Internet Explorer Coming to an Xbox 360 Near You

Rumor has it that Microsoft is releasing a special version of Internet Explorer for the Xbox 360 as reported by the folks at The Verge. It would appear that this version of IE would be mostly controlled through the Kinect with gesture and voice commands. I will say that I personally think this is something the Xbox has really been lacking and if it’s true it will be another step forward in the Xbox’s complete entertainment dominance. 

Source: The Verge

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Project M: Super Smash Bros Melee Revived for a New Generation

Super Smash Bros Melee.  Arguably one of  the best multiplayer games of the last two video game generations.  The customization that could be done with the game allowed it to run the gamut between "amazing party game to play with three buddies" and "fiercely competitive fighter".  Now I'll stop you purists right here - This isn't about IF Melee could be viewed as a competitive game and the huge rift created between people when they discuss it.  It's about a group of people that have collectively taken Super Smash Bros Brawl and combined the best parts of it and Melee into a splendidly nostalgic chimera of fun and competition.

We are here to discuss Project: M, a look at what Super Smash Bros Brawl could have been had it continued down the same path that Melee's gameplay took.  When Brawl was released, it was met with quite a bit of contention; the design was to bring the series back to its happy-go-lucky fun for all roots, and this didn't sit well with the many players that had spent years creating a competitive tournament scene with Melee. 

I happily took part in the Melee scene in the Long Island/NYC area, along with many friends.  When Brawl came out, I was a touch disappointed by the physics changes made to the system, since it entirely changed the way the game was played.  I didn't raise the same complaints that many of my fellow players raised, however.  I still saw it as a game you can grab three friends and play the night away with.  Tournaments arose for it, but they just have not had the prevalence that the Melee scene had.  The introduction of fun (but admittedly unbalanced) Final Smash moves was just one of many changes made to the game that were considered better and worse, depending on with whom you spoke.

Project: M is the fruits of the labor of a team of 50+ fans across the globe.  The game itself is still technically in it's "Demo 2" stage, but there are enough completed characters and stages for the demo to stand on its own merits.  The most important aspect to note in reviewing this mod is that it can be played on a perfectly vanilla, un-modified Wii.  The website (http://projectm.dantarion.com/) provides quite a few options to install the files necessary to launch the game.  These include choices for those of you with unmodified systems, as well as users of homebrew.  All of these are simple and straight forward. 

The team at work has gone through extensive analysis and trials of the physics they've employed, and the characters that you know from Melee feel like their old selves, and the Brawl new comers all fit in well.  As you play, you'll discover that the dodges, ledge grabs and wavelands you remember from your Melee glory days are back in full force.  That first wavedash with Luigi is the sweetest you'll feel.

The current roster includes a mix of veterans and Brawl newcomers, with the Brawl roster planned to be filled out.  There are rumors of additional characters to be added later on (Mewtwo's name has been thrown around often), but they have said that they do not wish to add things just for the sake of adding them; they'll need to make sense in terms of the changes at hand.  As per the Project M Dev Team: "Right now we're focused on working on the base 39 characters Brawl offers us...We'll let everyone know about our plans for this when we reach that point and hopefully, things will pan out for it as well".  We'll take a look at a few characters with a bit of depth, but the Team had this to say as far as general character design for the mod.

Their approach on Brawl new-comers differs a bit, taking a "blank slate" approach:  

"More often than not, we tend to not look at how they played in Brawl. Instead, we try to think of them as if they are on a clean slate. We also draw inspiration for moves from the games they came from. Wario is a great example of this, we thought about what would happen if Wario had been in Melee. If he were in Melee, he likely would have had a more Wario Land-inspired move set. So, we looked at what moves could be changed to fill the space of "canonizing" Wario more to Wario Land." 

We'll visit Wario shortly, as one of our character analyses.  The details given won't be frame-specific break downs, so as not to bore many of you to tears, but we will have a look at new combo opportunities and the imagination that has gone into re-imagining some of your Brawl favorites.

Let's start with Lucario, who has gone through arguably one of the biggest changes in the game.  In "vanilla" Brawl, Lucario has a back-end mechanic that increases his damage and knockback as his own damage increases.  This allows a risk-reward style of play; if you can keep yourself alive and on the offensive, you possess a much improved chance to take out opponents.  In Project:M, this mechanic is entirely reworked:  Instead of taking into account Lucario's own damage, there is an invisible "super meter" akin to most mainstream fighting games. 

As Lucario deals out hits, combos and damage, this meter grows.  Once it reaches a certain point, Lucario's hands will glow, alerting the player that he has a 'charge' for his new Super Specials.  Much like the meter, these are very much "EX" moves by comparison.  With a charge, you can perform any of Lucario's special attacks in conjunction with the A button to execute the EX version.  Aura Sphere becomes Aura Bomb, in the most blatant example.

Lucario charges his new Aura Bomb EX move - a slow but powerful tool.

Aura Bomb will travel slowly in a straight line out from Lucario, possessing huge damage and knockback opportunity.  Some might scoff at a slow moving projectile, but the distance it covers and time it spends out allow one quite a bit of time to jab, tilt or throw the opponent into it, not to mention it being a potentially useful edgeguard tool.  Lucario's forward B, Force Palm, increases in power, much like the EX Aura Sphere, and with the other large change to Lucario's play style (discussed below), makes for a great combo and kill tool.  Extremespeed, Lucario's Up B recovery tool, remains the same, but with a Super charge, you can cancel the animation into an aerial, helping to recover more safely.  Down B has now become a shadow step tool - with good timing, one can step through a projectile or attack to begin a new combo.  When used in its EX form, this move can be cancelled in much the same manner as Extremespeed, allowing great movement.

As for the above mentioned play style change, Lucario borrows one more aspect from those traditional fighters:  Attack cancelling.  Lucario has two built in "magic combos", one for the ground and one in the air.  In the air, on contact, you can cancel any aerial into a special attack, for a quick force palm grab in mid air (Yes, it grabs in mid air now) to jettison the opponent down or to chase upward with an EX Extremespeed.  On the ground, you have a bit more creativity. 

You can effectively cancel a jab into a tilt, into a smash, into a special, provided you make contact.  You can also skip any step therein.  Want to jab and immediately grab with an EX Force Palm?  Go for it, it's a great kill tool.  These changes, coupled with Lucario's respectable wavedash distance (great for wavelanding platforms and continuing combos) makes him an even bigger threat than he was in the original Brawl.  There are other animation changes for Lucario, but these should be discovered for yourself.

Next, we'll have a look at Pit, Brawl's resident chatty cherub.  If anyone hated any move in Brawl, it was Pit's Angel Ring, with his annoying yelps as he performed it.  If you fall into this sect of fans, rejoice:  Angel Ring is no more.  It is now replaced with a command glide (In fact, gliding is entirely done via commands now - no more jump button gliding).  When performed, Pit will rush a short distance with a quick burst in the gliding position, and you can perform any aerial out of the glide.  This is a great chase tool to keep combos going.  You should get used to the glide command; you'll be using it a lot for attacking and recovering.  Pit's ability to fly with Up B has been replaced with a powerful upward bash with his Mirror Shield.  The upward movement is a bit limited, so you'll want to get good at gliding effectively to recover, as Mirror Shield will give you about as much lift as Mario's Up B, but with a bit less horizontal movement built in.

 Mirror Shield - Great to kill with in the air or from under a platform, but not ideal for recovery.  Learn to glide!

