JT & SEÁNY MCPOWER HOUR SEASON 4: Survivor Series 2010

James: In life, I’m sure we’d all like to live comfortably. Master bedrooms, fancy cars, expensive clothes, private bowling alleys, swimming pools inside our swimming pools, that sort of stuff. But that type of life is reserved for the few. For the many, life is hard and tough. Working, battling, every day, just trying to live, just trying to…..SURVIVE!

Seán: For John Cena, ever since the Nexus have come around on the scene, it’s been nothing but a SERIES of unfortunate events. From thinking he got rid of him, leading only to aggravating the disease of their existence. Which would lead to him losing a fatal match and joining their ranks. Which leads us to tonight, Cena is the referee in a huge title match. A rematch from Bragging Rights as Randy Orton takes on Wade Barrett. If Barrett wins, Cena is free from the Nexus, if Orton wins. Cena is fired. Free or Fired.

JT: Will Cena compromise his moral character to survive, or will he do what’s right but at the ultimate cost? All that plus the World, Divas, Intercontinental and US Title on the line, as well as grudges being settled through the traditional tag matches. After all, we’re only watching the 24th edition of WWE’s 2nd longest running Pay Per View!

S: It’s the Survivor Serieeeeeeeees! Power Hour Season 4, we’re the home stretch, third from last episode of the Fall of the Nexus arc.

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Booting Up

JT: Helllooooooooo and welcome back to the JT & Seány McPower Hour!! The gang is back, as we enter the final 2 months of content for our Nexus Arc!! We’re all the way here for Survivor Series, and you know what? The last show was pretty decent, and tonight’s show is one of the Big Four! It’s our first Power Hour episode of Survivor Series, maybe good things are destined! How are ya Seán?

S: I’m doing alright man, I can’t lie. Life is grand I suppose and wrestling is doing good for itself for the most part. Back at college for my final semester and it is pretty wild to digest. Even more wild??? Survivor Series 2010, ladies and gentlemen. That is our subject matter for today. James, how are you doing? Are you WILD?

JT: I’m already hearing voices! Things are good on my end, we just got our first snow of the year, and it was that perfect amount of snow. Just enough to stick and look pretty, but not enough to force me to shovel for hours and not enough to make everyone drive like shit! My dear Brooklyn Nets have blown it all up, which is a shame but it is what it is, and luckily for them, it’s Baseball Season! By the end of the month (at the time of writing) the season proper will kick off, as well as the World Baseball Classic which should be fun. No complaints here!

S: The old based ball, the ball for based basemen. I’ll probably keep an eye on what the craic is in the MLB this season. I don’t really have a team to root for but I know which teams I do like. LFG Mets for one.

JT: To read from and quote the holy scripture: Go Mets baby, love the Mets, love the Mets, let’s go Mets. So, Survivor Series! Live from Miami, Florida, the same building we started this arc in back during Viewer’s Choice Raw!

S: It all comes back around again. Just like your facts and figures baby. As you mentioned, this show was live from the American Airlines Centre, now known as the Miami-Dade Arena. With an attendance of 8,000 Florideans. Live gate tonight of 510,000 dollars. PPV buys, we’re looking at 244,000 worldwide. Which is 43,000 less than Elimination Chamber this year. Just goes to show that this show is definitely the runt of the Big 4 PPV litter. In total the PPV had about $4.29 million in revenue. Our theme song is actually quite a decent one, “Runaway” by Hail the Villain.

JT: Yeah, it’s decent. It doesn’t blow me away but I think it fits the general feeling of a wrestling show. But what about the intro video? Well it’s all about the big man himself, John Cena. Tonight, I will be free from the Nexus. I will compromise his integrity just this once, turning his back on every superstar to ever win the title. I will forgive myself and the fans will too, right? Well, Roddy Piper says he’s spitting in the face of the legends if he hands that title over to Wade Barrett. He sits alone in the crowd, pondering his future. Tonight, I will be fired. I will do the right thing. I will refuse to allow the Nexus to rise. I can pretend my career doesn’t matter to me, I can hang it up and move on…Can I? This all put over some nice black and white shots of the past few weeks, emphasizing the Nexus colors on Barrett’s shirt and on Cena’s arm. The music is corny folksy type music, all about making the right decision, but dammit! It worked! I loved this opening, quite frankly I think it’s one of the best we’ve ever covered for the Power Hour!

S: Awh I thought this video package was excellent, screw the rest of the matches because this is what all the viewers at home are tuning in for. Cena is put into the worst possible situation and he is hearing all sorts from everyone, he’s getting berated by everyone. A man who is quite literally on his own and isolated. What a promo video this was

JT: I thought they did a great job really grounding the consequences of this match. Both sides were presented seriously, they didn’t tilt the scales towards one or the other. What it would mean for John to let Wade win was really set in stone: It would be a permanent black mark on his career, that would turn the locker room against him and potentially turn John on himself. It matters because they lay out just what it means for John. And my god, they really go all out in laying out what it means for him to potentially lose his job too. It’s not just “Oh no I need a job”, they say why this job specifically means so much to him, and how the relationship he has spent a decade building with the fans would be no more. Both sides clearly present active harm to John, and I love that. There is no winning, but he has to make a choice. Or as Rocky IV might have said it, there’s no easy way out! There’s no shortcut hooooommeeeeee!!

S: No easy out for John Anthony Felix Cena but it may, in fact, be a shortcut home to West Newbury. Or whatever mansion he has down in Tampa. I gotta say James, when I looked at the card for this one when I booted up the network. I was drawn in by it because in-ring wise, this card has the most potential out of any card we’ve had so far.

JT: Yeah I will say, there’s a match on this card that I’ve been excited for since we started this arc. Not just in terms of in ring quality (whether it has that or not, we will discuss) but also in terms of being such a weird moment in wrestling history.

S: I know exactly what you’re talking about but before we get into our actual review of the show? How about we flash back to the pop culture of November 2010?

JT: Yeah before we get to wrestling history, let’s get to the greater world at the time. What are we looking at first?

S: Alrighty so starting off we will go with the usual, the number one songs at the time. In the UK and Ireland, it was Super Bowl LVII MVP, no not Patrick Mahomes, Rihanna! With “Only Girl (In The World)”. In the US, it was also Rihanna! But not for the previously mentioned song, it was for “What’s My Name?” with Drake. Man she really had an insane number of big hits at this stage. Also, red hair Rihanna >>>. Absolutely dominating the charts.

JT: Yeah we talked about this during the Super Bowl in 2023, but I’ll shorten my story for y’all. I never really thought of myself as a “Rihanna fan” but when she did her set, all I could think was “Damn   I like this song too!”. I really hadn’t given her the respect she deserves! Like I never hated her, but she deserves respect for her ability to produce hit after hit!

S: I think I’ve always appreciated how many hits she’s put out consistently, that and the fact that she had dozens of hit songs in about what? A ten year time frame and then she has a discography and music library which sets her up for life and future performances before she’s even thirty??? That is an insane achievement for any musical artist to do.

JT: Managing to get the Super Bowl at 35 years old is such a testament to her abilities, considering how much of a legacy achievement the Super Bowl has really become. They’re not just picking the latest hot act, they’re picking people they know a national audience will be excited for. Considering that there was like a 5 year period where they went with old heads like Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones and The Who, shows just have much she’s achieved.

S: Have “your da’s favourite band” KIIIIIIIIIIISSSS ever done a Super Bowl show before? Because it feels like they would’ve done it in the 80s or the 90s.

JT: They did in fact perform at Super Bowl XXXIII in 1999, but in the PRE SHOW. I’m sure that put them at ease as much as the likes of Drew Gulak, Neville and Hideo Itami were pumped to do the Royal Rumble KFC Honey Gold Mtn Dew Pre Show Main Event.

S: Speaking of main events, how about them films, eh? Michael Owen’s least favourite medium because he “doesn’t get them”. What was scraping in the coin at this time? Keeping it pretty short here. In the US and the UK, the number one film at the box-office was a pretty big deal, it was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1. I’m not the biggest Harry Potter fan in the world but even I knew when I was ten years that these last two films were big fucking deals.

JT: Oh boy were they! I remember going to a very specific theater, I’d say about 20-30 minutes away from home, just so that my family and I could see it before it got to our local theater. Not our local place didn’t have the rights, and it was worth the effort of going extra distance just to see. I’ll keep all my various gripes and political statements about Harry Potter out of this review, and instead I’ll focus on that “Deathly Hallows Part 1” treatment. Funny business ain’t it? Like in terms of the Harry Potter franchise, I get why this happened, but the fact that it became a trend to do this sort of thing is even crazier, no?

S: Yeah there’s a fair few movie franchises that ended up doing the two parter finale gimmick. Twilight did it for Breaking Dawn, Hunger Games did it for Mockingjay, I know the last Mission: Impossible is going to be a double dose. Dune as well is doing it, IT with its two movies recently. It’s become a bit of a recent trend in the last decade.

JT: Some of them make more sense than others. Deathly Hallows is a large book, and to bash JKR a little bit, it’s because she had to set up a lot of lore and moving parts to get the ending where she wanted it to end. Thus, two movies, just because you couldn’t possibly fit everything into one movie without removing key/fan favorite bits. Dune is likewise, although I’ll give it more credit than HP because it’s starting a franchise and needs to front load its world building before it can really create its grander narrative. 

Now Mockingjay? As a fan of the Hunger Games series, that was one that really felt like it was doing it as a cash grab and because HP did it first. It’s been quite a while since I read the books, so I may be wrong, but I really don’t think it was a necessary move. Same goes for Twilight, from what I hear. I’ve only experienced the movie through other people, but apparently Breaking Dawn Part 1 is like half “Erectile Dysfunction subplot”.

And yet somehow more embarrassing than that is The Divergent franchise, which you might know for bottling up all the tropes of the 2010s Dystopian Young Adult series. They were set to make the final book Allegiant into a 2 part movie, but rather than a theatrical release like the first 2 in its series, Allegiant Part 1 was released on Television instead. And then Part 2 got scrapped. Completely. It never came out. That series always felt like a cash in on the trend, so it’s hard to feel bad, but you can’t go out worse than that.

S: Breaking Dawn Part 1: Erectile Dysfunction should’ve been the title, would’ve been an easy sponsorship bait considering the amount of viagra and Numan ads we got on telly over here now. Divergent, I’m not familiar with it at all really but now I know I never wanna watch it after what you just told me.

JT: All you need to know about that book series is that it’s about the most generic series possible. Hogwarts Houses representing personality types named after SAT Vocab words? Check. Female lead who is “Special” from these groupings? Check. Long triangle between her and two male leads? Check. And so on and so forth. The pure essence of how a trend can become commodified and stripped of any artistic ideas behind the original!

S: You lost me after generic, I won’t lie. I’ve absolutely no interest in this ever, and I hope it doesn’t get mentioned again because I’ll just forget it.

JT: As it should be! Now, how are the video games of November 2010 looking?

S: So for Nintendo, two pretty big releases for them on the Wii as Raving Rabbids: Travel in Time dropped just on the same day as a return for a pretty iconic franchise, Donkey Kong Country Returns! Anyone who knows about this franchise, as well as any other Rare franchises such as Conker and Banjo and Kazooie know that Xbox basically did fuck all with those series once they bought Rare so for another Donkey Kong Country game to come out was a pretty big deal! As well as that, Gran Turismo 5 dropped on the PS3 and Michael Jackson: The Experience came out as well for the Wii, and the DS. Why? Because he’s still cold in the ground and it’s been over a year since he’s bit the dust so we might as well milk his name for all its worth.

JT: As Eugene Krabs might say, “Am I really going to defile this grave for money? Of course I am!”. I never had a chance to play any of those games, but those first two sound fun. I mean, I’m partial to Donkey Kong through his appearances in other Mario properties. And I’ve heard plenty of music from the Donkey Kong Country games over the years, and those are some good tunes.

S: It’s an all timer for video game music and as someone who is a Switch owner, who also has the online subscription. I can happily say I’ve the original DKC trilogy all on my Switch. Boy I’ve a lot of games on that thing. Wanna round this off with some sports?

JT: Yes, let’s come full circle on our Sport of Champions (Pro Wrestling) with some actual sports news.

S: Alright, so there isn’t actually much aside from what you told me you’d talk about with the World Series last time, so I’ll go and check how Liverpool and the Jets got on. Holy shit, Liverpool under Roy Hodgson actually beat a shit team from that season. We beat West Ham 3-0 thanks to first half goals from Glen Johnson (our right back at the time), Dirk Kuyt and Maxi Rodriguez. Not bad, I suppose. The Jets baby, they also won this weekend, beating the Houston Texans 30-27! James, what was the deal with this World Series that you were telling me about last time?

JT: Well that 2010 World Series, it was one that would begin a trend for the decade. What was that trend? The success of the San Francisco Giants! For the first time since 1954, back when they were still the New York Giants, the Giants became World Champions by defeating the Texas Rangers in 5 games. 

The Giants won on the strength of rookie catcher Buster Posey, as well as a strong pitching staff. They would then follow this formula to engage in what has been dubbed “Even Year Bullshit” as they’d then win the 2012 and 2014 World Series with largely the same formula of strong pitching (with Posey behind the dish). 

Those Giants teams are really quite special, aside from just the ways that winning 3 titles in 5 years is hard, just because they were never especially explosive on offense. And yet, they always got hits when they needed to. The 2010s was their greatest decade in the modern era, managing to do thrice what they couldn’t do with Baseball’s Final Boss Barry Bonds in the 90s & 00s. 

The Rangers would respond to losing their first ever World Series appearance by making it back to the World Series in 2011 and losing in even more heartbreaking fashion to the St Louis Cardinals in 7 games. In that 2011 series, they came within 1 strike of winning, but just couldn’t seal the deal. The whole 2010s was like that for them, winning more games than they ever had in decades past, but ending their post season runs on the other side of another team’s great moments.

S: Almost like Tottenham then? God, that just sounds heartbreaking. The Giants on the other hand, man they sound like they were just coached to make sure the other team can’t bat well enough while they were pitching so that they can beat them whilst on batting. Sounds like an extremely effective strategy if it’s done correctly.

JT: The tough thing about pitching in baseball is that throwing a ball really hard hundreds of times, it’s just not healthy for your elbow and shoulder. So while it’s easy to say “We should get a bunch of good pitchers” it’s hard to find pitchers who are good, healthy enough to pitch in the playoffs, and then maintain that form. Funny enough, one of the Giants big stars at this time was a pitcher named “The Freak” Tim Lincecum. He was called that for his strange windup, and the fact he generated so much velocity despite his small size. During the 2010 World Series, he was in the midst of his prime, and won them numerous key games. By 2012, his body was failing him and his skills were diminished, by using him as a relief pitcher to great capacity, leading to their 2nd title. And by 2014, he was just not the same player in any capacity to who he was 4 years ago, and he only pitched once all playoffs (he was put out there in the late stages of games they were already losing). It just goes to show how well they were coached and how well they did to continue to develop and sign pitching talent.

S: I was gonna ask that about having a lot of crazy good pitchers, because fucking hell, it must lead to an easy case of tennis elbow. If you can barely move your arm because of your elbow? That shit hurts like, so clearly it’s an interesting strategy short term but long term? Your throwing arm is gonna be banged up within a few years.

JT: And that’s been the big discussion in baseball around pitching, how do you keep them healthy? Pitchers used to pitch a lot more frequently even back a decade ago, let alone like 60ish years ago. But guys nowadays, they throw harder than they used to and have more movement than they used to. How do you keep them from getting hurt? Do you encourage them to throw less hard? Do you try to give them more rest? Do you shorten how long they can go in a game? Or maybe you encourage them to not go 100% all the time? There’s no easy answer because if there was, they’d be doing it. It’s really a generational problem for baseball, it’ll take a long time to find any definitive answer, if one is even possible.

