RAW Review 11/4/14

(Or "If Only This Happened Some Time Ago...")

By Speed on the Beat

Now, I'm not going to go through play-by-play. You can get that on WINC, PWTorch, WZ, or a myriad of other places. I will, however, speak on three (major) happenings of last night's episode. The overall feeling I had while watching was "if only this happened earlier, then I'd probably care more."

Vince McMahon returned last night to give The Authoritah an ultimatum. Win at Survivor Series or...

I won't complain about Vince appearing, since Vince is, even when he's being a senile a-hole glory hog (sometimes, he really seems like this), gold. However, the "Authority screwing over everyone who isn't in their Fav Five" storyline ran its course around the time that Stephanie and Brie Bella had their bitchfest. Over the past few months, it's gotten stale.

Yes, out of it, we got Ambrose/Rollins and the PG Era's answer to the Foley HIAC spot. However, that's really about it in terms of character development or, you know, things that will maintain interest for the unwashed masses. McMahon's return was needed months ago. If only the WWE stock/behind-the-scenes stuff wasn't as hectic as Wall Street makes it out to be. That way, we probably would've seen this storyline end, Orton go back to crazy tweener, and Daniel Bryan return in time for WM 31.

Speaking of Orton, Orton kind of reverted back to that crazy tweener...only to get his head curbstomped by Seth Rollins.

H/T wwe.com. Can we please, however, stop the B&W
whenever blood appears filter? It only makes it more apparent.

I applaud WWE's decision to show a plethora of dissension within the ranks of The Authority (which leads me to believe the angle is ending around Survivor Series). I also applaud WWE allowing Orton to not full-on revert to "Face Orton." No one, not even Randy himself, wants that. However, I still couldn't help but feel that this has dragged on for longer than needed. It's been about seven months since Randy's discontent with The Authority has started to shine through. I'm not calling for Vince Russo-level booking, where everything happens at break-neck speed. However, had this tease gone on long enough, I would've left it alone and gave zero you-know-whats about it.

And finally, the big news. Rusev is your United States Champion.

Y'know, if this were in the middle of the Cold War or even a couple months ago, it'd be a better move. However, now? It's kind of "ok, the big, bad 'Russian' won. Let's build him up to feed him to Cena at some point." It's still heat worthy. But, at the same time, it feels long overdue. What will the future hold for Rusev? If Hulk's tweets are indicative of anything, John Cena will at some point, feud with Rusev over the US Belt (maybe to give it some of that "legitimacy" the Internet loves to gawk over). Maybe it's because the belt was on Sheamus for so long that I stopped giving a crap, but all I could muster at this development was "oh, word? Um...alright then."

Until next time (maybe not next week, but we'll see).
-Speed on the Beat

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Eyes on the Ring 12:24 PM  No comment

Ring of Honor Wrestling Review for 11/1/14

By Nathan Neumann @Headliner5 on Twitter

Hello once again, Ring of Honor wrestling fans (and wrestling fans in general). Nathan here to bring you your weekly review of all things Ring of Honor Wrestling. This week’s show was decent at best but I’ll get into that in a bit as to why I felt this way this week.

First of all, they need to redo their current ROH Wrestling intro. Why? Well, there are a handful of guys who are included within the intro that are either:

A) No longer with the company or

B) In a different gimmick. 

It needs a revamping—and fast. Maybe, as we get closer to 2015, we’ll get that. But, it remains to be seen.

After the intro, the cameras bring us into the arena and Kevin Kelly is on commentary. Kelly welcomes us to the show and tells us that his color commentator for the week will be none other than…Truth Martini. Truth Martini filled the role well. But, I would prefer someone on color (or commentary in general) whose voice isn’t a complete gimmick. I honestly don’t think his voice is that deep or that Martini uses that as his everyday voice.

Anyways, enough of my rambling and on to the first match of the night, shall we?

