I said going into this one that the Prizefighter format was made for guys like Eamonn O’Kane – a fighter of ability, but one who needs to be fast tracked. What I didn’t mention however was the pressure he was under to deliver. No opportunity comes without risk, and for a celebrated prospect like O’Kane, there was massive risk involved. At 30 years old and still only a handful of pro fights, he simply couldn’t afford any slip ups. For his career to push on forward, he had to come through this and he did.

It was a gamble – something both O’Kane and promoter Eddie Hearn touched on after the show – but it was one that paid off. With time not on the former amateur star’s side, they can’t afford to hang around with him. He needs to start moving towards meaningful fights as soon as possible, and winning Prizefighter will have increased his profile and should start opening up some new doors for him.

The fact he won shouldn’t come as a surprise to too many people, but the way he won might. Most felt it would be O’Kane’s amateur skills which carried him through, but it was he who most fought in the “all in” type spirit of the Prizefighter tournament.

O’Kane himself described it as three tough introductions to the pro game. His opening round bout with Anthony Fitzgerald, he called a 12 round fight condensed to 3 – a statement I’m sure the punch stats will back up. These two guys left their boxing brains in the locker room and just let fists fly for nine minutes, and while not for the purists, it was one of the best brawls in Prizefighter history. O’Kane then overwhelmed Ryan Greene by first round stoppage in a rough semifinal, before out-hustling JJ McDonagh to take the trophy.

My feeling watching from ringside was that whoever survived the O’Kane/Fitzgerald quarter, wasn’t going any further. A huge amount went into that fight; O’Kane deserves enormous credit for his conditioning and being able to see his way through the rest of the tournament.

I get the sense with O’Kane that he wants to become an attraction. He’s already a popular draw locally and he came out of this show looking like a potential star. He seems to enjoy the crowd pleasing toe to toe stuff, and over the three round sprint distance, that was exactly what was required. He will need to find more of a balance between the boxing and the brawling as he steps up in competition, but there were plenty of positives to take from his performance in terms of fitness, work-rate, determination and toughness.

O’Kane will be probably looking at challenging for domestic titles before long, but first Matchroom want to get him more experience fighting in 8 and 10 rounders. He is expected to be back out again on a big Belfast card in September, if not before then. He’s an exciting TV fighter, now with a bit of a name, so it shouldn’t be difficult to find opponents.

But, the guys wanted to get their thoughts out about the show.

Here’s what the FGB crew thought about UFC 145:

Duan
Thumbs In The Middle
Best Fight: Mark Hominick vs. Eddie Yagin
Worst Fight: Mark Bocek vs. John Alessio

This show was always going to be judged by it’s main event, and ultimately the fight couldn’t live up to the build.

Evans/Jones was at least tense for a couple of rounds before settling into a pattern it was destined not to stray from for the remaining three. Rashad wasn’t going to win a point scoring contest; that’s how it played out and he could do nothing to change the dynamic. It made for dull, one-paced viewing.

Boeck/Alessio in the opener was death – two guys who are just there in UFC having a horrible fight – the less said the better.

Now if you look past those two, there was actually a fair bit to like about the middle portion of the card: a pair of masterclasses from McDonald and MacDonald, the seventy second Schaub/Rothwell shootout, and a classic tear up between Eddie Yagin and Mark Hominick. The later being amongst the best UFC fights this year.

A painful opener and lackluster main event took from what was an otherwise decent show.

Alan
Thumbs In The Middle
Best Fight: Mark Hominick vs. Eddie Yagin
Worst Fight: Mark Bocek vs. John Alessio

I was far from blown away by this show. Things were pretty average up until the main event. There was one hellaciously boring fight, one decent brawl, a one-sided beating and two quick finishes. So the show was setup to totally swing in whatever way Jones and Evans pulled it. I was on the edge of my seat in the early rounds but about half way through the fight it became pretty apparent that this one wasn’t going to have many fireworks and Jones was going to close out a victory by decision. It was, to be honest, quite the anticlimax.

Big D
Thumbs In The Middle
Best Fight: Rory MacDonald vs. Che Mills
Worst Fight: Mark Bocek vs. John Alessio

What more can be said? Jon Jones wins again, and each time he wins, he does it completely different than the last. We’ve seen Jones overwhelm guys with strikes and whip out chokes from seemingly out of nowhere, but in his fight with Rashad Evans, we saw him use his reach advantage more so than ever before. He used his long arms and trademark elbows to out-smash Rashad and take the win, and the most amazing part is that he looked like he could’ve gone five MORE rounds. Who can stop him? Who’s next? I think they should book Forrest Griffin AND RIch Franklin vs. Jones in a HANDICAP MATCH! That’ll be a new challenge! Anyways, the other big story of the show was the coming out party of the WHITE JON JONES – Rory MacDonald! Keep an eye on him! Overall, show had 3 exciting fights and 3 boring ones, so its a straight thumbs in the middle and will probably be remembered for the build-up rather than the fight.

