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Post by The Kevstaaa on Feb 3, 2016 0:22:14 GMT -5
World War 3 1997
November 23rd, 1997 | The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan | Attendance: 17,128
World War 3 was always an interesting concept. It was basically WCW’s answer to the Royal Rumble, with double the competitors and two more rings. It was never executed as well as the Rumble though. 1997 was a fun time though, with WCW destroying the WWF in ratings. Here, they are one month away from the massive Sting/Hulk Hogan match (that was well built but turned out to disappoint). The winner of the World War 3 Battle Royal would receive a shot at the winner of that match. This would be the third World War 3 Pay-Per-View.
This opening video package is pretty poor, but actually isn’t bad by WCW standards. The usual commentary team for this era is here, Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan and Mike Tenay.
The Faces of Fear w/ Jimmy Hart vs. Ernest “The Cat” Miller and Glacier
Okay, the Cat and Glacier may be the greatest team of all time. The Faces of Fear attack before the bell and a brawl breaks out. The crowd is actually really hot for this. You know, if WCW didn’t use the three ring gimmick, they could have fit a lot more people here. It slows down to a regular tag with Meng taking some offense from both opponents. Mike Tenay is doing a good job in discussing the experience advantage of the Faces of Fear. Glacier and Meng get into one INCREDIBLY awkward missed spot moment. Miller steals the show by spring boarding off of Meng and onto Barbarian outside. The Faces of Fear hit a sweet back body drop into a powerbomb on Glacier. Glacier begins to take the heat and it lasts longer than I expected. Hot tag to Miller who light sup Meng with his martial arts offense. Not only was he better in the ring than Glacier, but he actually had some charisma too. Jimmy Hart gets knocked off the apron, but it opens the door for Meng to use the Tongan Death Grip to beat Miller.
Winners: The Faces of Fear in 9:11
I expected this to be terrible. I was pleasantly surprised. All four guys worked hard and the crowd was hotter than I could have ever imagined. Nothing special, though I had some fun and have to comment the efforts. **¼
WCW Television Championship
Saturn (c) w/ Raven vs. Disco Inferno
Well this is one odd pairing. Saturn is with the Flock here, entering from the crowd. Raven cut a short promo before things get started. Saturn does a lot of stalling early on, not giving this a chance to get going. Disco’s booty says “SHAKE YOUR BOOTY”. Kudos to him for going all in on a gimmick that had no business working. Saturn gets tired of Disco and hits a capture suplex that Schiavone calls a “suplex type drop”. When they go outside, Disco just starts hitting stunners on each member of the Flock in the front row. It’s pretty funny. Back inside, Disco scores on a cross body, but Saturn rolls through right into the Rings of Saturn to retain.
Winner and Still WCW Television Champion: Saturn in 8:19
A pretty dull match all in all. While the crowd was hot for the weird opener, they were pretty flat for this and the two men involved did nothing to change that. At least the finish was cool. *
Mean BAH GAWD Gene interviews last year’s winner of World War 3, the Giant. He has a busted hand courtesy of Scott Hall. Man, he’s come a LONG way when it comes to cutting a promo.
Ultimo Dragon vs. Yuji Nagata w/ Sonny Ono
If Ultimo Dragon wins, he gets five minutes alone with Sonny Ono. Dragon seems to have a messed up arm coming into this. Nagata is wise enough to go after it from the start. Dragon tries to get some of Ono during the match but gets stopped. Ono’s reaction into the camera is great. Mike Tenay does a wonderful job talking about how Japan sent Nagata to the States to try and adapt to different styles. He nails a piledriver though it sadly seems like the arm work is forgotten. Schiavone tries to cover it up by saying that Dragon’s arm is fine so Nagata went away from it. Nagata has really slowed the pace to something less than a crawl. Ultimo Dragon starts to rally and the feed cuts out for a bit. When it returns, Dragon nails a plancha to the outside. Dragon hits a moonsault inside for two. The fans are finally starting to get interested in this. Dragon counters a suplex into the Dragon Sleeper. Sonny Ono hops on the apron as Nagata submits. Dragon releases the hold to complain to the official. Again Ono gets involved to put Nagata’s foot on the ropes after a rana. Dragon goes for an ugly backdrop that causes Nagata to kick Ono off the apron. Nagata awkwardly lands on Dragon and steals it.
Winner: Yuji Nagata in 12:45
I came away from this mildly disappointed. Both guys are capable of better for sure. The crowd was dead for a good chunk and Nagata didn’t help the matter with some very dull offense in the middle. I also hated that they went away from the arm work. It was a built in, easy strategy. **¾
WCW World Tag Team Championship
The Steiner Brothers (c) w/ Ted Dibiase vs. Dave Taylor and Steven Regal
Scott is pretty damn huge already. They get the early advantage and do their trademark Steiners pose. Regal is such a master at technical wrestling. He works over Rick and does some strutting around the ring. He’s in pretty much the opposite shape from Scott Steiner. Scott wakes the crowd back up with a belly to belly. The Steiners keep hitting the big spots, which is fine, but the challengers aren’t getting in much. Finally, Scott starts to take some heat but he never seems to be in any real danger. Rick hot tags it, hitting powerslams galore. Rick and Scott double team for the Steinerizer and retain.
Winners and Still WCW World Tag Team Champions: The Steiner Brothers in 9:42
Considering the people involved, this should have been much better. The Steiners are a big time team but the crowd seemed more into the opener than this. Taylor and Regal did fine, the only issue for me was that they never seemed like a real threat to the Steiners and their reign. **
JJ Dillon is interviewed and says that Raven has 24 hours to sign a contract with WCW. Yea, Raven gets to make his own rules, but isn’t under contract.
Raven’s Rules
Raven vs. Scotty Riggs
It’s a bit odd that my biggest memory of Riggs is his time as Scott Anton and the “Clap”, in ECW. The Flock talk for a bit outside but Riggs doesn’t want to wait and attacks them. Riggs is sporting an eye patch and is totally given off a pirate vibe. He could have been Paul Burchill before Paul Burchill. Raven chokes Scott with his shirt in the first bit of “no DQ” work. Riggs gets a bit more hardcore by choking Raven with camera cables. A chair is brought into play, so Raven does his trademark bump into it from a drop toe hold. Riggs does a bulldog onto the open chair, which Schiavone sells like Raven got shot. Raven comes back with the DDT and asks for a microphone. He tells Riggs that he didn’t want to do this and that he should join the Flock. Raven spikes him on a second Evenflow and then a third. The referee counts to ten, ending the match.
Winner: Raven in 8:43
The angle itself was far more interesting than the match. It’s like, Raven knew that he was nailing it as a character, so he could afford to slack in the ring. The chair stuff was mostly cool and it could have been worse. **
Steve “Mongo” McMichael shows up for a match against Goldberg. As Goldberg’s theme plays, Mongo gets on the mic and announces that he laid out Goldberg with a lead pipe backstage. The cameras show Goldberg laid out. Mongo issues an open challenge, which is answered by DAS  ING WUNDERKIND! Granted, Debra is pulling him out to the ring but we do get to hear his theme.
Alex Wright w/ Debra vs. Steve McMichael
Mongo poses on the turnbuckle to Alex Wright attacks. Mongo is going to win isn’t he? That makes me sad going in. Mongo starts reeling off clotheslines and the most generic offense you could imagine. Mongo always got such an undeserving push in WCW. He hits a crapty looking sidewalk slam for two. Mongo wins with the Mongo spike.
Winner: Steve McMichael in 3:36
Why did this have to be on the Pay-Per-View? I don’t think Goldberg/Mongo would have been any good but at least it would have been worthy if it was Goldberg murdering him in two minutes. This sucked. ¼*
WCW Cruiserweight Championship
Eddie Guerrero (c) vs. Rey Mysterio
A month earlier, these two had an all-time classic that is still highly regarded as some of the best of either man’s career, which is saying something. They start off with some quick work as Rey seems to be frustrating Eddie. Eddie decides to just send Rey flying with a release German. Rey has a slip up when trying some fancy high flying stuff before send Eddie outside. He does a 619 fake out that Eddie doesn’t fall for. Eddie ends up on the apron and Rey looks for a sunset flip bomb to the outside. Either Eddie held on or Rey messed up but it never happened and looked like crap. Eddie ended up hitting a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker on the outside. Inside, Rey scores two on a rana that the crowd bites on. Eddie flapjacks him, showcasing the power advantage. He has slowed the pace to something of his liking. Rey doesn’t like that and springboards outside onto Eddie. Inside again and Eddie applies the Gory special. Mike Tenay has handled most of this match by the way. Rey counters into a rollup for two. They go for a running Liger bomb spot but again fudge it up so it is countered in sloppy fashion. Rey gets some springboard offense, including a rana that seems to win it, but Eddie barely breaks it with the ropes. Even Schiavone buys it as the finish. Rey tries to springboard to the top on Eddie but Eddie counters into a giant stun gun. Frog Splash follows it and that’s a wrap.
Winner and Still WCW Cruiserweight Champion: Eddie Guerrero in 12:41
Well, they couldn’t quite follow up the Halloween Havoc match. This one featured too many sloppy moments, mostly from Rey, and it hurt the overall score. It’s still the best thing on the card by a fair margin so far. That’s how good these two were. Their worst was still pretty damn good. ***½
WCW United States Championship No Disqualification Match
Curt Hennig (c) vs. Ric Flair
Hennig joined WCW and tagged with DDP. He turned on him to join the Four Horsemen before turning on them for the nWo. Classic WCW. Flair lights up Hennig with short punches on the outside. I’m also certain Flair will blade during this match. They brawl on the outside for a while, playing into the stipulation. Flair looks to have tweaked his knee, while Hennig hurts his throat on the guardrail. Hennig pokes the referee in the eye to avoid himself getting pinned. That’s actually pretty smart. The referee can’t do anything to him. Hennig targets the knee, allowing Flair to do his classic “OH GOD” selling. Flair turns it around and goes after Hennig’s leg. Hennig now does his own classic selling, flipping on a kick to the leg. They start to trade offense, with neither guy gaining a late advantage. Hennig tries to sell being thrown into the corner like he usually does, by getting crotched on the port. Flair doesn’t throw him hard enough so it looks odd. The match goes back to how it started, with two guys just fighting each other and not doing many moves. Hennig takes a big shot to the guardrail before Flair suplexes him back inside. Flair puts Hennig’s leg in an open chair and kicks it, which Hennig sells brilliantly. Flair attacks with the chair and locks in the Figure Four. The US Title is in the ring and Hennig grabs it. He whacks Flair with it twice to break the hold and earn the three.
Winner and Still WCW United States Champion: Curt Hennig in 17:57
This wasn’t a mark on their classic match in the early days of Raw. However, they worked the right kind of match given the feud they had. For the most part, this felt like a fight, which was a good thing. It dragged a bit at some points and the finish wasn’t great. ***½
World War 3
Participants: Alex Wright, Barry Darsow, Bobby Blaze, Booker T., Brad Armstrong, Chavo Guerrero Jr., Chris Adams, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, Ciclope, Curt Hennig, Damien, Dean Malenko, Diamond Dallas Page, Disco Inferno, Eddy Guerrero, El Dandy, Ernest Miller, Fit Finlay, Glacier, Greg Valentine, Hector Garza, Hollywood Hogan, Hugh Morris, Jim Duggan, John Nord, Johnny Grunge, Juventud Guerrera, Kendall Windham, La Parka, Lex Luger, Lizmark, Jr., Lord Steven Regal, Louie Spicolli, Marcus Bagwell, Meng, Mortis, Norman Smiley, Prince Iaukea, Randy Savage, Ray Traylor, Rey Mysterio, Jr., Rick Steiner, Rocco Rock, Scott Steiner, Silver King, Squire David Taylor, Steve McMichael, Stevie Ray, Super Calo, The Barbarian, The Giant, The Renegade, Ultimo Dragon, Villano IV, Villano V, Vincent, Wrath, Yuji Nagata
Everyone comes out in one group except for the nWo members. They still get right amount of people even though Scotty Riggs, Goldberg and Ric Flair can’t make it. Curt Hennig at least has his knee wrapped from the previous match. Commentary says that Kevin Nash was supposed to be #60 but he isn’t here. There is a fair amount of split screen stuff to cover the three rings early, making it hard to see. The Giant dumps out both Villanos, Lizmark Jr., and Spicoli within seconds. I also see Public Enemy, La Parka and El Dandy get dumped. It’s kind of hard to keep track. Schiavone is outlandish, calling this the most prestigious match in wrestling and also saying it’s been wild. It hasn’t. It’s been mostly dull. Ernest Miller tries to eliminate Prince Iaukea by his ponytail, which is just great. Iaukea, Nagata, Wrath and Renegade get dumped as we are just under ten minutes in. The camera misses Jericho getting eliminated. Also, the Renegade was still around at this time? Not a single nWo member has gone yet because they are working together. Greg Valentine is eliminated while a bunch of guys manage to hang on. DDP and Benoit nearly eliminate each other because they are going at it. I’d like to see a match between them on a future review. Benoit and Malenko go out next. Mysterio gets some revenge for earlier by tossing out Guerrero. Then, in one of the coolest survival tactics I’ve ever seen in a battle royal, Mysterio holds onto the APRON! It looks insane. Giant tosses Wright and Mortis, leaving him and Meng alone in ring 3. Ring 1 has just tossed Scott Steiner and the remaining men are all nWo. They don’t fight each other. Giant dropkicks Meng over and out. Now that the numbers are down, everyone has to go to ring 2 and finish it.
It’s a 5 on 5 situation. Bagwell, Vincent, Hennig, Hall and Savage against Giant, Rick Steiner, Booker T, DDP and Lex Luger. The nWo wants the fight in ring 1, so the WCW guys oblige. Of course, the first nWo guy out is Vincent after a Diamond Cutter. Booker and Steiner are sent out next after being ganged up on. FOUR guys try to eliminate Luger but he hangs on. Giant dumps Buff out over them and in the scuffle, Hennig and Luger hit the floor. The final four are DDP, Giant, Savage and Hall. Honestly, you could see these being the last four from a mile away, though Luger had a bit of a case. When DDP hits Savage with the Diamond Cutter, the building erupts. Giant stops the elimination, wanting to Chokeslam Savage. He does one of the weakest Chokeslams ever and they roll him under the bottom rope and out. Noticing that he’s alone, Hall exits ring 1 and signals to the entrance. The nWo theme hits and Schiavone says “THAT MUST BE KEVIN NASH” which guarantees that it isn’t. After a long wait, “Hollywood” Hogan shows up as the 60th entrant, even though he’s the current champion. He teams up with Hall and they head to ring 1. The crowd is all “WE WANT STING”. Hogan slams the Giant like this is WrestleMania 3 and gets a pop. While they hold serve and send out DDP, the crowd goes crazy as “Sting” comes down from the rafters. Hogan runs, eliminating himself. “Sting” is seven feet tall by the way. He hits Giant with the bat and knocks him out and over the top.
Winner: Scott Hall in 29:48
Like the other World War 3 matches, it isn’t very good. The Royal Rumble works well because of the spots involved and the suspense. This is just a giant battle royal and most battle royals are dull. The swerve at the end was especially stupid. *¾
Seven foot tall Sting faces off with Scott Hall and reveals himself to be Kevin Nash. The fact that the commentators completely bought into this made it so stupid. Sting is nowhere near that tall. Scott Hall gets a title shot at SuperBrawl via the win. Actually he doesn’t because, WCW.
Overall: 4.5/10; Below average. Honestly, I expected a lot worse. The World War 3 match itself is the usual lackluster event, the TV Title was lame and the Mongo stuff completely sucked ass. However, I think that Eddie and Rey had a pretty good match, while Hennig and Flair surprised me with a good old fashioned fight. Even the opener was surprising fun. The rest of the card ranged from decent to solid, meaning I wouldn’t call this a bad show, but I wouldn’t consider it a recommendation either. See the US and Cruiserweight Title matches if you have to see anything. Next on “Random Network Reviews” will be Judgment Day 2007! |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Feb 4, 2016 20:26:47 GMT -5
Raw History
Episode #115
June 12th, 1995 | Struthers Auditorium in Struthers, Ohio
They hype the King of the Ring Qualifying match between Lex Luger and Yokozuna to open the show. They recap their crapty 1993 feud, showing us just how much of a choke artist Luger is. Vince is all like “FOR THE FIRST TIME ON NATIONAL TELEVISION!” Nobody asked for it. Vince and Lawler host things.
Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Duane Gill
Vince informs us that Bigelow will team with Diesel to face Sid and Tatanka at King of the Ring. That match would prove to be dire. Diesel calls in during this squash to say that he may not be 100% by the PPV but he’ll be there for Bigelow. Thank goodness Duane Gill shaved his head. His hair is atrocious here. Gill actually hits some offense to stretch this out until the Diesel conversation is over. A headbutt ends it.
Winner: Bam Bam Bigelow in 2:31
This felt longer than it actually was.
Our first Waylon Mercy vignette airs. His character was so damn cool. He talks about nature. He points to a worm on his arm, saying that he doesn’t like them crawling on him. If wrestlers touch hi, they’ll get squished like the worm, which he proceeds to squash.
In some of the most 90’s moments ever, Vince gets excited about the WWF blimp. Then, the Smoking Gunns and a WWE merchandise schiller plugs the WWF mad cap game.
Kama w/ Ted Dibiase vs. David Haskins
Some fans dressed in all black hang a wreath at ringside. This was the era where they tried hard to push them as Undertaker’s “creatures of the night.” It always sounded so cheesy to me. Kama pretty much destroys this jobber and debuts a new finisher, the belly-to-belly suplex.
Winner: Kama in 2:08
Short and to the point.
Kama tries to intimidate the “creatures of the night” and Ted Dibiase has to hold him back.
Todd Pettengill is here with the King of the Ring Report! I feel like I enjoy these more than most people. We hear from Sid and Ted Dibiase about the upcoming garbage main event. Jerry Lawler also brings out a hideous fake foot, saying his feet will look worse at the PPV.
Yokozuna is shown eating a giant bowl of rice to pack on the pounds. He’s up to 641, or about a hundred pounds more than he was during the original Luger/Yoko feud.
Man Mountain Rock vs. Bob Cook
Commentary keeps making bad foot puns. Becky Lynch would be disappointed. This is quick as Man Mountain Rock wins with the Whammy Bar submission.
Winner: Man Mountain Rock in 1:03
I like these quick squashes tonight.
Backstage, Bob Backlund goes insane about Man Mountain Rock’s guitar. Like, he even knocks over the trash can and goes nuts. It’s kind of funny.
Tekno Team 2000 vs. John Crystal and Mike Khoury
Oh god, it’s time for Tekno Team 2000! They consist of Erik Watts and Chad Fortune of some WCW fame. The gimmick sucks and their in-ring work isn’t much better. The jobber team actually has matching gear, but the problem is that they’re basically wearing daisy dukes. It’s like they stole the Smoking Gunns’ attire and cut them up. Travis uses a flying cross body to win.
Winner: Tekno Team 2000 in 3:22
Not an impressive debut for the new duo. I don’t believe they even last very long, rendering this pointless.
In the back, Man Mountain Rock cries over his broken guitar. He tells Bob Backlund that now, IT’S PERSONAL!
Next Monday, Sid and Tatanka face the Headshrinkers.
King of the Ring Qualifying Match
Lex Luger vs. WWF Tag Team Champion Yokozuna w/ Jim Cornette and Mr. Fuji
Luger has a flag bearer with him and its Scotty Anton, who would go on to become Scotty Riggs in WCW shortly after this. Both guys wave their respective flags because Vince has a boner for lame patriotism pops. Luger smashes Yoko’s head into the turnbuckle a bunch of times, causing Vince to say that he may become Locozuna. What is wrong with him tonight? They do the spot from SummerSlam where Yokozuna falls outside. In this situation, a countout win works fine since there is no title at stake. Luger can’t get Yokozuna down with shoulder blocks, so he does two double axe handles and three SCREAMING CLOTHESLINES but it’s not enough. Finally, a second rope clothesline does the trick. Mr. Fuji somehow takes the American flag from weak ass Scotty Anton so Luger has to retrieve it for him. Yokozuna sneaks up, throws Luger into the post and leg drops him. Yokozuna makes it back inside, rolling and getting winded, to win via countout.
Winner: Yokozuna in 8:07
My goodness, Lex Luger is the biggest choke artist in wrestling history. This was similar to their SummerSlam match as these are two guys that just really couldn’t have goo matches with each other. At least the crowd was somewhat into it. ¾*
We see Jerry Lawler walking around in horse crap so that his feet could be filthy for the King of the Ring. Then we see a recap from Superstars when Jerry Lawler beat Aldo Montoya and stuck his foot in Aldo’s mouth. Disgusting.
Overall: 2/10. Man that was a rough episode. A lot of uninteresting guys (Man Mountain Rock, Tekno Team 2000, and Kama) and the main event sucked pretty hard. I also saw too much of Lawler’s feet and heard some terrible puns throughout the show. This was a bad episode on the road to a bad PPV.
Raw History
Episode #116
June 19th, 1995 | Struthers Auditorium in Struthers, Ohio
Another pre-taped episode as it’s the go-home show before King of the Ring.
The Undertaker w/ Paul Bearer vs. Mike MacReynolds
Vince tells us not to adjust our sets, the screen is dark because of the Undertaker. He also says that we smell Lawler’s feet so he must think we all have some crazy technology. More “creatures of the night” in the crowd. Undertaker dominates this jabroni and wins with the Tombstone. They even give the kid the body bag treatment like its 1991.
Winner: The Undertaker in 2:23
Typical Undertaker squash.
Jerry Lawler hypes the “Kiss my Foot” match before we see a recap of Bob Backlund destroying Man Mountain Rock’s guitar last week.
Adam Bomb vs. Bill Payne
Payne actually attacks from behind before the bell. It doesn’t really do him any good though. Bomb tosses him around and hits the flying clothesline for the three.
Winner: Adam Bomb in 1:57
Another short, basic squash.
Time for the weekly King of the Ring Report. Todd Pettengill is apparently a member of the “Bomb Squad”. Nothing new is reported though Bret and Lawler each cut a promo about their match.
The New Headshrinkers vs. Sycho Sid and Tatanka w/ Ted Dibiase
Jerry Lawler says that Sid and Tatanka are an unbeatable team. He does realize that Tatanka is on the team right? Anyway, the Headshrinkers went from two managers to none. Their attire is a brighter shade of blue and seems unfitting. Tatanka goes back and forth with Fatu early. He hits him in the head, which is a clear mistake against a Samoan. Fatu shows signs of Rikishi by busting out some dances. Sid tries to pull the DOUBLE NOGGIN KNOCKER but again, they’re Samoan you dingbat. Sid does end up in control as Fatu takes the heat. Sionne gets the mild tag. The crowd sounds much louder than their quite expressions show. Sid plants Fatu with a powerbomb and then he and Tatanka murder Sionne with a double powerbomb outside. They slide him in and win.
Winners: Sycho Sid and Tatanka in 9:04
Not awful but I think they should have looked more dominant. The Headshrinkers aren’t going anywhere and Sid and Tatanka are about to team up in the main event of a PPV. At least the finish was cool. *¾
Diesel and Bigelow get interviewed about the PPV main event and Diesel’s injury. Diesel does fine but Bigelow is horrendous as a face. He just talks about having heart and it’s so cheesy.
A pretty piss poor clip of Jerry Lawler at some torture museum airs. He ties it into the Hart program but it’s so bad.
Hunter-Hearst Helmsley vs. Buck Quartermaine
This is all HHH from start to finish. Not much to write about since he’s still not very interesting. He debuts the Pedigree here.
Winner: Hunter Hearst-Helmsley in 2:43
Ho-hum.
Next week, Jeff Jarrett puts the Intercontinental Title on the line against Savio Vega.
Shawn Michaels vs. Gus Kantarrakis
Yes, HBK is so over that his squash matches get to main event over the other guys on the card. His opponent is hair like that member of Los Boricuas. Shawn is very cocky while working this dude over, toying with him. He even makes the dude chase him outside before ducking all of his offense and taking a seat in the crowd. Eventually, Shawn hits Sweet Chin Music but the fans call for another, so he obliges, ending this.
Winner: Shawn Michaels in 4:21
I think this wet on a bit too long but I thought it was somewhat enjoyable. Shawn was a complete dick but the people ate it up.
Kama, Shawn’s first round opponent for Sunday, tries to attack him. Shawn ducks and sends him packing. The Undertaker slowly walks out because Kama melted his urn into a chain. Kama looks trapped but out comes Mabel, who is Undertaker’s opponent for Sunday. Two of these guys are stars and the other two are far from it.
Before it ends, Lawler talks about his feet again. Good lord, this is abysmal.
Overall: 3/10. I enjoyed this episode more than the last but not by much. The marque match wasn’t awful and Shawn Michaels made for some entertaining television. Too much of Lawler and his feet. I get trying to draw heat but enough is enough.
King of the Ring 1995 Results
First Round: Savio Vega def. Yokozuna. Razor was replaced by Savio due to injury
First Round: Roadie def. Bob Holly
First Round: Shaw Michaels and Kama went to a ing time limit draw
First Round: Mabel def. Undertaker. The crowd gave up at this point
Semi-Finals: Savio Vega def. Roadie
Kiss My Foot Match: Bret Hart def. Jerry Lawler
Finals: Mabel def. Savio Vega
Diesel and Bigelow def. Sid and Tatanka to close a dreadful Pay-Per-View
Raw History
Episode #117
June 26th, 1995 | Danville, Pennsylvania
The recap shows nothing of the atrocious King of the Ring tournament, instead focusing on how Jerry Lawler had to kiss his own feet. He is absent tonight (THANK GOD) and Shawn Michaels is replacing him to a major pop.
The Smoking Gunns vs. Jason Hart and the Black Phantom
Another Gangrel sighting! It’s here that Vince gives us the depressing news that Mabel won the King of the Ring. Doing that in already down year for business was horrifically stupid. A sidewinder ends this in quick fashion.
Winners: The Smoking Gunns in 1:42
Fine for the time given.
Earlier today, Jerry Lawler has been trying to do everything to get the smell out of his mouth. He is outside the office of Dr. Isaac Yankem D.D.S. THAT’S…THAT’S GOTTA BE ISAAC!
Skip w/ Sunny vs. Scott Taylor
I’m writing this right around the time of Sunny’s 2016 porn debut, which has gotten laughable reviews for being horrible. This actually is a pretty fun match. Skip was impressive and Taylor got in a few hope spots, getting a pop. Skip won with a top rope rana that probably won’t be bested by any other move on this show.
Winner: Skip in 2:03
I thought this was rather fun.
Todd Pettengill brings us a post-KOTR report. He recaps the major happenings, or lack thereof, before making an announcement. The first match for In Your House 2: The Lumberjacks is set as Diesel will defend the WWF Title against Sid in, you guessed it, a lumberjack match.
Next week, Sid faces former Million Dollar Corporation member Bam Bam Bigelow.
Man Mountain Rock vs. Phil Apollo
Vince shouts “IF IT’S TOO LOUD, YOU’RE TOO OLD” which is funny because I can currently see Vince as the kind of guy complaining about music volume. Another short one won with the Whammy Bar submission.
Winner: Man Mountain Rock in 1:21
This guy works quickly.
King Mabel w/ Sir Mo vs. Kenny Kendall
Mabel is carried out by four jobbers. Mabel is getting a push but hasn’t improved at all. He’s died his mohawk black to really signify a heel turn. Shawn Michaels says that he was told to go the distance to win the King of the Ring and he went the distance by drawing with Kama, so he probably should read the rule book. That line, while not great, was better than the match. A belly-to-belly finishes things.
Winner: King Mabel in 2:34
Yup, even if you add a crown, Mabel still sucks.
Another great Waylon Mercy vignette airs. He was so ahead of his time, it’s insane. He utters the great “lives are gonna be in Waylon Mercy’s hands” line.
WWF Intercontinental Championship
Jeff Jarrett (c) w/ the Roadie vs. Savio Vega
Savio wrestled four times last night (part of why the PPV sucked), which Shawn calls a WWF record. Not really since Savage did it at WrestleMania IV. Roadie tries to attack from behind but goes so slow to allow Savio to turn around and stop him. Jarrett still gets in some offense for a while until Savio hits a back suplex. Savio uses that Latin fire to reel off some offense. Roadie gets sent into Shawn Michaels on commentary. Michaels shoves him and this is the loudest the crowd has been all night. Jarrett comes off the apron to hit him but Michaels caches him and hammers away. Inside, Savio rolls him up but Roadie runs in and causes the disqualification.
Winner via disqualification: Savio Vega in 5:29
Decent enough for what it was. This was more about trying to get the crowd behind Savio more and setting up the eventual HBK/Jarrett IC Title match. **
The heels put the boots to Savio Vega until Shawn Michaels makes the save and sends them packing. After a break, Michaels is topless and dancing atop the announce table which Vince McMahon must love. He goes for a high five but Shawn completely leaves him hanging. Jarrett and Roadie come back out and get on the microphone, but the show ends before we hear anything.
Overall: 5/10. Hell, I’m surprised but I actually rather enjoyed that episode. Yes, it had the awful King Mabel, but hear me out. Most of the squash matches were short and decent (Skip was a highlight), the main event was decent and there was a sever lack of Jerry Lawler. |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Feb 9, 2016 12:01:34 GMT -5
Judgment Day 2007
May 20th, 2007 | Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri | Attendance: 10,500
2007 is not a time I look back on fondly when it comes to the WWE. For whatever reason, I really fell out of focusing and caring about the product. There were things that reeled me in (CM Punk on ECW, the Undertaker/Batista feud, Edge being awesome for example), but a lot of it just didn’t cater to me. I was more interested in TNA and definitely more into Ring of Honor at the time. This is a PPV that I don’t remember seeing to be honest, so this should be somewhat fun. This is the ninth Judgment Day Pay-Per-View. It is also the last PPV to feature Chris Benoit.
I dig the opening video package, set to “I Don’t Wanna Stop” by Ozzy Osbourne. It shows Edge win the Money in the Bank briefcase from Mr. Kennedy and cash it in on the Undertaker. The other two top titles, the WWE and ECW belts, get some shine, but less than the World Title. Each brand has their own commentary team. Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler open for Raw.
Carlito vs. Ric Flair
This was during the era where Flair chastised Carlito for being lazy. Flair takes Carlito to the woodshed from the start. Carlito has to take a powder and turns things around once he gets back inside. Commentary does a commendable job in building up the story here. Carlito is a cocky, talented guy, who thinks things should be handed to him and Flair wants to teach him a lesson. Carlito targets the arm, working it around the ring post. He dropkicks the arm into the ring post, which I don’t recall seeing anyone else do. This arm work goes for an extended period of time. Flair starts to lay into Carlito with those classic chops. Folks, there’s a reason people “woo” for every chop in history. Flair takes a back body drop bump that looked hideous. Carlito goes back to the arm until Flair gets free with an arm drag. I wish he did a different move to do so. He blocks the Backstabber and stomps on the leg. The Figure Four gets locked in and Carlito taps out.
Winner: Ric Flair in 15:35
I think this was a strong choice for the opener. The crowd really liked Ric Flair and they were into this. Carlito looked good and the arm work was very pronounced. Despite being known for doing some high flying stuff, Carlito really worked an old school style to draw the crowd in before Flair made the comeback. ***
Shawn Michaels gets interviewed backstage but is attacked from behind by Randy Orton.
ECW Championship Handicap Match
Vince McMahon (c), Shane McMahon and Umaga vs. Bobby Lashley
The fact that Umaga didn’t win the ECW Title and it was Vince instead was so stupid. Umaga absolutely deserved something after his great run. Future sometimes crooked referee Scott Armstrong is the official here. Do-rag Vince is the only good thing to come out of this. Right at the bell, Lashley charges and sends Umaga outside. He beats up the McMahons and sends Umaga into Shane when he comes back in. Lashley hits Shane with the Dominator and wins the belt.
Winner: Bobby Lashley in 1:14
Well this was a waste of time. Lashley wins the belt back in quick time, barely gets his hands on Vince and doesn’t even pin the champion. Why? ¼*
Umaga attacks Lashley afterwards and Vince gets on the microphone. He says that Lashley has to pin him to become champion, meaning this garbage feud had to continue. By the way, Joey Styles and Tazz call the ECW action.
CM Punk vs. Elijah Burke
Punk is doing his best DDP impersonation by having a ton of tape around his ribs. Burke recruited Punk for his New Breed stable but Punk aggressively declined. Like Carlito on Flair’s arm earlier, Burke targets Punk’s ribs. With each bit of offense that Punk does, he still makes sure to sell the injury. He pays homage to the late British Bulldog with a stalling vertical suplex, though I wish he found a different way to do so since he has the bad ribs. Burke uses his boxing background to lay into Punk, making sure to get in body shots. Punk is mostly wrestling smart, taking Burke to the ground to avoid high impact stuff. The ribs come into play again as Burke works it at every chance. He front suplexes Punk onto the top rope, then holds him there and kicks him in the stomach. For some reason, the fans begin chanting for JBL instead of focusing on what has been a strong match. Out of desperation, Punk hits a superplex and instantly sells that he is damaged. He gets two on an enziguri. Burke misses the Elijah Express but blocks the GTS. He hits the Elijah Experience, another move named after himself, for two. In another brilliant move, he hits the Elijah Express to Punk’s lower back. Burke sells what it did to his knees too, so he can’t pin. He tries a second Elijah Experience, only for Punk to reverse and nail the GTS for the 1-2-3.
Winner: CM Punk in 17:12
Sue me, I thought that was great. They followed a smart, old school pattern of taking a body part and making the match about that. Burke attacked it with almost every offensive move, while Punk sold it all, even his offense, very well. Two young guys looking to break through were given a good chunk of time and did their best with it. ***¾
Randy Orton vs. Shawn Michaels
In storyline terms, Michaels got a concussion the week before and Orton’s pre-match attack added to it. Orton tries to get a forfeit win but Michaels shows up, looking way out of it. Michaels has a glazed look in his eyes as Orton beats him up, attacking the head viciously with punches, kicks and a DDT. Shawn is able to get in a few hope spots, but the odds are too stacked against him. He went for Sweet Chin Music only to collapse, forcing the official to call the match.
Winner: Randy Orton in 4:31
Expertly booked due to Michaels’ injury. He had a real life knee problem that would keep him out of action for months. Tons of sympathy for Michaels, this stayed short and Orton gets massive heat. More of an angle than a match though. **
The referee helps Shawn Michaels up only for Randy Orton to strike with the RKO. To add to everything, Shawn’s wife shows up to cry over his condition. She sold this better than any woman in the company could have.
World Tag Team Championship
The Hardy Boyz (c) vs. Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch
After losing to the Hardy Boyz, Cade and Murdoch seemingly turned over a new leaf and were acting like babyfaces. It was still unclear if they were sincere. The early portions of the match feature nothing of real note. The crowd doesn’t really get into things until Jeff Hardy gets tagged. Despite not being the most memorable of teams, Cade and Murdoch have good chemistry and do some nice tandem offense. They work another relatively hot tag to Jeff and again, the crowd wakes up. He was on the cusp of his biggest run ever. He goes for a plancha outside and misses, crashing very hard. That leads to Jeff taking a heat. The challengers mostly focus on his lower back. The pick a body part and work it strategy has been well done all night. Murdoch does his odd code red variation but Matt breaks up the pin. Matt gets the hot tag, which is always weird to me. Side Effect connects but Murdoch breaks this pin. The final few minutes include some good back and forth until Jeff wins it with the Swanton.
Winners and Still World Tag Team Champions: The Hardy Boyz in 15:03
Another match that got more time than I expected. I think both teams performed well. Cade and Murdoch stayed to the babyface style throughout, putting on a competitive match. Better than I thought it would be. ***
World Heavyweight Championship
Edge (c) vs. Batista
Before the match, Edge presents a video package surrounding his cash in. Cole and JBL were unbearable at times even back then. Batista is pissed and takes it to Edge early on. They go outside for a bit where Edge counters a slam and send Batista into the steel steps. Batista has his leg wrapped, and that’s exactly what ran into the steps. More body part work. Edge gets in control. He stops any Batista rally by going back to either the leg or the shoulder that Batista ran into the ring post. Edge makes the mistake of getting into a slugfest with the “Animal”. Still, he find an opening for the Spear but Batista catches him with one of his own instead, getting a near fall. Batista hits a spinebuster, but his knee gets hurt, allowing Edge to roll him up and retain.
Winner and Still World Heavyweight Champion: Edge in 10:39
They told a fine story throughout the match. Batista was the superior star but Edge was just cunning enough to take advantage of any opportunity. It even played into the finish, which I appreciated. Something fell flat about it all though. The crowd was mostly dead and it all seemed like they were going through the motions. **¼
WWE United States Championship 2 Out of 3 Falls Match
Chris Benoit (c) vs. MVP
After meeting at WrestleMania 23 and Backlash, this was the third match in their series. Benoit holds a 2-0 advantage. JBL says that MVP took out Benoit’s leg two days ago and I assume that will come into play. Benoit looks for the Crippler Crossface early and often. Both men try to work the ground, looking for an upper hand. They wisely build off of their previous encounters, with MVP having Benoit expertly scouted. Each time Benoit tries the Crossface or any submission, MVP either blocks or quickly reaches the ropes. MVP hits the Playmaker after Benoit’s knee gave out at 8:26 to pick up the first fall and get the monkey off of his back. A great way to have the leg really be the advantage that MVP needed. As MVP continues to work the knee, some fans chant “this is boring.” Well I must like a different style of wrestling. Benoit finds a way to counter a second Playmaker into the Crossface, but MVP again has it scouted. MVP then pulls him into a messy small package to win the title.
Winner and New WWE United States Champion: MVP in 14:28
The finish came from out of nowhere and didn’t get the reaction that they were probably hoping for. Everything up to that was well done. MVP, after losing his first two shots at the US Title, came in with a game plan and executed it to perfection. I can always enjoy a smartly worked match. ***½
WWE Championship
John Cena (c) vs. The Great Khali
He’s had some big matches before, but this was the highest profile match in the career of the Great Khali up to this point. Cena tries to fight him at the bell but Khali shrugs it off and tosses him around. For the first five or so minutes so far, Khali has absolutely dominated. They move outside where Khali slams Cena’s head into the announce table. Khali works the DREADED trapezius hold, also known as my least favorite move in wrestling. Cena powers out and hits some shoulder blocks that stagger Khali into the ropes, where he gets tied up like he’s Andre the Giant. Again they go outside and Cena dropkicks the steps into Khali’s legs. Cena has an opening, hitting the super Fameasser back inside. He then applies the STFU and the giant monster heel they’ve built up taps out after only fighting for a few seconds.
Winner and Still WWE Champion: John Cena in 8:13
Like most of the matches on this show, this told a fine story. Khali was Goliath and Cena was kind of a David. Khali dominated and Cena had to be resourceful to overcome the odds. The ending was odd though, as you have the monster tap out in under ten minutes. The rematch at One Night Stand would prove to be better. *¾
Overall: 6/10; Average. Considering my usual disdain for this era in the WWE, this was a pretty fun watch. Outside of the three major title matches (ECW, World and WWE), everything was good. Even if the match itself wasn’t great, like HBK/Orton, it told a great story and advanced an angle. This show had a very old school feel to it with early everyone picking a body part and working it. Even if every match didn’t deliver, the show was mostly booked in a wise manner. According to my randomizer, the new “Random Network Review” is set to be WrestleMania XXX! |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Feb 10, 2016 0:05:06 GMT -5
Raw History
Episode #118
July 3rd, 1995 | Danville, Pennsylvania
We get a recap of the end of Raw last week, when Jeff Jarrett and Shawn Michaels came to blows. There are also those classic quick promos from the guys in our main event, Sid and Bam Bam Bigelow. Your hosts are Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler, back from his dentist appointment.
1-2-3 Kid vs. Mike Bell
I feel like I haven’t seen the 1-2-3 Kid in a long time. I know he’s just coming back from an injury, but it still feel like a while. Kid falls victim to the size disadvantage for a bit. He’s too good to let that stop him though, getting in some of his fast paced, high octane offense. An Oklahoma roll wins it.
Winner: 1-2-3 Kid in 3:30
Fine start to the show. Gets Kid a win in his return, which the crowd seemed to love.
