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Post by Mike Giggs' Munchies on Jul 8, 2014 13:01:42 GMT -5
I enjoyed SS 2001. The storyline may have been a disappointment but the final 5-on-5 was a laugh, as you said.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jul 9, 2014 10:54:42 GMT -5
Guilty as Charged 2000
1/9/00 – Boutwell Memorial Auditorium in Birmingham, Alabama
2000 was a wonderful time to be a wrestling fan. I was ten years old and loved the WWF but I was actually partial to ECW. I would go to my first and only ECW show in the summer of 2000 and hearing that their shows would be available on the WWE Network got me pretty excited. Despite that, I've had the Network now for a few months and I haven't really watched any of their Pay-Per-Views except for two or three. Let's jump in and see what ECW was up to at the start of the new millennium.
Joey Styles and Cyrus “The Virus” are in the ring to welcome the fans to the show. Cyrus is in full “Network” mode tonight. Joel “The Quintessential Studmuffin” Gertner interrupts to a big pop. “If I wasn't right here in Birmingham, I'd be licking Heather Locklear and porking Heather Graham.” He continues with some very vulgar comments. He literally only came out to say his piece and he leaves before the intro video plays. Styles plugs the “Hardcore Revolution” video game, which I waited in line to buy that year. I met Tommy Dreamer and Rob Van Dam then so that was cool. My mom took me out of school that day for that so thank you mom.
CW Anderson w/ Lou E. Dangerously and Bill Wiles d. Mikey Whipwreck in 4:41
Big fan of CW Anderson and Whipwreck was kind of going through the motions before dying his hair red and joining the Unholy Alliance with Tajiri and the Sinister Minister. I never really got the Lou E. Dangerously gimmick. I know it was a Paul Heyman parody...but they never explained why. Wiles jumps in instantly but it backfires like four times before he exits. Whipwreck takes a tough bump outside before CW takes control inside. The most impressive single arm DDT that I've ever seen gets CW a near fall. Mikey comes back with a Russian leg sweep and a flying clothesline but doesn't get three. He tries a backslide but CW nails him with a stiff left hand. Mikey hits the Whipper Snapper from out of nowhere but Lou E pulls out the official. Wiles enters and hits a body slam on Mikey and CW still only gets two. Whipper Snapper on Wiles, but a shot from Dangerously's cell phone and an Anderson spinebuster ends it. That wasn't very good and it did nothing for CW Anderson. *1/2
Danny Doring, Roadkill and Simon Diamond w/ Mitch and Elektra d. Nova, Kid Kash and Jazz in 9:58
The WWE Network dubbed generic music sucks but I understand why it's happening. I don't remember Elektra with Doring and Roadkill at all. Doring overpowers Jazz and is very proud of himself, but Jazz comes back and earns a near fall. Roadkill and Kash tag in and I was a HUGE Kash mark. He's wrestling with a broken jaw which is badass. Some double team moves for the faces work until Dick comes out. Simon hugs his Dick until Kash dives to take them out. Plenty of Dick jokes are being made as Jazz chokes him. Nova hits a new move and they reference how you'll see it on Monday night tomorrow. Nova did have some cool moves. Jazz, Simon, Dick and Kash all fight to the back, leaving Doring and Roadkill to take Nova apart. Nova kicks out of everything as his former partner, Chris Chetti arrives and gets in Nova's corner. Chetti gets the tag and dominates before we get everyone diving outside. The referee doesn't like that, so he dives out onto everyone. I kid you not. Back in the ring, Roadkill pins Chetti. Not bad, but it was a cluster . Kept me entertained though. **1/2
Bo Dupp and Jack Dupp, THE DUPPS, arrive and beat down on Roadkill and Chris Chetti until Nova and Danny Doring chase them with chairs.
Mike Awesome and Judge Jeff Jones cut a promo in the back about Awesome beating up on Spike Dudley's girlfriend.
Between this and Steve Austin hitting Molly Holly with a Stunner, girls should stay away from Spike. Mike Awesome was an effin beast. Like seriously. I see why Jeff Jones was his mouthpiece. Cut to Spike and his girlfriend and she's really missing teeth. He curses a lot and says that he's going to hurt Mike Awesome.
Dream Partner Tag Team Match
Yoshihiro Tajiri and Super Crazy w/ Steve Corino d. Little Guido and Jerry Lynn w/ Big Sal in 12:37
HES SUPER! HES CRAZY! HES SUPER CRAZY and he is super over. Steve Corino confuses everyone when he puts the two guys who were supposed to pick partners, on the same team. Little Guido shows up saying he wants to wrestle and Paul Heyman comes out to curse out Corino and everyone. He picks Jerry Lynn and that's how this match comes about. Fun standoff between Crazy and Lynn is appreciated by the fans. Tajiri and Guido now enter and do some mat wrestling of their own. Tajiri and Lynn go for some and its surprisingly sloppy. The action spills outside as Tajiri hits a sweet moonsault. As he baseball slides into Lynn, HES SUPER! HES CRAZY! HES SUPER CRAZY! Hits a balcony moonsault onto Guido. Lynn hits a sunset flip bomb for two. Tajiri and Crazy work together even though one speaks Spanish and other Japanese. Things break down and everyone attacks their partners, allowing Tajiri to put down Lynn with a BRAINBUSTAAA! Action packed and never a dull moment even if the booking was strange. ***
Steve Corino, Jack “High Spot” Victory and somebody who I can't quite put my finger on, beat down on Lynn. Corino runs down Dusty Rhodes and the BULL OF THE WOODS HIMSELF shows up behind him. Bionic Elbows for the world as he takes out everyone. Rhino shows up and ruins all of the fun. They put the boots to the American Dream until the locker room comes to the rescue. Even the heels because kayfabe means nothing when it comes to a legend.
I used to think New Jack was cool until I learned about the terrible things that he's done. Anyway, he cuts a promo about his friend stabbing him in the ass with a knife and him leaving it there for a week. Somehow this ties back to him wanting to beat up Da Baldies.
Angel w/ Devito and Vic spams d. New Jack in 8:48
Oh WWE Network, dubbing over New Jack's original Ice Cube theme is necessary but awful. To be honest, if you've seen one New Jack match, you've seen them all. He's a horrible wrestler and this is just him beating the crap out of Da Baldies with every weapon imaginable. New Jack hits his trademark spot off the balcony but still manages to lose to Angel again. I remember originally watching this whole feud and hating it. The heels just kept going over and, actually, no heel has lost so far tonight. Interesting. *
Bill Alfonso is shown earlier tonight backstage annoying the hell out of everyone. He goes into RVD's locker room and it's very clear that Van Dam just finished smoking. He clearly looks like he was too. He hits us with a gem, “Is Mexico in our continent? Find out Fonzie.” He brags the rest of the way to end the promo. Alfonso finds Sabu, who is already in full ring gear. Alfonso promotes Sabu the same way he did RVD. I feel like I saw this same storyline at WrestlePalooza 1998. And right as I type that, they add that if Sabu loses, he will walk out.
ECW World Television Championship
Rob Van Dam (c) d. Sabu in 18:40 to retain the title
RVD's generic music sucks, couldn't they have given him “One of a Kind?” RVD wins the first exchange between the former Tag Team Champions. He nails his ridiculous cartwheel back flip for a near fall after some brawling outside. Sabu launches RVD off the top and into the guardrail. Sabu follows with leap into the crowd that he misses for the most part. Sabu sets up a table outside, which gives RVD time to recover and hit a corkscrew guillotine leg drop from the apron. Always liked that move. The spots are coming fast as RVD somersaults over the top and to Sabu outside. Sabu takes control due to RVD's need to showboat and splashes him through the table outside. Back inside, things have evened out. Alfonso gives each guy a chair and they duke it out with them, RVD misses the Van Daminator and Sabu throws the chair into his face. Camel clutch from Sabu followed by a leg drop. ECW has the nerve to do a referee spot as Sabu takes him out and hits the triple jump moonsault. The referee is up rather quickly and RVD fakes a Van Daminator only to hit one anyway. RVD thinks Five Star Frog Splash but Sabu stops it and goes for a top rope hurricanrana. RVD blocks it and hits the split legged moonsault for two. RVD wants a chair from Alfonso but he won't give it to him or Sabu, so he does what everyone has wanted to do since Beulah did it and he takes out Alfonso with a Van Daminator. He blocks a move from Sabu, hits the Five Star and retains the Television Championship. Mostly a spot fest but a fun one with the story of Alfonso not being able to pick sides. Some botches hurt the score a bit. ***
The Impact Players cut a promo in the back with Dawn Marie and Jason. Lance Storm channels Daft Punk and says that they're harder, better, faster, stronger than Tommy Dreamer and Raven. “That's not just the coolest, that's not just the best, that's from Calgary, Alberta, Canada...now that my friends is Justin Credible.” I loved this team and that sign off.
ECW World Tag Team Championship
The Impact Players w/ Dawn Marie and Jason d. Tommy Dreamer and Raven w/ Francine in 10:38 to win the titles
Francine is dressed like a total whore. Cyrus calls both her and Dawn Marie, the hottest woman on the planet. Brawl to begin because this is ECW. They continue to sell Tommy Dreamer wrestling with herniated discs in his back. The Impact Players get tosses off of the stage and trough tables before the Champions pose together. Seeing Dreamer and Raven on the same side will always seem wrong. In the ring the Champions bust out a double team move as the match has calmed down. Dreamer ducks a superkick from Credible only to get one from Storm. The crowd pops hard for a regular near fall because Francine got on the apron and bent over. Storm gets thrown headfirst into a chair for two. Justin gets heat by going for a headlock over using the steel chair. Dreamer hits a neckbreaker onto the chair so not a good idea Justin. Match breaks down into a brawl again as Dreamer and Raven dropkick chairs into the challengers. Justin nails That's Incredible but Raven kicks out. Tommy then kicks out of a piledriver and then back body drops Storm through a table, though he only breaks it with his feet. Catfight busts out between Dawn and Francine and ends with a bronco buster. Raven pushes Francine out of the way of getting hit with the singapore cane and That's Incredible ends it. See Raven? Don't help the ladies, it cost you the straps. Typical ECW brawl and this wasn't bad. **
Some backstage interviewer that I've never heard of catches up with Steve Corino, Rhino and Jack Victory in the parking lot. They brag about what they did to Dusty Rhodes. Rhino uses foul language and I hope he doesn't kiss his mother with that mouth. He stakes his claim for the ECW World Heavyweight Title.
ECW World Heavyweight Championship
Mike Awesome (c) w/ Judge Jeff Jones d. Spike Dudley in 14:22
Spike Dudley is billed as the Giant Killer, but to be honest, I don't think he should be in a main event. He sets up tables all around the ring. Spike is press slammed from the ring through a table outside before Awesome even takes off his belt. He gets in the ring and is hip tossed through two tables outside. This might get ugly. Awesome continues the abuse because Spike continues to kick out. Spike reverses an Awesome Bomb with an ugly hurricanrana and hits the Acid Drop on the guardrail. He continues to botch by missing a suicide dive. The crowd chants you ed up and Awesome starts chanting it with them. Top rope hurricanrana doesn't effect Awesome who hits Spike with a lariat. Awesome leaps from the ring to the crowd in an impressive display, but the concrete is soaked from beer and Awesome slips hard when he lands. Spike is still alive as he hits the Acid Drop through a table outside. He goes for another one and is thrown through a table. So, this has been Awesome beating the hell out of Spike for more than ten minutes. He tries to fight more but an Awesome Bomb off the top through a table mercifully ends that. A really, really long squash. I get that Spike was the fighting underdog who wouldn't give up, but this shouldn't have gone on last. *3/4
Overall: 4/10; I remember enjoying every ECW Pay-Per-View but this didn't hold up. The main event is lackluster, there's a lot of filler and even RVD's match wasn't up to par. Plus, with the exception of RVD/Sabu, which featured two faces, all heels won here. All in all, this is a relatively skippable show. My next Random Network Review will be none other than In Your House: Beware of Dog.
