a somersault neckbreaker, Tensai was able to regain his composure and blasted Kidd with a chokeslam and a running senton. After the bell, Tensai continued to beat down Kidd and referee reversed his decision to give Kidd the victory.

Once again, more Bryan and doctor crap.

The #1 contender match was up now with The Big Show v John Cena. Punk did come out to do commentary for this match. There was some good physicality in this match between Cena and Show. The Big Show did land some big shots to Cena, but of course, he shrugged everything off. Cena received some solid shots and the same can definitely be said for The Big Show. Cena delivered the Five Knuckle Shuffle but then ran into a massive chokeslam. To nobodies surprise, Cena kicked out. Cena gets laid out with a punch from The Big Show on the outside of the ring. The ref gets to the 9 count and Cena gets back into the ring. The two continue to fight when The Big Show sends Cena right into Punk. The Show sets up for the WMD, Cena ducks the massive punch then gets the Show up for the AA. Punk runs in and clobbers Show as the ref rings the bell. Punk heads back to the announcers table, grabs his title and a microphone, and states that both guys are losers. He heads backstage when AJ comes out, walking past Punk and AJ says that Punk was wrong because they were winners. She said they were winners because Punk will defend his title at Summerslam in a triple threat match against John Cena and The Big Show. Punk comes back out and demands respect from AJ as he yells at her.

The show went off the air. John Laurinaitis then comes out and tries to nail Cena with a chair but Cena delivers the AA to Johnny boy.

Overall, this was a pretty solid show.

I do have to bitch at the fact there were too many replays and segments with Bryan and the doctors. They easily could have replaced that crap with Rey Mysterio, Ryback, Divas, something for Christ sake other than what we got. I would give this show a 7.5/10, even though I am not a fan of the three hour Raw shows.

Live tweet issues

Well, that did not go as planned.

We were unable to post any tweets live from Monday Night Raw last night, due to horrible service and a horrible wi-fi connection inside US Bank Arena.

We sincerely apologize but stay tuned as the Raw review will be posted very shortly.

Monday, July 30, 2012

Raw in Cincinnati

Good morning.

As a reminder, FTI Wrestling will be at Monday Night Raw tonight in Cincinnati.

We will be tweeting live from the event so you can follow us at @FTIWrestling on Twitter.

Saturday, July 28, 2012

Podcast update

Well I hope you all are having a great Saturday afternoon.

I wanted to update you all on the podcast idea that Kirk and I have been tossing around.

It definitely appears that we will be conducting a podcast, hopefully bi-monthly, that we will be uploading to the blog as well. We hope to have the first one recorded well before Summerslam, so stay tuned.

A plan is also in the works for Kirk and I to appear on an upcoming show with our boys from The Takedown MMA Radio. We will keep you all updated on when that will be occurring so you can check that out.

We thank you all for continuing to follow us and please continue spreading the word about us!!!! Without your help, this would definitely not be possible!

Kirk and I sincerely thank you, and as always, FEEL THE IMPACT!

FTI Wrestling's TNA Power Rankings

I am going with the top ten in TNA, since they don’t have a big roster like the WWE
 
1 Austin Aries- The main eventer and current TNA Heavyweight Champion

2. Bully Ray- One of the best on the mic and an amazing heel

3. Zema Ion- Up and coming star. He has what it takes to stay on top in the X-division

4.AJ Styles- “ The Phemonal One!” Enough said

5. James Storm- If he gives you the last call super kick, it's nighty nite!!

6. Ace in Eights- No one knows who's leading this group or who's in it. Personally, I think they are dump trucking through talent in TNA

7. Jeff Hardy- He is closer to getting his title shot and I think he is going to win the Bound for Glory series

8. Mr. Anderson- Personally, I think he is getting better in the ring!! Enough talking and he should do more
wrestling!!

9. Hulk Hogan- I know he is not wrestling anymore, but I believe he is helping TNA gain ground. Someday
he will help TNA be on top!!

