By Greg Parks, PWTorch columnist

With Kurt on vacation, it was just Gonzo, Doug, and me at Buffalo Wild Wings this month, back there after hosting the Royal Rumble at my place in January. As I slid into the booth tonight, I realized that for some reason, I had my DVD controller in the front pocket of my hoodie - I was watching the Office season six DVD episode commentaries before heading out for the evening. So that was awkward.

I got there a little after 7:30, and we were a bit nervous that none of the TVs were tuned to the pre-show as per the usual, and given WWE's recent price hike for restaurants, we worried they may not be showing it. But they turned to the PPV with about 10 minutes left in the preview show.

(1) Raw Chamber Match: For what its worth, Wild Wings was packed tonight, with quite a wait to get a table. I haven't seen it so full on a PPV night. I looked at the announcers on the show and wonder how Vince McMahon continues to let Lawler where those t-shirts out to announce. We were shocked that this match kicked off the show. Gonzo predicted a Punk loss, and he'd then go into the Smackdown Chamber to win. I did like how Miz played the taunting Punk gave him before the match, basically ignoring it. Gonzo predicted Miz would be the first one eliminated. The pods would be better if they were Pie Pods like on Nickelodeon's old game show, "What Would You Do?" Doug pointed out that Kofi spinebusted himself on the steel grate when he gave Ziggler that DDT. Ziggler seemed to be bumping like crazy out there the whole match. Miz and Punk had an awkward exchange on a corner clothesline, with Miz expecting Punk to move - then he whipped him into the opposite buckle and Punk did move. Not sure who was at fault. Doug and I talked Smackdown last week and I told him he could've put up a good fight in that Battle Royal. ****

- During the Cena video, I noticed he wasn't training those guys in the ring. Smart move.

(2) Beth Phoenix vs. Tamina Snuka: Gonzo and Doug argued over who is more jacked, Beth or Kaitlyn. At least this match made Beth look strong by having her kick out of Tamina's finish, which had been established well on Smackdown up to this point. The long rest holds in the middle hurt, but everything else was fine. *

- The Johnny Ace in-ring segment began like a "get everyone who isn't on the show in." Gonzo did call Christian's return, but had harsh words for his choice of outfit. The group photo-op was funny.

(3) Smackdown Chamber Match: Gonzo called it a "damn joke" that Cena vs. Kane would be the main event, but then again, on paper, this didn't look like an appetizing finale either. Doug actually doesn't mind Barrett's new theme, just thinks he's not the right guy for it. Gonzo noticed the World Title being placed by the Chamber door and suggested the positioning of it there could come into play. I figured Santino would blow up early, tired from hammering those slabs of meat. At 9:35 PM, Gonzo said it already felt like a three-hour show. When Big Show stalked Bryan while the champ was still in the pod, I felt like I was watching Animal Planet. It would be nice if they didn't do the "someone goes through the plexiglass" every year, and if the announcers weren't shocked every time it happens. Huge pop at BWW for Santino pinning Cody. This definitely felt like the "tell a good story" match while the Raw one was the "action-packed workrate" match. While no one probably expected Santino to win, that doesn't mean folks still can't get behind him, and Milwaukee certainly did. ***1/4

- How embarrassing: Everyone in the restaurant quieted down just to hear Natalya fart. And several laughed. Ugh.

(4) Jack Swagger vs. Justin Gabriel: Gonzo: "Glad to see Swagger earning that PPV paycheck." Me: "Glad to see Swagger is still alive." I really believe Swagger vs. Gabriel could be a good match. This was not it. 3/4*

(5) John Cena vs. Kane: Justin Roberts really enunciated "ambulance" when giving out the instructions. Gonzo kept trying to come up with ways Kane could win. Other than that, not a lot of discussion during this one, and it wasn't because we were so enthralled with the action. **1/4

Overall, thumbs-in-the-middle, leaning a bit up on the strength of the Chamber matches (though they didn't quite live up to past matches of that type). All the finishes made sense and there were no surprises, which is in a sense both positive and negative.


PWTorch VIP members have first-look access to all of Torch columnist Greg Parks's latest blogs in the VIP Forum. His blogs are published first in the PWTorch VIP Forum, and Parks interacts with other VIP members and Torch staff and contributors in the blog comments area afterward. Some of Parks's blog entries will be exclusive to the VIP Forum. Parks can be reached via e-mail at g_man9784@yahoo.com and on Twitter @gregmparks

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