Thoughts After Hell in a Cell

Just catching up on WWE programming and finished watching Hell in a Cell from this past weekend. Thought I'd share some random thoughts with you regarding the event, the talent and the state of the company.

Tag Teams Stole the Show
My favorite match was definitely the opening match. Triple tag team title match with the Rhodes brothers, the Shield and the Usos. Absolutely insane. A combination of old ECW, Attitude-Era tag action and even some early days TNA back when the X Division meant something. Huge highlight was when Cody suplexed Roman Reigns to the outside onto everyone else from the top rope! Great match with a great finish, although part of me was really rooting for the Usos.

Cena's Return
ADR definitely made that match for me. That's not a criticism on Cena, as the context called for him to really just sell his arm injury the whole time. Slow paced, but entertaining. Was fun to hear the crowd cheer for Cena as his music hit, started the "We love Cena, Cena sucks" chant, then chant strictly about hating him, then more split chants and finally a standing ovation as he wins the gold. Will be interesting to see where he goes from here and I like the change-up of having him holding the World strap.

Main Event
Overall, it was a fun main event. Lots of gimmicky spots, but then again that's the whole Bryan/Orton storyline anyway. A couple of missed spots, like a superplex onto a pile of chairs, but only Bryan's foot actually hitting them. HBK with the inevitable "special ref heel turn" to secure the match for Orton. All in all, not that surprising but fun to watch.

A decent event, but to be honest I'm glad I didn't see it live. Was nice to skip some matches, as much as it pains me to say. There were some brutally quiet moments as well where the crowd just wasn't into it. For example, there were crickets for most of the Punk/Ryback match. That's not to say that the match was terrible, just that the Heyman storyline has been going on way too long. Same with Orton winning the belt. The world conspires to put the gold on Orton and keep it off Bryan, which is basically where we were 2 or 3 months ago.

Also, by keeping the title vacant for so long and bringing in a special guest referee for the main event makes me wonder what the ratings are like these days. I don't believe 90% of the wrestling blogs when they report ratings so who knows. A vacant title and special guest seems like it's more in favor of selling Pay Per Views than it is about TV ratings so maybe that's it.

Enjoying the programming so far, in general, but I'm hoping that a lot of these storylines are coming to an end now so we can get some fresh new bookings in soon.

4 MMA Moves That Work In A Street Fight

Recently, while talking to a friend who is a martial arts instructor, we engaged int he age-old debate of how competitive sport fighting relates into street fighting. Obvious examples included the dangers of fighting off your back when you're at-risk of having your head bounce off the concrete or had floor, bobbing with the head in boxing when knees to the face are a real threat and the dreaded "soccer kick", made famous by Pride Fighting Championship. I asked him if he could list some of the more effective MMA tactics that could also be effective in a street fighting scenario. Without further delay, here they are:

1. Rear Naked Choke
To be specific, the rear naked choke is a blood choke, meaning that it interrupts the two large vessels in your neck that take blood to and from your brain. The chokes that are legal in MMA are designed to stop this process, as opposed to blocking the airway by putting pressure on the front of the throat, which is illegal just about everywhere. In a street fight, it's safer for you to perform any variation of the blood choke to render your attacker unconscious, as opposed to the lethal option of strangling him.

2. Side Control
Side control, or side mount, is great in MMA for working some ground and pound, while still being able to move quickly into a submission at any time. In the sport, full mount is a deadly position, although many fighters are now preferring side mount as a secret weapon as there are a lot more options from there. I'm one of those people. It's dangerous to commit to a ground fight in the street for a number of reasons (surface, weapons, multiple attackers, etc), but by establishing side control you can neutralize an attacker fairly well, while being able to spring back up to your feet quickly. A knee pin is also great for the same reasons.

3. Clinch
There are very specific clinch positions that are effective for the street. A double-over, for example, might seem like a good idea until your attacker finds himself an inch from your face and decides to bite your ear or nose or headbutts you until his arms are free again. Double plum or over-under are a safer bet and great for restraint in both the cage and the back alleys.

4. Knees and Elbows
Most street fights, at some point, end up in close proximity. Either the fighters run out of room or, more often than not, one fighter gets hit hard and feels overwhelmed and starts to grapple with their attacker. We see this in hockey fights all the time. Because of this, fighters who are comfortable with their close weapons, such as knee and elbow strikes, can cause a lot of damage when this happens. Combine this with a strong clinch, as mentioned above, and you've got a clear advantage both in MMA and a street fight.

Well, there are some of the many skill sets that translate from the cage to the street effectively. These aren't the only ones, of course, but a good place to start. 

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