Especially because everyone is different! My Mets, for example, let face of the franchise Jacob DeGrom walk in free agency, in part because the man just hasn’t been able to stay healthy. He’s been unbelievable when he plays, hitting up to 102 MPH (164 KPH) on some pitches, but it seems like he just can’t handle a “full season’s workload” anymore. Instead we replaced him with 40 year old Justin Verlander, who has historically always been able to pitch. Even after missing 2020 & 2021 recovering from injury, he immediately came back and had a monster 2023. Why did he bounce back while DeGrom’s injuries lasted longer? It’s such an individual thing that it’s impossible to tell what works, and if it’s applicable to other pitchers.

S: Some people’s bodies just work differently to others, that’s the thing. Some players can just recover better than the rest. That’s probably why DeGrom got replaced by Verlander, probably a more reliable season player, especially if ye get into the post season too. Look at me, learning about baseball, one Power Hour at a time.

JT: He will learn my peaceful love for baseball, by force. But I’ve said about all that I need to say (arguably I said too much) and I’m just about ready to get into the show. How you feeling, are you in the same boat?

S: Let’s fucking go for it. I’m absolutely jazzed to get into this show!

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America’s Most Wanted 

JT: Starting us off is a match for the United States Championship. “Hot” off his “victory” last month over Goldust, Ted DiBiase Jr against defending Champion Daniel Bryan. Another PPV showing for Daniel Bryan! They’re doing quite a decent job for a midcard Champion (at least on PPV), making sure he gets a match every month, showing how good he can be in-ring. Ted meanwhile, yeah I don’t know. They claim this is “a different Ted DiBiase” because he is no longer content with his father’s hand-me-down Million Dollar Title, he wants real gold! I don’t know if that quite makes sense after all the fuss he was making over it last month. 

S: He’s sure changed his tune quite quickly after the shenanigans at Bragging Rights alright. One month you come from money and have the Million Dollar Title, next month, you’re not fond of your auld fella. Life as a second generation wrestler, amirite?

JT: Like it makes some sense if the whole feud with Goldust was predicated on his Dad. Like if you had Ted Sr going “That’s my belt, that freak stole my belt! It’s a family heirloom, how could you let that happen!”, then you can have Ted go “I’m tired of my Dad’s shit, that’s his problem, not mine”. But his Dad was even in with Goldust! So it’s stinky writing. And it’s not helping him because he comes out to crickets at the very start of the show. It’s one thing for a crowd to not react when they’re tired in the middle of the show, the show just started and they’re already disinterested!

S: Yeah it’s a really worrying sign for someone if they’re a heel who gets no reaction at all, no matter what position they are on the card but let’s be honest, did things ever look promising for Ted Jr whenever Legacy split?

JT: Not really? The trouble for Ted is that Cody at least moved fairly shortly into his new “Dashing” gimmick, whereas Ted more or less stayed the same, aside from having Maryse accompany him. So it’s like he never really had any sort of moment to stand out nice then.

S: Like with Cody, there was always that impression he would be fine because of his namesake at the time and of course, always made the most of his chances and was always a great talent in the ring? Ted just never really had what Cody had in that sense, a solid tag wrestler, maybe that was what his calling should’ve been.

JT: Still, giving him material with more substance couldn’t have hurt. On the other side of things, Cole says Bryan is “Of course coming out to his nerd music”. Still going on with this, huh? He also says Bryan wouldn’t know anything about the expensive clothes Maryse has, to which King calls her a gold digger and Stryker says he would have taken out a loan and would’ve mortgaged his house to go shopping for Mary’s on his teacher’s salary. Cole also blasts Bryan for saying it was an honor to have JR call his match on Monday (which was Old School Raw). Just gotta grit our teeth and push through this Heel Cole shit. 

S: I know I say this every show at this point but I think we’re approaching ever so close to the real true, proper black tar Heel Cole. It has to be soon before we finish this arc. Otherwise I’m taking matters into my own hands and I’m inflicting a Cursed Pick at the end of this season.

JT: Maybe it just feels light because Miz (spoilers) doesn’t have a single match this month and didn’t have one last month. It really feels like we’re gonna regret questioning it so much, because he’s bad enough as is, and more of this just sounds miserable. No pun intended. Anyways, shall we get to our opening contest?

S: Let’s do it, James! Time to kick it off.

JT: With the “Epic Fail” sign in the front row, it’s a reminder we’re still in 2010 and we’re almost done! So let’s get into the match Recap…which has to immediately get cut off because the light went down during the middle of the match! Now we’re not talking total darkness and it was for about 3 seconds but what the hell? WWE’s production can be suspect when it comes to direction and camera work, but light gaffs are rare!

S: Yeah this was unexpected! If this was in 2023, I would be half expecting a Mountain Dew Pitch Black logo to come down on the ring mat and a load of neon packing peanuts to explode from the commentary table. I did enjoy the audible confusion the audience had as well.

JT: Yeah it’s funny, I don’t tend to think about lighting in wrestling all that much, I just generally don’t notice it unless there’s an issue. Which really just goes to show how important it is to have good lighting. It’ll bug you the entire show if there are issues.

S: Thankfully it only happens for a few seconds once or twice and then it’s all grand for the evening, it’s not an In Your House: Beware of Dog moment, thankfully.

JT: Yeah god forbid, although this show would’ve definitely been starred on the docket if something infamous like that happened.  So after some routine grappling, Ted is sent to the apron and he manages to grab Bryan and toss him over the top by way of Suplex! Maybe Ted does have something if he can pull off a rarely successful move like that. After that he climbs to the second rope and leaps down on Bryan with an Ax Handle as Bryan hangs off the apron. Back in the ring, European Uppercuts start a Bryan comeback but Ted catches a kick and pushes down Bryan to cut him off. They keep emphasizing that Ted is vicious and has a mean streak, and Stryker emphasizes the difference between Bryan’s route to get to WWE and Ted’s route. Ted is second generation, destined for greatness, Bryan worked for years and even refused to rejoin Nexus upon returning to WWE, showing his character. Cole uses this as a chance to put over The Miz and how good an NXT Pro he is. Bryan goes for an O’Connor Roll, but Ted hangs on in the corner so Bryan hits the Corner Dropkick instead. The comeback is on with Kicks, Bryan jumps over him in the corner, and then he hits Flying Clothesline. He ducks down and DiBase scores a kick on the US Champ, but Bryan rebounds by sending him over the top rope, and then flying through the ropes with a Suicide Dive! Not exactly the most graceful landing for Bryan though.

S: Yeah a bit of a rough one for Bryan here, he’s definitely had better landings with that move for sure. Still though, Bryan still looks awesome as per usual and because of how good he is, he’s definitely getting the most entertaining match out of DiBiase here. I know we or I am kind of ragging on Ted Jr here but it’s not exactly been a thrilling singles run for him so far. He’s needed this.

JT: With the dive, I can’t quite tell if Bryan over shot Ted or if Ted moved too close and so Bryan went over the top of him. Either way, he comes up clutching the shoulder. And yeah, what else really needs to be said about Bryan? He hits others with great moves, and he sells well and makes their moves look good too. 

So despite the pain in his shoulder, Bryan still goes up top and manages to connect with a Missile Dropkick, but it’s only good for a 2 count. He pounds on Ted with kicks to the chest, and though Ted calculates his rhythm and catches the kick, he tries the same counter from earlier and Bryan planned for it this time. Ted reaches to push him down, Bryan leans in and gets a Small Package, but it also only gets a 2 count. They both get up, Ted sends Bryan across then follows him off the ropes, getting the US Champ all turned around and unaware of the impending clothesline! Bryan goes end over end, and Junior signals for the end. He lines up Dream Street, but as he goes to lift him, Bryan blocks by wrapping his leg around Ted’s. They almost do a Hart/Austin 96 as Ted keeps the Dream locked in and Bryan runs up the ropes, but Ted kicks out. Not only that, he keeps the submission applied. Bryan slings him over, gets out and charges at him, but runs into a Spinebuster! 1-2-Kickout. Like you said, Ted’s needed a bit of decent action like this, it at least brings out some of the potential people saw in him. This really reminds me how I have to decouple myself from WWE’s narrative. Because they (Cole mostly) keeps labeling Bryan a rookie, and I need to remember that he’s a veteran of a decade at this point. No wonder he brings out the best in everyone, including Ted.

S: I think this here and what you’d mostly see with him in Legacy is why people thought Ted had a lot of potential and a bright future. Ted has a very nice looking repertoire of signature moves, like that clothesline he does where he follows his opponent into the ropes is absolutely gorgeous looking. Someone needs to use that because it is very eye-catching.

JT: I wouldn’t be surprised if that was a move his old man did back when he wrestled in the territories of Japan. Hell, it might even belong to Senior’s Japanese tag partner, Stan Hansen. That’s always a funny thing to think about for me, because of how the Million Dollar Man gimmick defines his career. With such a classic 80s cartoon gimmick, it’s easy to forget that Ted Sr could go in the ring. Like before that gimmick, he really was a proper wrassler. 

S: Oh he was a proper gaijin westerner in All Japan in the early to mid 80s. A real wrassler’s wrassler, and now that you say it, I think that lariat actually might have been a Ted Sr special.

JT: So off the clothesline, he puts Bryan up top for a Superplex, Bryan escapes hanging him up, then goes and hits a gorgeous Back Suplex off the top! He tries to go for the LaBelle Lock, but Ted counters into a Slingshot. He rolls up Bryan, Bryan kicks out and gets the LaBelle Lock! Ted taps, it’s over! Another Daniel Bryan victory! What’s your appraisal?

S: Very decent opener, love how Bryan is the one who is relied upon to open up the last three PPVs. Always appreciated to see a magnificent wrestler like him open up a show, especially a show which we opened. Don’t think it was as good as the last two openers we had but still good all the same. I am starting to like the trend that everyone Bryan faces gets frustrated to the point where they leave themselves prone to the LeBell Lock, maybe it’s lazy booking, I see it as Bryan being opportunistic.

JT: I thought it was perfectly adequate. It didn’t stand out to me much but it’s fine as is, no real complaints from me. I also think they’ve been doing great with Bryan, like you said he comes off as a smart champion. Month after month, winning solid PPV openers, Bryan’s getting the old school midcarder push. Not quite a Bret Hart type push, thanks Michael Cole, but still good!

S: Yeah he’s definitely getting the type of push where he’s almost being booked as a potential main eventer, but first his duty is to be US Champion. I am liking that he’s getting to face various different guys on PPV too, like that he’s had four different guys in the last four shows we’ve done too. Almost as if Bryan is a new toy to them and they wanna try him out in all these different scenarios.

JT: Absolutely, they’re trying to see what he has and if he’ll stick on the main roster, or if he’s just an Internet fan fad. Although for Bryan, the fun times end here, because at the top of the ramp, he gets attacked by The Miz! Miz hits him in the back with his MITB Briefcase and heads down to the ring, because apparently he’s got something to say! Didn’t expect this at all during this show!

S: Yeah it was a good analogy from Miz to be fair but in the end, LeBron would return back to his home and win an NBA Championship for Cleveland so not all hope was lost.

JT: Of course, this was at peak annoyance at Lebron, where folks in Cleveland were burning his jersey. And of course, this wasn’t Miz’s main point. He’s not here just to trash Lebron. Miz says he doesn’t care what happens to Cena, all that Barrett & Orton need to know is that he’s tired of carrying this briefcase. After nearly 6 months of waiting, Miz is calling his shot. He’s gonna do it, and he’s gonna do it soon! It’s not a matter of if, it’s a simple matter of when. He will be WWE Champion. Because, He’s *lights go out* AWEEEESSSOOOMMEEE! About time for him to move on to serious business I’d say. He was rightfully tied up in the Nexus and US Title stuff for a bit, but last month at Bragging Rights was starting to get into filler territory. About time to get the show on the road.

S: Definitely, it’s very much been a waiting game with Miz and the MITB briefcase, with all that’s been going on with Cena, Orton and The Nexus. That’s all seeming to be coming to a conclusion with this show so Miz is smartly calling his shot.

JT: And of course, being the smart guy that he is, he doesn’t explicitly say he’s doing it tonight, but he also didn’t not say that. You think heading into the show, people saw Miz’s cash in as a way to resolve Cena’s Freed or Fired stipulation? Or a way to add to it? Because I think so far, this feels like a show with the odds for a Cash In that we’ve seen yet.

S: Well if they had any sense, I think they should’ve pulled that card and do the Rollins cash in spot. I reckon that fans in the arena would’ve suspected that a cash in was possible, especially after that promo.

JT: I also know that a Miz Cash In, where Cena is forced to count the 3 and raise Miz’s hand while handing the belt over to him, would make a nice little image for the WrestleMania video package.

S: That actually would’ve been such an awesome visual for their eventual Mania match. God man, we need a DeLorean to make sure we rectify some things.

————————————

Great White Shark vs Great White Knight

JT: So after an interesting start to the show, next up we’ve gotten a singles match! It’s Sheamus against John Morrison. Why are these two going at it? Well, it stems back to Bragging Rights. As we know, Sheamus is a bully. After his team lost at Bragging Rights, he went after Santino Marella, calling him an embarrassment, leading to a match. In that match he absolutely clobbered Santino, and that’s where John came in. He’s a nice guy, he’s a good guy! He took exception to Sheamus’s bullying, and after trying to reason with The Celtic Warrior got nowhere, he ended up pulling Santino out of the way of a Brogue Kick, causing Sheamus to hit the corner hard, and allowing Santino to get a roll up win! This of course led to legitimately one of my favorite segments of all time, Santino’s Tea Party with Sheamus!

S: Hold up a second now, this was a segment which actually happened???? Was Kozlov there too?!

JT: Raw, November 8th 2010 live from Manchester, England! Santino, with Vladimir Kozlov accompanying him, hosts a Tea Party in order to try and smooth things over with Sheamus! It’s a tremendous comedy segment, Santino is at his best (at least as a face). Having a very receptive and energetic Manchester crowd helped as well. In fact, the comedy segment is up in full on WWE’s YouTube page, so I’ll just drop the link right here for those of you who haven’t seen it.

S: I’m gonna need to watch this whenever I have the chance because this sounds amazing, I didn’t know this segment had Sheamo in it as well. What unfolded in the end of it? Sheamus beat up Santino, I’m guessing?

JT: Well through comedic slip ups, Santino ended up angering Sheamus, making himself more nervous, leading to him spilling tea on Sheamus. This led to a match, where Santino gave a low blow to Sheamus for a DQ loss, but when Sheamus went to attack Santino post match, John again ran for the save. Really the story here is good dude John Morrison, standing up for those who can’t protect themselves against the bully Sheamus.

S: John “The White Knight” Morrison, hero to the undercard. Also, when I read that Santino just low blowed Sheamus for a DQ, I absolutely pissed myself laughing at that. It’s such a New Legacy thing to do, Jawnny not being arsed doing a career mode with Santino and he just decides to get himself DQ’d every match. Such a hilarious thing to do.

JT: Santino was still in his dress pants and everything, he had to protect himself! Of course as payback, Sheamus delivered a Brogue Kick to John backstage during Old School Raw. And to the accusations of being a bully Sheamus says: What is this, primary school? This is about jealousy. John is jealous I’m a former and future WWE Champion, which he’ll never be. I’m not gonna stick his head in a toilet, I’m not gonna shove him in a locker. He’s gonna break his will and his body tonight. Biting words by Sheamus, even if John’s not jealous, Sheamus rubbing his accomplishments in his face won’t feel good.

S: Again, another really good backstage promo by Sheamus. For years, I always underrated him as a promo guy but God man, he has always been a very good promo.

JT: One last thing I’ll say before we get into this match is that commentary notes that John Morrison has been more vicious as of late, he is meeting Sheamus at his level. They also say that everyone knows John Morrison has all the tools, it’s just a matter of putting them all together. I will say this, they’re definitely working to make sure people associate John Morrison with the upper level of competition in WWE.