Todd Pettengill is here to bring us the second In Your House Report! The show airs on July 23rd. Three titles will be on the line. First, Diesel defends the WWF Championship against Sycho Sid in a Lumberjack match. IRS, Kama, King Mabel and Jacob and Eli Blu are Sid’s lumberjacks, while Diesel will have Razor Ramon, Savio Vega, Adam Bomb and the Smoking Gunns. Todd shows the viewers what happened when Raw went off the air last week. Jarrett demanded a title match with Michaels only to get laid out with Sweet Chin Music. He’ll defend the strap against HBK at In Your House, along with his live singing debut. The Roadie will meet the 1-2-3 Kid in a battle of future DX members. Lastly, Yokozuna and Owen Hart will put the Tag Team Titles on the line against the Allied Powers. That actually sounds like a decent show.
For the first time ever, Jeff Jarrett’s “With My Baby Tonight” music video is shown. This song is still on my iPod to this day.
Bob Holly vs. Brooklyn Brawler
Considering Holly’s future as a member of the J.O.B. Squad, I’m surprised Brooklyn Brawler wasn’t part of that stable. Holly’s offense was so much more high flying based at this time. He snaps off a rana and gets in the BEST DROPKICK IN THE BIZ. He wins with the top rope cross body.
Winner: Bob Holly in 2:54
Standard stuff. Holly was impressive at times.
Next week, King Kong Bundy teams with Tatanka to face the Allied Powers.
Let’s go back to Superstars this past weekend. Henry Godwin took on Adam Bomb. They fought to a double countout, leading to Bomb getting slopped.
Henry O. Godwin vs. Barry Horowitz
Barry continues to be the only jobber to get the “oh but he’s never won a match” treatment from commentary. There are actually some “Barry” chants. Vince says that Ted Dibiase is courting Henry Godwin for some reason. Godwin uses a second rope knee before winning via Slop Drop.
Winner: Henry O. Godwin in 2:57
Much better than his debut squashes. It’s like he’s starting to click within the gimmick.
Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Sycho Sid w/ Ted Dibiase
They make a point of showing Ted Dibiase nod in the direction of Henry Godwin, who smiles and stays at ringside. He meets Bigelow in the aisle and gets into a slugfest with him. Bigelow is confused by this but has to quickly prepare for the match. He gets the upper hand early and even withstands a Dibiase distraction. Bigelow nails a DDT and goes up for the headbutt, but again Dibiase gets on the apron. You can tell Bigelow is a full-fledged babyface because he stupidly follows Dibiase around the ring, opening the door for Sid. Bigelow fights out of a camel clutch with an impressive electric chair drop. He also avoids the powerbomb. Bigelow climbs up, only for Godwin to resurface and shove him off the top. Sid pins him, because apparently it’s that easy to beat Bigelow.
Winner: Sycho Sid in 5:41
Obviously, Sid couldn’t lose with a title shot on the horizon. They did about as good as one could expect, all things considered. Unfortunately, that isn’t very good. *½
Sid delivers the powerbomb after the match. No Diesel run in though.
Waylon Mercy vs. Jeff Hardy
Hey, it’s a debut that I am actually excited to see. They do a great job of showcasing how different he is once the bell rings. Beforehand, he shakes hands with the future WWE Champion and even the official. Once things start though, he pretty much doesn’t let up at all. Both guys are wearing all white, which looks a bit strange for some reason. SWEET BABY JESUS, he hits a damn Brainbuster! Mercy ends it with a sleeper hold and his facial expression while applying it was fantastic.
Winner: Waylon Mercy in 3:06
Okay, that was easily the highlight of the entire show. Great debut for someone so interesting.
Jerry Lawler takes us back to the dentist office. It’s hilarious to see him there in his full king attire. He berates a kid until the kid says Jerry has bad breath. Lawler announces that Isaac Yankem was a great wrestler before he became a dentist. Seeing the future Kane, with that hair and those teeth, is pretty priceless.
Overall: 5/10. At first, I was prepared to give this a really low score. I mean, the big matchup between Bigelow and Sid pretty much fell flat. But, the show worked in other ways. It set up In Your House rather well, brought back the 1-2-3 Kid in strong fashion and gave us the debut of the awesome Waylon Mercy.
Raw History
Episode #119
July 10th, 1995 | Danville, Pennsylvania
Things open with a recap of Sid turning on Shawn Michaels, joining the Million Dollar Corporation and Bigelow getting kicked out of the group. They focus on the fact that Sid is a bully who runs a bit scared when faced with someone else of his size. Our usual hosts run things.
The Roadie w/ Jeff Jarrett vs. Jerry Flynn
Future WCW lower midcarder Jerry Flynn gets a crack at the future Road Dogg. He actually starts a bit hot, taking Roadie over and working the arm before hitting a spin kick. Roadie actually applies a half Boston crab and, like a good heel, uses the ropes for leverage. Flynn tries a rana but Roadie counters into a sweet powerbomb for the three.
Winner: The Roadie in 2:38
Some off moments during this but that was the best finish to a Roadie match I’ve ever seen.
They take us to Jeff Jarrett with Rip Taylor videos in Las Vegas, though it’s pretty much just rehashed footage from his early vignettes. This leads into another airing of the “With My Baby Tonight” music video.
Savio Vega vs. Mike Khoury
Mike Khoury has to be one of the longest tenured jobbers I can recall. He gets in some offense but not too much. This is all about Savio and the SV shaved into the back of his head. Surprisingly, it’s a crucifix that gets him the win.
Winner: Savio Vega in 1:48
Short and relatively sweet.
Vince McMahon brings out Sycho Sid for an in-ring interview. Ted Dibiase does the talking for Sid, disappointing me because I love hearing insane Sid. Ted brings out the best lumberjacks that money could buy. They include the Million Dollar Corporation, King Mabel, Sir Mo, Hunter Hearst-Helmsley, Skip, Mantaur, Rad Radford, Jean-Pierre Lafitte, the Heavenly Bodies and others. Not exactly murderer’s row. Sid ends it with a loud “I AM THE MASTER AND THE RULER OF THE WORLD!”
Yesterday on the Action Zone, Skip took on Barry Horowitz. Skip dropkicked him down and started doing push-ups. Barry took advantage, rolling him up to score the first win of his career.
Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. Matt Hardy
Oh snap. This is most likely two future WWE Hall of Famers. Matt looks so damn bland here. Hunter’s offense was really generic at this time. He would sprinkle in the mannerisms of the blueblood character to try and spice things up. HHH finishes him with the Pedigree.
Winner: Hunter Hearst Helmsley in 3:11
About what I’d expect here except that Matt didn’t impress as the jobber here.
Todd Pettengill’s In Your House Report brings us the final two matches added to the card. Razor Ramon will team with Savio Vega to face Men on a Mission, while Bam Bam Bigelow goes one on one with Henry Godwin.
The Allied Powers vs. Henry O. Godwin and Tatanka w/ Ted Dibiase
The Million Dollar Corporation attack before the bell. Once the match officially starts, we get the continuation of the terrible Tatanka/Luger rivalry. Also, wasn’t this supposed to be King Kong Bundy instead of HOG? Not that I’m complaining since Godwin can at least do stuff. Luger takes the heat for a while. Tatanka’s attire has two handprints on his ass, which is strange. Bulldog gets the hot tag and just lays into Tatanka. Tatanka tries an up and over, but struggles due to his weight most likely. Bulldog hits the stalling vertical for a very close near fall. He still picks up Tatanka and scores on the running powerslam for the victory.
Winners: The Allied Powers in 5:51
A fine, basic tag team match designed to give the top contenders a win heading into the Pay-Per-View. *¼
We get another Isaac Yankem video with Jerry Lawler. It’s not very good.
Overall: 3/10. Not as fun or interesting as last week’s show. The main match was very blah and the rest of the show came off as boring. None of the squash matches really interested me and the Sid promo was a lot of nothing.
Raw History
Episode #120
July 17th, 1995 | Danville, Pennsylvania
It’s the final show in a big block of tapings from Danville. IRS tells us he wants to make Shawn Michaels the “Heartbroken Kid” while HBK wants to slap the tax man around. Lawler and McMahon are on commentary.
WWF Tag Team Champions Owen Hart and Yokozuna w/ Jim Cornette and Mr. Fuji vs. Jim Dimitrie and Gus Kantarrakis
According to Cornette, the jobbers sound like a law firm. Dimitrie and Kantarrakis…not so much. They actually have matching attire, though it’s just generic blue singlets. Owen Hart does most of the work, as usual. Yokozuna is up to 641 pounds, which, according to Lawler, is more than Jacob and Eli Blu combined. Good lord. A Sharpshooter ends the jobbers.
Winners: Owen Hart and Yokozuna in 2:54
Just put here to get Owen and Yokozuna a win before the PPV.
In Your House Report time. Nothing new comes to light.
Jean-Pierre Lafitte vs. David Thornburg
Thornburg tries to overpower Lafitte, which completely fails. Vince tells us that things have gone missing in the locker room, insinuating that Lafitte stole it because he’s a pirate. Lafitte nails Le Cannonball and puts away Thornburg.
Winner: Jean-Pierre Lafitte in 2:33
Not bad.
It’s the first vignette for MAKE A DIFFERENCE Fatu. Surprisingly, Vince actually doesn’t act like this is a whole new person, admitting he was Fatu from the Headshrinkers. It’s so cheesy. He literally says “there’s no hope in dope.”
Another airing of “With My Baby Tonight” is shown. Wow, they really got mileage out of this didn’t they?
IRS w/ Ted Dibiase vs. Shawn Michaels
I feel like this is weird placement for this match. IRS is sporting blue instead of white. It looks odd considering we’ve become accustomed to his original look. IRS stalls a ton because he’s IRS, so Shawn goes to the aisle and gets him, pulling him by his tie. Shawn gets in some of his offense until IRS sends him outside and throws him into the steel steps. He does classic IRS stuff, like the abdominal stretch with the ropes for leverage and the chinlock. Babyface comeback time for HBK but he misses the Sweet Chin Music. He tries it again and connects, getting the 1-2-3.
Winner: Shawn Michaels in 8:37
Not even Shawn Michaels in this era could get a good match out of IRS. I think this is the end of the IRS run, but I’ll be reviewing Nitros and he shows up there too. Dammit. *½
Next week, Bret Hart takes on Hakushi! Yes!
More Isaac Yankem videos involving awful dentist noises and bad Lawler puns.
Kama w/ Ted Dibiase vs. Billy Mack
Vince spends the match talking about the Miss America pageant. It reminds me of his pop culture talk during the early episodes of Raw. Kama knocks out Mack like he’s the Big Show or something.
Winner: Kama in 2:02
At least it was short. It’s Kama though, so it wasn’t much fun. Kama also goes over to mess with some of Undertaker’s “creatures of the night.”
Vince McMahon introduces the WWF Champion, Diesel, to bring out his lumberjacks. Before he shows us his friends, he hypes the match a bit, saying that he’s going to end things once and for all. His lumberjacks are Adam Bomb, Bob Holly, Bigelow, the Smoking Gunns, Tekno Team 2000, 1-2-3 Kid, Fatu, Savio Vega, Duke Droese and Shawn Michaels. Diesel gets words from some of the lumberjacks about what they’ll do if they get their hands on Sid. Vince brings out Sid, who has his lumberjacks follow. Or at least, Jerry Lawler says he went to get them for some reason. Sid nearly enters the ring but decides against it.
Overall: 4/10. I’m scoring this one in the middle of the past two shows. This one again didn’t have a good marquee match but it worked as a go home show. The closing segment focusing on the WWF Title match was probably the first time I can recall that happening on a go home episode. |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Feb 18, 2016 0:01:34 GMT -5
WrestleMania XXX
April 6th, 2014 | Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana | Attendance: 75,167
For the first time in history, a Pay-Per-View would stream on the brand new WWE Network. This WrestleMania is pretty notorious. After Batista returned and on the Royal Rumble, the WWE had their hearts set on having he and Randy Orton headline their biggest show of the years. The fans wanted no part of that, forcing the WWE to give them what they wanted and that was Daniel Bryan. The show itself ended up running for four hours, plus a pre-show match. Obviously, it was the 30th WrestleMania in history.
WWE Tag Team Championship
The Usos (c) vs. Los Matadores w/ El Torito vs. The Real Americans w/ Zeb Colter vs. Rybaxel
About a month earlier, the Usos captured the Tag Team Titles for the first time. Rybaxel plays the bully role early. Each team gets a bit of time to shine but when Cesaro is tagged, the Superdome comes alive. He’s clearly the most popular guy in the match. They go the spot where guys get to dive outside and everyone ends up laid out. El Torito tries to do it too but Curtis Axel stops him. He climbs up, not his strong suit, and Los Matadores grab him, opening the door for Torito to splash him onto everyone. Swagger catches a member of Los Matadores with a second rope flapjack of sorts, right into the Patriot Lock. He gets the submission elimination, sending Los Matadores packing. We see some good teamwork from Rybaxel, who get a near fall following a splash and fist drop from both members. The hot tag goes to Jimmy Uso who reels off Samoan drops and ass attacks. Cole incorrectly calls is “shades of Rikishi” when it is shades of Umaga. Swagger calling his splash the Swagger Bomb is an insult to Vader. It ends up being a battle between Cesaro and Ryback, the two strongest guys involved. Cesaro is a freak of nature and he nails Ryback with the popup uppercut and Neutralizer to eliminate Rybaxel. It’s down to the two best teams. They each get the crowd to do their respective chants. WE GOT US SOME FLYING USOS MAGGLE! The Usos prevent the Cesaro swing to the crowd’s dismay. Swagger avoids the Umaga ass attack and applies the Patriot Lock. They do a great tease when the other Uso tries to break it with a superkick, only for Cesaro to stop him. He still ends up hitting the superkick anyway, but that was a nice twist. They send Cesaro into Swagger, knocking him outside, before nailing duel splashes on Cesaro to retain.
Winners and Still WWE Tag Team Champions: The Usos in 16:11
Damn good way to kick things off. All four teams brought their “A” games and each did their parts very well. It came down to the right two teams and their interaction was the most fun. The crowd loved the Usos and Cesaro, which helped this work perfectly as an opener. ***¾
After the match, Jack Swagger is not a happy man. He puts Cesaro in the Patriot Lock but Zeb Colter breaks it up and wants them to shake hands. Swagger isn’t pleased, but offers it. The fans chant “no”, so Cesaro grabs him and does the swing to a huge pop. Zeb seems to lose his mid as this goes on.
Moving on to the actual main show, it starts with a video package set in New Orleans and hyping the main matches on the card for tonight. Kid Rock’s “Celebrate” plays over all of this, as we see various Superstars and Divas partying in New Orleans.
Hulk Hogan, the host of WrestleMania XXX opens the show by addressing the fans and he almost instantly messes up. He calls it the Silverdome instead of the Superdome and nearly says WWF instead of WWE. When he finally corrects himself, glass shatters and out comes “Stone Cold” Steve Austin to a massive ovation. Austin pokes fun at the Silverdome remark before teasing that he would open a can of whoop ass on Hogan. He then puts over Hogan, says he respects him and shakes his hand. Austin says that he doesn’t want to take up too much time since tonight is about the current crop of stars, but then the Rock’s music plays and he comes out as well. He also makes sure to poke fun at the Silverdome stuff. I won’t go into detail about the stuff Rock says. It’s such a cool and funny moment that you should see it for yourself at least once. The three greats close things out by sharing some beers. I’m normally against show opening promos on Pay-Per-Views, but considering the event and who was involved, it was great here.
Over the years, the WWE has produced a ton of great video packages. The one for Daniel Bryan set to “Monster” by Imagine Dragons, is easily one of the best ever. I’d say top five for sure. When that video ends, Stephanie McMahon introduces her husband, who gets a grand entrance complete with Sasha Banks (instantly making me happy), Alexa Bliss and Ric Flair’s daughter (since that’s all she’s known as now).
Winner Advances to Main Event
Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H w/ Stephanie McMahon
Judging by their entrances, Triple H is a megastar and Daniel Bryan doesn’t belong in his league. Triple H smugly offers a handshake but Bryan gets behind him with a rollup for two. Bryan forces HHH to regroup outside and then offers the handshake back, playing the mind games very well. They go through a feeling out process with Triple H working the injured shoulder and even trying the leg. Bryan nails the first big spot with a DDT on the apron. He follows with a huge somersault dive outside. It looked like HHH didn’t catch him very well. The announce table comes into play, but Bryan fights him off only to get his arm slammed down on it, continuing the focus on the bad shoulder. HHH is more than willing to take the countout but Bryan beats the count. Even when Bryan tries a tope, HHH is ready with a right hand, followed by a back suplex on the apron that again targeted the shoulder. He’s had an answer for everything. He applies a crossface but Bryan reaches the ropes. Bryan starts a comeback but then HHH busts out a goddamn tiger suplex that expertly dropped Bryan on his shoulder. If HHH doing a tiger suplex doesn’t blow your mind, then I don’t know what will. A second rope powerbomb seems to turn things around, but Bryan’s series of dropkicks is ended by a vicious clothesline from HHH. Stephanie’s reaction at ringside is perfect. HHH goes to the crossface again and Bryan fades until he can reverse it into the Yes Lock! Triple H gets to the ropes and rolls outside but Bryan greets him two topes. Bryan goes for the knee but HHH catches him with a great spinebuster. He follows with the Pedigree for one of the better near falls in recent memory. Bryan pulls him into a small package for two. HHH goes for the Pedigree again but Bryan counters and blocks it before hitting a kick. He misses a second big kick but lands on his feet when HHH tries a back suplex. Bryan charges and scores with the knee, earning the victory.
Winner: Daniel Bryan in 25:57
Almost everything about this match was masterfully executed. From the contrasting entrances up until the finish, this was all just great. There aren’t many high spots but everything has a purpose and it might be the smartest worked match in the WWE over the past few years. Extra props to Stephanie McMahon, who played her role perfectly and only added to this. Just a brilliant start to the show. ****½
Daniel Bryan’s celebration is short lived when Stephanie McMahon enters and slaps him around. He laughs at them because he’s won either way. Triple H attacks and drives a steel chair into Bryans’ shoulder and into the ring post.
Kane and the New Age Outlaws vs. The Shield
The New Age Outlaws’ pre-match promo gets cut off by the Shield, who show up in some sick skull facemasks. Dean Ambrose starts with Kane but everybody gets a short turn in the ring. Roman Reigns dominates, taking out all three men and even hitting the Drive-By kick to both Outlaws. Ambrose and Rollins take out the Outlaws with stereo suicide dives and Reigns gives all three of them spears. They hoist up both Outlaws and hit a double triple powerbomb, if that makes sense, winning in short order.
Winners: The Shield in 2:54
This was exactly what it needed to be. The Shield had been way too dominant during their run for these three to be a threat. Extra points because the Shield was awesome and I was never an Outlaw fan. **½
Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
Participants: Alberto Del Rio, Big E, Big Show, Brad Maddox, Brodus Clay, Cesaro, Cody Rhodes, Damien Sandow, Darren Young, David Otunga, Dolph Ziggler, Drew McIntyre, Fandango, Goldust, the Great Khali, Heath Slater, Jinder Mahal, Justin Gabriel, Kofi Kingston, Mark Henry, the Miz, R-Truth, Rey Mysterio, Santino Marella, Sheamus, Sin Cara, Titus O’Neil, Tyson Kidd, Xavier Woods, Yoshi Tatsu and Zack Ryder
Otherwise known as the “creative has nothing for you” Battle Royal. The only guys to get their entrances shown are Big Show and Sheamus. As usual with battle royals, it’s hard to keep track of every single elimination. I do know that Yoshi Tatsu and Brad Maddox go out early. Commentary was surprised to see Brad, like most fans. As soon as they discuss Khali being a tough person to eliminate, he goes out. More relative lower card guys go out while the higher midcarders hang on. Otunga lasted much longer than I thought he would. Fandango tosses the IC Champion, Big E, and dances on the apron while the crowd “Fandangos”. It’s a cool visual but Sheamus beats him up and sends him out. Del Rio gets rid of Kidd with a step up enziguri before doing the same to Goldust. Cody attacks but Del Rio shoves him off the top and out. Mysterio hits 619 on Del Rio but Cesaro catches his next attempt and uppercuts him out. The final six are Cesaro, Show, Sheamus, Ziggler, Del Rio and Kingston. Cesaro launches Kofi over and out onto the steps, but he somehow lands with his feet on the steps and staves off elimination. It’s one of his better spots in these kinds of matches. Cesaro swings Kofi around right before he gets dumped. Del Rio superkicks Ziggler out. Sheamus and Del Rio continue their never ending rivalry and go over and out together. Cesaro fires away on Show with uppercuts and has him reeling. Show tries to send him over but Cesaro stays alive. He goes to slam Cesaro over, but Cesaro slips out and then not only lifts Show for a slam, but WALKS with him to the edge and tosses him over to win.
Winner: Cesaro in 13:24
Like most battle royals, this doesn’t get off to a fast start. There are too many people for anything significant to happen. Once the field started thinning it became a lot of fun. Kofi’s spot, the back and forth between some of the final guys and of course, Cesaro’s incredible show of strength were highlights. ***¼
Bray Wyatt w/ the Wyatt Family vs. John Cena
The “Legacy” video package before the match is pretty great. Bray has a live band play him to the ring. At the bell, Bray drops to his knees and demands that John Cena unleash the monster inside and finish him. Cena declines, wanting to actually fight. The action itself isn’t the most exciting but they do a splendid job of telling the story of Bray trying to bring out the monster in Cena. Cena goes for the FIVE MOVES OF DOOM, but Bray sits up in his eerie crab walk thing. Cena stops in his tracks and sells this tremendously. Better acting than he did in the Marine or 12 Rounds. The fans start singing “He’s Got the Whole World in his Hands”, which WWE would take and drive into the ground. Cena ends up stopping Wyatt Family interference by taking them out with a dive, so Bray sends him into steel steps. Bray continues to be great, caressing Cena’s head and singing after a near fall from a cross boy. Cena comes back with the AA, but one of those is almost never enough anymore. Cena ends up putting Harper through the guardrail at ringside, showing some of the monster. Cena counters Sister Abigail into the STF, but Bray reaches the ropes. A close near fall comes after Bray hits Sister Abigail. Bray brings a chair into play, sliding it to Cena and daring him to “fulfill his legacy” and use it. Rowan gets on the apron and Cena whacks him with it instead. Cena then reverses Sister Abigail into a second AA and wins.
Winner: John Cena in 22:26
These two did a tremendous job of telling a story. This match wasn’t about who could hit the fanciest moves. It was about Bray trying to bring the monster out of Cena, while Cena sold his internal struggle with it very well. Bray was just on fire with every expression and mannerism possible. Not Bray’s best match ever, but probably his best individual performance. ***½
The WWE Hall of Fame class of 2014 comes out to the stage, including Lita, Razor Ramon, Carlos Colon and the Ultimate Warrior.
Brock Lesnar w/ Paul Heyman vs. The Undertaker
Undertaker gets his usual big time Mania entrance. Brock attacks quickly, trying to assert his dominance. Undertaker does some of his typical early no selling, showing that he is not like any other guy that Brock has faced. He gets his stuff in, like snake eyes. Both men counter big moves like the Chokeslam and F5. It is shortly after this that Brock hits a suplex and drops Undertaker on his head. From what we’ve heard, it was there that Undertaker got knocked loopy and I believe he got a concussion. I don’t think I noticed it much when I watched this live, but you could just see that the Undertaker is pretty badly out of it. Even as he starts making a comeback, it just doesn’t feel the way it should. Brock eventually hits the F5 but Undertaker kicks out. Undertaker locks in the Hell’s Gates submission but Brock powers out and slams him to break that. They trade submissions though the crowd doesn’t buy it because they know neither man is really going to tap out. Undertaker tries Old School but Brock counters into a second F5 for another near fall. Uncharacteristically, Brock tries ten punches in the corner. It’s so obviously there so Undertaker can do a powerbomb. I hate when they do something uncommon like that for the sake of a spot. Tombstone connects but it’s not enough because it hasn’t been enough in a Taker Mania match in about five years. He goes for it again, only for Brock to seemingly counter it into one of his own. Instead, he nails a third F5 and the streak is over
Winner: Brock Lesnar in 25:10
A really dull match that will completely be overshadowed forever by the historic moment that ended it. I blame most of the match sucking on Undertaker’s injury since they went out and had two good ones the following year. Still, this was the worst thing on the show so far. Just a big, long disappointment. *½
The best thing about the match is the reactions after. Brock’s music doesn’t hit when he wins. Instead, we just get to appreciate the stunned silence that falls over 70,000+. Some of the facial expressions in the crowd are priceless. People don’t even fully believe it until the 21-1 graphic appears on the screen. There is a rather emotional exit for the Undertaker as fans and commentators give him a standing ovation.
WWE Divas Championship
AJ Lee (c) vs. Aksana vs. Alicia Fox vs. Brie Bella vs. Cameron vs. Emma vs. Eva Marie vs. Layla vs. Naomi vs. Natalya vs. Nikki Bella vs. Rosa Mendes vs. Summer Rae vs. Tamina Snuka
These poor women. Not only did they get shafted with a poorly thrown together cluster of a match, but they get to go on after the streak ended and the crowd completely died. AJ Lee is the only woman to get an entrance. For some reason, Vickie Guerrero has a ringside podium and gets on the microphone, making everyone’s ears bleed. All of the girls target AJ and her only friend, Tamina. This is pure chaos and hard to keep track of. The Bellas do an awful looking double team move. Everyone gets involved in a giant multi-suplex spot. Cameron’s top busts and she struggles to keep the goods covered. At least Emma gets a chance to strut her stuff a bit. Eva Marie gets a spot too, but as expected, it looks pretty bad. The Bellas team up for duel suicide dives before going at it themselves. There is the typical tower of doom spot as well. AJ sneaks in and makes Naomi tap out to the Black Widow.
Winner and Still WWE Divas Champion: AJ Lee in 6:47
Okay, that was better than it had any right to be. By all means, this should have been horrible considering it involved 14 women, some of them being terrible, and was one fall to a finish. There were some blown spots, but they kept me entertained and did the best they could. **
There is a backstage segment involving the four men from the first WrestleMania main event. It was cool to see Roddy Piper, Hulk Hogan, Mr. T and Paul Orndorff together again.
WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Randy Orton (c) vs. Batista vs. Daniel Bryan
Rev Theory performs “Voices” as Randy Orton makes his entrance. Bryan attempts to start hot but his injury quickly comes into play. While Bryan recovers outside, Batista beats Orton up around the ring. Orton ends up back dropping Batista onto the steel steps. They continue to go at it until Bryan gets involved, waking the crowd up. It’s a testament to Bryan’s popularity that he was able to get the crowd going after Undertaker. Bryan starts a rally but gets thwarted by the heels, freeing up Orton to hit a superplex on Batista. Bryan is back up and hits the diving headbutt on Orton. He gets the Yes Lock on but here come Stephanie and Triple H through the crowd for some reason to pull the referee out. They bring crooked referee Scott Armstrong with them and Bryan eats the Batista Bomb for two. Bryan ends up taking out Armstrong, HHH and even Stephanie with a suicide dive. The crowd comes unglued for it. HHH tries bringing a sledgehammer in but it backfires when Bryan levels him with it. Orton is now back up and sends Bryan outside. Batista and Orton channel their Evolution roots and work together to take out Bryan. The crowd chants for CM Punk as Batista and Orton murder Bryan with a Batista Bomb/RKO combination through the announce table. It was more of a neckbreaker from Orton, but it still looked rad. Orton took a sick bump on one of the monitors. Batista and Orton go at it while the crowd chants for Bryan. They do the stretcher job for Bryan but he pulls a Mick Foley and hops off, trying to fight for his life. Orton looks to take advantage but Bryan puts him in the Yes Lock. Cole shouts that it’s Bryan’s last chance and Batista interrupts. Bryan gets taken out and Orton hits the RKO for a near fall that the fans bite on. Orton looks for the punt on Batista but Bryan lays him out with the knee. Batista tosses him out and tries to steal the pin, which the fans again bite on. Batista Bomb connects but Bryan charges in with the knee. He slaps the Yes Lock on Batista, who submits.
Winner and New WWE World Heavyweight Champion: Daniel Bryan in 23:19
Remember how Stone Cold used to have these great main event matches with the deck stacked against him and overbooking done right? That’s what we got here. They threw everything at Bryan in this match from the Authority interference to the stretcher job to the close near falls for Batista and Orton when they looked like they would steal it from him. Everybody played their roles well and the crowd got exactly what they wanted. A great main event. ****
Overall: 9.5/10; Phenomenal. I’d honestly consider this to be a top five, maybe even top three WrestleMania of all time. Outside of the Undertaker/Brock Lesnar match, everything on this show delivered or even exceeded expectations. The Cena/Wyatt match told a great story, the women over delivered, the Tag Title opener was a blast, Cesaro was amazing in a good battle royal, the Shield dominated and Daniel Bryan put on the greatest single night performance in Mania history. Just a spectacular event. One of the best the company has ever put on. Up next, “Random Network Reviews” has me look at Slamboree 1999! |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Feb 26, 2016 11:52:40 GMT -5
Slamboree 1999
May 9th, 1999 | TWA Dome in St. Louis, Missouri | Attendance: 20,516
Oh WCW 1999. You can be a cruel mistress. Their roster was so full of potential but was so poorly mishandled that it can be frustrating. This show reportedly has over 20,000 fans in attendance, but I’ve read that they have to give away 7,000 free tickets and still barely reached half of the capacity. Kevin Nash was the head booker at the time and finds himself in the title picture opposite Diamond Dallas Page. This would be the seventh Slamboree even.
As usual, the WCW opening video package is highly disappointing and low budget. It does actually promote what seems to be the entire card. The commentary team is the usual trio of Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan and Mike Tenay. Also, because it’s WCW, they don’t go to the action, choosing instead to have commentary talk and Mean Gene promote his hotline.
WCW World Tag Team Championship
Billy Kidman and Rey Mysterio (c) vs. Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko w/ Arn Anderson vs. Perry Saturn and Raven
I hate that they dub Raven’s WWF theme in. Benoit and Malenko represent the Four Horsemen, while the champions are from the Filthy Animals. It’s an interesting set up here as three men are legal at once, meaning it’s always a triple threat match. Things start pretty quickly, highlighted by Saturn belly to belly suplexing Kidman over and to the outside. I think it’s cool that each team brings something different. You have the high flyers, the technical and the brawlers/hardcore style guys. Kidman channels Benoit but misses an ugly diving headbutt. There are some close calls with submissions and pins but there’s always someone from another team to break things up. When some of the carnage clears up, the Horsemen duo isolate Saturn. They’re in control for the most part actually. Saturn hits a sloppy move to take Kidman outside. Benoit hits the rolling Germans but again, the pin is broken up. Raven sees his first action in a while, looking like the freshest guy in the match. He does the Three Amigos before it was cool and I liked it here because he did it to Benoit, who was known for the triple Germans. Malenko makes the mistake of trying to powerbomb Kidman, which he counters into a rollup for two. Kidman sets Benoit up top and launches Rey up to him for a super rana. I thought that was the end but Saturn breaks it up. They try it on Saturn but he reverses into a super bomb. We get another YOU CAN’T POWERBOMB KIDMAN moment courtesy of Saturn. Double A gets involved, laying out Saturn with a spinebuster. As Kidman goes for his finisher, someone with a Sting mask knocks him off, allowing Raven to hit him with an Evenflow. Raven gets the three count at the same time that Malenko had the Texas Cloverleaf on Saturn.
Winners and New WCW World Tag Team Champions: Perry Saturn and Raven 17:28
That could have been so much better. There were a few too many moments of standing around waiting for the next spots and giving us the typical WCW run-in finish was disappointing. They did work with a rather hot crowd, didn’t overdo anything and it was mostly fun, which is what I want from an opener. ***
The man in the Sting mask reveals himself to be Chris Kanyon. For those unaware, within two months, Kanyon would be part of the Jersey Triad and they would be champions. Oh, WCW.
We are taken to a poorly done DDP vignette.
Konnan vs. Stevie Ray w/ Horace and Vincent
What did I do to deserve this? If this even cracks a star, I’ll be more shocked than when Brock broke the streak. Konnan again threatens that his opponent will toss his salad. Like, does he really even know what that means? They clobber away at each other for a bit ad none of it is interesting. Vincent and Horace get in cheap shots. Seriously, who decided to give four of the worst guys on the roster PPV time? Once Stevie is blown up, he resorts to rest holds before Konnan makes his comeback. Rey Mysterio tries to get involved and takes out the two scrubs at ringside. He then leaps onto Stevie and Konnan rolls up him in the slowest way possible, stealing it.
Winner: Konnan in 6:10
It’s like there has to be at least one DUD on every WCW show I review. This was beyond terrible with bad interference, bad work and a somehow worse finish. DUD
Another mediocre WCW video package airs for Kevin Nash. It’s at least better than the DDP one. There’s also a Sting one, a short interview with Rick Steiner where he calls Booker and Stevie Ray by their government names and something between DDP and Bigelow. Too rapid fire to really mean much.
Hardcore Match
Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Brian Knobbs
Neither guy gets any theme music. Commentary reveals that this will be held under Falls Count Anywhere rules and they act like it’s the most groundbreaking news ever. Bigelow brings out a bunch of weapons, so they just whack each other with them. Knobbs is still wearing his Nasty Boys gear, having not found something on his own that works. Both men just continue to use weapons with no real structure or anything like that. I mean, I saw trash cans, chairs, a street cone and even a rearview mirror. After a while of senseless beating, they move to the backstage area to take advantage of the Falls Count Anywhere rules. Bigelow ends up hitting a suplex through a table to earn the win.
Winner: Bam Bam Bigelow in 11:29
A bit too long for what they were going for. Knowing they had to fill over ten minutes, they seemed to just be killing time by wailing on each other with weapons for no real reason. It was better than the previous match at least. *¼
WCW Television Championship
Booker T (c) vs. Rick Steiner
Apparently, this is a return match from Nitro a few weeks ago where Stevie Ray cost Rick the match. Rick is convinced that Booker was in on it but it doesn’t seem that way. Booker’s tights are at Steve Urkel levels of high. Rick is in control from the start, using his power advantage. Booker hits three successive kicks that Steiner sells like garbage. Rick takes back over but none of the work seems inspired. Even when he nails a release German suplex, it just feels lackluster. It doesn’t help that the crowd is basically silent for all of this. Rick adds to their boredom with a lengthy chinlock. Scott Steiner shows up as Booker starts to rally but gets knocked off the apron. STEINERLINE only gets Rick two. Booker sends Rick into Scott and hits an axe kick for two. Scott trips up Booker, opening the door for Rick to nail the diving bulldog and win the gold.
Winner and New WCW Television Champion: Rick Steiner in 11:08
In the prime of each of their careers, this may have been good. Instead, we were treated to Rick completely phoning it in and Booker not being much better. The interference at the end wasn’t welcome, since we’ve seen it in three of four matches so far. ½*
“Little Naitch” Charles Robinson w/ Ric Flair and Asya vs. Gorgeous George w/ Macho Man, Madusa and Miss Madness
Ric cuts one of his usual “Space Mountain” promos. Robinson does one too but it’s nowhere near as good. He does have the Flair mannerisms down perfectly at least. He’s even got the flabby chest. They actually do some wrestling early on. Wristlocks and hammerlocks galore. You can clearly see Robinson telling her what spots to do at times. She gets a pop for a full nelson into a snapmare. The future Molly Holly takes a body slam bump from Robinson on the outside. He does the Flair chops and strut in the ring until George turns things around on him. Points to Robinson for even taking the Flair corner and top rope bumps. Classic. Asya tries to get involved so Madusa kicks her. Robinson starts to go after the knee, since he promised to win with the Figure Four. He applies it but George turns it over. Flair tries to flip it back over but Savage knocks him outside, all while Asya distracts the referee. George finishes off Robinson with a second rope elbow, reinstating Macho Man to the company.
Winner: Gorgeous George in 10:39
They got more time than they probably deserved but you know what? I actually somewhat enjoyed that. It wasn’t good wrestling but considering who was involved, they did better than expected. Robinson was great at using Flair’s mannerisms and George surprised me at times. *¾
WCW United States Championship
Scott Steiner (c) vs. Buff Bagwell
Judging by the video package, this feud was built on Buff Bagwell making bad poop jokes towards Scott Steiner. This is kind of a brawl from the start. Steiner clubs away and tosses Buff around outside. He just continues to mostly dominate. There are points where Buff looks to kind of be begging for mercy. Scott brings a chair into play, even though it’s not a No DQ match. Buff clotheslines it away from him and starts a babyface comeback with some weak dropkicks. We get a classic WCW ref bump and Rick Steiner shows up to hit Buff with a steel chair. He wakes up the referee in time for Scott to lock in the Steiner Recliner. Buff is out cold so the official calls for the bell.
Winner and Still WCW United States Champion: Scott Steiner in 7:11
Oh look. Another interference riddled finish. The match itself up to that point wasn’t very good either. Steiner mostly dominated though it felt so uninspired as did Buff’s babyface comeback. None of this clicked. *½
Ric Flair w/ Arn Anderson and Asya vs. Roddy Piper
The video package before this is glorious as we see Ric in a mental health hospital, dancing with nurses in ring gear. The winner of this match will be the President of WCW. To be fair, running WCW in 1999 sounds more like a punishment than a reward. Charles Robinson replaces the referee as Flair, the current President, fires the existing official. It feels like a fight as they just wail on each other. Piper gets in some short punches, giving us the Flair flop. Flair turns it around, hitting a ton of chops. The crowd is pretty into this at least. There is this strange moment when Piper pins Flair and they don’t count the three. It didn’t look like they were purposely screwing him though. It just looked like they messed up the whole thing. Flair locks in the Figure Four but Piper escapes. He gets a backslide on Flair but Robinson ignores it and does so again for a small package. Piper puts on the Figure Four now and Flair clearly gives up but Robinson ignores it. He also ignores Arn’s interference, which Piper sends back. He puts Flair in the sleeper until Asya enters. Piper puts her in the sleeper and lays out Robinson. Flair hits Piper with the brass knuckles to win. BUT WAIT! Eric Bischoff, who somehow has completely white hair just a year after having jet black hair, comes out and changes the result. I’m not sure what his role at the time was since Flair was President.
Winner via disqualification: Roddy Piper in 12:10
Two guys way past their primes (especially Piper) having a rather dull match riddled with a bunch of overbooking and interference. That actually describes a lot of WCW main events in the back half of the 90’s. *
Goldberg vs. Sting
If WCW would have played their cards right, this could have been a MASSIVE money match in 1998. Sting winning the title to close out 1997 and then facing the unstoppable Goldberg the following year would have been huge. Instead, it’s kind of an afterthought here. They botch a spot quickly, causing Sting to hit the mat. Goldberg applies a cross armbreaker but it looks pretty weak. Sting tries for the Scorpion Death Lock. Goldberg is too strong, powering out. Sting goes after the leg as Goldberg is sporting a knee brace. Things finally pick up as Sting hits two Stinger splashes. He goes for a third but Goldberg catches him in mid-air with a pretty big Spear. Bret Hart, who supposedly quit the company, shows up and whacks Goldberg in the head with a chair.
Match ends in a no contest in 8:17
A match with a fair amount of potential wasted. Both guys seemed to sleepwalk through most of the match. Once it finally started really getting interesting, we got yet another run-in. *½
Bret Hart continues the attack with the chair. When he leaves, the Steiner Brothers show up and attack both Goldberg and Sting. Why? We don’t know.
WCW World Heavyweight Championship
Diamond Dallas Page (c) vs. Kevin Nash
WCW missed the boat on making DDP a massive star. He was super over and should have been the one to end Goldberg’s streak at Starrcade 1998. Apparently, Nash was the heel but had booked himself to come across as the babyface. DDP tries for the Diamond Cutter right off the bat but Nash avoids it and clocks him. Nash starts to pound away at him. The crowd seems kind of into this but not as much as they should be. Probably because they’re unsure of who to cheer for. DDP goes after the leg and pulls off another heel tactic by kicking Nash low behind the official’s back. They continue to brawl until DDP hits Nash with a Diamond Cutter on the outside. DDP continues the attack inside. He taunts to the crowd, acting completely like the heel, instead of taking advantage. He targets the knee, wrapping it around the ring post. Nash mounts his usual comeback, complete with snake eyes onto an exposed turnbuckle. I don’t know why that wasn’t a DQ. Nash hits the Jackknife but before he can pin, Randy Savage shows up and elbows him. He had been helping DDP for weeks. They call for the DQ this time but again, here comes Eric Bischoff. He ejects Savage and restarts the match. DDP tries to bring a chair into play and it hits the top rope, bouncing back into his face. Nash covers him for two. Nash lifts DDP up and wins the title with a second Jackknife.