10. Tara- I know she isn’t Knockout champion but she is a hell of a wrestler and I think she is getting buried
by TNA. Plus she is hot and she still has it!!
 
Outside looking in: Hernandez, Bobby Roode

WWE Smackdown review 7/27

Coming off of the highly anticipated Raw 1000 episode earlier this week, it was Smackdowns turn to take the stage. Did they deliver?

The show started off with a nice montage from Monday nights Raw 1000 episode.

The WWE announced a #1 contender match with Kane vs Rey Mysterio vs Daniel Bryan vs Alberto Del Rio in a Fatal Four Way match later that night.

The first match was Christian invoking his re-match clause against The Miz for the Intercontinental Championship. This was a good match, with lots of action and a good amount of nearfalls. The Miz rolled up Christian for the 1-2-3, to retain his IC Championship. Well done by both guys.

They announced that Sheamus would face Cody Rhodes.

The next match was Jinder Mahal vs the freak show, known as Ryback. Mahal actually got a good amount of offense in on Ryback. Ryback went to knock the head off Mahal but he ducked and headed out of the ring and was counted out. Ryback wins via count out. I am a huge fan of Ryback, however, it is time for him to face some tougher foes.

Up next was a review of the Punk and Cena championship match from Raw 1000.

We then had the match between Cody Rhodes and the Heavyweight Champion Sheamus. This was a non-title match. There was some action in this one as well and overall it was an OK match. Dolph Ziggler once again comes down, mid-match, teasing he was going to cash in the Money in the Bank briefcase. Sheamus wins the match after he punts the head off of Rhodes, delivering his famous Brogue Kick. Ziggler once again teases cashing in the briefcase. Chris Jericho throws Ziggler back into the ring who in turn, gets his head kicked off with the Brogue Kick, delivered by Sheamus. Jericho climbs into the ring and delivers the Codebreaker. Ziggler once again looks ridiculous.

United States Champion Santino Marella once again does not defend his title in a match against Antonio Cesaro. Cesaro defeats Santino in the non-title match. Bottom line, who cares.

A match between Damien Sandow and Yoshi Tatsu was up next. Sandow defeated Tatsu. Nothing much really needs to be said here.

A highlight package of the Brock Lesnar/Triple H shenanigans followed.

The Fatal 4 Way match was up next. Overall, this was a pretty solid match. There was lots of action and physicality. The match ended as Mysterio hit the 619 on Bryan and Del Rio. Mysterio went for the pin on Bryan but Ricardo Rodriguez pulled Mysterio out of the ring and Del Rio stole the pin. Del Rio is the number one contender for Sheamus's World Heavyweight Championship.

Overall this was an OK episode of Smackdown. Smackdown is definitely in a rut and needs some life pumped back into it.

Friday, July 27, 2012

Monday Night Raw

On Monday night, we will be attending the live show of Monday Night Raw in Cincinnati. We will also be tweeting live from the event so please follow us on Twitter @FTIWrestling.

We also plan to be posting a preview of the upcoming Raw show sometime this weekend, so stay tuned.

FTI Wrestling Homicide of the Week

This weeks edition of the FTI Wrestling Homicide of the Week, comes from the Raw 1000 episode on Monday Night.

This comes from the CM Punk heel turn as he puts The Rock to sleep.

Enjoy.

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Why Matt Morgan? Why?

Shocking news came out of TNA last week, as Matt Morgan has decided to leave the organization. All signs are pointing that he is heading up north.

Personally, I think this is a horrible idea, and the stupidest thing Matt could do. Matt is going to be nothing more than a jobber, like Jack Swagger is. Morgan had it made in TNA and I think if he stuck it out a little while longer, he would be a main eventer.

I wish the best for Matt, and I hope the WWE will use him to his full potential. If you can remember the last time Matt was in the WWE, he had a stuttering gimmick. Let's hope we don't see that again.
 
