WrestleWeek: Your Weekly COMPLETE Coverage For All Things Wrestling! 5 (18th - 22nd March 2013)

HEADLINES THIS WEEK: Triple H and Brock Lesnar make emphatic statements; CM Punk angers The Undertaker; Big E Langston set to make his debut at WrestleMania; The Barrett Barrage continues on Main Event; X Division Evolution, New No.1 Contender on IMPACT; former WWE Star saves mother in house fire, Booker T to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, Big Show, Sheamus and Orton finish strong on SmackDown; Fandango costs Y2J a win... And much much more in the wrestling World!

WWE Monday Night RAW - 18th March 2013

John Cena with a shoulder tackle to Darren Young, says he is ready for WrestleMania.

Kicking off the show in Pittsburgh was #1 Contender for WWE Championship, John Cena. The leader of the CeNation stated his intent for WrestleMania, along with telling the WWE Universe to choose a side, Cena or Rock before WrestleMania 29. He had a message for all The Rock fans in attendance, "Our time is now." As Cena stood in the ring and anticipated the events to happen, he was interrupted by The Prime Time Players. They got straight to the point in addressing the fact that no-one wants to see him at WrestleMania, before getting Cena angry, by reminding him of his loss to The Rock at WrestleMania last year. John Cena issued a straight-up challenge to Darren Young offering a match. John Cena made quick work of Darren Young, putting him away with an Attitude Adjustment.

Ryback looks on at Mark Henry, ready to do battle at WrestleMania.

David Otunga returned to WWE competition this week, but he was unfortunate to be standing across the ring from a Leviathan of Power, Ryback. Otunga was obliterated in that match, and also fell victim to the Shellshock move by Ryback. However, as Ryback proceeded with his "FEED ME MORE!" chant, out came Mark Henry. It looked as if they were about to brawl until managerial staff Vickie Guerrero and Theodore Long laid down the law. They pulled Ryback out of his WrestleMania match against The Shield, to face Mark Henry at WrestleMania. That will truly be one huge battle of power come WrestleMania.

Khali proceeds to attack Fandango, but he retreats and lives to fight another day.

For weeks, the WWE Universe have grown in frustration towards Fandango's debut. It seemed like it would actually happen this time, as Fandango made his way to the ring, in action with The Punjabi Giant, The Great Khali. Before they were to compete, Fandango asked Natalya - who accompanied Khali by ringside - to pronounce Fandango's name. As she proceeded to finish the name, when she said "...GO!..." she continued with "...Get him Khali!" but Fandango immediately retreated, and made his way out of the arena. More waiting to follow, for Fandango's debut.

R-Truth lands a high kick on Sandow

R-Truth prevailed on top, after his Countout defeat over The Intellectual Savior of the Masses. The Truth came out to fast paced start, and despite a few setbacks caused by Sandow, R-Truth was to build up the momentum towards winning, until Damien Sandow fled the ring. Despite his victory, it does not look like the end between Sandow and Truth.

Irate: Undertaker looks on in anger as CM Punk disrespects the urn. He looks ready for WrestleMania.

After the events that ensued the week prior on RAW (RAW Coverage from last week), Undertaker was LIVE on RAW, and he addressed his WrestleMania opponent CM Punk. Undertaker told CM Punk that he is going to be badly hurt at WrestleMania, but had one chance to revoke the events that would happen at WrestleMania. The Undertaker demanded CM Punk to return the sacred urn, important to the memory of Paul Bearer. CM Punk appeared on the titantron and proceeded to mock Paul Bearer, carelessly throwing around the urn, and making Undertaker all the more angrier. CM Punk has enlightened a dangerous and ferocious spark in The Undertaker. And with around two weeks until WrestleMania, a personal rivalry is set to hit a climax.

Jack Swagger pumped up as he looks on at the carnage caused to Rodriguez following the Patriot Act.

World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio prevailed in a compelling contest between Cody Rhodes. The well-contested match really showed great competitors of both Rhodes and Del Rio. But Del Rio's celebration in victory did not last long, as he was interrupted by Jack Swagger. Swagger went straight to the attack on Del Rio, before Ricardo Rodriguez tried to step in and deal with Swagger but to no avail. Swagger continued to savagely attack Del Rio, before proceeding to leave the arena... That's until he turned his sights to Ricardo Rodriguez, locking in the malicious Patriot Act submission, resulting in a serious injury for Ricardo, and which left Del Rio ready to avenge.

Big Show wants in on The Shield. Will he get to at WrestleMania?

Sheamus and Randy Orton - also known as the Celtic Vipers - put on a dominating performance over 3MB's Heath Slater and Drew McIntyre. The two delivered a big beatdown to the 3MB, finishing emphatically with more Brogues and RKOs. Their celebration was, yet again, to be disrupted by The Shield, who were moments away from attacking the pair, until an unlikely arrival of The Big Show forced them to retreat. As Big Show, Sheamus and Orton stood in the ring looking on at The Shield, specualtion was abuzz. Could Randy Orton and Sheamus' partner at WrestleMania be The Big Show?