Match 1

Mark Briscoe vs. Caprice Coleman

Result: Mark Briscoe defeats Caprice Coleman by pinfall via a modified Olympic slam

Thoughts: This match was a battle over two ordained ministers (Seriously, I found out that Mark Briscoe is an ordained minister. Completely blew my mind). Early on in the match, Caprice Coleman hit Mark Briscoe with the “One Inch Punch” (A punch that purposely isn’t supposed to connect with your opponent) and Mark Briscoe sold it like he got shot out of a cannon. Caprice then followed it up with a moonsault for a near-fall.  The finish of the match came when Mark Briscoe scored the pin with a modified Olympic slam. I wasn’t really feeling this match. Both guys, on their own, are extremely uninteresting and it just didn’t sit well with me. It wasn’t “bad,” but it didn’t really jump out at me as anything special.

Rating: *3/4

From there, we go to a segment involving the suspended Tommaso Ciampa. Ciampa demands that Nigel McGuinness reinstates him.  He then tells McGuinness that he’s gotten soft and says that Nigel is washed up and not what he used to be back when he was a wrestler. This led McGuinness to reinstate Ciampa (minus the verbal bullying) with a zero tolerance policy.  If Ciampa attacks any more officials within ROH, he will be fired on the spot.  This brings out Jay Briscoe to confront the newly reinstated Ciampa but before anything can happen, The Kingdom jump in the ring and attack the world champion. They (Cole, Taven, and Bennett) lay out Briscoe with a triple superkick followed by a doomsday device on Mark Briscoe (who made his way out to the ring to aid his fallen brother). 

I had a thought while this angle was going on. Simply put, Tommaso Ciampa will be the next ROH World Heavyweight Champion. The guy has all the tools and ever since Kevin Steen left ROH for WWE (currently in NXT, possibly about to be renamed Kevin Owens), ROH has needed a guy to fill the void. It seems that they are accomplishing this with Ciampa. I could easily see him becoming the next ROH World Champion if they build it right. I for one am all for this because Ciampa is my favorite guy within ROH right now. But, time will tell whether or not I’m right.

Back from commercial, BJ Whitmer who has some motivating words for Adam Page ahead of their upcoming match, treats us to a promo.

Match 2Brutal Burgers (Brutal Bob Evans and Cheeseburger) vs. BJ Whitmer and Adam Page

Result: Adam Page picks up the win for himself and Whitmer after hitting Cheeseburger with a modified Air Raid Crash.

Thoughts: I wasn’t really feeling this match as well. It was decent, at best, but I would have preferred it to be a singles match between Bob Evans and BJ Whitmer (the two that I actually like within the match). To me, Cheeseburger can’t be taken seriously because he is really skinny and as his name suggests he needs to eat a cheeseburger (Blame Charlie Haas for Cheeseburger having his name, since Haas coined it in a promo way back in 2013 when he was still with ROH).  If Cheeseburger were to get a name change, I might be able to take him seriously. But, since that will probably never happen, I will probably not like him for as long as he is wrestling in the company—especially since his matches just aren’t realistic at all.

Adam Page on the other hand hasn’t really impressed me and has only had one really good match that being against Silas Young. You can thank Silas Young for that because he is the man and continues to do great things in the company. 

The match ended after Adam Page hit Cheeseburger with a modified air raid crash. Out of the two Brutal Burgers members, Cheeseburger is usually the one to take the pinfall while Brutal Bob will console him post match.  I’m waiting for the day when Bob snaps and gets rid of Cheeseburger (so he can get off of my TV).  Sadly, when this happens, Evans will go back into obscurity. This is unfortunate because he is a talented wrestler and accomplished trainer, but always seems to get shafted on getting a fair shake.

Rating: **

Back from a commercial break that included a ROH Halloween promo that involved Delirious, Mark Briscoe, and the Romantic Touch, we head right into the main event of the evening.

