Original Airdate: Wednesday, October 17th, 2012
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Alex Riley vs. Jinder Mahal
First time seeing Riley in a long time and first time for Jinder since losing to Seth Rollins for the NXT Championship.. The crowd immediately starts chanting "USA". Never change, wrestling fans. Riley hits a big dopkick, but Mahal is back in control after a knee to the gut. After some boring offense, Riley gets a sloppy roll up and gets the victory? The match was really boring and that ending was only good because it ended it.
Match Rating: 1/4* (out of 5)
After the match, Mahal attacks Riley and puts him in the Camel Clutch.
Trent Barreta vs. Jake Carter
After that last match, I need a little Trent Barreta in my life. We get a little back and forth until Barreta goes for a crossbody that Carter sidesteps, causing him to get hung up in the ropes. Barretta hits a step up enzaguri and the modified springboard elbow, but Carter nails him with a clothesline. Barretta hits a nice move off the top rope, but Carter kicks out at 2. Carter goes for a big move, but Barreta outsmarts him and hits the knee to the face for the victory. Trent looked good in his spots, but Carter needs a lot of work.
Match Rating: *
Damien Sandow vs. Brandon Traven
Sandow cuts a fun promo on his way to the ring and reminds me of how much I miss him. Traven looks like the son of some of the great jobbers on Superstars in 1992. Traven goes for a right hand, but Sandow retreats and hides in the corner. Sandow was so in tune with his character and so good at outsmarting his opponents, it really was a shame that he never got a chance to do more than what he did. Traven goes for a sunset flip attempt, but Sandow blocks it but Traven hits a dropkick. Sandow gets back and hits a side Russian leg sweep and a corkscrew elbow. He follows it up with the Terminus and gets the victory. Sandow looked confident and very sharp here.
Match Rating: *1/2
The Ascension & Kassius Ohno vs. The Usos & Richie Steamboat
It's the two feuds that will never end here and all six men begin brawling. Back from the commercial break and things have since calmed down. Kenneth Cameron and Jimmy Uso start things off. Ohno gets a shot at Steamboat, but Ohno retreats. Conor O'Brian hits a Bubba Bomb on Jey, which is a move I'm surprised more guys don't use. We get a second commercial break and the heels are still in control. I was kind of hoping this was going to be a pedal to the metal type of match, but it's been anything but that. After watching these original NXT episodes, it's pretty obvious that this was truly a developmental promotion where guys had a lot less creative freedom than they do now. If this was how long the heat segment of this match was going to be, I would have rather they threw in an extra squash match and cut time from this. Jey Uso finally gets out of there and tags in Steamboat who gets to finally take some shots at Ohno. Superkick by Ohno, but the Ascension breaks up the count. The Usos do a pretty mediocre pair of dives over the top rope. Steamboat looks to join them, but Ohno from behind knocks out Steamboat and pins him for the victory. Well, that was a really big disappointment. This had potential to be really entertaining and instead was about as dull as it could have been.
Match Rating: 3/4*
We get another really disappointing episode after some promising signs that the show was starting to come into it's own a few weeks ago. Damien Sandow was definitely the highlight and he's not even on the roster. There's always next week, right?
Overall Rating: 32%
Friday, May 31, 2019
Thursday, May 30, 2019
Superstars 8-22-92 Review
Original Airdate: Saturday, August 22nd, 1992
Worcester Centrum
Worcester, Massachussetts
Mr. Perfect refuses to give us any hints as to whose corner he will be in at SummerSlam.
Repo Man & The Beverly Brothers vs. Hacksaw Jim Duggan & The Bushwhackers
This is the first appearance for the Bushwhackers and Hacksaw here on Superstars. Things get out of control quickly. We get Battering Rams and other illegal double teams to start things off. The heels quickly regain control through their dastardly ways. Butch makes a hot tag to Hacksaw and then they hit some more Battering Rams. The Repo Man grabs Butch's leg, which causes the ref to be distracted and the Beverly Brothers smash the scroll over the head of Luke. That was pretty short, but it was good 1992 era fun.
Match Rating: *3/4 (out of 5)
Update time with Mean Gene and he shows the Ric Flair/Ultimate Warrior interview followed by the Macho Man/Mr. Perfect interview from last week. We then get interviews from Ultimate Warrior and Macho Man.
Papa Shango vs. Scott Taylor
Taylor doesn't even get his name announced and is squashed about as quickly as I can think of here on Superstars. Shango has no feud, but they are keeping him strong even though his feud with Warrior bombed and parents are complaining. After the match, he essentially stabs Taylor with his staff. Bret Hart then comes out and stops Shango in one of the more random run ins.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Sean Mooney time and he runs down some of the card. Money, Inc. say that they will be the #1 contenders. Legion of Doom gives a good classic promo even if Rocco is there.
They show an interview from Prime Time with Jimmy Hart and Mean Gene. Jimmy reveals that Ultimate Warrior and Macho Man are going to be forced to team against the Nasty Boys.
Crush vs. ???
Another match where they don't announce the opponent and they don't even talk about the match. Why was this even on the show?
Match Rating: 1/4*
Back to Sean Mooney and now we are with the Beverly Brothers and they want the tag team belts. The Natural Disasters talk about how hard they worked to get the belts and there's no way they are losing them.
Razor Ramon vs. Tony Roi
Congrats to Roi for getting his name announced. Razor hits gets all of his big moves in and finishes Roi with the Razor's Edge, which apparently isn't named that yet.
Match Rating: 1/4*
We get a promo from Bruce Hart, who is wearing a British Bulldog t-shirt. Bruce is tired of everything revolving around Bret and thinks his head is too big and Davey is going to win.
Bret Hart vs. Richie Rich
Imagine being told that your name is going to be Richie Rich? Bret gives his sunglasses to a pretty young kid, who no sells it. Owen makes his prediction that Bret will win at SummerSlam. Bret is of course dominating and out comes Papa Shango. Bret doesn't even notice Shango and gets the Sharpshooter on and scores the victory.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Mean Gene runs down the SummerSlam card. Did you know British Bulldog and Bret Hart are related? Harvey Wippleman tells Undertaker that the funeral is going to be his.
John Armstrong vs. Nailz
We get the usual Nailz squash here, where he basically just chokes his opponent and hits a couple of sloppy looking moves. He then chokes out Armstrong for the win. Another terrible appearance by Nailz.
Match Rating: 1/4*
We go back to the Event Center for the last time. Berzerker gets the SummerSlam background but for the second straight pay-per-view in a row, his match gets cut.
They once again hype up the Nasty Boys vs. Ultimate Warrior and Macho Man match. The Nasty Boys are pretty pumped about having that match.
Well, this was a little bit of a different show where we got one feature match and the rest was just background noise. I enjoyed the opener for what it was and am looking forward to revisiting SummerSlam for the first time in approximately 10 years.
Overall Rating: 40%
Worcester Centrum
Worcester, Massachussetts
Mr. Perfect refuses to give us any hints as to whose corner he will be in at SummerSlam.
Repo Man & The Beverly Brothers vs. Hacksaw Jim Duggan & The Bushwhackers
This is the first appearance for the Bushwhackers and Hacksaw here on Superstars. Things get out of control quickly. We get Battering Rams and other illegal double teams to start things off. The heels quickly regain control through their dastardly ways. Butch makes a hot tag to Hacksaw and then they hit some more Battering Rams. The Repo Man grabs Butch's leg, which causes the ref to be distracted and the Beverly Brothers smash the scroll over the head of Luke. That was pretty short, but it was good 1992 era fun.
Match Rating: *3/4 (out of 5)
Update time with Mean Gene and he shows the Ric Flair/Ultimate Warrior interview followed by the Macho Man/Mr. Perfect interview from last week. We then get interviews from Ultimate Warrior and Macho Man.
Papa Shango vs. Scott Taylor
Taylor doesn't even get his name announced and is squashed about as quickly as I can think of here on Superstars. Shango has no feud, but they are keeping him strong even though his feud with Warrior bombed and parents are complaining. After the match, he essentially stabs Taylor with his staff. Bret Hart then comes out and stops Shango in one of the more random run ins.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Sean Mooney time and he runs down some of the card. Money, Inc. say that they will be the #1 contenders. Legion of Doom gives a good classic promo even if Rocco is there.
They show an interview from Prime Time with Jimmy Hart and Mean Gene. Jimmy reveals that Ultimate Warrior and Macho Man are going to be forced to team against the Nasty Boys.
Crush vs. ???
Another match where they don't announce the opponent and they don't even talk about the match. Why was this even on the show?
Match Rating: 1/4*
Back to Sean Mooney and now we are with the Beverly Brothers and they want the tag team belts. The Natural Disasters talk about how hard they worked to get the belts and there's no way they are losing them.
Razor Ramon vs. Tony Roi
Congrats to Roi for getting his name announced. Razor hits gets all of his big moves in and finishes Roi with the Razor's Edge, which apparently isn't named that yet.
Match Rating: 1/4*
We get a promo from Bruce Hart, who is wearing a British Bulldog t-shirt. Bruce is tired of everything revolving around Bret and thinks his head is too big and Davey is going to win.
Bret Hart vs. Richie Rich
Imagine being told that your name is going to be Richie Rich? Bret gives his sunglasses to a pretty young kid, who no sells it. Owen makes his prediction that Bret will win at SummerSlam. Bret is of course dominating and out comes Papa Shango. Bret doesn't even notice Shango and gets the Sharpshooter on and scores the victory.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Mean Gene runs down the SummerSlam card. Did you know British Bulldog and Bret Hart are related? Harvey Wippleman tells Undertaker that the funeral is going to be his.
John Armstrong vs. Nailz
We get the usual Nailz squash here, where he basically just chokes his opponent and hits a couple of sloppy looking moves. He then chokes out Armstrong for the win. Another terrible appearance by Nailz.
Match Rating: 1/4*
We go back to the Event Center for the last time. Berzerker gets the SummerSlam background but for the second straight pay-per-view in a row, his match gets cut.
They once again hype up the Nasty Boys vs. Ultimate Warrior and Macho Man match. The Nasty Boys are pretty pumped about having that match.
Well, this was a little bit of a different show where we got one feature match and the rest was just background noise. I enjoyed the opener for what it was and am looking forward to revisiting SummerSlam for the first time in approximately 10 years.
Overall Rating: 40%
Wednesday, May 29, 2019
SmackDown 3-10-05 Review
Original Airdate: Thursday, March 10th, 2005
Roanoke Civic Center
Roanoke, Virginia
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
JBL and his Cabinet open up the show. There haven't been many more lame stables in the history of the company that were actually successful. Tonight we are getting Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio vs. JBL and Orlando Jordan. It's getting harder for me to pay attention to these promos every week. JBL says that the spinner US Championship belt is everything he hates about John Cena. They throw it in a dumpster and then blow it up and then JBL gives OJ the standard US Championship belt.
No Disqualification Match
Booker T vs. Heidenreich
Boy, does 2005 SmackDown get me or what? This is the "Sorry, Booker. You're not on WrestleMania" match. These two guys would be among the biggest men on the 2019 WWE roster. They are starting off at a pretty quick pace, which tells me this isn't going to be very long. Heidenreich slows down Booker with a side suplex. Booker then nails Heidenreich with a low blow to regain control for a short time before Heidenreich throws Booker into the steel post. They are now battling in the crowd, with Heidenreich taking it to Booker. Booker fights back with some clotheslines and a spinebuster. Heidenreich then hits a big clothesline that spins Booker around. Heidenreich brings a chair into the ring and oddly kind of pushes it in while crawling, which means something is not going to go right for him. Booker hits a scissors kick onto the chair. Booker then hits a sickening chair shot to the head and gets the victory. Man, I can't wait for the chair to the head era is over. There is absolutely no question that this was a much better match than the one we got at No Way Out.
Match Rating: ** (out of 5)
Teddy Long is backstage and interrupted by Carlito. They talk about the Randy Orton challenge for the Undertaker at WrestleMania. Long tells Carlito that he needs to find Undertaker and get his response or else he won't have a job.
Rey and Eddie are in the locker room. Chavo comes in and wishes them good luck because if they lose that he would be be the only Guerrero wearing gold.
Carlito is looking for Undertaker and the lights go out, causing Carlito to scream.
Luther Reigns vs. Mark Jindrak
Before Reigns can even make it down the aisle, Jindrak jumps him from behind. Reigns then knocks Jindrak off the apron. They are back in the ring and the match is officially underway. In the shots where they show some more of the arena, it sure looks like there are a good amount of people heading to the bathroom and concession stands. Jindrak hits a big clothesline and then eventually a dropkick. They definitely have the fake audience noise on for this match. It's only fitting that I am having my first issues with the WWE Network in months during this classic. Jindrak hits a left hook for the pinfall. That was pretty much a burial of Reigns.
Match Rating: 1/4*
John Cena has arrived and he says that he is going to take care of business in the ring. Back from commercial break and he has a pipe in his hand. We're getting serious Cena here tonight. Cena calls out JBL, but out comes Teddy Long. Teddy says he can change tonight's main event to Cena vs. Orlando Jordan. Cena says no and eventually gives Teddy a FU in an odd moment.
The gold medal is hanging over a ladder and Kurt Angle's music hits. Kurt introduces a video package of the WrestleMania X ladder match. Out comes the jobber and his name is Mike Haywood.
Ladder Match
Kurt Angle vs. Mike Haywood
Angle slaps Haywood and gives him a belly to belly suplex. After clobbering Haywood, he gives him the Angle Slam and then begins to climb the ladder, but decides to step down. Here comes the Ankle Lock. Angle walks up the ladder and gets the victory.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Angle cuts a promo on top of the ladder and says that he would have beaten Michaels without breaking a sweat. Angle then talks about Michaels' debut at WrestleMania V with the Rockers. Angle says that Jannetty was the backbone of the Rockers and Angle says he is going to be taking on Jannetty next week on SmackDown.
Big Show is backstage with Joy. Big Show will be taking on Akebono at WrestleMania.
Carlito is still looking for Undertaker. He backs into Torrie Wilson, who scares Carlito. Carlito then says he is going to go to the ring to call out Undertaker himself. Carlito is now on his way to the ring. Carlito asks for an answer and the lights go out and Taker's music hits. Out comes the Dead Man. Twenty minutes later, Carlito asks for an answer. Taker says Randy Orton will be like all the others and rest in peace. He then gives Carlito a Tombstone.
JBL and Orlando are talking and they say they are walking away with all the gold. Jordan asks what happens if Cena shows up? JBL says that's what all the security guards are for.
WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Eddie Guerrero & Rey Mysterio vs. JBL & Orlando Jordan
JBL and Eddie start things off. JBL gets in some stiff shoulder blocks before Eddie hits two nice arm drags. The champions start to work on Jordan. They all sort of taking turns getting worked on, which is a nice little wrinkle from what we normally see in a tag team TV match. Just as I say that, the Bashams get involved and JBL gives a big boot to Rey when the ref isn't looking. After the commercial break, JBL hits a big suplex for a 2 count. JBL then hits a big time fall away slam, which allows Jordan to get some work in behind the ref's back. The heels continue to work on Rey's back. Eddie's interference attempt backfires, allowing the heels to double team on Rey. Rey fights back and sets up Jordan for the 619. JBL holds up a chair and Rey hits it with his legs, causing the ref to call for the bell. The Bashams are back down and they start a 4-on-2 on the champions. Cena comes through the crowd with his pipe and takes care of the entire Cabinet as JBL walks through the crowd. I have to say, I'm a little surprised the pop wasn't a little bit bigger for Cena here. This was a pretty good match, but it only was here for the run in at the end.
Match Rating: **1/2
Well, we get yet another below average episode of SmackDown here. The roster is in dire need of an overhaul here. It doesn't help that they rarely ever use the cruiserweights on the show and instead would rather give us Luther Reigns and Heidenreich. I will say that I am looking forward to watching the Kurt Angle/Marty Jannetty match next week, as I never have seen it. We'll see if that's enough to get this show into the next gear for WrestleMania.
Overall Rating: 35%
Roanoke Civic Center
Roanoke, Virginia
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
JBL and his Cabinet open up the show. There haven't been many more lame stables in the history of the company that were actually successful. Tonight we are getting Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio vs. JBL and Orlando Jordan. It's getting harder for me to pay attention to these promos every week. JBL says that the spinner US Championship belt is everything he hates about John Cena. They throw it in a dumpster and then blow it up and then JBL gives OJ the standard US Championship belt.
No Disqualification Match
Booker T vs. Heidenreich
Boy, does 2005 SmackDown get me or what? This is the "Sorry, Booker. You're not on WrestleMania" match. These two guys would be among the biggest men on the 2019 WWE roster. They are starting off at a pretty quick pace, which tells me this isn't going to be very long. Heidenreich slows down Booker with a side suplex. Booker then nails Heidenreich with a low blow to regain control for a short time before Heidenreich throws Booker into the steel post. They are now battling in the crowd, with Heidenreich taking it to Booker. Booker fights back with some clotheslines and a spinebuster. Heidenreich then hits a big clothesline that spins Booker around. Heidenreich brings a chair into the ring and oddly kind of pushes it in while crawling, which means something is not going to go right for him. Booker hits a scissors kick onto the chair. Booker then hits a sickening chair shot to the head and gets the victory. Man, I can't wait for the chair to the head era is over. There is absolutely no question that this was a much better match than the one we got at No Way Out.
Match Rating: ** (out of 5)
Teddy Long is backstage and interrupted by Carlito. They talk about the Randy Orton challenge for the Undertaker at WrestleMania. Long tells Carlito that he needs to find Undertaker and get his response or else he won't have a job.
Rey and Eddie are in the locker room. Chavo comes in and wishes them good luck because if they lose that he would be be the only Guerrero wearing gold.
Carlito is looking for Undertaker and the lights go out, causing Carlito to scream.
Luther Reigns vs. Mark Jindrak
Before Reigns can even make it down the aisle, Jindrak jumps him from behind. Reigns then knocks Jindrak off the apron. They are back in the ring and the match is officially underway. In the shots where they show some more of the arena, it sure looks like there are a good amount of people heading to the bathroom and concession stands. Jindrak hits a big clothesline and then eventually a dropkick. They definitely have the fake audience noise on for this match. It's only fitting that I am having my first issues with the WWE Network in months during this classic. Jindrak hits a left hook for the pinfall. That was pretty much a burial of Reigns.
Match Rating: 1/4*
John Cena has arrived and he says that he is going to take care of business in the ring. Back from commercial break and he has a pipe in his hand. We're getting serious Cena here tonight. Cena calls out JBL, but out comes Teddy Long. Teddy says he can change tonight's main event to Cena vs. Orlando Jordan. Cena says no and eventually gives Teddy a FU in an odd moment.
The gold medal is hanging over a ladder and Kurt Angle's music hits. Kurt introduces a video package of the WrestleMania X ladder match. Out comes the jobber and his name is Mike Haywood.