Pit's arrows, an already great spacing and attacking (and annoying) tool are a tad more mobile in the Melee-fied Brawl.  Always a handy edgeguard tool, be sure to get good at curving these.  And always feel free to show off by looping them around a stage; I'm sure all your friends will be happy to not attack you while you showboat.  The increased mobility with the command glide speed burst coupled with some modified attack properties on the ground and in the air make Pit a character you'll be happy to play as both up close and far away from your opponent.

Let's take a trip back to my Melee favorite, Ganondorf for our next look.  The Project:M team has done Ganondorf fans a great service in their work with him:  They've left his Flame Choke in his moveset.  Essentially what this gives us is Melee's deceptively quick and agile Ganondorf with an excellent spacing and approach tool added in.  Ganondorf's attacks retain many of their Brawl animations, but the properties and hitboxes are more akin to this Melee incarnation.  Your jab will launch enemies away, your down tilt will pop enemies up for follow up with your strong aerial game, your smashes will decimate opponents and that wonderful, wonderful forward air is just as strong as you remember. 

Mixing Flame Chokes into all of these is a great mix up:  On approach, opponents could often shield grab you if your spacing was less than stellar but you can now play mindgames by using a Flame Choke in place of a strike.  If they predict poorly, you'll grab them and place them on the ground, and a quick Ganondorf can follow up with a down tilt or a well placed short hop down air attack, which in and of itself is capable of combos and kills.  Tech chasing and spacing are your best friends with Ganondorf, so get reacquainted with the Flame Choke and your old tactics.

  If you don't follow this with at least a down tilt, you are squandering opportunities.

Finally, we'll take a look at a character with significant changes from his Brawl incarnation:  Wario.  Much of the inspiration for Brawl's Wario came from a mix of the Warioland series and the Warioware series.  His default costume was from the microgame compilations and his specials were geared in that direction as well.  Using that "blank slate" philosophy, the Project:M team has reworked his moveset to draw far more from the Warioland series.  Wairo retains his strong air game from Brawl:  His movements allow him to hop in, attack and pull out all before landing on the ground, so once again, spacing is key. 

Wario's neutral B Bite remains, but is a bit different.  The priority on this move has been toned down significantly, so it's not a catch all "take damage but guarantee reciprocation" counter any longer.  A strong attack will tear right through his open mouth without getting caught.  The positive change, however, is you can now throw your opponent backwards after successfully catching them in your teeth; this opens up edge guarding possibilities.  Wario's down smash is now a quick punch to the ground to disrupt enemies around you; the wind down time is shorter than his previous breakdance spin down smash, so you can be a bit more liberal with it's application.  Down air is entirely different - It's now a ground rushing ground pound.  Miss, and you'll plummet; connect, and you'll spike your opponent and hop off their head.  Risk is always exciting!

Vintage Wario, realized by the Project:M team.

One of the key changes made by the team is Wario's side B.  Gone are the days of riding your motorcycle into opponents.  Now, you'll be able to quickly ram them with Wario's signature Shoulder Bash.  Done on the ground or in the air, Wario will rush forward, ready to knock opponents out of his way.  Keep in mind that in the air, you will go into free fall, so don't use this for recovery unless you've got some height and a trajectory in mind.  After a short distance, you'll stop rushing. 

"When designing new move sets, it usually depends on the character...Most Melee veterans don't receive large move set overhauls, but some have received some move additions.  Donkey Kong, for example, needed a forward-facing approach option so we looked at some of his moves and thought of ways to either improve upon them...We noticed Neutral Air would be a great approaching tool if its hitboxes were slightly better...We looked at what else we could do and then the idea of Donkey Kong's well-known Donkey Kong Country roll came into fruition. We decided to replace his dash attack which has almost always been a bad move. Now, on top of having a wonderful looking and canon attack, one of DK's main issues in competitive Melee was dealt with, making him a much more formidable opponent."

This distance is key; the later in the attack you make contact, the stronger it is.  Be careful with shield-happy opponents, though; if you bounce off of someone's shield, you're likely to eat a quick smash or grab.  Spaced out after hits or throws, this can be a great way to extend combos, and when performed on the ground, you can jump after opponents, just like in the Warioland games.  And as an added bonus, Wario's dash grab starts out looking just like the Shoulder Bash, so mixing the two up can force the opponent to predict and take grab/attack damage accordingly.

Honorable mentions for character information go to Zelda, Charizard and Luigi.  Zelda's Din's Fire attack now hangs in the air for a short time after releasing the button:  This lets you control the stage to a degree akin to Snake and it's incredibly satisfying to set a mid-air minefield and throw an opponent into it, watching them bounce between each as they explode.  Charizard, now separated from its trainer (As will Squirtle and Ivysaur be) has embraced its Flying dual type.  Since there is no need to switch Pokemon, down B is now Fly.  On the ground, it's a quick high jump to continue combos off of the Fire type's many launchers and in the air, it is now your command glide.  Charizard's glide isn't quite as quick as Pit's and he is a huge target, so be conservative in its use.  And then there's Luigi...The wavedash is back and oh so satisfying.  Up B is also back to its Melee potency, so combo, get in and PING your opponents high into the sky.

Super Smash Bros Melee had a strong sub-sect of fans that embraced the unique gameplay tweaks available and those same people have spread the love to Brawl.  Some local tournaments are already using Project:M as a side event to standard Brawl brackets, and if P:M is widespread enough, it could garner its own strong following.  The project has been featured in its demo 1 and 2 incarnations all around the net so far, but as a dedicated fan of the series, I was thrilled to take a bit more of an in depth look than what has been published thus far.  Please visit the team's project site HERE (or tweet with the hashtag #projectmelee) and read up on the changes made to all your favorite characters and keep an eye there and of course here at The Geek Asylum for any updates.

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BioShock Infinite Release Pushed to February 2013

Well another delay has come upon BioShock Infinite. It looks like the much anticipated game has now been pushed back until February 23^rd 2013. According to Ken Levine creative director of Irrational Games, "Since then, we've uncovered opportunities to make Infinite into something even more extraordinary”. Whatever the reason for the holdup let's just hope this doesn’t spell trouble for BioShock Infinite and we get the game we’ve all been waiting for.

Source: PCMAG

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Netherlands first country in Europe to gain net neutrality,confirms the Dutch are awesome

With all kinds of craziness going on over net neutrality here in the states with the CISPAS, pippa, sipppa, or whatever, the Netherlands was all like, nah we're good. As of May 8th, 2012 the Netherlands was the first country in Europe to pass significant legislation leading to net neutrality.

There are also provisions in place that protect users from wiretapping and disconnection.

The net neutrality law prohibits Internet providers from interfering with the traffic of their users. The law allows for traffic management in case of congestion and for network security, as long as these measures serve the interests of the Internet user. A technical error in the law might still be corrected in a vote on 15 May. In addition, the law includes an anti-wiretapping provision, restricting internetproviders from using invasive wiretapping technologies, such as deep packet inspection (DPI). They may only do so under limited circumstances, or with explicit consent of the user, which the user may withdraw at any time.

So ISP's can only disconnect users under a very specific set of circumstances.This is the kind of progressive thought process should be applauded. Let's hope this trend continues, and the entire world can be treated to the same fair and open internet policy.

Via: Bits of Freedom

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Galaxy Next Door: Insomniac Games to create Facebook game

Our pals over at Galaxy Next Door got the goods on Insomniac Games venturing into the inexplicably popular Facebook game arena.

