Monday, March 22nd, 1993
Manhattan Center
New York City, New York
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Damien Demento & Repo Man vs. The Bushwhackers
Man, hearing the Fink announce this match just really makes it really sink in. The Bushwhackers are up in the balcony instead of coming down the entrance way. If Vince really was able to get his way, this might be the main event of WrestleMania. The Bushwhackers push Repo into Demento and then clothesline him. Repo attacks Luke from behind while the referee is distracted by Butch. Demento wrestles like he is stuck in molasses. Luke and Demento seem to not be on the same page and have two spots where they both get knocked down. Luke gets a tag and does a double noggin knocker. This match is really awful. Butch gets a pin, but referee Bill Alfonso walks right by it to take care of Luke. They hit the Battering Ram anyways and get the win. An absolutely terrible match.
Match Rating: 0 Stars
Tatanka vs. Reno Riggins
Riggins attacks Tatanka from behind, but Tatanka chops him and hits a big body drop. Tatanka hits an atomic drop and follows it up with a monkey flip. Vince hypes up the March To WrestleMania special. Reno gets a few chops in, but Tatanka fires back with his own. Tatanka misses a crossbody off the second rope and Riggins follows it up with some right hands. Tatanka fights back and hits the End of the Trail for the victory.
Match Rating: 1/2*
We get an Andre the Giant highlight package that announces him as the first member of the WWF Hall of Fame.
Money, Inc. vs. John & Jess Armstrong
DiBiase clotheslines one of the Armstrong's out of the ring. They then show Bartlett watching TV and flipping through the channels. Whatever they were paying him, it was way too much. Money, Inc. uses frequent tags to isolate the bald Armstrong. Irwin hits a leaping clothesline and that's it. I am not looking forward to watching their WrestleMania match again.
Match Rating: 1/4*
It's time to go to Mean Gene for the WrestleMania IX Report. It's going to be the best one ever. I promise!
Doink vs. Kamala
Doink has his weird wig on tonight. This look does not fit the character as well. Kamala is managed by Reverend Slick, which is still one of the more random angles. Doink offers Kamala a wrapped present, but Doink puts it in the corner and trips Kamala up. Doink works his mat game, which is weird to see with Kamala. Kamala gets some chops in and hits him in the corner as we go to commercial break. When they come back from break, Doink is back in control. Kamala knocks Doink outside the ring and chases after him. Doink then grabs the present and hands it to Kamala, which allows Doink to roll in and win by countout. Kamala opens the gift. And what is in the box? Nothing! Absolutely nothing! UHF reference there. Doink runs under the ring and Kamala follows him. Doink gets out first and hits him with a chair. Kamala then chases Doink to the back. I like heel Doink and all, but again this wasn't very good.
Match Rating: 1/4*
After commercial break, they have the three sisters whose names I can't remember for the life of me pretend to be Rob Bartlett's fan club. It's as bad as you would think. They run down the card for March to WrestleMania which includes Macho Man vs. Yokozuna and Undertaker vs. Bam Bam Bigelow. I am looking forward to that.
This was just a real downer of a show. The two feature matches were really bad and Bartlett just has to go. Not exactly the strongest way to head into WrestleMania.
Overall Rating: 20%
Wednesday, April 29, 2020
Monday, April 27, 2020
SummerSlam 2005 Review
Sunday, August 21st, 2005
MCI Center
Washington, D.C.
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Lilian Garcia opens the show by singing "The Star-Spangled Banner".
United States Championship Match
Chris Benoit vs. Orlando Jordan
They lock up and Jordan gets in a cheap shot. Benoit gets a suplex and puts him in the Crippler Crossface and that is all. Benoit is the new US Champion. I thought this was a unique way to start the show and was the only match on the card that you could do this to. 25 seconds is the official match length.
Match Rating: 1/4* (out of 5)
Eddie Guerrero is backstage with Vickie. She says that this isn't about Dominik, it's about him finally beating Rey. Vickie says that he could care less (I'm assuming she means couldn't). Vickie reassures him that she loves him with all her heart. She tells him that his heart of gold won't allow himself to beat Rey tonight. He throws her out of the locker room and tells himself that he will beat Rey.
Edge vs. Matt Hardy
Back in 2005, I was this was the match I was really looking forward to on this show. Hardy runs down to the ramp to start brawling. They make it to the ring to get the match started. Hardy gets the early advantage until Edge hits him with a headbutt. Edge hits a Spear on Hardy on the apron, sending both men to the floor. Back in the ring, Hardy starts throwing haymakers. He backs Edge into the corner and continues with the blows until Edge lifts Hardy up and drops him face first on the ring post. Hardy did a good job of selling that. Edge pulls him back in the ring and he is now bleeding. Edge continues attacking his head with some knees and boots to the face. The referee checks on Hardy and decides to stop the match to a huge chorus of boos. This was a curious decision at the time and nearly 15 years later I feel the same way. They both worked a convincing style, but I'm not sure I get Edge walking away as if he was hardly even in a fight. For what it was, it was entertaining despite the brief run time.
Match Rating: **1/4
Ladder Match For The Custody Of Dominik
Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio
Eddie kicks things off with a suplex, but Rey comes back with a monkey flip. Outside of the ring, Eddie tosses Mysterio into the ladder and then he brings the ladder into the ring. Eddie goes for the quick victory, but Mysterio hits a springboard dropkick to knock Eddie off. Eddie grabs another ladder, but Rey throws him out of the ring. Rey hits a dropkick into a ladder. From there, Mysterio hits a springboard seated senton to the outside, which was pretty awesome. They both begin to climb up the ladder and are throwing right hands halfway up. Eddie gets his hands on the briefcase, but Rey stops him, so Eddie goes for a sunset flip powerbomb. However, Guerrero doesn't get a hold of him and looks to have hit his head on the ladder, but Rey falls back anyways. Eddie gets up and dropkicks a ladder into Rey in the corner. Eddie sandwiches Rey between two ladders and hits him with a hilo. Dominik is at ringside and they are continuing to show shots of him throughout the match. Eddie is climbing the ladder, but Rey pushes a second ladder to use it as a ramp and hits a back body drop, but both ladders collapse and Rey looks to have a shot to the back also. Rey sets up the ladder again, but Eddie dropkicks him off. Eddie then tosses Rey into a ladder set up on the top rope in another cool spot. Eddie is climbing the ladder, but Dominik runs in and attempts to shake the ladder. Eddie turns around and waives his finger at him. Eddie starts yelling at him and tells him that he's his daddy now. Rey comes from behind and Dominik escapes out of the ring. Rey slams him into a ladder and then hits a 619 with the ladder still in Eddie's face. He drops the dime with the ladder still on top of Eddie. Eddie stops Rey from grabbing the briefcase and puts him on his shoulders. Rey counters out and he successfully hits a sunset flip powerbomb. Rey has his hands on the briefcase, but Eddie kicks the ladder out from under Rey, leaving him hanging there. Rey drops down and Eddie hits a powerbomb. Eddie puts the ladder over Rey's chest and starts to climb. Eddie has the briefcase, but is having problems getting it off the hook. Rey starts moving the ladder and after a struggle gets it out from under Eddie. He then pulls Eddie off the hook and he takes a big fall. Eddie hits the Three Amigos, with the third one being on top of a ladder. I love the intensity with which they are hitting all of the big moves here. Eddie is once again close to the top of the ladder and now Vickie Guerrero is out in the ring to get him to stop. He tries to tell her to go to the back, but instead she pushes the ladder, causing Eddie to nearly hit the ropes on the way down. Rey sets up the ladder, but Eddie is attempting to climb. Vickie pulls him off and Rey grabs the briefcase. Dominik comes into the ring to celebrate with Rey. Rey's wife Angie comes out to join them, while Eddie throws a temper tantrum. Rey runs back in the ring and hits him in the head with the briefcase. There were a few spots that didn't work out, but I really enjoyed this match a lot. These guys are such a joy to watch, no matter how silly the storyline is.
Match Rating: ****
Chris Jericho is back with Todd Grisham. Jericho says the time is now for him to become the WWE Champion.
Eugene vs. Kurt Angle
It's still hard to believe that Eugene faced Triple H and Kurt Angle in consecutive SummerSlam events. Angle comes right in and starts wailing away on Eugene. This is the Kurt Angle we all love. Eugene trips up Angle and goes for the People's Elbow, but Angle gets up and nails him with a clothesline. It should be noted that the crowd is 100% behind Angle here. After two German suplexes, Eugene tries to comeback but again Angle hits another German suplex. Eugene hits the Rock Bottom, but Angle kicks out at 2. He goes for the Stunner, Angle counters into the Angle Slam, but Eugene counters that and ends up hitting the Stunner for another close call. He puts Angle in the Ankle Lock, but Angle rolls through and then hits the Angle Slam. The straps are down and now Angle puts him in the Ankle Lock and Eugene taps. This was a pretty convincing win there for Angle, as it should have been. The Eugene character had run it's course and I'm not even sure how he got booked into this one. After the match, Angle grabs a chair and brings it in the ring. Christy tries to stop him, but Angle dumps Eugene out instead. Angle then sets up the chair and stands on it. He then has Mike Chioda award him the gold medal around his neck. For such a short match, it was intense and a fun squash.
Match Rating: **
Torrie, Maria, Ashley, Candice Michelle and Stacy are all shown out back washing the a limo in their bikinis. The limo has a sticker with the President of the United States sticker on it and when it's the window rolls down, Vince McMahon says "Why not?".
Undertaker vs. Randy Orton
Orton hits a hip toss, but Taker fires back with a big boot. Taker goes for Old School, but Orton pulls him off and hits an arm drag. After a flurry of right hands from Orton, Taker turns it around on Orton and hits him with a series of fists. Taker hits another huge boot to the face of Orton for a 2 count. Taker hits his leaping clothesline and hits a running knee into the corner. Orton ducks a boot in the corner and Orton is able to kick out his leg as it was hung up on the rope. Orton hits a quick DDT for a nearfall that Taker breaks by putting his leg on the rope. Orton sees it and leaps onto his knee and follows it up by hitting his knee on the ring post. Orton hits a snap body slam nicely and goes back to work on the knee. Orton ducks a clothesline attempt and clips the knee of Taker. Taker pushes Orton out of the ring with his good leg and then slams Orton into the steel steps. Taker then hits a guillotine leg drop. Orton goes for the RKO, but Taker throws him off. Orton reverse a Tombstone, but Taker reverses it back. Orton counters that with a neckbreaker for a 2 count. Orton hits a top rope crossbody, but Taker rolls through and delivers a chokeslam. Someone is in the ring now and Taker helps him get taken out of the ring. He goes and picks Orton up, but Orton hits a RKO out of nowhere and gets the victory. I forgot that Taker didn't kick out of a RKO here. Orton goes up to the man who went into the ring and he reveals himself to be Bob Orton and Taker tries to go after them. This was another good match between these two, even if the leg work didn't have much of a purpose.
Match Rating: ***1/2
Jericho is shown backstage shaking hands with Eric Bischoff and tells him that tonight is the night.
WWE Championship Match
Chris Jericho vs. John Cena
This is probably the first match that I can remember there being a loud chorus of booing for Cena. Cena tosses over the top rope and he goes out quickly to attack Jericho. Back in the ring, Cena sends Jericho into the turnbuckle, but Jericho bounces back and hits a dropkick. Cena gets in some right hands, but Jericho tosses Cena through the ropes and follows up with a missile dropkick off the apron. Jericho begins using an electrical cord to choke Cena with and then heads back in the ring. Jericho sets Cena up on the top turnbuckle and hits a top rope superplex, leaving both men down. Cena launches himself at Jericho, but Jericho ducks out of the way and then hits him with his modified bulldog. Cena avoids a Lionsault, but Jericho lands on his feet. Jericho goes for a victory roll, but Jericho then rolls through and tries to go for a Walls of Jericho. Cena is able to kick out and send Jericho to the floor. Cena hits a guillotine leg drop off the top rope on Jericho as he was crawling back into the ring. That move is a hard one for me to believe that Jericho wouldn't have moved out of the way there. Jericho counters out of a FU and into a DDT for a 2 count. Both men looked a little slow to start things off, but the pace is picking up considerably and the crowd is getting into dueling chants. Cena nails Jericho with a clothesline and both men are once again down. Five Knuckle Shuffle Time, but Jericho trips him up and puts him in the Walls of Jericho. Cena is finally able to get to the bottom rope to break the hold. Jericho goes up to the top rope, but Cena is there to greet him and goes for a FU, but Jericho counters into a back suplex for a nearfall. Jericho was arguing with the ref and Cena is able to counter Jericho into a FU to pull off the victory. That was a really entertaining match and the crowd was electric. Cena was improving with every match around this time.
Match Rating: ***3/4
No Holds Barred Match For The World Heavyweight Championship
JBL vs. Batista
JBL and Batista immediately start brawling in the entrance ramp and in the production area. Batista uses a fire extinguisher early on. JBL takes control after throwing Batista into a crate. They start making their way through the crowd, where JBL jams a steel chair at Batista. Batista fires back with a spear through the barricade. They finally make it to the ring and JBL hits a short arm clothesline and is slugging away at Batista in the corner. JBL grabs a belt from someone at ringside and starts whipping Batista. He starts choking him with it until Batista is able to hit a suplex to break the choke. Batista now has the belt and takes the opportunity to get some revenge. JBL gets a boot up at a charging Batista and then hits the Clothesline From Hell, but Batista is able to kick out. That surprisingly did not get the reaction I thought it would in Batista's hometown. This match is already light years better than their dud at Great American Bash. JBL brings in steel steps into the ring. He sets up Batista for a powerbomb on the steps, but Batista hits a back body drop. JBL goes for another Clothesline From Hell, but Batista hits a spinebuster. Batista hits the Batista Bomb, but doesn't go for the cover. Batista looks over at the steps and decides to do it one more time, but this time does it on the steps and that is all for JBL. It was good to see them learn from their mistakes and put on a match that was so much better than their previous encounter. This was extremely quick paced considering both are true heavyweights and they kept it on the shorter side.
Match Rating: ***
Shawn Michaels vs. Hulk Hogan
Hogan gets a huge American flag as his backdrop. After a long pause, they finally lock up and Hogan of course tosses Shawn across the ring. Shawn gets up two more times and gets the same result. Hogan hits a shoulder block and Shawn bumps out of the ring in what will become the theme of the match. Hogan slams Michaels in the turnbuckle and we get the old Curt Hennig bump out of it. Michaels is able to turn things around by taking a move out of Hogan's playbook, the thumb to the eye. Hogan hits a back body drop and then clotheslines him out of the ring. Hogan brings Michaels in the hard way and then follows up with a clothesline. It's still kind of bizarre to me that this match actually took place. Hogan blocks a head to the turnbuckle, so Michaels slaps him twice across the face. Hogan hits an Irish whip into the turnbuckle, but Michaels gets another slap to the face in, so he knocks him out to the floor. Hogan body slams Michaels on the Spanish announce table. Michaels is able to sneak out of Hogan's grasp and pushes Hogan into the ring post. Michaels gets in a bunch of right hands and although Hogan is able to push him off, Michaels keeps coming at him and now Hogan is busted open. Michaels gets him in an extended headlock until Hogan is able to counter out into a suplex. Michaels is able to hit a flying forearm and nips up. He goes up to the top rope, but Hogan avoids the elbow drop. Hogan is back on his feet, but Michaels again hits the flying forearm and knocks out both Hogan and the ref. Michaels nips up again and starts heading to the top rope again. He changes his mind and puts him in the Sharpshooter again. The crowd is anticipating Bret Hart to come down, but we all know that wasn't the case. A second referee is now down to call the match. Michaels isn't really able to put the hold on that convincingly due to the size of Hogan's legs. Hogan is able to grab the bottom rope to break the hold. Michaels goes for it again, but Hogan kicks out of it and Michaels hits the second referee on his way down. Hogan is up, but limping and Michaels is able to hit him with a low blow. Michaels now has a steel chair and hits Hogan with an unprotected shot to the head. Michaels hits the elbow drop off the top rope, but there is still no referee. Michaels nails him with Sweet Chin Music, but Hogan tosses Michaels off of him at 2 and he is hulking up. Hogan hits the big boot, follows it up with the leg drop and that's all. That was a heck of a performance by Michaels and it resulted in one of the best matches in Hogan's career. After the match, as Hogan is celebrating, Michaels pushes him from behind. Michaels reaches out his hand and after thinking long and hard about it, Hogan shakes it. I would love to know what they were saying to each other there. Michaels thanks the fans on his way to the back and Hogan's celebration continues. I loved that this match followed the Hogan formula, but with a different twist with it being a true worker as his opponent. I can't speak for all of the great Japanese wrestlers there are, but as far as WWE goes, Michaels is the absolute greatest of all time.
Match Rating: ****
If you enjoy WWE's style of wrestling, I can't imagine not liking this show. There have been shows with better matches on it, but this one is just a pure enjoyment. It was booked wisely and never once did it feel long. If only the current product would go back and watch a show like this so they can see how to pack three hours with the emotion and excitement that they did here. This is a definite thumbs up.
Overall Rating: 88%
MCI Center
Washington, D.C.
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Lilian Garcia opens the show by singing "The Star-Spangled Banner".
United States Championship Match
Chris Benoit vs. Orlando Jordan
They lock up and Jordan gets in a cheap shot. Benoit gets a suplex and puts him in the Crippler Crossface and that is all. Benoit is the new US Champion. I thought this was a unique way to start the show and was the only match on the card that you could do this to. 25 seconds is the official match length.