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Post by Funk The Revival on Jul 9, 2014 17:46:04 GMT -5
Just watched KOTR '97 and man that was an awful PPV. Shawn - Austin was good but other than that it was pretty bad. Too much chopping and changing before the show, Crush vs Goldust? lol I typed out a full review on IYH: It's time and when I highlighted a word to underline it, it took me to another page with a picture of the underline button. Backed up and my review had gone. Will write a full one for Canadian Stampede tomorrow  |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jul 9, 2014 19:30:45 GMT -5
Just watched KOTR '97 and man that was an awful PPV. Shawn - Austin was good but other than that it was pretty bad. Too much chopping and changing before the show, Crush vs Goldust? lol I typed out a full review on IYH: It's time and when I highlighted a word to underline it, it took me to another page with a picture of the underline button. Backed up and my review had gone. Will write a full one for Canadian Stampede tomorrow Looking forward to it. A top 5 all time pay per view in my eyes. |
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Post by ICW on Jul 9, 2014 22:39:06 GMT -5
So I originally posted this in the "Last Classic Match You've Watched" thread because I didn't know this existed until The Kevstaaa let me know about it so...here it is! --- I'm beginning my ambitious attempt to watch every WCW/WWE/ECW Pay Per View in chronological order. I probably won't get vey far but let's see! I'm planning on reviewing every show here. I begin with... NWA Starrcade '83: A Flair for the Gold
Date: November 24, 1983
Venue: Greensboro Coliseum
Commentators: Bob Caudle & Gordon Solie The Masked Assassins w/Paul Jones def. Rufus R. Jones & Bugsy McGraw I must confess: I've never heard of Rufus R. "Freight Train" Jones & Bugsy McGraw but the crowd was HOT for both of them, particularly Bugsy McGraw. Jones came into this contest as the NWA Mid-Atlantic Champion. The match itself was a decent opener; the crowd was certainly hot for Jones & McGraw. Jones' style reminded me a great deal of "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes. Similar showmanship in the ring, both with similar styles of executing blows and elbows. At one point during the match, one of the cameras violently shook and took focus off of the ring just as Jones was attempting a pinfall on one of the Assassins. Anyways, this match was just the two teams exchanging blows, slams, and elbows. The Assassins win this match with a sneaky roll up from behind on McGraw. I'll give this 5/10 because of the showmanship of Jones and McGraw and how HOT they got the crowd. Always great for a big event when the opening match gets the people going! We proceed to cut to Bob Caudle and Gordon Solie, two of the finest commentators in professional wrestling history. The two men hype up the first ever Starrcade, particularly the main event. We go to a young (and extremely doofy looking) Tony Schiavone, who has stationed himself in the locker room. Schiavone promises exclusive interviews and a "unique view" of professional wrestling that you've never seen. Certainly going to be one of the GREATEST nights in the history of our sports, amirite Tony? Kevin Sullivan & Mark Lewin w/Gary Hart def. Johnny Weaver & Scott McGheeMan, Lewin looked like a wrestler straight out of the 1950s. Big physique, slicked back (balding) hair, plain black trunks and boots...looked like a legit bad ass for an older competitor (at least compared to other wrestlers in this event). I'd bet Lewin was in his late 40s or early 50s in this match. Speaking of old, Johnny Weaver was certainly no spring chicken either. He HAD to be his 50s. On the surface, this seems to be two veterans taking two younger competitors under the wing and having a tag match. I don't know much about Weaver, McGhee, and Lewin so I'm curious if this match had any backstory. Anyways, the team of Lewin and Sullivan pick up the victory after double teaming Weaver behind the referee's back. Quick match though it wasn't particularly exciting. The aftermath, however, was pretty great. Lewin and Sullivan attacked McGhee with a SPIKE, which was produced by Gary Hart. Angelo Mosca attempted to make the save but he fell victim to the spike. He would eventually chase both Lewin and Sullivan out of the ring. I'll give this a 5/10 because of the aftermath. Back to Caudle and Solie, who discuss the match. Barbara Clarey interviews a soft spoken family who drew 180 miles in order to attend Starrcade. Back to Tony Schiavone, who is seated with Jerry and Jack Briscoe and the NWA Champion: Harley Race. The Champ cut a nice, heelish promo. Abdullah the Butcher def. Carlos Colon I was disappointed in this match, especially when Solie and Caudle kept promoting how this match was banned from Puerto Rico. This started off well enough: Colon grabbed a hold of a foreign object from Abdullah and proceeded to drive it into the forehead of Abdullah and causing him to bleed (shocker!) It's odd that Colon was so brazen in his use of the foreign object. The referee was literally inches away from him and allowed his assault to continue. Weird. The referee was eventually accidentally knocked out by Abdullah. Colon eventually applied a Figure Four when...HUGO SAVINOVICH interfered on behalf of Abdullah. Savinovich nailed Colon with some sort of object and it ends up costing Colon the match. This was really a let down because I expected it to go longer. 3/10. I popped for Hugo Savinovich though. I've never seen him outside of doing WWE's Spanish commentary. Back with Tony Schiavone, who's with Angelo Mosca and Scott McGhee. Mosca proceeded to cut a hilariously over the top promo in which he vowed revenge on Mark Lewin. Mosca, by the way, is slated to referee the World Tag Team title match later on in the evening. Back to Barbara Clarey, who's with two women. Clarey conducts a typical "interview" with the two ladies, who predict that Ric Flair will be victorious in the evening. Bob Orton, Jr. and Dick Slater defeated Mark Youngblood and Wahoo McDanielSome interesting pre-match stuff: Before the event, Harley Race put a $25,000 bounty on Ric Flair that was eventually claimed by Orton Jr. and Slater. Right before the match, the ring announcer was about to announce that Dusty Rhodes was in the building...when his microphone suddenly went out. Technical difficulties! Anyways, this was easily the best match on the card (it was given 14 and change). The team of Orton Jr. and Slater win the match after Orton nailed a Suplex from the middle rope on Youngblood. After the match, the devilish Slater and Orton Jr. beat down Youngblood and McDaniel. I'll give this a solid 7/10. That's four straight victories for the heels! Back with Tony Schiavone, who is in the babyface locker room with Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat, and Jay Youngblood. Flair cut a decent, humble promo concerning tonight's main event match. He wished luck to Steamboat and Youngblood. "This is our night," says "The Nature Boy." I think his prediction will hold up to be true! Back to Barbara Clarey, who ATTEMPTS to interview Dusty Rhodes. I use the word "attempts" because the microphone did not work. At all. It was quite hilarious but a little embarrassing. This is the third or fourth technical difficulty of the night and this was a pretty bad one. Title vs. Mask match for the NWA Television Championship: "Downtown" Charlie Brown defeated The Great Kabuki (c) w/Gary HartFun match. Charlie Brown was a very interesting character: he wore a mask that couldn't contain his wild hair and beard (the man behind the mask was Jimmy Valiant). The Great Kabuki was really cool looking. Decent contest that saw Charlie Brown From Out of Town hit a elbow drop to win the NWA Television Championship. I'll give this a 6.5/10! Surprisingly good match and it broke the streak of heel victories! Back to Caudle and Solie, who are welcoming a radio personality named Dude Walker. This man, of course, predicts that Flair will win the match and title later on tonight. Caudle and Solie continue to hype up the main event and the upcoming collar match between Piper and Valentine. Solie is sentimentally rooting for Piper. Back with Schiavone, who interviews Slate and Orton Jr. They discuss the bounty they collected from Harley Race and practically guarantee that Race will emerge from his match victorious. Slater, Orton, and Race really did well on the mic in this segment. They came across as totally believable bad asses that are forces to be reckoned with. Really good segment. Back with Barbara Clarey, who is once again with Dusty Rhodes. Don't worry, the audio was working fine for this interview Dusty throws down a challenge to the winner of the main event. Dog Collar Match: "Rowdy" Roddy Piper def. Greg Valentine What's there to say about this match that hasn't already been said? This was a truly violent, bloody grudge match that wasn't for any title. They just flat out hated each others guts and wanted to duke it out in an incredibly barbaric match (well, for the time it was). They beat the crap out of each other with that chain, man. Just brutal stuff that ultimately leaves you in awe. Piper wins the match after YANKING Valentine off the middle rope and just pummeled him with the chain before pinning him for the win. After the match, Valentine went crazy. He choked Piper with the chain and assaulted the referee (big no-no in this era). I'll definitely give this a 9/10. Unforgettable match. Back with Solie and Caudle, who discuss the match. Tony Schiavone is back with, you guessed it, Ric Flair! Flair trashes Slater and Orton for their classless assault on Wahoo McDaniel. Barbara Clarey conducts an interview with Don Kernodle, former tag champ, concerning the upcoming tag team title bout. Kernodle wishes the two teams luck. He's asked about the main event and he predicts Flair will win. Hmmm... NWA Tag Team Championship Match: Ricky Steamboat and Jay Youngblood defeated Jack and Jerry Brisco (c); Special Guest Referee: Angelo MoscaREALLY GOOD match. The team of Steamboat and Youngblood were incredibly over while the Briscoe's were incredible hated. This match was placed perfectly in between two violent matches (the dog collar match and the upcoming cage match). It was a little flat, which kept it from being a truly GREAT match. The finish was also a little sudden. After the match, The Brisco's assaulted the newly crowned champions. I'll give it a 6.5/10 Solie takes the time to thank the crew for their efforts in producing this truly great event. Bob Caudle hypes up the upcoming main event. Back with Tony Schiavone, who is with "Nature Boy" Ric Flair (dressed in his attire). Charlie Brown cuts a super quick promo about his championship victory. Up next is Roddy Piper, who cuts a short but damn good promo. Following Piper are the new tag team champs of Steamboat and Youngblood, who brag about their fifth tag team title reign. Back to Caudle and Solie, who yet again hype up the main event. Get to the damn match already! I can't wait! Back to Barbara Clarey...who is not ready to conduct an interview. Oye. Steel Cage Match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship: Ric Flair defeats Harley Race (c)Flair is the only wrestler on the entire card to come out to entrance music (The theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey, of course). Former NWA World Champion Gene Kiniski was the special guest referee. This was a REALLY good match yet I didn't think the involvement of Gene Kiniski was necessary. In fact I think it took away a little something from this match. There was a cool spot where Race slammed Flair's face against the cage and some of the blood got on the camera lens. The finish was a little wacky. Flair executed a cross body off the top rope, nailing Race...who also tripped over Kiniski, who had just taken a bump. Gotta say, this felt a little bit like a false finish. This was a good match that had the potential to be truly great. I didn't like the finish (why not have Flair win convincingly, with the Figure Four?) nor was I a fan of Kiniski being involved in this match. I'll give this a solid 7.5/10 After the match, Flair address the crowd as the baby faces and his wife enter the ring to issue congratulations. Flair addressed the crowd, who was 100% behind him. Back to Caudle and Solie, who discuss the match. Tony Schiavone is with Flair and the rest of the baby faces. Flair once again offers his thanks to all of those that made his victory possible. Dusty Rhodes interrupted the interview, congratulating Flair on his win but proceed to remind him that he's coming for Flair's newly won belt. Back to Caudle and Solie, who talk about the possibility of Rhodes/Flair for the title. Barbara Clarey is with the defeated Harley Race. Although dejected, Race promises that nothing can stop him for winning the championship for the 8th time. He acknowledges that this night was "arranged" for Flair but Race "is not packing it up and going away to hide. I'm going to hound you more than you ever been hounded in your life." Strong words. Back to Solie and Caudle, who give their thoughts of Race. Back to Schiavone, who is with Flair/Steamboat/Youngblood yet again. Flair speaks again, more of the same...getting repetitive. This segment wasn't very necessary in my opinion. Back with Caudle and Solie, who wrap up their thoughts. We get some highlights of the main event before the show comes off the air. --- Dusty Rhodes and Dory Funk Jr. did a great job of booking the first ever Starrcade. Aside from some bad technical difficulties and a couple of questionable booking decisions, this was truly a great and - more importantly - HISTORIC show. I'll give this entire event a 7.5/10. |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jul 10, 2014 9:57:31 GMT -5
Vengeance 2001
December 9th, 2001 – San Diego Sports Arena in San Diego, California
The Invasion angle is officially over and WCW/ECW is dead. The night after Survivor Series it was revealed that Shane and Stephanie McMahon sold their 50% of the company to Ric Flair. The Nature Boy was now 50/50 owner of the WWF along with Vince, quickly turning Mr. McMahon back into a heel character because that's what's best for business. Heading into Vengeance there was still a WCW Champion and a WWF Champion. That needed to be fixed so it was time for a mini-tournament to rectify that situation. That tournament is seriously the only thing I remember from this show but I hope it can build on a solid Survivor Series show.
2001 was a year for great Pay-Per-View theme songs as this one has Drowning Pool's “Sinner” which is a forgotten favorite of mine. Vengeance is live from the 619! Where's Rey Mysterio? Mr. McMahon's theme hits as one of the bosses comes out and here comes a promo to open a Pay-Per-View, and I've mentioned how much I hate those. He complains about something that happened to him on the previous Smackdown. Seems like The Rock shoved Vince's face into Rikishi's behind. HE DID IT FOR DA ROCK. The Nature Boy interrupts him with a hearty “Woo!” to start the show.
Scotty 2 Hotty and Albert d. Christian and Test in 6:19
Christian is still the European Champion here and that's awesome. The fight starts at the bottom of the ramp surprisingly. Scotty and Christian start, with Scotty winning their exchange. Tags are made and the epic explosion of T&A is going down! Albert incorporates dancing into his offense, which would prepare him for his run as a member of Tons of Funk. TAG FORMULA as the heels beat on Scotty and cheat behind referee Teddy Long's back. I think Teddy put “only referee tag matches playa” in his contract. Hot tag to the Hip Hop Hippo, who combined bad dancing with mediocre wrestling. Giant swing on Christian, but it's no Cesaro Swing. Test pulls Albert out of the ring when he tries the Baldo Bomb and Scotty's Worm attempt is stopped with a reverse DDT. Christian goes for his own Worm, but Albert interrupts it. A big boot on Albert gets a two when Scotty breaks it up and he hits the Worm on Test. That ridiculous move is so over. Christian goes for the Unprettier on Scotty, but is met with the Baldo Bomb for the finish. I was not looking forward to this match, but it was a fun, short opener and that's all you could ask for. **1/2
Future ESPN anchor Jonathan Coachman is standing by with William Regal. He questions Regal's methods and besmirches the man. Regal says that he's successful and he will beat Edge tonight. Intense promo.
Intercontinental Championship
Edge (c) d. William Regal in 9:07 to retain the title
Two of my favorites wrestling for a title that I love. Should be good. Nice opening wrasslin sequence that Edge wins with a second rope dropkick. Regal regroups outside but takes it to Edge when he decides to follow. The physical style of Regal is great and he just brutalizes Edge with European uppercuts and knees including a knee trembler. Regal stays in control until a swinging neckbreaker from Edge swings the tide. See what I did there? Edge hits one of my all time favorite moves, the Northern lights suplex for two. Regal gets knocked outside in an unorthodox way before taking Edge out. He retrieves some brass knuckles from under the ring but doesn't use them quite yet. Back in the ring, Edge gets two near falls and an elbow to the jaw for his troubles. Back to back butterfly suplexes get Regal a near fall and he's pissed. He goes for the knuckles but is cut off by a Spear that gets Edge the three. Solid match that shows Edge's resilience. **3/4
The Nature Boy is in his office when Kurt Angle walks in. He calls Flair a 14 time World Champion, though I'm pretty sure Flair was already a 16 time Champion by 2001. Anyway, Kurt keeps talking about how he great he is and Flair seems to agree. Kurt doesn't understand why he's agreeing as he's used to arguing with Stone Cold so much.
Lita is shown in one of the greatest special referee attires of all time. Aww shucky ducky quack quack. Matt Hardy arrives to sweet talk her about how he's the better Hardy. I don't think you need to convince her that you were better than Jeff, you need to show her that you're better than Edge. Lita promises to be a fair referee and Matt says he will wipe the mat with his brother. Hmm, first seeds of a heel turn maybe?
