Original Airdate: Wednesday, April 17th, 2013
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida
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Justin Gabriel vs. Leo Kruger
These two had a pretty good match a few weeks back on the 3-20-13 episode. They show off their solid chemistry in the opening sequence. It should be noted that William Regal is thankfully back at the announcer table and not Brad Maddox. Kruger hits a spinebuster for a 2 count. Gabriel hits a nice monkey flip and hits leg strikes. He goes for a springboard move, but Kruger hits the ropes, causing him to fall. Kruger hits a big lariat, but Gabriel kicks out. Gabriel locks in a Fujiwara Armbar, but Gabriel gets to the ropes. Gabriel goes up to the top rope, but Kruger hits him with a forearm. Gabriel knocks him off, but Kruger comes back with a headbutt to the midsection. Gabriel blocks the superplex attempt and goes for a sunset flip powerbomb, but it's blocked by Kruger. Kruger locks in the GC3 and gets the submission victory. Not as good as their last match, but decent enough.
Match Rating: ** (out of 5)
Next week it's a Clash Of Champions, as four titles will be on the line. They then show clips of NXT at WrestleMania weekend.
Paige is backstage with Renee Young and she's tired of Summer's running away. She wants her one-on-one and then from behind Summer attacks her and accepts her challenge.
Bayley vs. Emma
Emma actually makes it into the ring this time without falling. Emma is pretty over here tonight. Bayley hits a dropkick and then has to pull Emma back to the ring. Bayley goes for a sunset flip, but Emma sits down and does some dancing. Emma moves out of the way of a charging Bayley and then puts her in the Tarantula. She then hits a splash to the corner an a slingshot to the center of the ring. Emma then puts her into the Emma Lock and that's all. That was a fun little match there. These three minute matches are always so much better when the crowd actually cares.
Match Rating: *1/2
Yoshi Tatsu vs. Bray Wyatt
Wyatt hits a splash and then gets up during the cover. He runs right into him in the corner and then hits a Sister Abigail and that is all. After the match he hits another one. Poor Yoshi. Wyatt cuts a promo after and says there is no one who walks on this Earth that is greater than him.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Lumberjack Match
Corey Graves vs. Seth Rollins
These two are arguably the two most controversial personalities in 2020 WWE. This is kind of an odd match, as both are heels. Graves is kind of the face here, but Rollins is more over with the crowd. Graves catches Rollins' leg, but Rollins hits him with a double throat thrust. Graves moves out of the way of a splash, but after going up top gets his by a kick from Rollins. The lumberjacks are mostly comprised of guys that haven't done much on NXT like Big Cass and Mojo Rawley. Rollins has Graves in a bodyscissors on the mat. Rollins misses off the top and Graves hits him with a knee to the face. Graves hits a Dragon Screw Leg Whip. Out come Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose and they take out all of the lumberjacks. Rollins hits his neckbreaker for the victory. Pretty blah match.
Match Rating: *3/4
This episode was just OK, but I can't help but think it should have been a lot better. The main event was really flat, especially since the Shield were the hottest thing going at the time. The WrestleMania weekend recap felt really long and I would have rather seen another few minutes out of the Bayley/Emma match.
Overall Rating: 48%
Monday, March 30, 2020
Friday, March 27, 2020
Monday Night Raw 2-22-93 Review
Monday, February 22nd, 1993
Manhattan Center
New York City, New York
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Rob Bartlett is in the crowd and does a cheesy rip off of Saturday Night Live. Bartlett couldn't be more of a dork.
Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Scott Taylor
Bartlett asks if Taylor is some guy off the street. Taylor ducks a clothesline and hits one of his own. It doesn't phase Bigelow and he ends up hitting a clothesline this time around. Taylor ends up on his shoulders and eats an electric chair. It may just be due to it being the opening match, but Bam Bam is over with the crowd tonight. Bam Bam goes up to the top rope and hits a headbutt and follows up with another one. Bam Bam gets an impressive squash.
Match Rating: 1/2* (out of 5)
Vince McMahon takes us to an interview taped earlier this week with Vince McMahon and Hulk Hogan. Yes, Vince introduced himself. Hogan is rocking an ICOPRO shirt. Hogan says that whenever you are at the top of your profession that people start digging in your past. He says that he is a human being and he made some mistakes. He then starts talking about the media reporting things that aren't true. He wants to focus on the positive vibes of Hulkamania.
Shawn Michaels & The Beverly Brothers vs. Tatanka & The Nasty Boys
As far as 1993 Raw matches go, this is a pretty big one. Tatanka runs in and goes right after Michaels. He hits a double chop on the Beverly Brothers and then tosses Michaels over the top rope. The Nasty Boys give the Beverly's a double Pit Stop. Michaels is tagged in and hits a reverse elbow on Knobbs. In a hilarious moment, Vince messes up his own "Uncut, uncooked, uncensored" slogan. They go to commercial with Knobbs working on Beau. Beau then drops Knobbs over the top rope. Michaels then throws Knobbs into the ring post. The Bros keep working on the Boys. Michaels is tagged in and Knobbs kicks him in the face, but no tag. They collide in the middle of the ring and both men are down. Hot tag to Tatanka, but his pin attempt is quickly broken up by Blake. He hits a couple of chops on Michaels and then hits one off the top rope. The ref loses control of the match and Michaels goes for his suplex finish, but Tatanka turns it into a pin attempt and gets the victory. That was a fun 1993 style WWF wrestling match.
Match Rating: **1/2
Sean Mooney is outside with fans outside the building. They're here to see Hulk Hogan.
Crush vs. Terry Taylor
Crush hits a dropkick and then a body press. Taylor tries to leave, but Crush grabs him by the hair. Taylor gets a thumb to the eye to take control. For some reason Bartlett pretends to be Arnold Schwarzenegger on the phone with Vince and it's as terrible as it sounds. Crush kicks out of a pin attempt with authority. Crush is just not over at all here with the crowd. Crush hits his spinning backbreaker and then signals for his finisher, which gives him his biggest reaction of the night. Taylor was better than the role he was playing here.
Match Rating: 1/2*
They show highlights of last week with Brutus Beefcake getting his face smashed. After the commercial, Vince McMahon is in the ring to bring out Hulk Hogan. Something, something, brother. He gives his usual shtick and then introduces Beefcake as the "Bionic Barber", who is sporting a pretty terrible makeup job and a bandage on his nose. They then introduce their manager, Jimmy Hart. This is all just so strange. I wasn't watching wrestling during this time, but when I went back to watch WrestleMania IX a few years later, this was all very lame to me then. I never was a Hogan fan, so that's not much of a surprise. So they will be taking on Money, Inc. at WrestleMania. I don't quite understand how anyone thought that was a co-main event match?
Undertaker vs. Skinner
They join the match in progress and Skinner clotheslines Undertaker out of the ring, who lands on his feet. Skinner jumps on Taker's back to try and choke him. Taker wasn't ready and he hits head-first into the guardrail. Skinner then starts choking him and they say that we're all out of time and we'll see you next week. Not the TV production crew's finest moment here. No match rating, as it was about 30 seconds of nothing.
The first half of the show was solid 1993 era WWF wrestling. From there it fell off, but I suppose if you're a Hogan fan this is essential viewing as it was his comeback moment. I would put this one in the so-so category.
Overall Rating: 50%
Manhattan Center
New York City, New York
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Rob Bartlett is in the crowd and does a cheesy rip off of Saturday Night Live. Bartlett couldn't be more of a dork.
Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Scott Taylor
Bartlett asks if Taylor is some guy off the street. Taylor ducks a clothesline and hits one of his own. It doesn't phase Bigelow and he ends up hitting a clothesline this time around. Taylor ends up on his shoulders and eats an electric chair. It may just be due to it being the opening match, but Bam Bam is over with the crowd tonight. Bam Bam goes up to the top rope and hits a headbutt and follows up with another one. Bam Bam gets an impressive squash.
Match Rating: 1/2* (out of 5)
Vince McMahon takes us to an interview taped earlier this week with Vince McMahon and Hulk Hogan. Yes, Vince introduced himself. Hogan is rocking an ICOPRO shirt. Hogan says that whenever you are at the top of your profession that people start digging in your past. He says that he is a human being and he made some mistakes. He then starts talking about the media reporting things that aren't true. He wants to focus on the positive vibes of Hulkamania.
Shawn Michaels & The Beverly Brothers vs. Tatanka & The Nasty Boys
As far as 1993 Raw matches go, this is a pretty big one. Tatanka runs in and goes right after Michaels. He hits a double chop on the Beverly Brothers and then tosses Michaels over the top rope. The Nasty Boys give the Beverly's a double Pit Stop. Michaels is tagged in and hits a reverse elbow on Knobbs. In a hilarious moment, Vince messes up his own "Uncut, uncooked, uncensored" slogan. They go to commercial with Knobbs working on Beau. Beau then drops Knobbs over the top rope. Michaels then throws Knobbs into the ring post. The Bros keep working on the Boys. Michaels is tagged in and Knobbs kicks him in the face, but no tag. They collide in the middle of the ring and both men are down. Hot tag to Tatanka, but his pin attempt is quickly broken up by Blake. He hits a couple of chops on Michaels and then hits one off the top rope. The ref loses control of the match and Michaels goes for his suplex finish, but Tatanka turns it into a pin attempt and gets the victory. That was a fun 1993 style WWF wrestling match.
Match Rating: **1/2
Sean Mooney is outside with fans outside the building. They're here to see Hulk Hogan.
Crush vs. Terry Taylor
Crush hits a dropkick and then a body press. Taylor tries to leave, but Crush grabs him by the hair. Taylor gets a thumb to the eye to take control. For some reason Bartlett pretends to be Arnold Schwarzenegger on the phone with Vince and it's as terrible as it sounds. Crush kicks out of a pin attempt with authority. Crush is just not over at all here with the crowd. Crush hits his spinning backbreaker and then signals for his finisher, which gives him his biggest reaction of the night. Taylor was better than the role he was playing here.
Match Rating: 1/2*
They show highlights of last week with Brutus Beefcake getting his face smashed. After the commercial, Vince McMahon is in the ring to bring out Hulk Hogan. Something, something, brother. He gives his usual shtick and then introduces Beefcake as the "Bionic Barber", who is sporting a pretty terrible makeup job and a bandage on his nose. They then introduce their manager, Jimmy Hart. This is all just so strange. I wasn't watching wrestling during this time, but when I went back to watch WrestleMania IX a few years later, this was all very lame to me then. I never was a Hogan fan, so that's not much of a surprise. So they will be taking on Money, Inc. at WrestleMania. I don't quite understand how anyone thought that was a co-main event match?
Undertaker vs. Skinner
They join the match in progress and Skinner clotheslines Undertaker out of the ring, who lands on his feet. Skinner jumps on Taker's back to try and choke him. Taker wasn't ready and he hits head-first into the guardrail. Skinner then starts choking him and they say that we're all out of time and we'll see you next week. Not the TV production crew's finest moment here. No match rating, as it was about 30 seconds of nothing.
The first half of the show was solid 1993 era WWF wrestling. From there it fell off, but I suppose if you're a Hogan fan this is essential viewing as it was his comeback moment. I would put this one in the so-so category.
Overall Rating: 50%
Wednesday, March 25, 2020
SmackDown 7-28-05 Review
Thursday, July 28th, 2005
Blue Cross Arena
Rochester, New York
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Teddy Long is already in the ring to kick things off. He talks about how amazing Great American Bash was. He apparently must have been watching a different show. He announces that they have new tag team champions and a new #1 contender in the Undertaker. He is about to announce the main event for SummerSlam and then JBL's music hits. He of course complains about what happened last night and says that he doesn't want it to be anything other than one-on-one with Batista. Teddy then pulls out one of his classic lines and says that JBL will be going one-on-one with the Undertaker tonight to decide the #1 contender. Let's see if they can follow up their surprisingly good match on the 6/16 episode of SmackDown with another one.
Christian & Orlando Jordan vs. Booker T & Chris Benoit
This is a classic case of booking that I actually enjoy. Book two feuds together and have a tag team match to further the issues. Benoit tries to go for the Crippler Crossface on Jordan, but Christian makes the save. Jordan has his shoulder taped up as a result of his match with Benoit. After some chops from Benoit, Jordan grabs Benoit's feet as he goes off the ropes. Christian hits a big clothesline and locks Benoit in an Anaconda Vice before tagging Jordan. It's been 15 years and I still can't get over that they couldn't find something better to do with Christian to stop him from leaving. Benoit hits a suplex and then a hot tag to Booker. Booker hits the Book End on Christian, but Jordan pulls him out of the ring. Benoit hits a baseball slide to knock down both men. Back from commercial, Booker hits Christian with a kick under the jaw. Booker hits a spinebuster and then does the spinaroonie. Jordan comes in and illegally hits him with a clothesline as Booker went off the ropes. Christian shows off some aggression and starts unleashing some right hands. Christian's chest has got to be throbbing from this match. Christian ducks under a kick and hits an inverted DDT, but Benoit makes the save. Christian goes off the second rope, but Booker greets him with a huge kick in a nice spot. Benoit gets his chance at a hot tag and unleashes a series of suplexes on both men. Benoit hits the headbutt on Jordan off the top rope and this time Christian makes the save. Christian dumps Booker over the top rope, but then Benoit knocks Christian over. Benoit locks in the Crippler Crossface and Jordan taps. Christian had a chance to break it up, but didn't. That was a textbook tag team match. The crowd was into it and all of the men played their roles well.
Match Rating: ***1/4 (out of 5)
They show Animal with Heidenreich and talks him into buzzing his head.
Road Warrior Animal & Heidenreich vs. Chris Hamrick & Chuck Szili
By the time I found the spelling of the jobbers names, the match was over. Doomsday Device was about all it took. Squash.
Match Rating: 1/4*
They show MNM in the back watching the match. Melina said they got a new publicist and that they will be on the cover of SmackDown Magazine. Melina brings in their "fixer", who is Jillian Hall in her debut here. It is also of course the debut of the thing on her face.
They show Dominik playing PSP in the back and asks his dad about the secret that Uncle Eddie has. Rey says he will tell him when he is older.
Rey and Dominik come down to the ring and in a shocking turn of events, Eddie Guerrero interrupts them. Eddie says that he feels like telling a bedtime story. I love that Eddie went through the trouble to make a book cover. Rey starts coming down to Eddie, but Eddie spits out the truth before he can get there. He tells Dominik that Rey is not his father, he is. Rey goes back in the ring and hugs Dominik, who asks him if it's true. Dominik then runs away through the crowd and Rey goes after him. Eddie comes in the ring and sits down to tell the rest of the story. He says there was a time when he was separated from his wife, so he was partying and hooking up with lots of women. Rey was shooting blanks, so Eddie gave him one of the kids from his hookups. Instead of being the father, he handed him off to Rey and went to being Uncle Eddie.
Melina vs. Torrie Wilson
Jillian is with Melina and Candice Michelle is with Torrie. Tazz and Cole talk repeatedly about the thing on Jillian's face. This was a terrible idea in 2005 and somehow is even worse now. Melina is pretty aggressive here, which is a nice change to women's matches during this era. Melina goes up to the second rope, but Torrie gets her knees up. Torrie hits some clotheslines and a dropkick. Torrie charges at Melina, but gets her in a sloppy looking pin where she wasn't able to get her feet on the ropes. That's good enough for the victory and then Jillian attacks Candice after the match. We are a long way from treating women's wrestling serious here in WWE.
Match Rating: 1/4*
The Mexicools are backstage in a storage room and a concession manager tells them to get back to work. I mean, who wouldn't think a guy in a cowboy hat, sunglasses and no shirt at a wrestling show would be working for them?
William Regal vs. Scotty 2 Hotty
Just as they lock up, the Mexicools make their way down carrying concessions to sell. Psicosis dumps popcorn in Tony Chimel's face. They then attack both Scotty and Regal and dump the concessions all over them. No match there.
World Heavyweight Championship #1 Contender Match
JBL vs. Undertaker
The match started during the commercial break, which is always a choice I don't understand on a TAPED SHOW. I know that probably nothing happened, but I'm not sure why you pretend it did. Taker goes after JBL's taped ribs at the start. Taker has now twice scared the ref away when he has told him to break a hold. Taker drapes JBL over the apron and hits him with an elbow and then a leg drop. JBL gets an opening and takes it to Taker in the corner. JBL goes up top, but Taker gets up there and hits a big superplex for a 2 count. Taker hits Snake Eyes and then gives a boot to Jordan off the apron. He turns around and eats a Clothesline From Hell, but rolls out of the ring. Back from the commercial break and JBL body slams Taker on the top piece of the announce table while it was leaning on the table. Back in the ring, Taker hits Old School. Jordan distracts the ref and it allows JBL to hit a low blow. JBL hits a DDT, but Taker kicks out. JBL puts on a Cobra Clutch and it looks as if he has never put that hold on before. Taker ducks under JBL and hits a leaping clothesline. Taker hits Snake Eyes again and this time hits the boot on JBL. We get a ref bump and Jordan runs in with a chair. Taker sees it and hits him with a boot. He goes for the Last Ride, but JBL breaks it up. JBL hits an unprotected Taker square on the head with a chair. Awful. Taker kicks out at 2, sits up and hits a DDT. Chokeslam time and he hits Jordan, who knocks the referee out of the ring. Taker hits the Tombstone, but the referee is still down. In comes Randy Orton and he hits a RKO and drapes JBL over Taker. The ref is back in the ring and JBL is your #1 contender. Orton finally makes his first appearance other than the night he debuted. JBL and Taker deliver another real solid big man match on free TV. I obviously could have done without the chair to the head, but other than that this was a worthy TV main event and certainly better than the main event match at Great American Bash.
Match Rating: ***
The show started and finished strong, which is always a win. The middle was your typical SmackDown, with a lot of filler and the awkward continuation of the Mysterio/Guerrero feud. That one still feels off and unnecessary. However, nearly half the show was good TV wrestling and that's good enough for me.
Overall Rating: 60%
Blue Cross Arena
Rochester, New York
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Teddy Long is already in the ring to kick things off. He talks about how amazing Great American Bash was. He apparently must have been watching a different show. He announces that they have new tag team champions and a new #1 contender in the Undertaker. He is about to announce the main event for SummerSlam and then JBL's music hits. He of course complains about what happened last night and says that he doesn't want it to be anything other than one-on-one with Batista. Teddy then pulls out one of his classic lines and says that JBL will be going one-on-one with the Undertaker tonight to decide the #1 contender. Let's see if they can follow up their surprisingly good match on the 6/16 episode of SmackDown with another one.
Christian & Orlando Jordan vs. Booker T & Chris Benoit
This is a classic case of booking that I actually enjoy. Book two feuds together and have a tag team match to further the issues. Benoit tries to go for the Crippler Crossface on Jordan, but Christian makes the save. Jordan has his shoulder taped up as a result of his match with Benoit. After some chops from Benoit, Jordan grabs Benoit's feet as he goes off the ropes. Christian hits a big clothesline and locks Benoit in an Anaconda Vice before tagging Jordan. It's been 15 years and I still can't get over that they couldn't find something better to do with Christian to stop him from leaving. Benoit hits a suplex and then a hot tag to Booker. Booker hits the Book End on Christian, but Jordan pulls him out of the ring. Benoit hits a baseball slide to knock down both men. Back from commercial, Booker hits Christian with a kick under the jaw. Booker hits a spinebuster and then does the spinaroonie. Jordan comes in and illegally hits him with a clothesline as Booker went off the ropes. Christian shows off some aggression and starts unleashing some right hands. Christian's chest has got to be throbbing from this match. Christian ducks under a kick and hits an inverted DDT, but Benoit makes the save. Christian goes off the second rope, but Booker greets him with a huge kick in a nice spot. Benoit gets his chance at a hot tag and unleashes a series of suplexes on both men. Benoit hits the headbutt on Jordan off the top rope and this time Christian makes the save. Christian dumps Booker over the top rope, but then Benoit knocks Christian over. Benoit locks in the Crippler Crossface and Jordan taps. Christian had a chance to break it up, but didn't. That was a textbook tag team match. The crowd was into it and all of the men played their roles well.