S: I’m gonna ask this now actually, because the way they’ve built Morrison here on commentary makes me think “what if Morrison didn’t get all stroppy about Mania 27 with Trish Stratus?”. What do you reckon?

JT: I’m gonna ask this now actually, because the way they’ve built Morrison here on commentary makes me think “what if Morrison didn’t get all stroppy about Mania 27 with Trish Stratus?”. What do you reckon?

S: I reckon if he just was a team player and did Mania 27 with not a fuss, he definitely would’ve had a better 2011 than what he did end up having

JT: Agreed, but I think we should save this discussion for the end of the arc. I know for a fact he appears in our last show, so let’s leave this till then. So, are you ready for the match that Michael Cole has dubbed “Tank vs Fighter Jet”?

S: Let’s fly into this action!

JT: Right off the bell, Sheamus slaps Morrison, but that greater aggression comes out as John charges right at him with punches in the corner! Sheamus with a knee so that John’s back is to the wall, but then John comes out with a Leg Scissor out of the corner, then a Dropkick that sends Sheamus to the floor. There’s no rest for the wicked as Morrison quickly flies over the top and down onto Sheamus with a Corkscrew over the top!! 

S: Always a gorgeous plancha when it’s done, him and Andrade are the modern Kings of that move. Andrade definitely clears through.

JT: Morrison hammers on Sheamus on the outside, but Sheamus reverses and throws him into the barricade and hits him with a clubbing shot that sends him end over end.   “The fighter Jet has been grounded” as Sheamus is beating him down. He’s controlling this match, hammering on Morrison. Morrison goes up top, Sheamus stops him and goes for a Superplex but Morrison blocks and knocks him off the top. He leaps off the top with a Crossbody but Sheamus rolls through, hitting a Powerslam! Sheamus looks to put the match away with the Brogue, but Morrison side steps and hits an Enziguri to finally try and turn the momentum around. Sheamus is the first to his feet, but they’re at a dead even trading shots. Sheamus tries to pick him up but Morrison slips behind, hits a pair of clotheslines and a Leg Lariat. Sheamus gets up and ducks downs, getting a boot to the face, so Morrison hits the ropes but gets caught with the Irish Curse! He goes to lift him up the High Cross, but Morrison counters with a slingshot and then a Russian Leg Sweep. Morrison hits two moves that have really gone extinct in the current era.  

S: Which is a shame because the Russian Leg Sweep is a really nice looking move, like I can imagine Morrison doing this, bouncing up and then hitting a standing Shooting Star, which I swear he must have done in Lucha Underground at some stage.

JT: Oh yeah I remember that, that was cool. I wish the Russian Leg Sweep and Slingshot would come back. They’re not super moves, they’re just nice little transitional moves that people need to do more of, rather than just jumping straight to the next spot using big moves as transitional stuff.  

S: Absolutely, moves like the Leg Sweep are extremely effective in filling in the gaps in a match because they look really well executed and that’s something which I think is a bit underrated in wrestling. Your short, snappy, but not too flashy moves which help pad out a match. Christian Cage is the master of having these types of moves in his matches.

JT: Sheamus has to pull himself back up after that, and Morrison runs right at him, and when Sheamus sends him over, Morrison lands on the ropes, but Sheamus takes out the knee. Then we get a pretty cool spot where Sheamus throws John over his shoulder by the knee, never seen something like that before! Just working over the knee now, using it to slow down the match. He tries a Half Crab, John gets the ropes. In fact, he slides back in and tries a pin but Sheamus kicks out and hits the knee immediately. Sheamus holds the leg, slapping Morrison disrespectfully, until John leaps up with the other foot to deliver a  shotgun dropkick that sends the Irishman back into the corner. Can he hit Starship Pain? No, Sheamus cuts him off. Can he hit the High Cross? Morrison escapes but holds his knee. Sheamus goes for the Brogue, John ducks and he gets caught up on the ropes! Springboard Kick to the face, Sheamus starts to get back up again but Morrison with a running knee! 1-2-3! Oh shit, 3! That’s it! That was abrupt wasn’t it?

S: Yeah this finish was extremely abrupt, abrupt to the point where you’d think that Sheamus just forgot to kick out of this move. I’d imagine that Morrison was always going over in this one but he rarely won with that running knee. The Springboard Kick used to be a finisher of his so maybe him getting Sheamus with two quick successive strikes was meant to be a finish where it’s just sudden and there’s shock value to it. I don’t really know.

JT: Yeah I’m not so sure about it, because I feel like a shock win needs to have some sort of selling from the guy who got beat. My thought process is either Sheamus got caught legit and didn’t kick out, or one of them got hurt in some other way and they cut it short. Like you said, I thought John would win but it felt like having that extra few seconds where he pulls Sheamus to the corner, sets up and hits Starship Pain, and getting the 1-2-3 would’ve got a nice reaction from the crowd and instead we get collective neutrality.

S: That said though, I did like this match. I thought these two made for a real good pairing and their styles complemented each other. Sheamo and Morrison have been great this arc, especially Sheamus because he’s been a constant on these cards and even when he’s only a year into his WWE career, he just fits like a glove.

JT: This was a tough loss for Sheamus, but I agree this was pretty decent. I liked it more than the last match. Decently little midcard match, that’s about it.

S: And the cosmic ballet goes on.

————————————

Kavalnival 

JT: Up next is a match I’ve been excited about for this whole arc. I’ve been looking forward to this! It’s the Intercontinental Championship on the line. Dolph Ziggler is back on the Power Hour for the 6th straight episode, but wait? What’s that shit ass, generic ass music I hear? There must be a new face on the block! And he’s fighting for the Title? Well isn’t this quite the predicament! For the first, and only time in this arc, welcome Kaval to the Power Hour! 

S: Just like yourself, James. I have been waiting eagerly for this match to come up, like talk about a match which could be shown anywhere and fans would go “THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENED?!”. Low Ki in WWE, a run which has mostly been forgotten about unless you’ve memory for this time period like we do.

JT: Yeah he seems like the polar opposite of the “WWE style talent”. He’s not tall, he’s pasty, his speaking voice isn’t a “normal voice” and then there’s his wrestling style. WWE’s House style, known for being low impact, playing everything up for people in the nosebleeds. So naturally, Low Ki hits hard, hits quickly, and often doesn’t do it with a lot of pizzazz. Like he’s more in the style of an actual martial artist than a WWE cartoon HIYA karate ninja. 

S: You just know if he was around during the New Generation, he would’ve gotten a ninja gimmick and probably would’ve jobbed to Henry Godwinn. Shocked that he never actually got saddled with that in 2010, but he was given the gimmick of being LayCool’s rookie. That just has to be a rib on Low Ki.

JT: WWE loves their wacky odd couple pairings. Despite this, Kaval managed to fuck around and win the Second Season of NXT, beating out Alex Riley and Michael McGillicutty in the process. That moment, from now…from that moment on…it was the moment… starting now…of the genesis of McGillicutty.

S: You wear a wetsuit to the ring. Ya goin swimming??? Your name Kaval, it means flute, right? LOOK IT UP IT MEANS FLUTE. Gully Bully’s words, not mine.

JT: Ok but fun fact, I actually found out what Kaval means! Or at least, where the name came from. When he first got to FCW in 2008, his name was “Kawal” which is the Tagalog word for “Soldier”. Tagalog of course is the language of the Tagalog people, the largest ethnolinguistic group in the Philippines. Of course, they were one of the many native people living in the Philippines before Spanish and eventual American colonial efforts. So as a Filipino, that makes sense! And I guess they changed “Kawal” to “Kaval” because…..I don’t know? Maybe they thought Kaval sounded better?

S: Apparently the letter V is cooler than the letter W. I do remember seeing that his name in FCW was Kawal, from reading his Wikipedia page of course. It must be one of those instances where WWE changed a name just because. Remember when Sheamus was Sheamus O’Shaunessy anyone?

JT: Antonio Cesaro and Big E. Langston are other cases, just sometimes they think simpler is better. So, having said all this, why is Kaval facing Dolph Ziggler tonight? Well, ever since he won NXT, things haven’t gone so hot. He lost his first few matches on SmackDown, but then had a chance to earn an opportunity to join Team SmackDown for Bragging Rights. All he had to do was last 5 minutes in the ring with Team Captain Big Show. And you know what? He did it! He survived! He’s on the team! Well until Tyler Reks attacked him, Kaval stubbornly still had a match with him for the spot, and then Reks beat him. He then never wrestled Reks again! Smart writing guys! But after weeks of those good but not good enough performances, he got booked to go against Dolph on SmackDown. Dolph ran him down before the match, talking about how he’s been undefeated as IC Champ and Kaval’s a nobody. Well, surprise surprise, Kaval managed a flash pin victory over Dolph. And riding high on his first SmackDown win, he reminded everyone that as the winner of NXT Season 2, he was entitled to a Title shot against a Champion of his choosing. So in 2 days, he’ll face Dolph again and beat him for the Title. That’s right, this match was set up and booked literally the Friday before the show. Awesome, super.

S: Off to a flier already, Christ above. That is not encouraging in the slightest when it’s scrambled together at the last possible moment before the PPV.

JT: Well if it makes you feel better, you should know that every match he’s had on SmackDown or Raw has been 5 minutes or shorter! Of course he had some chance to show some more of his skills in 12 and 14 minute long matches with Jack Swagger and Drew McIntyre on Superstars, but Kaval ain’t even sniffing 7 minute matches. They’re really strapping the deep sea torpedo to our Wet Suit Warrior!

S: Welllllll, let’s just sea (get it) how our Wet Suit Warrior fares against Dolph Ziggler? Will say, the white gear is good so I’m feeling confident so far

JT: Yeah I will say, for all the wetsuit and short jokes you could make, once he takes his top off he feels a lot more serious. I mean the stripey pattern on his gear is not bad, and he’s in pretty good shape. Still, commentary isn’t exactly happening. For example, as Stryker tries to explain how this match is important to Kaval and his family, Cole yells “Who cares who cares who cares” and says that Kaval won NXT because of the Internet crowd. Thanks Michael, way to get the talent over. 

He also spends some time talking about how Dolph and Vickie have smoothed things over, let’s just take Kaitlyn out of the equation, bam she’s a non factor. And I will say, I feel like if this was the desired path for Kaval (we have plenty of reasons to discuss why it’s not) WWE easily could’ve made this a more interesting story. And it goes back to Vickie. Why is that? Well her two best friends are Michelle McCool and Layla. All you have to do is find a way to pit them against each other. You can have LayCool be fond of their little weird student Kaval, you can them think that Kaval’s success is tied to their own, something that makes this more than a last second build. Hell, you could’ve brought Kaitlyn into this on Kaval’s side. Maybe have her treat Kaval like a Hitman, who she has hired to stick it to Vickie and Dolph, while Kaval is more than happy to win gold and stick up for a fellow NXT competitor. There’s really plenty that they could’ve done that took not much effort to think of.

S: Yeah there were honestly a lot of storyline possibilities they could have gone for. Would they have definitely worked out? Well who knows, they might or they might not have but at least it’s more of a story than what we get here! Also, little word to Michael Cole, the only people who are probably watching NXT are fans who have access to the Internet or diehards who are watching solely because of Kaval. Ain’t no fucking diehard sticking around to watch Lucky Cannon and Eli Cottonwood.

JT: Well Daniel Bryan was an Internet darling from NXT who won a Title this year, maybe Kaval is next? Let’s find out! We start off with a shoulder tackle by Kaval, followed by a big chop across Ziggler’s chest. This is just an example of  Kaval’s “International Offense”. Ziggler manages to weather the early storm and get that Snapmare Facebuster thing he always does to take control. Dolph rubs Kaval’s face saying he doesn’t deserve it, but Kaval shows him some superstar offense as he gets Headspring into a Crossbody!! This is where Kaval/Low Ki has made his money, on his strikes and his ability to move around the ring like a hot knife through butter. 

S: He is so different to literally everyone on the roster in WWE at this time and he just moves like a fighter in Smash Bros, he is brilliant. Already in this match and I had a half grin watching Kaval/Low Ki. Refreshing to see him on here.

JT: Mortal Kombat always comes to mind when I watch him. Especially the strikes, like the big chop he delivers to Ziggler in the corner. He then goes for a 10 punch spot but Vickie starts walking up the stairs, giving Ziggler the distracted need to pull Kaval into the turnbuckle. Commentary bickers as Dolph is in control, business as usual until Dolph runs into a boot by Kaval. The Warrior (not that one) starts to pick up the pace with Flying forearms, Ziggler avoids a spin kick but Kaval with a kick to the chest and then a Question Mark kick to the head! He follows it up with a gorgeous Moonsault out of the corner, but Ziggler kicks out at 2. Kaval with another hard chop in the corner, then he sends Ziggler across, runs with a Handspring, and delivers an INSANE KICK TO THE FACE!! Like when I say he kicked him in the face, I think he legitimately just hit Ziggler square in the face. Dolph folds like paper, and Stryker freaks out. 

S: He absolutely kicked Ziggler square in the face, for sure. Which brings me to another point about Low Ki, yes he is awesome to watch in the ring, but boy is he prone to stiffing someone for real. Like how do you control that side of him?

JT: I really don’t know how you do that. Like from all the stories about him over the years, it’s clear he takes himself very seriously. From there I think it’s pretty easy to connect his perception of himself to his style, he’d never want to come off as phony or overly silly. As a result, he’s gonna throw them kicks hard and if you’re too close, you should’ve known better! This is what makes his WWE signing even more confusing. Take someone like Shinsuke Nakamura, who signed to WWE as a face of Japanese Strong Style. He’s had a few gaffs here and there, but as a whole he’s found a way to tone down his style. Why? Well I imagine it’s a combination of his 15 years of experience prior to signing, and his laid back attitude that allows him to ease off. Low Ki had nearly as much experience as him, but he seems to be a stubborn guy who views his wrestling as one thing and one thing only. I mean, his WWE tenure really only helps solidify this image, so maybe I’m applying the benefit of hindsight too liberally, but still. You knew what kinda of wrestler he was before WWE, this sort of accident wasn’t exactly uncommon. And I doubt Dolph was really appreciative of this kick to the face, literally.

S: Nakamura was definitely a case of him definitely wanting to wind his in-ring style well down, like by 60%. So he was signed just as he was right at the end of his physical peak. With Low Ki, he was signed when he was in his prime more or less, and he wasn’t gonna want to take things easy because as you said, he takes himself very seriously.

JT: As much as Jim Cornette is a major cunt, I do think that it is interesting to listen to what he has to say from time to time. Again, he can be sexist, racist, a biased and obnoxious critic, but I value his input about wrestling a lot more than I do someone like Vince Russo or Dixie Carter or like Billy Corgan at this point. And I believe he talked about Low Ki in a shoot at one point, and he was going after his sort of Matrix-style kick and punch spots. JC said on the spot that about a few moves in, Low Ki caught his opponent straight in the face and knocked him out and the crowd went wild. So what happened next? Well instead of getting the pin that would’ve got him over and protected his opponent, he wasted time waiting for the dude to get up because dammit they had to get the rest of their shit in! Like if you’re gonna stiff people, at least try to pull some Chris Hero “Knockout Artist” type gimmick!

S: Yeah exactly, like be safer with your opponents. There’s a method to making strikes look real without absolutely nailing your opponent for real. I say that even though I think Low Ki is awesome.

JT: Or as Cornette pointed out, if you’re gonna end up hitting some guys for real, capitalize on it! Like obviously I don’t think WWE would’ve just changed the finish to have Kaval win, but I see no reason why he couldn’t have gotten a surprise knockout to beat Dolph on SmackDown rather than a roll up. That would make a spot like this feel like it matters, like OH SHIT HE DID IT AGAIN!

S: Would’ve definitely made him ten times more of a threat than what he is here, I’m not saying he isn’t because he did beat Dolph. It’s just I think he was done dirty in some ways.

