Wrestling

Strap Match: Sheamus vs. Mark Henry One of the WWE's biggest bullies is the target of some rightful vengeance from the World's Strongest Man. The Road to Extreme Rules After a less than impressive victory over the Ryback at WrestleMania, wig splitter extraordinaire Mark Henry has been looking to make some major statements. Going back to his roots, Henry has been engaging in various competitions and feats of strength. One man has stood in the way of these friendly contests - Sheamus. WWE's biggest bully has been constantly flouting the rules and common decency because he cannot best the World's Strongest Man in fair competition. From tug of war to arm wrestling, at the first sign of losing, Sheamus has brogue kicked Henry and villainy has reigned supreme. (Editor's Note: to be fair, Henry did start it with a delicious bit of backstage, blindside tackling) This unsportsmanlike treatment by the Irishman finally pushed the Olympic weightlifter too far. Looking for something to show the Great White how he felt, he reached for a belt and used it to raise welts all over Sheamus' body. Somewhere in between the belt lashings and the tug of war, WWE had the idea to make their contest at the pay-per-view a strap match. The two rivals will be tethered together at the wrist - the first man who touches all four ringposts, dragging his opponent with him if necessary - will be declared the winner. What's at stake? Will Sheamus' campaign of violence and bullying continue? Or will Mark Henry represent Be a STAR proudly and score a victory for righteousness? Keep with Cageside Seats, where every day is a HOSS FIGHT, for the outcome of this and the matches at Extreme Rules!

The Undercard The Shield defeated The Uso's in a relatively quick match. Reigns hits a beastful spear for the victory. After the match, Kofi Kingston comes out and attacks the group. I would have enjoyed this more if Team Hell No had something to do. This is the biggest problem with the tag teams in the WWE. There are only two that have any level of importance. Who cares that Kofi saves The Uso's? Maybe put Kingston with Bryan or Kane and face off against Ambrose and Reigns, and then build the two stories into one. That would have been more important and logical. I really enjoy how The Shield is being booked though. They are the only consistently interesting group of men that are pushed on WWE television each week. Grade: C+ Tons of Funk defeated Primetime Players. What can you say about this match? Darren Young tries to ground the bigger opponents, but to no avail. Titus O'Neil comes in and cleans a little house until he is met with the strength of Tensai. The faces hit a big splash for the victory. I really wish PTP would be taken seriously because they do have an appeal to them. They are guys who are relatable to a general population. They also can connect to Hollywood and the world of sports. They need to be a team that hopefully gets a fresh change and is taken seriously for their talents and abilities. Grade: C- The Miz defeated Damien Sandow. MizTV started out the night, in place of the reported Highlight Reel. The Miz would be approached by Sandow backstage later on. Sandow wanted a show of his own and Teddy Long booked this match. While I enjoy both of these guys, the match itself was very bland. The Miz and Sandow are two guys who are going through transitions. Miz still needs to be booked against a strong heel to get over. Sandow needs to be taken more seriously as a single's competitor. That gave me a lack of interest in the match. If a title was on the line, then you could see a longer payoff. The action was fluent and the pacing of the match benefitted Miz. Miz does not have one great strength, but not one real weakness. Sandow was able to speak earlier in the night and cut a promo, so that boosts his overall appeal to the crowd. Grade: C Kaitlyn defeated Aksana in a quick match that was showcasing Kaitlyn's ability to overcome adversity. I am not sure how many people think adversity comes from facing Aksana, but the match was booked to make Kaitlyn look like she can overcome anyone. Aksana, shockingly enough, is not terrible in the ring. She was able to lock in a submission hold after a few quick take downs. The end came when Kaitlyn speared Aksana for the win. So, why can't we see AJ Lee after the match or even during it? Is she still the main challenger for the Divas Championship? Do they really care? Grade: C- The Main Events Chris Jericho defeated Antonio Cesaro in an excellent match. If Vince McMahon thinks Antonio Cesaro is boring, then why is he consistently put up against main event guys? His personality may be a work in progress, but his technicality and wrestling ability is second to none. I loved how he was able to control Jericho at his own game. The ring psychology was really solid. Cesaro hit his flurry of offense, including a brutal Uppercut that looked great. Jericho ended up firing back. Cesaro tried for a Gutwrench Powerbomb, but Jericho was able to have enough energy and lock in Walls of Jericho. -After the match, Jericho was distracted by Summer Rae on the stage. Fandango tries to attack him from behind, but Jericho catches him and sends him running out of the ring. He hits a Codebreaker onto Cesaro for emphasis. The feud, even though Jericho has been off televison here and there, has still kept my interest. There is something about this Fandango character that continues to stay fresh. He will need to put on a really good match against Jericho on Sunday to keep his momentum. Do not be surprised if he loses and sets up a rub