GG
Thumbs Up
Best Fight: Mark Hominick vs. Eddie Yagin
Worst Fight: Mark Bocek vs. John Alessio

I enjoyed the show more than my FGB bros. There was only one boring fight and it was a coming out party for Rory MacDonald and Michael McDonald. It was very apparent that the UFC wanted to showcase both guys on one of the bigger shows of the year and it worked out perfectly for them. I really liked the main event and wasn’t bored by it at all. The story of the fight was all about how Rashad Evans was going to break through Jon Jones’ defense. And he couldn’t. It felt like a big fight and Jon Jones feels like a big fight fighter. The thing Jones has to avoid though is getting complacent, much like GSP has had to work hard against. You don’t want two of your best fighters to be so involved in the strategy that they don’t even take openings to finish. There were a few times where Jones could’ve been more aggressive, but he decided to stay on the outside.

Here’s what the FGB crew thought about UFC 137:

Duan
Thumbs In The Middle
Best Fight: BJ Penn vs. Nick Diaz
Worst Fight: Cheick Kongo vs. Matt Mitrione

The only thing that kept this show’s head above water was a spectacular main event, but what a main event it was. For two and a half hour’s we got a mixture of the average and the dull, but by the end of Diaz/Penn that was all forgotten about. Their three round war more than redeemed any undercard shortcomings.

There is now at least one welterweight title fight out there worth watching and that’s a major bonus moving forward. Diaz perhaps has the skill set required to ask some fresh questions of St. Pierre. This is the bout the division has been craving.

If this is to be the final farewell for both Penn or Crocop (and I think it should be), they can each leave with their head held high – huge efforts turned in by both guys on their last night even in defeat.

Penn is still certainly capable of competing in either of the divisions he once reigned, but I don’t see him being the type to just make up the numbers. Having been usurped by Edgar at 155 and now falling short of the 170 elite; he will likely see this as the right time for him to move on to other pursuits.

For Crocop, it’s more a case of diminishing options. At this point (should he carry on), he would be reduced to fighting at a prelim level and he’s getting paid way too much for that to make financial sense. He gave as good an account of himself as anyone could have realistically hoped for against Nelson, but Mirko has been a spent force for a long time. The truth is the real Crocop never once showed up in UFC – not even a glimpse – he perished with PRIDE in 07.

Alan
Thumbs In The Middle
Best Fight: BJ Penn vs. Nick Diaz
Worst Fight: Cheick Kongo vs. Matt Mitrione

Pretty much echo Duan on everything. Main event saved an otherwise lackluster show. Disappointed Hioki didn’t deliver a better performance, but I’ll give him time to adjust.

Diaz/GSP is a mouth-watering prospect. Nick is so damn crazy though, I wouldn’t be surprised if he self-destructed leasing up to that.

And here’s what we thought about UFC 138:

Duan
Thumbs Leaning Up
Best Fight: Chris Leben vs. Mark Munoz
Worst Fight: Anthony Perosh vs. Cyril Diabaté

A really fast paced show, nothing drawn out or dull, and every bout a decent one. The lack of star power and marquee matches really hurt this card because based on action alone, it was one of the better UFC events in recent memory. It’s just that when a show lacks an obvious draw, it requires something that bit special to really resonate, and it didn’t quite have that.

The welterweight division is crying out for some new faces and Che Mills is definitely a welcome addition. The manner in which he tore Cope to shreds made him an instant threat to every other 170 pounder. It was great to see Terry Etim back to his best after a very difficult year. Anthony Perosh may have a future at light heavyweight, while Renan Barao is capable of causing some problems at bantam.

Leben brought his usual tenacity and bulldog courage, but I couldn’t help but feel he was his own worst enemy in this one. Much like Alfredo Angulo on HBO a few hours later, Leben emptied the tank in round one swinging full-blooded shots to dead air. All Munoz had to do was wait for his opening after that because it was always going to come.

There’s no reason to sugarcoat it; this is not a show anybody will remember. There was nothing of enough relevance to make you go back and watch it if you missed out first time around. But for those who did catch it on Saturday night, well…They got a pretty fun three hours worth of fighting.

Here’s what the FGB crew thought about UFC 136:

Alan
Thumbs In The Middle (leaning up)
Best Fight: Nam Phan vs. Leonard Garcia
Worst Fight: Kenny Florian vs. Jose Aldo

Florian/Aldo really dragged and I think that being a good fight would have made this a great show, but it was a half an hour of boringness at a key part of the event. The main event was good but the rounds after the exciting 1st round were kinda quiet until the finish. Garcia/Nam was very entertaining, and Melvin/Joe was fun while it lasted. Chael’s win and promo were the most memorable things on this show for me.