Jeff Hardy d. Matt Hardy in 12:31
As noted a moment ago, Lita is a very sexy referee. This all started because Jeff takes dumb risks and Matt wants him to relax bro. The Hardys theme stays on for both brothers. Some basic wrestling starts the match until Matt starts to heel it up. The crowd is not into it, either because two high fliers are trying to mat wrestle or because they don't want to see the Hardy Boyz fight. Matt misses a leg drop from the top and then Jeff hits one. Matt puts Jeff in the tree of woe, doesn't listen to Lita's five count and then gets pissy at her for telling him about himself. Sunset flip bomb to the outside is sloppily reversed into a hurricanrana by Jeff. He takes a risk and messes up his knee. STORYTELLING! Matt instantly targets that leg now and applies possibly the worst single leg crab ever. He again mostly ignores Lita because HE HAS UNTIL FIVE! Bryan Danielson reference for the uninitiated. Jeff's knee goes out again like he's Kevin Nash but he still hits an enziguri. He goes for the Swanton but Matt stops it and slams him from the top. Matt taunts his brother and gets his Twist of Fate reversed but reverses Jeff into a backslide for two. He tries using the ropes for an unfair advantage, Lita catches him and he argues with her. Matt makes the mistake here, trying a top rope Twist of Fate that Jeff blocks. He follows with the Swanton Bomb and wins. Disappointing. They seemed to not have chemistry, which is a lie since their 2009 matches were good. The crowd wasn't into it, which hurt. **
Matt Hardy pleads his case that he got his foot on the ropes, which he did. Lita didn't see it and Matt storms off in a pouty mood. This went nowhere though because the Hardys and Lita were taken off of TV for a while and when they did return, they were a team again.
The Rock and Trish Stratus talk backstage and she gives him a good luck kiss on the cheek. These two make every man and woman in the crowd jealous at the same time. He says that he's focused on the belt tonight, but after the show, she can smell what the Rock is cooking. Then he walks off...of his own locker room. That ruined the segment for me, though Trish seemed to enjoy it.
WWF Tag Team Championship
The Dudley Boyz (c) w/ Stacy Keibler d. The Big Show and Kane in 6:51 to retain the titles
Big Show and Kane made a pretty good team in 2006 if I remember correctly so let's see if their younger selves could do the same. Kane has decided against his badass Survivor Series attire. Show and Kane dominate early on, with D-Von even refusing to tag in against Show despite Bubba Ray begging him. It is absolutely 100% one sided. Stacy gets in the ring to try and rally the Champions but Show removes her skirt and spanks her. He doesn't shush the crowd beforehand though. The Dudleys finally get some offense because Show and Kane have chemistry issues and continually hit each other. The Dudleys retain after a double flapjack onto an exposed turnbuckle. Bad match that even Jim Ross acknowledges. “That was not a pretty match.” It did have a good amount of Stacy booty though. 1/2*
Lita is in the back apologizing to Matt but he packs his bags and leaves. She is clearly frustrated. Maybe Edge can comfort her. I'll stop, the Edge/Lita jokes aren't funny.
Hardcore Championship
The Undertaker d. Rob Van Dam (c) in 11:05 to win the title
After the Invasion, The Undertaker turned heel because he had been kissing Vince's ass (figuratively) for years and now other people should have to kiss Vince's ass (literally). I hated Undertaker's hair cut during his heel American Badass run. RVD is still incredibly over. Early on, RVD goes for his shoulder thrust spot in the corner but is met with a big boot after the back flip. He does hit a front flip off the top and starts the match hot. Undertaker big boots him to the outside to change that. They brawl outside and it spills into the crowd. The fight moves up by the stage where RVD blinds Booger Red with a fire extinguisher. He leaps off a section of seats onto Undertaker in a cool spot that Seth Rollins borrowed at Extreme Rules this year. Behind the titantron they go, which is something you don't see often. Undertaker hits snake eyes into the steel of the stage and he goes for the Last Ride, but RVD blocks it by climbing some of the stage. Rolling Thunder on the stage gets two. RVD blocks a Tombstone, Undertaker ducks the Van Daminator and chokeslams RVD off the stage and through tables to win the Hardcore Title. Fun brawl where RVD got in a lot of offense. The Undertaker's best match since WrestleMania X-Seven. ***
Ric Flair is on the phone again when Chris Jericho and his red highlights walk in. He says that Flair doesn't have confidence in him, but Flair assures him that if he wins, he has no problem with it and would be proud. Jericho and Angle are both insecure it would seem.
Women's Championship
Trish Stratus (c) d. Jacqueline in 3:35 to retain the title
Oh Trish Stratus, how you helped me get through puberty. Nobody cares about Jacqueline as she gets no reaction. She needs the guy I pointed out at Survivor Series who had the “Let's Go Jackie” sign. Trish was still unproven here, so putting her with a veteran was for the best. Trish kicks Jackie and checks if she's okay, which leads to her getting kicked very hard in the face. Rookie mistakes and all. A sloppy short arm clothesline gets Trish a near fall before Jacqueline reverses a kick by sweeping the leg Karate Kid style. They badly botch a unique rollup. Jacqueline blocks Stratusfaction and dropkicks the champion in the back of the head for two. Trish uses a backslide from out of nowhere to win. Trish wasn't really good yet so this was below average. *
The video package to “Sinner” for these matches is pretty awesome. That's all I wanted to say here.
WWF Championship
“Stone Cold” Steve Austin (c) d. Kurt Angle in 14:59 to retain the title
Wanna know how I know that Austin is a face? His theme has been changed back. Jim Ross states that Angle can't brawl with Austin, but we saw that he could back at SummerSlam. Early on, Austin holds serve, beating Angle from pillar to post. Angle gets the Ankle Lock to turn the match around, but Austin reaches the ropes. Kurt goes old school when he locks on the ring post figure four! Someone has been watching Bret Hart in 1997!Back in the ring, Angle works the leg and shows that he too can be a badass. He hits rolling Germans but misses his perfect moonsault and I have to wonder if he watched any of the Hardy Boyz feud. He'd know what high risk moves are bad. Austin gets a near fall after a Lou Thez press. Austin now hits five straight Germans as he learned something from his wars with Chris Benoit earlier in the year. Angle hits a low blow and the Angle Slam but only gains a near fall. He blocks one Stunner, but runs into another and Austin retains his belt. These two can do better. Their SummerSlam and Unforgiven matches are better. Of note, Angle kicked out of three Stunners at SummerSlam but lost to one here. ***
Trish Stratus is in her locker room in a towel when Test barges in like an animal. He offers to kiss her and says that if she tries to kick him out and get him fired, he has immunity. So basically, he feels like he has a rape and get out of jail free card? She kicks him out of the room anyway so that was a pointless segment.
WCW Championship
Chris Jericho d. The Rock (c) in 19:05 to win the title
I loved their No Mercy match and hope that this is on par with that. Jericho is in full heel mode, which is just how I like him. Some good wrestling exchanges early on before the action spills outside for a few. Back inside, Jericho hits a back elbow and a suplex before going for his awesome cocky cover. Jericho slaps on the sleeper hold for a while but the Rock fights back and dodges a Lionsault. A face buster and Lionsault connects this time, but Rock kicks out. Jericho is really controlling a majority of the match, which helps it. He catapults the Rock into the post, which Rock always sells great. Jericho goes for a Rock Bottom through the table but Rock counters into a DDT. Rock tries a Rock Bottom in the ring, but Jericho counters that in Breakdown. Time for the Jerichoholic Elbow, but Rock catches the leg and gets the Sharpshooter in a great reversal. But Jericho turns it into his own Sharpshooter! Tremendous stuff! Rock reaches the ropes and Jericho attempts it again, but Rock pulls him into a small package for two. Rock Bottom from out of nowhere brings out Vince McMahon to distract the referee while Rock covers. Right hand for Vince, spinebuster for Jericho and it's time for the People's Elbow. Rock makes the mistake of focusing on Vince, allowing Jericho to hit a low blow. In a great display of arrogance, Jericho wins it with the Rock Bottom. Another great match between the two, about even with the No Mercy one. The ending sequence was fantastic. ****
WCW & WWF Championship
Chris Jericho d. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin in 12:36 to unify the titles
Austin's music hits less than a minute after Jericho wins which is unfair. Kirk Angel rushes out and takes out Austin with the chair just before the bell officially rings. Rock decides to hit Jericho with a Rock Bottom too. Fans chant for Triple H though they're about a month ahead of schedule. When both men get up, Austin takes control, especially when it goes outside. Austin exposes the concrete floor in one of my favorite old school spots but Jericho gets him on the announce table. Austin counters a suplex, Jericho counters a Stunner and Austin counters the Walls of Jericho, sending Jericho to the concrete. A sickening sounding suplex follows. Back inside, Jericho awesomely kicks out of a pin, right into an ARMBAR. Earl Hebner catches him using the ropes for leverage and kicks him off. He gets the Walls locked on in the middle of the ring but Austin powers to the ropes. Jericho accidentally takes out Hebner so of course it's shenanigans time. He hits the Stunner but both men are down. Vince shows up, frantically waving down Nick Patrick. Flair shows up and pulls out Patrick, even though he didn't do anything wrong. Flair and Vince get into it in a preview of their Street Fight the following month. Austin cheats first, hitting a low blow before rolling outside to beat down on Vince. Inside, he catches Jericho's dropkick and puts him in the Walls, leading to Jericho tapping out. DA BOOKA MAN runs in and hits Austin with the WWF Title. It's like King of the Ring all over again. Except without Benoit. Just how WWE likes it. Jericho covers and takes the cheap win. Another goodie, that was hampered by all of the interference. To be honest, McMahon/Austin was getting tired at this point. ***1/2
Overall: 6/10; The second half of this show saved it. Nothing besides the Tag Team Title match is bad, but nothing is memorable. The Hardcore Title match is fun and the three Championship matches are really good, even if they're riddled with interference. Worth a look for the historical value, but only above average. |
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Post by Funk The Revival on Jul 10, 2014 10:20:08 GMT -5
* Awful ** Meh *** Good **** Great ***** Aweeeeeeeeeeesome Won't be as good as the other reviews on here but thought I'd give a brief review on some PPV's I'm watching. Started at International Incident '96 (The PPV after the infamous Austin 3:16 promo) and now I'm here...
Canadian Stampede (1997)
Mankind vs Hunter Hearst Helmsley (double count out)Enjoyed this match a lot more than their KOTR '97 encounter which clocked in at 20 minutes which in my opinion was about 8 minutes too long. Good match, stiff shots and lots of brawling. The ending keeps both men looking strong and with them still fighting during and after the following match you can clearly see that this isn't over... ***Funny backstage segment where Austin tries to take on the whole Hart foundation but is held back. Man this feud is great. The Great Sasuke d. Taka MichinokuThis match is a gem. If you haven't seen this match then check it out on youtube. Two good light heavyweights going at it for 10 minutes and there's no drop in pace and the finishing move which I have no clue what it's called something tiger bomb? was insane. Step in the right direction for the WWF allowing a match like this on a PPV... ***1/2The Undertaker (C) d. Vader - WWF ChampionshipUndertaker's WWF Title run so far has taken a back seat to the Austin - Hart foundation feud that I almost forgot he was champion. Coming off the worst WWF Title match I've seen in a long long time at KOTR vs Farooq, The Undertaker and Vader put on a much better big man match but still for me falls short. **1/2 Maybe I'm just too in to the other main feud going on right now but The Undertaker's WWF Title reign for me has been really meh. No standout matches including the match he won the strap and no storyline........ Yet  "THAT's gotta be..."
The Hart Foundation d. Steve Austin, Ken Shamrock, Goldust and The Leigon of Doom.This match is just wow. As a massive mark for The Hart Foundation and Austin I can truly say this is one of my favourite matches of all time. I am no writer or reviewer so me talking about this match can't give it justice. I'm sure everyone will have seen this but if not please do. You won't regret it. Great storyline, great psychology, pacing, everything for me is just awesome. *****Final thoughts: Definitely the best PPV so far on my journey from '96 to present day. Solid opener, Good Light Heavyweight match, alright Title match and an incredible Main Event. ****Next: Summerslam '97 |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jul 11, 2014 12:02:49 GMT -5
In Your House: Beware of Dog
5/26/96 & 5/28/96 – Florence Civic Center in Florence, South Carolina & North Charleston Coliseum in North Charleston, South Carolina
This show is infamous for two reasons. The first obvious one is that it is held over two dates at two separate venues. This is because during the original Pay-Per-View airing, the feed went out and three of the five matches never aired. I remember watching this show as a kid and being pissed. They finished the show in the dark for the fans in attendance, then did it again on Pay-Per-View in a different arena a few days later. The review is for the pieced together version. The two matches that originally aired the first night and the three made up matches that aired a few nights later. The second interesting thing of note with this show is that it is the only Pay-Per-View in WWE history to emanate from South Carolina. Let's get to it.
The opening video package focuses on the storyline that Shawn Michaels was trying to hook up with Diana Smith behind Davey Boy Smith's back. It was all false, but it did get the British Bulldog a title shot.
“Wildman” Marc Mero w/ Sable d. Hunter Hearst-Hemsley w/ random girl in 16:22
The future Triple H has a beef here with Marc Mero because of how he treated Sable, who would join Mero. Mero chases Hunter outside the ring but once they get in, Hunter hits him. It's like Marc has never seen a heel work before. He ends up on top though and dives onto Hunter on the outside. Mero hits a slingshot leg drop and is impressing me. Hunter does his best HBK impersonation with a turnbuckle spot. Hunter targets the shoulder by throwing Mero into the corners before doing a curtsey. He busts out a single arm DDT, which I appreciate. Mero's comeback attempt fails because of his shoulder so Hunter continues to target it. That good old psychology. Hunter drops his dreaded knee onto the arm. Hunter hits one of the worst top rope moves of all time before working the arm some more. Mero comes back with a top rope hurricanrana. A flying head scissors shows again that Mero's offense is ahead of its time. He continues to sell the arm injury despite his offensive outburst which ends when he lands awkwardly on the outside. Hunter decides against the Pedigree because he wants Sable to watch and she refuses. This allows Mero to reverse it into a slingshot and he gets the three. Holy crap that was much better than I expected. Great opener and both guys impressed. ****
Mr. Perfect is backstage to interview Camp Cornette. Jim Cornette hypes up the Yokozuna/Vader match and the WWF Title match. He secured a manager's license for the Slammy Award Winner, Owen Hart, so he can join Bulldog for the main event. Jim was really good as a manager.