Match Rating: 1/4* (out of 5)
Eddie Guerrero is backstage with Vickie. She says that this isn't about Dominik, it's about him finally beating Rey. Vickie says that he could care less (I'm assuming she means couldn't). Vickie reassures him that she loves him with all her heart. She tells him that his heart of gold won't allow himself to beat Rey tonight. He throws her out of the locker room and tells himself that he will beat Rey.
Edge vs. Matt Hardy
Back in 2005, I was this was the match I was really looking forward to on this show. Hardy runs down to the ramp to start brawling. They make it to the ring to get the match started. Hardy gets the early advantage until Edge hits him with a headbutt. Edge hits a Spear on Hardy on the apron, sending both men to the floor. Back in the ring, Hardy starts throwing haymakers. He backs Edge into the corner and continues with the blows until Edge lifts Hardy up and drops him face first on the ring post. Hardy did a good job of selling that. Edge pulls him back in the ring and he is now bleeding. Edge continues attacking his head with some knees and boots to the face. The referee checks on Hardy and decides to stop the match to a huge chorus of boos. This was a curious decision at the time and nearly 15 years later I feel the same way. They both worked a convincing style, but I'm not sure I get Edge walking away as if he was hardly even in a fight. For what it was, it was entertaining despite the brief run time.
Match Rating: **1/4
Ladder Match For The Custody Of Dominik
Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio
Eddie kicks things off with a suplex, but Rey comes back with a monkey flip. Outside of the ring, Eddie tosses Mysterio into the ladder and then he brings the ladder into the ring. Eddie goes for the quick victory, but Mysterio hits a springboard dropkick to knock Eddie off. Eddie grabs another ladder, but Rey throws him out of the ring. Rey hits a dropkick into a ladder. From there, Mysterio hits a springboard seated senton to the outside, which was pretty awesome. They both begin to climb up the ladder and are throwing right hands halfway up. Eddie gets his hands on the briefcase, but Rey stops him, so Eddie goes for a sunset flip powerbomb. However, Guerrero doesn't get a hold of him and looks to have hit his head on the ladder, but Rey falls back anyways. Eddie gets up and dropkicks a ladder into Rey in the corner. Eddie sandwiches Rey between two ladders and hits him with a hilo. Dominik is at ringside and they are continuing to show shots of him throughout the match. Eddie is climbing the ladder, but Rey pushes a second ladder to use it as a ramp and hits a back body drop, but both ladders collapse and Rey looks to have a shot to the back also. Rey sets up the ladder again, but Eddie dropkicks him off. Eddie then tosses Rey into a ladder set up on the top rope in another cool spot. Eddie is climbing the ladder, but Dominik runs in and attempts to shake the ladder. Eddie turns around and waives his finger at him. Eddie starts yelling at him and tells him that he's his daddy now. Rey comes from behind and Dominik escapes out of the ring. Rey slams him into a ladder and then hits a 619 with the ladder still in Eddie's face. He drops the dime with the ladder still on top of Eddie. Eddie stops Rey from grabbing the briefcase and puts him on his shoulders. Rey counters out and he successfully hits a sunset flip powerbomb. Rey has his hands on the briefcase, but Eddie kicks the ladder out from under Rey, leaving him hanging there. Rey drops down and Eddie hits a powerbomb. Eddie puts the ladder over Rey's chest and starts to climb. Eddie has the briefcase, but is having problems getting it off the hook. Rey starts moving the ladder and after a struggle gets it out from under Eddie. He then pulls Eddie off the hook and he takes a big fall. Eddie hits the Three Amigos, with the third one being on top of a ladder. I love the intensity with which they are hitting all of the big moves here. Eddie is once again close to the top of the ladder and now Vickie Guerrero is out in the ring to get him to stop. He tries to tell her to go to the back, but instead she pushes the ladder, causing Eddie to nearly hit the ropes on the way down. Rey sets up the ladder, but Eddie is attempting to climb. Vickie pulls him off and Rey grabs the briefcase. Dominik comes into the ring to celebrate with Rey. Rey's wife Angie comes out to join them, while Eddie throws a temper tantrum. Rey runs back in the ring and hits him in the head with the briefcase. There were a few spots that didn't work out, but I really enjoyed this match a lot. These guys are such a joy to watch, no matter how silly the storyline is.
Match Rating: ****
Chris Jericho is back with Todd Grisham. Jericho says the time is now for him to become the WWE Champion.
Eugene vs. Kurt Angle
It's still hard to believe that Eugene faced Triple H and Kurt Angle in consecutive SummerSlam events. Angle comes right in and starts wailing away on Eugene. This is the Kurt Angle we all love. Eugene trips up Angle and goes for the People's Elbow, but Angle gets up and nails him with a clothesline. It should be noted that the crowd is 100% behind Angle here. After two German suplexes, Eugene tries to comeback but again Angle hits another German suplex. Eugene hits the Rock Bottom, but Angle kicks out at 2. He goes for the Stunner, Angle counters into the Angle Slam, but Eugene counters that and ends up hitting the Stunner for another close call. He puts Angle in the Ankle Lock, but Angle rolls through and then hits the Angle Slam. The straps are down and now Angle puts him in the Ankle Lock and Eugene taps. This was a pretty convincing win there for Angle, as it should have been. The Eugene character had run it's course and I'm not even sure how he got booked into this one. After the match, Angle grabs a chair and brings it in the ring. Christy tries to stop him, but Angle dumps Eugene out instead. Angle then sets up the chair and stands on it. He then has Mike Chioda award him the gold medal around his neck. For such a short match, it was intense and a fun squash.
Match Rating: **
Torrie, Maria, Ashley, Candice Michelle and Stacy are all shown out back washing the a limo in their bikinis. The limo has a sticker with the President of the United States sticker on it and when it's the window rolls down, Vince McMahon says "Why not?".
Undertaker vs. Randy Orton
Orton hits a hip toss, but Taker fires back with a big boot. Taker goes for Old School, but Orton pulls him off and hits an arm drag. After a flurry of right hands from Orton, Taker turns it around on Orton and hits him with a series of fists. Taker hits another huge boot to the face of Orton for a 2 count. Taker hits his leaping clothesline and hits a running knee into the corner. Orton ducks a boot in the corner and Orton is able to kick out his leg as it was hung up on the rope. Orton hits a quick DDT for a nearfall that Taker breaks by putting his leg on the rope. Orton sees it and leaps onto his knee and follows it up by hitting his knee on the ring post. Orton hits a snap body slam nicely and goes back to work on the knee. Orton ducks a clothesline attempt and clips the knee of Taker. Taker pushes Orton out of the ring with his good leg and then slams Orton into the steel steps. Taker then hits a guillotine leg drop. Orton goes for the RKO, but Taker throws him off. Orton reverse a Tombstone, but Taker reverses it back. Orton counters that with a neckbreaker for a 2 count. Orton hits a top rope crossbody, but Taker rolls through and delivers a chokeslam. Someone is in the ring now and Taker helps him get taken out of the ring. He goes and picks Orton up, but Orton hits a RKO out of nowhere and gets the victory. I forgot that Taker didn't kick out of a RKO here. Orton goes up to the man who went into the ring and he reveals himself to be Bob Orton and Taker tries to go after them. This was another good match between these two, even if the leg work didn't have much of a purpose.
Match Rating: ***1/2
Jericho is shown backstage shaking hands with Eric Bischoff and tells him that tonight is the night.
WWE Championship Match
Chris Jericho vs. John Cena
This is probably the first match that I can remember there being a loud chorus of booing for Cena. Cena tosses over the top rope and he goes out quickly to attack Jericho. Back in the ring, Cena sends Jericho into the turnbuckle, but Jericho bounces back and hits a dropkick. Cena gets in some right hands, but Jericho tosses Cena through the ropes and follows up with a missile dropkick off the apron. Jericho begins using an electrical cord to choke Cena with and then heads back in the ring. Jericho sets Cena up on the top turnbuckle and hits a top rope superplex, leaving both men down. Cena launches himself at Jericho, but Jericho ducks out of the way and then hits him with his modified bulldog. Cena avoids a Lionsault, but Jericho lands on his feet. Jericho goes for a victory roll, but Jericho then rolls through and tries to go for a Walls of Jericho. Cena is able to kick out and send Jericho to the floor. Cena hits a guillotine leg drop off the top rope on Jericho as he was crawling back into the ring. That move is a hard one for me to believe that Jericho wouldn't have moved out of the way there. Jericho counters out of a FU and into a DDT for a 2 count. Both men looked a little slow to start things off, but the pace is picking up considerably and the crowd is getting into dueling chants. Cena nails Jericho with a clothesline and both men are once again down. Five Knuckle Shuffle Time, but Jericho trips him up and puts him in the Walls of Jericho. Cena is finally able to get to the bottom rope to break the hold. Jericho goes up to the top rope, but Cena is there to greet him and goes for a FU, but Jericho counters into a back suplex for a nearfall. Jericho was arguing with the ref and Cena is able to counter Jericho into a FU to pull off the victory. That was a really entertaining match and the crowd was electric. Cena was improving with every match around this time.
Match Rating: ***3/4
No Holds Barred Match For The World Heavyweight Championship
JBL vs. Batista
JBL and Batista immediately start brawling in the entrance ramp and in the production area. Batista uses a fire extinguisher early on. JBL takes control after throwing Batista into a crate. They start making their way through the crowd, where JBL jams a steel chair at Batista. Batista fires back with a spear through the barricade. They finally make it to the ring and JBL hits a short arm clothesline and is slugging away at Batista in the corner. JBL grabs a belt from someone at ringside and starts whipping Batista. He starts choking him with it until Batista is able to hit a suplex to break the choke. Batista now has the belt and takes the opportunity to get some revenge. JBL gets a boot up at a charging Batista and then hits the Clothesline From Hell, but Batista is able to kick out. That surprisingly did not get the reaction I thought it would in Batista's hometown. This match is already light years better than their dud at Great American Bash. JBL brings in steel steps into the ring. He sets up Batista for a powerbomb on the steps, but Batista hits a back body drop. JBL goes for another Clothesline From Hell, but Batista hits a spinebuster. Batista hits the Batista Bomb, but doesn't go for the cover. Batista looks over at the steps and decides to do it one more time, but this time does it on the steps and that is all for JBL. It was good to see them learn from their mistakes and put on a match that was so much better than their previous encounter. This was extremely quick paced considering both are true heavyweights and they kept it on the shorter side.
Match Rating: ***
Shawn Michaels vs. Hulk Hogan
Hogan gets a huge American flag as his backdrop. After a long pause, they finally lock up and Hogan of course tosses Shawn across the ring. Shawn gets up two more times and gets the same result. Hogan hits a shoulder block and Shawn bumps out of the ring in what will become the theme of the match. Hogan slams Michaels in the turnbuckle and we get the old Curt Hennig bump out of it. Michaels is able to turn things around by taking a move out of Hogan's playbook, the thumb to the eye. Hogan hits a back body drop and then clotheslines him out of the ring. Hogan brings Michaels in the hard way and then follows up with a clothesline. It's still kind of bizarre to me that this match actually took place. Hogan blocks a head to the turnbuckle, so Michaels slaps him twice across the face. Hogan hits an Irish whip into the turnbuckle, but Michaels gets another slap to the face in, so he knocks him out to the floor. Hogan body slams Michaels on the Spanish announce table. Michaels is able to sneak out of Hogan's grasp and pushes Hogan into the ring post. Michaels gets in a bunch of right hands and although Hogan is able to push him off, Michaels keeps coming at him and now Hogan is busted open. Michaels gets him in an extended headlock until Hogan is able to counter out into a suplex. Michaels is able to hit a flying forearm and nips up. He goes up to the top rope, but Hogan avoids the elbow drop. Hogan is back on his feet, but Michaels again hits the flying forearm and knocks out both Hogan and the ref. Michaels nips up again and starts heading to the top rope again. He changes his mind and puts him in the Sharpshooter again. The crowd is anticipating Bret Hart to come down, but we all know that wasn't the case. A second referee is now down to call the match. Michaels isn't really able to put the hold on that convincingly due to the size of Hogan's legs. Hogan is able to grab the bottom rope to break the hold. Michaels goes for it again, but Hogan kicks out of it and Michaels hits the second referee on his way down. Hogan is up, but limping and Michaels is able to hit him with a low blow. Michaels now has a steel chair and hits Hogan with an unprotected shot to the head. Michaels hits the elbow drop off the top rope, but there is still no referee. Michaels nails him with Sweet Chin Music, but Hogan tosses Michaels off of him at 2 and he is hulking up. Hogan hits the big boot, follows it up with the leg drop and that's all. That was a heck of a performance by Michaels and it resulted in one of the best matches in Hogan's career. After the match, as Hogan is celebrating, Michaels pushes him from behind. Michaels reaches out his hand and after thinking long and hard about it, Hogan shakes it. I would love to know what they were saying to each other there. Michaels thanks the fans on his way to the back and Hogan's celebration continues. I loved that this match followed the Hogan formula, but with a different twist with it being a true worker as his opponent. I can't speak for all of the great Japanese wrestlers there are, but as far as WWE goes, Michaels is the absolute greatest of all time.
Match Rating: ****
If you enjoy WWE's style of wrestling, I can't imagine not liking this show. There have been shows with better matches on it, but this one is just a pure enjoyment. It was booked wisely and never once did it feel long. If only the current product would go back and watch a show like this so they can see how to pack three hours with the emotion and excitement that they did here. This is a definite thumbs up.
Overall Rating: 88%
Sunday, April 26, 2020
NXT 5-8-13 Review
Original Airdate: Wednesday, May 8th, 2013
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida
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Natalya is back with Renee Young, but is quickly interrupted by Summer Rae. This leads to Natalya challenging her to a match next week on NXT. Summer makes a comment about her being in the circus with Khali and Hornswoggle.
Riley Pierce and Sakamoto tell Conor O'Brian that they made a mistake.
Kassius Ohno vs. Camacho
Camacho gets the no entrance treatment here. After a body slam from Camacho, Ohno fires back with his aggressive offense. We are about a minute into the match and Camacho just used another body slam. Camacho goes for a back suplex, but Ohno counters. Camacho then goes for a Samoan drop, but Ohno gets out and eats a back body drop instead. I feel like Ohno was too giving sometimes in his NXT run here so far. They kept trying to tell us he was a monster, but he seems to barely sneak out victories. Camacho goes for the always killer trapezius hold, but Ohno gets out of it and hits a discus forearm. He puts him in the Kassius Klutch for the victory. That was pretty dull. After the match, he grabs the mic and says that he doesn't even know who he is anymore. He apologizes to Regal and out come the Wyatt Family, who stare him down. He turns around and Bray looks in his eyes and laughs. He points him to the back, which allows Luke Harper and Erick Rowan to attack him. Bray hits Sister Abigail and laughs.
Match Rating: 1/2*
NXT Tag Team Championship Match
The Wyatt Family vs. Adrian Neville & Bo Dallas
Bo and Rowan start things out. They use a couple of quick tags to isolate Rowan, as Bo continues to get boos. Bray is shown looking on from his rocking chair on the ramp. Rowan hits Neville with a forearm, allowing him to tag in Harper. Neville hits a hurricanrana and standing shooting star press. He and Bo hit a double suplex for a 2 count. Bo ducks a clothesline, but Harper hits him with a backbreaker. Neville makes his comeback and hits a diving flip over the top rope on Rowan. Neville hits the Red Arrow on Harper, but Rowan is able to make the save. Neville gets a nearfall on Rowan with a small package, but is unable to make the tag to Dallas. Harper continues the assault, but Neville ducks a boot in the corner and Harper goes sailing over the top rope. Neville finally makes the tag and Dallas hits an inverted DDT. Dallas hits a spear for another 2 count. Rowan then pushes Dallas, who knocks Neville off the apron. Harper hits the spinning lariat on Dallas and we have new champions. The match itself was pretty good, if not a little standard. Neville continues to be a breath of fresh air and it's about time the Wyatt's establish dominance.
Match Rating: **1/4
The NXT hot streak comes to an end. This was far from a bad effort, but there just wasn't a lot to love here. The main event was a good enough TV match with the right winners, but everything else was more of a setup for next week. That's not a bad thing, as I appreciate them trying to give us more storylines to make the show more interesting.
Overall Rating: 47%
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida
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Damien Sandow vs. Baron Corbin
I'm always down for some Sandow on NXT. Here is the debut of Baron Corbin, which is most likely not something many people would care about. Corbin is a little slimmer here and is not sporting a mullet. He also doesn't look like an Olive Garden host here either. Sandow toys with him to begin and offers him a chance to leave the match. Corbin gets a split second of offense, but Sandow hits the side Russian leg sweep. Sandow hits the Elbow of Disdain and the Silencer and that's all. Not much of a debut for Mr. Corbin, although William Regal tries to make it out to be. After the match, Sandow challenges Big E Langston for the NXT Championship. This was just a squash.
Match Rating: 1/4* (out of 5)
Bo Dallas and Adrian Neville are backstage. Dallas says he's honored to help defend the titles with him and then tells him that he's willing to give him 80%. He reassures him by saying his 80% is the same as most people's 110%.
Paige vs. Bayley
Paige rolls through a wristlock and headbutts Bayley. Bayley mounts a comeback and hits a elbow off the second rope. Bayley hits a variation of the exploder suplex and follows that up with a knee drop. Paige rallies and hits a fisherman suplex with a release. Paige stomps a mud hole on Bayley and then follows up with a kick to the midsection. She hits the Paige Turner and that puts Bayley away. After the match, Summer Rae comes down and attacks Paige. There isn't much you can do in a four minute match, but they gave a good effort here.