Combining Insomniac’s immersive storytelling with a unique art style and sense of wit, Outernauts is an adventure role-playing game that casts players as members of United Earth’s elite Outernaut force. The Outernauts are charged with capturing and training exotic alien beasts as they uncover the riddle behind mysterious “ancients” while battling pirates and evil corporations seeking to control the galaxy. Players will explore planets, harvest loot, and fight asynchronously alongside or against friends to master a wild, untamed universe. Outernauts launches this Summer on Facebook and like all Facebook games will be FREE 2 PLAY, to a point that is. 

The Free 2 Play aspect is the interesting thing here. Sure it's free to play, but we shouldn't be shocked if grossly overpriced micro-tansactions come into play. Either way, Insominiac obviously sees Facebook as a viable platform for a new title. It should be interesting if any other developers follow suit.

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This Is ROH - 5/5/2012

Courtesy of Adam Iorio, @adamshaska

Ring of Honor Wrestling - May 5th, 2012

It's one week from Border Wars. The show opens with highlights from last week's match with The Briscoes vs. Cedric Alexander & Caprice Coleman

Match 1 - "The Dominant Male." Tommaso Ciampa vs Matt Taven.

Winner: Tommaso Ciampa via pinfall, length: 7 minutes, 37 seconds.

The match starts without the code of honor. Much to everyone's surprise, Taven gave Ciampa a run for his and The Embassy's money in this match. Ciampa tried to end the match early by giving Taven a full nelson suplex as soon as he entered the ring, and following it up with a knee to the skull in the corner before Taven slides out to the apron. They take the action to the floor as Jay Lethal comes down for a ringside seat. Ciampa hits Taven with an Air Raid Crash on the mat and has a staredown with Lethal.

 

After Taven reverses a suplex on the exposed concrete, both men climb back into the ring and exhange some blows. Taven gets a few 2 counts but Ciampa eventually hits the knee to the face followed by Project Ciampa for the three count.

Short interview with TJ Perkins about his match with Mike Mondo; The Young Bucks interrupt him with a few jokes.

Match 2 - "Technical Lightning." TJ Perkins vs "No Fear" Mike Mondo

Winner: Mike Mondo via pinfall, length: 7 minutes, 29 seconds

Both men adhere to the code of honor to start the match. After a nice exchange of grapples, Perkins hits Mondo with a neckbreaker and follows it with a weak looking hurricanrana through the ropes.

Perkins follows Mondo outside the ring, gives a small chase, and returns to the ring in the hopes of outsmarting his opponent. Mondo comes from behind and dominates Perkins for the majority of the match. Perkins starts building a little momentum after Mondo tries to bite the exposed eyeball. The Young Bucks come down to the ring after Perkins hits a missile dropkick from the top rope. Perkins leaves the ring to confront The Young Bucks, but they throw him back into the ring. Perkins tosses Mondo out to the floor, and as he regroups with the Young Bucks, Perkins jumps over the ropes, landing on all three men. Mondo hits a double arm ddt off the ropes because of the distraction caused by The Young Bucks to pick up the victory.

After the match, The Young Bucks and Mondo start to beat up on Perkins, and The All Night Express come to his aid and to get a peice of The Young Bucks.

Match 3 - Kyle O'Reilly vs "Wrestling's Worst Nightmare" Kevin Steen

Winner: Kevin Steen via pinfall

O'Reilly starts the match with some stiff kicks to Steen. Steen rolls out of the ring early, catches one of O'Reilly's kicks, and slams his knee into the ring post. After Steen powerbombs O'Reilly onto the ring apron, we cut to commercial. We come back to Steen mocking a limping O'Reilly. Steen goes for a spear into the corner but O'Reilly moves out of the way, and Steen goes shoulder first into the ring post. O'Reilly uses this time to his advantage by giving a dropkick off the apron to the floor, and then another from the top rope after Steen gets back in the ring. Steen DDTs O'Reilly through the ropes and follows it up with a cannonball, goes for a pin, and gets a 2 count. Steen goes for the F-Cinq, but O'Reilly locks his arm and brings him down into an armbar and Steen gets to the ropes. After some more kicks from O'Reilly, Steen spits in his face. After some kicks, O'Reilly runs the ropes, but Steen catches him with a powerbomb and then applies an anklelock which O'Reilly quickly gets out of. Steen hits the F-Cinq and pins O'Reilly for the one-two-three. 

 

After the match, Steen hits O'Reilly with his tennis racket and applies another ankle lock before World Champion Davey Richards comes down to the ring and attacks Steen and Jimmy Jacobs. Richards puts Steen in an ankle lock right before Jacobs hits Richards with a low blow and security comes out to stop Steen and Richards.

Richards grabs a mic and tells Steen that at Border Wars there will be no more "American Strong Style"; he's bringing back the Wolf.

All in all, a solid show, matches were well paced, not too much mic time for the wrestlers, and the commentary was great, even if Nigel McGuiness did mistake Richards for O'Reilly. Maybe thats why he's not wrestling anymore!

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[Video] Bioshock Infinite: The people behind Booker and Elizabeth

Irrational Games continues to release more and more behind the scenes footage of the developement process for Bioshock Infiinite. This time around Ken Levine discusses the development of characters Booker and Elizabeth, and the voice actors behind them. It gives you an idea of how much work really goes into the scripting and acting side of video games. Bioshock Infinite is slated for an October release.

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WWE Raw Wrapup - 5/7/2012

WWE Monday Night Raw - May 7th, 2012

We open another Monday night with Big Johnny.  He goes on a tirade about having undisputed authority and wounding John Cena's pride, but most importantly, he declares that nobody may mock his voice.  He shows pictures of his time as Johnny Ace in Japan, trying to gain credibility as an opponent for Cena in two weeks.  After telling us that Lauranaitis vs Cena will be bigger than Rock/Cena and Brock/Cena, CM Punk comes out to interrupt.  Punk tells the boss that he's bold, but he hasn't a clue about "people power".  Punk reminds Ace that the fans don't want to see him.  Punk continues and tells Ace that he's just mad that he put all his chips on Lesnar and he lost.  Punk digs in deeper and tells him that he only went to Japan because nobody in the US would pay to see him wrestle.  Ace asks Punk if he's finished and the people tell him "No."  Punk goes on to tell Ace he's ugly, stupid and has no friends.  Punk asks the people if he's finished and they still say "No."  Punk calls Ace a toolbox.  Ace says he'd pummel Punk, but he's in training; instead, Punk will face Tensai tonight.

The opening seemed to be designed to lead to the main event instead of pushing a feud forward, which isn't a great design.

Big Show will get his rematch for the IC title tonight, even though Smackdown told us that he would get it over the weekend.  Johnny walks into Big Show and yells at him; Show mocks his voice.  Uh-oh.  Eve walks in to the scene and has a disappointed look on her face.

Match 1 - Big Show vs Cody Rhodes (c), Intercontinental Championship

Show opens strong, like he does every match.  Frying pan slap, big biel and another frying pan.  Rhodes fights back and lands a Beautiful Disasater, but Show gets his hand up.  Rhodes goes for a boot, but Show grabs the foot and flips him backwards.  Rhodes ends up outside, grabs his belt and goes to leave, but is caught by Show, who rolls him in.  Rhodes is too quick and leaves another side of the ring and splits.

Winner: Big Show via count-out

Eve enters to a shower of "Hoeski" chants and demands Big Show apologize for mocking Johnny before.  She explains there's no call for a giant freak with no life skills besides wrestling, so it's in his best interested to say sorry.  Show does.  That's it.  Some "severe consequence".

We rewind to Kofi and R-Truth winning the Tag Titles last week, so one of them must have a match next.

