SmackDown Results: 1/29/10

D-Generation-X Turning SmackDown Upside Down

D-X arrived on SmackDown to defend the Unified Tag Team Titles against the #1 contenders' C.M. Punk and Luke Gallows; however, they ran into some controversy.

Shawn Michaels is dead set on winning the Royal Rumble for another shot at ending the Undertaker's Streak, but what happens if Rey Mysterio defeats Taker this Sunday? This is a possibility that both Taker and Michaels have dismissed, which is why Rey Mysterio called Michaels out. Rey has always respected Shawn, but he feels that he doesn't respect him. Michaels flat out told Rey that he doesn't see him defeating Taker for the title. Yet, Rey stated that he'll do something Michaels nor Triple-H have been able to do at WrestleMania, which is defeat The Undertaker.

C.M. Punk interrupted Rey's challenge to Michaels and reminded everyone that D-X is here to defend the straps against Luke Gallows and himself. And when they win, they will become the first-ever "Straight-Edge" Unified Tag Team Champions. Triple-H then entered an amateur comedy-hour segment with C.M. Punk and his merry crew. Such zingers as: "I'm relieved to know that you're Straight."... "Maybe take them clippers out of the bag, shave that squirrel off you got on your chin." Triple-H's jokes were gold in this segment, but that's because he's a cocky jerk.

Then Teddy R. Long came out and announced that D-X would not be defending the titles, but instead Shawn Michaels would be taking on Rey Mysterio in the main event, and C.M. Punk would take on Triple-H immediately.

C.M. Punk's Evolution

For three weeks, C.M. Punk has been turning people over to the straight-edge lifestyle, but Serena has been the only one to show face the following week. Will she eventually be integrated into the divas' division? That has yet to be decided, but that is probably the course of action that will take place after this cult dissipates.

The announcers have mentioned that Triple-H has been a part of two of the biggest factions in the WWE, and has mentored the likes of Randy Orton and Batista, who are now mega-stars; will The Straight-Edge Society be one day considered as one of the best factions in professional wrestling? The Society has Luke Gallows and Serena, which we witnessed the vital roles they play for C.M. Punk. Luke sucker punched Helmsley behind the ref's back, and Serena provides distractions and a shield for Punk to hide behind.

C.M. Punk has truly evolved into the main-event scene, something he was able to fill three years ago during his encounters with Kane and Batista. C.M. Punk was lucky enough to become the World Heavyweight Champion by cashing in his first Money in the Bank briefcase, but he was considered a paper champion because he didn't belong in the main-event, until now. His match with Triple-H, possibly one of the most decorated men in the WWE, was incredible. Most would assume that Triple-H would have owned the match, this may have been true a few years ago, but Punk has stepped up his game. C.M. Punk went toe-to-toe with the Cerebral Assassin, withstanding the pressure of the figure-four leg lock, and breaking away from the Pedigree. However, a conclusion to this match was too good to be witnessed on SmackDown, hence the disqualification that took place when Serena jumped the back of Triple-H during the second Pedigree attempt.

C.M. Punk has what it takes to defeat Triple-H, and this match is just the beginning to when they finally meet in their Unified Tag Team Match.

R-Truth Breaks Down the Walls

Chris Jericho and R-Truth have danced around with each other in several match-ups, but where is this going? R-Truth failed his United States Title quest when first returning to the WWE; he was the stepping stone for Drew McIntyre; and he failed to see through a feud with C.M. Punk. But unlike the past weeks teaming up with either Cryme Tyme or John Morrison, R-Truth's match with Chris Jericho would be one-on-one.

R-Truth dances around and breaks out a wrestling move once in a while, usually administering mid-air spinning kicks. Despite being unorthodox in his wrestling skill set, Ron "The Truth" Killings not only held his ground against Chris Jericho, but he countered the Walls of Jericho into an Oklahoma roll-up, then withstood the Code Breaker by holding onto the ropes and going for a bridge-pin for the win.

Chris Jericho is not only there for himself, but to create superstars in the process. Will R-Truth finally start moving up the ranks in the WWE?

No-DQ for I-C Title

John Morrison lost the Intercontinental Title to Drew McIntyre at the TLC pay-per-view, and lost his rematch on New Years' Day. Can John Morrison defeat the undefeated Drew McIntyre in a No Disqualification Match for the I-C Title?

John Morrison mentioned how, when lost the title, Drew McIntyre dropped the I-C title backstage to give a chest bump to Sheamus. Now, Morrison is all for celebrating, seeing as he is a rock star, but is that how you treat the Intercontinental Title? John Morrison is a three-time I-C champion, and it was not until he defeated Rey Mysterio that he understood the importance of being the I-C champion.

John Morrison attempted to end the streak of Drew McIntyre and reclaim his title on the same night, but a no DQ match was too unpredictable. Drew pulled out a kendo stick from under the ring and struck Morrison several times before discarding it and going for the cover inside the ring. But the kendo stick would come into play later on in the match by Morrison. After delivering a flying forearm over the barricade, Morrison used the Kendo stick to attack but was hit with a thumb to the eye. Drew then tired using the stick but was launched in the air and spine-first into the steel steps, with an arm drag by John Morrison.

Morrison's undoing came when he dragged McIntyre back into the ring and to execute Starship Pain. McIntyre used the time to recuperate enough to lift his knees at the last second; and then disgraced Morrison by connecting with the double underhook DDT over the Intercontinental Championship.

This was most likely Morrison's final shot at the I-C title, and it is time that Morrison refocuses and moves forward to the next rung in the WWE ladder.

Bad Taste for Mock Women's Title Match

Michelle McCool claimed that Mickie James was done with WWE after last week's farewell, and that she would not have an opponent for this Sunday. She also reassured everyone that she was a fighting champion and would take on anyone who felt that they could defeat her for the Women's Title.

Now, a few names came to mind on who could face McCool: Beth Phoenix, Natalya. But instead, Mick's theme sounded, but Layla showed up in a fat suit and pig snout, pretending to be Mickie James. This storyline has reached its expiration, and the mock title match was by far the most disgusting and degrading display of garbage that WWE has produced.

Michaels-Mysterio, The One?

Shawn Michaels and Rey Mysterio have reached the peak of their careers by winning the Royal Rumble. Shawn Michaels entered in at No. 1 and won the '95 Royal Rumble but lost that year's WrestleMania. Then, the following year, Michaels entered at No. 18 to win the Royal Rumble, and go on to realize his dream by defeating Bret Hart in an Iron Man Match at WrestleMania for the coveted WWE Title. In 2006, Rey Mysterio entered in at No. 2 to win both the Royal Rumble and go on to capture the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 22. Both have their history in the Royal Rumble, and both have come out as champions because of it.

The match showcased possibly the two most passioned competitors in the WWE today. The last time we saw these two fight was in 2005, in honor of the late Eddie Guerrero. Shawn Michaels is no stranger to the luchadore style, as he was trained by Jose Lothario, who taught him the style. Michaels was the first white kid to ever do a moonsault, something that was only reserved for luchadores in his time.

When Michaels connected with the elbow drop, and the Indian Death Lock, Michaels showed Mysterio why he will go on to win the Royal Rumble. But Mysterio attempted to win with the 619, but was superkicked in mid-air by Shawn Michaels.

And just like Punk and Triple-H, this match was too good to be decided on SmackDown, as Batista attacked both Michaels and Mysterio. Triple-H came to Michaels rescue, as Michaels did for Triple-H earlier. Triple-H clashed with Batista and tossed him over the top rope. Batista may feel that he can overpower and hurt anyone who stands in his way, but what happens when the guy you are left with is the man who mentored you in Evolution.

Then the bells tolled, and The Undertaker appeared in the ring to deliver a double chokeslam to Michaels and Mysterio. The Undertaker fears no opponent, because they must go through hell before trying to get to heaven.

WWE Superstars Results: 1/28/10

Not even the fans believe in The Truth

R-Truth interrupted Chris Jericho, who stated that he would go on and win the Royal Rumble. Truth, who pinned Jericho last week in their tag team match, not only insulted Jericho, but proclaimed that he would win the Rumble. Usually fans are behind fan favorites, but even the fans couldn't see Truth headlining WrestleMania. And Truth has to stop talking with a southern accent, no one can take him seriously as a competitor. He spends more time skipping and jumping rather than winning hard fought matches. I understand whole heartily that the WWE is catering to a family audience, but what happened to hard fought intense matches? What happened to superstars and gimmicks that we could scream our heads off. Where are the future Kurt Angles, the Chris Jerichos, the Shawn Michaels, the Eddie Guerreros, the Chris Benoits, the Stone Cold Steve Austins, the Rocks... what happened to real star power being seriously made in the WWE? Just because it's a family show, doesn't mean that the spirit of true compeition must die with these animated gimmicks.