Match Rating: 3/4*
Big E Langston is here and is interrupted by Sandow. He now formally challenges Big E. Big E then gives him a math problem where the answer is five. This leads to them yelling five back and forth at each other.
Briley Pierce vs. Sakamoto
They come out and say that Briley Pierce is the younger brother of Dolph Ziggler, to which William Regal asks why his last name is Pierce then? That was hilarious. Sakamoto was part of the Lord Tensai failure. Pierce is looking fairly good here until Conor O'Brian comes out and attacks both men, causing a no contest.
Match Rating: No Rating
Natalya is back with Renee Young, but is quickly interrupted by Summer Rae. This leads to Natalya challenging her to a match next week on NXT. Summer makes a comment about her being in the circus with Khali and Hornswoggle.
Riley Pierce and Sakamoto tell Conor O'Brian that they made a mistake.
Kassius Ohno vs. Camacho
Camacho gets the no entrance treatment here. After a body slam from Camacho, Ohno fires back with his aggressive offense. We are about a minute into the match and Camacho just used another body slam. Camacho goes for a back suplex, but Ohno counters. Camacho then goes for a Samoan drop, but Ohno gets out and eats a back body drop instead. I feel like Ohno was too giving sometimes in his NXT run here so far. They kept trying to tell us he was a monster, but he seems to barely sneak out victories. Camacho goes for the always killer trapezius hold, but Ohno gets out of it and hits a discus forearm. He puts him in the Kassius Klutch for the victory. That was pretty dull. After the match, he grabs the mic and says that he doesn't even know who he is anymore. He apologizes to Regal and out come the Wyatt Family, who stare him down. He turns around and Bray looks in his eyes and laughs. He points him to the back, which allows Luke Harper and Erick Rowan to attack him. Bray hits Sister Abigail and laughs.
Match Rating: 1/2*
NXT Tag Team Championship Match
The Wyatt Family vs. Adrian Neville & Bo Dallas
Bo and Rowan start things out. They use a couple of quick tags to isolate Rowan, as Bo continues to get boos. Bray is shown looking on from his rocking chair on the ramp. Rowan hits Neville with a forearm, allowing him to tag in Harper. Neville hits a hurricanrana and standing shooting star press. He and Bo hit a double suplex for a 2 count. Bo ducks a clothesline, but Harper hits him with a backbreaker. Neville makes his comeback and hits a diving flip over the top rope on Rowan. Neville hits the Red Arrow on Harper, but Rowan is able to make the save. Neville gets a nearfall on Rowan with a small package, but is unable to make the tag to Dallas. Harper continues the assault, but Neville ducks a boot in the corner and Harper goes sailing over the top rope. Neville finally makes the tag and Dallas hits an inverted DDT. Dallas hits a spear for another 2 count. Rowan then pushes Dallas, who knocks Neville off the apron. Harper hits the spinning lariat on Dallas and we have new champions. The match itself was pretty good, if not a little standard. Neville continues to be a breath of fresh air and it's about time the Wyatt's establish dominance.
Match Rating: **1/4
The NXT hot streak comes to an end. This was far from a bad effort, but there just wasn't a lot to love here. The main event was a good enough TV match with the right winners, but everything else was more of a setup for next week. That's not a bad thing, as I appreciate them trying to give us more storylines to make the show more interesting.
Overall Rating: 47%
Friday, April 24, 2020
Monday Night Raw 3-15-93 Review
Monday, March 15th, 1993
Mid-Hudson Civic Center
Poughkeepsie, New York
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For the first time in the short history of the show, they are not at the Manhattan Center. Even better, we get Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan. Unfortunately, Rob Bartlett is still here and he is pretending to be Vince McMahon. The impersonation is as awful as you would expect it to be.
Razor Ramon vs. Ross Greenberg
Much like the Elvis gimmick Barlett did, this is unbearable and is just making the show hard to watch. I will never understand how Razor Ramon went from having a title shot at Royal Rumble to fighting Bob Backlund at WrestleMania with no backstory. Gorilla is already ignoring Bartlett. God bless that man. Anyways, Razor looks good as he almost always did during this era here, hitting all of his signature matches. He hits the Razor's Edge and that's all.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Typhoon vs. L.A. Gore
Apparently a blizzard caused some of the talents to miss the show, so that's a hot topic of discussion on this episode. Typhoon gets in his usual power moves, including an Irish whip that sounded like the ring was about to fall apart. He hits the big splash and gets the pinfall victory.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Bobby Heenan is in the ring and he's yelling at someone for not giving him his cue, which lets them get in their ICOPRO and Hasbro action figure commercials. Heenan introduces Giant Gonzalez and Harvey Wippleman. It's almost as if they were trying to top Max Moon's horrendous costume when they dreamed up Gonzalez's suit. I still am unable to even comprehend how Wippleman is only 27 years old here. They actually let Gonzalez say something and it's that he has a giant surprise for him. Heenan tried, but it is what it is.
We get a WrestleMania IX promo that is 100% based around Hulk Hogan returning. They squeeze in that Bret is facing Yokozuna at the end.
Papa Shango vs. Bob Backlund
This one seems like it will be quite the style clash. Backlund uses his usual tricks here. Shango hits a backbreaker and seriously I can't even concentrate on the match because of Bartlett. Outside the ring, Shango drives Backlund into the ring while Gorilla yells "STOP" at Bartlett. You can't help but feel bad for Shango here. He must be lost without his voodoo powers. Now the best he can come up with is a two minute headlock in a seven minute match. Backlund gets out of it, but Shango hits him with a knee to the gut. Backlund gets a small package out of nowhere and that is all. Well, that was uneventful.
Match Rating: 1/2*
We head to Mean Gene for a WrestleMania IX Report. They show a clip of Yokozuna hitting the Banzai Splash on some poor fool. Money, Inc. says that they have a special briefcase being made for WrestleMania. Such intrigue. Undertaker and Paul Bearer say a bunch of stuff that of course leads to Rest In Peace.
The Nasty Boys vs. The Headshrinkers
I have to say, the Manhattan Center is probably a cooler venue but the atmosphere here is pretty cool as well. If there are ever shows in arenas again, I think it would actually improve the show to go to arenas that hold around 3,000-5,000 people. The Nasty Boys get the early advantage hitting a back body drop and a DDT. Back from the commercial break, the Headshrinkers are working on Sags. Sags makes the hot tag to Knobbs and he goes for a double noggin knocker, which of course doesn't work. So then he goes to a double DDT and that does work? Wrestling logic. They spill out to the floor and they are brawling at a table full of food. They start covering each other in mustard and handing out unprotected shots to the head. The match is ruled a double countout. This was decent enough for these four.
Match Rating: *1/4
We now get a charity highlight package and boy is this something. It ends with a picture of Vince McMahon and it says that he is the President/CEO of the WWF. Was this the first time they acknowledged this on TV?
Well, this show was most likely written on the fly as a result of the blizzard, so they get a bit of a pass. However, there was nothing worth watching on this one and can easily be skipped. Kudos to the crowd though. They tried their best to make this entertaining.
Overall Rating: 39%
Mid-Hudson Civic Center
Poughkeepsie, New York
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
For the first time in the short history of the show, they are not at the Manhattan Center. Even better, we get Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan. Unfortunately, Rob Bartlett is still here and he is pretending to be Vince McMahon. The impersonation is as awful as you would expect it to be.
Razor Ramon vs. Ross Greenberg
Much like the Elvis gimmick Barlett did, this is unbearable and is just making the show hard to watch. I will never understand how Razor Ramon went from having a title shot at Royal Rumble to fighting Bob Backlund at WrestleMania with no backstory. Gorilla is already ignoring Bartlett. God bless that man. Anyways, Razor looks good as he almost always did during this era here, hitting all of his signature matches. He hits the Razor's Edge and that's all.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Typhoon vs. L.A. Gore
Apparently a blizzard caused some of the talents to miss the show, so that's a hot topic of discussion on this episode. Typhoon gets in his usual power moves, including an Irish whip that sounded like the ring was about to fall apart. He hits the big splash and gets the pinfall victory.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Bobby Heenan is in the ring and he's yelling at someone for not giving him his cue, which lets them get in their ICOPRO and Hasbro action figure commercials. Heenan introduces Giant Gonzalez and Harvey Wippleman. It's almost as if they were trying to top Max Moon's horrendous costume when they dreamed up Gonzalez's suit. I still am unable to even comprehend how Wippleman is only 27 years old here. They actually let Gonzalez say something and it's that he has a giant surprise for him. Heenan tried, but it is what it is.
We get a WrestleMania IX promo that is 100% based around Hulk Hogan returning. They squeeze in that Bret is facing Yokozuna at the end.
Papa Shango vs. Bob Backlund
This one seems like it will be quite the style clash. Backlund uses his usual tricks here. Shango hits a backbreaker and seriously I can't even concentrate on the match because of Bartlett. Outside the ring, Shango drives Backlund into the ring while Gorilla yells "STOP" at Bartlett. You can't help but feel bad for Shango here. He must be lost without his voodoo powers. Now the best he can come up with is a two minute headlock in a seven minute match. Backlund gets out of it, but Shango hits him with a knee to the gut. Backlund gets a small package out of nowhere and that is all. Well, that was uneventful.
Match Rating: 1/2*
We head to Mean Gene for a WrestleMania IX Report. They show a clip of Yokozuna hitting the Banzai Splash on some poor fool. Money, Inc. says that they have a special briefcase being made for WrestleMania. Such intrigue. Undertaker and Paul Bearer say a bunch of stuff that of course leads to Rest In Peace.
The Nasty Boys vs. The Headshrinkers
I have to say, the Manhattan Center is probably a cooler venue but the atmosphere here is pretty cool as well. If there are ever shows in arenas again, I think it would actually improve the show to go to arenas that hold around 3,000-5,000 people. The Nasty Boys get the early advantage hitting a back body drop and a DDT. Back from the commercial break, the Headshrinkers are working on Sags. Sags makes the hot tag to Knobbs and he goes for a double noggin knocker, which of course doesn't work. So then he goes to a double DDT and that does work? Wrestling logic. They spill out to the floor and they are brawling at a table full of food. They start covering each other in mustard and handing out unprotected shots to the head. The match is ruled a double countout. This was decent enough for these four.
Match Rating: *1/4
We now get a charity highlight package and boy is this something. It ends with a picture of Vince McMahon and it says that he is the President/CEO of the WWF. Was this the first time they acknowledged this on TV?
Well, this show was most likely written on the fly as a result of the blizzard, so they get a bit of a pass. However, there was nothing worth watching on this one and can easily be skipped. Kudos to the crowd though. They tried their best to make this entertaining.
Overall Rating: 39%
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
SmackDown 8-18-05 Review
Original Airdate: Thursday, August 18th, 2005
Air Canada Centre
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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Eddie Guerrero is here to kick off the show and there is a ladder set up in the ring. He says that there is only one way to settle this all and that's in a ladder match. He starts climbing the ladder and naming all of the people who he is going to climb it for and ends on Dominik. He tells us that at SummerSlam, Dominik will come home to Papi.
Joey Mercury & Melina vs. Booker T & Sharmell
Booker T's 2005 vs. 2006 is quite interesting, as they really were having issues trying to find anything for him to do. 2006 would end up being a whole different story. Melina tags in Mercury and he grabs Sharmell before she can get out. Sharmell is able to rake his eyes and in comes Booker. Mercury gets a boot up on Booker and then hits a clothesline off the second rope. Booker makes a comeback and hits a scissor kick and then the spinaroonie. The women are back in and Sharmell hits a clothesline. Melina shows off her aggressive side with some forearms on the ground. Sharmell pushes Melina down with her face, but Mercury breaks up the count. Booker knocks him out of the ring, which distracts the referee. Jillian Hall grabs Sharmell's leg and Melina covers her for the victory. This was a typical eight minute TV match that continues to get Jillian Hall over as a difference maker.
Match Rating: *3/4 (out of 5)
Booker and Sharmell are shown in the back and she is wondering where Booker was. She tells him to step up fast because she is sick of this mess.
Benoit is getting ready for his match tonight and Orlando Jordan confronts him. Jordan tells him that he's going to knock him out at SummerSlam. Benoit begs to differ.
Heidenreich and Animal are in the locker room and Animal is giving a pep talk. Animal awards him with his own pair of spiked shoulder pads.
Heidenreich & Road Warrior Animal vs. JP Parsonage & Ruffy Silverstein
For some reason Candice Michelle is introduced as the special ring announcer. The champs quickly go to work on destroying their opponents. They have gotten pretty good at having the exact same match every week. Doomsday Device on Parsonage and that of course is all.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Funaki is back with JBL. I can't remember the last time I saw Funaki in this role, which obviously means we are setting something up here. He says that he is going to demonstrate a No Holds Barred match tonight and he gets to pick his opponent. He obviously picks Funaki. After the commercial break, he and Orlando Jordan are shown getting into JBL's limo.
Randy Orton is backstage now and he says that doesn't understand what the point of wrestling Benoit tonight is when he already beat him in this building last year.
No Holds Barred Match
JBL vs. Funaki
JBL hits Funaki with some clubbing blows and follows that up with a lariat. After a fall away slam, he takes Funaki out of the ring and starts whipping him with a belt. JBL throws Funaki on the announcer table and starts choking him with an electrical cord. After stinking up the joint at Great American Bash, JBL should have a lot to prove at SummerSlam. He takes a chair and you guessed it, hits him right in the head. In comes Batista who hits a spinebuster and then hits JBL in the back with a chair. JBL retreats to the back and we have a no contest I guess? There isn't much these guys could have done at this point to make me excited to see their match, but JBL did look pretty good here tonight.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Rey Mysterio vs. Simon Dean
Simon takes a cheap shot at Rey's shrinking family, so obviously Rey goes right after him. Simon counters Rey's offense and slams him face first into the turnbuckle. The fans start doing the wave here, which is still lame. Rey makes a counter of his own and hits the 619. He drops the dime and that is all. Has there ever been a Simon Dean match that lasts longer than three minutes? This was obviously just a quick squash, but I'm not sure it succeeded in showing Rey as super focused going into the match of his life.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Christian is here for another edition of The Peep Show. Christian announces that his guest this week is himself. Out come the Mexicools. They start destroying his set and then attack Christian. They all hit aerial moves on him and Juvy counts to three. They then remind us that they are not Mexican, they are Mexicools.
Rey Mysterio is in the back for an interview. He says he feel's Eddie's presence everywhere he goes. After SummerSlam, Dominik is coming home with him.
Randy Orton vs. Chris Benoit
We get some back and forth mat wrestling to start, which already tells you this won't be a five minute match. Benoit goes for an early Sharpshooter attempt, but Orton successfully fights it off in a somewhat awkward fashion. Back from the commercial break and Orton is throwing right hands in the center of the ring. He goes for a dropkick, but Benoit holds on to the ropes to avoid it. Benoit attempts his fourth Sharpshooter attempt of the night and finally gets Orton turned over. Orton gets to the ropes and then pulls Benoit into the ring post. Orton hits his draping DDT for a 2 count. Orton goes for a gutwrench suplex, but it almost looks like Benoit is sandbagging, so he puts him down and hits a DDT. Orton hits an awkward clothesline where it looked like Benoit thought they were going to collide. There's another awkward moment where Orton whips Benoit into the turnbuckle and Benoit lands right on Orton. They just don't seem to be on the same page here. It takes them an 8 count to get back to their feet and then they exchange right hands and forearms. Benoit gets the better of him and hits an elbow drop. Orton reveres and goes for a RKO. Benoit gets out and hits three German suplexes. Benoit hits the top rope diving headbutt and out comes Orlando Jordan. Benoit knocks him off the apron, but Orton hits the RKO and gets the victory. As Orton is celebrating, the lights go out and Undertaker is in the ring when the lights go on. Taker hits a chokeslam and lets Orton know the end is near. Orton sits up and starts smiling maniacally. Taker turns around and stares him down as we go off the air. That wasn't a bad match overall, but we all know they are both capable of better.
Match Rating: **3/4
As a go home episode, this was nowhere near as effective as Raw was. The build for Batista/JBL continues to be pretty lame and I'm not sure anyone takes Orlando Jordan seriously enough to get excited for his match with Benoit. I'm looking forward to seeing the Eddie/Rey feud end and revisiting the Orton/Taker feud. This was a decent show, but did not really offer anything memorable.
Overall Rating: 50%
Air Canada Centre
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Eddie Guerrero is here to kick off the show and there is a ladder set up in the ring. He says that there is only one way to settle this all and that's in a ladder match. He starts climbing the ladder and naming all of the people who he is going to climb it for and ends on Dominik. He tells us that at SummerSlam, Dominik will come home to Papi.
Joey Mercury & Melina vs. Booker T & Sharmell
Booker T's 2005 vs. 2006 is quite interesting, as they really were having issues trying to find anything for him to do. 2006 would end up being a whole different story. Melina tags in Mercury and he grabs Sharmell before she can get out. Sharmell is able to rake his eyes and in comes Booker. Mercury gets a boot up on Booker and then hits a clothesline off the second rope. Booker makes a comeback and hits a scissor kick and then the spinaroonie. The women are back in and Sharmell hits a clothesline. Melina shows off her aggressive side with some forearms on the ground. Sharmell pushes Melina down with her face, but Mercury breaks up the count. Booker knocks him out of the ring, which distracts the referee. Jillian Hall grabs Sharmell's leg and Melina covers her for the victory. This was a typical eight minute TV match that continues to get Jillian Hall over as a difference maker.