Match 2 - Kofi Kingston vs Dolph Ziggler

Kofi opens with an arm wrench, and Ziggler counters into his own.  Kofi whiffs an attack in the corner and Ziggler rolls him up for two.  Ziggler follows with a dropkick for another two.  It's Ziggler's turn to airball in the corner, which leads to Kofi's clothesline, double chop, dropkick and jumping clothesline, leading to the Boomdrop.  Jack Swagger hops on the apron to run interference, but Kofi shakes off the Zigzag then hits the SOS for a very close two.  Behind the ref's back, Swagger trips Kofi off the second rope, allowing Ziggler to hit the Zigzag for the three.

Winner: Dolph Ziggler via pinfall

Dirty win, but a better direction for Ziggler than the one he has been heading in lately.  Swagger/Ziggler and Kofi/Truth could have good tag matches if given the time, so maybe we'll get that moving forward.

Michael Cole interviews John Cena via satellite.  Cena's elbow has no permanent damage, and he will be at Over the Limit, despite his doctors' suggestion.  The Board of Directors, rather than contact (and fire) Lauranaitis apparently reached out to Cena first, and that's why Ace hasn't been fired; Cena requested it.  That's not good corporate structure or practice, but hey, it's wrestling.  Cena shows a fire here and no goofy smirks, so this gets a pass from me.

Match 3 - Natalya and Maxine vs Layla and Kelly Kelly

Once again, no entrance for Natalya, but Kelly Kelly and Layla each make an individual one.  Beth Phoenix is on commentary and doesn't say anything particularly useful; she gets her rematch at OTL.  No tags are made in this match at all - Maxine starts in with Layla, they have a short back and forth and Layla hits the Layout for the win.

Winners: Layla and Kelly Kelly via pinfall

Why not just have had a singles match with Layla and Maxine, other than an excuse to parade Kelly out?  Ugh.  Phoenix made one point - What did Layla do to deserve a title shot?  She's been gone for a year.  Lawler tries to justify it, somehow, by repeating that she was gone for a year.  I agree with Phoenix - You should earn a title shot.



Match 4 - Alberto del Rio and Chris Jericho vs Randy Orton and Sheamus

I don't know what it is with WWE and Randy Orton being in random tag matches.  A lot of good back and forth tag action here.  Michael Cole flub of the night:  Orton lands a dropkick and Cole says "You don't see Randy throw many of those!"  Really?  Because he does it every match and has one of the best dropkicks in the business.  Goof.  As we progress to the end of the match, Sheamus finally gets the hot tag and runs wild on Jericho.  He tries the Celtic Cross, but his still injured shoulder gives out, though he manages to land the Irish Curse with that arm seconds later.  Del Rio breaks up the pin attempt here and gets an RKO for his trouble.  Sheamus lines up for the Brough Kick and Jericho dodges, causing Sheamus to hit Orton by mistake.  Sheamus turns around into a Codebreaker for the three.

Winners: Alberto del Rio and Chris Jericho via pinfall

Sheamus tries to help Orton up, and as he gets to his feet, he RKOs Sheamus.

A nice change of pace from the usual Sheamus and/or Orton tag matches we see on a weekly basis.  It opens up rivalries and Jericho has just pinned the champion, usually meaning he's going to get a title shot soon.  The number one contender, del Rio, will probably have something to say about that.

Ace and Eve are in the back and agree Big Show's apology was insincere.  Jericho barges in and says he deserves the next title shot.  Alberto disagrees.  Orton heads in and says he should get the shot (now really, he has the least claim here).  A fight breaks out and Sheamus runs in to even the odds.  Orton is less than gracious and Sheamus tells him as much.  Ace makes the title match at Over the Limit a Fatal Four Way.  We all hate him, but Big Johnny makes way more interesting matches than Teddy Long ever did.

Match 5 - Brodus Clay vs The Miz

Well I guess it's better than no TV time at all for Miz.  Miz compares Brodus to King Hippo from Punchout!, which was obviously a line fed to him.  Miz gets knocked out of the ring, Brodus' ladies laugh at him, he moves toward them and Brodus gets mad.  After a quick exchange and a DDT in the ring, Brodus gets back to his feet and we end up with the usual headbutt, t-bone and splash.

Winner: Brodus Clay via pinfall

Better than the recent Brodus Clay matches, as there was a bit more back and forth, and the kids seem to love the Funkasaurus, so we may as well all get used to seeing this on a weekly basis.  Miz still cuts promos about being the most must see blah blah in blah, even though he hasn't been relevant all year.  Miz needs new shtick as bad as Brodus.

Replay of HHH getting his arm broken by Brock Lesnar.

Brock Lesnar's music hits and out comes...Paul Heyman!  I don't think anyone expected him to appear during this Lesnar run, so this is actually a legitimate and interesting surprise for once.  Heyman will be representing Lesnar here tonight.  He reminds us that Lesnar did what he said he would:  Kick asses and hurt people.

Reading a statement from Lesnar, Heyman tells us that Brock brought legitimacy to the WWE and was rewarded with corporate BS.  HHH was jealous; he lasted an hour in a cage with Undertaker and couldn't last a minute in a ring with Lesnar.  Lesnar is never coming back; he quits!

And just like that, Heyman returns on the side of Lesnar, the seeds of a HHH/Lesnar fight around Summerslam are planted and the hardcore fans got to mark out for their favorite bald-ponytail.  And it didn't drag on.  Definition of a good segment right here.

Big Show is in the back with the stars of Common Law airing on USA soon.  Or tonight.  Whatever.  They mock Ace's voice, Big Show laughs and Eve walks in with disappointed face again.  Her being upset is going to lead to something, and the fact that Show got caught twice makes him the prime target.

CM Punk enters for the main event, followed by Ace - "This is going to be a handicap match - against Tensai and Daniel Bryan!"

Match 6 - CM Punk vs Lord Tensai and Daniel Bryan

Back from a break, with no entrances for anyone, Tensai opens up by running Punk over.  Bryan and Tensai tag in and out on Punk early on.  Tensai hits his stalling butterfly suplex, preceded by knees and tosses Punk out to the floor.  Punk fights, but gets slammed into the ring post.  Back in the ring, Tensai slaps on a nerve hold and then suffers a Tensai senton.  Bryan tags back in and comes up empty on a diving headbutt.  Punk slingshots Bryan into the corner, then hits a leg lariat, swinging neckbreaker and the knee/bulldog combo.  Bryan escapes the GTS and tags out.  Bryan gets clotheslined over the top and Tensai clotheslines Punk.  Tensai misses a body attack in the corner and takes a kick to the skull.  Punk gets distracted by Bryan and Sakamoto and walks into a chokebomb attempt from Tensai - he lands it, but there was a miscommunication on the timing and Punk barely leaves the ground.  Tensai sprays the mist on his hand and Claws Punk's head.  Tensai lands the Claw STO and pins Punk.

Winners: Lord Tensai and Daniel Bryan via pinfall

Why is that mist legal exactly?  After the match or to draw a DQ is fine, but there's no logical reason why Tensai can spray green goop on his hand and rub it in a guy's eyes on a consistent basis.  Regardless, Bryan follows up on the carnage and locks in the Yes!lock twice on his opponent at OTL.  So both champions have hurt arms going into the PPV?

Not a bad Raw - Ziggler/Kofi played nice together, the tag and handicap matches were both entertaining, with outcomes that aren't the bog standard that we're always subjected to and Paul Heyman cut a good, succinct promo, furthering a storyline.  That's all we ask, guys.  Just do this on a weekly basis.

Starting next week, we may roll the Friday's Smackdown and the next Monday's Raw into a single article - let us know what you think about that! 