Duan
Thumbs Up
Best Fight: Gray Maynard vs. Frankie Edgar
Worst Fight: Brian Stann vs. Chael Sonnen

Usually rematches just don’t quite meet expectations, but on this card we got not one, but two, that certainly did. The main event was another classic tear up which finally gave us a conclusive ending to the Edgar/Maynard rivalry. The finish coming inside the distance was definitely a shock too. As to where we go from here, I would be fascinated to see how Edgar matched up with Nate Diaz.

There was some really good action in Garcia/Phan to. It was pretty one-sided for the most part, but the combination of Garcia’s constant recklessness with Phan’s occasional vulnerability was enough to keep it captivating. Two very decent fights earn this show a thumbs up from me.

I was disappointed by Florian’s efforts. It has become clear that he just doesn’t have the mentality of a championship level fighter. Once again, he was far too cautious and let the fight slip away. There came a point when it was clear he needed something drastic to turn that fight. Aldo again didn’t look his spectacular best; this might have been the night to catch him, but Florian had his gameplan going in and come hell or highwater he was sticking to it. Having seen this same routine play out three times now, I would prefer he was passed over when it comes to selecting future challengers.

Cactus Jim
Thumbs Up
Best Fight: Gray Maynard vs. Frankie Edgar
Worst Fight: Kenny Florian vs. Jose Aldo

This was one of the best cards UFC has put on in quite some time. I found it thoroughly entertaining from start to finish and had a hard time picking a worst fight because they were all entertaining. Ultimately I settled on the Aldo versus Florian fight because while entertaining it felt that neither guy really lived up to their potential. I think to continue being mentioned as one of the top pound for pound guys in the world that Aldo needs to put on a more impressive showing than he has in his last couple fights. Florian has shown for the 3rd time that he’s just not championship material. Moving forward I think he should be relegated to the role of gatekeeper. Sonnen’s destruction of Brian Stann went down exactly as expected and his post fight promo was pure genius. Seriously, a loser leaves town MMA fight? Smells like money to me. Phan/Garcia lived up to their last meeting and the main event was one for the ages. I was on the edge of my seat from the first uppercut to the final blow to the head of a face down Gray Maynard. Frankie Edgar has proven he has the heart of a champion and can battle back from one hell of an ass kicking. Pure drama. If you haven’t yet seen this card go out of your way to find it and enjoy.

Big D
Thumbs Up
Best Fight: Gray Maynard vs. Frankie Edgar
Worst Fight: Kenny Florian vs. Jose Aldo

UFC 136 was an AMAZING show that accomplished a LOT for the UFC and even though it lacked a major PPV draw, it may have CREATED a handful of new ones. Joe Lauzon vs. Melvin Guillard was an awesome opener with nonstop action featuring two vets. Frankie Edgar finally exorcised the tramp stamping demon known as Gray Maynard by handing him his first loss after making an amazing babyface comeback, even cooler than the one in their second fight. This ABSOLUTELY helped put Frankie over. Gray needs to learn to finish. Kenflo is now in limbo for failing for beat Aldo, but Aldo really didn’t impress like I expected. The big story though was Chael Sonnen’s utter massacre of Brian Stann. Sonnen broke Stann in half. This is the kind of dominating performance PLUS a legendary post-fight promo that equals PPV Buyrates. A lot of so-called “insiders” like to talk about a “money promo”. THIS was the personification of that. I legit marked out like when Del Rio won and celebrated with my group.

GG
Thumbs Up
Best Fight: Gray Maynard vs. Frankie Edgar
Worst Fight: Kenny Florian vs. Jose Aldo

I like competitive fights, but I also like strong performances. While Chael Sonnen vs. Brian Stann wasn’t as competitive as I would’ve liked to see, Sonnen put on quite the display of wrestling and surprised a few with his submission win. And then he capped it off with a great promo. The only fight that didn’t really have either was Kenny Florian vs. Jose Aldo, but I give Kenny credit for fighting the kind of fight that he could win. He just didn’t fight it well enough. I don’t blame Aldo for the boring fight at all. The other three fights were really strong. Joe Lauzon shocked the MMA world yet again (though not as much as when he beat Jens Pulver). Nam Phan used Leonard Garcia’s face as a punching bag. And Frankie Edgar shook off another early beating to come back and prove that determination is the true mark of a champion. This was one of the best shows (if not the best) of the year.

Here’s what the FGB crew thought about UFC 135.

Alan

This was one of those shows where the undercard did nothing for me so I just went with the top two fights. They were both enjoyable for what they were. I liked the Hughes fight because you were thrown the curveball of him looking good at the outset and you wanted to see how long it would last. It was quite like Shamrock Rovers going 1-0 against Spurs last night in a total shock, but they couldn’t hold on and Spurs obliterated them with 3 goals in quick succession. Josh Koscheck was Spurs. He may have just needed a kick up the backside to get going.