Match Rating: *3/4 (out of 5)
Booker and Sharmell are shown in the back and she is wondering where Booker was. She tells him to step up fast because she is sick of this mess.
Benoit is getting ready for his match tonight and Orlando Jordan confronts him. Jordan tells him that he's going to knock him out at SummerSlam. Benoit begs to differ.
Heidenreich and Animal are in the locker room and Animal is giving a pep talk. Animal awards him with his own pair of spiked shoulder pads.
Heidenreich & Road Warrior Animal vs. JP Parsonage & Ruffy Silverstein
For some reason Candice Michelle is introduced as the special ring announcer. The champs quickly go to work on destroying their opponents. They have gotten pretty good at having the exact same match every week. Doomsday Device on Parsonage and that of course is all.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Funaki is back with JBL. I can't remember the last time I saw Funaki in this role, which obviously means we are setting something up here. He says that he is going to demonstrate a No Holds Barred match tonight and he gets to pick his opponent. He obviously picks Funaki. After the commercial break, he and Orlando Jordan are shown getting into JBL's limo.
Randy Orton is backstage now and he says that doesn't understand what the point of wrestling Benoit tonight is when he already beat him in this building last year.
No Holds Barred Match
JBL vs. Funaki
JBL hits Funaki with some clubbing blows and follows that up with a lariat. After a fall away slam, he takes Funaki out of the ring and starts whipping him with a belt. JBL throws Funaki on the announcer table and starts choking him with an electrical cord. After stinking up the joint at Great American Bash, JBL should have a lot to prove at SummerSlam. He takes a chair and you guessed it, hits him right in the head. In comes Batista who hits a spinebuster and then hits JBL in the back with a chair. JBL retreats to the back and we have a no contest I guess? There isn't much these guys could have done at this point to make me excited to see their match, but JBL did look pretty good here tonight.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Rey Mysterio vs. Simon Dean
Simon takes a cheap shot at Rey's shrinking family, so obviously Rey goes right after him. Simon counters Rey's offense and slams him face first into the turnbuckle. The fans start doing the wave here, which is still lame. Rey makes a counter of his own and hits the 619. He drops the dime and that is all. Has there ever been a Simon Dean match that lasts longer than three minutes? This was obviously just a quick squash, but I'm not sure it succeeded in showing Rey as super focused going into the match of his life.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Christian is here for another edition of The Peep Show. Christian announces that his guest this week is himself. Out come the Mexicools. They start destroying his set and then attack Christian. They all hit aerial moves on him and Juvy counts to three. They then remind us that they are not Mexican, they are Mexicools.
Rey Mysterio is in the back for an interview. He says he feel's Eddie's presence everywhere he goes. After SummerSlam, Dominik is coming home with him.
Randy Orton vs. Chris Benoit
We get some back and forth mat wrestling to start, which already tells you this won't be a five minute match. Benoit goes for an early Sharpshooter attempt, but Orton successfully fights it off in a somewhat awkward fashion. Back from the commercial break and Orton is throwing right hands in the center of the ring. He goes for a dropkick, but Benoit holds on to the ropes to avoid it. Benoit attempts his fourth Sharpshooter attempt of the night and finally gets Orton turned over. Orton gets to the ropes and then pulls Benoit into the ring post. Orton hits his draping DDT for a 2 count. Orton goes for a gutwrench suplex, but it almost looks like Benoit is sandbagging, so he puts him down and hits a DDT. Orton hits an awkward clothesline where it looked like Benoit thought they were going to collide. There's another awkward moment where Orton whips Benoit into the turnbuckle and Benoit lands right on Orton. They just don't seem to be on the same page here. It takes them an 8 count to get back to their feet and then they exchange right hands and forearms. Benoit gets the better of him and hits an elbow drop. Orton reveres and goes for a RKO. Benoit gets out and hits three German suplexes. Benoit hits the top rope diving headbutt and out comes Orlando Jordan. Benoit knocks him off the apron, but Orton hits the RKO and gets the victory. As Orton is celebrating, the lights go out and Undertaker is in the ring when the lights go on. Taker hits a chokeslam and lets Orton know the end is near. Orton sits up and starts smiling maniacally. Taker turns around and stares him down as we go off the air. That wasn't a bad match overall, but we all know they are both capable of better.
Match Rating: **3/4
As a go home episode, this was nowhere near as effective as Raw was. The build for Batista/JBL continues to be pretty lame and I'm not sure anyone takes Orlando Jordan seriously enough to get excited for his match with Benoit. I'm looking forward to seeing the Eddie/Rey feud end and revisiting the Orton/Taker feud. This was a decent show, but did not really offer anything memorable.
Overall Rating: 50%
Monday, April 20, 2020
Monday Night Raw 8-15-05 Review
Monday, August 15th, 2005
Bell Centre
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
No Raw intro this week (thank God). Instead we get Shawn Michaels in the best possible arena for him to be in ahead of his match against Hulk Hogan on Sunday. It's crazy to think that nearly eight years later the entire arena is still chanting "You screwed Bret". Shawn breaks out his version of "O Canada". Shawn says that he screwed Bret once and he'd do it again. The heat is off the charts here. Shawn says he would tell Bret to his face and then Bret's music hits and the place explodes. Bret doesn't come out and Michaels says that we will never see Bret in a WWE ring again. He turns his attention to Hogan and then his music hits. Once again, Hogan doesn't come out and Michaels is on the floor laughing. Michaels says that no one in this industry can touch him and then says that the fans heroes don't even arrive to the show until it's already started. The crowd starts singing "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye", so Michaels sits down in the ring until they're done. He says that there isn't a realistic bone in Hogan's body. At SummerSlam, Hogan is done. This was just phenomenal and the type of promo most wrestlers dream about.
Handicap Match
The Heart Throbs vs. Big Show
The Heart Throbs in ring entrance still holds up as one of the worst I've ever seen. This Montreal crowd is all fired up tonight, treating Big Show like he's greatest wrestler of the decade. Show pushes both men around to start until they are able to finally figure out a way to take advantage of the fact that there's one more of them. Show throws them both in the corner and hits them with a splash and a double back body drop. He hits a double chokeslam and that's all. If you were wondering what the WWE thought of their tag team division in 2005, here is your answer.
Match Rating: 1/4* (out of 5)
Eugene Gold Medal Invitational
Eugene vs. Rene Dupree
About five seconds into the match, Angle runs in and throws Dupree out of the ring and then attacks Eugene. He hits an Angle Slam on Eugene. He cuts a promo and tells Eugene that the joke is over. What he does to Hogan tonight will only be half of what he does to Eugene at SummerSlam. It's kind of interesting to see Angle put such intensity into a feud with Eugene.
Match Rating: No Rating
They show highlights of the Chad Patton and Chris Jericho match.
The Divas are out now and Elisabeth is eliminated. Honestly, looking back at this stupid contest, I probably would have picked Elisabeth, as she appeared to be a little more athletic than the others.
We get a long recap of the entire Matt Hardy/Edge/Lita saga.
Eric Bischoff is now back with Carlito and Chris Jericho in his office. Bischoff tells them that they're all going to say they are Canadians. Jericho explains that he's from the west side of Canada, which is way better than the east coast. Bischoff tells Carlito to tell them he's from southern Canada.
Handicap Match
Chris Jericho & Carlito vs. John Cena
Bischoff accompanies them and is waiving the Canadian flag. Jericho teases starting the match, but naturally tags in Carlito. Jericho quickly distracts Cena and allows Carlito to take advantage. Cena ducks under a pretty lazy clothesline attempt from Carlito and Cena eventually tosses him over the ropes. During the commercial break, Bischoff grabbed Cena's leg and allowing Jericho to attack him from behind. Jericho is able to maintain control and is showing off a definitive difference in how he executes his offensive moves, which is truly the mark of a great pro. Cena once again tries to make a comeback here, but Jericho hits a step up enzuiguri. He goes for the Walls Of Jericho, but Cena powers out and causes him to ram into Carlito. Cena goes for the FU, but Carlito makes the save. Instead, Cena hits the FU on Carlito and Jericho doesn't make the save. Cena gets the victory but is immediately greeted with a sickening unprotected chair shot to the head. When will it stop? If you're going to do the handicap match and actually have the solo performer win, I guess this the best way of doing it. Jericho chose to lose and make a statement rather than take a victory.
Match Rating: **1/2
It is finally time to find out the Diva Search "winner". Layla looks like she already knows what is about to happen, while Ashley is shaking. Coach unveils the winner on the Titan Tron and of course it is Ashley, which gets a pretty good pop. By all accounts, Ashley seemed to be a well-liked person, but as a performer she never made it as far as they had hoped. Meanwhile, I am genuinely overjoyed that I don't have to talk about this contest any time soon.
Edge vs. Val Venis
Venis looks away for a split second and Edge aggressively attacks him. There is quite a bit of irony that just six days before wrestling the guy who he legitimately stole his girlfriend from, he wrestling the brother of his first wife. The action spills outside the ring and Edge throws Venis into the apron. Edge continues to work on the back of Venis as the crowd begins to chant "Hardy". I didn't expect this match to go this long. Edge charges toward Venis, but he gets his knee up. Venis sends him off the ropes, but eats a big Spear. Edge then puts him in a Sharpshooter type submission hold and Venis taps out. That probably should have been about 2 minutes shorter to get over Edge's aggression a little bit more effectively. Regardless, he looked good here.
Match Rating: *1/4
Rob Conway steps in front of Stacy getting ready. Stacy tells him she's taken and Hurricane steps in. He can't have a bad match with Hurricane, can he?
Rob Conway vs. The Hurricane
Conway is definitely showing a bit more personality here, but the crowd is already tuned out. Conway hits Hurricane with a boot to the head and it sends him through the ropes to the outside. He follows that up by driving his back into the barricade before sending him back in the ring. Conway hits a nice swinging neckbreaker and tries three pin attempts, but Hurricane kicks out. Hurricane is able to start fighting back, but misses the Shining Wizard. Conway hits the Ego Trip and then goes up to the top rope and hits an elbow drop for the victory. The crowd still isn't buying it, but that was at least an improvement over the last couple of matches.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Kurt Angle vs. Hulk Hogan
In my nearly 30 years of being a wrestling fan, I have never liked Hulk Hogan. However, I'd be totally lying if I don't get pumped every time I hear his entrance music. Hogan quickly takes the action out of the ring and slams him into the steps and ring post. The crowd is awake again and chanting away. Back in the ring, Angle gets in some forearms and some big right hands. He hits a back suplex for a 2 count. Angle puts in a headlock and we get the arm drop routine. Hogan gets his arm up on the third drop and puts Angle in a sleeper hold. Angle hits another suplex and then hits the Angle Slam. Hogan gives one of his worst kick outs that I can remember and is starting to Hulk up. Hogan hits a big boot to the chest of Angle. He goes off the ropes after a delay and he is greeted by a leaping Shawn Michaels, causing a disqualification. Michaels acts as if he's going for Sweet Chin Music, but stops short and puts Hogan in the Sharpshooter instead. JR is going crazy here and I love it. What a great ending to the show. The match was nothing great and Hogan looked really stiff here. However, the last segment was a great last minute sell for the show in six days.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Shawn Michaels gave a legendary Raw performance here tonight with a fantastic promo to kick things off and a major heat segment to close the show. The Cena/Jericho feud was also intensified even if the chair to the head was sickening. Can you imagine even thinking of doing something like that just six days away from SummerSlam? The rest of the show was just filler, but that's nothing out of the norm. This show is a definite thumbs up thanks to Michaels.
Overall Rating: 70%
Bell Centre
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
No Raw intro this week (thank God). Instead we get Shawn Michaels in the best possible arena for him to be in ahead of his match against Hulk Hogan on Sunday. It's crazy to think that nearly eight years later the entire arena is still chanting "You screwed Bret". Shawn breaks out his version of "O Canada". Shawn says that he screwed Bret once and he'd do it again. The heat is off the charts here. Shawn says he would tell Bret to his face and then Bret's music hits and the place explodes. Bret doesn't come out and Michaels says that we will never see Bret in a WWE ring again. He turns his attention to Hogan and then his music hits. Once again, Hogan doesn't come out and Michaels is on the floor laughing. Michaels says that no one in this industry can touch him and then says that the fans heroes don't even arrive to the show until it's already started. The crowd starts singing "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye", so Michaels sits down in the ring until they're done. He says that there isn't a realistic bone in Hogan's body. At SummerSlam, Hogan is done. This was just phenomenal and the type of promo most wrestlers dream about.
Handicap Match
The Heart Throbs vs. Big Show
The Heart Throbs in ring entrance still holds up as one of the worst I've ever seen. This Montreal crowd is all fired up tonight, treating Big Show like he's greatest wrestler of the decade. Show pushes both men around to start until they are able to finally figure out a way to take advantage of the fact that there's one more of them. Show throws them both in the corner and hits them with a splash and a double back body drop. He hits a double chokeslam and that's all. If you were wondering what the WWE thought of their tag team division in 2005, here is your answer.
Match Rating: 1/4* (out of 5)
Eugene Gold Medal Invitational
Eugene vs. Rene Dupree
About five seconds into the match, Angle runs in and throws Dupree out of the ring and then attacks Eugene. He hits an Angle Slam on Eugene. He cuts a promo and tells Eugene that the joke is over. What he does to Hogan tonight will only be half of what he does to Eugene at SummerSlam. It's kind of interesting to see Angle put such intensity into a feud with Eugene.
Match Rating: No Rating
They show highlights of the Chad Patton and Chris Jericho match.
The Divas are out now and Elisabeth is eliminated. Honestly, looking back at this stupid contest, I probably would have picked Elisabeth, as she appeared to be a little more athletic than the others.
We get a long recap of the entire Matt Hardy/Edge/Lita saga.
Eric Bischoff is now back with Carlito and Chris Jericho in his office. Bischoff tells them that they're all going to say they are Canadians. Jericho explains that he's from the west side of Canada, which is way better than the east coast. Bischoff tells Carlito to tell them he's from southern Canada.
Handicap Match
Chris Jericho & Carlito vs. John Cena
Bischoff accompanies them and is waiving the Canadian flag. Jericho teases starting the match, but naturally tags in Carlito. Jericho quickly distracts Cena and allows Carlito to take advantage. Cena ducks under a pretty lazy clothesline attempt from Carlito and Cena eventually tosses him over the ropes. During the commercial break, Bischoff grabbed Cena's leg and allowing Jericho to attack him from behind. Jericho is able to maintain control and is showing off a definitive difference in how he executes his offensive moves, which is truly the mark of a great pro. Cena once again tries to make a comeback here, but Jericho hits a step up enzuiguri. He goes for the Walls Of Jericho, but Cena powers out and causes him to ram into Carlito. Cena goes for the FU, but Carlito makes the save. Instead, Cena hits the FU on Carlito and Jericho doesn't make the save. Cena gets the victory but is immediately greeted with a sickening unprotected chair shot to the head. When will it stop? If you're going to do the handicap match and actually have the solo performer win, I guess this the best way of doing it. Jericho chose to lose and make a statement rather than take a victory.
Match Rating: **1/2
It is finally time to find out the Diva Search "winner". Layla looks like she already knows what is about to happen, while Ashley is shaking. Coach unveils the winner on the Titan Tron and of course it is Ashley, which gets a pretty good pop. By all accounts, Ashley seemed to be a well-liked person, but as a performer she never made it as far as they had hoped. Meanwhile, I am genuinely overjoyed that I don't have to talk about this contest any time soon.
Edge vs. Val Venis
Venis looks away for a split second and Edge aggressively attacks him. There is quite a bit of irony that just six days before wrestling the guy who he legitimately stole his girlfriend from, he wrestling the brother of his first wife. The action spills outside the ring and Edge throws Venis into the apron. Edge continues to work on the back of Venis as the crowd begins to chant "Hardy". I didn't expect this match to go this long. Edge charges toward Venis, but he gets his knee up. Venis sends him off the ropes, but eats a big Spear. Edge then puts him in a Sharpshooter type submission hold and Venis taps out. That probably should have been about 2 minutes shorter to get over Edge's aggression a little bit more effectively. Regardless, he looked good here.
Match Rating: *1/4
Rob Conway steps in front of Stacy getting ready. Stacy tells him she's taken and Hurricane steps in. He can't have a bad match with Hurricane, can he?
Rob Conway vs. The Hurricane
Conway is definitely showing a bit more personality here, but the crowd is already tuned out. Conway hits Hurricane with a boot to the head and it sends him through the ropes to the outside. He follows that up by driving his back into the barricade before sending him back in the ring. Conway hits a nice swinging neckbreaker and tries three pin attempts, but Hurricane kicks out. Hurricane is able to start fighting back, but misses the Shining Wizard. Conway hits the Ego Trip and then goes up to the top rope and hits an elbow drop for the victory. The crowd still isn't buying it, but that was at least an improvement over the last couple of matches.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Kurt Angle vs. Hulk Hogan
In my nearly 30 years of being a wrestling fan, I have never liked Hulk Hogan. However, I'd be totally lying if I don't get pumped every time I hear his entrance music. Hogan quickly takes the action out of the ring and slams him into the steps and ring post. The crowd is awake again and chanting away. Back in the ring, Angle gets in some forearms and some big right hands. He hits a back suplex for a 2 count. Angle puts in a headlock and we get the arm drop routine. Hogan gets his arm up on the third drop and puts Angle in a sleeper hold. Angle hits another suplex and then hits the Angle Slam. Hogan gives one of his worst kick outs that I can remember and is starting to Hulk up. Hogan hits a big boot to the chest of Angle. He goes off the ropes after a delay and he is greeted by a leaping Shawn Michaels, causing a disqualification. Michaels acts as if he's going for Sweet Chin Music, but stops short and puts Hogan in the Sharpshooter instead. JR is going crazy here and I love it. What a great ending to the show. The match was nothing great and Hogan looked really stiff here. However, the last segment was a great last minute sell for the show in six days.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Shawn Michaels gave a legendary Raw performance here tonight with a fantastic promo to kick things off and a major heat segment to close the show. The Cena/Jericho feud was also intensified even if the chair to the head was sickening. Can you imagine even thinking of doing something like that just six days away from SummerSlam? The rest of the show was just filler, but that's nothing out of the norm. This show is a definite thumbs up thanks to Michaels.
