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Post by The Kevstaaa on Sept 16, 2015 18:53:25 GMT -5
Superbrawl 2000
February 20th, 2000 | Cow Palace in San Francisco, California | Attendance: 8,569
As noted before, WCW in 2000 was one of the worst things in history. I’ve reviewed three shows from this year and have given them scores of 4, 2.5 and 0. Yes a zero. That was the previous month’s Souled Out, which would be the last show for the group that would defect to the WWE and become the Radicalz. They would do a huge rating in their debut while WCW continued to fall further and further behind. WCW was definitely in major trouble and their resolution? Bring Hulk Hogan back. This would be the 10th of 11 Superbrawl events.
Oh my god, the video package hypes Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk. How is this the year 2000? Anyway, since WCW has no clue how to start a Pay-Per-View, we instantly go backstage to Mean Gene. Jeff Jarrett comes out and says that he took out Kevin Nash, so he’s back in control. Commentary is Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay and Mark Madden. They run down most of the card, and the poor live crowd is probably already dead since they see nothing going on right now.
Still no match as we get highlights of a tournament to determine a new Cruiserweight Champion after Oklahoma gave up the gold. Somehow, of all of the cruiserweights in the world, they ended up with these two.
WCW World Cruiserweight Championship
The Artist Formerly Known as Prince Iaukea w/ Paisley vs. Lash LeRoux
Before the bell, Lash LeRoux slaps Paisley on the ass. Someone is not gonna like that SUCKA! They allow her to get a shot back, but there’s no DQ called. Things are sloppy quickly with them messing up some near falls and an Irish whip. It seems like Paisley is going to cheat but she literally just slaps Lash on his boot. I don’t think that’s going to have an effect on him. Prince beats on Lash outside for a bit but they go back in soon. Lash goes into his comeback but the crowd gives zero  s. Paisley is on the apron nearly the whole time, like she’s a tag partner or something. Lash tries for an ugly top rope rana but Prince holds on and he crashes. He nails a diving DDT to win the gold.
Winner and New WCW World Cruiserweight Champion: TAFKA Prince Iaukea in 5:46
Well, the crowd did not care about that at all. I don’t blame them though as neither guy really did anything to earn their applause. This was sloppy, didn’t make much sense and had little to no heat. It’s better than last month’s Madusa/Oklahoma title match but a far cry from the division’s heyday. ½*
Backstage, Normal Smiley gets his ribs taped up before we cut to an interview with Brian Knobbs. He’s in Dudleys like attire but is hype for his upcoming match. There is also a door labeled PRIVATE that commentary speculates about.
WCW Hardcore Championship
Bam Bam Bigelow (c) vs. Brian Knobbs
Along with Brutus Beefcake, Brian Knobbs is one of the biggest beneficiaries of being Hulk Hogan’s friend. He has no right having a job in 2000. Fit Finlay, Knobbs’ mentor despite them being about the same age, helps distract Bigelow. They fight backstage and I’m not sure on the timeline, but this may have been how they had the idea for WCW Backstage Assault! Finlay gets involved but Knobbs wants to do it on his own. They fight back to the ring where Knobbs goes through a table in the corner. Bigelow hits Greetings from Asbury Park but wants to do more so he goes up top with a chair. Instead of using it, he throws it at Finlay and Knobbs is up. Knobbs hits him with a poor looking trash can lid shot and wins back the title.
Winner and New WCW Hardcore Champion: Brian Knobbs in 4:44
Wait, why is Brian Knobbs still winning singles matches, let along singles titles? The WWF’s hardcore division wasn’t amazing, but it was at least fun. This sucked in nearly every imaginable way. Where the hell is Screaming Norman Smiley to save this? ¼*
We see the outsides of Scott Hall’s and Sid’s locker rooms. Their security teams say that nobody is allowed into the rooms in some of the most wooden acting scenes I’ve ever seen. John Morrison looks more comfortable speaking on camera than these guys.
3 Count vs. Norman Smiley
Normal Smiley is fantastic and starts the match hot, but falls victim to being down 3 on 1. Tony Schiavone points out that 3 Count isn’t targeting the injured ribs of Smiley. Is it really a good idea to call that out? CESARO SWING from Smiley! Big wiggle time! That alone is going to earn this match the highest score on the card so far. Norman goes for the Norman Conquest (cross face chicken wing) but it’s broken up. 3 Count then beat on him until they win.
Winners: 3 Count in 4:06
This wasn’t good, but was comical at times, which made me enjoy it more than anything else on the card so far. Normal Smiley and 3 Count were two of a limited number of acts that I liked in this era but didn’t click well against each other. *
KISS Demon vs. The Wall
They have the audacity to bill this as a “special main event”. Seriously? When the Wall doesn’t show, Demon goes to find him and is attacked from behind. Wall is dressed like a giant Right to Censor member. The fight moves to the ring but it’s clear that nobody cares. They plod around the ring, just hitting awful looking offense on each other while the crowd chants “boring.” It’s not a good sign to hear that being chanted two minutes into a match. Demon slams Wall from the top and nearly breaks his neck. Wall still gets up and Chokeslams Demon from the top to end this.
Winner: The Wall in 3:37
How can a match that goes less than four minutes manage to drag on and feel super long? This sucked and had zero redeeming qualities. Absolute trash. DUD
Leather Jacket on a Pole Match
Big Al vs. Tank Abbott
Who the is Big Al? Apparently, he was Tank’s bodyguard. Why did a bad dude like Tank need one of those? Al stole Tank’s leather jacket or something to lead to this. For some reason, they tie their hands together with a belt. It just looks like they are holding hands. Al knocks him out and then just stalls. Tank is out for a long time so this just goes on for too long. Tank gets up, places Al on the top, knocks him off and grabs the jacket. What the ?
Winner: Tank Abbott in 4:34
Why? This was one of the worst things I’ve ever seen. I don’t really give out negative stars but man, I was close to doing it for the first time here. DUD
After the match, I’m pretty sure Tank Abbott tries to murder Big Al. He takes a knife out, puts it to his throat and says “I could ing kill you right now”. The camera cuts away instantly and Tony Schiavone tries to play it off as if he was going to cut Big Al’s facial hair.
Big T w/ J. Biggs and Stevie Ray vs. Booker
Booker lost the “T” and this is for the name “Harlem Heat”. Booker gets some terrible theme music since he can’t use the Harlem Heat one. Big T has gained a ton of weight since his time as Ahmed Johnson. Booker changing his look is actually for the best because the Harlem Heat attire looked ridiculous at times. Booker gets in shots on both Big T and Stevie Ray. He hits his signature offense, including the Scissors Kick, and goes up top. He nails a missile dropkick and the referee counts but the lights go out. IS IT SABU? THE UNDERTAKER? Nope, it’s a random black dude on the apron. The distraction allows Ahmed to hit an ugly Pearl River Plunge for the 1-2-3.
Winner: Big T in 5:23
Oh my, is there going to be a good match on this show? Big T was in terrible shape and it made for a bad match. I feel so bad for Booker. He deserved the World Title runs later in the year after dealing with this. ½*
Billy Kidman w/ Torrie Wilson vs. Vampiro
Billy Kidman’s WCW theme was excellent. They start quickly until Vampiro hits a backbreaker. He makes the mistake of trying to powerbomb Kidman. YOU CAN’T DO THAT! Kidman reverses with a rana to the outside. Vampiro comes back with a scary looking second rope gutwrench suplex for two. He tries to powerbomb Kidman again, which fails again. Torrie gets on the apron and just stands there, completely telegraphing that she would be knocked off the apron. She gets back up, stopping Vampiro from using a chair. Kidman dropkicks it into his face but it looks like shit. Inside, they again mess up a spot when Vampiro goes for a flying kick and botch it. Mark Madden claims next year, they’ll meet for the US Title and 2 years from here, it’ll be for the World Title. That didn’t quite work out for WCW. Vampiro shuts me up by actually hitting two powerbombs! They go up for another top rope move and both it as Kidman just kind of pulls him down to the mat for the 1-2-3.
Winner: Billy Kidman in 7:20
I wanted to like this so much more since they were two of the more enjoyable acts in WCW during this timeframe. They had some really good ideas and worked hard, but they botched three or four big spots that really hurt this score. However, it is still the match of the night. **
Backstage, Sid steps out of his dressing room and just shouts at this security guards. It’s a highlight of the show.
Sicilian Stretcher Match
Big Vito and Johnny the Bull w/ Disco Inferno vs. Crowbar and David Flair w/ Daffney
All four men just brawl at the bell. Disco doesn’t bother to manage his team, instead choosing to commentate. Daffney gets involved, hitting a hurricanrana that brings Disco in. She quickly sprays him in the eyes with something. A table gets brought in and Crowbar takes a powerbomb through it. Disco no sells the mace or whatever and is back on commentary. Oh wait, he’s at least saying he can’t see as he misses a nice leg drop from Johnny the Bull. David Flair gets taped to the stretcher and carted off to the back, leaving Crowbar alone. He ends up on a table and Vito splashes him through it on the outside. Crowbar is taken away, but not before they tape and gag Daffney to a wheelchair. That ends things.
Winner: Big Vito and Johnny the Bull in 11:22
They tried to make this a chaotic brawl that was a ton of fun but instead it fell kind of flat. I mean, it was chaotic and they did brawl, but it was more of a mess than anything. *¾
Ernest Miller is out and he supposedly has James Brown with him. Hilariously, even though his music is dubbed over, you can still partially hear it in the background. He runs down the fans before a fake James Brown dances out to the ring. The Maestro comes out to complain about this which brings out the real James Brown. Wait, so why bring out the fake one? Maestro faints and James dances with Ernest. I’m not sure why this was needed.
Texas Deathmatch
Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk w/ Dustin Rhodes
They mention that Terry Funk’s dad once had a four hour Deathmatch. Jesus. When Funk causes Flair to regroup, Mark Madden questions the legality of his taped fists. It’s a Deathmatch dude. Things grow in physicality, with suplexes on the outside and a guardrail spot. Flair’s selling of “OH SHIT” as he takes a suplex is great. Funk covers him for three, and now Flair gets a count of ten to get to his feet. I don’t think the fans fully understand the rules. Flair gets up and goes after the knee, making Funk submit to the Figure Four. He answers the ten count. Funk gets three on a piledriver on the outside. As if he knows Flair will get up, he brings a table into play. Funk actually gets a microphone, asking Flair if he quits, in a callback to a classic they had in 1989. He piledrives him THROUGH A TABLE! Flair somehow is up from that and pulls Funk through table shortly after for three. Funk is unable to get up from that.
Winner: Ric Flair in 15:40
Considering I saw a piledriver though a table, that was one hell of an anti-climactic finish. They told a pretty good story, building to the bigger spots and calling back to their history, so kudos there. The crowd was incredibly dead throughout though, which killed some of what they did. **
Hulk Hogan vs. Lex Luger w/ Miss Elizabeth
I believe this was the main event of the second ever Nitro. This is part of Hogan returning because the young guys are taking the main event spots, even though Luger has been a main event layer for a decade or so. He pounds on Luger relentlessly inside and outside of the ring. Luger gets on the offensive for maybe two minutes before Hogan starts using his cast as a weapon. Hogan was always such a heel. Elizabeth tries to use a bat but Jimmy Hart appears to take it from her. Hogan Hulks up, to which Mark Madden says we’ve seen “millions of times”. Instead of going for the Leg Drop, Hogan wants a belt from Jimmy, allowing Luger to low blow him. It was right in front of the official, but it is ignored. Then Jimmy Hart hits Luger in the back with his cast and Hogan wins with the Leg Drop.
Winner: Hulk Hogan in 8:09
As you would expect between these two, this wasn’t very good. I get the idea that Hogan just wanted to beat Luger up, which was fine, but it all just came off as boring. Plus, the finish was strange. ¾*
Ric Flair runs out as he and Luger double team Hulk Hogan. That is, until Sting appears! He cleans house and it all happens really fast. Sting’s appearance is one of the few things the fans have been hype for.
WCW World Heavyweight Championship
Sid Vicious (c) vs. Jeff Jarrett vs. Scott Hall
Jeff Jarrett is the reigning US Champion. He is also introduced as a five time World Champion. That’s nuts considering he only won four in WCW and all came after this show. Hall attacks Jarrett before Sid even shows up, but when he does, he dominates quickly. Sid nearly wins with a double Chokeslam and then Jarrett hits him with the belt for two. The crowd gives next to no reaction for these things. Jarrett just decides to start beating up referees because he has a friend that’s an official, Slick Johnson. He shows up as the FIFTH referee. Hall hits the Outsider’s Edge but Johnson doesn’t count the three. Jarrett comes close to winning but Roddy Piper shows up in a referee’s shirt to stop him from winning. Sid Chokeslams Jarrett and powerbombs Hall to retain.
Winner and Still WCW Champion: Sid Vicious in 7:41
Classic WCW overbooking reigned over this match. However, with it being so short, that meant things moves relatively quickly and it stopped things from being boring. It still wasn’t a good main event by any means, but it being short was a positive. *¾
Overall: 1/10; Poop. This was better than the atrocity that was Souled Out the prior month, but JUST barely. I mean, this is awful. Only two matches reach two stars and that’s the ceiling for this show. Before the Vampiro/Kidman match, this was in worst show in history territory. The second half proved to be bad but not pitifully bad so that saved it from a zero. The next “Random Network Review” is scheduled to be Armageddon 2005! |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Sept 17, 2015 16:11:26 GMT -5
Raw History
Episode #58
April 11th, 1994 | Memorial Auditorium in Utica, New York
Things start with the Bushwhackers, MOM and the Smoking Gunns pleading their cases for people to vote for them to get Tag Team Title shots. Vince McMahon asks Macho Man who he votes for when it comes to the Tag Team Title match. When he says himself, Vince says that he has to be on commentary. Savage is all like “WHOOPDEDOOBIGDEAL ANOTHER ACCOLADE FOR THE MACHO MAN”. The sarcasm in his voice was obvious, but I feel like there was a fair amount of truth to what he said.
Also, I will no longer be rating squash matches. Only the matches featuring two actual Superstars.
Diesel w/ Shawn Michaels vs. Virgil
Vince McMahon always hypes Virgil like he’s some sort of threat. Diesel is in complete control in the early stages of this match. He seems to be stalling, making this match last longer than it needs to. Macho Man craps on Vince’s theory that Virgil will be a threat when he says that Virgil has already surpassed his expectations. Virgil rallies from a bearhug and gets a near fall. Diesel finally puts him out of his misery with a Jackknife.
Winner: Diesel in 5:22
This lasted far too long. It was an extended squash that got drawn out to be far too long. ½*
Jerry Lawler is brought out on his big throne. Among the men carrying him out are Barry Hardy and D-Lo Brown. It’s time for the King’s Court, which always sucks. He falls out of the chair and crashes to the floor. Lawler complains about people laughing at him before bringing out his guest, Lex Luger. Luger laughs at him and disses him before Lawler starts to question him about the allegations against Mr. Perfect. Lawler even shows him the footage that proves Mr. Perfect did nothing wrong but he still acts like Perfect is some criminal. He wants him in the ring soon.
Thurman Plugg vs. Barry Horowitz
I feel like these two ended up teaming up the following year. During the match, Mr. Perfect calls in and says that Lex Luger is still wrong. Savage calls him a coward. Savage at least admits that Perfect was legally right, but he claims he was morally wrong somehow. Plugg wins with in a nothing squash match.
Winner: Thurman Plugg in N/A
I don’t have the time for this as my stream kept cutting in and out and it was getting annoying to time this. Standard squash though.
WWF Tag Team Championship
The Quebecers (c) w/ Johnny Polo vs. Men on a Mission w/ Oscar
Dammit fans. You voted wrong. The champions try to attack before the bell but it quickly backfires and the challengers throw them around. MOM continues to be in control though Mabel is too fat to get out of the ring quick enough, so Earl Hebner has to send him out, causing him to miss a pin. Mo is going to be our face in peril as usual. It’s all rather dull. Mabel gets the mild tag and plods through his offense. When things turn around, both teams tease near falls and play some tricks on each other. Polo gets in some cheap shots on Mo, causing Mabel to slam him outside. This allows the Quebecers to hit Mo with their finish and retain.
Winners and Still WWF Tag Team Champions: The Quebecers in 9:46
The Quebecers are normally a safe bet for a good match but it’s almost impossible against Men on a Mission. Still, this might have been the best performance by the challengers. *¼
Next week, Bret Hart takes on Kwang!
IRS is in the ring to tell Tatanka to pay the taxes on his headdress. That’s it, that’s the only reason he got in the ring.
Overall: 2/10. Man the in-ring stuff tonight was bad. When Men on a Mission is in the best match of the night, you know you have a problem. At least they did a good job in setting up the eventual Luger/Perfect match that they thought would happen, but it did come on the awful King’s Court.
Raw History
Episode #59
April 18th, 1994 | Memorial Auditorium in Utica, New York
The show opens with another shot of Jerry Lawler falling last week. I feel like Vince found this much funnier than most. Macho Man again throws his name out for competition again but Vince gives zero s.
Non-Title Match
Bret Hart vs. Kwang w/ Harvey Wippleman
Kwang attacks from behind before the bell, which reminds me that this used to happen a ton back then. He lays into Bret with some bad looking KARATE before Bret turns it into a wrestling match and takes control. They fight outside and Kwang misses a kick, hitting the post instead. Vince shouts like this is some insane spot but it isn’t. As Kwang works over Bret, Owen Hart calls in. Kwang locks in the nerve hold, which is what you should do during the commercial break, not when you return. Owen makes a good point that he beat Bret on Bret’s best day since Bret would go on to win the gold. With the call over, Bret goes into the FIVE MOVES OF DOOM and Kwang submits to the Sharpshooter.
Winner: Bret Hart in 6:56
Solid little match here. Bret Hart has had better ones on Raw, but this was fine. Seeing the WWF Champion compete was a rare treat in this era and Bret always delivered something pretty good at worst. **½
Jeff Jarrett vs. PJ Walker
IT’S A BATTLE OF TWO FUTURE WORLD CHAMPIONS! Granted that would be in WCW and ECW in 2000, but still. While Jeff Jarrett goes through his offense, Vince and Savage discuss a bunch of other things, including Roseanne. Vince loved to talk about her didn’t he? The match is all Jarrett except for a small near fall from Walker. Jarrett wins with the DDT.
Winner: Jeff Jarrett in 4:01
Standard Jeff Jarrett squash. A bit dull and featured some stalling.
Capt. Lou Albano demands an answer about the Tag Team Title shot the Headshrinkers want.
The Steiner Brothers vs. Barry Hardy and Mike Khoury
Wait, what? I thought the Steiner Brothers were done by this time. Oh well, they are on their way out which is unfortunate as they were a highlight in 1993. A good chunk of this match features Scott beating the hell out of both jobbers. Vince suggests that the Steiners should get a manager or a coach. Vince points out the fact that Scott is being a bit rough tonight. Vince then forgets to discuss the match and goes off to talking about everything else he could possibly think of. Scott officially murders Khoury with the Screwdriver.
Winners: The Steiner Brothers in 5:14
Longer than I would have usually liked, but the Steiner Brothers always entertain with their need to mercilessly destroy ham and eggers.
A vignette airs for Duke “The Dumpster Droese. Oh no.
Speaking of “oh no”, it’s time for the King’s Court. His guest tonight is Alundra Blayze. This should be putrid as Lawler is awful and Blayze was always a god awful promo. She calls Lawler Humpty Dumpty because of his HILARIOUS, FUNNIEST THING IN WWF HISTORY, fall last week. She calls this show a cheap knockoff of Piper’s Pit. Lawler shrugs it off and asks her where her belt is. She insinuates that Jerry stole it. Jerry denies and brings out Luna Vachon. She is now accused of stealing the belt, but she denies despite being insane. Alundra challenges her now, which Savage considers a catfight. Despite challenging her, Alundra walks off. So, do we never find out where her belt went?
Next week, Jeff Jarrett faces Razor Ramon!
Earthquake vs. Mike Bell
All night long, Vince has been pumping the house show circuit and the upcoming WrestleMania Revenge Tour. Times were certainly different back then. He says that you can see Earthquake vs. Yokozuna on the tour, which would make me sell my ticket. This is all Earthquake.
Winner: Earthquake in 3:54
Earthquake had no business being around in 1994. He wasn’t putting on good performances at all.
We get a recap from Superstars where IRS beat up Tatanka after a loss to Kwang. He attacked him with the headdress and sets up what has potential to be the worst feud ever.
IRS vs. Major Yates
Really? Major Yates? IRS does IRS things, which is all incredibly boring stuff. He literally does nothing that is even remotely entertaining. He wins with the “penalty” which is an STF.
Winner: IRS in 3:34
IRS is boring. That is all.
Overall: 3/10. The marquee matchup was decent, so the show doesn’t get an awful score. However, the squash matches were all pretty dull and the King’s Court was the usual trash that it is. Jerry Lawler is one of the worst possible hosts for a talk show. Add in that Blayze and Luna aren’t great as guests and that segment was a recipe for disaster.
Raw History
Episode #60
April 25th, 1994 | Memorial Auditorium in Utica, New York
Non-Title Match
Razor Ramon vs. Jeff Jarrett
Jeff Jarrett starts in the driver’s seat while Vince continues to plug the WrestleMania Revenge Tour non-stop. Razor catches him with a fallaway slam to the outside and we get a split screen replay. Macho Man sells this like it’s the most cutting edge thing in history. Jarrett turns things back around and works a chinlock on Razor. Razor starts to rally and we go to commercial. Seriously? Who set this up? You go to commercial during the rest hold and allow us to enjoy the comeback. It’s not hard. Jarrett works a sleeper, giving Razor a shot at a second babyface comeback. After Jarrett pulls down the ropes and Razor falls out, Shawn Michaels comes down to badmouth him. Razor nails him and goes in for offense on Jarrett. Shawn gets on the apron and is brought in the hard way. He sets him up for the Razor’s Edge but Diesel saves him and bit boots Razor.
Winner via disqualification: Razor Ramon in 9:39
Jeff Jarrett was given his first big TV match and did fairly well. He drew some good heat and the crowd was pretty into this. Razors comebacks were fun but the mistiming of the commercial breaks hurt this score a bit. **½
Diesel now hits Razor Ramon with two Jackknifes, hyping their upcoming Intercontinental Title match.
Bam Bam Bigelow w/ Luna Vachon vs. Tony DeVito
During this one sided affair, President Jack Tunney calls in. He will be launching an investigation into what Shawn Michaels, Diesel and Jeff Jarrett just did but also announces that the Headshrinkers will get their Tag Team Title shot next week. Bigelow wins via headbutt.
Winner: Bam Bam Bigelow in 2:16
Bigelow got in his stuff while we were given news. Basic.
Johnny Polo and the Quebecers freak out backstage about the title match. Polo is freaking out more as the Quebecers toughen up and say they’ll take care of their challengers.
The Heavenly Bodies w/ Jim Cornette vs. John Paul and Jason Headings
More news on commentary from Vince McMahon, who tells us that last week’s Raw was the highest rated in history. The Bodies do a nice double superkick before Del Ray this a nice powerbomb. They continue to dominate until Del Rey wins with a moonsault. Also, has he always been missing a tooth?
Winners: The Heavenly Bodies in 4:55
Better than the last squash. The Heavenly Bodies tend to bust out some fun offense from time to time, making this better than the average squash.
Time for another King’s Court. His guest is Nikolai Volkoff who has fallen on hard times. King makes fun of him for this and Nikolai says that he is proud to be an American, who is honest and hardworking, so he won’t beg King for a job. He then just goes back to his seat. Nobody cared.
1-2-3 Kid vs. Duane Gill
X-PAC VS. GILLBERG! Gill actually is able to get some offense in, which makes sense considering Kid is best when playing somewhat of an underdog. He goes into his fast paced offense, using those “educated feet”. He wins after a spinning heel kick.
Winner: 1-2-3 Kid in 3:11
Similar to Owen Hart, Kid always has fun squashes. This was another.
THE UNDERTAKER HAS BEEN SPOTTED! WHERE YOU ASK? At a deli, ordering a sub. Yup.
Owen Hart vs. Rich Myers
Hey, speaking of Owen Hart and his fun squash matches, let’s see if he proves me right here. The fans chant “we want Bret”, which angers Owen and causes his offense to be rather aggressive. Owen wins with the Sharpshooter.
Winner: Owen Hart in 3:23
He kind of proved me right. This wasn’t that much fun, but an aggressive Owen was interesting to see to say the least.
To close the show, Johnny Polo and Lou Albano get into an argument at ringside. Savage ends up holding Polo so Albano can strike him. I really feel like Savage looked for any excuse to get physical. He wanted to compete badly.
Overall: 5/10. The best episode in this batch. The Razor/Jarrett match was solid and the squashes were pretty much all decent and didn’t overstay their welcome. The King’s Court continues to drag the scores of these shows down by being awful. |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Sept 22, 2015 14:26:56 GMT -5
Armageddon 2005
December 18th, 2005 | Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island | Attendance: 8,000
The final Pay-Per-View event of the year 2005 is a Smackdown exclusive show. An interesting note for this event is that the World Heavyweight Title is not defended. Actually, the Cruiserweight Championship is the only belt on the line. That’s not something you see very often. This would be the sixth of nine Armageddon Pay-Per-View events.
The opening video package hypes the main event match between Randy Orton and the Undertaker and their feud that spanned 2005.
John “Bradshaw” Layfield w/ Jillian Hall vs. Matt Hardy
JBL cuts a promo beforehand about how this is the pinnacle of Matt’s career. He throws in some serious jabs, including one about Matt losing Lita to a “main event wrestler”. Ouch. Matt attacks from behind because of this. JBL quickly turns it around and ties Matt’s head up in the ring ropes, big booting him. JBL stays in in control for a while, beating on Matt. Matt finally starts to make a bit of a rally but it is never threatening and then JBL hits the Clothesline from Hell, earning a fairly easy win.
Winner: JBL in 6:44
So, this wasn’t what I expected. I mean, I figured JBL would be the aggressor, but Matt Hardy barely got anything in. This was basically a prolonged squash, which isn’t how you want to start your Pay-Per-View. *
We get footage from Smackdown where Melina banged Batista to try and get him to not face MNM later in the night. Then, when they finished, Batista was all like “Thanks, but I’m still gonna kill MNM”. He then proceeded to do that and win the Tag Titles with Rey Mysterio. Then we cut backstage where the Mexicools tried to run a train on Melina in exchange for canceling the match. Yup, this actually happened.
The Mexicools vs. MNM w/ Melina
This was originally supposed to be for the straps from what I can tell but the title change this past Friday made this a normal tag. The first big spot comes as Psicosis does a corkscrew dive onto MNM. Super Crazy goes to follow but Charles Robinson stops him, so he just jumps over him. Super Crazy could still do decent stuff despite getting pretty out of shape by this point. Both teams trade relatively impressive double team moves for near falls. Psicosis begins to play the face in peril, which works since MNM had gotten good at drawing heat. Super Crazy gets the hot tag and does his thing. Melina gets involved but is knocked to the floor. Crazy comes close to winning but Nitro breaks up the pin. He and Mercury then win with Snapshot.
Winners: MNM in 8:55
Solid tag team match here. This should have opened things as the crowd was very anti-MNM and were much more into this than the opener. They worked tag formula well, played to their strengths and had a good match. MNM was a damn good team that probably got split too early. ***
Booker T and Sharmell are interviewed about Booker’s upcoming match. It’ll be match four in the best of seven against Chris Benoit. Booker is up 3-0 and is looking for a sweep.
Match Four in Best of Seven Series
Booker T w/ Sharmell vs. Chris Benoit
Their Best of Seven in WCW was great, but I wasn’t a huge fan of the first match in this series, which I reviewed a few months back. The early goings are different than expected as it is Booker who is timid, despite having a commanding lead. Neither guy really gains a real advantage for a rather long time. Booker finally seems to when he knocks Benoit outside. Things start picking up as they go back and forth. Booker has the triple Germans scouted so he counters, but eats another suplex anyway. Then Benoit goes into the Three Amigos, in honor of the recently deceased Eddie Guerrero. Benoit continues the barrage with the three Germans and signals for the end. Sharmell sneaks in with a low blow and Booker hits the Scissors Kick for two. The crowd absolutely believed that false finish. Benoit goes back to the Germans, hitting another trio. We get a ref bump before Benoit locks in the Sharpshooter and Booker taps. Sharmell hits Benoit with the broom but Benoit no sells it, only for Booker to hit him. Benoit doesn’t care and locks in the Crossface, making Booker submit.