Rampage vs. Jones was a spectacle purely because it’s rare you see an MMA fighter in a high level title match no less, literally toying with his opponent. It was an unreal performance, and to me makes Jones the most must-see fighter in MMA right now. Can’t wait for him and Rashad.

Based on these two fights I’d give the show a thumbs middle leaning up.

(Christ, I completely forgot I watched Diaz/Gomi! That was really enjoyable.)

Duan
Thumbs In The Middle
Best Fight: Takanori Gomi vs. Nate Diaz
Worst Fight: Rob Broughton vs. Travis Browne

One of the most predictable cards in UFC history, but that didn’t necessarily make it a bad show – six consecutive heavyweight rounds nearly did though – but it was spared by a pair of spectacular performances which bookended the show.

Nate Diaz looked sensational in his first round submission of the faded, once great Takanori Gomi. Then Jones dominated in the manner most expected of him in the main event. There will be sterner tests ahead for both, but they both came out of 135 looking like massive stars.

The curious decision to run two heavyweight bouts back to back always seemed like a gutsy move on paper, and in practice, it exposed the lack of depth in the division. Hunt/Rothwell, while not a great display of athleticism, did at least have an element of drama in it’s favour, which is more than I can say for Browne/Broughton. Admittedly, by midway through round 2, Big Ben and The Super Samoan had given up fighting each other in the face of a much more daunting foe – exhaustion – but for one reason or another it was absorbing.

I hope this is the last time we see Hughes take to the Octagon. He can leave with his head held high on the back of that performance. He gave it a real go and went out on his shield. The guy has been fantastic for the sport. It would be a true shame if he was to become just a name opponent.

Cactus Jim
Thumbs Up
Best Fight: Takanori Gomi vs. Nate Diaz
Worst Fight: Rob Broughton vs. Travis Browne

I enjoyed UFC 135. I was watching in a casino sports book where the audio was less than stellar which I think helped add to my enjoyment. I’m not sure how much longer I can listen to Mike Goldberg. Anyway, I’ll stop sniffling and get on to the fight card. There were no big surprises here and in some cases *cough**Travis Browne**cough* some piss poor performances, but overall I thought it was a fine night of entertainment. After Gomi’s decimation I was feeling sorry for Asian fighters coming to the US to fight in UFC, but then I got to see Mizugaki finish Escovedo and have the crowd actually give him some appreciation for a hard fought win. The semi-main was short, but exciting. And the main event left no doubt that Jon Jones deserves every bit of the hype he receives. This guy is just a pleasure to watch. I’m excited to see his next fight as well as the next outing from Nate Diaz. Aside from the heavyweights, I have no major complaints with this show.

GG
Thumbs Up
Best Fight: Takanori Gomi vs. Nate Diaz
Worst Fight: Rob Broughton vs. Travis Browne

Much like Duan said, this show was fairly predictable, but predictable can be good. Jon Jones is very close to Anderson Silva status where no matter who he fights, you probably have to watch, not because it’s always going to be competitive, but because you want to see what he does next. I was happy to see Nate Diaz fight his fight. He needs to stay at 155 and use his strengths to tie some of these 155ers in knots. I was sad to see Matt Hughes lose as badly as he did, but you knew it was coming. I hated both heavyweight fights. I thought Mark Hunt and Ben Rothwell was the absolute opposite of an athletic contest. It was embarrassing to see those guys gas like they did.

Here’s what Big D and I thought about UFC 134:

Big D
Thumbs Way Up
Best Fight: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Brendan Schaub
Worst Fight: None

UFC Rio was an interesting show because it managed to satisfy the hardcore, old-school fanbase (specially PRIDE fans) as well as the home town crowd by having the Brazilians win the top 3 fights. The Silva outcome was expected, and even though there was a tiny speck of doubt about Okami, I knew Silva would destroy him and I liked how he took his time and didn’t rush things to finish him off. Shogun’s win was also one I was hoping for, but wasn’t sure about, and it definitely answered a lot of questions about his future. I was shocked he was able to dispatch Forrest so fast. The BIG shocker though, was how a guy who everybody thought was finished, Minotauro Nogueira, was able to defeat Brendan Schaub. I’ve been a huge Nog fan for a long time, but even I admitted he was done, but apparently he’s still got some fight cause he went in and showcased the Nog of old, pounding away at Brendan’s face. Was a great moment. Overall – the show was AWESOME and surprisingly ended at the 2 hour mark, which is WACKY!