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Avengers Movie Primer: The Avengers

Were you ready for the Avengers!? Was your local theater ready for the Avengers!? We were, and we got news, and reviews, and so much more!

We've tackled each movie leading up to the Avengers, and while we've already tackled The Incredible Hulk,The Invincible Iron Man, The Mighty Thor, Captain America, and a 4-issue comic series, we feel you're still not prepared for your second or even third sitting! Or maybe your first sitting, if you're extremely unlucky or something. Anyway, that's where we come in. We're here to fill that void in your life. We're here to right the wrongs. We're here to avenge the ill-knowledged. We're here to type more words because you haven't read enough.

First let's start off by saying there will be Spoilers. Sorry. It happens. But lets be perfectly clear here, you're not going to be spoiled or even remotely upset. You're going to want to see this movie regardless, because there is so much action, comedy, sadness, and that "WOW WTF" factor to make your head spin and just gloat about the achievements this movie has made. We're going to look at each character individually, and then we're going to give you our honest opinion of the film, and then we're going to give you some constructive criticism. So keep reading true believer!

The Avengers

If you don't know by now, the Avengers are Earth's Mightiest Heroes. The Avengers are also, as of now, The Summer's mightiest movie. But don't take my word for it, just look at the sales (200 million opening weekend), the build-up (Come on, you've been reading our Primers, right?), and the opinions of others (Check out Eric's Avengers Review).

The original comics had a team consisting of Giant Man, Wasp, Iron Man, Thor, and the Hulk. More recently, we've seen incarnations of the team drop Giant Man and Wasp (Like in the movie), add others such as Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Black Panther, and every version eventually adds Captain America, depending on which plot fits in his thawing out of the ice. In this movie, we're going to see Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and the Hulk. They're all going to team up to take down Loki and the threats he brings with him.

The Incredible Hulk

Well, here we are again, talking about the heroes we know and love. I'm not going to re-evaluate the Hulk Movie, we did that already.

Let's start by saying the obvious- Edward Norton is a no show, now you can expect to see Marc Ruffalo play the part. He does a great job as the new Bruce Banner, and Lou Ferrigno makes a returning role in voicing the Hulk. The animation quality is excellent as always, and the Hulk character itself plays a major role in the plot, not just as a member of the Avengers. The Hulk brings to the table the scientific mind of Bruce Banner, as well as the incredibly powerful and agile physical skill of the Hulk. Oh and anger, lots and lots of anger. And breaking things. The Hulk is being of chaos, and you will see him to bring on the smash!

What Hulk doesn't bring is consistency. We see a new kind of Hulk, one that in my mind ruins what they started in The Incredible Hulk. For starters, the teaser at the end of the Incredible Hulk was a fluke- General Ross does not appear in the Avengers, and neither does the Abomination, which we could have deduced already. That being said, Dr Banner is also found in the slums of India, treating the sick. The last time we saw Bruce he was controlling his anger in solitude, and there's nothing to tie the two together. Lastly, there is a lack of development, I feel, between being a giant green rage monster into a teammate. Go ahead, say I'm wrong, but the more I think about it I just get confused. And again, that's just me.

Iron Man

When we last took a look at Iron Man, he was denied a spot on the Avengers.

I'm sorry, Tony Stark was denied this. Iron Man was not. There's a good reason- SHIELD and more importantly Nick Fury just don't trust him. He's a genius, he's a scientist, but he's a damn good one. He built the Iron Man armor from scratch, and a man with that much power shouldn't be anywhere near the systems operating SHIELD.

The Iron Man, however, is a valuable asset and a powerful warrior, if you'd like to call it that. Expect more action than ever before, but more importantly, expect that sarcastic dry unexpected humor to leave Robert Downey Jr's mouth. It was unexpected to me, and to all of the other people in the theater, and I can guarantee you will laugh at least once, and I wouldn't be afraid to bet money you laugh more. 

Iron Man makes this film, he brings a character development and variety of displays to really grab your attention. There is not a single part of the movie where I thought "Damn, he should not be there". In fact it was the opposite! If there isn't an Iron Man 3 in the works, I've given up on the film industry! 


Considering that both enemies of Iron Man from the Iron Man films died at the end of each, we weren't really expecting much out of Whiplash or Iron Monger to begin with. War Machine is a no show either, which surprised me greatly.

Stark has built his own Stark tower, so no more beach home (But don't forget he probably owns both at this point) but add in a more lavish lifestyle and the inclusion Pepper Potts. She's in the movie, and she's fallen for Stark, just as we knew from the end of Iron Man 2. Oh, and before I forget, the trend continues- you'll see Stark update his Iron Man armor first hand, from new weapons, to rocket thrusters, to...well you'll see in a fight with Loki something else!


The Black Widow

There's not too much we know about the Black Widow, but that's what she' good at. We know her from Iron Man 2, with Scarlett Johansson returning for the role.The character Natasha Romanoff is a super spy, one of the best there is, and is a master at firearms, stealth, and martial arts combat.

That's really all we get to know or will know. In this movie it is revealed she has past history with Clint Barton/ Hawkeye, but beyond that there's nothing. You're going to get to see the sexy combat all over again. Acrobatics, punches, dodges, jumping, kicks- the works. You'll even get to see them used on The Hulk! But hey, I'm not complaining.

 Hawkeye

Clint Barton, AKA Hawkeye, is another character that was a minor role previously. You could've found Hawkeye make a non-action cameo in Thor, while Thor is trying to retrieve Mjolnir. Hawkeye is an agent of SHIELD and has a history with the Black Widow.

Clint is a marksman. He can make any shot and hit the target almost every time. He does an excellent job of this, expending each arrow, which he can alter to be an explosive, a grappling hook, or a pointy thing. Jeremy Renner plays Clint in The Avengers, and the first thing we get to see is Hawkeye join the bad guy side, unwillingly of course, and he'll make a mess of things for the Avengers on several occasions. You'll see.

Thor

Thor is an Asgardian, a Norse warrior god. Brother to Loki, Thor is going to bring down the thunder and lightning as he finds out Loki is the cause of all the trouble on Earth. After what Loki did in the Thor film, Thor is not only looking to reunite with his brother but also to teach him a lesson.

Thor is a powerhouse. He should be, he is a god of course. He wields Mjolnir, and with it he can conjure up storms, bring down lightning, hit people with it, and fly. Chris Hemsworth resumes his role as the Norse god of thunder, with his accent and ye olde way of speaking too. Thor is almost as powerful as the Hulk, being able to go toe-to-toe with him in the movie. Did I mention there would be spoilers?

Unfortunately, we don't see any other Asgardians aside from Loki. The Frost Giants and the Asgardians such as Odin or the Warriors Three don't make an appearence in this film. There are direct references to the Destroyer armor though, and if you remember what happened to the Destroyer, you'll be impressed with the result. Jane Foster is also absent, although her presence is accounted for as being safe. Dr Selvig is in, and plays a major role in the film as Loki's right-hand man for much of the research necessary.

Loki

Loki is the Asgardian god of mischief and trickery. In the movie we see Tom Hiddleston step up once again and show off a few new moves we didn't see in Thor. We still do see his magic take effect in several places, so all is not lost. We now also get to see his fierce side, making a few kills onscreen and noticeable; that is to say you get to watch him stab a guy through the chest!

He also shows off more of his cruel dictatorship type of rule, and you get to see a minor form of mind control. And don't worry, the first time we saw Loki he brought an army of Frost Giants. This time, he brings a whole new army, equipped with hover cars, guns, and flying snake fortress thingies. You'll also get to see Loki get beaten, quite literally, and if you miss that you're going to have to go see The Avengers at least one more time. (We recommend two to three more times even if you didn't miss it!)