Winner and New WCW World Heavyweight Champion: Kevin Nash in 18:21
Tony Schiavone calls this a brutal World Title match. In at least one sense of the word, he’s right. This match was brutally boring. I came away disappointed because I usually enjoy DDP matches and Nash can go when motivated and with the right opponent. To me, this felt like another lackluster effort covered up by overbooking. *¼
Overall: 1.5/10; Horrible. Wow, this show sucked. It got off to a decent start with a pretty fun triangle tag team match but this fell way off of a cliff after. Nothing else on the show was even able to reach two stars. There was constant interference up and down the card as well as tons of phoned in performances from many of the guys on the card. Just a classic WCW experience from this time period. The next “Random Network Review” is scheduled to be Rock Bottom! |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Feb 29, 2016 12:07:58 GMT -5
Raw History
Episode #124
August 14th, 1995 | Worcester Auditorium in Worcester, Massachusetts
Things start with a video package showing Shawn Michaels getting attacked by Mabel, possibly injuring himself heading into the big SummerSlam match. Jerry Lawler cuts a short promo about finishing what Mabel started. He faced Shawn tonight. With Lawler in action tonight, Vince McMahon is joined by Ted Dibiase on commentary.
Doink the Clown vs. Waylon Mercy
Before the gimmick dies, Doink gets to play enhancement talent. Commentary talks about Henry O. Godwin being a new acquisition of the Million Dollar Corporation. Dibiase is livid that Vince would suggest that, stating he’s not part of the team, but does some dirty work for them. Meanwhile, Mercy puts away Doink with a sleeper, continuing to be great at the facial expressions he has to deliver. Oh my, there were “kill the clown” chants during this.
Winner: Waylon Mercy in 3:06
The stuff I’ve come to expect from Waylon, which is always rather enjoyable.
Out first look at Goldust now. He’s standing in front of a green screen set to be Warner Bros. studios. At the time, my mother’s mind was blown that this was Dustin Rhodes. He looks like a giant Academy Award, in all gold. He talks about Diesel’s gold and how he was born as a star.
Ted Dibiase continues to badmouth Henry Godwin’s odor and things like that. Henry strolls out, upset that Dibiase is saying these things. Dibiase tries to calm him down but ends up getting slopped, starting the HOG face turn. Dok Hendrix shows up to replace Dibiase on commentary.
The Smoking Gunns vs. Bill Garrett and Cody Wade
Garrett and Wade look like an actual team, getting matching gear. I don’t know who is who, but one of them looks like a swollen version of the other. I guess that one is Garrett, who can’t bump. Wade gets tagged and doesn’t fare much better. The Sidewinder ends it.
Winners: The Smoking Gunns in 1:34
Not good. At least it was short.
Dean Douglas brings us the Report Card this week. He critiques a match between Bret Hart and Jimmy Del Rey. Dean grades Bret a good old fashioned “F” and calls him the Foundation of Failure instead of the Excellence of Execution.
Shawn Michaels cuts a quick promo from the back, hyping the main event.
Next week, Tatanka battles Undertaker. Undertaker is still pissed at the Million Dollar Corporation since Kama stole his urn and melted it down into a chain or something.
Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. Jeff Hardy
Oh look, its two future World Champions. Who would have predicted that? Hardy shows off his speed early and often. Helmsley weathers the storm and ends him with a Pedigree. The same thing would happen again with these two in 2001 and 2008.
Winner: Hunter Hearst Helmsley in 2:07
Fine enough squash.
Todd Pettengill brings us the SummerSlam Report. The additions to the card are Skip vs. Barry Horowitz and 1-2-3 Kid vs. Hakushi.
Henry O. Godwin vs. Russ Greenberg
Vince calls him Ross, but his nameplate is shown as Russ. This is joined in progress s Godwin slams Greenberg. Henry wins in under a minute with the Slop Drop. Then he slops the poor jobber.
Winner: Henry Godwin in 0:51
I never really got into the Godwin character.
We get another bad clip of Jerry Lawler and Isaac Yankem where Yankem is being really aggressive with a patient. Nothing about these segments were any good.
Non-Title Match
Jerry Lawler vs. WWF Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels
We’re still early in Shawn’s babyface run and he does that thing where he makes his opponent look like an idiot before taunting outside. Vince McMahon finds pure bliss in these antics. Shawn finds a really neat way to block the piledriver, putting his hands down and preventing his head from hitting the mat. Sid shows up and gawks at the Intercontinental Title at ringside. Shawn takes his signature corner bump heading into the commercial. Returning, Lawler remains in control until it’s time for the HBK babyface comeback. As he starts to set up for the finish, Sid enters the ring and the bell sounds.
Winner via disqualification: Shawn Michaels in 6:04
Typical Lawler match for the era. Mostly dull until Shawn started to do his thing and then we got the ho-hum finish. *½
The action continues as Shawn and Sid go at it. Sid plants him with a Chokeslam and Razor Ramon shows up. Dok Hendrix questions this strategy since Razor meets Shawn at SummerSlam. Shawn goes for Sweet Chin Music but Razor tosses him aside to hit Sid with the Razor’s Edge. Lawler grabs Sid and pulls him to safety. Now alone in the ring, Razor and Shawn have a bit of a tug of war over the title. Razor goes to give it back but drops it at his feet just as they fade out. Coming back from break, Diesel is here to keep things calm. Gotta keep the Kliq in check.
Overall: 4/10. I wanted that episode to be better. I always want that for the live shows. None of it was particularly bad and most things were kept short at least. It wasn’t very entertaining though, with the marquee match being a drag and some of the squashes being bad.
Raw History
Episode #125
August 21st, 1995 | Worcester Auditorium in Worcester, Massachusetts
The WWF signature with the whole “...for over 50 years, the worldwide leader in sports entertaining” spiel debuts here. Then, footage from Superstars airs. One of the Undertaker’s “creatures of the night” jumped the guardrail and got taken out by Kama, who Undertaker is scheduled to face at SummerSlam.
Men on a Mission vs. Roy Raymond and Joe Hancock
With an unfortunate WWF Title match coming up for Mabel, this was clearly a dominating performance from Men on a Mission. Vince tells us that Mabel is 568 pounds. Wow. He hits a piledriver and taunts, allowing Raymond to sneak in with some shots. It has no effect. Mabel wins via belly to belly suplex.
Winners: Men on a Mission in 3:48
Typical stuff from MOM. Both winners are visibly gassed despite the short runtime.
After the match, King Mabel cuts a promo and challenges the Allied Powers to a tune up match. They get no response and leave.
The Report Card sees Dean Douglas in the production truck. He reviews the previous match and says that Mabel will dominate Diesel at SummerSlam. And we’re supposed to believe this guy is smart?
The 1-2-3 Kid vs. Brooklyn Brawler
The Brawler leaps off the apron to attack the Kid during his entrance. Even with this early assault, the Kid comes back and pulls him into an Oklahoma roll for the quick victory.
Winner: The 1-2-3 Kid in 1:32
I wish Kid got longer squash matches.
Tatanka w/ Ted Dibiase vs. The Undertaker w/ Paul Bearer
They play it like going after a “creature of the night” is the most heinous act you could do to the Undertaker. He comes out pissed and kicks Tatanka’s ass. Undertaker looks to have possibly hurt himself and Tatanka takes over, doing some of his dull offense. Undertaker gets out of a chinlock and starts to rally heading into the break. Returning, he hits the big diving clothesline. It leads to the Tombstone, ending things.
Winner: The Undertaker in 5:43
This is not the best era for Undertaker matches and Tatanka, especially as a heel, is a giant snore. Not a good combination. ½*
Jean-Pierre Lafitte vs. Scott Taylor
It’s another one of those instances where the enhancement talent ended up having a career that was better than the guy he’s jobbing to. Taylor looks game tonight, hitting some quick offense and even a cross body off the top. Lafitte quickly turns the tide and lays a pirate flag over Taylor before coming off the top with LE CANNONBALL for the 1-2-3.
Winner: Jean-Pierre Lafitte in 3:06
Actually pretty fun. Both guys played their roles and it was entertaining.
Our second Goldust vignette airs. This time, he’s near the famous Hollywood sign and his promo targets Shawn Michaels.
WWF Champion Diesel comes out for an in-ring interview with Vince McMahon. Diesel puts over the run that Mabel has had in recent months but promises to keep the gold at SummerSlam. Nothing of note happens until the British Bulldog shows up. He wishes Diesel good luck and says that Lex Luger had a medical emergency. Men on a Mission challenged the Allied Powers but with no Lex, Bulldog wants Diesel to be his partner. Diesel agrees.
British Bulldog and WWF Champion Diesel vs. Men on a Mission
Diesel beats up Mo at the start and hits the big boot. Vince is already calling for the finish. Diesel signals for the Jackknife and Mabel gets in the ring. Bulldog then levels Diesel from behind right into a slam by Mabel.
No Contest…I guess in 2:19
More of an angle than a match.
Vince is appalled that British Bulldog would do such a thing. Mabel holds Diesel in place for Bulldog to slap him. Diesel gets free of Mabel but just eats a powerslam from Bulldog and leg drop from Mabel. Jim Cornette joins in on the fray, presenting the WWF Title to Bulldog. Umm, why would Mabel be cool with that? Bulldog realizes this, handing the belt to Mabel. After the break, Jerry Lawler interviews the group in the back though they don’t say much.
Overall: 2.5/10. For the most part, this didn’t work well as a go-home show. Outside of the closing segment, nothing really meant anything and the Undertaker/Tatanka match blew hard. Surprisingly, the best match on the episode was the Lafitte/Taylor squash.
SummerSlam 1995 Results
Hakushi def. 1-2-3 Kid
Hunter Hearst Helmsley def. Bob Holly
The Smoking Gunns def. Jacob and Eli Blu
Barry Horowitz def. Skip
Bertha Faye def. Alundra Blayze to win the WWF Women’s Championship
The Undertaker def. Kama in a Casket Match
Bret Hart def. Isaac Yankem via disqualification
Shawn Michaels def. Razor Ramon in a Ladder Match to retain the Intercontinental Title
Diesel def. King Mabel to retain the WWF Championship
So, here’s where things get interesting. There was no episode of Raw on Labor Day in 1995. However, the wrestling world was changed forever as WCW debuted Monday Nitro and the Monday night wars began. From here on out, “Raw History” will be accompanied by “Relieving Nitro”, a series of reviews for WCW’s weekly Monday night program.
Relieving Nitro
Episode #1
September 4th, 1995 | The Mall of America in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Eric Bischoff, Bobby Heenan and Steve “Mongo” McMichael handle commentary. This show taking place inside of a massive mall really gives it a different feel, which it really needed.
Brian Pillman vs. Jushin “Thunder” Liger
Now, this is the right move to open the show. Two guys that can do great things in the ring and they instantly give you an alternate feeling to what you’d see over on Raw. Quick start as they work a short wristlock and Liger hits a rolling kick in the corner. He gets two on a moonsault that didn’t look great. Pillman comes back with a rana off the second rope for a near fall of his own. They continue to work at a fast pace before Liger applies a surfboard. It gets a better reaction from the crowd than everything I saw on the last episode of Raw. Mongo continues to insult Heenan throughout the match. Liger does a cannonball dive outside but Pillman gets his turn to dive out onto him as well. They fight to the top where Liger nails a superplex for a near fall. Pillman catches a diving Liger with a dropkick for two. He then also manages to kick out of a good old fashioned Liger Bomb. A top rope rana from Liger somehow also only gets a near fall. More high impact offense as Pillman gets two on a tornado DDT. With actual moves not being enough, it takes a sweet rollup for Pillman to earn the win.
Winner: Brian Pillman in 6:55
Whoever booked this as the opener for the big TV debut was a genius. Sure they got a bit sloppy at points but they worked very fast, which they needed to so they make sure it felt so different from everything else, and it was exciting. Pretty much the ideal opener for WCW here. ***¼
PASTAMANIA IS RUNNING WILD BROTHER! Hulk Hogan did indeed have a damn restaurant in the Mall of America known as Pastamania. Eric Bischoff interviews him there about the main event tonight. Hogan says that he’ll retain the WCW Title against Big Bubba because Pastamania is running through his brain. I did not make any of that up.
Non-Title Match
Ric Flair vs. WCW United States Champion Sting
Another great idea for this show as both guys are staples of WCW and well known. Things get really interesting as right before the bell, LEX LUGER is seen in the aisle. Commentary, especially Eric Bischoff, sells this magnificently. They shout for the camera to get off of him because he doesn’t work here. Its nuts because Luger had just appeared at SummerSlam a week earlier. The match begins and they go through standard stuff for these two. Sting press slams Flair all over the place while Flair goes after the eyes and delivers a bunch of chops. Even when things spill outside, Flair gets press slammed back in. There’s a few too many press slams for my taste. Arn Anderson casually strolls out. He’s in the midst of an angle with Flair where he was fed up with always helping him and getting nothing in return for it. Sting no sells Flair’s offense and clotheslines him after he struts. Sting hits a superplex but ends up in the Figure Four. He uses the ropes for leverage and doesn’t break it at the five count, resulting in the DQ.
Winner via disqualification: Sting in 8:44
A small sample size of the stuff they’re known for. Pretty fun but a few too many press slams for me. I did like the advancement of the Arn angle though. **¾
Arn Anderson gets in the ring and takes off his windbreaker, looking to go after Flair. Flair quickly scurries and heads to the back. The action doesn’t stop because a pissed off Scott Norton appears and shouts about wanting Randy Savage. This brings Savage out to confront him and Savage wants to rumble right now. Security keeps them apart, setting the stage for a future Nitro match. Very well done.
A video package for Sabu airs. He’ll be coming to Nitro soon.
Oh man, they promote WCW Saturday Night. The card doesn’t sound too though. Sting and Savage team up against the Blue Bloods, but Johnny B. Badd faces Dick Slater. Somehow that’s a “double main event”.
Goddammit. We get a backstage promo from Michael Wallstreet, also known as IRS. Like I didn’t get enough of his boring ass everything on Raw.
WCW World Heavyweight Championship
Hulk Hogan (c) w/ Jimmy Hart vs. Big Bubba
Three for three in smartly booked matches. Your main event features your top star and a very recognizable face from his WWF days as the Big Bossman. As the bell rings, Bischoff informs everyone that next week, Randy Savage meets Scott Norton. If you’ve seen these two work before, you know what you’re getting here. Bubba does some typical big man offense, Hogan sells for a while with false hope spots before doing the real Hogan comeback. Bubba tries to harm Jimmy Hart for no real reason, opening the door for Hogan. Now, with Hart’s distraction, Hogan does what Hogan does and cheats, choking Bubba with Jimmy’s jacket. Hogan ends up kicking out of a side slam and it’s Hulk Up time. Big boot and Leg Drop end it.
Winner and Still WCW World Heavyweight Champion: Hulk Hogan in 7:10
About what you’d expect here. Nothing fancy but the crowd was in a frenzy for pretty much all of it. *¾
Ugh, the Dungeon of Doom run out and Hogan just hands them their asses. They all sell poorly for him. Lex Luger comes in and helps Hogan clean house. They bump into each other’s backs and end up face to face. Sting, Jimmy Hart and Randy Savage enter the ring to try and calm things down. Gene Okerlund gets in the ring with them to try and sort things out. Luger says he’s here to take Hogan’s WCW Championship and that he’s tired of playing with kids. He’s here to play with the big boys. Hogan takes a while with his response but it basically ends up being an announcement that next week, he’ll give Luger the shot.
Overall: 9/10. That’s what we call a grand slam on the first pitch you see in your career. This was a one hour show where things moved rapidly, everything had a purpose and the show had a real feeling of “can’t miss TV”. The opener was a great way to show people that you could see something different on Nitro. The next two matches had star power and you give everyone the great Norton and excellent Luger surprises. Viewers had to be hooked. I can’t think of another wrestling show that got off to this great of a start. |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Mar 2, 2016 19:51:15 GMT -5
Rock Bottom
December 13th, 1998 | General Motors Palace in Vancouver, British Columbia | Attendance: 20,042
This was one of the most profitable years in WWF history. Closing it out, you had the Rock as the new Corporate Champion, getting a Pay-Per-View named after him (though thinking about it, the December PPV in 1996 was named after Vader even though he didn’t compete on it and the December 1997 PPV was named after DX). Though it is named after him, he doesn’t even headline the show, with that distinction going to the Buried Alive match between Steve Austin and the Undertaker. This show produced the lowest buyrate of 1998. It is the first and only show under this name.
Things open with the Rock cutting a promo somewhere in the arena. He says that every In Your House from here on out will be named after him, including “Rock Solid” and “Laying the Smackdown”. At least he got a TV show out of the latter.
Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler are on commentary. It’s Cole’s first PPV.
D-Lo Brown and Mark Henry w/ PMS vs. The Godfather and Val Venis w/ the Hoes
Venis and the Godfather are kind of a perfect match. Godfather rewards his hoes by giving them Val Venis for the whole night. D-Lo and Val, who had a pretty lengthy opener at SummerSlam a few months earlier, start things off. Michael Cole questions the use of D-Lo’s chest protector since the injury happened over eight months earlier. D-Lo’s chest is up there with DDP’s ribs and Bob Orton’s arm for longest injuries. Val starts taking the heat segment. D-Lo misses the Lo Down, opening the door for Val. Cole calls it the Sky High proving he sucked even back then. He also calls the Godfather a “master of martial arts.” Godfather gets the hot tag but doesn’t do much of note. He and Val double suplex Henry while the hoes argue with PMS. While Godfather tries to calm things down, Jacqueline slides in and exposes Val’s thong. That distraction allows Henry to knock him down and hit a splash to win.
Winners: D-Lo Brown and Mark Henry in 5:56
Not much to really discuss here. They seemed to work a house show like tag team match while waiting for the interference finish. *
They go through backstage segments rather quickly, so much so that I’m only going to discuss them if they’re important. Mankind attacked the Rock on Heat, but Rock still will defend the belt.
The Headbangers vs. The Oddities w/ Giant Silva and Luna
Wait. Why is this on Pay-Per-View? The Oddities are represented by Kurrgan and Golga. Golga is the former Earthquake for anyone that didn’t know. They plod through their offense while the crowd sits in complete silence. The Headbangers end up working a “heat” on Kurrgan. It’s hard to buy considering Kurrgan’s size and the fact that the crowd is dead. After some very uninspired stuff, Mosh catches Golga with am ugly cross body after a blind tag and they steal it.
Winners: The Headbangers in 6:52
I just don’t see why this had to be on Pay-Per-View at all. The crowd didn’t care, the guys involved didn’t seem to care and neither did commentary. The only person who looked like they wanted to be there was Luna. DUD
Owen Hart vs. Steve Blackman
The pop for Owen Hart is pretty insane. Owen was brought out of “retirement” by Blackman. He was in “retirement” after “breaking” Dan Severn’s neck. He attacks quickly to the crowd’s liking. Blackman turns it around and works a bow and arrow shortly. Both guys trade offense, with neither grabbing a real upper hand. Owen takes a breather outside, leading Blackman to take him out with a baseball slide. They oddly still work this match as if the crowd is against Owen. He does the rest holds and Blackman makes the comebacks, but it gets the opposite reaction they want. Owen gets two on an enziguri. He locks in the dragon sleeper, which gets the crowd to their feet, but Blackman slips free. Blackman then puts Owen in the Sharpshooter, garnering massive heat. He reaches the ropes to a big pop. Owen exits the ring and decides to walk out on the match, getting counted out.
Winner via countout: Steve Blackman in 10:28
Man, I wish this didn’t end the way it did. The match was going along fine until that finish. It wasn’t great, but it was entertaining. **½
The Brood vs. The J.O.B. Squad
The Brood is still in its infancy at this point. The J.O.B. Squad is represented by Scorpio, Bob Holly and Al Snow. Outside of Holly, who is debuting his Hardcore Holly hairdo, nobody in this match has really been with the company for long. The Brood seems to show a bit more chemistry. I always think Gangrel has a busted lip but it’s just his trademark fake blood. The Brood isolate Snow in the corner. Once he gets free and makes the tag, the match breaks down and everyone gets involved. Scorpio ends Christian over and outside, but misses a tope. Christian, not to be outdone, misses a diving headbutt. Snow hits him with Head, though it looked weak. Gangrel takes him out, before Holly goes after him. Scorpio comes off the top with a sick moonsault leg drop. Edge breaks up the count before leaping off of Gangrel’s back and onto the other JOB Squad members outside. Christian is left alone with Scorpio, hitting the future Unprettier for the 1-2-3.
Winners: The Brood in 9:08
Hey, that was better than expected. It was a neat little tag team match. It started a bit slow and didn’t really pick up until everyone got involved. Those final few minutes were pretty fun. **½
Striptease Match
Goldust vs. Jeff Jarrett w/ Debra
The rules are, if Jarrett wins, Goldust has to strip for the fans. If Goldust wins, Debra has to strip. They trade some early back and forth that seems uninspired. Jarrett seems to go after the left arm, hitting a single arm DDT. It’s interesting to hear Jerry Lawler, the heel, side with the babyface because he wants to see Debra strip. It’s probably the real start of his annoying “puppies” gimmick for the foreseeable future. Thanks to the prospect of tits, the fans are firmly behind Goldust, helping out a relatively dull affair. Debra nearly uses the guitar at one point but almost hits Jarrett with it accidentally. She distracts the referee after Goldust hits the Curtain Call. The fans are eating all of this up. As Goldust sets up for Shattered Dreams, Debra enters to distract him but as she’s taken out, he hits the move behind the referee’s back. Now, while Jarrett is being counted out, Debra lays out Goldust with the guitar. Jarrett slides in and hits the Stroke for the three count. BUT WAIT! New Commissioner Shawn Michaels strolls out. He congratulates Jarrett and sends him to the back. With Jarrett gone, he awards the match to Goldust via disqualification.
Winner via disqualification: Goldust in 8:02
The match itself is pretty basic. They are two guys that know what they’re doing though and they realized that they could let the heat from the crowd carry them. It did the job and made this slightly better than it actually was. **¼
Debra is now forced to strip. She seems to enjoy herself more as it goes further. Shawn Michaels even brings out money for her. Before she can remove her bra though, the Blue Blazer and Jeff Jarrett show up to cover her up.
WWF Tag Team Championship
The New Age Outlaws (c) vs. WWF Hardcore Champion Big Bossman and WWF Intercontinental Champion Ken Shamrock w/ Shawn Michaels
So Shawn Michaels goes from babyface in one segment to heel in the next. The Outlaws, outside of Owen Hart, are the most over guys on the show so far. Bossman plays the powerhouse but finds himself in trouble against the well-oiled machine that is the Tag Team Champions. Classic Road Dogg as he goes all Shake, Rattle and Roll on Shamrock. Shamrock, probably embarrassed at taking that move, rolls him into an ankle lock but it’s quickly broken up. Shortly after this, the four men would split off into two separate singles feuds. It breaks down into Road Dogg taking the heat. Bossman is great at toying with him and being a real dick. The heat on Road Dogg lasts for a fair amount of time. Billy wakes up the crowd by shouting “YOU SUCK” across the ring. I’m not sure who it was directed at. Billy gets the hot tag and nearly wins, but Michaels pulls the referee out of the ring. That opens the door for Bossman to hit Billy with the nightstick. Shamrock covers but only gets two. Shawn tried to cheat again, but Billy rolls through the pin and they retain.
Winners and Still WWF Tag Team Champions: The New Age Outlaws in 17:04
If this went about 10-12 minutes, it would have worked much better. Giving them seventeen was far too much. Bossman and Shamrock did an acceptable job but a lot of their stuff was dull and seemed to drag. Certainly a case of less is more because this went on for far too long. *¾
Throughout the night, Vince McMahon and Mankind were in a meeting in the boiler room. Before the match, they spend time going over whether or not Mick Foley actually quit in the finals of the tournament at Survivor Series a month earlier.
WWF Champion
The Rock (c) w/ Shane and Vince McMahon vs. Mankind
Here we have the second meeting between these two out of four straight on PPV. That’s not including the televised matches (ladder, the night Foley wins the title & Halftime Heat) that they got out of this rivalry. Rock attacks from behind and the brawl is on. Mankind uses steel steps on the outside to help his cause. Vince gets on the microphone, saying that Mankind is on the verge of getting counted out, which opens the door for the Rock. Mankind takes a bump from the second rope onto the floor outside. The thud sound it makes is sickening. Rock does his signature trash talk on commentary during the match. Lawler kisses Rock’s ass all night and asks for a high five but gets denied and it’s glorious. The fight moves back inside where the Rock picks up a near fall. Mankind begins to rally and drops a leg onto Rock’s groin. Vince pops up wanting the DQ. Mankind prevents it by laying out the referee with the piledriver. He also takes out the timekeeper. Rock attacks and Shane tries to hit Mankind with the title. Mankind ducks and Rock gets leveled. A second referee shows up but Rock kicks out. Vince and Shane’s reactions are perfect. Mankind brings out Mr. Socko and puts Rock in the Mandible Claw. Rock passes out and the crowd goes wild. BUT WAIT! Vince gets on the microphone and admits that Mankind won the match, but says you can only win the title if you actually submit, which the Rock didn’t do.
Winner: Mankind in 13:34
This didn’t reach the limits of their 1999 bouts. Still, it was a fun sprint between two guys with growing chemistry. A lot of people dislike the finish but I’m not one of them. It made perfect sense since Mankind constantly said that he never quit at Survivor Series. Having Vince turn the tables on him was excellent and it set up their I Quit match at the next PPV. Sometimes it’s all about advancing the story, which was done expertly here. ***
Obviously, Mankind isn’t happy about that result and starts attacking Mr. McMahon. Shane hits him with a chair, which has no effect and he gets Socko too. He is finally pulled away when Ken Shamrock and the Big Bossman make the save.
Buried Alive Match
“Stone Cold” Steve Austin vs. The Undertaker w/ Paul Bearer
If Austin loses, he can’t enter the Royal Rumble next month. This is the second ever Buried Alive match. Due to the personal nature of the rivalry, the fight starts in the aisle. They do a ton of brawling in the aisle and around the ring. Undertaker is in control as they make it up to the grave and trade blows. The fight continues, bouncing around the arena from the entrance to the ring and everywhere in between. It’s hard to really discuss what they’re doing since it’s just a bunch of punches, kicks and throwing each other into stuff. Undertaker hits a Chokeslam in the ring and takes Austin to the grave. He nearly buries him but Austin escapes and hits him with some sort of can. Austin nails the Stunner and dump a wheel barrow full of dirt onto Taker. Austin leaves to the back for some reason. Undertaker gets out and hides, waiting for Austin with a shovel. Suddenly, a huge explosion erupts in the grave. Kane comes out from the grave ad goes at it with his brother. Undertaker nearly gets a Tombstone on him but stops because he sees something in the entrance. It’s Austin driving a backhoe. Kane Tombstones Undertaker, which the camera misses. He rolls Taker into the grave and Austin has the backhoe drop a ton of dirt onto him, winning.
Winner: Steve Austin in 21:30
These two have never really had great matches together. Some are good and most are pretty bad actually. This was possibly the worst and started a string of mediocre at best performances from the two for the most part. Undertaker was battling nagging injuries, this dragged on for too long and was mostly dull. ¾*
Overall: 2.5/10; Bad. Considering how successful the year of 1998 was for the WWF, it kind of sucks to see the PPV side end on such a whimper. Outside of the WWF Title match, nothing on this show is really any good. There are two decent matches hidden in there but this is an easy skip. Even the main event, which the WWF was mostly nailing at the time, is an abysmal waste of time. Up next on “Random Network Reviews” will be WrestleMania XXIV! |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Mar 8, 2016 14:34:08 GMT -5
WrestleMania XXIV
March 30th, 2008 | Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida | Attendance: 74,635
This was one of those WrestleMania events that featured a fair amount of celebrity involvement. It came during a fun time for me in wrestling. I was way into what was going on around this time, from Edge and Randy Orton being champions to the Ric Flair retirement angle to CM Punk’s rise on ECW and more. This would be the first WrestleMania filmed in HD and went on be the first show I ever purchased on Blu-Ray. It was obviously the 24th WrestleMania in history, the second outdoor one and the first held in Florida. There was some worry about potential rain with this being the second outdoor Mania, but luckily, there were no weather issues.
Jon Legend performs “America the Beautiful” to open the show. Following that, they go into a pretty great opening video package.
Belfast Brawl
Finlay w/ Hornswoggle vs. John “Bradshaw” Layfield
This rivalry stemmed from Hornswoggle being revealed as Vince McMahon’s son. JBL destroyed the little guy in front of Finlay inside of a Steel Cage before announcing that Hornswoggle is actually Finlay’s dad. Before the bell rings, JBL attacks Finlay and they brawl on the outside. Almost instantly, garbage cans and kendo sticks come into play. Not content with those weapons, JBL also brings in the steel steps but ends up taking a backdrop off of them. JBL tries to use the shillelagh but Hornswoggle steals it from him. That opens the door for Finlay to wail away on him. JBL now has welts on his back. Finlay gets a table and sets it up in the corner. JBL knocks him down and goes after Hornswoggle, which angers Finlay who slams his head on the announce table a ton. Things go back into the ring where JBL lays into Finlay with a trash can. He then launches one outside onto an unsuspecting Hornswoggle. It’s such a tremendous heel move. Finlay sends JBL through the table in the corner, only getting a two count. Finlay attempts to use the stairs but JBL nails him with a kendo stick in the knee. He comes off the ropes with the Clothesline from Hell to defeat Finlay.
Winner: John “Bradshaw” Layfield in 8:36
Better than I expected it to be. Neither guy was really lighting the world on fire with their ring work at the time, so making it a Belfast Brawl was a smart call. They got to have a fun brawl that involved weapons and had the crowd invested. A solid opener. ***
They go backstage to a celebrity correspondent, Kim Kardashian. She looks SO different and SO much better here, before all of the plastic surgery. She says the Money in the Bank match is coming up when Mr. Kennedy interrupts. He says he’s going to win it for the second straight year and yells in her face. I enjoyed it.
Money in the Bank Ladder Match
Carlito vs. Chris Jericho vs. CM Punk vs. John Morrison vs. Mr. Kennedy vs. MVP vs. Shelton Benjamin
Originally, Jeff Hardy was scheduled for this match and was a heavy favorite before getting suspended. With him out, the door was open for almost anyone to win. The bell rings and everyone goes after ladders outside. MVP keeps everyone at bay with a small ladder, so Jericho brings in a big one and takes him down. John Morrison takes the small ladder and does a moonsault off the top while holding it, taking out about four opponents. Inside, they try to slingshot Kennedy into the ladder but he just ends up climbing it. He fights with Morrison until Shelton sets up a ladder next to them. He comes off with a sunset flip on Kennedy, who superplexes Morrison off the top of the ladder. Honestly, that’s one of the cooler Money in the Bank spots I’ve ever seen. We see more of Shelton’s athleticism though the ladder breaks on a spot, causing him to crash. Punk ends up hitting him with the GTS before taking the Green Bay Plunge onto a ladder. Carlito takes out MVP’s leg and gets hit with the dragon whip kick from Benjamin. Shelton climbs but has the ladder tilted forward, sending him somersaulting through a ladder set up across the apron and guardrail. He’s done for the match after that in one of the most insane spots you could imagine. The spots keep coming as Jericho puts Morrison in the Walls of Jericho across the top of a ladder. While he and Kennedy fight on two ladders for the briefcase Carlito and Punk springboard onto the ladder to join them. All four men end up down, highlighted by Carlito hitting a damn Backstabber on Jericho off of the ladder. MVP is alone and has the win in hand when Matt Hardy runs in from the crowd. He’s been in the midst of a near year-long feud with MVP and was out injured. Matt hits Twist of Fate off the ladder, ending MVP’s chances of winning. They try another fancy spot with the ladder, which doesn’t really cooperate. It ends with Morrison falling off and Punk taking the ladder right to the shoulder. Carlito knocks Jericho off the ladder by spitting an apple at him. Kennedy shoves him off and Punk takes him out with a small ladder before taking a Codebreaker into the ladder. Jericho goes up and is in position to win but a desperate Punk tenaciously ascends the ladder. They fight up top and the recently returned Jericho hits him with the swinging briefcase. Just when you think it’s over, Punk wisely pulls Jericho’s leg through the rungs, leaving him hanging upside down and allowing Punk to pull it down.
Winner: CM Punk in 13:54
That was honestly one of the favorite Money in the Bank matches ever. They’ve become a staple of the WWE and almost always deliver a good to great match. This was easily in the upper echelon. Tons of great spots, no downtime, a hot crowd and lots of talent. If the ladders would have cooperated on some of their ideas better, this could have been even better. I probably scored this higher than a lot of people. Oh well, I loved it. ****¼
The inductees to the Hall of Fame for 2008 all come out to the stage. Eddie Graham, Gordon Solie, Peter Maivia and Ric Flair, who is wrestling later, have representatives, while Mae Young, Rocky Johnson, Jack and Jerry Briscoe are there as well.
This is followed by an odd segment involving Snoop Dogg, Festus, Santino Marella and Mick Foley. Yea, that is certainly a strange combo.
Battle of the Brands
Batista vs. Umaga
Batista is representing Teddy Long and Smackdown, while Umaga is there for Raw and William Regal. Regal calls him “YOUMANGA” of course. Batista went from a classic against the Undertaker for the World Title a year prior to this. When the match starts, they just go at it like two big men would. Batista takes a pretty big bump off the apron following an Umaga kick. Umaga wears down Batista’s back but the problem is, none of it really comes across as interesting. Umaga tries a sweet, long range headbutt but misses. Batista tries to slam him and his back goes out. Batista weathers more offense from Umaga and starts rallying. Somehow, despite the back being worked on, Batista pulls out a spinebuster and Batista Bomb, winning the match for Smackdown. At least the Batista Bomb was somewhat crooked, making it look realistic.
Winner: Batista in 7:06
I wanted to like this so much more. These are two of my favorite bigger guys to watch but they just didn’t seem to have their hearts in this. Especially Batista. It came off like they weren’t too thrilled with their position on the show and it showed in their work. *½
ECW Championship
Chavo Guerrero (c) vs. Kane
Kane won a battle royal on the Pre-Show to earn this show. It is the first and only time the ECW Title would be defended at WrestleMania. Chavo comes out first and Kane shows behind him. The bell rings, Chavo runs into a Chokeslam and that’s all she wrote.
Winner and New ECW Champion: Kane in 0:10
They tried to pass this off as eight seconds but I have it at ten. Can’t really rank this. At least they moved the title to someone that was over and a fun addition to the ECW roster at the time. NO RATING
Raven Symone is in the ring to promote the Make-a-Wish Foundation. Nice little celebrity involvement there. Kept it short and sweet.
Career Threatening Match
Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels
For months, Ric Flair had been staving off retirement by beating all comers after Vince McMahon told him he’d be forced to retire if he lost his next match. The pageantry of Flair’s entrance is stunning. A feeling out process starts things off, with each guy trying to gain an early upper hand. Flair gets in control and shouts “OLD YELLER HUH?”, which is what Shawn called him a few weeks prior. Shawn just slaps him in retaliation before they get into an exchange of loud chops. In a great reversal of roles, Flair slams Shawn from the top and then blocks Shawn from doing the same. Flair comes off with a flying cross body that gets a pop. They move outside where Shawn tries an Asai moonsault but misses and crashes stomach first onto the announce table. The sound of it was pretty sickening. Flair is busting it all out tonight, getting two on a stalling vertical suplex. Shawn takes to the air again, this time doing a moonsault off the top and to the outside, connecting this time around. They tease a double countout, which would result in the end of Flair’s career. They go at it inside the ring and Shawn hits the big flying elbow. Shawn tunes up the band but stops himself because he can’t pull the trigger. That frees up Flair to trip him up and lock in the Figure Four as the crowd goes wild. Shawn turns it over and survives but takes his trademark corner bump. Classic Flair as he goes to the chop block. The Figure Four is locked back in but again, Michaels is able to survive. Flair ends up walking right into Sweet Chin Music but Shawn is too hurt to initially cover and Flair kicks out. Shawn calls for Sweet Chin Music again, screaming for Shawn to get up. Flair takes long so Shawn picks him up from behind and Flair delivers a low blow that the referee misses. Classic. Shawn trips up Flair and applies his inverted Figure Four. Flair withstands it and rolls up Shawn for two. They go into a battle of chops that Flair is winning, so Shawn just delivers a huge superkick. Shawn pulls himself up and looks to tune up the band but stops. He mouths “I’m sorry, I love you” to Flair when he gets up and ends his career with Sweet Chin Music.
Winner: Shawn Michaels in 20:23
Pitch perfect storytelling. There aren’t many matches you’ll find with as much emotion as this one. Ric Flair put on his working boots and had the best match of the final few years of his career, doing things he usually wouldn’t. Michaels was as great in a big match as always. As great as it could have possibly been. ****
Shawn Michaels immediately grabs Ric Flair’s head, presumably to say something and leaves. Ric Flair gets emotional as he is given a standing ovation and shows love to his family at ringside.
Todd Grisham interviews Edge, who says that the pathetic fans count on the Undertaker to win at WrestleMania but he’ll slap them in the face with reality.
Playboy Bunnymania Lumberjill Match
Ashley Massaro and Maria Kanellis vs. WWE Women’s Champion Beth Phoenix and Melina w/ Santino Marella
The rest of the poor Divas roster were the Lumberjills, while Snoop Dogg was the host or something. They all walked to the ring while he drove some kind of pimped out golf cart. Among the Lumberjills, Mickie James, Kelly Kelly, Maryse and Layla may look the best tonight. The story here is that Maria got the Playboy pictorial, which her boyfriend Santino hated. That led Maria to team with former Playboy cover girl Ashley. Ashley and Maria try and double team Beth because she’s so strong. Melina is the first one tossed outside and gets beat up by the ladies outside. Almost everything the babyface team does looks bad from Maria’s bronco buster to Ashley’s cross body and bumping. The double team done by the heels looks bad too. The lights end up going out during the match and a spotlight is used to focus on the match. Maria ends up close to winning but Santino pulls her off of a pin. Jerry Lawler gets up and lays him out. Beth plants Maria with a fisherman buster and wins.
Winners: Beth Phoenix and Melina in 5:56
Beth Phoenix and Melina tried but Maria and Ashley are just not good at all. That all caused this to be horrible and not interesting in the slightest. ¼*
Snoop Dogg is next in line to punch Santino’s lights out. Then he makes out with Maria.
WWE Championship
Randy Orton (c) vs. John Cena vs. Triple H
During 2007, both John Cena and Triple H were on the shelf with major injuries and this is kind of their redemption story. Cena gets his theme played to the ring by a marching band. 52% of the fans pick Cena to win, 40% have Triple H and a measly 8% say Orton retains. This starts like a brawl, with everyone going at it in and around the ring. Once things calm down in the ring, they do a tower of doom like spot where Orton hits a cross body on Cena, who was on Triple H’s shoulders. Orton continues to hold serve with a double rope hung DDT for near falls. He continues to use his cunningness to outsmart the babyfaces. He strikes with the RKO, stopping Triple H’s momentum. However, he gets put in Cena’s hideous STFU but Triple H breaks it and tries an Indian deathlock variation only for Cena to stop it. Cena goes back to the submission so Triple H puts him in a crossface to break it. This leads to Cena and HHH going at it and countering each other a bunch. HHH wins out by hitting the Pedigree. He covers but Orton runs in and punts him in the skull to break it up. Orton pins Cena and shocked everyone by retaining.