Winner: Chris Benoit in 20:09
Early on, this was pretty dull. What they were doing made sense but it just wasn’t very interesting. However, the third act of this match was pretty fun. I’m not fan of a ton of interference, but Benoit overcoming it all while the fans bit completely into everything was well done. ***¼
Teddy Long and Palmer Cannon come out to promote Christmas. Vito and Nunzio show up as Santa and an elf asking for gifts of their own. Cannon brings out the Boogeyman as their gift and he does his thing.
Even though the match isn’t on now, we get a lengthy video package chronicling the Randy Orton/Undertaker rivalry. I’ll admit, a lot of what they show looked pretty cool.
Bobby Lashley vs. Paul Burchill and William Regal
This is only a few months into Lashley’s run. Lashley no sells some of their offense but the numbers game takes its toll. However, even when Burchill nails a nice flying knee off the top, Lashley kicks out at one. Hell, while he’s feeling the effects of their work, Lashley suplexes the hell out of Regal. Lashley then goes off and wins, defeating two men on PPV.
Winner: Bobby Lashley in 3:38
About as good as one could expect considering this was a glorified squash match. ¾*
Josh Matthews is at the “Friendly Tap”, a bar owned by referee Tim White. White hasn’t officiated a match since he got injured while overseeing the Jericho/HHH Hell in a Cell match back in 2002. Tim White doesn’t really want to speak but when he finally does, he says that everyone in his life has left him and he’s been in pain since that night. Josh makes a terrible joke and White attempts to walk off screen to shoot himself with a shotgun. Yup, that’s two lame segments on this event.
WWE Cruiserweight Championship
Juventud (c) vs. Kid Kash
It’s like WCW and ECW collide on a WWE Pay-Per-View. Judging by Juvi’s waist, calling him a cruiserweight might be a stretch. He attacks before the bell to take the advantage, before botching a rana. Kash focuses on the leg arm of Juvi for a bit. I’m not sure how I feel about this since it seems like a random body part to work. Despite it being random, the work Kash does on it is solid. He tries a moonsault but Juvi gets his knees up. He then hits a massive top rope rana but the crowd doesn’t pop for it at all. Kash gets his foot on the bottom rope. Juvi just can’t put him away and misses a 450 leg drop. Kash then hits the Dead Level Brainbuster to win the gold.
Winner and New WWE Cruiserweight Champion: Kid Kash in 9:25
They were given a solid amount of time and did their best with it. The arm work was odd though as it only lasted a short while and then was forgotten about. Also, the crowd was completely dead for it and having both guys be heels didn’t help. **¼
Batista and Rey Mysterio vs. Big Show and Kane
Both teams currently reign as the Tag Team Champions of their respective brands in this interpromotional match. This was about six months before Show’s ECW run but he’s already pretty massive here. Batista starts against him and they play the game of Show overpowering him for a while. It’s cool to hear commentary be one-sided as they are firmly behind their Smackdown guys. When Rey and Kane come in, Kane no sells his stuff as much as possible. As expected, Big Show and Kane end up working a heat on Rey Mysterio, which is the clear way to go. The monsters on the resilient little man is perfect. One of the shots from Show to Rey is especially brutal. Instead of going for the hot tag though, Batista just gets pissed and charges in, taking Big Show out. Rey goes for the 619 but it’s blocked and he eats a massive Chokeslam for the finish.
Winners: Big Show and Kane in 8:37
There was potential for a pretty good match here but it didn’t get the time it needed. Mysterio is the perfect guy to build a hot tag with considering his size and how over he is, but instead they didn’t let it marinate and it felt very rushed. Take out the two nonsense segments we’ve had on this show and put that time here and you could have had a damn good match. **
Hell in a Cell
Randy Orton w/ Bob Orton vs. The Undertaker
I appreciate that Randy Orton doesn’t show much intimidation at the start or during Undertaker’s entrance. He’s beaten Undertaker before and should have some confidence. He uses his speed and athleticism early but strikes allow Taker to get in the driver’s seat. Orton is now beaten from pillar to post and gets busted open as Undertaker grates his face across the cell. Undertaker is being vicious, even choking a bloody Orton with a chain. Randy’s blood stains the ring post after he fails to use the steel steps and ends up sent into it. Orton pulls an RKO from out of his ass that hands Undertaker up on the top rope, swinging the momentum again. A successful steel stairs shot busts Undertaker open. The weapons continue to be used as Orton hits Undertaker with a chair but he is up quickly and throws Randy around outside. Inside, Taker misses a big elbow drop and Orton gets a table like his name is D-Von Dudley. It doesn’t get used yet though as Undertaker I sent outside, where Bob Orton pulls his hair through the cell. Taker turns it around and pulls him into the cell, giving us our third blade job of the match. Taker is in control inside, getting some near falls. It’s interesting to see how resilient Orton has looked throughout this. Orton puts Undertaker on the table and splashes him through it, overshooting it a bit, for two. After some counters, we get a ref bump. Uh-oh. Randy counters a Chokeslam into an ugly RKO. Nick Patrick, from a punch, becomes the fourth person to blade. With a new official running in, Bob Orton is also able to get in the cell. Orton takes the Last Ride and his dad pulls the referee out. Undertaker lays him out and goes back in. He tries a Tombstone but Orton counters and hits one of his own. He has the match won but the official takes too long and Undertaker sits up. He takes out Bob again before beating Randy with a Tombstone.
Winner: The Undertaker in 30:31
While I don’t think this match was bad, it is on the lesser side of Hell in a Cell matches. Not only was it easily forgettable, but I do feel like it was overly long. It didn’t need to be a half hour and while I liked Randy Orton looking resilient, there was a bit much going on. It’s like they tried to do a ton of extra stuff and it didn’t click the way it has in other situations. ***
Overall: 4.5/10; Below average. There was potential for this to be better than it was. There are some solid matches (HIAC, Benoit/Booker and the MNM tag), but the rest of the card underwhelmed and they wasted time with some overly long nonsense segments. It also felt longer than three hours, which is never good. Up next on “Random Network Reviews” will be Starrcade 1999! |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Sept 25, 2015 7:28:56 GMT -5
Raw History
Episode #61
May 2nd, 1994 | Green Mountain State in Burlington, Vermont
Hey, it’s a live episode! Macho Man and Vince McMahon are your hosts.
WWF Tag Team Championship
The Quebecers (c) w/ Johnny Polo vs. The Headshrinkers w/ Afa and Capt. Lou Albano
The Headshrinkers did nothing but add Albano to turn face. They start hot and Fatu nearly picks up the win within a few minutes. The Quebecers have some miscommunications that allow the Headshrinkers to send them packing to regroup. The crowd is on fire. The champions decide to walk out on the match and, in classic Earl Hebner fashion, he makes up a rule on the spot that the titles can change hands on a countout. I hate when Hebner does this. They go to commercial when the Quebecers return but the Headshrinkers continue to stay in control until Jacques gets in a cheap shot. Fatu then flip sells a clothesline from Pierre. They now work a heat segment on Fatu for a bit but even when the hot tag comes to Samu, he ends up in trouble. Jacques hits a piledriver and they call for the Quebec Crash but miss. Polo gets on the apron but is taken care of by Albano and Afa. The champions miscommunicate and Pierre nails Jacques by mistake. The Headshrinkers then hit a double team Stroke on Jacques, followed by a Fatu splash that wins them the straps.
Winners and New WWF Tag Team Champions: The Headshrinkers in 12:54
The Quebecers put on good tag matches for the past few months and this was no different. It actually kind of felt too similar to some of their other matches but the hot crowd and title change added to this. It may have gone a bit too long as well. **¾
Hey, it’s our first King of the Ring Report! Todd Pettengill just hypes the show and runs down the rules of the tournament but doesn’t have much in the way of actual news yet. IRS will be facing Scott Steiner in a qualifying match as well as one between Kwang and Razor Ramon.
Tatanka w/ Chief Jay Strongbow vs. Derrick Domino
Vince McMahon HAMMERS it home that Tatanka is more aggressive than ever after what IRS did to him. Despite being more aggressive, Domino actually gets in a bit of offense. It’s only there so Tatanka can make the babyface comeback.
Winner: Tatanka in 5:19
Far too long to be an enjoyable squash. I was not a fan of this.
We go to the King’s Court, featuring Jerry Lawler throwing verbal jabs at Piper’s Pit and Roddy Piper himself. He brings out the NEW INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPION, Diesel! Diesel won the title on Superstars a few days before. They mention that Shawn Michaels isn’t there because he sacrificed himself during the match. Diesel stumbles over his words a bit, saying that he and Shawn are the best duo since Batman and Robin. In a big moment, Diesel is asked what’s next and he says that while the IC Title is nice, he wants the WWF Title.
Various people say they’ve seen the Undertaker. Everyone from a firefighter to a child saying that Undertaker was going down a slide all have supposedly sighted him.
Yokozuna w/ Jim Cornette and Mr. Fuji vs. Scott Taylor and Mike Davis
Yup, this is a handicap match. Yokozuna takes his time but dominates. He wins with a Banzai Drop on the two men, who are stacked on top of each other.
Winner: Yokozuna in 4:21
Another ho-hum squash. It lasted too long for the people involved.
Yokozuna continues the assault until Earthquake waddles out to make the save. Great, because this is a program I want to see. Earthquake then challenges Yokozuna to a match.
Overall: 5/10. The big Tag Team Title match was pretty good and that’s usually the sign of a show getting a good score. I also happened to like the Diesel interview, which equals about half of the episode. The other half was rough though as the squash matches took up far too much time and featured unentertaining people.
Raw History
Episode #62
May 9th, 1994 | Green Mountain State in Burlington, Vermont
Vince McMahon and Macho Man hype up the possibility of Earthquake vs. Yokozuna. Yay.
King of the Ring Qualifying Match
Kwang w/ Harvey Wippleman vs. Razor Ramon
Razor Ramon is looking to bounce back after losing the Intercontinental Title last week. They trade some early holds and then Razor busts out chops and a hip toss o take control. Razor stays in control and then Kwang hits a heel kick and spits mist into the air. Doesn’t he realize that mist would be more effective if spit at someone instead of into the air? They go back and forth for a bit and, while the crowd is into Razor, the match has been average at best. Back to poorly timed breaks as we go to commercial in the middle of a damn near fall. Seriously? Razor hits a huge rock bottom for two. He goes for the Razor’s Edge but is too tired to hit it. After Kwang misses a heel kick, the Razor’s Edge hits this time and he qualifies, joining IRS.
Winner: Razor Ramon in 9:44
Decent match here. Nothing about it was special but it served its purpose and was competitive, even if the outcome was never in doubt. **
Todd Pettengill brings us the King of the Ring Report! Next week on Raw, Bigelow faces Thurman Plugg in a qualifying match. He then announces that Roddy Piper will face Jerry Lawler at the King of the Ring. Roddy was rocking a sweet beard in the video they show. He is phenomenal in these promos too.
Crush w/ Mr. Fuji vs. Ray Roy
Ray Roy drew the short straw when it comes to jobber names. He nearly scores an upset on a rollup but then eats a kick. Randy Savage says “talk about martial arts. Kwang and Crush must be hanging together.” I honestly feel like he was trolling the show at times. Now that the false finish is over, Crush dominates and ends it with the heart punch.
Winner: Crush in 3:56
Typical squash match here. Nearly went on too long but it stopped just before it got exhausting.
We get a new Duke Droese vignette.
Footage is shown from Superstars where Doink humiliated Dink with a pie to the face and silly string. Doink was then revealed to actually be Jeff Jarrett dressed up.
Doink w/ Dink vs. Mike Terrace
Doink nearly folds Terrace in half on a leg sweep. Dink gets involved but it is somehow not a disqualification. It’s all annoying. Jeff Jarrett calls in to put down Doink. Doink wins with the Whoopee Cushion.
Winner: Doink in 2:38
The usual 1994 annoying Doink squash.
The King’s Court is back with Yokozuna, which means Jim Cornette is the one talking. They hype the potential of a Yokozuna/Earthquake match. It will happen but only if it’s a sumo wrestling match. Yokozuna is sweating badly and looks blown up despite just standing there.
More false Undertaker sightings and this one is from someone who claims that he saw Undertaker sleeping in the trash. No dude, they asked about Undertaker, not Duke Droese.
Mabel w/ Oscar vs. Mike Bell
During this match, we hear that Earthquake has accepted the sumo wrestling challenge. Mabel plods through his offense, hitting a leg drop to highlight things. He hits a slam for the three.
Winner: Mabel in 2:27
This is about what I want from my Mabel squashes. Keep them short. That made this acceptable.
Jerry Lawler interviews Earthquake who accepts the sumo match and it will happen next week.
Overall: 3/10. Not one of the better episodes. The opening match was fine and the squashes were short, but featured three wrestlers that I just do not enjoy. The King’s Court continues to be pretty bad, though at least Jim Cornette was somewhat entertaining.
Raw History
Episode #63
May 16th, 1994 | Green Mountain State in Burlington, Vermont
A hype video airs for tonight’s SUMO MATCH!
King of the Ring Qualifying Match
Bam Bam Bigelow w/ Luna Vachon vs. Thurman Plugg
It’s so ridiculous to hear commentary call him “Sparky” all match long. He does an impressive dropkick that sends Bigelow to the outside. Bigelow comes back in and takes charge, getting two on the ghetto blaster. He just continues to pound away on Plugg, who continues to play the plucky babyface. I don’t think he has a televised loss just yet. He avoids a Bigelow corner splash, giving him an opening to hit a bulldog. A Luna distraction allowed Bigelow to qualify following a slingshot splash that looked putrid.
Winner: Bam Bam Bigelow in 6:29
Similar to last week’s qualifying match, this was your average match. Both guys are solid hands and it made for a watchable match that was shorter than expected. **
Our new King of the Ring Report brings us the news that Bret Hart will be defending the WWF Championship against the Intercontinental Champion Diesel. According to the bracket, IRS will face Mabel in the first round and Razor Ramon will take on Bigelow. Soon, Lex Luger faces Jeff Jarrett in a qualifier.
Diesel vs. Mike Moraldo
Randy Savage says that “futuristically speaking, Diesel could be the next WWF Champion.” I mean, it’s true but it’s a strange way to put it. This is all Diesel, as expected. Not only is he a monster in size but he’s also on the road to a title shot, so you know he isn’t going to look bad.
Winner: Diesel in 3:12
Decent enough squash. Diesel wins in short order and looks good while doing so.
Ugh, another King’s Court. He cuts a promo about Roddy Piper that is pretty terrible before a commercial. Returning, Ted Dibiase is in the ring with Nikolai Volkoff. King announces that the broke Volkoff is there because Ted Dibiase has purchased his services. Volkoff admits that he hates Dibiase but has to work for him because he needs to support his family. I mean, if I was Dibiase, I would have purchased someone better in 1994. Ted makes him put on new trunks that say “property of the Million Dollar Man.” I get what they were trying to do here but the crowd didn’t care enough for Volkoff to buy into the sympathy card.
Owen Hart vs. Tony Roy
We had Ray Roy last week. I wonder if they’re related. Owen kills it here, just going through fun offense like a gutwrench suplex and talks so much trash throughout. He wins with the Sharpshooter.
Winner: Owen Hart in 2:19
Why does Owen get two minute squashes but guys like Mabel get five? Anyway, this was fun as Owen continues to be one of the MVP’s of 1994.
Owen Hart beats up Tony Roy after the match.
Next week, Owen hart meets Earthquake in a KOTR Qualifying match.
Sumo Match
Earthquake vs. Yokozuna w/ Mr. Fuji and Jim Cornette
I don’t know exactly how a sumo match is supposed to go but they do a lot of staring at each other and nearly starting, but deciding not to. They talk about how Earthquake was 24-0 in his sumo career. Savage gets in a great line about how both guys are covered in sweat and haven’t touched each other yet. After like five or six minutes of pretty boring stuff, Earthquake knocks Yokozuna outside.
Winner: Earthquake
This was supposed to lead to a big feud through the summer but Earthquake gets hurt soon and it never happens. The match was Akebono/Big Show levels of bad. Nobody really wanted to see this attraction. DUD
Overall: 3/10. The main event was horrible, but the other three matches were decent. The KOTR qualifier was short and to the point, while the two squashes were fine. However, the King’s Court continues to be dire each week. |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Oct 1, 2015 16:20:27 GMT -5
Starrcade 1999
December 19th, 1999 | MCI Center in Washington, D.C. | Attendance: 8,582
At this point, Vince Russo was in charge of WCW and his fingerprints were quickly all over WCW. Of note, this Pay-Per-View, which is WCW’s biggest of the year, ended up with an abysmal 0.32 buyrate. Yikes. WWF was in firm control of the Monday Night Wars, having taken a massive lead and not letting up. It was the 17th Starrcade in history.
The show opens with a video highlighting the entire card as Scott Hudson runs down the 13 match card. It is incredibly fast and kind of annoying.
Big Vito and Johnny the Bull w/ Tony Marinara vs. Disco Inferno and Lash LeRoux
The story here is that Disco Inferno owed money to the Mafia and Tony Marinara sent Vito and Johnny after him. They honestly couldn’t think of a better name for him than Marinara? It starts with a brawl but when it breaks down, the heels take control, working over LeRoux. Disco comes in rather hot but Johnny the Bull stops him in his tracks. The Italians try a big boot into a neckbreaker, but time it all wrong and it comes off looking ugly. They continue to work heat on Disco until LeRoux gets the mild tag. He comes in and does his thing. The heels turn things around and Johnny leaps to the top. He slips, causing the fans to give an actual reaction before missing a spinning leg drop. Disco hits a frog splash off the top and a slow count allowing Vito to break it up. The faces mess up when Disco hits the Chart Buster on LeRoux. He could break the pin up but instead backdrops Johnny the Bull over the top and LOOKS AT HIM. That allows the three count to finish.
Winners: Big Vito and Johnny the Bull in 9:39
This was actually better than I thought it would be. They worked tag formula and did pretty well with it. There were a few botches and the crowd not being very hot hurt things, but they went out and did a relatively fine job. **½
The Marinara Mafia take Disco Inferno out in a body bag. Maybe gimmick infringement was the real reason behind that short Undertaker/FBI feud in WWE a few years later. Anyway, Disco fights out only to end up in the trunk of a car for Heenan to steal the show with a line of “The Disco Inferno was 25”.
Now, commentary informs us of a knee injury that Scott Hall has, so he can’t defend his United States Title against Chris Benoit in a ladder match tonight. He was forced to forfeit the belt and Benoit was just given the belt. Benoit shows up and calls it stupid because you should have to win titles. He issues an open challenge to anyone who wants to replace Hall in the ladder match.
WCW Cruiserweight Championship
Evan Karagias (c) w/ Spice vs. Madusa
These two were dating on screen but Evan left Madusa for the younger Nitro girl. Man, remember when the Cruiserweight Title was a big deal? Madusa hits a cross boy off the apron during Evan’s entrance. Inside, she dares Evan to hit her and when he does, he absolutely nails her. He misses an Asai moonsault, but then slams her from the top and hits a decent powerbomb. Madusa struggles to bridge up from a pin and nearly MURDERS Evan on a powerbomb attempt. I legitimately gasped out of fear. Fans chant “boring” even after Evan leaps out onto her. Spice gets on the apron, distracting Evan. She then proceeds to hit the WORST low blow I’ve ever seen. Madusa nails a German suplex to capture the belt.
Winner and New WCW Cruiserweight Champion: Madusa in 3:32
The Cruiserweight Title matches used to be the highlight of WCW Pay-Per-Views but it has fallen greatly. This was pretty terrible throughout. ½*
Backstage, Mean BAH GAWD Gene goes to interview Norman Smiley about his match tonight. Smiley says that he isn’t scared of Meng, but then shrieks when a producer nearby makes a sudden move. I love Norman Smiley.
WCW Hardcore Championship
Norman Smiley (c) vs. Meng
Smiley shows up with a cart of weapons, which he throws at Meng. Meng shrugs it off and beats him up to the back. When they get backstage, Normal hits Meng with a trash can but he no sells it, causing Smiley to scream. Schiavone thinks that maybe the screaming is so the opponent will feel sorry for you. As they brawl some more, Brian Knobbs appears to attack Meng but gets beat up because Meng > Knobbs. Fit Finlay shows up to help and Meng continues to just no sell EVERYTHING. He finally goes down after a lead pipe shot. Smiley gets up from under a table and covers Meng with the most cautious one handed pin in history to retain.
Winner and Still WCW Hardcore Champion: Norman Smiley in 4:29
Was it a great match? No, but man I had a good time watching this. Norman Smiley is fun and Meng being a badass was great. **¼
Nick Patrick checks on Meng, who just grabs him in the Tongan Death Grip. Cutting away, someone delivers a gift to David Flair and it’s a golden crowbar. Cutting again, Dr. Death is getting ready with Oklahoma. They cut for a second and suddenly, the Misfits are abducting Oklahoma. Wait, what? How did they happen so quickly?
The Revolution (Dean Malenko, Perry Saturn, Shane Douglas and Asya) vs. Jim Duggan and the Varsity Club (Mike Rotunda, Kevin Sullivan and Rick Steiner) w/ Leia Meow
Jim Duggan had to pick mystery partners. Reuniting the Varsity Club for a night is cool but the crowd seemed clueless about who or what the Varsity Club was. If Duggan’s team wins, the Revolution must be janitors and if the Revolution win, Duggan must denounce the USA. Shane Douglas shows how much he cares about the match by going on commentary. Duggan plods through his offense on Malenko and Saturn. Malenko and Saturn seem so disinterested and Saturn puts in the minimal effort. When the heels come in, the Varsity Club rush in and a big brawl ensues. Duggan refused to tag them in throughout the match, so the Varsity Club turn on him. Douglas then runs in and covers Duggan for the three.
Winners: The Revolution in 4:53
Yea, this was horrible. Jim Duggan staying in the ring throughout makes for bad wrestling and the other team was so disinterested that it just had zero redeeming qualities. ¼*
Shane Douglas cuts a promo on Jim Duggan having to denounce his American citizenship. He uses the work “stinking” far too often, probably as a replacement for “ing” since this isn’t ECW anymore.
Steve Williams vs. Vampiro
If Vampiro wins, he gets five minutes alone with Oklahoma. The Misfits wheel out the cage with Oklahoma in it. He has a headset so he can call the match. Oh joy. Vampiro leaps off the cage onto Williams in the aisle. Vampiro pounds on Williams right punches and kicks but Williams won’t go down. He busts out of the corner with a shoulder block. Oklahoma shouts “MISS! MISS!” when Williams misses a splash. They fight up top, where Williams hits a top rope belly to belly suplex, though Vampiro nearly lands on his head. The Misfits run in and Williams takes them all out. Williams throws mounted punches on Vampiro and shoves the official, who tries to pull him off, leading to a DQ.
Winner via disqualification: Vampiro in 5:02
This got the point across, but wasn’t very good. It was just Vampiro kicking Williams until he got into his offense. The belly to belly was nice but having to hear Oklahoma throughout the match sucked. *½
Oklahoma vs. Vampiro
Since Dr. Death beat up Vampiro, Oklahoma is actually excited to get in the ring for his five minutes. Oklahoma hits a DDT and some stomps, calling his offense on his headset throughout. The time was cut short since the timer started before Oklahoma even exited the cage. Vampiro hits a big chop and uranage. The Misfits all get shots in on Oklahoma before the Nail in the Coffin ends it.
Winner: Vampiro in 2:52
It’s hard to really rate this. It wasn’t really a match, but then it kind of was. What I do know, is that it wasn’t entertaining. ½*
Curt Hennig, Creative Control, Vincent and LA PARKA are in the office of the Powers That Be. The Powers That Be kind of ignore Hennig because they are focused on something big happening tonight. Cutting away, Mike Tenay interviews Harlem Heat about their issues and tension in recent months. Stevie Ray blames Midnight and says that he won’t have Booker’s back in their match tonight.
Creative Control and Curt Hennig vs. Harlem Heat and Midnight
Midnight’s entrance involves the lights going out and a bell tolling, and then she appears. So she’s basically a ripped, black, female version of the Undertaker. Booker and Midnight start rather hot but then the heels begin to work a heat on Midnight. Curt Hennig chops her incredibly hard at one point. They do the faux hot tag spot where Nick Patrick misses it. Stevie Ray shows up but Booker shoos him to the back. Booker gets the hot tag and the crowd LOVES him. Hennig stops him with some sort of weapon that he awkwardly hides after pinning Booker.
Winners: Curt Hennig and Creative Control in 7:53
This was flat out bad. The story of the Harlem Heat split was fine, but the match itself wasn’t. I understood working the heat on Midnight, but she wasn’t really capable of selling it well and it just came off wrong. *
Bunkhouse Brawl
Dustin Rhodes vs. Jeff Jarrett
This starts during a backstage Dustin Rhodes interview as Jeff Jarrett attacks. I appreciate them wearing street clothes for this. They kind of just beat on each other all the way to the ring, while commentary talks about Jarrett getting pushed and Dustin being upset about the Seven gimmick. This was during that time where WCW wanted to use all of those insider terms. The referee tries to stop Dustin from using his belt at one point, so Dustin whips him and duct tapes him to the ropes. Curt Hennig casually strolls to the ring to free the official, while Jarrett works over Dustin. After all of the brawling, Jarrett applies a sleeper. The crowd hates it so it’s easier brilliant heel work, plain lazy or a bit of both. Dustin fights out and nearly wins but Hennig pulls the official out. Dustin nails Shattered Dreams in the corner but Hennig again pulls the referee out. Hennig eats Shattered Dreams before the fight goes to the stage. Jarrett leaps off a ladder with a guitar shot to win.
Winner: Jeff Jarrett in 11:21
Decent brawl here. I liked it early on but the Jarrett sleeper and Hennig interference was all stuff that I didn’t like and I feel like it hurt the match. Outside of that, you had a good brawl. **¼
Crowbar on a Pole Match
David Flair vs. Diamond Dallas Page
DDP comes out first and David Flair appears from out of nowhere behind him and lays him out with the gold crowbar. They go to announce that DDP can’t compete but he stops them and decides to fight. They talk about DDP’s weak ribs, which makes me laugh because I remember how long he had them tape up. I mean, his in game character in WCW Revenge even had them. DDP tries to fight but is too hurt. They do a near fall, which confuses me since the crowbar is still on the pole. Flair has a chance to get it but decides to try a figure four. DDP survives and wins with a Diamond Cutter.
Winner: DDP in 3:26
Wait, what was the point of the crowbar on the pole? This was about as good as you’d expect from David Flair, which means it wasn’t good at all. *½
DDP hits a top rope Diamond Cutter for good measure. He goes to use the crowbar but Daffney runs out to protect David. Bobby Heenan steals the show with “Is that the girl from Peoria? I never forget a pretty face, it kind of looks like her.” Classic.
Lex Luger vs. Sting
If Sting wins, Miss Elizabeth’s contract with Luger, who has been treating her badly, is void. Before the match, Sting gives Miss Elizabeth a “super high octane” version of mace. I kid you not. Luger jumps Sting at the bell and beats him up around the ring. He taunts Elizabeth while doing this. Sting no sells a suplex after all of this as he nails right hands and Elizabeth gets in slaps. There isn’t a DQ called for this for some reason. She gets the big mace and you can see this coming from a mile away. Elizabeth tries to mace Sting, but he finally wised up to getting swerved for years and sets her up as the mace he gave her had silly string. Sting still kicks Luger’s ass. Liz gets in with the bat and absolutely CLOCKS Sting in the face with it for the DQ.
Winner via disqualification: Sting in 5:25
You could see the Liz turn coming from a mile away, though Sting being ready for it was cool. There was too much reliance on Liz and it was far too short to have anything good happen. *¼
Lex Luger puts a chair on Sting’s hand and stomps on it. That’s an odd body part to target. Sting doesn’t even flinch as he’s selling a potential concussion.
Powerbomb Match
Kevin Nash vs. Sid Vicious
First man to hit a powerbomb wins. No pinfalls or DQ or anything like that. They plod through their offense, as neither guy was really motivated to do any good at this point in their careers. Sid hits Nash in the back with a chair outside. Since this is WCW, we get a ref bump. Sid then hits a hideous powerbomb on Nash. Jeff Jarrett runs out to break a guitar over Sid’s head. He gets rid of the evidence like the match isn’t no DQ or something. Nash goes for a powerbomb but his back hurts too much so he literally just tells the referee that he hit the powerbomb and the official believes him.