Please FTI Wrestling followers give us your thoughts in comment section.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Why Stone Cold Steve Austin was not at Raw 1000

A lot of people were upset that Stone Cold Steve Austin was not in attendance at the Raw 1000 episode last night. I did not expect Stone Cold to show up due to other obligations.

However, that did not seem to be the case.

Stone Cold did take to the internet to explain why he was not there.

The following was taken from Stone Cold's website:

On July 23, 2012 WWE celebrated the 1,oooth episode of Monday Night Raw. I watched the show from my home in Los Angeles. After watching the show, I got on my Twitter account, @steveaustinBSR, to read responses to the show. There were many people blaming Vince McMahon and the WWE for not having SCSA on the show. And there were some folks who had some very negative things to say about me, personally.

The reason I did not attend RAW 1,000 was because I underwent a major knee surgery on my left knee on July 2, 2012. Dr. Neal ElAttrache of the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles, CA performed the surgery.

The surgery was a complete success. I am currently three weeks post op. I began physical therapy a few days ago. I had a world class surgeon and a great medical team working on me. I am now working with a top notch PT team. I am still on crutches and will probably lose the crutches in another week. Then I will be in a custom knee brace much like the braces I wore in the ring for 9-12 weeks.

STONE COLD STEVE AUSTIN IS A 100% ASS KICKING MACHINE. There was no way I was going to limp down the ramp on crutches for RAW 1,000. It was time to get my knee fixed. The decision to no-show RAW 1,000 was made by me and no one else. I have always taken pride in making my shots and have never faked an injury or illness. Pro Wrestling is a tough game and it was time to pay the piper for some of the damage I incurred in the ring. No gripes. No complaints.

To the fans that were hoping to see SCSA, I’m sorry I missed the show. I would have loved to be there under different circumstances. I normally keep my personal business to myself, but due to feedback and incorrect speculation, I have posted this blog and given the 411 on why I was not at RAW 1,000.

I will post more blogs about my PT and recovery soon.



Steve Austin

WWE Raw 1000 video

FTI Wrestling's WWE Power Rankings

Here at FTI Wrestling, we have decided to come up with a power ranking system for the WWE.

However, we will only be doing the top 15 in the rankings.

The inaugural FTI Wrestling WWE Power Rankings are as follows:

1. CM Punk - star has never shined brighter for Punk

2. Sheamus - he is the World Heavyweight Champion afterall

3. John Cena - the "Golden Boy" of the WWE...continues to be the top draw

4. Daniel Bryan - over the top actor and fantastic performer/worker...waiting to see what happens what direction they take him

5. The Big Show - the WWE is really pushing Show...looks to possibly involved in the WWE Championship picture

6. AJ - I love everything about her...now the new GM of Raw after leaving Bryan at the alter on Raw 1000

7. Alberto Del Rio - Still a hot performer...has yet to defeat Sheamus for the title

8. Dolph Ziggler - Smackdown Money in the Bank winner...still awaiting the time when Ziggler cashes in the MITB briefcase...great heel character

9. Kane - seems to be back to his old destructive and dominant self...I wonder if he keeps this up

10. The Miz - new Intercontinental Champion...could be stepping stone to get back into WWE Championship picture

11. R-Truth and Kofi Kingston - WWE Tag Team Champions...continue to defeat all challengers

12. Ryback - continues to murder people

13. Brodus Clay - back into murdering people

14. Layla - Divas Champion

15. Santino Marella - US Champion...however, never has to defend the title

Outside looking in: Christian, Rey Mysterio

Epic Raw 1000

Well wasn't that a lot of fun?

That was definitely one of the best Monday Night Raw episodes in a long time. The show brought back some fantastic memories for me.

The show started off with the reunion of Degeneration X as the Chairman of the WWE, Vincent Kennedy McMahon introduced DX. I must say, it was awesome to see The New Age Outlaws, HHH, HBK and X-Pac up to their old antics. Damien Sandow came out interrupting the reunion. He would pay for that as he took a superkick from HBK then falling into the pedigree from HHH.