You Can Look, But You Can't Tell Them Apart

The last time the Bellas were in a match was in a losing effort to Maryse in the Divas' Tournament. However, this time, the Bellas stepped up their game and executed a higher quality match against Jillian Hall and Katie Lea. The Bellas went from drop kicks, to forearms, to twin related combination moves, the bottom line, the Twins were red hot. Much like Kelly-Kelly last week, when she defeated Jillian Hall, the Twins have improved and they looked good doing so.

Chris Masters Lost in a Sea of Spanish People

Chris Masters, a.k.a. Pecks Masters, contested this week in a Triple-Threat Match to determine a entry spot at the Royal Rumble against Chavo Guerrero and Primo Colon. Masters appeared with his Spanish girlfriend, Eve Torres, and was the favorite to win the match. I never pay much mind to these below average mid-card matches, but the aggressiveness of Chavo Guerrero showed promise of a good fight. At one point, Chavo launched from the top turnbuckle and frog splashed Masters and Primo on the outside. And later, Chavo side-stepped out of an oncoming Primo, who went head first through the ropes and into Masters who was still on the outside. Chavo vowed to make a name for himself and to be taken more seriously, well this match gets him just a bit closer in doing so. If Chavo were to raise the intensity of his matches, then I can see him going on to win a mid-level title in the near future, but as for now, he passed out from the Master-Lock, granting Masters an entry spot at the Royal Rumble.

Matt Hardy's Key of Destiny Stolen by Jeff

Last week on SmackDown, Matt Hardy pinned D.H. Smith in a tag team match, turned handicap as his partner Khali was of no use. This week on Superstars, Matt Hardy would go one-on-one with the son of the British Bulldog, David Hart Smith. In Matt's corner was Khali and Runjin, and in Smith's corner was Tyson Kidd and Natalya. Has Matt Hardy fallen so far down in his WWE career that he's tag teaming with Khali? Matt recently went through surgery for his burst intestinal wall because he refused to take time off during a big push in his mediocre career. He went back to back capturing the United States Title and then switching to the ECW Title and reigning as the face of the Tuesday C-brand. He later started a feud with his brother, costing him the WWE title, for a reason. Matt has not, and probably never will, captured a World Title. Etched on the pants of Matt Hardy is an emblem of a key that is suppose to unlock his destiny, but Jeff stole that key long ago. Jeff Hardy, despite his drug addictions and tardiness, has done something that his brother will most likely never accomplish - superstardom. While word has it that Jeff has jumped flagships and will start wrestling on TNA with his friend Shannon Moore, Matt Hardy cannot even manage to build any momentum for himself, as the only Hardy left in the WWE, to grasp the brass ring that has always alluded him. Instead of being in the title picture, Matt Hardy is here on Superstars getting pinned by D.H. Smith.

ECW Results: 1/26/10

Christian Evens the Score

With five days left to the Royal Rumble, Ezekiel Jackson has proven to be, possibly, the most dominate superstar in all the WWE. So what does the future hold for the ECW Title and its possessor, Christian, who last week was ambushed by the massive heavyweight and William Regal?

Ezekiel had a message for the ECW Champion: "Christian. The end has come, it has awakened, against you."

Christian responded with a biblical repartee of his own: Ezekiel 25:17 "I will strike down on those with great vengeance and furious anger, those who attempt to destroy my brothers. And you will know... my peeps will know that my name is Captain Charisma, when I lay my vengeance upon thee."

Christian also announced that he has evened the score by naming The Big Red Monster, Kane as his tag team partner for the night.

ECW Title in Jeopardy this Sunday

Kane may be the ideal choice in a fight against Ezekiel Jackson, but how will Christian take him down at the Royal Rumble, where he will have no one in his corner? The opening match was a tag team match pitting Kane and Christian against William Regal and Ezekiel Jackson.

Many have wondered if Christian stands a chance against Ezekiel, whose name is synonymous with domination. This match may have quenched the thirst of the naysayers, but I see it as losing one fight in preparation for the war at the Royal Rumble.

Kane exhibited his strength by overpowering Ezekiel Jackson with uppercuts and take-downs. However, this was not Kane's war to fight, he can only lend a helping hand, only for a while.

Ezekiel Jackson and William Regal remind me, and fans alike, of the days of the federation, when sheer size and arrogance won the hoard of titles and matches alike. With quotes from the bible, there is something apocalyptic about Ezekiel, which is the trend in movies nowadays. People like to see stories about destruction and end of days, but will Ezekiel's prophecy come true? Will the end of the ECW Title Match see Ezekiel's hand raised and proclaimed as the new ECW Champion?

Christian, if anything, is a strategist and must put to use everything he gathered from this tag team match. Ezekiel may be strong, but Christian is quicker, more agile. Christian evaded most of Zeek's punches with various baseball slides under the legs. Even when Christian was beaten down and covered by Ezekiel, Christian was able to power out. How is this possible? Christian has a high threshold for pain, just look at his TLC matches back in the early 2000's.

There is a major dilemma, Christian is unable to hook Ezekiel's arms for the Killswitch. Unlike the forgetful feud between John Cena and The Big Show, where, in a submission match, Cena used the assist from the ropes to lock in the STF, a move said to be impossible against the giant, Christian has other finishers in his repertoire. During the ladder match at the TLC Pay-per-view, Christian secured his title defense after connecting with a Frog Splash off the top of a ladder. Yet, Ezekiel's upper body strength may withstand the Frog Splash, so what else is there? During his stint in TNA, Christian utilized the Cloverleaf as his submission finisher; and just like all muscled bound monsters, they fail to have much leg strength.

So if Christian were to have any chance of defending this title, he should utilize the Cloverleaf to not only defeat Ezekiel, but make him tap out. If he doesn't, then the title match will end the same way as this tag team match did, with a Ura-nage.

ECW Supplying a Mid-Card Main-Event

The final match of the night was the team of Zack Ryder, Trent Barreta and Caylen Croft against the team of The Hurricane, Goldust, and Yoshi Tatsu. The main event, with each team being captained by a "superhero," was purely a showcase of ECW's mid-card roster.

Break Down of Team Hurricane:

The Hurricane: Possibly the worst kept secret in the WWE, backstage interviewer Gregory Helms masquerades as ECW's vigilante, The Hurricane. With monikers such as the Emerald Skywalker, Helms has established a classic 70's superhero persona by executing such heroic acts as, saving the damsel in distress, and bringing justice to the land of extreme. But with pointless feuds with Paul Burchill and, currently, Zack Ryder, can Helms move forward towards some championship gold once more?

Yoshi and Goldie: The odd couple of the WWE, one's a Japanese native, while the other is a cross-dresser from Hollywood, California. How prosperous is this team? Aside from being each other's foreign language professors, there is no real longevity for this team. Sure, they have picked up some wins over Croft and Barreta, but the real attraction is Yoshi Tatsu. Tatsu has an arsenal of kicking variations, but something he has yet to incorporate in the WWE is his suplex variations used in New Japan Pro Wrestling. If Tatsu were to utilize those offensive strikes, he would be a force to be reckoned with.

Break Down of Team Ryder:

Zack Ryder: Ironically enough, Zack Ryder captains a team of new comers in WWE's ever depleted tag team division. Why ironic? Because Zack Ryder was a part of the worst tag team with fellow partner Curt Hawkins. Formerly known as The Major Brothers, Hawkins and Ryder captured the WWE Tag Team Titles at The Great American Bash in 2008, and lost them during their first title defense against The Colons. There's no doubt that Zack Ryder has come a long way from his days as an Edge look-a-like, but is this gimmick any better? He looks like a reject from Jersey Shore, which is not a good thing. Zack's biggest momentum, aside from taking Christian to the limit during an ECW Title Match, was retiring Tommy Dreamer. Instead of running with the momentum, he's been punked by The Hurricane, and has created the nick name, "The New Heart&Soul SuperHero of ECW." Even Miz must be saying, "Really? Really? Really?"