Have you ever been in a situation when someone has been unfair to you and you feel wronged? Everything is going horribly and someone just comes in and makes it worse. This someone doesn't have to be an individual. It could be a group of people, an organization, etc. It might not even be that someone's fault. And you just have no power to do anything about it. You just have to take it, accept it and swallow your pride. You can't fight back. Yelling at that someone won't help because they refuse to right the wrong. You're afraid of doing anything rash because the law will crack down on you and the original problem won't be fixed. You can't sue the someone because you can't afford it. You can't beat them up because then you'll be thrown in jail even though the other person might deserve it. Do you remember Austin standing up to his boss and beating the crap out of him? That was his appeal. To stand up to the terrible boss, and people loved it. Then there was the Shield. They came to the WWE, they saw injustice and they did something about it. Beating down someone when there is injustice is something all people would like to see. That's their appeal - to come down to right a wrong, like a super hero would. Instead of the Justice league, we get the Shield. Sometimes beating someone down doesn't help. It requires keen tactics. If you've seen any super hero movies or spy movies/shows, you can picture one of these sly tactics to get the job done with the best intentions in mind. Perhaps the Shield could incorporate this. We don't know the future of the Shield. WWE may screw it up easily or make the best of it. Is it better to keep the members of the Shield together, or as a separate entity. Or is it better to have them win titles and give credibility back to most of the championships because that is one of the injustices in the E? Believe in the Shield. On a side note: I'm not so sure about the 2/1 split. Reigns/Rollins fighting tag, and Ambrose fighting singles. If in a few months, Reigns is fighting single, and the other two tag, and then in a few months, Rollins is in a singles and the other two tag, then it may be okay. Or have them all be in singles. Keep them all equally intimidating. I don't want one of them being in the main card while the other two are forgotten about. It reminds me of DX and how some individual members were more important than others - but also at the same time the rest were cared about, and made a difference. It wasn't just Shawn being the WWE champ and the others being tag champs, but Shawn was also a tag champ. Maybe Shield could have more members. Maybe not. I don't have a great idea, I am just here to enjoy the show. I am pretty tired of being disappointed at the end of many episodes of Raw/Smackdown. Would you keep watching any other show if it annoyed you almost every episode? Have you ever been in a situation when someone has been unfair to you and you feel wronged? Everything is going horribly and someone just comes in and makes it worse. This someone doesn't have to be an individual. It could be a group of people, an organization, etc. It might not even be that someone's fault. And you just have no power to do anything about it. You just have to take it, accept it and swallow your pride. You can't fight back. Yelling at that someone won't help because they refuse to right the wrong. You're afraid of doing anything rash because the law will crack down on you and the original problem won't be fixed. You can't sue the someone because you can't afford it. You can't beat them up because then you'll be thrown in jail even though the other person might deserve it. Do you remember Austin standing up to his boss and beating the crap out of him? That was his appeal. To stand up to the terrible boss, and people loved it. Then there was the Shield. They came to the WWE, they saw injustice and they did something about it. Beating down someone when there is injustice is something all people would