Good ol JR came out to commentate on the six man tag match between Rey Mysterio, Sin Cara and Sheamus vs Dolph Ziggler, Chris Jericho and Alberto Del Rio. This was a pretty good match with some great back and forth action. Sheamus got the pin after Ziggler laid out Jericho and once he got up he punted the head off Jericho.

We then went to a vignette backstage with Layla and AJ. Layla says AJ is crazy. AJ proceeds to open the door seeing Hacksaw Jim Duggan, R-Truth, Rowdy Roddy Piper with "Little Jimmy" and finally Mae Young with her son "the giant hand." This segment was insanely ridiculous.

Next up was the continuing dramatic fall of Jack Swagger. Brodus Clay came out and called out Dude Love to come to the ring. Brodus proceeded to destroy Swagger in seconds. They all danced in the ring and that's all I have to say about this gong show.

Finally, we had the wedding between AJ and Daniel Bryan. Slick came out to be the reverend for the wedding. AJ says "Yes" but states she isn't saying it for Bryan but instead she's saying it for Mr. McMahon and his offer for her to become the next Raw GM. As I've been saying, I am in love with AJ so I will never get tired of her.

We come back to Bryan still in the ring, going postal and destroying everything in the ring. CM Punk comes out and gives him some verbal jabs. Some music hits, the crowd goes nuts as The Rock makes his way down to the ring. He comes down and verbally slams Bryan and announces that he will be wrestling for the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble, next year. He tells Bryan not to feel bad, because he got him a wedding gift, and subsequently delivers the Rock Bottom to Bryan.

Next was a match for the Intercontinental Championship, between the Champion, Christian and The Miz. Bret Hart was the special guest ring announcer. This was a very good match with The Miz delivering his Skull Crushing Finale and getting the victory over Christian, becoming the new Intercontinental Champion.

Triple H came down to the ring to call out Brock Lesnar. Lesnar's music hits and out comes his legal representative Paul Heyman. Heyman told HHH that the answer to HHH's Summerslam challenge was "no." Out comes a spectacular looking Stephanie McMahon. She proceeds to get in the face of Paul Heyman, slapping him and antagonising him into saying "yes" for the match. Lesnar's music hits again and out comes Brock. He comes down and the two brawl.

Howard Finkel comes down as the special ring announcer. He announces Heath Slater as he comes down to the ring. Slater then calls out any WWE Legend to a No Disqualification match. Out comes Lita, who looks fantastic I might add. She has answered Slater's challenge. She also announces she has hired the APA (Ron Simmons and JBL) for protection. Slater runs out of ring but ends up running into all of the legends who have beaten the hell out of him. They toss him back into the ring and Lita and the APA destroy Slater. Lita lands a moonsault and gets the win. After the match all of the legends were standing over a laid out Slater and Simmons, with mic in hand, delivered his famous catch phrase, "DAMN!"

Kane comes into the ring, but gets interrupted by Jinder Mahal, Hunico, Camacho, Tyler Reks, Curt Hawkins, and Drew McIntyre. It all hits the fan as the lights go out and the Undertaker's music blares and out comes the dead man. The brothers destroy the six men and that was about it. It was great to see the Undertaker in the ring again.

We then got the main event, the match for the WWE Championship. As John Cena was cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase against the Champion CM Punk. This match was pretty boring until Cena shoved Punk into the referee. Cena delivered the AA to Punk and was ready for the pin, however, the ref was knocked out so no three count was made. Cena went down to get the ref up, came back into the ring and The Big Show knocked Cena out. He was unable to get the three count as well because the ref was knocked out. Punk got the ref up and into the ring and Cena kicked out on the two count. Punk goes to deliver the GTS but it is countered and Cena puts Punk into the GTS. The Big Show climbs back into the ring and beats the crap out of Cena, causing the disqualification. Punk sat in the corner watching Show beat Cena down. A jacked Rock came running down and beats the hell out of The Big Show. The Rock goes to deliver the People's Elbow but Punk comes flying back into the ring and clotheslines The Rock. The crowd is stunned as Punk delivers the GTS to The Rock and the show ends with the crowd booing Punk as he walks up the ramp, still WWE Champion.

