Monday Night Raw 11-6-95 Review

Original Airdate: Monday, November 6th, 1995
Keystone Centre
Brandon, Manitoba, Canada

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork22

We get a quick Todd Pettengill hype video and then it's straight to business.

British Bulldog vs. Marty Jannetty    

Dok Hendrix is with Vince now because of Jerry Lawler wrestling tonight. How many times did this poor crowd have to hear Jannetty's music at this taping? They work a nice pace to start things off, which once again is why Marty is so valuable. He brings out the best in his opponents. Bulldog then press slams Marty onto the top rope. We hear from Clarence Mason and he says that Bulldog will face the winner of Bret Hart/Diesel at In Your House on December 17th. Bulldog continues his dominance into a commercial break. Cornette gets in some cheap shots behind the referee's back. Bulldog gets Marty in the tree of woe and he gets in a few stomps and then slows things down. Jannetty gets some momentum, but then he runs into the ring post. Bulldog immediately scoops him up for the running powerslam and picks up the win in a nice opening match. 

Match Rating: **3/4

We go to a pre-recorded video from Washington D.C. with a cheesy Bill Clinton impersonator. 

Dok then interviews Bulldog and Cornette. Bulldog is going to win the WWF Championship like he should have before. He then tells Shawn Michaels that if he double crosses Bulldog, he's going to make Syracuse look like a walk in the park. 

They show the interview from Superstars with Goldust. Bam Bam Bigelow interrupted and challenged Goldust to a match. 

Henry Godwinn vs. Terry Richards

Richards is Rhyno in I believe is his WWF debut. Don't quote me on that. Godwinn looks a little more motivated here and getting back to his better squash ways. He hits the Slop Drop and that's all. After the match, Helmsley attacks Godwinn and hits the Pedigree outside the ring. He then puts on some gloves and then dumps the slop on Godwinn. We are finally getting some character development here with Helmsley.

Match Rating: 1/4*

It's time for the Survivor Series Slam Jam, this time with Todd. They announce that Undertaker will captain a team with Fatu, Savio Vega and Henry Godwinn against King Mabel's team that includes Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Isaac Yankem and Jerry Lawler. We hear from Paul Bearer and then Diesel. 

Kama vs. Tony Roy

You can buy 1,000 Mad Caps for only $21! Are you kidding me? Just in case you weren't sure that no one cared about Kama, we get a Shawn Michaels phone interview here. Kama wins. Nothing important happens. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Next week on Raw, it will be Sid vs. Razor Ramon with 1-2-3 Kid as the referee. 

We get a Smoking Gunns Karate Fighters promo. 

Jerry Lawler & Isaac Yankem vs. Bret Hart & Hakushi

You have to love wrestling logic when Bret and Hakushi are able to team up now. Hakushi hits the cartwheel reverse elbow, but the second time around Yankem knocks him silly from behind. Hakushi goes for a dive outside the ring, but Yankem catches him and rams him into the ring post. Lawler hits a piledriver on Hakushi, but he doesn't go for the cover. He hits a second piledriver instead. We get a commercial break and now Yankem has Hakushi in a Boston crab. Bret breaks it up and it leads to him getting the hot tag. He hits a double noggin knocker and a side Russian leg sweep. He goes for the Sharpshooter and locks it in. Hakushi blocks Lawler's attempt, but Hakushi distracts the ref when Yankem is submitting. Lawler tries to hit Bret with a chair, but Barry Horowitz makes the save. The ref sees Horowitz with the chair and calls for the bell. That's a lame finish. Yankem sucks.

Match Rating: *3/4

Next week, Helmsley will face Godwinn and Ahmed Johnson will debut. They show clips of the Raw, proving that the show is taped. Interesting strategy.

This was a good Raw overall, thanks to a better than expected Jannetty/Bulldog match. They seem to be sprinkling in a little bit more of storyline development now. 

Overall Rating: 51%

Superstars 11-4-95 Review

Original Airdate: Saturday, November 4th, 1995
Agridome
Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2

Jerry Lawler is going to interview Goldust today, plus Bret Hart will take on Sid with Bret having the Saskatchewan Roughriders in his corner. 

Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. Mike Legacy

Helmsley hits a high knee to the face of Legacy. Helmsley hits a neckbreaker and then the Pedigree for the easy victory. At least they have something for Helmsley to do now. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

They show clips from Raw, which just reminds me of how mad I am that Netflix hasn't added a single Raw episode since day 1.

Henry Godwinn's music hits and he teases slopping Helmsley, who still isn't to the back and we go to commercial. 

Henry Godwinn vs. Otis Apollo

Godwinn nails Apollo with a big clothesline and calls for the hogs. He hits the Slop Drop and we're moving quickly here today through the squashes. Jim Ross interviews Godwinn after the match. He says he's going to beat Helmsley and slop him. Can't get much more clear cut than that. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We go to the Survivor Series Slam Jam with Dok Hendrix. We hear from Razor Ramon about his wild card match. He says he can't trust his teammates, but they can't trust him. We then hear from his three partners, but only Cornette and Owen do the talking. 

Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Scott D'Amore

We are on the last legs of Bam Bam in WWF here. We then get an awkward pause in the commentary and go to commercial. Was something edited out there? Bam Bam hits a sling shot dive from the apron for the win? He must have known he was done. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

They show The Body Donnas doing sit ups on the concrete floor. They find M&Ms in his shirt and spill them out, but he still eats them. 

Jerry Lawler interviews Goldust in the ring. Bam Bam comes out to join them. I should note that the lights are down with his gold lighting in the ring. Bam Bam doesn't even know what Goldust is. He challenges him to a match anywhere, any place. This was kind of an odd interview segment and not probably in the way they were aiming for. 

King Mabel vs. Tim McNeany

We hear from Paul Bearer as Mabel enters the ring. Mabel swats away a dropkick and hits his signature kick to the back of the head. Mabel hits a splash in the corner and a belly-to-belly suplex for the win. This show is flying by, but there are still about 20 minutes left. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Razor Ramon and 1-2-3 Kid will get a rematch against the Smoking Gunns next week on Superstars. 

Sid vs. Bret Hart

Sid is accompanied by the Million Dollar Corporation, which somehow still exists. Glen Kulka is one of the players who are out with Bret, who would briefly be with the WWF. This is treated like a lumberjack match, but JR flat out says it isn't after Bret clotheslines Sid and they throw him back in the ring. I just realized that Skip is out with Sid. DiBiase trips up Bret and Sid hits a leg drop. So apparently when it was the Ottawa team, it was the Rough Riders and when it was Saskatchewan, they were the Roughriders. Kulka then gets a spot where he hits a shoulder tackle on Skip. This all leads to Kulka distracting Sid and Bret rolling up Sid for the victory. The crowd absolutely loved that finish. The match was pretty good and the crowd was into every second of it. 

Match Rating: **

We go back to Dok Hendrix. I was reading another review on this show and reading about all the backstage drama going on around this time, with the company really struggling. It's kind of interesting since they were able to sell 14,500 tickets (I'm sure some were giveaways), but still. Dok announces an 8 woman Survivor Series match. We then hear from Diesel and he says that he saw fear in Bret's eyes for the first time. Dok then announces the Underdogs taking on the Body Donnas. They announce Avatar as being on the Underdogs and Jean Pierre Lafitte as being on the Body Donnas. They would eventually be replaced. 

They interview Bret Hart backstage. He says that Diesel is wearing a belt that should be his and he's better than he is. He tells Big D that he's going to hit the truck stop right here. 

This was a typical episode of Superstars for the most part with the exception of getting a legit main event in terms of star power. I am looking forward to watching Survivor Series again, but so far the build outside of Diesel/Bret has just been decent. 

Overall Rating: 44%

Off The Grid, Volume 54: The Main Event III Review

Friday, February 23rd, 1990
Joe Louis Arena
Detroit, Michigan

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2

Off The Grid, Volume 54:

We get a quick promo from both Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage, while also seeing Buster Douglas fresh off beating Mike Tyson, who was supposed to be the referee tonight. We then go to Vince McMahon and Jesse Ventura in the arena and they talk about Tyson being pulled out from the event. This was about 6 months before I became a fan or else I probably would have begged to go to this show. 

We come back to commercial and now we are down to Mean Gene with Macho King and Sherri. He's happy that it's not Tyson tonight because someone in his family was a Hulkamaniac. They say that it won't be Hogan taking on Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania. 

We now go to Mean Gene with Hulk and he says that he has a lot in common with Buster. He cuts his same old trash interview that I wish I never had to hear again.

Mean Gene is now with Buster Douglas and he has absolutely zero charisma. He says he won it for his mom and Gene does most of the heavy lifting here. His little hand gesture at the end of it was great though. 

WWF Championship Match
Randy Savage vs. Hulk Hogan

They quickly do two spots where it shows that Douglas is not a biased enforcer. Although, him blocking Savage from leaping off the top rope, is the worse of the two. Sherri gets on the apron and Hogan grabs her. Savage tries to knee him from behind, but he moves, and Savage knocks her to the floor. We get some boring offense until Sherri grabs his leg and this time the distraction works. Douglas chases Sherri to the back as we go to a commercial break. Savage goes up top and this time Douglas lets him leap and hit the double ax handle to the floor. He then hits one in the ring and gets a 2 count. Savage ends up trying it again and this time Douglas stops him. Back in the ring, Savage hits the top rope elbow drop and naturally Hogan kicks out. He hulks up and hits the big boot. Hogan hits Savage with a right hand that also knocks down the referee. Hogan hits the leg drop and Douglas comes in and counts to 3. Savage is livid and realizes that it was Douglas who counted. Savage eggs Douglas on and then eventually slaps him in the face. Hogan shoves Savage into Douglas and he knocks him out with a right hand. None of this was very good. Considering they spent over half the run time on this match, this was just a huge disappointment. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

We now go to the Ultimate Warrior talking about the solar system. I'm not a huge fan of the face paint this time. 