Ladder Match
Kurt Angle vs. Mike Haywood
Angle slaps Haywood and gives him a belly to belly suplex. After clobbering Haywood, he gives him the Angle Slam and then begins to climb the ladder, but decides to step down. Here comes the Ankle Lock. Angle walks up the ladder and gets the victory.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Angle cuts a promo on top of the ladder and says that he would have beaten Michaels without breaking a sweat. Angle then talks about Michaels' debut at WrestleMania V with the Rockers. Angle says that Jannetty was the backbone of the Rockers and Angle says he is going to be taking on Jannetty next week on SmackDown.
Big Show is backstage with Joy. Big Show will be taking on Akebono at WrestleMania.
Carlito is still looking for Undertaker. He backs into Torrie Wilson, who scares Carlito. Carlito then says he is going to go to the ring to call out Undertaker himself. Carlito is now on his way to the ring. Carlito asks for an answer and the lights go out and Taker's music hits. Out comes the Dead Man. Twenty minutes later, Carlito asks for an answer. Taker says Randy Orton will be like all the others and rest in peace. He then gives Carlito a Tombstone.
JBL and Orlando are talking and they say they are walking away with all the gold. Jordan asks what happens if Cena shows up? JBL says that's what all the security guards are for.
WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Eddie Guerrero & Rey Mysterio vs. JBL & Orlando Jordan
JBL and Eddie start things off. JBL gets in some stiff shoulder blocks before Eddie hits two nice arm drags. The champions start to work on Jordan. They all sort of taking turns getting worked on, which is a nice little wrinkle from what we normally see in a tag team TV match. Just as I say that, the Bashams get involved and JBL gives a big boot to Rey when the ref isn't looking. After the commercial break, JBL hits a big suplex for a 2 count. JBL then hits a big time fall away slam, which allows Jordan to get some work in behind the ref's back. The heels continue to work on Rey's back. Eddie's interference attempt backfires, allowing the heels to double team on Rey. Rey fights back and sets up Jordan for the 619. JBL holds up a chair and Rey hits it with his legs, causing the ref to call for the bell. The Bashams are back down and they start a 4-on-2 on the champions. Cena comes through the crowd with his pipe and takes care of the entire Cabinet as JBL walks through the crowd. I have to say, I'm a little surprised the pop wasn't a little bit bigger for Cena here. This was a pretty good match, but it only was here for the run in at the end.
Match Rating: **1/2
Well, we get yet another below average episode of SmackDown here. The roster is in dire need of an overhaul here. It doesn't help that they rarely ever use the cruiserweights on the show and instead would rather give us Luther Reigns and Heidenreich. I will say that I am looking forward to watching the Kurt Angle/Marty Jannetty match next week, as I never have seen it. We'll see if that's enough to get this show into the next gear for WrestleMania.
Overall Rating: 35%
Saturday, May 25, 2019
Monday Night Raw 3-7-05 Review
Monday, March 7th, 2005
RBC Center
Raleigh, North Carolina
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Shawn Michaels is here to kick off the show. He talks about how he showed up on SmackDown to attack Kurt Angle. Shawn says that Angle has never faced him at the biggest stage. Angle then shows up on the Titan Tron. Angle says that he's going to accomplish everything Shawn has in his career in the next 4 weeks.
Triple H vs. Rosey
Triple H goes right after Rosey, but Rosey counters and gets some right hands in. He then hits a big splash to the corner followed by a body slam. Rosey goes to the second rope and attempts a moonsault, but Triple H is able to move. Triple H knees Rosey out of the ring and then slams him into the steel steps. I always liked Rosey and he was fun in this role, even if it never really went anywhere. Spinebuster by Triple H followed up by the Pedigree and that's all. As far as 3 minute squash matches go, that was an above average one.
Match Rating: * (out of 5)
After the match, Triple H grabs his sledgehammer and clubs Rosey in the ribs. Out comes the medical team with a stretcher as Triple H celebrates.
They hype up Christy Hemme's Playboy photo shoot.
Flair is sitting alone backstage and in walks Triple H celebrating his win over Rosey. Flair says he is overwhelmed by his match with Batista. Triple H talks him up and tells Flair that he and the sledgehammer will be at ringside.
Edge, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, Shelton Benjamin and Christian are all backstage and Eric Bischoff tells them about the Money In The Bank match they are going to have at WrestleMania. Christian thinks he won't have to face anyone, but Bischoff says that he does have a match and that it is next.
Christian vs. Kane
Christian goes right after Kane, but it doesn't last long. On a side note, Christian's story of crumpling up Kane's vending machine snack was one of the funnier stories I have heard (it was featured on the Kane episode of the E&C Pod of Awesomeness). Christian does actually end up getting a little bit of awesomeness, but man watching these old Raw episodes is just a reminder of how big of a jobber they treated him at times. Big boot by Kane and followed up with a chokeslam for the victory. For what it was, it was spirited. However, there's no reason they had to make Christian look this weak before a big match.
Match Rating: *1/4
After the match, Tomko attacks Kane with a ladder, but Kane almost immediately sits up.
Randy Orton is talking to Stacy Keibler and tells her that tonight he is officially going to make his challenge for WrestleMania.
JR and Jerry Lawler do a lame Subway promotional spot. I forgot about these.
Chris Jericho vs. Edge
No arguments from me on this matchup. Jericho starts off with some mat work, working on Edge's arms. Step up enzaguri and then a springboard dropkick knocks Edge to the outside. After the commercial break, Edge hits a superplex and both men are down. Edge continues to dominate until he mocks Jericho and is given a big clothesline in return. Jericho continues to work on the arm and follows it up with a missile dropkick and a bulldog. Edge regains control and we get a ref bump. Edge goes for a spear, but Jericho shoves him out of the ring. Edge grabs the ladder at ringside, but Jericho hits a drop toe hold into the ladder. There is still no ref and while Jericho is looking for him, Edge hits Jericho south of the border with the ladder. Edge hits the Edgecution as the ref is getting up and gets the victory. This was good action, although Jericho's arm work didn't lead to anything.
Match Rating: **3/4
Coach and Bischoff are backstage. Bischoff announces Pick Your Poison Monday. Batista and Triple H will pick each others opponent for the next two weeks.
Randy Orton is in the ring talking about his dad and moves on to how he is a legend killer. Orton says he will do what no one else has ever done, beat the Undertaker at WrestleMania. Bischoff is out and congratulates him on his challenge. Orton then starts complimenting Bischoff and tells him that his accolades make him a bit of a legend. Bischoff knows what coming, but it's too late as he is hit with an RKO.
Chris Benoit vs. Shelton Benjamin
Both guys start with a little legit wrestling that earns them a light applause. They then start nailing each other with right hands and chops. Benoit dumps Shelton outside the ring and goes for a suicide dive. Benjamin moves and Benoit drills the ladder in a scary spot. Benoit eventually hits the 3 Germans. We get a lot of nice little sequences that lead to Benoit putting on the Crippler Crossface for the hard earned victory. That was a really good match for as short as it was. I'm a little surprised Benoit went over that quickly, since it's Shelton who is the least established of the six Money In The Bank competitors.
Match Rating: **1/2
Bischoff and Coachman are interrupted by Muhammad Hassan and Daivari. Hassan is upset about not being in the Money In The Bank match. In all honesty, he probably should have, but I'm glad he wasn't.
Christy Hemme comes down and calls out Trish Stratus. Trish reminds us that Christy's Playboy is coming out Friday and we get more of this horrible storyline. Christy then challenges Trish to a match at WrestleMania to little applause. Trish tells her if she gets into the ring with her, she will end her career, as it won't be a lingerie pillow fight. Christy then reveals that she has been getting trained by Lita as she makes her way down to the ring. Lita distracts Trish and Christy hits her with a Twist Of Fate. Let's hope she continues training.
Bischoff confronts Triple H and Ric Flair and he tells Triple H that he can't be at ringside with the sledgehammer for Flair's match against Batista. Bischoff takes it away and they all act as if that's the only sledgehammer in existence.
They announce that Batista has chosen Chris Benoit as Triple H's opponent for next week's Raw.
Ric Flair vs. Batista
Batista shows off his strength early by shoving Flair to the ground. Flair reaches into his bag of tricks for a poke in the eye and then chops Batista, who is no selling them. Back body drop by Batista and then goes right to the corner for some right hands. Flair is able to pull off a chop block and finally slows down Batista. Flair puts on the Figure Four while holding onto Triple H, but Batista still quickly reverses. Flair goes up top and we all know how that one ends. Batista then hits a powerslam and yells over to Triple H. Batista goes for the Batista Bomb, but Triple H runs in and Batista throws him out quickly and hits the Batista Bomb anyways for the victory. That was pretty short and not particularly exciting.
Match Rating: *1/2
After the match, Triple H goes after the knee of Batista. He goes under the ring and you'll never guess what he found? Another sledgehammer. Well I'll be. Batista steals it from him and cracks it over his knee and Triple H backpedals up the ramp.
Overall, that was a pretty good show. Edge/Jericho and Benoit/Benjamin were both good matches and the Triple H squash was spirited. I'm still not into the Batista/Triple H story and the Christy Playboy stuff is just barf. Mild thumbs up this week.
Overall Rating: 60%
RBC Center
Raleigh, North Carolina
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Shawn Michaels is here to kick off the show. He talks about how he showed up on SmackDown to attack Kurt Angle. Shawn says that Angle has never faced him at the biggest stage. Angle then shows up on the Titan Tron. Angle says that he's going to accomplish everything Shawn has in his career in the next 4 weeks.
Triple H vs. Rosey
Triple H goes right after Rosey, but Rosey counters and gets some right hands in. He then hits a big splash to the corner followed by a body slam. Rosey goes to the second rope and attempts a moonsault, but Triple H is able to move. Triple H knees Rosey out of the ring and then slams him into the steel steps. I always liked Rosey and he was fun in this role, even if it never really went anywhere. Spinebuster by Triple H followed up by the Pedigree and that's all. As far as 3 minute squash matches go, that was an above average one.
Match Rating: * (out of 5)
After the match, Triple H grabs his sledgehammer and clubs Rosey in the ribs. Out comes the medical team with a stretcher as Triple H celebrates.
They hype up Christy Hemme's Playboy photo shoot.
Flair is sitting alone backstage and in walks Triple H celebrating his win over Rosey. Flair says he is overwhelmed by his match with Batista. Triple H talks him up and tells Flair that he and the sledgehammer will be at ringside.
Edge, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, Shelton Benjamin and Christian are all backstage and Eric Bischoff tells them about the Money In The Bank match they are going to have at WrestleMania. Christian thinks he won't have to face anyone, but Bischoff says that he does have a match and that it is next.
Christian vs. Kane
Christian goes right after Kane, but it doesn't last long. On a side note, Christian's story of crumpling up Kane's vending machine snack was one of the funnier stories I have heard (it was featured on the Kane episode of the E&C Pod of Awesomeness). Christian does actually end up getting a little bit of awesomeness, but man watching these old Raw episodes is just a reminder of how big of a jobber they treated him at times. Big boot by Kane and followed up with a chokeslam for the victory. For what it was, it was spirited. However, there's no reason they had to make Christian look this weak before a big match.
Match Rating: *1/4
After the match, Tomko attacks Kane with a ladder, but Kane almost immediately sits up.
Randy Orton is talking to Stacy Keibler and tells her that tonight he is officially going to make his challenge for WrestleMania.
JR and Jerry Lawler do a lame Subway promotional spot. I forgot about these.
Chris Jericho vs. Edge
No arguments from me on this matchup. Jericho starts off with some mat work, working on Edge's arms. Step up enzaguri and then a springboard dropkick knocks Edge to the outside. After the commercial break, Edge hits a superplex and both men are down. Edge continues to dominate until he mocks Jericho and is given a big clothesline in return. Jericho continues to work on the arm and follows it up with a missile dropkick and a bulldog. Edge regains control and we get a ref bump. Edge goes for a spear, but Jericho shoves him out of the ring. Edge grabs the ladder at ringside, but Jericho hits a drop toe hold into the ladder. There is still no ref and while Jericho is looking for him, Edge hits Jericho south of the border with the ladder. Edge hits the Edgecution as the ref is getting up and gets the victory. This was good action, although Jericho's arm work didn't lead to anything.
Match Rating: **3/4
Coach and Bischoff are backstage. Bischoff announces Pick Your Poison Monday. Batista and Triple H will pick each others opponent for the next two weeks.
Randy Orton is in the ring talking about his dad and moves on to how he is a legend killer. Orton says he will do what no one else has ever done, beat the Undertaker at WrestleMania. Bischoff is out and congratulates him on his challenge. Orton then starts complimenting Bischoff and tells him that his accolades make him a bit of a legend. Bischoff knows what coming, but it's too late as he is hit with an RKO.
Chris Benoit vs. Shelton Benjamin
Both guys start with a little legit wrestling that earns them a light applause. They then start nailing each other with right hands and chops. Benoit dumps Shelton outside the ring and goes for a suicide dive. Benjamin moves and Benoit drills the ladder in a scary spot. Benoit eventually hits the 3 Germans. We get a lot of nice little sequences that lead to Benoit putting on the Crippler Crossface for the hard earned victory. That was a really good match for as short as it was. I'm a little surprised Benoit went over that quickly, since it's Shelton who is the least established of the six Money In The Bank competitors.
Match Rating: **1/2
Bischoff and Coachman are interrupted by Muhammad Hassan and Daivari. Hassan is upset about not being in the Money In The Bank match. In all honesty, he probably should have, but I'm glad he wasn't.
Christy Hemme comes down and calls out Trish Stratus. Trish reminds us that Christy's Playboy is coming out Friday and we get more of this horrible storyline. Christy then challenges Trish to a match at WrestleMania to little applause. Trish tells her if she gets into the ring with her, she will end her career, as it won't be a lingerie pillow fight. Christy then reveals that she has been getting trained by Lita as she makes her way down to the ring. Lita distracts Trish and Christy hits her with a Twist Of Fate. Let's hope she continues training.
Bischoff confronts Triple H and Ric Flair and he tells Triple H that he can't be at ringside with the sledgehammer for Flair's match against Batista. Bischoff takes it away and they all act as if that's the only sledgehammer in existence.
They announce that Batista has chosen Chris Benoit as Triple H's opponent for next week's Raw.
Ric Flair vs. Batista
Batista shows off his strength early by shoving Flair to the ground. Flair reaches into his bag of tricks for a poke in the eye and then chops Batista, who is no selling them. Back body drop by Batista and then goes right to the corner for some right hands. Flair is able to pull off a chop block and finally slows down Batista. Flair puts on the Figure Four while holding onto Triple H, but Batista still quickly reverses. Flair goes up top and we all know how that one ends. Batista then hits a powerslam and yells over to Triple H. Batista goes for the Batista Bomb, but Triple H runs in and Batista throws him out quickly and hits the Batista Bomb anyways for the victory. That was pretty short and not particularly exciting.
Match Rating: *1/2
After the match, Triple H goes after the knee of Batista. He goes under the ring and you'll never guess what he found? Another sledgehammer. Well I'll be. Batista steals it from him and cracks it over his knee and Triple H backpedals up the ramp.
Overall, that was a pretty good show. Edge/Jericho and Benoit/Benjamin were both good matches and the Triple H squash was spirited. I'm still not into the Batista/Triple H story and the Christy Playboy stuff is just barf. Mild thumbs up this week.
Overall Rating: 60%
Tuesday, May 21, 2019
NXT 10-10-12 Review
Original Airdate: Wednesday, October 10th, 2012
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
WWE Champion CM Punk opens the show with a taped promo. He said he is at NXT to watch Seth Rollins have his first main event as champion.
Bo Dallas vs. Johnny Curtis
Curtis hits Dallas with a hard chop, which infuriates Dallas and he fights back with some lariats. Curtis then hits a stiff looking knee. Curtis hits a crisp looking suplex and then puts Dallas in a headlock. Dallas makes his comeback by hitting a few moves and then a spear and that's it? Dallas continues to be pretty unimpressive here on NXT.
Match Rating: 3/4* (out of 5)
Kaitlyn & Alicia Fox vs. Paige & Audrey Marie
Oh boy, three of my 3 least absolute favorites. Just sub out Audrey Marie for Tamina and it's a dream match. Audrey and Kaitlyn do a nice little segment of some actual wrestling. This is a pretty unique matchup, particularly for 2012 I have to say. A lot of wrestling and more realistic action. Color me impressed. The heels isolate Audrey until she is able to break free and make the hot tag to Paige. Paige hits a dropkick and gets a 2 count. Paige is able to get a roll up and scores the victory for her team. For a short TV match, I enjoyed that.
Match Rating: **
Seth Rollins is backstage and is interrupted by CM Punk. Punk tells him that just because he is champion that doesn't mean he gets what he wants. He also advises not to give Michael McGillicutty any respect.
Dante Dash vs. Leo Kruger
Kruger attacks Dash and is laying on the creepy Waylon Mercy wannabe way too thick here. He hits a suplex and then starts pulling out his own hair and banging his head on the mat. He hits the Kruger's End and that is all. No bueno.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Kruger then cuts an absolutely embarrassing promo.
Michael McGillicutty is outside and says he doesn't care about respect. He says that after he's done with Seth Rollins he's going to go after CM Punk. Sure.
NXT Championship Match
Michael McGillicutty vs. Seth Rollins
Before the bell rings, CM Punk's music hits and he joins the announce team. Things start off slowly and we're already at a commercial break. When we come back, McGillicutty is in command, but it doesn't last long. Rollins regains control and puts him in a headlock. McGillicutty dumps Rollins over the top rope to the floor. This match is off to a very poor start that feels like they are slowing down on purpose. We have a second commercial break. CM Punk claims that both of these guys will be the face of the company. 50% isn't bad. Rollins goes for a Blackout from the top rope, but Rollins misses. Rollins hits a suicide dive. It's not over yet, but this has been a huge letdown. McGillicutty is in control, but then Rollins hits an Acid Drop type maneuver and that is all. That wasn't a very good match.
Match Rating: 3/4*
I was expecting so much more from this show, but it wasn't meant to be. The main event was a complete snooze and anything with Leo Kruger on it is a disappointment. The ladies had a nice little TV match and that was just about the only redeemable part of the show.
Overall Rating: 32%
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
WWE Champion CM Punk opens the show with a taped promo. He said he is at NXT to watch Seth Rollins have his first main event as champion.
Bo Dallas vs. Johnny Curtis
Curtis hits Dallas with a hard chop, which infuriates Dallas and he fights back with some lariats. Curtis then hits a stiff looking knee. Curtis hits a crisp looking suplex and then puts Dallas in a headlock. Dallas makes his comeback by hitting a few moves and then a spear and that's it? Dallas continues to be pretty unimpressive here on NXT.