Winner and Still WWE Champion: Randy Orton in 14:08
A fun Triple Threat match between three solid guys. They would rematch it a little over a year later but this was better. Randy Orton did enough that he looked like a credible champion and the finish made him look really smart. This was before they would run this kind of finish into the ground. ***¼
No Disqualification
Big Show vs. Floyd Mayweather
Wisely, Floyd Mayweather bobs and weaves, avoiding contact with his larger opponent before firing off some rapid body shots. Mayweather avoids Show punches and lays in some of his own shots. He gets cockier with each successful blow. He stops to get a drink from a chalice so Big Show pretty much murders the member of his entourage who served him. Show finally catches him but ends up with Mayweather on his back, choking him out. Show gets free and stomps on Mayweather’s hand. It’s time for Show to dominate as he just stands on Mayweather and slams him around. Before Big Show can do more damage, Floyd’s entourage pulls him away and they try to leave. Future Nexus member Michael Tarver is there. Show lays them all out and brings Floyd back. He goes for the Chokeslam but an entourage member hits him with a chair. He gets chokeslammed for his troubles. Now Floyd has the chair and he whacks Show all over with it. Big Show tries another Chokeslam only to get kicked in the nuts. More chair shots to the head that dent the chair but Show won’t fall down. He’s on his knees and Mayweather gets brass knuckles from a fallen member. He lays out Show with one right hand and the referee counts him out.
Winner: Floyd Mayweather in 11:35
A very wisely booked spectacle here. Easily one of the better celebrity matches in WWE history. Whoever laid this out deserved a raise. They made sure that Mayweather stayed “unbeaten” and looked smart, while Big Show kept his credibility due to the interference and the fact that he barely stood up in the end. ***
World Heavyweight Championship
Edge (c) vs. The Undertaker
Edge actually gets to come out last. Neither man has ever been pinned at WrestleMania. Edge is not intimidated, shoving Undertaker right as he does the throat cut signal. They go through some good back and forth to start including Edge countering Old School, only for Undertaker to counter back with an arm drag. Edge seems to be well prepared, having an answer for everything Undertaker does. His game plan is to negate a lot of Undertaker’s key stuff and stay in control. The first really big spot comes when Undertaker does his signature dive over the top rope. Things stay outside as Edge backdrops Undertaker onto the guardrail. Inside, Edge works a modified single leg crab, wearing down his challenger. Undertaker counters and they get into a slugfest, which Undertaker of course wins. He hits Snake Eyes but Edge comes right back with a dropkick. He then counters the Chokeslam into the Edgecution for two. Undertaker hits the Chokeslam this time, but only gets two. Edge goes for the ten corner punches but Undertaker counters for Last Ride. Edge again has a counter ready, slipping free and nailing a neckbreaker. Regardless, he still takes his Last Ride but manages to get a shoulder up. More back and forth leads to shenanigans as Undertaker inadvertently big boots the referee. Edge takes him down and talks smack until Undertaker grabs him by the throat. Edge low blows him to break the grip. In a callback to Survivor Series, Edge lays out Undertaker with a TV camera. Undertaker starts getting back up so Edge mocks his taunt and tries a tombstone. Undertaker counters into his own. Charles Robinson makes the lengthy run from the back to count but Edge kicks out. Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder run out only for Undertaker to Chokeslam Ryder onto Hawkins. Edge hits the Spear for a near fall. He follows with a second Spear but before he can cover, Undertaker grabs him into the Hell’s Gates submission. Edge fights valiantly before tapping out.
Winner and New World Heavyweight Champion: The Undertaker in 23:49
Outside of his classics with Shawn Michaels the two years after this, I’d say this was easily the best Undertaker WrestleMania match. Edge looked like a million bucks, coming off as a smart villain that had a great game plan. They kept the interference to a minimum and gave us a mostly clean finish that was also original. Tons of counters and callbacks to their rivalry really added to this. One of the best main events in WrestleMania history. ****½
Overall: 9/10; Incredible. A spectacular WrestleMania that ranks among the best ever. Outside of the Playboy and Battle of the Brand matches, everything on this card delivers. There’s something for everyone. Like fun brawls? Catch the opener. Want a great spotfest? Watch Money in the Bank. If you like emotion filled stories, there’s HBK/Flair. You also get great celebrity involvement, a solid triple threat and one absolutely classic main event. Next time on “Random Network Reviews”, I take a long look at Invasion! |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Mar 15, 2016 1:02:27 GMT -5
Invasion
July 22nd, 2001 | Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio | Attendance: 17,019
When the WWF purchased WCW in March of 2001, everything changed. There was no longer real competition, the WWF could be stagnant if they wanted to and they were about to have a super talented roster. Before all of that, they gave us something we never thought we’d see. An invasion angle. The problem was that the biggest names from WCW (Goldberg, Hogan, Sting, Steiner, etc.) were all sitting out their contracts so this totally lacked star power. Still, people were excited as this show earned the highest buyrate in history for a non-WrestleMania Pay-Per-View. It was the only Invasion PPV in history.
As usual, the opening video package is top notch. Paul Heyman and the three feuding McMahons all do voiceovers while highlights of the invasion are shown along with clips of war. Just a great feel for what we’re about to witness. Jim Ross and Michael Cole are on commentary.
The Alliance won a match on Heat to take a 1-0 lead.
Edge and Christian vs. Lance Storm and Mike Awesome
Lance Storm tried to cut one of his “if I could be serious for a minute” promos but Edge and Christian interrupt. Edge had just won the King of the Ring and Christian was carrying around Edge’s trophy. This started as your basic tag team match. Edge and Christian have more experience as a team and it showed. They messed up a spot where Christian went to dive off of Edge’s back and he spilled to the outside in ugly fashion. Christian ends up taking the heat, where he bumps very well for his opponents. He even takes a trademark Bret Hart ring post bump at one point. I really wish they would have done more with Mike Awesome. Edge got the hot tag and did his thing for a while. He ended up in a small package but Christian turned it over, leading to a near fall. Awesome went for the Awesome Bomb but Christian speared him, allowing Edge to fall on him, earning the three.
Winners: Edge and Christian in 10:11
Just about what I want from an opening contest. Hot crowd, fun action and they didn’t overdo anything, leaving room for the rest of the card. Off to a good start. ***
Vince McMahon is excited about the win backstage, doing his own five second pose. William Regal shows up to inform him that Steve Austin has arrived. Vince tries to hype Regal up for his match later but doesn’t do a good job.
Earl Hebner vs. Nick Patrick
Oh my goodness, this got an actual video package. Mick Foley was the special guest referee since he worked for all three companies. Each referee came out with the rest of the officials from their respective companies, though I’m pretty sure I saw Brian Hebner with Nick Patrick. When the match started, they just threw punches at each other. Patrick used a low blow that Foley somehow missed. The highlight of the match came when the WCW officials attacked Hebner outside, so Chad Patton laid one of them out with a flying forearm that was better than most of the roster could have probably done. Foley kicked out the ringside refs and Patrick argued with him. Hebner tackled him to win.
Winner: Earl Hebner in 2:50
I won’t give it the DUD rating because it was short and about what I expected from two non-wrestlers. Putting it on the PPV is not something I would have done but whatever. ¼*
Nick Patrick eats some of Mr. Socko after the bell.
WWF Tag Team Champions The APA vs. WCW Tag Team Champions Chuck Palumbo and Sean O’Haire
Somehow, this also got a hype video. Pitting tag champions against each other is kind of a no-brainer in a situation like this. They started by brawling with the APA getting the upper hand. Sensible considering their penchant for bar room brawls. The teams began trading some unenthusiastic stuff and the crowd didn’t seem to care. How did the Tag Team Titles go from the great E&C/Hardys/Dudleys rivalry back to the APA? Palumbo completely whiffs on a superkick but they acted like he hit. Bradshaw laid him out for his troubles with the Clothesline from Hell.
Winners: The APA in 7:17
Almost everything about this was dull. They hit a few power moves, but even with that, I was mostly bored. The decision to have the APA win was pretty dumb too. Palumbo and O’Haire, while not exactly future stars, were a fresh, young team that could have done a bit more. *¼
Backstage, Chris Jericho badmouths Paul Heyman to Vince McMahon. Stephanie, Shane and Billy Kidman watch backstage and Stephanie just complains about hating Jericho. They want Kidman to win and get them on the board.
WCW Cruiserweight Champion Billy Kidman vs. WWF Light Heavyweight Champion X-Pac
X-Pac has the Uncle Kracker X-Factor theme here. The quality of the show picked back up here. Both guys worked at a quick pace, which was very welcome after the previous two matches. In an odd twist, the WCW guy was the more popular worker for the first time tonight. X-Pac hit a nice dive outside but got greeted with boos. Jim Ross did a good job in putting over X-Pac applying a chin lock, saying that in a battle of aerial specialists, the one who grounds the other usually has an advantage. It’s a small thing to say but I feel like it was a nice addition. Kidman got a near fall on the Sky High, YOU BETTER RECOGNIZE! X-Pac proved to be the first WWF heel, trying to use the ropes for leverage. He made the mistake of trying to powerbomb Kidman, which we all know you can’t do. He counters it but ended up diving into the X-Factor. Somehow, Kidman got the shoulder up. He then got his foot up to block the Bronco Buster before climbing up and wowing the fans with his mediocre Shooting Star Press, defeating X-Pac.
Winner: Billy Kidman in 7:12
WCW is on the board! Not the greatest match but a fine change of pace between two solid guys. Kidman was the right guy to get a win for WCW. I enjoyed the pace and near falls of this match. **¾
DDP creeps out Stephanie, Heyman and Shane when talking about how Debra is no Sara. He eventually just gets hype about the main event. They cut to Torrie and Stacy literally talking about their tits and ass. It’s not a bad segment at all.
Raven vs. William Regal
Babyface William Regal is such a strange sight. They traded blows early but this was the first match that the crowd didn’t really seem into. They did some awkward looking spots, like Regal hitting a slingshot where Raven just hit the ropes. Raven did some second rope offense that Regal put an end to but again, the fans were just not feeling any of this. They did a series of rollup near falls that next to nobody bit on. ECW’s Tazz ran in and Tazzplexed Regal while Raven distracted the referee. Raven won after hitting the Raven Effect.
Winner: Raven in 6:34
Almost as bad as the referee match earlier though it’s far more disappointing considering I actually like both guys involved. They never found a flow, the crowd never cared and all of it was uninteresting. ½*
Vince McMahon angers Undertaker by discussing DDP stalking his wife. Undertaker nearly attacks him, which Vince likes as it means Taker is pissed.
WWF Intercontinental Champion Albert, Big Show and Billy Gunn vs. Hugh Morris, Kanyon and Shawn Stasiak
Who put this on the Pay-Per-View? Also, why was Albert the IC Champion in an era that was this loaded with talent? I don’t dislike the guy but come on. The WCW team came out to Stasiak’s bootleg Mr. Perfect theme. The WWF faces all hit gorilla press slams at the same time early on. It broke down to a regular six man tag with neither team gaining a clear advantage. Stasiak was greeted with “Meat” chants as he got in some offense. Albert got to strut his stuff a bit, overcoming some a sneak attack from Morris. Despite Billy Gunn hitting the Fameasser, Stasiak laid out Gunn and Morris draped his arm over him to steal it and even the score at 3-3 on the official PPV.
Winners: Hugh Morris, Kanyon and Shawn Stasiak in 4:23
Another relatively boring match. Unlike the previous one though, the fans were surprisingly interested in this. Most of the work was uninspired but it was kept short and to the point. Also, why couldn’t WWF win this and APA lose earlier? *
Shane McMahon and Booker T, with both the World and United States Title, get hype for the main event. I really feel like they were just throwing in as many rapid fire backstage segments as possible. An angry William Regal also demands that his little buddy, Tajiri, win his upcoming match.
Tajiri vs. Tazz
With the score tied currently, this is a pretty unimportant outing to be the swing match. They did have a fun ECW Title match at Heatwave two years prior. Thanks to Regal being angry beforehand, this started like it was kind of personal, with Tajiri hitting the ring. Tazz threw him around with a few Tazzplexes and managed to avoid some of Tajiri’s signature kicks. Tazz tried using some submissions, including a cross armbreaker, but Tajiri survived. Tazz did hit a very impactful concrete crash for a near fall. Tajiri did his trademark stuff like the handspring elbow and tarantula as part of his comeback. He used the green mist and a big kick to win.
Winner: Tajiri in 5:42
While it wasn’t great, it was a definite upswing in quality after the previous few matches being pretty bad. They worked at a good pace, had some close near falls and didn’t overstay their welcome. Solid enough. **¼
Backstage, the Hardy Boyz are discussing Jeff Hardy’s upcoming match. Rob Van Dam appears with a steel chair and lays out Matt. Cut to WWF New York where Hardcore Holly is signing autographs. He sees a fan with a WCW shirt and kicks him out while ripping the dude’s shirt. What a dick.
WWF Hardcore Championship
Jeff Hardy (c) vs. Rob Van Dam
It always made me chuckle as RVD comes out and realizes he’s getting cheered so he stops to look at the fans and smiles to himself. Although this was for the Hardcore Title, neither guy went for weapons early on. They chose to have some great back and forth that excited the crowd, which was now hot again. RVD had Jeff well scouted, interrupting his guardrail run attack, which we had never really seen before. Commentary did a good job in hyping the similar styles and the importance of this being the only title match on the show. Finally, weapons came into play after some fighting in the crowd when Jeff brought out a ladder. RVD shook the ladder and sent Hardy falling into the aisle. Jim Ross got to say a bunch of lines that would be used in future WWE “Don’t Try This at Home” ads. They fought up to the entrance, where RVD nailed the Van Daminator that sent Hardy off the stage. Back in the ring, RVD got to showoff more of his stuff for the WWF audience, while also bumping well for the champion. Jeff missed the Swanton Bomb before RVD nailed the Five Star Frog Splash with the Hardcore Title on Jeff’s chest to become champion.
Winner and New WWF Hardcore Champion: Rob Van Dam in 12:24
2001 proved to be the best year ever for the Hardcore Title and this might have been the best Hardcore Title match ever. It was the perfect way to truly introduce RVD to the WWF audience as he faced a similar performer and got to do a lot of his key stuff. Both men worked hard and had a great match that stole the show. ****
More backstage segments as Vince tries to hype up Kurt Angle, who says the word bullcrapon television.
Bra and Panties Match
Lita and Trish Stratus vs. Stacy Keibler and Torrie Wilson
Brilliant Mick Foley made himself the referee for this match. There wasn’t much to really write about here as this wasn’t placed here to be a great wrestling match. JR did deliver the classic line of “thongs are legal.” Neither WCW girl wanted any part of Lita, who brought Stacy in the hard way. Stacy and Torrie struggled with almost all of their spots. Stacy lost her shirt first and ran, leading to Lita chasing her and getting stuck before having her top removed. Trish had her shirt taken off but removed Torrie’s pants instantly in one of the best camera angles in WWE history. The WWF girls did some Hardy Boyz poetry in motion and Lita hit a moonsault on Stacy as they removed the rest of their opponents clothing.
Winners: Lita and Trish Stratus in 5:04
Torrie and Stacy were incredibly green and not really ready to do any in ring work. Lita and Trish did their best to overcome that though it wasn’t enough. The crowd was obviously excited for it and they put in a good effort. In terms of pure enjoyment, I’d say over four stars. As a match, it ranks much lower. *¾
Inaugural Brawl
Team WCW (WCW World and United States Champion Booker T, Diamond Dallas Page, the Dudley Boyz and Rhyno) w/ Paul Heyman, Shane McMahon and Stephanie McMahon vs. Team WWF (Chris Jericho, Kane, Kurt Angle, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and the Undertaker) w/ Vince McMahon
Including Heat, they are tied 5-5. After the owners and Heyman came out, the teams alternated entrances which I found really cool. Undertaker attacked DDP before the entrances were over, leading to a big brawl. The “old Stone Cold” showed up last and got right into the brawl. When things calmed down, everybody got a turn in the ring, with the match getting ample time to showcase all ten men involved. The Dudley Boyz became the first guys to really take a clear advantage, using their experience as a duo to do so. Undertaker ended up mostly putting a stop to that. Surprisingly, when DDP and Undertaker went at it, it didn’t get as personal as expected. Outside of Austin, Angle got the best pops throughout the match and was well on his way to being a top babyface in the company for the remainder of 2001. With so many moving parts, the match manages to never get dull at any point. Angle played the face in peril and they held off the big hot tag to Austin with some smaller ones to other guys. The match got out of hand, with Undertaker and DDP fighting in the crowd while everyone else fought at ringside. Austin seemed to have injured his knee during all of this. There were about three table spots in a row with Rhyno, D-Von and Kane all going through them. Angle made the babyface comeback and put Booker T in the Ankle Lock after taking Shane out, who hit Vince with a title. Austin got back inside as Booker tapped out and kicked Angle. He planted him with a Stunner, allowing Booker to win it for the Alliance.
Winners: Team WCW in 29:03
As noted, this moved along rather nicely and was entertaining throughout. Everyone got a chance to shine for the most part, with almost all of them bringing their working boots. The crowd was molten hot throughout and the final few minutes were pretty chaotic in a good way. The swerve finish was pretty good too since the crowd badly wanted the old Austin and he wouldn’t give it to them. His reasoning for this and the booking of the entire invasion following this were horrible though. ***½
Overall: 5.5/10; Decent. The invasion angle itself could have been something amazing but instead, it was poorly handled for the entire duration. This was the first real stop and it was a mixed bag. Some of the matches were dreadful (Raven/Tazz, Patrick/Hebner, the six man tag) most were middle of the pack and a few were good. I enjoyed the main event and loved the Hardcore Title match. There was a lot of potential here, but a good chunk of it went wasted. My next “Random Network Review” looks like it will be Survivor Series 2013! |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Mar 19, 2016 14:26:41 GMT -5
Survivor Series 2013
November 24th, 2013 | TD Banknorth Garden in Boston, Massachusetts
The fall of 2013 proved to be a brutal period at times. As they headed into the winter, the focus came off of the most popular babyface, Daniel Bryan, and instead, Big Show was thrust into the title picture. The Wyatt Family was fresh, John Ce had just returned and CM Punk was (unbeknownst to fans) on his way out of the company. As usual, this show includes traditional Survivor Series matches, which are almost always fun. This was the 27th edition of the Survivor Series.
So the show opens with Triple H and Stephanie McMahon coming to the entrance to cut a promo. Not something I enjoy on my Pay-Per-Views. They at least keep it short and just basically introduce the show. It leads into the video package, which highlights the main matches on the card but is nothing special.
WWE Tag Team Champions Cody Rhodes and Goldust, Rey Mysterio and the Usos vs. The Real Americans and the Shield w/ Zeb Colter
Zeb Colter cut a pre-match promo that saw him and Cody Rhodes twerk. I’m not making this up. It is the one year anniversary of the Shield’s debut. Dena Ambrose and Rhodes started out with some fine back and forth. Ambrose began arguing with the referee, allowing Rhodes to roll him up and eliminate him at 2:13. It was certainly a surprisingly quick elimination for a guy that had been booked well for the past year. As things broke down, WE HAD US SOME FLYING USOS MAGGLE. They calmed again and the Real Americans did their thing for a bit. Despite this, Swagger was next out after a 619, superkick and splash at 8:13. The bad news continues for the heels when Cesaro is gone at 9:58 on a Rhodes rollup but not before he showed off his incredible power. The former Tag Team Champions, Rollins and Reigns, are left alone. They isolated one of the Usos for a while and it leads to Reigns spearing him to send him packing at 14:33. Rhodes flew in with some offense, including a near fall after a moonsault on Rollins. He had Cross Rhodes countered, Reigns blind tagged in and ended him with a Spear at 15:44. Rollins planted the remaining Uso with the Curb Stomp to even the score at 16:47. Mysterio and Rollins had a good back and forth for a bit. We nearly saw a countout when Reigns hilariously slid Mysterio under the ropes and to the outside hard. Mysterio rolled up Rollins to get rid of him at the 19:43 mark. Reigns, now left alone, had to overcome the odds. Goldust and Rey got some near falls in but couldn’t put down the future megastar. Reigns hit a spear on Goldust and he’s gone at 22:58. Mysterio flew in but his 619 was stopped with a spear and Reigns won it for his guys.
Winners: The Real Americans and the Shield (Sole Survivor: Roman Reigns) in 23:23
The first of many instances where Roman Reigns would overcome the odds. I thought this was a good but just shy of great Survivor Series tag. No real dead spots, some fun eliminations and the first real star making moment for Reigns. A really fun opening contest. ***¾
Since everything has to be about the Authority, we see them talking backstage. Randy Orton wants to make sure that things are still good between them after some tension last week.
WWE Intercontinental Championship
Big E Langston (c) vs. Curtis Axel
Six days earlier, Big E Langston dethroned Curtis Axel to become Intercontinental Champion. Axel no longer has Paul Heyman, officially ending the relevant portion of his career. Commentary spent the first minute or so discussing great IC Title matches of the past. They tried to hype up the importance but it made me realize even more how far the title has fallen. Both guys went back and forth, with neither one gaining a clear advantage. Big E brought THE STRAPS DOWN but Axel held the ropes to prevent the Big Ending. Big E kicked out of the PerfectPlex before retaining with the Big Ending.
Winner and Still WWE Intercontinental Champion: Big E Langston in 5:50
Technically, they didn’t do anything wrong. However, the crowd or commentators couldn’t have cared less and it showed. It felt more like filler than a title match. *½
The perfect Renee Young enters the ring after the match to interview Big E Langston. He goes the cheap pop route, mentioning Boston and the Patriots. Promo gets about the same rating as the match.
In the back, Divas Champion AJ Lee tries to hype up her team for the Survivor Series match coming up. Her teammates don’t trust her because of the things she’s done in the past few months. Kaitlyn gets in face but AJ turns it around by pointing out that Total Divas didn’t want any of them. Funny enough, Alicia Fox, Summer Rae and Rosa Mendes would end up on the show.
Team AJ Lee (WWE Divas Champion AJ Lee, Aksana, Alicia Fox, Kaitlyn, Rosa Mendes, Summer Rae and Tamina) vs. Team Total Divas (Brie Bella, Cameron, Eva Marie, Jojo, Naomi, Natalya and Nikki Bella)
The Total Divas team came out to the Total Divas theme, which is pretty awful. Everything that happened came at rapid fire. Within the first 1:24, Naomi eliminated Fox with a split legged moonsault. The Funkadactyls worked over Rosa who actually kicked out of a move. That might have been the first time she ever did that. She is truly pathetic in the ring. Cameron missed a move and ran into the turnbuckle, getting eliminated by Rosa at 2:28. I can’t believe Rosa got a pin in her career. She taunted, allowing Nikki to get rid of her with a Bella Buster at 2:45. Summer Rae, who got a great pop, came in and danced. Nikki tried to one up her by doing the WORM. For some reason, her WORM goes backwards. Nikki dropkicked her and she’s gone at 3:27. Eva got tagged, got “you can’t wrestle” chants and ate a gutbuster instantly. She was out at 4:01 and then Kaitlyn did the same to Naomi at 4:34. The eliminations kept coming as Brie sent Kaitlyn home with a missile dropkick at 5:12. AJ Lee laughed at all of this. Aksana got rid of Brie at 5:42, before Nikki ended her with the Rack Attack at the 6:04 mark. AJ and Tamina were left against Jojo, Nattie and Nikki. Tamina came in and played the powerhouse. The fans chanted “we want Jojo” throughout Tamina working over Nikki. Nikki tagged Jojo, even though she never wrestled in the past. Jojo showed some fire and even rolled up Tamina for two. The crowd ate it up. Tamina put her down with a Samoan drop at 9:28 but tagged AJ to get the pin. She tagged back out to avoid doing actual work. Tamina gave up to the Sharpshooter, even though AJ broke it up at 10:51. Cole said Natalya and AJ were the sole survivors but was wrong. Nattie made AJ tap to the Sharpshooter too.
Winners: Team Total Divas (Survivors: Natalya and Nikki Bella) in 11:29
A massive chunk of that match was sloppy. They threw too many girls in there so things got super rushed. When it slowed down and got to the Jojo stuff and everything after, it clicked. The crowd ate up the entire Jojo part. ½*
Mark Henry vs. Ryback
Ryback, in his heel “I’m not a bully” run, issued an open challenge that was answered by Mark Henry. Henry defeated Ryback for some incredibly stupid reason at WrestleMania earlier in the year. Ryback was showing off his power but was equally matched in that category here. He dominated the early portions before running shoulder first into the ring post. Henry had a short comeback that featured a surprising cross body before the World’s Strongest Slam.
Winner: Mark Henry in 4:46
Did they not book enough for this show? While it worked as a positive return for Henry, it effectively killed heel Ryback. Outside of the cross body, which made me giggle, this was dreadful. ½*
World Heavyweight Championship
John Cena (c) vs. Alberto Del Rio
In August, Cena left with an elbow injury. He returned way earlier than expected, getting an instant World Title shot and dethroning Del Rio for it at Hell in a Cell. This was Del Rio’s rematch. They played up Cena’s elbow still having issues and him not wearing the protective sleeve over it for the first time. Del Rio wisely targeted the arm throughout the match. The problem was that, while the crowd started hot and was pretty pro Cena, they sat on their hands for most of Del Rio’s offense. I liked Del Rio making sure his offense was surrounded on the arm. Like when he hit his enziguri, it was right on the injured arm. It picked up towards the end, with some close calls from both men. There was a great spot where Del Rio countered a cross body into the Cross Armbreaker but of course, Cena NEVER GIVES UP! He powered out and retained after the Attitude Adjustment.
Winner and Still World Heavyweight Champion: John Cena in 18:47
These are two very good performers who almost never clicked in the ring. While this went a bit long, I found it to be one of their better matches. Focusing things around the arm was a great idea. Even though the outcome was obvious, I thought they did a good job of building drama. A bit more from the crowd before the climax would have helped the score. ***¼
Guys that couldn’t make the card like R-Truth, Los Matadores, Fandango and Santino Marella, did a backstage segment about WWE figures.
CM Punk and Daniel Bryan vs. Erick Rowan and Luke Harper w/ Bray Wyatt
Bray Wyatt spent the duration of the match on his rocking chair outside. Bryan was insanely over, so naturally, he wasn’t in the title picture where the fans wanted him. Right from the start, this was a great battle of two smaller technical guys against to powerhouses. Punk and Bryan had to cut down the trees with quick tags and smart strategies. They eventually focused on Punk and worked the hot tag to Bryan. After he did his thing, we got the spot of the match when Harper countered a top rope rana with a super powerbomb, though Punk broke up the count. That led into Bryan taking the next heat for a bit. Punk did his thing with the next tag, even taking out Bray on a dive to the outside. After a bit of a frantic finish that saw Bryan hit the running knee on Rowan, Punk ended Harper after a Go to Sleep.
Winners: CM Punk and Daniel Bryan in 16:51
Really good tag team match here. Harper and Rowan were always severely underutilized as a tandem, while Punk and Bryan just gelled excellently together. This worked very well in most aspects. Outside of their 2014 matches with the Usos and the Shield, this is the best you’ll find from Harper and Rowan. ***¾
WWE Championship
Randy Orton (c) vs. Big Show
For the people who said that Daniel Bryan was only over because of the “Yes” chant, I’d point to this program. Show did his own “Yes” chant for a bit and it never quite caught on. Nobody really gave a damn about this feud. The company also didn’t go all in on heel Orton, making him into a little bitch instead of the “Viper.” In the buildup to this, he even said “I don’t think I can beat the Big Show by myself.” Way to build up your champion WWE. Orton stalled and ran a lot early on. Within that time, the fans chant for “Daniel Bryan”. Show began to dominate, but the fans had little to no interest in any of it. They did a ref bump, allowing them to fight in the crowd for about twenty seconds. Show knocked Orton out a ringside but then Triple H, Stephanie and Kane walked out onto the stage. That opened the door for Orton to hit the RKO, which he followed with the punt and retained.
Winner and Still WWE Champion: Randy Orton in 11:09
Well that was pretty boring. Both guys are veterans that know what they’re doing, however they’ve never really had any chemistry. Throw in the crowd not wanting this main event and tame “Viper” and you’ve got a recipe for disaster. *
Randy Orton’s celebration is cut short by the arrival of the World Heavyweight Champion, John Cena. Cena poses with his title while Orton does the same, planting the seeds for their unification match a month later.
Overall: 3.5/10; Not good. I’ve heard some people call this the worst PPV in WWE history. While it isn’t good by any means, that’s overdoing it. Three of the seven matches are good (opener, Punk and Bryan tag and World Title match), which instantly puts it over some other terrible PPVs. I do admit that everything else on the show is rather dreadful and boring. According to my randomizer, next on “Random Network Reviews” is Halloween Havoc 2000! |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Mar 25, 2016 6:40:23 GMT -5
Halloween Havoc 2000
October 29th, 2000 | MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada | Attendance: 7,582
Oh man, this has potential to be a train wreck. It’s well documented that WCW was having serious problems by this time. Things only got worse heading into this PPV as a large portion of the roster was cut, TV shows (namely WCW Saturday Night, which had run for over twenty years) were cancelled and, to top it all off, Vince Russo even won the WCW World Title. He had to relinquish it due to injury without ever allowing for a proper payoff but I doubt one was planned anyway. It was the 12th and final Halloween Havoc Pay-Per-View.
They start with Pamela Paulshock talking to the fans in the lobby and asking for their picks on the horrible sounding main event. Their opening video package isn’t as bad as it normally is. Commentary is Tony Schiavone, Mark Madden and Stevie Ray.
WCW World Tag Team Championship
Mark Jindrak and Sean O’Haire (c) vs. Boogie Nights vs. The Filthy Animals w/ Konnan
The Filthy Animals are represented by Rey Mysterio and Billy Kidman, while Boogie Nights are Alex Wright and Disco Inferno. Bald Alex Wright is a strange look. Three guys were legal at a time during this triangle match. Kidman and Wright teamed up to work over Jindrak, which made sense as you’d want to take out the champions. For the most part, they moved things along at a quick pace. Some of the later WCW shows saw guys work fast but botch a fair amount, which happily wasn’t the case here. There were several near falls and some pretty good spots throughout. The champions did their sweet double hip toss from the floor to the ring on Kidman. I remember them doing that horribly to Sting. Wright, Kidman and Rey all ended up doing different dives outside. Boogie Nights nearly won but taunted too much. That set the stage for the Seanton Bomb from O’Hair, retaining the belts.
Winners and Still WCW World Tag Team Champions: Mark Jindrak and Sean O’Haire in 10:04
A really fun opening contest. They fit a fair amount into ten minutes and allowed everyone to shine. I also appreciate that they were mostly crisp with the work being done. It’s WCW in 2000, so I doubt something will top this on the show. ***¼
The champions and Alex Wright only, for some reason, put the boots to the Filthy Animals until the Wall or Sgt. AWOL or whatever his name was at the time makes the save.
WCW Hardcore Championship
Reno (c) vs. Sgt. AWOL
Reno being bald but having a ponytail was such an odd look. AWOL stayed in the ring and set up a table, but he went through it pretty quickly. Like most WCW hardcore matches, they just wailed away on each other with weapons. However, it was more entertaining than normal. Reno had a garbage can put on his head and AWOL kicked the crap out of it. It looked pretty rad. They fought up the ramp and Reno set two tables up, only to get a backdrop through both of them. Since the event is brought to you by that weird WCW Backstage Assault game, they fought in the back. The finish came back at ringside when Reno hit the Roll of the Dice on a table.
Winner and Still WCW Hardcore Champion: Reno in 10:55
Pretty enjoyable hardcore. I’ve usually liked WWE ones but the WCW hardcore division left something to be desired. Here, it was mostly entertaining though I do think it dragged on a bit too long for what they were doing. **¼
Chuck Palumbo and Shawn Stasiak run out to beat up Sgt. AWOL. That causes Chavo and Lash LeRoux to make the save. I think they were Lt. Loco and Corporal Cajun. Man, that stable had no chance.
In typical WCW fashion, there are some rapid fire backstage segments. None of it seemed important enough to discuss.
Chuck Palumbo and Shawn Stasiak vs. Corporal Cajun and Lt. Loco
Why didn’t they just stay out the post-match stuff from the last match? Nothing about this interested me or the crowd. They chanted “boring” for a bit. Chavo nearly died on a spot that saw Palumbo drop him on the ropes. Stasiak and Palumbo argued over who would go on to have the worse singles run. Stasiak would win for those unaware. The heels dominated for the most part and while they were booed at times, the crowd really seemed to not give a damn. Their arguing and dissension led to the loss when Stasiak fell to a tornado DDT from Loco.
Winners: Corporal Cajun and Lt. Loco in 9:21
This was a late addition to the card and everyone could have done without it. It was lifeless, heatless and only gets any points because it told somewhat of a story with the Palumbo and Stasiak issues. ½*
Konnan and Tygress vs. Shane Douglas and Torrie Wilson
Oh my, Torrie was dressed as Wonder Woman. Tygress started alone and kicked Douglas low. This led to her and Torrie doing some truly bad wrestling. It’s a stretch to call it that. Konnan, who took a beating earlier apparently, showed up to save Tygress. Konnan didn’t sell any effects of an earlier assault. Douglas punched Tygress, prompting Schiavone to say that it’s wrong and everyone in WCW knows it. If that’s why case, why book a match where that is legal? Tygress did her bronco buster (as Mark Madden screamed FACE FULL OF SNUFF) but Torrie pulled the referee in the way. That probably should have been a DQ. Konnan and Tygress somehow hit Douglas with a double Snuff Buster and earned the win.
Winners: Konnan and Tygress in 8:21
This was pretty terrible in every single way. Konnan and Douglas phoned it in, while Tygress and Torrie had no business wrestling. The only redeeming quality was Torrie as Wonder Woman, keeping it from DUD status. ¼*
DNA Match
Buff Bagwell vs. David Flair
Apparently, a DNA match is a First Blood match. I think. Basically, Miss Hancock, David’s girlfriend, was pregnant and he wasn’t the dad. He needed Buff’s DNA to see if he was the dad. Or something like that. Buff didn’t take David seriously for most of the match and it cost him at times. Madden said that maybe David is maturing into his dad. He’s said some dumb things before but that may top it. Buff nailed him with a chair, busting David open. The referee saw it but ignored it until after Buff hit the Blockbuster.
Winner: Buff Bagwell in 5:40
Of course. There has to be at least one DUD on every WCW 2000 show it seems. This was all kinds of bad. Buff didn’t seem to care and David was always terrible. DUD
Lex Luger shows up to raise Buff Bagwell’s hand before clotheslining him. SWERVE BRO! Even Schiavone asks “how many times is Luger gonna turn on people?” He sends Buff into the post, causing him to bleed and allowing David to steal his DNA, rendering the entire match pointless.
Three Round Kickboxing
Ernest Miller w/ Ms. Jones vs. Mike Sanders w/ Chuck Palumbo and Shawn Stasiak
How many times can you showcase the Natural Born Thrillers in one show? Cat stole the show with a straight up “boy I’m gonna whoop your ass” before the match. He had a clear advantage here but somehow doesn’t win in the first round. Madden spent the match hyping Sanders as the valiant underdog, while the other commentators kind of laugh at Sanders. In the third round, Miller nailed a cartwheel kick that nearly knocked out Sanders. Shane Douglas showed up to try and rally Sanders but he had no chance. Shane got a chain and laid out Miller behind the referee’s back, which nearly kept him down for a knockout. He laid out Sanders in sudden death twice but fought Douglas outside and got counted out.
Winner via countout: Mike Sanders
This was poorly booked, executed in even worse fashion and all around trash. Late WCW is really making me consider giving out negative stars. For now, it gets my lowest score. DUD
“That 70’s Guy” Mike Awesome vs. Vampiro
Look, I understand That 70’s Show was a popular show at the time. I really liked it. But to make a character based on it and use a talented big man like Mike Awesome is so disappointing. Vampiro came out with a damn samurai sword for some reason. Vampiro apparently had a World Title shot the following night and Vampiro goaded him into putting it on the line. Vampiro bumped like a novice throughout this. Awesome clipped himself on a dive and Vampiro did something right by safely catching him. They did some sloppy fighting in the crowd for a bit. Vampiro hit an ugly top rope belly to belly. He seemed to be very unsafe as he just looked completely careless. He also did a move off the top that I don’t even know what to call. A table was brought in, which the referee allowed and the commentators were completely confused about. Outside, an Awesome Bomb hit for two. Who made this Falls Count Anywhere? A top rope Awesome Bomb finished it inside.
Winner: Mike Awesome in 9:49
Holy crap. What the hell was that? This might be the worst three match stretch in wrestling history, with this somehow managing to be the worst. Yes, they were worse than a mixed tag with two women who were green and a poorly booked kickboxing match. This was truly one of the worst matches I can recall. DUD
WCW Canadian Championship
Lance Storm (c) and Jim Duggan w/ Major Gunns vs. Gen. Rection
You know, you can’t really make a guy a serious contender if his name is Gen. Hugh E. Rection. Storm was so hot coming into WCW and winning three belts. Now, they’d stuck him with Jim Duggan and placed him in a feud with the Misfits in Action. Wow. Stevie, Tony and then Rection all either talked through or interrupted the Canadian National Anthem. Rection used the crowd to try and overcome the numbers disadvantage. After his hot start, the heels took advantage of Rection and it lasts far too long. How did WCW manage to put on, like ten match cards that somehow all went on for too long? Major Gunns turned on Team Canada somewhat by attacking Elix Skipper, who ran down to help. Rection barely nailed a moonsault on Duggan and won.
Winner and New WCW United States Champion: Gen. Rection in 10:06
I feel like WCW ran the handicap or tag matches for singles titles angle very often. This lasted too long, was bad outside of Lance Storm’s work and had a mostly dead crowd outside of typical patriotic chants. Even Schiavone looked bored afterwards. ¼*
Jeff Jarrett vs. Sting
This couldn’t be as bad as the previous few matches right? Sting got an advantage early on until someone dressed as old school surfer Sting appeared in the aisle. I thought the fake Sting angle died with the nWo. Sting left the ring to brawl with him and took him out. The fight moved to the crowd where a second surfer Sting showed up. He looked horrendous. Sting kicked his ass and a THIRD fake Sting showed up. What the hell am I watching? The Wolfpac music hit and Wolfpac Sting showed up. Oh what the ? It finally caught up to Sting and allowed Jarrett to get in the driver’s seat. Sting rallied and applied the Scorpion Death Lock only for a fifth Sting to come up through the ring and pull him under. No worries, Sting came back up seconds later and dumped out the new Sting, who was covered in blood. The lights went out and a SIXTH Sting showed up, only to get his ass kicked too. Sting #5 made it back in and hit Sting with a guitar, but he no sold it and laid him out. Finally, Jarrett got his own guitar, with tons of shards in the ring and the referee felt that didn’t warrant a DQ.
Winner: Jeff Jarrett in 14:39
Why? Seriously, just why? This screams Vince Russo. So much overbooking nonsense. Six Stings was too way too much, it went on for the entire match and Jarrett came off looking like a complete joke. At least it was more entertaining than the last few matches in a train wreck kind of way. ½*
WCW World Heavyweight Championship
Booker T (c) vs. Scott Steiner w/ Midajah
WCW was still paying Michael Buffer too much money to do crapty introductions. Steiner attacked a production guy backstage because he was upset about not being in the main event. Booker tried to get the crowd into it early but there was next to no heat for this one. Steiner jawed with fans, even going over the railing. He hit Booker with a chair, but no DQ was called. Steiner put Booker through a table and was in firm control. So much so that he did his trademark pushups. Booker did the babyface rally but Steiner kicked out of his finish. Steiner used a pipe on Booker, but no DQ was called. He hung Charles Robinson in the tree of woe and guess what? No DQ. More referees showed up until one finally called for the DQ.
Winner via disqualification: Booker T in 13:27
So Scott Steiner didn’t want to become World Champion? They were sluggish for most of the match and this had no flow to it at all. And of course, in classic WCW fashion, the finish was extremely blah. ¾*
Goldberg vs. Kronik
So it’s a handicap match and, a storyline was in place that said Goldberg’s next loss would result in him getting fired. Kronik showed up and wanted a forfeit. At the perfect time, doctors showed up in the back to clear Goldberg. He showed up and Kronik double teamed him a bit. Never fear, Goldberg quickly rallied and speared Adams through a table. He pinned him but also had to pin Clarke, who full nelson slammed him. Again, never fear. Goldberg speared him and won via Jackhammer.