Jesse is now with Dino Bravo, Earthquake and Jimmy Hart. "It doesn't just take brawn to win the Intercontinental title, it takes brain". That pretty much sums up why he never won the title. Jimmy says that Warrior doesn't have earthquake insurance. 

We hear from Warrior again, this time with Mean Gene. He says he doesn't need earthquake insurance or life insurance. I'm not sure what vibe he is going for tonight, but it's not working at all. 

Intercontinental Championship Match
Dino Bravo vs. Ultimate Warrior

I always loved when Fink would drop the mic and run out of the ring for Warrior. Warrior hits a quick body slam and wants to go up top, but Earthquake grabs his foot. Again, Quake grabs his foot and Bravo clotheslines him over the top. Warrior goes under the ring and crawls across and drags Jimmy Hart under the ring. When he comes out, he has no pants on. Warrior picks him up and throws him at Earthquake. Jimmy scampers to the back and Earthquake hits a body slam on Warrior. Bravo hits the side suplex, but Warrior kicks out. Warrior starts shaking the ropes and no selling the blows to the back. Warrior comes back with a headbutt and a clothesline. He hits the flying shoulder tackle and a splash for the victory. As soon as the bell rings, Earthquake attacks Warrior. Warrior is able to throw Bravo out of the ring, but Earthquake hits a couple of big elbow drops. He gets up on the second rope and out comes Hogan to make the save. He hits him with a right hand and he goes out of the ring. Hogan and Warrior get into it and start shoving officials out of the way. This match was a more compact version of the first match. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

We go to the locker room with Vince and they show Hogan and Warrior in the Royal Rumble. We then see them winning at Saturday Night's Main Event as a tag team over Mr. Perfect and Genius. Hogan now joins Vince and I'm forced to suffer through another one of these. Hogan says that he's going to watch Warrior's back because he wants to beat him at his best. 

Gene is back with Warrior now and he talks about Hoke Hogan. Warrior rambles on and on and says he is the chosen one. 

We go back to Vince and Jesse in the arena, who then throw it back to Gene with Buster Douglas. He says that Hogan is his kind of guy. He says that he and Hogan are going out drinking, to which Gene is shocked. He then makes a lame milk joke. 

This show suuuuuucked. Talk about dropping the ball. Obviously losing Tyson just two weeks before was a big blow, but I'm sure they didn't change any plans as far as the show went and that's where this suffered. The interviews were lame, the matches were dull and it felt like a 15 minute show stretched into 48 minutes. I'm bummed because I was looking forward to seeing this one for the first time. This will likely be the last time. 

Overall Rating: 31%

To The Max: AEW Fyter Fest 2019 Review

Saturday, June 29th, 2019
Ocean Center
Daytona Beach, Florida

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2

We get a Double Or Nothing highlight package to kick off the show. 

Christopher Daniels vs. Cima

Since I was so critical of the announcing team at Double Or Nothing, I can already say that they are off to a much better start here so far. Both guys get a couple of minutes of offense to start. Daniels hits the Arabian moonsault and then starts wrenching back on the neck of Cima. Cima comes back and hits a Backstabber. Daniels comes back and hits Angels Wing, but Cima is able to kick out. I don't know how common that is for people to kick out of that move, but this match doesn't seem like it is worth having someone kick out of it. Cima hits a running powerbomb and a package powerbomb for a 2 count. Cima goes up top and hits a Meteora for the victory. This was pretty basic match for this era. 

Match Rating: **1/4

Riho vs. Nyla Rose vs. Yuka Sakazaki

Nyla plays the monster role, taking on both opponents. She hits a double suplex and then puts on a double Camel Clutch. Yuka hits a headscissors on Rose, sending her outside. She then hits a shaky looking springboard dive on both opponents. She hits Riho with a missile dropkick back in the ring and gets a 2 count. Riho starts getting some offense and hits a 619 on Rose. Rose now gets her turn again and hits a delayed vertical suplex on Yuka. She hangs Riho on the ropes and hits a top rope knee to the head, which wakes up the crowd. Rose doesn't go for a cover and instead climbs the turnbuckles. She misses with a senton and Riho goes for a top rope crossbody, but Rose catches her. Yuka tries too and Nyla catches her too. We get a pin attempt out of it, but no victory. We almost get victories from Yuka and Rose, but Riho is able to use some knees to break up both. Rose hits a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall. Riho is able to pull off a cradle and picks up the surprise victory over Rose. This one started off a little bit sloppy, but the last few minutes were solid. 

Match Rating: **3/4

Kip Sabian joins the announce team, as he will be taking on the winner of the match. 