Overall Rating: 70%
Friday, April 17, 2020
NXT 5-1-13 Review
Original Airdate: Wednesday, May 1st, 2013
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Triple Threat Elimination Tag Team Match
Primo & Epico vs. The Wyatt Family vs. Bo Dallas & Adrian Neville
Ugh, Brad Maddox is back on announcing duties. Bray Wyatt is not out with Harper and Rowan here. Bo has a little bit more pep in his step here tonight. Neville and Dallas get the early advantage by getting the better of Harper, Rowan and Epico. Dallas hits a back body drop on Epico that sends him over the top rope and to the floor. Back from the break, Harper hits a body slam on Dallas outside of the ring. Primo finally tags in and continues the attack on Dallas. The NXT crowd has turned on Dallas and is chanting "No more Bo". Bo finally makes the tag to Neville. Epico breaks up a pin attempt, but takes a spear from Dallas. Neville hits a Red Arrow on Epico and eliminates them. Harper comes in from behind and hits a big lariat and that is all. The beginning and end were both well done, but the Bo Dallas beatdown went on too long.
Match Rating: ** (out of 5)
We get a recap of the Paige and Summer Rae feud.
Paige vs. Summer Rae
Summer Rae attacks Paige from behind as she is making her entrance. Summer Rae doesn't stay with her and Paige immediately takes control. Summer shows off some intensity, as they brawl back and forth. Maddox is so bad on announcing that it really is hurting these matches. We get some submission wrestling from Summer, which is not a sentence I expected to type here tonight. Summer tries to leave to the back, but Paige tosses here into the apron instead. Paige catches Summer's kick and hits the Paige Turner for the victory. The match was nothing great, but they did show a lot of intensity and it was much better than you would expect.
Match Rating: *3/4
Bray Wyatt vs. Chris Jericho
Jericho was so trim here on this run. Jericho hits a dropkick through the ropes to the outside as Wyatt was consulting with Harper and Rowan. Rowan attempts to trip up Jericho and the referee sends him to the back. For some reason Harper gets to stay out and he hits Jericho with a boot outside the ring. After a bunch of rest holds from Wyatt, he hits a snap suplex, but misses a senton. Jericho follows up with an ax handle off the top rope. Harper tries to get involved again, but Jericho hits a springboard dropkick. Wyatt hits a clothesline and gets a 2 count. Wyatt hits a nice lower variation of the crossbody for another nearfall. Jericho hits the Code Breaker, but Wyatt rolls out of the ring. As Jericho is rolling Wyatt back in the ring, Harper throws him into the ring post. Mike Chioda catches Harper getting involved and does nothing about it. Wyatt steamrolls Jericho in the corner and goes for Sister Abigail, but Jericho reverses it and hits a slingshot into Harper on the apron. He gets the Walls of Jericho in and Wyatt taps. That was about as good of a match as we have had on NXT up to this point.
Match Rating: ***1/4
NXT has found a little bit of a groove here in the spring of 2013. They have been allowing a little bit more of main roster interaction and it is working. The tag team match could have been better, but it certainly wasn't bad by any means. The women tried hard and delivered an intense battle that we weren't quite accustomed to seeing just yet during this time. Jericho worked hard and put on a good show for Wyatt. I'm looking forward to seeing what we have next week.
Overall Rating: 60%
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Triple Threat Elimination Tag Team Match
Primo & Epico vs. The Wyatt Family vs. Bo Dallas & Adrian Neville
Ugh, Brad Maddox is back on announcing duties. Bray Wyatt is not out with Harper and Rowan here. Bo has a little bit more pep in his step here tonight. Neville and Dallas get the early advantage by getting the better of Harper, Rowan and Epico. Dallas hits a back body drop on Epico that sends him over the top rope and to the floor. Back from the break, Harper hits a body slam on Dallas outside of the ring. Primo finally tags in and continues the attack on Dallas. The NXT crowd has turned on Dallas and is chanting "No more Bo". Bo finally makes the tag to Neville. Epico breaks up a pin attempt, but takes a spear from Dallas. Neville hits a Red Arrow on Epico and eliminates them. Harper comes in from behind and hits a big lariat and that is all. The beginning and end were both well done, but the Bo Dallas beatdown went on too long.
Match Rating: ** (out of 5)
We get a recap of the Paige and Summer Rae feud.
Paige vs. Summer Rae
Summer Rae attacks Paige from behind as she is making her entrance. Summer Rae doesn't stay with her and Paige immediately takes control. Summer shows off some intensity, as they brawl back and forth. Maddox is so bad on announcing that it really is hurting these matches. We get some submission wrestling from Summer, which is not a sentence I expected to type here tonight. Summer tries to leave to the back, but Paige tosses here into the apron instead. Paige catches Summer's kick and hits the Paige Turner for the victory. The match was nothing great, but they did show a lot of intensity and it was much better than you would expect.
Match Rating: *3/4
Bray Wyatt vs. Chris Jericho
Jericho was so trim here on this run. Jericho hits a dropkick through the ropes to the outside as Wyatt was consulting with Harper and Rowan. Rowan attempts to trip up Jericho and the referee sends him to the back. For some reason Harper gets to stay out and he hits Jericho with a boot outside the ring. After a bunch of rest holds from Wyatt, he hits a snap suplex, but misses a senton. Jericho follows up with an ax handle off the top rope. Harper tries to get involved again, but Jericho hits a springboard dropkick. Wyatt hits a clothesline and gets a 2 count. Wyatt hits a nice lower variation of the crossbody for another nearfall. Jericho hits the Code Breaker, but Wyatt rolls out of the ring. As Jericho is rolling Wyatt back in the ring, Harper throws him into the ring post. Mike Chioda catches Harper getting involved and does nothing about it. Wyatt steamrolls Jericho in the corner and goes for Sister Abigail, but Jericho reverses it and hits a slingshot into Harper on the apron. He gets the Walls of Jericho in and Wyatt taps. That was about as good of a match as we have had on NXT up to this point.
Match Rating: ***1/4
NXT has found a little bit of a groove here in the spring of 2013. They have been allowing a little bit more of main roster interaction and it is working. The tag team match could have been better, but it certainly wasn't bad by any means. The women tried hard and delivered an intense battle that we weren't quite accustomed to seeing just yet during this time. Jericho worked hard and put on a good show for Wyatt. I'm looking forward to seeing what we have next week.
Overall Rating: 60%
Wednesday, April 15, 2020
Monday Night Raw 3-8-93 Review
Original Airdate: Monday, March 8th, 1993
Manhattan Center
New York City, New York
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
We kick it off with a studio interview from the Mega Maniacs. It's pretty easy to see why the crowd was starting to turn on Hogan here. This interview is about as lame as it gets. It ends with a "Live from New York, it's Monday Night Raw".
Virgil & El Matador vs. Money, Inc.
This match is very much 1992 WWF, except in 1993. Tito gets in a reverse elbow in on DiBiase and tags in Virgil. IRS is tagged in as well and Virgil hits him with a flurry of offensive moves. Tito gets a few right hands in and throws him back in the ring. Tito and Virgil are showing off some impressive teamwork here for a thrown together team. Tito and DiBiase collide in the middle of the ring and both men are down. They both make tags and Virgil gets the best of IRS. IRS screws up a spot by falling down instead of getting hit by the clothesline after being thrown into the turnbuckle. DiBiase distracts Virgil, IRS hits a suplex and that's all. Keep in mind that this is the team that is semi-main eventing WrestleMania. Match was decent enough despite the lame finish.
Match Rating: *3/4 (out of 5)
They show highlights of Tatanka getting non-title victories over Shawn Michaels over the past few weeks.
Rick Martel comes out to the ring and confronts the Raw Girl. He has her leave the ring and he models the sign.
Tatanka vs. Phil Apollo
Tatanka hip tosses Apollo over the top rope to the floor. Shawn Michaels joins Vince over the phone. Michaels says Tatanka got lucky, but the big time is WrestleMania and Michaels will walk out of Caesar's Palace as the Intercontinental Championship. Meanwhile, Tatanka continues with his Ultimate Warrior lite offense and finishes Apollo with End Of The Trail. Tatanka continues his undefeated streak.
Match Rating: 1/4*
It's a WrestleMania IX Report with Mean Gene. Bret Hart says that he's been studying Yokozuna and he likes that he's walking into WrestleMania as the underdog. Mr. Fuji says that Yokozuna will be the WWF Champion. Mean Gene hypes up the Roman theme. Paul Bearer and Undertaker say Giant Gonzalez will pay.
Rick Martel is back out again and takes away the card from another Raw Girl.
Papa Shango vs. Mike Edwards
I guess we're still getting Papa Shango squashes here in March of '93. He destroys Edwards here pretty quickly, but picks him up while pinning him. The second time he hits a back suplex, he doesn't go for the cover. He then hits a reverse shoulder breaker for the victory. That was a dangerous looking move.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Bob Backlund vs. Tony Demoro
Vince lets us know that Demoro is a really good looking young man that is really put together. After denying Backlund a handshake, they lock up and Backlund throws Demoro across the ring. It still amazes me that Backlund was the champion he was back in the day. Backlund hits a double underhook suplex and then goes for a goofy pin cover for the victory.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Rob Bartlett is backstage with Martel. He said he wanted to show the Raw Girls how to model. He says that perfection is boring and he's going to show everyone that he has so much class.
Rick Martel vs. Mr. Perfect
I don't believe I've ever seen these two wrestle one another. Martel does his cartwheel taunt, but Perfect does it right back to him. Martel gets his knee up on a charging Perfect and follows it up with a suplex. Perfect dumps Martel out of the ring right before the commercial break. Back from the break and Martel regains control. Martel goes for a slingshot leap over the top rope, but Perfect gets his knees up. Perfect hits Martel in the midsection as he comes off the second rope. Perfect hits an inverted atomic drop and a back body drop. They go to an awkward second commercial break and when we come back, the match is over. They show the replay of Perfect hitting the Perfect Plex for the victory. The fact that this was a taped show makes that decision even more awful.
Match Rating: **1/4
After the Slim Jim spot Perfect is shown walking back out with the Raw Girls. Next week we have Kamala in action along with Razor Ramon. The main event will be Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Typhoon.
This show had a really good pace to it this week with the major exception of them missing the finish of the main event of the show. How does that even happen? Regardless, we got two decent TV matches and the crowd was a little more lively than usual. It was 45 minutes of entertaining television even if nothing of note really happened.
Overall Rating: 58%
Manhattan Center
New York City, New York
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
We kick it off with a studio interview from the Mega Maniacs. It's pretty easy to see why the crowd was starting to turn on Hogan here. This interview is about as lame as it gets. It ends with a "Live from New York, it's Monday Night Raw".
Virgil & El Matador vs. Money, Inc.
This match is very much 1992 WWF, except in 1993. Tito gets in a reverse elbow in on DiBiase and tags in Virgil. IRS is tagged in as well and Virgil hits him with a flurry of offensive moves. Tito gets a few right hands in and throws him back in the ring. Tito and Virgil are showing off some impressive teamwork here for a thrown together team. Tito and DiBiase collide in the middle of the ring and both men are down. They both make tags and Virgil gets the best of IRS. IRS screws up a spot by falling down instead of getting hit by the clothesline after being thrown into the turnbuckle. DiBiase distracts Virgil, IRS hits a suplex and that's all. Keep in mind that this is the team that is semi-main eventing WrestleMania. Match was decent enough despite the lame finish.
Match Rating: *3/4 (out of 5)
They show highlights of Tatanka getting non-title victories over Shawn Michaels over the past few weeks.
Rick Martel comes out to the ring and confronts the Raw Girl. He has her leave the ring and he models the sign.
Tatanka vs. Phil Apollo
Tatanka hip tosses Apollo over the top rope to the floor. Shawn Michaels joins Vince over the phone. Michaels says Tatanka got lucky, but the big time is WrestleMania and Michaels will walk out of Caesar's Palace as the Intercontinental Championship. Meanwhile, Tatanka continues with his Ultimate Warrior lite offense and finishes Apollo with End Of The Trail. Tatanka continues his undefeated streak.
Match Rating: 1/4*
It's a WrestleMania IX Report with Mean Gene. Bret Hart says that he's been studying Yokozuna and he likes that he's walking into WrestleMania as the underdog. Mr. Fuji says that Yokozuna will be the WWF Champion. Mean Gene hypes up the Roman theme. Paul Bearer and Undertaker say Giant Gonzalez will pay.
Rick Martel is back out again and takes away the card from another Raw Girl.
Papa Shango vs. Mike Edwards
I guess we're still getting Papa Shango squashes here in March of '93. He destroys Edwards here pretty quickly, but picks him up while pinning him. The second time he hits a back suplex, he doesn't go for the cover. He then hits a reverse shoulder breaker for the victory. That was a dangerous looking move.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Bob Backlund vs. Tony Demoro
Vince lets us know that Demoro is a really good looking young man that is really put together. After denying Backlund a handshake, they lock up and Backlund throws Demoro across the ring. It still amazes me that Backlund was the champion he was back in the day. Backlund hits a double underhook suplex and then goes for a goofy pin cover for the victory.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Rob Bartlett is backstage with Martel. He said he wanted to show the Raw Girls how to model. He says that perfection is boring and he's going to show everyone that he has so much class.
Rick Martel vs. Mr. Perfect
I don't believe I've ever seen these two wrestle one another. Martel does his cartwheel taunt, but Perfect does it right back to him. Martel gets his knee up on a charging Perfect and follows it up with a suplex. Perfect dumps Martel out of the ring right before the commercial break. Back from the break and Martel regains control. Martel goes for a slingshot leap over the top rope, but Perfect gets his knees up. Perfect hits Martel in the midsection as he comes off the second rope. Perfect hits an inverted atomic drop and a back body drop. They go to an awkward second commercial break and when we come back, the match is over. They show the replay of Perfect hitting the Perfect Plex for the victory. The fact that this was a taped show makes that decision even more awful.
Match Rating: **1/4
After the Slim Jim spot Perfect is shown walking back out with the Raw Girls. Next week we have Kamala in action along with Razor Ramon. The main event will be Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Typhoon.
This show had a really good pace to it this week with the major exception of them missing the finish of the main event of the show. How does that even happen? Regardless, we got two decent TV matches and the crowd was a little more lively than usual. It was 45 minutes of entertaining television even if nothing of note really happened.
Overall Rating: 58%
Monday, April 13, 2020
SmackDown 8-11-05 Review
Original Airdate: Thursday, August 11th, 2005
Nationwide Arena
Columbus, Ohio
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Booker T vs. Joey Mercury
This was set up from last week's tag team match. As always, I'm good with them having a little continuity on their weekly shows. On the negative side, I now have to listen to Tazz and Cole talk about Jillian's "blemish". Jillian distracts the ref at the start and Johnny Nitro attacks him from behind, but Booker takes care of him. The referee figures it out and sends both of them to the back. Booker throws Mercury into the ring and gives him a suplex. Booker goes up top, but gets knocked down. Mercury takes control, but not for long. Booker fires back and hits a sidewalk slam. Spinaroonie time and Booker hits the Book End. Melina distracts the referee and Sharmell pulls her off the apron. Booker hits the scissor kick and gets the victory. That was shorter than I would have expected.
Match Rating: *1/2 (out of 5)
Christian is here for another episode of The Peep Show and his guest tonight is Batista. Christian says that he doesn't have a match at SummerSlam despite being the biggest draft pick in SmackDown history. He says he's going to change that by beating Batista tonight. He challenges him to a match and calls him a shaved ape. Batista takes the mic away from him and tries to do some comedy. He accepts the challenge. That was a pretty short segment.
Animal and Heidenreich are discussing their match on their way to the ring.
Heidenreich & Road Warrior Animal vs. Jason Static & Scotty Sabre
The champs go right to work on the ham and eggers. Animal tosses Sabre and then forces him to tag in Static. Sabre breaks up a pin attempt. They then hit the Doomsday Device and that's all. This was longer than I made it sound, but still the same match they've been having every week.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Teddy Long's phone conversation is interrupted by Randy Orton. Orton wants to know who his opponent is going to be. Long says that since Orton likes surprises, his opponent is a surprise. Long hints that his opponent is a legend who is a former rival of the Undertaker.