Winner: Goldberg in 3:24
Okay, so we’re just going to end the PPV with a squash match? The new streak reached 14-0 and it did so in dreadful fashion. ¼*
Overall: 1.5/10; Horrible. Oh my goodness. WCW 2000 again brings me one of the worst Pay-Per-Views of all time. Seriously, this is abysmal. It’s like WCW was purposely putting on the worst possible shows. Think about this. The first two matches combined for five and a half stars. The next nine managed two and a half and I might have been generous. Never watch this show. It is absolutely dire. My next “Random Network Review” is scheduled to be Clash of the Champions XXVII! |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Mar 30, 2016 22:41:52 GMT -5
Clash of the Champions XXVII
June 23rd, 1994 | North Charleston Coliseum in Charleston, South Carolina | Attendance: 6,700
The rare Clash of the Champions review that I pull out. This is only my fourth or fifth so far if memory serves me right. Hot off of the massive signing of Hulk Hogan, WCW was all set to make a major impact on the business. With him around now, WCW decided to unify their two World Titles and that led to a main event for this show between Sting and Ric Flair, who main evented the first ever Clash of the Champions. Of course, it was kind of a foregone conclusion that Hogan would beat the winner, which he, of course, went on to do.
While I enjoyed the simplicity of the opening video package, they pretty much telegraph the eventual Hulk Hogan/Ric Flair feud. Tony Schiavone and Bobby Heenan are the commentary team.
WCW World Tag Team Championship
Cactus Jack and Kevin Sullivan (c) w/ Dave Sullivan vs. The Nasty Boys
Due to the crazy nature of their matches, there was a second referee outside. Dave Sullivan was already playing his role of strange Hulkamaniac. This started as a pier six brawl and the crowd was pretty into it. They mostly brawled throughout. I liked that Sullivan and Cactus didn’t care for their own well-beings, with Sullivan even slamming Jack from the top into the Nasty Boys. The Nasty Boys ended up working some heat on Sullivan. Maybe it’s because I never enjoyed him but I couldn’t buy into sympathy for Sullivan. His tag to Cactus got little to no reaction. He took a rather ugly bump into the guardrail on a missed springboard back elbow. Yes, I said springboard. Back inside, Cactus rallied before Jerry Saggs went after Dave. Dave cracked him with one of his crutches, while Cactus laid out Knobbs with the double arm DDT.
Winners and Still WCW World Tag Team Champions: Cactus Jack and Kevin Sullivan in 10:37
Considering the teams involved, this needed to be a bit of a brawl and it was just that. They did about as good as expected and, for the most part, it was pretty fun. **½
Mean Gene brings out Sting for an interview. I never got WCW’s thinking on this. Guys always get their biggest pops on their first appearance, so why waste it for an interview that accomplishes nothing? It was just dumb as Sting didn’t really say anything of substance.
The Guardian Angel vs. Tax Slazenger
The Guardian Angel is what happened when WCW couldn’t use the Big Bossman gimmick. He lived by a three strike rule, so he’d only hit you after you got in three shots. They did a cheesy vignette for him before the bell. I’d never heard of Tax Slazenger but it turned out that he was Dennis Knight, or the future Mideon. They did the three strike gimmick and once Tax got in his three shots, the Guardian Angel dominated. He finished the squash with the Guardian Angel slam.
Winner: The Guardian Angel in 1:46
It was effective at establishing the new gimmick.
Hulk Hogan and Jimmy Hart get a police escort to the arena. Sheesh.
WCW Television Championship
Larry Zbyszko (c) vs. Lord Steven Regal w/ Sir William
Jesse Ventura joined the booth at this time. Regal wore a strange wig to the ring that Jesse said belonged to his great-great-great uncle over 200 years ago. I feel like there should have been more “greats” in there for 200 years. Regal laid into Larry early but Larry gave it right back, which brought the crowd to their feet. I saw big strikes, choking and even a damn piledriver within the first few minutes. They continued to just have a manly battle with hard hits and submission attempts. Larry applied a Boston crab but Sir William flipped him over, allowing Regal to sit on his shoulders, hold the ropes and escape with the title.
Winner and New WCW Television Champion: Lord Steven Regal in 9:24
I feel bad that I didn’t write a ton for that match but it’s mostly because I was really into it. This was just the kind of manly match that I’ve come to enjoy. Two guys roughing each other up in a bit of a battle with a classic heel finish. What’s not to like? ***½
Dustin Rhodes and Arn Anderson are interviewed because Arn accepts his proposal to team with him against Bunkhouse Buck and Terry Funk at Bash at the Beach. And it will be the “old” Arn Anderson.
WCW United States Championship
Steve Austin (c) vs. Johnny B. Badd
Col. Robert Parker is Austin’s manager but allows him to wrestle alone. Austin grew out the goatee and wore black trunks, which puts him near Stone Cold territory from a looks standpoint. Badd was good at playing to the crowd, while Austin knew how to draw heat. He did his best to ground Badd and take away a big aspect of his offense. Austin played the smart heel, which worked for him. The crowd popped hard for any Badd hope spots but were mostly quiet for anything else. Badd missed a top rope senton and landed flat on his back, which was probably the biggest high spot of the show. It’s WCW, so we got the old cheap finish when Austin got something from his trunks to lay out Badd and beat him. A second referee showed up, Badd rolled up Austin and won. He celebrated with the belt though he didn’t win the belt since apparently it was a DQ. None of that is actually said on camera though.
Winner via disqualification: Johnny B. Badd in 10:21
Up until that terrible finish, this was a pretty damn good outing. Both guys seemed to work hard, but Badd was the better man here. He did such a good job with his spots and getting the crowd involved. ***
Hulk Hogan makes his triumphant debut. He cuts a typical Hogan promo on the stage with Mean Gene and challenges the winner of the upcoming unification match. Ric Flair appears on the tron and yells at Hogan that he will win the match tonight. Good job telegraphing the finish to your main event.
They throw to a video of Shaq and Hogan, hyping the debut. Bobby Heenan is great as he says he thought it was Mugsy or “”Bugsy” Bogues.
Unification Match
WCW World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs. WCW International World Champion Sting
HE’S THE MAN CALLED STING! Sherri showed up early on as she was trying to choose a WCW talent to manage. She took a seat at ringside. She wore face paint, signaling that she chose Sting. By this point, Sting and Flair had a long history, including Sting’s star making turn in a 45 minute draw on the first Clash of the Champions. They did a lot of the stuff they had become famous for. Sting is too powerful and hyped up for Flair, who has to constantly regroup outside. Flair made a small comeback but when he couldn’t put Sting away and almost got pinned himself, he got frustrated and shoved the ref. I loved Heenan here. He was always so great at being biased for Flair. Commentary in general did a good job of discussing the time limit. That worked due to their past. They continued to have some close calls and the crowd was totally into the idea of Sting winning. Sting no sold some stuff, which was a staple of their past encounters. Flair pulled Sherri in the way of a Sting plancha. The referee checked on her and got in too late on a Sting backslide. Sting made the classic good guy mistake of slightly checking on Sherri, so Flair rolled him up with a handful of tights.
Winner and New WCW World Heavyweight Champion: Ric Flair in 17:16
Not quite on the level of some of their past matches, though I still found it to be a good, satisfying main event. I liked the callbacks to their history and that, if Sherri had to be out there, at least she played into the finish. ***½
Sherri enters the ring and embraces Ric Flair. IT WAS A SETUP! Flair and Sherri put the boots to Sting until Hulk Hogan runs out. He rips the shirt and Flair begs for mercy. Hogan does the same thing he’d been doing for ten years and Flair escapes.
Overall: 7/10; Good. Well that turned out to be way better than I expected. They produced five matches and three were good, one was a squash and one was okay. That equals a mostly enjoyable show. The debut of Hogan was a big deal at the time. While it helped the company grow, it also ended up hurting the product as late 1994 and 1995 were a pretty bad time for WCW. That’s neither here nor there though. If you want to pull out a Clash of the Champions that is pretty good, this is a good call. Up next on “Random Network Reviews” will be Unforgiven 1998! |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Apr 13, 2016 23:07:53 GMT -5
Unforgiven 1998
April 26th, 1998 | Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina | Attendance: 21,427
With WrestleMania XIV in the rearview mirror, the Austin Era was officially underway and the Attitude Era was in full swing. There were certainly a lot of firsts on this card. This was the first time that the scratch WWF logo was used on a PPV, it featured the first Inferno match as well as the first Evening Gown match and would actually be the first Unforgiven ever. It was also the only one to take place in the month of April.
Surprisingly, the opening video package focuses more on the Kane/Undertaker angle than the WWF Title picture. As is almost always the case in this era, Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler handle commentary. Also, the WWF blimp is in attendance.
Faarooq, Ken Shamrock and Steve Blackman vs. The Nation of Domination w/ Kama Mustafa
Kama was already starting to dress like the Godfather. The Rock had taken over as the leader of the Nation after kicking Faarooq out, so Faarooq wanted revenge. Watching him come out, still in Nation attire, to Shamrock’s theme was classic. Oh my god, Shamrock and Blackman even did the Nation salute with him. Ross was great here at reminding everyone that the Nation had the chemistry advantage. Faarooq brought out a belt and whipped D-Lo with it, which was a highlight. Rock did all of the little things throughout this that just showed you that he had loads of potential. Blackman took the heat for what seems like far too long. Faarooq got the hot tag and finally got his hands on the Rock. While everyone fought outside, Faarooq pinned Rock following the Dominator.
Winners: Faarooq, Ken Shamrock and Steve Blackman in 13:07
A bit too long though it was otherwise inoffensive. The crowd was mostly hot and the Rock was a joy to watch, making this better than it should have been. I’m also pretty sure nothing came of Faarooq pinning the IC Champion. **
The WWF Champion Steve Austin comes out and demands the timekeeper enter the ring with him. The timekeeper rang the bell early on a prior show apparently, so Austin threatens him if he does it again here. I am not a fan of promos on PPVs, but at least this was short. I do have an issue with Austin showing up here. Your first pop is your best one so why waste it here and not during the match?
WWF European Championship
Triple H (c) w/ Chyna vs. Owen Hart
Chyna got involved in the finish of their match at WrestleMania, so tonight, she was locked in a cage. The angry Owen Hart attacked Triple H on the outside, gaining some revenge before things officially started. Chyna got the old school treatment of having her cage raised high in the air. After his fast start, Owen was slowed down by HHH’s offense. Chyna got something out of her boot and seemed to be trying to file her way out of the cage. After dropping it, she managed to bend the bars because she was still very manlike at the time. Seriously, she was just getting out of Nicole Bass territory. HHH plodded through some dull offense as she got free and hung from the cage. Owen locked in the Sharpshooter just as the cage conspicuously lowered and allowed Chyna to safely hit the floor. It was that damn Road Dogg messing with the controls. The distraction was enough for the referee to miss Owen hitting HHH with a Pedigree. X-Pac ran in and laid Owen out with a fire extinguisher so the future “Game” could retain.
Winner and Still WWF European Champion: Triple H in 12:38
I liked their WrestleMania XIV match more. This one was very dull in the middle points when Triple H was on offense. He hadn’t yet mastered the right way to get in heel offense without it dragging on. The finish featured some classic Russo overbooking and not in a good way. **¼
After the match, Owen Hart is interviewed and cuts his first official “enough is enough and it’s time for a change” promo.
NWA Tag Team Championship
The New Midnight Express (c) w/ Jim Cornette vs. The Rock n’ Roll Express
Why? The New Midnight Express was “Bodacious” Bart Gunn and “Bombastic” Bob Holly, while it is the original Rock n’ Roll Express. They get the Rockers theme music. You could see fans getting up and going to the bathroom or to get food. Nobody cared about this. Even Jerry Lawler can’t bring himself to care, talking about Sable’s panties instead. They worked the kind of match you’d expect from them. Cornette got involved and, while he got what was coming to him, it still allowed his guys to retain with a bulldog. Guess what? The crowd didn’t react at all.
Winners and Still NWA Tag Team Champions: The New Midnight Express in 7:20
Oh man, that was painfully boring. The fans wanted no part of the old NWA at this time so they didn’t care. The New Midnight Express consisted of two guys with zero personality, while the Rock n’ Roll Express were way past their prime. ¾*
Evening Gown Match
Luna Vachon w/ Goldust vs. Sable
I always thought this was a weird match to book. The crowd obviously was more into Sable’s looks here so they want to see her get stripped. That means they should cheer for the heel, which kind of defeats the purpose. Luna held serve, Sable rallied and Marc Mero showed up, eventually distracting her. Luna stripped Sable and her tits looked absurdly huge here. Bigger than usual for some reason.
Winner: Luna Vachon in 2:36
Not much to write about here. I’ll give them small points for trying and having the crowd somewhat invested. ¼*
Sable, pissed that she was stripped, attacked Luna after the match. She chased her under the ring and reemerged with Luna’s bra and panties. Side note, but Sable really had no ass.
More time for promos as Vince McMahon, Gerald Brisco and Pat Patterson come out. They say nothing of importance at all. Vince promises that he isn’t there to screw Austin.
WWF Tag Team Championship
The New Age Outlaws (c) vs. LOD 2000 w/ Sunny
The Outlaws brought out “Dean Smith” but it was just a blow up doll in a UNC shirt. Get it? It’s a blow up doll. They’re edge and cool because of that. While the actual feuds between these teams had been good, the matches left a lot to be desired. This followed that pattern. Most of what the teams did was kind of just there and came off as lackluster. The crowd was totally dead but finally got into it near the end as LOD did the hot tag stuff. Gunn used the title for offense but LOD no sold it for the most part. Hawk hits a German and gets the three count. OR SO WE THOUGHT! As they celebrate with the straps, the Fink announces that the Outlaws are still the Tag Team Champions since both guys had their shoulders down at the same time.
Winners and Still WWF Tag Team Champions: The New Age Outlaws in 12:13
Holy crap, that was boring. That’s three straight matches that don’t even crack a star. LOD’s time of value had come to an end and the Outlaws were never great in the ring. ¾*
After the match, LOD 200 murder the referee with the Doomsday Device. The replay shows that Road Dogg’s shoulders were down and Hawk’s didn’t seem to be.
The recently returned Jeff Jarrett is out to perform. They’re still trying to get the country singer gimmick over. Tennessee Lee, the former Col. Robert Parker, is his manager. Jarrett performs with a band whose name I missed. Steve Blackman shows up to attack Jeff but takes a guitar to the head from Lee and then gets put in the Figure Four.
Inferno Match
Kane w/ Paul Bearer vs. The Undertaker
The visual of the ring surrounded by flames was pretty awesome. Undertaker was daring as he hit Old School and the flames shot up while he was in midair. Whoever handled the timing of that did their job well though they did get ahead of themselves a few times. Even though their matches weren’t always the best, the comparison between the two brothers was always cool. Kane sitting up was so new for the Undertaker to combat. Kane got crotched up top and I have no idea how his foot didn’t catch fire. The second rope suplex that followed was certainly a highlight. Kane got tossed outside and tried walking out but Vader showed up to stop him. They’d have a match at the next PPV. As they got near the ring, Undertaker got to do his awe-inspiring dive onto them in the coolest moment of the match. Undertaker went after Bearer, eventually hitting him with a drum from the Jarrett concert. It looked lame. Back at ringside, Undertaker hit Kane with a chair, backing him to the flames, where his arm caught fire.
Winner: The Undertaker in 15:57
I actually liked this more than their WrestleMania match. The work itself was similar but the spectacle of the first ever Inferno match added to this. Also, both guys have some serious balls to work a match like this considering a lot of their spots came close to the fire. ***
WWF Championship
Steve Austin (c) vs. Dude Love
Dude Love attacked before the bell. That set the stage for a brawl, which is exactly what this match turned out to be. The fight moved up to Jarrett concert setup again where Austin hip tossed Dude off of it and onto concrete. Can’t be a high profile Foley match without a big bump. With Austin in trouble, Mr. McMahon strolled out with his stooges. JR pretty much hates them on commentary. Vince took a seat at ringside and nodded to the timekeeper. That worked since they hyped the last time Vince sat at ringside being the infamous Survivor Series 1997. Vince just nailed everything in this match. He goaded Austin into chasing him in the aisle, giving Dude Love an opening. Dude applied an abdominal stretch and Vince shouted for the bell to be called but it didn’t. Foley wasn’t done taking bumps as Austin suplexed him outside and his legs banged into the steps. Since it’s the Attitude Era, we got a ref bump. Dude got the Mandible Claw on but Austin fought it off. Things moved outside where a chair came into play. Austin hit it into Dude’s face twice before picking it up and going to whack him with it. Vince was trying to lift Dude and ended up taking the brutal chair shot on his own. Austin nailed a Stunner on Dude inside and counted the three himself. His theme even played. However, he actually lost by DQ.
Winner via disqualification: Dude Love in 18:52
A damn good main event that played perfectly off of the red hot angle going on. Lots of back and forth, some big bumps, story advancement and some really enjoyable brawling. A worthy main event. ***¾
Overall: 3/10; Poor. Honestly, this show is kind of indicative of the Attitude Era in general. A fair amount of story advancement, a hot main event, reason to tune in the next night and a trash undercard. Everything before the final two matches is an easy skip. Hell, even the Inferno match isn’t must see. There is some novelty in seeing HHH and the Rock a few months before their star making rivalry but that’s about it. Also, the time spent on promos and the concert wasn’t really good either. Only watch the main event. Next time on “Random Network Reviews”, I take a long look at Survivor Series 2003! |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Apr 17, 2016 23:53:33 GMT -5
TNA Best of the X Division Volume 1
Recently, I found out that TNA has some of their old “Best of” collections available for free on YouTube. I owned a few of these, including the one I’m reviewing here, but they got lost when I moved a few years back. I can’t think of a better place to start than with the Best of the X Division Vol. 1. If there was one thing that defined TNA in its early years, it was the X Division. Similar to a cruiserweight division due to the high octane matches, the X Division was different because it had no weight limits. Anyone could compete and that opened the door for a variety of personalities and styles. This first set looks at a lot of the early great matches in the division.
Victory Road 2004
20 Man X Gauntlet
Alex Shelley vs. Chris Sabin vs. D-Ray 3000 vs. Frankie Kazarian vs. Hector Garza vs. Jason Cross vs. Jerrelle Clarke vs. Kazunari Nosawa vs. Kazushi Miyamoto vs. L.A. Park vs. Matt Sydal vs. Michael Shane vs. Mikey Batts vs. Psicosis vs. Puma vs. Shark Boy vs. Sonjay Dutt vs. Sonny Siaki vs. Spanky vs. The Amazing Red
Winner got a cup. No, not the kind that protects your junk. Kazarian and Dutt drew the first two numbers. This worked like a Royal Rumble and each minute, a new competitor entered. Puma was in at three. Its twelve years later and dude is still killing it at TJ Perkins. He pretty much killed Dutt with a screwdriver like move. LA Park came in next and got a nice pop since people remembered him from WCW. Clarke and Miyamoto followed to little fanfare. Lame Matt Bentley showed up, pairing up with his partner Kazarian to eliminate Clarke and Puma. Hector Garza was next and the pairing up happened again as he joined forces with his fellow luchador, LA Park. Nosawa and Batts entered next to no reaction. Nosawa looked like a Japanese Shannon Moore circa punk days. My favorite guy in the match, Alex Shelley, came in next. Matt Sydal looked about twelve as he showed up. Commentary said he had no publicity around him, which is funny since he’d become one of the most recognizable people in this match. Siaki and Cross came in shortly after as well as Psicosis. Shelley feigned an injury outside, allowing him to get rid of Sydal. What a sneaky bastard. Remember Stone Cold Shark Boy? He was joined by D-Ray 3000 as they formed the oddest tandem. The Amazing Red came out and got the “former X Division Champion” label. I swear there were like 10 of those in here. Spanky got a pop a year removed from his first WWE stint. Chris Sabin got the final spot and the crowd really came alive for him. The remaining guys all went it and took part in one of early TNA’s trademark tower of doom spots. It came down to Kazarian, Sabin and Garza. They did an insane spot where Sabin German suplexed Kazarian off the top and into Garza. Garza eliminated Sabin with a dropkick. With only two men left, it now became a one on one match. The back and forth between them proved to be pretty good. Garza missed a corkscrew moonsault and Kazarian rolled him up. Garza countered into his own pinning combination for the win.
Winner: Hector Garza in 26:25
I think this was a pretty good way to open the DVD. It showcased a lot of guys and some of the different styles that you see in the X Division. Most of the action was fun. The guys worked hard, busted out some big spots and, while this wouldn’t have been my top choice for the final two, they ended rather well. ***½
Victory Road 2004
TNA X Division Championship
Petey Williams (c) w/ Scott D’Amore vs. AJ Styles
We stayed with the same Pay-Per-View. Seeing AJ Styles at this age is strange now. The crowd was red hot for this and both guys gave them what they wanted early. Just some really fast paced back and forth. The story here was that Petey was champion but AJ defined the X Division to Petey called him out. Styles had the advantage until Scott D’Amore got involved. Petey made mistakes, like going to the well on a move one too many times, and Styles made him pay. There was a fantastic series of finisher counters near the end. Styles ended up rolling up Petey but D’Amore got on the apron and the referee stupidly stopped counting to talk to him. That came off looking idiotic. More D’Amore interference allowed Petey to block a superplex. He then dropped to the mat and instantly went into the Canadian Destroyer, retaining the gold.
Winner and Still TNA X Division Champion: Petey Williams in 9:49
Such a good match. If it wasn’t for the dumb referee spot, this would have crossed into great territory. The action was great for the time given, both guys played their roles well and they told the story they had to. Really fun stuff. ***¾
TNA iMPACT! 1/14/05
Chris Sabin vs. Christopher Daniels
The winner of this match advances to an Ultimate X match for the title at Final Resolution two nights later. Commentary informed us of a fifteen time limit. I liked that since it added to the tension. They even say that in the case of a draw, a judge (Harley Race) would determine a winner. The time limit helped them as they didn’t spend too much time chain wrestling early and moved into the more important spots quickly. Daniels was such a good, solid heel throughout this. He was considered the best guy in the division to never be champion and you got the sense that he really wanted it. Sabin got the babyface fire for his comeback but Daniels still managed to have the upper hand a bit. Sabin countered the Angel’s Wings into a pin, stealing it.
Winner: Chris Sabin in 9:11
A solid TV outing here. Both guys worked hard and had the crowd invested. Daniels looked to be in control, but made one small mistake and it cost him. I liked most of this. ***¼
Final Resolution 2005
TNA X Division Championship Ultimate X Match
Petey Williams (c) w/ Scott D’Amore vs. AJ Styles vs. Chris Sabin
Ultimate X is one of the most innovative things TNA has ever come up with. This was a fitting match for a company with this name because the action was absolutely non-stop. Styles and Sabin worked together to get their hands on the heel before turning their attention to one another. D’Amore got kicked out, which took away Petey’s big advantage. Mike Tenay wanted him deported. Kudos to AJ, who bumped like a madman for the entire duration. The camerawork in this match was a problem as they missed an AJ dive outside and a sick spot where Petey did a rana from the wires up top onto Sabin who was on AJ’s shoulders. There were honestly too many spots to list and give them their just due. There was one where they messed up. Styles and Petey were fighting by the belt and Sabin pulled Styles down before realizing that he left Petey there. Petey had to awkwardly hang there until he was hit. Sabin one upped Petey’s wire rana with one on AJ. AJ stole the show with a sweet moonsault reverse DDT before nearly dying on the infamous spot from this match. You know the one. Sabin dropkicked him off the wires and he folded, landing on the back of his neck. He also took serious arm damage, which he sold well and it cost him an opening to grab the gold. In the end, Petey and Sabin both pulled the belt down and hung from the wires, tugging at it to see who would win. Styles spring boarded in and snatched the belt from them to become the new champion.
Winner and New TNA X Division Champion: AJ Styles in 19:55
Holy crap. That was breathtaking. There were tons of jaw dropping moments from bell to bell. From the nonstop high spots to AJ’s selling of the arm to the really cool finish, there was so much to love about this. I feel like there is no better match to show someone that encapsulates what made TNA so cool in the early days. ****½
Against All Odds 2005
TNA X Division Championship Ironman Match
AJ Styles (c) vs. Christopher Daniels
This Ironman match is of the thirty minute variety. Normally, you’d expect a slow pace to start as the guys would want to pace themselves. That wasn’t the case here as Styles busted out a big dropkick and rana to the outside within the first few minutes. Everything was crisp until Styles went for a dive outside and slipped. They awkwardly stood around before AJ tried again and did a weak dive. Again, they went through minutes of really good stuff before Daniels kind of slipped on a moonsault of his own. They played the match in a way that let you know both guys were evenly matched. It had a more personal feel than some other Ironman matches since Daniels was jealous of AJ’s success. Daniels picked up the first fall, a big confidence boost, after getting his knees up on a 450 splash and hitting Angel’s Wings. That confidence showed instantly as he taunted the fans about time running out on Styles. Out of desperation, Styles started to rally with about ten minutes remaining. He came incredibly close to tying it by using Daniels’ own Angel’s Wings with about seven minutes left. From out of nowhere, Styles pulled out a rollup to tie things up. This pissed off Daniels who threw Styles outside and threw him into threw him into the post, busting AJ open. Daniels was just vicious in the final few minutes. However, Styles wouldn’t die. In an exhilarating final minute, Daniels locked in the Koji Clutch and AJ was close to passing out but time expired. He demanded sudden death, knowing he had AJ beat. Like in the match with Sabin, Daniels made one mistake. He tried a top rope rana but AJ shoved him off in the middle of the move. He followed with his own rana, rolling through for the Styles Clash to retain.
Winner and still TNA X Division Champion: AJ Styles in 31:37
Wow. This might be the best one on one match in X Division history. Ironman matches can be tricky, but this was incredible. Nearly everything they did was well executed, they didn’t overdo the falls, the final few minutes were filled with drama and again, Daniels came close but so far to winning. Styles was an excellent babyface here and the visuals of him fighting for his life with the bloodied face were top notch. Amazing work. ****½
Destination X 2005
TNA X Division Championship Ultimate X Match
AJ Styles (c) vs. Christopher Daniels vs. Elix Skipper vs. Ron Killings
Well this was certainly a different field than I was used to. There were some odd rules here. It started as a tag team match where Skipper and Daniels took on Killings and Styles. Whoever got beaten would be eliminated and then it would become a Triple Threat match and whoever survived that would compete in an Ultimate X match. Sounds like the kind of match you’d get in the later years of TNA. The tag match portion was decent. Daniels kept saving Skipper purely because he wanted the upper hand in the Triple Threat match. He got it when Skipper hit Killings with Sudden Death and eliminated him. Daniels highlighted that portion with a moonsault off of the wires onto both men. The partnership between Skipper and Daniels came to an end and allowed the match to open up a bit. AJ tried a shooting star press while hanging from the wires, which was absurd and barely worked. Skipper hit AJ with Sudden Death only to get rolled up by Daniels and sent packing. Daniels got what he wanted and that was a hurt AJ. Like in the Ironman match, we were treated to a desperate and vicious challenger. After several close calls, there was a ref bump. Styles pulled the belt down but Daniels laid him out with the Angel’s Wings and grabbed the title. The referee saw him with the gold and awarded it to him.
Winner and New TNA X Division Champion: Christopher Daniels in 25:19
Strangely booked match. The idea of three tiers was interesting, but it felt like it dragged on at points. The middle portion as probably the best part. I liked Daniels vs. AJ as always, however that finish sucked ass. I’d consider this a good match, though I was disappointed. ***
Lockdown 2005
Xscape Match
Chris Sabin vs. Michael Shane w/ Trinity vs. Shocker vs. Sonjay Dutt
Like the previous match, this was tiered. The first two eliminations are pinfall or submission and then you have to escape the cage to win. Surprisingly, this also had tags in the early stages. The first portion here saw everyone showcase their athletic ability. Guys were flying around all over the place and the cage was incorporated well. Shocker eliminated Dutt with an elbow after about ten minutes. Then, Trinity came in and stole the show from the guys involved. She did a goddamn moonsault off the top of the cage, which is really high, taking out all three men. Traci Brooks came out to get some of Trinity but Shane tossed her out of the cage before getting pinned, leaving it up to Sabin and Shocker. The winner would earn a shot at the X Division Title the following month. There wasn’t much of a match between the last two guys. They tried to exit and exchanged some shots before Shocker hit the floor first.
Winner: Shocker in 15:36
Something about this never fully clicked to make it special. Outside of Trinity’s insane spot, none of it was rather memorable. Shocker came off as decent at best. Like the last match in the set, this was good, but nowhere near great. ***¼
No Surrender 2005
AJ Styles vs. Sean Waltman
Jerry Lynn was the special referee for this thing. Early on, they went through a feeling out process and tried to see which guy was going to have the advantage. After Waltman delivered some hard elbows to break a submission, the match got more physical. Waltman drove AJ crotch first into the post to turn things in his favor. How did AJ turn it back around? By doing the same thing to Waltman in a cool bit of fair play. They built to a very good back and forth before the finish. Styles nailed the Styles Clash but Waltman became the first guy on this DVD to kick out of it. That was surprising. Styles missed the Spiral Tap before kicking out of the X-Factor. Waltman got irritated with Lynn and grabbed a steel chair. Lynn stopped him from using it. Styles tried a rollup but Waltman grabbed the ropes. Lynn kicked his hands off, allowing AJ to roll into a second Styles Clash for the win.
Winner: AJ Styles in 14:34
Better than I expected. A lot of later X-Pac stuff lacked but he looked rejuvenated here. I’m glad that Jerry Lynn didn’t play too big of a role and distract from the match. I do think that kicking Waltman’s hands at the end was a bit much though. Still, a really good match and Waltman’s best performance in years. ***½
No Surrender 2005
Chris Sabin vs. Samoa Joe
Samoa Joe was still fairly new to TNA and was undefeated up to this point with Sabin being his highest profile opponent. Sabin weathered an early storm from Joe and even got a chance to hit Cradle Shock. He couldn’t get Joe up, leading to him taking a beating. All sorts of props to Sabin for taking this beating. Joe just continued to kick his ass. Finally, Sabin started the comeback and struck with a great dropkick outside. Don West sold this as the best offense that Joe has taken so far in TNA. He failed at Cradle Shock again, so Joe kicked his ass again. Sabin was courageous as he refused to tap out while Joe switched from one submission to the other several times. Sabin mustered up the strength for a running powerbomb that got the crowd biting on a near fall. Sabin finally got Joe up for the Cradle Shock but Joe slipped free. The Muscle Buster/Coquina Clutch combo finished Sabin shortly after.
Winner: Samoa Joe in 14:04
Great way to end the DVD. Samoa Joe was a fresh face and this was one of the best possible ways to go for his first high profile match. Joe looked like a total monster and the crowd reacted to all of his offense perfectly. Sabin played the resilient babyface so well. This just clicked. ****
Overall: 9/10. One of the best collections that TNA ever put out. Considering this covered less than a year and didn’t feature one match under three stars, it tells you what the X Division was doing at the time. They were delivering in a way that the main event guys couldn’t. Check this out as the rise of a division that had potential to change a lot in wrestling. AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels and Chris Sabin starred here, while we got a taste of what Samoa Joe would become. Everything on this is good and some is truly great. |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Apr 27, 2016 16:27:15 GMT -5
Survivor Series 2003
November 16th, 2003 | American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas | Attendance: 13,487
I’ve reviewed a fair amount of Survivor Series Pay-Per-Views but this is one show that I don’t believe I’ve ever seen in full. I wasn’t ordering PPVs consistently at the time and skipped this one as only one or two matches interested me. This show features the usual traditional Survivor Series matches, an Ambulance match and even a Buried Alive match. Well damn. It was the 17th Survivor Series in history.
As usual for the time period, we got the split brand commentary teams.
Team Angle vs. Team Lesnar
Bradshaw, Chris Benoit, Hardcore Holly, John Cena and Kurt Angle vs. A-Train, WWE United States Champion Big Show, WWE Champion Brock Lesnar, Matt Morgan and Nathan Jones
WELP. HERE COMES THE PAIN! It’s as if Brock just got every big dude in the company to be on his team. Hardcore Holly attacked Brock during his entrance, leading to a brawl. Holly pushed the referee and got disqualified just as the match started. Bradshaw evened it quickly with a Clothesline from Hell on A-Train at 0:27. Rapid fire eliminations continued as Show sent Bradshaw home with a Chokeslam at 0:48. The heels began to pick apart Cena for a bit, but Benoit ended up taking a longer heat. When Angle got the hot tag, he went bonkers and eliminated Morgan with an Angle Slam at 9:11. THE STRAPS ARE DOWN! Angle made Jones tap to an Ankle Lock at 9:31, only for Brock to nail him with the F5 and get rid of him at 9:43. You don’t often see the team captain go out in the middle of the match. Even more surprising, a few minutes later, Benoit flat out made Brock tap to the Crossface at 11:43. He would go on to win the Royal Rumble in two months but that was huge. Big Show was left alone and had been on a dominant run as US Champion. A well-placed right hand with a steel chain wrapped around it allowed Cena to pin Show months before he’d take the title from him.
Winners: Team Angle (Survivors: Chris Benoit and John Cena) in 13:15
Solid opening contest here. I like Survivor Series starting with the traditional style matches. This one has a lot of energy and a hot crowd. Kurt Angle getting bumped so early was a cool surprise and the right guys survived for the winning team. ***
We get a backstage segment where Vince McMahon goes to see his son. He says that tonight, a father and a son face two brothers in separate matches. Shane doesn’t care so Vince leaves and runs into Steve Austin in the back. They slowly start to laugh for some reason, but Austin then stops and walks off.
WWE Women’s Championship
Molly Holly (c) vs. Lita
Lita had recently returned from a lengthy neck injury. Molly went after the beck and back of the challenger from the start. She really targeted it but the crowd didn’t seem to care. That was surprising considering how popular Lita was. She began a rally and scored on a pretty good powerbomb for two. She missed the big moonsault, opening the door for Molly to connect on the Molly Go Round. However, Lita got the shoulder up to the surprise of many. Like an old school heel, Molly exposed the middle turnbuckle and sent Lita face first into it to retain.
Winner and Still WWE Women’s Champion: Molly Holly in 6:48
I wanted this to be better. I like both of the women involved and the idea to work the neck was smart. Unfortunately, the crowd didn’t seem to care much and things just never really clicked. **
Ambulance Match
Kane vs. Shane McMahon
Kane unmasked in the summer and went nuts. He attacked Linda McMahon, leading to infamous “momma’s boy” Shane to return and go to war with him. Kane was rocking a towel on his head like a giant, white Taz. Shane attacked at the bell and took Kane over the top. Kane looked like he was on the way to landing on his head but somehow didn’t. He does the big diving elbow through the announce table early on and it doesn’t really get the desired reaction. Things got quite out of hand when it went backstage as Shane backed a truck into Kane. I know you hate him but vehicular homicide might be a bit much. The match moved back to the entrance and near the ambulance where they continued to brawl. Shane did the always awesome coast to coast dropkick from the top of the ambulance in another cool spot. Kane got a second wind and nailed Shane with a Tombstone on the floor before tossing Shane into the ambulance and shutting the door.
Winner: Kane in 13:34
Better than I remembered. It felt like two guys that hated each other in a big fight. Some things were a bit over the top and they relied on high spots a bunch. Even so, I found this to be a rather enjoyable fourteen minutes. **¾
Josh Matthews interviews Brock on the loss earlier. Brock says that he didn’t lose or tap out. He says that it doesn’t matter who you line up in front of him, he’d beat them all. Goldberg shows up and introduces himself, planting the first seeds for their horrific WrestleMania XX matches.
Jonathan Coachman, in a neck brace, comes to the ring to tell the fans that he is going to recover soon from a 3D he took recently. He spots Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban in the front row and decides to interview him. Cuban says that he wants to see Steve Austin kick Eric Bischoff’s ass later. He also say that all referees suck, which I don’t completely disagree with. This brings out Bischoff, who gets Cuban to step into the ring with him. Eric pushes him back so Cuban shoves him on his ass. Randy Orton appears and hits Cuban with the RKO. Odd little segment though it gave Orton more heat.
Orton meets up with Evolution and a bunch of ladies in the back. He literally stops in his tracks to allow two women to touch his nipples.
WWE Tag Team Championship
The Basham Brothers (c) w/ Shaniqua vs. Los Guerreros
I was close to being upset that I sat through three segments for a Basham Brothers match but Los Guerreros could make up for it. Still though, the BDSM Bashams were terrible. While the Guerreros started hot, the Basham Brothers quickly turned things around and surprisingly worked over Eddie for a while. Commentary sold that it had been a rough few months for Eddie. Chavo did alright with his hot tag but the crowd wasn’t feeling it. Thanks to a Shaniqua distraction, the Bashams pulled off Bella Twin magic. Pissed about it, Eddie hit her with a frog splash and Chavo spanked her. Chavo then accidentally kicked Eddie on a DDT, allowing one of the Bashams to roll him up with a handful of tights and retain.
Winners and Still WWE Tag Team Champions: The Basham Brothers in 7:31
This was pretty standard and basic. The Bashams did heel stuff, the Guerreros had some babyface fire while the crowd was only invested at certain points. They teased Eddie/Chavo tension but not much more. *¾
Team Austin (Chris Jericho, Christian, Mark Henry, Randy Orton and Scott Steiner) w/ Eric Bischoff, Stacy Keibler and Teddy Long vs. Team Austin (Booker T, the Dudley Boyz, Rob Van Dam and Shawn Michaels) w/ Steve Austin
For years I've heard tons of praise for Shawn Michaels' legendary last stand at Survivor Series 2003 and I remember it being great but I hadn't seen it since it aired live. Early on, this match followed the formula that we've come to expect from a traditional Survivor Series match most of the time. The guys that were getting eliminated early, (Scott Steiner, Mark Henry, Booker T and RVD) were given a chance to get in their stuff before going home. When it got down to a three on three match, the heels used shady tactics to send the Dudley Boyz home and leave Michaels alone. What happened next is how you expertly book the heroic comeback. Shawn took a beating and does one of the better blade jobs I can remember. When he makes his comeback, it's not done in superhuman fashion. He doesn't just shrug off the damage and start taking people out. He hit Sweet Chin Music from out of nowhere and took out Christian before using a fluke pin to get rid of Jericho. It is a desperate man on his last legs. The finish involves all kinds of shenanigans from Bischoff, Austin and then an appearance by Batista who ends up costing Shawn the match and allowing Orton to pin him.
Winners: Team Bischoff (Sole Survivor: Randy Orton) in 27:27
Like I said, this is rightfully mostly remembered for Shawn Michaels’ incredible last stand. Don’t get me wrong, the stuff before Shawn got left alone was solid too but everything after was magical. It was a masterful performance and perfectly booked, even giving the up and coming star the pin on HBK. The second best traditional Survivor Series match in my opinion. ****¼
Steve Austin comes back out and thanks the fans for everything they’ve done for him. See, with the loss, Austin is out as General Manager and commentary sells this as if it is really the end f Austin. He gives a heartfelt goodbye until Jonathan Coachman shows up singing goodbye with security. Austin beats up security and plants Coach with a Stunner. He leaves open beers in the ring before exiting.
Buried Alive Match
The Undertaker vs. Vince McMahon
Undertaker was looking rough on his way to the ring, like he really needed time away. Vince seemed to pray during his entrance and kept speaking of a “higher power”. Uh, Vince, you were the higher power dude. Don’t you remember “IT’S ME AUSTIN”? Within a minute or so, Vince was busted open in a bad way. I mean, it is a complete annihilation as Vince gets in no offense and just gushes all over the place. Undertaker dragged this out and brought Vince up to the grave. He put him in but before he could fill it with dirt, fire exploded and Kane came out. Kane put his brother into the grave, a barely conscious Vince filled it up and the American Badass died. He wouldn’t be seen again until WrestleMania, where the “Deadman” rose again.
