OUTSTANDING opening video focusing on Taker-Ambrose, oh and Alberto faces Swagger in a no DQ match. Zeb's now got a long red shirt on underneath his vest, making him look like a militant Santa. I loved Josh interrupting Cole's paper-thin analysis with more paper-thin talking of his own. Nice landing on his feet from the suicide dive from Alberto - great opening spot. JBL saying "HERE COME THE TOYS!" when weapons were brought in really killed them seeming like a big deal. Swagger said something other than We the People while talking smack - he's going to break Del Rio. No word on if he'll make him humble too. A freaking ladder is being used in the opener on SD. JBL is referring to EVERY SINGLE WEAPON as a toy. Good lord. He said that it might be tough for these guys to be ready in a month for the PPV match. Why? They've just been hitting each other with toys.
I loved Alberto using a cane instead of forearms for the rope backstabber spot. Seesaw spot with the ladder busted up Swagger's mouth. Great counter for the Swagger bomb locking in the armbar. Now JBL is laughing throughout match. Jesus, they're beating each other bloody with weapons and he's laughing. gutwrench powerbomb won, and it was a fine match hurt a lot by JBL. They hyped up that Swagger has beaten both the champ and Alberto before ER...so he's not winning. Nice of them to at least make him seem like a credible threat though. Show-Sheamus is on for tonight too - should be good, ditto Orton-Henry.
Sheamus hyping Bret's DVD seems a tad bit odd. WWE Magazine is now an app, and has DEEP, ENGAGING CONTENT! Aksana's slither on the apron is hot - I dug it being used against her with a dropkick to the ribs at one point. Also love JBL mocking Cole for not realizing that Layla's outfit was a union jack on Raw. Aksana is now trying to snap her fingers ala Raven. Now JBL is burying Josh after repeating what he said since he has no credibility. Ya know, I can't really blame Josh for just phoning it in. Layla won with a modified version of her wacky nine million flip cradle thing. It's called Infinity for some reason. They hyped the E! diva show. I'm already annoyed by this program, although I think they showed Cesaro kissing one of the Funkadactyls. YAY, the Shield 6-man tag gets recapped next!
SMS ad, which led to Josh hyping up his commentary...which Cole then buried. BOO. The highlights are just the ending. Goddamn is the Shield amazing on the mic. Ambrose is one of the most unique mic guys they've had in years. Josh tried to put over Fandangoing at a wedding, but INSTEAD OF PUTTING OVER FANDANGO, JBL made sure to bury Josh. Then JBL got a taste of his own medicine when Cole knocked him for calling the chick Mrs. Fandango, although JBL defended himself by saying that no one knew her name, and it's better than calling her Dancing Hot Chick. His compromise was Ms. Fandango. Oh, and some fans Fandangoed, while some kids were confused as to what to do, so they just danced with each other. That was wackily adorable. Gabriel, THE CAPETOWN WEREWOLF, was dumbfounded by Fandango. JBL buried Josh again, then Cole buried him for not being on Raw. Just quit dude. Josh talked about Gabriel going coastering, I'm astonished JBL didn't bury Josh for that. Loved the jumping kick on the ropes, and the kick to the ribs in mid-air. He did basically Sandow's Russian legsweep with a backflip instead of the dipping Knox Out. Won with the legdrop off the top after Fandangoing. He's going to be a highlight in WWE 2K14 - he's already fun to play in created form in WWE '13 and Fire Pro Wrestling Returns (NOW ON PS3 AS A PS2 CLASSIC DOWNLOAD!). Loved him spinning the mic like a top, and JBL calling Cole a derp. Sheamus-Show is next, yay! This has been the most enjoyable first hour of SD in ages, so of course my DVD recorder won't let me record the show.