GG
Thumbs Up
Best Fight: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Brendan Schaub
Worst Fight: Forrest Griffin vs. Shogun Rua

UFC Rio was quite the spectacle. With all of the PPV fights featuring Brazilians fighting in Brazil, you had a clear crowd favorite in every fight, and the Brazilians went 3-2 on the PPV card. Anderson Silva was fantastic as usual. Big Nog was inspiring. And Shogun Rua was all about business. It’s just too bad that Forrest Griffin didn’t really come to fight, even though he had his reasons. They should probably do a Brazil themed MMA show every year.

Alan
Thumbs Up
Best Match: John Cena vs. CM Punk
Worst Match: Beth Phoenix vs. Kelly Kelly (but it wasn’t bad)

A good show hindered by one major problem – the announcing. Unlike one terrible match which is over when it’s over and you can forget about it, the announcing lasts from beginning to end. It was unbearable on this show (and even worse on Raw) and is really ruining the product.

If you were lucky enough to be watching the Spanish version then you probably loved this show. The main event rocked and was better than Chicago up until the weak finish. Orton vs. Christian was a very good plunder match (although I’m not the biggest fan of those matches). The 6-man opener was a great way to kick off the show too.

Oh and highlight of the show was unquestionably Joey Ryan’s sell when Sheamus and Mark Henry went through the barricade.

Duan
Thumbs Up
Best Match: Randy Orton vs. Christian
Worst Match: Beth Phoenix vs. Kelly Kelly

A little below last month’s show, but still a ‘better than most’ WWE PPV. Once again there can be little to complain about in terms of wrestling. Decent opener, Sheamus / Henry was a solid big man brawl, Divas were better than usual (aside from the idiotic finishing sequence), and D Bryan got a career best performance out of Barrett. Punk vs. Cena was good but nothing to write home about – a decent WWE main event with a flat finish. It did however pose some questions, and the right sort of questions. It gave a reason to tune in to Raw and that’s all that was required from it.

I’m concerned by the timing of Del Rio’s title win. I have never liked the Money in the Bank cash in gimmick anyway. All it does is create a paper champion. Alberto was ready for the belt at Mania, but they blew it and he has dropped off a lot since then. A cheapened title reign will do little to rehabilitate him. I’m willing to wait and see where they’re going with this, but they have a lot of work to do.

Now, there’s a lot of people who like to sound off about Christian and Orton wrestling on every show. Well… Thank goodness they do. What else is there to look forward to on Smackdown? These two guys stole the show again. It was a brilliant, brilliant match. They can fight on every card for the rest of the year for all I care.

This wasn’t quite the smash hit we had last time out, but you just can’t have shows like that all the time – still a value for money PPV.

Cadillac Don
Thumbs Up (at 90%)
Best Match: Daniel Bryan vs. Wade Barrett
Worst Match: None, really

The biggest problem with SummerSlam (last year known as SummerFest) was that it came after Money in the Bank. If there was no Money in the Bank this would be a great Pay Per View. Otherwise, it just seemed like a good show with a weak finish.

I didn’t hear much of the announcing, but I believe I heard Booker say “OH MY GOODNESS” a few times, which gave me warm fuzzies. Seeing as this even featured “THE MOST IMPORTANT TITLE MATCH IN WWE HISTORY” you’d think Jim Ross would at least call the main event to make it feel special. Nope. Then again, I’d want Howard Finkel introducing the two champions as well.

The six man at the beginning was as good as most six-men matches, but seemed like a RAW main event. Nothing special about it. Kofi did a huge leap and Rey almost hit a double 619… something we’ve seen many times before.

Mark Henry vs. Sheamus was a fun match that put over both men. Sheamus looked strong by fighting to get to the ring while being counted out. Henry threw him around like a carrot-themed cabbage patch kid, and the crowd was in Sheamus’ corner. I remember seeing him give a great face promo in Ireland during his first RAW run, and the crowd ate it up. This guy would be a hero.

In the Divas match, Beth Phoenix carried Kelly x 2 to a passable match. Probably the best women’s match since Gail Kim vs. Awesome Kong in TNA. Perhaps I’m thinking too much about this, but they’re giving Kelly 2 a storyline in which she’s facing up to her fears. Earlier this year she was petrified at the sight of Kharma coming into the ring after her, and now she’s progressed to standing up to, and defeating Phoenix.

Barrett vs. Bryan was my kind of match. It would have gone either way, and Barrett needed the win much moreso than Bryan. He’d been toiling in obscurity for awhile now. I only wish they’d talked more about their history in NXT and Nexus. But this was a solid oldschool match in which we saw Bryan’s elbows, and working different holds into submissions.

Orton vs. Christian was one of those matches where I thought “Ugh… again” at the beginning, but it turned into a decent match. The Edge angle at the beginning followed by Christian’s reaction was great. He went through a few different feelings, showing his acting range. From not believing what he just saw, to remorse for what he did to win the title, to determination to prove Edge wrong was pretty awesome. Not much psychology in the match, and the spit angle at the end just proved why this match was no holds barred.