WWE Saturday Morning Slam ReportBy: David ParkerEmail: ratednitro@gmail.comDate: 5/11/2013The Big News: On the last show of the season, Santino Marella defeats Jinder Mahal and Randy Orton and Sheamus defeat the Primetime Players. Show Analysis: At the beginning of the show (which is from the UK this week), the host announced that SMS GM Mick Foley has made history by making what is perhaps the biggest match in Saturday Morning Slam history, Randy Orton and Sheamus vs. The Primetime Players. He also noted that Foley just made another match, and video was shown as to why it was made. Back in Foley’s office, Santino’s cobra and Mr. Socko “met” once again. The camera then pulled back to show Santino and Foley. Santino asked if the two could team up to face the 3MB, though Foley never answered him. Jinder Mahal then appeared; he talked  about the legend of 3MB, though Foley and Santino just made fun of him. Foley made a match between Mahal and Santino; Mahal thought he was going to team up with the rest of 3MB, but Foley told him he was going to make his debut as a “solo act” and banned Slater and McIntyre from ringside. Santino Marella defeated Jinder Mahal. Josh Matthews and Alicia Fox did commentary on today’s show. Santino came to the ring on a Boris bike; Fox explained what it is to the audience. He did some comedy during the match, including starting to walk after being pushed into the ropes by Mahal and failing to do a nip-up. Mahal dominated for the majority of the match, and he had him in a submission as the show went to a break. When the match returned, Mahal was going to head to the top rope to hit a move, but he climbed down after Santino rolled out of the way. When Mahal walked over to him, Santino took the opportunity to roll him up for a two count. Mahal then knocked down Santino with a punch to the gut. Mahal then taunted the crowd, which gave Santino the opportunity to do a successful nip-up and make his comeback. Mahal never recovered, and Santino eventually hit the Cobra (which was not cut, unlike the past). Santino rode his Boris bike to the stage as the show went to Foley’s office. Backstage, Foley greeted Sheamus, who thanked Foley for making his match. Foley told Sheamus that his last name is Irish, and he asked him if he ever wants to come to his house to eat shepherd’s pie and Irish stew and sing “Danny Boy.” Foley, and eventually Sheamus, started to sing the song, until Orton came into the office with a “you are such a dork” look on his face. After the break, this week’s “Saturday Morning Spotlight” took a look at Orton and Sheamus (or as Michael Cole described them, the “Celtic Vipers”). During Orton’s and Sheamus’ entrances, the words “religion,” “dying,” “blood,” and “hell” were edited out of their entrance songs. It was strange that dying was edited out when Foley and Sheamus sang the word in “Danny Boy” earlier. Randy Orton and Sheamus defeated the Primetime Players. Orton and Titus started the match. Both teams went back and forth at the beginning, though the Celtic Vipers eventually took control. As the match went to a break, Orton looked like he was going to try to hit the draping DDT on Young, but Titus called for a timeout, and Orton decided not to do it for some reason. When the match returned, Titus was beating up Orton; the PTP made a recovery during the break when Young managed to slam Orton into one of the ringposts during the break. Titus had Orton in a headlock, but the Viper managed to escape it after hitting a backdrop. Titus managed to tag in Young, but Orton was unable to tag in Sheamus, and the PTP continued to dominate. Young tagged in Titus again, and the momentum started to slip away from the PTP after Orton moved out of the way when Titus tried to hit the 3 point stance. Both men tagged in their partners, and Sheamus made a comeback. Sheamus hit the White Noise on Young (which was not cut) and was tagged in and hit the RKO on him (there was a camera cut to try to hide the

Extreme Rules Match: The Big Show vs. Randy Orton A story of mistrust, uneasy alliances, and betrayal comes to a head as Randy Orton takes on the Big Show in an extreme rules match. The Road to Extreme Rules In an attempt to end the reign of terror brought on by The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins), longtime foes Randy Orton, Sheamus, and the Big Show formed a temporary alliance. Tension was high amongst the group in the lead up to Wrestlemania 29, as the Celtic Warrior and the Viper were unsure of the world largest athlete's motives. Their uncertainty may well have cost them the match against the three newcomers. Both men were reluctant to tag in the giant. At the end of the match, a worn down Orton stole a tag intended for Show and would subsequently be finished off by a Reigns spear before being pinned by Ambrose. After the match, Big Show let out his frustrations and knocked out both Orton and Sheamus. On the following night's Raw, both babyfaces wanted a shot at the Big Show for Extreme Rules and were forced to fight each other for it. At the end of the match (which Orton won), Big Show came out and destroyed both men - much to the crowd's delight. Since that beat down, Show has been knocking Orton out left and right every chance he gets (perhaps as karmic justice for beating our favorite Swiss overlord). What's at stake? The winner of this match up will get satisfaction, plain and simple. They should also be elevate towards contention for the World Heavyweight Championship - a prize both have held in the past and are anxious to possess again. Anything goes on Sunday night as the master of the RKO tangles with the deliverer of WMD. Stick with Cageside Seats to see what happens when they clear away the rubble at Extreme Rules.

Brian Doherty of Reason.com has published a blog with speculation that current WWE Tag Team Champion Kane (real name, Glenn Jacobs) is rumored to run for the Tennessee Senate seat against Republican Lamar Alexander. Although any information at this point is pure speculation, the article claims that sources close to Kane have confirmed the 7-foot giant would "consider a primary campaign". WWE's Big Red Machine may come across as a monster on TV, but Kane holds a degree in English Literature, and has always displayed a wide knowledge and interest in the political realm. Recently, Jacobs - who considers himself a Libertarian, but would likely run as a Republican - has been a key speaker against the Internet Sales Tax Mandate, even breaking character to appear on The Lew Rockwell Show to speak on the matter. To further the speculation, with Kane's WWE commitments and the 2014 Senate race primaries already coming into view, it is likely that the "Devil's Favorite Demon" will run in 2016, should he run at all.