Match Rating: 3/4* (out of 5)
Kaitlyn & Alicia Fox vs. Paige & Audrey Marie
Oh boy, three of my 3 least absolute favorites. Just sub out Audrey Marie for Tamina and it's a dream match. Audrey and Kaitlyn do a nice little segment of some actual wrestling. This is a pretty unique matchup, particularly for 2012 I have to say. A lot of wrestling and more realistic action. Color me impressed. The heels isolate Audrey until she is able to break free and make the hot tag to Paige. Paige hits a dropkick and gets a 2 count. Paige is able to get a roll up and scores the victory for her team. For a short TV match, I enjoyed that.
Match Rating: **
Seth Rollins is backstage and is interrupted by CM Punk. Punk tells him that just because he is champion that doesn't mean he gets what he wants. He also advises not to give Michael McGillicutty any respect.
Dante Dash vs. Leo Kruger
Kruger attacks Dash and is laying on the creepy Waylon Mercy wannabe way too thick here. He hits a suplex and then starts pulling out his own hair and banging his head on the mat. He hits the Kruger's End and that is all. No bueno.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Kruger then cuts an absolutely embarrassing promo.
Michael McGillicutty is outside and says he doesn't care about respect. He says that after he's done with Seth Rollins he's going to go after CM Punk. Sure.
NXT Championship Match
Michael McGillicutty vs. Seth Rollins
Before the bell rings, CM Punk's music hits and he joins the announce team. Things start off slowly and we're already at a commercial break. When we come back, McGillicutty is in command, but it doesn't last long. Rollins regains control and puts him in a headlock. McGillicutty dumps Rollins over the top rope to the floor. This match is off to a very poor start that feels like they are slowing down on purpose. We have a second commercial break. CM Punk claims that both of these guys will be the face of the company. 50% isn't bad. Rollins goes for a Blackout from the top rope, but Rollins misses. Rollins hits a suicide dive. It's not over yet, but this has been a huge letdown. McGillicutty is in control, but then Rollins hits an Acid Drop type maneuver and that is all. That wasn't a very good match.
Match Rating: 3/4*
I was expecting so much more from this show, but it wasn't meant to be. The main event was a complete snooze and anything with Leo Kruger on it is a disappointment. The ladies had a nice little TV match and that was just about the only redeemable part of the show.
Overall Rating: 32%
Sunday, May 19, 2019
Money In The Bank 2019 Review
Sunday, May 19th, 2019
XL Center
Hartford, Connecticut
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Women's Money In The Bank Match
Naomi vs. Carmella vs. Nikki Cross vs. Mandy Rose vs. Ember Moon vs. Dana Brooke vs. Natalya vs. Bayley
After they all stare down the briefcase, they all start brawling while Ember Moon grabs a ladder. Nikki Cross comes in with the Terry Funk spot. It goes without saying, but these matches were always more interesting when there were only 6 competitors. Naomi is paying tribute to the greatest tag team of all time, the Killer Bees tonight. Kind of an awkward spot where Mandy hit Carmella in the knee and Mandy then tried to follow up on it but Carmella kept pushing her away and audibly said "Go away". Naomi does a cool spot where she has people with ladders on both sides of her and does the splits to avoid getting hit by them. Carmella is heading to the back with a limp. Dana Brooke hangs Ember Moon from the tree of woe from the ladder and hits a cartwheel elbow. Dana and Mandy give us our first race up the ladder. Brooke has it and is swinging from the briefcase. The ladder gets knocked over with a bunch of the ladies on it. Ember Moon the hits a leaping Eclipse off the ladder in a great spot. Mandy Rose is all alone and about to climb, but back comes Carmella and for some reason Mandy goes after her instead of racing up the ladder. That spot doesn't work for me. I just don't think she was gone long enough and I also don't think Carmella was the right one to be in that spot. Carmella is climbing, but Sonya Deville makes the save. Sonya is trying to get Mandy up, but for some reason has time to put her ponytail in? Sonya is now carrying Rose on her shoulders and walking up the ladder. Mandy has the briefcase, but Bayley races up and shoves them down and grabs the briefcase. That was a little on the short side, but the women did a great job of keeping a nice pace the entire match. Again, 8 competitors is way too many as Natalya for example was pretty much non existent. Keep it at 6, WWE. Otherwise that was a fun and energetic sprint that gave the victory to the fan favorite and in my opinion the most deserving of the briefcase.
Match Rating: ***3/4 (out of 5)
After the match they interview Bayley and she gives a more confident interview than her character normally gives.
Sami Zayn interrupts Triple H and wants to know where Shane McMahon is. He's concerned about Braun Strowman, but Triple H assures Zayn that Strowman has been banned from the building. Zayn asks for some protection, but Triple H tells him to tape up his fists and leave now.
United States Championship Match
Rey Mysterio vs. Samoa Joe
Let's hope this time we get a proper match rather than a squash. Rey continues to defy all logic with some nice moves to open up the match. Then Joe chops him and makes me glad I am not Rey right now. Joe is bleeding from the nose. Joe goes for a powerbomb, but Rey counters with a hurricanrana and gets the pinfall? It sure looked like Joe got his shoulders up. So I guess they're going for the Rousey/Lynch controversy here? They're showing the replay, so it was clearly on purpose.
Match Rating: 1/2*
After the match, Rey's son Dominic comes down to the ring and celebrates with him, but then Joe comes down and clubs Rey. Dominic considers coming into the ring, but never does. Joe heads to the back with a sinister look as Dominic goes in to check on his father. Well, maybe by SummerSlam I will get my classic Rey/Joe match that I'm waiting for.
Strowman is in the back and tearing apart everything screaming for Sami.
Steel Cage Match
Shane McMahon vs. The Miz
You have to love 2019 WWE. On a show with 2 multi-person ladder matches on it has to have a steel cage match on it also. Shane jumps right up and tries to escape immediately, but Miz gets him and is brawling. For the record, I think this feud has shown how valuable Miz is. He has long been one of the best characters in WWE and is finally getting a chance to play the babyface seeking revenge. After a minute or two of Miz dominating, Shane catches Miz and slams him into the cage to take advantage. Shane sets up Miz for coast to coast, but Miz semi-catches him and puts him in the Figure Four. Shane grabs the ropes, but there are no rope breaks obviously. Shane tries to slide out of the ring, but Shane grabs him. Shane was somehow able to grab a chair, but Miz kicks him and both men are down. They both go for the chair, but Miz gets it first. Shane tries to escape again, but Miz cracks him with a chair to the back. Miz continues to destroy Shane with chair shots to the back. Skull Crushing Finale on the chair. Miz goes for the pin, but Shane puts his foot on the rope. The announcers are saying that shouldn't have counted and are wondering if the referee is worried for his job. Miz goes for a Skull Crushing Finale off the top rope, but Shane counters it and is trying to climb out of the cage again. Miz is able to hit Shane on the ankle as Shane is on the top of the cage. Both men are up top. Miz grabs Shane and is slamming his face into the cage and slams him back in the ring. Miz then hits one of the uglier Frog Splashes you will see and only gets a 2 count. Shane gets Miz into a choke hold, but Miz bridges and gets a 2 count forcing Shane to break the hold. Shane climbs up the cage again, but Miz again grabs him as he gets to the top. Miz goes for a superplex from the top of the cage, but Shane is able to slip out and fall to the ground and win the match. Miz is up top looking at a defeated Shane in disgust. The match had some awkward moments, but that was a good popcorn match that had a solid story and won the crowd over.
Match Rating: ***1/4
Mick Foley is going to be on Raw tomorrow to announce the newest title? Another one?
Triple H is racing to the back and finds Sami hanging upside down from a fence. Triple H orders the cameras to leave.
Cruiserweight Championship Match
Tony Nese vs. Ariya Daivari
Consider me shocked that this match is on the main show. I wonder who conned Vince into that? The crowd is absolutely dead, but that's not these guys fault entirely. Daivari is getting the rich guy push and is clearly more character driven then most of the 205 Live guys. Nese falls down in a spot where it looks like he should have landed and then when they try to recover, Daivari falls as he is putting him in a reverse Boston Crab type move. It seems like things never work out for this division on pay-per-view. Nese hits a couple of nice moves, but Daivari hits an inverted DDT. Daivari has Nese up top and chops him and then kicks him to the floor in a simple, yet effective spot. Nese hits a nice over the top rope corkscrew and hten a 450 splash in the ring, but it's not enough as Daivari gets his shoulder up. Daivari hits a superkick and then the Persian Lion Splash and a lariat, but Nese is able to kick out of that. Nese hits a hurricanrana off the top rope and then a running knee in the corner and gets the victory That started slow, but had a solid, but illogical finish. They really need to slow down with the hitting huge moves, the other guy miraculously kicking out and then immediately being able to recover from it.
Match Rating: **
Triple H asks Strowman to leave, as beating up Zayn won't get him back in the match.
Raw Women's Championship Match
Lacey Evans vs. Becky Lynch
This is my first time seeing Evans fight. Lynch hits a baseball slide to the outside and then throws her into the guardrail. Lacey counters a kick and is taking it to Lynch. For as over as Lynch was, the crowd here is fairly quiet. There are other factors at play, but a little surprising. I'm not sure I'm digging Evans' ring gear. I was expecting something a little bit more over the top and unique. Evans pulls out a handkerchief and wipes her brow and then shoves it in Lynch's face. Lynch hits a clothesline off the second rope and both women are down. Lynch barely hits a dropkick from the top rope, but follows it up with a jumping fist off the apron to the floor. Lynch is going up to, but Evans moves and hits a springboard Stunner type move. That was a little sloppy and only gets a 2 count. Evans then clips Lynch and rolls up Lynch. Lynch somehow gets the Disarm-her in and gets the victory. Another awkward ref spot where the ref didn't count the roll up, even though Lynch's shoulders appeared to be down. I have to say, I was expecting Lynch to fight Charlotte first and then Evans to have a broken down Lynch and her take the title. This was okayish. Evans looked solid for a newcomer.
Match Rating: **1/4
Charlotte's music hits and she is on her way down and apparently we are having this match next.
SmackDown Women's Championship Match
Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair
Charlotte obviously gets the early advantage. Charlotte goes up top and Becky slams her down much like her father did a million times. They go back and forth with right hands and then some forearms. Lynch tries to get her in the Disarm-her, but Charlotte is able to get out before she locks it in. While the ref is checking in on Charlotte, Lacey Evans comes down and hits Lynch with the Woman's Right. Charlotte hits a big boot and wins the championship for the 9th time. Another sign of the times with that sentence. These women have obviously had much, much better matches. This was designed to get sympathy on Becky and I guess in that instance it worked.
Match Rating: *3/4
After the match Charlotte and Evans keep the beatdown going on Lynch and Bayley's music hits! She attacks Evans with the Bayley to belly, but Flair then attacks her. She goes for a spear on Bayley, but she throws her into the turnbuckle. Bayley contemplates her next move as the crowd is really digging this. She picks up the briefcase and cashes in!
SmackDown Women's Championship Match
Bayley vs. Charlotte Flair
Bayley drags Charlotte away from the corner and hits the elbow drop off the top rope and gets the win. Great moment that took what is normally a heel move to cash in and made it fit her character while giving her a little bit more edge at the same time.
Match Rating: 1/4* (That's as high as I can give a match that short, but the moment here was awesome)
Roman Reigns is backstage and out of nowhere, Elias smashes a guitar over his head. Elias is then walking to the ring. They are now setting up a chair for Elias and he grabs an electric guitar. Elias even makes a Whalers joke. As Elias is walking to the back, Reigns hits him with a Superman punch. Reigns drags him to the ring and the match starts.
Roman Reigns vs. Elias
Reigns hits a spear and gets the win. There has been some curious booking tonight to say the least.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Universal Championship Match
AJ Styles vs. Seth Rollins
Even though it feels like they are jumping the gun on this matchup, with both men being faces it gives the opportunity for a Styles heel turn which would most likely lead to a rematch. I guess it will be interesting to see if they do that soon or if it's something further down the road. Styles hits a beautiful dropkick on Rollins. They then appeared to mess up a hip toss spot, where Style held on, but still did the flip to the ground. Rollins then slams Styles' face into the turnbuckle. Styles almost hits a Styles Clash from the apron, but Rollins gets out of it and then gets nailed with a knee. That was a cool spot. Styles hangs Rollins on the top rope, but Rollins bounces up and hits a suicide dive to the outside. They go back and forth with some great action. Rollins picks up Styles up from the ground into an impressive buckle bomb. Rollins hits a huge frog splash, but only gets the 2 count. This is one of those matches where I'm most likely better off telling you to watch rather than trying to keep up with. After some more back and forth exchanges, Styles puts Rollins in the Torture Rack and then a rackbomb. Styles goes for a Phenomenal Forearm, but Rollins trips him up. Rollins hits a reverse superplex and then rolls up and a version of the Falcon Arrow for a nearfall. That was really, really good stuff. Rollins goes for the Stomp, but Styles grabs the Calf Crusher in the middle of the ring. Rollins rolls through and kicks Styles to the jaw. Styles does the moonsault jump into the inverted DDT and again Rollins kicks out. Styles goes for a clothesline, but Rollins decapitates Styles with a superkick. Both men fight to get back up and are going back and forth with blows. Step up enzaguri by Rollins and Styles misses the Pele kick. Rollins then goes for the Stomp again, Styles catches him and somehow hits the Styles Clash out of that. Wow. These guys are living up to the hype. Styles is going for the Phenomenal Forearm, but Rollins moves. Kick to the face by Rollins and then finally hits the Stomp and retains the Universal Championship. What can you say? Two guys that usually deliver delivered. From the middle of the match on, it was pedal to the metal action.
Match Rating: ****1/4
After the match, Styles walks back into the ring as Rollins is celebrating. Rollins holds up the belt and shakes his head no. Styles holds out his hand and after a long dramatic pause, Rollins shakes it and Styles is out of there quickly.
Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods are backstage with Charly Caruso. Kofi says that he agrees that he wouldn't be where he was without the New Day, but Xavier Woods says he is selling himself short.
The Lucha House Party are out (on a pay-per-view?) and apparently are supposed to have a six man tag team match. However, Lars Sullivan has other plans and annihilates them.
WWE Championship Match
Kevin Owens vs. Kofi Kingston
Owens surprisingly got a smaller pop than he normally does. Perhaps a testament to how over Kofi is? They go after each other as soon as the bell rings. They go outside and Kofi hits a leaping open palm from the steps. Kofi hits a springboard double ax handle to the outside. Owens hits a big frog splash from the apron to the floor after ramming Kofi into the ring post. Kofi fights back, but Owens gets him in a Boston Crab. Both men are fighting again on the apron and Kofi hits a double stomp to the apron. Crowd fatigue is setting in here. Kofi tries to hit another move from the ropes to the floor, but Owens counters with the superkick. Kofi hits an SOS after a block by Owens and gets a 2 count. Kofi goes for Trouble In Paradise, but Owens catches it and puts Kofi in another Boston Crab. Owens hits a pop up sit down powerbomb, but Kofi is able to kick out. Owens goes for a Stunner, but Kofi hits Trouble In Paradise, but Owens rolls outside. Kofi pulls Owens back into the ring, but Owens hits him a Stunner and Kofi is able to grab the bottom rope on the pin attempt. Owens then rips off both of Kofi's boots and goes up top. He goes for the swanton and Kofi gets his knees up. Kofi hits Trouble In Paradise and gets the victory. I'm not sure I understand the boot spot there. That wasn't quite as good as I hoped, but I also had very high expectations. It was a well worked match and one that would have benefited from a better crowd.
Match Rating: ***1/2
They then hype up Super Showdown, saying that it may exceed WrestleMania in quality. Goldberg vs. Undertaker couldn't be a less appealing match to me. Not to mention Lashley/Strowman, Triple H/Orton and a 50 man battle royal. Honestly, those are 4 matches I never want to see. Andrade vs. Balor is also on the card and that one could be awesome, but I will not be reviewing that show.
Money In The Bank Match
Baron Corbin vs. Finn Balor vs. Ricochet vs. Andrade vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Randy Orton vs. Ali
There are only 7 men as a result of the actions of Braun Strowman. I have to say it is really strange to see Orton in there with Ricochet. Orton is in the ring by himself setting up the ladder and there actually is a "Randy Orton" chant going on. Orton climbs like we are 20 minutes into the match instead of 2. Andrade hits a springboard dropkick to knock him off. McIntyre and Corbin both have ladders now and use them to take out Orton and Andrade. Ali hits a suicide dive on McIntyre. Ricochet dumps Andrade over the ropes and is all alone until Ali runs in. They go back and forth up the ladder. After some back and forth, they both race up the ladder but McIntyre and Corbin interrupt and throw both men into ladders. I have to say I'm not really sure what they're going to do here as far as a winner and that obviously only helps the match. Balor comes in and is able to take out both McIntyre and Corbin and then sets up a ladder. Andrade then uses another ladder to hit Balor and knock him off. Andrade sets up that ladder horizontally on the ropes and the other ladder. Andrade is climbing up the ladder but Balor is as well. Andrade does a sunset flip powerbomb off the horizontal ladder and Balor bounces like 3 feet in the air. That was a crazy looking spot, yeesh. Ali hits a tornado DDT on the least talented performer in WWE, Corbin. Ali then goes and hits the reverse hurricanrana on Ricochet. Andrade stops Ali's ladder climb and he is now hanging on the ladder. Andrade sets up a second ladder and now both men are climbing and battling up top. Spanish Fly by Ali to Andrade. That match pretty much always looks insane, especially off a ladder. McIntyre immediately attacks Ali and sets up a ladder on the ring and announce desk. Ali hits a superkick on McIntyre, but Corbin comes up and chokeslams Ali through the Spanish announce table. Corbin then throws McIntyre into the crowd and then chokeslams Balor in the ring. Ricochet goes for a suicide dive to Corbin, but Corbin catches him and hits him with Deep 6. Claymore Kick by McIntyre to Corbin. Balor is climbing up the ladder, but McIntyre stops him. McIntyre then stops Ricochet from climbing and launches him over the top and through the ladder. This is great, chaotic fun so far. Orton grabs McIntyres foot off the ladder and pulls him into an RKO. Corbin hits Orton from behind and Corbin is climbing, but much to the relief of everyone Ali is there to save it. Ali dumps Corbin out of the ring with a head scissors. Ali is climbing the ladder all alone and all of a sudden Brock Lesnar's music hits and he runs down to the ring and pushes the ladder over. Lesnar climbs the ladder and grabs the briefcase and wins the match. The Lesnar era continues. Well that match was really, really good with all of the competitors working their butts off. Add in the surprise, whether you like it or not and that has to be considered one of the better Money In The Bank matches that I can think of off hand. Even if you don't like Lesnar having the briefcase, it adds a secondary story to Rollins always having to watch his back even more than a champion normally would because Lesnar is so rarely actually on TV. It's a little strange that Brock happened to be in Hartford with his ring gear, but maybe they'll come up with something? I'm not counting on it.