Randy Orton vs. Kamala
Kamala of course is accompanied by Kim Chee. Kamala is 55 years old here. He attacks Orton with some chops and headbutts. Orton fires back with a standing dropkick and then goes to work. Orton pulls Kim Chee in the ring and gives him a RKO. Kamala makes a little bit of a comeback and hits a splash for a 2 count. Kamala has come a long way on his pin attempts, as he didn't need any assistance there. Orton avoids Kamala and hits a RKO. The lights go out and they again do the RKO into RIP video as smoke fills the ring. They then cut to Eddie Guerrero, so I guess there's no ending here? The match was nothing.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Eddie meets with a social worker who is going to observe him tonight. After the commercial break, he brings her out to the ring with him. He calls out Rey, his wife Angie and Dominik. Eddie asks for Dominik to come over to him. Rey says that this is a no win situation. Rey reminds Eddie that he hasn't beaten him. Rey tells him that if he takes Dominik that he will never wrestle him again and then he will never get a chance to beat Rey. Man, this segment is long. Rey then challenges Eddie to a match at SummerSlam for the custody of Dominik. Eddie accepts but he accepts and that he's taking Dominik home tonight. The social worker tells Eddie that he's not taking him home tonight and that Dominik is going to foster care. Her acting is bad by even wrestling standards. Eddie then tells Dominik that after SummerSlam he'll find out what being a Guerrero is all about. This was really, really long and just way over the top. Rey and Angie embrace as creepy Eddie looks on.
Psicosis & Super Crazy vs. Scotty 2 Hotty & William Regal
Scotty hits a couple of hip tosses and goes to tag Regal, but Regal is too busy taunting Psicosis. Scotty slides outside and pulls Psicosis off the apron, but Juvy is there to attack him. Super Crazy hits a dropkick, but then misses with a splash. Scotty goes for a tag, but Regal walks off and leaves him by himself in the ring. Psicosis hits the top rope leg drop and that's all. This was not as decisive as it probably should have been.
Match Rating: 3/4*
Rey is backstage trying to console his wife.
Jillian Hall is backstage and she stops mid-sentence to accuse the announcer of looking at her blemish. She then proposes Joey Mercury and Melina against Booker T and Sharmell next week on SmackDown.
They show John Cena's music video.
Chris Benoit vs. Simon Dean
Dean calls Benoit the flabby wolverine and asks him if he has ever seen the inside of a gym. Benoit attacks Dean. Dean gets in a brief bit of offense after slamming Benoit's head into the second turnbuckle. Benoit powers out of a front facelock and then hits three German suplexes. He then puts him in the Crippler Crossface and that is all. This was your typical Simon Dean squash.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Christian vs. Batista
This is a non-title match. They lock up and Batista laughs as Christian tries to move him. Batista knocks him down with some shoulder blocks and dumps him over the top rope with a back body drop. Christian avoids Batista and then throws him into the ring post. Christian hits a missile dropkick, but Batista kicks out. Christian goes up top, but Batista hits a back body drop from the turnbuckle. Batista hits a spinebuster and signals for the end. In comes JBL, but Batista knocks him outside the ring and throws him over the announcer table. JBL grabs a chair and hits Batista in the head with it. Back in the ring, JBL hits him multiple times in the back with the chair and then another hit to the head. Why? Well, they didn't get much time and Christian didn't even hang around for the post-match beatdown. The match was fine as far as five minute matches with no ending go.
Match Rating: *1/2
Well, this certainly was not a great show. There was hardly any wrestling on it and the Dominik segment was so long and over the top. This certainly did nothing for me to want to see SummerSlam in 10 days. I guess it's a good thing Hogan vs. Michaels is the main event.
Overall Rating: 37%
Nationwide Arena
Columbus, Ohio
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Booker T vs. Joey Mercury
This was set up from last week's tag team match. As always, I'm good with them having a little continuity on their weekly shows. On the negative side, I now have to listen to Tazz and Cole talk about Jillian's "blemish". Jillian distracts the ref at the start and Johnny Nitro attacks him from behind, but Booker takes care of him. The referee figures it out and sends both of them to the back. Booker throws Mercury into the ring and gives him a suplex. Booker goes up top, but gets knocked down. Mercury takes control, but not for long. Booker fires back and hits a sidewalk slam. Spinaroonie time and Booker hits the Book End. Melina distracts the referee and Sharmell pulls her off the apron. Booker hits the scissor kick and gets the victory. That was shorter than I would have expected.
Match Rating: *1/2 (out of 5)
Christian is here for another episode of The Peep Show and his guest tonight is Batista. Christian says that he doesn't have a match at SummerSlam despite being the biggest draft pick in SmackDown history. He says he's going to change that by beating Batista tonight. He challenges him to a match and calls him a shaved ape. Batista takes the mic away from him and tries to do some comedy. He accepts the challenge. That was a pretty short segment.
Animal and Heidenreich are discussing their match on their way to the ring.
Heidenreich & Road Warrior Animal vs. Jason Static & Scotty Sabre
The champs go right to work on the ham and eggers. Animal tosses Sabre and then forces him to tag in Static. Sabre breaks up a pin attempt. They then hit the Doomsday Device and that's all. This was longer than I made it sound, but still the same match they've been having every week.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Teddy Long's phone conversation is interrupted by Randy Orton. Orton wants to know who his opponent is going to be. Long says that since Orton likes surprises, his opponent is a surprise. Long hints that his opponent is a legend who is a former rival of the Undertaker.
Randy Orton vs. Kamala
Kamala of course is accompanied by Kim Chee. Kamala is 55 years old here. He attacks Orton with some chops and headbutts. Orton fires back with a standing dropkick and then goes to work. Orton pulls Kim Chee in the ring and gives him a RKO. Kamala makes a little bit of a comeback and hits a splash for a 2 count. Kamala has come a long way on his pin attempts, as he didn't need any assistance there. Orton avoids Kamala and hits a RKO. The lights go out and they again do the RKO into RIP video as smoke fills the ring. They then cut to Eddie Guerrero, so I guess there's no ending here? The match was nothing.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Eddie meets with a social worker who is going to observe him tonight. After the commercial break, he brings her out to the ring with him. He calls out Rey, his wife Angie and Dominik. Eddie asks for Dominik to come over to him. Rey says that this is a no win situation. Rey reminds Eddie that he hasn't beaten him. Rey tells him that if he takes Dominik that he will never wrestle him again and then he will never get a chance to beat Rey. Man, this segment is long. Rey then challenges Eddie to a match at SummerSlam for the custody of Dominik. Eddie accepts but he accepts and that he's taking Dominik home tonight. The social worker tells Eddie that he's not taking him home tonight and that Dominik is going to foster care. Her acting is bad by even wrestling standards. Eddie then tells Dominik that after SummerSlam he'll find out what being a Guerrero is all about. This was really, really long and just way over the top. Rey and Angie embrace as creepy Eddie looks on.
Psicosis & Super Crazy vs. Scotty 2 Hotty & William Regal
Scotty hits a couple of hip tosses and goes to tag Regal, but Regal is too busy taunting Psicosis. Scotty slides outside and pulls Psicosis off the apron, but Juvy is there to attack him. Super Crazy hits a dropkick, but then misses with a splash. Scotty goes for a tag, but Regal walks off and leaves him by himself in the ring. Psicosis hits the top rope leg drop and that's all. This was not as decisive as it probably should have been.
Match Rating: 3/4*
Rey is backstage trying to console his wife.
Jillian Hall is backstage and she stops mid-sentence to accuse the announcer of looking at her blemish. She then proposes Joey Mercury and Melina against Booker T and Sharmell next week on SmackDown.
They show John Cena's music video.
Chris Benoit vs. Simon Dean
Dean calls Benoit the flabby wolverine and asks him if he has ever seen the inside of a gym. Benoit attacks Dean. Dean gets in a brief bit of offense after slamming Benoit's head into the second turnbuckle. Benoit powers out of a front facelock and then hits three German suplexes. He then puts him in the Crippler Crossface and that is all. This was your typical Simon Dean squash.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Christian vs. Batista
This is a non-title match. They lock up and Batista laughs as Christian tries to move him. Batista knocks him down with some shoulder blocks and dumps him over the top rope with a back body drop. Christian avoids Batista and then throws him into the ring post. Christian hits a missile dropkick, but Batista kicks out. Christian goes up top, but Batista hits a back body drop from the turnbuckle. Batista hits a spinebuster and signals for the end. In comes JBL, but Batista knocks him outside the ring and throws him over the announcer table. JBL grabs a chair and hits Batista in the head with it. Back in the ring, JBL hits him multiple times in the back with the chair and then another hit to the head. Why? Well, they didn't get much time and Christian didn't even hang around for the post-match beatdown. The match was fine as far as five minute matches with no ending go.
Match Rating: *1/2
Well, this certainly was not a great show. There was hardly any wrestling on it and the Dominik segment was so long and over the top. This certainly did nothing for me to want to see SummerSlam in 10 days. I guess it's a good thing Hogan vs. Michaels is the main event.
Overall Rating: 37%
Friday, April 10, 2020
Monday Night Raw 8-8-05 Review
Monday, August 8th, 2005
Mellon Arena
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Eugene Gold Medal Invitational
Eugene vs. Kurt Angle
Eugene is once again with Christy and is sporting a Hulkamania shirt. Angle is tired of Eugene's crap. Angle is clearly the face here and then he insults the Pittsburgh crowd for some boos. Angle attacks Eugene and dominates the first minute. Eugene hits the ref and then blames it on Angle. Eugene knocks Angle down and then rides him like a cowboy. Angle hits a German suplex with a release and gets a big pop. Eugene escapes the Angle Slam and Angle accidentally hits Mike Chioda and he calls for the bell. Angle attacks a celebratory Eugene from behind and hits the Angle Slam. Hulk Hogan's music hits and he's on his way down to the ring. Angle tries to attack him, but we all know the end of this story. Angle is able to escape before taking a beatdown. Eugene is now celebrating with a gold medal around his neck with Hulk Hogan. Think about that for a minute.
Match Rating: 1/2* (out of 5)
Shelton Benjamin vs. Chris Masters
Masters catches Shelton and drives him into the mat with a body slam. Masters signs for the Master Lock, but Benjamin counters the attempt and gets a 2 count. Shelton fires back and hits a running knee lift. Shelton hits a top rope clothesline, but Masters gets his foot on the bottom rope. Shelton again escapes the Master Lock attempt and puts on a sleeper hold. Masters hits Shelton with a low blow and then finally gets him in the Master Lock and that is all. That's your longest match of the night at right around four minutes. That was a much bigger squash than what Shelton deserves here.
Match Rating: *
Angle is shown walking out of Eric Bischoff's office. Angle says that he is facing Eugene at SummerSlam with no time limit. He says that he will be ending his career and he's going to like it.
Rob Conway is back with Maria to talk about his match with Viscera. He says he's going to get things done the Con-way. Viscera comes in and tells Conway that he looks like he's from the Village People. Why wouldn't you save this match for WrestleMania?
Edge and Lita are backstage to talk about the re-hiring of Matt Hardy. Edge says that he personally asked Vince to do it. He wants to get his hands on Hardy and if he did it outside the ring, he'd be arrested for assault. Edge gives one of his more passionate promos to date. He comments on the car accident comment and says he wants the opposite for Hardy. He wants him in perfect condition so he can take him out. He says that Matt complained about Lita being his dream girl, but he had six years to propose to her and failed to. Now she is in love with a main eventer. They of course end the promo by making out. In terms of their promos, Edge definitely got the better of Matt as this was quite good.
Rob Conway vs. Viscera
It can not be understated how silent it gets when Conway's music hits. I can't think of another entrance theme that has a worse impact on a wrestler. Conway dropkicks Viscera's knee and they act as if he is injured. The ref tries to get Conway to back off, but he goes to work on his knee. About 30 seconds later Viscera is able to overcome the odds and hit a Samoan Drop. Conway goes up top and Viscera hits him with a fist from his knee? That was weird looking. Viscera is limping and goes to lift Conway up and he pushes him down for a pinfall victory. Viscera's knee gave out. What a match.
Match Rating: 1/4*
The Hurricane, Rosey & Stacy Keibler vs. The Heart Throbs & Victoria
They actually show highlights from Sunday Night Heat, as there was an angle on there that set up this match. There's a part of me that wishes Heat and Velocity were up on the Network, but at the same time it would take me about 3 years to get through 2005, so I'm good. The Heart Throbs miss a double dropkick on Hurricane and he tags in Rosey. He gets in some body slams and then he and Hurricane dump them both out of the ring while they are distracted by Stacy. Victoria then attacks Stacy. Victoria gets bumped off the apron by Rosey and then the Heart Throbs steal the victory. That was extremely brief. Both Stacy and Victoria are selling injuries as the Heart Throbs leave to the back on their own.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Chris Jericho is here for another episode of the Highlight Reel. His guest tonight is Eric Bischoff. They show a short Fozzy music video with highlights of Jericho and Cena. Bischoff says not everything has gone according to plan and orders Chad Patton down to the ring. He was the referee last week who counted Cena's pin last week when Jericho was out of the ring. They slap Patton and Bischoff orders Patton to take on Jericho tonight.
Chris Jericho vs. Chad Patton
Patton drives Jericho into the turnbuckle, but Jericho just starts beating him down. Jericho starts choking Patton with his referee shirt. Bischoff is the ref for this and now Carlito is on his way down. Jericho tosses him over the top rope and Carlito starts attacking him now. Jericho puts him him in the Walls of Jericho and Bischoff calls for the bell. Jericho won't release the hold and then out comes Cena. Carlito tries to make the save, but is unsuccessful. He hits the FU on Carlito as he points at Jericho. This was obviously an angle more than a match, so it's almost unfair to rate it. But rules are rules.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Bischoff and Jericho are upset backstage. Bischoff announces that it will be Jericho and Carlito against Cena next week on Raw.
It's Diva Search time and they announce that this will be over next week, which is the best news I've heard all day. Kristal is eliminated tonight. They do a contest of when things go wrong and it is pre-taped. Ashley gives out her phone number, which is blurred and then bleeped out. Halfway through someone runs in and throws a pie in her face and she gets mad. Thrilling TV. Leyla claims to be naked and covering herself with a sign covering her. She also gets the pie treatment and she handles it better, but it also reveals that she was not naked. Elisabeth cuts a promo about wanting to be here more than anyone else and then doesn't let it slow her down. Like everything else, this was terrible. From what little I remembered about this, I had thought that I remembered Ashley being super popular, but really she didn't stand out over the other two with the crowd.
Matt Hardy vs. Snitsky
They go right at it and Hardy gets some knees to the face in. Snitsky hits a spinebuster and starts working on Hardy in the corner. Hardy avoids a charging Snitsky and regains the advantage. The crowd has already died down at this point. Snitsky misses a kick and ends up on sitting on the top rope. Hardy hits a top rope version of the Twist Of Fate and gets the victory. As soon as the match is over, Edge comes in and attacks him. Edge is pulled away by a group of agents. The match wasn't much.
Match Rating: 3/4*
Backstage, Hardy attacks Edge and they again have to pulled apart.
They show the debut of John Cena's new music video for "Right Now".
Shawn Michaels is shown walking towards Gorilla Position.
Jerry Lawler is in the ring with two empty podiums. They run down next week's Raw and announce that Hulk Hogan will take on Kurt Angle. King wonders if Michaels is jealous of Hogan. Michaels shoots it down and says there is not one aspect of Hogan's life that he wants and that he can't touch him in the ring. Michaels says Hogan has made a career strictly on personality and show and at SummerSlam it won't amount to anything. Michaels keeps going on and Hogan finally interrupts him. He says that if Michaels wanted a match, all he had to do is ask. Instead he did what he does best and stabbed him in the back. Hogan then brings up Bret Hart to a big reaction. Hogan talks about Michaels losing his smile and said he's not back here for his smile. He's here for the Hulkamaniac's smiles. Hogan then lays it all out with his famous "Whatcha gonna do?". Michaels then superkicks Jerry Lawler and then attacks Hogan. Hogan no sells and hits a big boot and then throws him over the top rope. Well, that was certainly a strong ending. These guys have great chemistry together and brought out the best in each other here.
Well, first let's do the good. Edge cut a very passionate promo here and definitely sold me on his match with Hardy. The show then ended on a great note with two old pros showing what they are capable of on the mic. Then there was the rest of the show. On paper, the actual wrestling matches were as weak as it comes. There was not one match that lasted five minutes here and most of the wrestling wasn't very good. The Diva Search is finally almost over, but this was again embarrassingly bad. The Jericho segment was decent, but not really necessary to me. Both promo segments are worth watching, but everything else is nothing you ever need to see.
Overall Rating: 40%
Mellon Arena
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Eugene Gold Medal Invitational
Eugene vs. Kurt Angle
Eugene is once again with Christy and is sporting a Hulkamania shirt. Angle is tired of Eugene's crap. Angle is clearly the face here and then he insults the Pittsburgh crowd for some boos. Angle attacks Eugene and dominates the first minute. Eugene hits the ref and then blames it on Angle. Eugene knocks Angle down and then rides him like a cowboy. Angle hits a German suplex with a release and gets a big pop. Eugene escapes the Angle Slam and Angle accidentally hits Mike Chioda and he calls for the bell. Angle attacks a celebratory Eugene from behind and hits the Angle Slam. Hulk Hogan's music hits and he's on his way down to the ring. Angle tries to attack him, but we all know the end of this story. Angle is able to escape before taking a beatdown. Eugene is now celebrating with a gold medal around his neck with Hulk Hogan. Think about that for a minute.
Match Rating: 1/2* (out of 5)
Shelton Benjamin vs. Chris Masters
Masters catches Shelton and drives him into the mat with a body slam. Masters signs for the Master Lock, but Benjamin counters the attempt and gets a 2 count. Shelton fires back and hits a running knee lift. Shelton hits a top rope clothesline, but Masters gets his foot on the bottom rope. Shelton again escapes the Master Lock attempt and puts on a sleeper hold. Masters hits Shelton with a low blow and then finally gets him in the Master Lock and that is all. That's your longest match of the night at right around four minutes. That was a much bigger squash than what Shelton deserves here.