It was announced on this weekend's episode of Ring of Honor TV that Jay Briscoe will defend the ROH World Heavyweight Championship against his brother Mark, at the upcoming Best in the World iPPV. As usual, ROH has named several contenders to the World title well in advance, so the Championship picture can get a little hard to decipher. Currently, Mark Briscoe is the next in line for a title shot against his brother. Because of a victory for SCUM at Border Wars, Steve Corino was also allowed to choose a future #1 contender for his team. It was also announced during this weekend's ROH TV that Matt Hardy would be SCUM's challenger to either Jay or Mark following Best in the World. Also, given his victory over Jay Lethal at the Ring of Honor 11th Anniversary iPPV, "Unbreakable" Michael Elgin is also in line to receive a World title match in the future. And finally, former World Champion Kevin Steen will, at some point, receive his rematch following his loss to Jay Briscoe at the 11th Anniversary show. However, ROH match maker Nigel McGuinness has placed Steen in a series of challenges over the next few months, and he will have to defeat every single member of SCUM in one-on-one action to receive his title match.

Ring of Honor TV Air Date: 5/18/13 -Steve Corino joins Kevin Kelly on commentary, following the aftermath of the Border Wars iPPV. (1) Mark Briscoe def. Colin Delaney The former WWE/ECW star gets very little offense in the match, and Mark puts him away with Redneck Kung Fu, followed by a flying elbow drop off the top rope. -Nigel McGuinness announces that Mark Briscoe will get a shot at his brother Jay and the World title at the upcoming Best in the World iPPV. The American Wolves interrupt the Briscoes and David Richards claims the two of them put the World title on the map, and they should be next in line. -Steve Corino cuts all of them off, and announces that he is using SCUM's World title opportunity to give Matt Hardy a Championship match on whoever is the champion after Best in the World. The Wolves and the Briscoes brawl, and Michael Elgin (also a contender) comes out to stare down the champ. -Veda Scott demands a match with MsChif to prove she's more than a journalist. (2) Cherry Bomb def. MsChif This is actually a very back-and-forth match, with MsChif using the ropes a bunch and being aggressive, but Cherry getting a ton of pin attempts and even locking in a Last Chancery at one point. Veda Scott distracts MsChif at the end, and Cherry puts her away with a missile dropkick and a Northern Lights Driver. -Kevin Steen wants a shot at the World title, but Nigel questions whether he's still with SCUM. Steen demands to face every member of SCUM one-on-one, and when he destroys the entire faction, he will have proved he is worthy of the World title again. (3) Taiji Ishimori def. Roderick Strong The crowd loves Roderick as per usual, but Ishimori is way more over as a newcomer. Incredible, fast-paced match with both guys hitting tons of counters, power moves, and taking more damage than any sane man should in a wrestling match. Finish comes when Ishimori literally leaps out of a vertical suplex and superkicks Strong. He heads up to the top rope for the 450 Splash, but Roderick gets up and tries fora superplex; Ishimori kicks him off and lands the 450 Splash for the win.