Winner: Kevin Nash in 6:58
Wow. That was horrendously bad. They did all of their usual sluggish offense before we got the screwy finish. Who thought this was a good ending? I can’t put into words how dumb this entire thing was. DUD
WCW United States Championship Ladder Match
Chris Benoit (c) vs. Jeff Jarrett
As if we didn’t have enough Double J so far tonight, he accepts the challenge. Schiavone’s reaction to hearing Jarrett’s music was “AGAIN?” which I thought was great. They fight in the ring early, with the highlight being a superplex. The ladder comes into play and Jarrett takes some bumps into it. Benoit’s nose get busted open after the ladder is driven into his face with a baseball slide. In a cool spot, Benoit’s leg gets caught in the ladder on the top and Jarrett pulls him back, sending the ladder crashing onto him. Jarrett gets his leg stuck in the ladder next, hanging upside down. He swings back and forth to knock Benoit off and it looked really dangerous. Both guys tease the win but neither grab the belt. Benoit gets close but Jarrett leaps from the top and dropkicks the ladder. Benoit’s fall also looked very dangerous. Benoit rolls under the ladder shortly after and dropkicks it into Jarrett’s face. He again comes close, touching the belt, but does the throat slash sign and nails a massive headbutt from the top. Benoit snatches the title, earning the belt.
Winner and Still WCW United States Champion: Chris Benoit in 10:15
Maybe it’s because it was WCW in 1999 or maybe it was because of the level of ladder matches happening in the WWF around this era, but this is a forgotten match. It is really good as they fit a fair amount of innovative stuff into ten minutes and the match never lulled at any point. ***½
WCW World Heavyweight Championship No Disqualification Match
Bret Hart (c) vs. Goldberg
One year prior, Goldberg lost his first match and the World Title. They treat this match like a big deal but the fans aren’t as into it as one would hope. Bret works the mat, while Goldberg uses his power, which is how I’d expect things to go here. Bret counters a move into the Sharpshooter but Goldberg just kicks him off. The fight moves outside where Goldberg runs over the referee. Charles Robinson quickly runs out as the replacement. He goes down too and Goldberg misses a spear, hitting the ring post. Bret busts out the ring post figure four because it’s awesome. Bret now systematically picks apart the leg. As Goldberg rallies another referee goes down. Goldberg hits the kick that would end Bret’s career before he pretty much murders Bret on a spear. Roddy Piper comes out in a referee shirt. He walks very slowly, giving Bret time to chop block Goldberg. He locks in the Sharpshooter and Rody instantly calls for the bell, giving us the screwjob finish.
Winner and Still WCW World Heavyweight Champion: Bret Hart in 12:10
I thought this was a good match. Goldberg played the powerhouse well and Bret played the role of the technician who picked him apart just as good, if not better. The only serious issue I had with the match was ending your biggest show of the year on a screwy finish. ***
Overall: 4/10; Weak. The show ended with two strong matches and started with a decent one. Most of the other things on the card are either not very good, or flat out dire. You could tell Vince Russo was around just by looking at some of the overbooked, screwy finishes. The Powerbomb Match is especially atrocious and kind of epitomizes how dumb WCW was at the time. Next time on “Random Network Reviews”, I take a long look at Battleground 2013! |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Oct 4, 2015 12:33:32 GMT -5
Raw History
Episode #64
May 23rd, 1994 | Struthers Fieldhouse in Youngstown, Ohio
We get told that during the WrestleMania Revenge Tour, Yokozuna and Crush took out Earthquake. That means that Earthquake cannot compete against Owen Hart in the King of the Ring Qualifying Match tonight. Vince McMahon and Macho Man are our hosts.
King of the Ring Qualifying Match
Doink the Clown vs. Owen Hart
This would have had a ton of potential if it was Matt Osburne. Owen attacks quickly and holds serve. When Doink sends him outside, Dink comes in to celebrate. Owen tells the camera that he has to deal with two and a half clowns, counting the referee. He chases Dink around the ring, allowing Doink to get in a clothesline. When Owen takes back over, commentary does a good job in explaining that Owen badly wants to win the tournament because Bret did it last year. It goes from technical to a bit of a brawl with the men trading shots. As Doink seems to pick up steam, Jeff Jarrett shows up and steals Dink. Owen rolls up to Doink to qualify.
Winner: Owen Hart in 8:30
Hey, look at Canadian Country helping each other. They’d be Tag Team Champions in five years. The match was like a lot of what I’ve seen on Raw in 1994 so far. Solid, but unspectacular. **
King of the Ring Report time! IRS will face Mabel in the first round, while Razor Ramon takes on Bigelow. Jeff Jarrett qualified over Lex Luger, who has fallen hard and Owen just qualified. Jimmy Del Ray faces Tatanka and the 1-2-3 Kid takes on Adam Bomb in the final to qualifiers. They also announce that the Headshrinkers will defend the Tag Team Titles against Crush and Yokozuna. Todd then bills Jerry Lawler vs. Roddy Piper as the “match of the century.”
Duke Droese vs. Barry Horowitz
IT’S THE RAW DEBUT OF THE DUMPSTER! Honestly, I feel like Horowitz is the superior worker. Duke does a tiny leap over a flat Barry and Vince is like “LOOK AT THE AGILITY!” Barry gets in some arm work, but Duke puts him down with a jumping elbow.
Winner: Duke Droese in 3:00
Duke’s first showing on Raw wasn’t the most impressive of squashes.
Time for highlights from the WrestleMania Revenge Tour. They had celebrities and everything on hand.
IRS vs. Gary Sabaugh
Before the match, IRS cuts the same tired promo he’s been cutting for years at this point. He is incredibly sweaty about 15 seconds into the match. Since he’s IRS and he can never do anything of interest, he applies a chinlock during a squash. Vince compares Shaq to Luger on commentary somehow. He wins with the Write Off.
Winner: IRS in 4:16
Too much time for an IRS squash. He’s quite possibly the most boring wrestler that I have ever seen.
Footage airs from Superstars, when Crush attacked Lex Luger during his KOTR Qualifier. The referee started counting Luger out and had he just laid there and lost, it would have been okay. Instead, he gets up and goes after Luger, getting eliminated from qualifying because he was too stupid to leap back into the ring.
Ugh, it’s King’s Court time. His guest is Lex Luger and Jerry Lawler spends time calling him a choke artist. I mean, Jerry isn’t wrong. Lawler reveals that Luger supposedly attacked him from behind in the city and Crush’s arm is in a sling. Crush appears in a bootleg looking sling. It looks like he took his bedsheets and just used that. Crush’s promo is pretty bad as he messes up several words. Luger clotheslines him outside and it is revealed that nothing is wrong with Crush’s arm.
Nikolai Volkoff vs. Matt Hardy
Matt Hardy has a flattop haircut that does not suit him. Ted Dibiase joins commentary to say that he is trying to communicate with the Undertaker. Matt sells decently for him but you know this is about Volkoff. He uses the Boston Crab to win.
Winner: Nikolai Volkoff in 2:32
Better than the IRS squash but still nothing worth checking out.
Jerry Lawler announces that his guest next week on the King’s Court will be the WWF Champion Bret Hart!
Overall: 3.5/10. These Raw episodes have kind of hit a plateau. I’ve given the same score three straight weeks. The marquee match is always decent at best and the rest of the show is either bad or barely watchable. That was the case here again.
Raw History
Episode #65
May 30th, 1994 | Struthers Fieldhouse in Youngstown, Ohio
The show opens with a recap of each person that has qualified for the King of the Ring. We see that the 1-2-3 Ki became the 7th person to do so on Superstars.
King of the Ring Qualifying Match
Crush w/ Mr. Fuji vs. Tatanka w/ Chief Jay Strongbow
Vince literally gives ZERO reason for why the change was made here. He’s just like “Jimmy Del Rey was scheduled but now it’s Crush.” Vince says that Crush also has the Tag Team Title match at KOTR, which meant that if he qualified, he could wrestle four times in one night. That would be atrocious. Crush dominates the early stages and has on the dreaded bearhug after a commercial. They fight outside after Strongbow chops Fuji and it leads to a double countout.
Double Countout in 7:08
Two of the worst people to watch since Raw started are given a match and they, as expected, put on a bad match. ½*
Vince McMahon calls the double countout “the worst thing that could happen.” Really? I’d rather someone get a bye than see one of those two in there. They continue to brawl after the match.
Todd Pettengill brings us the King of the Ring Report. His shirt is absolutely ridiculous. We get a promo from Roddy Piper who talks about how tough his neighborhood is. Owen Hart also chimes in to say that he should get a bye because Tatanka and Crush both got counted out. A year later, he and British Bulldog would fight to a double countout and neither man would get another shot in the tournament.
Ted Dibiase is shown in a funeral parlor (no, not the Paul Bearer talk show). He says that the Undertaker will soon be his property again.
1-2-3 Kid vs. George South
As noted earlier, this past weekend, 1-2-3 Kid qualified for the King of the Ring. Kwang accidentally spit mist into Adam Bomb’s eyes, leading to the win. Kid goes through some of his fun offense. Interestingly, Kid wins with the La Magistral cradle. Macho Man calls 1-2-3 Kid his new favorite wrestler.
Winner: 1-2-3 Kid in 2:33
As usual, Kid has an entertaining squash match that is given far too little time. Fine stuff though.
King’s Court time. Jerry Lawler goes through the same tired jokes he’s used on the Hart Family because he has no new material and hasn’t since the 90’s. Bret Hart comes out and Lawler continues to say nonsense. He brings up his attack on Bret after last year’s King of the Ring, leading Bret to prepare to fight. Lawler brings out his other guests for tonight, Diesel and Shawn Michaels. Diesel makes a remark about giving Bret the VIP treatment, which is very intense pain. Was that the best they could think of? HBK distracts Bret, allowing Diesel to hit him and nail the Jackknife. The three heels all stomp on Bret until officials show up.
The Smoking Guns vs. Austin Steele and Reno Riggins
Commentary spends the match advertising for the USA Network and discussing the Crush/Tatanka controversy. Vince acts like Owen Hart only wrestling two matches on the KOTR PPV is a big deal when Bigelow did that last year. The Guns dominate this match as expected.
Winners: The Smoking Guns in 3:19
Standard stuff here.
Todd Pettengill informs us that Jack Tunney has made a decision. Next week, we get a Crush/Tatanka rematch (oh joy) and it will be a Lumberjack match.
Jeff Jarrett vs. Chris Hammerick
The future “Confederate Currency” of ECW is doing the job tonight. Jarrett talks smack to Macho Man beforehand, which, coupled with their issues a few weeks back, makes me feel like there may have been plans for a program. Jarrett goes through all of his offense, which isn’t very exciting and never has been. He wins with a figure four.
Winner: Jeff Jarrett in 3:53
Man, Jeff Jarrett is kind of boring. Not IRS bad but nowhere near Owen or 1-2-3 Kid levels of interesting.
Jerry Lawler informs everyone that his guest next week will be a Scottish man in a kilt with a “Hot Rod” shirt.
Overall: 2.5/10. The actual in-ring stuff was pretty horrible this week. Outside of the short 1-2-3 Kid match everything was kind of just there. The Crush/Tatanka match was pitiful and now we get a damn rematch next week. The only good thing about this episode was the King’s Court surprisingly. Lawler’s jokes were bad but at least it built the WWF Title match well.
Raw History
Episode #66
June 6th, 1994 | Struthers Fieldhouse in Youngstown, Ohio
King of the Ring Qualifying Match
Crush w/ Mr. Fuji vs. Tatanka w/ Chief Jay Strongbow
Oh my god. These poor Youngstown fans had to sit through this match twice in one taping. Good lord. Everyone nearly fights to start but Earl Hebner calms things down. The heels surprisingly don’t really beat on Tatanka when he goes outside. Maybe one cheap shot but that’s it. They fight through a commercial break and do nothing of interest. This is honestly one of the most boring matches I could think of. They are just wearing each other down with dull offense. Oh goodness, they go through a SECOND commercial break. Vince again hypes the possibility of four Crush matches on the PPV, showing that he wants nobody to purchase it. A big fight breaks out outside, where Lex Luger runs out and lays out Crush with the BIONIC FOREARM OF DOOM! Tatanka covers Crush and qualifies.
Winner: Tatanka in 17:09
Seriously? This takes up the majority of the show. This was BEYOND boring and one of the worst things Raw has done this year. Just all around terrible. DUD
King of the Ring Report time! There isn’t really any news of note, but there are some pretty out there Roddy Piper promos.
Bam Bam Bigelow w/ Luna Vachon vs. John Paul
Nothing of note really happens in here, except that Vince calls Luna the Wilma Flintstone of the WWF. Macho Man says he liked Betty more. Bigelow dominates and wins with an ugly splash.
Winner: Bam Bam Bigelow in 2:49
Typical Bigelow squash. He got to do some decent stuff and looked alright in doing so.
Jerry Lawler is out for the King’s Court. He teases bringing out Roddy Piper but it’s an impersonator. A skinny kid who is nailing the Piper impersonation for sure. Lawler throws insults and makes the skinny kid kiss his feet and crawl out of the ring on his hands and knees. It was a good idea but Lawler is pretty dire to watch at times.
Razor Ramon vs. Keith Davis
The jobber doesn’t sound familiar right? He looks familiar though because it’s Jeff Hardy. He leaps right into a fallaway slam. Jeff/Keith bumps pretty well as Razor wins with a Razor’s Edge.
Winner: Razor Ramon in 4:04
Fun to see Jeff Hardy. He made for a good jobber because he could bump around for the star.
Somewhere strange, Paul Bearer claims that Ted Dibiase will not be able to produce the Undertaker. Back to the arena, Ted Dibiase shows up and promises to produce the Undertaker this weekend on Superstars.
Overall: 1/10. The big match of the evening outright sucked. Whoever thought to give those two nearly twenty minutes should have been fired. The rest of the show wasn’t much better and this was all flat out horrible. |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Oct 7, 2015 9:51:02 GMT -5
Battleground 2013
October 6th, 2013 | First Niagara Center in Buffalo, New York | Attendance: 11,700
Entering the fall of 2013, the WWE was in the midst of a WWE Championship controversy. After Daniel Bryan won the belt at SummerSlam, Randy Orton cashed in Money in the Bank on him. Bryan beat Orton for the title at Night of Champions, but there were some fishy circumstances there, so the title entered this show in abeyance. This was the first Battleground Pay-Per-View in history.
Kudos to the opening video package for doing a good job of hyping a card that isn’t very good.
World Heavyweight Championship Hardcore Match
Alberto Del Rio (c) vs. Rob Van Dam w/ Ricardo Rodriguez
The pairing of Ricardo Rodriguez and Rob Van Dam was certainly a strange one. Even Ricardo’s announcement of RVD comes off as a poor version of what he used to do for Del Rio. Commentary mentions that this is the perfect chance for Damien Sandow to cash in Money in the Bank, but he worked the Kickoff show and hurt his knee. The first big spots come from RVD, who hits a moonsault off the guardrail and a DDT on the chair. Well damn, where do you go after the DDT? Both guys get in offense following this until RVD brings a ladder into play. Del Rio is sent into it an RVD follows in with a heel kick. Del Rio comes back with an enziguri. The ladder falls on RVD and Del Rio double stomps it onto him. There’s a point where Del Rio leaps from the top with a garbage can and gets it dropkicked back into himself, but it looks weak because of how Del Rio jumped. You could tell he had no offensive plan. RVD misses Rolling Thunder on a ladder, hurting him greatly. When the champ applies the Cross Armbreaker, Rodriguez attacks with a bucket. Del Rio kicks the hell out of him for it. In a cool spot, RVD does the Five Star Frog Splash from the apron onto a ladder onto Del Rio. The fans clearly chant “we want tables” so when RV grabs a chair, Jerry Lawler says “they’re chanting we want chairs.” Idiot. RVD misses the Van Terminator and Del Rio delivers a big kick of his own. He gets RVD’s arm caught in a chair and stomps on it before applying the Cross Armbreaker with it still wrapped up. RVD submits.
Winner and Still World Heavyweight Champion: Alberto Del Rio 16:01
Okay, well that was better than I remembered or expected. It was mostly just a bunch of spots, but at least the spots are pretty big and brutal, and Alberto Del Rio finishing things with the Cross Armbreaker in the chair was great. ***¼
Zeb Colter and his Real Americans cut a promo backstage on Santino Marella and the Great Khali.
The Great Khali and Santino Marella w/ Hornswoggle vs. The Real Americans w/ Zeb Colter
What is this doing on a Pay-Per-View? Santino plays the comedy role, failing on a nip up and bringing out the Cobra. Swagger runs from it but Hornswoggle gets the mini-Cobra. I swear none of these are sexual references. Swagger rips it up, causing the commentators to actually laugh. Commentary is horrible throughout this whole thing. The Real Americans work some nice double team moves at least. Tag to Khali, who comes in as hot as he possibly can. It ends up being Cesaro and Khali alone and Cesaro swings him to the delight of everyone. He pins a dizzy Khali for the win.
Winners: The Real Americans in 7:06
Outside of seeing Cesaro swing Khali, there was literally no point to this match. It wasn’t good, but the Real Americans did their best to try and make it watchable. I bumped the score up slightly due to the ridiculous feat of strength. *¼
WWE Intercontinental Championship
Curtis Axel (c) w/ Paul Heyman vs. R-Truth
They go through some uninspired back and forth in the early goings. R-Truth is popular, but the crowd doesn’t really care about his win/loss record and it shows here. Axel uses a spinebuster into the guardrail, which is pretty cool, to get in control. Axel is a solid hand but he’s a charisma void. The pairing with Heyman could have been better if he was booked better during the run. The fans are so bored that they chant for “JBL”. Axel wins with the Axehole or whatever he called his finisher at the time.
Winner and Still WWE Intercontinental Champion: Curtis Axel in 7:38
This is one of those matches that technically isn’t very bad, but it had no heat and an absolutely dead crowd. They were bore throughout and they had every right to be as the match was just dull. *¾
WWE Divas Championship
AJ Lee (c) w/ Tamina Snuka vs. Brie Bella w/ Nikki Bella
AJ Lee is sporting pigtails tonight, making this one of my favorite looks she’s ever had. Brie slaps AJ and sends her outside but Tamina stops her from capitalizing. Despite this, Brie stays in control inside until AJ kicks her in the knee and sends her into the ring post from the apron. It looks surprisingly vicious. AJ now works Brie over for a while, focusing on the arm. I appreciate that since it makes sense given her finisher and it’s not just working the arm for the sake of it. Brie goes into her comeback, complete with “COOME OON” shout, which is always grating. Tamina chokes Nikki outside, distracting Brie and allowing AJ to roll her up and retain.
Winner and Still WWE Divas Champion: AJ Lee in 6:37
To the people who feel that the Bella Twins haven’t improved, I’d like to point to this match. Brie Bella looked lost at times and if you watch something that she did in 2014 or 2015, you’ll see a better performer. Here, she struggled and AJ Lee wasn’t much better. *½
The Rhodes Family cuts a promo before the next match and it’s pretty great.
Cody Rhodes and Goldust w/ Dusty Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins w/ Dean Ambrose
If Cody Rhodes and Goldust win, they get their jobs back. Their opponents are the reigning Tag Team Champions, who have been pretty dominant in 2013. The fiery Rhodes brothers start hot, causing the Shield to regroup. They try to go after Dusty but Cody and Goldust go outside and it leads to a standoff. Dusty takes off his belt, looking to give a whipping and the Shield decide against it. Despite their fire, Cody and Goldust have to be careful to not get themselves disqualified. The Shield have weathered the storm and now have control over Cody Rhodes. Cody uses a picture perfect moonsault on Rollins to get himself free for the hot tag. He comes in hot and even busts out a top rope cross body for two. He makes the mistake of missing a regular cross body and falls outside. Cody gets off the apron to make sure that Ambrose doesn’t do anything to Goldust, which is a small thing but it is appreciated. The Shield now pick apart Goldust. He eventually makes the hot tag to Cody, who looks incredibly motivated. He uses some of Hardcore Holly’s old offense for two. Reigns comes in with his power but eats a Disaster Kick. He even knocks Ambrose off the apron. This leads to Dusty giving Dean a right hand and he brings the crowd to their feet with the Bionic Elbow. Cody kicks out of a rollup and hits the Cross Rhodes on Rollins to get their jobs back.
Winners: Cody Rhodes and Goldust in 13:54
The match is really good, but it is taken over the top by the angle they had to work with and the emotion involved. The Authority had been winning each and every week, so seeing the good guys get one meant a lot. The Dusty involvement was great, the Shield worked like a well-oiled machine and the Rhodes family had to do everything in their power to win. The fact that the performances in 2013 by Cody Rhodes didn’t lead to a mega push is a travesty. ****
We go to the Pre-Show Panel for some nonsense. Then Brad Maddox asks Vickie Guerrero for help in making the show run smoothly but she laughs it off. I guess that she senses how mediocre this show has been so far.
Bray Wyatt w/ The Wyatt Family vs. Kofi Kingston
At this point, Bray Wyatt had been on the main roster for about two months. He was about a month away from a legit feud with Daniel Bryan, so for now, this is pretty filler. Bray dominates the early goings, because he is clearly the guy they have bigger plans for. Kofi goes into his rally, getting the crowd somewhat into it but Bray just runs him over with a big body attack. There is a cool moment as Kofi leaps over the top and takes out all three Wyatt Family members. Back inside though, he falls victim to Sister Abigail.
Winner: Bray Wyatt in 8:17
Similar to most of this card, this screamed filler and would have worked better as a match on Raw or Smackdown. It was a prolonged squashed as the outcome was never in doubt. *½
CM Punk vs. Ryback w/ Paul Heyman
Ryback uses his power, but hen Punk retaliates with kicks, he exits to talk strategy with Heyman. Heyman’s advice is “HE’S A BULLY! STAND UP TO THE BULLY!” Some “you can’t wrestle” chants as Ryback slams Punk all around the ring and into the post. Anytime it looks like Punk may rally, Ryback goes back to work on the mid-section. After what seems like forever, Punk starts his rally. Paul Heyman gets on the microphone to call himself the “best in the world” and brag about pinning CM Punk at Night of Champions. It works beautifully as Ryback attacks from behind. It goes back to the story of Punk trying to come back, but Ryback being ready for everything. From seemingly out of nowhere, Punk uses a low blow to score the pinfall.
Winner: CM Punk in 14:47
Despite CM Punk being really popular, the crowd seemed to not care about this at all. Ryback’s dull wear down offense put them to sleep and even Punk’s rally attempts didn’t get much from the crowd. It was overly long and pretty boring. *¾
The video package shows just how much potential this rivalry had. From the Authority being vicious to Orton finding his “inner Viper” to the underdog Bryan and even to the involvement of Brie Bella. Then it all disappeared toward the end of the year and only picked up because CM Punk walked out.
WWE Championship
Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton
We get an extended feeling out process between the two men. Nothing really interesting happens until Orton goes all Nigel McGuinness with a lariat while Bryan is crotched on the top rope. Bryan skins the cat and uses a headscissors to bring Orton over to the outside but it looked pretty terribly. He followed with a much better looking suicide dive. Inside, Orton really starts to get more “Viper” like, focusing on picking apart Bryan. Outside, we nearly a table spot but Bryan sends Orton into the steel steps, then dives out onto him and then hits a flying headbutt for two. Bryan goes into a flurry of corner dropkicks that finally wakes the crowd up. Orton stops him and goes for the RKO but Bryan shoves him off. Orton rolls him up for two and Bryan’s kick out leads right into the Yes Lock. As Bryan has it applied, Big Show’s music hits and he runs out. He pulls the official out of the ring hard and looks disappointed in himself. Bryan questions him and gets knocked out. For those wondering, Show was doing the bidding of the Authority against his will at this time. Brad Maddox appears to send out the referee who was fired for the fast count he made during last month’s title match. Show pulls this ref out and hits him with the WMD. He gets in the ring and Orton scolds him, leading to him getting knocked out too.
No Contest in 24:00
Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton don’t really have bad matches together, but something about this one didn’t work, even before the dumb finish. It seemed to lack something that the other ones had. It’s like they knew they were working towards a no contest and didn’t put as much into this as they would their other matches. It picked up near the end, but not enough to save the score. **¼
Overall: 2.5/10; Bad. This show is pretty terrible. The opening World Heavyweight Title match is pretty good but everything else outside of the Shield/Rhodes tag match is either flat out bad or barely watchable. Even the Bryan/Orton match failed to deliver the ending a PPV this way is usually recipe for disaster. Go out of your way to see the emotional tag and avoid everything else. My next “Random Network Review” looks like it will be In Your House: A Cold Day in Hell! |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Oct 8, 2015 13:19:49 GMT -5
Raw History
Episode #67
June 20th, 1994 | Westchester County Center in White Plains, New York
We are live just 24 hours removed from the King of the Ring Pay-Per-View! The biggest news from that show was that Diesel and Bret Hart had a great match that ended via disqualification, while Owen Hart won the King of the Ring tournament. Also, Roddy Piper and Jerry Lawler stunk up the joint. Tonight, Gorilla Monsoon is on commentary with Macho Man.
Diesel w/ Shawn Michaels vs. Mark Thomas
This is obviously a non-title affair. Diesel dominates the jacked Mark Thomas. Shawn Michaels gets in a cheap shot outside because that’s what heels do. Diesel goes through his five or six moves and wins with the Jackknife.
Winner: Diesel in 4:00
Typical Diesel squash. Again, it was kind of clear that he was going places fast.
King of the Ring Report time! Todd Pettengill recaps the night and says that Owen Hart will now be known as the King of Harts. Jim Neidhart returned to corner Bret Hart during the WWF Title match and attacked Diesel, leading to the DQ. He then assisted Owen in winning the tournament and sided with him.
Number One Contender’s Match
1-2-3 Kid vs. Nikolai Volkoff w/ Ted Dibiase
The winner gets a WWF Title shot in THREE WEEKS! Kid wrestled twice the night before and sold an injury. He also had one of, if not the best, under five minute matches in history. Volkoff hasn’t really earned a shot but I guess Dibiase bought him this spot. Here, we have a big styles clash and Volkoff overpowers Kid from the get go. Kid bumps for him until he starts to light up Volkoff with those educated feet. Kid scores some near falls with rollups. Volkoff does hit some big moves but none of them look very good. Kid pulls him into a small package to become the number one contender.
Winner: 1-2-3 Kid in 6:04
Their styles did not mesh well. 1-2-3 Kid has been one of the better performers in Raw history and Volkoff was way past his prime. At least this sets up Kid/Bret. *¼
Nikolai Volkoff and Ted Dibiase attack the 1-2-3 Kid until Virgil of all people make the save. He fails miserably though because he’s Virgil. Lex Luger has to come out and save both of them. Ted Dibiase surprisingly gives Luger a thumbs up and leaves. CONTROVERSY!
Next week, Mabel vs. Bigelow!
Yokozuna w/ Mr. Fuji and Jim Cornette vs. Nick Barberri
Yokozuna has nothing to do now that Earthquake is gone. Gorilla Monsoon says that the other Natural Disaster, Typhoon, is coming for Yokozuna. Oh no. Yokozuna destroys the jobber and he’s not even worth a Banzai drop.
Winner: Yokozuna in 2:25
Hey, it was kept short, which is how I like my Yokozuna squash matches.
As Typhoon makes his entrance, he is blocked by Yokozuna. During a commercial break, Yokozuna takes a swing, but Typhoon blocked it and leveled him.
Typhoon vs. Black Phantom
Black Phantom is still Gangrel from what I can tell. Typhoon tosses him around easily. He wins with the Tidal Wave.
Winner: Typhoon in 2:29
Ho hum. They tried building to Typhoon vs. Yokozuna, but I don’t believe Typhoon stuck around much longer after this.
Time for another King’s Court. I’m guessing it will be a dreadful episode since the guest is Duke Droese. We are shown clips of Duke dumping garbage on Jerry Lawler on Superstars. Lawler throws insults as Duke, who responds by saying that Lawler stinks too much for even the trash man. He goes to leave but Lawler attacks and beats him up with the trash can.
The Heavenly Bodies w/ Jim Cornette vs. Jim Powers and Russ Greenberg
Jim Cornette gets on commentary and announces that the Headshrinkers are being forced to defend the WWF Tag Team Titles against the Heavenly Bodies. He even calls them 98 pound weaklings. Jim Powers does his best to make this competitive, with a few near falls. The Bodies bust out some double team moves and Del Rey pins Greenberg with a moonsault press.
Winners: The Heavenly Bodies in 4:02
More competitive than most squash matches, but still nothing to write home about.
Gorilla Monsoon tells us that the WWF doesn’t condone the actions of Jerry Lawler and he must apologize on Raw next week. Cut to Ted Dibiase, who informs everyone that Lex Luger will be unstoppable with a million dollars backing him.
Overall: 2/10. Another weak episode of Monday night Raw. The big match wasn’t very good and the squashes weren’t either, but at least they were short. The King’s Court was again, a disaster and continues to make these episodes of Raw tough to get through. It’s like they are highlighting the wrong people.