BOOM: Kofi Kingston lands a dropkick sending Ziggler crashing to the canvas.

Dolph Ziggler picked up another victory by defeating Kofi Kingston. There was some decent action in the match, but Kingston's high flying ability was not enough to defy Ziggler (and his associates at ringside, of course). Ziggler continues to build up steam as he heads towards the grand WrestleMania event. Team Hell No were to interrupt the celebrations however, as they have had enough of Big E and Ziggler's acts. They challenged them to a tag-team match, but the situation was further elevated when AJ upped the stakes, challenging Team Hell No to a match for the tag team titles... at WrestleMania.

Wade Barrett steals a victory with the roll-up pin, as the Barrett Barrage continues to gain momentum.

|The Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett kept his Intercontinental Championship safe in his possession, despite the odds being stacked against him in a Triple Threat against The Miz and Chris Jericho. With competition high, and the will to succeed, Jericho and Miz really went at it, along with some good work by Barrett. But in the conclusion, Barrett did not even require his lethal Bullhammer Elbow this time round, as he managed to shock The Miz with a roll-up pin, leaving The Miz irate as he was just fingertips short of a title reign.

"Now go get your monster" Triple H signs the contract and throws Heyman of the table.

Triple H will fight Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania. The King of Kings signed the contract unaware of the stipulations, but it could result in that match being his last. Paul Heyman angered Triple H with disrespectful remarks to his wife, and as Triple H's anger increased, he went on to attack Paul Heyman, pulling his hair and then signing the contract upon the back of Paul Heyman. The attack provoked an entrance of Brock Lesnar, who came out with fury, smashing the chair on the stage. As he got ready to brawl with Triple H, the familiar Sledgehammer of Triple H happened to appear, which made Brock Lesnar retreat. But it was all smiles for Heyman and Lesnar as they looked on, announcing the stipulation. At WrestleMania 29, Brock Lesnar will face Triple H in a No Holds Barred match, and if Triple H loses, his career is over.
Now THAT's a stipulation. Pivotal.

INSULT OF THE WEEK

"Brock Lesnar vs. Triple H, and the winner gets Stephanie! But since we are talking personal, shouldn't it be that the LOSER gets Stephanie?" - Paul Heyman to Triple H

WWE Main Event - 20th March 2013

Barrett winds up the Bullhammer Elbow before unleashing it on it's next victim, R-Truth.

R-Truth made his debut on Main Event, but it was not to be a good night for the Truth, as he was at the receiving end of a lethal Bullhammer Elbow by Wade Barrett. R-Truth used his pace to his advantage in the beginning, but in the latter part of the match, Barrett was able to dominate. R-Truth had a flurry of offense that almost got him going, but Barrett was to prevail with the Bullhammer Elbow. Barrett then went on to address his Barrett Barrage, and he talked about his triumph in the Triple Threat match on Monday Night RAW, before confronting The Miz (on commentary) and this provoked The Miz who attacked Barrett. Barrett fled and looked on at The Miz. It is only a matter of time before these two collide once again.

Samoan Splash: The Usos finish off the Prime Time Players to pick up the win.

There were also two great tag-team matches. Divas Natalya and Layla defeated Alicia Fox and Aksana, meanwhile young tag team prospects squared off, as The Prime Time Players faced The Usos. They both showed their great in-ring skill and execution, as The Usos exerted their Samoan Heritage, meanwhile the swagger and cocky style wrestling from The Prime Time Players. Both teams showed great chemistry, as they looked to get near the title hunt. The Usos were able to pick up a big victory this time, some great action concluding, but ending with a Frogsplash by The Usos. Great tag team work there, great tag teams.

WWE News

• Former WWE superstar Chris Mordetsky (known as Chris Masters) was in the headlines after a great act of heroism and courage from saving his mother as her apartment was on fire. Her mother was allegedly being held hostage by a neighbour, so Masters even had to pull a tree out of the ground to smash through and save his mother. An extraordinary story, wow. (READ MORE DETAILS)

Saved my moms life!Son ofaBitch barricaded my mom in her apt & set the place on fire.I Broke my moms window with police help,&pulled herOut
— Chris Masters (@ChrisMasters310) March 20, 2013 

• WWE Champion Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson was on NBC's "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno discussing his movie career and his new movie release, GI Joe: Retaliation!
• It was announced on RAW that 5 Time, 5 Time, 5 Time! World Champion Booker T will be inducted into the Hall of Fame Class of 2013. "NOW CAN YOU DIG THAT... SUCKA!"
• UFC Fighter Chael Sonnen took some shots at Vince McMahon, after the news was revealed that Vince challenged Dana White to a fight. Chael took some shots on Twitter, and even suggested a team match, Dana and Sonnen vs. CM Punk and Vince.