JT: So off that big kick, Kaval covers but it’s not enough to beat the IC Champ for the second straight time. However, while he’s still loopy, Kaval goes up top but Dolph cuts him off and goes for the sleeper from the top, only for Kaval to fight it off and send him back down to the mat. Again Kaval attempts some high risk offense, this time in the form of a Phoenix Splash, and though Dolph moves out of the way, Kaval lands on his feet. He grabs Dolph with a Backslide for 2, but Ziggler pops up to his feet and gets a Famouser! Vickie screams for Dolph to finish him, getting the Sleeper, but Kaval  throws him over and escapes. He charges Dolph, Dolph sounds him to the top corner, much like Sheamus to Morrison, but Kaval lands on the top and springs off with ease for a Kick to the face! 1–2–Kickout!! Still not enough to win but that spot is even more impressive than the kick from earlier. 

S: I flipped out when he busted this one out. Like holy shit! That is literally like nothing you see ever in WWE. Kaval probably hasn’t been getting much of a chance to shine on TV but with this PPV performance, he’s been absolutely killing it. That was definitely a spot where the fans bit, they convinced them that was the finish.

JT: Yeah absolutely an unbelievable feat of athleticism. Especially since you had John Morrison do something similar the match before this. John being able to kinda land on the second rope was already impressive, let alone this! But still, it wasn’t enough. So, Dolph sends him to the corner, Kaval ducks out of the way and goes for a roll up but Dolph fights it off and gets a roll up of his own, which Kaval kicks out of. Kaval then sends him across, goes for Wheelbarrow pin, which won their last match, but this time Dolph rolls through and pulls the tights, allowing him to get the 1–2–3 to retain.  Dolph is bleeding from the nose but he’s still the Champ. Gimme your thoughts of our one and only Kaval match, and maybe how it compares to our other Dolph Ziggler IC Title matches this arc.  

S: I thought this match kicked ass honestly, such a different match to what we’re used to. Low Ki is someone who is definitely a conflicting person but as a wrestler? He’s a fucking king in wrestling. For Dolph, it’s such a unique type of match for him because someone like Kaval is so different to what he’s used to facing on SmackDown. I always like seeing wrestlers match up against unique opponents and this was a scenario which I loved watching. We all know Kaval isn’t long for WWE but watching him here and the reactions he was getting for his wrestling, I do actually think if he stuck it out then he would have succeeded without a doubt.

JT: I’m not sure what his long term outlook really would’ve been, but I definitely thought they impressed here. I know Ziggler fatigue didn’t exist at this point, but as present day wrestling fans, it’s nice not to see him fight the same guys he’s fought for years. This was pretty damn good. I do feel like Dolph got rocked from that kick though, things seemed kinda off after that. Not “bad” but just like they didn’t know what the next spot was, the rhythm was off.

S: I will say that Ziggler definitely looked shook after that kick. To be fair to him, he kept going until the end of the match so luckily it didn’t give him too much bother.

JT: Yeah maybe they tripped crossing the finishing line, but other than that this was a great match, with some unique spots and different sort of action than we’ve seen all arc. So, ready to put a bow on the WWE career of Kaval?

S: It is only right that we put a bow in this career of his. Was this his last match or did he have one on SmackDown or Superstars after this?

JT: So he’d actually have 4 more matches on SmackDown after this, but none of them were particularly notable. He and MVP would lose in a tag match to Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre in his first 10+ minute match on something other than Superstars. They’d get attacked by Kane after the match. Fun fact, this would be MVP’s last televised match for a decade! He wouldn’t be seen again until the 2020 Royal Rumble! He’d then lose to Jack Swagger in 5 minutes a week later, with Jack cutting a promo on Kofi Kingston afterwards. The week after he’d get his second win as Kaval would team up with Kofi to beat Swagger & Dolph in a tag match, of course with Kofi picking up the Pinfall over Ziggler. And then one week later, December 21st 2010, Kaval would end his WWE career losing, attacked by Drew McIntyre just as he entered the ring, valiantly telling the referee he’s still willing to fight, then taking a big boot and Future Shock to lose in 26 seconds. He would get released from his contract two days later.  

S: Wow, talk about a fairly miserable end to your WWE run. You can clearly reckon that by the time he lost to Ziggler, he was probably mentally checked out of WWE. Didn’t even know he stuck around until December so that is most definitely news to me.

JT: It kinda feels like he got the match tonight just to uphold the idea that you get something for winning NXT. It really does feel like he was already out the door before then, and given how he was booked on the main roster, I don’t really blame him. But hey, is that a chicken or egg situation? Did they book him poorly due to him having an attitude or being unmotivated, or did he already feel unmotivated because it was clear they weren’t going to book him well?

S: Mixture of both maybe? I think in terms of his wrestling, he was always going to go out there to give it his all as he usually does. His attitude, nobody has really said anything about him in WWE behind the scenes that I know of but I can imagine he was properly unmotivated with the booking of main roster WWE for sure.

JT: So I did some looking, and I found an interview with Low Ki from early 2011, talking about his release. From his perspective, he said that basically wrestling isn’t a business where you can afford to waste your own time because your body is your business. He thought he had the respect of the locker room and he thought that winning NXT showed that he could get the fans behind him, but the company clearly didn’t have him penciled into their future plans so he decided to just cut bait and move on. He said that there’s no point being bitter or upset about it, wrestling is a weird business as far as experience goes, y’know if you have a lot of experience in other professions you usually are entitled to a higher position than someone with no experience but not in wrestling. Take this with a grain of salt, because it’s always easy for someone to say that they’re not bitter or upset, or that they got along with so and so. But he did sound like he had a pretty rational way of looking at it, he’s right that your body is how you make your money in wrestling, and you shouldn’t just hurt yourself for nothing.

S: Well he’s definitely right, feels like from what you told me there that he was quite level headed about it all. Very spot on with wrestling being a weird business. Also very smart of him to say that you shouldn’t hurt yourself for nothing, because he’s absolutely right.

JT: Yeah you never know if your next bump might be your last, so if you’re not interested in what you’re doing, there’s no time like the present. Now, after his release, he’s done various different things across the international independent scene. As seems to be his style, he never really stuck around any place for long, but he usually was pretty successful wherever he went. I do think the bloom was off the rose a little by 2011, as the stuff he had done to really breakout on the independent scene before he signed to WWE wasn’t the hot topic anymore and he was now on the wrong side of 30, but nevertheless many, many Indy wrestlers would love to have had the career he has had.

S: I will agree that the rose definitely came off the bloom so to speak with Low Ki but he’s still going to this day, like he’s had 13 more years in wrestling and he’ll probably keep going until he’s in his 50s. He’s that kind of guy who probably loves wrestling so much that he will just keep cracking on until he knows he can’t do it anymore.

JT: Yeah, he’s been a sort of contentious figure in wrestling because of how seriously he takes himself and his style, but fair fucks to him. As of this year, he will be a 25 year veteran. So whether or not you like him, he’s earned his spot in wrestling. Would you say he’s one of the most important or greatest Indy wrestlers in history?

S: Honestly, there’s an argument to be made for both or either. I do think he’s one of the most important in the 2000s for sure and he has a body of work which is pretty awesome. He’s definitely someone who has had a bit of a reputation for taking himself too seriously and I’ve crapped on him for that and some of his reasons for politicking and not jobbing is quite funny I will say. Definitely in the category of the most important, I’d say.

JT: Well all I’ll say is this: Thanks for showing up Low Ki, at least you gave us something to talk about.

S: And to that, we salute you, Low Ki.

————————————

Chris Masters of the Universe

JT: Up next is the tradition of all traditions! And by that I mean the tradition you know Vince McMahon would get rid of if he didn’t value branding so much! It’s a Traditional Survivor Series Tag Match! Team Mysterio vs Team Del Rio!! Right off the bat, what do you think of this tradition? Because I’ve got lots of mixed feelings about it.

S: Probably the same opinions as what you have to be honest. Like is it a great way to get ten people on PPV so they all get a pay day? Yes. Does it also leave teams with some dead weight members and some complete afterthought performances? Absolutely.

JT: It’s also lots it’s specialness considering we have 6 man tag matches all the time now, as opposed to the 80s when this tradition started. Although it does at least have the intrigue of “How will ____ manage to avoid taking the pin?”. And part of me still likes the visuals of the big good guy team up against the big bad guy team up. But back to your initial point, that also feels less special if it’s just the lower midcard guys. Especially if there aren’t enough relevant people to fill up the card. Even in 1999, all 3 members of the Mean Street Posse got PPV paydays! And if the midcard of the Attitude Era can’t hold up, you know this tradition is tough. Although again to play both sides, it can depend on how many of these matches happen per show. This one tonight is our only Survivor Series Traditional Tag Match.

S: I’m totally fine with having one Traditional Survivor Series Tag Match, honestly. If I have a card littered with them then it’s probably gonna be a bit of a tough watch because it can be a bit same old, same old. This though, I’m grand with it and boy do we have some interesting members on the teams.

JT: I agree. And we actually get to see them interact backstage! So standing by with Josh Mathews, we get an Interview with Jack Swagger. How does it feel to be on team Del Rio? It should be Jack Swagger’s All American Americans, he’s the former World Champion. He also says he’s not in America, he’s in Little Cuba. He no hablo español. A little preview of his future Racismo gimmick! Before he can really go in with his manifesto, Cody Rhodes comes in, he says Swagger’s upset because Swagger tried to get into a club with busted up shoes. Swagger says they were his grandfathers, they’re vintage. Cody says he doesn’t know what it’s like to stand behind ropes off entrances, when suddenly Alberto Del Rio interrupts, flanked by Tyler Reks & Drew McIntyre. He says he bet Reks & McIntyre after Jack started talking, there’d be a train of interruptions. That’s boring, they’re here to destroy Rey Mysterio and his little friends. He wants to see kids cry tonight, and he’ll buy them all beers if he sees tears. And they don’t need to worry about their future,  he’s their captain, he’ll lead them to victory. The segment closes with Cody looking at Swagger and saying “I hate to admit it, but he’s good”. Weird segment in my opinion.

S: Yeah this was an odd one, Jack once again looking like Biff Tannen talking about his grandfather’s shite shoes. Also, why is Del Rio flanked by Reks and McIntyre when McIntyre is clearly Cody’s running buddy as of late and how are Rey’s mates little when they’re all considerably taller than him? Bizzare, felt like they just waffled about anything here.

JT: Yeah and what’s this “Hey he’s pretty good” shit? If anything, this should’ve been the perfect opportunity to go full full 80s with it. Have all of them be on the same page, clearly bought off by things Del Rio got them, all doing big evil laughs about making kids cry (brah). And then naturally, we get no promo from the faces. Sick, awesome. Cool stuff.

S: Talk about some proper 2010 type build up here. Hearing from one side and not bothering with the other side. WE WANNA HEAR WHAT THE MASTERPIECE HAS TO SAY!

JT: Speaking of that guy, let’s name the teams and welcome everyone to the ring. It’s Alberto Del Rip, Tyler Reks, Cody Rhodes, Drew McIntyre and Jack Swagger facing off against Rey Mysterio, Big Show, Kofi Kingston, MVP and Chris Masters!! Straight off the bat, good lord you could hear a pin drop as the Masterpiece joined Big Show in the ring. He is not over in the least, poor fella. Coming back after 4-5 years away is tough enough, let alone when you’re slotted in as a total do nothing boring good guy.

S: And let’s talk about that theme as well because holy shit, talk about the most generic theme song of all time. It’s a theme song up there with the first Gregory Helms theme as a theme which is guaranteed to keep everyone in their seats.

JT: Well, it was literally stock music. As in, I heard it in the background of Sportscenter, America’s #1 sports recap news show. Like just playing in the background as someone described the Cubs beating the Brewers 7-2 in May. Straight up stock production music that they had him coming out to.

S: Sounds about right if you ask me, I’d imagine it’s one of those songs which WWE could just access for a price as cheap as chips. Much like The Hardy Boyz theme, it’s just out in the open ready for anyone to use it.

JT: Speaking of theme songs, out next is MVP. First of all, he gets a nice pop because we’re in his home town of Miami! But did you happen to hear what he came out to? It wasn’t his usual song!

S: Yes I did! It was in fact his briefly used theme song “We Ballin” which is weird because he’s debuting a new theme right before he’s out the door, and how about that blue and white number which I’m fairly sure he’d never wear again after his WWE run?

JT: Yeah weird that he’s using a different theme so late in his run, although funny enough I’m pretty sure that’s the theme song he uses now as a manager in WWE. I like the thought of a former wrestler turned manager having a different theme  song now that they’re no longer an active competitor. Also the blue and white look is different for him. You could have expected him to go with Red & Black for the Miami Heat. But he’s rocking the blue & white so Team Mysterio all matches! That’s why Big Show’s got one of his Jeri-Show singlets on too. That’s a nice little traditional Survivor Series bit, when everyone dresses up in the same color. Wish they got a promo together but it’s nice to see they’ve got team unity somehow.

S: I’m not even sure if we got this level of unity with the Bragging Rights Tag last month either. I don’t remember Team Raw having red gear. Team Mysterio is where the true unity lies in the WWE.

JT: On the other side of things, we have a heel team united by one thing: a total lack of crowd reaction. There is almost no reaction for Swagger, it’s peanuts for Drew, and absolutely nothing for Reks. Cody gets a bit of a reaction, but all of them get less reaction than Ricardo Rodriguez being introduced. This crowd is fucked, except for MVP, they’re happy to see him. State of your midcard.

S: Yeah fucking hell, when people talk about the lack of care which WWE had for its mid card for many many years, show them the crowd reactions for these heels and you will see what they mean. Just a gang of nothing men. Drew’s momentum has been slaughtered over time, as has Jack Swagger’s, Cody has actually done fine for himself and I always put that down to him making the most of what he was given. Tyler Reks, well, he has a cool look, but it’s not like he’s been given anything to work with on TV. He’s just another guy they can slot into these matches on PPV. See here, 40 Man Rumble in January.

JT: It’s also compounds on itself. Like, Reks has a good look and is an imposing prescience. But as fans have seen with Luther Reigns or Matt Morgan or Nathan Jones or even Doc Gallows in the past year, these characters come and then go. You gotta do more than just go “They look big and scary, don’t they?”. You gotta do something actually different to make them stand out. And as we’ve seen with The Nexus, even doing that only lasts so long. See here Sheffield comma Skip and Tarver comma Michael. Although, to give bookers some credit, it’s a balancing act. For every person who went nowhere because they never had anything given to them, you have the opposite. See Giant Gonzalez getting an Undertaker feud and immediately flaming out, or Ludvig Botha ending Tatanka’s (Buffalo) undefeated streak and then being gone 6 months later. You gotta be able to know who is gonna stick around and who isn’t. Problem is, really in the whole OVW era they struggled with this.

S: Also, look at the people who were the trainers in OVW and what they thought wrestling should be, set developing the vast majority of wrestlers back about seven or eight years. They’re the types of guys in the industry who have a very narrow mindset of what wrestling should be, which is not totally their fault, but that of WWE too.

JT: Well on that lovely note, want to get into our Traditional Survivor Series tag match?

S: In the words of Mario Mario, let’s a go.

JT: So the team captains are in the ring as the bell sounds, we’re gonna get Del Rio & Mysterio starting off! Just kidding, Del Rio refuses to lock up and tags in Cody. As we’re kicking things off, Cole shows more emotion than he’s shown all night when Stryker says Rey is like Rickey Henderson of WWE. Rey’s one of the best high fliers of all time, Rickey Henderson is one of the best players of all time. Cole completely objects to Rickey being one of the greatest ever, they bicker for about 15 seconds straight before King jumps in with “I’m begging you two to talk a little about survivor series”. I won’t get too inside baseball (literally) with their discussion here, but just shows again, the state of your product!

S: Who would’ve fucking thought that one of the most disinterested commentators in all of wrestling was the voice of reason among this incredibly dysfunctional commentary team. Like fucking hell, how do ye end up bickering about the smallest of opinions. Like a nest of wasps so they are.