Match Rating: *
Angle is shown walking out of Eric Bischoff's office. Angle says that he is facing Eugene at SummerSlam with no time limit. He says that he will be ending his career and he's going to like it.
Rob Conway is back with Maria to talk about his match with Viscera. He says he's going to get things done the Con-way. Viscera comes in and tells Conway that he looks like he's from the Village People. Why wouldn't you save this match for WrestleMania?
Edge and Lita are backstage to talk about the re-hiring of Matt Hardy. Edge says that he personally asked Vince to do it. He wants to get his hands on Hardy and if he did it outside the ring, he'd be arrested for assault. Edge gives one of his more passionate promos to date. He comments on the car accident comment and says he wants the opposite for Hardy. He wants him in perfect condition so he can take him out. He says that Matt complained about Lita being his dream girl, but he had six years to propose to her and failed to. Now she is in love with a main eventer. They of course end the promo by making out. In terms of their promos, Edge definitely got the better of Matt as this was quite good.
Rob Conway vs. Viscera
It can not be understated how silent it gets when Conway's music hits. I can't think of another entrance theme that has a worse impact on a wrestler. Conway dropkicks Viscera's knee and they act as if he is injured. The ref tries to get Conway to back off, but he goes to work on his knee. About 30 seconds later Viscera is able to overcome the odds and hit a Samoan Drop. Conway goes up top and Viscera hits him with a fist from his knee? That was weird looking. Viscera is limping and goes to lift Conway up and he pushes him down for a pinfall victory. Viscera's knee gave out. What a match.
Match Rating: 1/4*
The Hurricane, Rosey & Stacy Keibler vs. The Heart Throbs & Victoria
They actually show highlights from Sunday Night Heat, as there was an angle on there that set up this match. There's a part of me that wishes Heat and Velocity were up on the Network, but at the same time it would take me about 3 years to get through 2005, so I'm good. The Heart Throbs miss a double dropkick on Hurricane and he tags in Rosey. He gets in some body slams and then he and Hurricane dump them both out of the ring while they are distracted by Stacy. Victoria then attacks Stacy. Victoria gets bumped off the apron by Rosey and then the Heart Throbs steal the victory. That was extremely brief. Both Stacy and Victoria are selling injuries as the Heart Throbs leave to the back on their own.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Chris Jericho is here for another episode of the Highlight Reel. His guest tonight is Eric Bischoff. They show a short Fozzy music video with highlights of Jericho and Cena. Bischoff says not everything has gone according to plan and orders Chad Patton down to the ring. He was the referee last week who counted Cena's pin last week when Jericho was out of the ring. They slap Patton and Bischoff orders Patton to take on Jericho tonight.
Chris Jericho vs. Chad Patton
Patton drives Jericho into the turnbuckle, but Jericho just starts beating him down. Jericho starts choking Patton with his referee shirt. Bischoff is the ref for this and now Carlito is on his way down. Jericho tosses him over the top rope and Carlito starts attacking him now. Jericho puts him him in the Walls of Jericho and Bischoff calls for the bell. Jericho won't release the hold and then out comes Cena. Carlito tries to make the save, but is unsuccessful. He hits the FU on Carlito as he points at Jericho. This was obviously an angle more than a match, so it's almost unfair to rate it. But rules are rules.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Bischoff and Jericho are upset backstage. Bischoff announces that it will be Jericho and Carlito against Cena next week on Raw.
It's Diva Search time and they announce that this will be over next week, which is the best news I've heard all day. Kristal is eliminated tonight. They do a contest of when things go wrong and it is pre-taped. Ashley gives out her phone number, which is blurred and then bleeped out. Halfway through someone runs in and throws a pie in her face and she gets mad. Thrilling TV. Leyla claims to be naked and covering herself with a sign covering her. She also gets the pie treatment and she handles it better, but it also reveals that she was not naked. Elisabeth cuts a promo about wanting to be here more than anyone else and then doesn't let it slow her down. Like everything else, this was terrible. From what little I remembered about this, I had thought that I remembered Ashley being super popular, but really she didn't stand out over the other two with the crowd.
Matt Hardy vs. Snitsky
They go right at it and Hardy gets some knees to the face in. Snitsky hits a spinebuster and starts working on Hardy in the corner. Hardy avoids a charging Snitsky and regains the advantage. The crowd has already died down at this point. Snitsky misses a kick and ends up on sitting on the top rope. Hardy hits a top rope version of the Twist Of Fate and gets the victory. As soon as the match is over, Edge comes in and attacks him. Edge is pulled away by a group of agents. The match wasn't much.
Match Rating: 3/4*
Backstage, Hardy attacks Edge and they again have to pulled apart.
They show the debut of John Cena's new music video for "Right Now".
Shawn Michaels is shown walking towards Gorilla Position.
Jerry Lawler is in the ring with two empty podiums. They run down next week's Raw and announce that Hulk Hogan will take on Kurt Angle. King wonders if Michaels is jealous of Hogan. Michaels shoots it down and says there is not one aspect of Hogan's life that he wants and that he can't touch him in the ring. Michaels says Hogan has made a career strictly on personality and show and at SummerSlam it won't amount to anything. Michaels keeps going on and Hogan finally interrupts him. He says that if Michaels wanted a match, all he had to do is ask. Instead he did what he does best and stabbed him in the back. Hogan then brings up Bret Hart to a big reaction. Hogan talks about Michaels losing his smile and said he's not back here for his smile. He's here for the Hulkamaniac's smiles. Hogan then lays it all out with his famous "Whatcha gonna do?". Michaels then superkicks Jerry Lawler and then attacks Hogan. Hogan no sells and hits a big boot and then throws him over the top rope. Well, that was certainly a strong ending. These guys have great chemistry together and brought out the best in each other here.
Well, first let's do the good. Edge cut a very passionate promo here and definitely sold me on his match with Hardy. The show then ended on a great note with two old pros showing what they are capable of on the mic. Then there was the rest of the show. On paper, the actual wrestling matches were as weak as it comes. There was not one match that lasted five minutes here and most of the wrestling wasn't very good. The Diva Search is finally almost over, but this was again embarrassingly bad. The Jericho segment was decent, but not really necessary to me. Both promo segments are worth watching, but everything else is nothing you ever need to see.
Overall Rating: 40%
Wednesday, April 8, 2020
NXT 4-24-13 Review
Original Airdate: Wednesday, April 24th, 2013
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida
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Dusty Rhodes presents the first NXT Clash Of Champions.
United States Championship Match
Antonio Cesaro vs. Adrian Neville
Apparently Cesaro lost the title on April 15th on Raw to Kofi Kingston, so they scroll at the bottom that this match is taped. Before the match, Cesaro says that he is the longest reigning champion and he plans on being the champion for a long, long time. This may be my most anticipated NXT match out of all of the shows I have reviewed. Cesaro starts in control, but Neville quickly recovers and hits some of his fast paced offense. However, Cesaro catches him and drops him on the top turnbuckle. Cesaro after the break hits a stomp and gets a 2 count. Despite being the United States Champion, Cesaro did not have a match at WrestleMania. This was before the 8 hour WrestleMania's we've all grown to roll our eyes at. Cesaro catches Neville in midair and hits a backbreaker. Neville ducks a charging Cesaro and he ends up over the top rope. Neville then hits a springboard moonsault with some serious height. Back in the ring, Neville hits a springboard dropkick and a standing Shooting Star Press for a 2 count. Neville then counters a pop up powerbomb with a hurricanrana that looked like Cesaro landed right on his neck. Neville kicks Cesaro in the head and hits a moonsault DDT for another close call. Neville goes up top, but Cesaro hits the ropes and hits a European uppercut. Cesaro hits the Neutralizer and gets the victory. It never quite got to these guys top gear, but this was easily one of the best matches in NXT's short history.
Match Rating: ***1/4 (out of 5)
Diva's Championship Match
AJ Lee vs. Kaitlyn
It's kind of weird because AJ is a heel here and with Big E Langston on the main roster, who is a babyface NXT Champion here. AJ avoids Kaitlyn and she hits here shoulder on the ring post. AJ works on the shoulder, but Kaitlyn starts to fire back. We get a sloppy spot where it looked like Kaitlyn was going to roll through and pick AJ up, but she struggles and improvises. Kaitlyn ends up running through the ropes and for some reason AJ lets her crawl back in. AJ hits an enzuigiri and gets a 2 count. She loses it on Kaitlyn, but then Kaitlyn hits a Spear and that's all. That wasn't very good.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Chris Jericho is here and hypes up NXT. He says that William Regal has given him permission to face anyone he wants next week. In walks Bray Wyatt and he cuts one of his Jake Roberts promos. Jericho tells him to never interrupt him again and that he chooses him as his opponent next week. Jericho says that if he loses, he will join the Wyatt Family.
NXT Championship Match
Big E Langston vs. Brad Maddox
Brad Maddox comes out to no music and introduces himself. I'm thinking this will be a quick one. Big E steamrolls Maddox and then hits the Big Ending. That's it and he of course wants the 5 count. The ref then explains to him that the match is over at 3. Big E hits another Big Ending and then counts to 5, even though it looks like his shoulders were up. Maddox rolls out of the ring, but Big E goes out and puts him back in. Big E hits another one and gets another 5 count.
Match Rating: 1/4*
They show a clip of Bo Dallas eliminating Wade Barrett at the Royal Rumble. Bo Dallas then defeated Barret the next night on Raw. Bo Dallas is backstage and says tonight is all about the Bo Barrage.
Intercontinental Championship Match
Bo Dallas vs. Wade Barrett
I miss Barrett. Bo gets a few quick pinfall attempts and Barrett rolls under the ropes to take a breather. There's a pretty vocal group in the audience booing Bo here tonight. Barrett hits a flurry of elbows and follows up with a boot to the face of a seated Bo Dalls. Bo gets in a little bit of offense in, but Barrett quickly ends that with a boot to the face. Barrett hits a high knee to Dallas who was draped on the top rope. Dallas is doing a nice job of selling here tonight. Barrett hits some more knees and then kicks him out of the ring. Dallas gets another quick flurry, but Barrett tosses Dallas across the ring and then hits Winds Of Change for a 2 count. Barrett misses with the Bull Hammer and Bo hits his spinning bulldog for a nearfall. Barrett goes for Wasteland, but Dallas gets out. He goes off the top rope, but Barrett hits the Bull Hammer and gets the victory. That was a really solid match, as they seem to have good chemistry with one another.
Match Rating: **3/4
Well, this is definitely one of the best episodes of NXT to this point. We got two good matches, which is about all you can really ask for on a 50 minute show. NXT has been gaining a little bit of momentum as they head into the summer and hopefully it will keep up.
Overall Rating: 66%
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida
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Dusty Rhodes presents the first NXT Clash Of Champions.
United States Championship Match
Antonio Cesaro vs. Adrian Neville
Apparently Cesaro lost the title on April 15th on Raw to Kofi Kingston, so they scroll at the bottom that this match is taped. Before the match, Cesaro says that he is the longest reigning champion and he plans on being the champion for a long, long time. This may be my most anticipated NXT match out of all of the shows I have reviewed. Cesaro starts in control, but Neville quickly recovers and hits some of his fast paced offense. However, Cesaro catches him and drops him on the top turnbuckle. Cesaro after the break hits a stomp and gets a 2 count. Despite being the United States Champion, Cesaro did not have a match at WrestleMania. This was before the 8 hour WrestleMania's we've all grown to roll our eyes at. Cesaro catches Neville in midair and hits a backbreaker. Neville ducks a charging Cesaro and he ends up over the top rope. Neville then hits a springboard moonsault with some serious height. Back in the ring, Neville hits a springboard dropkick and a standing Shooting Star Press for a 2 count. Neville then counters a pop up powerbomb with a hurricanrana that looked like Cesaro landed right on his neck. Neville kicks Cesaro in the head and hits a moonsault DDT for another close call. Neville goes up top, but Cesaro hits the ropes and hits a European uppercut. Cesaro hits the Neutralizer and gets the victory. It never quite got to these guys top gear, but this was easily one of the best matches in NXT's short history.
Match Rating: ***1/4 (out of 5)
Diva's Championship Match
AJ Lee vs. Kaitlyn
It's kind of weird because AJ is a heel here and with Big E Langston on the main roster, who is a babyface NXT Champion here. AJ avoids Kaitlyn and she hits here shoulder on the ring post. AJ works on the shoulder, but Kaitlyn starts to fire back. We get a sloppy spot where it looked like Kaitlyn was going to roll through and pick AJ up, but she struggles and improvises. Kaitlyn ends up running through the ropes and for some reason AJ lets her crawl back in. AJ hits an enzuigiri and gets a 2 count. She loses it on Kaitlyn, but then Kaitlyn hits a Spear and that's all. That wasn't very good.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Chris Jericho is here and hypes up NXT. He says that William Regal has given him permission to face anyone he wants next week. In walks Bray Wyatt and he cuts one of his Jake Roberts promos. Jericho tells him to never interrupt him again and that he chooses him as his opponent next week. Jericho says that if he loses, he will join the Wyatt Family.
NXT Championship Match
Big E Langston vs. Brad Maddox
Brad Maddox comes out to no music and introduces himself. I'm thinking this will be a quick one. Big E steamrolls Maddox and then hits the Big Ending. That's it and he of course wants the 5 count. The ref then explains to him that the match is over at 3. Big E hits another Big Ending and then counts to 5, even though it looks like his shoulders were up. Maddox rolls out of the ring, but Big E goes out and puts him back in. Big E hits another one and gets another 5 count.
Match Rating: 1/4*
They show a clip of Bo Dallas eliminating Wade Barrett at the Royal Rumble. Bo Dallas then defeated Barret the next night on Raw. Bo Dallas is backstage and says tonight is all about the Bo Barrage.
Intercontinental Championship Match
Bo Dallas vs. Wade Barrett
I miss Barrett. Bo gets a few quick pinfall attempts and Barrett rolls under the ropes to take a breather. There's a pretty vocal group in the audience booing Bo here tonight. Barrett hits a flurry of elbows and follows up with a boot to the face of a seated Bo Dalls. Bo gets in a little bit of offense in, but Barrett quickly ends that with a boot to the face. Barrett hits a high knee to Dallas who was draped on the top rope. Dallas is doing a nice job of selling here tonight. Barrett hits some more knees and then kicks him out of the ring. Dallas gets another quick flurry, but Barrett tosses Dallas across the ring and then hits Winds Of Change for a 2 count. Barrett misses with the Bull Hammer and Bo hits his spinning bulldog for a nearfall. Barrett goes for Wasteland, but Dallas gets out. He goes off the top rope, but Barrett hits the Bull Hammer and gets the victory. That was a really solid match, as they seem to have good chemistry with one another.
Match Rating: **3/4
Well, this is definitely one of the best episodes of NXT to this point. We got two good matches, which is about all you can really ask for on a 50 minute show. NXT has been gaining a little bit of momentum as they head into the summer and hopefully it will keep up.
Overall Rating: 66%
Monday, April 6, 2020
Monday Night Raw 3-1-93 Review
Monday, March 1st, 1993
Manhattan Center
New York City, New York
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Bret Hart vs. Fatu
We get started with Fatu already in the ring and Bret making his entrance. Rob Bartlett is dressed up like Elvis. This won't get old fast. Fatu catches Bret and body slams him, but misses with the elbow drop. Bret goes to work immediately on the arm. Meanwhile, Vince and Bartlett continue talking about Elvis rather than the WWF Champion. Bret tries to slam Fatu face-first into the mat, but he's Samoan so he doesn't sell it and hits a superkick. Bret goes outside and out comes Samu to attack him while Fatu distracts the ref. When we get back from the commercial, Bret is still laying on the ground. No one takes an Irish whip like Bret does. I'm not quite sure why more of the current roster doesn't try to steal more from Bret. Fatu goes up top, but Bret hits him with a fist and then hits a big superplex. Bret hits the bulldog, but Fatu kicks out. Bret goes for a Sharpshooter, but Afa distracts the ref and Samu attacks him from behind. Fatu rolls out of the ring and Samu goes for the pin. Fatu comes back in and Bret pushes them into one another. Bret then takes out Afa with a dropkick. Bret puts the Sharpshooter in and that is all. Yet another brilliant performance by Bret here in 1993. It really is such a shame that the roster was so weak for the peak years of Bret's solo run.
Match Rating: ***1/2 (out of 5)
It's WrestleMania Report time with Mean Gene. New matches announced are Tatanka vs. Shawn Michaels and Mr. Perfect vs. The Narcissist. Gene then makes a Joey Buttafuco joke about Savage's outfit. 1993 in a nutshell.
Crush is shown on a beach in Hawaii and he crushes a coconut and says that is what he'll do to Doink.
Doink vs. Koko B. Ware
Doink attacks Koko as he's entering the ring. Doink goes after his leg and puts him in a STF. Bartlett is still making Elvis jokes. Doink makes quick work of him and puts him in the Stump Puller for the victory. Bartlett as Elvis then interviews him after the match. He asks what's in the present that Doink brought to the ring. He gives him a little pie and then shoves a big pie in his face. That just made him the biggest babyface of the night. The match was nothing and it almost looked like Koko may have been hurt going into the match. Doink here was really finding his groove though.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Vince introduces Money, Inc. to the ring. DiBiase tells some stupid story about the American Express CEO retiring that gets zero reaction. They thank Hulk and Beefcake for taking Jimmy Hart away from them. IRS shows a picture of Hulk on the "beefcase". God, who in the world thought anyone wanted to see this at WrestleMania? This wasn't even worthy of a Survivor Series match in 1993.