Winner: Vince McMahon in 11:59
A completely one sided squash that made it hard to really give a big score too. Seeing Vince get his ass kicked was cool though it dragged on for too long and became boring. Points to Vince for his badass blade job. *½
World Heavyweight Championship
Goldberg (c) vs. Triple H w/ Ric Flair
Yikes, this was during Triple H’s biker shorts era. I mostly forgot about Goldberg as champion since I ignored a lot of Raw in 2003. Apparently, Goldberg had a busted ankle coming into this and it was the focal point throughout the match. Ric Flair was pretty great at ringside. Seeing Triple H attack the leg with chop blocks and such just showed you that he really studied Flair. Triple H was into all of the classic heel tropes, from outside interference to brass knuckles. He got the sledgehammer but Goldberg took it before he could do damage. Orton and Batista ran out only to get taken out by Goldberg. He decided against using the sledgehammer himself and forgot to sell the ankle as he nailed the spear and Jackhammer. The referee was down so the count was slow and HHH was sure to kick out right after three.
Winner and Still World Heavyweight Champion: Goldberg in 11:44
It was your classic WWE “babyface overcoming all of the odds” story. He had to get over his ankle, Evolution and the sledgehammer to retain. For the most part, it was a paint by numbers match. Wisely, it didn’t go too long and what they did was fine. **½
Overall: 4.5/10; Below average. There was one real standout here and that was the Team Austin vs. Team Bischoff match. The other Survivor Series tag was pretty good but the rest of the show was mediocre at best. The two McMahons vs. Brothers of Destruction matches were a mixed bag and the Tag Team Title match was boring. Make sure you see Shawn Michaels’ last stand but nothing else from this card is must see by any means. My next "Random Network Review" looks like it will be Elimination Chamber 2010! |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jul 16, 2016 8:41:24 GMT -5
Raw History
Episode #126
September 11th, 1995 | Canton Civic Center in Canton, Ohio
For the first time ever, Raw and Nitro go head to head on September 11th, 1995. The Monday Night Wars have begun. I will be reviewing these shows and seeing which one proves to be better each week. The Nitro premiere beat every episode of Raw in 1995 by a fair margin.
A recap airs from SummerSlam, mainly focusing on the Shawn Michaels/Razor Ramon Ladder match. The two big matches for tonight, British Bulldog vs. Razor Ramon and Shawn Michaels vs. Sid are hyped on the “Season Premiere”. Finally, Raw has a new intro video. It certainly has some odd music behind it but the rest of the video has the right idea. The song literally has a guy seductively singing “I like it raw”.
Oh no. After seeing how great everything WCW did last week was, the WWF opts to start with Jerry Lawler and Vince McMahon in front of a horrible green screen.
British Bulldog w/ Jim Cornette vs. Razor Ramon
It’s officially been three whole weeks since Bulldog turned heel. He’s sporting a new haircut to go along with the heel turn. Like any heel in this era, Bulldog gets sent outside and has to regroup with his manager. Bulldog does his sweet stalling vertical, but doesn’t hold it long enough to get a pop. Smart heel work. He does press slam Razor which is rather impressive. Razor starts to rally following a commercial break. Commentary plugs the upcoming Razor/Dean Douglas feud that started at SummerSlam. We get a ref bump just before Razor hits the Razor’s Edge. With no referee, Dean Douglas shows up and comes off the top with an elbow to the back of Razor’s head. The 1-2-3 Kid rushes out to even it up but gets slingshot suplexed immediately by Dean. Running powerslam from Bulldog connects and Kid comes off the top with a splash. Bulldog moves and Kid lands on Razor. The now awake referee calls for the bell.
Winner via disqualification: British Bulldog in 7:12
Outside of one or two big moves, this felt like a house show match but at least the crowd was hot. **
British Bulldog and Jim Cornette put boots to both Razor Ramon and the 1-2-3 Kid after the match. When they leave, a commercial comes and then Vince is interviewing Razor and Kid. I don’t get to enjoy or understand this segment because the always awful Jerry Lawler is talking over the entire damn segment. He’s not even saying anything relevant, he’s just being annoying. I catch enough to know that Kid is tired of being treated like a kid and says that Razor cost him a match last week. He’s tired of not getting respect and challenges Razor to a match next week. Kid says he will beat him to earn respect. After Kid leaves, Razor says that he made the Kid famous and agrees to the match.
Next week, Yokozuna and Owen Hart take on Men on a Mission.
The Smoking Gunns vs. Brooklyn Brawler and Rad Radford
I’m pretty sure Radford finds himself on PPV in a few months. For those unaware, Radford is Louie Spicoli. This goes the way you’d expect. Commentary doesn’t care about it, focusing on People Magazine instead. Sidewinder ends the Brawler.
Winners: The Smoking Gunns in 2:47
The Smoking Gunns last about another year but already feel stale at this point.
Another Goldust vignette airs. He’s wearing a golden top hat this time around.
Isaac Yankem DDS vs. Scott Taylor
Before the match, a quick recap is shown of the bad countout finish to Yankem vs. Bret Hart at SummerSlam. Both of these guys would play prominent roles on Raw in about five years, under different characters. Hell, Kane would be around for more than twenty more. Yankem dominates, trying to get some heat back after losing his debut by countout. He wins with the DDS (DDT).
Winner: Isaac Yankem in 2:15
Fine enough big man squash.
Todd Pettengill brings us the In Your House Report. I wonder when they stop doing these. The next Pay-Per-View is on September 24th. The third In Your House card is starting to take shape. The main event of In Your House: Triple Header will see WWF Champion Diesel and Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels taking on Tag Team Champions Owen Hart and Yokozuna. EVERY TITLE IS ON THE LINE! Razor Ramon goes one on one with Dean Douglas, as well as Bret Hart vs. Jean-Pierre Lafitte. Yes, since wrestling for the title at Royal Rumble, Bret has been wasted on Bob Backlund, Hakushi (though the match was awesome), Jerry Lawler, Isaac Yankem and now Jean-Pierre (though that match ends up rocking too). Bam Bam Bigelow takes on the British Bulldog and lastly, Savio Vega goes up against Waylon Mercy.
WWF Intercontinental Championship
Shawn Michaels (c) vs. Sycho Sid w/ Ted Dibiase
Wisely, this starts with Shawn Michaels playing a cat and mouse game with his larger opponent. He bobs and weaves to avoid getting caught. Shawn skins the cat and nails a dropkick but when things pick up again, Sid takes control. He sends Shawn outside and stupidly tries to take the countout win. I hate when heels do that in a title match. There’s no point. Out of a commercial, Sid is working a bearhug. Sid calls for the Powerbomb but Shawn counters with a backdrop. This is unheard of to Jerry Lawler. Time for the HBK babyface fire. He ducks a clothesline and fires off three superkicks, one to the gut and two to the face for the clean victory.
Winner and Still WWF Intercontinental Champion: Shawn Michaels in 7:24
Hey, that was surprisingly good. It didn’t reach the level that their Survivor Series 1996 does but it worked very well and both guys played to their strengths. **¾
Vince McMahon has an orgasm at ringside as Shawn Michaels strips to celebrate. After a commercial, things go backstage where Shawn meets up with Diesel. Dok Hendrix interviews them about the Triple Header match. Shawn shouts a bunch in his promo, saying that he’s righting all of the wrongs in his career, including them vacating the Tag Team Titles last year. Diesel keeps it simple, saying they are “two dudes with attitude” and “two chaps with straps”.
They do a weird preview of next week, showing clips of the upcoming Kid/Razor match. Thank god they scrap that quickly.
Overall: 5.5/10. This was a relatively fine episode. I thought the main event was solid enough and, while the opener was slow and disappointing, it at least moved things along nicely and furthered some angles. It was the middle of the show, featuring mediocre squash matches that hurt. Points to the WWF for hyping the upcoming PPV after so much time off.
Reliving Nitro
Episode #2
September 11th, 1995 | James L. Knight Center in Miami, Florida
Of course, Nitro is live. Eric Bischoff, Mongo and Bobby Heenan are in the booth again. The official Nitro set debuts here. Bischoff hypes the main event as the “Match of the Century”. I mean, it’s a big match but whoa. They recap Luger’s confrontation with Hogan from last week. They then inform us that Vader is AWOL and is off of Hogan’s team at Fall Brawl. Vader would never show up on a Nitro and heads to WWF in the next few months.
Alex Wright vs. Sabu
Sabu is making his debut and comes out to La Parka’s future theme. They start fast and Sabu quickly sends Wright outside, following with a baseball slide and front flip. Sabu opens a chair outside and tries to leap off of it but crashes into the guardrail. It’s Wright turn to shine a bit, hitting a missile dropkick. Bischoff starts discussing shows from New Japan Pro Wrestling. Wrestling was a very different place in 1995. Wright now nails a superplex before Sabu comes back with a springboard leg lariat. Wright hits a German for two shortly before Sabu wins with a victory roll. Sabu isn’t content, continuing the assault outside. He splashes Wright through the table and the decision gets reversed.
Winner via disqualification: Alex Wright in 3:59
Knowing they had four minutes, both guys tried to cram a ton of stuff into that time. They did a fine job with that and Sabu was actually not in botch mode for once. Interesting debut. **½
Mean BAH GAWD Gene is in the ring and introduces Ric Flair. Flair is in complete shout mode, bringing up memories of the Four Horsemen and hypes Luger/Hogan. Lex Luger walks out, tells Flair that he hasn’t changed a bit and then just walks back out. WHAT WAS THE POINT OF THAT? At least we got to see some dude in the crowd change the “W” part of he and his friends’ WCW sign sideways so it says ECW.
They give a small plug to Fall Brawl. Hogan’s team is down a member, now only featuring himself, Savage and Sting. They could have probably faced the Dungeon of Doom down a man and still dominated. Also, Ric Flair faces Arn Anderson.
Non-Title Match
WCW United States Champion Sting vs. VK Wallstreet
Yup, one week in and Wallstreet already has a name change. VK. LIKE VINCENT KENNEDY. GET IT? While Sting makes his entrance, Bischoff infamously spoils the Raw results for the evening since that show is pre-taped. Mongo also disses them, joking that the show is named after uncooked eggs. Sting looks motivated here but Wallstreet, even in his debut, is the same old boring ass IRS that I remember. Sting makes a rally and wins with a cross body.
Winner: Sting in 4:15
Normally, I’d be disappointed in a new guy jobbing in his debut in less than five minutes. However, it’s just Mike Rotunda. He can lose until the end of time. No wait, that means I would have to watch him for that long. *½
This Saturday, see Renegade vs. Max Muscle, Big Bubba vs. Dave Sullivan and the debut of Disco Inferno!
Randy Savage vs. Scott Norton
This came about because of their altercation last Monday. Norton attacks during Savage’s entrance. He shouts some trash talk to Mongo at the booth. Savage comes off the top with a double axe handle to the outside. Norton relentlessly goes after the lower back. Bischoff sells that Savage’s back is hurt pretty well. Norton powerbombs Savage for two. Savage continues to take a beat for a bit, making Norton look like a monster. Norton brings Savage in from the apron with a damn DDT. He goes up top, where Savage catches him and stops him. The former Earthquake, now Shark, runs out. Bischoff calls him Avalanche (another of his failed gimmicks). Savage sends Norton into him and Shark/Avalanche falls on Norton’s legs. Savage hits the elbow and, with Shark on his legs, Norton can’t kick out.
Winner: Randy Savage in 5:40
Overall, I rather enjoyed this. Scott Norton looked like a beast and Savage sold everything pretty well. The interference came off stupid, hurting the score. **¼
The rest of the Dungeon of Doom show up but Randy Savage escapes. Scott Norton gets in Shark’s face but nothing happens.
WCW World Heavyweight Championship
Hulk Hogan (c) w/ Jimmy Hart vs. Lex Luger
They basically have a battle of who’s jock is bigger, trying to outshine each other. Hogan hits a suplex but Luger no sells and pops right up. Luger gets one of his own and Hogan is instantly up. Hogan’s too much and causes Luger to bail. “Let’s face it, Luger isn’t used to this level of competition” says Bischoff. Ouch. He adds to it by saying the WWF Champion, Diesel, couldn’t make it past the midcard in WCW. He is not holding anything back. Luger applies the Torture Rack but Hogan stops the referee from ringing the bell. Luger lets go of the hold thinking he won because he’s an idiot. It’s that kind of stupidity that led to him failing in the WWF. Luger covers, Hogan kicks out and Hulks up. Hogan hits the Leg Drop but the Dungeon of Doom run in to cause the DQ.
Winner via disqualification: Hulk Hogan in 5:28
Acceptable match that is what you would expect from these two. They mostly played to their strengths and kept it short. **
The Dungeon of Doom completely ignore Lex Luger and beat on Hogan only. Sting and Randy Savage run in to make the save and get rid of the Dungeon like they’re nothing. After a commercial break, Mean Gene is in the ring with the babyfaces. Hogan wants to know why the Dungeon of Doom didn’t attack Luger. Savage is with Hogan in questioning Luger. Sting, as always, backs up his buddy. Sting wants Luger to replace Vader but Savage is against teaming up with the unknown. Savage now questions why the Dungeon also left Sting and Jimmy Hart alone. Hart is appalled at these accusations. Hogan is the deciding vote and puts Luger on the team. Luger only accepts if Hogan will give him another title shot down the line.
Overall: 5.5/10. Nowhere near the level of the fantastic premiere but still a decent episode. One thing is clear so far and that’s the fact that Nitro is hellbent on moving along quickly. Things happen at rapid fire and even on a show like this where the matches aren’t very good, the show remains entertaining. |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jul 16, 2016 8:45:59 GMT -5
Raw History
Episode #127
September 18th, 1995 | Canton Civic Center in Canton, Ohio
Still going pre-taped from Canton. Just like the weird “NEXT WEEK ON RAW” clips we got last time, this starts with a guy saying “LAST WEEK ON RAW” leading to clips from the Bulldog/Razor match. The emphasis is on the Kid/Razor angle.
The 1-2-3 Kid vs. Razor Ramon
Of course, during Kid’s entrance they take us back to Kid’s career making win over Razor Ramon two years ago. Fast start as Kid shows heel tendencies by attacking before Razor removes his jacket. It backfires because Razor ends up hitting him with a second rope fallaway slam for two. Razor just tosses Kid around and Kid is all about bumping big for him. He gets two on a Chokeslam as well. Kid comes back with a tope to the outside that earns him a near fall. He works a sleeper heading into the commercial and Razor breaks out of it as they return. That’s how you utilize a commercial break. As Razor makes the babyface comeback, they collide and it leads to a ref bump. These poor fans see Déjà vu when Dean Douglas runs out, splashes Razor off the top and sprints to the back. Kid enters the ring, drapes an arm over Razor and gets the three.
Winner: The 1-2-3 Kid in 7:11
Fine little match here that advanced two angles. One, Douglas/Razor and two, the tension between Kid and Razor. They worked at a good pace and it was an enjoyable match. **¾
An out of breath Dean Douglas takes us to his classroom for the Report Card. He gives Kid, himself and Razor grades that end up spelling out DEAN. He’s so clever.
Bob Holly and Savio Vega vs. Kama and Tatanka w/ Ted Dibiase
We see that Ted Dibiase got slopped by Henry O. Godwin on Superstars. Why is Tatanka still around? He and Kama struggle with the faces early on, unable to withstand their quick offense. Commentary really pushes the idea that Bob Holly is a hothead. Vega ends up as the face in peril. Holly does get agitated several times on the apron. It allows the heel to double team while the referee has to send Holly back. Hothead Holly gets the tag and scores on a missile dropkick. He tries a diving cross body but Kama catches him in an awkward powerslam spot. Unfortunately, Holly lands on his neck. It looks bad but it does the trick.
Winners: Kama and Tatanka in 5:50
Boring match, as expected from the Million Dollar Corporation. At least they made sure to build the “hothead” Holly stuff, so it worked in that sense. *¼
Razor Ramon responds to Dean Douglas and says that he’s going to “carve him up”.
Jean-Pierre Lafitte vs. Brian Walsh
Footage is shown of Lafitte stealing Bret Hart’s glasses and jacket over the past few weeks. Speaking of Bret, he’s on the set of Lonesome Dove and calls in to say that he didn’t know pirates really existed. He sounds so unenthused about the program. Pierre gets in almost all of the offense, winning with Le Cannonball.
Winner: Jean-Pierre Lafitte in 3:19
Decent enough squash match to promote the upcoming Hart/Lafitte match.
Non-Title Match
WWF Tag Team Champions Owen Hart and Yokozuna w/ Jim Cornette and Mr. Fuji vs. Men on a Mission
Vince McMahon nearly creams himself at the sight of Yokozuna going face to face with Mabel. They even had the ring “reinforced” beforehand. As usual, Owen does most of the work for his guys. He has the advantage against Mo, since Mo is the worst. Mabel uses his size to pound away. Even though both teams are heels, Owen ends up playing the face in peril. Lawler tries to hype Men on a Mission as former Tag Champions even though they held them for a very short time. He makes the tag and we almost get the Mabel/Yokozuna battle. Yokozuna kicks Mo’s round ass for a while. Oddly enough, Vince calls this a Thursday edition of Raw, but the airdate is listed at 9/18, which was a Monday. Anyway, now Yokozuna and Mabel slug it out. Mabel wins out with a hideous leaping clothesline. I’m being very generous by saying he leaped. Following a distraction from Jim Cornette, Yokozuna hits the leg drop on Mo and Owen gets the cover.
Winners: Owen Hart and Yokozuna in 9:06
For the time it was given and the competitors involved (sans Owen Hart), I expected this to be terrible. It was much better than I thought it would be though. Still, that’s not saying a ton. **
Backstage, Diesel and Shawn Michaels guarantee that they’ll be Tag Team Champions again. When that’s done, the heels get promo time in the ring. Wisely, Jim Cornette handles the mic work. As you would expect from Jim, he is pretty great here at hyping the main event for this Sunday.
Overall: 5/10. A middle of the pack show. The main event was a spirited effort that over delivered and the opener was a fun sprint that advanced multiple angles. I wasn’t a fan of the Million Dollar Corporation tag, but at least the Lafitte squash built towards the PPV. Not a bad way to spend 45 minutes.
WCW Fall Brawl 1995 Results
I reviewed this show a while back so I’ll give results and my star ratings.
Johnny B. Badd def. Brian Pillman in 29:59 (****)
Sgt. Craig Pittman def. Cobra in 1:33 (DUD)
WCW Television Championship: Diamond Dallas Page def. Renegade (c) in 8:07 (*¼)
WCW World Tag Team Championship: Harlem Heat def. Bunkhouse Buck & Dick Slater (c) in 16:51 (DUD)
Arn Anderson def. Ric Flair in 23:05 (****)
War Games: Hulk Hogan, Lex Luger, Randy Savage and Sting def. the Dungeon of Doom in 18:48 (¼*)
Reliving Nitro
Episode #3
September 18th, 1995 | Freedom Hall in Johnson City, Tennessee
We are just 24 hours removed from Fall Brawl, which was a mixed bag. Some horrible stuff but also two great matches. There are new Television and Tag Team Champions. Side note, at this point, in September of 1995, Hulk Hogan has been WCW Champion since July of 1994. Commentary is the usual Eric Bischoff, Bobby Heenan and Mongo combination.
To close out Fall Brawl, the Giant debuted and sent Hulk Hogan away in an ambulance. They go backstage where the Giant and the Taskmaster show up in an ambulance. Were they driving it all night? Giant cuts a promo but it’s so over the top and campy because he was still so very new to the business. They were billing him as Andre the Giant’s son at this point.
It’s supposed to be the Blue Bloods vs. the American Males in a number one contender’s match. During the Blue Bloods’ entrance, Harlem Heat attack them and decide they want to just put the titles on the line against the American Males because they are the best tag team around.
WCW World Tag Team Championship
Harlem Heat (c) w/ Sister Sherri vs. The American Males
They never fully specify if the titles are on the line because the commissioner isn’t in the building. It seems like they are, so I’ll just go with that. This starts like a brawl but quickly calms down. Nothing really happens until Booker nearly decapitates Riggs with a spin kick. During the match, Col. Robert Parker comes down. He made out with Sister Sherri last night. Sherri does a terrible job in falling off the apron right into his arms. Bagwell counters a slam and lands on top of Booker, upsetting them and stealing the win.
Winners and New WCW World Tag Team Champions: The American Males in 4:43
If you want proof that anything could and would happen on Nitro, this is an early place to look. Harlem Heat was an established team but they drop the titles less than a night after winning them back. Not the best team to take the belts and not the best match. This was more about shock value. *
Mean BAH GAWD Gene is in the ring to introduce Ric Flair. He interviews him about facing Brian Pillman later tonight. Pillman cost Flair the match against Arn Anderson last night. Flair is unhappy that Arn brought an outsider into their feud. He promises to chop Pillman so hard that other former NFL players feel it.
Johnny B. Badd vs. Paul Orndorff
Orndorff has a new gimmick where he carries around a mirror and has awful theme music. Johnny B. Badd is apparently the number one contender for the US Title after a grueling half hour contest with Brian Pillman at Fall Brawl. The fans chant “Paula” at Mr. Wonderful. They don’t do much of interest outside of a Badd pescado. Orndorff counters a backdrop into a pin and somehow wins.
Winner: Paul Orndorff in 3:45
Why? Johnny B. Badd just became the top contender for the number two belt in the company. I get that Orndorff had a new gimmick but if they really wanted to get it over, there were others he could have gone over. *½
On the set of Baywatch, Randy Savage was working out when the Taskmaster attacked him and choked him with the barbell. Ric Flair randomly appears to save him. Everything about this was absurd. The fact that it was on Baywatch, the Taskmaster being on the beach and the Flair run in. It all leads to Randy Savage being interviewed by Mean Gene. Gene is earning those checks tonight. Savage says that he didn’t ask for Flair’s help, so thanks but no thanks. He focuses on Hogan, saying he’s a bad judge of character because he got hit with a cheap shot from Luger during Wargames. He predicts that Luger, Sting and Jimmy Hart will join the Dungeon of Doom. Luger comes out to confront him. Luger claims that Savage has a personal agenda of his own, leading them to almost coming to blows.
Footage airs from right before Fall Brawl last night. Hulk Hogan was being interviewed on his motorcycle when the Giant showed up in a monster truck and ran it over. Hogan beats on the car door while Giant laughs maniacally. They then show the end of the show, where the Giant snapped Hogan’s neck. How is he alive? Also, Mongo claims that he’s seen that neck snapping spot on the football field. Sure you did Mongo.
Brian Pillman vs. Ric Flair
Both men exchange chops at the start before spilling outside. Flair is showing an aggression that fits the angle. Pillman, who was only starting to show heel tendencies in that match last night, is full on heel here. He uses the ropes for leverage and viciously attacks Flair’s arm. He even slams it on the guardrail a few times. Back inside, they trade stuff and Flair tries for the Figure Four. Pillman pulls him into an inside cradle for two. Flair finally manages to lock in the Figure Four and Pillman gives up.
Winner: Ric Flair in 5:24
I wish this got an unclean finish for a Pillman win. It would have helped Brian while also furthering the existing angle. Still, the match was solid for the time given. **½
Ric Flair gets on the microphone and says that next week, Arn Anderson will get his ass kicked.
As the show is about to go off of the air, Heenan says that something is going on in the back. Bischoff agrees, but instead of cutting to it, they promote Disco Inferno’s Nitro debut next week. Why?
Overall: 6/10. Even on weeks when the matches are disappointing, the show still manages to be entertaining. Outside of the terrible decision to have Orndorff beat Johnny B. Badd, everything moved quickly and had a purpose. They did the Tag Title switch was a cool surprise and I’m enjoying the Flair/Anderson/Pillman angle.
Raw History
Episode #128
September 25th, 1995 | Grand Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan
They recap the ending of In Your House. Owen Hart didn’t compete in the main event, but got involved. Somehow, Diesel pinned him to win the match and the belts. Earlier today, Jim Cornette brought in Clarence Mason to dispute the result. They won and now, Owen and Yokozuna are back as champions. Diesel and Shawn Michaels get a rematch and the champs have to defend the belts against another team tonight.
Marty Jannetty vs. Skip w/ Sunny
Yup, Marty Jannetty is back. Vince sells his return like it’s the greatest surprise in WWF history. Marty slips on the steps during his entrance. Tons of fast paced stuff at the start, which the crowd eats up. Marty actually looks to be on his game for this. Skip gets a hug from Sunny as he takes a breather. They go for it again but Marty ends up getting the hug. He ducks a slap from Sunny, who hits Skip. The crowd is eating all of this right up. Dean Douglas shows up to take notes in the aisle. They work through a commercial break while Skip is in charge. Jannetty starts to rally and hits the Rocker Dropper. He doesn’t go for the pin though, instead using a second rope fist drop to mark a successful return.
Winner: Marty Jannetty in 7:42
Really fun match here. The crowd was red hot and Marty Jannetty seemed rather motivated. Non-stop action leading to an enjoyable outing. ***¼
We get another recap of the Triple Header finish, as well as more footage from Cornette and Mason talking with Gorilla Monsoon to have things overturned.
WWF Tag Team Championship
Owen Hart and Yokozuna (c) w/ Jim Cornett and Mr. Fuji vs. The Smoking Gunns
This is a rematch from WrestleMania XI. For reference, Dave Meltzer gave that match **. This is joined in progress as Owen and Bart are running around. They work at a relatively quick pace but that changes once Yokozuna enters the ring. Billy tries to knock him off his feet with dropkicks. He finally does with a facebuster and the crowd comes alive. Owen tags in but takes a sunset flip for two. He hits the enziguri of death leading into the commercial break. Returning, Yokozuna slows things a bit, working his dreaded nerve hold. It’s still my least favorite wrestling move. Yokozuna misses an elbow drop, giving Billy some hope. Owen gets the tag and pulls Billy away but he makes the dramatic leap to tag Bart. I wouldn’t have done a hot tag to Bart, a man with little to no charisma. He does his big spots but Yokozuna breaks up a pin. Billy flies at him, allowing the Gunns to hit the Sidewinder. Yokozuna tries to break it up again but Bart moves and he splashes Owen. Billy sends him out and Bart gets the three.
Winners and New WWF Tag Team Champions: The Smoking Gunns in 10:16
A better outing than their WrestleMania match. Kudos to the crowd, who was hot for the second straight match. They built to a frantic finish with some drama. The title change was also a rarity to see on TV. Far better than I expected. ***
Diesel and Shawn Michaels come out to celebrate with the Smoking Gunns.
Next week, Razor Ramon vs. 1-2-3 Kid and Jean-Pierre Lafitte gets another crack at Bret Hart!
As the Smoking Gunns exit, Dok Hendrix catches up with Gorilla Monsoon in the aisle. He says that he has big news for the upcoming In Your House event. The Undertaker will take on King Mabel, Goldust makes his in-ring debut and Gorilla announces that the British Bulldog will get a WWF Title shot against Diesel! Bret Hart has also signed a deal to face the winner at Survivor Series. Lastly, Shawn Michaels will put the Intercontinental Title on the line against Dean Douglas.
British Bulldog w/ Jim Cornette vs. The Undertaker w/ Paul Bearer
I honestly don’t ever recall seeing these two wrestle at any other time. Bulldog is overwhelmed by a lot of Undertaker’s early offense. Thanks to Cornette shaking the ropes, Bulldog is able to counter Old School. I don’t know if it had a name back before it was considered Old School. Despite this Undertaker still gets in a fair amount of offense. When Bulldog finally takes over, King Mabel shows up in the aisle to watch. After a break, Waylon Mercy seems to also be watching from afar. A Mercy/Undertaker program could have been interesting. Bulldog holds serve for a bit until Undertaker stars a comeback. Bulldog hits a damn piledriver for two. Undertaker starts kicking out of everything, frustrating the Bulldog. Undertaker nails a Chokeslam so Mabel walks down and enters the ring, hitting him with a belly to belly suplex.
Winner via disqualification: The Undertaker in 7:35
Decent enough match between two of the bigger names in the company. The DQ finish was obvious given the standing of both men and their upcoming PPV matches. **¾
British Bulldog hits Undertaker with a running powerslam and Mabel leg drops him. Diesel and Shawn Michaels run out to the make save and clean house. Owen Hart and Yokozuna show up at ringside but the Smoking Gunns run in to even the score. After a commercial, Undertaker shakes hands with the guys who helped him, which seems so odd given his gimmick. Another break comes and Shawn Michaels’ theme is playing for some reason. He’s dancing in the ring, which causes Vince to gyrate behind the announce table.
Overall: 8/10. One of the better episodes of Raw that I can remember. The live atmosphere was crucial because the Grand Rapids crowd was really hot all night long. Jannetty and Skip had a really fast paced, fun opener, the Tag Team Title match was good and featured a cool title change and the main event involved two stars having a solid match. You can’t ask for much more on this show.
Reliving Nitro
Episode #4
September 25th, 1995 | Civic Center in Florence, South Carolina
Alex Wright vs. Disco Inferno
We jump right into the action with our opening contest. Wright has to be the lowest card guy to get featured more than once on Nitro so far. Disco is making his Nitro debut and even gets pyro. Disco jumps him at the bell but is sure to take time to fix his hair and dance. Wright comes back and even hits a dive to the outside. Disco seems to try a belly to belly but they mess it up and it turns into an ugly hot shot. They continue working at a relatively quick pace and as Disco went for a neckbreaker, Wright counters into a backslide for the win.
Winner: Alex Wright in 4:02
Not the best way to start to the show. While the match itself was decent, these aren’t really the guys I’d use to hook an audience in. **
Going backstage, Hulk Hogan is trying to work out in his neck brace. His regimen? To have Jimmy Hart hold the World Title on his head, while he lifts it up. Seriously. Hogan cuts a classic Hogan promo about the Giant snapping his neck. He not only challenges Giant to a WCW Title match but also to a Monster Truck contest for some reason.
Mean Gene is in the ring, showing us a clip of the Luger/Savage confrontation from last week. Randy Savage is in the ring and Lex Luger is quick to show up and confront him again. Luger is sick and tired of Savage not respecting him. A match is made for next week. Savage vs. Luger. If Luger loses, he leaves WCW.
Kurasawa w/ Col. Robert Parker vs. Sgt. Craig Pittman
Not much from the crowd here as neither guy is really what you’d consider a star. According to commentary, Kurasawa broke Road Warrior Hawk’s arm at a recent Clash of the Champions. Pittman reels off some headbutts at the start. Kurasawa exposes the concrete outside and plants Pittman on it. They end up brawling outside as Pittman slams his opponent’s head into the ring apron. Bischoff is more interested in hyping the upcoming Monster Truck Challenge. Pittman applies the Code Red armbar in the ring, causing Parker to lose his mind at ringside. Kurasawa reaches the ropes to break it and gets the win with a German suplex. It looks like Pittman got his shoulder up but I guess he didn’t.
Winner: Kurasawa in 4:27
Another pretty good match that could have been better. The outside stuff and the German were pretty cool. I wish there was more focus on arm work considering the men involved. **¼
Mean Gene interviews Arn Anderson and Brian Pillman in the ring. Pillman puts down Ric Flair a bunch, saying that he’s been pathetic since Anderson beat him at Fall Brawl. Anderson admits that Flair is one of the best ever but now it’s a tag team situation, which is Anderson’s specialty. He says that Flair can’t find a partner because he’s betrayed everyone in the past.
Kevin Sullivan w/ Zodiac vs. Randy Savage
This stems from Kevin Sullivan attacking Randy Savage on the set of Baywatch. Things start on the outside where Sullivan throws Savage into the ring post and then onto the guardrail. Savage sells this but for me, I could never buy Sullivan as a serious threat to anyone. He tosses Savage outside and continues to lay into him. Savage backdrops him and hits a double axe handle back inside. Zodiac gets on the apron and Savage kicks his ass. He gets so upset that he even lays into the referee, getting DQed.
Winner via disqualification: Kevin Sullivan in 2:59
More of an angle than a match. The match that we got wasn’t very good. ½*
Randy Savage drops the big elbow on Zodiac as the Giant walks out. Giant Chokeslams Savage and some jobbers run in to try and help out. Giant obviously handles them with ease. Alex Wright is the highest profile guy to try but also fails. Finally, Lex Luger strolls out. Sullivan smiles as Giant nails another Chokeslam. Luger stands over Savage instead of helping him. Giant attacks from behind and Chokeslams him as well.
Lex Luger vs. Meng
Meng wastes no time in attacking a vulnerable Lex Luger. While Meng pounds away, Eric Bischoff says that Hulk Hogan will be in Denver for Nitro next week. Meng spends the first few minutes just wearing down Luger. Lots of chinlocks and stuff here. Meng misses a second rope headbutt, opening the door for Luger’s rally. It’s an odd one as he gets taken down but gets right back up and stomps on Meng. Meng pulls out a spike from his boot and strikes Luger with it, stealing the win.
Winner: Meng in 6:47
A very boring affair. Meng did a ton of rest holds, while Luger’s comeback was short lived and unappealing. ¾*
Overall: 3/10. For the first time, WWF Raw completely destroys WCW Nitro in terms of quality. This was easily the worst episode of Nitro so far. When the best match of the night is a barely interesting Craig Pittman/Kurasawa match, there’s a problem. All of the Dungeon of Doom stuff in the final two matches was pretty awful too.
Raw History
Episode #129
October 2nd, 1995 | Grand Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan
The show starts with a replay of the Smoking Gunns winning the WWF Tag Team Titles last week.
1-2-3 Kid vs. Razor Ramon
Before things get started, they recap the history between Kid and Razor, focusing on Kid’s two wins, including the one in 1993. Kid lights Razor up with some kicks, getting off to a hot star. Razor nails a fallaway slam but his momentum gets stalled when Dean Douglas comes out to take notes. He walks out shortly after. Kid misses a spinning heel kick and eats a clothesline that ends things at 2:55. Kid apparently isn’t happy with that and attacks. Tim White decides this is somehow legal and formal, allowing the match to continue. They go to commercial and when they return, we find out that Razor beat him again, only for the match to continue once more. What is even happening? Razor could hit the Razor’s Edge but chooses not to, using a small package for the win instead.
Winner: Razor Ramon in 6:13
That was certainly odd. Razor got back his Raw wins against the Kid and then some. Strange match that wasn’t too good. *¼
Not done yet, Kid tries to rollup Razor after the bell again. Kid feels remorse and turns his back to Razor so Razor could attack. Razor decides against it, instead shaking Kid’s hand.
Vince and King plug the upcoming In Your House Pay-Per-View. They then hype a special hotline that you could call to tell them whether or not you believe OJ Simpson was guilty.
Barry Horowitz vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley
Less than two months ago, Horowitz got his push and even picked up a win over Skip at SummerSlam. The crowd actually chants for him and pop for his multiple flash pin attempts. Vince is unintentionally hilarious on commentary discussing the OJ trial. His bewildered response of “WHO?” when King mentions Clarence Mason is splendid. Horowitz seriously picks up about six near falls in various ways. He sets too early on a back body drop, leading to the Pedigree.
Winner: Hunter Hearst Helmsley in 5:34
That was way more fun than it had any right to be. Barry had the hot crowd firmly behind him and the near falls made it enjoyable. **
PG-13 vs. Al Brown and Sonny Rogers
This is the debut for PG-13, who are the current USWA Tag Team Champions. Vince even mentions it. They get an insert promo dissing the WWF Tag Team Champions, the Smoking Gunns. Also of note, they come out to the old Men on a Mission theme. They look alright in the ring, hitting a Russian leg sweep/dropkick double team move. They get in a majority of the offense and win after Wolfie D tilt-a-whirl slams JC Ice onto a jobber.
Winners: PG-13 in 3:42
This worked well enough as a debut.
Next week, we get a preview of Camp Cornette when Owen Hart, British Bulldog and Yokozuna take on Diesel, Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker!
Bret Hart vs. Jean-Pierre Lafitte
Lafitte reminds me of Hakushi in the way that he got a PPV match with Bret Hart and a rematch on Raw before their significant pushes ended. Seriously, where did Hakushi go? They start hot and end up fighting on the outside. It is Bret, the babyface that sends Lafitte into the steel steps. Once they are back inside, it’s time for Lafitte to take over. He has his hip toss countered but instead of going up for Bret’s hip toss, he just lays him out with a clothesline. Lafitte holds serve for a while and I like a good chunk of his offense. Bret sneaks in a small package for two but his real opening is when Lafitte misses a top rope leg drop. Back outside they go and Bret takes a MAJOR steel steps bump. He always made everything look so damn good. However, back inside and he goes into the FIVE MOVES OF DOOM. Lafitte interrupts them a bit but gets hit with a superplex. Bret finishes off the pirate with the Sharpshooter.
Winner: Bret Hart in 14:01
As always, Bret Hart puts on a solid performance. Lafitte was a good opponent for him and both of their matches were pretty good. This show could use Bret a bit more often. ***½
Jerry Lawler talked trash throughout the entire match, leading Bret to confront him afterwards. Bret kicks his ass until Isaac Yankem shows up to hit the DDS on the mat. Ugh. Thank goodness Bret is set up for a World Title match in November. This Lawler feud was never good. Bret is helped to the back and Vince announces that Bret will face Isaac Yankem in a Steel Cage in several weeks.
Before the show ends, we hear from the units in the six man tag main event. Jim Cornette and Owen Hart handle most of the talking for their team, which is good. Undertaker doesn’t fully click with the personalities of Diesel and Shawn Michaels. As Undertaker says some weird stuff, HBK reacts in pretty funny fashion.
Lastly, the OJ fan vote is in! 51% say he’s not guilty. Come on WWF fans, you’re better than that.
Overall: 6/10. A pretty good episode of Raw here. The main event was one of the better matches they we’ve seen this year. Bret was good like that. PG-13’s debut was decent and the Horowitz/Helmsley match was pretty fun for what it was. I wasn’t a fan of the opening match though, which is extra disappointing considering the men involved.
Reliving Nitro
Episode #5
October 2nd, 1995 | Denver Coliseum in Denver, Colorado
Big pyrotechnics opening and the hosts are Eric Bischoff, Bobby Heenan and Steve “Mongo” McMichael as always. Ric Flair storms into the commentary section to shout about how he’s coming for Arn Anderson. They recap some of the insanity from last week before our opening contest.
Lex Luger vs. Randy Savage
If Lex Luger loses, he will leave WCW. Commentary spends their time during the entrances crapting on the WWF. Their collar and elbow tie up takes them to the outside and they still refuse to pull apart. After a commercial break, they trade shots and the crowd is totally into everything. Savage gets two on a small package before going up for a press slam. They do a great of playing these two as equals several times. Both men are down after colliding on shoulder blocks. After some more fun, we get a ref bump leading to Savage hitting the big elbow. He covers, but of course there is no referee. The Giant shows up and enters the ring, chokeslamming Savage. Luger hoists Savage up and wins via Torture Rack.
Winner: Lex Luger in 8:32
A really solid match that turned out to be better than expected. They did a great job showing them as equals while also furthering the Dungeon of Doom angle. ***
Disco Inferno’s theme hits and he just shows up on the stage to dance. He’s not even booked. Eddie Guerrero shows up for his match, making his Nitro debut, and scolds Disco.
Dean Malenko vs. Eddie Guerrero
A few months earlier, these two had one of the best matches in ECW history as they bid farewell to that company. While these two do some good old fashioned WRESTLING, commentary talks about Hulk Hogan’s limo being nearby. Just as they start to graduate from mat work, they decide to cut to Hulk Hogan’s arrival. SERIOUSLY? YOU COULDN’T DO THIS AFTER THE MATCH? Hogan screams about the Giant for a bit. Back to the match, and they both go over the top rope. Props to Mongo, who clearly doesn’t know some of the stuff these guys are doing, but hypes it enthusiastically. Guerrero leaps off the top rope, taking out Malenko on the outside. Once back in, Eddie nails a damn Brainbuster but Malenko gets the knees up on the Frog Splash. Both guys jockey for position until Eddie blocks a rollup and scores the three.
Winner: Eddie Guerrero in 5:30
A damn fine wrestling match here. I would have ranted it higher if they didn’t have the stupid Hogan interruption. Outside of that, this was two guys doing their best to steal the show despite only having five minutes. ***¼
Mean Gene is in the ring and out comes Hulk Hogan in a neck brace. Hogan tells a story about a tiny Hulkamaniac named Jason Pittman that is getting ready for surgery who told Hogan to stand up to the Giant so he’s going to do that. Hogan leaves to high five the fans until a woman throws powder in his eyes. The “woman” comes over the rail and beats up Hogan with a cane. It’s revealed to be the Taskmaster. Giant and stupid ass Zodiac show up as well. Giant does the NECK SNAP OF DOOM on Hogan again, before the Taskmaster shaves Hogan’s mustache off. The American Males and Nasty Boys run in to try and stop it but Giant ends all of them. Apparently, there was a scheduled tag match between those teams so I’m thankful for the Giant preventing it.