Croft and Barreta: The two former FCW Tag Team Champions, arrived in ECW with a circus entrance theme, and a terrible Bros-are-Gamers gimmick. At least now they have a generic rock entrance theme, and have not mentioned video games since. The best thing for Croft and Barreta to do was graduate from facing jobbers and imbed themselves against fighting actual WWE names. Surprisingly, Croft and Barreta hold more victories over Goldust and Yoshi Tatsu, which builds credibility. As of right now, Caylen Croft appears to be the better wrestler, as he also wrestled in OVW, before being contracted by the WWE. Barreta's wrestling is sloppy, and his stance looks like he has two left feet.

Conclusion of the Match: Zack Ryder took out Zack Ryder over the top rope, while Goldust delivered two uppercuts to Croft and Barreta; thus, allowing Yoshi Tatsu to strike with a Roundhouse Kick to Trent Barreta for the pinfall victory.

RAW Results: 1/25/10

The Time for Glow Sticks is Over

We have all heard the question, "Are you ready?" Shawn Michaels wasn't, because he wanted to talk about Triple-H's disregard of his pursuit on ending the Undertaker's streak. Triple-H harshly, but truthfully, states that he will not let anyone get in his way from winning the Rumble and main-eventing at WrestleMania; and for anyone that does not care about striving for the richest prize at WrestleMania, should not even be in the WWE.

Old Foes, New Enemies

D-X fought in the opening match against Legacy, which is a change of pace from their countless weeks staring in the main-event. Legacy, who has had a lot of tension against their leader Randy Orton, has been showing improvement in the ring. Their maturation is partially due to their feud with D-X over the summer, and in part to their willingness to surpass their fathers' legacy. But, in speaking of tension in Legacy, their is also tension between Rhodes and DiBiase Jr., as the two argue who will finally reach for the brass ring, and for the failed attempt to defeat John Cena and Kofi Kingston last week.

As for D-X, while Triple-H set up for the pedigree, Shawn Michaels tagged himself in. This did not bold well for Triple-H as the two stared each other down, provoking an ambush from Legacy. However, they managed to get their head back in the game with HBK striking Ted with Sweet Chin, and Triple-H with a forearm to Cody. Michaels picked up the win and the two held their Unified Tag Team Belts high in triumph. The title were not on the line, but this week on SmackDown, D-Generation-X will defend their titles against the #1 contenders C.M. Punk and Luke Gallows.

M.V.P. Ready for Miz, Really!

Montel Vontavious Porter voiced that Miz can hide behind his "friend" The Big Show, but he cannot run forever from defending the United States Title. The Miz, meanwhile, cannot grasp the concept of why people like MVP, seeing as he was a convicted felon. Miz was a celebrity of reality television, and knows numerous celebrities. MVP responded, "It's because you're a jackass."

MVP's match was not against Miz, but against The Big Show. The pairing of this match was intriguing, seeing as MVP fought Big Show last year in a Last Man Standing Match, with Triple-H's Royal Rumble entry status at stake. This year, however, Big Show made short work of MVP with a devastating chokeslam.

Maryse Gets by on Looks Alone

Maryse, the self-proclaimed Sexiest of the Sexy, proved in the semi-final of the Divas' Tournament that the women on RAW get by on a pretty face, and nothing more. Eve Torres, on the other hand, has actually been trying to become a wrestler, but her inexperience comes at the expense of the wrestling fans. Eve carried the entire match, executing every offensive maneuver, and you would think that she would have advanced? Sadly, after a missed moonsault off the top turnbuckle, Maryse connected with the French Kiss-DDT to move on to the finals.

McMahon Has Brains, but no Courage or Hart

Mr. McMahon came out and asked the people if they wanted to see Bret Hart back in the WWE, in which he gleefully responded that he would never again be seen in the WWE. McMahon had referred to Bret Hart as a used piece of gum that's lost its flavor, and questioned the profitability of his return.

Last week, The Undertaker looked deep inside McMahon's soul and stated "You Screwed, Bret." Yes, Taker was present backstage for when the infamous Montreal Screwjob took place. And in a non-kayfabe sense, The Undertaker is usually knowledgeable of the happenings within the WWE, but this was purely between a select few. So when the incident occurred and made its way backstage, Taker asked Michaels, "Did you know about this?" The Undertaker is as intimidating and respected in real life as he is in the ring, in which Michaels responded that he was aware.

Triple-H advised McMahon that if he did not bring Bret Hart back to the WWE, he would be labeled a coward, and that Bret would be seen as a hero. If McMahon would have just set aside his ego for one night and made nice with Bret, the situation would have ended.

John Cena came out and delivered a phenomenal promo. A few months ago, when Roddy Piper guest hosted RAW, McMahon treated him with the utmost disrespect; and on January 4th, McMahon kicked Bret in the guts. So is this what happens to the great men and women who have dripped their blood, sweat, and tears into this business? A pat on the back, and a get the hell out of my sight? So are all the wrestlers people or commodities to line up McMahon's wallet and fill his ego? Cena goaded McMahon into bringing Bret Hart back, after issuing a warning for the the year 2035, when McMahon is 90 years-old, and John Cena has lost his flavor, would find McMahon and pick him from his wheel chair and shove his false dentures down his throat.
Bret Hart deserves a chance to confront McMahon face to face, and next week - Bret Hart will get that chance.

Mid-Carders on Becoming Superstars

The following match, issued by guest host Dulé Hill, was a display of the two up-and-coming superstars of the WWE - The Miz and Kofi Kingston.

Kofi Kingston, one of the more impressive former United States Champions, did not get his big push until he started feuding with Randy Orton. Kingston's momentum sky rocketing after delivering a passionate promo, while defacing Orton's car; dropping the Boom Drop over an unconscious Orton sprawled on a table at MSG; and defeating two former World Champions within seconds of each other at the Survivor Series to become the sole survivor. However, in their last few encounters, Randy Orton has come out on top and the feud seems to have ended. So what's next for Kofi Kingston? A return back to the U.S. Title picture? WWE should think of something quick, before the momentum dissipates.

As for The Miz, he has evolved from his days on The Real World by becoming his own man. No longer needing the support of John Morrison, The Miz delivers his own promos, reinvented his wardrobe, got a new entrance theme, and carries around his first singles title. Miz is clearly elevating himself as a major superstar in the WWE, while remaining in the appropriate setting of the mid-card title to do so.

Then comes MVP, when he first arrived on RAW, he shocked the world by challenging then-WWE Champion Randy Orton. The intensity and passion that MVP brought on that first night brought hope to the mid-card division, but after the first few weeks, that intensity vanished. MVP wasted his time on The View with Sherrie Shepherd, and loosing two U.S. Title matches against The Miz, with little-to-no build up on either match. This time around, MVP and Miz are building up on a steady paced background to base their feud on. MVP is starting to ignite the passion he once had when he became the United States Champion in 2007; and after The Miz was pinned by Kofi Kingston, it was apparent that Miz is fully aware of the threat that MVP poses to the United States Title.

Jack Swagger to feud with Santino Marella?

The past two weeks, Santino Marella has thwarted Jack Swagger's momentum going into the Royal Rumble; but this week, before challenging Carlito to a match, Jack Swagger attacked and destroyed Santino Marella. Not only did Swagger toss Santino over the top rope, but he DDT'ed Marella into the turnbuckle.

Is Santino Marella going to be pushed into a serious competitor, or is Swagger being downgraded to meaningless comedy? As for that DDT, Swagger is intent on making a name for himself come this Sunday.

Dulé Hill is no Psychic

The match between Alicia Fox and Gail Kim was so predictable that even a fake psychic could detect. Sadly, James Roday, who plays the fake psychic on PSYCH, was unable to co-host RAW, so Dulé, mostly due to hormones, predicted Alicia Fox as the winner. Fox lost the match to Gail Kim, and then reacted by slapping the holy hell out of Dulé.

The Divas' Title will be decided in the final match of the Divas' Tournament - Maryse versus Gail Kim. The date of that match is still TBA, but most likely on next week's RAW.

Let's Get Ready to Humble!

There are consequences for calling McMahon pathetic, even for guys like John Cena. Cena was placed in a non-title match against the man who defeated him for the WWE Title last month, Sheamus.

John Cena, despite his happy-go-lucky promos, compensates for his limited wrestling ability by raising his intensity in the ring to dangerous levels; that intensity has been matched, and possibly surpassed, by Sheamus.

