Email This Article - Contact Us - VIP Sign-Up - Back to Home Page

|

Note: The Mojo is my immediate, pretty much unedited reaction to what's happening on a particular TV wrestling show. It includes any misconceptions, poorly thought-out predictions, inaccurate memories, flat-out mistakes, and embarrassing misspellings (particularly during an ongoing Mojo) I may make at the time. It's also not much of a recap, so I suggest you watch the show, and let the Mojo complement your viewing.

We start with Jeff Hardy in the ring, being interviewed by Josh Matthews. Todd "Gorilla" Grisham notes Hardy's reception "literally blows the roof off" the arena.

Matthews can't imagine how Hardy felt when C.M. Punk pulled the rug right out from under him and unfairly took his freshly won world title. I don't know, maybe Hardy was mad? Felt ripped off? Furious at his friend's betrayal?

Nah, Hardy lives for the moment. He knows he and his fans can beat C.M. Punk for the championship at the Bash.

C.M. Punk comes out to ramp. He's booed. No, really. I wonder how much more he would have been booed if WWE had allowed the announcers to sell their own angle, instead of "letting the fans decide."

Punk points out he followed the rules of Money In The Bank, your honor. Why didn't Punk use MIB to make a direct challenge for an upcoming show, like babyface Rob Van Dam did against the hated by ECW fans John Cena, instead of just taking advantage of a battered, exhausted Hardy?

Nobody asks.

Matthews directs the fans to cheer for first Hardy and then Punk. They cheer Hardy and boo Punk.

Jeff Hardy faces Chris Jericho. Nice of WWE to give away so many potential main events they could charge money for… Too bad they don't much build them up before they just throw them out there. Jim Ross points out Hardy doesn't "whine or cry" which is what I guess is what you're doing in these days of situational ethics when you point out that your friend clearly treated you badly.

Did I mention that Chris Jericho is the best act in all of wrestling?

Man, this spot was cool. Rey Mysterio is sitting on the front row with two fans dressed exactly like him. He jumps over the barrier, hits Jericho with a huracanrana, then pops back over the rail with the two look-alikes. Great visual. Jericho is counted out. He yells at the three Reys and Hardy hits him from behind with the Twist of Phate.

I love how WWE is finally taking advantage of all the creative possibilities inherent in Rey's mask.

Layla, Mia, and Whoozits mock Dolph Ziggler backstage.

Dolph Ziggler faces The Great Khali. Remember. Ziggler whacked Khali with a chair a few weeks ago. (It ain't like Khali was going to run away, either.)

Ziggler is getting his butt kicked early on.

Now, he's on offense. Who needs a seven foot four giant that Dolph Ziggler can beat up?

Ziggler goes for the chair again, but Khali grabs it. Ziggler plays possum and dumb ol' referee Little Naitch DQs Khali for using the chair, even though he didn't. Khali is understandably frustrated.

A long recap of the Donald Trump deal makes me glad I'm watching Smackdown.

Melina faces Alicia Fox (w. Michele McCool). I can't believe Melina is still a babyface. Melina wins, then McCool beats her up. McCool trash-talks Melina in a bad promo.

Candace Michelle was released this afternoon. By the way, I was watching a baseball game the other day, and they went through the rotation twice before the pitcher was wished well in her future endeavors.

John Morrison faces Edge.

Before that Edge and John Morrison debate who's more entertaining. (Morrison does look like the third member of Siegfried and Roy.) I remember when wrestlers used to debate who could kick whose ass.

Ross notes that Edge has won 27 championships in ten years. That makes him way better than Lou Thesz. It took Thesz three times as long to only win a fourth as many titles.

Ross points out you don't need the Raw G.M. as your wife if you just win matches. I'm with him. No bail out, earn it.

The match is OK.

Ross says Morrison needs to find his Mojo Risin'. You know, because he looks like an over-rated rock star from forty years ago. Grisham says Morrison works a lot on his core abdominals in the gym. No kidding. That's where he gets his torque.

The action picks up somewhat. The fans are into Morrison and the near-falls.

Spear. Edge wins. Hanging with Edge is another step forward for Morrison.

Ricky Ortiz, Shelton Benjamin, & Charlie Haas face Ron Killings & Cryme Tyme. Your basic time-killing mid-card TV match.

Rey says tonight he got a little payback on Chris Jericho. He challenges Jericho for an IC title match at the Bash. Isn't he about to face the world champ right now?

Jericho tells Mysterio he doesn't get a rematch because he got one on Raw and got beat. He's right.

Rey says if Jericho wasn't obsessed with the mask Rey would have won. Yeah, so?

Jericho knows what's best for Mysterio. His mask is his drug, and the people are his enablers. That sounds suspiciously like…

Mysterio is mad a disgrace like Jericho has the IC belt.

Jericho tells him he'll put up the IC belt at the Bash if Mysterio will put up his mask. If Mysterio loses he has to give up the mask forever.

If that's the only way to expose Jericho as a self-serving hypocrite Rey accepts.

Rey Mysterio faces C.M. Punk in your main event. Jericho is at the announce table. Punk gets a good reaction coming out. Jericho sneers that Punk and Rey are both good guys. Jericho is really good at the art of building up his rival even as he tears them down. "What kind of hypocrite is a hero to children but won't show his face to them?" Jericho asks. (Batman, Spiderman)

Rey teases a 619 but Punk evades it. It happens again, then Rey avoids the Go to Sleep.

Punk viciously tosses Rey to the floor, where Jericho attacks him.

How do you justify that?

An eye for an eye. You think I'm down here to talk to you buffoons?

Rey barely beats the count back in the ring, only to fall victim to the Go to Sleep.

Jericho and Punk are happy, but Jeff Hardy runs down to tell the ref what happened.

The fans aren't happy with Punk as the show goes off the air. Punk is more of a villain with each segment he is in.

This was a good, solid wrestling show.

Send feedback on this article to pwtorch@gmail.com and we'll regularly publish reader feedback in the "Torch Feedback" category on the Main Listing.

For more BREAKING NEWS on WWE, TNA!
VISIT OUR AFFILIATE - PROWRESTLING.NET

For UFC & MMA NEWS & BLOGS:
VISIT OUR SISTER SITE - MMATORCH.COM

Upgrade to PWTORCH VIP: DETAILS & SIGN-UP INFO

(c) 1999-2009 TDH Communications Inc. - All rights reserved.