Arn Anderson vs. Ric Flair
Flair wants vengeance after losing to Arn at Fall Brawl, so he starts quickly. Anderson goes after the arm but Flair lays into him with tons of chops. Arn pulls a page out of Flair’s book, raking the eyes. They end up brawling on the outside where Flair takes a back body drop. Inside, Arn is back to work on the arm. That doesn’t last long as they are back outside where Arn takes the back bump now. Inside, Flair locks in the Figure Four. Brian Pillman runs in and climbs the ropes, getting Arn disqualified before he actually does anything.
Winner via disqualification: Ric Flair in 8:17
Unlike their Fall Brawl match, this felt like two guys that didn’t put in all of the effort for the TV match. It’s as if they were killing time leading into the finish. **¼
Brian Pillman and Arn Anderson start beating up Ric Flair, who is all alone. After the final break, Bischoff announces that next week, Flair gets Arn in a Steel Cage. We also get Sabu vs. Mr. JL, Hawk vs. Big Bubba and Sting vs. Shark.
Overall: 6.5/10. This week, I’d give Nitro the slight edge over Raw. From an in-ring standpoint, this was better than Raw but it suffered from the issue of trying to do too much at times. The show is like a non-stop train wreck at times. They had a strong opener and really good second match, only to mess it up with a complete cutaway to a backstage segment. Overall though, I liked both shows this week.
Raw History
Episode #130
October 9th, 1995 | Grand Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan
The weekly Raw intro video is still odd. It’s as if they like the video but the music seems way off.
British Bulldog, Owen Hart and Yokozuna w/ Jim Cornette and Mr. Fuji vs. WWF Champion Diesel, WWF Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker w/ Paul Bearer
Well this is about as star studded as it got in 1995, though Bret Hart is missing. Things start hot as the faces clear out the heels, culminating with a double big boot by Diesel and the Undertaker. For some reason, Yokozuna also walked into the ring post outside. Maybe they wanted to sell it as him being dazed but he just looked dumb. They give us a small preview of the upcoming In Your House main event as Diesel and Bulldog go at it. Undertaker hit Old School on Yokozuna but their exchange doesn’t last long. Waylon Mercy is watching from the aisle. HBK becomes the legal man and starts to take the heat. This lasts through a break and when they return, Dean Douglas is taking notes on Michaels. Bulldog is just having his way with Shawn. He highlights the beating with the stalling vertical. Shawn finally makes the hot tag to his big buddy and the WWF Champion cleans house. However, a cheap shot from Owen allows Bulldog to nail the running powerslam on the champ. Undertaker breaks up the count, so Yokozuna just drops a leg on Diesel. Bulldog rolls over and pins Diesel.
Winners: British Bulldog, Owen Hart and Yokozuna in 16:04
Sometimes, six man tag matches work really well. This was one of those times. It had a hot start, Shawn was great as the face in peril and the finish was unexpected in a good way. Bulldog pinned Diesel and came off like an actual threat to his title reign. ***½
King Mabel shows up and, along with Yokozuna, beat up on Undertaker. The future Camp Cornette, Mabel and then Dean Douglas all attack the babyfaces. Dean even hits Shawn with a front suplex onto the steel steps. Mabel and Yokozuna continue to hit leg drops on Undertaker, one of which puts the Undertaker on the shelf until Survivor Series with a legit fractured orbital bone.
LAST WEEK ~ Bret Hart’s win over Jean-Pierre Lafitte last week before he was assaulted by Isaac Yankem is highlighted. This leads to an announcement that Bret faces Yankem inside a Steel Cage next week. They show a fair amount of the first Hart/Yankem match at SummerSlam. It’s an odd time filler as they do show a lot. If Lawler tries to interfere next week, he gets hung in a smaller cage above the ring.
Fatu vs. Skip w/ Sunny
Skip is in an odd place. He’s not a full on jobber but he doesn’t win very often. He breaks wrestling rule #1 by going after a Samoan’s head. The success rate is about as low as powerbombing Billy Kidman. A Sunny distraction fails, keeping Fatu in the driver’s seat. Skip does manage to get in some offense, ensuring this isn’t a full squash. Vince gets to call him an idiot because, like an idiot, he keeps going after Fatu’s head. Fatu went into a flurry and won with a diving headbutt.
Winner: Fatu in 5:54
A decent little sprint that could have gotten a better score if it didn’t completely make Skip look like a fool. *½
Dok Hendrix doesn’t interview the babyface team from earlier because they’re too hurt. Jim Ross interviews Jim Cornette, who is on another level of excitement. I’m talking like, he did a lot of coke levels of excitement. He hypes Diesel/Bulldog while Bulldog stands there and poses with a weird looking hat on.
After the promo, Vince and Jerry stretch the show out by hyping next week’s cage match and reminding us of the beatdown earlier.
Overall: 5/10. I wanted to like this episode way more than I did. The opening match was damn good and one of the stronger matches on TV this year. Even the Fatu/Skip match was decent enough but they didn’t seem to have enough to fill an hour. It was very obvious that they were stretching things out longer than they needed to be at times, hurting the show.
Reliving Nitro
Episode #6
October 9th, 1995 | Rosemont Horizon in Rosemont, Illinois
LAST WEEK ~ The Giant snapped Hogan’s neck and the Taskmaster shaved his mustache. The mustache part was actually the more criminal offense.
The commentary team of Eric Bischoff, Steve McMichael and Bobby Heenan are all wearing their own Bears jerseys. Brain’s has a question mark instead of a number. Sting pulls a Ric Flair and walks up to the booth to cut a promo saying that tonight he will play peacemaker between Macho Man and Lex Luger.
WCW United States Championship
Sting (c) vs. Shark
Shark is billed from tsunami. No lie. He gets the jump on Sting and body slams him, followed by an elbow and leg drop for two. Sting dodges a corner splash, hits two Stinger Splashes to the back and a cross body to already retain.
Winner and Still WCW United States Champion: Sting in 1:18
Yet another reason why nobody could take the Dungeon of Doom seriously. Their biggest guy not named the Giant just got beaten in less than 90 seconds. A bit too short to give a real rating.
RECAP ~ More footage from the Taskmaster and Giant attacking Hulk Hogan last week.
Mr. JL vs. Sabu
Sabu still has La Parka’s future theme. Mr. JL just happens to be future ECW Champion Jerry Lynn in a mask. High spots are in order almost instantly as Sabu does a front flip leg drop and a springboard leg lariat. JL comes back with a spinning forearm but is sent outside where Sabu dives out onto him. Things are moving at a very quick pace. For the first time that I’ve seen in WCW, Sabu hops off a chair for Air Sabu into the guardrail. Back inside as Mr. JL gets in control a bit. He ends up in a camel clutch but reaches the ropes. Up top, JL crotches Sabu and does the future Orton rope hung DDT, getting a near fall. JL blocks a top rope rana and leaps off the top but is caught in a powerbomb. The camel clutch finishes him off.
Winner: Sabu in 4:28
A really fun sprint. There wasn’t much selling or things like that but that’s not what it was meant to be. It was a showcase for two guys that could go at a fast pace and wow you. Having a mixture of styles is what helped make Nitro work so well early on. ***¼
Sting, Lex Luger and Mean Gene are in the ring. Sting calls out the Macho Man to settle things. Savage wants to fight Luger but Sting keeps the peace. Paranoid Savage questions why Sting hasn’t been attacked by the Giant yet. Sting calms it down a bit before saying that Luger has to face Meng, while Savage faces Kamala at Halloween Havoc. Yuck. Sting’s big idea to solve problems is that after Luger and Savage handle those clowns, they wrestle each other. Cowardly Luger is worried about wrestling two matches, so Sting calls him disgusting and says he’s not the “Total Package”. That’s what does it, as Luger accepts. Don’t you dare insult Luger’s nickname.
OUTSIDE ~ Chris Benoit arrives in a limousine. crap is about to get real in WCW. He’s rocking a near full mullet but isn’t quite on Crush levels of mullet gold.
Big Bubba vs. Road Warrior Hawk
Disco Inferno shows up to dance in the aisle before the match. When his music gets cut off so the match can start, he brings out a boom box and keeps dancing. Bubba leaves him alone but Hawk intimidates him, so Disco steals a kid’s hat and puts it on one of Hawk’s spikes. Hawk doesn’t realize until he reaches the ring. The Road Warriors are one of those classic teams that look weird in singles action. The two men go at it with Hawk powerslamming Bubba and looking to be in full control. Disco gets on the apron to dance, causing Hawk to rip his shirt. SHIRT RIPPER! He beats him up in the aisle, getting himself counted out.
Winner via countout: Big Bubba in 1:41
I didn’t give a score to the first short match so I won’t give this match one either. This was worse though and it made Hawk look like an idiot.
Mean Gene is out to bring Hulk Hogan to the ring. He comes out with no mustache and is wearing all black, including a black neck brace. Of course, Hogan has to remind us that he defeated Andre the Giant so he can beat this Giant. He challenges Giant but gets told that Giant is barred from the arena. For some reason, he starts talking about a certain wrestling promoter whose ego got too big for the wrestling business. Someone shouldn’t throw stones while living in that glass house. Somehow, this all leads to Hogan saying that he’s immortal but will somehow beat Gorgeous George in heaven. I’m so confused. The Giant tries to drive his monster truck into the arena but cops are standing in the way. Hogan goes out to greet him.
Steel Cage Match
Arn Anderson vs. Ric Flair
Double A gets the jobber entrance unfortunately. Flair lights him up early and often. As Anderson tosses him into the steel, I realize that WCW cages are about seven feet tall. If Giant was in this match, he’s dwarf the cage. During a break, Arn nearly escapes but Flair chops him and it causes him to get crotched. They do a good job of using the cage as a weapon. I’m surprised Flair hasn’t bladed yet. Brian Pillman runs out and tries to enter the cage but Flair knocks him off. He’ll be okay, it’s a really short drop. Flair tries the Figure Four but Arn levels him with a foreign object to win. Schiavone complains and wants a replay though I’m pretty sure cage matches are no DQ.
Winner: Arn Anderson in 6:42
Not really bad, though I’d certainly call it a disappointment. They played it like two guys that didn’t like each other which was good, but it was never that interesting. It felt more like two guys working a house show match, much like their stuff from last week. **¼
Crazy Ric Flair screams a ton at the announce table but the gist is that he challenges both Pillman and Anderson next week. If he can’t find a partner, he’ll go it alone.
Bobby Heenan goes on a great diatribe about how he and the wrestlers in the back are tired of the Hulkamania stuff, saying there’s only so long you can take that crap. I mean, he wasn’t wrong.
Overall: 5/10. Like Raw this week, Nitro was highlighted by one really good match. The rest of the show was alright at best. The Hogan promo was insane but it was the first glimpse into a darker Hulk. The main event Steel Cage came across as a disappointment but again, furthered an angle. The issues I had were with the two short matches since guys came off looking dumb, but they were kept short.
Raw History
Episode #131
October 16th, 1995 | Grand Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan
It’s the end of a giant taping block in Grand Rapids and the go home show before In Your House. Bret Hart, Isaac Yankem and Jerry Lawler all cut short promos about the main event before the Raw intro starts.
Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. Doink
Oh dammit. I thought I was done with Doink. Crazy how I loved him in 1993 but since the change away from Matt Osborne, he’s been terrible. Vince announces that Undertaker has a crushed face and both Mabel and Dean Douglas have been fined for their involvement in the assault last week. Doink does his cartoonish stuff for a bit before Hunter takes over. It’s a pretty dull squash that Hunter finishes off with the Pedigree. Also, Vince hypes Hunter vs. Fatu for In Your House.
Winner: Hunter Hearst Helmsley in 3:51
A nothing match that didn’t keep my interest.
Barry Horowitz is backstage trying to teach Hakushi how to be American. He wants him to say the all-time home run king, Babe Ruth. Hakushi is smarter than that and correctly says Hank Aaron. Well, there goes Hakushi down the drain.
Non-Title Match
WWF Tag Team Champions The Smoking Gunns vs. PG-13
Oh boy, you could tell this was early on in the taping block as the crowd seems to still be filing in. This may have been a dark match originally. Before the match starts, Gorilla Monsoon announces that Yokozuna will replace the Undertaker against Mabel at the PPV. The Smoking Gunns get their stuff in before PG-13 is allowed to do some of their heel tactics to gain an advantage. The outcome is never in doubt and you can tell by how the crowd reacts to this. Billy sends Wolfie into JC before Bart gets a mild tag and they win via Sidewinder.
Winners: The Smoking Gunns in 5:06
Originally, I thought this would be a squash but it was a bit more. PG-13 got to shine a bit, though this was never very good. ¾*
Next week ~ Bertha Faye vs. Alundra Blayze for the Women’s Championship.
World Tour de Force ~ Jim Cornette and British Bulldog are interviewed on a recent house show and it gets shown here. Cornette does all of the talking though none of what he says is anything special. They discuss Bulldog pinning Diesel last Monday and Dok Hendrix claims it might have only happened because of Yokozuna. Bulldog gets mad and yells some.
Vignette ~ Oh snap! It’s Ahmed Johnson! It’s less of a vignette and more just him talking. He’s already 1-1 in ineligible promos.
Dean Douglas vs. Joe Dorgan
During this match, Vince McMahon informs us of the “horrific beating” that Shawn Michaels took at a club recently. He calls it an unprovoked attack by ten individuals. Shawn calls in to say that his life is rough right now. He promises to be at In Your House no matter what. Douglas wins during the call with a fisherman’s suplex.
Winner: Dean Douglas in 2:08
The Shawn Michaels story was better than the match.
Goldust cuts a short promo on Marty Jannetty. He calls him a pretty boy, which might have been true a few trips to rehab ago.
Steel Cage Match
Bret Hart vs. Isaac Yankem
As Bret comes out, Vince wants Lawler to listen to the crowd, but they don’t sound very excited. So as I found out, this was originally a dark match that got thrown on TV for whatever reason. They go through the motions early on as you can see that neither guy is particularly motivated. Bret tries to escape but SHENANIGANS OCCUR as the referee can’t unlock the door. Lawler messed with it and caused this apparently. Bret wears down Yankem with a Sharpshooter and goes to climb over but Lawler gets up and stops him. Bret knocks him off the side of the cage into the waiting arms of Monsoon and officials. They place Lawler in the ringside cage and raise it above the ring. The match continues to plod on but Lawler is actually really funny here. He does commentary, motivates Yankem and whines about the height. He somehow gets a nosebleed despite only being about 20 feet in the air. He tosses the key to the lock on the door to Yankem. Even the cage doesn’t stop him. Bret prevents Yankem from leaving and takes the key and throws it away. Bret follows with his signature moves and climbs out.
Winner: Bret Hart in 15:34
After wasting far too much time on a feud with Jerry Lawler, Bret Hart ends it with a whimper here. As stated, I don’t give them full blame since this wasn’t meant for TV. They wrestled like it was a house show match as it was slow, plodding and flat out dull outside of Lawler’s antics. At least Bret moves into more important things coming out of this. *¼
Overall: 2/10. Yikes. This was a pretty dire episode. We hadn’t really had one of these since Nitro came around but this was rough. Putting two dark matches on the show led to no effort being shown and things dragging on. The squash matches were mostly lame too. This is one of the problems with giant taping blocks. If they wanted to compete with Nitro, they had to ditch that formula.
Reliving Nitro
Episode #7
October 16th, 1995 | Civic Center in Albany, New York
Before any action, a recap airs of WCW Pro this past weekend. Ric Flair got Sting to agree to be his tag team partner despite their rough past. Sting did draw the line in the sand, warning Flair about turning on him.
Television Champion Diamond Dallas Page comes out with the Diamond Doll. Really WCW? It took you this long to get a woman on the show? They show a clip from Saturday Night where Johnny B. Badd laid out DDP with a comically bad right hand. Badd is supposed to get a shot but DDP knocks him out with the title before things can start. He covers him and counts for himself, complete with blasting off Badd’s bazooka. The Diamond Doll does not approve.
Chris Benoit vs. Eddie Guerrero
Well hot damn. This starts with some mat work before Eddie uses his quickness to send Benoit outside. Both men are rocking some relatively sweet mullets. They go over the top awkwardly on a back suplex and both end up hitting the ring post hard shortly after. Benoit starts to target Eddie’s shoulder and everything they do looks damn good. The chops Benoit lays in are even better than the typical Flair ones. The offense Benoit uses to work the arm is great, like a hammerlock Northern lights suplex. Eddie busts out a Brainbuster but his Frog Splash fails due to Benoit getting his knees up. Bischoff claims the “C” in WCW stands for commitment to bring you the best. I’m pretty sure it means championship. Benoit hits the stiffest of powerbombs on Eddie for two. Eddie counters his next move but still ends up in a dragon suplex that ends it.
Winner: Chris Benoit in 8:39
Put these two in the ring and you’re almost always guaranteed something good. They would have better matches down the line but this rocked. It also felt much different from everything else on Monday nights. ***½
Eric Bischoff announces that WCW may be introducing a cruiserweight division. He throws it to Mean Gene who plugs the WCW hotline, which is full of WWF gossip. Apparently, a WWF Superstar got into a fight with a fan…AND LOST! See, WWF is where the little boys play. The Giant and the Taskmaster come out for the interview. They say nothing of interest and just promote the upcoming WCW Title match. It’s the most basic match hype you could do.
Jim Duggan vs. Meng
Bischoff promotes this as a barnburner. Disco Inferno shows up to do his weekly dancing. Meng interrupts for the match and is wearing the strangest headgear. I’m confused as to what it’s supposed to be. Duggan is way over. Meng attacks from behind and gets the jump. They slug it out for the majority of the match. Duggan gives me a Frank Gallagher, of Shameless fame, vibe. Meng hits a superkick and wins with the Asian spike.
Winner: Meng in 1:53
Too short to really give a fair rating too. It was fine to get Meng a win heading into his PPV match with Luger
Hulk Hogan, dressed in all black and even with a black logo in the background, cuts a promo in front of a green screen. He says the Giant has never looked him in the eyes. “I can stop a dolphin in his tracks”. Umm, what? He also has to throw a jab at Vince, saying Hulkamania is bigger than other promoter’s entire companies.
Arn Anderson and Brian Pillman vs. Ric Flair and Sting
Ric Flair goes at it all by himself at the start since Sting isn’t apparently there. The crowd is 100% into everything Flair does. Though he’s a better heel, he was working the face stuff here. His strut gets a big reaction. As the heels take advantage, Sting shows up and the crowd loses their minds. They hype it on commentary as Flair earning Sting’s respect. The pop for Sting’s hot tag is nuts. He lays into both opponents and hits a flapjack on Pillman. He continues to just lay into both guys and sends them outside, where they get counted out.
Winners via countout: Ric Flair and Sting in 7:03
A really fun sprint with a very hot crowd, but a bit of anti-climactic finish. It did make sense in the grand scheme of things considering the next stage of the feud. ***
Mean Gene interviews the winners and Sting says that he thinks Ric Flair is a changed man. They will team again against Anderson and Pillman at Halloween Havoc.
Overall: 7.5/10. Well that was a really fun hour of wrestling. The main event had one of the hotter crowds I’ve seen in any of these 1995 shows. It also did a good job of setting up a future angle. Benoit and Guerrero were their usual great selves and it worked as a great way to introduce Benoit. The Meng squash and DDP segment were fine as well.
Raw Rating: 2.6 Nitro Rating: 2.2
In Your House: Great White North Results
Hunter Hearst Helmsley def. Fatu
The Smoking Gunns def. Razor Ramon and the 1-2-3 Kid to retain the Tag Team Titles
Goldust def. Marty Jannetty
King Mabel and Yokozuna wrestled to a double countout
Razor Ramon def. Dean Douglas to win the Intercontinental Title
British Bulldog def. Diesel via DQ. Diesel retains WWF Title
Raw History
Episode #132
October 23rd, 1995 | Brandon, Manitoba, Canada
We are live, 24 hours removed from the fourth In Your House Pay-Per-View. Things start with a clip of Diesel brawling with Bret Hart from that show and we’ll find out why later.
Number One Contender’s Battle Royal
The winner of this twenty man battle royal gets an Intercontinental Title shot next week. Last night, Dean Douglas won the belt via forfeit as Shawn Michaels had to give it up. He then lost it within ten minutes to Razor Ramon. The participants here are the 1-2-3 Kid, Aldo Montoya, Bam Bam Bigelow, Barry Horowitz, Bob Holly, Duke Droese, Fatu, Hakushi, Henry Godwin, HHH, Isaac Yankem, Jean-Pierre Lafitte, Kama, King Kong Bundy, Marty Jannetty, Owen Hart, Rad Radford, Sid and Skip. Only Sid, Jannetty and Yankem get on screen entrances. Surprisingly, Bundy goes out first as guys gang up on him. His time with the company would be ending soon. I’m not going to pick apart each elimination here. Poor Hakushi did fall so far that he got eliminated by Skip of all people. Eventually, things thin out to Bigelow, Sid, Lafitte, Hart, Jannetty and Vega. From there, it got even thinner and comes down to Owen and Marty. They have some decent back and forth, making me want a singles match between them. Owen does some fantastic elimination teases but hangs on a ton of times. Marty ends up going out through the middle ropes. He chases Jim Cornette out there until Bulldog shows up and beats him up. They roll him inside as easy pickings, but Marty is resilient, only to get launched over the top.
Winner: Owen Hart in 14:51
This was your standard battle royal for the most part. The first two-thirds are rather dull but Marty and especially Owen, worked hard to make the ending fun and save things. **½
Jerry Lawler interviews Owen Hart after the match. He says that he just proved he was the best in the WWF and promises to win the title. Why? Because he’s the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be.
SURVIVOR SERIES SLAM JAM ~ This is just a fancy new name for the Survivor Series Report. It’s presented by Karate Fighters and hosted by the ridiculously over the top Dok Hendrix. Before he does this, we get the recap of Bret Hart trying to help Diesel last night, only to get him DQed, leading to the brawl. Dok reminds us of Bret vs. Diesel for the Survivor Series. He then announces the Wild Card match. Shawn Michaels, Sid, British Bulldog and Ahmed Johnson will team up against Razor Ramon, Dean Douglas, Yokozuna and Owen Hart. Strange bedfellows indeed. In the middle of this, we see Bob Backlund campaigning in the crowd. We’re also treated to an Ahmed Johnson promo. Gotta love those.
Avatar vs. Brian Walsh
Avatar is Al Snow as a ninja. Not just any ninja, but a ninja in green, yellow and red. He walks to the ring calmly and then puts on his mask. Once that’s on, he starts warming up. It’s weird. The crowd is absurdly quiet during this, despite Avatar trying to fly around. He wins with a moonsault and nobody cares.
Winner: Avatar in 2:32
Nobody gave a damn, Avatar was sloppy and the gimmick was dead in the water. It had to be because of the Karate Fighters sponsorship right?
WWF Women’s Championship
Bertha Faye (c) w/ Harvey Wippleman vs. Alundra Blayze
The Bertha character was pretty atrocious. She uses her power for an early upper hand. Commentary doesn’t care about the match, choosing to discuss Bertha’s weight instead. Lawler says she’s a pound or two overweight, which Vince finds to be preposterous. After a break, Blayze finally seems to have some control. During the break, Bertha hit the powerbomb that beat Blayze for the belt at SummerSlam. Why waste that spot there? Blayze kicking out of it should have been a bigger deal. Blayze reels off some offense and finishes Bertha with a bridging German.
Winner and New WWF Women’s Champion: Alundra Blayze in 6:44
Well that wasn’t very good. They did the David vs. Goliath stuff alright but throwing away the powerbomb spot was dumb. That killed something that could have worked well. Bertha wasn’t very good and Blayze wasn’t very motivated. She’d be heading to WCW soon to dump the Women’s Title in the trash. *¼
Bertha Faye blames Harvey Wippleman for the loss and chases him to the back.
Before the show ends, Jim Ross conducts a sit down interview with Shawn Michaels. Michaels is still sporting the two black eyes from the attack by the 20 or so marines or whatever the story calls for these days. Shawn talks about giving up the title and says it was the hardest thing he’s ever done. He calls Dean Douglas overrated and undeserving. Shots fired.
Overall: 3/10. I thought the battle royal was about as good as expected but the rest of the show was pretty rough. The Women’s Title match sucked and Avatar blew massive chunks in his debut. The slight build for some stuff heading into Survivor Series was pretty good at least.
Reliving Nitro
Episode #8
October 23rd, 1995 | Von Braun Civic Center in Huntsville, Alabama
Our usual hosts handle things.
Kurasawa w/ Col. Robert Parker vs. Randy Savage
Right into the action tonight. Commentary informs us that Savage enters with a bad arm, which plays into Kurasawa’s finish. Kurasawa attacks instantly and just lays into Savage with kicks. For those unaware, Kurasawa is Manabu Nakanishi, who is still wrestling 21 years later in NJPW. Kurasawa completely dominates, getting in almost all of the offense. They go to break and return with Kurasawa still in control. He misses a kick and hits the ring post instead, opening the door for Savage. Though he sells the elbow well, Savage uses the other one for the finish, so he hits it and that’s all.
Winner: Randy Savage in 6:05
Not terrible or anything. I wouldn’t say it was good though. Kurasawa did stuff, Savage sold and then he powered up for the finish. Basic. *
As commentary discusses the match, the lights go out. The gatekeeper of the Dungeon of Doom appears and shouts about nonsense. He does say that the insurance package to end Hulkamania is here. Wait. I thought that was the Giant. Anyway, a giant block of “ice” rises up while this dude continues to incoherently shout. To try and clear things up, Mean Gene is with the Taskmaster and the Giant. The Taskmaster doesn’t explain it much better but apparently, there is a goddamn Yeti in there.
After a break, Mean Gene interviews Hulk Hogan, who is still dressed in all black. Hogan rambles a ton. His WCW promos were pretty damn rough. Hogan says he might keep the black attire because everyone knows what a man in black gloves and a black rag can do. Wow. Hogan ends the promo by saying that he trusts no one.
Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko vs. Eddie Guerrero and Mr. JL w/ Alex Wright
Well this has potential. Originally, Alex Wright was to compete but he has a bad knee, so JL is filling in. Benoit and Guerrero start things off and it’s as fun as you’d expect. They just always clicked. Things stay at the quick pace when Malenko comes in. Eddie launches a JL kick into Dean’s chest in the corner. As we’re enjoying this match, we get a horrible split screen so we can watch Scott Norton brawl with the Shark backstage. Seriously? They’re fighting because Shark cost Norton a match with Savage a month ago. Why interrupt this? They go to break and when they return, Malenko is working over JL. He and Benoit double headbutt the masked man. Benoit hits what might have been the stiffest back suplex I’ve ever seen. JL continues to take a beating until he finally makes the hot tag to Eddie. The crowd reacts pretty well to it actually. He dropkicks both opponents before taking both over with a simultaneous arm drag and head scissors. Guerrero and Benoit both go over the top shortly after in a bit of a sloppy moment. Wright uses a crutch to trip up Malenko and allow JL to victory roll him for the 1-2-3.
Winners: Eddie Guerrero and Mr. JL in 9:09
I was hoping for more from the guys involved, but this still delivered. The interference from babyface Wright was unexpected and I wonder if it led anywhere. Still, a fun tag team sprint involving four talented guys. ***
Brian Pillman shows up after the match and DDTs Eddie Guerrero in the aisle. He laughs at the camera and heads off while Wright and JL check on Eddie.
Harlem Heat w/ Sister Sherri vs. Lex Luger and Sting
The commentary team has jokes, calling WWF’s In Your House PPV from a night earlier “In Your Outhouse”. Oh, they’re so funny. Sting’s red and yellow gear is apparently in honor of Hogan, but he looks like the Owen Hart to Harlem Heat’s Nation of Domination if that makes sense. Sting starts hot but when Luger comes in, Harlem Heat works him over. I’d build the hot tag to Luger. Sting is more popular, but Luger sells like crap. Sherri spends the match pulling Polaroids of her and Col. Robert Parker out of her skirt. That’s certainly an odd place to keep them. Sting gets the tag and does his thing, reeling off some Stinger splashes. While Stevie Ray stops a Scorpion Death Lock, Sting finds a way to hit a flying clothesline and earn the win.
Winners: Lex Luger and Sting in 7:39
Nothing about this was particularly good. It felt like they were working at a house show pace. Harlem Heat had some real stinkers in this era. *½
After the match, the Giant and Taskmaster show up. Giant Chokeslams both Luger and Sting. Randy Savage runs in but Hulk Hogan is here. Hogan gets the Giant’s attention. Hogan wants Savage to leave him be. THE NECK BRACE IS OFF, HOGAN IS READY! Hogan’s shots have no effect and Giant clubs him to the ground. HULK UP TIME! Now Hogan has an effect but the Dungeon of Doom all comes out. Hogan and Savage fight them off pretty easily. Security tries to keep things apart. Lights flicker and the block of ice explodes. Out comes the damn YE-TAYY as Tony Schiavone calls him. The show ends right there.
Overall: 4/10. The only reason this is getting a better score than Raw is because of the tag team match in the middle of the card. Other than that, this was pretty dreadful. The first and last matches were both not very good. Then there’s the Yeti stuff. The Dungeon of Doom was already a bad, cheesy gimmick and this just made it way worse. Also, they built up Hogan/Giant (though I wouldn’t have had Hogan get in so much offense on him before the match) but almost nothing else for Halloween Havoc has been promoted.
Raw Rating: 2.2
Nitro Rating: 2.6 |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jul 16, 2016 8:48:55 GMT -5
Raw History
Episode #133
October 30th, 1995 | Brandon, Manitoba, Canada
Todd Pettengil does a lame voiceover for the opening. He’s trying to sound like the Count from Sesame Street since it’s nearly Halloween. At ringside, Vince McMahon is dressed like a prisoner while Jerry Lawler is a surgeon. Since this was pre-recorded, I wonder what the fans though of the outfits.
Goldust vs. Savio Vega
This is the television debut for Goldust. He gets the jump on Savio before things officially get started. Goldust does a lot of slow offense to wear down Savio. Commentary is actually interested in this, really putting Goldust over. They work through a commercial, where Goldust continues to hold serve. Savio gets some babyface fire but it doesn’t last long. Goldust’s attire gives us a clear shot of something I don’t really want to look at. Vega misses a charge in the corner and hits the turnbuckle, allowing Goldust to roll him up.
Winner: Goldust in 5:47
Weak debut for Goldust. The match was boring and, outside of Goldust’s character being so different, I wouldn’t care about seeing him anymore. Also, I know Savio is somewhat established, but that finish sucked ass and did nothing for Goldust. *
Survivor Series Slam Jam ~ Dok Hendrix, seemingly coked up, brings us some news. The Bret Hart/Diesel WWF Championship match at Survivor Series will now be held under no DQ, no countout and no time limit rules!
Hakushi and Barry Horowitz play Karate Fighters in the back. We’d see a fair amount of shameless Karate Fighters plugs for a while if I remember right.
Marty Jannetty vs. Joe Dorgan
Marty still seems like he’s stuck in the 80’s, though to be fair, that kind of defines his entire career. Not much to write about here as Jannetty gets his stuff in. He’s an underdog babyface usually, so he gives Dorgan a few shots but nothing serious. Marty wins with the fist drop.
Winner: Marty Jannetty in 2:43
Basic squash to help re-establish Jannetty.
Next week ~ Former enemies team up as Bret Hart aligns himself with Hakushi to take on Isaac Yankem and Jerry Lawler. Also, British Bulldog faces Marty Jannetty.
Speaking of the British Bulldog, he and Jim Cornette are out for an in-ring interview with Vince McMahon. They also have Clarence Mason with them. They’re upset because Gorilla Monsoon said the winner of Diesel/Bulldog would face Bret Hart at Survivor Series. Though he didn’t win the title, Bulldog actually won the match so he should face Bret. Mason basically repeats what Cornette says. They demand that Bulldog gets a match with Bret Hart since he cost him the WWF Title and are upset about the upcoming Wild Card match at Survivor Series. Bulldog finally gets around to calling out Jannetty, who runs out and cleans house. Man, between the battle royal, the squash, this segment and next week’s match, Brandon was subjected to a lot of Marty.
Non-Title Match
WWF Tag Team Champions The Smoking Gunns vs. Phil Apollo and John Rashner
This is your standard Smoking Gunns fare. The most important thing is they speak to 1-2-3 Kid in the back and he apologizes for his behavior at the PPV (he threw a temper tantrum after losing). He still comes off as kind of arrogant, saying the Gunns should give them a rematch and they better do it soon. Sidewinder finishes this.
Winners: The Smoking Gunns in 2:51
Like the Jannetty squash earlier, this was typical and nothing more.
Bret Hart cuts a promo backstage, saying that in his only prior shot at the title, neither guy won. He claims that the new stipulations play in his favor. Bret was never an amazing promo but he always got the point across and everything seemed real when he spoke. I like it.
WWF Intercontinental Championship
Razor Ramon (c) vs. Owen Hart w/ Jim Cornette
There was talk of a shoving match between the two earlier, so Razor charges to the ring and instantly sends Owen packing. Razor stays hot and is in control for a good chunk of the early goings. Yokozuna waddles out to the ring with Mr. Fuji, causing Razor to release a hold as a commercial break comes. Jim Cornette took a right hand off the apron, which he hilariously sells as he complains to Yokozuna. Even after the break, Razor still has the advantage. A look at “during the break” shows that Owen had an opening, but got cocky and it cost him. Owen finally takes over with a spinning heel kick. He gets two on an elbow drop as the match goes through a second commercial break. Now it is time for the Razor comeback, which sees him try the Razor’s Edge only for Yokozuna to run in and cause the DQ.
Winner via disqualification: Razor Ramon in 15:01
There was certainly some potential here but the match had a few breaks and some outside stuff that took away from it. Neither guy seemed to working at a must see pace either. **¼
The 1-2-3 Kid shows up to help Razor, but ends up getting squished by Yokozuna. Ahmed Johnson makes his first official in-ring appearance on Raw and body slams Yokozuna. Remember when that was a big deal when Lex Luger did it? That’s how the show ends.
Overall: 4/10. With the Survivor Series still a few weeks away, the build for the show hasn’t fully taken off. The main event match was a disappointment, as was Goldust’s debut. The two squash matches were inoffensive. Also, Ahmed Johnson’s appearance and body slam of Yokozuna was pretty well done.
WCW Halloween Havoc 1995 Results
Johnny B. Badd def. DDP to win the WCW Television Championship
Randy Savage def. Zodiac
Kurasawa def. Hawk
Sabu def. Mr. JL
Lex Luger def. Meng via disqualification
Sting and Ric Flair def. Arn Anderson and Brian Pillman via disqualification (Flair turned on Sting)
Randy Savage def. Lex Luger
The Giant def. Hulk Hogan via disqualification but still becomes WCW Champion. (Yeti got involved and Luger turned heel)
Reliving Nitro
Episode #9
October 30th, 1995 | Hara Arena in Dayton, Ohio
We go right into the weekly opening despite coming off the heels of an eventful show. A mostly bad show, but eventful.
Eddie Guerrero vs. Sgt. Craig Pittman
Pittman seems to want to ground Guerrero early since he’s known as a high flyer, but Pittman must be unaware that Eddie can do his thing on the mat too. Guerrero is clearly not only the better guy but he’s also been booked as a bigger star lately. Despite this, commentary tries selling a possible Eddie win as an upset. When he actually does pull Pittman into a rollup for three, they explode like this was unheard of.
Winner: Eddie Guerrero in 5:32
Fine little match here at best. Nothing special but not anything bad. Selling it an upset was strange though. *½
September 11th ~ We are taken back to this date to see Shark cost Scott Norton a match with Randy Savage. Last week, Norton finally figured out what happened and attacked Shark. Why it took so long? We will never know.
Scott Norton vs. Shark
If you only watched the first two episodes of Nitro, you’d think Norton was a big star. Since then, I don’t believe he’s been featured outside of the shoving match with Shark last week. They work your standard hoss battle. Norton is clearly the better guy here as Shark was way past a prime that was never really good to begin with. Bobby Heenan left commentary before this and we see him dining with Sonny Ono. The two guys brawl outside and both get counted out.
Double countout in 2:47
I don’t get it. Why protect Shark at all? Norton should have ran right through him. ¼*
After recapping the events of last night where Ric Flair turned on Sting, Tony Schiavone brings out Flair, Arn Anderson and Brian Pillman for an interview. They’re all throwing up the Four Horsemen sign. Wait, this is Schiavone’s Nitro debut. Good for him. Arn speaks, putting over Sting for his toughness at first, but then saying that there will soon be a fourth member. Ric does a lot of strutting and yelling. Pillman looks to be having the time of his life.
Disco Inferno vs. Sabu
This is one of the stranger pairings in a match you’ll ever see. Disco comes out hot surprisingly and tosses Sabu around. Then he dances in between moves. He ends up missing a corner charge and eats a slingshot leg drop that ends it.
Winner: Sabu in 2:27
Another short match that didn’t do much. Disco got in a fair amount of offense and Sabu only seemed to win on a fluke. *
Sabu attacks after the match and botches. He brings out a table and tries to somersault leg drop through it. Disco moves and Sabu crashes on the table, which doesn’t break. Sabu would leave back to ECW, making this his final Nitro appearance.
The American Males vs. Lex Luger and Meng w/ Jimmy Hart and Kevin Sullivan
I forgot that Jimmy Hart also turned heel at the PPV. American Males have a terrible theme. Weren’t they just Tag Team Champions? Whatever. They go to commercial early on in the match. Returning. Luger takes a bit of a beating. It’s surprising to see how much offense American Males are getting. Luger doesn’t seem to give a damn, barely bumping on a back body drop. Finally, the Dungeon gets on the offensive and Luger wins with the Torture Rack after a Jimmy Hart distraction.
Winners: Lex Luger and Meng in 6:42
None of that was interesting. The tandem of Luger and Meng did not connect at all, they didn’t look like a dominant team at all and this was a dull, poorly executed extended squash. ½*
Finally, we are taken to the exclusive footage from the PPV last night. So whoever paid for the show probably feels cheated. Jimmy Hart hit the referee as Hogan had the Giant beaten. He then nailed Hogan, freeing up the Giant. As Giant applied a bearhug, Luger and Savage showed up, followed by the YE-TAY! Luger then stomped out Savage, which the cameras nearly missed. The YE-TAY also put a bearhug on Hogan so basically, Hogan was the meat in a man sandwich. It looked so weird. Luger put Hogan in a Torture Rack while the YE-TAY walked around the ring like a mummy before giving up on that.
In the ring, Tony Schiavone (getting all of the TV time tonight) interviews Jimmy Hart, Lex Luger, Kevin Sullivan and the Giant. They all talk about how great it was to see Hogan laying in a pathetic heap. Giant says that he’ll defend the belt next week against anyone.
Overall: 2.5/10. What the hell happened to Nitro? The show started out hot in the first few weeks but has really started to fall. This has been rock bottom so far for the program. This show had no good matches. Seriously, the opener was the highest rated and it came in at *½. That’s not good. A lot of big stars (Sting, Savage, Hogan) were missing and the show felt like complete filler. At least Ric Flair was fun.
Raw Rating: 2.1
Nitro Rating: 2.3
Raw History
Episode #134
November 6th, 1995 | Brandon, Manitoba, Canada
It’s time for the third of four shows in a huge block of tapings. I’m so glad they move away from this format soon. Things open by showing Ahmed Johnson slam Yokozuna. He went “obscurity to the stuff legends are made of.” Lex Luger was the only guy I remember slamming Yokozuna and it didn’t quite make him a legend. They also showed clips from the upcoming episode which I still dislike.
Since Jerry Lawler is in action tonight, Vince McMahon’s co-host here is Dok Hendrix.
British Bulldog w/ Jim Cornette vs. Marty Jannetty
Bit of a clash of styles here. Marty is still more over than I think he should be. During the match, they go split screen with Clarence Mason, who says that he has used his legal savvy to set up another British Bulldog WWF Title shot. He will meet the winner of Diesel/Bret Hart at the December In Your House. Bulldog nails his stalling vertical and holds serve due to his power. They make it through one commercial break, with Bulldog working a chinlock as they return. Marty starts the comeback with the same offense he’s had since the 80’s, coming close on a near fall where Bulldog got his foot on the bottom rope. He misses a corner charge and hits the ring post. Bulldog plants him with the running powerslam to win.
