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5/16 Wednesday One Shots: The Dot Net staff give their quick thoughts from the previous week in WWE, TNA, MMA and indy wrestling

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May 16, 2012 - 08:18 PM

Welcome to the Wednesday One Shot. Each week, we will present a quick "one shot" thought from each staff member about the previous week in each of the following areas: WWE, TNA and Other (MMA, Indies, etc).

WWE

Will Pruett (Twitter - @itswilltime): What disappoints me most about the Daniel Bryan vs. C.M. Punk build is the complete lack of story behind it. Normally we criticize WWE for adding too much story to matches, but in this case, they haven't even tried. Punk and Bryan are two of the most compelling promo artists in WWE today. Combine that with their history and this is a huge missed opportunity.

Jake Barnett (Twitter - @barnettjake): John Cena and John Laurinitis had one of the worst closing segments to Raw I can remember. Whether it was the horrible telegraphed stipulation, the overacting of Cena, or the dumbfounded expression of Johnny Ace, none of it worked. I suppose you can't blame them, it's not like they had to world class talents in the WWE Title match that could have filled the time or anything.

Ryan Kester (Twitter - @TheRyanKester): In that past several weeks, my enthusiasm for the WWE product has waned considerably, at least in relation to the content we're getting from Raw. Smackdown has plenty of fresh faces to make things interesting, but the current focus on John Cena vs. John Laurinaitis and Triple H against Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman has simply failed to really catch my interest.

Chris Shore (Twitter - @TheShoreSlant): The Internet had a collective nerd-gasm when CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan was announced for this Sunday's Over the Limit. After looking at the build for the match, it now seems like some of that was premature. The match should still deliver, but it doesn't have the weight it should.

TNA

Will Pruett: Sacrifice was a surprisingly good pay-per-view. TNA delivered an effort they can easily be proud of. That effort was without Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Eric Bischoff, or Garret Bischoff. Is this a coincidence? Probably not. When the emphasis is on actual wrestlers like Austin Aries and Bully Ray, the promotion suddenly doesn't seem to be a pit of suck.

Jake Barnett: Austin Aries and Bully Ray's feud could consume 3 segments of Impact, and it wouldn't bother me a bit. Their in ring and mic chemistry are solid, and the story that has been written for them has been top notch. If all TNA feuds and characters felt this well thought out, there would be a lot more weekly viewers for TNA.

Ryan Kester: Sacrifice was the most satisfying TNA PPV of the year. They managed to show that they are capable of booking well and delivering on entertaining matches when everyone is motivated. Now if TNA can get the storyline quality to match the quality of their matches, they will be in good shape.

Chris Shore: Shhh. Don't tell anyone, because they wouldn't believe you anyway, but TNA put on a quality PPV this past week. The promotion still has a long way to go, but they should be commended for their progress. Even if Scott Steiner continues to bring the hate on Twitter.

Other (MMA, Indies, Etc)

Will Pruett (ROH): On the plus side, ROH pulled off the move that I have been calling for. They put the World Championship on their hottest act, Kevin Steen. They also screwed up on iPPV yet again. My patience with ROH is wearing thin. These issues show a disregard for their paying fans. ROH is falling quickly and I don't know if they can recover.

Jake Barnett (ROH): Oh, where to start. ROH let down it's fans and it's talent by failing once again to deliver a watchable iPPV product. The apology press conference a few days later did nothing to assuage this viewer that they are taking the problem serious enough. Is this finally the point where apologies aren't enough and fans finally speak with their wallets? I sure hope so, as ROH is now officially more frustrating to watch than TNA in terms of wasted talent and potential.

Ryan Kester (UFC): UFC 146 is right around the corner and while there are several interesting fights on the card, it's hard to kept excited about an all-Heavyweight affair. While the opportunity for some brilliant knockouts may be present, all too often Heavyweight fights lead to two winded blokes doing their damnedest just to make it through a fight. For UFC's sake, I hope this card produces more of the former than the latter.

Chris Shore (ROH): ROH had the technical problems they had, and they have been discussed in great detail. The bigger concern right now is that the show is still poorly booked. Putting the belt on Steen was the right call, and one of the few right calls on the Border Wars card. The tag title change, Tomasso Ciampa's loss, and jobbing out the Young Bucks are much bigger concerns than the tech issue that can be fixed with a RAM upgrade.

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