MJF vs. Jungle Boy vs. Jimmy Havoc vs. Adam Page

MJF cuts a promo before the match just making fun of the crowd. Jungle Boy is such a dorky gimmick. Especially since they advertise that he is Luke Perry's son. Speaking of dorky gimmicks, Jimmy Havoc has one too. Page and Jungle Boy get most of the shine in the early going. MJF fakes a dive and lets the crowd have it. Jungle Boy hits a scary looking back somersault but seems to be okay. We get the obligatory tower of doom spot, but it ends up with MJF getting hit by his opponent. Jungle Boy hits a reverse rana on Havoc and then Page levels Jungle Boy with a lariat. It finally gets to MJF and Page, who are clearly the main attractions here. MJF goes for a Sharpshooter and mocks Bret. Page pushes out of it before he can turn it over and puts the Sharpshooter on MJF. he quickly gets to the ropes. Havoc hits an Attitude Adjustment on Jungle Boy, throwing him into Luchasaurus. Page gets MJF out of the ring and hits Deadeye on Havoc for the win. Havoc felt like he didn't belong here, so he felt like the obvious choice to take the pin. This was fine. 

Match Rating: **1/2

Darby Allin vs. Cody Rhodes

From the little I have seen of Allin, I haven't been a fan, so we'll see if anything changes here. He shows off some solid wrestling skills and that frustrates Cody, so he slaps him. Cody sends him through the top two ropes and he goes spilling to the floor with a Mick Foley type bump. We get a mostly slow-paced match here, which I know Cody likes to have. The pace quickens after my "I'm too cheap to pay for Max without commercials" commercial break. Cody hits a suicide dive and then we get an announcement that there are only 5 minutes remaining, telegraphing where we are going here. Cody hits a reverse superplex from the top rope. Allin has Rhodes on the hardest part of the ring and goes for a Coffin Drop, but Cody moves and Allin goes splat. Cody then puts Allin in a body bag and hits him with a Disaster Kick. He rips him out of the bag and pins him for a 2 count. We are down to a minute remaining, so Cody starts hitting him with a belt. He goes for a Cross Rhodes and Allin counters out. He gets him back and hits it but runs out of time. After the match, Shawn Spears comes down and hits Cody with a steel chair to the head, which was very controversial and still is. Just a terrible decision by all involved in 2019. Rhodes is bleeding like crazy here. This was a pretty dull match overall and the finish just put a black cloud over it.

Match Rating: *3/4

Laredo Kid & Lucha Brothers vs. Kenny Omega & Young Bucks

We get a dorky Street Fighter entrance that is definitely not for me. I apologize in advance that I won't know the names of probably 15 moves in this match. Excalibur seemingly takes over the play by play here, so I guess JR is in the same boat as I am. We get a way too early 3-man dive spot with the Elite being kind enough to just stand there while the luchadores ham it up. It kind of feels like they are moving in slow motion here so far. To be fair, their slow motion is more than most average speed. JR doesn't like Omega's haircut, for what it's worth. These guys are hitting some big moves, but it kind of feels like they are going through the motions here early on. There just isn't really much to mention here. As soon as I say that, one of the Lucha Brothers gets launched over the top and to the floor onto Omega. Everyone hits a superkick and then we get more dorky Street Fighter stuff. The Elite hit a triple powerbomb and none of them are able to win with it. Nick Jackson hits a 450 splash on two opponents draped on the middle rope. Omega hits a V Trigger that may have been the best looking move of the match so far. We get an extremely telegraphed move that leads to a Spanish Fly to the outside on Jackson. Omega hits a Tiger Driver, but it's not enough. Omega then hits a One-Winged Angel and picks up the victory for his team. This was really disappointing to me. There was no drama in this one for me at all. Kudos to Omega for meeting with all of the front row fans after the match. 

Match Rating: **3/4

The announce team tries to hype us up for the main event, but it sounds like they are ready for bed. To be fair, so am I and it's only 8:00 as I watch this replay. 

Unsanctioned Match
Joey Janela vs. Jon Moxley

They quickly move out into the crowd and then back to the outside of the ring. Janela sets up a table and uses a prosthetic leg from the crowd. Moxley is already bleeding around his eye. Janela misses with a senton and goes through a chair. Moxley pulls out a chair wrapped in barbed wire. He sets it on Janella and stomps on it. Janela comes back and hits a top rope hurricanrana slightly onto the chair. Janela hits him in the back with the chair for good measure. Janela pulls out a second table and puts this one in the ring. Janela grabs Moxley and they both go through the table on the outside from the apron. Back in the ring, Moxley drives Janela through the table in the corner. We get the barbed wire board and Janela gets Moxley into that one. Out comes the ladder and Janela dives and hits Moxley through the table. We eventually get a back body drop over the top rope and through the barbed wire board by Moxley onto Janela. Now we have thumbtacks and Janela gets tossed into those. The thing that made Mick Foley so special was that when he did this type of chaos, there was typically a story being told. This is just moves. Moxley hits the Paradigm Shift into the tacks and that's it. This was a SportsCenter type match. When you watch the highlights, it looks like a great one, but there wasn't much in between those highlights. I mean really the entire point of this was to remind us that Moxley is crazy and not that "PG Dean Ambrose". 