Many may argue that Sheamus became the WWE Champion too early in his career, but no other superstar has been so dominate than the Celtic Warrior. WWE felt it imperative to remove Sheamus from ECW, where his talents would be underscored, and move him to the A-Show where he would hopefully help the business sky rocket to the top.

Sheamus may be stronger than Cena, as he managed to lay Cena out of the ring twice, almost winning by count-out, by Randy Orton cost Sheamus the match with an RKO. This was in response to the Boot to the Face that Sheamus delivered at the end of Orton's match last week.

And when Cena managed to pull himself to the ropes, Orton almost got him in a hanging DDT from the ropes, but Cena managed to get Orton in the Attitude Adjuster. Honestly, how was Cena able to find the strength to attack Orton with the Fireman's Carry? This is where the character of John Cena starts to lose it's flavor.

Dulé Hill's Celebrity Impact!

Initially advertised to be hosted by James Roday and Dulé Hill was only hosted by Dulé after James underwent an appendectomy over the weekend. It was obvious that WWE had no back up plan for Dulé Hill, as he went around causing trouble for himself - mainly from the WWE Divas. Contrary to Carlito's sentiments, Dulé Hill was not the greatest host of all time, he had no viable impact on the show.

But don't forget to check out the new season of PSYCH this Wednesday Night at 10 p.m. on USA Network, guest starring John Cena.

SmackDown Results: 1/22/10

Batista's Royal Rumble Promise

The opening bout of the night was "The Animal" Dave Batista versus Finlay. You know... we shouldn't even call Batista Dave anymore, because that implies a sign of kindness, which is clearly not the case. Finlay, on the other hand, is tapping into the Celtic Warrior deep inside by sporting the red hair, instead of the Eminem blonde fade. The two had a gruesome back and forth tussle as the action was forced out of the ring. The referee called for the bell after both competitors failed to return to the ring. However, that didn't stop Batista from tossing Finlay into the announce table, the turnbuckle, and finishing him off in the ring to prove a point.

The point was Batista staking his claim that he will win the Royal Rumble, and challenge the Undertaker at WrestleMania. The Undertaker seems to have a price on his head as Shawn Michaels also looks to challenge him by winning the Royal Rumble.

One Nation, Under Punk

During the past two weeks, C.M. Punk secured two followers, and has now been self-depicted as a savior. This week, a young woman jumped over the barricade, and made her way to touch Punk's shirt; which is very biblical, seeing as a woman once touched Jesus' cloak in order to be healed. The harbinger of sobriety called forth Serena to heal her sins. C.M. Punk is no longer just mocking the pledge of allegiance.... he's taking on a Christ-like persona; except, Christ did not look for praise. Serena took the pledge by having C.M. Punk shave her hair. In this over-drawn segment, C.M. Punk managed to hold the audience's attention without doing a single wrestling move. I consider that an accomplishment, proving that losing the World Heavyweight Title has not slowed down his momentum one bit.

Amazing Showmanship

Initially a handicap match pitting John Morrison against Chris Jericho and Drew McIntyre, Teddy Long evened the match by teaming JoMo with R-Truth. Despite Long turning it into a tag team match, Jericho and McIntyre kept Morrison in their corner, cutting him off from R-Truth.

When The Hart Dynasty placed Jericho in the Hart Attack weeks ago, it was evident that Chris Jericho was a vital part on the elevated star power on SmackDown. Chris Jericho is a phenomenal athlete and a sure fire Hall of Famer, but his caliber of excellence did not occur overnight, he started out as a nobody and strived to the main event scene. Now, he is giving back by helping the youngings, like Drew McIntrye, by showcasing their potential, most of the time through interrupting the announce team, or just by allowing them to shine in the ring.

One of John Morrison's greatest attributes is his endurance in the ring, as this match proved, as he was blocked off from R-Truth for a good eight minutes. Eventually, Truth did get the tag and won the match after Morrison struck Jericho with a pele pick from the outside. It may have been a deceitful way to win, but Morrison's performance alone garners the victory.

Women's Wrestling Not Dead

I would like to take this time to congratulate the women of SmackDown for proving that the WWE is not dead when it comes to Women's Wrestling.

The segment started off with Michelle McCool and Layla, who threw Mickie James a premature "Going Away" Party. Since the Divas' draft, which saw Mickie and Beth Phoenix to SmackDown, Michelle McCool has done everything to eliminate the new threats. Mickie James, being the only fighting babyface on SmackDown, has staked her claim on recapturing the Women's Title. McCool is afraid of the threat that Mickie poses to the Women's Title, so for women, what better way to asses the situation than by destroying their self-esteem? Which has spawned into Lay-Cool's "Piggy James" taunts, with the intent that Mickie will chose to leave SmackDown on her own.

The Slammy Award Winning Diva of the Year, Maria made an unexpected appearance. Recall 2004-2009, Maria had a bubbly dumb-red head personality, but when she entered that ring to confront Lay-Cool, I was impressed. She carried herself as a strong independent woman, which is really what WWE is trying to convey about women.

Mickie James arrived and expressed, in a passionate speech, that real women are short, tall, fat, skinny, curvy, and so forth... Mickie then brought the fight to Michelle, as Maria roughed up Layla. However, Beth Phoenix arrived and sided with Lay-Cool. Similar to Triple-H, Beth Phoenix is a tweener, for lack of a better term; meaning that she can move between heel or face, it doesn't matter, as long as she's #1. Currently, Mickie James is the only threat to Beth Phoenix, seeing as she herself lost the Women's Title to Mickie in 2008. While, in regards to Michelle McCool, Beth knows that she can defeat her at anytime.

Mickie James was held down to get hit in the face with a pig-shaped cake, and doused with red punch. If Mickie was not considering leaving the company, she may now. However, Mickie James will be contending for the Women's Title at The Royal Rumble.

Kane, The Eliminator

The following match up saw Cryme Tyme take on Charlie Haas and Mike Knox. For a moment, when the lights went red, I thought Kane would resume his feud with Mike Knox, but instead he tossed everyone from over the top rope. Kane does hold the record for most eliminations in a single Royal Rumble, so can he win big at his 12th Royal Rumble? If Kane were to win, it would mark the third time these two fought at WrestleMania.

Matt Hardy does it Alone

The third, and final, tag team match of the night was Matt Hardy and The Great Khali against The Hart Dynasty. Matt Hardy took on Tyson Kidd and David Hart Smith, practically, by himself because Tyson gave Natalya the idea to distract Khali, which she did beautifully. In Khali's defense, you can't hate the playa, hate the game... now if we can only get Runjin to translate.

The Harts attempted to execute the Hart Attack on Matt Hardy, but he shoved Smith - knocking Kidd off the ropes - and pinned Smith with a small package roll up. So much for Natalya having a bright future anytime soon.

Mysterio Digs his own Grave

Four years ago, Rey Mysterio won the Royal Rumble and went on to win the big one at WrestleMania.; and next Sunday, Mysterio looks to relieve that dream by defeating The Undertaker. Undertaker restates, "I will defeat you," bold words for a small man.

Out of nowhere, Batista attacked Mysterio with two spinebusters, and escaped through the crowd. Is Rey Mysterio digging his own grave, or will he be holding the shovel at the top of the mound?

WWE Superstars Results: 1/21/10

Y2J, The Second Fall Back

The main event pitted Chris Jericho against Kane. The two men are coming off of great wins from last week's SmackDown: Chris Jericho defeated John Morrison, and Kane defeated Dolph Ziggler. But who would fare in a match between these former co-captains?

Chris Jericho usually has an air of conceit as he enters the ring, but this time, he scurried out of the ring when Kane made his way inside the squared-circle. Jericho, for the most part, spent the match running in and out of the ring to avoid a beat down. But when Kane ultimately caught Jericho, all he received as a beat down. Jericho failed at connecting with both the Walls of Jericho and the Code Breaker. So when he narrowly escaped the chokeslam, he abandoned the match for the 10-count.

This is poor momentum for Chris Jericho heading into the Royal Rumble. How can you hope to win if you cannot take your opponents head on?

Well, Jericho exhibited two tactics vital in a Royal Rumble. One, is to escape the ring from the bottom rope (doesn't count you out of the match); and two, be able to evade finishing maneuvers.