The main event was a good match. It didn’t seem as great as their Chicago match due to not as much heat. I’d have to watch the Chicago match again to see which one was better, but it seemed this one had fewer missed spots… up until the end. With the miss of the GTS (then again, maybe he was trying for a modified heart punch with his knee) and Cena’s foot obviously on the bottom rope, it was quite the groaner of a finish. Nash was a big surprise, as I thought he’d been relegated to Hacksaw Jim Duggan status with his surprise appearance at the Rumble. Del Rio winning the title wasn’t much of a surprise, but I am surprised the referee didn’t wait until Punk made it to his feet before ringing the bell. But I digress.

Overall, this is a show I would watch again. Not one bad match.

My personal highlight was seeing Jimmy Hart with R-Truth, and feeling giddy about seeing the punchline coming a mile away. “Thank you, Little Jimmy… WAIT A MINUTE!”

GG
Thumbs Up
Best Match: Daniel Bryan vs. Wade Barrett
Worst Match: Beth Phoenix vs. Kelly Kelly

I know that I was supposed to enjoy Randy Orton vs. Christian the most. But there was one fatal flaw in that match that bugged me. At the last PPV, it made sense that Christian spat in Orton’s face. He wanted Orton to get DQd. But in this match, it didn’t make sense at all since all it did was lead to the finish in a no DQ match and lead to Christian’s downfall. That bothered me tremendously. Also, like Alan, I’m not a fan of the plunder matches, no matter how good it was. And it does bother me that Christian lost the title so quickly again. That hurt my enjoyment. I don’t have much more to say about the show that the guys didn’t say already. There was tons of intrigue with this show as we had more people at the house than we had for WrestleMania. It was a good show, not great, but worth the purchase.

Big D
Thumbs Up
Best Match: Randy Orton vs. Christian + Alberto Del Rio’s Destino
Worst Match: Beth Phoenix vs. Kelly Kelly

Summerslam 2011 was a really fun show, while not on the level of quality top to bottom like the last show was, was still a phenomenal show with a handful of really great matches and two amazing main events, capped off by destiny being fulfilled. Bell to bell though, the Orton vs. Christian was undoubtedly the best match of the night and one of Randy’s top 5 career matches. Anybody who knows me knows I love Alberto Del Rio more than anything (and I like Nash too), and when he finally won, i had a mark out larger than any in the history of my life. I legitimately screamed “Destino” at the sports bar 100 times and threw my hat and jumped up and down and hugged males. Twas a wonderful night. So yeah… I won’t forget this.

Rashad Evans is a really good fighter. In fact, he might be underrated. But he’s not a must-see guy unless he’s fighting the right opponent. Tito Ortiz wasn’t that guy. The Tito Ortiz of 2004 would’ve been a fantastic opponent for Rashad. That Tito would’ve probably beaten Rashad. But not in 2011. Thus, I think most people felt similarly about this show. It wasn’t a must-see show. At FGB, only two of us watched it in whole.

Here’s what the Cactus Jim and I said about UFC 133:

Cactus Jim
Thumbs Down
Best Fight: Tito Ortiz vs. Rashad Evans
Worst Fight: Matt Hamill vs. Alexander Gustafsson

This wasn’t a great card on paper and it didn’t rise above the expectations I had for it. Half of the fights were fairly entertaining, but there was nothing near a fight of the year candidate on the card. Coming out of the card, the big news was Matt Hamill’s retirement. His performance would lead me to believe that it was a wise move on his part. Rashad Evans situated himself nicely for a title shot. And Vitor Belfort’s dismantling of Sexyama led several people on this site, myself included, to believe that Vitor is probably the best guy UFC could put in with Anderson Silva, despite his recent loss to the champ. If you haven’t seen this show I sure wouldn’t pay PPV prices to watch it. Wait for Netflix or some other method to view.

GG
Thumbs Up
Best Fight: Rashad Evans vs. Tito Ortiz
Worst Fight: Rani Yahya vs. Chad Mendes

With low expectations, this show simply had to be decent for me to not be disappointed. And I think it was. It might’ve only been a 6.5 out of 10, but there was enough excitement that I didn’t feel ripped off paying for pizza at my buddy’s house. Rashad Evans looked great, even though he was fighting someone past his prime. Vitor Belfort looked good in beating Sexyama, but someone has to do something about those shots to the back of the head. He did the same thing against Rich Franklin. It’s always fun to watch Brian Ebersole, especially if you know his background. I was overall entertained, but also glad that I didn’t spend $55 on it.