Raw History
Episode #68
June 27th, 1994 | Westchester County Center in White Plains, New York
We start with a recap of the altercation between Jerry Lawler and Duke Droese. Duke speaks, saying that it’s one thing to hit him from behind, but it’s another to use his own trash can on him. Because the use of your own trash can is the real issue here. Lawler then speaks and can’t even bring himself to say “apologize”. He would rather get fined or suspended.
Bam Bam Bigelow w/ Luna Vachon vs. Mabel w/ Oscar
One of those classic Vince McMahon “big man vs. big man” clashes. Gorilla gets to use his tired “IRRESISTIBLE FORCE MEETS THE IMMOVABLE OBJECT” line. Bigelow shows that he’s far superior early but then Mabel starts to rally. Luna gets on the apron and ends up getting knocked off as Mabel is sent off the ropes. Bigelow lays out an absolutely winded Mabel and sees Oscar outside checking on Luna. Bigelow throws him aside. He must have heard Oscar rap. Mabel actually does an axe handle from the apron on Bigelow and they land on Luna. They continue to brawl until Mabel beats the count.
Winner via countout: Mabel in 3:29
Yea, this was a mess. The fact that, about two minutes into this, Mabel was visibly winded, should tell you something. ¼*
Ted Dibiase comes out to calm down Bigelow, who was arguing with the official. MORE CONTROVERSY! We then see that Ted Dibiase brought back the “Undertaker” two weeks ago on Superstars and the Undertaker won a match on this past week’s Superstars.
IRS vs. Rich Myers
Hey, no IRS “YOU’RE ALL TAX CHEATS” promo tonight. I appreciate it. The match itself though, was still typical IRS boring stuff. He wins with an STF.
Winner: IRS in 2:24
IRS is boring. There are no ifs, ands or buts about it.
The King’s Court is with Jim Neidhart tonight. He comes out to the old Hart Foundation theme and says that he turned on Bret because Bret was always ungrateful for everything Neidhart did for him. Owen Hart comes out with the crown, cape and scepter. He bashes Bret and says that he’s coming for a title shot. Hey, it’s an entertaining edition of the King’s Court.
The Headshrinkers w/ Captain Lou Albano vs. The Executioners
Did Afa get fired? While the Tag Team Champions beat up the jobbers, Gorilla Monsoon says that Ted Dibiase is having some sort of confrontation backstage with someone. They seem to want to send the cameras to the back but never do it. The match drags and the Headshrinkers win with a splash.
Winners: The Headshrinkers in 4:55
Overly long. Maybe they have technical issues since they never went backstage and maybe that’s why the match went a big long.
We now go backstage to Ted Dibiase, who is seemingly working out a deal with Bigelow.
Kwang w/ Harvey Wippleman vs. Mike Moraldo
Kwang’s offense is seemingly a million kicks. I honestly wonder if he has anything else in his arsenal. He spits the mist during the match and wins with, you guessed it, a spinning heel kick.
Winner: Kwang in 3:28
Another match that isn’t very good. Kwang is another guy who has squash matches that don’t impress me.
Lex Luger vs. Mike Bell
We see Ted Dibiase watch from the curtain like some kind of peeping Tom. Luger is like, the only dude to get a near fall in a squash when he tries a schoolboy. Luger then uses the Torture Rack for the submission.
Winner: Lex Luger in 2:57
Sign, Lex Luger is a terrible face. This was lame.
Lex Luger poses a ton in the spotlight and Macho Man considers joining him, but can’t get his jacket off. Yea, it was pretty strange.
Overall: 1.5/10. It’s pretty telling when the only positive thing about a show in the King’s Court. The marquee match was horrible and the rest of the show wasn’t much better. There’s a nostalgia factor watching these old Raws, but some are just downright putrid.
Raw History
Episode #69
July 4th, 1994 | Westchester County Center in White Plains, New York
Jeff Jarrett vs. Tatanka
They start with some uninspired mat work before Tatanka hits a back drop. He seems to be packing on the pounds as of late. The fight spills outside, which gets Macho Man unexpectedly excite. Jarrett shoves Tatanka into the ring post and wins via countout in 6:14. BUT WAIT! Jarrett grabs a microphone and says that unlike Macho Man, he won’t take a countout win and wants the match restarted. They really had plans for Jarrett/Savage didn’t they? The match restarts and Jarrett works a chinlock. Tatanka fights out but Jarrett goes back to it for an EXTENDED period of time. Tatanka finally rallies and hits the flying chop. Jarrett quits and goes to walk away, but runs into Dink and Doink, who threaten him with a bucket of water. He runs in the ring and is rolled up for the 1-2-3.
Winner: Tatanka in 13:40
I wish this ended in 6:14. That portion of the math was decent. The rest was incredibly boring and they just sat around doing next to nothing. Seemed like a house show match. ¾*
Time for the King’s Court. Again. His guest is the 1-2-3 Kid. Jerry Lawler wants the Kid to beat Bret Hart because he hates him. Hilariously, Kid calls him “Mr. Lawler” and says that he respects “Mr. Bret Hart”, claiming that he’s the best wrestler in the world. Kid continues to play the respectful card while Lawler wants him to get angry but he doesn’t.
Jim Neidhart w/ Owen Hart vs. Gary Scott
Completely one-sided as Neidhart just dominates. Owen shouts into the camera that both he and Jim carried Bret at different points in their careers. Gorilla Monsoon straight ups says that they were the weak links. Dang. Neidhart hits a powerslam to win.
Winner: Jim Neidhart in 4:00
One-sided, which is how it had to be. Neidhart got to look as good as he could.
Duke Droese vs. “Iron” Mike Sharpe
I love me some Mike Sharpe! There isn’t enough loud selling from him in this for me to enjoy it. I mean, there’s some, but not enough to make up for Duke’s lack of talent. He scores with an elbow to win.
Winner: Duke Droese in 3:58
Another standard squash from a dull worker.
It’s the debut of the classic “BREEEETTTT” commercial.
The “Undertaker” w/ Ted Dibiase vs. Mike Bell
It’s clear that this Undertaker is shorter than the original, but props to Brian Lee as his imitating is pretty good. He wins with a tombstone.
Winner: The “Undertaker” in 4:03
Typical squash but again, I’d like to comment Brian Lee. Knowing that he’s not the Undertaker is kind of clear now, but I can picture myself and a lot of people not being able to tell the difference back then.
Paul Bearer shows up with the urn, trying to get the Undertaker to come back to him. Ted Dibiase combats that with money but Undertaker is having none of it. However, two handfuls of cash sways his decision, leaving Bearer to exit shaking his head. Also, the King’s Court will feature Ted Dibiase next week, but it will not be live in the arena.
Overall: 2.5/10. Better than the last few episodes, but by the slimmest of margins. Again, the main match failed to deliver the squashes weren’t really entertaining. I did think that the King’s Court was alright and I actually rather enjoyed the Undertaker impersonation. Oh well, next week it’s Hart/Kid which should turn things around. |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Oct 14, 2015 22:37:04 GMT -5
Raw History
Episode #70
July 11th, 1994 | Fernwood Resort in Bushkill, Pennsylvania
Highlights of the year that 1-2-3 Kid has had are shown, from his debut to winning the Tag Team Titles to becoming the number one contender. Jim Ross and Macho Man are on commentary tonight.
WWF Championship
Bret Hart (c) vs. The 1-2-3 Kid
In the past year they mention that Bret Hart has won the King of the Ring, Royal Rumble, Superstar of the Year and WWF Title. Owen Hart and Jim Neidhart show up to talk smack to Bret but they are sent away. Right out of the first lockup, Kid brings Hart down with an arm drag, causing Bret to give a look that says “okay, I see this won’t be easy.” Bret takes things to the mat, but Kid uses his quickness and a flurry of kicks to send him reeling to the outside. Following a commercial, Kid is wrestling Bret’s game on the mat and is doing well for himself. Bret seems to get in control, but Kid scores some near falls on flash pins. He tries a crucifix but Bret counters and pins him for a three count. Kid gets his foot on the ropes and the referee misses it. Bret explains it to the referee and demands a restart. Instantly from the restart, Kid scores a near fall, showing that Bret may have made a mistake. JR asks Savage if he would have asked for a restart and Savage says “no way, I’d be in the shower getting ready to party.” Kid is in trouble, but busts out some kicks to save himself. The moonsault that he beat Razor Ramon with gets two. He brings out a powerbomb of all things and hits a top rope leg drop for another close near fall. Kid leaps out onto Bret, but kind of gets brushed aside and hits hard. He still tries more high risk and goes to the well too often as he misses a cannonball splash. Bret tries a superplex but Kid lands on top for two. He jumps from the top again but Bret catches his legs and locks in the Sharpshooter for the submission.
Winner and Still WWF Champion: Bret Hart in 17:34
I’d say this was the best match in the history of Raw up to this point. This worked so well since the WWF spent a year building Kid as this underdog who could win at any time, so the fans bit on every near fall. Bret gave Kid a ton and it took Kid making some mistakes for Bret to retain the title. Great match. ****½
Todd Pettengill brings us the first SummerSlam Report. He hypes that it will take place in the brand new United Center in Chicago and will have the largest crowd to see a WWF show this year. He announces the Undertaker vs. Undertaker main event.
Crush w/ Mr. Fuji vs. Matt Hardy
One of these guys would go on to be a big star. The other is Crush. Unfortunately here, this is all about Crush. His attire isn’t as ridiculously awful as it normally is. Macho Man has gone insane on commentary, just shouting “GOAAAALLLL”. Crush wins in short order with a big backbreaker.
Winner: Crush in 1:27
Hey, they kept a Crush squash short and sweet. I appreciate that.
An ad actually discusses how the WWF Title has eluded Lex Luger. He’ll be facing Diesel for the Intercontinental Title though. Will he come up short with this title on the line too? FIND OUT NEXT WEEK!
Razor Ramon vs. Barry Horowitz
Razor is one of those faces that does heel things and is more over for it. He applies a submission on Barry, shrugs and then just smacks him in the back of the head a few times. Commentary spends the match discussing the company looking for a detective to search for the Undertaker. Surprisingly, Razor wins with a small package.
Winner: Razor Ramon in 2:54
Standard stuff here, not much to discuss.
Time for the King’s Court, taking place in one of Ted Dibiase’s offices. King mentions all of the people that Dibiase has bought and mentions that he’s heard Ted was trying to purchase Lex Luger. Dibiase claims that he isn’t trying, but he’s already bought his services.
IRS vs. Ray Hudson
Guess what IRS cuts a promo on when he walks to the ring? He calls the fans a bunch of tax cheats. As commentary discusses more potential detectives, IRS plods through his shitty offense. IRS wins with the Penalty, or STF.
Winner: IRS in 3:47
This was given too much time. Honestly though, more than 90 seconds of IRS is too much for me.
Bret Hart is interviewed and he puts over the 1-2-3 Kid. He is asked about Owen Hart wanting to take the title at SummerSlam. Bret mentions that with Owen having the Anvil in his corner, so Bret is going to bring one of his brothers to back him up.
Overall: 8/10. As noted previously, when the marquee match delivers and takes up about half of the show, the whole broadcast will get a high score. That’s the case here since the WWF Title not only delivered but was excellent. There was also some forward movement towards SummerSlam and only one match (IRS of course) that I didn’t care for,
Raw History
Episode #71
July 18th, 1994 | Fernwood Resort in Bushkill, Pennsylvania
The show opens with footage from Superstars, where Tatanka called out Lex Luger for selling out to Ted Dibiase.
WWF Intercontinental Championship
Diesel (c) w/ Shawn Michaels vs. Lex Luger
Commentary questions if Lex Luger has sold out or not. Both men are powerful and they play into that early on. They trade stuff early on, with neither man gaining a clear advantage. Luger falls outside, leading to a cheap clothesline from Shawn Michaels. We then see Ted Dibiase watching from the rafters like he’s 1997 Sting or something. Following a commercial, Diesel stays in control, hitting snake eyes for two. I love when Jim Ross asks Macho Man questions because he tends to just respond with “I don’t know”. Diesel slows thing to a crawl with chinlocks and sleeper holds. Things finally pick up as Luger rallies and gets two on a DDT. HBK’s ringside reactions are pretty great. Razor Ramon appears to equalize Shawn and chases him around the ring. Shawn enters the ring and gets into it with Luger, resulting in the DQ.
Double disqualification in 14:05
I appreciate seeing the Intercontinental Title getting a lot of time, but these weren’t the right two guys for it. Neither was very good at working lengthy matches and this dragged on. The finishing stuff was alright, but not enough to save things. *¾
The brawl continues and ends as the faces send the heels packing. Ted Dibiase appears in the aisle, disappointing that Lex Luger didn’t win the title. Get used to it man.
Mabel w/ Oscar vs. Austin Steele
Mabel completely dominates the Buddy Landel impersonator throughout. The crowd chants “WHOMP THERE IT IS”, which is funny since R-Truth uses the same thing to this day.
Winner: Mabel in 2:15
At least it was short.
SummerSlam Report time! Todd informs us that Bret and Owen will meet for the WWF Championship inside of a fifteen foot high Steel Cage. The cage will be there to prevent the incredibly large Hart family from getting involved.
Owen Hart w/ Jim Neidhart vs. Reno Riggins
As the crowd chants “we want Bret”, Owen shouts back “I want Bret too!” Great stuff from Owen and this entire feud is so well done. Owen owns Reno and puts him away with the Sharpshooter.
Winner: Owen Hart in 2:54
As usual, an Owen Hart squash is relatively entertaining. Owen also doesn’t break the hold instantly, telling the referee that he couldn’t hear him.
Adam Bomb, no longer with Harvey Wippleman, faces Yokozuna next week. Oh joy.
Sparky Plugg vs. George South
We are just going through the motions of squash matches aren’t we? We’ve come to the match of the night where commentary just discusses random pop culture instead of pro wrestling. Hey, it even includes the trademark Randy Savage USA Network plug. Speaking of Plugg, he wins with a cross body.
Winner: Sparky Plugg in 2:41
Moving right along as this was kind of irrelevant.
We get some promotion for the Undertaker/Undertaker match.
Bam Bam Bigelow w/ Ted Dibiase vs. Gary Sabaugh
Was getting rid of Luna part of the deal that Bigelow signed to join the Million Dollar Corporation? Bigelow goes through his stuff and applies the Million Dollar Dream. He turns it into a bulldog and wins.
Winner: Bam Bam Bigelow in 2:56
Standard Bigelow stuff though I like the change of finisher.
Ted Dibiase is interviewed after the match about the Lex Luger situation. He promises some answers this weekend. Tatanka comes out to say that he knows Luger signed on. Dibiase responds with “calm down Indian”. Whoa. He calls Tatanka jealous and then bets him $10,000 that Tatanka can’t beat Nikolai Volkoff next week. Good lord, I have to sit through that don’t I?
Overall: 3/10. Unlike the previous week, this week’s title match did not deliver. The rest of the show was pretty dull as well outside of Owen Hart being awesome. There seemed to be a ton of emphasis on Ted Dibiase as well and that looks like it will carry over to next week.
Raw History
Episode #72
July 25th, 1994 | Fernwood Resort in Bushkill, Pennsylvania
We are immediately taken to a recap of the Tatanka/Dibiase altercation last week. On Superstars this past weekend, Dibiase made his huge announcement and introduced Lex Luger. Tatanka was there to confront him and Luger still denies selling out.
Nikolai Volkoff w/ Ted Dibiase vs. Tatanka
Don’t forget, but $10,000 is on the line here. I still don’t get why Ted Dibiase’s first new client was Volkoff. I would have looked at his physique and stayed far away. Volkoff starts in control until Tatanka chops him and sends him outside. Despite this, Volkoff gets back inside and takes control again. He goes for a slam and Tatanka pulls him into a small package to earn ten grand.
Winner: Tatanka in 6:13
Pretty dull affair between two dull workers. I liked almost none of this and thought it was pretty bad. ¾*
Macho Man jumps in the ring with a microphone to make sure Ted Dibiase pays him. He does so, but says that Tatanka couldn’t beat “his” Lex Luger. Tatanka says that he can do so on his worst day. Thigs brings out Luger, who accepts the challenge, but doesn’t really acknowledge Dibiase.
The Headshrinkers w/ Afa and Capt. Lou Albano vs. Barry Hardy and Joey Stallings
Afa is back at ringside with the Tag Team Champions. The match starts before a commercial and just sees the Headshrinkers completely kick ass. They dominate to the point where Jim Ross just wants them to put the jobbers out of their misery, which they do after a splash.
Winners: The Headshrinkers in 3:33
One of the more fun Headshrinkers squashes since they murdered their opponents.
Next week, we actually have a match that sounds good. It’s a WrestleMania X rematch when Razor Ramon meets Shawn Michaels.
Jim Neidhart w/ Owen Hart vs. Jim Powers
Owen talks trash to the camera while Neidhart goes through his typical offense. None of it is very impressive though. He wins with a camel clutch like move.
Winner: Jim Neidhart in 2:58
Standard stuff.
Oh snap, we also get Alundra Blayze vs. Bull Nakano next week. That should be good.
Alundra Blayze is now interviewed in the ring by Jim Ross. She says that Bull Nakano is the kind of girl that could even beat the men in the company. Luna Vachon shows up and says that she is responsible for bringing Bull to the United States. Then she leaves. Alundra, as always, stumbles through her promo but says that she’ll always have the belt.
Adam Bomb vs. Yokozuna w/ Mr. Fuji
Hey, we get two non-squash matches tonight and next week. Yokozuna starts hot but Adam Bomb rallies with some clotheslines and uses a shoulder block to knock Yokozuna to the outside. The ropes sound so strange here, making a weird noise as Adam bounces off. After a commercial, Yokozuna goes into his slow offense, including the DREADED NERVE HOLD. Adam slightly rallies and hits a big flying clothesline off the top. Kwang and Harvey Wippleman come down to the ring and Kwang trips Adam. He goes outside and brawls with Kwang, leading to a countout.
Winner via countout: Yokozuna in 5:51
That was actually better than expected and continues my thought process that Adam Bomb could have been a bigger star than he was. Maybe not WWF Champion material, but certainly an upper card player in a time devoid of top stars. He definitely had the look. **
Todd Pettengill brings us the SummerSlam Report. He runs down the double main event that we already knew about, but adds a third match. Razor Ramon gets his rematch and faces Diesel for the WWF Championship.
Duke Droese vs. Duane Gill
Commentary discusses the unfortunate rivalry between Duke Droese and Jerry Lawler. Lawler calls in and badmouths Duke. Duke does his few moves while Lawler announces that his King’s Court guest next week will be Bob Backlund.
Winner: Duke Droese in 2:31
Typical stuff.
Overall: 4.5/10. I was pleasantly surprised that Yokozuna/Adam Bomb didn’t suck, but Tatanka/Volkoff absolutely did. The rest of the show was a mixed bag. The Neidhart and Duke stuff was kind of just there, the Blayze interview was short but dull and the Headshrinkers squash was kind of fun actually. Next week looks pretty good though. |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Oct 23, 2015 20:11:56 GMT -5
In Your House: A Cold Day in Hell
May 11th, 1997 | Richmond Coliseum in Richmond, Virginia | Attendance: 9,381
As noted in previous reviews, the In Your House collection is usually an easy watch. I rarely see one that is offensively bad, some are really good and even when they are mediocre, they’re quickly over given their (for the most part) two hour run time. Here, we have the first ever PPV meeting between Steve Austin and the Undertaker, as well as the in-ring debut of Ken Shamrock. This would be the 15th In Your House in history.
The opening video package for this show is basic, but to the point and pretty cool. Commentary then runs down the three big matches for tonight. Commentary is Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler.
Flash Funk vs. Hunter Hearst-Helmsley w/ Chyna
I don’t know if there was an actual reason or not, but commentary saying the Funkettes weren’t at ringside because of Chyna is one of those little thing that helps someone like Chyna get over. Flash starts quick as Jim Ross tells us that the Hart Foundation scalped some tickets so they can sit front row. Flash knocks HHH outside and seems to go for a big move, but instead just hits a weak diving clothesline. Chyna clotheslines the hell out of him behind the official’s back. Maybe she too was disappointed in his offense. HHH takes control and wears down Flash. He makes a mistake by trying a high risk move and eats a boot. Funk starts a rally with that until HHH catches him up top. He hits a second rope back suplex that Flash flips over for, making it look much better. The Pedigree follows to end things.
Winner: Hunter Hearst-Helmsley in 10:05
Technically, the match was fine but the lack of heat from the crowd really hurt things. Flash bumped pretty well for HHH, but most of Hunters offense at the time was dull. The focus seemed more on getting Chyna over than the competitors. *½
Rocky Maivia is interviewed backstage about losing the Intercontinental Championship and how his career has hit a rough patch. None of the charisma that he would become known for was evident here.
Mankind vs. Rocky Maivia
Who would think that in a year and a half, these two would be feuding for the WWF Championship? There is a surprising intensity at some points in the match, with Mankind beating the hell out of Rocky. Jim Ross brings up Mankind saying that he is a loving father. This was around the time that they were starting to add some sympathy to the Mankind character, turning him into a major babyface. The fight moves to the ramp where Rocky hits a damn Rock Bottom. JR does his whole “HOW DO WRESTLERS LEARN HOW TO FALL?” stuff that he ran into the ground. Inside, Rocky is coming close to a win. He comes off the top with a cross body but Mankind rolls through right into the Mandible Claw.
Winner: Mankind in 8:46
That wasn’t great, but it was surprisingly fun. They did some cool spots like the stage Rock Bottom, giving us a preview of the brutal matches they would go on to have for the WWF Title. The finish was creative too, so points for that. **½
Gauntlet Match
Ahmed Johnson vs. The Nation of Domination
Gorilla Monsoon shows up to send any members of the Nation not wrestling to the top of the stage. Ahmed starts with Crush, instantly telling me that this will be pretty bad. Right off the bat, Ahmed hits a hideous looking scissors kick. They plod through some boring stuff with Crush holding serve. He goes for the Heart punch, only for Ahmed to counter with an ugly spinning heel kick. He gets the three count at 5:38. Savio Vega is next and takes advantage of a tired Ahmed. I mean, five minutes is like an Ironman match for Ahmed. It’s weird to see him trying to sell so much. Savio is in control, but then just starts beating up Ahmed with a chair, getting disqualified on purpose at 11:13. The final gauntlet opponent, Faarooq comes down to pick up the pieces. Faarooq beats on him until Ahmed hits a spinebuster and Pearl River Plunge but only for two. Faarooq then gets up and wins with the Dominator.
Winners: The Nation of Domination at 13:43
Much like the rest of the feud between Ahmed and Nation of Domination, this sucked. Ahmed was always a poor worker and things got worse after he started getting hurt. The Nation at this time was pretty bad too, not helping the cause. Just a dreadful thirteen minutes. ½*
No Holds Barred Match
Ken Shamrock vs. Vader
Here we have the pro wrestling debut of Ken Shamrock. The match can end via submission of knockout, which plays into both guy’s strengths. They go for that early with Vader looking for strikes and Shamrock trying to grab any limb. The crowd is pretty dead until Shamrock starts slamming and suplexing the big man. Pretty much everything these guys do is stiff, adding something to this war. Vader suplexes Shamrock outside and continues the beating. At one point, he sends Shamrock into the corner hard and applies a submission of his own. He misses the moonsault and Shamrock starts to come back. He fires off shots in the corner until Vader just annihilates him with a big one. He goes to continue but Shamrock pulls him into the ankle lock and makes Vader tap.
Winner: Ken Shamrock in 13:21
I feel like this match isn’t for everyone. I don’t think I really liked it much the first time I saw it. However, I’ve recently become more of a fan of this style and I find myself liking it much more here. They just beat the hell out of each other and it worked as a semi-legit fight. Vader was a great choice for a first opponent for Shamrock. ***¾
WWF Championship
The Undertaker (c) vs. Steve Austin
Right as the two men face off in the middle of the ring, the Hart Foundation shows up to take seats at ringside. Austin doesn’t care and just goes on the offensive while the belt and robe are still on Taker. He then grabs Owen Hart and pulls him over the guardrail to beat him up. Once the action returns to the ring, the pace slows down. Austin wisely keeps the Undertaker grounded. Neidhart is heard yelling at a fan and it seems like one may have tried to get physical with them. The heat they drew was pretty legit. Taker turns it around and lays into Austin with SOUPBONES! Austin applies a weak looking STF, though it’s still miles ahead of John Cena’s. Lawler is confused at the hold and JR calls him out, telling him that if he ever left Memphis, he’d know a hold or two. Surprisingly, Undertaker works the leg as well, making for an interesting dynamic. In classic Austin fashion, he’s talking trash to the Hart Foundation while in the submission. It seems like both guys have each out well scouted, avoiding the big moves of the other. Even though Austin is a face, he hits a low blow. Earl Hebner gives him a tern talking to, so Austin flips him the double bird behind his back to a massive pop. Undertaker responds with one of his own. Taker then hits a Chokeslam and Austin retaliates with a Stunner. Before he can pin, Brian Pillman rings the bell, causing a distraction. This allows Undertaker to get up. He goes for the Tombstone, Austin nearly counters into one of his own, but Taker counters back and ends it with a Tombstone.
Winner and Still WWF Champion: The Undertaker in 20:04
Honestly, that was probably the best match these two would have on Pay-Per-View. Their chemistry always seemed off, but they showed here that they were certainly capable. Both guys going for the leg was interesting. I loved Austin being a total badass and both guys scouting each other and being desperate enough to resort to low blows. The unclean finish actually worked great here. ***½
Once the match ends, the Hart Foundation run in to attack the Undertaker. This leaves Austin to see Bret Hart in the front row in his wheelchair. Austin turns the chair over and steals a crutch, bringing it in the ring to clean house. After the Foundation leaves, Austin lays out Undertaker in a very Stone Cold move.
Overall: 6/10; Average. Here’s one of those classic In Your House events. It is a super easy watch thanks to the short runtime, and the show itself is a mixed bag. While you get the opener and the gauntlet match, which were both pretty bad, you are also treated to two very good matches in Shamrock/Vader and the WWF Title match. Add in a decent little Rock/Mankind match which works as a preview to their future wars and you get a thumbs up. According to my randomizer, next on “Random Network Reviews” is Fully Loaded 1999! |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Oct 25, 2015 16:37:01 GMT -5
Raw History
Episode #73
August 1st, 1994 | Beeghly Center in Youngstown, Ohio
The show opens with a recap of the short history between Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon, including their ladder match at WrestleMania. Vince McMahon is back on commentary for the first time in weeks.
Razor Ramon vs. Shawn Michaels w/ Diesel
A hot start by Razor sends Shawn to the outside. Razor uses his strength, including a fallaway slam, to keep the pressure on HBK. The back and forth is impressive here as neither guy is really allowed to take firm control for any lengthy period. They trade offense and have the crowd completely into them. Razor catapults Shawn over and out onto Diesel. Shawn over does the jump, but it comes off looking fine. Shawn looks to come off the top but Razor slams him down like he’s Ric Flair. Razor continues to try and use his power with a bearhug and abdominal stretch. This has gone through two commercial breaks and is getting a good amount of time. Shawn has turned the tide, using underhanded tactics like a good heel. Shawn wears him down but Razor starts to rally. Both men are down after Razor hits a big kick when Shawn sets too early. They get up and trade blows before Shawn takes his signature corner bump. Shawn goes for the Razor’s Edge but Razor counters with a backdrop. He gets up and calls for a Razor’s Edge of his own but Diesel gets on the apron. He eats some right hands as Shawn grabs the Intercontinental Title. He fails at using it but Razor ends up running into a boot from Diesel behind the official’s back. Shawn rolls up Razor for the 1-2-3.
Winner: Shawn Michaels in 17:59
Shawn gets his win back from WrestleMania and these two have another really good outing. It obviously wasn’t on the level of their Ladder match, but still a good showing. I liked Razor playing the powerhouse, which doesn’t always work for a face, but did so here. Razor probably had better chemistry with HBK than anyone else. ***½
Diesel and Shawn Michaels look to continue the assault after the bell but officials break things up.
Todd Pettengill brings us the SummerSlam Report. He says that Shawn and Diesel should just come out together since they’re working together by the end of the match anyway. That would be good, but Diesel and Shawn already do come out together. We find out that Lex Luger accepted Tatanka’s challenge for SummerSlam.
Non-Title Match
WWF Women’s Champion Alundra Blayze vs. Bull Nakano w/ Luna Vachon
Bull Nakano is just given the old Orient Express theme. Vince does a good job in putting over Nakano as a dominant force in Japan. She proves him right quickly by tossing Alundra around like a rag doll. Macho Man calls her BULL NAKANAKANAKANO for some reason. Nakano hits a big piledriver but Blayze gets her foot on the bottom rope. Nakano follows with a sitout powerbomb for two again. Blayze gets a victory roll near fall before making a mistake and missing high risk. Nakano missing a flying leg drop and kicks out of Alundra’s bridging German. Alundra dropkicks Nakano outside and leaps off onto her. They brawl outside until a double countout is called.
