by Greg Parks, Torch Columnist

Welcome guys and gals to another edition of the Hangout Report, live from our apartment this month. The guest list was not as long as the Rumble, but we did have Phil, Doug, Kurt, Gonzo and his girlfriend Steph, and myself for this one. The Chamber matches tend to bring in the bigger crowds.

We got Domino's Pizza for the event, though I was disappointed in the scant amount of mushrooms on the pizza, it was quite solid - this was the first time I've had their pizza since they changed up the formula. We got treated to a new guy on the pre-game show with Jack Korpela, but I only caught the name "Scott." Seemed like they plucked him off a 5:00 news anchor desk from Anywheresville, USA. Gonzo informed us that the only thing that has stuck with Steph about her previous wrestling watching experiences (including the last two Rumbles) is.....Hornswoggle.

(1) Raw Chamber Match: With the way the entrances played out, I figured Sheamus would beat Kingston in short order, putting him over big before eventually losing the match (Triple H was my prediction to win). There were some terrible lines by the announcers here, including: "I think you want to be the last one (to be released from the pod) in a match like this." Really, Cole? And also: "Orton is making this concrete jungle his own," from the insightful Matt Striker. I must've missed where they replaced the Chamber with concrete instead of steel. It was strange to see Kingston selling so long when Triple H came in. And I didn't get why DiBiase took so long to pin Orton after Cena's Attitude Adjustment. Fine match, but not up to usual Chamber standards, IMO. ***

(2) Batista vs. John Cena: But wait! Batista beats Cena to win the WWE Title! It conceivably allows Batista to work Raw as we build to Wrestlemania, so they can continue the Cena vs. Batista feud. Gonzo pointed out that apparently, Batista has a nose ring. I did not catch it, even upon a closer look. NR

(3) Drew McIntyre vs. Kane: Kurt loves McIntyre's theme song as much as I do, which is good. Gonzo asked me if TNA had improved any since Hogan and Bischoff took over. I think so, but Kurt is still hating on it. He REALLY doesn't enjoy TNA. We joked that when McIntyre (inevitably) won, Vince would come out and say "congratulations...now you have to face Batista for the title!" And it would happen with every match on the card, including the Divas Title Match. This match stunk, by the way, even though you had to know it was a cool-down match. Not much positive to take from it. *1/2

Gonzo suggested Miz stroll by Maryse with his three titles and try to convince her he's worthy of her attention now that he has multiple titles, since that was her complaint about him before when he tried to hit on her.

(4) Maryse & Gail Kim vs. Layla & Michelle McCool: Really not sure what the point of this was, even though it paid off Maryse and Kim talking trash about the Smackdown Divas. It could lead to something interbrand at 'Mania too, but I don't know why they wouldn't deliver hte Divas Title match. Somehow, we started quoting the Mighty Ducks movie in the middle of the match, including the classic, "I want Banks outta this game!" Kurt was not happy that (in his mind) this match made the Divas title look bad, but I just thought this was building more levels to the Kim vs. Maryse feud. *1/4

When William Regal made his entrance, Gonzo noted that the PPV "feels like an episode of Raw....with Chambers." It kinda did have that feel, especially with the undercard. But perhaps WWE thought they could get away with it on the strength of the Chamber matches as book-ends to the show. They had to get Edge on the show somehow, even though him attacking Regal was kinda out of left field.

(5) MVP vs. The Miz: Not sure how we got talking about the Tiger Woods situation here....oh, I think it was mentioned by the commentators. And that somehow transitioned into us talking about last week's episode of Family Guy where Chris dated the girl with Down's Syndrome. This was light years ahead of their Rumble match, and I liked Miz celebrating with the trainer after the match. **1/4

(6) Smackdown Chamber Match: We speculated on ways Shawn Michaels could interfere in this match. Included: breaking through the ring, attacking a ref and stealing the key to the Chamber, and coming down to the ring with a gun to Teddy Long's head until they opened the Chamber for him. Also, Michaels sneaking in when a trainer would have to come in and check on someone with blood, or even dressing up as the trainer. Doug actually put his hand to the screen when Punk told fans too. I like Punk too, but I didn't go that far. Steph actually predicted that Taker would be last out prior to the match. She's learning. Jericho got a good laugh from those of us watching when he tried to close himself in his pod to avoid Taker. Match was better than the Raw Chamber, as it felt like more going on as far as advancing stories goes. ****

I think Doug won the prediction contest, not 100% sure though. A middle-of-the-road PPV with a bad undercard and one really good Chamber match, the other simply being good. But a newsworthy show, at least.

PWTorch VIP members have first-look access to all of Torch Smackdown specialist Greg Parks's latest blogs in the newly upgraded VIP Forum. His blogs are published first in the PWTorch VIP Forum, and Parks interacts with other VIP members and Torch staff and contributors in the blog comments area afterward. Some of Parks's blog entries will be exclusive to the VIP Forum.

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