WWF Championship
Shawn Michaels (c) w/ Jose Lothario and The British Bulldog w/ Owen Hart & Diana Smith wrestle to a draw in 17:20. Shawn retains the title
Vince McMahon discusses HBK's “interview” with Playgirl. Says it's just an interview. Sure, Vince. Clarence Mason serves HBK a lawsuit that he rips up and Bulldog attacks him from behind. Michaels busts out some arm drags and Bulldog dodges Sweet Chin Music by going outside, so Michaels leaps outside onto him. HBK hits an enziguri after a long headlock. He continues to work in mat wrestling as the pace has slowed by a lot. Bulldog powers out and then applies a submission of his own. HBK gets out but gets slammed. Another slow rest hold from Bulldog. Shawn seems to throw a fit while in a chin lock, doesn't sell and argues with Hebner about wrapping up the match. The action goes outside for a bit as Bulldog is in control. Things pick up as HBK hits a flying forearm and body slam. He connects with a double axe handle and Bulldog absolutely levels the official by mistake. Michaels calls for Sweet Chin Music and hits an interfering Owen with it. HBK counters the Bulldog's powerslam and hits a bridging German for three. But Bulldog's music plays. CONFUSION! Diana tries to leave with the belt until Gorilla Monsoon he-haws out like a jackass (thanks Austin) and snatches the belt. He declares it a draw as all four shoulders were on the mat and it's a draw. Not their best and Shawn's tantrum doesn't help. Disappointing. **3/4
We now move to Beware of Dog 2, where we will see the three matches that happened in the dark during the storm on night one. Mr. Perfect and Jim Ross call the action.
Caribbean Strap Match
Savio Vega d. Steve Austin w/ Ted Dibiase in 21:23
If Savio wins, Ted Dibiase says that he will forfeit his career. They continually mention that Savio is undefeated in Caribbean Strap Matches. Austin pounds away on Savio to start but when he goes outside, Savio pulls him into the apron a few times in a creative spot. Savio whips Austin back in the ring and Austin does everything to bail. Savio suplexes Austin in and gets to two turnbuckles before Austin pulls him back. Austin's turn to whip on Savio until they get tangled up and seem to cuddle on the apron. After some fighting in the aisle, Austin chokes Savio with the strap and suplexes him in. He hog ties Savio and gets two turnbuckles, but Savio stops him. The third vertical suplex happens on the mat outside. Austin prevents Savio from winning and wears him out with the strap. Now we get a superplex by Savio as that is the favorite move of the match it seems. Austin hits a spinebuster to stop Savio. They reverse Tombstones until Savio flips outside and The Undertaker is pissed in the back, I'm sure. Austin pulls Savio away within inches of winning and the crowd is hot. Savio gets two buckles while in the Million Dollar Dream but he breaks the hold before he can continue. Austin hits three without knowing that Savio is hitting them behind him. They struggle over the fourth until Austin pulls Savio into the corner ending it. That was another great match. Surprised this got 20 minutes but they used it very well. The best match of Austin's WWF career to this point. ****1/4
Savio Vega and the fans sing goodbye to Ted Dibiase, who would leave for the nWo. This song worked better for Savio than it did for Stephanie McMahon recently. We then see Shawn Michaels chatting with fans on AOL and he's struggling to find keys on the keyboard. Ah, the 90's.
Vader w/ Jim Cornette d. Yokozuna in 8:53
Vader didn't win the WWF Championship and that pisses me off. Yokozuna was absurdly big at this point at 641 pounds. Slug fest to start that Yokozuna wins. They get into a growling contest before Yoko goes to a sumo stance and Vader goes to a three point stance. Nothing happens though. Vader and Cornette stall until they go into their stances again. Yoko takes Vader off of his feet when they collide and knocks him outside. Vader takes control as they brawl back in the ring and he goes to slam Yoko. JR says only Ahmed Johnson slammed Yoko, so the WWF is just ignoring the Lex Express deal. Vader doesn't join that list and Yoko goes for the Banzai Drop. Cornette gets on the apron and brought inside by the former WWF Champion. Yoko goes to Banzai Cornette, but Vader pulls him out of the way and Yoko crashes. Vader targets the leg and hits the Vader Splash to end it. The slug fest that you'd expect, but Vader looked weak throughout. *1/4
A rundown of the upcoming King of the Ring card is shown as they announce a rematch for the WWF Title between Shawn Michaels and the British Bulldog, the Smoking Guns against the Godwins for the Tag Team Titles and the Ultimate Warrior vs. Jerry Lawler. The bracket is big with 16 guys. Goldust and Warrior went to a draw while Vader beat Ahmed on Raw. The other matches are Henry Godwin vs. Hawk, Jake Roberts vs. Hunter, Bob Holly vs. Steve Austin, Savio vs. Marty Jannetty, Yoko vs. Owen and Skip vs. Mero. Captivating huh?
Intercontinental Championship Casket Match
Goldust (c) w/ Marlena d. The Undertaker w/ Paul Bearer in 12:36 to retain the title
Cool to see The Undertaker competing for the Intercontinental Title. He appears right behind Goldust to start the match. This was a fun sub-feud during Taker's awesome rivalry with Mankind. Undertaker dominates early. A body slam, leg drop and Old School continue that trend. I feel like, between 1994 and 1996 there were more Casket Matches than the rest of wrestling history combined. And that's with Undertaker missing a good chunk of '94.Goldust starts to get in offense but totally whiffs on a shot before actually hitting Undertaker with a Tombstone. Undertaker sits right up though. Goldie nearly gets him in the casket regardless, but Taker fights him off. Goldust slows it down with a sleeper hold and gets Taker in the casket, but he keeps his arm out and stops it from closing. Shortly after, Goldust goes for a pin because he forgot this was a casket match. Goldust goes for Old School and Undertaker yanks him off the top. Undertaker hits the Tombstone but when he opens the casket, out comes Mankind! Mandible Claw gets latched on and Undertaker goes in the casket and to sleep as the lid closes. Interesting dynamic and Goldust played some alright mind games. Decent, but nothing special. **1/4
Smoke rises from the casket and when it gets opened, The Undertaker is gone.
Overall: 7.5/10; Very good show and one of the better In Your House Pay-Per-Views. The opener is great and the Caribbean Strap Match steals the show. Two awesome matches, plus a solid though disappointing WWF Title match, on a five match card make this worth it. Up next on my random reviews will be SuperBrawl IX. |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jul 12, 2014 17:02:15 GMT -5
Royal Rumble 2002
January 20th, 2002 – Phillips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia
While 2001 was a fun year to go back and watch, I'm more excited for 2002. I remember this year fondly as I thought that WrestleMania X8 was good, we had the return of the nWo, the rise of Brock Lesnar, the return of Shawn Michaels and the brand split that I loved so much. The WWF was about to become the WWE and Chris Jericho was the Undisputed Champion. Interesting time period for sure. Time for the first Pay-Per-View of that calendar year.
Tag Team Championship
Spike Dudley and Tazz (c) d. The Dudley Boyz w/ Stacy Keibler in 5:26 to retain the titles
Why Tazz and Spike won the Tag Team Titles is beyond me. Anyway, a brawl begins but things quickly simmer as Bubba and Spike start. Spike is wearing a neck brace, so Bubba rips it off and targets the neck. Good god, Stacy looks hot. A near brainbuster from Bubba before he taunts Tazz. He tries it again, but Spike reverses and hits the Dudley Dog. Classic heel work as the referee doesn't see Spike make the tag and the Dudleys double flapjack Spike and he damn near hits the ceiling. D-Von misses a splash, the Dudleys accidentally clothesline each other and Tazz gets the tag. NAPOLEON RAMPAGE! He suplexes both Dudleys and then Bubba oversells offense from both Spike and Tazz. Stacy tries to get involved and gets put in the Tazzmission. D-Von stops that but gets the Tazzmission too and he submits. Decent enough. Not sloppy, kept short and that's all you could ask for. **
Recap of the Edge/William Regal feud before Lillian Garcia interviews the Intercontinental Champion in the back. Edge says that they can play dirty because he's broke Regal's nose with a steel chair and he can play dirty with the best of them.
Intercontinental Championship
William Regal d. Edge (c) in 9:25 to win the title
Nick Patrick inspects Regal's trunks and discovers brass knuckles. Edge is on the offensive at the start as he comes out aggressively. He slams Regal's surgically repaired nose into the mat before eating a knee trembler. Regal suplexes Edge on his face in a bit of revenge. Weird how Edge goes from King of the Ring, to Intercontinental Champion, to wrestling over a freaking shampoo commercial at WrestleMania. Edge counters a double underhook powerbomb but Regal holds on and hits it anyway. He goes for the bomb again from the apron to the outside, but Edge blocks it and hits a DDT to continue focusing on Regal's face/nose. I don't know if I've ever seen a match where a guy targets the nose. Back inside, they run into each other and both men are down. Regal counters the Edgecution into the Regal Stretch because he's awesome. Edge, because he too is awesome, reverses into his own Regal Stretch. Dropkick and schoolboy get Edge a near fall before coming off the top with a spinning heel kick. Regal pulls yet another pair of brass knuckles out and levels Edge with it after Nick Patrick gets Speared by mistake. Regal covers and wins the gold. Much better than their match at Vengeance. This probably should have opened the show. ***1/2
Women's Championship
Trish Stratus (c) d. Jazz in 4:06 to retain the title
Working with girls like Lita and Jazz probably has a lot to do with Trish's vast improvement. Jacqueline is the referee for some reason. Actual Divas story here as Jazz smashed Trish's hand on a recent episode of Raw. They go for a series of quick rollup reversals to make Jackie work hard. Jazz targets the arm before dropping a leg across Trish. She wraps Trish's hand around the bottom rope and Trish sells the injury well. Jazz gets into a shoving match with Jackie, so the referee is slow to decide to count when Jazz gets a pin attempt. Jazz again destroys the hand. Trish wriggles out of Jazz's grasp and hits Stratusfaction but Jazz reverses the pin shockingly. I watched Jazz defeat men in ECW so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. Trish hits a bulldog with the injured hand to win from out of nowhere, so not sure on that. Not bad, with good selling for the most part. Jazz still looked like a beast throughout, so that's good. **
Ric Flair is shown arriving with his son and daughter. It's Reid, who passed away a few years ago and Leah, the non-wrestling Flair.
Street Fight
Ric Flair d. Vince McMahon in 15:05
My goodness does Flair look young compared to the present day. Vince is jacked, especially when standing next to Flair. Vince overpowers Flair and poses before getting him in the corner and chopping him. Flair has none of that, switches places and lights Vince's chest on fire to massive “woos” from the crowd. Vince continues to control with his strength as things go outside. As they fight up the aisle, Flair is gushing blood which was expected. Vince taunts Flair's kids before going inside and focusing on Flair's legs. So far, this is kind of disappointing. I normally love Vince's brawls. Vince slaps on the Figure Four and Flair reverses it. Vince grabs a pipe and Flair hits a low blow. Flair now takes control by using the old ass monitors on Vince. Seriously, it's 2014 and they're still using the same dumb monitors. Leah takes a photo of Vince's now busted open face. The Nature Boy hits Vince with the pipe and dancing before putting on the Figure Four and a bloody Vince taps. That was underwhelming. It wasn't bad, but I expect more from a Vince brawl. Also don't know why Vince controlled the entire match. **1/2
Stephanie McMahon interrupts as Michael Cole tries to interview Nick Patrick. She calls Triple H the favorite to win the Royal Rumble until Steve Austin comes up behind her. He delivers about 100 “whats” to run her off and then he does it to Cole. I still wish that we got Austin/Hogan at WrestleMania X8 instead of Rock/Hogan or Austin/Hall.
WWF Undisputed Championship
Chris Jericho (c) d. The Rock in 18:55 to retain
Alright, so after No Mercy and Vengeance, I have high hopes for this. Staredown highlighted by Jericho talking trash in Rock's face. Rock goes to retort and Jericho goes all WWF No Mercy/WCW Revenge by stealing his taunt. Rock levels him and we're underway. They trade moves in the ring until Jericho busts out the EDDIE GILBERT HOTSHOT! Jericho hits a spinning heel kick, and after seeing Edge busts one out earlier, it must be the Canadian theme of the night. He goes for the “COME ON BABY” pin but obviously doesn't win. Jericho exposes the turnbuckle very early and continues to hold serve. Rest hold time as Jericho puts on a headlock. Rock fights out of it and hits a second rope suplex. I refuse to call it a superplex unless it's from the top. Rock is in control until Jericho hits a face buster and Lionsault. A second Lionsault follows but Rock kicks out, so there goes his finisher as legit. Jericho pulls a HHH and gets into a shoving match with Hebner. They telegraph a spot where Rock catches Jericho in the Sharpshooter. Jericho taps but Lance Storm is out to distract the ref. Christian enters and Rock disposes of him. Jericho hits the Rock Bottom but Rock gets his shoulder up again. Jericho goes for the Jerichoholic Elbow but Rock tosses him outside. They clear off the announce tables and Jericho gets Rock Bottomed through one of them. Back in the ring, Rock gets a near fall. Jericho locks on the Walls but Rock reaches the ropes. Jericho tries again but gets pulled into a small package for two. Referee goes down and Jericho cold cocks Rocky with the belt for yet another near fall. Rock plants him with a DDT and Nick Patrick acts like he doesn't see. That's weird because he was the ref who sent Christian and Storm to the back. Rock takes him out and hits the People's Elbow but Hebner is still out. Rock goes to wake him and Jericho goes ultimate heel with a low blow, sending Rock into the exposed turnbuckle and rolling him up with his feet on the ropes. SUPER HEEL. Great match again as they have awesome chemistry. Just a shade below their other matches. ***3/4
HBK is LIVE...AND IN YO FACE at WWF New York. His prediction for the Royal Rumble is between The Undertaker and Steve Austin because they're all from Texas. And because it's Austin and the Undertaker. The Royal Rumble video package has generic music over it as I guess Kid Rock's “Cocky” is something they don't have the license for.