Blond Bashing Divas

The opening contest was WWE's resident tone-deaf diva, Jillian Hall taking on the lovely Kelly-Kelly. We have seen these two fight on numerous occasions, usually yielding the same results. But throughout the years, the one making strides to become a better wrestler is Kelly-Kelly. Her victories over Jillian Hall may be due to the fact that she knows her opponent too well, and has already amounted the precise offense to take her down. At the start of the match, Kelly-Kelly managed a springboard arm-bar takedown, followed by a headscissors takedown. If Kelly-Kelly at age 23, no doubt the youngest Diva, continues at this pace, may soon become a champion. Kelly-Kelly did find herself in trouble when attempting another headscissors takedown, Jillian had scouted the move from early on in the match, and tried to pin her during the roll over through the legs. She then attempted the Crash Test Splash, but Kelly-Kelly evaded the maneuver with a kick to the back of Jillian Hall. With Jillian Hall reeling on the ground, this set up for Kelly-Kelly's K2 leg drop for the clean victory.

Vance Archer's First Loss

Two weeks ago, on ECW, Shelton Benjamin catapulted himself out of the ring, eliminating both Vance Archer and himself from the ECW Homecoming Showdown. The intensity between these two superstars have escalated since Archer has decided to make a name for himself at Benjamin's expense. This was no flashy high-risk match, this was a gritty grapple-for-grapple showdown between these two technical brawlers. Vance Archer making use of his size to deliver a big boot to the face of Shelton Benjamin. The Gold Standard countered a move from Archer by thrusting his whole body in a pele kick. In the end, Shelton Benjamin delivers Vance Archer's first loss in the WWE with an Oklahoma roll-up.

ECW Results: 1/19/10

Santino Fails in Pushing Kozlov as a Babyface

For some strange reason, WWE decided to put Santino Marella as the special guest host of the Abraham Washington Show in order to put over Vladimir Kozlov. The heavily-accented Italian funny man tried his best to not only make the Abraham Washington Show worth watching, but to get across that Kozlov is no longer a heel.

However, who has ever heard of a Russian face? Kozlov blames the stereotypical Russians in Rocky IV - even though he still loves the movie - for why people are so reluctant to give him a chance.

Santino Marella posed the idea of Kozlov and Santino as a tag team, which the WWE Universe flat-out rejected. The team would be ideal, since Santino Marella, during his training in OVW, was given the ruthless Russian gimmick before becoming WWE's Milan Miracle. Since arriving in 2007, Santino has finally established himself as a fan favorite; yet, despite his popularity, Santino Marella was unable to get the people to like Vladimir Kozlov.

Croft Shows Promise

The team of Croft and Barreta still do not have my backing, but they have improved. The fist pumps are a little much, and Barreta dangles his arms by his sides, which doesn't show much character.

In the past two weeks, Caylen Croft has lost to Yoshi Tatsu, while Trent Barreta has defeated Goldust. With each team having a win, this following tag team match was the rubber match. What was strange is that Croft and Barreta kept Tatsu in their corner, keeping him from tagging in his partner Goldust. If anything, Goldust is the weaker of the two, but in matters of size and experience, I understand Croft and Barreta's strategy. Yet, when Goldust finally did get tagged in, he was running circles around Croft and almost got the win - emphasis on almost. Barreta knocked Tatsu over the ropes and then clotheslined Goldust off his partner in order to reverse the pin-combination. Croft and Barreta walked away with the pinfall victory over Yoshi and Goldie, but how will they choose to retaliate next week?

The Superhero from L.I.?

Zack Ryder was the man that ended the wrestling career of Tommy Dreamer, and last week, he upstaged The Hurricane. Now, Zack Ryder wants to be addressed as the New Heart & Soul Superhero of ECW. Really? I understand the Heart and Soul, but to add Superhero to the title, doesn't sound too cool. Ryder told Savannah to announce his name, but failed to say it as enthusiastically as he wanted. The Hurricane came to the rescue and chased Ryder and Rosa out of the arena. Zack Ryder should grow a spine and not run away from a guy in green tights.

Ezekiel's Domination

The main event was ECW Champion Christian versus William Regal. These two have fought several times in the past, including last Thursday, with Regal always coming up short.

Winner of the ECW Homecoming Tournament, Ezekiel Jackson is dead set on domination. The match between Christian and Regal was well fought, but it was interrupted by Big Zeek who attacked Christian mid-match. Christian obviously won by disqualification but was punished by an onslaught of a Knee Trembler and the Ura-nage.

William Regal may not become the champion as he once desired, but will his follower be able to do away with Christian?

RAW Results: 1/18/10

Taker Declines Challenge

After a month of openly challenging The Undertaker for a rematch at WrestleMania, The Deadman made his way to Monday Night RAW in order to deliver his response in person; obviously it was a response that Mr. WreslteMania was not expecting. In his storied WrestleMania career, The Undertaker has fought and laid to rest every opponent that has dared to face him; and even though Shawn Michaels was the closest to breaking the streak... he still failed. The Undertaker has nothing to prove, but if Shawn Michaels wants his rematch, he will have to win this year's Royal Rumble. Shawn Michaels claims that when he does, not only will the streak be broken, but Undertaker's title and soul will belong to him.

Heder-Johnson Impact!

Miami Vice's Don Johnson and Napoleon Dynamite's John Heder guest hosted RAW, so what impact did they have? Well, Santino Marella was dressed up as Don Johnson because he is the President of the I.D.J.F.C., or the Italian Don Johnson Fan Club. And Carlito was found backstage dressed as Napoleon Dynamite. It would have been really great if Primo would have dressed like Pedro, but he hasn't been seen on RAW in months.

As for the celebrities themselves, John Heder made the most of his stay on RAW as he took on a heel persona. Don Johnson, meanwhile, wanted to give the people what they "wanted," DX in the main event; but John Heder introduced two men who would main event tonight's RAW... The Miz and The Big Show. Later on in the program, there was an altercation involving Hornswoggle that forced John Heder to participate in a six-man main event.

Viper Stares Down Sheamus

A few weeks ago, Evan Bourne challenged Sheamus for a contender's match; but since then, that honor has gone to Randy Orton. Evan Bourne didn't have much of a chance until Randy Orton made his way into the arena. Sheamus took his focus out of the match, allowing Bourne to almost get an upset. Sheamus quickly did away with Bourne with the Celtic Cross. Orton, clearly intimidated the WWE Champion who chose to leave the ring. Sheamus is just starting out in the WWE, but Orton is a seasoned veteran. Is Sheamus out of his league?

The Second All-American-American-Challenge

Jack Swagger stated that Santino's victory last week was a fluke and could not happen again. Santino, however, did not choose to face him again, but instead, had a suitable substitute... Mark Henry. If you haven't heard me say it before, I'll say it again, Jack Swagger, despite being a sure-fire main event one day, is stuck as a mid-carder with other mid-carders. Mark Henry is the next person to humiliate the All-American-American by bench pressing him over the ropes.

Cena-Kingston Seek Retribution

Last week, during the Triple Threat Match to determine Sheamus' opponent for the Royal Rumble, it was clear that Rhodes and DiBiase Jr. interfered in order for Orton to pick up the win. This week, John Cena and Kofi Kingston looked to get some much needed payback for Legacy costing them a shot at the WWE Title.

Cena started off the match, but Rhodes and DiBiase Jr. held their ground. When Kofi was tagged in, Legacy did everything possible to keep him from tagging in Mr. WWE. At certain points in the match, it almost seemed as if Legacy were lax about facing Kofi, as if he were not a threat. Well, they should have done away with Kofi because after Cena was tagged in, it was Kofi who would pin Rhodes with a flying cross body after being hit by the Attitude Adjuster. DiBiase Jr. did break Cena's cover, but he rolled out of the way to avoid being taken down by Kingston.

A major pop went out to the victory of Cena-Kingston, but friendship means nothing come the Royal Rumble. As for Legacy, Rhodes seemed bitter towards DiBiase Jr. for letting him take the fall. If this keeps up, they won't have to worry about friendship getting in the way for their Royal Rumble aspirations.