They recapped the Xeroxing in the Henry-Sheamus feud. Love Show using fella against Sheamus, and YAY CLUBBERIN! Running flying elbow from Show - tremendous. It's a real shame they didn't build up ANYTHING from SD on Raw, because this show has ruled, and it's got some big-name matches. JBL implying that the step across the gut will make you shit yourself was a bit much. Tremendous Jones-Sonnen hype vid. TREMENDOUS bump from Sheamus after a shoulder to the buckle spot since he soared to the floor from it. Weird bump into the steps though - he went to his knees and put his hands up in front of his chest and fest before hitting them kinda sorta. LOLed at JBL calling Show's gameplan "perfect! ALMOST FLAWLESS!". Show doing a top wristlock looks tremendous - he could really make a basic armbar into a credible finisher given his size. I wouldn't mind seeing him turn the armringer>behind the back flipping armbar spot into one. Love the fans in the front row going Brogue and doing the arm beating deal too. He went for White Noise instead. NOW it's time for the kick. Love how Henry's distraction led to a KO punch while Sheamus was up top - nice way to mix that up. Outstanding slow-mo of it too - Show laid the punch in perfectly.
Rock looked shockingly gigantic after surgery for muscle tears. Not quite sure how those could've happened. Maybe he should go back to being a kids movie guy so he doesn't feel any further pressure to get gigantic. Yay, Regal-Barrett is up...ensuring that at least one 'hometown" guy loses. Barrett called Regal a dead man...that's a bit much given that he did nearly die. And then they had a minute-long match with them teasing fnishers 40 seconds in...wow. Probably should've put that on ME so it could be given time. Barrett didn't lose - he just beat a corpse as he called him, quickly. Heyman-HHH recap is up, as is Orton-Henry. According to Cole, THERE'S NOTHING LIKE WATCHING ORTON POSE...in front of a huge crowd. Fine recap of Show KOing Sheamus thanks to Henry. Nice punch combo from Orton - actually took Henry off his feet with it too. JBL put Henry over as the largest Olympian ever. Loved Cole agreeing with Henry's THAT'S WHAT I DO! Tremendous silly face from Orton during the draping DDT attempt. Brogue kick gave Henry a win via DQ, which Orton didn't seem to mind since he hit the RKO. Ad for No One Lives, a film that No One Watches. Ryback-Cena-Foley recap vid is next.
Raw hype vid is talking about Ryback being the number 1 contender, which he must've earned by LOSING AT WRESTLEMANIA since he hasn't won a match since. It's a real shame that Ryback's probably not winning the title, because now he'll not just be a choke artist as a face, but as a heel. Maybe he can win it a few years too late like Luger, and turn on a bi-monthly basis too. Ryback's promo was way better in highlight form. Loved the dramatic God of War music playing while Ryack and Cena faced off - maybe Ryback can dress as Kratos for a Halloween edition of Raw. SuperCena not only saves Foley, but The Ryback too. Maybe he can save some firefighters and rescue kittens from trees, too.
It's unreal to see Taker on SD, in his second TV match in a week, and on back to back days in real-time. Whatever he had done over the past years clearly did some good. Taker's SARA tat removal just made that skin pale white, so it's still quite readable. I love Ambrose coming out and being annoyed by people touching him, and how he's got his hands in front of him at all times - almost like he's cuffed. Great dueling LET'S GO PHENOM/LET'S GO TAKER chant. Baseball slide on the apron forced Taker to the floor - a bump that honestly surprised me. He's bumping around really well for Ambrose's offense. Terribly-ADRed line from Cole about Team Hell No not being there due to being on the Raw tour fit the match nicely, but should've been mixed in better. Nice super-slow neckbreaker from Ambrose, it really made every single part of the move seem important because of how he did it. Throat slash from Ambrose into a choke was great. Lots of nice punches and a knee to the gut for good measure. Chokeslam to Ambrose led to a shot to Rollins, and a low blow>snap DDT from Ambrose. That led to him hovering over Taker and getting locked in the Hell's Gate for a quick tapout and a beating to Taker.
Ambrose lost the battle, but won the war. HOT DAMN, a spear through the barricade. Thankfully, unlike Spike a few weeks back, they let the HOLY SHIT chant go through. Then Ambrose talked some shit to him. Chair to the back. Wow. Taker's determined to do as much as possible to put guys over while he still can. Ambrose freaking out like Orton to the "you tapped out" chant was great. Triple powerbomb through the table led to Taker smacking his head on the wheels of the chair. Ambrose screaming WE ARE THE NEW GUARD! was unsettling. Outstanding show - best SD in ages.
ing Richards vs Paul London... okay ROH just take my $15 now please!
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