Match Rating: ***1/4 (out of 5)
They show Animal with Heidenreich and talks him into buzzing his head.
Road Warrior Animal & Heidenreich vs. Chris Hamrick & Chuck Szili
By the time I found the spelling of the jobbers names, the match was over. Doomsday Device was about all it took. Squash.
Match Rating: 1/4*
They show MNM in the back watching the match. Melina said they got a new publicist and that they will be on the cover of SmackDown Magazine. Melina brings in their "fixer", who is Jillian Hall in her debut here. It is also of course the debut of the thing on her face.
They show Dominik playing PSP in the back and asks his dad about the secret that Uncle Eddie has. Rey says he will tell him when he is older.
Rey and Dominik come down to the ring and in a shocking turn of events, Eddie Guerrero interrupts them. Eddie says that he feels like telling a bedtime story. I love that Eddie went through the trouble to make a book cover. Rey starts coming down to Eddie, but Eddie spits out the truth before he can get there. He tells Dominik that Rey is not his father, he is. Rey goes back in the ring and hugs Dominik, who asks him if it's true. Dominik then runs away through the crowd and Rey goes after him. Eddie comes in the ring and sits down to tell the rest of the story. He says there was a time when he was separated from his wife, so he was partying and hooking up with lots of women. Rey was shooting blanks, so Eddie gave him one of the kids from his hookups. Instead of being the father, he handed him off to Rey and went to being Uncle Eddie.
Melina vs. Torrie Wilson
Jillian is with Melina and Candice Michelle is with Torrie. Tazz and Cole talk repeatedly about the thing on Jillian's face. This was a terrible idea in 2005 and somehow is even worse now. Melina is pretty aggressive here, which is a nice change to women's matches during this era. Melina goes up to the second rope, but Torrie gets her knees up. Torrie hits some clotheslines and a dropkick. Torrie charges at Melina, but gets her in a sloppy looking pin where she wasn't able to get her feet on the ropes. That's good enough for the victory and then Jillian attacks Candice after the match. We are a long way from treating women's wrestling serious here in WWE.
Match Rating: 1/4*
The Mexicools are backstage in a storage room and a concession manager tells them to get back to work. I mean, who wouldn't think a guy in a cowboy hat, sunglasses and no shirt at a wrestling show would be working for them?
William Regal vs. Scotty 2 Hotty
Just as they lock up, the Mexicools make their way down carrying concessions to sell. Psicosis dumps popcorn in Tony Chimel's face. They then attack both Scotty and Regal and dump the concessions all over them. No match there.
World Heavyweight Championship #1 Contender Match
JBL vs. Undertaker
The match started during the commercial break, which is always a choice I don't understand on a TAPED SHOW. I know that probably nothing happened, but I'm not sure why you pretend it did. Taker goes after JBL's taped ribs at the start. Taker has now twice scared the ref away when he has told him to break a hold. Taker drapes JBL over the apron and hits him with an elbow and then a leg drop. JBL gets an opening and takes it to Taker in the corner. JBL goes up top, but Taker gets up there and hits a big superplex for a 2 count. Taker hits Snake Eyes and then gives a boot to Jordan off the apron. He turns around and eats a Clothesline From Hell, but rolls out of the ring. Back from the commercial break and JBL body slams Taker on the top piece of the announce table while it was leaning on the table. Back in the ring, Taker hits Old School. Jordan distracts the ref and it allows JBL to hit a low blow. JBL hits a DDT, but Taker kicks out. JBL puts on a Cobra Clutch and it looks as if he has never put that hold on before. Taker ducks under JBL and hits a leaping clothesline. Taker hits Snake Eyes again and this time hits the boot on JBL. We get a ref bump and Jordan runs in with a chair. Taker sees it and hits him with a boot. He goes for the Last Ride, but JBL breaks it up. JBL hits an unprotected Taker square on the head with a chair. Awful. Taker kicks out at 2, sits up and hits a DDT. Chokeslam time and he hits Jordan, who knocks the referee out of the ring. Taker hits the Tombstone, but the referee is still down. In comes Randy Orton and he hits a RKO and drapes JBL over Taker. The ref is back in the ring and JBL is your #1 contender. Orton finally makes his first appearance other than the night he debuted. JBL and Taker deliver another real solid big man match on free TV. I obviously could have done without the chair to the head, but other than that this was a worthy TV main event and certainly better than the main event match at Great American Bash.
Match Rating: ***
The show started and finished strong, which is always a win. The middle was your typical SmackDown, with a lot of filler and the awkward continuation of the Mysterio/Guerrero feud. That one still feels off and unnecessary. However, nearly half the show was good TV wrestling and that's good enough for me.
Overall Rating: 60%
Monday, March 23, 2020
Monday Night Raw 7-25-05 Review
Monday, July 25th, 2005
Gund Arena
Cleveland, Ohio
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Kurt Angle is here to kick things off and he's looking for some real competition. Out comes...Christy Hemme. She says it's not her who he's wrestling, but she is here to introduce Eugene. Eugene shows off his Cleveland Browns jersey to a big pop. They argue back and forth about being from Cleveland and then we have our match.
Kurt Angle Invitational
Kurt Angle vs. Eugene
Angle attacks him and goes right to work. Angle starts to get cocky and takes his time. Eugene starts to hulk up and fires back with some right hands. Angle comes back with a clothesline and the straps are down. Angle Slam and then he puts him in the Ankle Lock with about 15 seconds left. Eugene counters out of it and sends Angle through the ropes. The clock runs out and Eugene wins Angle's Olympic Gold Medal. He and Christy celebrate and then quickly get out of the ring to get away from Angle. Who would ever think that in back-to-back SummerSlam events that Eugene would face Triple H and then Kurt Angle?
Match Rating: 1/2*
Viscera is shown backstage next to his apparent tag team partner.
John Cena sneaks up behind Eric Bischoff. Bischoff calls Cena trash. Bischoff goes on a rant and then when he turns around he finds out that Cena was no longer there.
Mixed Tag Team Match
Antonio & Pocket Rocket vs. Viscera & Cloacas
Pocket Rocket starts off in control and then Antonio tags in and slaps Cloacas. He continues to dominate him and the crowd is absolutely silent. Antonio accidentally knees his partner, knocking him off the apron. Antonio hits an airplane spin slam, but misses the elbow drop. Cloacas crawls under Antonio's legs and tags Vis. Viscera hits a Samoan Drop, but then Romeo jumps on his back. Viscera knocks him off and clotheslines him out of the ring. For some reason that's not a disqualification. Viscera then picks up Pocket Rocket and launches him onto Romeo. Body slam by Viscera and then Cloacas tries to get on Viscera's back, but he stumbles. He tries again and hits a splash. That's all thankfully. It legit looked like this was Cloacas's first match. This was both terrible and unnecessary.
Match Rating: 0 stars
JR tells us that Lord Alfred Hayes passed away a few days ago, introducing a highlight package of his work.
Shelton Benjamin is back with Bischoff. Benjamin says that he deserves a rematch with Carlito, but Bischoff disagrees. He tells him instead he is getting a handicap match with Snitsky and Chris Masters. Benjamin says that is just like Bischoff's breath, it stinks.
Chris Jericho is with Maria and she says that she loves Fozzy the Bear. She asks if any of the other Muppets are coming. Jericho says that hip hop is manufactured music and that he's real music.
It's time for the battle of the bands. John Cena is out first. As far as wrestlers doing a hip hop performance, it was pretty good. Jericho comes out and insults the performance. Jericho refuses to perform because the crowd is already against him. Instead, he'll beat Cena at SummerSlam. Cena then breaks out a performance of his entrance song.
Bischoff is with Carlito to talk about Cena. Bischoff says that Carlito will face Cena tonight. Apparently if he wins tonight, he will face him for the title next week. He also throws in that Jericho will be the special guest referee.
Out comes Shawn Michaels to the ring. Michaels says that he would call out Hulk Hogan tonight, but he's out promoting his reality show. Michaels says that he is an old fashioned guy and wants to be the greatest in-ring performer in WWE history, not a TV or movie star. Michaels says that Hogan is doing the same tired routine he's been doing for 20 years. They said they want the old HBK back, well they got him and he won't lay down for Hogan at SummerSlam. Solid promo work there from Michaels as usual.
Handicap Match
Snitsky & Chris Masters vs. Shelton Benjamin
On a nerdy note, Snitsky was already in the ring, then Benjamin came out and then they had Masters come out last. I get why they did it, but I can't remember another time that they have done that unless it was a surprise partner. Even then, it would typically be announced right after their partner. Masters ducks a charging Masters and he falls out of the ring. Shelton goes up top and hits a somersault dive to the floor, taking out both opponents. Back in the ring, the heels quickly regain the advantage. Shelton slides under Masters and hits a Samoan Drop. He hits a Stinger Splash, but Masters grabs the ref and allows Snitsky to illegally attack Shelton. Masters puts on the Master Lock. Benjamin tries to escape by repeatedly backing Masters into the corner, but is unsuccessful. Shelton shows a second wind, but again Masters brings him to his knees and that's all. Snitsky encourages Masters to keep it going after the bell and out comes Big Show. Being the smart men that they are, instead of attacking Show as he slowly gets into the ring, they wait until he's in so that he can hit a big boot on Snitsky. Both men escape, as Show checks in on Shelton. The match was probably what a handicap match should be, but that doesn't always make for much of a match.
Match Rating: 1/2*
The Diva Search must continue I suppose. Tonight is a hot dog eating contest. They announce that Cameron is cut from the contest. Layla and Summer tie, so they do a 30 second eat off to finish. This is awful television. Layla ends up winning. Next week is a queen of the mountain competition. Whatever.
Stretcher Match
Edge vs. Kane
Kane attacks Edge from behind during his entrance. As per usual, a big "Hardy" chant has started. Kane continues the assault in the ring and then is back out throwing Edge into the steps. He places Edge on the stretcher and tries dragging him up the ramp. Edge starts to fight back, so Kane just drops him down the ramp into the ring. Back from commercial break and Edge is choking Kane with a cord. During the break Edge hit a DDT on Kane onto the steps. That seemed like a bigger move than usual that was missed due to commercial break. They go back in the ring and Kane hits a clothesline from the top rope. Kane gets distracted by Lita and Edge hits a spear and rolls him onto the stretcher. Lita hits Kane with a kendo stick and then Edge gets in on the action, cracking it over Kane's head. How many years do I have left until weapon shots to the head are no longer a thing? Edge goes up top, but Kane swings a chair at him and knocks him to the outside. Kane pulls him up by the hair and hits a chokeslam from the apron onto the stretcher. The stretcher is now on an angle, but Kane tries pulling him up the ramp anyways. Lita is at the top of the ramp and takes the briefcase and hits Kane in the back with it. Kane no sells it and starts going after Lita. Kane grabs her by the throat and goes to chokeslam her, but Edge is there to make the save. He hits him in the head with the briefcase and knocks him down by the stretcher. They lay Kane on the stretcher and Lita helps push it up. Kane sits up and grabs Lita, but Kane eats yet another briefcase to the head and that is all. After the match, Kane sits up again and throws Edge into the Raw set. He then grabs Lita and gives her a Tombstone on the stage. As Edge is checking in on Lita, out comes Matt Hardy to a big pop. These moments were so fun. Matt Hardy will forever be one of the most underrated performers in WWE history. This was the best match in this series.
Match Rating: **1/2
Back from commercial break, Kane is with Lita in the ambulance and gets in the driver seat and drives away with the back doors open.
Carlito vs. John Cena
Bischoff is up on the stage as the bell rings. Jericho broke the rules of being a wrestler referee, as his shirt isn't three sizes too small. Cena hits a huge back body drop, but then gets an elbow to the face. Carlito goes for a chair, but Jericho takes it away. Carlito counters Cena into a DDT for a 2 count. So far Jericho as been calling it down the middle. Carlito hits a dropkick and a neckbreaker for a 2 count. Cena hits a desperation suplex. Carlito is able to continue working on Cena for a little while until Super Cena makes his return. Five Knuckle Shuffle time and then he goes to follow it up with the FU, but Jericho hits him with a low blow. Jericho hits his running bulldog and a Lionsault, allowing Carlito to get the victory. Bischoff applauds the result as Jericho holds the WWE Championship belt. This was the usual Carlito match. So next week we will get a rematch, this time for the title.
Match Rating: *3/4
This wasn't the strongest episode of Raw, thanks to the Viscera segment and the Diva Search for existing. However, the battle of the bands segment was well done, Michaels' promo was strong and the Edge/Kane match was entertaining. The build for the top matches at SummerSlam continues to go well, while the rest just kind of continues to lack focus.
Overall Rating: 53%
Gund Arena
Cleveland, Ohio
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Kurt Angle is here to kick things off and he's looking for some real competition. Out comes...Christy Hemme. She says it's not her who he's wrestling, but she is here to introduce Eugene. Eugene shows off his Cleveland Browns jersey to a big pop. They argue back and forth about being from Cleveland and then we have our match.
Kurt Angle Invitational
Kurt Angle vs. Eugene
Angle attacks him and goes right to work. Angle starts to get cocky and takes his time. Eugene starts to hulk up and fires back with some right hands. Angle comes back with a clothesline and the straps are down. Angle Slam and then he puts him in the Ankle Lock with about 15 seconds left. Eugene counters out of it and sends Angle through the ropes. The clock runs out and Eugene wins Angle's Olympic Gold Medal. He and Christy celebrate and then quickly get out of the ring to get away from Angle. Who would ever think that in back-to-back SummerSlam events that Eugene would face Triple H and then Kurt Angle?
Match Rating: 1/2*
Viscera is shown backstage next to his apparent tag team partner.
John Cena sneaks up behind Eric Bischoff. Bischoff calls Cena trash. Bischoff goes on a rant and then when he turns around he finds out that Cena was no longer there.
Mixed Tag Team Match
Antonio & Pocket Rocket vs. Viscera & Cloacas
Pocket Rocket starts off in control and then Antonio tags in and slaps Cloacas. He continues to dominate him and the crowd is absolutely silent. Antonio accidentally knees his partner, knocking him off the apron. Antonio hits an airplane spin slam, but misses the elbow drop. Cloacas crawls under Antonio's legs and tags Vis. Viscera hits a Samoan Drop, but then Romeo jumps on his back. Viscera knocks him off and clotheslines him out of the ring. For some reason that's not a disqualification. Viscera then picks up Pocket Rocket and launches him onto Romeo. Body slam by Viscera and then Cloacas tries to get on Viscera's back, but he stumbles. He tries again and hits a splash. That's all thankfully. It legit looked like this was Cloacas's first match. This was both terrible and unnecessary.
Match Rating: 0 stars
JR tells us that Lord Alfred Hayes passed away a few days ago, introducing a highlight package of his work.
Shelton Benjamin is back with Bischoff. Benjamin says that he deserves a rematch with Carlito, but Bischoff disagrees. He tells him instead he is getting a handicap match with Snitsky and Chris Masters. Benjamin says that is just like Bischoff's breath, it stinks.
Chris Jericho is with Maria and she says that she loves Fozzy the Bear. She asks if any of the other Muppets are coming. Jericho says that hip hop is manufactured music and that he's real music.
It's time for the battle of the bands. John Cena is out first. As far as wrestlers doing a hip hop performance, it was pretty good. Jericho comes out and insults the performance. Jericho refuses to perform because the crowd is already against him. Instead, he'll beat Cena at SummerSlam. Cena then breaks out a performance of his entrance song.
Bischoff is with Carlito to talk about Cena. Bischoff says that Carlito will face Cena tonight. Apparently if he wins tonight, he will face him for the title next week. He also throws in that Jericho will be the special guest referee.
Out comes Shawn Michaels to the ring. Michaels says that he would call out Hulk Hogan tonight, but he's out promoting his reality show. Michaels says that he is an old fashioned guy and wants to be the greatest in-ring performer in WWE history, not a TV or movie star. Michaels says that Hogan is doing the same tired routine he's been doing for 20 years. They said they want the old HBK back, well they got him and he won't lay down for Hogan at SummerSlam. Solid promo work there from Michaels as usual.
Handicap Match
Snitsky & Chris Masters vs. Shelton Benjamin
On a nerdy note, Snitsky was already in the ring, then Benjamin came out and then they had Masters come out last. I get why they did it, but I can't remember another time that they have done that unless it was a surprise partner. Even then, it would typically be announced right after their partner. Masters ducks a charging Masters and he falls out of the ring. Shelton goes up top and hits a somersault dive to the floor, taking out both opponents. Back in the ring, the heels quickly regain the advantage. Shelton slides under Masters and hits a Samoan Drop. He hits a Stinger Splash, but Masters grabs the ref and allows Snitsky to illegally attack Shelton. Masters puts on the Master Lock. Benjamin tries to escape by repeatedly backing Masters into the corner, but is unsuccessful. Shelton shows a second wind, but again Masters brings him to his knees and that's all. Snitsky encourages Masters to keep it going after the bell and out comes Big Show. Being the smart men that they are, instead of attacking Show as he slowly gets into the ring, they wait until he's in so that he can hit a big boot on Snitsky. Both men escape, as Show checks in on Shelton. The match was probably what a handicap match should be, but that doesn't always make for much of a match.
Match Rating: 1/2*
The Diva Search must continue I suppose. Tonight is a hot dog eating contest. They announce that Cameron is cut from the contest. Layla and Summer tie, so they do a 30 second eat off to finish. This is awful television. Layla ends up winning. Next week is a queen of the mountain competition. Whatever.
Stretcher Match
Edge vs. Kane
Kane attacks Edge from behind during his entrance. As per usual, a big "Hardy" chant has started. Kane continues the assault in the ring and then is back out throwing Edge into the steps. He places Edge on the stretcher and tries dragging him up the ramp. Edge starts to fight back, so Kane just drops him down the ramp into the ring. Back from commercial break and Edge is choking Kane with a cord. During the break Edge hit a DDT on Kane onto the steps. That seemed like a bigger move than usual that was missed due to commercial break. They go back in the ring and Kane hits a clothesline from the top rope. Kane gets distracted by Lita and Edge hits a spear and rolls him onto the stretcher. Lita hits Kane with a kendo stick and then Edge gets in on the action, cracking it over Kane's head. How many years do I have left until weapon shots to the head are no longer a thing? Edge goes up top, but Kane swings a chair at him and knocks him to the outside. Kane pulls him up by the hair and hits a chokeslam from the apron onto the stretcher. The stretcher is now on an angle, but Kane tries pulling him up the ramp anyways. Lita is at the top of the ramp and takes the briefcase and hits Kane in the back with it. Kane no sells it and starts going after Lita. Kane grabs her by the throat and goes to chokeslam her, but Edge is there to make the save. He hits him in the head with the briefcase and knocks him down by the stretcher. They lay Kane on the stretcher and Lita helps push it up. Kane sits up and grabs Lita, but Kane eats yet another briefcase to the head and that is all. After the match, Kane sits up again and throws Edge into the Raw set. He then grabs Lita and gives her a Tombstone on the stage. As Edge is checking in on Lita, out comes Matt Hardy to a big pop. These moments were so fun. Matt Hardy will forever be one of the most underrated performers in WWE history. This was the best match in this series.
Match Rating: **1/2
Back from commercial break, Kane is with Lita in the ambulance and gets in the driver seat and drives away with the back doors open.