Double countout in 5:25
A fantastic first TV showing for Bull Nakano. She got to show off her power offense, went to a draw with the champion and this sets up a rematch. They showed off moves that you wouldn’t see men bust out in this era, let alone women, while exciting the crowd with close near falls. ***
Next week, Bigelow and IRS take on Doink and Tatanka. I guess not every show can be like this.
It’s time for the King’s Court, but Jerry Lawler goes into the crowd to bash fans. He says that all of Macho Man’s girlfriends are inflatable. Macho Man’s response is “how did he know?” There is a marriage proposal in the crowd and Lawler pulls the woman away to give her time to think. She says yes. Lawler’s guest is the man who says that he never lost the WWF Championship, Bob Backlund. We see footage from a recent show where Bret Hart beat Bob Backlund. Bob slapped Bret and put him in the chicken wing. Bob seems to be on the verge of snapping.
The Smoking Gunns vs. George Anderson and Tom Bennett
Billy and Bart do their double team offense and we actually go to a commercial during this. They win as the show goes off the air.
Winners: The Smoking Gunns in 1:44
It was kept short and that’s how I like it.
Overall: 8.5/10. One of the better episodes of Raw so far. You got a really good match between Razor and HBK, while Bull Nakano and Alundra Blayze had a great five minute showcase. Throw in an important Backlund interview setting up a new top heel and keeping the lame stuff to a short under two minute match and you’ve got a winner.
Raw History
Episode #74
August 8th, 1994 | Beeghly Center in Youngstown, Ohio
Our usual hosts are here this week.
The Undertaker w/ Ted Dibiase vs. Butch Banks
I feel like Butch Banks drew the short straw when it comes to jobber names. Obviously, this is the Underfaker, since the real Undertaker won’t be back until SummerSlam. He wins with a tombstone.
Winner: The Underfaker in 3:07
Totally one-sided, which was fine and how it should have been.
A clip is shown of Leslie Nielsen searching for the real Undertaker. Those ads were really hit or miss.
A recap airs from Superstars when Shawn Michaels had Lex Luger on the Heartbreak Hotel and was trying to goad him into saying that he was now employed by Ted Dibiase. He barely denies it, which continues the speculation. That’s a fine idea, but if Luger was really a straight face, why not just deny it?
Lex Luger vs. Chad Miller
Ted Dibiase shows up to talk to Luger during his entrance. After a break, Dibiase appears on a split screen, saying that he just told Luger not to worry about a thing. Luger goes through his stuff and wins with the loaded forearm.
Winner: Lex Luger in 3:00
As usual, Lex Luger squashes aren’t the most entertaining.
Todd Pettengill and the SummerSlam Report brings us the ENTIRE SummerSlam card. We already know about the Battle of the Undertakers, Luger/Tatanka, the WWF Title Steel Cage match and Diesel defending the Intercontinental Title against Razor Ramon. Razor is gonna have former Chicago Bear Walter Payton in his corner to oppose HBK. Added to the card is a Women’s Title match between Alundra Blayze and Bull Nakano, Mabel vs. Jeff Jarrett because rap vs. country is a thing and lastly, the Headshrinkers will put the Tag Team Titles on the line against IRS and Bigelow.
Bam Bam Bigelow and IRS w/ Ted Dibiase vs. Doink and Tatanka w/ Dink
I do not have high hopes for this one. Doink and IRS start things and Doink keeps the pace quick, while IRS struggles and has to tag out. When the match moves to Bigelow and Tatanka, it ends up improving but still isn’t what I would call great. The heels start to work the heat on Tatanka which surprised me. He’s the guy going into a big PPV match, so I’d assume he’d get the hot tag. That hot tag comes to Doink but it ends up failing as he eats a kick from Bigelow while IRS is the legal man. He hits the Write-Off and they win.
Winners: Bam Bam Bigelow and IRS in 8:00
Outside of Bigelow, I don’t really like any of the other workers in this match. Due to this, I wasn’t a fan. It wasn’t outwardly bad as they followed tag formula fine, but it was pretty dull. *
The winners throw Doink out of the ring and attack Tatanka until Lex Luger runs them off. Ted Dibiase gets in the ring with money and makes an offer to Luger. He shoves the money in Lex’s hand and Tatanka bumps into him. He sees the money and flips out, shouting that Lex sold out.
Next week, Owen Hart takes on the 1-2-3 Kid in a rematch of their excellent King of the Ring bout. Sweet!
King’s Court time with guest Owen Hart, how is accompanied by Jim Neidhart. Owen runs down his family and mentions that Neidhart is the only member that has had his back from the start. He reminds everyone that he humiliated his brother at WrestleMania before winning the King of the Ring. Then Owen flips it and says that the whole family now backs him. Bruce Hart is brought out as the next guest. He was always my least favorite Hart Family member. He says that nobody in the family is behind Owen. He also says that Owen cheated at WrestleMania, which did not happen at all. They bicker and argue into a commercial that ends the segment. It helped build the upcoming WWF Title match but Bruce was pretty bad here.
Bob Backlund vs. Kevin Krueger
Backlund’s style was pretty different from what was going in around this era. He was stuck in the 80’s, but it kind of worked in his insane character during this time. He was just beginning it here and hadn’t cut his hair yet. Every single time he takes his opponent down, he starts leaping around. There are some “boring” chants before a “we want Bret” chant takes over. He wins with the Crossface Chicken Wing.
Winner: Bob Backlund in 3:48
Backlund was kind of entertaining here.
He holds onto the chicken wing for long after the bell and then stares at his own hands.
Overall: 3.5/10. A big downfall from last week but that was expected. Most of this show is an easy skip, especially since the main match wasn’t good, but I did enjoy Backlund and the Owen Hart portion of the King’s Court.
Raw History
Episode #75
August 15th, 1994 | Memorial Auditorium in Lowell, Massachusetts
For weeks, the Tatanka/Luger issue has broiled over and Luger keeps ending up in situations where he looks like he’s joining the Million Dollar Corporation. Macho Man and Vince McMahon are on commentary.
1-2-3 Kid vs. Owen Hart w/ Jim Neidhart
Similar to their King of the Ring match, Owen attacks before the bell, but the Kid is ready. He scores a quick near fall on a spinning heel kick. I don’t know what it is about this episode, maybe it’s the lighting, but it looks better than other recent episodes. Kid blocks some back suplexes and takes Owen to the mat. Owen finally hits one, followed by an enziguri for two. Both guys pick up the pace and kip up at the same time. Kid knocks him outside and follows with a springboard dive. He dropkicks Neidhart’s fat ass off the apron heading into the commercial. Returning, Owen hits a suplex from the apron to the outside and Kid takes the bump like they were actually in the ring, which is sick. Owen now picks the Kid apart, taking joy in playing the bigger guy. Owen makes a crucial mistake, missing a knee drop from the top and starts to limp. Kid goes right after the leg and applies a single leg crab until Neidhart runs in for the DQ.
Winner via disqualification: 1-2-3 Kid in 9:57
A fast paced match that was probably a notch below their King of the Ring encounter. Fun, quick and not the kind of thing we’d see often on Raw in this time period. The finish was pretty lame though. ***
After the match, Jim Neidhart keeps officials at bay while Owen Hart locks the 1-2-3 Kid in the Sharpshooter.
Todd Pettengill and that SummerSlam Report! No new information comes here.
In the crowd, Abe “Knuckleball” Schwartz is on strike. You see, Major League Baseball was on strike at the time and the WWF wanted to take advantage of that. He was played by Steve Lombardi, or the Brooklyn Brawler. In a promo from earlier in the evening, he blamed the fans.
Duke Droese vs. Nick Barberry
This is what you would expect it to be. Barberry gets in like two moves before Droese hits a clothesline and body slam. He shouts “ITS TIME TO TAKE OUT THE TRASH” before winning with an elbow.
Winner: Duke Droese in 1:27
Just how I like my Duke Droese matches; short.
Another Leslie Nielsen vignette is shown, saying he will solve the case at SummerSlam.
Kwang w/ Harvey Wippleman vs. Tony Roy
Kwang attacks, spits the red mist in the air and wins in incredibly quick fashion.
Winner: Kwang in 0:32
Whoa. That was short.
Jerry Lawler and Ted Dibiase are out for the King’s Court. Lawler talks about how Dibiase has been wrongfully questioned about the legitimacy of his Undertaker. Out comes Paul Bearer as Lawler has him as a guest too so Ted can clear the air. Bearer sends a message for Ted’s Undertaker saying that the real Undertaker is going to end him. Out comes the Underfaker. Bearer tells him to his face that at SummerSlam, his eyes will be closed forever. So, basically, the Undertaker is going to murder Brian Lee. As he chokes Bearer, the lights flicker and the crowd loses their minds. They go out and when they come back on after a gong, Bearer is out of the ring and screeching that his Undertaker is here.
Mabel w/ Oscar vs. Raymond Roy
I wonder if the jobber is related to the dude who Kwang killed. Mabel does some different offense like a neck snap but it still isn’t among the most impressive showings. He wins with a second rope elbow
Winner: Mabel in 2:33
Kudos to Mabel for bringing out some new moves.
Jeff Jarrett vs. Scott Taylor
In the Attitude Era, the crowd would have been pretty into this pairing. Jarrett dominates here and wins with a figure four, which I believe is the first time he’s won with that on Raw.
Winner: Jeff Jarrett in 1:58
Hey look, another short squash. That has certainly helped this show move along.
Jeff Jarrett’s celebration is cut short by the arrival of Mabel and Oscar. They rap to show that rap music is better than country.
Overall: 6.5/10. A solid episode here. Owen/Kid was a good showing and the rest of the squash matches were kept short, which is a very good thing. Add in the fact that I was actually entertained by the King’s Court this week for the most part and you’ve got a thumbs up. |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Oct 26, 2015 22:26:21 GMT -5
NJPW King of Pro Wrestling 2013
October 14th, 2013 | Sumo Hall in Tokyo, Japan | Attendance: 9,000
As noted in previous reviews, I’ve only recently gotten into Japanese wrestling. I’ve come to really like it and will be bringing you Puro Reviews. Most of what I do will be New Japan Pro Wrestling, but I’ll to my best to throw in Pro Wrestling NOAH if I can get my hands on some of their shows. Using my subscription to NJPW World for the New Japan stuff, I’ll be randomly pulling shows but this show was a recommendation.
These won’t be done in play-by-play style since I have to watch New Japan World on my laptop and can’t write it up while watching.
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
Forever Hooligans (c) vs. Suzuki-Gun
The Forever Hooligans consist of Rocky Romero and Alex Kozlov, while Suzuki-Gun is represented by Taka Michinoku and Taichi. There aren’t two teams that I’m used to since I’ve seen more of Rocky’s new team, Roppongi Vice, while I’ve only seen Suzuki-Gun once. Kozlov wants the Russian national anthem played and the fans in Japan actually stand up for this. That would never be done by most American fans. Both teams work heel which certainly makes things a bit interesting. There is a mild tag to Rocky, who does his typical spots. The Hooligans look to be on the verge of retaining when Taichi hits a low blow behind the referee’s back. A rollup brings us new champions.
Winners and New IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions: Suzuki-Gun in 7:37
Not much to see here. Pretty basic tag with nothing special really going on. It was interesting to see both teams work as hells but other than that, this is skippable. **
Minoru Suzuki vs. Toru Yano
I saw these two meet in a short match in the G1 24. This is a battle of a comedy wrestler in Yano and one bad motherer in Suzuki. Yano is up to his usual tricks, but Suzuki is ready for most of it and puts a stop to it a few times. He goes for his signature taunt three times, but keeps getting cut off before finally finishing it to a cool pop. Suzuki handcuffs Yano to the guardrail outside, threatening a countout. Yano, the master of trickery, manages to get free and break the count. It doesn’t last much longer though as shortly after he enters, Suzuki beats him with a cradle piledriver.
Winner: Minoru Suzuki in 7:09
Better than the G1 match I saw of theirs but nothing great. With Yano, it’s more about being entertained than the star ratings of his matches. The math isn’t very good, but it manages to be relatively fun and creative. **
Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Lance Archer w/ Taka Michinoku vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Takaai Watanabe w/ Satoshi Kojima
Hiroyoshi Tenzan’s usual tag partner, Satoshi Kojima, is at ringside and isn’t competing due to a shoulder injury. Watanabe is his replacement and just gets picked apart by the NWA Tag Team Champions. A lot of the time, the match starts kind of even before breaking down into the heat. This just goes right into it, kind of playing into the fact that maybe Watanabe isn’t the best choice for a partner. The Killer Elite Squad look absolutely dominant throughout, even when Tenzan gets the tag. Watanabe has a real tough time trying to lift either of his opponents. They put him down with a double team powerbomb.
Winners: Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Lance Archer in 11:38
Pretty solid tag team match here. It did a good job in showing how dominant the Killer Elite Squad can be, while showing that Tencozy might be the team that can beat them if healthy. **¾
After the match, they attack Satoshi Kojima and declare that they are coming for the IWGP Tag Team Titles.
Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Karl Anderson & Prince Devitt) vs. Kota Ibushi, Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma
Prince Devitt is wearing his light up jacket and comes face to face with Kota Ibushi before the bell. He puts the finger gun sign to his head in a cool moment. I’m guessing that the Ibushi/Devitt IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title match was already set for Wrestle Kingdom in a few months because they are the focal point of this thing, starting off against each other. Tomoaki Honma hits his trademark headbutt on the first try, which pretty much blew my mind. He takes the heat, which he’s pretty good at. The Bullet Club work well together until the hot tag comes to Ibushi. He comes in on fire and is just such a joy to watch. Everybody in the match honestly pulls their weight. Anderson gets the win after two Gun Stuns on Honma.
Winners: The Bullet Club in 10:37
Really enjoyable six man tag match here that is match of the night so far. The Bullet Club worked well together and all of the opposing faces got to do their thing. Kota Ibushi’s interactions with Prince Devitt were easily the highlight of this thing. ***¼
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tomohiro Ishii
I’ve seen these two wrestle twice. Once was a five star match at the G1 23 and the other was another great match at the G1 24. This takes place in between those events. Just like those matches, this starts with both men charging at each other because they are badass dudes. They just beat the hell out of each other and at one point, literally ask the other guy to hit them harder. It’s a pretty crazy thing to see. It’s great to see that both guys are billed as equals throughout. Every time Shibata does something, Ishii can do it back and vice versa. They call back to their previous G1 match with some big time near falls of one counts, despite big moves. Ishii hits a lariat at one point that would have ended a normal match but Shibata actually stays on his feet. He fights through and wins with the Penalty Kick.
Winner: Katsuyori Shibata in 15:57
The fact that these two guys went to war for almost sixteen minutes and pretty much didn’t stop at all is a testament to their abilities. Like the other two matches, this is just incredibly stiff and features two guys just trying to prove who is tougher and beating the crapout of each other in the process. It’s a style of wrestling that I’ve really come to love. ****¼
Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Yuji Nagata
I’m not sure on the story behind this match, but it seems to me that there is some tension early on. This plays out more like a fight than a wrestling match. There aren’t many moves and it’s more based on strikes. It seems to be a bit of a hybrid match type and it isn’t for everyone. I thought it started slow but managed to pick up and become pretty interesting. They switched over from strikes into some submissions. Nagata eventually wins after a backdrop suplex.
Winner: Yuji Nagata in 10:25
As noted, this wasn’t for everyone. They worked more of a fight than a wrestling match and some people won’t like that. I found it to be a pretty cool idea that was executed rather well. ***
NEVER Openweight Championship
Tetsuya Naito (c) vs. Yujiro Takahashi
Tetsuya Naito is fresh off of winning the G1 Climax and on his way to an IWGP Heavyweight Title shot at Wrestle Kingdom 8. This is before Yujiro Takahashi joined the Bullet Club, but he still had the gimmick where he brings out the girls in scantily clad outfits. These guys also used to be a tag team called No Limit, so they know each other well. It’s strange to see Naito as a face now. He wasn’t great at showing emotion but he’s vastly improved that now. Takahashi attacks quickly, playing the heel role rather well. They also dig into their past and showcase how well they know each other. As the match nears the finish, both men exchange some strikes though they aren’t as hard hitting as some of the future NEVER Title match strike battles. Being the G1 winner though, the outcome wasn’t really in doubt here. Naito hits the Stardust Press and goes right into the Koji Clutch, making Takahashi submit.
Winner and Still NEVER Openweight Champion: Tetsuya Naito in 16:35
The best Yujiro Takahashi match that I’ve seen to date. He has good chemistry with Tetsuya Naito, which makes sense given their past. He also seemed to put forth more effort here than he does in his later work that I’ve seen. This wasn’t great, but it was pretty solid. ***¼
IWGP Intercontinental Championship
Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Naomichi Marufuji
On almost any show that I put on, Shinsuke Nakamura will be the reigning Intercontinental Champion. Now, Naomichi Marufuji is someone who I saw live multiple times in Ring of Honor back in 2007, 2008 and 2009. These two go back and forth early on, with neither gaining the upper hand and just trying to test each other out. Marufuji gets the first big spot with a sick piledriver on the apron. I don’t think I’ve seen that before. Marufuji goes after the neck following this and works it consistently, with Nakamura doing a good job of selling it. It also sets up for Marufuji’s finish, Shiranui. Nakamura wisely has done his homework and has this very well scouted, blocking it numerous times. They go into a fantastic finishing stretch, where Nakamura nails two Boma Ye’s to retain.
Winner and Still IWGP Intercontinental Champion: Shinsuke Nakamura in 16:18
Just an absolutely fantastic match. Thinking about how much I like Nakamura and how much I used to like Marufuji, this is somewhat of a dream match and it delivered. Marufuji worked the neck in a great way that was never dull and Nakamura sold it well. When they went into exchanges, it was always exhilarating and I found this to be excellent. ****¼
IWGP Heavyweight Championship
Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
Obviously, both of these guys are among the top in the business. I’ve heard some seriously high praise for this match in particular so I went in with very high expectations. They managed to still blow those out of the water. There is a big fight feel during the match and the guys start fast. Coming into this, they are 2-2-1 against each other. I want to praise Tanahashi instantly as he wrestles in a way I don’t often see from him. Not only did he bust out the heel tactics, but he did so in a desperate manner. He feigns an injury at one point when his early advantage starts to slip. You can see that he is desperate to not give Okada any kind of momentum, no matter what it takes. Tanahashi, knowing his opponent, just obliterates his arm. It’s his goal to make sure that Okada can’t hit his big moves, especially the Rainmaker. He is just vicious and relentless on the attack from start to finish. Okada has to wrestle from behind, which works since the fans switch to getting firmly behind him after Tanahashi acts like the heel. He sells the arm work masterfully as even when he rallies, he can’t capitalize on certain moves because of the arm. It stops him from fully applying submissions and it opens the door for Tanahashi to either take a breather or get back on the offensive. Okada avoids a second High Fly Flow by rolling outside, but Tanahashi just leaps out onto him. Okada comes back with a tombstone outside and you could feel that the finish was near. I knew the outcome going in and still bit on a moment when Tanahashi hit the High Fly Flow on Okada’s back and went for a second, but Okada got his knees up. Tanahashi blocks the Rainmaker at every turn until Okada is finally able to hit one from out of nowhere and retain.
Winner and Still IWGP Heavyweight Champion: Kazuchika Okada in 35:17
All of the high praise that I heard about this and guess what? It really was better than expected. This was the epitome of telling a great story, using psychology correctly and having it all come together for a masterful big title fight. This is one of the greatest matches that I’ve ever seen. The desperation of Tanahashi, the resilience of Okada, the arm work coming into play and not over relying on things like false finishes all just do so much to make this an incredible match. *****
Overall: 8.5/10; Excellent. I would like pat my buddy on the back for recommending this event to me. It was pretty great. The first few matches got this off to a slow start, but everything after the six man tag was over three stars. You have Shibata/Ishii and Marufuji/Nakamura, which would be match of the night on most shows, but they get overshadowed by a phenomenal main event. This is a must see show and a must witness IWGP Title match that is among the best I’ve ever watched. |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Oct 31, 2015 22:24:33 GMT -5
Fully Loaded 1999
July 25th, 1999 | Marine Midland Arena in Buffalo, New York | Attendance: 16,605
The Attitude Era was in full swing and business was booming for the WWF during this time period. This is the first PPV to air after the first live event I ever attended, which is pretty cool. This was a high stakes event with the main event being billed as the “End of an Era” and the show pulled in a 1.09 buyrate. This would be the second of three Fully Loaded Pay-Per-Views in history.
The intro video is weird but focuses on tonight possibly being the end for Mr. McMahon. The main event is “End of an Era” because if Steve Austin wins, Vince is gone from the company and if Undertaker wins, Austin can never have another title shot.
Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler are on commentary. Footage airs from Heat shortly before this where Undertaker attacked Austin backstage and busted him open.
WWF Intercontinental Championship
Edge (c) vs. Jeff Jarrett w/ Debra
One night earlier, Edge filled in for Ken Shamrock and faced Jeff Jarrett for the Intercontinental Title, defeating him to become champion in Toronto. Debra is basically not wearing anything tonight. The crowd wants puppies as the competitors feel each other out. Jarrett does the old heel tactic of walking out with the belt but its dumb here since he isn’t champion. I get that he wants to say “this is rightfully mine”, but he just looks like an idiot. He doesn’t actually leaves and returns to the ring, going after the knee when it looks like Edge tweaks it. He continues that focus and does his best to wear down Edge, while JR points out that it negates the quickness of Edge. Edge scores some flash pins as he starts a comeback. The lights go out as if a bloodbath is coming from the Brood, who recently kicked Edge out. When they come back on, Gangrel is laid out as his plan backfired. This does allow Jarrett to try and capitalize on the distraction. Edge still overcomes it and hits the Spear. Debra gets on the apron and uses the outfit she’s barely wearing to distract Edge. Jarrett hits Edge, which knocks Debra off the apron. Gangrel snaps Edge on the top rope, allowing Jarrett to score the pinfall.
Winner and New WWF Intercontinental Champion: Jeff Jarrett in 13:22
A solid match to open things up. I liked how Gangrel’s first interference attempt failed, which was a cool swerve. Yea there was some interference but it made sense within the angle and there was actually probably less than you’d expect in this area. A smartly worked match. ***
Steve Austin is done getting bandaged up and rushes out to the ring. He lays out Jeff Jarrett with a Stone Cold Stunner because he is in a foul mood. He’s so amped that he is bleeding again.
WWF Tag Team Championship
The Hardy Boyz (c) and Michael Hayes vs. The Acolytes
Even though the titles are on the line, Michael Hayes could eat the pin and cost the Hardys the belts. The fight starts in the aisle after a backstage promo where Hayes comes off as a bit egotistical. The brawl continues outside where the Hardys bust out some cool dives onto the challengers. They are about three months away from REALLY breaking out. It’s a physical match as the Acolytes are just tossing the Hardys around. Things break down to a normal tag match. Bradshaw beats the hell out of Hayes, who is surprisingly able to bump pretty well. When Jeff comes in, he just takes a powerbomb, not proving to be much help. The Hardys are the ones to cheat, hitting Bradshaw with a cane, which is how they won the belts. Bradshaw is able to kick out somehow. Also, this was right in front of the official and no DQ was called. The Hardys go for Poetry in Motion but Bradshaw ANNIHILATES Jeff with a midair Clothesline from Hell. The pin gets broken up though, only to lead to Hayes being left alone. He takes a double powerbomb and we have new champions.
Winners and New WWF Tag Team Champions: The Acolytes in 9:32
Better than I thought it would be. Michael Hayes put in a good effort and the Hardys bumped like crazy for the Acolytes. The brawling was fun but when the match broke down it got a bit dull. Overall though, a good performance by both teams. **¾
WWF European Championship
Mideon (c) vs. D-Lo Brown
Before the match, D-Lo is interviewed about how he hasn’t held the European Title in nine months. About a month earlier, Mideon found the European Title in Shane McMahon’s duffel bag. Shane had retired it but allowed Mideon to have it. Brown is a solid hand but Mideon is pretty bad. Mideon sends him into the steel steps and takes control. Having the heel slow the pace and control the match makes sense in theory, but when the heel is Mideon, the execution is not going to be good. D-Lo makes a comeback that the crowd doesn’t care about and wins with the Lo Down.
Winner and New WWF European Champion: D-Lo Brown in 7:11
D-Lo Brown tried, but it’s damn near impossible to get a good match out of Mideon. This was just here to get the title onto someone with some actual credibility. Boring stuff since Mideon controlled most of it. ¾*
WWF Hardcore Championship
Al Snow (c) vs. Big Bossman
Al Snow looks like he hasn’t slept in weeks because a spike was driven though Head. I feel like these two had a feud that lasted through all of 1999. They start this match in the aisle and up by the entrance. Like a lot of hardcore matches from this era, they move backstage. Also like a lot of hardcore matches in the area, they just wail on each other with the most random of weapons, highlighted by Snow pouring hot coffee on Bossman. In a funny spot, Bossman finds the markers they use in the NFL to say that down it is. He finds one that says 4 and punt kicks Snow in the ribs. He tries to drive a golf cart into Snow but can’t get the vehicle to start so they ditch the spot. They go outside where Bossman nails a bulldog on the concrete. JR is stunned that wasn’t the finish. They even nearly get run over. Bossman hits Snow with a bottle and handcuffs him to a fence across the street. Snow is playing the deranged guy wanting more pain throughout this. Bossman lays him out with the nightstick and he puts his foot on Snow to pin the seated champion.
Winner and New WWF Hardcore Champion: Big Bossman in 10:11
While some of the things they did were pretty fun and creative, it was really just two guys beating the hell out of each other with random weapons. I appreciated them playing into the deranged Al Snow stuff, which made this a bit better. Not the worst way to spend ten minutes. **
Big Show vs. Kane
For some reason, Hardcore Holly is the special guest referee. Jim Ross says that both guys are in their twenties, which is incorrect. They work typical big man stuff with Holly continually stepping in and throwing his authority in the faces of the competitors. Honestly, neither Big Show nor Kane look very motivated and kind of plod through their offense. Holly keeps overstepping his boundaries. Kane hits a flying clothesline for the first impressive move of the match. Show then uses a chop block and Chokeslam for the pin as Holly counts fast.
Winner: Big Show in 8:13
Man that was absolutely dreadful. They didn’t do anything terribly or botch anything, but none of it was entertaining in the slightest. The Hardcore Holly story was something they didn’t do a bad job of telling, but again, it wasn’t an interesting story to tell. ¼*
Once the bell rings, X-Pac runs out to kick Hardcore Holly. The Undertaker runs out and Chokeslams X-Pac. Show and Undertaker put the boots to Kane. Undertaker leaves shortly after, but when he gets backstage, Steve Austin attacks and busts him open, evening the score from earlier tonight.
Iron Circle Match
Ken Shamrock vs. Steve Blackman
If you’re wondering what an Iron Circle match is, it’s just a parking lot brawl before it had that name. They are in street clothes and surrounded by cars, while various lower mid-carders and jobbers bang on the cars and honk horns. They brawl and Blackman tries to kill Shamrock with a chain only for Shamrock to dodge it. They do some okay spots with the cars until Shamrock chokes out Blackman with a chain.
Winner: Ken Shamrock in 4:19
A good idea that wasn’t greatly executed. While they didn’t do anything outwardly bad, nothing they did was really great and it was too short for anything to really get going. *½
Chyna and Mr. Ass vs. Road Dogg and X-Pac
Yup, this is a match for the rights to the DX name. Yes, Billy Gunn is literally known as Mr. Ass (nameplate, announcing and commentary). Yes, Billy and Chyna have matching attire that shows off their thongs. Jerry Lawler somehow tries to say that Billy and Chyna started DX so they deserve the name. JR is in way better form, wondering if Chyna and Bill ever confuse their trunks. The heels work over Road Dogg which is odd since I would assume X-Pac would take the beating. Not only is he the better seller and more sympathetic babyface, but he did just take a Chokeslam from the Undertaker. Wait, Dogg makes a quick mild tag and now X-Pac is taking the heat. That makes sense. The second hot tag comes and Chyna eats a Bronco Buster. There’s a sex tape joke in here somewhere. Billy gets left alone in the ring and is hit with a pumphandle slam to end it.