TNA Impact Wrestling - 21st March 2013

Hulk Hogan announces the IMPACT main event for the night.

Following a chaotic ending to IMPACT last week, Hulk Hogan kicked off the proceedings from Chicago.  The Hulkster gingerly made his way to the ring with the aid of crutches, and addressed the situation with The Aces & 8s, "This is a monster" and "This is not just a battle, this is a war survival." Hogan then went on to bring out the four men who lead the resistance against The Aces & 8s last week, Samoa Joe, Magnus, Kurt Angle and Jeff Hardy, Hulk Hogan stated his respect for them. He rewarded them by announcing a BLOCKBUSTER main event. A No.1 contenders four-way match, and the best man will go on to challenge for the World Heavyweight Championship.

Hernandez and Guerrero set up for a big tag team move.

The night continued with the Tag Team Championships on the line. Bobby Roode and Austin Aries defended against Guerrero and Hernandez. The challengers started off the match with great teamwork, managing to break down Roode and Aries. But eventually control swung back into neutral, and the match was fairly even. Aries and Roode were at their usual standards, cheating and not going by the rulebook, managing to isolate their opponents. Aries and Roode were to retain when Aries countered a powerbomb by Hernandez, and then Kazarian and Daniels attacked behind the referee's back and Aries got the win. Bad Influence went to attack the team, before leaving the ring.

Sanjay Dutt takes out both Xema Ion and Kenny King, but was not able to win the match.

The X Division Evolution began this week on IMPACT Wrestling. And the contest that began the new format to the X-Division was a Triple Threat for the X-Division Championship. It was an absolutely great match, plenty of high risk and high flying moves, action spilling everywhere. Sanjay Dutt and Xema Ion were not enough to put an end to Kenny King's title reign, as he retained. A great inaugural match to the X-Divison Evolution.


Joseph Park stepped in the ring with the DNA of TNA, Matt Morgan. Morgan dominated Park for the vast majority of the match, despite a bit of offense from Park, it was all Morgan in the match, and he earned another victory. The Blueprint, Matt Morgan is a force to be reckoned with in IMPACT Wrestling.

No Words: Mike Tenay interviews AJ Styles to get some answers, but to no avail.

Up next was an interesting interview with the 'Phenomenal' AJ Styles. The question was to get behind this 'New' AJ Styles, who turned on his friend James Storm the previous week. As speculation continued, it was time to get to the bottom of this. Taz intervened during the interview and laid out an offer to AJ Styles to join the Aces & 8s, however James Storm entered the arena. He got straight down to business, asking questions to AJ Styles, who seemed emotionless. But the crowd at the IMPACT Zone did not get any answers, as AJ Styles did not say a thing, and left the ring. Hence, the mystery continues.

Beginning of the End: Samoa Joe in the Ankle Lock, but was to break out then fall victim to a Swanton Bomb/

 MATCH OF THE WEEK
The show concluded with an excellent main event. Magnus, Samoa Joe, Kurt Angle and Jeff Hardy battled in a Fatal-Four Way match to become No #1 Contender for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. It was a hard-fought battle, all competitors held nothing back, for a big shot and revenge against Bully Ray. This was the best match of the week, a great contest, that came to a conclusion when Samoa Joe broke out the Ankle Lock sending Angle colliding into Magnus. Meanwhile, Jeff Hardy seized the opportunity and delivered a thunderous Swanton Bomb to Samoa Joe, securing a No.1 Contender status for the World Heavyweight Championship, and he will have a chance to recapture the World title he lost to Bully Ray at LockDown.

WWE Friday Night SmackDown! - 22nd March 2013

Big Show arrives in the ring during Miz TV, and addresses Sheamus, Randy Orton and The Miz

Miz TV began SmackDown, from Cincinnati. Diving head first into the subject about the WrestleMania match that will feature Randy Orton, Sheamus and a partner of their choice vs. The Shield. They were speculating whether or not to have The Big Show as their tag team partner for WrestleMania. Things quickly however got heated between Big Show and Sheamus, considering their history late 2012, and then Randy Orton - surprisingly - was playing the peacemaker this time round. Arguments drew to a halt with the arrival of Booker T. He said he wanted to know "If you three (to Orton, Big Show and Sheamus) can coexist" and put them in a six-man tag team main event match for later that night!

Battle of the Behemoths: Mark Henry and Ryback look more than ready to do battle at WrestleMania.