Main Event – Match 3

Matt Sydal vs. AJ Styles

Result: AJ Styles defeats Matt Sydal by dropping down to the ground in a variation of the Styles Clash and then following it up with a regular Styles clash for the win.

Thoughts: This match was really, really good.

I could tell that these tapings were old as AJ Styles was still the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion at the time (before King Of Pro Wrestling, which took place on October 12th). But, that doesn’t matter to me because it’s bound to happen within a taped environment (and ROH is a company that can get away with it). 

This match had a very slow technical start with both Styles and Sydal one-upping the other on their skills on the ground.  The match picked up when Styles lifted Sydal up and Sydal hit AJ with a flying head scissors. Styles rolled out of the ring and Sydal tried to execute a moonsault to the outside of the ring but Styles prevented it from happening and hangs Sydal out between the ropes. 

Later on in the match, Matt Sydal hit his patented double knees off of the top to a standing AJ that took Styles down to the mat.  Sydal then fought out of a styles clash attempt and then proceeded to miss an attempt at a shooting star press.  The finish came when Styles dropped down to the ground with a Styles clash variant and then hit a regular Styles Clash to score the pinfall victory.  Very good match and a hell of a main event, it was definitely worth the wait considering it was hyped for three weeks on TV.

Rating: **3/4

After the match, Truth Martini got off of commentary and came over to Sydal as he was on his way up the ramp. Could we be seeing the potential birth of a new “House Of Truth?”  We will have to tune in to see what will happen in the weeks to come. But don’t worry, Eyes On The Ring readers. I will have all the coverage as it pertains to Ring Of Honor for you right here. 

So until next week ROH fans I am Nathan saying so long and be sure to keep your eyes on the ring (and on the site) as the entire Eyes On The Ring team including myself brings you all of the latest and greatest news that we feel you should know.  Also please head on over to Facebook.com/EyesOnTheRing and give us a like and follow us on Twitter @EyesOnTheRing and I will see you next week!

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Eyes on the Ring 11:28 AM  No comment

When is Randy Orton at his best?

Speed on the Beat here. But, you already knew that.

For years, Mr. RKO Out of Nowhere has been one of the most consistent performers in the WWE. However, he's also been one of the most consistently misused performers--possibly because what the company feels he can do with what the fans may want/need him to do are usually not on the same page.

I feel that Randy Orton is best when he's kind of able to be "himself." Kind of a snarky, sarcastic, ready-to-flip-you-off-and/or-legit-beat-you-if-you-act-"STUPID STUPID STUPID!" a-hole. For instance, let's take a look at Orton's match versus David Otunga from around Christmas 2011.

Now, the match itself isn't great. In fact, like a lot of Orton matches circa 2009-2012, it was kind of garbage (my favorite Orton eras for quality matches are The Legend Killer era, followed--oddly enough--by 2013-present Orton). However, those moments of Orton being Orton, such as his "HO HO HO!" before throwing Otunga into the steps (or the "mmm cookies" face he makes in the beginning of this clip), made the match stick out to me. It was the perfect mix of "crazy, spot-filled goodness" and dark, albeit physical, comedy. Orton is the type of guy who doesn't let a botch or a "CM PUNK!"-chanting crowd really get to him (read: he absolutely lets it get to them then ramps up the awesome).

Let's look at earlier this year in a match versus Daniel Bryan. A fan, during a No DQ match, screamed out for the ref to ring the bell. Randy kindly reminded the fan of da rules...by suplexing Bryan onto the announcers' table after screaming "there's no bell to ring!"