This was a fantastic show. I loved almost every aspect of it. From top to bottom, the WWE delivered. I am glad to see that CM Punk has finally turned heel. AJ becoming the new GM for Raw was something that came out of nowhere. The Miz becoming the new Intercontinental Champion is a great thing as well because the Miz has some nice swagger. Of course the DX reunion was fantastic as they have always been very entertaining. One thing is certain, the match at Summerslam between HHH and Brock Lesnar is going to be a fight.

With the permanent move to 3 hours, the WWE really needs to keep up the good work. It all begins next Monday in Cincinnati. We here at FTI will be at the Raw show so we will previewing the show later this week. Since Raw is in Cincinnati, we are trying to get an interview with some WWE talent. Please continue to check out the FTI Wrestling blog as we have some big things coming down the pipeline so stay tuned. Thank you very much for continuing to FEEL THE IMPACT.

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Raw 1000 Preview

Tomorrow night is the much much anticipated 1000th episode of Monday Night Raw.

Since the stars will be out in force, we are here to preview the massive show in St. Louis, so lets get to it.

It has been advertised that the show will kick off at 8:00 pm EST with the DX reunion. It is expected that other previous DX members will also show up. Since Brock Lesnar is scheduled to be in attendance to answer HHH's Summerslam challenge, I believe that Lesnar will come in and beat the snot out of Shawn Michaels. That will answer HHH's challenge and finally give us some buildup to the match at Summerslam.

We will also witness the wedding between AJ and Daniel Bryan. As we all know, there is no way a wedding goes off without a hitch in the WWE. That is why I believe that the Miz will be the one who breaks up the wedding. The Miz and AJ shared a look on last weeks Raw that made me think the Miz could interrupt the wedding.

In this 1000th episode a permanent GM will be announced for Raw.

Christian will be defending the Intercontinental Title as well.

It has also been confirmed that The Rock, Bret Hart and Mick Foley will be appearing.

The main event will be John Cena, cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase, taking on the WWE Champion CM Punk. I believe the Rock could possibly interrupt the match, thus causing Cena to lose and Punk to keep his title, setting up a match at a future PPV.

This is setting up to be an amazing Raw and we will be tweeting live throughout the show. So please give us a follow on Twitter @FTIWrestling.

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Follow us on Tout

We have just signed up for Tout so please feel free to sign up and follow us.

The link to follow up is on the right hand side of the blog.

Stay tuned as we will be posting some videos in the coming days.

WWE Smackdown review

This was an OK show. There was nothing real special that went on but there were some good things and some bad things.

To the good.

I continue to be a huge fan of seeing Heath Slater get his ass kicked by WWE legends. Slater does a great job cutting his promos and he does a great job making the legends look good. This week it was Road Warrior Animal who delivered the beatdown. Ah, the memories seeing Animal (Joe Laurinaitis) in that ring. The only thing missing was Road Warrior Hawk, God rest his soul.

Considering I am in love with A.J., I have absolutely no issue every time she is in the ring or on the show. She can be on the show all she wants and it wont bother me. Christian's Peep Show segment wasn't too bad. Daniel Bryan continues to be a great worker and his character is so over the top.

To the average.

The main event consisted of Heavyweight Champion Sheamus & Rey Mysterio taking on Alberto Del Rio & Dolph Ziggler. This match ended in a DQ with Sheamus and Mysterio getting the win. Dolph Ziggler continues to be a great heel.

As for the not so good. The eight man tag match, I could really have cared less.

Dolph was in the average section of the review as well. However, he will also show up in the bad as they continue to make him look like an idiot when he tries to cash in the MITB briefcase, as he tried again tonight. Ziggler has a great chance to be a great champion if the WWE wants to book him correctly and stop making him look so dumb. There is a ton of potential with Ziggler and it is up to the WWE to do this correctly.