Carlito vs. John Cena
Bischoff is up on the stage as the bell rings. Jericho broke the rules of being a wrestler referee, as his shirt isn't three sizes too small. Cena hits a huge back body drop, but then gets an elbow to the face. Carlito goes for a chair, but Jericho takes it away. Carlito counters Cena into a DDT for a 2 count. So far Jericho as been calling it down the middle. Carlito hits a dropkick and a neckbreaker for a 2 count. Cena hits a desperation suplex. Carlito is able to continue working on Cena for a little while until Super Cena makes his return. Five Knuckle Shuffle time and then he goes to follow it up with the FU, but Jericho hits him with a low blow. Jericho hits his running bulldog and a Lionsault, allowing Carlito to get the victory. Bischoff applauds the result as Jericho holds the WWE Championship belt. This was the usual Carlito match. So next week we will get a rematch, this time for the title.
Match Rating: *3/4
This wasn't the strongest episode of Raw, thanks to the Viscera segment and the Diva Search for existing. However, the battle of the bands segment was well done, Michaels' promo was strong and the Edge/Kane match was entertaining. The build for the top matches at SummerSlam continues to go well, while the rest just kind of continues to lack focus.
Overall Rating: 53%
Friday, March 20, 2020
NXT 4-10-13 Review
Original Airdate: Wednesday April 10th, 2013
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
The Shield vs. Axl Keegan, Percy Watson & Scott Dawson
All six men begin brawling before the bell even rings. After the Shield dump their opponents outside the ring, we get a bell. Dawson eats two dropkicks from Ambrose and then Rollins. Dawson is able to escape and make a tag to Keegan. Ambrose quickly takes care of him and tags in Rollins. Ambrose holds him in a surfboard and Rollins comes off the top rope, which was pretty cool. Rollins gets the pin and that was really fun as far as 3 minute squashes go.
Match Rating: 1/2* (out of 5)
After the match, they attack Dawson and hit the triple powerbomb. Ambrose grabs the mic and says that justice has been served. Rollins says that they run Raw, SmackDown and NXT. Corey Graves then comes on the big screen and says that NXT is his wasteland to run. He challenges one of them to a match next week. Rollins said he started it with Graves and he will take him on next week.
Summer Rae is backstage and says that she did not run away last week. She says that she left her curling iron on and didn't want to burn down the building. Someone got paid to write this.
Renee Young is backstage now with Emma. Emma says her path is like Lady Gaga, which Young questions. She then says it actually is probably more like Madonna. Young then references her being a clutz, but she says that isn't true. She then trips on her way out.
The Funkadactyls vs. The Bella Twins
This match most likely features three hall of famers. Naomi starts off hot and makes the mistake of tagging in Cameron. Brie attacks Cameron from behind as she is distracted by Nikki. Brad Maddox is really distracting in a bad way on announcing. Cameron is able to hit a neckbreaker. She goes to tag Naomi, but Nikki knocks her off the apron. They hit a weak looking wishbone suplex with a roll through or something for the finish. This was what you would expect it to be.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Kassius Ohno says that no one is going to see or hear from Regal again after this match.
After a lengthy WrestleMania weekend recap, William Regal says may his children forgive him for what he's about to do to Ohno.
Kassius Ohno vs. William Regal
Not that there has been much competition, but this is the most excited I have been for a NXT match up to this point. Regal is 44 years old here. They go to commercial before the match starts and then show a Corey Graves promo about his tattoos. They surprisingly don't go right at it and choose the slow approach instead. Regal works on the arm of Ohno in multiple ways. Regal gets in a cheap shot below the belt with his back turned blocking the ref. Ohno is able to dump Regal through the ropes and then hits a dropkick through the bottom two ropes. Back in the ring, Regal uses some finger manipulation. Ohno is able to sneak in a knee to the face. They then show Ohno trying to pop his fingers back into place. Ohno then hits a kick to the head into the ring post. For some reason Maddox tries to get over the fact that Ohno is working on Regal's ear. Regal fights back and hits an exploder suplex and tries to go for the Regal Stretch, but Ohno hits him with some elbows. Regal is off balance and then eats a kick to the head for a 2 count. Ohno goes for the spinning elbow, but Regal hits him with one. Regal then hits a running knee and that's it? That was extremely disappointing. Bummer.
Match Rating: **1/4
I was expecting a home run for this episode and I'm not even sure if they got a stand up single. The Shield match was a fun reminder of how good they were, but the main event in my opinion was nowhere near as good as I had expected. It was slow and not as aggressive as I was expecting, especially after the great attack Regal delivered on last week's show.
Overall Rating: 50%
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
The Shield vs. Axl Keegan, Percy Watson & Scott Dawson
All six men begin brawling before the bell even rings. After the Shield dump their opponents outside the ring, we get a bell. Dawson eats two dropkicks from Ambrose and then Rollins. Dawson is able to escape and make a tag to Keegan. Ambrose quickly takes care of him and tags in Rollins. Ambrose holds him in a surfboard and Rollins comes off the top rope, which was pretty cool. Rollins gets the pin and that was really fun as far as 3 minute squashes go.
Match Rating: 1/2* (out of 5)
After the match, they attack Dawson and hit the triple powerbomb. Ambrose grabs the mic and says that justice has been served. Rollins says that they run Raw, SmackDown and NXT. Corey Graves then comes on the big screen and says that NXT is his wasteland to run. He challenges one of them to a match next week. Rollins said he started it with Graves and he will take him on next week.
Summer Rae is backstage and says that she did not run away last week. She says that she left her curling iron on and didn't want to burn down the building. Someone got paid to write this.
Renee Young is backstage now with Emma. Emma says her path is like Lady Gaga, which Young questions. She then says it actually is probably more like Madonna. Young then references her being a clutz, but she says that isn't true. She then trips on her way out.
The Funkadactyls vs. The Bella Twins
This match most likely features three hall of famers. Naomi starts off hot and makes the mistake of tagging in Cameron. Brie attacks Cameron from behind as she is distracted by Nikki. Brad Maddox is really distracting in a bad way on announcing. Cameron is able to hit a neckbreaker. She goes to tag Naomi, but Nikki knocks her off the apron. They hit a weak looking wishbone suplex with a roll through or something for the finish. This was what you would expect it to be.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Kassius Ohno says that no one is going to see or hear from Regal again after this match.
After a lengthy WrestleMania weekend recap, William Regal says may his children forgive him for what he's about to do to Ohno.
Kassius Ohno vs. William Regal
Not that there has been much competition, but this is the most excited I have been for a NXT match up to this point. Regal is 44 years old here. They go to commercial before the match starts and then show a Corey Graves promo about his tattoos. They surprisingly don't go right at it and choose the slow approach instead. Regal works on the arm of Ohno in multiple ways. Regal gets in a cheap shot below the belt with his back turned blocking the ref. Ohno is able to dump Regal through the ropes and then hits a dropkick through the bottom two ropes. Back in the ring, Regal uses some finger manipulation. Ohno is able to sneak in a knee to the face. They then show Ohno trying to pop his fingers back into place. Ohno then hits a kick to the head into the ring post. For some reason Maddox tries to get over the fact that Ohno is working on Regal's ear. Regal fights back and hits an exploder suplex and tries to go for the Regal Stretch, but Ohno hits him with some elbows. Regal is off balance and then eats a kick to the head for a 2 count. Ohno goes for the spinning elbow, but Regal hits him with one. Regal then hits a running knee and that's it? That was extremely disappointing. Bummer.
Match Rating: **1/4
I was expecting a home run for this episode and I'm not even sure if they got a stand up single. The Shield match was a fun reminder of how good they were, but the main event in my opinion was nowhere near as good as I had expected. It was slow and not as aggressive as I was expecting, especially after the great attack Regal delivered on last week's show.
Overall Rating: 50%
Wednesday, March 18, 2020
Monday Night Raw 2-15-93 Review
Monday, February 15th, 1993
Manhattan Center
New York City, New York
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
They do a quick pre-taped spot with Brutus Beefcake saying he's going to show us he's 100% and Ted DiBiase saying he's going to destroy him. Jimmy Hart is teasing a face turn.
Steiner Brothers vs. Glen Ruth & Bobby Who
Scott Steiner quickly destroys Ruth with a suplex. In comes Rick, who forces a tag to Who. What? Who then takes a suplex. Randy Savage's microphone is all messed up and sounds like he's on a telephone. Rick hits an elbow drop off the top rope. Who tries to fight back, but Rick clocks him with a clothesline. Rick hits the flying bulldog for the victory. Steiner squashes are always fun.
Match Rating: 1/2*
We go over to a WrestleMania Report. Mean Gene runs down the matches so far, which are Bret Hart vs. Yokozuna, Undertaker vs. Giant Gonzalez and Doink vs. Crush. Can you imagine if those were the first three matches announced for a current WrestleMania?
Yokozuna vs. Ross Greenberg
Savage is still having issues. Vince says that he wouldn't want to be the producer right now. Good times. I do love the under the leg shots they get of Yoko as he's getting ready for his match. He nearly takes Greenberg's head off with a clothesline. Yoko only does like five moves for the most part, but they all get a big reaction from the live crowds. No one was questioning him as a monster heel. Banzai Splash and that's all.
Match Rating: 1/4*
We now get a Special Report with Lord Alfred Hayes. This show turned into Superstars pretty quickly. He shows highlights of a showdown between Hacksaw Jim Duggan and Yokozuna from Superstars. The crowd absolutely loses it when Duggan knocked Yoko down. Yoko hits a second Banzai Splash with the American flag draped over Duggan, who then did a stretcher job. Mr. Fuji cuts a promo with Yoko about squashing Duggan.
Vince then shows a clip of Giant Gonzalez from Superstars in a 3-on-1 match. It's as horrible as you would think.
16 Man Battle Royal
They all start outside the ring and then run in, which is not the usual for WWF/E. There is quite the mix in here including people like Kimchee and Iron Mike Sharpe. The highlight is that Savage took Bartlett's microphone, so we don't have to hear him at least. If you like punching and kicking, this is the match for you. Skinner, who was seemingly get right hand after right hand from Tatanka, just randomly walks away as if nothing happened, starts dancing and then is eliminated from behind by Typhoon. Kimchee helps Typhoon eliminate Kamala. Kamala goes back in the ring and eliminates Kimchee, which isn't legal of course. They then brawl through the crowd in a fun spot. They then show Kamala chasing Kimchee up in the balcony. Typhoon charged at Shawn Michaels in the corner, who then ducked and dumped Typhoon out. The final four are Razor Ramon, Tatanka, Shawn Michaels and Tito Santana. Apparently Tatanka defeated Michaels in a non-title match and they are going at it. This obviously sets up the eventual WrestleMania match. I would have much rather seen Razor take on Santana than Backlund at WrestleMania. Tatanka and Santana team up to eliminate Michaels. The faces team up on Razor, but out comes Giant Gonzalez and he dumps out Tatanka and then Santana. Razor sneaks back into the ring and is declared the winner. I mean this wasn't anything great, but by battle royal standards it was enjoyable and the ending made sense.
Match Rating: *3/4
Ted DiBiase vs. Brutus Beefcake
DiBiase's "suit" looks cheaper than normal to me here. Beefcake does his strut shtick to start things off. Savage is working about the "facial type situation" for Brutus. Beefcake ducks a big right hand by DiBiase and gets in a series of right hands of his own. Beefcake continues to control the match and out comes IRS. IRS gives Jimmy Hart a little shove. This whole face turn for Hart seems to make no sense to me. DiBiase sends Beefcake off the ropes and IRS hits Beefcake in the back with a briefcase and that's a disqualification. IRS joins DiBiase in the ring and attack Beefcake. They are setting him up to hit Beefcake with the briefcase, but Hart tries to shop him. IRS shoves him out of the ring and then nails him with it in the face. Hart comes in and checks on Beefcake and then stops DiBiase from doing it again. Beefcake then does a stretcher job and they show a blood spot in the ring. The match was nothing, but the angle was pretty effective.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Back from commercial break and Vince tells us that Beefcake is going to be okay. He says that he wouldn't be surprised if Hulk Hogan shows up next week. Why wouldn't you be surprised? He hasn't been on the roster for months.
Well, this was a much better episode this week. We got a big angle started for WrestleMania, had a fun battle royal and a Steiner squash. In 1993, that's an effective show. With the hour run time, the show rarely drags and that is a blessing in 2020. This wasn't the worst way to kill 45 minutes.
Overall Rating: 56%
Manhattan Center
New York City, New York
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
They do a quick pre-taped spot with Brutus Beefcake saying he's going to show us he's 100% and Ted DiBiase saying he's going to destroy him. Jimmy Hart is teasing a face turn.
Steiner Brothers vs. Glen Ruth & Bobby Who
Scott Steiner quickly destroys Ruth with a suplex. In comes Rick, who forces a tag to Who. What? Who then takes a suplex. Randy Savage's microphone is all messed up and sounds like he's on a telephone. Rick hits an elbow drop off the top rope. Who tries to fight back, but Rick clocks him with a clothesline. Rick hits the flying bulldog for the victory. Steiner squashes are always fun.
Match Rating: 1/2*
We go over to a WrestleMania Report. Mean Gene runs down the matches so far, which are Bret Hart vs. Yokozuna, Undertaker vs. Giant Gonzalez and Doink vs. Crush. Can you imagine if those were the first three matches announced for a current WrestleMania?
Yokozuna vs. Ross Greenberg
Savage is still having issues. Vince says that he wouldn't want to be the producer right now. Good times. I do love the under the leg shots they get of Yoko as he's getting ready for his match. He nearly takes Greenberg's head off with a clothesline. Yoko only does like five moves for the most part, but they all get a big reaction from the live crowds. No one was questioning him as a monster heel. Banzai Splash and that's all.
Match Rating: 1/4*
We now get a Special Report with Lord Alfred Hayes. This show turned into Superstars pretty quickly. He shows highlights of a showdown between Hacksaw Jim Duggan and Yokozuna from Superstars. The crowd absolutely loses it when Duggan knocked Yoko down. Yoko hits a second Banzai Splash with the American flag draped over Duggan, who then did a stretcher job. Mr. Fuji cuts a promo with Yoko about squashing Duggan.
Vince then shows a clip of Giant Gonzalez from Superstars in a 3-on-1 match. It's as horrible as you would think.
16 Man Battle Royal
They all start outside the ring and then run in, which is not the usual for WWF/E. There is quite the mix in here including people like Kimchee and Iron Mike Sharpe. The highlight is that Savage took Bartlett's microphone, so we don't have to hear him at least. If you like punching and kicking, this is the match for you. Skinner, who was seemingly get right hand after right hand from Tatanka, just randomly walks away as if nothing happened, starts dancing and then is eliminated from behind by Typhoon. Kimchee helps Typhoon eliminate Kamala. Kamala goes back in the ring and eliminates Kimchee, which isn't legal of course. They then brawl through the crowd in a fun spot. They then show Kamala chasing Kimchee up in the balcony. Typhoon charged at Shawn Michaels in the corner, who then ducked and dumped Typhoon out. The final four are Razor Ramon, Tatanka, Shawn Michaels and Tito Santana. Apparently Tatanka defeated Michaels in a non-title match and they are going at it. This obviously sets up the eventual WrestleMania match. I would have much rather seen Razor take on Santana than Backlund at WrestleMania. Tatanka and Santana team up to eliminate Michaels. The faces team up on Razor, but out comes Giant Gonzalez and he dumps out Tatanka and then Santana. Razor sneaks back into the ring and is declared the winner. I mean this wasn't anything great, but by battle royal standards it was enjoyable and the ending made sense.
Match Rating: *3/4
Ted DiBiase vs. Brutus Beefcake
DiBiase's "suit" looks cheaper than normal to me here. Beefcake does his strut shtick to start things off. Savage is working about the "facial type situation" for Brutus. Beefcake ducks a big right hand by DiBiase and gets in a series of right hands of his own. Beefcake continues to control the match and out comes IRS. IRS gives Jimmy Hart a little shove. This whole face turn for Hart seems to make no sense to me. DiBiase sends Beefcake off the ropes and IRS hits Beefcake in the back with a briefcase and that's a disqualification. IRS joins DiBiase in the ring and attack Beefcake. They are setting him up to hit Beefcake with the briefcase, but Hart tries to shop him. IRS shoves him out of the ring and then nails him with it in the face. Hart comes in and checks on Beefcake and then stops DiBiase from doing it again. Beefcake then does a stretcher job and they show a blood spot in the ring. The match was nothing, but the angle was pretty effective.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Back from commercial break and Vince tells us that Beefcake is going to be okay. He says that he wouldn't be surprised if Hulk Hogan shows up next week. Why wouldn't you be surprised? He hasn't been on the roster for months.
Well, this was a much better episode this week. We got a big angle started for WrestleMania, had a fun battle royal and a Steiner squash. In 1993, that's an effective show. With the hour run time, the show rarely drags and that is a blessing in 2020. This wasn't the worst way to kill 45 minutes.
Overall Rating: 56%
Monday, March 16, 2020
NXT 4-3-13 Review
Original Airdate: Wednesday April 3rd, 2013
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida
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Bo Dallas & Adrian Neville vs. The Wyatt Family
The Wyatt's quickly isolate Bo in their corner, but Bo sneaks away to make a tag to Neville. Neville hits two dropkicks to the knees and then hits a standing shooting star press for a 2 count. After some distraction, Harper hits a big boot on Neville. After the commercial break, Rowan is working on Neville. Neville ducks a boot attempt by Harper and hits the hot tag to Bo. Bo hits a kick to the head and follows it up with a forearm. Big tornado bulldog by Bo and he dumps Rowan out of the ring. Bray tries to get involved, but Neville does an awesome dive to the outside to take out Rowan and Bray. Bo hits the belly to belly suplex for the somewhat surprising victory. Pretty standard tag team match with a good finish.
Match Rating: **1/2 (out of 5)
With WrestleMania just a few days away, they show a Rock/Cena hype package. Both Kassius Ohno and Brad Maddox are guest announcers this week. They pan to them and William Regal is out here to get his revenge on Ohno.
Summer Rae & Audrey Marie vs. Sasha Banks & Paige
Paige and Audrey start off, although Paige wants Summer. Sasha gets a few moves in before getting herself into trouble. I have to say the NXT crowd here for this episode is a little bit more raucous than usual. Sasha counters for a pin attempt and gets a 2 count. She rolls and makes the tag to Paige. Summer runs to the back. leaving Audrey alone. Paige hits her finisher for the victory. That wasn't bad, but way too short to be much more than that.
Match Rating: *
NXT Championship Match
Conor O'Brian vs. Big E Langston
Not a lot happens before the commercial break. When we come back Langston is in control, but O'Brian quickly changes that. We get some pretty standard heavyweight stuff and then O'Brian hits a clothesline from the second rope for a 2 count. O'Brian goes to the dreaded nerve hold, which should be banned because no one is buying it. Big E begins to hulk up and fires back with two clotheslines and then repeated knees to the gut. Big E goes off the ropes, but O'Brian gets the big boot up and gets a really close call. Langston makes another comeback and this time the straps are down. Big E hits the Big Ending and he gets the victory. Well, that was a pretty basic match there. It's pretty clear that O'Brian isn't ready for the big time. After the match Big E hits another Big Ending and counts to 5.
Match Rating: 1/2*
The show started off with a lot of promise and then just declined from there. We finally got a meaningful NXT Championship match, but O'Brian just wasn't ready for a big time match and as a result we got a paint by the numbers heavyweight match. Adrian Neville continues to be the most promising thing on the show and we all know that he only continues to get better from here. It's also nice that they are continuing to kind of build a women's division as well.
Overall Rating: 47%
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida
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Bo Dallas & Adrian Neville vs. The Wyatt Family
The Wyatt's quickly isolate Bo in their corner, but Bo sneaks away to make a tag to Neville. Neville hits two dropkicks to the knees and then hits a standing shooting star press for a 2 count. After some distraction, Harper hits a big boot on Neville. After the commercial break, Rowan is working on Neville. Neville ducks a boot attempt by Harper and hits the hot tag to Bo. Bo hits a kick to the head and follows it up with a forearm. Big tornado bulldog by Bo and he dumps Rowan out of the ring. Bray tries to get involved, but Neville does an awesome dive to the outside to take out Rowan and Bray. Bo hits the belly to belly suplex for the somewhat surprising victory. Pretty standard tag team match with a good finish.