Royal Rumble
Triple H wins in 71:24
Rikishi was number 30 last year and he's number 1 this time around. The returning Goldust draws number two. Basic back and forth with Goldust sneaking out around two minutes. It's weird to think that Goldust currently wrestles against Rikishi's kids. Big Bossman joins and I had no idea he was still employed. Goldust and Bossman double Rikishi and try to get him over. Business picks up as Bradshaw is out next. He shoulder blocks the hell out of Goldust. Stink Face and superkick for Bossman is followed by a clothesline that eliminates him. If this can be serious for a minute, Lance Storm draws number five. Time gets wasted by futile efforts to eliminate people. I miss the Storm/Hurricane tag team. Even their names say they should have lasted longer. WHAT DOES EVERYBODY WANT?! Al Snow enters at six. Bradshaw takes Storm's head off with a Clothesline from Hell. Not any credible threats in right now, which means someone like Kane needs to enter and clean house soon. Number seven arrives in the form of Billy Gunn. He eats a big boot from Bradshaw who is dominating. Storm and Snow do battle on the apron as Snow superkicks Storm and rids the match of him. Billy eliminates Bradshaw, which is disappointing. Intervals are longer than two minutes oddly. I asked for Kane, but The Undertaker at eight will do just fine. Taker chokeslams the hell out of Gunn and disposes of Goldust. Snow, who was getting a good pop is out as is Rikishi. Why would they leave Billy Gunn in of all of them? And there goes Gunn. Undertaker is alone. Matt Hardy is next, returning from Undertaker taking out both Hardys. Lita jumps in and hits Taker with a low blow. Lita and Matt stomp on Taker but he quickly recovers and runs things again.
Number ten arrives and it's Matt's brother Jeff. Now, Jeff, Matt and Lita stomp on Undertaker. Jim Ross is totally fine with Lita interfering in anything but not other valets. Undertaker shows that he's the big dog in the yard again but the Hardys don't give up. Twist of Fate and Swanton work but Poetry in Motion fails as Undertaker catches Jeff and dumps him. Matt goes for his Last Ride and is eliminated as well, leaving Undertaker alone once again. Well that was fun while it lasted. Tough Enough winner Maven draws unlucky number 11 and he looks very concerned. He runs into a big boot and Taker goes to eliminate him but Lita gets on the apron. Taker piefaces her hard and the Hardys are back in. Undertaker thwarts them and Maven dropkicks him out. The look on the Undertaker's face is one of the greatest things of all time. Undertaker proceeds to beat the holy hell out of Maven all around the arena. Scotty enters at 12 but also gets hit by Undertaker. Christian, his European Title and his epic entrance are number 13. Undertaker has now beaten Maven up even by the popcorn machine. YO, ITS ME, ITS ME, ITS DDP. I like him, you like him and he's gonna help you like you. In a preview of the European Title match at WrestleMania X8, DDP and Christian square off. Scotty hits Christian with the Worm. Halfway home as Chuck is out next. Scotty is dumped out as Christian and Chuck work over DDP. The Godfather arrives at 16 with the hoes. And more hoes. And more hoes. DDP is knocked out. Godfather's entrance takes up the entire 2 plus minutes. 17 is the hip hop hippo Albert. He doesn't last long as he and the Godfather are eliminated before weird ass Perry Saturn comes in at 18. He is wearing cow pattern on his trunks. The roof comes off as Steve Austin draws number 19. He beats Christian, Saturn and Chuck up and eliminates all three.
Because there's still time for number 20, Austin brings Christian and Chuck back in the ring to give them Stunners and eliminates them again. In a callback to 1997, Austin checks his watch. The Big Valbowski returns at 20. He puts up a good fight against Austin and survives the two plus minutes. Test is in to no reaction. Weird how Test went from seven feet when he first arrived to “nearly 6'8” tonight. Doesn't matter as Austin ends up dumping both of them out. Triple H draws number 22 and ITS ABOUT TO GO DOWN. The Two Man Power Trip collides. The Game takes nearly as long as Godfather to make it to the ring where a fist fight ensues. Number 23 quickly arrives and its the Hurricane. Austin and HHH do the double clothesline spot allowing the Hurricane to pose. He goes to double chokeslam them and Austin and Hunter realize this and toss him out before focusing on each other. Faarooq draws number 24 and puts up a better fight than Hurricane but doesn't last much longer. Mr. Perfect enters at number 25 and I'm loving this. He does his thing but HHH and Austin try to knock him out until Kurt Angle arrives at 26. This is his first Rumble ever and he goes right for Triple H. “YOU SUCK! WHAT?” chants from the crowd. Austin saves Triple H from getting eliminated weirdly. I guess he still believes in the Two Man Power Trip. Big Show hits the scene next and he dominates as big men do. Chokeslams and big boots for everyone. Number 28 is Kane, who has beef with Show after their tag team failed miserably at Vengeance. They trade punches and both go for a chokeslam. Kane hits Show low and body slams him over and out, but it was nowhere near as good as Cesaro at WrestleMania XXX. A Stunner and Angle Slam cause Kane to be eliminated, putting us back to four. This is a star studded back end as Rob Van Dam is 29 and he instantly hits a Five Star Frog Splash. RVD owns everyone and hits Austin with Rolling Thunder. He turns into a Pedigree from Triple H though. The last man in is Booker T. He comes in and eliminates RVD to the crowd's dismay, but he turns that to cheers with a spinaroonie. Austin hits him with the Stunner and the final four is the same four that have been in for the most part. Austin reverses an Angle Slam and a Pedigree. Perfect and Angle nearly eliminate Austin but he holds on. Austin surprisingly is the first of the four out regardless and he takes Perfect outside to beat on him. Angle throws him into the steel steps but Austin gets a chair and lays out all three guys in the ring. They all slowly get up and Perfect gets a pop when he avoids elimination and hits the Perfect Plex. Triple H clotheslines him out though and it's down to Triple H and Angle, which should've been obvious because of their issues since HHH returned. Angle nearly gets him out and prematurely celebrates, which allows HHH to hit a knee to the face and clothesline him out.
Long Royal Rumble, but it kept me entertained throughout. We had Goldust returning, The Undertaker/Hardys portion, the Undertaker/Maven moment, Austin dominating and Triple H returning. Overlooked Rumble that doesn't get its due. ****1/4
Overall: 8/10; A great show. That's three straight years with a really good Rumble Pay-Per-View, but this was below both 2000 and 2001. Still, a solid Intercontinental Title match, decent brawl between Flair and Vince, really good Undisputed Title match and great Royal Rumble give this a high grade. Go out and see it. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 12, 2014 17:09:11 GMT -5
Good review, Kevin.
Napoleon Rampage made me laugh. I've seen this show a dozen times and always forget Spike and Tazz were tag champs somehow.
Mr. Perfect owned this show for me. Seeing him make the final 3 in the Rumble was incredible. Great show. Predictable that HHH was going over, but still enjoyable.
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Post by Funk The Revival on Jul 14, 2014 15:41:06 GMT -5
 Summerslam 1997Mankind D. Hunter Hearst Helmsley w/ Chyna - Steel Cage MatchDefinitely the best of the trilogy these guys have had over the past few PPVs and you can really see their chemistry glowing. Solid back and forth match which runs little over 16 minutes and those 16 minutes fly. Couple of sick spots with Chyna slamming the metal cage door on to Foley's skull which he touches on in his book and of course Foley diving off the cell like he saw Snuka do all them years ago. A feel good match seeing Mrs Foley's baby boy pick up the win over the blue blood and his transition from unrelatable freak to cool cat Dude Love is in full effect. Have mercyyyyyy ***1/2Goldust D. Brian Pillman - If Pillman loses he is forced to wear a dress the following night on RAW
Not a great match in all honesty and that's sad to say. Not placing any blame on either guy but with Pillman being a shadow of him former self due to injury, this match is just punch, kick and rest hold. Match finishes with Marlena hitting Flyin' Brian with the purse and Goldust getting the victory. ** The Leigon Of Doom D. The Godwinns
This match surprised me in the sense that it wasn't awful but it isn't very good either. Godwinns bore me and I never saw L.O.D in their prime so I don't get any nostalgia seeing them back, L.O.D win with a spike piledriver. **
Million Dollar ChallengePretty funny segment with Todd, Sunny  and Sable. The jist of this competition was that you had a choice of keys between 1-50 and one of them opened a coffin with $1,000,000. WWF had flew 2 competition winners in to be on stage with the currently wonderful Sunny and Sable. The first person they call doesn't answer, the second's phone is disconnected, the third isn't even watching the show (guesses wrong) and the 4th caller guesses wrong too. The 2 they had fly in were also wrong with the correct number being 3 which sticks with me because King says "I'd of went with 3 as it rhymes with key" ahh. Side note: Last appearance of Todd Pettengill. Leave the memories alone. Los Boriucas D. The Disciples of The Apocalypse
Sigh. Terrible * Steve Austin (c) D. Owen Hart - Intercontinental ChampionshipWrestling fans will all remember this match for one reason.. Putting that aside, this match was great. Very fast paced, back and forth, great chemistry and it saddens me that we will never properly see these 2 one on one again. I feel Owen really pushed Austin in this match and vice versa and it came out very well. 15 minutes of very solid ring work all pretty much forgotten by what happened in the last minute and 16 seconds. Owen reverses Austin in to a tombstone position and drops Austin directly on to his head doing a reverse piledriver. Clearly the finish was changed, Owen walked round the ring gloating and Austin gingerly rolled him up and walked out still champion. Some people can't separate the ending from this match which taints it for them and while I understand that, I still thought this match was very good just with an unfortunate finish. **** Side note: Michael Cole debuts to interview Austin pre-match.
Bret Hart D. The Undertaker (c) - WWF Championship - Shawn Michaels Special Referee.
Taker's IMO meh Title reign comes to an end here and does in entertaining fashion. The stipulations of this match was that if Bret Hart lost he would never wrestle on American soil in the WWF again, Also if Shawn favored The Undertaker, he would also not wrestle in America again. The match went 28 minutes and although I felt it could have been done in a few less, Bearer coming out throwing fuel on the fire that is already the rivalry with Undertaker about Kane and Hart and Bulldog coming down were nice touches. Bret works Takers leg most of the match and Shawn does a solid job not hogging the limelight which was surprising due to his douchey reputation at the time. The match ends when Bret spits at Shawn, he grabs a chair and tries to hit Bret who ducks and inadvertently knocks out The Deadman. Bret pins Taker, Shawn counts to 4? and the match is over. Neeeeeeeeeeeeew WWF Champion: Bret Hart ***3/4 Certainly an improvement from last years Summerslam with 3 very entertaining matches which were let down by an average Tag Team match and the gang warfare crap. ***1/2
Time to watch some RAW on Youtube in preparation for the next PPV. IYH: Ground Zero
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jul 14, 2014 16:26:38 GMT -5
SuperBrawl IX
2/21/99 – Oakland Arena in Oakland, California
WCW shows are definitely the toughest to get through. Even a good WCW show can be tough due to Tony Schiavone's grating voice or their weird sounding ring. However, there was just something I can't put my finger on that makes WCW so weird. In 1999, I was 100% into the WWF, even though there were a few guys from WCW that I really enjoyed. So, we come to a show that I don't remember at all. As with most WCW Pay-Per-Views, I've either only seen them once or never at all. After doing my research I found that this show drew 16,000 but a year later, WCW couldn't even sell out the Cow Palace. I've seen ROH draw good at the Cow Palace.
The opening video package has Torrie Wilson in a hotel room talking to the cameraman. He gives her tickets somewhere and that's all we see from that. For as much money as WCW had, their production company needed to be better. They hype up Goldberg vs. Bam Bam Bigelow and Ric Flair vs. Hulk Hogan. They show another promo, this one for the Tag Team Tournament final. The Tournament looked like one of the biggest booking messes of all time.
Still no match as “Mean BY GAWD” Gene talks about the WCW Hotline. I thought Hotlines were dead by 1999.
Booker T d. Disco Inferno in 9:19
Disco Inferno is a member of nWo Wolfpack here. Yes, I said it. They do some good old fashioned wrasslin' to start and Booker clearly has the upper hand. Booker also has the power advantage. Disco gets a little bit of offense and dances around the ring. Booker T doesn't appreciate the showing off and begins to beat down on Disco. He has all of the offense for a while until Disco hits a club. Disco locks on a sleeper and Booker's face shows no pain and he easily reverses. The crowd is hot for this. Booker hits the Axe Kick, but doesn't cover. Disco hits an atomic drop, but gets his next move reversed into a spinebuster that Tony Schiavone calls a sidewalk slam. Disco goes for his finisher but Booker counters into a belly to back suplex. SPINAROONIE! Booker goes to the top, Disco nails him and stupidly showboats. Booker shoves him off and hits the Harlem Hangover for the 1-2-3. Solid opening contest that the crowd was hotter for than I expected. Booker wasn't in his future Superstar form just yet though. **3/4
Chris Jericho w/ Ralphus d. Perry Saturn via countout in 11:17
I loved Ralphus! He's sporting a dress. Saturn has to wrestle in a dress and, if he wins, can make Jericho wear the dress. Jericho smack talks to start so Saturn knocks him down. They fight into the crowd for a few. Back inside, Saturn hits a T-Bone and Bobby Heenan seems off his game. Saturn catapults Jericho to the outside and dives onto him. Saturn brings Ralphus into the ring and strips him before Jericho dropkicks him in the back. Textbook vertical suplex followed by the “COME ONE BABY” pin. Jericho taunts to the crowd, hits a bodyslam and misses a ridiculous looking spinning splash. Saturn plants him with a scoop slam and kicks him in the corner. He hits ten punches in the corner with his dress over Jericho's head. Saturn gets a near fall and hits another kick but Jericho reverses his powerbomb and hits a German. Cross body connects, but Saturn rolls through and puts on a Rings of Saturn. That was such a badass submission. Jericho reaches the ropes and hits a Lionsault after Saturn missed one of his own. Saturn kicks out and nails the Death Valley Driver. Instead of pinning, he drops the referee with the DVD too. Saturn walks out and leaves the arena, eventually getting counted out. I guess the story is that he likes wearing the dress. Good match despite the odd finish. ***
The wcw.com booth interviews Konnan and Rey Mysterio Jr. Rey's mask is on the line tonight so we all know how this will end. Konnan says they will win, mainly because he gets BOWDY BOWDY AND ROWDY ROWDY!