Mark Henry was in action next, but it was to be more of a squashing than a contest, as he dominated his opponent, Zack Ryder. Henry showed that he is more than ready for Ryback, and further exemplified this with a prolonged attack on Long Island Iced Z, Zack Ryder. Mark Henry looked angry, but Ryback was even angrier as he made his way to the ring. The two stared off, before Mark Henry charged at Ryback. He walked straight into a huge clothesline, incredible!

Dolph Ziggler triumphant in victory, meanwhile Kofi is down on the canvas.

Dolph Ziggler was in action against Kofi Kingston next. Yet another good match between the two, but came to an end once again with the aid or distraction of Big E. The match was even throughout, but reached a turning point, when Kofi Kingston flew to the outside and took out Big E, but his distractions were of Big E, and he forgot about the presence of Ziggler who capitalized on the opportunity for the win. However, it was not all over, as Big E wanted to inflict more damage to Kofi.

Swagger comes out swinging, but so does Jericho.

In a return match from the previous week on SmackDown, Jack Swagger was in action against Chris Jericho. Prior to the match, Swagger had some words for Jericho, and the people of America. Jericho's approach to the match really made Swagger work hard, he continued the pace and put on a great match. As Jericho gained momentum with a dropkick off the ropes. Fandango interrupted amidst the action. Fandango had Jericho distracted, and he walked into a slam by Swagger, but was not put away. Meanwhile, Fandango lurked around ringside. When Zeb Coulter stood on the apron, the referee was distracted. And as Jericho jumped off the ropes, Fandango took advantage to land a kick to Jericho which ultimately cost him the match. Fandango was to continue with a post-match attack on Jericho, sending a bold statement.

A match between the teams of Brodus & Tensai vs. Rhodes Scholars was cut short when a brawl broke out between the Funkadactyls and the Bella Twins, maybe just a start to this rivalry.

Miz and Cesaro circle the ring before they lock up.

Antonio Cesaro and The Miz squared off in the next match. The two have had a lot of history, with numerous battles over the United States Championship, and many other matches such as No Disqualification and 2 Out of Three Falls. Meanwhile, Wade Barrett was on commentary ringside. The match ran a quicker course than expected, as The Miz was to lock in the Figure-Four Leg Lock, which Cesaro tapped out to. He continued to apply the Figure-Four and stared straight at Barrett, possibly in an attempt to provoke him. Barrett however refused to engage in any conflict, just lifted up his title and walked away.

Show of Solidarity: Sheamus, Orton and Big Show prepare for their match against the 3MB

Combustible elements in one ring, Sheamus, The Big Show and Randy Orton teaming up in a six-man tag team match to take on the 3MB. The 3MB were dominated from the beginning, with Randy Orton, Sheamus and Big Show all working well as one cohesive unit. Sheamus at one time even imitated The Big Show using his hand slaps to the chest before tagging him in. Big Show got one back when he used Sheamus' trademark move, the chest punches over the ropes. This was some good action. The trio of the 3MB managed to turn it around for the time being, when they managed to isolate Randy Orton. Then the significant part in the match, Orton lands a mid-air drop kick, then he tagged in The Big Show who went on a rage. It was a successful outing for Orton, Sheamus and Show, as Big Show was kicked by McIntyre, Sheamus tagged himself in but Big Show knocked out McIntyre, then Mahal received a Brogue Kick. They had won, but did not have any time to dispute, as The Shield made their way to the ring. It seemed to collapse however, as Big Show pushed Sheamus, Sheamus pushed him back then they had a scrap. Orton was also pushed by The Big Show, and their group was almost damaged until they realized The Shield were mere moments from attack. The Shield were once again to think twice, and retreat, as Sheamus, Big Show and Orton stood tall, despite their differences.

Opinion
Very good week again in wrestling. IMPACT Wrestling was a very clean show on Thursday night, very consistent show with great matches. Match of the week was definitely the fatal-four-way main event. Meanwhile on RAW, it was a great ending segment with Triple H and Lesnar, and they have managed to build WrestleMania excitement very well. Main Event this week was lacklustre, and the quality of the show is quickly declining. Meanwhile an average show on SmackDown, but quite entertaining. Show of the week was IMPACT, and it is hard to differentiate who is superstar of the week.

The Aces & 8s power increases in TNA, but with more bonds forming between the IMPACT roster, a resistance could be forming. Jeff Hardy is the No #1 contender in TNA now, so what will he have for Bully Ray next Thursday? Meanwhile in the WWE, with around two weeks till WrestleMania, more matches are on the card. Excitment is on the rise, and things can only increase, when RAW is LIVE from Philadelphia featuring The Rock and more! And that's a wrap, thanks for reading WrestleWeek.

IMAGE CREDIT:
WWE Official Site - WWE.com
TNA YouTube (via printscreen) - YouTube.com/TNAWrestling
WWE - World Wrestling Entertainment
IMPACT Wrestling - Total Non-Stop Action


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