Eve's Phantom Kick

The following match was a Divas' Tag Team Match featuring Eve Torres and Gail Kim versus Alicia Fox and Maryse. The only wrestler in this match was Gail Kim, but sadly, she is downplayed so as not to overshadow the other women. Eve Torres, who has been paired with Chris Masters for the past month, has shown some ring-rust. She attempted a drop kick, and missed. Sure, that's not bad when you miss a move, but when your opponent reacts, then that becomes what is known as a Phantom move. Of course, both opponents quickly got up and executed the spot. Alicia Fox should not have reacted to the phantom kick, because the move never connected. Instead, everyone noticed and was the only thing anyone could think of. However, Eve Torres did get the pin on Alicia Fox, which is great for her, but that Phantom kick still bothers me.

Sheamus Sends a Message

The following match was Randy Orton against Chris Masters w/ Eve Torres. Orton was not deterred by Sheamus' presence at the ramp way, but he did manage to get himself caught in the 3rd attempted Master lock. The Master lock looked to be Orton's demise, but it turned into his salvation as Orton fell towards the ropes, breaking the hold, and striking with the RKO. Sheamus, though, entered the ring unnoticed and struck Orton with a big boot to the face. The audience was actually cheering for Randy Orton, which is a new change of pace seeing as he is a super heel, but the audience despises Sheamus more.

WWE Retaliates Against Ric Flair

The Big Show and The Miz mentioned how they would get John Heder some sweet ring gear; well... what can be more stylish than a knock-off of The Nature Boy's signature ornate fur-lined robe with sequins, sporting the ring name "The Flame."

Since departing from the WWE after his farewell send off at WrestleMania XXIV, Ric Flair has since been seen in ROH, wrestled in Australia in the main event of the Hulkamania Tour, and is currently signed with rival promotion TNA. There is also mention of Ric Flair returning to active wrestling duty in TNA against long-time rival Hulk Hogan. A return to the ring would be a disgrace to the send off that WWE gave him, but Flair has been in financial straits and relies on these paychecks to keep his head above water.

Ric Flair will always be The Man, but, enough is enough Flair, hang up the boots because it is just plain sad. Also, word is going around that AJ Styles will become the new protégé of Ric Flair, Styles has risen to the top without Flair and doesn't need him now.

The Flame is Extinguished

After a few rounds of weakening the opposition, the newly devised team of Miz and Show tagged in "The Flame" John Heder to take on Hornswoggle. Heder took off his robe, showing a paler complexion than Sheamus, and kicked around Hornswoggle, until Triple-H made his way in and knocked him out. Then a superkick by Shawn Michaels knocked out the Big Show to be laid out on top of Header. Then Hornswoggle was tagged in to strike with the tadpole splash followed by a cover on Header for the pin fall victory.

Triple-H's Message to Shawn

In two weeks, 30 participants will enter, but only one will leave with a World Title Shot at WrestleMania. What Triple-H has been trying to tell Michaels all night is that he needs to find another way to take on The Undertaker, because he's going to win the Rumble. Do I sense a disband of D-Generation-X? I believe so.

WWE Released: Eric Escobar

The start of a new year only means one thing... RELEASES are on the rise. Ever since his shortly-lived stint as a heel to his even shorter stint as a babyface, Eric Escobar has been a failed experiment from the beginning. Previously in FCW, Eric finally made his way into the main WWE roster by appearing at the Decade of SmackDown super show as the new arm candy of a returning Vickie Guerrero. His short months with the company was a regurgitation of Edge's two year story line with Vickie. The difference was, Edge is actually entertaining and can wrestle. I had foreseen that this day would come, and frankly he didn't make an impact.

World Wrestling Entertainment has come to terms on the release of Smackdown superstar Eric Escobar as of Jan. 17, 2010. WWE wishes Eric all the best in his future endeavors.

SmackDown Results: 1/15/10

Chris Jericho, Baddest Man?

Jericho made his less than triumphant return to SmackDown after failing, for the third time, to get his spot on RAW. So what's next for the most profound wrestler in all of Sports Entertainment? Bad mouthing the guy who punched you in the jaw for starters. Jericho called Mike Tyson a washed up, drunken, ex-champion. He blurted this out with full knowledge that Mike Tyson was not in attendance, but he might have bee at home laughing over the swelled jaw.

Jericho's challenge for the night was the Guru of Greatness John Morrison, in a rematch from their unfinished business over the summer. Yet, how come every time these two hash it out in the ring, someone distracts John Morrison? Last time it was Shelton Benjamin and this time its the I-C Champion Drew McIntyre. During the Walls of Jericho, Morrison willed his way to the bottom rope out of hatred for the Scotsman, taunting Morrison with the I-C strap. Despite Morrison breaking away from the Walls, he fell to the Code Breaker. As for the New 'Baddest Man on the Planet,' welcome back to Friday Nights.

Saving Private "Trevor"

It's been two weeks since C.M. Punk has vowed to save the world with the pledge of Straight-Edge for All, and he has already "saved" one member of the WWE Universe. This week he saves another, by the name of Trevor. Anyone notice how each person he saves has a full head of hair and are well-built? Well... that's because they are all wrestlers.

Punk's gimmick has really gone over, despite many people getting upset over the similarity of Punk raising a cult, or tarnishing the pledge of the United States. Seeing as a lot of people hate C.M. Punk, then he must be doing something right.

Worst Concept in WWE

The worst concept in the WWE is the Fatal Four-way Tag Team match, which allows only two competitors at a time. That's right, only two people are allowed to compete at a time while the other two teams have to force a tag if someone ever stumbles into their corner. Who the hell approved of this? If anything, four competitors should be allowed at a time, at least things would be interesting, and I don't know, maybe have more than one referee to regulate the action from different angles.

This contenders match, to determine who will face D-Generation-X for the Unified Tag Team Titles, was complete and utter garbage. And I know WWE was upset seeing Jeff Hardy on the Jan. 4th edition of TNA, but to pair Matt with The Great Khali? No words or amount of blog space can express my anger over this. Cryme Tyme had a title shot against JeriShow, and failed at SummerSlam; and Hart Dynasty lost to D-X on Christmas Day. Luckily the onslaught was minimized to where C.M. Punk and Luke Gallows picked up the win. Not only is Punk gaining a following, literally, but now he has a shot to make history by becoming the first-ever "Straight-Edge" Unified Tag Team Champions in the WWE.

The Omen

The Undertaker sent a message last week to both Batista and Rey Mysterio, the two possible contenders for the World Heavyweight Championship. Undertaker shows little concern for their steel cage match, because, in his mind, no matter who wins, he will still be the champion. Then he brings up a question that the fans have been dying to learn the answer to, the Rematch against Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania. Seventeen men have faced him, and they all fell. One man chose to face him a second time, failed, and was content... that would be Kane. Yet, one man was more glorious than the rest and almost won... but in the end he still failed. On Monday, we find out the answer.

Beth Chooses a Side

For several weeks, both Mickie James and Beth Phoenix have shared sneak attacks, two weeks ago, Beth put Mick in the Glam Slam, while last week, Mick got Beth with the Mick-Kick. This my followers is what we call the rubber match (new phrase I learned and I will use it as much as possible until I get sick and tired of it, so bare with me).

Beth did not even want to wait for the bell, she just got in there and started throwing punches. These two have a long standing feud, and if anyone ever has the pleasure, these two put on great matches. Why? Because they trained to be wrestlers! They were not models contacted by WWE, "Hey, do you want to wrestle?"

Beth Phoenix eventually placed Mickie James in... wait for it.... the tree of "Whoa'.... that's for Matt Striker in case he reads this. But before Mickie could get a chance to unhook her legs, Beth failed in adhering to the 5-count and got herself disqualified. Afterwards, team Lay-Cool showed up to pick up the scraps and place her in the Styles-Plex *cough* I mean the Faith Breaker! Well... how will Mickie retaliate next week? And why Beth? Mickie has no one else to have her back seeing as Maria has a gig with Celebrity Apprentice. Didn't she just return?

Ziggler-Kane III

That's right, another hair-raising battle between the greased up cheerleader against Uncle Fester. WWE realized that Dolph Ziggler was so not ready for the I-C strap, seeing as they made him lose on 20-something occasions, and the belt has passed 2-times since staking his claim. This is pretty much WWE going back to formula, build him from the ground up, again.

Seeing as Kane has nothing better to do than being tossed over the rope by Ezekiel Jackson over on ECW, why not make him the yard stick for Ziggler's success? In their first encounter, Ziggler failed to beat the clock with a sleeper/body scissors take down; yet, after the match, Ziggler struck with the Zig-Zag. In the second match up, Ziggler won the match via a count out on the part of Kane. However, this week yielded a different result, Kane chokeslamed Ziggler for the win. Way to go Kane, you beat Dolph Ziggler. *two slow claps*

Mysterio Falls... Over!