Match Rating: **

After the match, Omega attacks Moxley. They brawl up to the stage area and into some drums that are set up. Moxley gets helped up the ramp until he shoves the refs to the side. Out comes Omega and attacks him with a trash can. Omega hits a Paradigm Shift onto the trash can. We go off the air with Moxley in pain. 

This was a really dull show for me. Nothing was terrible, but it just felt flat for me. I was really disappointed in the 6 man tag, but I'm sure most probably loved it. The Cody match was also really slow and plodding. I really want to enjoy this, but so far, I would say they are 0 for 2. 

Overall Rating: 43%

WCW Monday Nitro 10-30-95 Review

Monday, October 30th, 1995 
Hara Arena
Dayton, Ohio

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork22

Eric Bischoff promises us footage of Halloween Havoc "as soon as it arrives". Bobby Heenan and Steve McMichael try to tell us how good that turd of a show was. Bischoff tells us that Randy Savage was supposed to be here, but due to injuries sustained last night, it will be Eddie Guerrero taking on Sgt. Craig Pittman instead. 

Sgt. Craig Pittman vs. Eddie Guerrero

They let us know that World War 3 is coming up on November 26th. Pittman is just not someone I want to watch wrestle. Pittman works on the arm of Guerrero and hits a suplex. Bischoff lets us know the footage is on its way. This is all just so exciting. Guerrero hits a springboard reverse crossbody for a 2 count. Pittman comes back with a gutwrench powerbomb, but then Guerrero is able to hit him with a pin out of nowhere and pick up the win. I love Eddie, but he couldn't even drag a good match out of Pittman here. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

They show the background of Shark and Scott Norton that lead us to this match tonight.

Shark vs. Scott Norton

They go right at it and Shark gets the best of it, hitting an elbow drop. Norton goes up top and hits a shoulder block. Norton hits a body slam to wake up the crowd. They hit a double clothesline and they show Heenan with Sonny Onoo at a table with a candle and food. These two are up and start brawling outside and I think you know what's going to happen here. They both get counted out as they keep brawling up the stage. They take turns throwing each other into the solid steel WCW sign. They immediately go to Heenan and Onoo again. This match was nothing.

Match Rating: 1/4*

We go to Tony Schiavone in the ring and we get still photos of the Sting/Ric Flair vs. Arn Anderson/Brian Pillman match. Schiavone then brings out Flair, Anderson and Pillman. They hype up the Horsemen being back and that there will soon be a fourth member. 

Sabu vs. Disco Inferno

Sabu catches Disco with a right hand off the bat. He hits a springboard dropkick for a 2 count. We do get a "Sabu" chant from the Dayton crowd. He hits a somersault leg drop over the top and he picks up the victory. We're not getting much in the way of wrestling this week. After the match he dumps Disco out of the ring and he hits a dive and it almost looks like Disco powerbombed him, but that's not the case. Sabu then runs and throws a table at him. Sabu sets him up and goes for a somersault dive, but Disco moves and Sabu lands on the table. Sabu is mad and starts throwing around the steps. There was more action after the match. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Lex Luger & Meng vs. American Males

After last night's events, Luger is now with Jimmy Hart and Kevin Sullivan. We get a commercial break right after the bell rings. When we come back, we get an illegal double team showing off Meng and Luger's teamwork. Meng catches Riggs and Luger hits him with a forearm. Bagwell finally gets the hot tag and hits a bunch of clotheslines and a dropkick. He has Luger for a pin, but Hart distracts the ref and the heels take advantage. Meng hits a superkick and Luger puts Bagwell in the Torture Rack for the victory. This was fine. 

Match Rating: *

Bischoff tells all the kids to be careful while trick or treating. McMichael then sprays Heenan with silly string. We've got the footage of last night and here it is. Ya know, it probably would have made more sense to show this before having Lex Luger wrestle as a heel, don't you think? I promise you, that this footage was no better the second time. They have the Dungeon of Doom in the ring and Giant is wearing the WCW Championship belt. Hart says that when Sullivan was alluding to evil living in Hogan's house, he meant Hart. Giant says that he will defend his title against anyone willing to stand in his way next week. Schiavone doesn't even ask how he can defend a title that isn't his. The good news here though is the real Jimmy Hart is back. He's running circles by the end of this and that makes me happy. This was the highlight of the episode. 

This was not a very strong episode, which is no surprise coming off a bad show in Halloween Havoc. This wasn't awful or anything, but it was just not exciting at all. 

Overall Rating: 35%

Monday Night Raw 10-30-95 Review

Original Airdate: Monday, October 30th, 1995
Keystone Centre
Brandon, Manitoba, Canada

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork22

We get Todd Pettengill doing a Dracula voice for the intro hype video. Vince McMahon is dressed up as a prisoner, how fitting. Jerry Lawler is dressed up as a doctor. 