JT: Ok so on to some actual wrestling. Rey springs off the ropes, Cody ducks under him and hits the Beautiful Disaster Kick! Now that Rey is down, ADR tags in and attacks. Rey quickly turns the tide with aHeadscissor then a drop toe hold onto the buckle, then sliding Dropkick to the face. He gets a Seated Senton, and tags in the home town boy MVP, who hits a sliding kick to the face. He ducks out of the way of Del Rio’s corner Enziguri and hits the Player’s Boot in the corner! Now Kofi gets to come in and deal some damage, before he tags out to Chris Masters, who gets sent back to the corner and Reks/McIntyre beat on him in the heel corner to turn the momentum. Clothesline out of the corner by Drew, as the crowd starts chanting for the one face who hasn’t entered the match yet, Big Show. Masters gets a boot up as Drew tries to come off the top, allowing him to tag MVP back in, who  knocks down Drew a few times, gets a Suplex then gets the Ballin Elbow Drop. McIntyre rolls to the apron, MVP knocks Del Rio off the apron, and  goes to Suplex Drew back in the ring, but Del Rio grabs the feet and Drew gets the elimination. 5he crowd chants for MVP as he leaves, as Masters comes in and goes after Drew and ADR. He hits a Jackhammer on Del Rio and goes for the Master Lock, but Alberto avoids him and gets a Codebreaker to the Arm, then the Cross Armbar and Masters taps out. All of a sudden, it’s 5-3 heels. Real poor showing for Masters honestly, he did absolutely nothing.

S: Yeah he was literally there just to take the pin, wasn’t he? A real non-factor in the grand scheme of the match, sums up really what his second run was but it’s always talked about by people in WWE on the roster that Masters really worked his ass off just to get better and when I watch back, they’re right. He definitely seemed like a guy who wanted to work hard and improve his wrestling ability. Also, he’s still only 27 here, how crazy is that?

JT: Wow that is crazy. Only 27 and yet they’re already out on him essentially. Surprised they didn’t try anything more sustained than just having him do his dancing pec gimmick with Celebrities. I’m sure it was also up to him what happened after his release, but I’m surprised he didn’t end up in TNA or ROH. Like a young guy, name recognition of some kind, who clearly wants to prove he’s better than he once was, I’m surprised nothing came. Like lord knows TNA gave shots to worse. But on the bright side, man’s still getting work to this day! Good for you, you beefcake.

S: The mad thing about him getting a shot in TNA was they only gave him a go in like 2016 and 2017. Which was several years after this, he is still wrestling thankfully, mainly in NWA, which does suck but at least it’s something for him.

JT: Work is work. And this run isn’t all bad, after all, in 2010 he got an appearance on Nickelodeon Sitcom Big Time Rush. And we’re not talking like, end of the road, ratings in the toilet sitcom either. He was in episode 3, which was technically the first non-pilot episode of the show, since the pilot was a 2 parter. The episode got 6.8 million viewers, he was referred to as “WWE Superstar Chris ‘The Masterpiece’ Masters”, he got to flex his muscles so hard it blew the band back with a gust of wind, and he only is ran out of the episode because the band gross him out with their antics. A gig is a gig is a gig, and how many guys never get any chances on TV, let alone in a show seen by that many people. Like he managed to get on Nick right before its peak ended.

S: This must have been around the time where John Cena was in those Fred movies and Rey Mysterio appeared in Zeke and Luther. What an era.

JT: That damn heel Mysterio, crossing the Nickelodeon line to work for Disney. That was the  Hogan joining the nWo of my childhood.

S: That leaves me to ask this, did we ever get a wrestler doing voice acting in like Phineas and Ferb or Gravity Falls? Because it feels like that would’ve happened.

JT: From what I can tell, the closest we’ve ever got to that is Mick Foley as The Boulder in Avatar: The Last Airbender. Perfect guy for the perfect role, no notes, 10/10.

S: Never watched Avatar: The Last Airbender but that sounds awesome.

JT: Oh you gotta get on that, absolute masterpiece of a show. Wonderful stuff. If you couldn’t tell from the name, Mick voices a character who is essentially a parody/homage to The Rock and wrestling. Much like Futurama’s wrestling related episodes. The Boulder even talks in the third person like Dwayne does!

S: Yeah I definitely need to get on that show soon whenever I finish watching Shameless US. Speaking of what we need to get on, do we have a match going on or something?

JT: That we do. In fact, we have ourselves a big match because The Big Show comes in! ADR tags out to Swagger, who eats some big chops to chest before managing to get a chop block on the World’s Largest Athlete. Naturally, now that the big man has been slowed down, ADR comes back in. Del Rio slaps Show on his big bald head, and as Burto has a laugh, Big Angry Paul Wight immediately gets back up. Del Rio goes to tag out but Drew says no way so Del Rio slaps him on the chest to tag in. Del Rio’s quick wits have saved him again! He gloats in Show’s face, So Show knocks out Del Rio! Legal man or not, Show’s gonna give him what he deserves! He grabs legal man Drew and throws him in, as the medical team comes out for Del Rio. He’s done! He’s knocked out, and they help him to the back! Honestly, I thought this was kinda clever. You get Del Rio out of the match without him eating a pin, but while still giving him some level of comeuppance for his antics.

S: Yeah very smart booking here, they clearly have plans for Del Rio and see him as a future top heel so its smart of them to book him getting knocked the fuck out without him taking a fall.

JT: And now without their daring leader, Team Del Rio is starting to fall apart. Drew goes for the Future Shock, Show pushes him off and hits a clothesline, then tags in Kofi and dumps him onto Drew. Dashing Cody Rhodes comes in and Kofi slaps him across his perfect face, and the pretty boy goes into a rage. He gets upset in the ring, goes outside to get his jacket so he can look in the mirror to make sure his perfect features are still perfect, then he goes back in ready for vengeance, and gets slapped again. Comedy! Show comes in, goes for the WMD, Cody does a big comedy duck to laughs from the audience only to get a huge slap across the back, and then the WMD strikes anyways! 1-2-3 and the match is all even. Now I want to say, given the nature of where Cody ends up at WrestleMania in the next 2 years after this, how did this not become a storyline? Like maybe fighting Big Show would’ve been punching above Cody’s weight in 2020, or maybe it would’ve been considered a downgrade for Show, but it seems like such an obvious storyline, right? Pretty boy heel trying to protect his face against a guy who wants to knock him out? Feels like you could’ve milked weeks of TV out of Show scaring him with the WMD or Cody running away from matches out of fear of losing his beauty. Instead, though the whole sequence with Cody is pretty funny, it’s just thrown into the middle of this show for a laugh and that’s it.

S: Definitely, you could’ve easily gotten a four week feud out of it, do a few weeks build on SmackDown and then blow it off on a PPV of any kind and it would’ve made for a pretty funny storyline.

JT: Kinda reminds me of how Dolph Ziggler in 2009 feuded against Great Khali. Ziggler wasn’t presented as a world beater and Khali was hardly some superstar, but pairing a seasoned character to strike fear into the arrogant heel made for a decent enough feud that helped begin Dolph’s rise up the card.

S: That was basically the feud which pushed Dolph into challenging for the IC Title/US Title scene from then until seemingly forever apart from a few flirts at the main event scene.

JT: Cody would get a feud like that anyway in 2011, but still. Back to the match! Show now has to contend with Tyler Reks, who knocks over Show and the heels team up on Show. Show manages to get his paws on Swagger, but Jack turns a Chokeslam into a roll through into the Ankle Lock! Still, with his long arms, he’s able to escape by tagging in Rey. He hits a Springboard Crossbody onto Swagger, but Swagger responds with a big boot. Remember when this was a world title match only a few months ago? Sure doesn’t feel like it! Kofi tags in, and Kofi sets up the 619, but Swagger grabs the Ankle Lock on Rey. Rey swings and manages to get Swagger on the ropes for the 619 again, but Reks tags in. Reks goes for a shot, Rey ducks and gets the tag to Kofi. The match is speeding up, Kingston scores a Flying Crossbody but Reks kicks out. Dropkick by Kofi, he leaps at Reks in the corner, but the Scary Surfers moves out of the way and Kofi gets hung up in the corner. Despite being hung upside down, Kofi manages to hit Reks with a kick to the face, then Kofi gets the 1-2-3 and it’s 3-2 for Team Mysterio. Reks was kinda good for being fast, quickening up the pace of this briefly. 

S: Yeah he did look impressive here to be fair to him, he’s a good athlete as well. It’s just they didn’t really have anything for him, now maybe he’s a crap promo and that’s why they didn’t do anything at all with Reks. He always feels like someone who they could’ve done just a small bit more with, not World Championship level exactly but maybe a little bit higher than what he ended up being. Maybe he’s creeped into the boy stable with his brief appearance on here.

JT: Reks was just one of those wrestlers they brought up and almost immediately gave up on. I mean that’s the nature of all sports really, sometimes you just need people to fill out a roster. But unlike sports where output is measurable, it’s always tough to see prospects not work out when their performance is so subjective. Like how much can any particular wrestler really be seen as responsible for their “good runs”? Hell, how often can wrestling fans even agree with what run was good?

S: “Runs” are always such a debatable topic because they always have varying opinions from everyone. There’s very few runs in wrestling which people can unanimously agree on. Take for example, Cena’s US Title run in 2015 being agreed on for being awesome.

JT: Speaking of runs, this match is the shits! Get it? See what I did there? Anyways, Kofi almost rolls up Swagger, and then he manages to avoid the Gutwrench, but Swagger blocks the Trouble In Paradise to get the Ankle Lock! Kofi is nearing the ropes, but he can’t hold out and has to tap out. It’s 2-2 now. And gee I wonder who will win, Big Show & Rey Mysterio or Jack Swagger & Drew McIntyre. Looks like a SmackDown 8:45 tag match right about now.

S: “Kiiiiing this could go either way, King.” Boy oh boy, who’s gonna win this match?

JT: Let’s sprint to the finish. Show knocks down Swagger, tags Rey in and does the Snuka/Andre spot, only for Drew to kick him and he drops Rey. With Rey down, Swagger gets the Swagger Bomb out of the corner but it only gets 2. He puts Rey up top, Rey fights him off and leaps off the top with a Hurricanrana to send Swagger onto the ropes for the 619! This time he comes off Show’s shoulders for the big splash, and it connects! 1-2-3!  Drew is left all alone, he goes for the Future Shock, Rey sends him into the ropes, gets the 619, the tag, and a Chokeslam to Drew. “Another vintage Traditional Survivor Series match”, yeah and I don’t think that reflects well on this concept or show. But that might be just me, what say you Seán? 

S: Ah the match didn’t bother me so much to be honest, maybe I’m just easier to impress than you are but I always take Survivor Series matches, the traditional kind with a pinch of salt. Like you could probably just have done Show and Rey and a partner of Del Rio or just a Trios Match with Rey, Show and Kofi against ADR, Cody and Drew and that probably would’ve been just as effective. I will agree that the vast majority of lads in this were complete afterthoughts. I don’t think it was as good or better than the previous three matches but I don’t think this match signaled a massive drop off in the quality of the show either.

JT: It’s a match that could’ve been better but it could’ve been worse. Really, I’m glad we had things to bring up during the match because I’ve got very little to say about the match itself. There were some good spurts but it was never an interesting match. It was there and then it was gone. 

S: I mean to be honest, we just ended up talking about Nickelodeon and Disney XD shows so clearly we had more interesting things to talk about instead of this match.

JT: Well I’ll just wrap it up with one last discussion: Alberto Del Rio. He’s now been on 3 straight episodes, in terms of actually showing up in the ring for the show. Does he come off like a main eventer to you? I know PPV appearances aren’t everything, and I remember he was booked pretty strongly on TV, but just so far, to me he’s not feeling like a main eventer. He dodged a match with Edge, lost for Team SmackDown (and Rey) and then lost again here tonight. Has he been protected? Yes. But he definitely doesn’t feel like as big a deal as he could have, given his trajectory.

S: Well, as a kid I hated Del Rio because he was a heel. When I was a teenager, I hated Del Rio because I was sick and bored of him and I hate him now because he’s a real life piece of shit. So I want to say that I never thought he was a main eventer because I was never a fan of his. The weird thing with Del Rio is that when he was properly booked in the main event scene, he always felt like an afterthought to me, almost as if it was moments until he was gonna lose the belt.

JT: I definitely bought into him as a kid, especially with his super long vignettes and Rey Mysterio hating. I couldn’t stand those long ass videos, I thought they were ads. And nobody disrespects my favorite guy, the master of the 619! But as far as this arc goes, again I just want to point out that we’re only two months away from the Royal Rumble. He doesn’t exactly feel like a superstar by my metrics. But he’s got two Power Hour episodes left to prove his worth….

S: And one of those episodes, I’m not even sure if he appears on it because the next episode is a weekly show of some sorts. Will he be there? Who knows…

JT: Tick Tock Burty, Tick Tock. 

S: And we don’t mean a countdown on a possible prison sentence for you either.

————————————

Dawn of Doom

JT: Up next, we’ve got ourselves a Divas Championship match. But not just any Divas Championship match, it’s a Handicap Divas Championship match! Natalya is sick and tired of LayCool, and sick and tired of Layla interfering in each Michelle’s matches and Michelle interfering in Layla’s! This is her final shot, and she’ll try to take them both out tonight.

S: This is the third month in a row we’ve had Nattie against any combination of LayCool right?

JT: At Hell in a Cell we saw Natalya beat Michelle by DQ, and at Bragging Rights we saw Layla beat Natalya via Michelle interference. So yep, third time in a row. For Natalya’s sake, she’s hoping the third time’s the charm.  Now, there’s really not much to say about the build to this, it was the same sort of thing as the last two months. However, there was a fun segment with LayCool on Old School Raw! Do you know about this?

S: Was this the segment where they made fun of Mae Young for being old, then all the DIIIIIIIIIIVAS Division defended Mae, beat up LayCool and then Mae Young won an impromptu match against one of them?

JT: Yep! I remember this segment specifically because 87 year old Mae Young, on PG Television said, “gimme a match with these sluts”. God bless Mae, absolutely no filter.

S: That’s why she’s the MVP! That’s why she’s the GOAT! The GOOOOOAT!

JT: Rest In Peace Mae, she would’ve been 100 years old this year. That’s really about all I have to say for this match. Like the only other thing I would’ve said is that maybe WWE should’ve had the interference for the Natalya matches switched around. Like first month pin, next month DQ, but you know they’re not thinking about the booking of this title that hard. 

S: Are they fuck. They’re booking from show to show with this title, they’ve just kept going with this because they know Nattie is the most reliable hand they’ve got to feud with LayCool.

JT: Let’s be real, if any man was feuding with a pair of guys over a title for three months, by now it would be a Steel Cage match. But ohhhh not the ladies, they’re too dainty for that! So here we are, running up this hill again. Want to just cut to the chase?

S: Might as well, go for it!

JT: The bell rings, Michelle and Natalya start off and go right in with the cat fight spot. Natalya has an early advantage, but Michelle sends Natalya into a Clothesline by Layla and the numbers game begins. Layla is a former Miami Heat Cheerleader, so she feels at home for this match, as she nails a spin kick that knocks Natalya into the ropes, and she is then yanked right onto the floor by McCool. LayCool goes for a tandem Suplex on Natty, but she blocks and shows off her strength by hitting it on both of them! They roll to the floor and brawl out there, Michelle misses a boot and Natty shoves her out over the barricade, then throws Layla out onto her too. It’s definitely cathartic to see the two of them get their just desserts after all their behind the referee shenanigans every single match.

S: I’d say this match is probably the exact stage where LayCool and all of their antics finally came to a close. Like we all know that they break up after Mania 27 so this, in my opinion, is the point where it’s the beginning of the end.