Match Rating: **1/2 (out of 5)
With WrestleMania just a few days away, they show a Rock/Cena hype package. Both Kassius Ohno and Brad Maddox are guest announcers this week. They pan to them and William Regal is out here to get his revenge on Ohno.
Summer Rae & Audrey Marie vs. Sasha Banks & Paige
Paige and Audrey start off, although Paige wants Summer. Sasha gets a few moves in before getting herself into trouble. I have to say the NXT crowd here for this episode is a little bit more raucous than usual. Sasha counters for a pin attempt and gets a 2 count. She rolls and makes the tag to Paige. Summer runs to the back. leaving Audrey alone. Paige hits her finisher for the victory. That wasn't bad, but way too short to be much more than that.
Match Rating: *
NXT Championship Match
Conor O'Brian vs. Big E Langston
Not a lot happens before the commercial break. When we come back Langston is in control, but O'Brian quickly changes that. We get some pretty standard heavyweight stuff and then O'Brian hits a clothesline from the second rope for a 2 count. O'Brian goes to the dreaded nerve hold, which should be banned because no one is buying it. Big E begins to hulk up and fires back with two clotheslines and then repeated knees to the gut. Big E goes off the ropes, but O'Brian gets the big boot up and gets a really close call. Langston makes another comeback and this time the straps are down. Big E hits the Big Ending and he gets the victory. Well, that was a pretty basic match there. It's pretty clear that O'Brian isn't ready for the big time. After the match Big E hits another Big Ending and counts to 5.
Match Rating: 1/2*
The show started off with a lot of promise and then just declined from there. We finally got a meaningful NXT Championship match, but O'Brian just wasn't ready for a big time match and as a result we got a paint by the numbers heavyweight match. Adrian Neville continues to be the most promising thing on the show and we all know that he only continues to get better from here. It's also nice that they are continuing to kind of build a women's division as well.
Overall Rating: 47%
Friday, March 13, 2020
Great American Bash 2005 Review
Sunday, July 24th, 2005
HSBC Arena
Buffalo, New York
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WWE Tag Team Championship Match
MNM vs. Road Warrior Animal & Heidenreich
This tag team is the ultimate bizarro world, especially with them coming out to Hawk's "Aww what a rush". Heidenreich tosses Mercury around at the start of the match. After a tag, Mercury gets the boot up on Animal, but Animal counters a suplex with a double suplex on MNM. Heidenreich has Nitro up in the air, but Mercury comes from behind and takes out his knee. As much as I hate this pairing, the crowd is seemingly into it with loud chants of "L-O-D". MNM continues to work on the knee with quick tags. Heidenreich makes the tag to Animal and he takes care of both members of MNM until Nitro hits him in the head with the belt, but Animal kicks out. MNM goes for the Snapshot, but Heidenreich breaks it up. Animal hits a body slam and they hit the Doomsday Device. We have new Tag Team Champions and a surprisingly big pop from the crowd. They say the opening match is the second most important match on the card and for me, this tells me everything I need to know about this show. However, I must just be a Debbie Downer, because those in attendance ate it up. After the match, Animal gets on the mic and tells Hawk that this one was for him.
Match Rating: 3/4* (out of 5)
Eddie Guerrero is with Josh Matthews backstage. Eddie says that manipulation is his new addiction. He says that Dominik will be at ringside tonight for his match with Rey Mysterio. After he finally beats Rey tonight, he will finally tell Dominik the bedtime story he promised to tell him a long time ago.
Christian vs. Booker T
Booker chases after Christian to start. It was a nice touch to have Christian come out first after he sneak attacked Booker during his entrance last time. Christian gets distracted by the crowd and Booker takes advantage. Michael Cole says that the crowd has been "alive all night". We are 22 minutes into the actual show. Christian uses the referee to his advantage and throws Booker into the ring post. Christian hits a swinging inverted DDT off the second rope for a 2 count. Booker tries to get out of a headlock, but Christian grabs him by his hair and slams him down. After a "Booker T" chant, we get a loud "Let's Go Christian" chant, but Vince McMahon must not have heard it. Christian ducks a kick and Booker is hung up on the ropes. Christian grabs Sharmell up on the apron, but he is greeted with a slap to the face. Christian charges at her, but Booker catches him with a Book End for a 2 count. After a counter on a pin attempt by Christian, Booker hits a big spinebuster. Booker looks particularly motivated tonight. Spinaroonie by Booker, but Christian avoids the scissor kick. Booker gets out of the Unprettier attempt and then Christian gets a nearfall after a semi-powerbomb out of the corner. Booker hits a missile dropkick, but Christian gets the bottom rope on the pin attempt. Christian gets a thumb to the eye and dumps Booker to the outside. Booker slams Christian into the ring post and then into the steel steps. Back in the ring, Booker hits a scissor kick off the second rope for the victory kind of out of nowhere there. This match was really cooking and deserved another few minutes to have a better finish. Other than that, this was really good and the crowd was really into this one too.
Match Rating: ***1/2
A frustrated Melina says that MNM will win their championships back soon. She also says there is no way that anyone is going to see her in her underwear tonight, which is strange because you do every time she enters the ring.
United States Championship Match
Orlando Jordan vs. Chris Benoit
Well, here is one way to kill a hot crowd as Jordan enters the ring to absolutely no reaction. As with most Benoit matches, we get some chops to start things off. After some back and forth, they end up outside the ring and Jordan weakly pushes Benoit's back into the ring post. Jordan goes into the ring and attempts to remove a turnbuckle pad. Benoit comes from behind and attacks him. Jordan fires back and hits a big clothesline, then goes back to work on the arm. Jordan did actually check most of the boxes for being a WWE superstar, but the lack of charisma would be his undoing. Benoit makes multiple attempts to make a comeback, but Jordan continues to get the better of him. This match already feels like it's at the 20 minute mark. Jordan goes up top, but Benoit knocks him down and hits a superplex. Benoit hits three German suplexes and then the flying headbutt. Jordan kicks out of the pin attempt and Benoit takes him to the turnbuckle. Benoit slams Jordan's head into the turnbuckle, but Jordan's head bounces back into Benoit. This allows Jordan to finish removing the turnbuckle. He slams Benoit's head into the turnbuckle and gets the pinfall. That's a dumb finish to a mediocre match.
Match Rating: **
World Heavyweight Championship #1 Contender Match
Muhammad Hassan vs. Undertaker
Hassan is carried out by the masked men on his way to the ring. Undertaker no sells a flurry in the corner and gives Hassan one of his own. Undertaker hits Old School and then drives Hassan face first into the mat. Undertaker misses with a boot and falls outside. The "sympathizers" attack the Taker while the ref is distracted. Undertaker ends up outside the ring again and this time is choked by a sympathizer. Back in the ring, Hassan puts Taker in the Camel Clutch. Taker powers out of it and hits an electric chair. Taker hits Snake Eyes, all while taking care of sympathizers coming into the ring. For some reason Hassan is not disqualified and I am tired of typing sympathizer. Taker hits a chokeslam and Taker picks up the victory. He is quickly attacked by the masked men, but they are no match for him. One of them eats a chair to the throat while being slammed onto the table, which is kind of random for this type of attack. Taker then turns his attention to Daivari and he dumps him out of the ring. He then throws him through the bottom of the announcer table with a little assistance from Daivari. Taker then goes after Hassan on the ramp and starts messing with the stage. Taker then gives Hassan a Last Ride in the hole he made on the stage and that is the last we would hear of from Hassan. Boy, did this suck. The match was passable just above miserable, but the entire 25 minute presentation was garbage.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Torrie Wilson says that she's going to give everyone something to remember.
Mexicools vs. bWo
The Mexicools come down while they are still tending to a bloodied Hassan. bWo come out on big wheel tricycles. I appreciate the effort put into making Nova not look too much like Simon Dean, but his bandana comes off early on. Juvy hits Nova with a springboard corkscrew from behind and the Mexicools have him cornered. Super Crazy hits a nice low dropkick on Nova for a 2 count. Nova gets a tag to Stevie Richards and hits a sideslam on Psicosis. Richards misses with a Bronco Buster. Psicosis hits a leg drop from the top rope and that's it? It looked like they were setting up for a dive spot on the outside, but maybe I'm just imagining things. I'm not sure why they couldn't have just done this one on SmackDown.
Match Rating: *1/2
After a lengthy highlight package of their feud, Rey is shown backstage praying with his son.
Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio
Eddie aggressively attacks Rey, but Rey's able to get a couple of quick pinfall attempts in. That was a nice little start to the match. Rey looked to have gotten a stiff back elbow in on Eddie, but Eddie is able to hit an inverted atomic drop. Eddie goes up top, but Rey knocks him down and hits a hurricanrana from the top for a 2 count. I give Dominik credit, he's doing a good job considering the circumstances. Eddie knocks Rey down off the top rope and goes for a Razor's Edge, but Rey counters and hits a 619 followed by a seated senton and Eddie kicks out. Eddie rolls out of the ring and turns his attention to Dominik. He pulls him in front of himself to stop a charging Rey. This is just one of those storylines that seems to take it too far for my taste. Eddie attacks a distracted Rey and brings him back in the ring. He hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker and continues to work on his back. He dumps Rey out of the ring and again goes towards Dominik. Michael Cole is probably an underrated announcer, but I always feel like in moments like this he can be too much to handle. Eddie hits a nice wheelbarrow suplex and tries three times to pin Rey. Eddie screams at Charles Robinson and then blows a kiss at Dominik. Rey is able to hit a dropkick to the knees and follows it up with a kick to the head. Rey counters Eddie with a tornado DDT and Rey reaches over and gets a 2 count. Rey hits a dropkick from behind and hits the 619 again. Eddie is able to move out of the way of a springboard dropkick and Eddie is feeling confident. Eddie hits a quick Three Amigos and goes up top, but Rey rolls out of the range for the Frog Splash. He hits two more suplexes, but Rey is barely moving, so he picks him up for a third one but turns it into a brainbuster. He then stares down Dominik and heads up top. Eddie hits the Frog Splash. He goes for a cocky pin and Mysterio hooks him from behind and sneaks out the victory. After the win he runs out and embraces Dominik. Eddie starts slamming his own head into the turnbuckle in disgust. The match had some really nice segments in it, but like I said, the dark storyline sort of took me out of it a little. Tazz and Cole sell that the secret Eddie has will remain a secret.
Match Rating: ***1/4
JBL is backstage in red, white and blue. He says that Batista caused him his greatest embarrassment, ruined his celebration and that he will be the first one in Buffalo to wear these colors to win a championship since the Bills never have. He guarantees that he will beat Batista tonight.
Bra & Panties Match
Melina vs. Torrie Wilson
Melina shows off her frustration, but Torrie attempts to head scissor her, but their timing is off. Torrie puts Melina in an abdominal stretch and takes off Melina's shirt. She goes for her pants, but Melina escapes. Melina rips off Torrie's shirt and starts hitting her with forearms on the mat. Candice Michelle is the guest referee if it matters. Torrie mounts her comeback with a dropkick and a suplex. Melina then hangs her up on the top rope and then takes Torrie's pants off for the victory. After the match, Melina attacks Candice Michelle. Torrie makes the save and takes Melina's pants off. Didn't see that one coming. Then Candice Michelle follows suit. I can't believe that these were still a thing in 2005, but here we are.
Match Rating: 0 Stars
World Heavyweight Championship Match
JBL vs. Batista
This match starts off slowly, as you would expect from two heavyweights. They exchange small bits of offense until Batista clotheslines JBL out of the ring. Back in the ring, JBL tries to suplex Batista into the ring, but has to resort to giving him a Stunner on the top rope. Batista catches JBL off the apron in an impressive display of power and drives him into the hardest part of the ring. It doesn't last long, as JBL throws Batista behind the announcer table and then into the timekeeper table. Batista tries to fight back, but JBL gets him in a sleeper hold. After what feels like forever, Batista fights out of it, but JBL gets outside the ring and throws him into the steps. Whoever was the agent for this match, should definitely maybe find a new role. Batista explodes to knock JBL over the barricade and follows it up with fists. Back in the ring, JBL throws Batista into the corner, but Batista then blatantly runs into the ref on the Clothesline From Hell attempt. I'm sure that was supposed to look like an accident, but it certainly didn't. The ref is knocked down and here comes Orlando Jordan. They hit Batista in the back with a chair and throw the ref back in. Batista kicks out at 2 and JBL is in shock. JBL goes for the Clothesline From Hell again, but Batista counters with a spinebuster. Jordan runs in, but Batista dumps him out of there. Batista then picks up the chair and destroys both Jordan and JBL with awful chair shots to the head. The ref sees it and calls for the bell, so JBL's guarantee was correct. Batista goes to town with chair shots to the back of both men. After they announce JBL as the winner, Batista comes back down the ramp and gives both JBL and Jordan Batista Bombs. That was not a good main event at all. Not only do you get a garbage finish, it was slow and plotting. I have no idea why anyone would have thought these guys should go almost 20 minutes.
Match Rating: 3/4*
I couldn't imagine having paid $30-40 for that live and being happy with that. There was just way too many TV worthy matches and it was full of terrible segments like the 20 minute Undertaker/Hassan burial. It's back to the drawing board for the blue brand and unfortunately, I'm not sure that they really find their groove until closer to the end of the year.
Overall Rating: 41%
HSBC Arena
Buffalo, New York
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WWE Tag Team Championship Match
MNM vs. Road Warrior Animal & Heidenreich
This tag team is the ultimate bizarro world, especially with them coming out to Hawk's "Aww what a rush". Heidenreich tosses Mercury around at the start of the match. After a tag, Mercury gets the boot up on Animal, but Animal counters a suplex with a double suplex on MNM. Heidenreich has Nitro up in the air, but Mercury comes from behind and takes out his knee. As much as I hate this pairing, the crowd is seemingly into it with loud chants of "L-O-D". MNM continues to work on the knee with quick tags. Heidenreich makes the tag to Animal and he takes care of both members of MNM until Nitro hits him in the head with the belt, but Animal kicks out. MNM goes for the Snapshot, but Heidenreich breaks it up. Animal hits a body slam and they hit the Doomsday Device. We have new Tag Team Champions and a surprisingly big pop from the crowd. They say the opening match is the second most important match on the card and for me, this tells me everything I need to know about this show. However, I must just be a Debbie Downer, because those in attendance ate it up. After the match, Animal gets on the mic and tells Hawk that this one was for him.
Match Rating: 3/4* (out of 5)
Eddie Guerrero is with Josh Matthews backstage. Eddie says that manipulation is his new addiction. He says that Dominik will be at ringside tonight for his match with Rey Mysterio. After he finally beats Rey tonight, he will finally tell Dominik the bedtime story he promised to tell him a long time ago.
Christian vs. Booker T
Booker chases after Christian to start. It was a nice touch to have Christian come out first after he sneak attacked Booker during his entrance last time. Christian gets distracted by the crowd and Booker takes advantage. Michael Cole says that the crowd has been "alive all night". We are 22 minutes into the actual show. Christian uses the referee to his advantage and throws Booker into the ring post. Christian hits a swinging inverted DDT off the second rope for a 2 count. Booker tries to get out of a headlock, but Christian grabs him by his hair and slams him down. After a "Booker T" chant, we get a loud "Let's Go Christian" chant, but Vince McMahon must not have heard it. Christian ducks a kick and Booker is hung up on the ropes. Christian grabs Sharmell up on the apron, but he is greeted with a slap to the face. Christian charges at her, but Booker catches him with a Book End for a 2 count. After a counter on a pin attempt by Christian, Booker hits a big spinebuster. Booker looks particularly motivated tonight. Spinaroonie by Booker, but Christian avoids the scissor kick. Booker gets out of the Unprettier attempt and then Christian gets a nearfall after a semi-powerbomb out of the corner. Booker hits a missile dropkick, but Christian gets the bottom rope on the pin attempt. Christian gets a thumb to the eye and dumps Booker to the outside. Booker slams Christian into the ring post and then into the steel steps. Back in the ring, Booker hits a scissor kick off the second rope for the victory kind of out of nowhere there. This match was really cooking and deserved another few minutes to have a better finish. Other than that, this was really good and the crowd was really into this one too.
Match Rating: ***1/2
A frustrated Melina says that MNM will win their championships back soon. She also says there is no way that anyone is going to see her in her underwear tonight, which is strange because you do every time she enters the ring.
United States Championship Match
Orlando Jordan vs. Chris Benoit
Well, here is one way to kill a hot crowd as Jordan enters the ring to absolutely no reaction. As with most Benoit matches, we get some chops to start things off. After some back and forth, they end up outside the ring and Jordan weakly pushes Benoit's back into the ring post. Jordan goes into the ring and attempts to remove a turnbuckle pad. Benoit comes from behind and attacks him. Jordan fires back and hits a big clothesline, then goes back to work on the arm. Jordan did actually check most of the boxes for being a WWE superstar, but the lack of charisma would be his undoing. Benoit makes multiple attempts to make a comeback, but Jordan continues to get the better of him. This match already feels like it's at the 20 minute mark. Jordan goes up top, but Benoit knocks him down and hits a superplex. Benoit hits three German suplexes and then the flying headbutt. Jordan kicks out of the pin attempt and Benoit takes him to the turnbuckle. Benoit slams Jordan's head into the turnbuckle, but Jordan's head bounces back into Benoit. This allows Jordan to finish removing the turnbuckle. He slams Benoit's head into the turnbuckle and gets the pinfall. That's a dumb finish to a mediocre match.
Match Rating: **
World Heavyweight Championship #1 Contender Match
Muhammad Hassan vs. Undertaker
Hassan is carried out by the masked men on his way to the ring. Undertaker no sells a flurry in the corner and gives Hassan one of his own. Undertaker hits Old School and then drives Hassan face first into the mat. Undertaker misses with a boot and falls outside. The "sympathizers" attack the Taker while the ref is distracted. Undertaker ends up outside the ring again and this time is choked by a sympathizer. Back in the ring, Hassan puts Taker in the Camel Clutch. Taker powers out of it and hits an electric chair. Taker hits Snake Eyes, all while taking care of sympathizers coming into the ring. For some reason Hassan is not disqualified and I am tired of typing sympathizer. Taker hits a chokeslam and Taker picks up the victory. He is quickly attacked by the masked men, but they are no match for him. One of them eats a chair to the throat while being slammed onto the table, which is kind of random for this type of attack. Taker then turns his attention to Daivari and he dumps him out of the ring. He then throws him through the bottom of the announcer table with a little assistance from Daivari. Taker then goes after Hassan on the ramp and starts messing with the stage. Taker then gives Hassan a Last Ride in the hole he made on the stage and that is the last we would hear of from Hassan. Boy, did this suck. The match was passable just above miserable, but the entire 25 minute presentation was garbage.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Torrie Wilson says that she's going to give everyone something to remember.
Mexicools vs. bWo
The Mexicools come down while they are still tending to a bloodied Hassan. bWo come out on big wheel tricycles. I appreciate the effort put into making Nova not look too much like Simon Dean, but his bandana comes off early on. Juvy hits Nova with a springboard corkscrew from behind and the Mexicools have him cornered. Super Crazy hits a nice low dropkick on Nova for a 2 count. Nova gets a tag to Stevie Richards and hits a sideslam on Psicosis. Richards misses with a Bronco Buster. Psicosis hits a leg drop from the top rope and that's it? It looked like they were setting up for a dive spot on the outside, but maybe I'm just imagining things. I'm not sure why they couldn't have just done this one on SmackDown.