If/when WWE lets Orton let the voices in his head actually tell him to be kind of a d-bag, Orton is golden. When the voices tell him to conform, we get Orton spewing drivel about how "XYZ is 'best for business.'" You want Orton to truly be the face of the company, Triple H? Let the guy become a straight-up anti-hero. Not a heel, not a face, not a tweener. A straight-up, "I play by my own rules (within the confines of the law)" anti-hero. That'll legit put butts in seats, in my humble opinion. That and keep him far the f*** away from John Cena.

http://t.co/qiEWp4QU0P nice celebration, work on your form @dundeefconline #rko

— Randy Orton (@RandyOrton) October 18, 2014

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Eyes on the Ring 12:43 PM  No comment

ROH Review for 10/25/14 Show

Ring Of Honor Wrestling Review – Airdate: 10/25/14

By Nathan Neumann (@Headliner5 on Twitter)

Hello once again wrestling fans, Nathan here to provide you with your weekly dose of Ring Of Honor in the form my review of this weeks episode of ROH TV.  It was another good show from the company this week so without any further ado lets get going.

We open this week with a promo from the current reigning and defending Ring Of Honor World Heavyweight Champion Jay Briscoe. He he has some words for his opponent for the evening, Michael Bennett. Jay Briscoe simply asks Bennett if he is ready for their match tonight?  It was a simple but perfectly acceptable way to set up tonight’s bout between the two men.

This week’s episode of Ring Of Honor Television was dubbed “Championship Night,” meaning that every single title was on the line in the hour. If my memory serves me correct, tonight was the first time something like this was done in the almost three year history of the show.

From there, we go to the first match of the evening, which was for the Ring Of Honor World Tag Team Title’s as Roderick Strong and Jimmy Jacobs of the Decade challenge the champion’s reDRagon (Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish).

Match 1

Roderick Strong and Jimmy Jacobs vs. reDRagon (Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish) {C}
ROH World Tag Team Championship Match

Result: reDRagon defeat Jimmy Jacobs and Roderick Strong after hitting Strong with Chasing The Dragon to retain the ROH World Tag Team Titles.

Thoughts: This was a really good opener. Although, I’m not a fan of the current storyline going on with The Decade (although Jimmy Jacobs is killing it in the role), the stable didn’t play too much of a factor in this one. Early on, Jacobs hit a flying head scissors on O’Reilly followed by some double team maneuvers from Strong and Jacobs.  At one point Jacobs picked up O’Reilly and tossed him into Roderick Strong’s Knee to a huge reaction from the crowd in the arena. The finish came when reDRagon hit Roderick Strong with Chasing The Dragon (Brainbuster head kick combination) to score the win and retain the titles.  

This match was perfectly acceptable and it allowed reDRagon to show everyone what they are capable of doing. reDRagon should be a solid contender for “Tag Team Of The Year” on anyone’s ballot because if I was to do a Ballot they would probably be my number one pick because they have had some great matches this year.  If you don’t believe me go back to ROH War Of The Worlds from this past April and check out their match against the Young Bucks. It’s a match that is highly touted as one of the best matches of the year. Even though I don’t like the “Indy Darlings” known as the Young Bucks, that match was damn good.

From there we go to a commercial break and seriously ROH stars need to stop doing commercials for their sponsors.  I understand that ROH is a business and they want it done but some of them are terrible. For instance, here’s Jay Lethal promoting the Health Alert Hotline.

Hilarious stuff.

From there, we head back into the arena for the second match of the evening, which was for the Ring Of Honor World Television Championship as recent ROH Dojo graduate Will Ferrara challenged current ROH TV champion Jay Lethal for the title.

Rating: **

Match 2

Will Ferrara vs. Jay Lethal {C}
ROH World Television Championship Match

Result: Jay Lethal defeats Will Ferrara with the Lethal Injection to retain the ROH World Television Championship

Thoughts: The first thing I noticed prior to the match even getting underway was the absence of one Seleziya Sparx, which automatically causes this match to lose a star rating (just kidding).  Bobby Cruise does the announcements for this match and he announces Jay Lethal as being the “greatest first-generation wrestler ever.” The two start the match and Jay quickly knocks Will out of the ring. Ferrara nearly dies on his way out of the ring after hitting the outside of the apron badly.