WCW Cruiserweight Championship
Billy Kidman (c) d. Chavo Guerrero Jr. in 8:26 to retain the title
I must be too used to the WWE as Chavo looks weird in trunks. Sloppy start to the match as Kidman and Chavo mess up one move and Kidman whiffs on a dropkick right after. Going outside, Kidman throws Chavo into the guardrail. Even though he's a face, Kidman offers a handshake and instead clotheslines Chavo. They go back outside, which is odd for a cruiserweight match. They aren't usually brawls. BRAINBUSTER by Chavo gets a near fall. They go from brawl to chinlock rest hold within seconds before Kidman is knocked back outside. Chavo somersaults over and out, which was impressive. Back inside, they mention that Kidman's three month reign is one of the longest in history. Chavo busts out a sweet tilt-a-whir backbreaker. Kidman hits a back body drop but Chavo is still in control. He gets a near fall with a Frankensteiner and Kidman gets one with a nice powerbomb type maneuver. DDT off the top as it's like they're trying the biggest moves possible. Kidman reverses a powerbomb into a facebuster and hits the Shooting Star Press to retain. Odd match as it wasn't sure what it wanted to be early on, and then it became a spot fest of big moves. **
Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko d. Barry Windham and Curt Hennig in 19:34
Because this is WCW, Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko have to win twice to win the belts. Malenko and Windham start and it's decent before it turns to Benoit and Hennig. Also, quick side note. The tournament happened because Rick Steiner and Kenny Kaos were champs until Rick got hurt. Kenny Kaos ladies and gentlemen. Hennig in '91 or '93 against Benoit in '04 would've been a classic. Hennig and Windham need a breather and they mention that Benoit has yet to win a title in WCW. Seriously? Benoit and Malenko run the show because they're awesome. Benoit hits the flying headbutt on Hennig but Windham breaks the pin attempt. The heels now work over Malenko while Benoit plays the babyface who the referee focuses too hard on. Benoit gets the tag and lights up Hennig. Windham doesn't seem sure if he's a face or a heel. Double suplex on Benoit earns a near fall. The crowd has gotten hot for the faces. Hennig hits a neck snap for two. Benoit is now the face in peril. Malenko gets the tag and dropkicks everyone before getting the Cloverleaf on Windham. Crowd is hot but Hennig breaks it up. Benoit gets to Hennig now and Malenko juts puts the Cloverleaf back on and Windham taps. Good tag formula and I enjoyed that. Didn't feel like nearly 20 minutes. ***1/4
WCW World Tag Team Championship
Barry Windham and Curt Hennig d. Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko in 1:02 to win the titles
Windham takes off his belt and chokes Malenko with it. He follows with a clothesline and continues to choke him. The referee counts the three. Oh WCW, there you go again. Malenko and Benoit worked their asses off for nearly 20 minutes to get the crowd completely behind them and hot. Then Windham and Hennig cheat and win the second match in a minute. Stupid, stupid, stupid booking. DUD
A video package airs to highlight the Roddy Piper/Scott Hall US Title match later. This was during the Bret Hart/Will Sasso saga. There goes WCW putting on 90's WWF matches again as Piper met Bret on Nitro in a WrestleMania 8 rematch. Whatever.
Hair Versus Mask
The Outsiders d. Konnan and Rey Mysterio Jr. in 11:00
Lex Luger was supposed to compete but due to injury, Scott Hall replaces him. I watched Halloween Havoc '98 recently, which was just five months before this, and Nash and Hall were feuding. Liz was still hot in her nWo time. Mysterio was incredibly tiny at this point in his career and Eric Bischoff felt that Rey wasn't marketable with a mask. Well, it got super over in the WWE. Hall exerts his dominance by shoving Rey around the ring. Rey out wrestles Hall. He impresses with some high flying moves and hits both Outsiders. He makes a mistake and Hall drops him with a fallaway slam. The Outsiders start to dominate, which causes the match to slow to a crawl. Rey escapes the Outsider's Edge and Konnan gets the tag. He cleans house but it must be uncomfortable to wrestle in sagging jeans. Nash clubs him to end his rally. The Outsiders work over Konnan, who is not being BOWDY BOWDY or ROWDY ROWDY. Rey does get the tag and he flies all over the place. He uses both Nash and Konnan as catapults on separate occasions. Luger pulls Konnan out of the ring, leaving Rey alone. He hits a moonsault on Nash and has the three, but Liz distracts the ref. Hall clubs him and hits the Outsiders Edge. He places Nash on Rey and it's over. When Rey was in, it was fun. Besides that, this did nothing for me. *3/4
Rey has to remove the mask and he looks like he's 12. Not many non-diehard fans remember this though because WCW was pretty bad at this point. Nash tells him to put the mask on and Schiavone calls him a handsome young man.
WCW World Television Championship
Scott Steiner (c) d. Diamond Dallas Page in 13:53 to retain the title
The Wolfpack theme ends from the previous match and starts over nearly instantly for this one. I'm pretty sure that Scott Steiner held every belt in WCW. The story here is that Big Poppa Pump wants Kimberly Page. DDP is totally serious as he doesn't even do his entrance taunt. He comes at Steiner with right hands and just beats him up for a bit. Buff Bagwell arrives and DDP takes turns whipping on both of them. The brawl spills outside with Steiner in control. Back inside, he hits a sloppy clothesline and gets a two with an elbow. Buff cheats and gets in some shots on DDP, but he shrugs them off and throws Steiner into the corner. That is for naught though as Steiner hits a belly to belly. DDP rolls him up for two before Steiner goes back on the offensive. Yay. Steiner is boring as hell right now. Even though he's in control, Steiner has Buff distract the ref so he can hit DDP with a chair. It's incredibly loud so the ref should've heard. Buff exposes the turnbuckles while DDP hits a low blow on Steiner that the referee sees and ignores. Charles Robinson does kick out Buff though. Outside, Steiner throws DDP into the steps. Steiner argues with the ref, allowing DDP to hit him with a clothesline, but it again goes nowhere as DDP eats a Frankensteiner off the top. He kicks out though and counters a hip toss into a DDT. DDP goes for the Diamond Cutter but he gets shoved off into the exposed buckle. Twice. And the referee is somehow blind. Steiner now hits multiple slams into the exposed corner and gets the Steiner Recliner. DDP passes out to end it. That was slow paced as hell. The Buff interference was dumb and I disliked pretty much everything. 1/2*
DDP gets taken out on a stretcher to a chorus of “DDP sucks” chants. For some reason.
WCW United States Championship
Scott Hall w/ Disco Inferno d. Roddy Piper (c) in 8:19 to win the title
The Wolfpack theme plays for Disco and for Hall separately. I'll never understand who thought it was a good idea to put a title on Piper in 1999. Piper struggles to take off his shirt but puts his kilt over Hall's head and wails away on him. Hall retaliates with some shoulder blocks and a wristlock. They take turns cheating with pokes to the eyes and at least the crowd is into it. Piper is struggling to get anything to look right though. Heenan says that Hall, in 1999, is a top 5 athlete in the world. Yea, sure. Piper hits a low blow and I swear WCW officials are totally blind. With Piper in the tree of woe, Disco gets in shots. Piper gets put in the abdominal stretch and the heels cheat with more leverage and Piper hip tosses out. Forget what I said about a hot crowd earlier. They're dead now. Piper gets on the sleeper hold. Hall is fading but signals for Disco to run in. Piper nails him and there's no DQ called. Kevin Nash shows up and takes a low blow though Piper botches that. Hall hits him from behind and pins him with his feet on the ropes. My goodness, did Scott Hall need to look that bad? Mike Tenay says they have the US, World and TV Titles. This was just as bad as the previous match, if not worse and stupidly overbooked. DUD
After the match, Scott Hall talks smack to Roddy Piper, but ends up getting beat up. Kevin Nash and Disco Inferno join in and Piper escapes. This was useless.
Goldberg d. Bam Bam Bigelow in 11:39
Bam Bam has no music. Tony Schiavone says Goldberg can't be beaten unless you have a taser. Well, if I was Bam Bam, I would get a damn taser then. Goldberg is easily the most over guy, so having him in a pointless match here, while two old ass men fight for the WCW Title is classic WCW booking. Goldberg isn't bothered by a shoulder block and slams Bigelow as the crowd is pumped. Fireman's carry into an armbar as Goldberg is off to a dominating start. Bam Bam gets on the offensive and targets the leg. Bam Bam is focusing on the leg and slaps on a chinlock is what has become a boring ass affair. My goodness this is bad. After a long and I mean long time of Bam Bam using rest holds, Goldberg comes from out of nowhere with a Spear. He forgets about the attack on his leg all night and hits two more Spears before mercifully ending this with a Jackhammer. Whoever set this match up is a moron. Goldberg dominates early on, then the whole match is Bam Bam until Goldberg hits a few moves. So bad. DUD
WCW World Heavyweight Championship
“Hollywood” Hulk Hogan (c) d. Ric Flair in 12:53 to retain the title
Hogan vs. Flair would've been a great move for WrestleMania 8 in 1992. In 1999, not so much. Especially for the title. Hogan starts with some face offense as he plays to the crowd and they're chanting “Hogan.” Hogan gets a near fall because Flair's leg is under the ropes and the referee doesn't call it, Hogan just stops pinning Flair. Hogan gets a chair and hits Flair with an extremely weak shot. Holy crap, the next one is even softer. It's like he laid the chair on Flair's back. Flair is busted open of course and is trading chops. Is this match No DQ? Sure seems like it. Hogan no sells two chops and Flair dies off of a punch. Hogan now whips him with the DEADLY WEIGHT BELT. Flair no sells it and does a double leg take down but eats the belt to the face. How all of this is okay is beyond me. Hogan no sells more chops and the crowd pops for that. They've turned on Flair. The Nature Boy hits two low blows that again, don't cause a DQ. Flair now beats on Hogan with the belt and I have no clue why these guys are blading for this match. Torrie Wilson comes down for her debut and she slaps Flair. Flair hits another low blow and continues to work on Hogan while Schiavone lies and calls this a great match. Hogan kicks out of a suplex and the ref gets hit. Hogan drops an elbow on his for good measure. Then he goes for the Leg Drop. Which wouldn't work because you just took out the referee. A “masked man” in a Wolfpack shirt arrives and uses the stun gun on Flair while he has Hogan in the Figure Four. Hogan pins to keep the belt. Another awful match. That's like four or five in a row. My god. DUD
The masked man holds hands with Torrie and reveals himself to be David Flair. For some stupid reason he joins nWo. His dad dedicated the match to him and the nWo beat the hell out of him at the last show. The turn makes no sense and is classic WCW for you.
Overall: 2/10; God awful. The worst show that I've reviewed so far. The first half of the show is not bad with a decent opener, good Jericho/Saturn match and solid tag match. Once you get to the second tag match, everything is terrible. Bad booking, stupid swerves and boring wrestling. Just horrible. Next up, Survivor Series 1995. |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jul 15, 2014 15:37:27 GMT -5
No Way Out 2002
February 17th, 2002 – Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
The Royal Rumble 2002 was a very good way to start the new year. I remember WrestleMania X8 being good, not great and I, of course, remember this No Way Out show for the return of the nWo. I never agreed with the decision to bring them back as it was beaten to death in WCW, so doing it again in WWE was something I wasn't interested in. Still though, we had Chris Jericho as Undisputed Champion and some guys who were very good to great in the ring, so let's see if No Way Out can be another good show in 2002.
A familiar chord strikes as the nWo comes out to a massive pop. The entrance reminds me of the semi that Hollywood Hulk Hogan would eventually use to nearly kill The Rock. Kevin Nash is so cool because he uses terms like “heat” and “marks”. Scott Hall wants to share a drink with the boys but Nash advises against it. Hogan talks like a face as they all did and they just want a chance. I know that I normally am against promos to open Pay-Per-Views but it made sense here as the nWo was what everyone wanted to see.
Tag Team Turmoil
The APA d. Billy & Chuck, Scotty 2 Hotty & Albert, Christian & Lance Storm, The Hardy Boyz and the Dudley Boyz in 16:39
Scotty and Albert start against the future UnAmericans. Scotty and Storm start until Albert gets the tag and slams Storm. Christian runs in and CESARO SWING! Albert bicycle kicks Storm but Christian breaks up the count. Scotty and Christian become the legal men and Scotty hits a superkick. Albert and Storm end up outside as Scotty gets ready to release his worm. Storm interrupts, allowing for the Unprettier and the 3 in 2:56. The Hardy Boyz are out next to a big pop. Storm and Christian stop the Hardys momentum and slow things down until Matt hits Christian with the EDDIE GILBERT hot shot. The Hardys are in control from there on and win with the Swanton in 3:15
The Dudley Boyz with Stacy Dudley are next in a match we've seen hundreds of times. Poetry in Motion works once, but the Hardys go to that well one too many times and it backfires. Dudleys in control now but Matt manages to hit a second rope leg drop. Double team move from the Hardys until Stacy gets involved. Lita takes her down as the crowd pops. Bubba Bomb to Matt before Lita takes out Bubba. Matt now reverses a D-Von move into a school boy and wins it after 4:40. The Dudleys decide that ain't cool and beat up the Hardys post match. Billy, Chuck and their fantastic theme song are out next. Jeff ate a 3D outside, so Matt is alone in the ring. He fights hard but can't beat two guys and he takes a pin in 1:10.