Match Rating: *1/2
After a lengthy highlight package of their feud, Rey is shown backstage praying with his son.
Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio
Eddie aggressively attacks Rey, but Rey's able to get a couple of quick pinfall attempts in. That was a nice little start to the match. Rey looked to have gotten a stiff back elbow in on Eddie, but Eddie is able to hit an inverted atomic drop. Eddie goes up top, but Rey knocks him down and hits a hurricanrana from the top for a 2 count. I give Dominik credit, he's doing a good job considering the circumstances. Eddie knocks Rey down off the top rope and goes for a Razor's Edge, but Rey counters and hits a 619 followed by a seated senton and Eddie kicks out. Eddie rolls out of the ring and turns his attention to Dominik. He pulls him in front of himself to stop a charging Rey. This is just one of those storylines that seems to take it too far for my taste. Eddie attacks a distracted Rey and brings him back in the ring. He hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker and continues to work on his back. He dumps Rey out of the ring and again goes towards Dominik. Michael Cole is probably an underrated announcer, but I always feel like in moments like this he can be too much to handle. Eddie hits a nice wheelbarrow suplex and tries three times to pin Rey. Eddie screams at Charles Robinson and then blows a kiss at Dominik. Rey is able to hit a dropkick to the knees and follows it up with a kick to the head. Rey counters Eddie with a tornado DDT and Rey reaches over and gets a 2 count. Rey hits a dropkick from behind and hits the 619 again. Eddie is able to move out of the way of a springboard dropkick and Eddie is feeling confident. Eddie hits a quick Three Amigos and goes up top, but Rey rolls out of the range for the Frog Splash. He hits two more suplexes, but Rey is barely moving, so he picks him up for a third one but turns it into a brainbuster. He then stares down Dominik and heads up top. Eddie hits the Frog Splash. He goes for a cocky pin and Mysterio hooks him from behind and sneaks out the victory. After the win he runs out and embraces Dominik. Eddie starts slamming his own head into the turnbuckle in disgust. The match had some really nice segments in it, but like I said, the dark storyline sort of took me out of it a little. Tazz and Cole sell that the secret Eddie has will remain a secret.
Match Rating: ***1/4
JBL is backstage in red, white and blue. He says that Batista caused him his greatest embarrassment, ruined his celebration and that he will be the first one in Buffalo to wear these colors to win a championship since the Bills never have. He guarantees that he will beat Batista tonight.
Bra & Panties Match
Melina vs. Torrie Wilson
Melina shows off her frustration, but Torrie attempts to head scissor her, but their timing is off. Torrie puts Melina in an abdominal stretch and takes off Melina's shirt. She goes for her pants, but Melina escapes. Melina rips off Torrie's shirt and starts hitting her with forearms on the mat. Candice Michelle is the guest referee if it matters. Torrie mounts her comeback with a dropkick and a suplex. Melina then hangs her up on the top rope and then takes Torrie's pants off for the victory. After the match, Melina attacks Candice Michelle. Torrie makes the save and takes Melina's pants off. Didn't see that one coming. Then Candice Michelle follows suit. I can't believe that these were still a thing in 2005, but here we are.
Match Rating: 0 Stars
World Heavyweight Championship Match
JBL vs. Batista
This match starts off slowly, as you would expect from two heavyweights. They exchange small bits of offense until Batista clotheslines JBL out of the ring. Back in the ring, JBL tries to suplex Batista into the ring, but has to resort to giving him a Stunner on the top rope. Batista catches JBL off the apron in an impressive display of power and drives him into the hardest part of the ring. It doesn't last long, as JBL throws Batista behind the announcer table and then into the timekeeper table. Batista tries to fight back, but JBL gets him in a sleeper hold. After what feels like forever, Batista fights out of it, but JBL gets outside the ring and throws him into the steps. Whoever was the agent for this match, should definitely maybe find a new role. Batista explodes to knock JBL over the barricade and follows it up with fists. Back in the ring, JBL throws Batista into the corner, but Batista then blatantly runs into the ref on the Clothesline From Hell attempt. I'm sure that was supposed to look like an accident, but it certainly didn't. The ref is knocked down and here comes Orlando Jordan. They hit Batista in the back with a chair and throw the ref back in. Batista kicks out at 2 and JBL is in shock. JBL goes for the Clothesline From Hell again, but Batista counters with a spinebuster. Jordan runs in, but Batista dumps him out of there. Batista then picks up the chair and destroys both Jordan and JBL with awful chair shots to the head. The ref sees it and calls for the bell, so JBL's guarantee was correct. Batista goes to town with chair shots to the back of both men. After they announce JBL as the winner, Batista comes back down the ramp and gives both JBL and Jordan Batista Bombs. That was not a good main event at all. Not only do you get a garbage finish, it was slow and plotting. I have no idea why anyone would have thought these guys should go almost 20 minutes.
Match Rating: 3/4*
I couldn't imagine having paid $30-40 for that live and being happy with that. There was just way too many TV worthy matches and it was full of terrible segments like the 20 minute Undertaker/Hassan burial. It's back to the drawing board for the blue brand and unfortunately, I'm not sure that they really find their groove until closer to the end of the year.
Overall Rating: 41%
Wednesday, March 11, 2020
Monday Night Raw 2-1-93 Review
Monday, February 1st, 1993
Manhattan Center
New York City, New York
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Tatanka vs. Damien Demento
Tatanka ducks a clothesline and gets a 2 count from a small package. Tatanka hits a couple of body slams and then knocks Demento out of the ring, who then begins talking to spirits. Tatanka drags him back in and hits him with some chops. Demento hits an elbow and follows up with a leg drop for a 2 count. After a heat segment by Demento, Tatanka is doing the war dance and hits a Samoan Drop and gets the victory. Well, at least it was short. Demento had the look, but not much else.
Match Rating: 1/2* (out of 5)
They show a clip from Headlock For Hunger where they donated $100,000. Bret Hart got to do the honors.
Brutus Beefcake is here for an interview, who Vince introduces as one of the all time greats. Yes, seriously. He says that he is going to be returning to the ring and gets a pretty good ovation. He talks about prior to the accident that he lost both of his parents and then his wife filed for divorce. He then says that the only person who was there for him was Hulk Hogan. They then pan to a kid picking his nose. This was a really good chance for Beefcake to cut a passionate promo and it was pretty much the opposite of that.
High Energy vs. Iron Mike Sharpe & Von Krus
Owen starts and shows off his athleticism on Sharpe. The Raw ring girl was walking around the ring prior to this match with signs that said "Raw & Order" and "Steak Tartare is Raw" in a skimpy bikini. In the time that I took to type that, High Energy hits their dropkick into a pin finisher and that is all. That's about as quick as it gets for a tag team squash match.
Match Rating: 1/4*
They show highlights of Doink attacking Crush.
Doink vs. Typhoon
They don't make feature matches any bigger and better than this one. Doink is able to trip Typhoon off his feet and puts him in a front facelock. The New York City crowd is showing Doink some support here tonight. I don't think it gets said enough that Typhoon had one of the worst mullets in wrestling. Typhoon makes a comeback, but Doink gets out of the bear hug with a rake to the eyes. Doink is slapping Typhoon, but he's having none of it and so he hits a powerslam. Doink fights back and hits a shoulder tackle off the second rope and holds the tights for a 3 count. Borne was still getting comfortable with the gimmick, but it was a much darker gimmick than what the company was presenting at that time. The match wasn't very good, however.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Howard Finkel leads a 10 bell salute for Andre The Giant, who passed away on January 27th. Knowing how much Vince loved Andre, I'm surprised that there wasn't somethign more than that.
Yokozuna vs. Bobby DeVito
It baffles me that they didn't have Yokozuna on Raw last week after winning the Royal Rumble. Yoko hits a superkick on a charging DeVito. Vince is on the phone with Hacksaw Jim Duggan, who apparently has challenged Yokozuna. Yoko hits the Banzai Splash for the victory. This was exactly what it needed to be.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Money, Inc. are here for an interview with Vince. Ted screws up Humpty Dumpty, but he relates it to Brutus. They accept Beefcake's open challenge and they flip a coin over it. DiBiase wins the coin toss. Jimmy Hart comes down and tells them that he's worried about them being hurt.
They show Lex Luger's entrance and then show Mr. Perfect's football clip with Steve Jordan of the Minnesota Vikings.
Lex Luger vs. Jason Knight
They announce that Beefcake has accepted DiBiase's challenge. Luger drops Knight over the top rope and hits a body slam. He then hits him with the loaded forearm, but Luger says that's not enough. He picks him up again and hits another forearm. He then puts his pinky on Knight for the 3 count. After the match, Luger does an airplane spin that would make Cesaro want to puke. Luger didn't seem particularly motivated here.
Match Rating: 1/4*
They say that there is no Raw next week because of the dog show, but on the 15th it will be Beefcake and DiBiase.
To say that Raw was bad this week would be an understatement. Essentially all we got were all squash matches and two lousy interview segments. After watching that interview, it's not a surprise that Beefcake's return was such a dud.
Overall Rating: 32%
Manhattan Center
New York City, New York
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Tatanka vs. Damien Demento
Tatanka ducks a clothesline and gets a 2 count from a small package. Tatanka hits a couple of body slams and then knocks Demento out of the ring, who then begins talking to spirits. Tatanka drags him back in and hits him with some chops. Demento hits an elbow and follows up with a leg drop for a 2 count. After a heat segment by Demento, Tatanka is doing the war dance and hits a Samoan Drop and gets the victory. Well, at least it was short. Demento had the look, but not much else.
Match Rating: 1/2* (out of 5)
They show a clip from Headlock For Hunger where they donated $100,000. Bret Hart got to do the honors.
Brutus Beefcake is here for an interview, who Vince introduces as one of the all time greats. Yes, seriously. He says that he is going to be returning to the ring and gets a pretty good ovation. He talks about prior to the accident that he lost both of his parents and then his wife filed for divorce. He then says that the only person who was there for him was Hulk Hogan. They then pan to a kid picking his nose. This was a really good chance for Beefcake to cut a passionate promo and it was pretty much the opposite of that.
High Energy vs. Iron Mike Sharpe & Von Krus
Owen starts and shows off his athleticism on Sharpe. The Raw ring girl was walking around the ring prior to this match with signs that said "Raw & Order" and "Steak Tartare is Raw" in a skimpy bikini. In the time that I took to type that, High Energy hits their dropkick into a pin finisher and that is all. That's about as quick as it gets for a tag team squash match.
Match Rating: 1/4*
They show highlights of Doink attacking Crush.
Doink vs. Typhoon
They don't make feature matches any bigger and better than this one. Doink is able to trip Typhoon off his feet and puts him in a front facelock. The New York City crowd is showing Doink some support here tonight. I don't think it gets said enough that Typhoon had one of the worst mullets in wrestling. Typhoon makes a comeback, but Doink gets out of the bear hug with a rake to the eyes. Doink is slapping Typhoon, but he's having none of it and so he hits a powerslam. Doink fights back and hits a shoulder tackle off the second rope and holds the tights for a 3 count. Borne was still getting comfortable with the gimmick, but it was a much darker gimmick than what the company was presenting at that time. The match wasn't very good, however.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Howard Finkel leads a 10 bell salute for Andre The Giant, who passed away on January 27th. Knowing how much Vince loved Andre, I'm surprised that there wasn't somethign more than that.
Yokozuna vs. Bobby DeVito
It baffles me that they didn't have Yokozuna on Raw last week after winning the Royal Rumble. Yoko hits a superkick on a charging DeVito. Vince is on the phone with Hacksaw Jim Duggan, who apparently has challenged Yokozuna. Yoko hits the Banzai Splash for the victory. This was exactly what it needed to be.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Money, Inc. are here for an interview with Vince. Ted screws up Humpty Dumpty, but he relates it to Brutus. They accept Beefcake's open challenge and they flip a coin over it. DiBiase wins the coin toss. Jimmy Hart comes down and tells them that he's worried about them being hurt.
They show Lex Luger's entrance and then show Mr. Perfect's football clip with Steve Jordan of the Minnesota Vikings.
Lex Luger vs. Jason Knight
They announce that Beefcake has accepted DiBiase's challenge. Luger drops Knight over the top rope and hits a body slam. He then hits him with the loaded forearm, but Luger says that's not enough. He picks him up again and hits another forearm. He then puts his pinky on Knight for the 3 count. After the match, Luger does an airplane spin that would make Cesaro want to puke. Luger didn't seem particularly motivated here.
Match Rating: 1/4*
They say that there is no Raw next week because of the dog show, but on the 15th it will be Beefcake and DiBiase.
To say that Raw was bad this week would be an understatement. Essentially all we got were all squash matches and two lousy interview segments. After watching that interview, it's not a surprise that Beefcake's return was such a dud.
Overall Rating: 32%
Monday, March 9, 2020
SmackDown 7-21-05 Review
Original Airdate: Thursday, July 21st, 2005
1st Mariner Arena
Baltimore, Maryland
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We open the show with a message paid for by friends of JBL showing highlights of his title run. Tonight he is giving his Great American Victory Speech.
Rey Mysterio vs. Super Crazy
I have absolutely no issues whatsoever with kicking off a show with a match between these two. Mysterio teases a 619 early on, but Super Crazy gets out of the ring. Super Crazy comes back and distracts the ref to allow Psicosis and Juvy to interfere. Rey fights back, but out comes Eddie Guerrero as we go to commercial break. When we come back, Eddie is at the announcer table. Super Crazy remains in control despite multiple efforts by Rey. Super Crazy puts Rey in a cool looking surf board submission. Super Crazy hits a tilt-a-whirl gutbuster for a 2 count. As good as Rey is on offense, his size always allows for endless possibilities for his opponents. Super Crazy really looked to be in great shape here. Rey hits a springboard crossbody for a 2 count. Eddie is in full heel mode and to be honest is distracting heavily from the match. Super Crazy hits a springboard moonsault for a 2 count. Rey fights back and has Super Crazy set up for the 619. In comes Eddie and he grabs one of the Mexicools rakes and cracks it over the back of Mysterio for the disqualification. The match was pretty good and got a lot of time, but the Eddie stuff overshadowed it.
Match Rating: **3/4 (out of 5)
Backstage Teddy Long stops Eddie, who says he is done tonight and on his way to Great American Bash. Teddy says that he isn't done and that he'll have a match tonight and he won't tell him who it's against.
Josh Matthews is with Christian. Christian calls Matthews Ryan Seacrest and then shows a highlight of his victory over Booker last week. Christian says Booker will be a two time, two time loser.
Road Warrior Animal is back painting his face and Heidenreich reads him a poem.
Road Warrior Animal & Heidenreich vs. Julio DiNero & Nick Berk
Heidenreich and Animal go right after the jobbers and Heidenreich goes up to the top rope for the Doomsday Device and that is all. Man, the tag team division sure was great here in 2005. They show MNM backstage watching the TV on an angle.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Eddie Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit
Eddie tries to walk to the back, but Chris gets on the mic and tells him to come in the ring. Benoit wants to know what's going on with him these days. He tells him he loves him like a brother, causing Eddie to attack him to start the match. That was kind of an uncomfortable moment here 15 years later. Eddie hits a suplex and then runs out and grabs a chair. Nick Patrick takes it away from him, but Eddie uses that to kick Benoit below the belt. Benoit reverses an Irish whip and hits a German suplex before the commercial break. Eddie knees a charging Benoit in the midsection and then slams his knee on the ring post. Eddie continues to work on the knee. Benoit makes a quick counter and almost puts on the Sharpshooter, but Eddie is able to escape. Eddie goes for an STF, but Benoit is able to go for the ropes. Eddie goes up top, but Benoit knocks him down and hits him with repeated chops to the chest. Benoit hits a superplex and both men are selling it. The one thing that is so noticeable in this match is the comfort level these two have with each other. You can just tell by the style they are working here that they know they can do whatever they want. Somehow Benoit got busted open somewhere in there. Benoit goes for the flying headbutt and misses. I still think that move should be outlawed if it hasn't already. Benoit is able to fight back and this time hits a flying headbutt. Eddie gets his foot on the rope to break up the pin attempt. Benoit goes for the Sharpshooter, but Eddie goes for a small package, which Benoit reverses for a 2 count. Eddie immediately hits two of the Three Amigos and then Benoit counters into the Crippler Crossface. Eddie gets to the ropes before he really gets it all the way on. Eddie rolls out of the ring and says he's had enough. Benoit is declared the victor by countout. As soon as the bell rings, Rey Mysterio is out and attacks Eddie from behind with about as much intensity as we have ever seen from Rey up to this point. Good match with the inevitable finish.
Match Rating: ***1/4
After a Muhammad Hassan/Undertaker recap, Candice Michelle is out to the ring. She is here to announce that Great American Bash will be available for all the troops on the American Forces Network. She is then interrupted by Melina, who is not happy that Candice will be the ref of her match against Torrie Wilson. Candice says that she's going to put on demonstration right now and attacks Candice with some forearms. She then starts ripping off her outfit and out comes Torrie, who hits a big clothesline and then dumps her out of the ring. Well, I guess they had to have a little build for that match.
They show a clip package of the Great American Bash press conference.
Booker T vs. Simon Dean
I guess Simon is pulling double duty here for a short time as both Nova and Dean. Dean on his way to the ring says he respects Sharmell because she doesn't go to the buffet once or twice, she goes five times. I love Simon Dean. Booker obviously is enraged and goes right after Dean. Dean gets in an eye rake and a few moves. Booker hits a kick and a facebuster, which leads to the spinaroonie. He hits the scissor kick and that's all. The result was obviously expected. Booker after the match tells Christian it's his turn Sunday.
Match Rating: 1/4*
We get another JBL promo, followed by a Boogeyman vignette. They then show a Mysterio/Guerrero hype package and run through all the matches. They have added the bWo vs. Mexicools.
Orlando Jordan announces JBL, who has a convertible with longhorns on the hood and red, white and blue confetti falling from the ceiling. He rambles on about being a great American and then goes on to Batista. He says that Batista took away his WrestleMania moment by picking to stay on Raw instead of wrestling him. JBL shows how Batista is on the cover of SmackDown magazine and then unveils a new cover of him standing over Batista holding the title and says it comes out on Sunday. He guarantees victory and now out comes Batista. Batista tells JBL that he looks ridiculous and calls him a phony. Batista attacks him, but Jordan comes in and Batista takes care of him. This allows JBL to escape. Batista puts on the American jacket and hat and stands tall as they go off the air.
Well, we got two good matches this week, which is always a bonus. However, the last 20 minutes or so really dragged and the ending didn't have the intensity that I like to see on the go home show before a pay-per-view. There have been far worse episodes of SmackDown in 2005, but the lack of depth continues to hurt the show.
Overall Rating: 59%
1st Mariner Arena
Baltimore, Maryland
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We open the show with a message paid for by friends of JBL showing highlights of his title run. Tonight he is giving his Great American Victory Speech.
Rey Mysterio vs. Super Crazy
I have absolutely no issues whatsoever with kicking off a show with a match between these two. Mysterio teases a 619 early on, but Super Crazy gets out of the ring. Super Crazy comes back and distracts the ref to allow Psicosis and Juvy to interfere. Rey fights back, but out comes Eddie Guerrero as we go to commercial break. When we come back, Eddie is at the announcer table. Super Crazy remains in control despite multiple efforts by Rey. Super Crazy puts Rey in a cool looking surf board submission. Super Crazy hits a tilt-a-whirl gutbuster for a 2 count. As good as Rey is on offense, his size always allows for endless possibilities for his opponents. Super Crazy really looked to be in great shape here. Rey hits a springboard crossbody for a 2 count. Eddie is in full heel mode and to be honest is distracting heavily from the match. Super Crazy hits a springboard moonsault for a 2 count. Rey fights back and has Super Crazy set up for the 619. In comes Eddie and he grabs one of the Mexicools rakes and cracks it over the back of Mysterio for the disqualification. The match was pretty good and got a lot of time, but the Eddie stuff overshadowed it.