Like I stated earlier, this was just an average show so there really wasn't too much to report on.

Friday, July 20, 2012

Another WWE social media partnership

First the WWE dropped $13.4 million Tout, a video service that allows people to post 15 second videos. Basically, it is like a video twitter.

Now, the WWE has partnered with Shazam, allowing users to purchase entrance videos and themes. The report comes from the website www.LostRemote.com.

The WWE will promote the partnership on the upcoming Raw 1000 episode, this coming Monday.

The Aces & Eights continue to dumptruck TNA

The TNA group Aces & Eights, their identities still unknown, continue to destroy anyone in their path in TNA.

They left bodies strewn about on last nights episode of IMPACT and have laid out a warning to all TNA talent on twitter:

@TheAcesAnd8s We strike who we want... When we want... NO exceptions

It is safe to say, if I'm on the TNA roster, my head better be on a swivel.

Chavo Guerrero to TNA

Chavo Guerrero will be making his TNA debut on the July 26 episode of TNA IMPACT.

TNA President Dixie Carter (@TNADixie) announced the signing of Guerrero on her twitter feed yesterday.

This is a great move for TNA as they continue to build a strong product.

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

WWE ratings for post Money in the Bank Raw episode

The ratings have been released for the July 16th episode of WWE Raw.

This was the post Money in the Bank episode.

The show scored a 3.44 rating, which was up 8.5% compared to the MITB go home show, which scored a 3.17.

These ratings will be very interesting to monitor in the upcoming weeks as the WWE has traditionally not scored well with their three hour shows.

Jim Ross to be at Raw 1000

Legendary WWE announcer Jim Ross will be in attendance for the massive Raw 1000 episode in St Louis on Monday, July 23.

According to his Twitter page, JR will be in attendance.

@JRsBBQ Proud 2 say I'm STILL a fan of RAW & am excited 2 be in St Louis this Monday for #Raw1000. Will I be a part of the broadcast? Tune in & see.

One thing is certain, JR better be there and he had better be part of the broadcast. The man is a legend and a huge part of Raw.

WWE Raw 1000 pre-show

As reported by PW Torch, the WWE has announced a YouTube pre-show beginning at 7:30 p.m. EST.

The three-hour Raw 1000 episode will be headlined, by the match, between WWE Champion C.M. Punk and John Cena, who is cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase.

Numerous WWE legends will be making an appearance at the show, including: DX, Bret Hart, the Rock, Mick Foley, just to name a few.

Brock Lesnar is set to make an appearance, allegedly to answer the challenge put forth by Triple H.

We will be previewing the Raw 1000 episode in the upcoming days so stay tuned.

The FTI Wrestling "Homicide of the week"

This is the first edition of the FTI Wrestling blogs "Homicide of the week." This weeks edition consists of Ryback absolutely murdering this poor soul on Smackdown.

Enjoy!

Big things coming?!?!?!?!

In an effort to make this blog a great place for WWE and MMA reaction, previews, etc., we will be doing a monthly (possibly more) "vodcast" that will be uploaded to YouTube and possibly iTunes.

The vodcast is in the works and we will keep you updated on when we expect to have that uploaded to YouTube.

Since Monday Night Raw is coming to Cincinnati at the end of the month, we have reached out to a number of WWE superstars for an interview.

We certainly hope that we will be able to land one.

If we do, we will add it to the blog as soon as we can.

Thank you very much for your support and we hope that you will continue to check in.

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Monday Night Raw recap

In the 999th episode of Monday Night Raw, there were some surprises but overall, the WWE delivered and set up a great 1000th episode celebration for next week.

The show started off with WWE Champion CM Punk, fresh off his victory over Daniel Bryan at MITB, in the middle of the ring talking about how much he loved Vegas. The Big Show interrupted Punk and came down and the two went back and forth on the mic's. A non-title match was set up before between Punk and Show for later on that night. Show stated he would knock Punk out, allowing Cena to cash in the MITB briefcase.