Match Rating: ****1/4
Well there were definitely a few low points on the show, but most of them were brief. The men's Money In The Bank and Styles/Rollins were match of the year quality matches and the women's Money In The Bank match was highly entertaining. Throw in the Lesnar and Bayley moments and you have yourself a winner of a show.
Overall Rating: 84%
XL Center
Hartford, Connecticut
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Women's Money In The Bank Match
Naomi vs. Carmella vs. Nikki Cross vs. Mandy Rose vs. Ember Moon vs. Dana Brooke vs. Natalya vs. Bayley
After they all stare down the briefcase, they all start brawling while Ember Moon grabs a ladder. Nikki Cross comes in with the Terry Funk spot. It goes without saying, but these matches were always more interesting when there were only 6 competitors. Naomi is paying tribute to the greatest tag team of all time, the Killer Bees tonight. Kind of an awkward spot where Mandy hit Carmella in the knee and Mandy then tried to follow up on it but Carmella kept pushing her away and audibly said "Go away". Naomi does a cool spot where she has people with ladders on both sides of her and does the splits to avoid getting hit by them. Carmella is heading to the back with a limp. Dana Brooke hangs Ember Moon from the tree of woe from the ladder and hits a cartwheel elbow. Dana and Mandy give us our first race up the ladder. Brooke has it and is swinging from the briefcase. The ladder gets knocked over with a bunch of the ladies on it. Ember Moon the hits a leaping Eclipse off the ladder in a great spot. Mandy Rose is all alone and about to climb, but back comes Carmella and for some reason Mandy goes after her instead of racing up the ladder. That spot doesn't work for me. I just don't think she was gone long enough and I also don't think Carmella was the right one to be in that spot. Carmella is climbing, but Sonya Deville makes the save. Sonya is trying to get Mandy up, but for some reason has time to put her ponytail in? Sonya is now carrying Rose on her shoulders and walking up the ladder. Mandy has the briefcase, but Bayley races up and shoves them down and grabs the briefcase. That was a little on the short side, but the women did a great job of keeping a nice pace the entire match. Again, 8 competitors is way too many as Natalya for example was pretty much non existent. Keep it at 6, WWE. Otherwise that was a fun and energetic sprint that gave the victory to the fan favorite and in my opinion the most deserving of the briefcase.
Match Rating: ***3/4 (out of 5)
After the match they interview Bayley and she gives a more confident interview than her character normally gives.
Sami Zayn interrupts Triple H and wants to know where Shane McMahon is. He's concerned about Braun Strowman, but Triple H assures Zayn that Strowman has been banned from the building. Zayn asks for some protection, but Triple H tells him to tape up his fists and leave now.
United States Championship Match
Rey Mysterio vs. Samoa Joe
Let's hope this time we get a proper match rather than a squash. Rey continues to defy all logic with some nice moves to open up the match. Then Joe chops him and makes me glad I am not Rey right now. Joe is bleeding from the nose. Joe goes for a powerbomb, but Rey counters with a hurricanrana and gets the pinfall? It sure looked like Joe got his shoulders up. So I guess they're going for the Rousey/Lynch controversy here? They're showing the replay, so it was clearly on purpose.
Match Rating: 1/2*
After the match, Rey's son Dominic comes down to the ring and celebrates with him, but then Joe comes down and clubs Rey. Dominic considers coming into the ring, but never does. Joe heads to the back with a sinister look as Dominic goes in to check on his father. Well, maybe by SummerSlam I will get my classic Rey/Joe match that I'm waiting for.
Strowman is in the back and tearing apart everything screaming for Sami.
Steel Cage Match
Shane McMahon vs. The Miz
You have to love 2019 WWE. On a show with 2 multi-person ladder matches on it has to have a steel cage match on it also. Shane jumps right up and tries to escape immediately, but Miz gets him and is brawling. For the record, I think this feud has shown how valuable Miz is. He has long been one of the best characters in WWE and is finally getting a chance to play the babyface seeking revenge. After a minute or two of Miz dominating, Shane catches Miz and slams him into the cage to take advantage. Shane sets up Miz for coast to coast, but Miz semi-catches him and puts him in the Figure Four. Shane grabs the ropes, but there are no rope breaks obviously. Shane tries to slide out of the ring, but Shane grabs him. Shane was somehow able to grab a chair, but Miz kicks him and both men are down. They both go for the chair, but Miz gets it first. Shane tries to escape again, but Miz cracks him with a chair to the back. Miz continues to destroy Shane with chair shots to the back. Skull Crushing Finale on the chair. Miz goes for the pin, but Shane puts his foot on the rope. The announcers are saying that shouldn't have counted and are wondering if the referee is worried for his job. Miz goes for a Skull Crushing Finale off the top rope, but Shane counters it and is trying to climb out of the cage again. Miz is able to hit Shane on the ankle as Shane is on the top of the cage. Both men are up top. Miz grabs Shane and is slamming his face into the cage and slams him back in the ring. Miz then hits one of the uglier Frog Splashes you will see and only gets a 2 count. Shane gets Miz into a choke hold, but Miz bridges and gets a 2 count forcing Shane to break the hold. Shane climbs up the cage again, but Miz again grabs him as he gets to the top. Miz goes for a superplex from the top of the cage, but Shane is able to slip out and fall to the ground and win the match. Miz is up top looking at a defeated Shane in disgust. The match had some awkward moments, but that was a good popcorn match that had a solid story and won the crowd over.
Match Rating: ***1/4
Mick Foley is going to be on Raw tomorrow to announce the newest title? Another one?
Triple H is racing to the back and finds Sami hanging upside down from a fence. Triple H orders the cameras to leave.
Cruiserweight Championship Match
Tony Nese vs. Ariya Daivari
Consider me shocked that this match is on the main show. I wonder who conned Vince into that? The crowd is absolutely dead, but that's not these guys fault entirely. Daivari is getting the rich guy push and is clearly more character driven then most of the 205 Live guys. Nese falls down in a spot where it looks like he should have landed and then when they try to recover, Daivari falls as he is putting him in a reverse Boston Crab type move. It seems like things never work out for this division on pay-per-view. Nese hits a couple of nice moves, but Daivari hits an inverted DDT. Daivari has Nese up top and chops him and then kicks him to the floor in a simple, yet effective spot. Nese hits a nice over the top rope corkscrew and hten a 450 splash in the ring, but it's not enough as Daivari gets his shoulder up. Daivari hits a superkick and then the Persian Lion Splash and a lariat, but Nese is able to kick out of that. Nese hits a hurricanrana off the top rope and then a running knee in the corner and gets the victory That started slow, but had a solid, but illogical finish. They really need to slow down with the hitting huge moves, the other guy miraculously kicking out and then immediately being able to recover from it.
Match Rating: **
Triple H asks Strowman to leave, as beating up Zayn won't get him back in the match.
Raw Women's Championship Match
Lacey Evans vs. Becky Lynch
This is my first time seeing Evans fight. Lynch hits a baseball slide to the outside and then throws her into the guardrail. Lacey counters a kick and is taking it to Lynch. For as over as Lynch was, the crowd here is fairly quiet. There are other factors at play, but a little surprising. I'm not sure I'm digging Evans' ring gear. I was expecting something a little bit more over the top and unique. Evans pulls out a handkerchief and wipes her brow and then shoves it in Lynch's face. Lynch hits a clothesline off the second rope and both women are down. Lynch barely hits a dropkick from the top rope, but follows it up with a jumping fist off the apron to the floor. Lynch is going up to, but Evans moves and hits a springboard Stunner type move. That was a little sloppy and only gets a 2 count. Evans then clips Lynch and rolls up Lynch. Lynch somehow gets the Disarm-her in and gets the victory. Another awkward ref spot where the ref didn't count the roll up, even though Lynch's shoulders appeared to be down. I have to say, I was expecting Lynch to fight Charlotte first and then Evans to have a broken down Lynch and her take the title. This was okayish. Evans looked solid for a newcomer.
Match Rating: **1/4
Charlotte's music hits and she is on her way down and apparently we are having this match next.
SmackDown Women's Championship Match
Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair
Charlotte obviously gets the early advantage. Charlotte goes up top and Becky slams her down much like her father did a million times. They go back and forth with right hands and then some forearms. Lynch tries to get her in the Disarm-her, but Charlotte is able to get out before she locks it in. While the ref is checking in on Charlotte, Lacey Evans comes down and hits Lynch with the Woman's Right. Charlotte hits a big boot and wins the championship for the 9th time. Another sign of the times with that sentence. These women have obviously had much, much better matches. This was designed to get sympathy on Becky and I guess in that instance it worked.
Match Rating: *3/4
After the match Charlotte and Evans keep the beatdown going on Lynch and Bayley's music hits! She attacks Evans with the Bayley to belly, but Flair then attacks her. She goes for a spear on Bayley, but she throws her into the turnbuckle. Bayley contemplates her next move as the crowd is really digging this. She picks up the briefcase and cashes in!
SmackDown Women's Championship Match
Bayley vs. Charlotte Flair
Bayley drags Charlotte away from the corner and hits the elbow drop off the top rope and gets the win. Great moment that took what is normally a heel move to cash in and made it fit her character while giving her a little bit more edge at the same time.
Match Rating: 1/4* (That's as high as I can give a match that short, but the moment here was awesome)
Roman Reigns is backstage and out of nowhere, Elias smashes a guitar over his head. Elias is then walking to the ring. They are now setting up a chair for Elias and he grabs an electric guitar. Elias even makes a Whalers joke. As Elias is walking to the back, Reigns hits him with a Superman punch. Reigns drags him to the ring and the match starts.
Roman Reigns vs. Elias
Reigns hits a spear and gets the win. There has been some curious booking tonight to say the least.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Universal Championship Match
AJ Styles vs. Seth Rollins
Even though it feels like they are jumping the gun on this matchup, with both men being faces it gives the opportunity for a Styles heel turn which would most likely lead to a rematch. I guess it will be interesting to see if they do that soon or if it's something further down the road. Styles hits a beautiful dropkick on Rollins. They then appeared to mess up a hip toss spot, where Style held on, but still did the flip to the ground. Rollins then slams Styles' face into the turnbuckle. Styles almost hits a Styles Clash from the apron, but Rollins gets out of it and then gets nailed with a knee. That was a cool spot. Styles hangs Rollins on the top rope, but Rollins bounces up and hits a suicide dive to the outside. They go back and forth with some great action. Rollins picks up Styles up from the ground into an impressive buckle bomb. Rollins hits a huge frog splash, but only gets the 2 count. This is one of those matches where I'm most likely better off telling you to watch rather than trying to keep up with. After some more back and forth exchanges, Styles puts Rollins in the Torture Rack and then a rackbomb. Styles goes for a Phenomenal Forearm, but Rollins trips him up. Rollins hits a reverse superplex and then rolls up and a version of the Falcon Arrow for a nearfall. That was really, really good stuff. Rollins goes for the Stomp, but Styles grabs the Calf Crusher in the middle of the ring. Rollins rolls through and kicks Styles to the jaw. Styles does the moonsault jump into the inverted DDT and again Rollins kicks out. Styles goes for a clothesline, but Rollins decapitates Styles with a superkick. Both men fight to get back up and are going back and forth with blows. Step up enzaguri by Rollins and Styles misses the Pele kick. Rollins then goes for the Stomp again, Styles catches him and somehow hits the Styles Clash out of that. Wow. These guys are living up to the hype. Styles is going for the Phenomenal Forearm, but Rollins moves. Kick to the face by Rollins and then finally hits the Stomp and retains the Universal Championship. What can you say? Two guys that usually deliver delivered. From the middle of the match on, it was pedal to the metal action.
Match Rating: ****1/4
After the match, Styles walks back into the ring as Rollins is celebrating. Rollins holds up the belt and shakes his head no. Styles holds out his hand and after a long dramatic pause, Rollins shakes it and Styles is out of there quickly.
Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods are backstage with Charly Caruso. Kofi says that he agrees that he wouldn't be where he was without the New Day, but Xavier Woods says he is selling himself short.
The Lucha House Party are out (on a pay-per-view?) and apparently are supposed to have a six man tag team match. However, Lars Sullivan has other plans and annihilates them.
WWE Championship Match
Kevin Owens vs. Kofi Kingston
Owens surprisingly got a smaller pop than he normally does. Perhaps a testament to how over Kofi is? They go after each other as soon as the bell rings. They go outside and Kofi hits a leaping open palm from the steps. Kofi hits a springboard double ax handle to the outside. Owens hits a big frog splash from the apron to the floor after ramming Kofi into the ring post. Kofi fights back, but Owens gets him in a Boston Crab. Both men are fighting again on the apron and Kofi hits a double stomp to the apron. Crowd fatigue is setting in here. Kofi tries to hit another move from the ropes to the floor, but Owens counters with the superkick. Kofi hits an SOS after a block by Owens and gets a 2 count. Kofi goes for Trouble In Paradise, but Owens catches it and puts Kofi in another Boston Crab. Owens hits a pop up sit down powerbomb, but Kofi is able to kick out. Owens goes for a Stunner, but Kofi hits Trouble In Paradise, but Owens rolls outside. Kofi pulls Owens back into the ring, but Owens hits him a Stunner and Kofi is able to grab the bottom rope on the pin attempt. Owens then rips off both of Kofi's boots and goes up top. He goes for the swanton and Kofi gets his knees up. Kofi hits Trouble In Paradise and gets the victory. I'm not sure I understand the boot spot there. That wasn't quite as good as I hoped, but I also had very high expectations. It was a well worked match and one that would have benefited from a better crowd.
Match Rating: ***1/2
They then hype up Super Showdown, saying that it may exceed WrestleMania in quality. Goldberg vs. Undertaker couldn't be a less appealing match to me. Not to mention Lashley/Strowman, Triple H/Orton and a 50 man battle royal. Honestly, those are 4 matches I never want to see. Andrade vs. Balor is also on the card and that one could be awesome, but I will not be reviewing that show.
Money In The Bank Match
Baron Corbin vs. Finn Balor vs. Ricochet vs. Andrade vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Randy Orton vs. Ali
There are only 7 men as a result of the actions of Braun Strowman. I have to say it is really strange to see Orton in there with Ricochet. Orton is in the ring by himself setting up the ladder and there actually is a "Randy Orton" chant going on. Orton climbs like we are 20 minutes into the match instead of 2. Andrade hits a springboard dropkick to knock him off. McIntyre and Corbin both have ladders now and use them to take out Orton and Andrade. Ali hits a suicide dive on McIntyre. Ricochet dumps Andrade over the ropes and is all alone until Ali runs in. They go back and forth up the ladder. After some back and forth, they both race up the ladder but McIntyre and Corbin interrupt and throw both men into ladders. I have to say I'm not really sure what they're going to do here as far as a winner and that obviously only helps the match. Balor comes in and is able to take out both McIntyre and Corbin and then sets up a ladder. Andrade then uses another ladder to hit Balor and knock him off. Andrade sets up that ladder horizontally on the ropes and the other ladder. Andrade is climbing up the ladder but Balor is as well. Andrade does a sunset flip powerbomb off the horizontal ladder and Balor bounces like 3 feet in the air. That was a crazy looking spot, yeesh. Ali hits a tornado DDT on the least talented performer in WWE, Corbin. Ali then goes and hits the reverse hurricanrana on Ricochet. Andrade stops Ali's ladder climb and he is now hanging on the ladder. Andrade sets up a second ladder and now both men are climbing and battling up top. Spanish Fly by Ali to Andrade. That match pretty much always looks insane, especially off a ladder. McIntyre immediately attacks Ali and sets up a ladder on the ring and announce desk. Ali hits a superkick on McIntyre, but Corbin comes up and chokeslams Ali through the Spanish announce table. Corbin then throws McIntyre into the crowd and then chokeslams Balor in the ring. Ricochet goes for a suicide dive to Corbin, but Corbin catches him and hits him with Deep 6. Claymore Kick by McIntyre to Corbin. Balor is climbing up the ladder, but McIntyre stops him. McIntyre then stops Ricochet from climbing and launches him over the top and through the ladder. This is great, chaotic fun so far. Orton grabs McIntyres foot off the ladder and pulls him into an RKO. Corbin hits Orton from behind and Corbin is climbing, but much to the relief of everyone Ali is there to save it. Ali dumps Corbin out of the ring with a head scissors. Ali is climbing the ladder all alone and all of a sudden Brock Lesnar's music hits and he runs down to the ring and pushes the ladder over. Lesnar climbs the ladder and grabs the briefcase and wins the match. The Lesnar era continues. Well that match was really, really good with all of the competitors working their butts off. Add in the surprise, whether you like it or not and that has to be considered one of the better Money In The Bank matches that I can think of off hand. Even if you don't like Lesnar having the briefcase, it adds a secondary story to Rollins always having to watch his back even more than a champion normally would because Lesnar is so rarely actually on TV. It's a little strange that Brock happened to be in Hartford with his ring gear, but maybe they'll come up with something? I'm not counting on it.
Match Rating: ****1/4
Well there were definitely a few low points on the show, but most of them were brief. The men's Money In The Bank and Styles/Rollins were match of the year quality matches and the women's Money In The Bank match was highly entertaining. Throw in the Lesnar and Bayley moments and you have yourself a winner of a show.
Overall Rating: 84%
Thursday, May 16, 2019
Superstars 8-15-92 Review
Original Airdate: Saturday, August 15th, 1992
Worcester Centrum
Worcester, Massachusetts
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Skinner vs. Big Boss Man
They shake things up and the show opens up with Big Boss Man making his way to the ring, while Skinner is already in there. Skinner jumps Boss Man, but Boss Man outsmarts him and hits him with a big right hand outside of the ring. Skinner then uses an alligator claw to regain the advantage. He's visibly using it, but somehow the referee doesn't see it. Boss Man miraculously makes a comeback, hits the Boss Man Slam and gets the victory. I don't get why they couldn't have had that match a little bit longer, but it was decent enough for what it was.
Match Rating: 3/4* (out of 5)
We now get our opening from Mr. Perfect and Vince and they of course go over Mr. Perfect possibly managing Savage or Warrior at SummerSlam.
Joe Steel vs. Kamala
Harvey Whippleman announces takes the mic and introduces Kamala. Kamala squashes aren't bad, but he's basically done the same exact match about 5 times since his return. He hits his couple of kicks, some chops and the splash then doesn't remember how to cover him and wins.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Sean Mooney is here to get us hyped up for SummerSlam and what better way than to talk about Crush vs. Repo Man? Repo Man is going to repossess Crush's career, which is funny since Crush already is doing that for himself. Undertaker and Paul Bearer tell us that Kamala will rest in peace.
We come back and Kamala is still trying to figure out how to get back to the locker room. Out comes the Undertaker. What a coincidence! Undertaker stares Kamala down as Kim Chee keeps Kamala away.