Throughout the whole night, everyone kept focusing their attention on Rey Mysterio. Can he do it? Do you think you can do it? Do you have a shot of being the World Champion for the second time? Aren't you a little small to be competing in the WWE, the land of the giant superstars?

Well, I for one believe that Mysterio is too small to be competing here, but I also knew he would win. Why? Because he is short and fast! All you have to do in a Steel Cage Match is to escape the cage to win the match, you don't necessarily have to pin or submit your opponent.

Batista is too big and clunky to ever escape over the top of the cage so his best bet would be to pin Mysterio in the center on the ring.

Mysterio did attempt to use Batista has a stepping stone, quite literally, in order to jump out of the cage, but he would continue to be pulled in. Batista's hubris was his downfall yet again, instead of taunting your opponent, go for the cover, and then gloat. Mysterio did manage to go over the roof of the cage one last time, and left a parting gift to Batista, a drop kick to the steel door over Batista's face on the way down for the victory.

That's right, Rey Mysterio is the #1 Contender for Undertaker's World Heavyweight Championship! Just maybe, Mysterio will defying the odds and become the World Heavyweight Champion. But then again... Undertaker's not to worried about the luchador, only with the answer he has for Shawn Michaels this Monday Night on RAW.

WWE Superstars Results: 1/14/10

RAW Tag Team Match. The opening match was a Mix-Gendered Tag Team Match set for one fall, the participants: Primo and Gail Kim versus Chavo Guerrero and Jillian Hall. The rules are simple, the men fight the men and the women fight the women. If a man tags in a woman, than the other woman is forced into the match to take on the woman... same rules applies for the men. Primo and Chavo started off the match and then entered the women. Gail Kim, who is a former Women's Champion, is looking to become the new Divas' Champion as she has advanced into the semi-finals of the tournament. The new Divas' Champion will be determined sometime after the Royal Rumble pay-per-view. Jillian Hall, the world's shortest reigning Divas' Champion, was no match for Gail Kim's quick offense, but when she tagged back in Chavo... things got interesting. As Primo was reeling on the mat, Chavo started to taunt Gail Kim, grapping her wrists and pulling her close. Gail used the opportunity to lock in the Eat Defeat maneuver, which is an inverted stomp facebreaker. Primo then rolled up Chavo for the pinfall victory. This mixed tag team was decent, because it gave a young Primo a chance to shine, and Chavo and Jillian to act on their goofy gimmicks.

Masters vs. Carlito. The following RAW match pit the other brother Colon, Carlito, against Chris Masters. For those who have not been watching RAW, Chris Master's entrance theme has changed from "The Masterpiece" to "Overdrive" by Jim Johnston. It's a steady rock beat, which I could see suited better with someone else, but what are you going to do? Carlito, prior to the match, chewed his apple, and spit in the face of Chris Masters. I don't know how smart that was, seeing as Masters decimated Carlito for the act. Chris Masters was more on point for this match, and did NOT waste valuable time with his pectoral dance. Carlito miscalculated a move, which lead to his eventual demise in the unforgiving Master Lock. Chris Masters finally chalks up a victory, and yes... Eve is still by his side.

SmackDown Tag Team Match. SmackDown did not want to let RAW have all the tag team action, so it was Team Delusional Gangstas versus Team Beards. Why have I given them these particular names? Well... Team D.G. has a former southerner resident of North Carolina, Jesse has ditched the tights for some jeans, some bling, and the only corn he deals with is corn rose. As for Jimmy Wang Yang, he's initially an Asian who believes he's a redneck cowboy. Even the great J.B.L. was offended by this persona, but I think we should all be upset over the fact that he wants to referred to as the Asian Redneck Gangsta.... talk about a personality disorder. Honestly, WWE has no idea what they are doing with these two superstars. As for Team Beards, Mike Knox, who won Beard of the Year in WWE Magazine, has a freakishly long beard that he shampoos everyday to keep it clean. And as for his partner, Charlie Haas, once a part of the World's Greatest Tag Team, has fallen off the reservation for some time now. It was said that he wanted to be released from his contract, so what did WWE do? Gave him a raise instead, as long as you stay with the company and I guess grow a beard while you are at it. At first, I thought Daivari had returned to the WWE, but it was just Charlie Haas with a beard. The match saw a better showing of athletic ability from both J and Yang, as their high flying and technical offense is impressive but deeply goes underrated. These two men managed to knock out Knox out of the ring, allowing Wang Yang to strike with the moonsault, that even The Fallen Angel Daniels would be impressed, as he got the winning pinfall over Charlie Haas.

Byron Saxon, Lame. This past Tuesday, Ezekiel Jackson was named the #1 contender for Christian's ECW Title after eliminating Kane to win the ECW Homecoming Showdown. Now, to learn from his mentor/master William Regal, Ezekiel will pin point the weaknesses of Christian. But enough about that, what really stood out of this match was the lackluster commentating of ECW's Bryon Saxton and Josh Matthews. Saxton was the new kid of the block, taking a first crack at commentating for prime-time television, but he has grown stale. Saxton was stale since the first day he walked into the land of the not-so-extreme, but he recently started adopting a heel-gimmick personality while commentating. It's usually how it goes, the commentator roots for the faces, and the color commentators hype up the heels. Yet, Josh and Bryon have no personality, it's like watching two politically correct voices trying to argue in a polite manner. It's hard to believe that Saxton wrestled over on FCW, unless I told you so, well I did. When William Regal was down flat on the canvas as Christian went for a high-risk maneuver, Saxton called it being dazed, while Matthews called it as being laid flat out. Saxton tries to hard to root for the bad guys, but in this PG world of ECW sequel, it's best not to get the kids confused. Honestly, "Just look at him" doesn't quite cut it when explaining why Ezekiel would win the ECW Title. Which, speaking of Jackson, he was ejected from the arena after doing his best Mad Dog impression. Talk about guys that have too much testosterone, Jackson was grunting and growling at Christian. I'm glad the ref pulled him out of the match, he looked as if he were going to bite Christian. Not too long after Jackson made an exit that Christian took control of the match as he avoided the Knee Trembler and Regal Stretch to finally lock in the Killswitch. The question isn't whether or not Christian will retain his title, but how will William Regal react as to his follower capturing a title that he himself could not?

I'm really not too impressed with these 1-hour segments, which is really a compilation of dark matches, tapped just to fill more WWE-TV time. It allows for the mid-carders to actually shine, but how about a new concept? Inter-brand matches? Imagine a C.M. Punk vs. Christian, or a Jack Swagger vs. Zack Ryder? So that's it for this edition of WWE Superstars, have a good night people.

ECW Results: 1/12/10

Being above the ECW Title?

Two weeks ago, Zack Ryder ended the career of Tommy Dreamer, the final remaining ECW Original. Tommy Dreamer was considered the Heart and Soul of ECW, and after defeating Dreamer, Ryder feels that he is above the ECW Title, that he is ECW.

The ECW Title is the highest prize in ECW, and no one, let alone in the land of Extreme, is above it.

Citizen Woo Woo Woo

The opening contest set The Hurricane against Zack Ryder. Hurricane silenced Ryder with a slap to the face because Ryder not only put himself at the top of ECW, but his girlfriend Rosa Mendes slapped him.

The match saw a lot of high risk maneuvers, The Hurricane striking with a neck breaker, but he failed to attempt his Eye of the Hurricane or the Shinning Wizard. Ryder, making good as the head of ECW, by capturing a win with the Zack Attack.

Barreta Screeches a Win

Last week on Superstars, Yoshi Tatsu picked up a win over Caylen Croft, so the other halves of the tag teams duked it out in this match: Goldust versus Trent Barreta. Goldust, the seasoned veteran, catapulted Barreta to the top ropes; yet, still holding on to the legs, Barreta whip lashed spine first into the knees of Goldust.

Barreta starting building up momentum and puberty as he screeched like a 9-year-old boy. Barreta managed to strike Goldust with a leg drop between the ropes, and end the match with a flying knee to Goldust's jaw for the victory.