Next we had a WWE Tag Team Championship match between R Truth and Kofi Kingston (Champions) vs. Primetime Players.

This was an ok match with A.W. causing a distraction allowing Truth and Kingston to retain the belts.

We had a squash match between Alberto Del Rio and Zack Ryder. Del Rio beat the hell out of Ryder until Rey Mysterio came running in and giving Del Rio the 619. The crowd went wild for the return of Mysterio. From the looks of things, we will see a match between Mysterio and Del Rio, most likely at Summerslam.

Heath Slater then came out to cut a promo, basically requesting that a Raw legend come out and beat the hell out of him. Sure enough Rikishi came out and destroyed Slater, getting the win in quick fashion.

Next was a match between AJ and Daniel Bryan vs Eve and The Miz.

This match was not that great but what followed was great. Daniel Bryan confessed his love for AJ and got on one knee and proposed to AJ. He pulled out a ring and slid it on AJ's finger, basically not taking "no" for an answer. Well it worked out because she said yes! The two stood in the middle of the ring, chanting "yes!"

It was announced that AJ and Bryan will be getting married on the 1000th episode of Raw next week.

Jack Swagger was in the ring waiting for his next opponent, Ryback. Ryback came out and was attacked as soon as he entered the ring by Swagger. The match never started as the referee sat back and watched Swagger pound on Ryback. Ryback gathered the strength and powered up to beat the hell out of Swagger. For Ryback this was a tougher test than murdering jobbers on a weekly basis.

Dolph Ziggler was in the ring talking himself up when Jericho interrupted him. Ziggler ripped on Jericho until Jericho delivered the Code Breaker.

Next was another squash match between Brodus Clay and JTG. Clay won the match, that's about it.

The final match of the night was between CM Punk and Big Show. This was the best show of the night by a lot. Punk was delivering some solid offense until Big Show was DQ'd for attacking the referee. Show continued to deliver a beat down to the champ. John Cena then ran out with the briefcase. He climbed in the ring and began to make his big announcement. Show cut him off but Cena announced that he will be cashing in the briefcase next week, giving Punk a week to prepare for the match. Cena then blasted the Big Show in the head with the briefcase. The show ended with Punk and Cena holding up the title belt and briefcase respectively.

Overall, this was a great show leading up to the massive 1000th episode next week. I am a huge fan of CM Punk so I am curious to see how next week plays out. I love AJ and it is only fitting that she is back with Bryan, hopefully making them a powerful heel team.

Later this week, we will be previewing the highly anticipated Raw 1000 episode next week.

We will also recap the TNA Impact episode later as well.

Good ol JR to call the title match on Raw 1000?

The following is a tweet from CM Punk stating that JR should call the title match on the 1000th episode of Raw:

@CMPunk: @jrsbbq Should call the title match next week on the #RAW1000 show. @JohnCena let's make it happen

I am in total agreement as JR is truly the best of the best in this industry. The man knows how to call a wrestling match. WWE, the ball is in your court, make it happen.

Money in the Bank Highlight package

Here is a highlight package from Money in the Bank 2012 (from YouTube).

Enjoy.

Monday, July 16, 2012

Money in the Bank results

Last night was the Money in the Bank PPV for the WWE.

While the show didn't measure up to last years MITB, this show did have some solid moments.

The show started off with the YouTube pre-show.

The pre-show kicked off the event with a match for the Tag Team Championship. Hunico and Camacho vs. the WWE Tag Team Champions, Kofi Kingston and R-Truth.

There was nothing real special with this match as Kofi and R-Truth retained the Tag Team Championships.

The Smackdown brand Money in the Bank match kicked off the PPV portion of the event.

As predicted earlier, Dolph Ziggler was one who came away with the MITB briefcase and the World Heavyweight Championship title shot.

This was the right person to win the match as the WWE now needs to ride on the back of Ziggler as he can be a great heel champion.

