ricky's thoughts

Sacrifice - Mickie James* vs Madison Rayne (Knockouts Championship):
You'll be forgiven if you ignored Madison's boobs because your attention was drawn to that monstrosity of a crown she was wearing. Anyway the match didn't do it for me. It was one of their worst ones really. It was just slow and pretty basic, no fire and no excitement. The work was there but it just wasn't an entertaining match. There were a couple of creative spots like the way Mickie took out the ref by accident but I wasn't interested that much. Tara at ringside helped it out a lot and I'm more excited to see the eventual match between her and Madison. Street fight anyone? 5/10

Kurt Angle & Chyna vs Jeff & Karen Jarrett:
Much better than I thought it was going to be though of course it was really just a one-on-one match between Kurt and Jeff. These two do deserve credit for being able to work a good match at their ages. Karen added a lot to the match just with her personality and they teased her so well that it was great when she finally got her comeuppance. What was up with the rules though? Oh well this is TNA for you. Chyna looked a little shaky going for the body slam but the suplex looked fine, and the double ankle lock was a good way to finish it. 7/10

Raw - Brie Bella vs Kelly Kelly:
Well a lot better than last week's match anyway and these two seem to mesh together well enough. Obviously if these two are going to be on PPV this Sunday they don't want to give too much away. Both of them were on form and, apart from the ending, the work was solid. I liked that roll up but it wasn't a good way to finish the match. The Kharma attack was a lot more exciting than the last couple since the Bellas actually fought back this time. I guess our theory of former Divas' champs getting knocked off is gone since it was Nikki Bella who got slammed. Very interested to see where this Kelly/Kharma program is going but I feel like Eve is the forgotten party in all of this. She never got her rematch with the twins and now Kelly's getting a title shot. If Brie retains then Eve should get her rematch and then Kelly can take the title at Fatal 4 Way. 6/10 (5 for the match, an extra for the attack)

Impact - Madison Rayne, Sarita & Rosita vs Mickie James, Tara & Miss Tessmacher:
This one felt a little rushed and there were too many quick tags at the start so it couldn't really get going too much. But the part with Brooke in the ring was nice to see and it's good that she seems to have become comfortable and competent in the ring. They did well by keeping Madison and Tara separated so that we won't see anything until they have their big match at Slammiversary maybe? Anyway I was hoping to see more of Sarita but the match was decent enough. 6/10

Velvet Sky sends Karen for a ride:
This was pure gold. Velvet is really starting to grow on me and that wheelchair ride looked like a lot of fun. The rest of the mic work in the segment was solid as always though I'm disappointed at no Chyna. Is that the last we'll see of her or will she make a couple more appearances? (Segment rating: 7/10)

Winter & Angelina Love vs Velvet Sky:
Hmm we got to see a Winter/Angelina kiss though of course it wasn't much. I liked this match anyway and Angelina seems a lot more interesting to watch when she's a zombie. Winter's backbreaker looked sick and the match flowed well enough though it seemed to be over a bit too soon. I guess a small package keeps Angelina looking strong. It was great to see ODB again as I was worried she was just there for one appearance. Bring on this Velvet/ODB thing and then let ODB knock on Mickie's door. 6/10

Smackdown - Brie Bella vs Natalya:
Finally the twins get some proper mic time. The promo wasn't five star or anything like that but it was fine for what it was. The match was pretty good and Natalya can pull a good match out of just about anyone it seems. It got a respectable amount of time and the bits with Nattie dominating were good to watch. The ending was very crisp and clean with the shove into the corner into the X-Factor. A good decisive ending that shows Brie can win a match without the switch. She's been booked a little more strongly than she has on Raw and it's great that they finally remembered the champ can appear on Smackdown as well. Hopefully she retains so her reign will actually mean something. 6/10