Match Rating: **3/4 (out of 5)
Backstage Teddy Long stops Eddie, who says he is done tonight and on his way to Great American Bash. Teddy says that he isn't done and that he'll have a match tonight and he won't tell him who it's against.
Josh Matthews is with Christian. Christian calls Matthews Ryan Seacrest and then shows a highlight of his victory over Booker last week. Christian says Booker will be a two time, two time loser.
Road Warrior Animal is back painting his face and Heidenreich reads him a poem.
Road Warrior Animal & Heidenreich vs. Julio DiNero & Nick Berk
Heidenreich and Animal go right after the jobbers and Heidenreich goes up to the top rope for the Doomsday Device and that is all. Man, the tag team division sure was great here in 2005. They show MNM backstage watching the TV on an angle.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Eddie Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit
Eddie tries to walk to the back, but Chris gets on the mic and tells him to come in the ring. Benoit wants to know what's going on with him these days. He tells him he loves him like a brother, causing Eddie to attack him to start the match. That was kind of an uncomfortable moment here 15 years later. Eddie hits a suplex and then runs out and grabs a chair. Nick Patrick takes it away from him, but Eddie uses that to kick Benoit below the belt. Benoit reverses an Irish whip and hits a German suplex before the commercial break. Eddie knees a charging Benoit in the midsection and then slams his knee on the ring post. Eddie continues to work on the knee. Benoit makes a quick counter and almost puts on the Sharpshooter, but Eddie is able to escape. Eddie goes for an STF, but Benoit is able to go for the ropes. Eddie goes up top, but Benoit knocks him down and hits him with repeated chops to the chest. Benoit hits a superplex and both men are selling it. The one thing that is so noticeable in this match is the comfort level these two have with each other. You can just tell by the style they are working here that they know they can do whatever they want. Somehow Benoit got busted open somewhere in there. Benoit goes for the flying headbutt and misses. I still think that move should be outlawed if it hasn't already. Benoit is able to fight back and this time hits a flying headbutt. Eddie gets his foot on the rope to break up the pin attempt. Benoit goes for the Sharpshooter, but Eddie goes for a small package, which Benoit reverses for a 2 count. Eddie immediately hits two of the Three Amigos and then Benoit counters into the Crippler Crossface. Eddie gets to the ropes before he really gets it all the way on. Eddie rolls out of the ring and says he's had enough. Benoit is declared the victor by countout. As soon as the bell rings, Rey Mysterio is out and attacks Eddie from behind with about as much intensity as we have ever seen from Rey up to this point. Good match with the inevitable finish.
Match Rating: ***1/4
After a Muhammad Hassan/Undertaker recap, Candice Michelle is out to the ring. She is here to announce that Great American Bash will be available for all the troops on the American Forces Network. She is then interrupted by Melina, who is not happy that Candice will be the ref of her match against Torrie Wilson. Candice says that she's going to put on demonstration right now and attacks Candice with some forearms. She then starts ripping off her outfit and out comes Torrie, who hits a big clothesline and then dumps her out of the ring. Well, I guess they had to have a little build for that match.
They show a clip package of the Great American Bash press conference.
Booker T vs. Simon Dean
I guess Simon is pulling double duty here for a short time as both Nova and Dean. Dean on his way to the ring says he respects Sharmell because she doesn't go to the buffet once or twice, she goes five times. I love Simon Dean. Booker obviously is enraged and goes right after Dean. Dean gets in an eye rake and a few moves. Booker hits a kick and a facebuster, which leads to the spinaroonie. He hits the scissor kick and that's all. The result was obviously expected. Booker after the match tells Christian it's his turn Sunday.
Match Rating: 1/4*
We get another JBL promo, followed by a Boogeyman vignette. They then show a Mysterio/Guerrero hype package and run through all the matches. They have added the bWo vs. Mexicools.
Orlando Jordan announces JBL, who has a convertible with longhorns on the hood and red, white and blue confetti falling from the ceiling. He rambles on about being a great American and then goes on to Batista. He says that Batista took away his WrestleMania moment by picking to stay on Raw instead of wrestling him. JBL shows how Batista is on the cover of SmackDown magazine and then unveils a new cover of him standing over Batista holding the title and says it comes out on Sunday. He guarantees victory and now out comes Batista. Batista tells JBL that he looks ridiculous and calls him a phony. Batista attacks him, but Jordan comes in and Batista takes care of him. This allows JBL to escape. Batista puts on the American jacket and hat and stands tall as they go off the air.
Well, we got two good matches this week, which is always a bonus. However, the last 20 minutes or so really dragged and the ending didn't have the intensity that I like to see on the go home show before a pay-per-view. There have been far worse episodes of SmackDown in 2005, but the lack of depth continues to hurt the show.
Overall Rating: 59%
Sunday, March 8, 2020
Elimination Chamber 2020 Review
Sunday, March 8th, 2020
Wachovia Center
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Daniel Bryan vs. Drew Gulak
Yes, there is a pay-per-view tonight. I am very curious to know what the buyrate of this show would have been pre-WWE Network. I do love that Bryan apparently has enough pull to get this match made and put on a pay-per-view. If you watched the Cruiserweight Classic, it was pretty obvious that he was a big fan of Gulak. Early on, it's Gulak getting the best of Bryan. Bryan rolls out of the ring to take a moment to slow it down, which is a nice touch. Bryan gets back in the ring and gets Gulak in a submission hold, but again Gulak counters out of it and gets him in a surfboard. Bryan gets out of it and strikes him with a kick and is visually showing his frustration. Michael Cole and Corey Graves are nailing the point home that Gulak has an answer for everything here in true WWE fashion. Gulak starts working on Bryan's neck. Bryan counters a suplex, which ends up sending both men over the top rope in a cool spot. They both trade suplexes into pin attempts for nearfalls. Gulak hits a suplex and Bryan lands right on his head in a spot that I absolutely hate to see. He rolls out of the ring and barely beats the 10 count. Bryan makes a comeback and hits a running elbow/clothesline. Bryan sets up Gulak in the corner, but Gulak slips under and hits a face-first superplex and then puts him in the Gulock. Bryan gets out and beats Gulak into the Yes Lock. Gulak doesn't respond to the ref and he calls the match. What a really good match that was, but I did not like seeing Bryan land on that suplex. It seems as if he is okay, but that was scary. These guys are both really, really good and I'm glad they got some time to tell a story.
Match Rating: **** (out of 5)
Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode dedicate the match to Mandy Rose or something.
United States Championship Match
Andrade vs. Humberto Carrillo
Andrade goes right after Carrillo with a charging reverse elbow and almost gets the quick victory. Carrillo comes back and clotheslines Andrade over the top rope and he takes a big spill, bouncing into the barricade. Carrillo makes up for a misfire on a crossbody off the top rope with a beautiful springboard arm drag. Andrade strikes again with an elbow and heads outside the ring. He starts to try and rip off the padding outside the ring, but Carrillo comes at him. Andrade takes care of him by slamming him into the ring post. He throws him into the barricade and Carrillo barely beats the 10 count. Back in the ring, Carrillo dumps a charging Andrade over the top rope. Carrillo hits a spin kick and a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Andrade is able to move out of the way of Carrillo and slam him into the turnbuckle. Carrillo gets a boot up at a charging Andrade now. Carrillo kicks Andrade as he's climbing the ropes and goes for a superplex. Andrade counters with a chop. Carrillo chops back and then hits a super hurricanrana, but Andrade kicks out. Andrade moves out of the way for a moonsault and then hits him with double knees in the corner, but Carrillo kicks out. A frustrated Zelina moves the padding on the outside and Andrade dumps Carrillo outside. Carrillo counters the double underhook DDT with a back body drop. Carrillo hits a senton over the top rope and over the official. Carrillo hits a crossbody off the top rope, but Andrade rolls through for a 2 count. We get multiple nearfalls and it leads to Andrade to holding the tights and gets the victory. I don't watch Raw hardly at all, so this was a fresh matchup for me and I absolutely loved this. What a great start to the show.
Match Rating: ****
AJ Styles makes fun of Aleister Black and then says that if anyone is getting disqualified, it's him.
Elimination Chamber Match For The SmackDown Tag Team Championships
John Morrison & The Miz vs. Robert Roode & Dolph Ziggler vs. Lucha House Party vs. Heavy Machinery vs. New Day vs. The Usos
The Usos and New Day start the match off, which is the natural choice. I can't help but wonder if Big E is ever going to get his big singles run. He is 100% deserving of one. While I'm glad for the safety of the wrestlers that there is padding on the outside of the ring, it does take away from the aura of the match. The next team in is the Lucha House Party. They go for dual springboard moves and neither seems to go as planned. Dorado hits a springboard Stunner and then Metalik stands on Dorado's shoulders for a splah for a nearfall. Dorado hits a moonsault and almost eliminates the Usos. Big E tosses both Dorado and Metalik over the top rope. Big E then launches Kofi onto both of them. Lucha House Party avoids a Kofi splash and then a charging Big E. Dorado jumps onto the chamber and I think accidentally hits himself on the midrail and falls down. He pulls himself back up and is on top of one of the pods. Kofi and Metalik join him. They knock Kofi off and Dorado hits a crossbody onto the Usos and then Metalik hits a somersault dive on the New Day. The next team in is Miz and Morrison, as we are now up to 8 men in the ring. They come in and take advantage of the carnage that preceded them entering. Metalik ends up on the top of a pod again and Morrison is trying to get up there again. Metalik leaps and hits a hurricanrana off the top rope. That one was a little telegraphed, but still a cool visual for future highlight packages. Kofi comes out of nowhere and starts taking care of Miz. He misses with Trouble In Paradise and Morrison hits him with a kick. Big E hits an overhead belly-to-belly suplex on Morrison and then Big E picks Miz up and Kofi hits flying knees off the top rope. Heavy Machinery are in next, as we still have no eliminations. They come in and clean house and repeatedly squash the Usos into the chamber by bouncing off the ropes. Dorado is on top of a pod again and we get an awkward moment where they just kind of show Heavy Machinery. They then squash Big E and Otis hits the caterpillar elbow drop. Their pin attempt is broken up and then Lince Dorado comes off the top top of the structure onto all of the competitor with a shooting star press. That was pretty insane and much better than the similar move attempted a few years back. Heavy Machinery then eliminates Lucha House Party quickly after. Roode and Ziggler are next and Heavy Machinery is waiting for them. They try to keep their pod closed, but Miz and Morrison come and attack Heavy Machinery. Roode and Ziggler come out and go after them as well. Heavy Machinery turns the tables and now Otis is chasing after Dolph, who climbs to the top of a pod. Tucker is there behind him and slams him into the plexiglass on the top. He throws Dolph to Otis, who catches him and throws him on top of the ropes. Tucker then comes off the other end with a somersault onto a cluster of the other competitors. Otis charges at Dolph and misses, causing him to go through not just the first wall, but the one that leads to out of the chamber as well. The medical staff is checking on Otis, as Tucker is now enraged. He goes after Roode and Ziggler, but they are able to take advantage of the handicap and eliminate him to a loud chorus of boos from the Philly crowd. Kofi comes in and hits Trouble In Paradise on Dolph and Big E hits the Big Ending on Roode. The Usos then hits stereo splashes off the pods to eliminate them and we are down to the three favorites in the match. The Usos and New Day knock out the champs, but then go after each other. Kofi misses off the top of the pod and Miz and Morrison are in there for a double pin, eliminating New Day. Miz and Morrison both go for springboards, but both Usos counter with kind of superkicks. Shelton and Shawn that was not. The Usos hit a double splash, but Miz got his knees up, so we had a double pin situation, but both men kick out. Miz hits the Skull Crushing Finale. Jimmy Uso kicks out, but Miz goes right into the Figure Four. Morrison goes up top and hits Starship Pain onto Jimmy, but Jey makes the save. Jey hits two superkicks, but Morrison kicks out. Miz and Morrison use a double pin with Miz's feet on the ropes and get the victory. As a whole, I enjoyed this match quite a bit, but I have a lot of nitpicks with certain spots. It also felt like Kofi, Big E and Otis were all a little off. On the bright side, it was nice to see Tucker get to show what he could do and it was fun to see the Lucha House Party leap all over the place. There were a lot of memorable moments, but also a lot of chaotic confusion due to the amount of guys in there at the same time.
Match Rating: ***3/4
Natalya says that Beth Phoenix will be okay, but she can't say the same for Randy Orton after Edge gets his hands on him.
No Disqualification Match
AJ Styles vs. Aleister Black
It's been about a year since both Black and Ricochet have debuted and I can't believe they are both in the spots that they are in. It's nice to see them at least try with Black as of late. They've done a nice job with Drew McIntyre in the last month, but for my money, I'd rather see Black in that spot. Luke Gallows' face paint has to be about the most random I can think of. Black starts to get going, but Styles hits a low blow and then starts to work on his knee. Styles goes under the ring and grabs a kendo stick and immediately goes after Black's knee with it. Black avoids a strike and hits him with a kick. Black now has the stick, but Styles hits him with a dropkick, sending Black out of the ring. Styles goes for a Phenomenal Forearm to the outside, but Black hits him with a knee. Black grabs a table, but AJ hits him with a chair to the back. Black starts to mount some offense, but then Styles rolls him into a Calf Crusher in the middle of the ring. Black is able to grab the kendo stick and uses it to get out of the hold. Black now starts attacking Styles with repeated shots and breaks some of it over him. Styles hits a dropkick to the knee and then a Pele kick and both men are down. Styles hits a Phenomenal Forearm, but Black is able to kick out. Styles goes up top, but Black charges him with a kick to the head. Black fights back and then hits a springboard moonsault for a 2 count. Black with a snap German suplex into a bridge gets another 2 count. I'm not really sure why the OC is just kind of standing outside as this is all happening. Styles then hits a shoulder breaker. Black goes for a moonsault, but Styles catches him. Black gets out and then kicks Styles into the corner where a chair was propped between the ropes. They head outside the ring and Styles runs at Black, sending him over the announcer table. Black kicks Styles off the table, who was attempting a suplex. Black hits a Meteora on Styles, sending him through the folding table. I have to say, I did not expect this one to go this long. Gallows and Anderson come in and he takes care of them for a moment, but then all three jump on him and attack. I think we all know what's coming here. Styles is setting up for the Phenomenal Forearm and then the bell rings and the lights go out. Undertaker is standing in the ring with Gallows and Anderson when the lights come back on. He catches Styles and hits a chokeslam. The lights go back out and Taker is gone. Not bad work if you can get it. Black pulls himself up and hits Black Mass for the victory. They worked a very deliberate pace there that I'm sure a lot of old school wrestlers would have loved. However, the ending was predictable and the stipulation was not that important to the match. I love that Black got the win here, but they probably should have shaved at least 5 minutes off. After writing all of that, you would think I hated this match, but I thought it was good, just not as great as it could have been. That Black Mass was one of the better looking ones I have seen.
Match Rating: ***
The Street Profits are backstage saying that they are not one and done. This leads to their entrance.
Raw Tag Team Championship Match
Street Profits vs. Seth Rollins & Buddy Murphy
Apparently they hand out red Solo cups to the audience now? From the little I have seen of Seth's stable, I like. However, it seems kind of weird to me that they have a tag team in the group and yet they were the ones who were the tag champions. The tag team division in WWE right now is pretty good and for some reason they aren't letting it hit it's potential. The Profits are able to corner Murphy for awhile, but a forearm by Murphy allows him to make the tag to Rollins. Ford shows off his athleticism and takes control again over Murphy. The Profits hit a double dropkick sending both men out. A blind tag allows Rollins to come in from behind and hit Dawkins in the knee from behind. As per usual, the crowd is completely dead for the second half of a WWE show. This should bode well for the 18 hour WrestleMania in 28 days. Dawkins is able to make the tag to Ford and hits a huge crossbody of the top rope. Ford hits a DDT on Murphy and then throws Rollins over the top rope. He hits a standing moonsault on Murphy and gets a nearfall. He puts on the headband and hits a somersault over the top rope onto both opponents. Rollins distracts the ref and that allows Authors of Pain to attack Ford. Out come the Viking Raiders and they begin brawling with AOP. Rollins hits the Falcon Arrow on Ford for a 2 count. Ford finally makes a tag to Dawkins and he hits both men with dropkicks. Rollins is able to get off of Dawkins' shoulder and hits a Sling Blade on Ford. Rollins and Murphy hit a double superkick on Dawkins and then on a leaping Ford. Dawkins counters a Pedigree and hits a slingshot on Murphy. Ford then hits a splash on Rollins, but he got the knees up and gets another nearfall. They still haven't won the crowd over. Rollins hits a Buckle Bomb and Murphy kicks him in midair. Murphy hits a double knee off the top rope. Dawkins catches a leaping Rollins and tosses him on the floor. Murphy is up top, but Ford slows him down with a right hand. Dawkins is in now to help, but Rollins slides in and they hit the tower of doom spot. Kevin Owens is now coming down the stairs in the arena eating a box of popcorn. He leaps over and sits on the Spanish announcer table. Owens throws popcorn at Rollins and Rollins is then blindsided by Dawkins. The Street Profits catch a leaping Murphy and throw him into the barricade. Ford hits a splash off the top rope and the Street Profits retain their championships. This was another match that was kind of spoiled by a predictable ending and the lack of heat hurt it. The work was solid overall, but not quite as good as it could have been. After the match, Rollins is furious at Murphy. Owens comes from behind and hits him with a Stunner and then dumps popcorn on Murphy before walking to the back.
Match Rating: ***1/4
3-On-1 Handicap Match For The Intercontinental Championship
Braun Strowman vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Cesaro & Sami Zayn
The heels cut a pre-match promo while Strowman is in the ring. Zayn says that tonight is the night he goes toe to toe with Strowman and asks his partners to stand on the apron. Zayn has easily been one of the most entertaining characters on WWE TV in the last few months. Zayn quickly tags to Shinsuke, already going back on his word. Strowman no sells a clothesline from Shinsuke and then clubs him with one of his own. After a distraction, Shinsuke hits a dropkick to Strowman's knees and now Cesaro is working on him. Zayn gets a cheap shot in. He tags in, gets in a few kicks and then tags Shinsuke back in. Zayn is back in for another quick tag to get in some more heat. He's trying his best to wake the crowd up. Zayn tags in yet again and mocks him, before running out and tagging in Shinsuke again. Shinsuke has Strowman in a sleeper hold, but Strowman hits a suplex to get out of the hold. In comes Cesaro, but Strowman starts tossing him around the ring, before dropping him face-first on the mat. Strowman singles to go around the ring, but Zayn attacks him from behind. Zayn escapes and Strowman chases him, allowing him to knock over Cesaro and Shinsuke. He finds Zayn under the ring, which then exposes a TV monitor under the ring that I would imagine for Undertaker. Is that the first time that has been shown? Cesaro and Shinsuke attack him as he's grabbing Zayn. Cesaro goes for the Neutralizer, but Strowman escapes and goes after Zayn again. Cesaro then throws Strowman into the ring post and Shinsuke hits Kinshasa. Cesaro and Shinsuke have a double suplex and Sami hits a Helluva Kick at the same time. Sami Zayn covers him and we have a new Intercontinental Champion! I probably liked this more than I was supposed to, but Zayn is delivering with his heel work. Are we going to get a 5 second squash at WrestleMania? Hopefully somehow Cesaro has a bigger role than just being a manager for that.