Captain America

Captain America was the most recent installment of movies, so if you don't know what happened don't worry too much- it's all in the past. Literally! The Avengers takes off where Captain America left off, with him being just recently discovered and thawed out of the ice.

Captain America is a man out of time, a super-solider with a body at peak human performance, and then some. He doesn't have super powers, in a manner of speaking, but he's more of a man than you or I or your best guy friend will ever be. And he has a shield, nearly unbreakable at that, that he throws around like a frisbee crossed with a yo-yo. Seriously, the man is talented. With excellent skills in hand to hand combat, shield throwing, and the guts and glory to back it all up, Captain America is the natural born leader.

In The Avengers we lost a few things in the transition. Sadly the Red Skull will not make any appearences, as neither will Bucky (presumed dead from the accident in the prior movie) or Peggy Carter (Who aged 70 years while Cap was on ice). The Cosmic Cube, or the Tesseract as the characters call it, makes a huge impact to the storyline in this film, so it's good to see it's return. While all of those are fine and dandy, we do get one huge bonus- action. Lots and lots of action. Shield throwing, Ffghting, bashing- Cap does it all. If you felt a little deprived of Cap's abilities in his own movie, have no fear. Captain America is a force to be reckoned with, and brings his own force with him.

Nick Fury & Agent Phil Coulson

Nick Fury and Agent Coulson appeared in a number of the previous films. The only things we knew back then were their affiliations to the government agency, SHIELD, and that Nick Fury was their somewhat leader. Now it's confirmed the Nick Fury is the director, and Agent Coulson is his right-hand man. In The Avengers they play a central role, with Fury not only forming the team but also managing it, pushing them into the motivation they need to become a team, and running the entire SHIELD organization.

What Do We Think?

We think the Avengers is a summer blockbuster. It's the movie you will be talking about straight on through the DVD release, at which point you'll talk about it some more.

Joss Whedon (Buffy The Vampire Slayer, FireFly, Serenity) is an amazing director. If you've seen his other work you've loved it. I've never heard a negative thing said about anything he's done, and this is no different. The movie had a steady flow, was jam-packed with action, and added a level of comedy nobody would expect. Each character had their own moments of glory, their own introduction into the film, their own level of action- everyone got their own fair share and no single character stood out. That's how it should be though, as this was a team.

There's always going to be gripes and those moments that really grind your gears. I can only think of three, the latter of the three coming after discussing the movie with a friend. First and foremost, I felt there needed to be Giant Man/Ant Man, and the Wasp. There wasn't even a cameo, and even a mention of them would have sufficed. The second was the lack of the phrase "Avengers Assemble!". Somewhere in the movie, Steve Rogers should have shouted it, if not at least saying it like when a sports team finishes their huddle. Lastly, the Hulk is the biggest gripe. How you go from a character that pretty much hates everyone to a character that takes orders to a character that ends up saving his teammates is beyond me when there is no reasoning for it other than to save the plot.


The Avengers Movie Ending
At the end of the movie, the team disperses into their own little groups, with our last scene being Tony Stark and Pepper Potts rebuilding Stark Tower. The iconic "A" from the middle of "STARK" is left, and we're lead into the next film with just that. Of course I skipped over the plot and the alien invaders, alls you really need to know was that Loki was the problem, Loki was defeated, and that we're more than likely getting an Avengers 2. Fill in the rest with your ticket sale, because you'll want to get your fill of Super Hero fighting in now. But wait, there's more! This is a Marvel movie after all, right?

Secret Ending

Like any other Marvel film in the last bunch of years, there was an after the credits scene. This movie has TWO. Stay for both if you go to the movies, there's one after the first block of credits and one after all of the credits are over. The first one is the one to look out for, as it gives the hint towards the Avengers 2. I don't want to ruin it for anyone (if you're impatient just go to Wikipedia like a total tool), but I'll give you a hint. Here's an image I posted from my primer on Thor:

That's my TV (I have epic pausing skills), and in that image the Frost Giants are running from the Destroyer in Odin's vault. See that thing in the background? That's the Infinity Gauntlet, and given the reveal at the end of the Avengers in their post-credits scene, we'll be seeing that again VERY SOON...It's the kind of secret ending that anyone who's anyone that reads a comic book is probably getting that giddy feeling about it...

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Interview with Joe Kelly: The Man, The Myth, The Legend

I had a unique opportunity to pick the brain of an evil genius - an inmate just like the rest of us - Mr. Joe Kelly - commonly known for re-inventing Deadpool and writer for X-Men, Spiderman, Superman, Ben 10, I Kill Giants… the list goes on and on. This is a man of pure brilliance, captivating and friendly personality, and - not going to lie - great looks to boot. Then again, if my life centered around writing geeky things all day long, I’d probably look that good too! … Oh wait…

I had to know what his take was on the Avengers movie. So many times we run into harsh critics when big title movies come out. So I asked.

Joe Kelly: “I loved it. I had a really great time with it. With the combination of what they’ve been trying to do, they did a really great job. As far as it being true to story, you have to update it. Iron Man was a perfect example - you‘re not going to put that movie in the Korean War setting. Same with the Avengers; their first time together was not in the setting that you saw in the movie. They’re necessary translations. We have so much room in a comic to have characters talk as they as we want versus what you can do in a movie. You have to just roll with it. We just want people to take the same spirit of the comics and cartoons that they love with them always.”

Heather Tinneny: “We’re all really excited about The Dark Knight rises. Any inside info you can spare?”

JK: “I know nothing. Absolutely nothing. I wish I did!”

HT: “So, Deadpool was essentially the cornerstone of your career. How did you feel about Ryan Reynolds being cast for that roll?”

JK: “He was a huge Deadpool fan for a really long time, actually. Someone had interviewed him when he was in Blade, I guess, and someone wrote to me and said ‘Ryan Reynolds is a huge Deadpool fan. He’s been lobbying to be him. I think he pulled it off for sure. I spoke to the people that did Wolverine and they know they did a huge misstep with Deadpool in that movie, so if the Deadpool movie comes to be… Ryan Reynolds would be attached to it.”

HT: “Is there a Deadpool movie in development?”

JK: “Yeah - it’s scripted.”

HT: “Do you know who’s going to be directing it?”

JK: “Not a clue, but it’s written by the guys who wrote Zombieland, so it should be really good. I really hope [the directors] do it. They also did a test for the CG animation. They know this is a really big risk. They know that this is going to be a PG-13, maybe R-rated movie, you can’t exactly make it family friendly.”

Just as a quick review, the Stan-hattan Project was a joint program between Marvel Comics and NYU (where Kelly attended) that trained potential comic book writers and gave them professional opportunities at being a big shot.

HT: “How were you recruited into the Stan-hattan Project?”

JK: “Mark Powers and James Felder were editors at Marvel at the time and they were looking for new talent, so James had gone to NYU and I was a graduate student so he wrote a letter to the dramatic writing department, and the director at the time was more of a playwrite and didn’t really have any interest in it, so the secretary had said to me ‘Hey, there’s this letter from Marvel. It’s probably gunna go in the garbage - maybe you should check it out.” So, I kinda stole it… and read it, and it told me what to do and I volunteered to run it, so they let me run it with them. After a couple of months, they liked the way I did dialogue, and once they know you can write, they kinda just pawn you off everywhere. So that‘s how I got in.”