JT: Yeah it’s been over a full year now of LayCool hoarding SmackDown’s side of the women’s division, with only a very brief intermission by Mickie James in early 2010. They’ve pretty much reached the end of their leash, there’s nowhere else for them to go! As such, the match goes where it ends up going. Michelle throws Natalya into the barricade to take control, but back in the ring, Natalya sends Michelle into the ropes and she hits Layla’s head! Natalya takes down Michelle, locks the Sharpshooter in, Michelle taps instantly!! Natalya wins the Divas Title!! She wins her first ever Championship in WWE, and she overcomes the numbers game on her own. Good for her! 

S: Yeah a very nice moment for Nattie here. Well deserved I’d say too, with Mickie James gone, she’s probably the best wrestler WWE have in their Diva’s Division so her getting the title here was well earned on her part. The match time though, under four minutes. Sheesh.

JT: Yeah, not exactly the greatest feel good moment given that they hit fast forward on the match, but it is what it is. Although, I would appreciate it if Michael Cole wasn’t shitting all over her moment too. Oh and then LayCool attack her too. Can’t the woman get a second to celebrate and be proud of her accomplishment!

S: God forbid we get an actual conclusive ending, a celebration with the title without the Triple Hs of the division spoiling it!

JT: Although to be fair, that attack happens for a reason. Why is that? Well, as McCool sets up to hit Natalya the title, Beth Phoenix’s music hits!LayCool took her out months ago, and now she is back and she is cleaning house! She takes out Michelle, she lifts Layla and plants her with a huge Glam Slam! She hugs Natalya, and Natty celebrates on Beth’s shoulders with both belts. This feels like the best Women’s Division moment this whole arc. 

S: Easily, we’ve not had much at all to choose from aside from heel wins or heels getting their heat back, it’s been real slim pickings and I believe this is the first time we’ve seen Beth in this season? We’ve seen her before for our Armageddon 2008 review but is this the first time she’s shown up in Season 4?

JT: She’s been off TV since May 6th, so this would be her first appearance on this season. Glad to have her on board, even just for the last little while.

S: A bit of foreshadowing for next year too with her partnership with Nattie. The Divas of Doom, no relation to The Dungeon.

JT: Well for now, it’s nice to end a Divas segment on a high note for once.  

S: And next month, we’ve got ourselves a furniture date with these four ladies.

————————————

One Blew over the Cuckoo‘s Nest

JT: Up next, we’ve got the World Heavyweight Championship on the line. Last month, Kane destroyed The Undertaker, thanks to Paul Bearer. How can he be stopped with Paul by his side? Well, Edge has an idea. He’s back on SmackDown and tearing through the competition. After beating Rey Mysterio & Alberto Del Rio on SmackDown, he’s now #1 contender. In order to become a 10 World Champion, Kane hasn’t been able to find Paul Bearer. And what has our hero done? Only kidnap the elder man, duct taped his mouth, and wheeled him around in a wheelchair, torturing him. When Kane went to retrieve his father, Edge beat him up and drove off with Paul. What a natural and expected turn around from last month!  

S: Ahhhhh, I knew this story was on the horizon as soon as Pauly B reared his frame into this season. This storyline, I must say, is fucking insane. Like literally insane.

JT: Yeah like I know Edge has always been, well, edgy. But like, what the hell is going on! I know Paul Bearer as a mystical magical character, so I shouldn’t be too worried about this all in kayfabe, but like…I can’t escape the image of poor old grandpappy getting kidnapped and gagged. Especially since we’ve just spent the entirety of Kane’s last feud presenting him as a killer and a monster. Now he’s crying for Daddy!!

S: What a bitch is all I can say. He looks like such a geek here, doesn’t he?

JT: He just beat his brother, finally, after years of trying, he did it. And he’s Champion of the World on top of that! So why is he the vulnerable, desperate cry baby?!? Edge should be scared to face him, Kane shouldn’t be throwing fits and crying backstage!

S: I mean, I don’t think babyface Edge being scared of Uncle Fester looking ass Kane is exactly the best look for Edge either. Wouldn’t make your next face look the coolest to be scared of this bald man.

JT: There has to be some sort of middle ground where you can make Edge look smart or brave or dangerous while maintaining an aura of seriousness around Kane. I’ll get into this more when it comes up in the match, but man this feels like almost a midcard gimmick, not a serious main event story.

S: Ehhh yeah, definitely. Like this doesn’t feel like it’s a feud for the World Heavyweight Championship, your second biggest title in the company. This feels like an upper midcard feud, maybe the third match on the card or middle of the show.

JT: You know what else doesn’t help this feel like a big match? Kane gets the “in the ring” intro as World Champion, Jesus Christ. Speaking of entrances, as Edge comes out, there’s no sign of Paul. Edge goes back behind the curtain and brings out the wheelchair without Paul in it! Wherever could help be! Also man what a scary guy Kane is, the way he just stands angrily in the ring and does nothing to fight back against Edge’s taunting. I mean I know the whole story they’re going for is that Edge is trying to get Kane angry and off his game, but Kane sure doesn’t seem that angry when he just stands there and shakes his head rather than, I don’t know, attacking the lanky fucker!

S: The World Champion coming out first is never usually a good sign unless for certain circumstances. Big smell of afterthought off this poor lad. He’s been slowly going downhill since he hung up his detective badge.

JT: Much like a lot of things in this arc, Kane seems to have peaked very early on this season. Let’s hope for the best in this World Title match!  Edge slaps Kane right as we start, he’s just trying to piss him off. Kane chases him around the ring, Edge manages to yank him down on the ropes, he then goes up top and leaps into the clutches of Kane, but he manages to block the Chokeslam and hit a Spinning Heel Kick. Kane sends him across, Edge slides under the bottom rope and taunts with the wheelchair. Again, this feels like a borderline comedy angle, not the storyline for the top title on SmackDown, with the guy who just got put over by the Undertaker.

S: I specifically remember this feud in my teenage years for grabbing the coveted “Worst Feud of the Year” Award by the Observer and my god it is so clear to see why. For a feud which only lasts about a month and a half, it’s incredible how shit it is.

JT: I know you and I aren’t big fans of how the Undertaker storyline actually played out, but damn. This isn’t so much cooling Kane off as it’s flash freezing him. He is not doing well in the match either, as Edge ducks a boot and hits a chop block. He’s going after the leg, slamming it against the post. He goes for the Edgecution, but Kane blocks it and hangs Edge up on the ropes then hits a big boot to send the Canadian to the floor. Kane has control of the match now, in that usual slow Kane way, this time with the addition of him yelling “where is my father” like he’s Draco Malfoy. Edge starts to turn things around as he comes off the top with a Crossbody, but Kane squishes him in the corner with a clothesline and it slows it down again. Now Kan goes up top but Edge catches him with a Dropkick out of mid air. Edge gets him on the ropes and hits a Crossbody to the back and then a roll up for 2. Another flying nothing, this time with Edge catching an uppercut from Kane. Man, the flying nothing really is a staple of Kane’s repertoire isn’t it? Whether he’s doing it or someone else is, it really happens at least once a match. 

S: Looked really cool as well, it looks better than the regular flying clothesline because most of the time it looks more spectacular for Kane flying through the air rather than the actual impact of it. This version, much more hard hitting.

JT: Copying future Team Hell No partner Daniel Bryan too! Anyways, after that Kane goes for the Chokeslam, but Edge blocks and hits the Edgecution! Edge goes for Spear, but runs right into the boot! He goes for the Chokeslam and hits it this time, 1–2–Kickout!! If that one won’t do, he’s going to go for the move that beat his brother! He lifts for the Tombstone, but Edge escapes, hits the ropes and hits the Spear!! Edge falls on top for the cover: 1—2—3!! He got it! New World Champion!! His music plays, Chimel announces him as the winner, but the ref is waiving it off! He brings Chimel over, who then announces that it is a “tie” because both of them had their shoulders on the mat. Seriously?? We’re doing this finish, with Kane and Edge??

S: Note here: state of your finish, WWE. Like seriously lads, what the heck is this shit? I knew this was coming as soon as I saw the way their shoulders were down and boy did it not surprise me with how crap it was.

JT: You knew some bullshit was gonna happen when Edge hit the Spear and then immediately flopped onto his back. It was just completely unnatural, like he has never done that any other time. Like it’s even worse with the Spear rather than other moves, because he lands on top of the other guy! That’s just how the move works! So for him to tackle him and then sprawl to his back for no reason, I smelled bullshit right away.

S: Exactly! Because Edge would literally never pin anyone like that off a Spear finish EVER. Also, why did he sprawl to his back to make the cover??? Like if we’re speaking logically here, the match wasn’t even that long and Edge didn’t even take that much damage apart from maybe a Chokeslam and that’s it. What is the reasoning for this Dusty finish in kayfabe?

JT: In kayfabe, I guess Edge was lazy? Maybe “undisciplined” is a more dignified way of saying it? Like he just got too caught up in his game to cross all his Ts and dot all his Is, and in the end it cost him. In reality, this is obviously just a way to kick the can down the road, dragging out this program longer.

S: I suppose a Dusty Finish is better than a DQ/Countout finish, right? BUT WAIT! THERE’S SOME AFTERS!

JT: I don’t know, if anything I think Kane getting too heated and causing a DQ makes more sense than this. But you’re right, this segment isn’t done yet! As Edge pleads his case to the referee Kane attacks! They fight to the floor, and Edge sends him into the stairs and ring post. Then Kane ever so nicely complies to Edge sitting him in the wheelchair, which Edge propels at full speed right into the barricade. As someone who has elderly grandparents, it’s not that easy to sit someone in a Wheelchair! But at least this spot kinda justified the fact it’s been there all match. At least it’s unique?

S: Yeah true, with the wheelchair there all match, it makes sense that it was used in some capacity but this is like getting a slice of toast after sitting through an hour of church. Not the best consolation prize, I say!

JT: Not, but I know Kane kept this idea in the back of his mind. Somewhere backstage, Zack Ryder was really uncomfortable watching how this played out. What did you think of the match?

S: Real snoozefest to be honest, and I think this four or five match stinker run which Kane has been on could be leading him to the LVP award at the end of the season. I knew there was a fair amount of negativity towards this Kane run and as much fun as we had at the start of the season with Kane, I’m starting to see why. This match was not great, like at all. The two of them smelled it up and the fact there wasn’t a definitive finish did not help either. What about you? What did you think of this clanger?

JT: Yeah I thought this was a pretty weak performance as well. I was a big fan of Edge at this time as a kid, but it wasn’t like I thought he was the best wrestler. I thought his promos were good and he felt cool and he did the Spear. This whole angle is just not weird and these two just don’t have any chemistry. I know they had some matches back before Edge cashed in MITB, but he was younger and faster then. I called him lanky before and that’s where he’s at in this sort of weird stage of his career. He doesn’t feel as fast as he used to, and since he’s the face he needs to take charge of the match’s pace and I just don’t think it’s up to snuff. Even during his modern run, he’s gotten in great shape so he feels like a better wrestler. I know that his retirement in 2011 was a sudden thing, but I feel like his general soreness of neck and everywhere else is already catching up to him here.

S: Yeah I agree completely, every time I do watch Edge from 2010, there’s a clock in my head which is just counting down how long he’s got left. It’s a weird thing to be thinking about when watching someone wrestle but it’s true.

JT: Well given that dirty diaper of a finish, we’re bound to see him and Kane clash again for the title before we’re done here. Speaking of being done here, I think I’ve had a bit too much 2010 for now. Why don’t we step out and head off to the Recharge Cafe to restore our energy for the rest of the show? 

S: I’m feeling in need of caffeine after that one so let’s go to The Recharge!!!

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The Recharge

JT: Hello and welcome to the Recharge, where Seán and I take a little break from the business at hand to talk about other sorts of stuff. Get us out of the funk, get us some energy back, sort of like little halftime orange slices. Seán, how are ya?

S: I’m doing pretty good now, James! Currently off college for a reading week and now I’m hot off the heels of another wXw Weekender. Which was fantastic by the way! And now here I am, just under two days away from a weekend in Glasgow for another Celtic FC match! So things are pretty good right now.

JT: Sounds pretty nice! At the time of writing I am just finishing out my spring break, which has been nice. I went bowling the other night and I haven’t done that in at least 4 years, ‘twas a good time. Any standout matches from WXW? 

S: Oh man. There were quite a few great matches from the weekend. Before I get into it though, what I do love about 16 Carat Weekend is the fact that there’s so many different shows with various casts. For example, there are two tournaments that weekend. You have your 16 man tournament with 16 Carat Gold which is contested from Friday to Saturday and Ambition! A one show tournament with eight guys, where the only way to win is by KO or submission. That tournament was won by Fuminori Abe! Which also featured Davey Richards. I got to see Davey Richards live, which was so awesome personally. Fun fact, where we sat for nights two and three, to our left was the exit for wrestlers to go through after their matches and Davey was right next to our seats, watching every match before his own. Love that man.

JT: All that’s awesome. We were giving Low Ki lots of credit, but Davey is arguably just as big a name for American Indy wrestling. For a guy of his tenure to still be out there, watching everyone’s matches, you know he just breathes, sleeps, eats wrestling. It’s nice to see a guy still love his craft almost 20 years into his career.

S: He’s great so he is, what a man. Now for standout matches! Now for the first show, which was held all within the wrestling academy. Nothing really stood out but it was all good fun nonetheless. From night one! The absolute standout match had to be Komander and Arez, those two absolutely stole the show. They were immense. Komander and Arez really were the show stealers for me all weekend. From Ambition, Aaron Icarus and Patrick “Cyborg” Bork had a really awesome sprint of a superfight clash. One of the matches of the weekend for sure. Also from Night Two, The Arrows of Hungary vs. The Frenchadors was a great Tag Title match. Komander and Ahura were also great from night two, as was Bobby Gunns vs. Norman Harras in a No Holds Barred Match, just stupid fun. From Night Three, there was a six man tag with Lucha Rules which was fantastic. Komander and The Frenchadors took on Arez, Fuminori Abe and Trey Miguel, the current X-Division Champion. Absolutely spectacular stuff. Shigehiro Irie and Axel Tishcer were awesome. That was the final of the tournament and it was brilliant. Tischer you might know as Alexander Wolfe from Sanity. Every time I see him, I’m actually stunned by how good of a wrestler he is. Honestly, I’m not kidding. He was up there for me as a wrestler of the weekend. He’s criminally underrated for me, is Axeman.

JT: Sounds like an absolute blast. Lots of wrestling, lots of good, some guys you know already, and some new names to marvel at. You can’t really ask for much more than that!

S: It was an absolute blast, and I hope to be back again soon! How about yourself, James? How have you been getting on lately?

JT: I’m doing well! Like I said, I’ve been enjoying my short break from classes. I’ve also been enjoying the John Wick Trilogy! I watched all three of em in the last week, and I’m having a grand old time. They’re quite a fun bunch of movies.

S: I’ve only seen the first one. I know the fourth chapter is coming out really soon so I must ask, would you recommend chapters two and three for me?

JT: I definitely would! The stakes of the first movie are obviously very personal, and I don’t think it’s possible for any of the later movies to hold up to that. But what you get in spades is great world building. The little underground world that gets built up in the first one just keeps growing and it’s really interesting. Plus, I think the action just keeps being awesome, while the shots get nicer. Lots of people dying in some beautiful places in those later movies.

S: Sounds just as awesome as the first one! I did love the way the first movie was shot and the underground world which it has in it is very cool. I feel like the movies are on a streaming service somewhere. Are they all on Prime Video or something?

JT: I ended up renting them on prime video yeah. Although another personal note is that after having an Xbox 360 just sitting another, gathering dust for the last decade, I realized it works as a DVD player. So I’m fully intending to just use it for that, while I watch whatever movies I can find at my local library.

S: That is essentially what my PS4 became whenever I wanted to watch my old wrestling DVDs such as WrestleMania 19 or the Bret Hart 2005 documentary DVD. That was great until my brother moved out so he needed the PS4 to basically run Sky TV on it.