The End Has Awakened Against Thee

The main event was the ECW Homecoming Showdown, culminating from weeks of qualifying matches pitting the superstars of today against the superstars of yesteryear. The eight finalists are: C.M. Punk, Matt Hardy, Evan Bourne, Shelton Benjamin, Vance Archer, Kane, and Ezekiel Jackson.

Kane, a former ECW Champion, winning it in record fashion at WrestleMania XXIV, commanded respect from the ECW finalists as he delivered uppercuts and dropped a big boot to the face of anyone who came near. Within seconds of the match, Kane showed his dominance by eliminating Evan Bourne.

The finalist concentrated their efforts on eliminating Kane and Ezekiel, the two biggest threats. But Shelton, instead, launched himself over the top rope to eliminate Vance Archer, and himself in the process. Shelton still holds a grudge over what happened last week on WWE Superstars.

Ezekiel Jackson took out former ECW Champion, Matt Hardy, after he moronically went for a cross body. And then Jackson eliminated C.M. Punk, another former ECW Champion.

Kane eliminated Yoshi setting the stage for a final showdown between the most dominate force of the past against the immovable object in ECW today. The two monsters were choking the life out of the other in hopes to reign the victor. Kane's undoing came when he attempted a diving upper cut from the top rope, and Ezekiel rolled out of the way to follow up with a clothesline to eliminate yet another former ECW Champion.

Ezekiel has said that the end has come and it has awakened. Well, Ezekiel carefully eliminated all three former ECW Champions in the showdown. Can Ezekiel make good on his prophecy and pin the current ECW Champion, Christian?

RAW Results: 1/11/10

Mike Tyson Returns. Last week, the WWE Universe chanted "You Screwed, Bret," yet, this week the crowds chanted "You Screwed, Shawn." Mike Tyson, in 1998, joined forces with D-Generation X after a dispute with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. At WrestleMania of that same year, Mike Tyson changed sides and punched out Shawn Michaels allowing Stone Cold to go for the win. Known as the Iconic Baddest Man on the Planet, Mike Tyson was stared down by WWE Champion Sheamus, who feels he is the most feared champion in the world. But after Tyson made him flinch, Sheamus wasn't strutting around so high and mighty. This was uncanny that Mr. McMahon would allow the top champion of his company to be humiliated by a guest host; because flinching is a sign of weakness and casts a bad light on the WWE. Mike Tyson, who has a worst lisp than Jack Swagger, issued a triple threat match to determine Sheamus' opponent at the Royal Rumble; and, in addition, chose to team up with Chris Jericho to take on Shawn Michaels and Triple-H. And if Jericho and Tyson defeat DX, then Jericho will be allowed to venture into any WWE show he wishes.

Third Contender in Divas' Tournament. The opening match was another Divas' Championship First-Round Tournament Match to determine the new Divas' Champion. So far Maryse and Gail Kim have advanced, so two more first round contenders must place to make it to the semi-finals. The match was Kelly-Kelly against Alicia Fox, in another terrible display of women's wrestling. The two are very beautiful women, which is the only reason that they are even here, but as far as wrestling is concerned, they might as well hold up Round signs at boxing events. Kelly-Kelly, sporting zebra wrestling attire, has not had any luck in capturing gold, and this tournament did not help. Kelly-Kelly did manage a hurricanrana, but Alicia Fox executed, what looked like, an accidental power-bomb for the win.

Legacy Determined for Glory. Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase Jr. stated that they helped Randy Orton win the Royal Rumble last year, but this year one of them would win. Of course, the decision was split as t0 who would exactly win... but in 1994, both Lex Lugar and Bret Hart won the Rumble, so it is possible for both Rhodes and DiBiase to leave the Royal Rumble as winners. Their match was against Mark Henry and Evan Bourne. As for Evan Bourne, he has qualified for the ECW Homecoming showdown on ECW to determine Christian's opponent for the Royal Rumble. At this point in their career, Rhodes and DiBiase Jr. have established themselves within the company and no longer needs the backing of Randy Orton. However, in order to advance further, they will need to wrestle wrestlers of higher caliber rather than always facing Bourne and Henry. DiBiase is the closest into reaching that level by once facing Randy Orton in a WWE Championship match back in the summer. As for the match, DiBiase Jr. saved Rhodes from a potential Shooting Star Press and took out Mark Henry, leaving Rhodes to connect with Cross-Rhodes to pin Evan Bourne.

The All-American-American-Challenge. Jack Swagger, the candidate for future champion, has vowed that he will win the Royal Rumble and go on to main event WrestleMania. This would be Swagger's first Rumble, seeing as how last year he successfully defended the ECW Champion against the man he won it from, Matt Hardy. But after being tossed over the rope by Santino Marella tonight, Jack Swagger will have to think twice about his strategy come January 31st.

The Viper Contends Against The Celtic Warrior. At the start of the program, Kofi Kingston made it clear that despite losing to Orton last week, he was determined to make his way into the WWE Title scene, as he cannot wait until an opportunity is granted, he must take it. John Cena defeated Sheamus two weeks ago in his WWE Championship rematch, but it was due to disqualification so the titles could not switch hands. Sheamus refuses to grant him another title shot, but Mike Tyson is in charge and says that Cena will be a part of this Triple Threat Match. Randy Orton, after weeks of demanding a title match, can now contend for the title. At Bragging Rights, his loss to John Cena banned Orton from any future title matches as long as Cena was the WWE Champion, but at TLC Cena lost to Sheamus, thus, breaking the ban. Randy Orton had his work cut out for him in this match since he has feuded with both John Cena and Kofi Kingston, so obviously their was a double team on Orton. Shades of WrestleMania XXIV presented itself when Cena had Kofi in the STF, but Orton should've gone for the punt to the head of Cena to secure the win, but instead he just broke the hold. Kofi did manage to connect with the Boom Drop and Trouble in Paradise Kick on John Cena, but he rolled out of the ring. Yet, Legacy was not far behind, as Rhodes kicked the steel steps into John Cena and DiBiase knocked down Kofi to allow an RKO to secure a win. So at the Royal Rumble, Randy Orton will face off against Sheamus for the WWE Championship.

The Miz Evolves as a Superstar. The Miz has gone for years opening his big mouth and getting himself into serious troubles, most recently being banned from RAW after losing to John Cena, but after becoming the United States Champion, things changed for The Miz. No longer considered that guy from the reality show, The Miz has evolved into a first class superstar, and the biggest evidence to date was his amazing promo against #1 contender Montel Vontavious Porter. He channeled his experiences in the early stages of his career, how no one would welcome him to the locker room and how JBL would make fun of him. Miz has truly become his own man, and MVP, finally, is taking this United States Title Match seriously. Before, The Miz has defended his title twice against MVP, but this time seems different. MVP has learned from his mistakes, from his time in prison, and has worked his way to the top to be respected by the people. MVP and Miz will have a classic match on their hands when the time comes.

Fourth Contender in Divas' Tournament. The following match was the final Divas' Championship First-Round Tournament Match to determine the new Divas' Champion. The final match was Eve Torres against the former ECW resident Katie Lee Burchill. According to Michael Cole, Katie and Paul Burchill have been signed onto RAW. The match had a few quick pinning combinations, but in the end Eve left the winner. Starting next week the semi-finals will begin with Eve Torres facing off against Maryse, and Alicia Fox taking on Gail Kim. The winners of those two matches will meet in the final round to crown the new Divas' Champion.

Bret, No Chance in Hell. McMahon addressed his actions from last week, and he is not sorry for kicking Bret Hart in the gut. Twelve years ago, Bret Hart spat on Mr. McMahon, and then punched him back stage; so, as far as Mr. McMahon is concerned, there is no closer when it comes to Bret Hart.

Mike Tyson Changes Sides, Again. Chris Jericho has been trying to get back on RAW ever since losing his Unified Tag Team Titles against DX at TLC. Jericho has failed on two separate occasions in recapturing the titles and devised a plan with Mike Tyson to be granted immunity in showcasing every show. Well, much like WrestleMania, Mike Tyson screwed over Shawn Michaels over, this time, Mike Tyson screwed over Chris Jericho. With a distraction from Hornswoggle, Mike Tyson revealed a DX shirt underneath his black shirt and delivered a knock out punch to Chris Jericho. Mike clearly makes amends with Shawn Michaels and we lay this to rest.

WrestleMania Challenge. Before his match, Shawn Michaels demanded that next week, The Undertaker give an answer to his challenge. What will Undertaker say? Next week we find out.