The last team to enter is the APA. They brawl for a bit until Billy and Chuck get the upper hand. They work over Faarooq in the corner for a while. Bradshaw eventually gets the hot tag and murders Billy with a vicious Clothesline from Hell in 4:10. I don't understand the booking here. Billy and Chuck were the team on the rise but they lose to an APA team that is past their prime. Regardless, the whole thing wasn't great. It didn't feel like it took 16 minutes which is a plus. **
Michael Cole is standing by with the Nature Boy, Ric Flair. He says that the minute the nWo gets out of line, he can see the locker room putting them in their place. The Undertaker interrupts him and is watching him, as part of the run towards their WrestleMania match.
Rob Van Dam d. Goldust in 11:08
I've always been a huge Goldust fan, and RVD was the man at this time so hopefully this is good. It's crazy to think that both of these guys are still active. No offense to Goldust, but this is a bit of a demotion for a guy who was red hot in 2001. Goldust attacks at the bell but RVD uses a kick from out of nowhere to turn the tide. Snapmare, spinning leg drop and ridiculous cartwheel back flip by RVD causes Goldust to regroup outside. Goldust pulls RVD out but ends up taking a spinning leg drop on the guardrail for his troubles. Goldust hits a bionic elbow and sends RVD back into the ring. Goldust hits Naomi's future REAR END for two. It obviously works better when you have a massive backside. Goldust puts RVD on the top, goes out to the steps and pulls back on RVD's face in a spot I've never seen before. He focuses on RVD's back and drops a knee on him. REST HOLD time! RVD creatively gets free and both guys are down. Spinning heel kick, monkey flip and flying kick from Van Dam, whose offense comes in bursts. Rolling Thunder gets him a near fall. He misses the Five Star and eats a DDT. RVD kicks out, so Goldie goes for the Curtain Call but RVD counters. Goldust misses a bulldog, take an enziguri and the Five Star Frog Splash to get the three. Solid little match. Surprised they got over ten minutes but they made it work. Nothing spectacular, but what it should've been. **3/4
Steve Austin is backstage with his “What?” shirt and he runs into the nWo. They seem to sarcastically say hello and offer him a six pack. Austin tosses the six pack and they let him walk on by. That was rude of Austin. I hear those nWo guys are super trustworthy.
Tag Team Championship
Tazz and Spike Dudley (c) d. Booker T and Test in 7:19 to retain the titles
Good god the tag team division was suffering. Tazz and Spike weigh a combined 398 pounds. That has to be a record. Test starts by abusing Tazz in the corner. Spike gets tagged and hits two dropkicks before countering a powerbomb from Test. Tazz punches Test into a rollup from Spike that gets, like, a seven count but the referee is distracted by Booker. Seriously. Booker and Test botch a double team move. Test and Booker now work over Spike for a while. It's basic heel tag team stuff. SPINAROONIE! Spike hits a weak looking DDT and makes the tag to Tazz. NAPOLEON RAMPAGE! It's what I've been waiting for. Tazz cleans house and Spike hits the Dudley Dog on Test. Tazz pins and gets a near fall before Test tries to get a pin with his feet on the ropes but the official catches him. He argues with the ref and gets put in the Tazzmission. Test taps out and Spike and Tazz somehow remain champions. Average match. Nothing bad, nothing too good. **
The Rock cuts a promo about how he's going to beat The Undertaker. He calls The Undertaker a dead man walking.
Brass Knuckles on a Pole for the Intercontinental Championship
William Regal (c) d. Edge in 10:22 to retain the title
William Regal has a new theme, which is so much better than the one he used the last two months. Things start outside as Edge is desperate to go into WrestleMania in Toronto as Intercontinental Champion. Inside, Edge hits a suplex and goes for the pole, but Regal stops him. They trade blows in the ring until Regal throws Edge on the apron and he nearly gets to the pole. Regal stops him again and they fight into the crowd. Back in, Edge hits a missile dropkick but ends up getting thrown onto the top rope. Regal puts on an abdominal stretch that makes sense since Edge has rib injuries. Regal uses the ropes for leverage. Edge breaks free and nearly gets the brass knuckles but Regal shoves him to the outside. Regal butterfly bombs him on the outside, but he has yet to climb. He puts Edge, who is bleeding from the mouth, in the Regal Stretch. Another butterfly bomb inside and he gets a near fall. I thought they couldn't “win” until after they got the brass knuckles. On the apron, Regal tries a third bomb but Edge reverses it into a botched hurricanrana. They struggle to get up and Regal gets the knuckles but takes a belly to back suplex off the top. Regal kicks away the brass knuckles but Edge hits an Edge-o-matic and Spear. He gets the knuckles from outside, but Regal sneaks a pair out from his trunks and knocks out Edge with them. Another disappointment between two guys I truly like. Not bad, the stipulation was odd. It made sense with the storyline, but not within the match. **1/2
Lillian Garcia interviews Kurt Angle, who is confident tonight because he is a gold medalist. He earned them and didn't get them out of a box of lucky freakin' charms.
The audio during the build up video for Rock vs. Undertaker gets terribly low.
The Rock d. The Undertaker in 17:28
The Rock sprints to the ring because this match is intense, or supposed to be at least. A fist fight starts this off and the Rock wins with a big clothesline. Man, I hate how Rocky throws his punches. Rock hits an ugly looking neckbreaker before Undertaker takes control. I feel like this could've been a big feud, but it was thrown on a rather filler PPV and quickly forgotten. Anyway, Undertaker works a plodding offense until they head outside and the announce table is open for business. Taker crotches Rock on the guardrail, then sits down and talks trash to him. The fight goes deep into the crowd as we've given up all hope of a countout finish. Back at ringside, Undertaker drops a big leg on the Rock while he lays on the apron. The Rock hasn't done anything in forever as Undertaker puts him in a bearhug. Rock fights out and hits a DDT. Undertaker stops the People's Elbow, but takes a low blow. More Taker offense as he hits a chokeslam but Rock kicks out. Undertaker throws the referee into the steel steps and goes to use a pipe but Flair shows up and stops him. Undertaker no sells and big boots Flair. Rock ducks the pipe, hits a spinebuster and tries the sharpshooter. Vince McMahon runs down and Rock levels him. Flair hits Undertaker with the pipe and the Rock is all “I'll take it” and hits the Rock Bottom. Decent brawl, but it went too long and was too one-sided for too long. Could've been better. **1/4
Mr. Perfect is at WWF New York and man, I still wish that we got Kurt Angle vs. Perfect at WrestleMania. He seems messed up and very drunk here, so maybe that's why we didn't get it. He makes fun of the customers.
The video package for Triple H/Angle shows the whole angle where Stephanie McMahon lied about being pregnant. Then Triple H knocked her down and her nipple showed. That's not part of the PPV.
Number One Contender's Match
Kurt Angle d. Triple H in 14:42
Stephanie McMahon is the extremely hot referee for this contest. I never liked when a WrestleMania title shot is one the line before WrestleMania. Anyway, Stephanie announces that she dropped Hemsley from her name. I'll never understand why a heel guest referee doesn't quick count everything, pull a Montreal Screwjob or call a quick DQ. She partially shuts me up by doing quick counts on two Angle rollups. Small “she's a crack whore” chant breaks out before it turns to “take your shirt off”. If she did, this PPV would easily be a 10/10. Early on, Angle misses a clothesline on Triple H and hits Stephanie with it. She falls to the outside. Stephanie is helped to the back as HHH hits a neckbreaker. Suicidal Tim White is out as Angle hits three Germans for a near fall. Triple H goes for a clothesline but gets caught in a belly to belly suplex. Angle gets a near fall, hits another, gets a near fall and hits a third for yet another two count. Sleeper hold from Angle and HHH eventually breaks it but doesn't get on the offensive. Angle goes for ten punches in the corner but is caught with a powerbomb. They get up at the count of nine and slug it out before HHH hits a high knee. Angle runs into a spinebuster for two. Angle makes HHH chase him outside and when he gets in, nails Tim White from behind. Angle hits the Angle Slam and Stephanie returns but she's too hurt to fast count so Hunter kicks out. Ankle Lock but HHH kicks off and Angle crushes Stephanie. DDT but there's still no referee. He tries to wake Tim up, which allows Angle to hit another German. He gets a chair, HHH ducks and hits the Pedigree. Tim White slowly gets in and counts but Stephanie drops an elbow on him and kicks him in the balls. HHH goes for the Pedigree on Stephanie but Angle takes him out with the chair and, after an Angle Slam, wins. Not as good as Royal Rumble 2001, but still solid work. Also, none of this mattered as HHH still went to the title match at Mania. **3/4
The nWo run into the Rock now and Hogan asks for a picture with him because Rock is Nick Hogan's favorite wrestler. He says something under his breath and The Rock goes off on the three of them. This is must see because Rock is hilarious in it. One of his comedic moments that stands the test of time.
Undisputed Championship
Chris Jericho (c) d. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin in 21:35 to retain the title
Austin and Jericho goes face to face at the bell and Jericho gives him the finger. Austin replies with one of his own and they lock up. Right hand by Jericho only gets a smile from Austin. Austin lights up Jericho's chest with chops. He rams Jericho's head into the corner, earning a “What?” from the fans each time. More chops as Austin is taking Jericho around the ring with them. Now chops from Jericho before failing on a top rope move. Austin clotheslines the Champion outside and continues to pound away out there. Things go up the the aisle as Austin throws Jericho into the truck a few times. Back in the ring Austin hits three second rope suplexes for a near fall. Austin is literally beating Jericho from pillar to post. Out of desperation, Jericho shoves Earl Hebner and hits a low blow. I've seen about a hundred chops in this match as Jericho fires away with some on Austin. He goes for the Walls of Jericho but Austin blocks it. Austin rallies back and we see the EDDIE GILBERT hot shot. Seriously, I never noticed how often that spot was used. Jericho side steps Austin and sends him outside. They brawl outside for a bit and Jericho misses the Lionsault inside. He puts Austin in a sleeper because it must REST HOLD TIME! Austin busts out and spinebusters Jericho before hitting a powerslam for two. Jericho reverses a whip and barely connects with the Lionsault so he does it again. He gets the Walls locked on but we all know that face Austin doesn't tap. Just ask Bret Hart. Jericho grabs the belt and accidentally hits the ref. Austin hits another spinebuster, this one on the belt but Austin kicks out. Jericho then counters the Stunner into the Breakdown on the belt but Austin kicks out now. The ref goes down from a clothesline and Austin makes Jericho tap to the Walls. He follows with a Stunner but out comes the nWo. Austin beats them down until the numbers game becomes too much. Jericho covers after the beatdown and retains. A pretty damn good match that gets its score bogged down due to it being yet another dirty finish. ***1/4
I don't understand why the nWo didn't attack Jericho too if they were here to “inject poison and kill the WWF”. Taking out the Champion would be kinda vital. Anyway, the nWo beat on Austin more and spray paint him.
Overall: 5/10; Mediocre. The definition of a filler show. It was clear that this was just to establish the nWo and kill time between the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania. A show with nothing under two stars and only one over three. Passable show with nothing being a necessary watch. |
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Post by Mike Giggs' Munchies on Jul 15, 2014 16:33:43 GMT -5
Great review; tried to find the Rock & NWO promo on YouTube but I couldn't find it  |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jul 15, 2014 16:56:16 GMT -5
Great review; tried to find the Rock & NWO promo on YouTube but I couldn't find it |
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Post by fallbrawl on Jul 15, 2014 17:57:08 GMT -5
I liked your review of superbrawl 9. I forgot wcw even did a superbrawl 9. I lol'd when reading you review of the goldberg vs bam bam match.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jul 16, 2014 14:42:28 GMT -5
Survivor Series 1995
November 19th, 1995 – USAir Arena in Landover, Maryland
1995 is generally considered one of the worst years in WWE history. From the underwhelming WrestleMania XI to the awful King of the Ring to the In Your House Pay-Per-View additions, which were hit or miss. Diesel reigned as WWF Champion throughout all of 1995 heading into this show. I'm a sucker for Survivor Series elimination matches and prefer when the Survivor Series Pay-Per-View has some of those. This one does and I felt like the WWF was just starting to turn a corner towards what would be a solid 1996 and an amazing 1997. That's getting a bit too far ahead of though, so let's focus on this show.
Talk about starting a show in a positive way for me! Mr. Perfect is introduced and he enters to his perfect theme, wearing a perfect suit. I guess he's on commentary but it's not said. Opening video package highlights the history between Bret Hart and Diesel. They had a good match at King of the Ring 1994 that Bret won and one at Royal Rumble 1995 where Diesel retained but there was a bunch of interference. Tonight's main event is no countout/no disqualification.
The Bodydonnas (Skip, Rad Radford, Tom Prichard & 1-2-3 Kid) w/ Ted Dibiase & Sunny vs. The Underdogs (Marty Jannetty, Hakushi, Barry Horowitz & Bob Holly)
Marty and the team come out to the Rockers theme. Hakushi looks incredibly out of place. Sunny looks hot, but not as hot as she would be in 96-97. She introduces the team which includes LOUIE SPICOLI! Razor Ramon appears and wants his hands on the Kid. Kid was referee during a Razor/Sid match on Raw where Kid did the quickest fast count ever. Marty and Dr. Tom Prichard start with Marty gaining the upper hand. The crowd is surprisingly hot for this. Marty's offense still screams 1980's. Rad Radford is in now and in comes Holly. Holly hits a hurricanrana that Mr. Perfect appreciates, but admits is not perfect. Holly hits a sweet dropkick, slam and arm drag. Hakushi is tagged and he gets a big pop, and rightfully so. He eats a nicely executed spinebuster though before tagging in Sean Waltman who gets booed hard. He hits a frog splash for two. Shortly after, Skip and Holly are legal, and do about 15 leap frogs. Prichard misses an ugly moonsault and Holly climbs to the top. Cross body knocks off Prichard at 5:40. Skip runs in and rolls up Holly to eliminate him at 5:46.