Winner: British Bulldog in 9:31
Decent little start to the show. Marty Jannetty got in his stuff and had the crowd invested, while Bulldog looked like a powerhouse and picked up the clear win. **¼
We get pre-recorded words from a fake Bill Clinton. He will actually be at Survivor Series. Oh joy.
Dok Hendrix interviews Jim Cornette at ringside. He just hypes the Wild Card match.
Backstage, Barry Horowitz is talking strategy with Bret Hart and Hakushi. Why? What could he tell them that would help? Both guys are more successful.
SUPERSTARS ~ This past weekend, Goldust was being interviewed by Jerry Lawler. For some reason, Bam Bam Bigelow interrupted and challenged Goldust to a match at any time. It is going to happen at Survivor Series.
Henry O. Godwin vs. Terry Richards
Terry Richards would go on to have a much better career than HOG down the line as Rhino. He’s just nineteen here. Most of commentary talks about Hunter Hearst Helmsley potentially getting slopped. Godwin wins with the Slop Drop.
Winner: Henry O. Godwin in 2:06
About what you’d expect from a Godwin squash.
Hunter Hearst Helmsley shows up and nails Henry from behind. He then puts on gloves and pours the slop bucket onto him. I love the little addition of the gloves since he wouldn’t dare touch the bucket.
SURVIVOR SERIES SLAM JAM ~ Todd Pettengil is back to hosting these things. Outside of Goldust/Bigelow, the only other new thing announced is the Darkside taking on the Royals. The Royals have King Mabel, Jerry Lawler, HHH and Isaac Yankem, while the Darkside consists of the Undertaker, Fatu, Savio Vega and Henry Godwin. What a weird team.
Kama w/ Ted Dibiase vs. Tony Roy
Oh crap. I thought we were done with the Million Dollar Corporation. Shawn Michaels calls in to plug the Wild Card match because nobody gives a damn about Kama. Kama wins by knocking out Roy.
Winner: Kama in 3:12
Too long for Kama
NEXT WEEK ~ Razor Ramon defends the Intercontinental Title against Sid! The 1-2-3 Kid will be the special referee and the title can change hands on a countout or disqualification.
Bret Hart and Hakushi w/ Barry Horowitz vs. Isaac Yankem and Jerry Lawler
I thought I was done with the stupid Lawler/Hart feud after that terrible Steel Cage match. Hart and Hakushi start in control, pretty much owning Yankem and Lawler. That’s kind of been the way the entire feud has gone. Shortly after they started hot, the faces get in typical trouble. Hakushi takes the heat since he isn’t going anywhere and Bret is headed for a title shot. The heels do some dull offense to wear him down until he gets an opening and makes the tag to Bret. Bret’s hot tag is surprisingly lackluster. He really didn’t seem to care about this program, yet he’s still much better here than he was in WCW. FIVE MOVES OF DOOM! As Bret locked Yankem in the Sharpshooter, Lawler tried to bring a steel chair into play. Horowitz entered and took the chair from Lawler, resulting in a disqualification.
Winners via disqualification: Isaac Yankem and Jerry Lawler in 10:43
Well that was a crapty finish. Lawler gets another one up on Bret Hart and I still don’t care about him. The match itself was decent at best. Bret wasn’t at his best, Hakushi seemed past the point of caring and the other two guys involved aren’t very good. *½
Clips are shown of next week’s matches, again giving away that it’s taped. This is so dumb.
Overall: 3.5/10. Not much too really enjoy in this episode. Jannetty/Bulldog was alright but the main event saw guys mostly phoning it in to continue a feud that has totally sucked. Why did Kama get a squash? Does he ever do anything significant again? Also, what kind of crap finish to the main event was that?
Reliving Nitro
Episode #10
November 6th, 1995 | Jacksonville Coliseum in Jacksonville, Florida
Tonight, it’s WCW Interactive. Yea, it’s basically the WWE App before technology really allowed it. You can call the WCW Hotline to choose tonight’s main event. Pick from the babyface side of Alex Wright, Dave Sullivan (why?), Jim Duggan, JL (who lost the Mr. part), Johnny B. Badd, the Nasty Boys and Sting. Then, select their opponent from the pool of Big Bubba Rogers, the Blue Bloods, DDP, Meng, Ric Flair, Scott Norton and Shark. Bobby Heenan says he wants Tony Schiavone vs. Gene Okerlund.
Non-Title Match
WCW Champion The Giant w/ Jimmy Hart vs. Cobra
Who keeps giving Cobra and Pittman TV time? The title isn’t on the line but Giant hoists up Dave Penzer to announce that it is. Giant hits a Chokeslam and ends Cobra quickly.
Winner: The Giant in 0:16
Can’t really rate this due to the length. I preferred it this short though.
Mean Gene is in the “red” locker room, which is where the heels are. They’re arguing and yelling nonsense. Norton and Shark are shoving each other, while the Blue Bloods calmly sip tea in the back. The faces are more civil but Duggan just walks by the screen shouting for some reason. Also, there was no Big Bubba.
An ad runs for the inaugural World War 3 event.
After losing the World Title, Hulk Hogan returns to his roots in Venice Beach. Apparently, returning to his roots means to hang out with homeless looking dudes in the street. Macho Man is with him and both guys are in black because they’ve come to the “dark side”.
Kevin Sullivan w/ Jimmy Hart vs. The Renegade
The Renegade is still a thing? He charges the ring like the bootleg Ultimate Warrior that he is. Unlike Ultimate Warrior though, he had no good qualities, so Sullivan turned things around quickly. Renegade makes a small comeback with a corner handspring elbow but you know the outcome here. Sullivan wins with a second rope double stomp that Bobby Heenan calls the Dungeon of Doom Heimlich Maneuver. Okay.
Winner: Kevin Sullivan in 2:44
As usual, something involving the Taskmaster is pretty bad. ¼*
After the match, Jimmy Hart throws beer in Renegade’s face and rubs off the red and yellow paint. He shouts that he’s no longer the Renegade and is just plain old Rick now. Well, there goes that gimmick.
Chris Benoit vs. Eddie Guerrero
Eddie’s theme sounds like a Badstreet USA rip-off. Benoit brings out his excellent snap suplex, followed by a huge spinebuster right into the Liontamer. These guys aren’t playing around. THE NJPW contingent, consisting of Sonny Ono, Masahiro Chono, Jushin Thunder Liger and others are all eating dinner near the crowd. Poor Liger looks sad, probably because he can’t eat the food through his mask. Eddie starts to bring out the aerial stuff, causing Benoit to take a powder. Eddie follows with a dive off the top rope. Back inside, they just continue to hit each other with stiff moves. Commentary hypes the main event, saying that they want to see Sting vs. Ric Flair. Oh, look at you guys really making it the choice of the fans. Benoit brings Eddie over the apron with a back suplex but Eddie falls on him. Benoit gets his foot on the bottom rope, but the referee misses it.
Winner: Eddie Guerrero in 6:29
A really fun sprint from two of the best guys on the roster. The finish sets up a rematch, hopefully getting more time, which I have no problem with. ***¼
Ric Flair vs. Sting
Gee, I wonder why the fans chose this for the main event. Also, we get no vote tallies or anything like that. They just give us this. Sting is pissed from Halloween Havoc and just beats the hell out of Flair from the opening bell. Flair does his best pleading to no avail. Despite the hot start, which included brawling outside, Flair swings the momentum and locks in the Figure Four. He uses the ropes for leverage, which is such a lost art in today’s world. Sting powers up and flexes at Flair before turning the hold over. The fight moves outside where Flair tries to use a chair but the referee stops him. Flair shoves him but decides not to take it any further. Schiavone announces that some big news will be coming by the end of the program. Flair tries to cheat and win with his feet on the ropes but Sting keeps kicking out. We get the classic Flair spot where he gets slammed from the top rope. Sting powers up and hits a superplex leading right into the Scorpion Death Lock. Flair gives up but the angry Stinger refuses to let go of the hold. Somehow this doesn’t result in a DQ.
Winner: Sting in 9:16
It’s shorter than their more well-known classics but dammit this ruled. In the compact time given, they had a hate filled battle while still managing to do the stuff that has worked for them in the past. I’m surprised they didn’t opt to have a dirty finish here and do the clean end on the PPV. ***½
Tony Schiavone screams that Lex Luger is running out but he’s nowhere to be seen. Looks like he missed his cue. Sting still refuses to release the hold while the faces that didn’t get chosen to compete (and Eddie Guerrero) rush out to talk some sense into him. He lets go and runs back into the ring, slapping the hold back on. Luger finally shows up and talks right into Sting’s face. Whatever it was, it causes Sting to let go and leave with Luger.
Returning, Mean Gene is with the Giant, Jimmy Hart and Kevin Sullivan in the ring. Jimmy Hart announces that while Hogan was off doing charity work and making bad movies, he was Hogan’s power of attorney. Using that, he signed the contract for the Halloween Havoc match and added a stipulation that if Hogan lost by DQ (which he did) Giant would win the World Title. They bring in a “real” lawyer who says that Jimmy Hart is partially right. Hogan did lose the belt, but Giant isn’t the champion. WCW Commissioner Nick Bockwinekl and the Championship Committee have decided to hold the belt in abeyance! The new champion will be determined in the upcoming World War 3 battle royal. Giant doesn’t want to give up the title but Sullivan calms him down by saying that nobody can eliminate him so he’ll be champion again soon.
Overall: 7/10. A much better effort from WCW this week. With a better first third, this would be a contender for one of the best Nitros ever. After the Sullivan match though, everything is pretty damn good. Benoit and Guerrero continue to shine, while Sting and Flair had a good old fashioned hate filled match. Even the final segment, while a bit convoluted, at least adds intrigue to the PPV.
Raw Rating: 2.6
Nitro Rating: 2.0
Raw History
Episode #135
November 13th, 1995 | Brandon, Manitoba, Canada
Finally we reach the end of this giant block of tapings from Brandon. Anyway, the show starts with a video telling us that this past weekend, the 1-2-3 Kid had some altercations with Razor Ramon and may not be impartial. Due to this Gorilla Monsoon changed tonight’s match that the Kid referees to a non-title match. Mind you, they showed clips of the match last Monday, meaning this past weekend’s shows should have no effect. Also, why not just take Kid out of the match? Sid gets no title shot because of that? So much wrong with all of this.
Henry Godwin vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley
They wrestle for a few seconds before Godwin goes for the slop bucket. According to Vince, just bringing the bucket in is a DQ. Henry slops himself and gives chase to Hunter, who slips in the slop before running away.
NO CONTEST
SURVIVOR SERIES SLAM JAM ~ Dok Hendrix still seems to be on cocaine. He doesn’t tell us anything of interest. He just hypes the WWF Title match and the Wild Card match.
A video package airs to hype the upcoming return of Shawn Michaels next week.
Ahmed Johnson vs. Jake Steele
While he bodyslammed Yokozuna a few weeks back, this marks the official in-ring debut for Ahmed Johnson. During the match, we get a split screen of Shawn Michaels. He cuts a short promo about his athleticism mixing with Ahmed’s power in the Wild Card match. Pearl River Plunge, which was just a Tiger Driver here, got the win.
Winner: Ahmed Johnson in 2:28
Not the best way to debut. Ahmed didn’t really impress outside of his finisher.
Vince interviews Ahmed after the bell and, as always, he was nearly impossible to understand.
Time for the big interview with Bret Hart and Diesel. They hyped it as a face to face, though the men are in separate areas. Diesel thinks that he’s the best right now because he’s the champion. Bret brings up Survivor Series 1993, where his mother threw in the towel though she was never sanctioned in the match. Bret says that he knows the Royal Rumble 1995 match was the toughest in Diesel’s career. Diesel is sure to say that Shawn Michaels gave him a run for his money as well. Bret brings up the fact that Diesel does very well against the big guys (Mabel, Sid) but tends to struggle against guys like himself and Michaels. Diesel claim that Bret never asked for another match at the Royal Rumble and he never ducks challengers. Bret believes that Diesel has been walking around with his belt and we’ll find out who the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be truly is. Really good interview that made the match feel important.
Jerry Lawler beats Vince McMahon in Karate Fighters by cheating.
King Mabel w/ Sir Mo vs. Roy Raymond
Before things begin, Undertaker cuts a short promo to vow vengeance on Mabel. His face is still hidden. Mabel’s hair look atrocious here, which is saying something since it was almost always bad. Mabel gets his crap in and uses a belly to belly suplex for the win.
Winner: King Mabel in 3:03
Ho hum. Mabel is still dull.
Before the main event, we see footage from Superstars where the Smoking Gunns defeated Razor Ramon and the 1-2-3 Kid in a Tag Team Title match. Vince plugs Razor having to save the Kid several times during the match.
Non-Title Match
WWF Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon vs. Sycho Sid w/ Ted Dibiase
The 1-2-3 Kid is the special referee. In the early stages, he plays the impartial referee. Sid dominates and gets assistance from Ted Dibiase behind the Kid’s back. Razor begins a rally thanks for the crowd. He does the stupid “go for the Razor’s Edge by the ropes” spot. It’s literally just there so he can take a backdrop to the outside. Dean Douglas casually strolls out to the ring and attacks Razor while Sid distracts Kid. In an impressive moment, Razor lifts Sid up on his shoulders for an electric chair drop. Razor goes for the Razor’s Edge only for the Kid to pull Sid down. That sets up the Powerbomb, which Kid does a fast count for.
Winner: Sycho Sid in 9:50
An obvious outcome and heel turn. The match itself was mostly basic stuff that you’d expect from the two guys involved. **¼
In a funny moment, Ted Dibiase puts a Canadian $5 bill in Razor’s mouth, which Kid takes and pockets it. Backstage, Razor Ramon goes after Dean Douglas as the show ends.
Overall: 4/10. As a whole, this show wasn’t very good. The main event was decent at best and the rest of the matches were dull or quick squashes. What saved this episode from a terrible score was the interview between Bret Hart and Diesel. Too often have big PPV matches not felt like a big deal during Diesel’s reign. Thanks to that interview and the men involved, this absolutely feels that way.
Reliving Nitro
Episode #11
November 13th, 1995 | Jacksonville Coliseum in Jacksonville, Florida
Guess what? This was taped last week. So much for all of that smack talk about being live every week.
After commentary opens things, we go to Hulk Hogan in one of the strangest things I’ve ever seen. It’s as if he’s in his own Dungeon of Doom and he wears a weird black mask while in a black robe. He has a damn sword. Apparently, Macho Man is going to cut Meng’s head off and the same will happen to Sting if he’s with the Dungeon of Doom after what went down between him and Lex Luger last week. I swear you have to see this to believe it.
Meng w/ Jimmy Hart and Kevin Sullivan vs. Randy Savage
Savage attacks from behind and is wearing the black and white that would later become a staple during his run with the nWo. Most of this is the two men brawling on the outside. Once inside, Meng wears down Savage while Sullivan and Hart shout instructions. Once Meng misses a dive though, Savage does the comeback and wins with the Elbow Drop.
Winner: Randy Savage in 4:48
Really basic stuff. They brawled and didn’t do much actual wrestling. It did a decent job of selling a darker Macho Man. *
SHARK ATTACK! Shark and the Dungeon of Doom show up to attack Randy Savage. Lex Luger joins in and destroys Savage’s arm.
Chris Benoit vs. Kensuke Sasaki
WCW production botches Sasaki’s nameplate and it shows Kensuki. Right from the bell they go at it, trading blows and working at a quick pace. Sasaki nails a suplex and trademark powerslam for a near fall. He moves to a short chinlock before Benoit counters a back suplex into a lateral press for two. Benoit slips free of a press slam and hits two rolling Germans before winning with a dragon suplex.
Winner: Chris Benoit in 2:39
This was really fun for being under three minutes. Solid back and forth stuff from two good guys. **½
TITLE CHANGE ~ This show was recorded on 11/6. On 11/13, the day this aired, Kensuke Sasaki beat Sting to become the WCW United States Champion. Why have him lose on TV is beyond me but yea, that happened.
WCW Television Championship
Johnny B. Badd (c) vs. Eddie Guerrero
Okay, this has potential. Some WRESTLING to start as they trade arm drags and wrist locks, while sprinkling in their athleticism. Badd goes high risk with a slingshot leg drop for a near fall. He may have showboated a bit too much before the cover. Eddie goes for a superplex but Badd front suplexes him off. He leaps off with a flying sunset flip that leads to a series of near falls by both men. Eddie goes high risk next, also getting two. As the match progresses, Badd stars getting uncharacteristic and brings out the big rights and lefts. Not to be outdone, the “gentleman from El Paso” brings out his own right hands. The referee even gets tossed aside during this scuffle. Apparently there’s only two minutes remaining in the match as Eddie gets another near fall. As time gets close to expiring, Eddie hits a tornado DDT but is too hurt to quickly cover. They collide on duel cross body attempts. They get to their knees and exchange blows as time expires.
Match ends in a draw in 9:04
The timekeeper in WCW almost never got it right. I really thought this was solid. Not only did they work at a fast pace but I liked things escalating as time went on because both guys were frustrated. ***
After the match, everything is right with the world as Badd and Eddie shake hands.
Eric Bischoff announces that Hulk Hogan will be back next week and who does he want to face? Sting! It’s Starrcade 1997 two years early!
Mean Gene is in the ring with the Giant, Taskmaster and Jimmy Hart. Hart calls himself and Sullivan the smartest men in wrestling history. Giant says that he will be champion forever after World War 3 while Sullivan mocks Hogan’s seizure like selling. It was short and didn’t really feel necessary.
Dean Malenko vs. Sting
Oh, well here’s more potential. Quick point, but Mongo’s ability to turn athlete into a three syllable word is uncanny. Basic start from both guys before we head to a commercial break with a World War 3 ad. Malenko is wearing Sting’s leg down as they return. I like it as a setup for the Texas Cloverleaf, though I don’t even think that move was established yet. Malenko gets two on a German. Ah, he does attempt the Texas Cloverleaf but Sting pulls him into small package to win.
Winner: Sting in 5:08
Something about this felt off. It never really clicked the way I hoped. Dean being on offense so much was good but I think the finish hurt Sting. He barely beat a guy that wasn’t established so why should I take him seriously against Hogan next week? **¼
Mean Gene interviews Sting about Hogan’s challenge and wants to know about Luger last week. Sting says he has nothing against Hogan but isn’t backing down from a challenge. He’s looking forward to it. For some reason, Sting calls himself the “big dog” a few times.
Overall: 6/10. A pretty middle of the pack show that went by rather quickly. The TV Title match was the standout, but the Sting/Malenko and Benoit/Sasaki matches were short and mostly sweet. Having the Dungeon of Doom promo randomly in the middle of the show was weird and there aren’t enough words to describe how strange the Hogan promo was.
Raw Rating: 2.6
Nitro Rating: 2.0Survivor Series 1995 Results
I reviewed the show a while back and will provide my star ratings.
The Bodydonnas def. the Underdogs in 18:35 (***)
Team Bertha Faye def. Team Alundra Blayze in 10:01 (**¾)
Goldust def. Bam Bam Bigelow in 8:18 (*½)
The Darkside def. the Royals in 14:21 (*½)
Team Michaels def. Team Yokozuna in 27:26 (***½)
WWF Championship: Bret Hart def. Diesel (c) in 24:56 (****½)
Raw History
Episode #136
November 20th, 1995 | Richmond Coliseum in Richmond, Virginia
Things start with still images from the Bret Hart/Diesel classic. Bret won the belt after playing possum and rolling Diesel up. Post-match, Diesel laid out Bret with a Jackknife. There are more recaps of Survivor Series before the opener.
The 1-2-3 Kid w/ Ted Dibiase vs. Hakushi
At the Survivor Series, the 1-2-3 Kid officially joined the Million Dollar Corporation. Right off the bat, Razor Ramon calls in and badmouths the Kid. Hakushi overpowers the Kid early and then outsmarts him to take the advantage. Vince talks about Hakushi becoming “Americanized”. In order to be face, he apparently can’t be his usual Japanese self. Classic Vince. Marty Jannetty tries to make a run in, wanting to get his hands on Kid but is held back by security. That should happen more often right? After a commercial break, Kid has control. Hakushi tries a rally but misses a dropkick. Tilt-a-whirl backbreaker and handspring elbow take Kid down before Hakushi nails a flying headbutt for two. Hakushi goes up top but Kid distracts the referee so Dibiase can knock him off. Kid scores with a spin kick and wins.
Winner: The 1-2-3 Kid in 6:47
While this wasn’t on the level of their SummerSlam encounter earlier in the year, this was a good TV match. They had some solid back and forth and the finish mostly kept Hakushi relatively strong. **¾
Jerry Lawler interviews Kid and Dibiase after the match. Suddenly, Lawler is a fan of Kid. Dibiase talks about how Kid beat the Underdogs by himself (he was the sole survivor). They also throw jabs at Marty Jannetty, who comes out to confront them. Sycho Sid intervenes and basically plays bodyguard to Kid. They both put the boots to Marty before Sid powerbombs him on the outside.
IN YOUR HOUSE REPORT ~ It’s still early so Dok Hendrix doesn’t bring us much information. It does happen on December 17th, and the main event will see Bret Hart defend the WWF Championship against the British Bulldog. They are sure to bring up Bulldog’s win over Bret at SummerSlam 1992. Hersey Park is a much smaller stage than Wembley Stadium. On a lesser note, HHH will face Henry Godwin in an Arkansas Hog Pen match. During this report, Diesel arrived at the arena.
Savio Vega vs. Skip w/ Sunny
Skip attacks before the bell with only one strap of his singlet pulled up for some reason. Skip hits a nice kick and ducks one from Savio, who then slingshots him into the corner. We’re about two minutes in when Diesel casually strolls to the ring. Skip bumps into him outside and gets shoved to the floor.
Diesel stops the match because what he has to say is more important. He declines apologizing to his fans and Bret Hart for his actions last night. He wondered if he would be able to get any sleep after what he did and for the first time in a year, he slept like a baby. Diesel is himself now and not a corporate puppet that Vince created. He says that the night after he won the WWF Title, he was in Titan Towers and they told him they needed him to be more politically correct and smile more. I think this might have been the first time Vince was addressed as someone with actual authority on television. Diesel will only give high fives to fans wearing his trademark black glove. Big Daddy Cool is back. He left to the back and talked with Shawn Michaels. I think having a tweener Diesel with babyface HBK is an interesting way to go.
NEXT WEEK ~ The Undertaker goes one on one with Kama, while Brother Love returns to interview Bret Hart.
Owen Hart w/ Jim Cornette and Mr. Fuji vs. Shawn Michaels
As usual between these two, the start is very fast paced. Arm drags and a back drop from HBK cause Owen to talk strategy with Cornette. Back inside, Michaels scores with a rana. Owen connects on a baseball slide and is pretty happy with the idea of a potential countout victory. Vince is sure to remind us about Shawn getting attacked by hoodlums. Owen gets two on a great German suplex. I swear, Owen’s backbreaker is nearly as good as his brother’s. A sweet spinning heel kick catches Shawn in the face right before a commercial break. Shawn is selling each shot to the head or face like it is killing him. Michaels starts to make his big comeback including the flying forearm. He hits the big elbow for a near fall. Shawn has a top five elbow in history for sure. Sternum corner bump for Owen, who hits so hard that the top buckle gets exposed. He catches Sweet Chin Music and hits a sick enziguri before trying the Sharpshooter. Shawn shoves him off and, after an exchange, he clotheslines Owen over the top. Shawn skins the cat back in and taunts before fainting. Referee Earl Hebner stops counting Owen out and looks at Shawn with concern. Even Owen is unsure of what to do. Hebner leaves and Vince gets up from the booth to check on Shaw.
No Contest in 9:45
I stopped the counter around the time Shawn collapsed. The match itself was going really well up until then. The chemistry between these two was always really good. ***½
After a commercial, EMTs are in the ring and putting an oxygen mask on Shawn. The crowd is mostly silent, as they have completely bought into this. I know five year old Kevin did. The go through another break with no commentary and just concerned officials and EMTs around Shawn. They show various women and children in the crowd crying or looking devastated.
Overall: 9/10. This might have been the episode of Raw so far. While there was no single match that made it must see, it was angle driven in the best way. For the first time, Raw really peeled open the curtain with the Diesel promo, which was great. Then, the main event was a good match until they blurred the lines with a fantastic angle that worked perfectly. Was it real? Was it part of the show? Nobody was certain and it was great.
Reliving Nitro
Episode #12
November 20th, 1995 | Macon Coliseum in Macon, Georgia
Eric Bischoff, Mongo and Bobby Heenan hype the first time ever main event of Sting vs. Hulk Hogan. They tell you that it should be a PPV match but you get it for free tonight. That would be a staple of Nitro.
Scott Norton vs. Shark
Why is still feud still a thing? Shark attacks Norton during his entrance to complete silence from the crowd. Its Basham Brothers entrance levels of silence. Shark hits an avalanche but misses a second one. Norton slams him and that’s a wrap.
Winner: Scott Norton in 1:44
I need this feud to end and never come back. Too short to really give a rating to, but that was a lame start.
Our seemingly weekly Mean Gene interview with the Taskmaster and Jimmy Hart. Hart is hyper as ever and says that Sting will win tonight because Hogan has lost everything. He mentions that Sting didn’t get a call to work Baywatch with Hogan as Hogan’s new best friend is Randy Savage. Taskmaster plugs World War 3.
Disco Inferno shows up to dance and promote his new CD. What would his CD consist of? His gimmick is dancing, not making music.
Brian Pillman vs. Eddie Guerrero
This was set to be Flair vs. Guerrero but Flair shows up in street clothes. He says that Eddie is his light work so he’ll let Pillman do the work. According to Flair, he’s going out with Arn and Benoit. An offended Guerrero starts strong with a back suplex. Heenan calls Eddie a ham and egger. Pillman catches Eddie coming off the top with a dropkick and resorts to classic heel tactics. He stays in control for a while before Eddie fires up thanks to some of Pillman’s trash talk. Pillman makes a mistake with a dive outside and eats the guardrail. Eddie goes up top for his own dive to take out Pillman, which works. Things pick up for sure at the end when Eddie nails a Brainbuster. His first Frog Splash is blocked as Pillman gets his knees up but the second one successfully connects.
Winner: Eddie Guerrero in 6:27
Man, Eddie Guerrero is stealing the show on nearly every Nitro that he’s been on. This was a really good sprint with some big offense. I would have loved a bigger match down the line between them. ***
We take time to show the attack on Randy Savage last week where they attempted to break his arm.
Big Bubba Rogers vs. Hawk
Oh man, this doesn’t look very good. They brawl instantly. Something falls out of Bubba’s pocket and the camera doesn’t cut away, so we watch him pick it up. Hawk misses a splash and they continue to trade shots. Despite being big names, the crowd is mostly dead for this. Commentary doesn’t care at all about this either. Bubba goes to bring out tape to tape his fists. Jim Duggan shows up and trips Bubba, allowing Hawk to win.
Winner: Hawk in 3:48
That sucked. At least it was short. ½*
Jim Duggan apparently meets Big Bubba in a Taped Fist match at World War 3. I must be missing storyline advancement on Saturday Night or something.
Hulk Hogan w/ Randy Savage in a sling vs. Sting
Sting is in Hogan red and yellow, while Hogan is in black. Really hammering home the point aren’t we? Hogan also takes forever to come out, so he shows up in a weird Zorro like mask and enters from the crowd behind Sting. He doesn’t even attack from behind though. He just taps Sting on the shoulder. The crowd is pro-Sting as they trade shots. Nobody gains an advantage though Hogan sends Sting into the guardrail outside, showing a bit more of a vicious side. Sting nails a cross body inside and we’re at a stalemate. Savage shouts for Hogan to find out if Sting is with them or against them. The match is going very evenly. While they aren’t doing much, the key is that Hogan continues to act like a heel. Sting starts taking control so Hogan “Hulks up”. Why? He’s been heel for the whole match. Sting still manages to get him in the Scorpion Death Lock. Before he can submit, the Dungeon of Doom make the run in for the DQ.
No Contest in 9:31
The match was pretty standard for the most part. It was very interesting watching Hogan work as somewhat of a heel though. **
Oh look, Sting is a good guy because he’s fighting off the Dungeon of Doom. The Giant shows up after the worthless Dungeon has been taken out and goes for a double Chokeslam on Sting and Hogan. Savage, messed up arm and all, hits Giant with a chair, which he no sells. Chokeslam on Savage while Hogan literally exits the ring instead of helping. He comes back with a chair as he and Sting use it to clothesline the Giant over the top.
Overall: 5/10; A middle of the road episode of Nitro. Sting/Hogan was a massive main event, but severely under delivered. They built towards World War 3 pretty well and continued the intrigue of the Hogan/Savage/Sting/Luger angle. Guerrero was really good again, continuing to be one of the best things about Nitro. The Bubba/Hawk and Norton/Shark matches pretty much sucked ass and did nothing for me.
Raw Rating: 2.3
Nitro Rating: 2.5 |
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jul 21, 2016 7:19:45 GMT -5
Elimination Chamber 2010
February 21st, 2010 | Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri
Hot off the heels of one of the best Royal Rumbles ever, the road to WrestleMania XXVI stopped in St. Louis. Edge was the top contender for whichever title he wanted at WrestleMania, Shawn Michaels was desperate for a match with the Undertaker and newly heel Batista was pretty much the best thing going. For the first time in about ten years, the February PPV would not be No Way Out. Since the show used to host the Elimination Chamber match anyway, the WWE just changed the name of the show to reflect the match in an odd time where they did that to multiple PPVs.
The twelve men competing in the two Elimination Chamber matches tonight are highlighted in the opening video package. Michael Cole, Matt Striker and Jerry Lawler handle commentary.
WWE Championship Elimination Chamber
Sheamus (c) vs. John Cena vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton vs. Ted Dibiase vs. Triple H
Remember when Ted Dibiase Jr. was going to be a big star? Kofi Kingston and Sheamus start the match. Kofi glances over his shoulder on his way into the chamber since he was ambushed a year ago before he could get in the chamber. He’s sure to start quick against Sheamus but the power of the champion takes over. Kofi shows off his athleticism by landing on his feet when Sheamus tries hip tossing him onto the steel. They go back and forth until Triple H joins the fray and laughs because he’s about to get his shovel on Sheamus. Silly new champion. HHH pretty much kicks Sheamus’ white ass for a while until Kofi shows up to mix it up. Kofi hits one of the better Boom Drops ever, over the top and onto HHH outside. Next in is the “Viper” who goes right after Sheamus. That poor guy is not well liked. Orton takes out everyone but again, Kofi screws things up for someone as he dives onto everyone. Multiple finishers get countered by almost everyone involved. Dibiase joins in next, dropping some of his dad’s trademark fist drops on HHH. He works together with Orton, because of their Legacy partnership. They basically commit a hate crime on Kofi and put his head through the chain links, apply a Boston crab and stomp on him all at once. Legacy dominates to the point where they can wait right outside of Cena’s pod for him to enter. When he does, he inexplicably fights through them and proceeds to get his stuff in on both. Orton turns the tide and looks for the RKO as Cody Rhodes runs out. He slides a pipe into the Chamber. Dibiase uses it and accidentally hits Orton before hitting Cena. He chooses to cover Orton and eliminate him at 23:56. Dibiase doesn’t last much longer, losing to Trouble in Paradise at 25:54. Sheamus instantly hits Kingston with a Brogue Kick and High Cross to send him packing at 26:02. Rapid fire eliminations now. Sheamus looks to get rid of Cena now, but HHH grabs that proverbial shovel and stops him. One Pedigree later and the champions is out at the 28:38 mark. Oh great, it’s down to Cena and HHH. That’s original. I expected a battle between them, but Cena puts on that STF and HHH fights but gives in with a soft tap out.
Winner and New WWE Champion: John Cena in 30:22
A good match but nowhere near one of the best Chamber matches. It would actually be on the lower half of the totem pole for sure. I liked the Legacy angle and Kofi provided some good spots for sure. Nothing about this was that memorable though. ***¼
John Cena’s celebration is cut short by the arrival of Mr. McMahon. He says that Cena will make it to WrestleMania as champion as long as he can defend the title right now against Batista.
WWE Championship
John Cena (c) vs. Batista
I can’t put my love for Heeltista into words. A valiant Cena throws a right hand but Batista shrug it off. He spears Cena and wins via Batista Bomb.
Winner and New WWE Champion: Batista in 0:31
Too short to give a rating to. I really liked it as an angle, though it might have had more impact if the concept hadn’t been done a ton by Money in the Bank winners.
They use this time to recap the Bret Hart angle where his limo got hit by a car and he injured his leg. It was all leading up to the terrible Bret/Vince match at WrestleMania.
WWE Intercontinental Championship
Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Kane
My goodness, I loved Drew McIntyre’s entrance. Kane is the one who starts hot, overwhelming the champion with his power. McIntyre turns it around by going after Kane’s knee, only to change his mind and go after the arm. I don’t think he has a real strategy. Drew takes an ugly spill outside. I’m surprised he didn’t get hurt. Back inside, he’s working the arm again, which I guess takes away the Chokeslam possibility. Kane says f*ck this, and goes to a big boot. See Drew, you should have worked the leg. McIntyre tries to walk out and surprisingly, when Kane goes after him, he gets in a right hand. They make it back in the ring where Drew uses a dirty thumb to the eye to set up the Future Shock and retain.
Winner and Still WWE Intercontinental Champion: Drew McIntyre in 10:16
The crowd didn’t care about this at all despite Drew being in the midst of a decent push and Kane being a guy who usually got a reaction. That hurt a match that already seemed to have no real direction. *¾
Gail Kim is walking backstage when Maryse comes up to her and speaks in French. She translates to English and disses the Smackdown Divas. Kim responds in French, revealing that she knows that Maryse has been talking smack in French to her. MAJOR STORYLINE REVEAL! I’m sure every fan was excited to hear that Gail Kim knew all along.
Originally, we’re supposed to get Maryse vs. Gail Kim in the finals of a tournament to determine a new WWE Divas Champion. Melina got injured and had to forfeit the strap. Of course, instead of giving us the finals, Vickie Guerrero shows up to massive heat. She was looking rough in this era. Since the Raw girls said bad things about Smackdown girls, she makes a tag team match pitting the brands against each other. Oh, cool. So no title match and instead we get a random tag.
Gail Kim and Maryse vs. LayCool
Okay, I mean I didn’t like the random tag idea, but I really love me some LayCool. Gail and Layla have a little back and forth. Gail gets the upper hand but some good heel tandem work from LayCool sends Gail off the apron and outside. Gail takes the heat for a bit and goes to tag Maryse. Maryse piefaces her, leading to McCool planting her with the Faith Breaker to win. Shouldn’t Maryse touching Gail be considered a tag?
Winners: LayCool in 3:36
As much as I enjoy all four girls involved, this really didn’t do anything except give LayCool a spot and build the Divas Title Finals, which could have been accomplished on Smackdown or something. ¾*
The Miz is interviewed about the upcoming debut of NXT and his rookie being Daniel Bryan. He basically calls Bryan a nerd that he will turn into a Superstar. Miz was absolutely nailing everything at this time. MVP interrupts to say that he will get a US Title shot (Miz is US Champion) tonight because he pinned Miz or something recently.
William Regal makes his way to the ring. He is new to Raw after ECW closed. He’s also out to plug NXT since he’s a pro on the show. Regal starts talking smack about being the longest tenured NXT Pro and stuff before he’s interrupted by the 2010 Royal Rumble winner, Edge. He just rambles a bit before spearing Regal. I guess they needed to fill time or something.
WWE United States Championship
The Miz (c) w/ Big Show vs. MVP w/ Mark Henry
This was when Miz had three titles (US and the two tag belts as a member of Show-Miz). I recall someone calling the MVP/Henry team “Ball Sweat”. Anyway, this is pretty standard throughout. Their match at the Royal Rumble a month earlier wasn’t very good. Things move along slowly until Miz pulls out a modified lungblower that he almost never uses. As expected, MVP starts in with the babyface comeback while the crowd sits on their hands for the third straight match. I can’t blame them for only being excited for the two Chamber matches, since the middle of the show has screamed filler. Big Show gets involved a few times so Henry battles him and they do the tired spot of the guardrail breaking. MVP misses the Player’s Boot and Big Show knocks him out. Miz just pins him like nothing as the dumbass referee doesn’t question why MVP was out cold.
Winner and Still WWE United States Champion: The Miz in 13:01
This was largely uninspired. It wasn’t bad, but they mostly worked it like a house show match. The biggest thing about the match was the guardrail spot, which didn’t even involve the two participants in the match. **
World Heavyweight Championship Elimination Chamber
The Undertaker (c) vs. Chris Jericho vs. CM Punk w/ the Straight Edge Society vs. John Morrison vs. R-Truth vs. Rey Mysterio
In the most shocking thing of the night, Undertaker actually aggressively and quickly walks to the ring and into his pod. CM Punk gets promo time before entering, which is great. His SES run is incredibly overlooked. It gets interrupted by Truth, who starts with Punk. Punk is the first to eat steel, on a Truth slingshot. It doesn’t mean much though as Punk puts him away with a GTS at 3:34. Alone for about 90 seconds, Punk is handed a microphone for another promo. Punk is sure to call out the babyfaces, even saying he’ll make the Undertaker tap out like he did at Breaking Point. Mysterio is in next and flies all over the place. Matt Strike says a weird comment about this being the seeds for the tree of life that is WrestleMania. Punk swings Rey into the steel like a bat. Their encounter is pretty great, working as a solid prequel to their feud over the next few months. Rey uses a rana from the top onto the steel and a splash to eliminate Punk at 9:44. Yes, another guy alone. Jericho enters next and he’s vicious. He pulls a Spider-Man like Rey off the cage and face first onto the steel. As the next clock counts down, Jericho has Rey in the Walls of Jericho until John Morrison joins the fray. He comes in hot as expected, which picks up the pace. More fun from Morrison which leads to him elimination Mysterio at 19:41. Again, Jericho applies the Walls as the buzzer sounds but Undertaker comes in and kicks his ass, getting in all of his stuff. It’s really cool seeing Jericho and Undertaker interact. It’s unbelievable how rare that was considering their careers. Morrison takes a sick back drop onto the steel. Jericho angers Undertaker with slaps and tries to run into a pod and close himself it. Undertaker holds the door, gets in and beats the hell out of Jericho. Morrison catches Undertaker with a big kick but has a bad ankle and it acts up here. He tries for Starship Pain but Undertaker gets his knees up. With both men down, Jericho exits the pod. Undertaker sits up, so Jericho runs back into the pod and closes the door. Jericho does come back into the field of play before Undertaker Chokeslams Morrison onto the steel, sending him packing at 28:24. THE STRAPS ARE DOWN! This leads to the rare back and forth between these two legends. Jericho counters the Chokeslam into the Walls, which Undertaker nearly turns into Hell’s Gates, but Jericho gets the submission on anyway. Under manages to counter into Hell’s Gates anyway but Jericho reaches the ropes for leverage to get free. Undertaker survives a Codebreaker and nails the Last Ride. Undertaker slowly gets up, but behind him, we see the floor grating open up and out comes Shawn Michaels. Michaels nails Sweet Chin Music on Undertaker, desperate for a WrestleMania rematch with Undertaker that Undertaker refused to give him before this. He stands over Undertaker while Jericho covers and wins his 6th World Title.
Winner and New World Heavyweight Champion: Chris Jericho in 35:36
Better than the opening Chamber match for sure. I liked that this was different from the typical layout we get in these matches, with guys getting eliminated early. It allowed for a welcome change of pace. Punk’s promos, Mysterio and Morrison’s aerial stuff, the battle between Jericho and Undertaker and the twist ending were all great. ****
Overall: 4/10; Weak. Honestly, this is really a one match show. The main event is the only thing truly worth going out of your way to watch. The opener is pretty good but certainly on the lower end among Chamber matches. The middle of the show is pretty dire, capping out with just a two star match, while also having a rather pointless Regal/Edge segment. Next up on “Random Network Reviews” will be WCW Mayhem 1999! |
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