He was fine but that looked like it could have been a bit dangerous. Still, he’s okay so the match continues. Back in the ring, Ferrara attempts a Tornado DDT but Lethal reverses it and delivers the Lethal Combination (Modified backbreaker/Flatliner combo).  Later on, Ferrara hits a German suplex on Lethal for a near fall. The conclusion of the match came when Lethal hit Ferrara with the Lethal Injection (handspring ace crusher) to pick up the victory and his title retention. Nothing wrong with that match, it was perfectly acceptable and Ferrara had a good showing, which is nice.

Rating: **1/4

Back from a commercial, the main event is up next, which was for the Ring Of Honor World Championship as Michael Bennett challenged the champion Jay Briscoe for the title (as mentioned earlier in this review).

Match 3

Michael Bennett vs. Jay Briscoe {C}

Ring Of Honor World Championship Match

Result: Jay Briscoe defeats Michael Bennett with the Jay Driller to retain the ROH World Championship

Thoughts: First things first, I’ll admit that even though I’m not a fan of Michael Bennett (and probably never will be), he actually went a long way in impressing me in this match so there’s that. The match started off when Todd Sinclair rang the bell, immediately following that Bennett slapped Briscoe, which made Jay very angry. Jay proceeded to chase Bennett around the ring and to the outside.  

The two men go back inside of the ring to try and have a normal match but things quickly break down once again and the two men head back to the outside of the ring.  This time they make their way to the top of the ramp where Bennett tried to give Briscoe his patented piledriver. Jay however was able to reverse it and backdrop Bennett on the ramp.  Back in the ring Bennett locks on the Anaconda vice on a fallen Jay Briscoe teasing that Jay a man who hasn’t been pinned or submitted in a full two years might do so here. That however doesn’t happen as Jay reaches out and grabs the bottom rope with his right arm to force the break.  

The two wrestle to the outside of the ropes where Jay Briscoe picks Michael Bennett up and delivers a Death Valley Driver on the ring apron to a huge pop. The move was cool but those spots seriously need to stop happening. It does nothing but get a pop (which is its exact purpose), but it’s not worth risking permanent injury to your body in order to do those types of things.

Later in the match Michael Bennett attempts a pin on a fallen Jay Briscoe after hitting a blockbuster and gets the nearest of near falls. The finish of the match saw Jay Briscoe hit the Jay Driller to Michael Bennett to pick up the pinfall victory and the retention of his championship.

This was a perfectly acceptable match for Bennett. It’s probably the best I have ever seen him in (but the guy still leaves a lot to be desired at least for me while in the ring). Still, he went a long way in impressing me during this match. I think he may have succeeded in doing so. But, one match isn’t going to change my opinion on the guy.  Everyone is capable of having good matches because it all depends on who they’re in the ring with.

Rating: **3/4

After the match Bennett attempted a Twist of Fate on Jay Briscoe. Maria then got in the ring and Adam Cole ran down to save her from a Jay Driller. Mark Briscoe comes out followed by Matt Taven in a suit; Matt nails Mark with the “Title Of Love” and joins the Kingdom. It turns out that Matt Taven was the “Matt” that Adam Cole was referring to in the past few weeks. That means that Taven is a heel once again (but they honestly didn’t know what to do with him as a face. So I am fine with it, although it took a lot to get there).  The show closes with The Kingdom posing over both of the fallen Briscoes with both the “Title Of Love” and the ROH World Title as we go to black for the week.

That’ll do it for me and another one of my signature ROH Reviews here at EyesOnTheRing.blogspot.com.  Sorry that this review went on a little long but the more detail the better right?  Until next week wrestling fans I am Nathan saying so long and be sure to keep your Eyes On The Ring for more great articles from myself and the entire Eyes On The Ring Team. Also if you could please head on over to facebook.com/EyesOnTheRing and like us and follow us on twitter @EyesOnTheRing

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Eyes on the Ring 11:38 AM  No comment

HIAC Preview

Hello, ladies and gentleman (and most importantly, the Eyes On The Ring readers). Nathan here, once again, to bring you your monthly dose of WWE Pay Per View predictions. This time, we’re talking this Sunday’s WWE Hell In A Cell PPV. This, of course, will take place live on the WWE Network. As always, I am joined by Jon. So, let’s get to it, shall we?