Undertaker vs. Chris Duffy
Undertaker hits a chokeslam right off the bat and follows it with a jumping clothesline. He hits the clothesline right after and that was that. I guess he is ready for SummerSlam.
Match Rating: 1/4*
After a Body Stars commercial, Macho Man is on his way out to talk to Mean Gene. Macho Man says that he is not negotiating with Mr. Perfect and that it is all a lie. Mr. Perfect is out and says he knows the Savage wants him in his corner because he's the greatest manager in the WWF. Perfect says that Warrior has made him an offer that he probably can't refuse.
Jerry Stevens & Tim McNeany vs. Money, Inc.
It still blows my mind that a guy named Irwin R. Schyster lasted as long as he did. They do an amazing interview with Paul Ellering and Rocco during the match. Dibiase looks kind of retro today, not sure what it is. They hit a few double teams with frequent tags and then Dibiase hooks in the Million Dollar Dream for the victory.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Sean Mooney continues the SummerSlam hype train by talking about Virgil vs. Nailz. Virgil says "man" about 10 times in 20 seconds along with "too legit to quit". We then go to Berzerker and Mr. Fuji who talk about their match with Tatanka that doesn't end up making the show. Tatanka even gets his chance to talk as well and says that Berzerker will die by the sword. Alrighty then.
After the commercial break, we now go to Mean Gene taking his turn to promote SummerSlam like only Gene can. He gets to talk about the important matches like Ultimate Warrior vs. Macho Man and British Bulldog vs. Bret Hart. Diana is here to give an emotional interview about how hard this is for them and even sheds a few tears. Natural Disasters vs. Beverly Brothers gets the big match treatment as well as Kamala vs. Undertaker. They do a "live" interview with Sherri and she announces that neither man is allowed to hit the other in the face.
Jim Powers vs. Razor Ramon
Powers actually gets an entrance with music. Vince is stoked for this matchup. Ramon no sells Powers slamming his head into the turnbuckle and slams him down shortly after. Ramon hits a fall away suplex from the second rope and follows it with the Razor's Edge for the victory.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Mooney is back and this time he gets to introduce Crush who says he is going to crush Repo Man's head. Money, Inc. says the only time they have wrestled Legion of Doom, they won the tag team gold. Dibiase says that the winner of their match will be the #1 contenders.
Well, I liked that they sort of refreshed the format a little. I don't see it being a permanent format, but I enjoyed that it helped make the show different. I would have liked to have seen Boss Man/Skinner got another 5 minutes just to give us something a little different for once.
Overall Rating: 44%
Worcester Centrum
Worcester, Massachusetts
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Skinner vs. Big Boss Man
They shake things up and the show opens up with Big Boss Man making his way to the ring, while Skinner is already in there. Skinner jumps Boss Man, but Boss Man outsmarts him and hits him with a big right hand outside of the ring. Skinner then uses an alligator claw to regain the advantage. He's visibly using it, but somehow the referee doesn't see it. Boss Man miraculously makes a comeback, hits the Boss Man Slam and gets the victory. I don't get why they couldn't have had that match a little bit longer, but it was decent enough for what it was.
Match Rating: 3/4* (out of 5)
We now get our opening from Mr. Perfect and Vince and they of course go over Mr. Perfect possibly managing Savage or Warrior at SummerSlam.
Joe Steel vs. Kamala
Harvey Whippleman announces takes the mic and introduces Kamala. Kamala squashes aren't bad, but he's basically done the same exact match about 5 times since his return. He hits his couple of kicks, some chops and the splash then doesn't remember how to cover him and wins.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Sean Mooney is here to get us hyped up for SummerSlam and what better way than to talk about Crush vs. Repo Man? Repo Man is going to repossess Crush's career, which is funny since Crush already is doing that for himself. Undertaker and Paul Bearer tell us that Kamala will rest in peace.
We come back and Kamala is still trying to figure out how to get back to the locker room. Out comes the Undertaker. What a coincidence! Undertaker stares Kamala down as Kim Chee keeps Kamala away.
Undertaker vs. Chris Duffy
Undertaker hits a chokeslam right off the bat and follows it with a jumping clothesline. He hits the clothesline right after and that was that. I guess he is ready for SummerSlam.
Match Rating: 1/4*
After a Body Stars commercial, Macho Man is on his way out to talk to Mean Gene. Macho Man says that he is not negotiating with Mr. Perfect and that it is all a lie. Mr. Perfect is out and says he knows the Savage wants him in his corner because he's the greatest manager in the WWF. Perfect says that Warrior has made him an offer that he probably can't refuse.
Jerry Stevens & Tim McNeany vs. Money, Inc.
It still blows my mind that a guy named Irwin R. Schyster lasted as long as he did. They do an amazing interview with Paul Ellering and Rocco during the match. Dibiase looks kind of retro today, not sure what it is. They hit a few double teams with frequent tags and then Dibiase hooks in the Million Dollar Dream for the victory.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Sean Mooney continues the SummerSlam hype train by talking about Virgil vs. Nailz. Virgil says "man" about 10 times in 20 seconds along with "too legit to quit". We then go to Berzerker and Mr. Fuji who talk about their match with Tatanka that doesn't end up making the show. Tatanka even gets his chance to talk as well and says that Berzerker will die by the sword. Alrighty then.
After the commercial break, we now go to Mean Gene taking his turn to promote SummerSlam like only Gene can. He gets to talk about the important matches like Ultimate Warrior vs. Macho Man and British Bulldog vs. Bret Hart. Diana is here to give an emotional interview about how hard this is for them and even sheds a few tears. Natural Disasters vs. Beverly Brothers gets the big match treatment as well as Kamala vs. Undertaker. They do a "live" interview with Sherri and she announces that neither man is allowed to hit the other in the face.
Jim Powers vs. Razor Ramon
Powers actually gets an entrance with music. Vince is stoked for this matchup. Ramon no sells Powers slamming his head into the turnbuckle and slams him down shortly after. Ramon hits a fall away suplex from the second rope and follows it with the Razor's Edge for the victory.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Mooney is back and this time he gets to introduce Crush who says he is going to crush Repo Man's head. Money, Inc. says the only time they have wrestled Legion of Doom, they won the tag team gold. Dibiase says that the winner of their match will be the #1 contenders.
Well, I liked that they sort of refreshed the format a little. I don't see it being a permanent format, but I enjoyed that it helped make the show different. I would have liked to have seen Boss Man/Skinner got another 5 minutes just to give us something a little different for once.
Overall Rating: 44%
Tuesday, May 14, 2019
SmackDown 3-3-05 Review
Original Airdate: Thursday, March 3rd, 2005
Pepsi Arena
Albany, New York
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
John Cena comes out to a big pop to kick off the show. Tazz announces that he will be defending his US Championship against Orlando Jordan tonight. Cena is sick of JBL. He tells JBL that it's not how many days he's held the championship, it's how many days until he loses the championship. Pretty basic promo by Cena there.
WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Rey Mysterio & Eddie Guerrero vs. Mark Jindrak & Luther Reigns
Last week, Jindrak and Reigns had to be separated following their loss to Undertaker. Now they get a title match. Eddie and Reigns start the match off. The champs gain the early advantage, but then Reigns and Jindrak hang Rey out to dry on the top rope with an illegal double team. Rey hits the hot tag to Eddie, who immediately hits two dropkicks. Eddie then hits the two of the Three Amigos on Reigns. Mysterio hits a seated senton onto Reigns, allowing Eddie to hit the third amigo. Flog splash picks up the victory. There wasn't a whole lot to that one. Reigns and Jindrak continue to do the opposite of impress.
Match Rating: *3/4 (out of 5)
After the match, Jindrak and Reigns get into it again and Jindrak knocks Reigns out with a left hook.
The rookie women are in the back and then Dawn Marie comes in tells them how sick of them she is. Michelle McCool steps in to step in front of Joy and as a result Dawn challenges her and a partner of her choice against whoever she wants in a mixed tag team match.
Carlito is back with Teddy Long and Long hands Carlito a shovel to take care of the snow outside.
Booker T vs. Heidenreich
I was praying we'd get a rematch of their No Way Out classic. Who says dreams don't come true? Booker goes right after Heidenreich, but shortly after we get Heidenreich working on Booker's shoulder. Booker hits a few kicks, but Heidenreich hits a big clothesline. Heidenreich heads to the outside to grab a chair like he did at No Way Out. Booker T hits a kick to Heidenreich with the chair in his hands and hits him right in the face. Booker grabs the chair, but decides not to use it, allowing Heidenreich to recover, but then Booker hits a DDT on the chair and the ref calls for the bell. After the match, he hits a scissors kick and then does the spinarooni. It was better than No Way Out, I guess?
Match Rating: 3/4*
Kurt Angle is out to the ring and he's feeling good about what he did to Shawn Michaels. Angle runs down Michaels, but says that is WrestleMania and tonight he will have a Kurt Angle Invitational match. A man with a hood over his face walks down and Angle is suspicious of it and pulls down his straps. Angle says he knows who he is and pulls off his hood and it's not him. Angle says he knows Michaels wouldn't be here because he destroyed him on Monday. In the background, they show a cameraman getting undressed and it's Michaels and he takes down the security guards and Angle. This was a nicely done brawl segment. I can't wait to see that match again. It's definitely been a few years.
During the break, Teddy Long tells Shawn that he is going to have him escorted from the building. Shawn said all he wanted was a piece and that he'd get the rest at WrestleMania.
Dawn Marie & Rene Dupree vs. Michelle McCool & Big Show
We haven't seen Dupree in awhile and he's sporting a black eye. Apparently this is McCool's debut match. I'm going to guess that this match isn't going to last very long. Dawn and McCool start things off. Dawn Marie shoves McCool and then slaps her. McCool does a few very choreographed moves and it's pretty clear that she really should not be in there. Dupree gets tagged in and when the ref is distracted, McCool hits a low blow and tags in Big Show. Show mocks Dupree's dance and then hits the chokeslam for the victory. There's no way else to put it. That was absolutely terrible.
Match Rating: 0 Stars
They show Carlito outside shoveling snow in a winter hat and no jacket.
JBL makes his way down to the ring for an interview. He runs down down Cena and the fans. JBL goes on a rant about people dying young by overdoses and that he can only have so many maids and gardeners. I just can't get into his character. JBL walks to the back and meets up with his Cabinet. He leaves with the Bashams, but tells Orlando Jordan that he's gone if he loses to Cena.
Chavo Guerrero is in the back with Rey. Chavo tells Rey that Eddie is upset about how many times he lost to him and that he's waiting for the perfect time to strike.
Big Show and Joy are celebrating his victory. Funaki comes up to him and tells him he should take on Akebono. This is how that match happened?
United States Championship Match
Orlando Jordan vs. John Cena
After feeling each other out, Cena gets in a few moves including a sideslam. Cena hits the Five Knuckle Shuffle and Jordan rolls out of the ring. I just noticed that there's a person in the floor seats right behind the ring with a Ring Of Honor shirt on. Jordan hits a powerbomb and gets a 2 count. There have been way too many rest holds in this match. Jordan hits a dropkick and again gets a 2 count. Cena hits a series of clotheslines followed by an inverted atomic drop. Cena pumps up his shoes and goes for the FU. The Bashams are out now and there is essentially no match here. JBL is down now and hits Cena over the head. Jordan rolls him up and gets the victory. That wasn't a very good match and why have it be Jordan? This is the state of the roster depth in 2005.
Match Rating: *
That was one of the more forgettable SmackDowns since I started doing these .The Michaels/Angle stuff was really fun but the rest of the segments are something that no one needs to see.
Overall Rating: 36%
Pepsi Arena
Albany, New York
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
John Cena comes out to a big pop to kick off the show. Tazz announces that he will be defending his US Championship against Orlando Jordan tonight. Cena is sick of JBL. He tells JBL that it's not how many days he's held the championship, it's how many days until he loses the championship. Pretty basic promo by Cena there.
WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Rey Mysterio & Eddie Guerrero vs. Mark Jindrak & Luther Reigns
Last week, Jindrak and Reigns had to be separated following their loss to Undertaker. Now they get a title match. Eddie and Reigns start the match off. The champs gain the early advantage, but then Reigns and Jindrak hang Rey out to dry on the top rope with an illegal double team. Rey hits the hot tag to Eddie, who immediately hits two dropkicks. Eddie then hits the two of the Three Amigos on Reigns. Mysterio hits a seated senton onto Reigns, allowing Eddie to hit the third amigo. Flog splash picks up the victory. There wasn't a whole lot to that one. Reigns and Jindrak continue to do the opposite of impress.
Match Rating: *3/4 (out of 5)
After the match, Jindrak and Reigns get into it again and Jindrak knocks Reigns out with a left hook.
The rookie women are in the back and then Dawn Marie comes in tells them how sick of them she is. Michelle McCool steps in to step in front of Joy and as a result Dawn challenges her and a partner of her choice against whoever she wants in a mixed tag team match.
Carlito is back with Teddy Long and Long hands Carlito a shovel to take care of the snow outside.
Booker T vs. Heidenreich
I was praying we'd get a rematch of their No Way Out classic. Who says dreams don't come true? Booker goes right after Heidenreich, but shortly after we get Heidenreich working on Booker's shoulder. Booker hits a few kicks, but Heidenreich hits a big clothesline. Heidenreich heads to the outside to grab a chair like he did at No Way Out. Booker T hits a kick to Heidenreich with the chair in his hands and hits him right in the face. Booker grabs the chair, but decides not to use it, allowing Heidenreich to recover, but then Booker hits a DDT on the chair and the ref calls for the bell. After the match, he hits a scissors kick and then does the spinarooni. It was better than No Way Out, I guess?
Match Rating: 3/4*
Kurt Angle is out to the ring and he's feeling good about what he did to Shawn Michaels. Angle runs down Michaels, but says that is WrestleMania and tonight he will have a Kurt Angle Invitational match. A man with a hood over his face walks down and Angle is suspicious of it and pulls down his straps. Angle says he knows who he is and pulls off his hood and it's not him. Angle says he knows Michaels wouldn't be here because he destroyed him on Monday. In the background, they show a cameraman getting undressed and it's Michaels and he takes down the security guards and Angle. This was a nicely done brawl segment. I can't wait to see that match again. It's definitely been a few years.
During the break, Teddy Long tells Shawn that he is going to have him escorted from the building. Shawn said all he wanted was a piece and that he'd get the rest at WrestleMania.
Dawn Marie & Rene Dupree vs. Michelle McCool & Big Show
We haven't seen Dupree in awhile and he's sporting a black eye. Apparently this is McCool's debut match. I'm going to guess that this match isn't going to last very long. Dawn and McCool start things off. Dawn Marie shoves McCool and then slaps her. McCool does a few very choreographed moves and it's pretty clear that she really should not be in there. Dupree gets tagged in and when the ref is distracted, McCool hits a low blow and tags in Big Show. Show mocks Dupree's dance and then hits the chokeslam for the victory. There's no way else to put it. That was absolutely terrible.
Match Rating: 0 Stars
They show Carlito outside shoveling snow in a winter hat and no jacket.
JBL makes his way down to the ring for an interview. He runs down down Cena and the fans. JBL goes on a rant about people dying young by overdoses and that he can only have so many maids and gardeners. I just can't get into his character. JBL walks to the back and meets up with his Cabinet. He leaves with the Bashams, but tells Orlando Jordan that he's gone if he loses to Cena.
Chavo Guerrero is in the back with Rey. Chavo tells Rey that Eddie is upset about how many times he lost to him and that he's waiting for the perfect time to strike.
Big Show and Joy are celebrating his victory. Funaki comes up to him and tells him he should take on Akebono. This is how that match happened?
United States Championship Match
Orlando Jordan vs. John Cena
After feeling each other out, Cena gets in a few moves including a sideslam. Cena hits the Five Knuckle Shuffle and Jordan rolls out of the ring. I just noticed that there's a person in the floor seats right behind the ring with a Ring Of Honor shirt on. Jordan hits a powerbomb and gets a 2 count. There have been way too many rest holds in this match. Jordan hits a dropkick and again gets a 2 count. Cena hits a series of clotheslines followed by an inverted atomic drop. Cena pumps up his shoes and goes for the FU. The Bashams are out now and there is essentially no match here. JBL is down now and hits Cena over the head. Jordan rolls him up and gets the victory. That wasn't a very good match and why have it be Jordan? This is the state of the roster depth in 2005.
Match Rating: *
That was one of the more forgettable SmackDowns since I started doing these .The Michaels/Angle stuff was really fun but the rest of the segments are something that no one needs to see.
Overall Rating: 36%
Monday, May 13, 2019
Monday Night Raw 2-28-05 Review
Monday, February 28th, 2005
Dunkin' Donuts Center
Providence, Rhode Island
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
As soon as we are on the air, Triple H's music hits. Triple H asks if anyone actually thinks he is afraid of Batista. We get fired up Triple H tonight and that's a good thing. Triple H finishes his rant and out comes The Hurricane. Triple H attacks him as he enters the ring. Triple H is pummeling him on the outside. Triple H then nails Hurricane with a Pedigree on the steel ramp. He picks up his title and a mic. He warns Batista that if he steps foot in this arena. he is going to destroy him. So there was a referee, but the match never started.
Chris Benoit vs. Muhammad Hassan
Benoit looks to be working a little snug to begin here. Benoit then begins to chase Daivari around the ring, but Hassan is hiding and nails him with a clothesline. Benoit fights back and hits 2 German suplexes. Benoit then inadvertently elbows the ref. Daivari hands Hassan the ring bell. Benoit hits another suplex, but Hassan still has the bell. Benoit is now going up top for the diving headbutt, but he hits the bell. The ref gets up and does a slow count and Benoit gets up. That seemed kind of weird. Hassan then hits a low blow and the ref rings the bell for a disqualification. I'm guessing Hassan missed the bell spot and Benoit called an audible.
Match Rating: **1/4 (out of 5)
They announce Hulk Hogan as an inductee into the Hall of Fame.
Batista has entered the arena. Coach runs up to Batista and tattles on Triple H. Batista says that when he sees him, he will thank him for unleashing the animal.
Triple H is standing there watching TV and Flair is telling him Batista is there. Flair wants him to go after him, but Triple H says he has a better idea.
Intercontinental Championship Match
Shelton Benjamin vs. Gene Snitsky
I guess this is the big blow off to the two sickening chair shots to the head for really no reason. Snitsky goes right after Benjamin, which tells me this is not going to be very long. Snitsky botches a counter into a suplex, but hits enough to make it work I guess. Benjamin counters the pump handle slam with an inverted DDT. Snitsky follows up with a big boot and grabs a chair. Shelton ducks and Snitsky loses the chair. Shelton then hits a huge DDT followed by a Stinger Splash. T-bone suplex and that is all. So those absolutely horrific chair shots to the head were all just a build up for a 3 minute match? Yeesh.