Savio Vega vs. Goldust

I absolutely love the pumpkin WWF logo used for this Halloween edition. Goldust's music is still a classic. Goldust attacks Savio and gets the upper hand. The old ring attire for Goldust is still kind of weird. Goldust ducks too soon and eats a boot. Goldust hooks himself on the ropes so Vega misses the dropkick and then throws his shoulder into the ring post. There are 4 guys in the crowd dressed up as Goldust fans. He continues working on the shoulder and we go into a commercial break. Savio makes a comeback with some clotheslines and Vince says that Goldust's TV debut is going to be a flop. Savio misses his spin kick and Goldust hits a big boot. He pins him by yanking on the injured shoulder and picks up the victory. This was a pretty good debut and from what I remember, these two had good chemistry with one another. 

Match Rating: **

It's time for the Survivor Series Slam Jam and Dok Hendrix has his face painted. He announces that the Diesel vs. Bret Hart match will be no countouts, no disqualifications and no time limit. 

We get Barry Horowitz taking on Hakushi in Karate Fighters and Horowitz wins. 

Marty Jannetty vs. Joe Dorgan

Jannetty hits his usual high notes here. Minus the part that he's not a good guy, he is a valuable wrestler to have on the roster. It's a shame that he chose to ruin his potential. He hits the top rope fist for the victory. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Next week on Raw, Bret Hart teams with former enemy, Hakushi, to take on Isaac Yankem and Jerry Lawler. Plus, Marty takes on British Bulldog. They were really making Marty earn his paycheck on this taping, huh?

British Bulldog, Jim Cornette, and Clarence Mason are in the ring with Vince. They aren't happy with what happened at In Your House. He wants Diesel and he wants Bret Hart. He brings up that the contract said that the "winner" of the Diesel/Bulldog match would take on Bret at Survivor Series and Bulldog won the match by DQ. They are demanding a match with Bret and that the Wild Card match is unfair. They then say that Jannetty is just a stepping stone and out comes Jannetty to jump him from behind. The segment was a little long and I'm not sure the crowd was really buying it, but it wasn't bad. 

Smoking Gunns vs. Scott D'Amore & Otis Apollo

We see some highlights of the finish and aftermath from In Your House. We then hear from 1-2-3 Kid and he apologizes for what he did at In Your House. He wants a rematch and they better do it soon. Kid was just so weak when it came to promos. The Gunns hit the Sidewinder and pick up the easy victory. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We hear from Bret Hart and he talks about the rules being into his favor and that he will be the new WWF Champion. 

Intercontinental Championship Match
Owen Hart vs. Razor Ramon

In case you didn't know, Karate Fighters is a sponsor. The first big move of the match is Razor catching Owen and hitting the fall away slam. He then knocks Cornette off the apron and goes back to work on the shoulder of Owen. Yokozuna and Mr. Fuji are on their way out now and we go to commercial break. Razor gets dumped out of the ring and then Owen hits a nice running dropkick through the ropes and knocks Razor into the guardrail. Nice sell by Razor there as well. Owen hits a spin kick that looks like it may have connected more than he would have liked there, but I think it was just two pros making it look good. Owen hits a reverse neckbreaker and then a top rope elbow drop that looked amazing. Razor kicks out at 2 and we go to another commercial. During the break, Razor was able to counter out of a sleeper hold by hitting a back suplex. Razor goes for the super back suplex, but Owen counters and then Razor rolls over for a double counter and gets a 2 count. Razor hits a clothesline and we get yet another commercial. Razor has Owen up for the Razor's Edge and in comes Yokozuna to interfere for the DQ finish. Yoko hits a leg drop and Owen stomps away. Out comes 1-2-3 Kid to try and make the save. Now out comes Ahmed Johnson to make his debut. Yoko doesn't see him, but when he turns around, Ahmed hits a body slam to a good pop. Out comes Bulldog and he wants nothing to do with him as we go off the air. The match was good, but the commercial breaks hurt the flow.

Match Rating: ***

That was an improvement over last week with a little bit better flow, despite the squash matches. Owen and Razor put on a good main event. Ahmed got his big spot too that they will use to continue his hype. 

Overall Rating: 52%

Halloween Havoc 1995 Review

Sunday, October 29th, 1995
Joe Louis Arena
Detroit, Michigan

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2

After the hype video, we are with Tony Schiavone and Bobby Heenan. They show Giant and Hulk Hogan in their monster trucks. They also let us know that Ric Flair has been attacked. 

We get the hype video for the opening match, which is the lamest story ever. 