Nikki Bella vs. Brie Bella

Loser has to become the winners servant

Jon: I wish this feud would end soon. Unfortunately, it will be drug out for at least another 30 days due to the stipulation of the match; the loser of this match becomes the personal assistant of the victor. Since I have to choose a winner I shall go with Nikki.

Nathan: This feud is cringeworthy, it’s spawned some of the worst television segments I have ever seen on RAW. And, because of that, it’s a leading candidate for the “Worst Storyline of the Year” award if not the “Worst Storyline in Wrestling History” award (there have been worse, but this is pretty bad).

Seriously, this storyline is so bad that I wish it would receive a Slammy award in December for its terribleness. Furthermore I wish someone from WWE Creative would apoligize to me for putting it on my TV. I really hope that this match will be the last of this feud. But, given the recent stipulation to the match? I fear that it won’t be. We’ll probably have to sit through more of this garbage. In the predictions I sent to a few people, I said that Brie was going to win. But, I have a feeling now that given the stipulation Nikki will win and Brie will become Nikki’s slave (due to the psychology of how these types of things work out). Part of me wishes this match was a Hell In A Cell match.

Why, you ask? So Brie and Nikki both get decapitated via the cage and I never have to see them or hear one of their awful promos ever again.

Antonio Cesaro vs. Dolph Ziggler {C}
2 out of 3 Falls match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship

Jon: This should be an exciting match between two skilled individuals. Ziggler has lost a lot on Raw and Smackdown lately but I think he redeems himself and retains.

Nathan: I am really looking forward to this match. The inclusion of the two out of three falls stipulation means that the match will be potentially longer than if it were just a one fall to a finish match. I feel these two will get at least ten to fifteen minutes (I hope) to tell a proper story. This match could potentially be a big talking point from this event. I’m also hoping that Cesaro will become the new Intercontinental Champion with a win here--and become the star that we all know that he is capable of being.

Paige vs. AJ Lee {C}
WWE Diva’s Championship Match

Jon: Once again I'm not invested in this rivalry. I’m picking AJ Lee to retain her Divas title once again.

Nathan: This is a feud that, before it happened, I looked forward to seeing how AJ and Paige would work with one another. That was in May. In October, however, I just don’t care about this storyline. WWE has a way of doing something once, and have it go over really well. So, the creative minds decide to do it a thousand more times (which will be a theme to this PPV. Hi, Cena vs. Orton). That’s exactly the case here.  

These two women have wrestled each other way too much. With each match they wrestle, I care less and less. I’m hoping that this match will be the last we see of these two and their stupid “Frenimies” storyline can end. The winner of this match will be AJ Lee. Hopefully, she’ll go on to feud with someone new like Alicia Fox or who knows? Just do something else please (except the Bellas, of course).

The Miz vs. Sheamus {C}
WWE United States Championship Match

Jon: The Miz has 3 victories of the United States champion Sheamus--thanks to help from his stunt double Damien Mizdow. If there was a way for Mizdow to get the victory that would be great and an unexpected twist. Since Mizdow isn’t eligible for the win, I choose the Irishman Sheamus to win and retain.

Nathan: This is another match I really don’t care about all that much. I’ve never been a fan of the Miz and Sheamus, while a great wrestler, he’s not doing anything effective.  The United States Title is often forgettable (I had to visit wwe.com to remember who the champion was. That should tell you something). And, this match will probably add to that long list of forgetful United States Championship matches.  