Winners: Road Dogg and X-Pac in 11:44
This wasn’t bad. They played the tag formula wisely but it was kind of just there and the crow was only really into the finish. I expected better from people with such knowledge of each other. **
Fully Loaded Strap Match
The Rock vs. Triple H
This is a number one contender’s match and it’s not the traditional “touch all four corners” strap match. The video package beforehand is pretty cool as it shows how their feud originally was about factions and the IC Title, but has graduated now. Rock mentions the curtain call in his pre-match promo which was interesting. Since its Falls Count Anywhere, they brawl on the outside. It features some Rock shenanigans like taking a picture of HHH with a fan’s camera. As they fight to the Spanish announce table, I see Savio Vega is on commentary. Highlight of the night. The fight goes into the crowd where they just continue to beat on each other. The strap comes into play when Rock uses it to pull HHH into a guardrail. Both guys get some near falls by the entrance. They make it back to the ring but Chyna comes out and distracts the referee after a Rock Bottom. HHH uses the strap to choke Rock for a bit, now having the advantage. HHH undoes his strap to get a chair but the Rock just ends up whipping him with it. Rock is near a win again only for Billy Gunn to come out and lay out the Rock with a club. Rock manages to still kick out. Rock again comes back and is near a win when Gunn gets involved. He eats a Rock Bottom for his troubles. Rock turns right into a Pedigree and Triple H wins.
Winner: Triple H in 19:21
These two have had some really great matches in the past. This isn’t one that I would classify as great though it was solid. There was certainly a lot of fighting in the crowd and aisle, which isn’t always the most interesting, but it made good use of the stipulation. It was pretty overbooked too and not in a good way. ***
WWF Championship First Blood Match
Steve Austin (c) vs. The Undertaker
The build for this looked pretty great as Undertaker kept busting Austin open, including Vince signing the contract in Austin’s blood. Vince McMahon joins commentary. This starts in the aisle during Austin’s entrance, which makes sense given how personal the feud has been. Like the last match, they brawl around ringside and in the crowd a bit. I appreciate how Undertaker just keeps punching Austin and trying to rip open the stitches. When Austin turns the tide, he attacks the knee, which is certainly odd in a match like this. Thanks to Austin’s bandage, it looks like he’s busted open numerous times as they fight through the crowd and around the ring. Undertaker gets tied up in the ring and Austin grabs a chair, so out comes Shane McMahon. Austin levels him with the chair, giving us a fantastic Vince reaction at ringside. Vince tries to get involved too, but is laid out for his troubles. Undertaker uses a chair on Austin’s back and looks to do more but X-Pac shows up and kicks the chair into his face. Austin uses this time to steal a TV camera from ringside and hits Undertaker with it. Undertaker is busted open and gets into a slugfest with Austin. He goes for the Tombstone but Earl Hebner sees the blood and calls for the bell.
Winner and Still WWF Champion: Steve Austin in 15:31
A pretty solid match. I remember thinking that these two never really had good matches, but the two that I’ve seen have been pretty good. Nothing great, but enjoyable stuff. It was a bit overbooked, though that kind of makes sense and it expected in this era. It was a fun brawl and most of what they did made sense. ***
Vince McMahon tries to attack Austin but eats a Stunner. Triple H runs out to attack Austin but the Rock shows up to take him out. Somehow Austin gets busted open now and brawls with the Undertaker while both men bleed. Austin ends the night with a goodbye Stunner on Vince.
Overall: 5.5/10; Decent. This was a very middle of the pack show. The best things on it were good at best and they opened the closed the show. Outside of the first two and last two matches, everything on this show is an easy skip, making it a hard show to recommend despite the big time main event. My next “Random Network Review” is scheduled to be Survivor Series 1990! |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Nov 1, 2015 20:29:51 GMT -5
Raw History
Episode #76
August 22nd, 1994 | Memorial Auditorium in Lowell, Massachusetts
We are just one week away from SummerSlam! We start with Vince McMahon and Macho Man in a studio as this will be a special episode of Raw. Tonight will basically be a recap of the previous night’s Sunday Night Slam special. Jim Ross and Gorilla Monsoon are on commentary for the matches.
Crush vs. Lex Luger
These two surprised me with a not awful match last year when their face/heel alignments were reversed. I don’t have high hopes that they can repeat that here. It’s pretty clear early that the crowd noises are dubbed in. You can barely hear commentary and the fans sound raucous, but everyone looks to be sitting on their hands. Crush pounds away on Luger for a while, which is made funny by Luger’s terrible selling. He needed acting classes in a bad way. Crush goes to the staple of any shitty big man, the DREADED bearhug. Ted Dibiase strolls out while the hold is applied. Luger starts the babyface rally with some of his All-American offense. As Crush stops him in his tracks, Dibiase gets on the apron with money to bribe Crush. He wants Crush to leave Luger alone. Crush slaps the money away, BRUDDA. Luger nails him with the steel forearm and picks up the win.
Winner: Lex Luger in 12:08
About as dull as I expected it to be. These aren’t two guys that I look forward to seeing compete and matches like this are the reason why. This felt like a house show match. ¾*
Vince and Savage take us to a recap of the Bret/Owen feud, going back to the Royal Rumble when Owen kicked Bret’s leg out from under his leg. It’s honestly one of my favorite feuds of all time. This leads into a special in-ring interview with Bret Hart from earlier in the week. He basically just says that the feud is going to end in the Steel Cage at SummerSlam. The highlight of this promo is Bret calling Neidhart fat and stupid.
Leslie Nielsen gets pizza delivered and it’s by the Undertaker. He doesn’t notice this though. Well that was certainly an interesting segment.
Non-Title Match
Diesel w/ Shawn Michaels vs. Typhoon
Seriously, why is Typhoon still employed? Jim Ross gushes over Diesel as he and Typhoon plod through everything. Nothing they do is particularly impressive and most of it looks rather sloppy. Diesel hits a big boot and clothesline for the win.
Winner: Diesel in 4:07
This was there. Not a good match by any means.
Razor Ramon and Walter Payton cut a promo on Diesel and Shawn Michaels.
Vince and Savage take us to some of the Undertaker vs. Undertaker build.
Overall: 2/10. It was hard to truly give this a score since it wasn’t a traditional episode of the show. That being said, what I did see wasn’t very enjoyable. The Bret Hart interview was pretty cool but everything else was boring or flat out sucked.
Raw History
Episode #77
September 12th, 1994 | Memorial Auditorium in Lowell, Massachusetts
So the show has been away for two weeks. In that time, Shawn Michaels and Diesel won the WWF Tag Team Titles from the Headshrinkers on a house show before SummerSlam. At SummerSlam, Diesel dropped the Intercontinental Title back to Razor Ramon. The real Undertaker vanquished the Underfaker and Tatanka proved to be the sellout when he joined the Million Dollar Corporation. Bret Hart retained his WWF Title in a classic Steel Cage match against Owen Hart. Oh, and the British Bulldog returned.
Kwang w/ Harvey Wippleman vs. The Undertaker w/ Paul Bearer
This is surprisingly even for the first minute or so. Who would think that a little over a year later, these guys would be on the same team at Survivor Series? Undertaker misses an elbow but a raise of the urn from Paul Bearer helps him up. This goes through a commercial break where Kwang gets in some offense. He clotheslines the Dead Man over the top but Undertaker lands on his feet. He gets in but has the green mist spit at him only to spit it right back. That’s pretty gross. A Chokeslam finishes off the martial artist.
Winner: The Undertaker in 4:41
That was much more competitive than I expected it to be. Due to that, I kind of enjoyed it. It served the purpose it had to and Undertaker got a win in his return to Raw. Acceptable stuff. *½
Footage is shown from the WWF Title Steel Cage match. Vince McMahon calls it the greatest Steel Cage match in WWF history which honestly still holds true to this day.
Jim Neidhart w/ Owen Hart vs. Tim McNeany
Jim Neidhart attacks at the bell. Owen Hart shouts into the camera that Neidhart will take care of Bret, which disappoints me because Owen vs. Bret III sounds far better. Vince plugs the upcoming “Hart Attack” tour. The match is completely one-sided and Neidhart wins with a camel clutch.
Winner: Jim Neidhart in 3:53
Typical squash that didn’t overstay its welcome.
JERRY THE KING LAWLER! DUKE THE DUMPSTER DROESE! Next week, they settle their score on Raw, next week.
Time for the King’s Court. Jerry Lawler was told to apologize to Doink and Dink for popping Dink’s balloons on Superstars this past weekend. His guests are indeed Doink and Dink, the latter wearing a Burger King crown. They want to prove there are no hard feelings though and bring Lawler a gift but he knows that Doink is a trickster. Doink opens it and it is revealed to be a garbage can. Lawler shrugs it off and goes to punt the can but there were weights inside and Lawler hurts his foot.
Non-Title Match
WWF Tag Team Champions Diesel and Shawn Michaels vs. Paul Van Dale and Tony DeVito
Diesel lost the IC Title after an accidental Superkick from Shawn Michaels. Due to that, Vince McMahon plants the seeds for their split, saying that Diesel may not even like Shawn but they’re champions. He makes up a story that Shawn said the belts are being cleaned which is why they don’t have them here, but I’m pretty sure it’s because this was pre-recorded. Shawn does most of the heavy lifting here while tagging in Diesel to hit the big spots that he has in his arsenal. Diesel hits the Jackknife and could win, but Shawn wants the tag. He climbs onto Diesel’s shoulders and wins with a splash.
Winners: Diesel and Shawn Michaels in 4:21
A relatively fun squash match. Shawn did the work, Diesel hit the spots and they have good chemistry.
We are taken to footage from Superstars this past weekend. Ted Dibiase basically issued an open challenge to face Bam Bam Bigelow. Adam Bomb, in new attire, answered the call. They didn’t wrestle but Adam clotheslined him outside and sent him packing.
Adam Bomb vs. Dwayne Gill
While the two competitors go at it, Vince and Savage talk about the charity softball game played before SummerSlam. Adam shows off some athleticism by leaping over Gill. He moved so well for a guy his size. Gill gets in some offense, more than he probably should actually, but Bomb hits the slingshot shoulder block. That sets up the pumphandle slam which ends things.
Winner: Adam Bomb in 3:19
As noted, Dwayne Gill got in too much offense for my liking, but other than that, this was an effective squash.
The Bushwhackers vs. Barry Hardy and Bert Centeno
Oh dammit, who let the Bushwhackers back in? Abe “Knuckleball” Schwartz is on strike in the crowd because baseball is on strike and Vince liked to take shots at things like that. After some unfunny comedy spots, the Bushwhackers pick up the victory with the Battering Ram.
Winners: The Bushwhackers in 4:14
Too long, too unfunny and too bad.
Overall: 3.5/10. This show was on its way to an inoffensive score. Then the King’s Court turned out to be pretty lame as usual and I had to sit through the Bushwhackers. The Adam Bomb squash was okay at best, the Kwang/Undertaker match was just there but Diesel and Shawn were the highlights for sure.
Raw History
Episode #78
September 19th, 1994 | Memorial Auditorium in Lowell, Massachusetts
A recap is shown of Tatanka’s heel turn and the fact that he no longer dresses like a stereotype and instead wears suits.
Lex Luger vs. The Executioner
Gee, they’re still running the Executioner jobber character? Commentary just keeps talking about the fact that we can never doubt Lex Luger again. I mean, he’s proven that he is easy to doubt in a big match. He goes through his offense, including the SCREAMING CLOTHESLINES and makes the Executioner submit to the Torture Rack.
Winner: Lex Luger in 2:34
As usual with Lex Luger, this wasn’t great but it was kept short.
Tatanka returns to the ring, Diesel and Shawn Michaels in action and a King’s Court with the British Bulldog will all happen next week.
Duke “The Dumpster” Droese vs. Jerry “The King” Lawler
Wow, this looks incredibly unappealing. Lawler gets in control first and talks smack so Droese just tosses him aside. Lawler starts pulling his usual stall tactics to kill some time. When he does come in to do actual offense, it’s all boring. He hits the second rope fist drop for a near fall. Lawler hits the piledriver and gloats. He goes outside to grab a garbage can but Dink runs out to spray him with a squirt gun. Lawler chases him away and gets counted out.
Winner via countout: Duke Droese in 8:47
This was putrid. Jerry Lawler’s offensive style doesn’t make for a good match and the finish was dumb. I get that it builds to the Lawler/Doink Survivor Series matches but it just made Duke look like a chump, which I’m pretty sure wasn’t the plan. ¼*
The Heavenly Bodies vs. Mike Bell and Steve King
No Jim Cornette with the Bodies. The match starts during the commercial break and sees the Heavenly Bodies completely dominate. They mock the Smoking Gunns and win with a moonsault.
Winners: The Heavenly Bodies in 2:12
I guess this is setting up the Heavenly Bodies vs. the Smoking Gunns.
Vince McMahon is in the ring to conduct an interview with Bob Backlund. He has cut his hair and is better off for it. Vince tells Backlund that people wanted him to be a role model but what he did to Bret Hart was wrong. Backlund flips out, saying that isn’t the “former” WWF Champion but that he’s been the rightful champion for over 15 years. He runs down society today and says that the people changed, not him. The fans chant “has been” and Backlund makes a proclamation. He says that if anyone can escape the crossface chicken wing, he will retire. He challenges Vince but it isn’t 1997 yet so it doesn’t happen. Backlund finds a WWF magazine columnist from ringside and brings him in. Backlund is just supposed to give a demonstration but goes overboard and swings the guy like a rag doll until security comes in. He stares at his hands again. Despite Backlund tripping over his words a few times, this was an excellent segment.
Bob Holly vs. Richie Rich
Seriously? It’s like they aren’t even trying with these jobber names. Holly does some of his offense and wins in short fashion after a flying cross body.
Winner: Bob Holly in 1:58
Too short to really have any notes.
Yokozuna vs. Phil Apollo
I guess none of the managers in the company were in attendance for this show. As with most Yokozuna squash matches, he gets in all of the offense and hits the Banzai Drop.
Winner: Yokozuna in 2:43
Typical Yokozuna squash.
Yokozuna’s celebration is cut short by the sound of gongs. He freaks out and scurries from the ring.
Overall: 3/10. The only thing that was any good on this show was the Bob Backlund angle. That was done very well. Everything else is trash. The marquee match was dreadful and the squashes weren’t the best. Hopefully things pick up as we get closer to Survivor Series. |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Nov 3, 2015 18:57:40 GMT -5
Survivor Series 1990
November 22nd, 1990 | Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut | Attendance: 16,000
During this time, Survivor Series would air on Thanksgiving instead of on a Sunday or traditional Pay-Per-View night. This is a pretty historic edition of the show as it featured the debut of the Undertaker, who obviously would go on to be one of the biggest stars in wrestling history. This would also be the debut of a lesser star, the Gobbeldy Gooker. The last note would be that they came up with an idea to have all of the survivors of the Survivor Series matches meet in a big main event to close the show. This would be the fourth Survivor Series event in history.
Vince McMahon does a voiceover running down the card for tonight. I won’t say them now as some may like it as a surprise. Gorilla Monsoon and Roddy Piper are on commentary tonight.
The Perfect Team (Ax, Crush, Smash and Mr. Perfect) w/ Bobby Heenan and Mr. Fuji vs. The Warriors (Animal, Hawk, Texas Tornado and WWF Champion Ultimate Warrior)
If it wasn’t obvious already, Mr. Perfect and the Ultimate Warrior are the team captains. Animal and Smash start and they go back in forth, with Animal showing off his power. Things break down and the faces clean some hours with Mr. Perfect bumping his ass off. Warrior gets a rather hot tag and eliminates Ax at the 3:23 mark. Crush helps his team turn the tide by beating up the WWF Champion. Good thing it doesn’t last long because Crush shouldn’t be getting much offense against a top star. They begin to pick apart Hawk for a bit. Hawk, never one to sell, ignores most work done and hits a flying clothesline only for the pin to be broken up. LOD and the rest of Demolition brawl and hit the referee who disqualifies Hawk, Animal, Smash and Crush at 7:36. Mr. Perfect is now left alone against the Warrior and Texas Tornado. As expected, the faces beat up Mr. Perfect, who continues to bump like a madman for them. Tornado eats a ring post and it allows Mr. Perfect to swing the momentum and pin the Tornado following the Perfectplex at 11:02. He nails it on the Warrior but only gets two. This is a perfect example of why finishers should be protected. In the event that the finishing move fails, the reaction from the crowd is great. It was a big deal for Warrior to kick out here as I believe only Hogan did so before. Perfect stays in control while the Warrior loses all of his face paint. He starts doing his variation of “Hulking Up.” He ends it with the splash to be the sole survivor.
Winners: The Warriors (Sole Survivor: The Ultimate Warrior) in 14:20
Pretty fun opening contest. It lacked the drama that I’ve seen from other Survivor Series matches at times but most of what they did made sense. It moved along briskly and furthered the angles that it needed to. **¾
The Dream Team (Dusty Rhodes, WWF Tag Team Champions the Hart Foundation and Koko B. Ware) vs. The Million Dollar Team (Rhythm and Blues, Ted Dibiase and the Undertaker) w/ Brother Love, Jimmy Hart and Virgil
The captains are Dusty Rhodes and Ted Dibiase. Dibiase introduced a mystery partner that turns out to be the debuting Undertaker. He comes off as incredibly imposing, especially judging by the reactions of the fans. Bret Hart starts with him in the first of many battles. He sells for Taker and then tags to Koko. Within seconds, Koko gets Tombstoned and eliminated at 1:39. Bret gives it another shot, nailing right hands and Undertaker calmly tags out. Rhythm and Blues work with the Hart Foundation for a bit here. Neidhart sends Honky Tonk Man packing with a powerslam at 4:16. The Dream Team is on fire and Dusty levels Dibiase with ten elbows before hitting one of the UGLIEST dropkicks I’ve ever seen. Virgil trips up Neidhart, allowing Dibiase to eliminate him at 5:49. Dibiase tags back out to the Undertaker. There is a presence about him that was clear even here. He nailed the mannerisms and everything. Bret works with Dibiase, making me wish we got a singles program between them. Undertaker gets rid of the captain Dusty with a flying double axe handle after 8:26. Seeing someone of his size come off the top was incredible for the era. Brother Love stomps on Dusty so he goes after him. Undertaker gives chase and attacks Dusty in the aisle, getting counted out at 9:17. Roddy Piper: “He’s big, but he’s dumb.” Inside, Greg Valentine looks for the figure four only for Bret to pull him into a small package for three at 9:57. It’s down to Bret and Dibiase. Bret nails a plancha to the outside onto Dibiase. Back inside, Bret scores two on a backslide as they go back and forth. Bret plays possum like a gangster and two more near falls. He goes for a cross body but Dibiase rolls through and steals it.
Winners: The Million Dollar Team (Sole Survivor: Ted Dibiase) in 13:54
Well that was very enjoyable. You got the historic debut of the Undertaker, which was so well done, a fun back and forth between Bret Hart and Ted Dibiase and a match that moved at a really good pace. All of the eliminations made sense and the finishing stretch allowed Bret to look like the star he would become in a few years. ***½
The Vipers (Jake Roberts, Jimmy Snuka and the Rockers) vs. The Visionaries (Rick Martel, Power and Glory and the Warlord) w/ Slick
The main feud here is between Jake Roberts and Rick Martel as the latter blinded the former and Roberts is sporting a sick looking eye. Warlord is hyped as this monster and no sells a lot of early offense until the Rockers team up to knock him down. Different guys get turns doing some things so almost everyone gets a shot to strut their stuff. It ends up being Jannetty and Warlord again. Warlord catches him in a powerslam to get rid of him at 5:03. Shawn Michaels takes his shots and uses a rana to take him down. Roberts gets tagged and the fans immediately want the DDT but they don’t get it. Michaels is brought back in and just takes a beating but keeps kicking out. That would become a theme for the latter part of his career. He makes a mil tag to Snuka who gets pulled into an inside cradle and sent packing at 9:28. Roberts enters and Rick Martel quickly scurries away. Gorilla Monsoon does a good job in putting over how tough Roberts is for competing with the bad eye. Paul Roma uses cheap shots to get in the driver’s seat but Michaels gets tagged and comes in hot. Of course he’s not a powerhouse babyface so he just ends up back in trouble as the four heels use quick tags to wear him down. Power and Glory use a superplex and splash combination to eliminate him after 15:40. Jake Roberts is now down 4-1. Roberts calls them on and fights valiantly, hitting the DDT on Warlord. The referee is too distracted to see this though and Martel tries to spray him with Arrogance again. Roberts avoids it and gets Damien. He chases Martel away and gets counted out to get swept.
Winners: The Visionaries in 17:42
A surprising sweep here. It made sense though as the heel team was a mix of cowardly and powerful heels, while the faces consisted of a team that was mostly good at playing the faces in peril. Also notable because this was the first ever sweep in Survivor Series history. ***
The Hulkamaniacs (Big Bossman, Hulk Hogan, Jim Duggan and Tugboat) vs. The Natural Disasters (The Barbarian, Dino Bravo, Earthquake and Haku) w/ Bobby Heenan and Jimmy Hart
Gee, I wonder who is going to survive this match. Early on, multiple guys get their stuff in, which is expected. Hulk Hogan and Earthquake don’t get involved quite yet though. From out of nowhere, Bossman and his ripped open shirt hit Haku with a Bossman Slam and he’s gone at 3:15. Bossman goes after Heenan, which allows the Barbarian to take him down. Earthquake finally comes in and Jim Duggan gets tricked by the managers because he’s dumb. He whacks Earthquake with the 2x4 and is disqualified at 6:12. Hogan enters and does Hogan things, including slamming the 976 pound Earthquake in front of the 40,000 fans in attendance. He then rolls up Dino Bravo with a small package to send him packing at 7:59. Earthquake catches Bossman on a cross body which is honestly impressive for a guy that isn’t really known for strength. He starts to dominate Bossman and pins him after some elbow drops at 9:08. The eliminations come fast and furious here. Monsoon claims Hogan is left alone, forgetting about Tugboat, though I can’t say I blame him. The future Natural Disasters go at it, giving Monsoon the opening to bust out his favorite saying, “THE IRRESISTIBLE FORCE MEETS THE IMMOVABLE OBJECTS!” They fall outside and both get counted out at the 11:33 mark. This leads the Barbarian alone with Hogan. Talk about an obvious outcome. Barbarian actually scores a few near falls, which blows my mind. He’s Hogan though and he starts to hulk up. That is finished off by the big leg drop.
Winners: The Hulkamaniacs (Sole Survivor: Hulk Hogan) in 14:49
Typical stuff from a match involving Hulk Hogan. Even so, it moved at a quicker pace than I expected considering the guys involved. I was sad to see Haku go out so early which was probably my biggest issue with this. **½
We now go to Mean Gene Okerlund who brings out the Macho King. He runs down the Ultimate Warrior as they were headed towards a WrestleMania Retirement match. He just says that when the time is right, he’ll be the next WWF Champion.
The Alliance (The Bushwhackers, Nikolai Volkoff and Tito Santana) vs. The Mercenaries (Boris Zhukov, the Orient Express and Sgt. Slaughter) w/ Mr. Fuji and General Adnan
The Alliance come out to the future music used for Lex Luger. The Mercenaries are wearing camo face paint. Slaughter cuts a long winded anti-American promo before the match while his awful drumroll theme plays. Boris starts with Tito and goes down to the flying forearm in 0:48. Good, get this over with quickly. The Bushwhackers come in and work over Sato, defeating him with the Battering Ram after just 1:46. Tanaka goes next almost instantly following a flying forearm in 2:13. Yup, in just over two minutes, Sgt. Slaughter is left alone. He fights with Volkoff and none of it is interesting or impressive. Slaughter sends him packing at 5:25 with an elbow. The captain just jobbed to a normal elbow drop. The Bushwhackers double team Slaughter a bit. You know, for being a heel with such a hot button issue fueling the character, this match has next to no heat. Luke and Butch don’t stay in control for long, as both get sent packing with a gutbuster and clothesline at 6:30 and 6:53, respectively. This leaves Santana alone with Slaughter. Tito has the upper hand and hits the flying forearm. Adnan come sin after a ref bump and whacks Tito with the Iraqi flag. The only problem is, there is a second referee outside that sees all of this. Slaughter applies the camel clutch and the original referee calls for the DQ, even though he didn’t see the finish.
Winners: The Alliance (Sole Survivor: Tito Santana) in 10:52
A really boring match with a really stupid finish. I got the idea behind it but it was poorly executed. The action was pretty bad too as nobody in this match outside of Tito is really anyone I’d consider interesting. Just an all-around dull showing. ½*
Cut to Mean Gene again for the reveal of what’s inside the giant egg. It finally hatches and the infamous Gobbeldy Gooker pops out. Roddy Piper laughs and the crowd is absolutely silent. Even though he’s just gobbling, Mean Gene can somehow understand him. They go to the ring and dance, but the only highlight is Mean Gene tripping.
Grand Finale Survivor Series Match
Hulk Hogan, Tito Santana and WWF Champion The Ultimate Warrior vs. Power and Glory, Rick Martel, Ted Dibiase and the Warlord w/ Slick and Virgil
During the pre-match interview, Hulk Hogan calls Tito Santana the “Arriba Man”. After spending the earlier match showing how dominant and powerful the Warlord could be, he jobs in 28 seconds to Tito’s flying forearm here. Dibiase comes in and works over Tito just before pinning him with a hotshot at 1:51. I have a feeling the eliminations will come rather quickly here. Hogan pounds on Dibiase and works together with the Warrior. Hercules pounds on Hogan for a bit as it looks like he’ll be playing the face in peril. He’s Hogan of course, so he pops out of a pin attempt and clotheslines Paul Roma to beat him at 5:57. Martel runs in and the tag comes to Warrior. He comes in hot but then tags back out to Hogan. Hogan nearly kills Martel on a clothesline. Martel gets pissed that he was hit in the face and walks out to the countout at 7:17. That was dumb because Hogan had a chance to hit the leg drop but just threw Martel out. It’s as if he knew he would quit. Dibiase come sin and eats the big boot/leg drop combo to be sent home at 8:30. That dude has a title shot the following night but Hogan ended him. Warrior gets the tag and puts away Hercules with ease.
Winners: Hulk Hogan and Ultimate Warrior in 9:07
Surprisingly short but I guess it made sense since everyone had worked a match earlier. The match itself was nothing to write home about as it went by quickly and was just a showcase for Hogan and Warrior as expected. *¾
Overall: 6/10; Average. The first half of this show varied from pretty good to really good. Unfortunately the final three matches lack, especially the last two, along with the Gooker segment. Still, as with most old school Survivor Series events, it’s rather fun and a relatively easy watch. I’d recommend this show, mainly for the Undertaker debut and that match itself. Up next on “Random Network Reviews” will be One Night Stand 2006! |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Nov 5, 2015 19:53:59 GMT -5
Raw History
Episode #79
September 26th, 1994 | Memorial Auditorium in Utica, New York
Our usual hosts handle things tonight.
WWF Intercontinental Championship
Razor Ramon (c) vs. Tatanka w/ Ted Dibiase
Well someone’s partnership with Ted Dibiase is already paying off. Just to show how much of a heel he is now, Tatanka attacks from behind. Razor turns the tide and sends him packing to talk strategy with Ted Dibiase. Once they go back inside, they do some uninspired work. It’s clear that Tatanka’s waistline was expanding. They start trading blows outside heading into a classic Raw commercial break. Isn’t it strange how the arena they ran in back in Lowell has the same name as this one? Inside, Tatanka comes very close to winning on a near fall that was probably a lot closer than planned. Tatanka pulls a page out of Razor’s book by utilizing an abdominal stretch with some assistance from Dibiase. Ted was so good as doing the little things to draw heat. They get caught and Razor starts to rally. He calls for the Razor’s Edge but Dibiase gets on the apron. Lex Luger comes down the aisle but Bigelow runs out and attacks him. Tatanka, like a moron, goes out and joins in, getting counted out.
Winner via countout and Still WWF Intercontinental Champion: Razor Ramon in 13:34
Honestly, this kind of felt like the definition of going through the motions. Tatanka seemed unsure of how to work as a heel for some of the match and it dragged for the most part. It picked up as Razor rallied but it wasn’t enough to save this. *¾
This past weekend on Superstars, the Undertaker and Paul Bearer cut a promo on Yokozuna. Undertaker and Yokozuna will be meeting on the Hart Attack Tour because in this era, television was used to promote house shows.
Kwang w/ Harvey Wippleman vs. Rich Myers
You know, for a character that ultimately went nowhere, Kwang sure got a lot of TV time in 1994. Vince McMahon makes a long winded joke about the NFL and a three way trade between the Cardinals, ESPN and the WWF. Macho Man goes to the Cardinals, Phil Simms comes to commentary and ESPN gets Luke and Butch. I mean, I’d get rid of them too. Kwang wins with a spinning heel kick.
Winner: Kwang in 2:08
Ho hum. Vince’s commentary was better than the match.