Protip: If you’re a potential comic writer hopeful, steal mail. .. Just kidding, don’t do that. Steal letters with permission from the secretary instead.

HT: “How do you feel about the Avengers vs. X-Men story arc?”

JK: “I think it’s going to be really fun. I haven’t really kept up with it.”

HT: “DC had canceled all their upcoming work and decided to restart it and launch the new 52 line.. Do you think that was a good move on DC’s behalf?”

JK: “It was a really risky move that seemed to have paid off. People are still really into it. I’ve heard people that are really happy with it and others aren’t. I’m out of the business loop as far as that goes because I’m doing animation and independent work mostly, but it was really a decision that was made on many different levels. Some of the books that they didn’t expect to do so well, actually is and people are into it, so I guess it doesn’t matter either way really.”

HT: “What would you consider to be your favorite work?”

JK: “I Kill Giants, probably.. You know, it’s really near to my heart, really proud of it, very personal story. Deadpool is a cornerstone in my career and I love him. Spiderman too… really fun. Superman.. I mean, I love everything I did. There was never a job that I really had to take. I was lucky to have great editors that liked to shepherd ideas more than just shove them down my throat.”

HT: “How did you get from writing comics to doing animation like Ben 10 and Johnny Quest?”

JK: “The guys who created Robot Chicken, one of the guys named Matt Senreich used to work at Wizard Magazine. They were just trying to launch the show and the executive from Warner Brothers who they had met said ‘I wanna meet with some comic book guys because we want new ideas, write some super hero stuff’ and Matt said ‘Hey, well I got some guys that you’ll like to meet’ and introduced me to him. That’s how that came about. It became a worldwide phenomenon. It made Cartoon Network 3 billion dollars, and it’s really cool when you go to Comic Con and you have these fans that have been following you for a while, but then Ben 10 came out and now suddenly you have these little kids like admire you so much. It’s just really cool.”

HT: “I also hear that you’re supposed to write a story for The Amazing Spiderman sometime this year?”

JK: “No… there was talk about it because of it being the 50th anniversary. I would really like to and we keep talking about it, but I don’t know how to fit it in my schedule.”

HT: “So should we expect something in the foreseeable future?”

JK: “There will be more Bad Dog to come. Four Eyes could be out by the end of this year. Hopefully I’ll be leaking stuff out. I cant really talk about it because I don’t want to say anything and then have people with pitchforks pointing it at me if it’s not out when I say it would be. I’m really looking forward to the new work that’ll be coming out because of the artist that I’ll be working with. I mean, I’m excited about all my artists, but this one I’ve hunted for a really long time, so I’m super excited.”

So there you have it right from the source. Let’s give a recap of what we learned:

Steal mail. It could make you super friggin famous.

The Deadpool movie is written and is under way. And if you’ve seen Zombieland, then you know what to expect from this movie. A lot of debauchery.

Kelly will be releasing more work real soon, and whoever this artist is going to be is going to be someone that we all know and love and admire. The excitement in Kelly’s voice couldn’t be contained well enough to tell me that this new work is going to be awesome.

And finally, as if it hasn’t been beaten like a dead horse already, to go see Avengers. Just do it. Don’t think about it. Just go.

We here at Geek Asylum want to extend a huge thank you to the Comic Book Depot in Wantagh, New York and Joe Kelly for allowing us to have this amazing opportunity and for spreading the geek love around the world for everyone to love. Rock on.

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WWE Smackdown Lowdown 5/3/2012

WWE Smackdown, May 3rd, 2012

So here we are between Extreme Rules and Over the Limit.  These are the time periods where we settle into what the programs will be moving forward, who opponents will be and how rematches will get handled.  John Lauranaitis has declared himself John Cena's next PPV opponent, but I think we all see this as a red herring.  We start Friday night's festivities with our World Heavyweight champion.

Sheamus tells us all, a bit long-windily, that he loves to fight.  Yay stereotypes!  Sheamus proposes a question to himself - Will he fight Daniel Bryan, even though he almost ripped his arm out its socket?  Yes!  Yes!  Yes!  Daniel Bryan is none too pleased about Sheamus continually using his catchphrase and comes out with a grimace on his face to remind the Irishman.

Match 1 - Daniel Bryan vs Sheamus (World Heavyweight Champion), non-title

Sheamus starts strong, mowing Bryan down with a shoulder tackle.  Bryan responds with a drop toe hold into an armbar, which Sheamus powers out of.  Bryan drops Sheamus with a single arm DDT and continues with kicks and boots in the corner.  The fact that they're continuing to show Bryan as a credible opponent to Sheamus, able to cleanly strike him down to the ground is a big step up from how someone Bryan's size normally gets portrayed by WWE.  Bryan drops Sheamus' arm over his own shoulder, then grounds him with a hammerlock and drops knees across the arm.  Bryan grabs the other arm to give Sheamus a good stretch, but Sheamus powers up to his feet.  Bryan lands elbows, a European uppercut and kicks.  Sheamus clubs Bryan in the corner.  He follows with a shoulder, a knee lift, and a clothesline over the top, leaving the champ in the ring alone.  As he turns around, he's hit by a flying crossbody block from Ricardo Rodriguez as he and Alberto del Rio storm the ring.  Alberto locks in the Cross Armbreaker, which the refs stop.  Bryan then locks the Yes!lock onto the same arm.

Winner:  Sheamus via disqualification

Bryan and del Rio argue, as ADR has cost Bryan a potential victory, which he's not too happy about.  This is a great way to transition Sheamus from his Bryan program to his Alberto del Rio one, as Bryan will be facing CM Punk at Over the Limit.  Del Rio is shown as having an aggression and a desire to do anything necessary to win the title, and now Sheamus gets to do what he loves:  Fight.

Sheamus is shown in the back with doctors tending to his arm.  Sheamus continually ignores any questions from the doctors and pounds his fist into the bed and wall.  Healthy reaction, sir.

Match 2 - Hunico and Camacho vs Kofi Kingston and R-Truth (Tag Team Champions), non-title

Primo, Epico and Rosa come out on the stage with Abraham Washington and sit on stools to watch.  Truth and Hunico start the match.  Hunico continues the trend of slapping Little Jimmy to start a match, drawing the ire of Truth. He goes ballistic, delivering a big hip toss.  Kofi tags in and delivers a flying forearm for one.  Kofi gets distracted by Camacho on the apron and Hunico sends him outside.  Camacho follows to the floor and levels Kofi with a clothesline.  Camacho rolls him in and Hunico follows with a tope.  Camacho tags in.  He clubs at Kofi and delivers a belly to back suplex.  Camacho lands a big jumping leg drop for two.  Hunico tags back in with a slingshot corner dropkick for two.  Hunico settles into a chinlock.  Kofi fights out and lands an arm drag.  Kofi dives for the tag and is stopped by Hunico; Kofi monkey flips Hunico back towards his corner and both men tag out.  Truth lands the Lie Detector on Camacho for two.  Hunico runs interference and Truth tosses Kofi overhead for a flying hurricanrana.  Camacho whiffs a clothesline and turns around into Truth's Little Jimmy for three.

Winners:  Kofi Kingston and R-Truth via pinfall

Match 3 - Brodus Clay vs Jack Swagger

Michael Cole says Booker T probably does "The Electric Dance" when he goes out.  "The Electric Dance".  Let that sink in for a moment; the man even screws up the names of popular dances.  For some reason, the producer thought it pertinent to cut away from Swagger's entrance mid-taunt.  Clay starts with a belly to belly suplex.  Swagger goes after the leg, but runs into a clothesline.  Dolph Ziggler distracts from the outside and Swagger throws his body at Clay to attack.  Brodus rolls outside and Ziggler jumps off the stairs at him, taking the same insane flopping around bump from Clay's headbutt as he has the last couple weeks.  Ziggler is going to kill himself for us, and he can't even get legitimate title shots; it's a damn shame.  Back in the ring, Clay catches Swagger and delivers a t-bone suplex.  Swagger rolls out of the ring before the big splash comes and bails.