Yeah, there have been some good ones sprinkled in here and there (see Sheamus vs. Cesaro). But, besides that? Nothing recently really comes to mind as memorable. I expect Sheamus to pick up the win and continue on with his title reign. The only way I could see the title changing hands is if Damien Mizdow somehow changes places with the Miz and picks up the win and wins the title in the process. Something tells me that is what will happen and I am hoping I am right. That way, we can get Damien SANDOW back (sans Miz) and he can do his thing because he’s being underutilized.

The Usos vs. Goldust and Stardust {C}
WWE Tag Team Championship Match

Jon: I enjoy these to two teams; they play off each other well in promos and have great chemistry in the ring. They have put on outstanding matches each time they have faced each other.  Stardust and Goldust have taken the word “crazy” to a whole new level since they won the cosmic keys aka the tag titles. Because of this, they will also retain as champs.

Nathan: I really enjoy the Usos but I am not real high on Stardust and Goldust. Quite frankly, I’m sick of Stardust.  I’ve never been a fan of over-the-top gimmicks in wrestling and Stardust is just way too bizarre for my tastes. It’s doing Cody Rhodes a huge injustice by being stuck in the role that he is in. There is no need for a title change in this match, because the Stardust and Goldust just won them.  So I will go with Stardust and Goldust. Although, in a perfect world, Stardust would turn on Goldust and cost them the titles so the Usos could win the titles back. But, I just don’t see that happening right now.  So your winners and still Tag Team Champions Stardust and Goldust (unfortunately).

Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins
Hell In A Cell match

Jon: The match that should be the true main event (refer to our last article for reasons why) They hate each other. How far things have come from Believing in The Shield to wanting to beat the snot out of each other. Hell in a Cell gives the advantage to a crazy man like Ambrose; however Rollins ends the night on top just like he did on last week’s Raw.

Nathan: This is the match that I have been waiting for for months and they have lead up to it perfectly (except for the angle on this past Monday’s RAW which did neither man any favors in my opinion). It sucks that we wont get this as the main event. But, given WWE’s recent track record, we as fans should just be happy that the company is giving us the match at all, since they don’t always do whats “Best for Business.”

This is the match I am looking forward to the most on this show. I feel it’ll deliver whether it’s the first match on the show or the last match of the night.  This is a perfect match where I would hope for some blood. But given WWE’s stance on blood over the past years, if I don’t get it, I won’t be too disappointed. Blood or not, this match should be fantastic.

I’m hoping for Rollins to get the win here as he’s my favorite wrestler of the two. If Brock Lesnar was around and wrestling, I would say that Rollins would probably lose to Ambrose and then go on later in the night to cash in on Brock and pick up the title. But Brock and the title are nowhere to be found, that probably won’t happen. Rollins will be your winner and Dean will be left picking up the pieces or so I hope.

Rusev vs. The Big Show

Jon: Rusev wins. I don’t see the need for Big Show to win.  Show has power and a great KO punch but he will not beat the Bulgarian Brute. Plus, how could you lose with the Ravishing Russian Lana on your side?

Nathan: I’m a bit torn on this match and the outcome do I think it will be a good match?  Yes, but I’m not sure how this one is going to go. For predictions sake I am going with Rusev. But I could easily see Big show picking up the win due to WWE getting cold feet over this entire storyline (especially given what occurred on Monday’s RAW).  Either way, this should be a good match and I am looking forward to seeing how this match plays out given the current situation. So again I have a feeling Rusev will win like always via the Accolade. But it wouldn’t surprise me at all if Big show were to win here although I think we all know the end game for this entire Rusev thing but I will complain about that when we get to it and if it actually happens.

Randy Orton vs. John Cena
Hell In A Cell Match

Jon:  Everyone is tired of this match up, it has that “been there, done that” feel to it. John Cena wins and gets his chance to face Brock Lesnar once again. Sorry, Randy. You may be Triple H’s face of the company but Cena is Vince’s choice. Plus I think Orton vs Rollins at TLC will be a much more interesting match to see.