Match Rating: **3/4
Elimination Chamber Match To Become #1 Contender For The Raw Women's Championship
Asuka vs. Sarah Logan vs. Liv Morgan vs. Shayna Baszler vs. Ruby Riott vs. Natalya
It's going to have to take a fantastic effort here to overcome the flawed and predictable storyline here. Riott and Natalya are the first two in here. Natalya puts Riott in the Sharpshooter outside the ring, but Riott rolls back and Natalya goes head-first into Liv Morgan's pod. This match is pretty good proof that the WWE has given us such little reason to care about the undercard of the women's division. I say that as someone who likes both Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan, but they hardly can get solid TV time. The next entrant is Logan who sends Natalya once again into Morgan's pod. Riott starts climbing the chamber and Logan is there to follow. They are fighting on top of the pod and Logan hits a pop up headbutt. Natalya pulls Riott off the chains and hits a powerbomb. Logan hits a crossbody off the top of the pod and it looks like she caught Natalya in the face with her knee. Logan goes for a superplex, but Natalya is there for yet another tower of doom spot. These women have literally everything working against them. Baszler is the next woman in and she quickly eliminates Logan. She goes after Riott and makes her tap out immediately as well. Is this what Heyman had in mind when he wanted CM Punk to go over huge in his Elimination Chamber match at December To Dismember? Baszler starts slamming the pod door on Natalya repeatedly. She puts her in the Kirafuda Clutch and Baszler has now made all three women tap out. The Logan one was so quick, she was treated as if she was picked out of the audience. Meanwhile, Baszler taunts Morgan and Asuka as she waits for the countdown. Not surprisingly, Liv Morgan is next and she goes right at Baszler, but it doesn't last long. Baszler swings her into the cage and then into the pod. She shoves Morgan's face into Asuka's pod as Asuka repeatedly is yelling at her. Baszler puts Morgan in the Kirafuda Clutch from the top rope and Morgan is also eliminated. The Brock Lesnar role doesn't work as well in this match and I'm not sure what they are expecting the crowd to do here. Asuka is finally in and we finally have a match. Asuka hits the Hip Attack and a series of kicks. Baszler catches the next attempt and starts hitting kicks of her own. Asuka kind of hits a kick to the chin and then puts Baszler in the Asuka Lock. Baszler is able to roll out of the ring and back on her feet. She then begins to slam Asuka into the chains. Baszler hits Asuka with a kick and puts her in the Kirafuda Clutch and that is all. This is such a tough one to analyze because the booking was pretty much the way it should have been. However, if you knew you were going this route, why would you not book something stronger on the card that could have main evented the show? I get that you want to leave this as a lasting impression of her as a monster, but it just felt off. The other problem here is that no one cared about anyone else in the match and that's a result of bad booking. With that being said, Baszler vs. Lynch is absolutely a WrestleMania-worthy title match and I'm glad they pulled the trigger on it. This is just a great example of doing things both right and wrong at the same time. The match was pretty much terrible though.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Well, that was some show. This was the best and worst of WWE all in one night. I have to say that I love that we can get a Gulak/Bryan 15 minute match on a pay-per-view, because I feel like that is something that wouldn't have happened 10 years ago. Now back to my point. I am one of the fans that completely understands why Goldberg and Lesnar are the champions. However, when you are running a pay-per-view just a month before WrestleMania, that leaves you in a really bad spot. Then on top of it, you can't really book either of your women champions on the show either. So right there you are down four of your top names. Then on top of it, you basically give away the winner of your main event because of the story you have already presented. If you had built your roster up properly, you could have countered that by the monster showing by Baszler coming off as more impressive, but instead she just kind of destroyed a bunch of women that the crowd doesn't care about. Predictable is not always a bad thing in wrestling (example: Kofimania at WrestleMania), but this show had too much of it. Did anyone not expect the Undertaker to show up? Were we really shocked to see Kevin Owens cost Seth Rollins? It was too much and it seemed to be all right in a row. However, the good stuff here was really good. The first three matches were all great stories that were filled with lots of action and the nice thing was each of those matches felt different. I would have liked to have seen the next two matches cut down a few minutes each, but those were both fine even if the crowd was dead. It's hard to recommend this show, but I highly recommend the first hour or so, as they showcased of what the company can do when they want to let guys just do their thing. The rest of the show is a roller coaster that is the WWE in 2020.
Overall Rating: 61%
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Daniel Bryan vs. Drew Gulak
Yes, there is a pay-per-view tonight. I am very curious to know what the buyrate of this show would have been pre-WWE Network. I do love that Bryan apparently has enough pull to get this match made and put on a pay-per-view. If you watched the Cruiserweight Classic, it was pretty obvious that he was a big fan of Gulak. Early on, it's Gulak getting the best of Bryan. Bryan rolls out of the ring to take a moment to slow it down, which is a nice touch. Bryan gets back in the ring and gets Gulak in a submission hold, but again Gulak counters out of it and gets him in a surfboard. Bryan gets out of it and strikes him with a kick and is visually showing his frustration. Michael Cole and Corey Graves are nailing the point home that Gulak has an answer for everything here in true WWE fashion. Gulak starts working on Bryan's neck. Bryan counters a suplex, which ends up sending both men over the top rope in a cool spot. They both trade suplexes into pin attempts for nearfalls. Gulak hits a suplex and Bryan lands right on his head in a spot that I absolutely hate to see. He rolls out of the ring and barely beats the 10 count. Bryan makes a comeback and hits a running elbow/clothesline. Bryan sets up Gulak in the corner, but Gulak slips under and hits a face-first superplex and then puts him in the Gulock. Bryan gets out and beats Gulak into the Yes Lock. Gulak doesn't respond to the ref and he calls the match. What a really good match that was, but I did not like seeing Bryan land on that suplex. It seems as if he is okay, but that was scary. These guys are both really, really good and I'm glad they got some time to tell a story.
Match Rating: **** (out of 5)
Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode dedicate the match to Mandy Rose or something.
United States Championship Match
Andrade vs. Humberto Carrillo
Andrade goes right after Carrillo with a charging reverse elbow and almost gets the quick victory. Carrillo comes back and clotheslines Andrade over the top rope and he takes a big spill, bouncing into the barricade. Carrillo makes up for a misfire on a crossbody off the top rope with a beautiful springboard arm drag. Andrade strikes again with an elbow and heads outside the ring. He starts to try and rip off the padding outside the ring, but Carrillo comes at him. Andrade takes care of him by slamming him into the ring post. He throws him into the barricade and Carrillo barely beats the 10 count. Back in the ring, Carrillo dumps a charging Andrade over the top rope. Carrillo hits a spin kick and a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Andrade is able to move out of the way of Carrillo and slam him into the turnbuckle. Carrillo gets a boot up at a charging Andrade now. Carrillo kicks Andrade as he's climbing the ropes and goes for a superplex. Andrade counters with a chop. Carrillo chops back and then hits a super hurricanrana, but Andrade kicks out. Andrade moves out of the way for a moonsault and then hits him with double knees in the corner, but Carrillo kicks out. A frustrated Zelina moves the padding on the outside and Andrade dumps Carrillo outside. Carrillo counters the double underhook DDT with a back body drop. Carrillo hits a senton over the top rope and over the official. Carrillo hits a crossbody off the top rope, but Andrade rolls through for a 2 count. We get multiple nearfalls and it leads to Andrade to holding the tights and gets the victory. I don't watch Raw hardly at all, so this was a fresh matchup for me and I absolutely loved this. What a great start to the show.
Match Rating: ****
AJ Styles makes fun of Aleister Black and then says that if anyone is getting disqualified, it's him.
Elimination Chamber Match For The SmackDown Tag Team Championships
John Morrison & The Miz vs. Robert Roode & Dolph Ziggler vs. Lucha House Party vs. Heavy Machinery vs. New Day vs. The Usos
The Usos and New Day start the match off, which is the natural choice. I can't help but wonder if Big E is ever going to get his big singles run. He is 100% deserving of one. While I'm glad for the safety of the wrestlers that there is padding on the outside of the ring, it does take away from the aura of the match. The next team in is the Lucha House Party. They go for dual springboard moves and neither seems to go as planned. Dorado hits a springboard Stunner and then Metalik stands on Dorado's shoulders for a splah for a nearfall. Dorado hits a moonsault and almost eliminates the Usos. Big E tosses both Dorado and Metalik over the top rope. Big E then launches Kofi onto both of them. Lucha House Party avoids a Kofi splash and then a charging Big E. Dorado jumps onto the chamber and I think accidentally hits himself on the midrail and falls down. He pulls himself back up and is on top of one of the pods. Kofi and Metalik join him. They knock Kofi off and Dorado hits a crossbody onto the Usos and then Metalik hits a somersault dive on the New Day. The next team in is Miz and Morrison, as we are now up to 8 men in the ring. They come in and take advantage of the carnage that preceded them entering. Metalik ends up on the top of a pod again and Morrison is trying to get up there again. Metalik leaps and hits a hurricanrana off the top rope. That one was a little telegraphed, but still a cool visual for future highlight packages. Kofi comes out of nowhere and starts taking care of Miz. He misses with Trouble In Paradise and Morrison hits him with a kick. Big E hits an overhead belly-to-belly suplex on Morrison and then Big E picks Miz up and Kofi hits flying knees off the top rope. Heavy Machinery are in next, as we still have no eliminations. They come in and clean house and repeatedly squash the Usos into the chamber by bouncing off the ropes. Dorado is on top of a pod again and we get an awkward moment where they just kind of show Heavy Machinery. They then squash Big E and Otis hits the caterpillar elbow drop. Their pin attempt is broken up and then Lince Dorado comes off the top top of the structure onto all of the competitor with a shooting star press. That was pretty insane and much better than the similar move attempted a few years back. Heavy Machinery then eliminates Lucha House Party quickly after. Roode and Ziggler are next and Heavy Machinery is waiting for them. They try to keep their pod closed, but Miz and Morrison come and attack Heavy Machinery. Roode and Ziggler come out and go after them as well. Heavy Machinery turns the tables and now Otis is chasing after Dolph, who climbs to the top of a pod. Tucker is there behind him and slams him into the plexiglass on the top. He throws Dolph to Otis, who catches him and throws him on top of the ropes. Tucker then comes off the other end with a somersault onto a cluster of the other competitors. Otis charges at Dolph and misses, causing him to go through not just the first wall, but the one that leads to out of the chamber as well. The medical staff is checking on Otis, as Tucker is now enraged. He goes after Roode and Ziggler, but they are able to take advantage of the handicap and eliminate him to a loud chorus of boos from the Philly crowd. Kofi comes in and hits Trouble In Paradise on Dolph and Big E hits the Big Ending on Roode. The Usos then hits stereo splashes off the pods to eliminate them and we are down to the three favorites in the match. The Usos and New Day knock out the champs, but then go after each other. Kofi misses off the top of the pod and Miz and Morrison are in there for a double pin, eliminating New Day. Miz and Morrison both go for springboards, but both Usos counter with kind of superkicks. Shelton and Shawn that was not. The Usos hit a double splash, but Miz got his knees up, so we had a double pin situation, but both men kick out. Miz hits the Skull Crushing Finale. Jimmy Uso kicks out, but Miz goes right into the Figure Four. Morrison goes up top and hits Starship Pain onto Jimmy, but Jey makes the save. Jey hits two superkicks, but Morrison kicks out. Miz and Morrison use a double pin with Miz's feet on the ropes and get the victory. As a whole, I enjoyed this match quite a bit, but I have a lot of nitpicks with certain spots. It also felt like Kofi, Big E and Otis were all a little off. On the bright side, it was nice to see Tucker get to show what he could do and it was fun to see the Lucha House Party leap all over the place. There were a lot of memorable moments, but also a lot of chaotic confusion due to the amount of guys in there at the same time.
Match Rating: ***3/4
Natalya says that Beth Phoenix will be okay, but she can't say the same for Randy Orton after Edge gets his hands on him.
No Disqualification Match
AJ Styles vs. Aleister Black
It's been about a year since both Black and Ricochet have debuted and I can't believe they are both in the spots that they are in. It's nice to see them at least try with Black as of late. They've done a nice job with Drew McIntyre in the last month, but for my money, I'd rather see Black in that spot. Luke Gallows' face paint has to be about the most random I can think of. Black starts to get going, but Styles hits a low blow and then starts to work on his knee. Styles goes under the ring and grabs a kendo stick and immediately goes after Black's knee with it. Black avoids a strike and hits him with a kick. Black now has the stick, but Styles hits him with a dropkick, sending Black out of the ring. Styles goes for a Phenomenal Forearm to the outside, but Black hits him with a knee. Black grabs a table, but AJ hits him with a chair to the back. Black starts to mount some offense, but then Styles rolls him into a Calf Crusher in the middle of the ring. Black is able to grab the kendo stick and uses it to get out of the hold. Black now starts attacking Styles with repeated shots and breaks some of it over him. Styles hits a dropkick to the knee and then a Pele kick and both men are down. Styles hits a Phenomenal Forearm, but Black is able to kick out. Styles goes up top, but Black charges him with a kick to the head. Black fights back and then hits a springboard moonsault for a 2 count. Black with a snap German suplex into a bridge gets another 2 count. I'm not really sure why the OC is just kind of standing outside as this is all happening. Styles then hits a shoulder breaker. Black goes for a moonsault, but Styles catches him. Black gets out and then kicks Styles into the corner where a chair was propped between the ropes. They head outside the ring and Styles runs at Black, sending him over the announcer table. Black kicks Styles off the table, who was attempting a suplex. Black hits a Meteora on Styles, sending him through the folding table. I have to say, I did not expect this one to go this long. Gallows and Anderson come in and he takes care of them for a moment, but then all three jump on him and attack. I think we all know what's coming here. Styles is setting up for the Phenomenal Forearm and then the bell rings and the lights go out. Undertaker is standing in the ring with Gallows and Anderson when the lights come back on. He catches Styles and hits a chokeslam. The lights go back out and Taker is gone. Not bad work if you can get it. Black pulls himself up and hits Black Mass for the victory. They worked a very deliberate pace there that I'm sure a lot of old school wrestlers would have loved. However, the ending was predictable and the stipulation was not that important to the match. I love that Black got the win here, but they probably should have shaved at least 5 minutes off. After writing all of that, you would think I hated this match, but I thought it was good, just not as great as it could have been. That Black Mass was one of the better looking ones I have seen.
Match Rating: ***
The Street Profits are backstage saying that they are not one and done. This leads to their entrance.
Raw Tag Team Championship Match
Street Profits vs. Seth Rollins & Buddy Murphy
Apparently they hand out red Solo cups to the audience now? From the little I have seen of Seth's stable, I like. However, it seems kind of weird to me that they have a tag team in the group and yet they were the ones who were the tag champions. The tag team division in WWE right now is pretty good and for some reason they aren't letting it hit it's potential. The Profits are able to corner Murphy for awhile, but a forearm by Murphy allows him to make the tag to Rollins. Ford shows off his athleticism and takes control again over Murphy. The Profits hit a double dropkick sending both men out. A blind tag allows Rollins to come in from behind and hit Dawkins in the knee from behind. As per usual, the crowd is completely dead for the second half of a WWE show. This should bode well for the 18 hour WrestleMania in 28 days. Dawkins is able to make the tag to Ford and hits a huge crossbody of the top rope. Ford hits a DDT on Murphy and then throws Rollins over the top rope. He hits a standing moonsault on Murphy and gets a nearfall. He puts on the headband and hits a somersault over the top rope onto both opponents. Rollins distracts the ref and that allows Authors of Pain to attack Ford. Out come the Viking Raiders and they begin brawling with AOP. Rollins hits the Falcon Arrow on Ford for a 2 count. Ford finally makes a tag to Dawkins and he hits both men with dropkicks. Rollins is able to get off of Dawkins' shoulder and hits a Sling Blade on Ford. Rollins and Murphy hit a double superkick on Dawkins and then on a leaping Ford. Dawkins counters a Pedigree and hits a slingshot on Murphy. Ford then hits a splash on Rollins, but he got the knees up and gets another nearfall. They still haven't won the crowd over. Rollins hits a Buckle Bomb and Murphy kicks him in midair. Murphy hits a double knee off the top rope. Dawkins catches a leaping Rollins and tosses him on the floor. Murphy is up top, but Ford slows him down with a right hand. Dawkins is in now to help, but Rollins slides in and they hit the tower of doom spot. Kevin Owens is now coming down the stairs in the arena eating a box of popcorn. He leaps over and sits on the Spanish announcer table. Owens throws popcorn at Rollins and Rollins is then blindsided by Dawkins. The Street Profits catch a leaping Murphy and throw him into the barricade. Ford hits a splash off the top rope and the Street Profits retain their championships. This was another match that was kind of spoiled by a predictable ending and the lack of heat hurt it. The work was solid overall, but not quite as good as it could have been. After the match, Rollins is furious at Murphy. Owens comes from behind and hits him with a Stunner and then dumps popcorn on Murphy before walking to the back.
Match Rating: ***1/4
3-On-1 Handicap Match For The Intercontinental Championship
Braun Strowman vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Cesaro & Sami Zayn
The heels cut a pre-match promo while Strowman is in the ring. Zayn says that tonight is the night he goes toe to toe with Strowman and asks his partners to stand on the apron. Zayn has easily been one of the most entertaining characters on WWE TV in the last few months. Zayn quickly tags to Shinsuke, already going back on his word. Strowman no sells a clothesline from Shinsuke and then clubs him with one of his own. After a distraction, Shinsuke hits a dropkick to Strowman's knees and now Cesaro is working on him. Zayn gets a cheap shot in. He tags in, gets in a few kicks and then tags Shinsuke back in. Zayn is back in for another quick tag to get in some more heat. He's trying his best to wake the crowd up. Zayn tags in yet again and mocks him, before running out and tagging in Shinsuke again. Shinsuke has Strowman in a sleeper hold, but Strowman hits a suplex to get out of the hold. In comes Cesaro, but Strowman starts tossing him around the ring, before dropping him face-first on the mat. Strowman singles to go around the ring, but Zayn attacks him from behind. Zayn escapes and Strowman chases him, allowing him to knock over Cesaro and Shinsuke. He finds Zayn under the ring, which then exposes a TV monitor under the ring that I would imagine for Undertaker. Is that the first time that has been shown? Cesaro and Shinsuke attack him as he's grabbing Zayn. Cesaro goes for the Neutralizer, but Strowman escapes and goes after Zayn again. Cesaro then throws Strowman into the ring post and Shinsuke hits Kinshasa. Cesaro and Shinsuke have a double suplex and Sami hits a Helluva Kick at the same time. Sami Zayn covers him and we have a new Intercontinental Champion! I probably liked this more than I was supposed to, but Zayn is delivering with his heel work. Are we going to get a 5 second squash at WrestleMania? Hopefully somehow Cesaro has a bigger role than just being a manager for that.