Match Rating: *
They announce that Piper's Pit is back at WrestleMania 21 and that his guest will be none other than Stone Cold Steve Austin.
John Walters vs. Chris Masters
Masters gets a very slightly better reaction this week than last. Masters makes quick work of Walters and slaps on the Master Lock for the win. Not much to say here. For a guy they built up for a pretty long time (in WWE time), they never really seemed to have a plan for him.
Match Rating: 1/4*
JR is in the ring to interview Batista. Batista says that Raw is all about Triple H. When Randy Orton won the title, when Batista won the Royal Rumble, it was still all about Triple H. Batista was nowhere near what he would eventually become on the mic here. Out comes Triple H and Flair. They surround the ring, but Batista knocks down Flair. Triple H walks out and Batista hits a spinebuster to Flair. Triple H teases coming in again and the crowd is chanting "Batista". Triple H retreats again and Batista gives the double thumbs down before hitting Flair with a Batista Bomb. The live crowd enjoyed the segment, so it came off well.
Triple H is in the back yelling at Eric Bischoff. They announce Batista vs. Ric Flair for next week to an underwhelming response from the crowd.
Chris Jericho vs. Maven
Jericho quickly starts working on Maven. Jericho hangs him out to dry on the top rope, then hits him with the springboard dropkick. Maven gets a short bit of offense before Jericho hits a step up enzaguri and then a dropkick off the top rope. Jericho puts the Walls of Jericho in and that's all. That was a pretty big burial of Maven there.
Match Rating: *
Jericho grabs a mic and says that everyone wants to make an impact at WrestleMania and he is no different. He announces that he has an idea that involves 6 men and a ladder. This is the birth of Money In The Bank, but he doesn't get into anymore detail than that.
They show the A Few Good Men WrestleMania commercial starring John Cena and JBL.
Christy Hemme is here to unveil her Playboy cover. She does to a mild applause and then Trish and her black eye are on their way down to the ring. Trish doesn't like her stealing her spotlight and begins putting spray paint over where it says "champion" on the cover. She then attacks her and spray paints her back. Classy segment.
Candice Michelle and Stacy Keibler are with steroid man Billy Graham. Randy Orton then joins them and they have an awkward conversation. You would never know that Graham was ever a good talker watching this segment. Graham tells Orton to be unique and special. Orton then puts down a SmackDown magazine with Undertaker on the cover.
Edge is with Maria said he beat HBK last time he was overlooked and he will make sure Michaels doesn't make it to WrestleMania.
Street Fight
Edge vs. Shawn Michaels
They start the match immediately, which is how every street fight should start. Michaels uses his belt as a weapon. Both guys are wearing street clothes and JR is hyping it as a "come as you are" street fight. This was a match I have really been looking forward to watching again because I really don't remember it that well. While I was pretty big into wrestling at the time, later on in 2005 I really became even more obsessed than I was here. HBK grabs a camera from a fan and takes a picture of a struggling Edge. Michaels is pulling a ladder out from under the ring, but then Edge nails him with a trash can in the head. Edge hits a DDT into the chair and now Michaels is busted open big time. We're talking almost Eddie Guerrero at Judgment Day bad, except this one is on cable TV, not pay-per-view. Edge is climbing to the top rope, but Michaels throws the ladder at him and sends him off the top and to the floor. Michaels tries a suicide dive, but gets caught on the middle rope. Thankfully Edge was able to catch him there. I have to think the big boots had a little to do with that one. Edge climbs almost to the top of the ladder and hits a big splash on Michaels, but only scores a 2 count. Michaels hits a slingshot on Edge right into the ladder. HBK then absolutely wails on Edge with a chair to the head. I probably say this with every review from this era, but I am so glad that I no longer have to watch that in modern day wrestling. Michaels gets his second wind and then nails Edge with a kendo stick to the head. He hits the elbow off the top rope and is tuning up the band. Edge ducks and then uses a chair for a low blow in a clever counter. Edge is bringing in a second chair and setting him up for a one man con-chair-to but Michaels gets out. Edge hits a spear, but only gets a 2 count. Edge is now tuning up the band, goes for the spear, but Michaels hits him with Sweet Chin Music for the victory. As soon as the match is over, Kurt Angle comes out of nowhere and destroys Michaels in an awesome moment. Angle then tells a laid out Michaels that he accepts his challenge. That was a really good main event, even if it's hard to watch the shots to the head here in 2019.
Match Rating: ***3/4
Well, that was a memorable episode featuring a really good main event, the birth of Money In The Bank and Muhammad Hassan's best match to date. It also featured an awful Trish Stratus/Christy Hemme segment and a few too many squashes. However, the bulk of it was entertaining and the street fight is definitely worth watching.
Overall Rating: 68%
Dunkin' Donuts Center
Providence, Rhode Island
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
As soon as we are on the air, Triple H's music hits. Triple H asks if anyone actually thinks he is afraid of Batista. We get fired up Triple H tonight and that's a good thing. Triple H finishes his rant and out comes The Hurricane. Triple H attacks him as he enters the ring. Triple H is pummeling him on the outside. Triple H then nails Hurricane with a Pedigree on the steel ramp. He picks up his title and a mic. He warns Batista that if he steps foot in this arena. he is going to destroy him. So there was a referee, but the match never started.
Chris Benoit vs. Muhammad Hassan
Benoit looks to be working a little snug to begin here. Benoit then begins to chase Daivari around the ring, but Hassan is hiding and nails him with a clothesline. Benoit fights back and hits 2 German suplexes. Benoit then inadvertently elbows the ref. Daivari hands Hassan the ring bell. Benoit hits another suplex, but Hassan still has the bell. Benoit is now going up top for the diving headbutt, but he hits the bell. The ref gets up and does a slow count and Benoit gets up. That seemed kind of weird. Hassan then hits a low blow and the ref rings the bell for a disqualification. I'm guessing Hassan missed the bell spot and Benoit called an audible.
Match Rating: **1/4 (out of 5)
They announce Hulk Hogan as an inductee into the Hall of Fame.
Batista has entered the arena. Coach runs up to Batista and tattles on Triple H. Batista says that when he sees him, he will thank him for unleashing the animal.
Triple H is standing there watching TV and Flair is telling him Batista is there. Flair wants him to go after him, but Triple H says he has a better idea.
Intercontinental Championship Match
Shelton Benjamin vs. Gene Snitsky
I guess this is the big blow off to the two sickening chair shots to the head for really no reason. Snitsky goes right after Benjamin, which tells me this is not going to be very long. Snitsky botches a counter into a suplex, but hits enough to make it work I guess. Benjamin counters the pump handle slam with an inverted DDT. Snitsky follows up with a big boot and grabs a chair. Shelton ducks and Snitsky loses the chair. Shelton then hits a huge DDT followed by a Stinger Splash. T-bone suplex and that is all. So those absolutely horrific chair shots to the head were all just a build up for a 3 minute match? Yeesh.
Match Rating: *
They announce that Piper's Pit is back at WrestleMania 21 and that his guest will be none other than Stone Cold Steve Austin.
John Walters vs. Chris Masters
Masters gets a very slightly better reaction this week than last. Masters makes quick work of Walters and slaps on the Master Lock for the win. Not much to say here. For a guy they built up for a pretty long time (in WWE time), they never really seemed to have a plan for him.
Match Rating: 1/4*
JR is in the ring to interview Batista. Batista says that Raw is all about Triple H. When Randy Orton won the title, when Batista won the Royal Rumble, it was still all about Triple H. Batista was nowhere near what he would eventually become on the mic here. Out comes Triple H and Flair. They surround the ring, but Batista knocks down Flair. Triple H walks out and Batista hits a spinebuster to Flair. Triple H teases coming in again and the crowd is chanting "Batista". Triple H retreats again and Batista gives the double thumbs down before hitting Flair with a Batista Bomb. The live crowd enjoyed the segment, so it came off well.
Triple H is in the back yelling at Eric Bischoff. They announce Batista vs. Ric Flair for next week to an underwhelming response from the crowd.
Chris Jericho vs. Maven
Jericho quickly starts working on Maven. Jericho hangs him out to dry on the top rope, then hits him with the springboard dropkick. Maven gets a short bit of offense before Jericho hits a step up enzaguri and then a dropkick off the top rope. Jericho puts the Walls of Jericho in and that's all. That was a pretty big burial of Maven there.
Match Rating: *
Jericho grabs a mic and says that everyone wants to make an impact at WrestleMania and he is no different. He announces that he has an idea that involves 6 men and a ladder. This is the birth of Money In The Bank, but he doesn't get into anymore detail than that.
They show the A Few Good Men WrestleMania commercial starring John Cena and JBL.
Christy Hemme is here to unveil her Playboy cover. She does to a mild applause and then Trish and her black eye are on their way down to the ring. Trish doesn't like her stealing her spotlight and begins putting spray paint over where it says "champion" on the cover. She then attacks her and spray paints her back. Classy segment.
Candice Michelle and Stacy Keibler are with steroid man Billy Graham. Randy Orton then joins them and they have an awkward conversation. You would never know that Graham was ever a good talker watching this segment. Graham tells Orton to be unique and special. Orton then puts down a SmackDown magazine with Undertaker on the cover.
Edge is with Maria said he beat HBK last time he was overlooked and he will make sure Michaels doesn't make it to WrestleMania.
Street Fight
Edge vs. Shawn Michaels
They start the match immediately, which is how every street fight should start. Michaels uses his belt as a weapon. Both guys are wearing street clothes and JR is hyping it as a "come as you are" street fight. This was a match I have really been looking forward to watching again because I really don't remember it that well. While I was pretty big into wrestling at the time, later on in 2005 I really became even more obsessed than I was here. HBK grabs a camera from a fan and takes a picture of a struggling Edge. Michaels is pulling a ladder out from under the ring, but then Edge nails him with a trash can in the head. Edge hits a DDT into the chair and now Michaels is busted open big time. We're talking almost Eddie Guerrero at Judgment Day bad, except this one is on cable TV, not pay-per-view. Edge is climbing to the top rope, but Michaels throws the ladder at him and sends him off the top and to the floor. Michaels tries a suicide dive, but gets caught on the middle rope. Thankfully Edge was able to catch him there. I have to think the big boots had a little to do with that one. Edge climbs almost to the top of the ladder and hits a big splash on Michaels, but only scores a 2 count. Michaels hits a slingshot on Edge right into the ladder. HBK then absolutely wails on Edge with a chair to the head. I probably say this with every review from this era, but I am so glad that I no longer have to watch that in modern day wrestling. Michaels gets his second wind and then nails Edge with a kendo stick to the head. He hits the elbow off the top rope and is tuning up the band. Edge ducks and then uses a chair for a low blow in a clever counter. Edge is bringing in a second chair and setting him up for a one man con-chair-to but Michaels gets out. Edge hits a spear, but only gets a 2 count. Edge is now tuning up the band, goes for the spear, but Michaels hits him with Sweet Chin Music for the victory. As soon as the match is over, Kurt Angle comes out of nowhere and destroys Michaels in an awesome moment. Angle then tells a laid out Michaels that he accepts his challenge. That was a really good main event, even if it's hard to watch the shots to the head here in 2019.
Match Rating: ***3/4
Well, that was a memorable episode featuring a really good main event, the birth of Money In The Bank and Muhammad Hassan's best match to date. It also featured an awful Trish Stratus/Christy Hemme segment and a few too many squashes. However, the bulk of it was entertaining and the street fight is definitely worth watching.
Overall Rating: 68%
Wednesday, May 8, 2019
NXT 10-3-12 Review
Original Airdate: Wednesday, October 3rd, 2012
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida
Kassius Ohno is asked about attacking Richie Steamboat as he enters Full Sail University and is attacked by Steamboat.
Drew McIntyre vs. Richie Steamboat
This is McIntyre's first appearance since the NXT Championship tournament where he fractured his wrist. McIntyre is sporting a cast here. They go back and forth hitting a few big moves. McIntyre has him set up for perhaps a powerbomb and it looked like Steamboat was going to reverse it, but he just falls to the ground in a messed up spot. Kassius Ohno comes out and provides a distraction for McIntyre to win by pinfall. Decent match for what it was, but too short to really be anything else.
Match Rating: *3/4 (out of 5)
Big E Langston vs. Aiden English
Langston comes out to a nice pop. Big E absolutely steamrolls poor English here and hits the Big Ending for the 3 count, which upsets Langston and he demands a 5 count and he gets it. After the match, he hits it again and does his own 5 count. Poor English gets another one, followed by another 5 count.
Match Rating: 1/4*
They show Steamboat backstage looking for Ohno.
Next week, CM Punk is going to be on NXT.
They announce that Michael McGillicutty is going to be Seth Rollins' first title defense next week on NXT. McGillicutty is in the ring and tells Rollins to come out. They bicker a little and Rollins says that he is ready for him right now. McGillicutty walks away and says he will do it when he is ready.
They show a pre-taped interview with Justin Gabriel and Tyson Kidd and then the Ascensions music hits and they are up in a room above the arena.
Percy Watson vs. Kassius Ohno
As Ohno is walking down the ramp, he is attacked by Steamboat. Ohno says he is ready to wrestle regardless. Watson hits a nice dropkick and then slams him face first. About a minute later, Watson hits another dropkick. Ohno hits a knee to the face and then a spinning forearm to the back of the head and that's all. Not much to that one.
Match Rating: 1/2*
The Ascension vs. Tyson Kidd & Justin Gabriel
The Ascension grab control early on and I'm okay with part of their offense being missed due to the commercial break. Gabriel makes the hot tag to Kidd and he hits a flurry of kicks on O'Brian. He goes for a move to the outside, but it is blocked and the Ascension is back in control. We're only a couple months in to the origin of NXT and I've had my fill of the Ascension. I'm not really looking forward to the fact that there is still more than a year of their run left still. Kidd finally makes a tag to Gabriel, who hits a springboard clothesline and a spinning kick. Gabriel goes up top, but misses the 450 splash. The Ascension hit The Fall Of Man for the victory. That was pretty much a squash match, as Kidd and Gabriel barely got any offense in at all. No thank you.
Match Rating: *
Big E. Langston was the highlight this week, as his character continues to get over. The Kassius Ohno/Richie Steamboat feud at least gives the show a decent storyline to build around. Next week will be a big one featuring Seth Rollins' first title defense and CM Punk being on the show. However, this show was total filler.
Overall Rating: 37%
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida
Kassius Ohno is asked about attacking Richie Steamboat as he enters Full Sail University and is attacked by Steamboat.
Drew McIntyre vs. Richie Steamboat
This is McIntyre's first appearance since the NXT Championship tournament where he fractured his wrist. McIntyre is sporting a cast here. They go back and forth hitting a few big moves. McIntyre has him set up for perhaps a powerbomb and it looked like Steamboat was going to reverse it, but he just falls to the ground in a messed up spot. Kassius Ohno comes out and provides a distraction for McIntyre to win by pinfall. Decent match for what it was, but too short to really be anything else.
Match Rating: *3/4 (out of 5)
Big E Langston vs. Aiden English
Langston comes out to a nice pop. Big E absolutely steamrolls poor English here and hits the Big Ending for the 3 count, which upsets Langston and he demands a 5 count and he gets it. After the match, he hits it again and does his own 5 count. Poor English gets another one, followed by another 5 count.
Match Rating: 1/4*
They show Steamboat backstage looking for Ohno.
Next week, CM Punk is going to be on NXT.
They announce that Michael McGillicutty is going to be Seth Rollins' first title defense next week on NXT. McGillicutty is in the ring and tells Rollins to come out. They bicker a little and Rollins says that he is ready for him right now. McGillicutty walks away and says he will do it when he is ready.
They show a pre-taped interview with Justin Gabriel and Tyson Kidd and then the Ascensions music hits and they are up in a room above the arena.
Percy Watson vs. Kassius Ohno
As Ohno is walking down the ramp, he is attacked by Steamboat. Ohno says he is ready to wrestle regardless. Watson hits a nice dropkick and then slams him face first. About a minute later, Watson hits another dropkick. Ohno hits a knee to the face and then a spinning forearm to the back of the head and that's all. Not much to that one.
Match Rating: 1/2*
The Ascension vs. Tyson Kidd & Justin Gabriel
The Ascension grab control early on and I'm okay with part of their offense being missed due to the commercial break. Gabriel makes the hot tag to Kidd and he hits a flurry of kicks on O'Brian. He goes for a move to the outside, but it is blocked and the Ascension is back in control. We're only a couple months in to the origin of NXT and I've had my fill of the Ascension. I'm not really looking forward to the fact that there is still more than a year of their run left still. Kidd finally makes a tag to Gabriel, who hits a springboard clothesline and a spinning kick. Gabriel goes up top, but misses the 450 splash. The Ascension hit The Fall Of Man for the victory. That was pretty much a squash match, as Kidd and Gabriel barely got any offense in at all. No thank you.
Match Rating: *
Big E. Langston was the highlight this week, as his character continues to get over. The Kassius Ohno/Richie Steamboat feud at least gives the show a decent storyline to build around. Next week will be a big one featuring Seth Rollins' first title defense and CM Punk being on the show. However, this show was total filler.
Overall Rating: 37%
Tuesday, May 7, 2019
Superstars 8-8-92 Review
Original Airdate: Saturday, August 8th, 1992
Worcester Centrum
Worcester, Massachusetts
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
We get a rare deviation from the usual into to the show as we go right to Mean Gene who introduces the Ultimate Warrior. It's almost impossible to not completely block out everything Warrior says, as it's just a bunch of nothing. Out comes Ric Flair. Flair says that he will be the champ before SummerSlam. He also says that he will be there at SummerSlam to watch the Warrior/Savage. He says that Macho Man was trying to cut a deal to have Mr. Perfect manage him. Flair tells Warrior that he still has a chance to have Perfect in his corner if he opens up his wallet. Mean Gene is shocked. Warrior says he will do anything to win the WWF Championship.
Paul Van Dale vs. Razor Ramon
After weeks of vignettes, the debut of one of the defining characters of the mid-90s is right here on Superstars. Hall was pretty confident in this character right off the bat. A lot of the signature Razor stuff is very much what he is showing here. I would have really liked to have seen him have a little bit longer run as a heel. He hits a nice back suplex off the second rope and then hits the Razor's Edge for the victory. For the record, they don't call it that here. This was a really impressive debut.
Match Rating: 1/2*
We get a sit down interview with Stu and Helen Hart. Helen talks about how the house is divided and Stu just sits there.
Brian Brieger & Brian Donahue vs. Natural Disasters
This is such a strange time for tag teams. You have this monster tag team here and they are the faces. You have one of the coolest tag teams of all time talking to a dummy. The Beverly Brothers are rocking a gimmick I still don't understand. Money, Inc. is as boring as they come. Disasters do their usual complete destruction of the jobbers. Earthquake continues to be fun to watch and they win after hitting their double splash.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Sean Mooney time and we get words from Kamala as he prepares for Undertaker at SummerSlam. British Bulldog talks more about the Hart family and how neither one of them are going to be holding back because of it. I still don't get why you would ever do a pay-per-view on a Monday night?