Hakushi comes in and stops Skip's celebration. Skip gains control and hits a top rope hurricanrana. He celebrates for a moment and then collapses. The crowd is actually chanting “Barry!” Kid gets the tag and he and Hakushi do the best work of the match. Hakushi misses a springboard splash and Kid kicks him in the head. Radford comes in and pins by pulling the tights at 8:32. Barry enters and gets double teamed. They keep calling Barry a kid but I'm pretty sure that he's in his mid-30s here. Kid kicks him in the corner before tagging in Radford. Radford pounds away on Barry and could've gotten the three, but Skip tells him not to for some reason. Radford earns serious points with me when hits a Northern lights suplex. He starts to do jumping jacks and push ups, allowing Barry to roll him up at 11:49.
Skip gets the tag and the EPIC showdown between Barry and Skip is on! Barry hits a running knee, but Skip gets a blind tag from Kid who comes in, hits a running knee of his own and leg drops Barry. He gets a 1-2-3 with that at 12:47. Marty enters and does alright work with Skip. Jim Ross makes a Redskins joke but I don't get it because it's not 1995. Marty climbs to the top but Sunny shakes the ropes. Skip climbs up with him but Marty hits the BLONDE BOMBSHELL! Top rope powerbomb for those who didn't watch Chris Candido in ECW and that is more than enough to get rid of Skip at 15:25. Kid enters to massive heat and gets a near fall with a top rope leg drop. Kid climbs back up and misses a front flip. Marty is on the offensive as Sid appears to distract him. He snaps Marty's neck on the top rope, allowing Kid to win at 18:35.
Winners: The Bodydonnas; Sole Survivor: 1-2-3 Kid
Good opener although both teams were pretty much all jobbers except for the 1-2-3 Kid. It was painfully obvious who would survive, but it was fun getting there as everyone worked hard. ***
Razor Ramon is shown freaking out backstage because the 1-2-3 Kid won. He is throwing and breaking expensive televisions dammit!
Todd Pettengill is standing by with Yokozuna, Owen Hart, Jim Cornette, Mr. Fuji and Dean Douglas. Cornette calls Razor Ramon crazy and they all tell him to get serious and focus on their match tonight and not the 1-2-3 Kid. See, there's a Wild Card match later with heels and faces mixed together on teams.
Dok Hendrix pushes the Survivor Series 1995 shirt.
Alundra Blayze, Kyoko Inoue, Sakie Hasegawa & Chaparita Asari vs. Bertha Faye, Aja Kong, Tomoko Wantanabe & Lioness Asuka w/ Harvey Wippleman
I'm a fan of women's wrestling, but I swear I only know of three girls in this match. Asuka and Asari start and one of them hits a big Cesaro Swing. Blayze is in and she was a three time Women's Champion here. She tags Asari back in who does an insane corkscrew move off the top for two. German suplex from Blayze eliminates Asari at 1:42. Hasegawa enters and hits rolling butterflies, which is crazy to think about. She hits like five in a row! Wantanabe hits a big move off the top and gets a near fall. They don't even bother tagging. Aja Kong enters and kicks Hasegawa in the gut before hitting a backdrop driver to eliminate her at 3:57.
Asari is back in, but is no match for Kong. She eats a big second rope splash and is gone after 4:25. Inoue is in and is called one of the top stars in Japan. She works over Kong, who reverses a sunset flip and sits on her for three at 5:02. Blayze is all alone and I just sense a heroic comeback. Blayze starts it with a piledriver on Wantanabe that knocks her out at 6:31.
Big Bertha Faye enters and does some weird looking leg work. Kong enters and they try to squash Blayze but bump into each other, allowing Blayze to pin Bertha at 7:12. Kong and Blayze are left alone and get their spots mixed up, which causes some awkwardness. Blayze hits a standing moonsault but gets two. Kong gets back in the driver's seat and hits the back fist to win at 10:01.
Winners: Bertha Faye, Aja Kong, Tomoko Wantanabe & Lioness Asuka; Sole Survivor: Aja Kong
Much better than I expected as this might've been the most exciting women's match in the mid 90s. Blayze would leave to WCW and throw the title in the garbage shortly after. **3/4
I don't understand what the WWE was trying to accomplish with the fake Bill Clinton who was in the crowd. Stupid.
Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Goldust
I always thought that the “Beast from the East” was a badass nickname. This is the PPV debut of Goldust. Goldust takes so long with his entrance that his theme starts over. Goldust starts on the offensive and his attire is awful, thank goodness he changed it. Bam Bam busts out a dropkick that doesn't look as impressive as it did in the early 90's. Goldust clotheslines Bigelow to the outside and taunts. Goldust continues to be in control as he applies the DREADED FRONT FACE LOCK! He throws Bigelow outside again and it's a little upsetting that I can clearly see Goldust's junk in this attire. Bigelow hits a belly to back suplex, but misses a headbutt. Goldust applies another rest hold. Goldie hits a clothesline and drops a knee before applying a third rest hold. Bigelow powers out and gets some momentum with clotheslines and splashes but eats a bulldog right after to end this in 8:18.
Winner: Goldust
Goldust was able to really draw heat early on but this was boring. Too many rest holds to enjoy. *1/2
More from the ridiculous fake Bill Clinton and he's with Bob Backlund now. He wants to be called Mr. Backlund by the President. Again, this was stupid. We then see a recap of Mabel beating The Undertaker at the awful King of the Ring 1995 Pay-Per-View. Yes, that actually happened. He also broke Undertaker's face with a leg drop and tonight is his return.
The Darkside (The Undertaker, Savio Vega, Fatu & Henry Godwin) w/ Paul Bearer vs. The Royals (King Mabel, Jerry Lawler, Isaac Yankem & Hunter Hearst-Hemlsey) w/ Sir Mo
So, this is the night the Undertaker teamed with three lower mid-carders. Also, he debuted his badass mask here. Mabel's hair looks absurd. HHH and Fatu start and the whole face team is wearing Undertaker shirts. To think, in 2000 these two met in a 6 way Hell in a Cell. HHH goes for a Pedigree but gets scared of the Undertaker's face. Godwin gets tagged so HHH scurries to tag Lawler, who tags the future Kane. Who, in 1995, would think that there are four, possibly five future Hall of Famers (HHH, Taker, Lawler, Kane & possibly Rikishi) involved. HHH comes in after Yankem does the dirty work. Godwin works him over until Vega and Lawler enter. We get more boring offense between them and Yankem/Fatu. Mabel enters and Vince acts like this is supposed to be impressive. Old fashioned heel tactics allow them to work over Savio. Lawler spikes Savio with a piledriver, but showboats and only gets two. Lawler hits a second, but Savio pops up and tags Undertaker. Lawler is scared to death and nobody wants to tag in. Tombstone and Lawler is eliminated. Yankem enters and Undertaker Tombstones him as well to knock him off. HHH enters, in a preview of their three WrestleMania matches. He eats a chokeslam and also gets trounced. Mabel comes in and slams Taker before hitting a leg drop. He taunts like an idiot, Sir Mo jumps in and takes a beating as Mabel runs away and gets counted out at the 14:21 mark.
Winner: The Darkside; Survivors: The Undertaker, Savio Vega, Fatu & Henry Godwin
If the plan was for Undertaker to clean house, couldn't it have happened earlier? Instead we got the heels utilizing boring offense to dominate until then. Went too long. *1/2
The next Pay-Per-View is promoted, and the British Bulldog will face the winner of the WWF Championship match tonight. Bret Hart cuts a promo saying that Diesel can't compete with him. Diesel cuts one too saying that if the match goes 20 minutes, he might be at a disadvantage so he wants to end it quickly. Todd Pettengill interviews Sid and the Bulldog before the Wild Card match and Jim Cornette acts like he wasn't hanging with the other side earlier.
Wild Card Match
Team Michaels (Shawn Michaels, Ahmed Johnson, British Bulldog & Sycho Sid) w/ Ted Dibiase & Jim Cornette vs. Team Yokozuna (Yokozuna, Owen Hart, Dean Douglas & Razor Ramon) w/ Mr. Fuji & Jim Cornette
The Wild Card concept makes for a very cool dynamic like having Sid team with HBK months after giving him three powerbombs. Shawn and Owen start off, which should be great. They start with good wrestling and HBK skins the cats before bringing Owen outside. Cornette goes to hit him with the racket but HBK ducks and hits him in the butt with it. Owen snaps off a brilliant belly to belly before tagging the Franchise Dean Douglas. He hits a suplex before Michaels hits a flying forearm. Perfect says that he doesn't believe Shawn was hurt when he forfeit the IC Title to Dean and McMahon debunks that, but Perfect was right on the money actually from what I've heard. Moonsault from Michaels gets a near fall. Ahmed gets the tag and takes out everyone before trying to slam Yokozuna and failing. The heels work over the man from Pearl River for a bit. Razor even gets in on the action. Michaels gets the tag and Dean avoids Sweet Chin Music. Razor tells him to get back in and they have words. Razor levels Dean and Shawn rolls him up at 7:31.
Owen and the Bulldog tag in and both try to trick each other by double crossing one another. They have a fun little back and forth until Razor and Shawn get tagged. THE KLIQ EXPLODES! They do a sequence of moves that ends when Shawn takes the Razor's Edge. He doesn't get pinned though as Ahmed saves it. Sid comes in and beats down on the IC Champ. Double clothesline before Sid climbs to the top. Razor tosses him off for a near fall. Sid chokeslams him and tags Shawn. He wants Shawn to kick Razor, but Shawn is reluctant. He does it and Razor moves, so Shawn hits Sid by mistake. Shawn shrugs and doesn't care so Razor covers. Bulldog runs in and saves the move, but then leaves as Razor covers again and eliminates Sid at 16:22. Weird spot. Sid is mad so he powerbombs Shawn and Bulldog slams Razor so both guys are down. Owen gets the tag and has a fun exchange with Michaels but Yokozuna gets tagged and slows things to a crawl. Shawn fights out and tags Ahmed, while Owen enters and takes a Pearl River Plunge at 20:49.
Razor comes in instantly and hits a bulldog. Razor connects with the Razor's Edge again, but Bulldog stops him from pinning. There was no tag and Tim White just lets it go. Sid and the 1-2-3 Kid come down the aisle to distract Razor. This allows Bulldog hit the Powerslam and get rid of Razor at 22:09. Yokozuna is now down 3-1, but comes close to equaling the three in pounds. He beats down on Michaels and sets up for the Banzai Drop but Shawn moves. Quick, cover! It's how Bret Hart won the WWF Title. Ahmed comes in and slams Yokozuna but Bulldog foolishly breaks up the cover. He gets taken out by Ahmed and HBK before Sweet Chin Music takes out Yokozuna and ends it at 27:26.
Winners: Team Michaels; Survivors: Shawn Michaels, Ahmed Johnson & British Bulldog
Fun dynamic and there was almost never a dull moment. I had a lot of fun watching this. Bulldog celebrates with his team even though they just beat him up. Funny stuff. ***1/2
Back to fake Bill Clinton who has Sunny on his lap. He does a lot of perverted things with her and this is getting worse by the moment.
WWF Championship
Diesel (c) vs. Bret Hart
Their first two matches from King of the Ring '94 and Royal Rumble '95 are both really good. Both men decide to be badass and removing the turnbuckle padding on opposite corners. Being seven feet tall, Diesel beats on Bret at the beginning. Bret goes outside to regroup but Diesel follows. Bret gets dropped chest first on the guardrail before getting rolled back inside. Bret starts targeting the knee but Diesel just pulverizing him down. Back on the outside, Diesel gets a steel chair and uses it. Back inside, Diesel calls for the Jacknife as he plans to end it quickly. Bret manages to creatively block it by grabbing Diesel's leg. Bret bites Diesel and the crowd is for it surprisingly. Bret starts to focus on the legs because he is a wise technician. The Hitman busts out the figure four, which he used three times at the Rumble, but Diesel is too big to keep away from the ropes for long. He does it again here and pushes off a Sharpshooter attempt that sends Bret into the exposed buckle. He can't take advantage because his leg is damaged so Bret goes outside and gets a rope that he ties around the post. He goes inside and ties Diesel's foot to the corner. Bret gets a steel chair and viciously uses it on Diesel and his leg. This is like, a look into 1997 heel Bret and I love it. He bites off more than he can chew by climbing to the top and Diesel slams him off. The Champion gets untied and chokes Bret with the cord. Sidewalk slam keeps both men down for a few. Diesel hits a spot on the ropes and snake eyes. Bret reverses a second Snake Eyes and sends Diesel into the exposed buckle. He gets near falls with a clothesline, bulldog and Russian leg sweep. Clothesline sends Diesel outside and Bret misses a pescado to follow. When Bret tries to get back in, Diesel knocks him off the apron and through the announce table. This had to be one of the first announce table spots as the crowd is like “WHOA WHAT?” Diesel signals for the Jacknife again and Bret can't even stand. OR SO IT SEEMS! Bret was playing possum and pulls Diesel into a small package that ends things at 24:56.
Winner and New WWF Champion: Bret Hart
Man that was awesome. The best of their trilogy, both men were vicious and brutal. My favorite match from 1995. ****1/4
Diesel is not pleased as he hits Bret with the Jacknife after the match and beats on some referees.
Overall: 7.5/10; Very good. A rough 1995 highlighted by this show. Probably the best show of the year. We got a good start with the Survivor Series match and the women's match before a dull middle. However, things end with a bang as the final two matches are really good, especially the main event. Next on “Random Network Reviews” is WCW Souled Out 2000. |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jul 16, 2014 14:44:00 GMT -5
Quick question for those who read these; which format of mine is better? The one I just used for Survivor Series 95 or the one I had been using. They aren't that much different but still.
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Post by Funk The Revival on Jul 16, 2014 17:55:58 GMT -5
Quick question for those who read these; which format of mine is better? The one I just used for Survivor Series 95 or the one I had been using. They aren't that much different but still. The newer one. Btw, going through Renee's twitter last night (as you do) and saw her quote your tweet haha. Unless there's another Kevstaaa of course |
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Post by Mike Giggs' Munchies on Jul 16, 2014 18:11:07 GMT -5
Quick question for those who read these; which format of mine is better? The one I just used for Survivor Series 95 or the one I had been using. They aren't that much different but still. I'd go for the older one but its up to you tbh. |
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