Match Rating: **3/4
Elimination Chamber Match To Become #1 Contender For The Raw Women's Championship
Asuka vs. Sarah Logan vs. Liv Morgan vs. Shayna Baszler vs. Ruby Riott vs. Natalya
It's going to have to take a fantastic effort here to overcome the flawed and predictable storyline here. Riott and Natalya are the first two in here. Natalya puts Riott in the Sharpshooter outside the ring, but Riott rolls back and Natalya goes head-first into Liv Morgan's pod. This match is pretty good proof that the WWE has given us such little reason to care about the undercard of the women's division. I say that as someone who likes both Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan, but they hardly can get solid TV time. The next entrant is Logan who sends Natalya once again into Morgan's pod. Riott starts climbing the chamber and Logan is there to follow. They are fighting on top of the pod and Logan hits a pop up headbutt. Natalya pulls Riott off the chains and hits a powerbomb. Logan hits a crossbody off the top of the pod and it looks like she caught Natalya in the face with her knee. Logan goes for a superplex, but Natalya is there for yet another tower of doom spot. These women have literally everything working against them. Baszler is the next woman in and she quickly eliminates Logan. She goes after Riott and makes her tap out immediately as well. Is this what Heyman had in mind when he wanted CM Punk to go over huge in his Elimination Chamber match at December To Dismember? Baszler starts slamming the pod door on Natalya repeatedly. She puts her in the Kirafuda Clutch and Baszler has now made all three women tap out. The Logan one was so quick, she was treated as if she was picked out of the audience. Meanwhile, Baszler taunts Morgan and Asuka as she waits for the countdown. Not surprisingly, Liv Morgan is next and she goes right at Baszler, but it doesn't last long. Baszler swings her into the cage and then into the pod. She shoves Morgan's face into Asuka's pod as Asuka repeatedly is yelling at her. Baszler puts Morgan in the Kirafuda Clutch from the top rope and Morgan is also eliminated. The Brock Lesnar role doesn't work as well in this match and I'm not sure what they are expecting the crowd to do here. Asuka is finally in and we finally have a match. Asuka hits the Hip Attack and a series of kicks. Baszler catches the next attempt and starts hitting kicks of her own. Asuka kind of hits a kick to the chin and then puts Baszler in the Asuka Lock. Baszler is able to roll out of the ring and back on her feet. She then begins to slam Asuka into the chains. Baszler hits Asuka with a kick and puts her in the Kirafuda Clutch and that is all. This is such a tough one to analyze because the booking was pretty much the way it should have been. However, if you knew you were going this route, why would you not book something stronger on the card that could have main evented the show? I get that you want to leave this as a lasting impression of her as a monster, but it just felt off. The other problem here is that no one cared about anyone else in the match and that's a result of bad booking. With that being said, Baszler vs. Lynch is absolutely a WrestleMania-worthy title match and I'm glad they pulled the trigger on it. This is just a great example of doing things both right and wrong at the same time. The match was pretty much terrible though.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Well, that was some show. This was the best and worst of WWE all in one night. I have to say that I love that we can get a Gulak/Bryan 15 minute match on a pay-per-view, because I feel like that is something that wouldn't have happened 10 years ago. Now back to my point. I am one of the fans that completely understands why Goldberg and Lesnar are the champions. However, when you are running a pay-per-view just a month before WrestleMania, that leaves you in a really bad spot. Then on top of it, you can't really book either of your women champions on the show either. So right there you are down four of your top names. Then on top of it, you basically give away the winner of your main event because of the story you have already presented. If you had built your roster up properly, you could have countered that by the monster showing by Baszler coming off as more impressive, but instead she just kind of destroyed a bunch of women that the crowd doesn't care about. Predictable is not always a bad thing in wrestling (example: Kofimania at WrestleMania), but this show had too much of it. Did anyone not expect the Undertaker to show up? Were we really shocked to see Kevin Owens cost Seth Rollins? It was too much and it seemed to be all right in a row. However, the good stuff here was really good. The first three matches were all great stories that were filled with lots of action and the nice thing was each of those matches felt different. I would have liked to have seen the next two matches cut down a few minutes each, but those were both fine even if the crowd was dead. It's hard to recommend this show, but I highly recommend the first hour or so, as they showcased of what the company can do when they want to let guys just do their thing. The rest of the show is a roller coaster that is the WWE in 2020.
Overall Rating: 61%
Friday, March 6, 2020
Monday Night Raw 7-18-05 Review
Monday, July 18th, 2005
Wachovia Center
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Eric Bischoff is here to kick things off and discuss the Cena attack from last week. He says that Cena will be facing Snitsky in a Lumberjack match tonight.
Intercontinental Championship Match (Championship Can Change Hand On A Countout)
Carlito vs. Shelton Benjamin
Carlito goes right after Shelton as he enters the ring, but Benjamin ends up hitting a clothesline and a Stinger Splash. They added the countout stipulation because of last week. Shelton once again almost kills himself with a springboard dive to the outside. He hits a springboard shoulder tackler where again he almost loses his balance. Carlito grabs his title to walk away, but realizes he will lose the title and goes in and then rolls out. Shelton hits a clothesline off the apron. Shelton leaps up to the top rope, but Carlito pulls him down into the Tree of Woe. They begin trading right hands and then Shelton hits a couple of clotheslines. Shelton goes for a monkey flip, but Carlito counters it for a pin attempt. Shelton hits a spinning heel kick and then goes for the T-Bone suplex, but Carlito hits him with a low blow and is disqualified. Shelton was sloppy here, but I loved the fire he brought here tonight. He was working a million miles per hour and it worked. Carlito escapes with the loophole.
Match Rating: **1/4
Kurt Angle is here and says that he fooled everyone into thinking some guy was going to take his gold medal away from him. He says that taking away his gold medal is like the Eagles winning the Super Bowl. Impossible. Angle announces that he's in no mood for 3 minutes tonight and asks for the hometown hero to come out. It's Matt Striker again and Angle is confused. Striker has a mic and says he's from Philadelphia and that he took him to the limit last week. Angle calls him a liar and that he doesn't want to give him a second chance. Angle then attacks him from behind and says he changed his mind.
Angle Invitational
Kurt Angle vs. Matt Striker
Angle takes his straps down, but Striker gets him in a choke hold and takes down Angle. Angle is able to get up, but Striker jumps on his back and takes him down again. Down to a minute left, Angle finally gets out of the hold and kicks him right in the head. He goes for the Angle Slam, but Striker falls over. Angle picks him up and hits it and then puts in the Ankle Lock and wins with 24 seconds remaining. This was a fun little story.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Oh joy, it's Diva Search time. They all taped interviews earlier to say who they would vote off if they could. The Philly crowd isn't buying this, as they shouldn't. They all are pretty nice about it, which I'm sure it's not what they were going for. They then announce that Simona is cut. For whatever it's worth, she definitely had no business even making it this far. At the same time, this entire thing is an embarrassment, so who cares?
Backstage Kerwin White is showing Bischoff his golf skills. In walks Jericho and he wants to have a battle of the bands with Cena at Raw in Cleveland next week.
Shawn Michaels is with Todd Grisham. He says that he must have hit Hogan pretty good since it's taken him two weeks to speak.
Chris Masters is here and this time he is offering $20,000 for the Master Lock Challenge. Rosey decides to accept it and comes out to little reaction. Rosey sits down on the chair and lets him put the hold on. Rosey puts up a good fight for a little, but the ref rings the bell and that's all. Masters then knees Rosey to the outside. Masters says it doesn't matter how big you are and then out comes Big Show. Show sits in the chair and tells Masters to put the hold on him. Masters tells him no and heads to the back.
Todd Grisham is with Edge and Lita. Edge is fired up about everyone commenting on his and Lita's lives.
Hulk Hogan is here for his response to HBK. He says that if Michaels wants an answer to his challenge that he needs to come out here. Michaels comes out but says he won't get in the ring because he's afraid he'll have to wait another two weeks. Michaels says he will push Hogan more than anyone ever has. Hogan says that the next time he tries to Sweet Chin Music him, it'll be eye to eye in the ring. Hogan accepts and it will be Hogan vs. Michaels at SummerSlam.
Bischoff is backstage with all of the Raw heels who will be the lumberjacks are tonight. Jericho gives the motivational speech.
Steel Cage Match
Kane vs. Edge
On his way to the ring, Edge is once again attacked by Matt Hardy. He is quickly taken down by security. They head to commercial before the match starts. When we come back, Kane gets hit with a DDT. Kane bounces back with a back body drop and a side suplex. Kane tries to go up top, but Edge stops him and then hits him with a spear, sending Kane into the cage. Edge and Lita then kiss through the cage. Meanwhile, Kane is now bleeding from his forehead. Kane tosses Edge into the cage and hits a sidewalk slam. They keep trying to make this feud this intense story, but it really just isn't translating into their matches. Kane hits a clothesline from the top rope. Kane goes for the chokeslam, but Edge hits a low blow to slow him down. Edge tries to escape out of the cage, but Kane grabs him before he gets very far. Kane takes him and hits a powerbomb for a 2 count. Kane is bleeding pretty good here. Edge fights back and hits a spear for a 2 count. Edge tries to climb out the door, but Lita hands him the briefcase. He goes to use it, but Kane chokeslams him and now both men are down. Kane tries to climb out of the cage, but Edge hits him with the briefcase. Edge climbs and is sitting on the top of the cage. Kane grabs him by the throat, but Edge hits him in the head with the briefcase and then escapes for the victory. That was a pretty bland match there.
Match Rating: *3/4
Maria is in the back with John Cena. Cena follows Maria's corny lumberjack joke with a corny trouser snake joke. They keep doing a running gag where Cena finds a way to get Maria to leave so he can cut his promo.
Lumberjack Match
Snitsky vs. John Cena
The heel lumberjacks quickly show their true colors as they don't attack Snitsky when he's outside the ring. Cena is welcoming the brawling, but the numbers game obviously catches up to him. During the commercial break Jericho gets the best of Cena and we are now back in the ring with Cena fighting out of a submission move by Snitsky, but Snitsky hits a spinebuster. Good on JR for announcing some of the lesser known lumberjacks like Rene Dupree. Cena is dumped outside again and Jericho once again destroys Cena. Cena battles back and knocks Jericho off the apron, but then gets decapitated by Snitsky for a 2 count. Snitsky is pulling out all of the rest holds he can think of for this one. Angle comes in and hits Cena with a chop block, but again Cena kicks out. Snitsky again throws Cena outside the ring and every one of the lumberjacks comes over to attack him. Snitsky then hits a big boot to the face, but again Cena kicks out. Cena hits a big DDT and both men are down. Shelton Benjamin and Big Show are out now to help even the score. They are joined by Tajiri, Rosey, Viscera, Val Venis and Hurricane. Jericho sneaks in with a steel chair, but Cena stops him. Snitsky grabs the chair, but Cena avoids that one too and hits the FU for the victory. The match was pretty formulaic, but it had a fun ending and Cena did the best he could.
Match Rating: **
I can't say that I loved this episode, but it definitely had some good moments. The Hogan and Michaels build is off to a good start and the Angle/Striker mini feud was a nice twist on the formula. The Edge/Kane feud continues to drag on and the Jericho/Cena story is surprisingly weak so far. This would be the definition of thumbs in the middle.
Overall Rating: 52%
Wachovia Center
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Eric Bischoff is here to kick things off and discuss the Cena attack from last week. He says that Cena will be facing Snitsky in a Lumberjack match tonight.
Intercontinental Championship Match (Championship Can Change Hand On A Countout)
Carlito vs. Shelton Benjamin
Carlito goes right after Shelton as he enters the ring, but Benjamin ends up hitting a clothesline and a Stinger Splash. They added the countout stipulation because of last week. Shelton once again almost kills himself with a springboard dive to the outside. He hits a springboard shoulder tackler where again he almost loses his balance. Carlito grabs his title to walk away, but realizes he will lose the title and goes in and then rolls out. Shelton hits a clothesline off the apron. Shelton leaps up to the top rope, but Carlito pulls him down into the Tree of Woe. They begin trading right hands and then Shelton hits a couple of clotheslines. Shelton goes for a monkey flip, but Carlito counters it for a pin attempt. Shelton hits a spinning heel kick and then goes for the T-Bone suplex, but Carlito hits him with a low blow and is disqualified. Shelton was sloppy here, but I loved the fire he brought here tonight. He was working a million miles per hour and it worked. Carlito escapes with the loophole.
Match Rating: **1/4
Kurt Angle is here and says that he fooled everyone into thinking some guy was going to take his gold medal away from him. He says that taking away his gold medal is like the Eagles winning the Super Bowl. Impossible. Angle announces that he's in no mood for 3 minutes tonight and asks for the hometown hero to come out. It's Matt Striker again and Angle is confused. Striker has a mic and says he's from Philadelphia and that he took him to the limit last week. Angle calls him a liar and that he doesn't want to give him a second chance. Angle then attacks him from behind and says he changed his mind.
Angle Invitational
Kurt Angle vs. Matt Striker
Angle takes his straps down, but Striker gets him in a choke hold and takes down Angle. Angle is able to get up, but Striker jumps on his back and takes him down again. Down to a minute left, Angle finally gets out of the hold and kicks him right in the head. He goes for the Angle Slam, but Striker falls over. Angle picks him up and hits it and then puts in the Ankle Lock and wins with 24 seconds remaining. This was a fun little story.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Oh joy, it's Diva Search time. They all taped interviews earlier to say who they would vote off if they could. The Philly crowd isn't buying this, as they shouldn't. They all are pretty nice about it, which I'm sure it's not what they were going for. They then announce that Simona is cut. For whatever it's worth, she definitely had no business even making it this far. At the same time, this entire thing is an embarrassment, so who cares?
Backstage Kerwin White is showing Bischoff his golf skills. In walks Jericho and he wants to have a battle of the bands with Cena at Raw in Cleveland next week.
Shawn Michaels is with Todd Grisham. He says that he must have hit Hogan pretty good since it's taken him two weeks to speak.
Chris Masters is here and this time he is offering $20,000 for the Master Lock Challenge. Rosey decides to accept it and comes out to little reaction. Rosey sits down on the chair and lets him put the hold on. Rosey puts up a good fight for a little, but the ref rings the bell and that's all. Masters then knees Rosey to the outside. Masters says it doesn't matter how big you are and then out comes Big Show. Show sits in the chair and tells Masters to put the hold on him. Masters tells him no and heads to the back.
Todd Grisham is with Edge and Lita. Edge is fired up about everyone commenting on his and Lita's lives.
Hulk Hogan is here for his response to HBK. He says that if Michaels wants an answer to his challenge that he needs to come out here. Michaels comes out but says he won't get in the ring because he's afraid he'll have to wait another two weeks. Michaels says he will push Hogan more than anyone ever has. Hogan says that the next time he tries to Sweet Chin Music him, it'll be eye to eye in the ring. Hogan accepts and it will be Hogan vs. Michaels at SummerSlam.
Bischoff is backstage with all of the Raw heels who will be the lumberjacks are tonight. Jericho gives the motivational speech.
Steel Cage Match
Kane vs. Edge
On his way to the ring, Edge is once again attacked by Matt Hardy. He is quickly taken down by security. They head to commercial before the match starts. When we come back, Kane gets hit with a DDT. Kane bounces back with a back body drop and a side suplex. Kane tries to go up top, but Edge stops him and then hits him with a spear, sending Kane into the cage. Edge and Lita then kiss through the cage. Meanwhile, Kane is now bleeding from his forehead. Kane tosses Edge into the cage and hits a sidewalk slam. They keep trying to make this feud this intense story, but it really just isn't translating into their matches. Kane hits a clothesline from the top rope. Kane goes for the chokeslam, but Edge hits a low blow to slow him down. Edge tries to escape out of the cage, but Kane grabs him before he gets very far. Kane takes him and hits a powerbomb for a 2 count. Kane is bleeding pretty good here. Edge fights back and hits a spear for a 2 count. Edge tries to climb out the door, but Lita hands him the briefcase. He goes to use it, but Kane chokeslams him and now both men are down. Kane tries to climb out of the cage, but Edge hits him with the briefcase. Edge climbs and is sitting on the top of the cage. Kane grabs him by the throat, but Edge hits him in the head with the briefcase and then escapes for the victory. That was a pretty bland match there.
Match Rating: *3/4
Maria is in the back with John Cena. Cena follows Maria's corny lumberjack joke with a corny trouser snake joke. They keep doing a running gag where Cena finds a way to get Maria to leave so he can cut his promo.
Lumberjack Match
Snitsky vs. John Cena
The heel lumberjacks quickly show their true colors as they don't attack Snitsky when he's outside the ring. Cena is welcoming the brawling, but the numbers game obviously catches up to him. During the commercial break Jericho gets the best of Cena and we are now back in the ring with Cena fighting out of a submission move by Snitsky, but Snitsky hits a spinebuster. Good on JR for announcing some of the lesser known lumberjacks like Rene Dupree. Cena is dumped outside again and Jericho once again destroys Cena. Cena battles back and knocks Jericho off the apron, but then gets decapitated by Snitsky for a 2 count. Snitsky is pulling out all of the rest holds he can think of for this one. Angle comes in and hits Cena with a chop block, but again Cena kicks out. Snitsky again throws Cena outside the ring and every one of the lumberjacks comes over to attack him. Snitsky then hits a big boot to the face, but again Cena kicks out. Cena hits a big DDT and both men are down. Shelton Benjamin and Big Show are out now to help even the score. They are joined by Tajiri, Rosey, Viscera, Val Venis and Hurricane. Jericho sneaks in with a steel chair, but Cena stops him. Snitsky grabs the chair, but Cena avoids that one too and hits the FU for the victory. The match was pretty formulaic, but it had a fun ending and Cena did the best he could.
Match Rating: **
I can't say that I loved this episode, but it definitely had some good moments. The Hogan and Michaels build is off to a good start and the Angle/Striker mini feud was a nice twist on the formula. The Edge/Kane feud continues to drag on and the Jericho/Cena story is surprisingly weak so far. This would be the definition of thumbs in the middle.
Overall Rating: 52%
Wednesday, March 4, 2020
NXT 3-27-13 Review
Original Airdate: Wednesday, March 27th, 2013
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
WWE Divas Championship Match
Natalya vs. Kaitlyn
So since we are close to WrestleMania, we are getting main roster people. The big bonus though is that we have Howard Finkel here, who is hands down the greatest ring announcer ever. Kaitlyn is one of those performers I never got into and to be honest, never really saw her wrestle that much. They start the match off with a solid back and forth segment. Natalya goes for the Sharpshooter, but Kaitlyn is able to kick out before she even steps through. Natalya locks in an abdominal stretch and does a nice little touch by pulling up on Kailyn's leg. After the commercial break, Kaitlyn has Natalya in an abdominal stretch, but Natalya quickly gets out of it. They keep hyping up WrestleMania, but I just checked the card and was correct in remembering that there was no women's match on the card, pre-show included. Natalya leaps over a spear attempt by Kaitlyn and immediately goes for the Sharpshooter. Kaitlyn kicks out of it and Natalya hits the bottom turnbuckle. Kaitlyn hits the spear and gets the pinfall victory. That wasn't a bad little match. Afterwards, both ladies embrace.
Match Rating: **1/4 (out of 5)
Alberto Del Rio is backstage and says that he's going to end Jack Swagger's dreams of being champion at WrestleMania.
El Local vs. Brodus Clay
Brodus quickly goes after Local and hits a headbutt to the midsection. El Local gets a quick burst, going after Clay's legs. He hits a springboard kick that connects, but his second attempt is swatted away. Clay hits a running headbutt and then a splash for the easy victory. This was a squash for a guy that never really ended up making a mark on the main roster.
Match Rating: 1/2*
We get a Shield promo talking about their match with Sheamus, Big Show and Randy Orton at WrestleMania.
John Cena is now backstage and tells Rock to be ready for him at WrestleMania.
The announcers are talking about it and out of nowhere Kassius Ohno attacks William Regal.
Damien Sandow vs. Randy Orton
Orton is quite over here with the NXT crowd. Sandow to me is still an unsung hero of this era. Sandow is wisely trying to avoid Orton, but the second time he escapes Orton hits him with a clothesline going into the commercial break. Before they come back to the match, they announce that Big E Langston and Conor O'Brian will face off next week. Orton goes for the draped DDT, but Sandow escapes. Outside of the ring, Sandow is able to toss Orton into the steel steps. Sandow hits the Elbow of Disdain for a 2 count. Orton hits a superplex, but Sandow kicks out. Orton then hits the powerslam and hits 10 right hands in the corner. Orton hits an inverted backbreaker and then hits the draped DDT. It's safe to say this is the loudest the NXT crowd has ever been. Orton hits the RKO and that is all. The lively crowd helped make this one fun and probably kept Orton motivated.
Match Rating: **3/4
Well, this was basically not an episode of NXT but that wasn't a bad thing. We got two matches that were better than what we get on a typical episode of this era of NXT. However, the Ohno segment was well done and I'm looking forward to seeing that match soon. This was a quick show that moved at a good pace and featured good action.
Overall Rating: 60%
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