Welcome to our live coverage of today's UFC show from Santa Catarina, Brazil.  We're looking for your thoughts on the show so you can send a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to dave@wrestlingobserver.comFor TV, the show starts on Fuel at 6 p.m. Eastern and on FX at 9 p.m. This crowd is hot even before the first match has startedJEREMY LARSON VS. LUCAS MARTINES, LIGHTWEIGHTS First round: Larsen tripped him down and let him up. Larsen moving forward for another takedown. Uppercut by Larsen after giving it up. Larson’s left elbow already swelling from an elbow. Great front kick by Martins. He landed a few more punches. Larsen dropped him with a right. Martins going for a heel hook. Now he got a calf slicer but Larsen out. Larsen hurt him with another right. Larsen with punches and Martins with a knee. Great open and super hot crowd. Martins with a knee but Larsen took him down from it. Larsen with a high spinebuster like slam. Martins back up. Martins with a flying kick and some punches. . He missed a kick and slipped. Larsen on top on the ground. Larsen 10-9. Second round: Martins with a punch and high kick. Trading punches and Larsen moving in for the takedown. Larsen bleeding bad under right eye. Good low kick by Martins. Larsen hurt him with a series of rights. Uppercut by Martins. Larsen tried a takedown, but didn’t get it but landed a punch as he backed off. Another good right by Larsen. Larsen with more punches. Martins with a kick blocked by Larsen. Larsen hurt him bad with a right. Larsen throwing several rights, followd by a right and a left. Larsen moved in for a takedown but can’t get it. Big right by Larsen. Big left by Larsen. Close round but I go Larsen up 20-18. Third round: Both were trading ;punches and they actually landed at almost the same time but Martins’ shot was the one that knocked Larsen out. :13CHRIS CARIASO VS. JUSSIER FORMIGA DA SILVA, FLYWEIGHTS First round: Formiga got the takedown. Another trip and takedown by Formiga moving to side control. Crowd is so loud. Formiga moved to side control. The ref ordered a stand-up. Formiga’s glove has tape loose. They restarted standing even though Formiga was aggressive on the ground. Cariaso got nothing significant in. Formiga 10-9. Second round: Cariaso came out aggressive and Formiga took him right down into side control, and then into a mount. Formiga kept him on the ground. The ref orderd another standup. Cariaso with a knee in the clinch. Formiga’s round again 20-18. Third round: Formiga opened with another takedown, this time a high single leg. They were in a clinch and ref Kevin Mulhall broke them up. Cariaso landed lefts and a knee. Formiga with a momentary takedown but Cariaso right back up. Formiga working for a takedown. Cariaso working for a D’arce choke. Formiga out. Cariaso with a takedown. But he needs a finish. Cariaso in side cotrol. Formiga bleeding. There’s a lot of blood from the left eye. Cariaso back in side control. He’s throwing a lot of elbows and punches as time is running out. Knee by Cariaso. Cariaso’s round. Formiga should take it 29-28. Scores: All three have it 29-28 for Formiga. Really a pretty clear score.AZAMAT GASHIMOV VS. JOHN LINEKER, FLYWEIGHTS First round: Leneker dropped him with a right. Knee by Lineker as Gashimov got up. Gashimov got a takedown but Lineker back up. Gashimov went for a takedown but Lineker blocked it and landed on top. Lineker fired several punches. Lineker landed a left. Gashimov tried a takedown but Lineker blocked it and landed a knee to the body. Ref MarioYamasaki took a point away from Gashimov for grabbing the fence. That was a little too early to do it, should have been a stern warning first. Lineker landed a body shot that put him down again. 10-8 Lineker due to the penalty point on Gashimov . Crowd gave both a big hand. Second round: Lineker landed a solid right Lineker put him down with kick to the body and and hard right to the body th

Source: iMPACTWrestling.com Preview Thursday’s IMPACT WRESTLING broadcast on SpikeTV at 8/7c as the road to the June “Slammiversary” event continues! Reminder: Beginning May 30, IMPACT moves back to its old time at 9/8c on SpikeTV! Thursdays at 8/7C until then! Thursday’s IMPACT is LIVE on SpikeTV from Tampa, Florida, at the USF Sun Dome - Has a TNA Original finally turned his back on the company and the fans? The Aces and Eights have announced that on Thursday’s IMPACT from Tampa, they will hold a “Patching In” ceremony to officially welcome AJ Styles to the group! - How will TNA General Manager Hulk Hogan react to the news that AJ is joining the Aces? Hogan will be on IMPACT in Tampa to address the situation! -In a huge match Kurt Angle will take on Mr. Anderson from Aces and 8s renewing their rivalry. - The final countdown is on to Sting vs. Bully Ray for the World Heavyweight Championship at Slammiversary! Both champion and challenger will be in attendance on Thursday’s IMPACT – will Bully Ray and The Aces attempt to eliminate Sting before their title match? -James Storm announced last week on IMPACT that he will be in the Tag Team Title Match at Slammiversary. Who will “The Cowboy” select to be his partner? Find out this Thursday on Impact! - The TNA Knockouts championship will be on the line on Thursday’s huge broadcast as Velvet Sky will defend the gold against her friend (and former titleholder) Mickie James! - The GutCheck Tournament continues on Thursday for a spot in the upcoming “Bound For Glory Series”, as Sam Shaw battles Alex Silva - The mysterious masked X-Division superstar SUICIDE makes his return IMPACT WRESTLING on Thursday as well!