Nathan: 2009 called, they want their match back. Yes, ladies and gentleman, we have seen this match before--back at this very pay per view five years ago. I could care less about this match. For one, we have seen Orton take on Cena a thousand times before. And now, they are wrestling for the second time inside of the Hell in a Cell structure.  I hope at least that this match is better than their 2009 encounter and that they actually USE THE CELL this time around (If you go back and watch their match from 2009, they did not use the cell AT ALL). It was just a normal one on one match that just so happened to take place inside of a steel cage; there was nothing special about it.  

The only difference that this match will have is the stipulation (not the hell in a cell stipulation) of whoever wins this match will be the next in line to face the current WWE Champion, Brock Lesnar. Had this been a normal Hell In A Cell match without that stipulation we might see Cena win. But, since that caveat was added, I only hope that Orton wins this match.  That way we will get a match between Orton and Lesnar which has never happened before.  

I have a strange fear that we will get Cena and Lesnar once again. But, I hope and pray that Orton wins this one because he needs to for my sanity.

Well ladies and gentleman, that will do it for Jon and myself and our preview of this Sunday’s Hell In A Cell pay per view.  I look forward to seeing how both Jon and I did on our predictions come Sunday when the show goes live on the WWE Network.  Until this Sunday, wrestling fans.

Be sure and follow Jon on Twitter at @BigJonDaLegend and follow myself at @Headliner5 and be sure to tell us what you think of this Sunday’s event.  Who do you think will win the matches?  Be sure and let us know your thoughts and also be sure to keep your eyes on the ring and eyesonthering.blogspot.com for some great articles from the entire team here at Eyes On The Ring.

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Eyes on the Ring 10:43 AM  No comment

That Time Dean Ambrose Talked to a Dummy

By Speed on the Beat (@SpeedontheBeat)

(And no, we're not talking about his back-and-forths with John Cena)

Remember when the internet was worried that Dean Ambrose would eventually be made into a laughingstock unable to draw heat, aside from go-away heat, be reduced to some punny jokes, and a crazed look? This past RAW we got a glimpse at what could happen if the WWE just ramps up the "crazy" Dean Ambrose angle up to "Choppy Choppy Your Pee Pee"-levels of sheer "Whaaaa?" For the TL;DR folks, here's what happened.

Dean Ambrose talked to a puppet version of Seth Rollins about HIAC, proceeding to torture said puppet and question the puppet's testicular fortitude with tongs.

I may get crucified for this, but this promo was horrible. It was something out of the Japan feds where wrestlers lose to thin air and blow-up dolls. Not saying that it's a bad thing. Blow-up dolls beating wrestlers with chokeholds, it has its place in the world. But in a serious feud--with a guy who has been booked to hate the living beetlejuice out of Seth Rollins--a grown man playing Saw with a dummy is just inexcusable. And the crowd, the "PG" crowd who apparently enjoys this sort of thing, let Ambrose know how they felt with mostly silence. Now, it wasn't "Katie Vick"-levels of gross, but it was getting there before Mick Foley came out. No, Ambrose didn't go necro with the Rollins doll, but it was just that feeling of creepiness, grossness, and overall "What the...?"

I'd, perhaps, be willing to overlook it. But, then I think back to the hot dog cart and the stolen-from-Nickelodeon "green slime" promos. We get that Ambrose wants to make Rollins' life hell (in a cell!), but slime and mustard? Save that crap for Cena and Cole. But, as more Ambrose's popularity grows, we can expect him to become a bit less "Lunatic Fringe" and a bit more "wacky anti-mainstream guy." It's a product of our times. That's, of course, not to say that a Rock or SCSA didn't have their moments of goofiness. But, as WWE continues to push towards "family-friendly," we'll have to deal with more goofy and less "Pillman's got a gun!"

You know...that may not be that bad a thing. That angle was just all sorts of wrong.

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Eyes on the Ring 3:26 PM  No comment