Kamala vs. Ross Greenberg
I still dig the beat in Kamala's entrance music. They show the cover of WWF Magazine and Papa Shango is on there, who doesn't even make the official SummerSlam card. Kamala looks a little bit more motivated here and it's definitely making him look like a little bit more of a threat for his SummerSlam match. Kamala hits the splash and continues to do the not knowing how to cover his opponent for the pin schtick.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Back to Sean Mooney, as he announces Repo Man vs. Crush, Tatanka vs. Berzerker and Nailz vs. Virgil. Well if you weren't sold yet on the card, you are now. Nailz and Virgil give us a few words and I don't even remember what they said 30 seconds later. Money, Inc. says they will beat Legion of Doom at SummerSlam and that you can take that to the bank.
British Bulldog vs. Iron Mike Sharpe
Interesting to see that both competitors in the Intercontinental Championship match go back to back weeks against Sharpe. Vince goes on a rant about not putting a steroid freak on the cover of a magazine and hypes IcoPro. What a life Vince has had. Bulldog hits his always impressive suplex, but Sharpe actually gets a kick out. Sharpe then actually gets a little bit of offense in. More than the usual Superstars match. Bulldog dodges Sharpe and hits the powerslam for the victory.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Mean Gene is now here to hype up SummerSlam. No one was better at these then Okerlund. Bret gets his chance here to talk about the family divide among the Hart family. Undertaker and Paul Bearer talk about the casket for Kamala. Shawn Michaels and Sherri are going to give Rick Martel a wrestling lesson. Repo Man gives another legendary promo about repossessing Crush's career. Too late, buddy.
Body Stars promo and I still have no idea why anyone would watch that show.
Jason Knight vs. The Berzerker
Tatanka says that he is going to scalp Berzerker at SummerSlam. Unfortunately, their match won't make the final telecast. Berzerker ties Knight up in the ropes and hits him with two boots to the face. Berzerker throws Knight out of the ring and wins by countout.
Match Rating: 1/4*
One last time in the Event Center. It's pretty apparent as to why WWF had to pay for their TV time, as Superstars was basically an infomercial. Crush gives a terrible promo about crushing Repo's skull. Somehow that one made the cut. Natural Disasters say they aren't giving up the belts at SummerSlam. Don't worry, not one single person was buying the Beverly Brothers as serious threats.
Next week we get the Undertaker, Money, Inc. and Big Boss Man vs. Skinner. On top of that, we are getting an interview from Macho Man.
This episode had a much better flow than some of the previous ones and also it seemed as if the talent was more motivated than usual. I enjoyed this show about as much as I could for a squash show.
Overall Rating: 44%
Worcester Centrum
Worcester, Massachusetts
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
We get a rare deviation from the usual into to the show as we go right to Mean Gene who introduces the Ultimate Warrior. It's almost impossible to not completely block out everything Warrior says, as it's just a bunch of nothing. Out comes Ric Flair. Flair says that he will be the champ before SummerSlam. He also says that he will be there at SummerSlam to watch the Warrior/Savage. He says that Macho Man was trying to cut a deal to have Mr. Perfect manage him. Flair tells Warrior that he still has a chance to have Perfect in his corner if he opens up his wallet. Mean Gene is shocked. Warrior says he will do anything to win the WWF Championship.
Paul Van Dale vs. Razor Ramon
After weeks of vignettes, the debut of one of the defining characters of the mid-90s is right here on Superstars. Hall was pretty confident in this character right off the bat. A lot of the signature Razor stuff is very much what he is showing here. I would have really liked to have seen him have a little bit longer run as a heel. He hits a nice back suplex off the second rope and then hits the Razor's Edge for the victory. For the record, they don't call it that here. This was a really impressive debut.
Match Rating: 1/2*
We get a sit down interview with Stu and Helen Hart. Helen talks about how the house is divided and Stu just sits there.
Brian Brieger & Brian Donahue vs. Natural Disasters
This is such a strange time for tag teams. You have this monster tag team here and they are the faces. You have one of the coolest tag teams of all time talking to a dummy. The Beverly Brothers are rocking a gimmick I still don't understand. Money, Inc. is as boring as they come. Disasters do their usual complete destruction of the jobbers. Earthquake continues to be fun to watch and they win after hitting their double splash.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Sean Mooney time and we get words from Kamala as he prepares for Undertaker at SummerSlam. British Bulldog talks more about the Hart family and how neither one of them are going to be holding back because of it. I still don't get why you would ever do a pay-per-view on a Monday night?
Kamala vs. Ross Greenberg
I still dig the beat in Kamala's entrance music. They show the cover of WWF Magazine and Papa Shango is on there, who doesn't even make the official SummerSlam card. Kamala looks a little bit more motivated here and it's definitely making him look like a little bit more of a threat for his SummerSlam match. Kamala hits the splash and continues to do the not knowing how to cover his opponent for the pin schtick.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Back to Sean Mooney, as he announces Repo Man vs. Crush, Tatanka vs. Berzerker and Nailz vs. Virgil. Well if you weren't sold yet on the card, you are now. Nailz and Virgil give us a few words and I don't even remember what they said 30 seconds later. Money, Inc. says they will beat Legion of Doom at SummerSlam and that you can take that to the bank.
British Bulldog vs. Iron Mike Sharpe
Interesting to see that both competitors in the Intercontinental Championship match go back to back weeks against Sharpe. Vince goes on a rant about not putting a steroid freak on the cover of a magazine and hypes IcoPro. What a life Vince has had. Bulldog hits his always impressive suplex, but Sharpe actually gets a kick out. Sharpe then actually gets a little bit of offense in. More than the usual Superstars match. Bulldog dodges Sharpe and hits the powerslam for the victory.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Mean Gene is now here to hype up SummerSlam. No one was better at these then Okerlund. Bret gets his chance here to talk about the family divide among the Hart family. Undertaker and Paul Bearer talk about the casket for Kamala. Shawn Michaels and Sherri are going to give Rick Martel a wrestling lesson. Repo Man gives another legendary promo about repossessing Crush's career. Too late, buddy.
Body Stars promo and I still have no idea why anyone would watch that show.
Jason Knight vs. The Berzerker
Tatanka says that he is going to scalp Berzerker at SummerSlam. Unfortunately, their match won't make the final telecast. Berzerker ties Knight up in the ropes and hits him with two boots to the face. Berzerker throws Knight out of the ring and wins by countout.
Match Rating: 1/4*
One last time in the Event Center. It's pretty apparent as to why WWF had to pay for their TV time, as Superstars was basically an infomercial. Crush gives a terrible promo about crushing Repo's skull. Somehow that one made the cut. Natural Disasters say they aren't giving up the belts at SummerSlam. Don't worry, not one single person was buying the Beverly Brothers as serious threats.
Next week we get the Undertaker, Money, Inc. and Big Boss Man vs. Skinner. On top of that, we are getting an interview from Macho Man.
This episode had a much better flow than some of the previous ones and also it seemed as if the talent was more motivated than usual. I enjoyed this show about as much as I could for a squash show.
Overall Rating: 44%
Monday, May 6, 2019
SmackDown 2-24-05 Review
Original Airdate: Thursday, February 24th, 2005
Wachovia Center
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
We get a paid spot courtesy of JBL boasting about his victory at No Way Out and the longest title reign in ten years. Tonight there is going to be a celebration in his honor.
WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Rey Mysterio & Eddie Guerrero vs. Basham Brothers
These two teams had a solid match at No Way Out, let's see what they can do here. The champs use a lot of quick tags in the beginning to work on Danny Basham. Doug Basham hits a spinebuster off the second rope in a unique spot and it looks like he may have hurt himself a little bit on that one. Back from the break and Mysterio is laying on the floor, leaving Eddie to fend for himself. During the break, Danny slid under the ring and attacked Mysterio from behind. I'm not really quite sure why that would have happened during the commercial break on a taped show. Eddie looks to make a tag, but Rey is still not ready. Rey is finally up in his corner and Eddie comes close before Doug Basham clubs Mysterio. Mysterio finally gets the hot tag and hits a springboard moonsault for a 2 count. Three Amigos by Eddie and he sets him up for the 619. Basham moves and Mysterio hits Eddie Flying headbutt by Basham goes for the pinfall, but Eddie breaks it up. Rey sends Danny Basham over the top rope and hits Doug with the 619. Frog Splash by Eddie and Rey picks up the pinfall. The Bashams actually wrestled a smart match there and the champs looked good. You can't go wrong with Rey and Eddie.
Match Rating: ***1/4 (out of 5)
Michael Cole and Tazz recap the Kurt Angle/John Cena match from No Way Out.
They show all of the women back in the locker room and Orlando Jordan walks in. He invites them to JBL's celebration of excellence.
Kurt Angle Invitational
Kurt Angle vs. Matt Martel
Angle cuts his announcement short and says he isn't in the mood. Martel is Matt Striker. Martel asks Angle how it felt to lose the #1 contenders match to John Cena. Angle then clubs him with a clothesline and we are underway. Angle hits a couple of suplexes and the Angle Slam, but lifts up Martel's shoulders to dish out more pain. Angle gets him in the Ankle Lock and that is all.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Tazz goes into the ring to interview Angle. They show the clip of Shawn Michaels challenging Angle at WrestleMania. Angle then walks to the back with no response.
They show limos arriving for JBL's celebration.
Josh Matthews is back with Heidenreich. Heidenreich reads a poem about his match with Booker T. I can't imagine why this guy didn't get over.
Cole and Tazz recap the barbed wire cage match.
JBL and Orlando Jordan are talking backstage. JBL runs over his injuries from No Way Out.
The celebration of excellence is getting ready. There is champagne and violin players. Orlando Jordan and the Bashams introduce JBL. JBL is out limping to the ring. JBL says hi to every single person out there. If you think the Undertakers entrance is long, he's got nothing on this one. They unveil a painting of JBL and for some reason that's a big deal? JBL rambles on seemingly forever and is interrupted by...Big Show? He trashes the decoration and beats up a few of the guests on his way down. The Bashams and OJ eventually get Big Show in the ropes and out comes Cena. Cena cleans house and then smashes the painting over JBL's head. Now here comes Teddy Long and he naturally makes a tag team match of JBL and OJ vs. John Cena and Big Show.
Cruiserweight Championship Match
Chavo Guerrero vs. Funaki
Chavo attacks Funaki as soon as he enters the ring. They must only have 3 minutes. Funaki does a unique spot where he has Chavo upside down over his back and smashes him into the turnbuckle, but then Chavo turns it into a Gory Bomb and gets the victory pretty much out of nowhere. I'm not even sure if they hit 3 minutes.
Match Rating: 3/4*
Paul London then comes out of nowhere and attacks Chavo. The editing team didn't even seem to bother adding in cheers and boos to that match including the post match stuff.
Luther Reigns & Mark Jindrak vs. Undertaker
Why not just make this the match at No Way Out? Undertaker destroys Jindrak from the get go. Jindrak tries to make the tag but Reigns walks away. Not even a minute later, Taker puts Jindrak in a triangle choke and gets the victory. Jindrak was treated basically the same as Simon Dean is over on Raw, minus having a goofy jobber gimmick.
Match Rating: 1/4*
After the match, Reigns and Jindrak argue, leading to Reigns pushing Jindrak down. Jindrak then attacks and gets the better of him for the better part of the fight. I smell a WrestleMania main event here. All of the officials are out to break them up.
Teddy Long is now back again, this time to find out what his fate is as SmackDown GM. Carlito then comes out to talk some trash. Long then introduces Linda McMahon who is live via sattellite. She announces that Long will remain GM. Long tells Carlito he has a lot in store for Carlito
John Cena & Big Show vs. JBL & Orlando Jordan
The match starts while on commercial break and Big Show is beating on Jordan. Big Show tells Jordan to tag JBL, but JBL wants nothing to do with him. Cena is in and the heels start to get the advantage. Hot tag to Big Show and he takes care of both men. Who are they grooming for WrestleMania again? Cena hits the FU to Jordan and the Five Knuckle Shuffle for the victory. That was a post TV taping match in terms of quality. I'm not entirely sure why they made Show look like the threat here though.
Match Rating: *
This episode felt like it lasted forever. It started off good enough, but everything else pretty much just dragged after the Angle Invitational. Hopefully next week the WrestleMania hype starts a little bit as two big matches haven't started their storyline quite yet.
Overall Rating: 39%
Wachovia Center
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
We get a paid spot courtesy of JBL boasting about his victory at No Way Out and the longest title reign in ten years. Tonight there is going to be a celebration in his honor.
WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Rey Mysterio & Eddie Guerrero vs. Basham Brothers
These two teams had a solid match at No Way Out, let's see what they can do here. The champs use a lot of quick tags in the beginning to work on Danny Basham. Doug Basham hits a spinebuster off the second rope in a unique spot and it looks like he may have hurt himself a little bit on that one. Back from the break and Mysterio is laying on the floor, leaving Eddie to fend for himself. During the break, Danny slid under the ring and attacked Mysterio from behind. I'm not really quite sure why that would have happened during the commercial break on a taped show. Eddie looks to make a tag, but Rey is still not ready. Rey is finally up in his corner and Eddie comes close before Doug Basham clubs Mysterio. Mysterio finally gets the hot tag and hits a springboard moonsault for a 2 count. Three Amigos by Eddie and he sets him up for the 619. Basham moves and Mysterio hits Eddie Flying headbutt by Basham goes for the pinfall, but Eddie breaks it up. Rey sends Danny Basham over the top rope and hits Doug with the 619. Frog Splash by Eddie and Rey picks up the pinfall. The Bashams actually wrestled a smart match there and the champs looked good. You can't go wrong with Rey and Eddie.
Match Rating: ***1/4 (out of 5)
Michael Cole and Tazz recap the Kurt Angle/John Cena match from No Way Out.
They show all of the women back in the locker room and Orlando Jordan walks in. He invites them to JBL's celebration of excellence.
Kurt Angle Invitational
Kurt Angle vs. Matt Martel
Angle cuts his announcement short and says he isn't in the mood. Martel is Matt Striker. Martel asks Angle how it felt to lose the #1 contenders match to John Cena. Angle then clubs him with a clothesline and we are underway. Angle hits a couple of suplexes and the Angle Slam, but lifts up Martel's shoulders to dish out more pain. Angle gets him in the Ankle Lock and that is all.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Tazz goes into the ring to interview Angle. They show the clip of Shawn Michaels challenging Angle at WrestleMania. Angle then walks to the back with no response.
They show limos arriving for JBL's celebration.
Josh Matthews is back with Heidenreich. Heidenreich reads a poem about his match with Booker T. I can't imagine why this guy didn't get over.
Cole and Tazz recap the barbed wire cage match.
JBL and Orlando Jordan are talking backstage. JBL runs over his injuries from No Way Out.
The celebration of excellence is getting ready. There is champagne and violin players. Orlando Jordan and the Bashams introduce JBL. JBL is out limping to the ring. JBL says hi to every single person out there. If you think the Undertakers entrance is long, he's got nothing on this one. They unveil a painting of JBL and for some reason that's a big deal? JBL rambles on seemingly forever and is interrupted by...Big Show? He trashes the decoration and beats up a few of the guests on his way down. The Bashams and OJ eventually get Big Show in the ropes and out comes Cena. Cena cleans house and then smashes the painting over JBL's head. Now here comes Teddy Long and he naturally makes a tag team match of JBL and OJ vs. John Cena and Big Show.
Cruiserweight Championship Match
Chavo Guerrero vs. Funaki
Chavo attacks Funaki as soon as he enters the ring. They must only have 3 minutes. Funaki does a unique spot where he has Chavo upside down over his back and smashes him into the turnbuckle, but then Chavo turns it into a Gory Bomb and gets the victory pretty much out of nowhere. I'm not even sure if they hit 3 minutes.
Match Rating: 3/4*
Paul London then comes out of nowhere and attacks Chavo. The editing team didn't even seem to bother adding in cheers and boos to that match including the post match stuff.
Luther Reigns & Mark Jindrak vs. Undertaker
Why not just make this the match at No Way Out? Undertaker destroys Jindrak from the get go. Jindrak tries to make the tag but Reigns walks away. Not even a minute later, Taker puts Jindrak in a triangle choke and gets the victory. Jindrak was treated basically the same as Simon Dean is over on Raw, minus having a goofy jobber gimmick.
Match Rating: 1/4*
After the match, Reigns and Jindrak argue, leading to Reigns pushing Jindrak down. Jindrak then attacks and gets the better of him for the better part of the fight. I smell a WrestleMania main event here. All of the officials are out to break them up.
Teddy Long is now back again, this time to find out what his fate is as SmackDown GM. Carlito then comes out to talk some trash. Long then introduces Linda McMahon who is live via sattellite. She announces that Long will remain GM. Long tells Carlito he has a lot in store for Carlito
John Cena & Big Show vs. JBL & Orlando Jordan
The match starts while on commercial break and Big Show is beating on Jordan. Big Show tells Jordan to tag JBL, but JBL wants nothing to do with him. Cena is in and the heels start to get the advantage. Hot tag to Big Show and he takes care of both men. Who are they grooming for WrestleMania again? Cena hits the FU to Jordan and the Five Knuckle Shuffle for the victory. That was a post TV taping match in terms of quality. I'm not entirely sure why they made Show look like the threat here though.
Match Rating: *
This episode felt like it lasted forever. It started off good enough, but everything else pretty much just dragged after the Angle Invitational. Hopefully next week the WrestleMania hype starts a little bit as two big matches haven't started their storyline quite yet.
Overall Rating: 39%
Friday, May 3, 2019
Monday Night Raw 2-21-05 Review
Monday, February 21st, 2005
Bryce Jordan Center
State College, Pennsylvania
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
WWE Womens Championship Match
Trish Stratus vs. Molly Holly vs. Victoria
Trish comes down sporting a black eye that she apparently got from a live event over the weekend. Molly jumps Victoria and we are underway. Victoria hits her standing moonsault early on. She tries it again on Trish, but is stopped before she gets the chance. Trish mocks Victoria's dance before stomping her. Victoria hits a spinning sidewalk slam on Trish until Molly re-enters the ring. Trish and Molly hit Victoria with a double suplex and then they begin fighting. Victoria rolls up Trish, but releases to clothesline Molly. Molly misses the Molly-Go-Round and Victoria hits her with the Widow's Peak, but Trish pulls Victoria off. We get WWE's favorite triple threat match ending, as Trish then pins Molly for the victory. That was a well executed match that was non stop action.