Winner:  Brodus Clay via countout

So Swagger just runs away.  Which means this is going to continue.  Swagger and Ziggler both deserve better than this feud and here's hoping it ends soon.  Clay dances with kids in the ring again.  I hope Brodus likes this act, because without any drastic changes, he's not leaving this spot any time soon.

We get a quick recap of the current Lesnar/Cena situation the fall out from Extreme Rules.  We also get a recap of Johnny and Tensai going after Cena.

Eve, Alberto del Rio and Daniel Bryan are in the back.  Eve has apparently taken over with Johnny not present and she tries to settle things between the two number one contenders.

Match 4 - Damien Sandow vs Derrick Bateman

Damien Sandow finally makes his Smackdown debut, coming out to Hallelujah, which is pretty damn funny.  Booker T immediately takes umbrage with the smart guy, seemingly based solely on him being smart.  Sandow holds the mic like a glass of fine wine; at the very least, this guy has his character down quite well.  He proclaims that he has arrived to help the ignorant masses.  The problem is, he cannot do so wrestling a miscreant like Bateman; he cannot and will not engage him.  How does anyone benefit from Sandow defeating Bateman?  What is there to learn?  Sandow leaves.

No contest via smugness.

Bateman grabs a mic and declares that on NXT, he won the right to a match on Smackdown and demands it right now.  Ryback's music hits.  Nice knowing ya, Derrick.

Actual Match 4 - Derrick Bateman vs Ryback

Ryback faces a bevy of "Goldberg" chants.  Ryback opens with a quick onslaught and a boot to the throat.  Ryback pounds Bateman's head into the mat, then lifts him up.  Ryback lifts Bateman into a gorilla press and catches him in a backpack chinbreaker.  Ryback continues with a big lariat.  He lifts him into the delayed fisherman's samoan drop muscle buster (please give his thing a name, somebody).

Winner:  Ryback via pinfall

Sandow seems to have a great grasp on his character; the verbiage, the facials and the mannerisms are all there.  I hope this "I won't wrestle this miscreant" bit doesn't go on for too long and we get to see what he can produce as a wrestler.  That said, I did enjoy his shenanigans.

Match 5 - Kane and Cody Rhodes (Intercontinental Champion) vs Big Show and Randy Orton

This is the type of match that you really should see for yourself.  It's a bit 'typical' in that two sets of rivals are split into tag teams to fight one another, but hey, that's wrestling.  Everyone got to hit their signature spots, the action was solid, nobody screwed up.  Most importantly:  It is announced that Big Show will be getting his rematch for the Intercontinental Title at a house show during the weekend.  In other words, the Show/Rhodes program may very well be done, allowing Rhodes to move on to an opponent more his size and speed, to showcase the improvements he has made in the ring.

The match ends with Kane landing his diving lariat, but suffering an RKO; Rhodes follows this by tossing Orton into the ring post.  Rhodes tries to land the Beautiful Disaster on Big Show, but he swats him out of the air and then delivers the WMD punch for the win.

Winners:  Big Show and Randy Orton via pinfall

If this is the last time we have to see Show punch Rhodes in the face for a while, I'm quite okay with that.  I'm not quite sure who they have in mind as the next IC contender, but it can't be worse than Big Show at this point.  Perhaps a strong entrance for Antonio Cesaro?

Sheamus is shown in the back with his shoulder and arm heavily taped, but says he will fight tonight.

Match 6 - Natalya vs Layla (Divas Champion), non-title

Natalya gets the jobber entrance treatment, which is a shame, considering she has a version of one of the most iconic entrance themes WWE has ever had.  She has gotten this treatment for months now.  Natalya opens with a take down and the ladies exchange headlocks and headscissors on the mat.  Simple, straight forward, but something that the Divas rarely get to showcase in their short matches.  Back on their feet, Natalya delivers a signature discus lariat for two then settles into an abdominal stretch. Layla rolls through for a quick one count, then immediately lands the Layout neckbreaker for the win.

Winner:  Layla via pinfall

This is the type of match that reinvigorates the confidence of the fans in the Divas division.  If WWE would just take a small risk and bring AJ to the forefront (she is being focused on a bit already, anyway) and bring up someone like Paige from FCW, we could have actual matches like this on a regular basis.   The fact that they don't is what chased Gail Kim to TNA.  And then there's Kharma; enough said.  But hey, I'm sure it's more profitable to have Brodus Clay dance for five minutes a show.

In the back, we find Aksana, Antonio Cesaro and Eve prepping for a promotional photo shoot.  Eve wants oil applied to Cesaro, and wants Teddy to do it.  Long is like the new Jim Ross; he's only put on screen to emotionally abuse.  Hopefully at some point Long gets to save some face or something, but who really expects that?

Kaitlyn and Alicia Fox are in the back and AJ walks into the scene.  Fox splits and AJ apologizes to her friend for slapping the taste out of her mouth.  She's been "lost" lately.  Kaitlyn, being (in my opinion) a good friend, tells AJ to stop the pity party and get herself back on track.  She suffers the wrath of AJ's palm again, this time leveling her to the floor.  AJ's path to psychopathy continues, hopefully netting her some in-ring time at some point.

We get the Raw Rebound to HHH's arm being broken by Lesnar's Kimura.

Before the main event, the commentators let us know that there has been no update to Lesnar's status with WWE.  Sounds like the office isn't very efficient.  Alberto del Rio comes out for commentary

Match 7 - Sheamus (World Heavyweight Champion) vs Daniel Bryan, non-title (round two)

Sheamus opens aggressively , but walks into a drop toe hold into the corner.  Bryan lays in with kicks to the shoulder.  Bryan continues the kick onslaught.  Bryan ties Sheamus' arm in the ropes and as the ref breaks it up, Bryan reminds him that he's got til five (I'll always smile at this bit, and I'm thrilled to see it on WWE television).  Bryan drapes Sheamus' arm over his shoulder, as in the first match.  Bryan then runs into a titl-a-whirl backbreaker.  Sheamus whiffs a Brough Kick attempt and ends up on the apron.  Bryan gets a running start and dropkicks him off, leading to a commercial break.  Back, Bryan lands a knee off the apron.  Back in the ring, Bryan ascends the top rope and lands a diving headbutt to the shoulder for two.  Sheamus starts to take over, but Bryan hotshots him and lands a missile dropkick.  Sheamus fights back after some distraction and chicanery from del Rio and Bryan tries to fly one more time, but dives right into a Brough Kick for three.

Winner:  Sheamus via pinfall

That's about it for Smackdown.  We find out that Cody Rhodes is moving on past Big Show as a rival and contender, which is the best news of the night.  Del Rio and Sheamus are into the thick of a rivalry, freeing up Bryan to concentrate on CM Punk for the WWE Title (It's so great to be able to type that sentence).  Layla and Natalya showcase that given more than 60 seconds, the Divas can put on a competent, entertaining match.  Damien Sandow appears on TV and not via satellite, showcasing an early mastery of his on-air character.  All in all, a pretty good show.  No big complaints is enough for a good show for me at this point.  Hopefully, we continue in this direction heading toward and out of the the Over the Limit pay per view.

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