WCW Television Championship Match
Diamond Dallas Page vs. Johnny B. Badd

Badd sneaks from behind on his entrance and we're underway. We get a double noggin knocker with Page and Max Muscle. The brawl spills out in the crowd and Badd gets a bucket from somewhere and puts it on Page's head. We get back in the ring and we go back to standard wrestling. Page dominates for awhile until Badd sneaks in a few pin attempts. Muscle distracts the ref and Page uses some tape to choke Badd. Badd makes his comeback, hitting an inverted atomic drop and throwing some right hands. Badd hits a top rope double ax handle and Kimberly gives Badd a 10. Badd hits a sit-down powerbomb and gets a 2 count. DDP comes back with the Diamond Dream. He goes for the Diamond Cutter, but Badd is able to hold on to the ropes. They battle in the corner and Page spills to the floor. Badd hits a standing somersault dive onto Muscle and Page. He leaps back on him in the ring, but Page kicks out at 2. Muscle grabs Badd, but it backfires and Badd rolls him up, but again Page kicks out. That was a great false finish. We get another double team that backfires and this time Badd wins to become the new Television Champion. The last few minutes were really a lot of fun there. 

Match Rating: ***1/4

Zodiac vs. Randy Savage

A fan is in the ring right after the bell starts, so Savage and Zodiac go outside. Zodiac misses with a second rope splash and then Savage hits the top rope elbow drop for the easy win. What was the point of this? Why not just have him wrestle Luger? 

Match Rating: 1/4*

The WCW Hotline is sizzling tonight, folks. Gene then talks to Badd and he starts his motivational speaking career here with his speech. 

We see the video footage of Kurasawa breaking Hawk's arm in August. 

Kurasawa vs. Road Warrior Hawk

Hawk unloads right away and hits the shoulder block. Hawk misses in the corner and hits his shoulder on the ring post. Kurasawa tries to get his arm, but Hawk basically no sells and hits a body slam. Hawk hits a powerbomb, but then Col. Parker grabs his leg. Kurasawa goes up top and misses with an elbow drop. Hawk clotheslines him over the top rope and then hits a leaping clothesline on Parker. Kurasawa throws Hawk into the ring post. Kurasawa hits a Samoan Drop and picks up the victory when Parker holds Kurasawa's leg on the rope during the pin attempt. What the heck was that? I've seen this show before and I still can't comprehend how stupid this match was. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

We go back to Gene and he's with Savage, who accuses Gene of having a crooked moustache. 

Mr. JL vs. Sabu

Sabu is with the Sheik. Sabu hits a springboard moonsault to the floor and accidentally hits his uncle too. Sabu misses with a dive off the ring steps. JL then hits a top rope dive to Sabu. They are definitely attempting to maximize their minutes. Sabu leaps up to the top, but this time misses the moonsault. Mr. JL tries one and his connects for a 2. Sit-down powerbomb by JL and again a 2 count. Things get a little disjointed and Sabu gets dropkicked off the top to the floor. Back in the ring, Sabu hits a springboard moonsault and gets the win. Immediately after the match, Sheik throws a fireball at JL for good measure. If you like moonsaults, this one was for you. The effort was there, but there was just no psychology. I know that is shocking for a Sabu match.

Match Rating: *1/4

We hear another nonsense promo from the Master and Kevin Sullivan. This is absolutely insulting to everyone's intelligence. 

Just in case we aren't getting enough Hulk Hogan tonight, now he gets to help give away a free motorcycle. No one cares. 

Meng vs. Lex Luger

Meng's mask that he's wearing to the ring is certainly a choice. This one's gotta be better than the Savage match, right? It's kind of crazy to think that if Meng was a wrestler now, he'd probably be involved with the Bloodline angle and a monster heel. I still don't quite understand why he wasn't able to do more than he did. We get mostly standard stuff here. Luger finally gets some offense in with some clotheslines. Meng gabs the gold spike out of his boot and hits him with it. The referee doesn't see it and Meng covers him. Sullivan comes in during the pin attempt and kicks Luger, to give him the disqualification. Meng is confused and Sullivan tries to explain to him. This wasn't bad or anything, but really felt like filler. 

Match Rating: *1/4

Mean Gene is with the Giant. He yells. 

Arn Anderson & Brian Pillman vs. Sting & Ric Flair

Flair is not out to start the match as a result of the reported attack. Heenan does a good job of selling how much it would take for Flair not to be out here and the crowd is chanting "We want Flair". It's all Sting in the early going and he's making it look easy. Just as the momentum shifts, out comes Ric Flair in dress clothes and a bandage on his head. Sting tries to come back and make a tag, but Arn is able to pull his tights to avoid it. The crowd is very much into this match and rightfully so. It's the only good story on this show. Sting gets close again, but this time Pillman comes around and distracts Flair to get him out of his corner. I can't say enough of how good of an announcer Bobby Heenan is. His WCW run isn't his peak in terms of humor, but when he is locked in on the story, he is just an absolute master. I do not think anyone will ever top him. They play the game for quite awhile here, with Sting just not able to make the tag. Sting is finally able to make the tag and Pillman tags in Anderson. Flair comes in and hits Sting with a sucker punch and the three men attack him. This gets a huge reaction and Flair rips the bandage off and throws it in the crowd. Heenan loves it and Pillman gives us the 4 Horeseman signal. This is one of the matches where the angle is part of the match for me and it will be reflected in the rating. 