JT: Well I use my PS4 for basically everything else, but the disk drive is fucked. I think as a teenager I must’ve pulled a game out too fast and ruined the thing because it had a tendency to spit out disks without notice. Like I tried using it for a DVD player like over a year and a half ago. Which befuddles me further that it never occurred to use the thing sitting right next to it.

S: If ya ever wanna go through your old DVDs, I bet that you can find a really cheap DVD player somewhere. Probably at a yard sale.

JT: Well a buddy of mine pays attention to yard sales and the like (they collect video games, and that’s the best way to find obscure games) so I might have to ask them to look out for a DVD player for me. Anyways, how abouts we get into some trivia, aka the Recharge Recall!

S: Sure thing! It’s about that time we test our trivia on whatever the hell questions we decide to ask each other today!

JT: Alright Seán, mind if I take the lead for this one this time? I saw something really funny and I’ve been looking for a way to bring it up.

S: Take it away, James! The floor is yours.

JT: Alright, we’ve brought up a lot of different wrestlers today. But one of them, one of those guys known for their time on the independent scene, they did something else. So Seán the question is this: Which wrestler that we mentioned in this episode once wrestled under the ring name “Wayne Kerr”?

S: Wayne Kerr???? Wow, now are you saying that they are known for wrestling under this name? Or is this a completely obscure name? Actually! Hold on a second, was it MVP pre-WWE by any chance???

JT: Incorrect! But to fill you in (plus lead you in a bit less vague direction), I couldn’t find any matches under “Wayne Kerr” on their Cagematch page but it came up under their stage names on Wikipedia. Also when I say Indy talent, I mean it. They have never had an official match on WWE or even AEW TV.

S: Hmmmmm, I think I might have a feeling who this might be. Never had a match on WWE or AEW TV. Nothing to find under that name, I think it might just be Davey Richards. Maybe?

JT: Correct! I’ll be honest, this time I didn’t really care about this question being hard or not, this is just funny. I can’t find any matches about it on his Cagematch page but if you Google “Wayne Kerr wrestler” it brings up a page for “The Wrestling Revolution” (on what seems like a defunct website, since it wouldn’t load) and 

wrestler Wayne Kerr, Real Name: Wesley David Richards. The source on the Wikipedia Page seems pretty legit too, since it links to the November 5th 2005 episode of the Bryan and Vinny Show. Of course, that link is defunct too, although that’s because I imagine that the previously archived episodes of the show are now back behind Bryan & Vinny’s paywall. But when it’s got a link that specific, I trust it. Good bit Davey, I admire it!

S: A pure rabbit hole for a name if there ever was one. Remember when The American Wolves did NXT for like one shot in a dark match? Was he called Wayne Kerr for that match too?

JT: I remember that! I think they fought The Ascension during their Tag Title run or something. I’m pretty sure they got called like “The American Pitbulls” or something like that. And I’m assuming we didn’t go by Mr Kerr, especially if Regal was as involved with NXT back then as he’d become.

S: I just looked it up there, they were named Derek Billington (Davey Richards), and John Cahill (Eddie Edwards). Those are some British sounding names to me. John Cahill???? Does he play for Middlesbrough too with a name like that?

JT: More like the American Werewolves in London!!

S: In cinemas on May 19th!

JT: MAY 19TH?!? I NEED MY CHEMICALS!!

Oh also Seán, it’s your turn. What question do you have for me?

S: Alright so since he was back on the show this time around for his second appearance. My question relates to Tyler Reks once again! So what I’m going to ask you is this. Who was Tyler Reks’ first televised opponent in WWE?

JT: Oh interesting. Based on what we discussed Reks’s SD run started against Kaval, but our Super Surfer pal feels like someone who would’ve been on WWECW at the very end of its run. So I’m gonna guess that Tyler Reks’s first opponent was Trent Beretta.

S: Good first guess but incorrect. I believe Trent debuted a few weeks or a few months after Reks did with Caylen Croft against some jobber team. Would you like your second guess? Or would you like your hint first?

JT: I’d like a hint please!

S: Okay! So your hint is this sir, the first televised opponent Mr. Reks had was a certain Englishman in “the land of extreme”…

JT: Ok I think I know who Reks faced. I’m thinking it was the definitive Englishman in WWE history, Mr Paul Burchill!!

S: That’s right, “No More Pirate Shit” Paul Burchill. INCEST FREE Paul Burchill was the first opponent of Tyler Reks in WWE. Tyler would win. How long did it go? Like I really care, I’m not looking it up.

JT: It’s no wonder, as soon as the Incest Storyline got scrapped, Vince gave him the Toy Story “I don’t want to play with you anymore” treatment. You almost tricked me though, you know I know that William Regal was on ECW at this time. I almost thought it was him. But I knew he was a little too high on the totem pole to lose to a new, green talent right out the gate. And if Paul wasn’t correct, I’d have to really dig deep for like DH Smith? That’s about the most I can muster. There had to be at most like 5 English people in WWE at the time.

S: DH Smith (partly), William Regal, Layla, Paul Burchill, Barrett was in developmental. Also, probably just released in the prior year or so would’ve been Hade Vansen and DJ Gabriel.

JT: Alright folks, well as we’re closing out this segment, we were both keeping our eyes out as usual for any news, and unfortunately there is some. After both of us said nice things, today on Twitter a bunch of stuff was going around that made Davey Richards out being a not so nice guy, to put it lightly. I’m not sure if it’s all new shit, or just stuff that is bubbling up again in light of recent stuff, but it just goes to show, ya never really know the people behind the scenes. Obviously we don’t approve of bad behavior, and naturally these things sadly just happen. Guess he really is a Wayne Kerr, huh?

S: It’s the first pun I had in mind as soon as I heard that name. OSW have their Clint of the Year, we call those Wayne Kerrs. I should be surprised but at the same time, I’m really not. That’s all I’ve got.

JT: With that grim bit of news out of the way, shall we get into the super cheery, exclusively nice and fun and good WWE content from 2010?

S: Anything to brighten up my mood, James. I appreciate it.

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Tea-ing Off

JT: Well up next on the Power Hour, it’s a matchup for the WWE Tag Team Championships! It’s the Nexus, defending their titles against Santino & Vladimir Kozlov!! Now first, in contemporary news, we got a reunion of this iconic team! That’s right, Santino & Kozlov! On the most recent episode of Impact Wrestling (at the time of writing) we got the two of them having a little hug backstage. Of course, Santino has been brought back to televised wrestling as an authority figure in Impact, where Kozlov seemed like a nice little cameo. Also, he wasn’t called Kozlov because as Santino said, his name is still under trademark. But ain’t that nice?

S: To quote Phil Lynott, “The boys are back in town”. I did see that actually, I saw it this morning because you sent me the tweet which Impact put out with the two of them. Now all we need is for a Dudebusters reunion in AEDub and we’re sorted. Caylen Croft for Best Friends everyone!

JT: Of course the other we need to address is the Nexus itself! First, as we brought up in our Hell in a Cell episode, Husky Harris and Michael McGuilicutty are in the group now! After their sort of silly “they’re not with us….okay let’s let them join” plot went on for about a month, now they’re here. But more importantly than that, the Tag Champions for Nexus, they’re not the same as last month! Last month Cena won the Titles for Nexus alongside David Otunga. Now it’s Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel. Seán, what happened?

S: Well James, by the order of Wade Barrett, demanded that David Otunga lay down and surrender the tag titles in a match with Slater and Gabriel. All just so John Cena can’t have them.

JT: Makes sense to me honestly. Getting Cena to win the Titles, that was all about gloating, flexing his authority over Cena. And even though he managed to get them the Titles, he still managed to kick Otunga’s ass along the way. So to avoid him having any sort of leverage, he took his titles. Still think it would’ve been better to make Cena lay down for them, but that’s also probably a lot for one Raw angle. Like Cena, laying down for the Nexus? That’s like a climatic moment of the story, especially if he refuses to do so. So I can see why Otunga had to suffer anyways. Plus, now they can have regular, normal, “we’re just good at wrestling” tag title defenses from Slater & Gabriel.

S: But James! Not only are they good, they’ve got the numbers game too! Gully Bully and Husky Harris have joined the ranks now.

JT: That’s right, they’re here tonight for this one. To protect them against Kozlov or The Cobra, I guess? By the way, how do they have this title shot? Well, while Nexus successfully fought off the ever crumbly Hart Dynasty in a non-title match earlier on during Old School Raw, Santino & Vlad defeated The Usos to get to the front of the line. Simple stuff really. Will Santino be able to take his string of lucky success against Sheamus to a Tag Team Championship? Ready to find out?

S: My body is ready, do the thing!

JT: Heath Slater squares off with the former IC Champion Santino to begin this match, and even though Marella misses a big punch, he still manages to get a judo throw on Slater. Santino misses a little leg sweep, but then ducks two kicks and gets a headlock takedown. Santino is impressing everyone with the Sambo he’s learned from Kozlov! Speaking of Vlad, he tags  out to him, and heboverpowers Gabriel. For example, Gabriel tries to speed things up, but only ends up running into the Battering Ram instead! The Rocky IV Connection are doing well, until Gabriel pulls Vlad down on the top rope throat first, allowing Nexus to take control. The crowd comes alive for Santino, trying to motivate Kozlov out. He reaches out for the tag, Slater spots this and attacks him, drawing Santino into the ring, making the ref force him out, allowing Nexus to attack Kozlov 2 on 1. For as silly a character as he is, Santino really was a pretty fundamentally sound wrestler. 

S: Yeah he’s just grand, he’s not spectacular but the style in which he wrestles is perfect for the type of character he is. I will say this as well, he’s a brilliant hot tag too.

JT: Speaking of which, a Clothesline by Kozlov out of the corner gets Santino in! Big punches, split to dodge a clothesline followed by a hip toss then the diving Headbutt! 1-2- Cover, Gabriel breaks it up, Kozlov tackles him out! Out comes the sleeve, the Cobra is cooked and ready to strike! Otunga jumps up to the apron and barely avoids the venom, Gully Bully up and then just out of the way too. All this has given Slater enough time to get up and hit Santino with some sort of Jumping Neckbreaker! The Cobra is down and out, 1-2-3. Pretty academic Nexus victory.

S: Yeah a pretty normal Nexus victory, work over, babyface comeback, THE NUMBERS GAME and the heels win. It was nothing special at all, I did like Santino’s hot tag but that Jumping Neckbreaker by Heath, what was it? It looked like a wonky version of the Zig Zag, and I don’t even like the Zig Zag that much as a finisher.

JT: Yeah this was a persistent issue for Slater his whole WWE run, he never had a good finisher. It doesn’t help that by like 2012 he was jobbing out all day every day, but even before then he never had a memorable move. Which is weird because he’s a fairly good wrestler! He’s no Dean Malenko, but he was always decent enough. Never during his 2016 “I’ve got Kids” run, never during the Social Outcasts or 3MB, never during the Corre or the Nexus did he have a good finisher or even a named finisher! From some searching, it seems he’d do a Impaler DDT called the “Smash Hit” sometimes and that didn’t look bad. But that Neckbreaker he does here doesn’t even have a name, which is equally perplexing considering his musician persona. It’s so easy to come up with music puns! What a weird career Heath Slater has had man. This is just one small part of that weirder whole.

S: It’s crazy that he’s never had a proper finisher because as you said, he rarely hit one to begin with because he’s one of the best fall guys of his generation. He’s a bit like Barry Horowitz in a sense because he’s a guy who wins by roll ups nearly all the time. I’ll never forget the moment where the AE Podcast dubbed his finisher “Chinese Democracy” because he never hits it.

JT: Hell of a line as always but the AE Pod boys. But guess what, we’re not done here! Despite a clean win, the Nexus wants to teach Santino a lesson and begin ganging up on him, until we get the all too familiar Anonymous Raw GM ping! And I quote: Nexus gtfo. But in seriousness, it’s time for the main event, where Nexus is banned from ringside. So leave right now, or else face indefinite suspension. A small mercy for Santino, and a good transition for us to our main event! 

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Ce-ya Later

S: It’s the WWE Title. It’s Orton and Barrett, Cena is the special guest referee. If Barrett wins, Cena is granted freedom from the Nexus. If Orton wins, Cena is fired. FREE OR FIRED. FREE FREE FREE OR FIRED FIRED FIRED.

JT: That’s right! And in typical Power Hour fashion, we have to go backwards before we go forwards. Let’s recap all the little interviews and segments we had throughout this show! First things first, we’ve got Cena backstage. He’s looking at his referee shirt, all contemplative and stuff, when R-Truth comes in to talk to him! They exchange pleasantries, Truth let’s Cena know you’re my boy, you’re my friend. Truth then gets down to business: Nexus is banned from ringside, but he isn’t. If the only way to win is Pinfall or Submission, what if Truth comes down and something “accidentally” happens to Randy. Cena keeps his job, it’s guilt free, 1-2-3. But John doesn’t agree, he says he wouldn’t be able to look at himself in the mirror. He made a promise to himself, he’s calling this down the middle. Truth says, he’ll believe it when he sees it. First off, this is funny with the Flanderization of Truth in mind. Like the way he’ll later refer to John as he childhood hero, despite them being just two buddies here. And also, rare face logic! Truth just outright pointed out how he could’ve helped Cena if Cena had been inclined!

S: Truth could have legit done a run in and attack Barrett, Cena could’ve dq’d Orton, he keeps his title, Barrett wins but doesn’t get the belt and Cena is free! That’s a real tap the temple move right there.

JT: And of course, this story is made explicitly better by the fact that all the cards are on the table. Cena is a stronger character for knowing that this option is out there, but still opting to do things fair. It makes his moral compass mean something, and his status in the locker room means something for a usually squeaky clean guy like Truth to even propose doing something like this to keep Cena around.

S: I really liked this segment. I do kind of wish we got more and more various faces lining up to offer a service on behalf of Cena getting free by getting involved in the match. Just to show that they look up to him and show that he is the moral compass and spirit of that locker room. More or less stating they can’t do this without him.

JT: That doesn’t mean everyone feels that way though! We hear from Randy Orton in a later segment, and he says he is sick of talking about John Cena. He says Cena did this to himself, and he’s focused on Wade Barrett and how he’ll beat him. He says John should know that being fired is the best thing, because if he loses as a result of something John does to him, he’ll do unspeakable things to John. Tonight isn’t about Cena free or fired, it’s about Barrett, punt to the skull or RKO. 

S: I liked this end to the promo, very straight to the point and it’s the Champion believing that he’s the main man, not the side piece. Obviously, I don’t think that’s entirely the case with how it’s portrayed but it’s clear that Orton still has his mind set on retaining and that’s a good thing. Really liked that line where he’s more or less saying that he will punt Barrett if he has to.

JT: I also like that Cena can’t cost him, because he’ll go after him. That’s totally consistent to who Randy has been portrayed as for the last year plus. Just because he’s targeting the heels now doesn’t mean that he’s a “nice guy”. He cares about his title above everyone else.

S: It’s great that this era of Orton really hasn’t changed who he has been, he’s just a face who only cares about being the top guy. He’s got that Steve Austin mentality of that he isn’t going to be overly trusting of anyone and if you cost him, you’re on the hit list. It’s a great anti-hero mindset.

JT: And of course, we’ve got one last segment after this. Who with? Well we’ve seen Cena’s side, we’ve seen Orton, now we’ll see Barrett’s. He’s backstage with Cena, reminding him that this building is the same place Nexus made their debut 5 months ago. He asks Cena if he ever thought that one day, he’d be a part of the Nexus and that he’d be instrumental in making Wade WWE Champion? He then clarified, the only reason he didn’t fire John is because he chose not to. Barrettt relishes in making Cena coronate him. Tonight, Cena needs to do the right thing, and then he’ll be free for good. He asks Cena a final question, has he made himself clear? Cena says that he remembers that fateful night back when the Nexus began, he remembers everything they’ve done to him. When the time is right, Cena knows exactly what he’s doing.  