Alan
Thumbs Up
Best Match: CM Punk vs. John Cena
Worst Match: Brie Bella vs. Kelly Kelly

Thumbs Up to high heavens! Punk vs. Cena was slowly built, but the crazy atmosphere carried it during the early going. Then when things kicked into high gear they were off to the races and everything was perfect with regard to the finish and the end of the show. Logical, smart and creative. This was Canadian Stampede in 2011. Same month, a “B” show, main event revolving around a hometown conquering hero, insane atmospshere and a great undercard. They hit this out of the park.

Duan
Thumbs Up
Best Match: CM Punk vs. John Cena
Worst Match: Brie Bella vs. Kelly Kelly

They got it right!

A great night’s wrestling top to bottom. Both the Ladder matches were tremendous fun. Smackdown had the better of the two which surprised me. The Raw one was a real mess at times but was still had some fantastic moments. Henry/Show was perfectly fine and Henry came out of it looking like a beast. The Orton vs. Christian match was good. I wasn’t too keen on the title change by DQ – I’m just old school like that – but what I did enjoy was the almighty beating Randy dished out afterward. Arguably the best beat down since he laid waste to Legacy many months back.

The main event took a while to settle, but it came good in the end. The final few minutes were as dramatic as anything I have seen in WWE. I loved that they teased two of the more predictable outcomes (Montreal, Alberto cash in) before going with the right finish. It just added that little bit extra to the match.

This is a huge shot in the arm for WWE. They have a ton of momentum going into TV. Hopefully it can carry them through the rest of the summer.

Cadillac Don
Thumbs Up
Best Match: CM Punk vs. John Cena
Worst Match: Brie Bella vs. Kelly Kelly

Not only did they do it right, but they kept it simple. There wasn’t four weeks of storylines done in one night. Nobody lost their Money in the Bank shot. And the only match I guessed wrong was Del Rio winning, mainly because I didn’t want to see him sacrificed to Punk in the end.

With the crowd chanting CM Punk’s name all night, no matter the match, it helped build to the main event. And I had no qualms about the pacing of the match. I never noticed it dragging mainly due to the heat in the building. The last time I watched a PPV with this much heat in the main event was One Night Stand 2 with RVD (Money in the Bank winner) vs. John Cena. Apropos there was a “If Cena Wins, We Riot” sign in the crowd.

Both Money in the Bank matches were done well, keeping to a safety first formula. Sure there were a few dumb spots there, highlighted by Evan Bourne pulling a Jeff Hardy off the “that’s too tall a ladder to be a real ladder” ladder. Seeing Daniel Bryan win was a treat, but the fact that he’s on the B show going after the B championship, it won’t make a huge difference if he wins the title.

Del Rio winning the RAW Money in the Bank match was almost as certain as John Cena or Randy Orton winning the Royal Rumble. Miz made a great effort, reminding folks why he’s still championship material.

The Christian / Orton match went the way I figured it would, albeit a bit longer. The beatdown at the end was good development for Orton’s character, as the man just lost his temper as he is wont to do. Good, smart match by Christian.

Big Show and Mark Henry was what it should have been. Big men hitting each other hard, and looking mean. I’ve read somewhere that Mark Henry would be over huge if he hadn’t been around for 15 years.

As I said about the main event, it didn’t slow down for me at all. The crowd was definitely the third man (not including the ref) in this match. The implications of seeing Punk leave with the title gave me chills like wrestling hasn’t given me in a very long time.

And then I watched RAW tonight. All I can think of after seeing the show is an image of Vince McMahon sitting in a chair, talking about injecting poison, right before you see the initials nWo. Let’s see if they can continue to surprise us.

GG
Thumbs Up
Best Match: CM Punk vs. John Cena
Worst Match: Brie Bella vs. Kelly Kelly

I had 9 people over ranging from 10 years old to mid-30s and everyone was marking out like a child in the main event. That to me, says it all. This show is historic right now for good reason. It was one of the best PPVs that I can remember watching. But if it’s truly going to be remembered as a game changer, it has to ignite WWE to go on a good run here. There was only one bad match and even Mark Henry vs. Big Show was done perfectly. I can be hard on the show and say I didn’t like the way Christian vs. Randy O ended, but I’d just be looking for things to be upset about. This show was really amazing. If you haven’t seen it, go seek it.

Big D
100 Thumbs Up
Best Match: Everything
Worst Match: Nothing

WWE Money In the Bank 2011 may have been one of the best PPVs of the past 5 years, but to me it was UNDOUBTEDLY one of the best wrestling PPVs of all time, outshining almost every show, including MANY top tier WrestleManias. I can honestly tell you that I enjoyed every single MINUTE of this show, start to finish, including the women’s match. It’s unfortunate too because if you didn’t see it live as it happened, that excitement, atmosphere, and air of mystery will never compare.