The recently returned British Bulldog is the guest on the King’s Court. Jerry Lawler just makes non-stop terrible dog jokes. He’s the only one laughing at them. Well, Vince is at ringside, but it’s just so bad. Bulldog threatens him if he keeps it up and Jim Neidhart shows up. Neidhart says Bulldog isn’t a family member because he’s not one of the twelve Harts. That would be fine reasoning if, you know, Neidhart was one of the twelve Harts. His dumbass is related in the same way that Bulldog is. Neidhart issues a challenge and Bulldog accepts for next week. He talks a bit too much and promos are FAR from his strong point.
Next week, Alundra Blayze and Heidi Lee Morgan take on Bull Nakano and Luna Vachon!
We get a recap of the well done Bob Backlund segment from last week.
The 1-2-3 Kid vs. Kenny David
Hey, it’s another jobber with two first names. Bob Backlund comes out during the match to bring a dictionary to Randy Savage so he could better “interpret his discourse with the plebeians”. Kid hits some fun little offense and uses a big leg drop to finish it.
Winner: 1-2-3 Kid in 3:27
Typical stuff here.
A vignette airs for the return of King Kong Bundy. Not only does he absolutely suck, but this vignette is terrible too.
On Sunday October 23rd at noon Eastern, the WWF debuts Action Zone! I don’t remember this show as a kid, but it had some pretty good matches.
Non-Title Match
Diesel and Shawn Michaels vs. Bob Starr and Chris Kanyon
Yes it’s that Kanyon. Commentary also tells us that one of the Headshrinkers has quit. The Tag Team Champions toy with their opponents here, as Starr and Kanyon get in pretty much no offense. Randy Savage says that Diesel is practically the champions by himself. That’s the smell of the mega Diesel push getting ready to reach its peak soon. He wins it with the Jackknife.
Winners: Diesel and Shawn Michaels in 3:44
Completely one-sided as expected.
As the champions celebrate, the new Headshrinkers show up. Fatu is joined by Sionne and they send the champions packing. After a commercial, Capt. Lou Albano says that Samu ate some bad fish. No, seriously, that was the reasoning.
Overall: 3/10. Like a lot of episodes of Raw in the year 1994, this wasn’t very good. The marquee Intercontinental Title match was seriously lackluster but the last two squash matches were at least somewhat fun. The King’s Court was pretty bad too as it was filled with crapjokes.
Raw History
Episode #80
October 3rd, 1994 | Memorial Auditorium in Utica, New York
Randy Savage and Vince McMahon are our hosts.
British Bulldog vs. Jim Neidhart w/ Owen Hart
A quick distraction from Owen Hart allows Jim Neidhart to take advantage. Owen: “He’s real strong but he’s dumb.” Bulldog doesn’t stay down long and they end up working a test of strength. Bulldog dropkicks to get out of it, showing his athleticism. Anvil works some chinlocks because that’s about the maximum effort he can put into a singles match. Owen pulls the top rope down on Bulldog, causing him to fall outside. This brings out Bret Hart to even the score, but Bulldog is selling a knee injury. Neidhart now pounds away on Bulldog for a while and goes to another staple of a guy that doesn’t put in much effort, the bearhug. Bulldog begins to rally and gets two on a clothesline. Owen talks smack when Bulldog ends up in trouble again. Anvil applies a camel clutch but Bulldog fights out. Bob Backlund shows up to talk trash to Bret, allowing Owen to enter and dropkick Bulldog.
Winner via disqualification: British Bulldog in 11:50
Not bad actually. Usually singles matches for Jim Neidhart are bad but he worked pretty well with Bulldog. It wasn’t a classic and had a few dull moments, but they did fine overall. **¼
Bret Hart enters and it becomes a family war as all four guys trade blows until Owen Hart and Jim Neidhart escape.
Doink vs. Barry Horowitz
Commentary spends the match discussing the EPIC Jerry Lawler/Doink feud. Yea, not even commentary is entertaining here. Doink wins in short order with the Whoopee Cushion, which now has sound effects included.
Winner: Doink in 2:33
Doink matches are considerably less interesting these days.
Another week, another Undertaker and Paul Bearer promo from Superstars. It’s again about Yokozuna and casket matches.
Jerry Lawler brings out Yokozuna for the King’s Court. He is accompanied by Mr. Fuji and Jim Cornette. Cornette being here means this may be tolerable instead of dreadful. Cornette says that the rumors of Yokozuna being scared of the Undertaker is a bogus story. Lawler makes the mistake of saying casket, which starts to freak out Yokozuna.
Next week, Bam Bam Bigelow goes one on one with Lex Luger!
Alundra Blayze and Heidi Lee Morgan vs. Bull Nakano and Luna Vachon
Did they get a time machine and pull Heidi Lee Morgan out of the 80s? Her attire and look just seems so outdated even in that time. She starts against Luna and scores an interesting near fall on a roll up. She ends up playing the face in peril. Bull does the bulk of the beatdown. When Morgan starts a small rally, it of course brings “USA” chants. Gotta love those evil foreigners. Macho Man says “call me crazy, but I’m attracted to Bull Nakano”. Vince McMahon indeed calls him crazy. Blayze gets the hot tag and beast the hell out of Luna. She tries a double suplex with Morgan on Bull, but Bull reverses it. Macho Man calls her strong and pretty, causing Vince to say she isn’t pretty. Wow, Vince really had an issue with her looks. A bridging German from Blayze on Luna nets her team the win.
Winners: Alundra Blayze and Heidi Lee Morgan in 5:02
That was much different than the earlier match but I enjoyed them about the same for different reasons. This was rather fast paced and Bull Nakano is just so good to watch. **¼
Bob Backlund vs. Gary Scott
Bob Backlund has now adopted the haircut and blue robe look. Scott hits a quick arm drag and Macho Man gets excited. He shouldn’t. Backlund stretches the ham and egger before making him submit to the crossface chicken wing.
Winner: Bob Backlund in 2:25
About as enjoyable as you would expect. Backlund is much more fun as this nutcase character.
Bret Hart is interviewed about Bob Backlund. He says that he’s beaten Bob Backlund already so he feels he doesn’t deserve a WWF Title shot and he should go to the back of the line.
Overall: 5/10. An improvement on last week. The Neidhart/Bulldog match was decent and I thought the same about the women’s tag team match. Bob Backlund was even enjoyable. Doink and the poor King’s Court segment really hurt this show in the end.
Raw History
Episode #81
October 10th, 1994 | Memorial Auditorium in Utica, New York
We have our usual commentary team tonight.
Bam Bam Bigelow w/ The Million Dollar Corporation vs. Lex Luger
Vince speculates if Lex Luger will bring his own entourage, but I’m like 90% sure he has no friends. Well, he brings the American flag with him so there’s that. Like all heels, Bigelow attacks form behind following a distraction from Tatanka. He beats on Luger until the man made in the USA gets a short rally and sends him outside. Vince McMahon tells us that King Kong Bundy is the newest member of the Million Dollar Corporation. Commentary keeps making Christopher Columbus references. Bigelow turns things around and looks for the headbutt but misses. Luger knocks Nikolai Volkoff off the apron and scores two on Bigelow. King Kong Bundy waddles down to ringside. Luger lets go of a hold to protest this. Really Luger? The other three guys at ringside were okay but four is too much? After a commercial break, Mabel and Adam Bomb have come out to help watch Luger’s back. Bigelow is in control, scoring on a DDT for two. He hits a strange looking dropkick for another near fall. Dibiase calls Luger a loser at ringside and, judging by Luger’s record in big matches, he isn’t entirely wrong. Luger starts the comeback, complete with SCREAMING CLOTHESLINES! Tatanka tries to get involved but gets knocked off the apron by Bigelow accidentally. Luger rolls him up and snatches victory.
Winner: Lex Luger in 10:46
A solid match that was much better than expected. Bigelow and Luger both worked some slow points, but the finishing stretch was pretty well done and the fact that it didn’t end in a DQ or countout was cool. **½
Bigelow argues with Tatanka up the aisle until Ted Dibiase calms things down. Lex Luger celebrates like he won some big time match. He’s the king of major celebrations in strange situations.
Footage airs of Bob Backlund on the Heartbreak Hotel this past weekend on Superstars. Shawn Michaels says he and Diesel want to party with Backlund but Backlund declines because they aren’t on his level. Backlund uses big words that go over Shawn’s head and challenges Bret Hart to a WWF Title match.
Mabel vs. Reno Riggins
Did Mo die or something? I’m not complaining but he just disappeared. Reno Riggins gives it the old college try but it is a futile effort against someone of Mabel’s size. Mabel misses an elbow drop, giving people false hope that he’ll win. Mabel squashes those thoughts with a leg drop.
Winner: Mabel in 2:37
Pretty much every Mabel squash ever with a few misses from him.
We see clips of Macho Man at the Columbus Day parade.
Owen Hart w/ Jim Neidhart vs. John Crystal
Commentary hypes the fact that Owen Hart gets his last shot at Bret Hart’s WWF Title on the debut episode of Action Zone. Vince then starts talking about George Lucas writing three more Star Wars movies and suggests that Princess Leia will be played by Bull Nakano. Macho Man responds with “THAT’S AN OLD FLAME OF MINE!” Crystal gets in like one move and Owen dominates. The Sharpshooter ends it.
Winner: Owen Hart in 3:41
Fine for what it was. Owen Hart just did his thing for a while, which is usually good.
Our third straight week featuring an Undertaker casket promo from Superstars.
King Kong Bundy w/ Ted Dibiase vs. Mike Khoury
King Kong Bundy dominates and could win quickly but pulls Khoury up from the count. Bundy wins with a splash and wants the five count.
Winner: King Kong Bundy in 2:44
Boring. But now whenever I hear the “money” part of Dibiase’s theme, I just hear “Bundy” instead.
A clip airs from Superstars where Doink and Dink pranked Jerry Lawler and made him sit in a pie. This leads us to the King’s Court and Lawler brings out his guest, Queasy. For those who don’t remember, Queasy is one of the little people that teams with Lawler at the Survivor Series. This whole segment and feud is absolute garbage.
The New Headshrinkers w/ Afa and Capt. Lou Albano vs. Corey Student and JT Storm
Here we have the Raw debut of Sionne. Macho Man thinks this is the improved version of the Headshrinkers. They win in very short order after a Sionne kick.
Winners: The New Headshrinkers in 1:43
Not bad as it made the new Headshrinkers look pretty dominant.
Next week, Doink goes one on one with Jeff Jarrett.
Overall: 4.5/10. While the big matchup this week was better than last, the rest of the show kind of dragged. King Kong Bundy is someone I never like to have around and the King’s Court segment was one again atrocious. |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Nov 7, 2015 19:36:26 GMT -5
One Night Stand 2006
June 11th, 2006 | Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City, New York | Attendance: 2,460
In 2005, the WWE brought back ECW for one night as a Pay-Per-View. Due to the great reception and buyrate, the WWE saw money in ECW and decided to bring it back officially. That’s where this show comes into play. This was set to be the official relaunch of the brand. This wasn’t the ECW the fans remembered though as it now featured guys like Big Show and Kurt Angle. The main event of this show would also be contested for the WWE Title. This would be the second of four One Night Stand Pay-per-Views.
Shots of the MOLTEN hot ECW crowd opens things, just like it did the year before. The old ECW music plays and out walks Paul Heyman, who is treated like a god. Heyman cuts a promo about the return of ECW and how a new audience will learn about ECW. That actually never happened. He thanks the fans for making this happens and leaves. Joey Styles is on commentary.
Jerry Lawler vs. Tazz
Since the days of the original ECW, Jerry Lawler has ripped into the company. As he comes out, he takes a detour to slap Joey Styles. Styles follows Lawler to the ring and jumps on his back to a massive pop. Lawler shrugs him off and calls for the Piledrivers but Tazz wraps him in the Tazzmission and he taps.
Winner: Tazz in 0:36
Can’t get a real rating to something like this but it was very effective. The already hot crowd went nuts for it and considering the two guys involved at this time, it shouldn’t have been an actual match. The angle was well done. No Rating
Clips are shown from the WWE vs. ECW show earlier in the week. There was a big battle royal between the three brands that ended when Big Show threw Randy Orton out and revealed an ECW shirt. Tazz joins Joey Styles on commentary.
Kurt Angle vs. Randy Orton
Like Jerry Lawler, Randy Orton is garnering all kinds of heat. Kurt Angle’s remixed theme was pretty garbage. He was quickly accepted by the ECW fans though. Tons of pro Angle and anti-Orton chants in the first few minutes as Angle takes him to school on the mat. The fans go nuts when Angle starts paint brushing the back of Orton’s head. Angle dares Orton to put him in a hold and he gets out. He does it again two more times and is amped up. Finally Orton starts getting in some offense, only for Angle to just take him down in impressive fashion. The fans chant “you can’t wrestle” at Orton just as Angle again counters him. Kurt starts bringing the higher impact offense including some German suplexes. Orton looks for his trademark backbreaker, but Angle again has a counter. He hits the Angle Slam but only gets two. Uncharacteristically, Orton goes up top and hits a high cross body like its 2002 again. Orton hits a big clothesline, but then Angle grans the leg, locks his own legs and makes Orton tap out to the Ankle Lock.
Winner: Kurt Angle in 15:07
An interesting match here. There weren’t tons of moves but that wasn’t the point. Kurt Angle was here to outclass Randy Orton and give the fans a treat, which is exactly what he did. It really solidified the “wrestling machine” character with the ECW fans and kudos to Orton for doing whatever he could to draw even more heat. ***
Just as I write that Randy Orton did everything in his power to draw more heat, he asks for three officials to help him out of the arena, making himself look like an even bigger ****.
The Full Blooded Italians w/ Big Guido vs. Super Crazy and Tajiri
These guys have had countless matches in different variations over the years. Due to that, they can work at a pretty brisk pace. Super Crazy nails the first big move with a popup facebuster. Tajiri and Guido come in, with Tajiri going for kicks and Guido applying the armbar but Tajiri reaches the ropes. He and Super Crazy do stereo tree of woe dropkick, a staple of their matches. Crazy nails an Asai moonsault onto his opponents but Big Guido gets involved to swing the momentum. The FBI now beat on him but Tajiri doesn’t wait for a hot tag and just comes in to kick the hell out of his opponents. He does end up getting a tag and does dueling tarantulas with his partner. Super Crazy oversells an innovative dropkick from Guido, leaving Tajiri all alone. This leads to a double fisherman buster for the win.
Winners: The Full Blooded Italians in 12:24
A fun little sprint here. I think it went a bit too long for what they were doing but overall, it worked relatively well. These guys have great chemistry and it helped move things along. **¾
The Big Show’s new music hits to almost no reaction. When he actually appears, he gets a bit more of a pop. Big Guido steps up to him but gets kicked in the balls. Show then beats up everyone, including Tajiri and Super Crazy. The highlight comes when he hits a cobra clutch backbreaker on Mamaluke and flings him like a rag doll.
John “Bradshaw” Layfield has a microphone and shows up on one of the balcony. He cuts a scathing promo on ECW being nothing and the WWE making guys like Rob Van Dam. He basically just announces that he is replacing Tazz on commentary for future Smackdown episodes.
World Heavyweight Championship
Rey Mysterio (c) vs. Sabu
Last year, Rey Mysterio wrestled a very WWE style and got booed for it. That causes him to get booed here, though he seems to have learned his lesson as he is wearing old ECW style gear, including an ECW logo. Sabu has a chair so Rey grabs one during his entrance. As the bell rings though, both men drop the chairs. After some short mat work, they both grab the chairs and have the equivalent of a sword fight with them. They badly telegraph a drop toe hold spot. Rey tries the 619 but fails and Sabu just launches a chair at his skull. Sabu sets up a table between the apron and the guardrail. They don’t use it yet, instead choosing to hit some high spots in the ring including a guillotine leg drop and moonsault. Somehow, Sabu’s Arabian facebuster isn’t enough. Another table is set up outside, where Rey hits the West Coast pop through it. Back inside, they bust out more high spots. Rey misses another West Coast Pop and gets crotched on an open chair before Sabu just MURDERS him with a thrown chair shot. Sabu sets Rey up on the table between the ring and guardrail. He leaps off the chair, onto the top rope and springboards off with a DDT through the table! The crowd loses their minds, but things quickly turn sour as medics come out and this ends in a no contest.
Match ends in a no contest at 9:10
I understand the finish because they booked themselves into a corner. Neither guy could really lose and you couldn’t do a DQ finish here. Even so, that kind of killed the crowd. Up until that point though, this was a so much fun. Rey Mysterio made sure to bring his “A” game for the ECW crowd and delivered. Outside of the finish, this ruled. ***¼
The buildup for the next match was pretty great and involved some absolutely stellar microphone work from Mick Foley. He comes out first and gets “you sold out” chants which he combats by saying he sold out Madison Square Garden. He knows how to draw heat, stating he respected ECW when Stephanie McMahon was the “owner”. Edge and Lita join the ring and also cut promos on the fans and their opponents. Tommy Dreamer and Terry Funk come out, accompanied by Beulah McGillicutty. Beulah runs down Lita for being a whore and it becomes a six person tag.
Edge, Lita and Mick Foley vs. Terry Funk, Tommy Dreamer and Beulah McGillicutty
They start by getting on the aprons like this is a normal six man tag. Within minutes, the four men are brawling outside and beating each other with weapons. A trash can is the early choice of weapon but Edge uses a cookie sheet. A ladder is brought in and Edge looks for a spear into it but Dreamer counters with a hip toss onto the steel. Terry Funk climbs the ladder like a madman but it gets tilted backwards. That’s a sick bump for a man of his age. The heels find a plywood board covered in barbed wire under the ring and they basically suplex it onto Dreamer. Tommy’s reaction when they pull it off of him is even worse. They go for it again but Funk trips them and it lands on them, seemingly catching Edge in the face. Foley now gets slammed backward into it, with his hair just getting caught in the wire. Edge helps them get back in control and Lita gives Foley more barbed wire, which he wraps around his arm and strikes Funk with. Funk shouts “GODDAMN, MY EYE, OH GOD” a bunch of times while blood pours down his face. It comes off looking like Funk is legit injured and he’s taken to the back. Tommy is alone to just take a beating now. Mick gets Mr. Socko because he’s all about the WWE right now. He applies the mandible claw on Beulah though Tommy stops that only to get hit again. Edge hits a spear but doesn’t want the cover and targets Beulah again with some sexually charged offense. He doesn’t get to do much tough as a WILD TERRY FUNK appears with a bandage and barbed wire 2x4. The distraction lets Dreamer hit both guys with low blows. Beulah sets the 2x4 on fire for Funk and Foley gets hit with it twice, the second time causing his back to catch fire. He’s then knocked through a barbed wire plywood board, which Edge then knocks Funk through. Inside, Dreamer applies a submission by wrapping Edge’s throat in ing barbed wire. Lita makes the save and Beulah finally gets her hands on her. Tommy pulls Lita off when she gets the upper hand and drops her with the Spicoli Driver. He does his signature pose with his wife and Edge pulls him down with an Edge-o-Matic, made more brutal by the use of barbed wire. He then spears Beulah and pins her in the missionary position.
Winners: Edge, Lita and Mick Foley in 18:45
Well that was absolutely brutal and barbaric in the very best of ways. It was exactly what it needed to be on this card. The action almost never stopped, Lita and Beulah did their parts, the faces were resilient and the heels were despicable. A complete war. ****
Balls Mahoney vs. Masato Tanaka
At the first One Night Stand, Masato Tanaka had a pretty fantastic match against Mike Awesome. This doesn’t have the same impact that match did, nor was it supposed to. Balls gets in his trademark punches before Tanaka dives out onto him. They do some uninspired work back inside before doing into the chair sword fight. Balls absolutely destroys Tanaka with one of the sickest chair shots I’ve ever seen to win.
Winner: Balls Mahoney in 5:03
This was kind of just here as a cool down after the previous match. It looked like they put in some effort but none of what they did outside of the final chair shot really stood out. *½
Before the main event, Eugene comes out to massive heat. He plays his role well and tries to be nice to the ECW crowd, but they want nothing to do with him. The Sandman interrupts to his terrible cover theme and beats the hell out of Eugene with a cane. This wasn’t very fun.
WWE Championship
John Cena (c) vs. Rob Van Dam
This was the first of two times that the Money in the Bank as cashed in with the challenger letting the champion know ahead of time. It’s obviously been noted before but the crowd LOATHES John Cena. He throws his shirt to the crowd and they throw it back time after time in what is one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen to open a match. When the match finally starts, we get tons of negative chants towards Cena like “Cena swallows” and “you can’t wrestle.” If Cena hits a nice move, the crowd hates it, but when RVD does even the slightest offense, they go nuts. This is the first time I recall hearing the boo/yay chants for a fist fight. As the crowd chants “same old shit”, Cena dives from the top to do something different, which gets a “you still suck” chant. RVD’s first big move is a moonsault off the steel steps. He gets the upper hand after and skateboards a chair into Cena’s face. He’s in control until Cena gets his knees up on the split legged moonsault. RVD bumps for a DDT on a chair like he broke his neck. He also bumps hard for a slingshot into a chair in the corner. RVD eventually rallies and when they mess up a spot, it’s not the typical “you ed up” chant but “Cena ed up.” RVD can do no wrong in the eyes of the fans. He sets up a table in the corner and gets put in the STF. RVD reaches the ropes and Cena refuses to beak the hold so the referee pulls him off. Cena, heeling it up here lays out the official. Cena lays out RVD as well with a superplex and steel step shot. WWE official Nick Patrick runs out but only counts a near fall. RVD takes an Attitude Adjustment to the floor before a man in a motorcycle helmet sneaks in and spears Cena through the table. He knocks out Patrick and reveals himself to be Edge. The man that was despised earlier now gets “thank you Edge” chants. RVD enters and looks around, seeing the opening. He nails the Five Star Frog Splash. Out comes Paul Heyman to count the three for one of the loudest pops ever.
Winner and New WWE Champion: Rob Van Dam in 20:41
Really solid match made better by the incredible atmosphere in the building. This is the one instance where I truly believe the fans might have rioted if Cena retained. Speaking of Cena, he is so damn good in matches where he’s in hostile territory. He stepped his game up and played the right amount of heel throughout this. RVD did his part and it all added up to a really good match and a special moment. ***¾
Rob Van Dam goes through the crowd to find his wife and celebrate. The ECW locker room empties into the ring to celebrate with him when he gets back.
Overall: 8/10; Great. While I don’t think this was better than the inaugural One Night Stand, this was still a very good show. Everything was solid outside of the Mahoney/Tanaka match. The main event is must see, even if it’s only for the atmosphere and the six person tag was a fantastic war. This show has a bit of everything, which is appreciated. My only major issue was that the Eugene and JBL segments dragged and felt out of place. Next time on “Random Network Reviews”, I take a long look at SuperBrawl VI! |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Nov 8, 2015 23:00:32 GMT -5
Raw History
Episode #82
October 17th, 1994 | Memorial Auditorium in Burlington, Vermont
Was every arena called the Memorial Auditorium in 1994? Vince McMahon and Macho Man are our hosts.
Doink w/ Dink and Wink vs. Jeff Jarrett
Yes, Doink now has two little friends. Jeff Jarrett gets the advantage to start but Doink turns it around after Dink bites Jarrett’s ass. It’s funny to see Jarrett sell the butt while in a headlock. Jarrett comes back with an abdominal stretch, using the ropes for leverage. Hey, that’s the Million Dollar Corporation’s trademark dammit. Jerry Lawler’s little friends, Queasy and an unnamed second put the boots to Doink behind the referee’s back. Jarrett now work a dull heat segment for a while. Doink rallies while Dink and Wink give chase to the tiny kings outside. The referee gets distracted by this for some reason so he misses Doink hitting the Whoopee Cushion. Lawler comes out and nails him, allowing Jarrett to steal this.
Winner: Jeff Jarrett in 10:36
Well that was pretty dull. Jeff Jarrett controlling a match at this point wasn’t very good and Doink was pretty bad at this point. *¼
Jerry Lawler runs to commentary to introduce the second little man as Sleazy. There also won’t be a King’s Court tonight, so that’s a positive.
British Bulldog vs. Roy Raymond
It’s another two first name jobber. Raymond slaps Bulldog, which is a mistake. Bulldog hits a dropkick, back body drop and the stalling suplex. He continues to toss the ham and egger around before picking up the win with the running powerslam.
Winner: British Bulldog in 3:31
Fine stuff here. British Bulldog didn’t bore me and made the most of his squash opportunity.
We go back to Superstars this past weekend when Bob Backlund choked out his former manager and Hall of Famer, Arnold Skaaland. Backlund tries to stop the tape from airing but fails. The video airs and Backlund goes into rant mode. It’s not the sanest promo but I guess that’s kind of the point. The highlight of the promo is Backlund saying he’s never eaten marijuana. He threatens to put the crossface chicken wing on a fan, so Lex Luger comes out and challenges him. Backlund gets in the ring and shuffles around but officials keep them apart.
Bob Holly vs. Reno Riggins
Reno Riggins is getting up there with Barry Horowitz and Duane Gill as the most frequent jobbers. The marquee match this Sunday on Superstars is Holly against Backlund. Holly gets in about 90% of the offense in the match and he wins with a flying cross body.
Winner: Bob Holly in 2:38
The best part about this was Vince saying Holly got the “checkered flag” here.
Next week, Razor Ramon defends the Intercontinental Title against Yokozuna!
IRS w/ Ted Dibiase vs. Tim McNeany
Before the match, IRS promises to expose the biggest tax cheat in history, the Undertaker. How is he a tax cheat exactly? McNeany actually scores a near fall on a school boy. That makes IRS mad so he makes the jobber submit to the Penalty.
Winner: IRS in 1:54
Ah, yes. If I have to sit through IRS matches, please continue to keep them under two minutes.
This past week on Superstars, Paul Bearer pushed out a casket to the ring to scare the hell out of Yokozuna. Superstars needs to be on the WWE Network because I miss out on some things.
The Heavenly Bodies w/ Jim Cornette vs. Barry Horowitz and Nick Barberry
Recently, the Bodies lost to the Smoking Gunns according to Vince. Maybe that was on Superstars too. Or on the Hart Attack tour. The Bodies do their usual stuff and win.
Winners: The Heavenly Bodies in 2:30
Typical stuff.
Lex Luger issues a challenge to Bob Backlund and we’ll have to wait until next week I guess to see if he responds.
Overall: 3/10. Another ho-hum episode. The featured match wasn’t very entertaining but the squashes were either alright or short. Bob Backlund stole the show here as his promo was top notch insanity. Outside of that, this was a pretty easy skip.
Raw History
Episode #83
October 24th, 1994 | Memorial Auditorium in Burlington, Vermont
Vince McMahon and Randy Savage are our hosts.
WWF Intercontinental Championship
Razor Ramon (c) vs. Yokozuna w/ Mr. Fuji and Jim Cornette
Yokozuna attacks before the bell because that’s what pretty much all heels did at the time. Razor turns things around and uses right hands to send Yokozuna to the outside. The crowd is pretty hot for this. They actually have some decent back and forth until a leg drop leads to the dreaded nerve hold to take us to a commercial. Yokozuna has the upper hand now and pounds on Razor. He does the even more dreaded DOUBLE NERVE HOLD! How is Razor even still alive? When Razor rallies and gets close to a win, the crowd completely eats it up. Razor lays into Yokozuna as a druid rolls a casket to ringside. Yokozuna is knocked outside and backs into it. When he notices what it is, he runs away and gets counted out.
Winner via countout and Still WWF Intercontinental Champion: Razor Ramon in 9:26
Better than I expected. It stalled during the nerve hold spots but the start and the finishing stretches were both rather decent. Not very good, but as I said, I expected worse. *½
Todd Pettengil brings us our first Survivor Series Report! The first thing he takes us to is the Action Zone yesterday. After retaining his gold against Owen Hart, Bret accepted Bob Backlund’s challenge. They will meet for the belt at Survivor Series. As for the traditional Survivor Series matches, we find out that Adam Bomb, Lex Luger, Mabel and the Smoking Gunns make up “Guts n’ Glory.” They will face the Million Dollar Team of Tatanka, Bigelow, King Kong Bundy and the Heavenly Bodies.
Next week, Bob Backlund takes on Lex Luger!
The Smoking Gunns vs. Barry Hardy and Mike Bell
This match is already going when we return. That seems to happen a lot to Smoking Gunns matches. Not that I’m complaining or anything. The Gunns dominate while commentary talks about Bob Backlund. The Gunns hit a double team finish where Bart holds the jobber for Billy to top a leg drop off the top.
Winners: The Smoking Gunns in 1:56
I’ve come to love these quick squashes.