Match Rating: ***1/2

Mean Gene talks about the moment for a second and then tries to convince us to call the hotline to talk to Hawk. Flair grabs the mic and is fired up. Someone throws a Coke cup and it lands right in between Flair and Arn, which is pretty amazing. They leave and Gene wants an update on Sting and is upset that he hasn't heard yet. Schiavone and Heenan try to figure out if what happened at Fall Brawl was all part of the plan and Heenan said that he didn't even know about any of it. 

We go to Mike Tenay and Lex Luger. Luger says he's not 100%, but when he hears that bell rings, he'll be all over Savage. Get a room, pal. 

Now we get a lengthy Hogan/Giant video package. We now go to Bobby Heenan, Eric Bischoff and Bob Chandler. Apparently, Bischoff must be the expert on monster trucks. They talk about Hogan's truck a little bit and now it's time to go up to the roof of Cobo Hall. Words can't describe how terrible this is and it hasn't even started. I love that we're supposed to buy that both Hogan and Giant know how to be monster truck experts here. Hogan finally wins the battle, but it gets worse from there. They both are out of their trucks and Giant grabs Hogan and they battle, which leads to Hogan pushing him off the roof and allegedly into the Detroit River. I have been a wrestling fan for a really long time and have seen so many stupid things in this business. This is really high up there on that list. They go back to the announce team and Bischoff and Heenan are trying to sell this, while Chandler has no idea what to do here. Meanwhile, you can hear vendors selling things in the background. 

Lex Luger vs. Randy Savage

This is also where booking matters and where WCW didn't always do a good job. Obviously, they have to sell this Giant injury thing, so why would you book this match to follow it? Schiavone even apologizes to both competitors that they have to figure out what happened to Giant. Within seconds, Jimmy Hart is out at ringside. Luger gets a mixed reaction to his initial offense and by mixed, I mean mostly boos. Heenan is screaming trying to get an update. Jimmy Hart has the ref distracted and then Luger tries to cheat with pinning his feet on the ropes, but the ref doesn't see it. Savage shoves Luger into Hart, hits the top rope elbow drop and wins. This was a Nitro match at best. Right after the win, Heenan goes right back to what happened. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Schiavone is at the point where now he's not even selling it and talking about how exciting the monster truck battle was. Heenan is still livid and talking about how far he and Giant's "father" go back. They replay the whole segment, just in case you didn't remember how terrible it was. Heenan gets on his knees to beg for someone to give them an update. Heenan says the reason they haven't heard is because it's bad. The best part of all of this, is that it's somehow going to get even worse. 

WCW Championship Match
Hulk Hogan vs. Giant

Hogan comes out with no expression on his face. He grabs the mic and says that the Giant wasn't supposed to take the plunge, brother. He's then interrupted by the Dungeon of Doom music and it's the Giant and Sullivan. Giant has no signs of injury. I still can't believe they booked this. Hogan tries to to body slam him, but instead just gets his fingers up Giant's butthole. Giant goes into late 80s heel offense, but the crowd is mostly still into this. Giant is noticeably not the wrestler you think of during his prime. Giant misses with an elbow drop and Hogan starts hitting the usual crap. Hogan clotheslines him over the top rope and to the floor. They start walking to the back, which makes no sense. Hogan goes after him and throws him in the ring. Kevin Sullivan really adds nothing to a match as a manager. It just makes you appreciate the good ones so much more. Giant slaps on my favorite move, the bear hug. They are starting to lose the crowd a little bit here. Hogan finally fights his way out of it after seemingly 25 minutes in it. He gets out, but then runs into a chokeslam. You'll never believe it, but Hogan kicks out at 2. Hogan hits the big boot, but Giant is still on his feet. Hogan rakes the eyes and hits a body slam. He hits a leg drop and goes for the pin and the camera misses that Jimmy Hart hit the referee. Hart hits Hogan in the back of the head with the belt. Hogan is livid and then Giant puts him in another bear hug. Are you kidding me? Out comes Luger and Savage. Most importantly, here comes the YET-AY! He comes from behind Hogan and has him in a compromising position. Luger then puts Hogan in the Torture Rack. He then puts Savage in the Torture Rack. Heenan says that we'll never see another pay per view like this again. If only that were true. They announce that Giant is the winner by DQ, but the title does not change hands. This is absolutely one of the worst main events I can think of. To anyone who says Diesel/Mabel is terrible, I submit this as something that is a million times worse. 

Overall Rating: 0 Stars

This is an all timer when it comes to bad shows. The opening match is fun and the Flair/Sting stuff was well done. Everything else is terrible and the main event along with the monster truck stuff is among the worst I have ever seen in my 35 years of watching wrestling. Absolutely atrocious. 

Overall Rating: 18%