Match Rating: **1/4 (out of 5)
Triple H and Ric Flair are backstage, which is shocking. That never happens. Flair tells Triple H that he hasn't seen or talked to Batista yet tonight. Flair says he will wait for him in the parking lot. Thrilling.
We get the Pulp Fiction spoof for WrestleMania featuring Booker T and Eddie Guerrero.
Trish interrupts Christy and Candice Michelle backstage. They then trade lame insults and Trish slaps Candice, causing Christy to ram Trish into the wall. Trish deserved better.
Randy Orton and Stacy are backstage and they run into Shawn Michaels. Stacy heads out, while Shawn tells Orton shouldn't wait for his opportunity to come to him, he needs to go out there and take it.
Simon Dean is in the ring making jokes about the freshman 15. He then makes a Joe Paterno joke. He is then interrupted by Chris Jericho.
Simon Dean vs. Chris Jericho
Jericho hits a springboard dropkick and then drops Dean on the guardrail. The crowd is buying what he is selling tonight. Dean takes down Jericho with a clothesline. Dean goes off the second rope, but Jericho hits him with a dropkick. Simon Dean puts up his knees to block the Lionsault and almost steals a victory. Jericho puts Dean into the Walls of Jericho, but Dean grabs his bag. The ref catches it and Jericho drags him to the center of the ring and gets the victory. That was another energetic little match that was better than it should have been.
Match Rating: *1/2
Teddy Long and Eric Bischoff are going over No Way Out. Long is saying he wants to have Batista vs. John Cena vs. JBL at WrestleMania. Shawn Michaels walks in and wants a match with Kurt Angle at WrestleMania.
Kane vs. Tyson Tomko
Tomko has a microphone. Look out. He is sick of all of the focus on Batista and says it should be on him. Even Kane's not buying it and he's probably supposed to. Kane takes him out with a huge boot and follows it up with an elbow drop. Tomko follows it up with a less impressive boot. Kane hits his clothesline off the top rope and hits a backbreaker. Tomko moves out of the way and Kane rams his shoulder into the post. However, no less than 10 seconds later, Kane hits the chokeslam and gets the win. Well, that one was just as bad as I thought it would be. Bummer.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Ric Flair opens a limo door and out comes Chris Masters, not Batista. Masters introduces himself to Flair.
Muhammad Hassan is on his way to the ring along with Daivari. Hassan is sick of the disrespect he gets. He brags about his undefeated record and says that he should face Triple H if Batista goes to SmackDown. Out comes Chris Benoit. Benoit challenges Hassan to shut him up. Hassan accepts, but says it won't be tonight. Benoit jumps Hassan, but Daivari provides the distraction and they double team Benoit.
Randy Orton & Shawn Michaels vs. Christian & Edge
Orton and Christian start things off after their good match last week. They seem to have a little miscommunication and it looked like Orton hit Christian in the jaw with a stiff shot. Man, 2005 Shawn Michaels was so good. So was pretty much every other year he wrestled. Edge and Christian get some tags back and forth and work on Michaels. Christian pushes Michaels towards the ropes and Edge holds down the top rope, causing Michaels to fall to the floor. Edge then hits him with a leaping spear from the apron going into the commercial break. Edge is working on Michaels after the break and Michaels is selling as only he can. Michaels hits the hot tag to Orton, who body slams Edge and knocks Christian to the apron. While Orton is clubbing Edge in the chest, Christian climbs to the top and he knocks him to the floor again. Orton hits a flying crossbody off the top rope on Edge for a 2 count. Edge and Christian illegally stop Orton's run and are back in control. There's no doubt in my mind that E&C are in the top 3 WWE tag teams of my lifetime. Orton hits a double DDT and the three of them are on the ground. Hot tag to Michaels, who hits duel inverted atomic drops. I can't remember a match that I've heard Michaels call spots more than this one. 2005 was such a better time for Orton in my eyes. We get a ref bump and then Edge nails Orton with the spear. Michaels is going up top and hits the elbow drop on Christian and is setting up for Sweet Chin Music. Edge grabs his leg and they crotch him on the ringpost. Edge and Christian bring the chairs to the ring, but Michaels ducks and Orton take Edge over the top rope with a clothesline. Sweet Chin Music on Christian and that's all. That was a really good match. Three of the greatest tag team wrestlers of all time and a very game young Orton here. Credit the guys for keeping up a nice pace for a lengthy TV match as well.
Match Rating: ****
Back to Bischoff and Long. Coach comes in and says that Batista should be here soon.
Maria is trying to interview Michaels and Edge attacks him from behind. He then spears him through a fence.
Steven Richards vs. Chris Masters
After weeks of buildup, Masters finally debuts here. Richards actually gets in a little bit of offense here, but Masters hits a Polish Hammer. He then gets him in the Master Lock, which they would do everything they could to get over. Richards submits and it is revealed that his nose was busted open, most likely with the Hammer. The crowd wasn't digging it, but that's to be expected until they give him a story to work with.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Intercontinental Championship Match
Gene Snitsky vs. Shelton Benjamin
Benjamin goes right after Snitsky and clotheslines him over the ropes. Snitsky hits some boots and then a sidewalk slam. It's safe to say Snitsky isn't over here. Snitsky grabs a chair, but Benjamin does a baseball slide, which drives the chair into Snitsky. Benjamin then absolutely drills Snitsky with another sickening chair shot to the head. God, I do not miss that aspect of this era.
Match Rating: 3/4*
They show the Basic Instinct commercial for WrestleMania.
Flair is leaving a voicemail for Batista and in walks Triple H, who is upset. Triple H then admits that he framed JBL with the limo incident. Only a genius would say this in front of a camera. Oh, and Batista is standing right outside the door.
Next week we are getting Chris Benoit vs. Muhammad Hassan and Edge vs. Shawn Michaels in a street fight. I'm looking forward to seeing that one again.
Eric Bischoff and Teddy Long are now in the ring. Considering they just gave away the outcome of this segment, I'm not sure that it really has the suspense they are looking for. But honestly, it has been such a clear cut story since day 1, at least they had a plan and stuck to it. They both try to sell Batista on their brand. Triple H then offers his two cents, which of course it like 10 minutes long. Batista says he has known what he was going to do for a long time. He takes the Raw clipboard and throws it on the ground. Then he gives Triple H the thumbs down and attacks Flair and Triple H. That tricky Batista. Batista Bomb through the table and the while the crowd is digging it, it's probably not quite as loud of a pop as they were hoping for. Batista then signs the Raw contract and throws it at him.
Well, we had one really great TV match and a couple that were more entertaining than you would expect. The last segment fell a little flat for me, but I have never been a fan of this feud. I am looking forward to reviewing their matches again, as I am much lower on them than most people are. Good show overall, though.
Overall Rating: 69%
Bryce Jordan Center
State College, Pennsylvania
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
WWE Womens Championship Match
Trish Stratus vs. Molly Holly vs. Victoria
Trish comes down sporting a black eye that she apparently got from a live event over the weekend. Molly jumps Victoria and we are underway. Victoria hits her standing moonsault early on. She tries it again on Trish, but is stopped before she gets the chance. Trish mocks Victoria's dance before stomping her. Victoria hits a spinning sidewalk slam on Trish until Molly re-enters the ring. Trish and Molly hit Victoria with a double suplex and then they begin fighting. Victoria rolls up Trish, but releases to clothesline Molly. Molly misses the Molly-Go-Round and Victoria hits her with the Widow's Peak, but Trish pulls Victoria off. We get WWE's favorite triple threat match ending, as Trish then pins Molly for the victory. That was a well executed match that was non stop action.
Match Rating: **1/4 (out of 5)
Triple H and Ric Flair are backstage, which is shocking. That never happens. Flair tells Triple H that he hasn't seen or talked to Batista yet tonight. Flair says he will wait for him in the parking lot. Thrilling.
We get the Pulp Fiction spoof for WrestleMania featuring Booker T and Eddie Guerrero.
Trish interrupts Christy and Candice Michelle backstage. They then trade lame insults and Trish slaps Candice, causing Christy to ram Trish into the wall. Trish deserved better.
Randy Orton and Stacy are backstage and they run into Shawn Michaels. Stacy heads out, while Shawn tells Orton shouldn't wait for his opportunity to come to him, he needs to go out there and take it.
Simon Dean is in the ring making jokes about the freshman 15. He then makes a Joe Paterno joke. He is then interrupted by Chris Jericho.
Simon Dean vs. Chris Jericho
Jericho hits a springboard dropkick and then drops Dean on the guardrail. The crowd is buying what he is selling tonight. Dean takes down Jericho with a clothesline. Dean goes off the second rope, but Jericho hits him with a dropkick. Simon Dean puts up his knees to block the Lionsault and almost steals a victory. Jericho puts Dean into the Walls of Jericho, but Dean grabs his bag. The ref catches it and Jericho drags him to the center of the ring and gets the victory. That was another energetic little match that was better than it should have been.
Match Rating: *1/2
Teddy Long and Eric Bischoff are going over No Way Out. Long is saying he wants to have Batista vs. John Cena vs. JBL at WrestleMania. Shawn Michaels walks in and wants a match with Kurt Angle at WrestleMania.
Kane vs. Tyson Tomko
Tomko has a microphone. Look out. He is sick of all of the focus on Batista and says it should be on him. Even Kane's not buying it and he's probably supposed to. Kane takes him out with a huge boot and follows it up with an elbow drop. Tomko follows it up with a less impressive boot. Kane hits his clothesline off the top rope and hits a backbreaker. Tomko moves out of the way and Kane rams his shoulder into the post. However, no less than 10 seconds later, Kane hits the chokeslam and gets the win. Well, that one was just as bad as I thought it would be. Bummer.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Ric Flair opens a limo door and out comes Chris Masters, not Batista. Masters introduces himself to Flair.
Muhammad Hassan is on his way to the ring along with Daivari. Hassan is sick of the disrespect he gets. He brags about his undefeated record and says that he should face Triple H if Batista goes to SmackDown. Out comes Chris Benoit. Benoit challenges Hassan to shut him up. Hassan accepts, but says it won't be tonight. Benoit jumps Hassan, but Daivari provides the distraction and they double team Benoit.
Randy Orton & Shawn Michaels vs. Christian & Edge
Orton and Christian start things off after their good match last week. They seem to have a little miscommunication and it looked like Orton hit Christian in the jaw with a stiff shot. Man, 2005 Shawn Michaels was so good. So was pretty much every other year he wrestled. Edge and Christian get some tags back and forth and work on Michaels. Christian pushes Michaels towards the ropes and Edge holds down the top rope, causing Michaels to fall to the floor. Edge then hits him with a leaping spear from the apron going into the commercial break. Edge is working on Michaels after the break and Michaels is selling as only he can. Michaels hits the hot tag to Orton, who body slams Edge and knocks Christian to the apron. While Orton is clubbing Edge in the chest, Christian climbs to the top and he knocks him to the floor again. Orton hits a flying crossbody off the top rope on Edge for a 2 count. Edge and Christian illegally stop Orton's run and are back in control. There's no doubt in my mind that E&C are in the top 3 WWE tag teams of my lifetime. Orton hits a double DDT and the three of them are on the ground. Hot tag to Michaels, who hits duel inverted atomic drops. I can't remember a match that I've heard Michaels call spots more than this one. 2005 was such a better time for Orton in my eyes. We get a ref bump and then Edge nails Orton with the spear. Michaels is going up top and hits the elbow drop on Christian and is setting up for Sweet Chin Music. Edge grabs his leg and they crotch him on the ringpost. Edge and Christian bring the chairs to the ring, but Michaels ducks and Orton take Edge over the top rope with a clothesline. Sweet Chin Music on Christian and that's all. That was a really good match. Three of the greatest tag team wrestlers of all time and a very game young Orton here. Credit the guys for keeping up a nice pace for a lengthy TV match as well.
Match Rating: ****
Back to Bischoff and Long. Coach comes in and says that Batista should be here soon.
Maria is trying to interview Michaels and Edge attacks him from behind. He then spears him through a fence.
Steven Richards vs. Chris Masters
After weeks of buildup, Masters finally debuts here. Richards actually gets in a little bit of offense here, but Masters hits a Polish Hammer. He then gets him in the Master Lock, which they would do everything they could to get over. Richards submits and it is revealed that his nose was busted open, most likely with the Hammer. The crowd wasn't digging it, but that's to be expected until they give him a story to work with.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Intercontinental Championship Match
Gene Snitsky vs. Shelton Benjamin
Benjamin goes right after Snitsky and clotheslines him over the ropes. Snitsky hits some boots and then a sidewalk slam. It's safe to say Snitsky isn't over here. Snitsky grabs a chair, but Benjamin does a baseball slide, which drives the chair into Snitsky. Benjamin then absolutely drills Snitsky with another sickening chair shot to the head. God, I do not miss that aspect of this era.
Match Rating: 3/4*
They show the Basic Instinct commercial for WrestleMania.
Flair is leaving a voicemail for Batista and in walks Triple H, who is upset. Triple H then admits that he framed JBL with the limo incident. Only a genius would say this in front of a camera. Oh, and Batista is standing right outside the door.
Next week we are getting Chris Benoit vs. Muhammad Hassan and Edge vs. Shawn Michaels in a street fight. I'm looking forward to seeing that one again.
Eric Bischoff and Teddy Long are now in the ring. Considering they just gave away the outcome of this segment, I'm not sure that it really has the suspense they are looking for. But honestly, it has been such a clear cut story since day 1, at least they had a plan and stuck to it. They both try to sell Batista on their brand. Triple H then offers his two cents, which of course it like 10 minutes long. Batista says he has known what he was going to do for a long time. He takes the Raw clipboard and throws it on the ground. Then he gives Triple H the thumbs down and attacks Flair and Triple H. That tricky Batista. Batista Bomb through the table and the while the crowd is digging it, it's probably not quite as loud of a pop as they were hoping for. Batista then signs the Raw contract and throws it at him.
Well, we had one really great TV match and a couple that were more entertaining than you would expect. The last segment fell a little flat for me, but I have never been a fan of this feud. I am looking forward to reviewing their matches again, as I am much lower on them than most people are. Good show overall, though.
Overall Rating: 69%
Wednesday, May 1, 2019
NXT 9-26-12 Review
Original Airdate: Wednesday, September 26th, 2012
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
The crowd is chanting "NXT" as the show opens. This may be the first time I can recall them chanting that?
Michael McGillicutty vs. Bo Dallas
The B Team explodes! They go right into a hockey fight, since this match actually has a story. Dallas dominates the opening moments until McGillicutty throws Dallas into the ring post shoulder first. This match is trying to break the record for most punches in a match. You don't need a ton of moves, but you need to know how to sequence them and make them mean something. Dallas gets a sunset flip for a 2 count. Things start to heat up a little until McGillicutty hits the running neckbreaker for the pinfall. This was about as good as it was going to be.
Match Rating: *3/4 (out of 5)
We get a Paige hype video.
Jake Carter vs. Leo Kruger
William Regal says the future is in front of our eyes. It's safe to say he was wrong on that one. Carter got an entrance, but it's very obvious that this is a squash. NXT is the punch and kick show today. Carter gets in a little bit of offense with some clotheslines and then he joins the punch party. He goes for a splash in the corner and Kruger moves out of the way and then hits the Kruger End and that is all.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Ryback vs. Aiden English & Francis Remi Dorian
Oh, joy. English and Dorian double team Ryback, who then of course destroys both of them. They broke Ryback's singlet. That's more than I could have asked for out of this match. Powerbomb to English and then a clothesline to Dorian by Ryback. He then picks both men up and marches around before hitting the Samoan Drop. Ryback pins both of him. I got my Ryback fix for the next 5 years or so.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Kassius Ohno vs. Richie Steamboat
Ohno is probably the most interesting character in the short existence of NXT at this point. I'm still not quite sure how he didn't get called up to the main roster around this time. Steamboat relies a little bit too much on his fathers move set. Ohno dominates after the commercial break, until Steamboat hits some chops and a crossbody. Ohno hits a kick to the face and nearly gets the victory. Steamboat misses a moonsault. Ohno goes for the spinning knockout punch and Steamboat counters it with a small package and gets the victory. After the match, Ohno knocks Steamboat out. Officials come to the ring and are finally able to get Ohno off of Steamboat. Fun TV match to close out the show.
Match Rating: **1/2
Well, two matches got some time and the main event delivered a solid match. Ryback being on the show seems more like a bonus to the live crowd and really nothing that helps out the show. They are still dead set on pushing Leo Kruger for whatever reason. This was a pretty ok show, but I keep waiting for that moment where things really start to click.
Overall Rating: 43%
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
The crowd is chanting "NXT" as the show opens. This may be the first time I can recall them chanting that?
Michael McGillicutty vs. Bo Dallas
The B Team explodes! They go right into a hockey fight, since this match actually has a story. Dallas dominates the opening moments until McGillicutty throws Dallas into the ring post shoulder first. This match is trying to break the record for most punches in a match. You don't need a ton of moves, but you need to know how to sequence them and make them mean something. Dallas gets a sunset flip for a 2 count. Things start to heat up a little until McGillicutty hits the running neckbreaker for the pinfall. This was about as good as it was going to be.
Match Rating: *3/4 (out of 5)
We get a Paige hype video.
Jake Carter vs. Leo Kruger
William Regal says the future is in front of our eyes. It's safe to say he was wrong on that one. Carter got an entrance, but it's very obvious that this is a squash. NXT is the punch and kick show today. Carter gets in a little bit of offense with some clotheslines and then he joins the punch party. He goes for a splash in the corner and Kruger moves out of the way and then hits the Kruger End and that is all.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Ryback vs. Aiden English & Francis Remi Dorian
Oh, joy. English and Dorian double team Ryback, who then of course destroys both of them. They broke Ryback's singlet. That's more than I could have asked for out of this match. Powerbomb to English and then a clothesline to Dorian by Ryback. He then picks both men up and marches around before hitting the Samoan Drop. Ryback pins both of him. I got my Ryback fix for the next 5 years or so.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Kassius Ohno vs. Richie Steamboat
Ohno is probably the most interesting character in the short existence of NXT at this point. I'm still not quite sure how he didn't get called up to the main roster around this time. Steamboat relies a little bit too much on his fathers move set. Ohno dominates after the commercial break, until Steamboat hits some chops and a crossbody. Ohno hits a kick to the face and nearly gets the victory. Steamboat misses a moonsault. Ohno goes for the spinning knockout punch and Steamboat counters it with a small package and gets the victory. After the match, Ohno knocks Steamboat out. Officials come to the ring and are finally able to get Ohno off of Steamboat. Fun TV match to close out the show.
Match Rating: **1/2
Well, two matches got some time and the main event delivered a solid match. Ryback being on the show seems more like a bonus to the live crowd and really nothing that helps out the show. They are still dead set on pushing Leo Kruger for whatever reason. This was a pretty ok show, but I keep waiting for that moment where things really start to click.
Overall Rating: 43%
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