S: You and I both know that this season has had its ups and downs and when the downs occurred, they were low as fuck but man, the storyline for the main event on this show has been nothing short of masterful. This is the first time since SummerSlam where a main event has felt like the biggest deal. Great stuff from all three before the match even starts.

JT: I’m sure I could find holes in this storyline’s build and how all of this has been executed, but as a whole I agree that this has been set up really well. Especially on tonight’s show, WWE makes sure everyone knows how big this is. This of course is topped off by our final video package! Cena can’t see the rationale in doing anything else other than being a WWE Superstar. He can’t imagine never being able to experience the love of the crowd and thrill of the fight again. All he has to do is award Wade the WWE Title, and then the Nexus will leave him alone. But if he screws over Randy Orton to do so, he’ll be the biggest phony in WWE. Cena has been obeying Wade to save his job, and if he continues that by making Wade Champ, he’d be disrespecting everyone who has ever held that title. Yet, he can’t not be in the WWE. This is the  biggest match of Cena’s life. Again, this is a cliche that’s thrown around a lot, but from the build, I’d buy it! 

S: It’s such a good storyline and it’s genuinely one that you can only do once, and they have only ever done this match once to my knowledge so good stuff if you ask me!

JT: Yeah, it’s so rare that the stakes for one of these matches feels real, y’know? Like it’s always like “Do something if you win or do something way more likely if you lose” or something like that. The table always feels slanted in some way. And here, it genuinely feels like it can go either way. Which works perfectly for Cena as the main character, since he’s gonna call it right down the middle. He’s wearing the referee uniform on his way to the ring of course. Perhaps in his last run to the ring! I’ll also just add that Orton gets a nice pop, and it’s just hard for Wade not to feel like the third wheel here. He’s not, that’s giving the storyline too little credit. His chances feel just as real as Orton’s, and he’s a huge part of the story. But it’s hard for him at this stage to not feel like the third biggest star in the ring.

S: I think if we’re looking at the point of view of the crowd, I’d say Barrett’s moment has already gone three times at this stage. He failed to win at SummerSlam and he’s already failed to win the title twice. That’s a lot of times where it feels like someone’s moment has flown by when they’ve only been on the main show since JUNE.

JT: I think I’m starting to feel like that is sort of the issue with an “unstoppable” group like Nexus, and having someone pushed as hard as Barrett has been. When you’re such a big deal out of the gate, you have to win or else. If you move up the card over time, fighting for the midcard belts is fine and losing a World Title feud can sometimes be progression. But when you shoot straight to the top? As soon as you lose once, you have nowhere to go but down. And clearly, WWE have reasons for not giving him the belt, at least not to this point.

S: Now I’m not comparing Wade Barrett and Brock Lesnar here because Brock is genuinely a one in a million specimen but could you imagine if he challenged The Rock and didn’t win, then failed to win in a triple threat and lost to Taker in that Hell in a Cell? Would’ve been very damaging for him, sometimes when you push someone this fast to the top, maybe it’s a bit too risky because if you have him lose so many big matches so early, it can be death. Especially in 2010s wrestling.

JT: Yeah it’s a pretty unforgiving position, it’s the ultimate sink or swim position. Either you’re an instant top star like Brock or to a lesser extent AJ Styles and The Shield, or you’re already viewed as a bust prospect. Instantly sticking in the main event in your first 5 months on the main roster in front of the main audience is a hell of a task.

S: A completely unenviable task as well for Barrett because at least Brock got to absolutely maul his way through the roster first. Even Styles had a few setbacks but his trajectory to the title was at least realistic, everyone knew he had an undeniable talent to be stuck in the midcard so he always had that on his side. Barrett is just the one who does not fall into either of those categories sadly.

JT: Well with that all said, I think it’s time for our main event!

S: Take it home, James!

JT: So we begin with a knockdown by Orton, with the typical feeling out process at the start. Barrett is beating the “third wheel” allegations as Barrett sucks chants happen, although there are also loud RKO chants as Orton controls things in the early stages. Orton shoves Barrett into the corner, and Cena forces Randy to break, diverting Orton’s attention for a moment, allowing Barrett to hit a big boot. He smirks, like Cena is reffing in his favor, but Cena then forces Wade to break, and this time Orton takes advantage with a Dropkick! Like Cena said, even-stevens, right down the middle. But I do like that the heel gets the first “advantage” just so that there’s a moment where Wade feels like he’s got Cena in his pocket. Of course an egomaniac would see one thing go his way and assume that he’s going to get his way. 

S: Yeah it’s a very effective way of starting a match which has these types of high stakes. At first you think that Cena might be leaning slightly towards Barrett when he takes control after the clean break but then bang, we’re back right down the middle. This is going to be called fairly.

JT: As the match goes on, Barrett beats up Randy on the outside, ramming him into the apron and stairs. He rolls him in and covers, and a regular count by Cena only gets to 2. Barrett then slows the match down with a chin lock, Orton tries to fire up, knee to the gut shuts him down. More chin lock until a Back Suplex breaks it up. They start trading shots, with the crowd definitely  behind Orton, until Randy gets the prompt! He presses Y on Xbox (or Triangle on PlayStation) and gets his comeback sequence! Clothesline, clothesline, duck a shot, Scoop Powerslam, and then he clotheslined Barrett to the floor. However outside the ring, Barrett turns things around as he rams Randy into the post. He tries to come back in, Orton cuts him off, Wade holds onto the ropes for dear life and he pokes Orton’s eyes but then runs into the Backbreaker. Orton rushes into a boot in the corner, then a clothesline by Barrett and then a Diving Elbow Drop! 1–2–Kickout! Pumphandle Slam, Orton kicks out at 2 again!  Wasteland attempted, Orton escapes but runs into the Winds of Change Spinning Side Slam!  1-2—Kickout a third time! I love that Spinning Side Slam of his, definitely one of his best moves. 

S: Yeah a Spinning Side Slam, or a Black Hole Slam if you wanna call it that is always a crazy and sweet looking move. Probably a finisher which suited Barrett more than the Wasteland because that finish stinks.

JT: He definitely gets more heft on it than he does for Wasteland, but does it have enough impact compared to being a main event finish? Compared to say to Big Boss Man, I’d say so, but compared to the Black Hole Slam? No chance, Abyss is the all time best for that move. No discussion needed. So I guess if he gets like 2/3s of the spin and force Abyss had, it’s good enough.

S: Oh he’s definitely good at doing the move but Abyss is just untouchable when it comes to that move, no one has come close to him.

JT: So after he can’t put him away, he goes for Wasteland, but Orton escapes and sends him to the apron, setting him up for that Vintage Orton DDT! Barrett rolls to the floor, desperate for any breathing room, but Orton clotheslines him out on the floor. He rolls him in, Orton rolls in himself, Barrett quickly cuts him off coming back in, getting him on his shoulder, planting him with Wasteland!! He got it flush!! Barrett takes a bit of time getting the cover, but still manages to get on top, and Cena counts the fall: 1–2—Orton gets the ropes! Barrett is incensed that Cena called the break! He gets in his face, he yells at him, reminding him his job is on the line, he shoves Cena, Cena shoves him back, and Barrett goes right back into the clutches of Orton! RKO out of nowhere! Cena on the count: 1—2———3!! Stryker yells “Cena’s free” nope, he’s fired. Cena throws off the referee shirt and throws down the Nexus Armband! Nexus rushes out, but Cena and Orton chase them off and Wade Barrett is dragged to the back in defeat. Cena hands the WWE Title to Orton, Cena gives him a hug and Orton celebrates. Randy looks apprehensive and pounds his chest to John, before heading up the ramp and leaving Cena alone. Before we get into Cena’s “last moments” in a WWE ring, any thoughts on the match?  

S: Okay. So I thought the match was fine, but it wasn’t anything special. I think it served as a match in which you were wondering what the finish was going to be, that’s all that mattered with this one. That call from Stryker, which was no doubt fed to him by Vince to make him look like a fucking idiot really annoyed me. Simply because I know Stryker wouldn’t actually say that, he’s a smart guy who knows wrestling and the stories behind the matches he commentates on. Enough of that short rant, the match itself, was there for us to wonder what was going to happen in the end. Almost like a movie where the only thing that matters is the conclusion, we’ve all watched one of those in our time. Oh and The Nexus are properly near the end as they were chumped out here. I agree with it in a sense because they needed to do the Cena thing with no shenanigans after the match.

JT: I feel like this match to me sort of served as another example as to why Wade Barrett didn’t stick in the main event scene. On one hand, there’s the booking that’s really no fault of his own. But on the other hand, this is his third-fourth big match, and he’s really just bland. Everything he does he does perfectly fine, but there’s very little pop or personality to it. He’s just competent, but just being fine doesn’t make you a main event wrestler. Like he doesn’t even have a big way to draw heat from the crowd, he just has his little sneer. I was a pretty big fan of his later on in his WWE run, I loved “Bad News” Barrett. But like, here? I notice while writing my summaries of his matches, there’s like nothing to talk about. He does his moves, they’re done decently or even well, and that’s about all there is to say. This match was like what, 2-3 messages from me? It was 15 minutes long!

S: This was the problem with Wade Barrett as a main eventer in WWE during his tenure, he just didn’t have that certain oomph which he had as BNB. Like Bad News Barrett had a catchphrase, a finisher which he would hit out of nowhere and had a connection to the crowd even though he was a heel. Here? He’s a baddie, that’s it.

JT: So now that Orton is gone and this match is totally wrapped up, I’ll bring up something that felt like it could’ve been an option. Did you ever think The Miz was going to Cash In during this match? Do you think that could’ve been a way for WWE to have him not only become Champ but sort of circumvent Cena’s stipulation? I didn’t think of it at the time (because I was 11) but I feel like if I was my age now back then, I would’ve thought a Cash In was pretty likely.

S: At the time, I mean I didn’t watch the show but I did feel that Miz would have cashed in soon enough when I was that age. Like you, I was only a kid of 10 years old so I wouldn’t have thought much about a cash in. Also like yourself though, if I was 22 in 2010, I would absolutely have thought a cash-in was likely.

JT: I mean I know that until 2015, WWE only wrote Cash Ins to happen after or before a match (rather than during one) but I feel like Miz getting involved could’ve fucked with the stipulation somehow. Maybe another DQ like last time? The other idea that really comes to mind for me is just the imagery of referee John Cena needing to raise Miz’s hand and put the title around his waist.

S: I think that would have made for such a great bit, he clocks Barrett with the briefcase while Orton is down, which leads to Cena disqualifying Orton. Cena is freed and then Alex Riley provides a distraction for Miz to get a cheap win. Then you have a heel Miz as Champion who now has Orton, a freed Cena and the entirety of The Nexus giving chase to him as Champion. I have actually saved wrestling in 2010.

JT: Or I can see an alternative where Miz attacks them, Cena refuses to give the DQ and throws Miz/Riley out of the ring/match, and then Orton still wins. Then after that, like on the next Raw, Miz cashes in anyways, winning the title, and then goes on to target Cena and how his big sacrifice only delayed the inevitable. That would’ve added considerable fire to the Miz/Cena WrestleMania match.

S: Absolutely, because that main event at Mania 27 needed a longer build than what it got. If you had that feud built from November, then you have the added intrigue of The Rock. It would’ve helped everyone out considerably.

JT: Of course though, that didn’t happen, and we’re not done yet with this show! Cena is alone in the ring, soaking in his final moments. He takes off his armbands to a (mostly) appreciative crowd, he gives a hug to Cole, he hugs red hat guy (aka sign guy), he says thank you to the camera man. He says a big “I love you” to the crowd, he raises his hands for the ok pose one last time and the show goes off the air…or not yet because they did the closing graphic fake out. He spends more time walking through the crowd, slapping hands, and then it finally goes off the air. Despite you and I knowing how it ends, this was still pretty effective. They made it feel like Cena was actually gone for good. 

S: Yeah to be fair they did do just that but like, we all know that was never gonna be the case at all. Even a ten year old mark like myself knew this dude was gonna be back.

JT: Yeah even at the time, I knew about WWE’s tendency to write people off and have them return. I mean, nothing’s more exciting than a big return! So like you I figured it would be a “when he came” rather than “if he came back”. But just how soon did I think? Well, I guess that’s an answer for next time.

S: Ohhhhhh we gotta cliffhanger baby! What is the fate of John Cena, Randy Orton, The Nexus, and… The Miz??? What could this mean????

————————————

Powering Down 

JT: Well whatever it could mean, we’ll have to find out next episode! But for now, it’s time to close the book on this episode. Survivor Series 2010, it’s done and dusted. Seán, your thoughts? Your MOTN, your MVP?

S: Alrighty! Well, I actually really liked this show, mainly for the first three matches on the show. I thought they were all pretty good matches. I thought it was such an easy watch. Obviously it’s not all smooth sailing, that Survivor Series Tag was a bit of a match we kinda bashed on but I did like Big Show and Rey Rey teaming up. Edge and Kane were the absolute pits though. The match of Orton and Barrett was nothing special again but I just loved the storyline throughout the night. Cena, Barrett and Orton need to be applauded for what they did on this show, even when it did mean absolutely nothing soon after. My Match of the Night. What will I give it to? It’s between two matches. Morrison and Sheamus and Dolph Ziggler vs. Kaval. I think for the fact of how crazy it was to see Low Ki on a WWE PPV so many years later, I’ll say Dolph and Low Ki. My MVP, it is none of those people from those matches but it’s going to be John Cena. This show was centered about what the fate of his career was going to be and he did an extremely convincing job that this could be the end. So for that, John Cena is my MVP. How about you?

JT: I hate to say it, because I know variety is the spice of life, but I think I agree pretty much across the board. It was a pretty easy show to watch, although I’m hesitant to call it a “good show”. There really isn’t much to be excited about, there’s really not much that’s really impressive. I mean, it’s not an actively bad show so I guess on a curve this scores better, but that’s not much to write home about. 2010’s shows have really hit me the same sort of way for the most part. Generally inoffensive, with one or two standout matches, and then one or two real sinkers, leading to an overall takeaway of very little. Of that general mid, clearly the Kaval vs Dolph Ziggler match stands out. But, considering Kaval’s KO Kick seemed to throw off the momentum in the end, my MVP is Cena too. I say I don’t really walk away with much from these shows, but you know what I do remember? That opening package. The backstage segments. The reluctance John had to count the 3. The emotion of the ending. Who would’ve thought John Cena would be polling so highly so late into our season about The Nexus? Not me, that’s for sure.

S: Neither did I, I was not expecting to be as appreciative for Super Cena, near the end of The Nexus arc as I was but it was that opening package which was absolutely brilliant. You said it rightly as well, these shows are so inoffensive to me in 2023. Like they don’t mean any harm, they aren’t infuriating like some of the booking we’d get years after this, or the offensively bad TV which they’d put out in years to come. They’re just simply there, which is probably the nicest thing I can say.

JT: Oh and I will say, just because we’re liking Cena doesn’t mean that’s necessarily a good thing. I mean John’s doing everything he can, that’s not his fault. But when your show is so bereft of stars and exciting moments, it’s no surprise we’ve been attracted to the one guy who gets all the storylines and all the focus. Is he standing out because he’s just that good, or is he standing out because he’s the only one who stands out by design? Probably a mix of both.

S: Nah he’s standing out because he’s the only one with an actually intriguing story which carries on throughout a PPV and we’re just easily impressed by anything remotely different from 2010 WWE. That’s it really.

JT: Well that’s gotta mean big things for our next episode of the Power Hour! Cena is away, The Nexus will get to play! Our very next episode is Raw from the very next night! It’s Raw November 22nd, 2010! John Cena is set to deliver his farewell address, and much more will certainly happen on this unpredictable episode of Raw! But until then, it’ll be goodbye from me James!

S: And a get outta heeeeeeere!!!! From me, Seán!

JT: Make sure you keep on riding that big train down the line!