For me, it was much more personal. I went with several people, including five of my closest “wrestling” friends. Two of them grew up during the great era of the past and have become completely disenfranchised with the business for the past five years. One was super hard-core, but recently got married and became a born again Christian and has little time for it anymore, and one who was a huge supporter of the indies. Me? I’d been having a very rough week in terms of my personal life. Everybody unanimously agreed with me, all for different reasons, and we literally had the time of our lives. I haven’t hugged this many males since graduation day.

Bryan Danielson winning the SD MITB was literally out of nowhere. I was certain it’d be Barrett, Rhodes, or Sheamus, with Sin Cara being a SLIGHT possibility since he’s Hunter’s boy (this was before the wellness stuff), but when Danielson actually won in CHICAGO I thought… “wow, this show is for the internet” and I was right! LOVED Mark Henry vs. Big Show. This was about as good a big man match as you can get; agressive moves, some risks, and an amazing finish with Mark Henry using FOUR FINISHING MOVES to beat Show like FREAKIN ALL JAPAN MAIN EVENT! Loved it. Women’s match I didn’t mind. Raw MITB had DESTINO come even closer yet again. Both MITB matches had great choreography with some NASTY spots, and I thought Swagger, Kofi, and Miz were legitimately injured. I have mixed feelings on Orton/Christian. The match was fine as usual, but the finish was ehh. I mean, they didn’t wanna beat Randy, but I HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE DQ Title Changes.

The main event was, as expected, amazing. This was a great mix of Mania 22 and ONS 06 as far the US vs. Them crowd. Seeing Ace Steel and Colt Cabana in the front row was icing on the cake. The match was worked brilliantly, featuring an amazing Anaconda Vice reversal, some brilliant STF near falls, and a finish that was creative… no no… genius, in that you put over Cena as the fighting babyface, while having him lose CLEAN to a finisher in the middle of the ring, AND left an unbelievable amount of unanswered questions to close the show. I couldn’t believe the end and while I WAS awaiting Del Rio to achieve destiny, this finish to the show was much more creative.

Here’s what the FGB crew said about UFC 132.

Alan
Thumbs Up
Best Fight: Urijah Faber vs. Dominick Cruz
Worst Fight: None

A great night of knockouts capped off by a top class main event. You had great moments like Leben and Silva trading, Tito’s celebration and Condit’s knee of death and nothing close to bad.

Cadillac Don
Thumbs Up
Best Fight: Urijah Faber vs. Dominick Cruz
Worst Fight: None

There were a lot of great moments on this card, including the Tito Ortiz shocking win (and classic celebration), and the blood bath between Siver and Wiman. Most people seemed surprised Siver won (myself included, but he did finish strong… even though he does look about 70) but the fight could have gone either way.

Coming in late to the UFC scene, I had never seen Tito Ortiz fight, or Wanderlei Silva. However, the fellows watching with me kept talking about how scary Silva was in his prime.

This is one of the big differences between professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. In wrestling you still see men selling for guys like Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair. In MMA, those two would have been forced to retire, instead of having a choice.

Big D
Thumbs Up
Best Fight: Urijah Faber vs. Dominick Cruz
Worst Fight: Matt Wiman vs. Denis Siver

UFC 132 was the UFC card I’d been waiting for! A great slew of fights, a top-tier fun main event, some brutal KOs and subs, and was really a great mix of everything. I seriously thought Tito had no chance in hell and pulled one literally out of nowhere. Decision pissed me off. I DID think Cruz won, but all five rounds!? That’s MADNESS! Rematch this. I guess the most drawn-out career in MMA history continues, unlike that of Wanderlei. I’ve loved Wandy since the PRIDE days and it hurt when he got destroyed, but its exactly what I expected. His jaw is tin foil. Overall – great show.

Cactus Jim
Thumbs Up
Best Fight: Urijah Faber vs. Dominick Cruz
Worst Fight: Jeff Hougland vs. Donny Walker

All around one of the best shows in recent memory. Good match-ups, good finishes, and solid performances all around. Some things that seem pretty apparent after the show; Wanderlei’s chin is gone, Bader never had one, Condit is a beast, Featherweights can headline a PPV and put on a great fight, but they can’t draw for shit. I hope UFC 133 is even better.

GG
Thumbs Up
Best Fight: Urijah Faber vs. Dominick Cruz
Worst Fight: None

I didn’t catch any of the Facebook fights and I imagine there were some boring fights on that card, but of the seven that I saw, nothing was bad. As I said in the intro, this is one of my top ten favorite UFC cards ever. I was so hyped before it started and it actually met my expectations. There was enough for everyone on this show. You saw the up and coming tiger Carlos Condit win again. You saw an old vet out-savvy and knockout his younger opponent. There was a close-fought battle that ended in a bit of a surprise decision. We may have seen the end of a legendary career. And then you had an A+ main event that delivered. It was an awesome show and is must-see.