Tatanka w/ Ted Dibiase vs. Scott Taylor
Is it weird that Scott Taylor probably ended up having a better career than Tatanka? Tatanka beats on his opponent as we actually get a “Taylor” chant. You don’t see that every day for jobbers. Taylor even gets a close call on a rollup. Tatanka does end up winning with the End of the Trail. Tatanka hits another after the bell because he’s a villain.
Winner: Tatanka in 3:58
Not as bad as most Tatanka squashes. Scott Taylor made this more fun than expected.
On Superstars, IRS cut a promo on the Undertaker. It’s about death and taxes and isn’t very good.
Adam Bomb vs. Phil Apollo
Phil Apollo must be a heel because he attacks Adam Bomb at the bell. His advantage doesn’t last long as Adam Bomb takes over. He hits the pumphandle slam for the victory.
Winner: Adam Bomb in 1:46
Another quick squash. Good stuff.
Oh, a WILD BOB BACKLUND appears and puts Adam Bomb in the Crossface Chicken Wing!
King’s Court time. Jerry Lawler talks about all of the little people being brought into his feud with Doink. Doink has added a third so Lawler brings out his third, Cheesy. Cheesy joins Queasy and Sleazy. Lawler issues the expected challenge for the four of them to face the four clowns at Survivor Series. Match of the Year contender for sure.
Diesel vs. Ben Jordan
So, Ben Jordan doesn’t sound like a white guy with a mullet to me but that’s what he looks like. This is totally one-sided as Diesel hits snake eyes and his trademark stuff. He gets some cheers from the crowd but toys with his opponent as he could have ended it much sooner than he does. Jackknife finishes it.
Winner: Diesel in 3:48
Went too long for the work Diesel was doing.
Overall: 3.5/10. Slightly better than last week’s episode. I thought the Intercontinental Title match wasn’t terrible and most of the squash matches were kept short. The King’s Court still sucked hard though.
Raw History
Episode #48
October 31st, 1994 | Memorial Auditorium in Burlington, Vermont
It’s a Halloween themed episode! Macho Man and Vince McMahon are the hosts for the last time as Savage would leave the company shortly after.
Bob Backlund vs. Lex Luger
Early on, Luger not only mocks Backlund but is able to out wrestle him on the ground. That’s a shock. Backlund gets tired of that and starts to take control. He nearly applies the Crossface Chicken Wing but Luger escapes before it’s applied. They’ve done a good job of making that move seem like a threat. Backlund hits an ugly belly to belly for two. Before a commercial, Tatanka is shown lurking around the entrance. Luger starts the babyface comeback. He nails a powerslam but out comes Tatanka to distract him. Backlund locks in the submission but dumbass Tatanka enters the ring and Backlund is disqualified.
Winner via disqualification: Lex Luger in 8:19
Pretty decent showing until that stupid ending. I get that they wanted to protect both guys but Tatanka looked like a complete fool for this. *½
Bob Backlund applies the submission again even after officials pull him off. Macho Man gets up from commentary to pull Backlund off and gets in some right hands. The crowd LOVED seeing Savage get physical. After a commercial, Savage tells Vince that it’s hard to sit in the chair and do nothing. I think part of that was a shoot.
The 1-2-3 Kid vs. Tony DeVito
Yesterday, the Kid teamed with Razor Ramon to take on Shawn Michaels and Diesel for the Tag Team Titles. I’ve never been able to find the match but I hear it’s phenomenal. They do a good in playing up Kid being worn out from Action Zone, even though this was recorded a while before. It causes Kid to take a bit longer than expected to pull this one out. He hits a big leg drop for the W.
Winner: 1-2-3 Kid in 3:17
Fine stuff. I liked Kid being worn down, which was different from most squashes and works with a character like his.
Survivor Series Report time! Bob Backlund wants the WWF Title match to be a Submission match. It is announced that Undertaker will take on Yokozuna in a Casket match. Chuck ing Norris will be the special troubleshooting referee to make sure we don’t get a repeat of the Royal Rumble. Also added, the “Bad Guys” of Razor Ramon, 1-2-3 Kid, British Bulldog and the Headshrinkers will face the “Teamsters” of Diesel, Shawn Michaels, Owen Hart, Jim Neidhart and Jeff Jarrett.
King Kong Bundy w/ Ted Dibiase vs. Bert Centeno
Vince gushes on commentary over the size of King Kong Bundy. Bundy does all of the offense and wants the five count. He gets it.
Winner: King Kong Bundy in 2:44
Man, King Kong Bundy is such a bore.
IRS is at someone’s grave and cuts a promo about how you have to pay taxes even after dying. He stumbles through it and it comes off as incredibly awkward.
Jerry Lawler is out for the King’s Court with his guests, Undertaker and Paul Bearer. Lawler asks if history will repeat itself. Bearer says that it will not and plugs the WWF magazine, which has an article about Undertaker’s greatest matches. Lawler then asks why Chuck Norris has to be at ringside if they’re confident. Bearer says that was the WWF and not them. Undertaker finishes the promo, saying that Yokozuna will rest in peace. The way he says Yokozuna makes me laugh honestly.
Next week, it’s a Hart family affair! Bret Hart teams with the British Bulldog to take on Owen Hart and Jim Neidhart
Jim Neidhart w/ Owen Hart vs. Tony Roy
Jim Neidhart attacks quickly and stays in control throughout. He just tosses Tony Roy around like he’s nothing. Owen talks trash throughout, which is a highlight. Vince makes Savage do the USA movie premiere hype like always. However, this time Savage finishes and says he isn’t doing anymore and he’s on strike. Neidhart picks up the win via camel clutch.
Winner: Jim Neidhart in 4:13
Way too long for someone like Jim Neidhart. He looked to be stalling at times.
Vince interviews Lex Luger backstage but audio sucks and we can’t hear any of it. When the audio finally works, Luger is brawling with Tatanka.
Overall: 3/10. Another episode that is kind of just there. The big matchup to open the show wasn’t very good and the rest of the show didn’t improve on it. The King’s Court wasn’t too bad tonight, which is an improvement. When the best thing on the show is a 1-2-3 Kid squash match, it’s not a good sign. |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Nov 14, 2015 11:57:41 GMT -5
SuperBrawl VI
February 11th, 1996 | Bayfront Arena in St. Petersburg, Florida | Attendance: 7,200
Here’s an era that I’m not too familiar with. I was watching WCW at the time, but didn’t care for it the way that I cared for the WWF. Even as a kid, I realized how ridiculous Hulk Hogan’s first year or so was. I mean, you had Brutus Beefcake in main events, the Dungeon of Doom and things like the YE-TAY! This is a month before the most absurd match I’ve ever seen (the Doomsday Cage) at Uncensored. Obviously, this is the sixth Superbrawl event.
The opening seems outdated for even 1996, but it focuses on the card. I do appreciate some shine being shown to things like the Television Title along with the biggest matches on the card. Commentary consists of Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan and Dusty Rhodes.
Falls Count Anywhere
The Nasty Boys vs. Public Enemy
Tony Schiavone points out that the Nasty Boys don’t have regular wrestling boots on and they’re wearing sneakers because they’re ready to fight all over. I appreciate that in a match like this. The brawl starts instantly and weapons quickly come into play. Rocco Rock gets a table, only to get bashed in with a chair by Jerry Saggs. Rocco is also the first victim of a table spot, getting slammed from the apron through one by Brian Knobbs. Saggs just lays into Johnny Grunge with a trash can lid about 15 times. Saggs hits a damn piledriver onto a trash can on Grunge but he gets his foot on the ropes. Is that a legal pin break in a Falls Count Anywhere match? We get the WCW split screen effect to see both things but I’ve never liked this. All four men end up fighting by the entrance. To point how this is a fight and not a traditional wrestling match, Dusty asks Tony if we’ve seen any “Australian arm drags”. No Dream, I’ve actually never seen one. Rocco misses a somersault from the crowd and crashes through a table. Knobbs hits him with a piece of the broken table and gets the 1-2-3.
Winners: The Nasty Boys in 7:49
A bit of a mess, but unlike most Nasty Boys matches I can remember, this was actually pretty fun. It was a bit too one sided for me to really enjoy it too much though. ***
Mean Gene hypes the WCW Hotline. 1-900-909-9900! He then interviews Konnan, who says nothing of note.
WCW Television Championship
Johnny B. Badd (c) w/ The Diamond Doll vs. Diamond Dallas Page
I’ll never get over Johnny’s theme saying “he looks like Little Richard.” DDP tries to hand flowers to the Diamond Doll, so Badd attacks on the outside. Inside, they trade offense while commentary tells us that there is $6.6 million on the line, which goes to the Diamond Doll. I think DDP owed her or something. DDP hits a stun gun to take the upper hand. He wants the Doll to score his offense but she’s no longer about that. DDP makes the mistake of showboating too much. Bobby Heenan is pissed about it. The Doll scores him a zero, which upsets him. He starts using more underhanded tactics, like using the ropes for leverage on a wear down hold. Johnny B. Badd rallies with some marvelous punches. Get it? I’m here all week. He gets two on a sitout powerbomb. When DDP does get in a bit of offense again, he uses the ropes to try and cheat. DDP applies a sleeper which Schiavone thinks might be a cobra clutch even though it clearly isn’t. Johnny breaks it and puts his own on, which Heenan instantly calls a choke. He is on fire so far. Badd then reverses a tombstone into one of his own to win.
Winner and Still WCW Television Champion: Johnny B. Badd in 14:59
Overall, this was a fine match. It lacked some heat but had some good action. I thought the finish was cool because DDP had already done the tombstone variation and it was going to the well too often that cost him in the end. ***
Mean Gene interviews Harlem Heat about the upcoming Tag Team Title match. Booker T is surprisingly the one that stumbles through this, but he fixes himself in the end.
WCW World Tag Team Championship
Lex Luger and Sting (c) vs. Harlem Heat
So, the winners of this will defend the belts later tonight against a fresh Road Warriors team. Three weeks earlier, Harlem Heat lost the belts due to Luger using a roll of silver dollars or something. Basically, Sting is face and Luger is doing heel things but Sting is pretty clueless to these things. Sting and Booker have a fine exchange. When Luger comes in though, the match gets more physical as it is him that they want to get their hands. Luger quick tags out, which Sting questions. Like a classic heel, Luger only wants in when Harlem Heat is down. That soon backfires when Luger starts to take a pounding. Schiavone points out how dumb the strategy of both teams is since neither unit is looking for a quick win. Booker hits the Scissors Kick and choosing to pose instead of going for the cover. I get that they want to beat up Luger, but this is just dumb. They do the faux hot tag to Sting, which the referee misses. Sting says it, and just beats up Harlem Heat anyway. Sting and Booker brawl outside. The Road Warriors show up and Animal hits Stevie Ray in the back with a pipe or something. Luger falls on Stevie and the champions retain.
Winners and Still WCW World Tag Team Champions: Lex Luger and Sting in 11:49
Technically, it wasn’t a bad match. The way they chose to work it was poor though. The lack of urgency was dumb since the winners would have another match and the hot tag was hard to work. Luger wasn’t garnering any sympathy from the crowd, so they didn’t react the way they normally would. That hurts the overall score. **
WCW United States Championship
Konnan (c) vs. One Man Gang
This is before Konnan was BOWDYBOWDY AND ROWDYROWDY! He holds both the US and Mexican Heavyweight Titles and he had just won the US Title from One Man Gang less than two weeks prior. One Man Gang uses his size to gain the early advantage and Konnan has to use his speed to overcome it. None of what they’re doing looks good or is interesting. The match is so boring that they cut to a NASCAR racer in the front row to talk about him instead. One Man Gang hits a splash and covers, but pulls Konnan up. WHY? YOU’RE IN A TITLE MATCH AND I DON’T WANNA SEE THIS ANYMORE! He goes to the second rope for another splash and misses. It looks horrible. Konnan climbs and nails a somersault to keep the belt.
Winner and Still WCW United States Champion: Konnan in 7:27
Oh my, that was terrible. They had no chemistry, everything they did looked so bad. It was painfully dull, the crowd was dead and there were no redeeming qualities about this. DUD
Back to Mean Gene again. He plug the hotline and says that two former WWF Champions are headed to WCW. Well, if they’re counting the Intercontinental Title, he could have been talking about Kevin Nash and Scott Hall. It might have been the one hotline prophecy that came true. He interviews the Road Warriors who promise to do some gross things to Sting and Luger. Like, at one point Hawk claims they will detach their rectums. What?
I Respect You Strap Match
Brian Pillman vs. The Taskmaster w/ Jimmy Hart
The rules of this aren’t really explained except for Schiavone saying that it’s a combination of a strap match and an I Quit match. Pillman charges to the ring and they go right at it. The brawl lasts almost a minute before Pillman takes the microphone and says “I respect you…booker man.”
Winner: The Taskmaster in 0:59
More of an angle than a match. I can’t really rate it. NO RATING
Kevin Sullivan was the booker at this time, so that finish was meant to work as a shoot. Arn Anderson shows up in street clothes, only for the Taskmaster to whip him with the strap. Anderson doesn’t play any games and removes his shirt, ready for a fight.
I Respect You Strap Match
Arn Anderson vs. The Taskmaster w/ Jimmy Hart
The bell rings and I guess this is the match now. Again, there is no official call. They whip each other and do your typical strap match spots. After a few minutes, Jimmy Hart runs to get Ric Flair, who comes out and stops the match because the Four Horsemen and the Dungeon of Doom are part of something bigger to beat Hulk Hogan and Macho Man. That bigger thing was for all of them to lose in an absurd Doomsday Cage match the following month.
Match ends in a draw at 3:45
I don’t even know what to rank that. All of it was so strange. The only thing that saves it from being a dud was Flair’s antics. ½*
Brian Pillman would head to ECW to really make the “Loose Cannon” gimmick click. I believe Eric Bischoff wanted him to return after a while, with a lot of buzz. Instead, Pillman left to the WWF.
Mean Gene interviews the Giant. It’s just really awful. The Giant was doing far too much extra nonsense with his voice that made it so bad.
WCW World Tag Team Championship
Lex Luger and Sting (c) vs. The Road Warriors
Lex Luger doesn’t even want to get into the ring and has to be talked into it by Sting. Even so, he still stalls a ton and backpedals to the entrance. When things finally get started, Hawk works over Sting. For all of the build they hype about the Warriors wanting to just hurt Luger, they surprisingly don’t do much abuse when he comes in at first. Sting gets tagged and tries a top rope splash but Animal gets his knees up. Both guys make the tag and Hawk takes out Luger with a shoulder block. They do some uninspired stuff and both guys tag back out. While Sting gets worked over, Luger just comes in and attacks. Schiavone calls this one of the most physical tag matches he’s ever seen, but it honestly isn’t. Despite featuring four top guys, the crowd is sitting on their hands. The fight spills outside and they brawl until a double countout.
Match ends in a double countout at 13:56
For a match with some big names, the crowd didn’t care for any of this. They tried to hype and bill it as a big fight but they worked a mostly basic match that ended up with next to no heat. You know things are bad when the crowd can’t get into a match involving Sting. Most of this match made no sense and was boring. ¼*
The music for the lowering of the Steel Cage is so bad, it’s comical. They run an ad for Uncensored the next month, which was a pretty dire event.
WCW World Heavyweight Championship Steel Cage Match
“Macho Man” Randy Savage (c) w/ Miss Elizabeth vs. Ric Flair w/ Woman
Before the match starts, Ric Flair tries to convince Elizabeth to come kiss a real man, but she declines. It’s been about four years since WrestleMania 8 and he still wants some of her. Unlike the previous tag match, Macho Man clearly shows that he hates Ric Flair. Just minutes in and Flair lays out the official. I don’t really get that since there’s no DQ anyway. It does lead to the official missing a near fall and then he gets up quicker than I’ve ever seen a referee get up. Flair lights him up with chops as Schiavone calls him the hardest hitter in wrestling. Flair applies the figure four but Savage survives and applies his own. Flair survives this time and Savage goes all the way up to the top of the cage. He leaps off with a double axe handle but Flair catches him with a rib shot. Using that, Flair takes control and locks in another figure four. Savage reaches the ropes but there’s no reason for Flair to break it thanks to the no DQ rule. Then, the referee pulls Flair off by his hair. But it’s no DQ. Anyway, Savage now goes after Flair and, because it’s a Flair match, he’s busted open. He stops Savage with an inverted atomic drop and then Flair flops. There is a weird faux finish where the bell even rings. Savage exposes Flair’s ass while he tries to escape twice, giving us a full moon. Woman tries to throw powder at Savage but misses. Then Elizabeth hands Flair her shoe, which he uses to knock out Savage and win the belt.
Winner and New WCW World Heavyweight Champion: Ric Flair in 18:52
Not on the level of some of their other great matches (WrestleMania 8 and the one from Nitro a few weeks earlier spring to mind) but still a really good match. It came off as a personal feud though it slowed at times. The dirty finish was expected and not as bad as future WCW finishes. ***½
Miss Elizabeth celebrates the win and Hulk Hogan runs down with a chair. He chases Ric Flair, Elizabeth, Woman and Arn Anderson away. He helps Savage to the back like he doesn’t have a match starting right now. He has to cut a promo with Mean Gene before he goes back out.
Steel Cage Match
The Giant w/ Jimmy Hart vs. Hulk Hogan
Hulk Hogan and his messed up eye instantly attacks the Giant. A few fans can be heard chanting “Hogan sucks”. Giant turns things around and starts to pound on Hogan, going after the eye. None of this is particularly interesting though and instead is just standard Hogan vs. big man stuff. Giant nearly escapes but Hogan stops him. Commentary mentions that if the Giant wants to destroy Hogan, why leave at this point. I honestly agree though Heenan combats it by saying Giant should win and then bring the Dungeon of Doom into the cage to pick apart Hogan. After Giant just beats up Hogan non-stop, Hogan literally just gets up and the Giant is scared. Hogan starts to throw him around into the cage. Hogan hits THREE leg drops and Schiavone says Giant isn’t getting up. He sits up like he’s the Undertaker or something. Giant meets Hogan atop the cage only for Hogan to just knock him off and climb out for the win.
Winner: Hulk Hogan in 10:54
Typical Hulk Hogan stuff. He fights a monster, gets his ass kicked, rallies and ends up winning in dominating fashion. Wash, rinse, repeat. It’s the same stuff people had been seeing for a long time and they were growing very tired of it. This match sucked. ¾*
The Taskmaster hits Hulk Hogan with a chair but he no sells it. Hogan takes Taskmaster into the ring and hit him with the chair. The entire Dungeon of Doom shows up and Hogan just hits each and every single one of them with weak looking chair shots. We’re talking One Man Gang, Meng, Hugh Morris, Giant, Taskmaster, Zodiac, Shark, Barbarian and that might not be them all. Hogan just kicks all of their asses. Giant leaves and out comes Taskmaster’s newest guy, Loch Ness. He walks out and Dungeon of Doom hold him back because Hogan made them all retreat. Good lord, that is atrocious.
Overall: 4.5/10; Below average. A show filled with ups and downs. There are good matches like the opener, TV Title and WCW Title matches, but there were some really bad things. The main event, second Tag Title match and US Title were all pretty terrible. The bad just outweighs the good here, causing this show to not really score too high. My next “Random Network Review” looks like it will be Taboo Tuesday 2005! |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Nov 15, 2015 15:09:44 GMT -5
Raw History
Episode #85
November 7th, 1994 | Fernwood Resort in Bushkill, Pennsylvania
Vince McMahon is hosting with Jerry Lawler since Randy Savage has now left the company.
WWF Champion Bret Hart and the British Bulldog vs. Owen Hart and Jim Neidhart
This sounds like a pretty hot start. Surprisingly, it is Bulldog and Bet that attack as the heels make their entrance. When things settle down, Bret and the Anvil go at it. Neidhart tries a bearhug but Bret bites him in the forehead to break the hold. Bulldog gets tagged, making it a battle of powerhouses. We don’t get much of that though as Owen Hart comes in to work with Bulldog. Vince informs us that Bulldog and Owen will be in the corners of Bret and Bob Backlund at Survivor Series. An enziguri puts Bulldog on his ass. That leads to Bulldog playing the face in peril. I know Bret’s the WWF Champion, but it is a big weird to see Bulldog playing the role. Bret gets tired of Owen’s shenanigans and chases him around the ring until the official stops him. Owen and Anvil uses the Hart Attack to mess with Bret. They really milk the heat, giving a false hot tag. That actually comes right before the hot tag, which doesn’t happen often. Bret hits both opponents, even busting out the DOUBLE NOGGIN KNOCKER! Owen uses underhanded tactics to turn the tide and Bret is in trouble. Bulldog takes care of Owen as Bret locks Neidhart in the Sharpshooter. Anvil submits.
Winners: Bret Hart and British Bulldog in 14:14
Really solid tag team match here. It had a very old school feel to it but was mixed in with some fun offense that I’d expect in this era. One of the best matches on Raw all year. ***½
Todd Pettengill brings us the Survivor Series Report! He doesn’t bring us any new information.
Bam Bam Bigelow w/ Ted Dibiase vs. Tyron Knox
Bigelow pretty much toys with Knox for way longer than he should. He does all of the offense but stalls a bit to make this last longer.
Winner: Bam Bam Bigelow in 4:40
Would have been okay if it was cut in half.
Vince McMahon now speaks to the camera to tell the viewers at home that Randy Savage’s WWF contract is up. He wishes him the best and says that he is Savage’s number one fan.
The King’s Court is now up with the 1-2-3 Kid as the guest. Next week, he takes on Bob Backlund. Lawler asks him about the match and Kid does his usual “I’ll give it 110%” speech. Backlund shows up to attack Kid, but gets sent outside. Bret Hart shows up to stand tall with the Kid. Owen Hart and Jim Neidhart come out to calm Backlund down.
Doink vs. Pat Tanaka
Pat Tanaka’s still around? Anyway, Doink has Clowns R’ Us with him, the team of little people that will be his partners at the Survivor Series. Dink talks to the camera and has a voice that I wouldn’t expect him to have. Doink wins with the Whoopee Cushion.
Winner: Doink in 3:17
This was standard squash match fare.
Overall: 7.5/10. A really fun episode of Raw. Granted the Bigelow squash went too long and the Doink match was kind of just there, but other than those eight or so minutes, this was good stuff. The marquee tag match was good and the King’s Court was kept short and to the point. Solid stuff here.
Raw History
Episode #86
November 14th, 1994 | Fernwood Resort in Bushkill, Pennsylvania
Vince McMahon’s revolving door of guests brings us Ted Dibiase this week. Also, the WWE Network informs us that there were technical difficulties with the episode so a chunk of it is missing.
Most likely due to those issues, we join Bob Backlund vs. 1-2-3 Kid in progress, with Backlund making him submit to the Crossface Chicken Wing. Backlund won’t release the hold, bringing Bret Hart out. Officials get in between the two after Backlund lets go. Backlund nearly get his hold on Bret but lets him go quickly. He goes outside and gets a microphone, saying that he just wanted to remind Bret that the hold could be applied at any time. Bret nearly applies the Sharpshooter on him now, and then says that at Survivor Series, he will never let go.
Mabel w/ Oscar vs. Blue Phantom
Oscar’s pre-match rap is among his worst ever. He kind of just forgets stuff while trying to mention Mabel’s Survivor Series partners. Mabel even gets pyro. I know that Gangrel was the Black Phantom but I’m unsure if this is him too. He’s wearing black anyway so I don’t get the name. Mabel dominates and wins.
Winner: Mabel in 2:00
Kept short, which is how I like my Mabel matches.
Our Survivor Series Report again brings us nothing new. Todd Pettengill does make a rare reference to Vince McMahon’s money here. He asks “how does it feel to sit next to someone with so much money, Ted?”
Jeff Jarrett vs. Gary Sabough
Sabough manages to score some spots including a sunset flip and even gets a near fall. That’s probably the most offense a jobber will get tonight. Jarrett turns it around and wins with the Figure Four.
Winner: Jeff Jarrett in 3:12
Mostly basic but it was alright to see the jobber get in some stuff.
IRS cuts a boring promo on death not allowing someone to escape taxes. Same old, same old.
Owen Hart is the guest on the King’s Court this week. Owen promises not to throw in the Arnold Skaaland towel at Survivor Series, while Lawler claims that in his mind, Backlund is still champion from 1983. That’s right Jerry, Hulkamania never happened. The second guest is the British Bulldog. Owen doesn’t want Davey to throw the towel in immediately when the Crossface Chicken Wing gets locked in because he wants Bret to suffer. Davey promises he won’t throw the towel in and that Bret won’t even get put in the hold.
Aldo Montoya vs. Brooklyn Brawler
Oh, the debut of the “Portuguese Man-o-War”! The future Justin Credible gets to shine since the Brawler almost never really does any offense. Scratch what I said, he hits a neckbreaker but then goes after the back which is an odd choice. Montoya wins with a cross body.
Winner: Aldo Montoya in 2:39
Not bad for a first match.
Ted Dibiase gets in the ring because he was impressed by Aldo Montoya. He offers him a spot in the Million Dollar Corporation. Montoya speaks what sounds like nonsense but is supposed to be Portuguese. He then takes out money and shows it to Montoya. Aldo responds by telling him to take the money and shove it in his ear. Well that was certainly an interesting insult.
Before the show ends, Alundra Blayze is interviewed. She says that she is going to face Bull Nakano for the Women’s Championship on November 20th in the Tokyo Dome.
Overall: 4/10. Considering the Backlund/Kid match was cut, that really could have helped the score here. The rest of the matches were squashes that weren’t great. However, the King’s Court segment was alright and the Bret/Backlund altercation ruled, saving this episode from a dreadful score.
Raw History
Episode #87
November 21st, 1994 | Fernwood Resort in Bushkill, Pennsylvania
We start with the entrance of Razor Ramon, who was supposed to face Diesel. The Teamsters all come out and attack Razor, putting our big match in jeopardy.
Vince McMahon’s co-host this week is Jim Cornette. They introduce the show in front of a terrible green screen.
Tatanka w/ Ted Dibiase vs. Chris Kanyon
Is it weird that I feel Kanyon is the superior worker in this match? Tatanka holds serve as Kanyon is just there to take a beating. He bumps rather well, making Tatanka’s offense look far better than it actually is. Kanyon actually gets two on a cross body. Tatanka wins with his finish.
Winner: Tatanka in 4:39
Better than your usual Tatanka squash thanks to Kanyon, who is the MVP of this show right now.
Adam Bomb vs. Jason Arndt
Jason Arndt was a recent victim of the Crossface Chicken Wing so Adam Bomb actually goes after the arm. Look at that guy being sensible. Vince McMahon informs us that Bull Nakano defeated Alundra Blayze in the Tokyo Dome, so we have a new Women’s Champion. Adam ends it with a pumphandle slam.
Winner: Adam Bomb in 2:27
Fine little squash match here.
Vince and Cornette pretend to play the new Raw video game and announce that Razor/Diesel will take place later. Then we are taken to a recap of this awful Doink/Jerry Lawler feud. This leads into the King’s Court, with Lawler’s Royal Family. Before anything can happen, Clowns r’ Us show up and spray them with water guns.
IRS cuts a promo from a funeral parlor on the Undertaker and paying taxes. Boring.
IRS w/ Ted Dibiase vs. Matt Hardy
Another match where the jobber is far better than the Superstar. Like Kanyon earlier, Matt bumps well for IRS’ god awful offense. IRS delivers the Write-Off for the victory.
Winner: IRS in 2:53
This was here.
Survivor Series Report! The show is in two days but we already know everything that we need to.
WWF Intercontinental Championship
Razor Ramon (c) w/ The Bad Guys vs. Diesel w/ The Teamsters
I put that this is for the Intercontinental Title but I’m honestly unsure. Razor charges and starts hot. Diesel doesn’t stay down for long though as he uses his power advantage to take control. Behind the fans, Razor tries to rally but gets sent over the top rope heading into a commercial. After the break, Razor has turned things around a bit, sending Diesel into the corner hard. Diesel again swings the momentum, just pounding away on Razor. Diesel comes close to winning but Razor gets his foot on the bottom rope. Razor escapes the Jackknife with a back body drop and the crowd is hot. Razor uses this to rally and body slams Diesel. Jarrett gets on the apron and is brought in the hard way. He tries to cheat but Bulldog pulls him out. Owen climbs up top only to get thrown into Diesel. This leads to a giant brawl between the teams, where Shawn Michaels stays out of the fray.
Double disqualification in 10:25
Solid match here. As usual, Diesel works best with Kliq buddies as they had a pretty decent match, with an ending that I saw coming from a mile away. **¾
Overall: 5/10. Middle of the pack episode here. Nothing on it was particularly good or bad and, outside of IRS, things moved along smoothly. Kudos to Matt Hardy and Chris Kanyon for doing good jobs as the ham and eggers this week. |
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