The next match was for the World Heavyweight Championship. The champion, Sheamus vs the challenger, Alberto Del Rio.

Sheamus retains the title.

Ziggler tried to immediately cash in the briefcase, after Del Rio attacked Sheamus, but had his head punted off as Sheamus delivered the Brogue Kick. Since the match never started, Ziggler still has the title shot.

Next was a filler match with the Prime Time Players with AW vs Primo and Epico.

Primo and Epico get the victory.

We now get to the match of the night. The battle for the WWE Championship. CM Punk vs Daniel Bryan with AJ as the special guest referee.

As always, these two put on an a fantastic match. AJ took a shot and left the match for a while but came back to finish refereeing. AJ did not have the major impact that I believed she would in this match. We did not know whose side she was really on, as she shafted both Punk and Bryan as they were going for different objects.

Both Punk and Bryan took serious shots with the kendo stick, chair and tables.

Punk did a huge backdrop sending Bryan through the table and getting the pin, retaining his WWE Championship.

We then had two filler matches as Ryback murdered Tyler Reks and Curt Hawkins.

The other match was Layla, Kaitlyn and Tamina Snuka vs. Beth Phoenix, Natalya and Eve Torres.

The winner of that match was Layla, Kaitlyn and Tamina.

The main event was the RAW MITB match.

As predicted John Cena comes away with the briefcase setting up a WWE Championship match against CM Punk.

This was an ok PPV with some highlights and some lowlights.

Even though this show didn't live up to last years epic MITB PPV, I would still give this a thumbs up.

Stay tuned tomorrow as we review tonight's episode of Monday Night Raw.

Sunday, July 15, 2012

WWE Money in the Bank PPV Preview

Tonight is the Money In The Bank pay-per view for the WWE.

Currently there are four scheduled matches that are set for the PPV and one set for the YouTube Pre-show.

Here is the FTI preview for this show.

WWE Tag Team Championship Title Match (YouTube Pre-Show): Champions Kofi Kingston and R-Truth vs Hunico and Camacho

There isn't too much to say about this one as the WWE doesn't care to have this championship match on the actual PPV.

WWE Title Match: WWE Champion C.M. Punk vs Daniel Bryan (w/A.J. as special referee)

This will be the best match on the show as these two always put on a fantastic match. The wild card is the A.J. factor as it is unknown what factor she will have in this match. One thing is for certain, she will have a huge impact.

FTI prediction: C.M. Punk retains the title

World Heavyweight Title Match: Champion Sheamus vs Alberto Del Rio

There is really nothing too much to say about this match, as this has been a pretty boring storyline.

FTI prediction: Alberto Del Rio will win the championship.

Raw Brand MITB ladder match (Winner gets WWE Title shot): John Cena vs Chris Jericho vs Kane vs Big Show

I don't think this will be as good as previous MITB ladder matches. The fact there is only four participants in this match is a huge killer. Only former champions could participate in this match and they left out some former champions.

FTI prediction: John Cena will win this match to set up a title shot at SummerSlam against C.M. Punk.

Smackdown Brand MITB ladder match (Winner gets future World Title Shot): Santino vs Christian vs Damien Sandow vs Tyson Kidd vs Tensai vs Cody Rhodes vs Dolph Ziggler vs Sin Cara

This will be the better of the two MITB matches. I would prefer that either Tyson Kidd, Christian or Dolph win this match.

FTI prediction: Dolph Ziggler will be the one who will come away with the title shot. Dolph Ziggler is the kind of worker/character who needs to be billed as one of the top guys as he is a great worker. Hopefully the WWE will do the smart thing and keep this guy on top as a heel champion.

I would imagine the WWE will add some other matches as "filler" in between the other four. We will probably see some sort of Divas match and probably Ryback murdering some other guys. Nothing too special as this PPV will definitely not live up to the MITB PPV from last year.

Stay tuned as FTI will breakdown the PPV and Monday Night Raw shows coming up.