The Narcissist vs. PJ Walker
Luger tosses Walker around and we get Bobby Heenan live on the phone. Luger puts Walker in the tree of woe and kicks away. Meanwhile, Bartlett keeps talking about Luger making his boobies dance. Luger hits the forearm and then pins him with his forearm. As stupid as the gimmick was, he was better suited for something like this than he was for what was to come.
Match Rating: 1/4*
The Steiner Brothers vs. Duane Gill & Barry Hardy
The Steiners throwing around jobbers will always be fun. Rick clotheslines Hardy over the top rope to the floor. Rick sends Gill fly with a back body drop and then a backbreaker. Scott hits the Frankensteiner and gets the victory. That was your usual good Steiner squash.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Next week we are getting Money, Inc. against Virgil and El Matador plus Mr. Perfect against Rick Martel.
Any one hour show that gives me a 15 minute Bret Hart match is going to at least be halfway decent. Nothing of note happened outside of that match, but if I'm going to get squash matches in 1993, then the Steiners and Doink are at the top of the list of guys I want to see. Decent show.
Overall Rating: 53%
Manhattan Center
New York City, New York
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Bret Hart vs. Fatu
We get started with Fatu already in the ring and Bret making his entrance. Rob Bartlett is dressed up like Elvis. This won't get old fast. Fatu catches Bret and body slams him, but misses with the elbow drop. Bret goes to work immediately on the arm. Meanwhile, Vince and Bartlett continue talking about Elvis rather than the WWF Champion. Bret tries to slam Fatu face-first into the mat, but he's Samoan so he doesn't sell it and hits a superkick. Bret goes outside and out comes Samu to attack him while Fatu distracts the ref. When we get back from the commercial, Bret is still laying on the ground. No one takes an Irish whip like Bret does. I'm not quite sure why more of the current roster doesn't try to steal more from Bret. Fatu goes up top, but Bret hits him with a fist and then hits a big superplex. Bret hits the bulldog, but Fatu kicks out. Bret goes for a Sharpshooter, but Afa distracts the ref and Samu attacks him from behind. Fatu rolls out of the ring and Samu goes for the pin. Fatu comes back in and Bret pushes them into one another. Bret then takes out Afa with a dropkick. Bret puts the Sharpshooter in and that is all. Yet another brilliant performance by Bret here in 1993. It really is such a shame that the roster was so weak for the peak years of Bret's solo run.
Match Rating: ***1/2 (out of 5)
It's WrestleMania Report time with Mean Gene. New matches announced are Tatanka vs. Shawn Michaels and Mr. Perfect vs. The Narcissist. Gene then makes a Joey Buttafuco joke about Savage's outfit. 1993 in a nutshell.
Crush is shown on a beach in Hawaii and he crushes a coconut and says that is what he'll do to Doink.
Doink vs. Koko B. Ware
Doink attacks Koko as he's entering the ring. Doink goes after his leg and puts him in a STF. Bartlett is still making Elvis jokes. Doink makes quick work of him and puts him in the Stump Puller for the victory. Bartlett as Elvis then interviews him after the match. He asks what's in the present that Doink brought to the ring. He gives him a little pie and then shoves a big pie in his face. That just made him the biggest babyface of the night. The match was nothing and it almost looked like Koko may have been hurt going into the match. Doink here was really finding his groove though.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Vince introduces Money, Inc. to the ring. DiBiase tells some stupid story about the American Express CEO retiring that gets zero reaction. They thank Hulk and Beefcake for taking Jimmy Hart away from them. IRS shows a picture of Hulk on the "beefcase". God, who in the world thought anyone wanted to see this at WrestleMania? This wasn't even worthy of a Survivor Series match in 1993.
The Narcissist vs. PJ Walker
Luger tosses Walker around and we get Bobby Heenan live on the phone. Luger puts Walker in the tree of woe and kicks away. Meanwhile, Bartlett keeps talking about Luger making his boobies dance. Luger hits the forearm and then pins him with his forearm. As stupid as the gimmick was, he was better suited for something like this than he was for what was to come.
Match Rating: 1/4*
The Steiner Brothers vs. Duane Gill & Barry Hardy
The Steiners throwing around jobbers will always be fun. Rick clotheslines Hardy over the top rope to the floor. Rick sends Gill fly with a back body drop and then a backbreaker. Scott hits the Frankensteiner and gets the victory. That was your usual good Steiner squash.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Next week we are getting Money, Inc. against Virgil and El Matador plus Mr. Perfect against Rick Martel.
Any one hour show that gives me a 15 minute Bret Hart match is going to at least be halfway decent. Nothing of note happened outside of that match, but if I'm going to get squash matches in 1993, then the Steiners and Doink are at the top of the list of guys I want to see. Decent show.
Overall Rating: 53%
Sunday, April 5, 2020
WrestleMania 36 Night Two Review
Original Airdate: Sunday, April 5th, 2020
WWE Performance Center
Orlando, Florida
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Stephanie McMahon is here to remind us that they did this on a closed set.
Gronk is here and he is much quicker here than last night. I hope they didn't have to pay too much for him to appear.
NXT Women's Championship Match
Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley
This was a much better choice for the opener than last night in my opinion. We get a lot of trash talking to start things off. Charlotte gets some chops. However, when Charlotte goes for her handstand in the corner, Ripley greets her with a kick. Ripley hits the Rip Tide, but Charlotte kicks out. Ripley throws Charlotte through the ropes to the floor, but Charlotte retaliates with a thrust to the throat. Ripley quickly recovers and hits a somersault off the apron. Back in the ring and Ripley has her in a body scissors. They are doing their best here with making this match intense. Charlotte avoids a boot from Ripley and then pulls her leg on the top rope. Charlotte is now on full attack mode on Ripley's left knee. Ripley is able to pull her leg back, which causes Charlotte to ram into the ring post. Charlotte is back in though and hits her with a chop block. Ripley is able to pick up Charlotte and dump her face first. Both women are up and hitting each other with some stiff shots. Ripley gets a few knees to the face on Charlotte and then hits her with a kick to the back of the head. She follows that up with a dropkick while Charlotte is on her knees. Ripley leaps over to the apron, but Charlotte kicks her leg and she falls to the floor. Charlotte goes up top, but Ripley is able to kick her in head. Ripley drops her face first out of the electric chair position, but again Charlotte is able to kick out. Ripley hits a missile dropkick and Charlotte kicks out again. Charlotte again takes out her knee. Ripley battles back and gets her in a standing Texas Cloverleaf. Charlotte eventually is able to roll out of it and boots Ripley in the face. Charlotte goes for the Figure Four, but Ripley kicks out of it. Charlotte rolls into a pin, but Ripley kicks out. Charlotte puts on the Boston Crab. Ripley rolls it into a pin and we get a series of quick pins, but still no winner. Ripley is able to get in a boot to the face and again gets a 2 count. They are both up on the second turnbuckle and Charlotte is able to counter a superplex and dumps Ripley face first. Charlotte goes for a moonsault, but Ripley gets a boot up. Charlotte bounces back up and hits a spear, but Ripley is able to kick out. Charlotte gets the Figure Four slapped on and turns it into a Figure Eight and Ripley taps. I have to say, I didn't expect that. These two got plenty of time and delivered a really good match here. This was very stiff looking and despite being defeated, it made Ripley look to be on the same level as Charlotte. I'm not really sure where they'll go with Charlotte as the NXT Champion, but she has a ton of fresh matchups on that roster that would really help put them on casual WWE fans radar. Good opener.
Match Rating: ***3/4 (out of 5)
Aleister Black vs. Bobby Lashley
This match is so random, it feels like something that would have been on WrestleMania VI. I can't believe that Black doesn't something better to do here at WrestleMania. Black lands on his feet after missing a moonsault to the floor, but Lashley then hits a belly-to-belly suplex with a release. Remember Rusev? Lashley continues the assault and hits a neckbreaker. Lashley is actually looking pretty good here. Maybe he's so used to no crowd reaction that an empty building doesn't phase him? Black again goes to the air and misses and Lashley hits a big body slam. Black is able to get in a little bit of offense, but again Lashley is able to take control. Lana instructs Lashley to go for a spear and Black hits him with Black Mass and that is all. Based on the booking I have seen for Black, they are all in on him getting limited offense and putting over Black Mass. That wasn't bad for what it was.
Match Rating: **1/4
Sasha Banks and Bayley are backstage. Bayley says that tonight is the most unfair match in WrestleMania history. Bayley ends the interview early, but Banks tells us we'll have to watch and see what happens.
Gronk says that he wants to win the 24/7 title. Money well spent here, WWE.
Dolph Ziggler vs. Otis
I guess I'm the one person on the planet who would rather watch this match than the Boneyard Match. Dolph avoids a charging Otis and he is able to hit a superkick. Dolph hits a really nice looking dropkick. I know everyone loves to hate on Dolph, but I still enjoy his work and this angle is right in his wheelhouse. JBL shouting about fake news makes me want to vomit. Otis finally gets some offense in and hits Dolph with a slingshot. He gets a couple of clotheslines and a body slam. Otis dumps Dolph over his head and to the floor. Otis goes for the Caterpillar, but Sonya distracts the ref and Dolph hits a low blow. Out comes Mandy Rose and she slaps Sonya and then goes to Dolph and hits him with a low blow. Otis is back up and does the Caterpillar and the elbow. Otis pulls it off and gets to celebrate with Mandy Rose. The match was a typical TV match with the outcome we were all expecting. Otis works better as a tag team wrestler and also in front of a live crowd, but I'm glad to see him get a little bit of a spotlight here.
Match Rating: *3/4
Last Man Standing Match
Edge vs. Randy Orton
Orton is dressed as a camera man and slips in the ring and hits a RKO. Edge is instructed by the ref that he has to get to his feet for the match to start. He does and Orton hits a second RKO. Edge is able to get up around the 8 count. Orton grabs the camera and hits Edge in the head, causing him to go over the barricade. Orton continues his assault through the makeshift backstage area and into the gym. Orton ties Edge up in some of the equipment. Orton's methodical style gets the best of him and it allows Edge to make a comeback. Edge's Last Man Standing match with John Cena at Backlash is one of the better examples of this type of match that I can think of. Edge sits Orton down on a chair and he launches himself from a pull up bar onto Orton. Orton grabs some metal equipment and tries to drive it into Edge on the floor, but Edge is able to move. Edge slams Orton into a crate and they then move through the TV production area. Edge slams Orton a few times into an overhead door and then throws him back in the arena portion by where the spotlights are. Edge then throws him off there into the barricade. Edge barely gets up at the 9 count there. They go backstage again and Orton slams Edge into the wall. Edge throws Orton onto the conference table, climbs the fence that hangs over it and drops himself onto Orton with an elbow. They are trying their best to work with the unique environment, but it's pretty obvious this building isn't exactly the best place for this match to happen. They are now in the warehouse storage facility after knocking over one of the camera men. Orton continues with his maniacal offense until Edge is able to throw a sandbag at him. The constant changing of camera angles here is nauseating. Edge now climbs up a ladder and to the top shelf and hits an elbow drop driving Orton through a table. Both men get up at 8. I did not expect this one to go quite this long. Orton slams Edge into a pickup truck and Edge again barely gets up in time. They now go up to the top of the truck and Orton hits a draping DDT onto the truck bed cover. They both beat the count and Edge climbs some crates to get to the top of the NXT production semi truck. Orton meets him up there. Orton goes for the punt, but Edge hits him with a spear instead. They both beat the count. Edge goes for another spear, but Orton hits the RKO instead. Orton heads back down and Edge barely makes it up and then falls back down, but it's enough to break the count. Orton grabs two chairs and brings them up to the top and uses them on the back of Edge. Orton sets up Edge for a one man conchairto and tells him this is it for Edge. Edge catches him with a sleeper type submission hold and Orton is out cold on the chair. Edge stops the count for Orton, who is still not moving. Edge is fighting back tears and after a long pause decides to hit Orton in the head and that is all. That was a loooooong match for there to be no crowd for. This had some of the over the top stuff that I didn't love in the Boneyard Match, but it also had much more believable performances. However, Orton's offense is just too boring when he works at this pace and they could have easily shaved 15 minutes off here and had the same impact. I was pretty excited for this, but I think their ambition got the best of them here.
Match Rating: **
We get some more 24/7 shenanigans and I'm pretty sure this is more people than are supposed to be in a building at once for something that is non-essential. Gronk leaps off his little balcony area and takes out all of them and wins the 24/7 title. He runs out of the building and into the parking lot.
Raw Tag Team Championship Match
Austin Theory & Angel Garza vs. The Street Profits
Good for Theory here, but talk about a thrown together team. This could easily be a match on Main Event to most casual fans. Dawkins is thrown over the top rope and Garza hits him on the outside with a superkick. Garza is really good, let's hope they don't lose interest in him. Garza rips off his pants and hits a big dropkick for a 2 count. Theory hits a roll through somersault dropkick. Dawkins avoids some of Garza's offense and makes a leaping tag to Ford. Ford hits a standing moonsault and a DDT. Ford goes over the top and hits both Dawkins and Theory. Garza hits a moonsault onto both members of the Street Profits. Theory hits a TKO, but Ford hits a frog splash and that allows Dawkins to get the victory. After the match Garza attacks Ford with the help of Theory. Zelina Vega joins in. Bianca Belair comes in and takes out Vega. The Street Profits clear the ring and Belair hits the KOD. It's good to see Belair get a little shine here. The match was good as you would expect and the lack of build doesn't hurt it as much with an empty arena.
Match Rating: ***
Titus O'Neil is now here to finish off Gronk's hosting duties.
Fatal 5-Way Match For The SmackDown Women's Championship
Sasha Banks vs. Lacey Evans vs. Tamina vs. Naomi vs. Bayley
Wait, this is an elimination match? Why is Tamina in this match? They all go after Tamina and she fights them off because in WWE's mind, she is a future hall of famer. Sasha and Bayley double team her to get her out of the ring. Bayley and Sasha continue to work together on Lacey. Lacey and Naomi then team up to take out the best friends. Tamina comes in and hits a clothesline on Evans and Naomi and then on Sasha and Bayley. Lacey tries to roll up Tamina, but Tamina throws her across the ring. She does the same to Naomi and hits them both with a double knee in the corner. Tamina, Sasha and Naomi are in the ring and they all get together to call a truce. Tamina then kicks Sasha and Naomi hits a variation of the Stunner on Tamina. Evans comes in and joins the fun. Bayley is now in there and goes up top and hits an elbow drop and then Sasha hits a frog splash. Lacey joins in and hits a second rope moonsault and Naomi hits a split legged moonsault and is eliminated. For some reason Tamina was playing the role of Goldberg tonight. Bayley shows off her aggressive side on Naomi outside of the ring. Naomi comes close to eliminating both Bayley and Sasha. Bayley saves Sasha from elimination and Sasha eliminates Naomi with the Bank Statement. Bayley and Sasha again team up to work on Evans. Evans moves out of the way and Bayley hits Sasha with a running knee. Evans gets some pin attempts in, but Bayley kicks out. Bayley is attacking Evans when Sasha runs in and pulls Bayley off to confront her. Bayley pushes Lacey out of the way, but then she hits Sasha with the Women's Right and eliminates Banks. Bayley was down, but could have tried to help break up the pin there. Bayley goes right on offense to Evans. This is already a million times better than their match at Royal Rumble. Bayley is taking the tag rope and ties Evans' wrist to the top turnbuckle. Evans is able to get out and she goes up and hits the moonsault, but Bayley is able to kick out. Banks comes into the match and hits Evans with a backstabber and Bayley is able to retain the title. That was a much better match than I expected. Sasha then puts the title around Bayley's waist. It's fair to say that the women more than delivered here tonight.
Match Rating: ***1/2
Firefly Fun House Match
John Cena vs. The Fiend
Bray Wyatt welcomes Cena to the Firefly Fun House set. Cena is then there once he closes the door. One of the stupid puppets tells him he went out the door. Cena walks out and is in darkness. The Vince McMahon puppet pops up and asks Cena if he has enough ruthless aggression. I don't know if I have it in me to sit through this. Bray is shown in a ring and is cut together with the Kurt Angle challenge of when Cena made his debut. Cena is in his old gear and is now face to face with Wyatt. Wyatt then makes fun of Cena as he keeps saying ruthless aggression and missing Wyatt. We then get a Saturday Night's Main Event intro and now Wyatt is behind the big blue steel cage and introduces Cena as his tag partner who comes out lifting weights. Wyatt then throws Cena and he lands in front of the SmackDown fist wearing his rapper gear. Cena is only able to talk in rhyme and takes a shot at Husky Harris. Bray then starts showing his soft side saying that he's had to work hard to earn everything he's got. He says that Cena is a bully and gives him the floor. Cena then makes a deez nuts joke and charges towards Wyatt, but he teleports to the center of the ring. He knocks Cena out and then we cut to a vintage Bray Wyatt promo in the shed. He then attacks Cena and goes for Sister Abigail, but Cena escapes. Wyatt hands Cena a chair and gets to his knees. He tells him that 6 years ago, Cena made the wrong choice as they show a clip of WrestleMania XXX. Cena swings at him, but he disappears. Now Wyatt is dressed up like Eric Bischoff and introduces Cena in nWo gear acting like Hollywood Hogan. He starts attacking Wyatt while they flashback to some of Cena's losses and then he realizes it's one of the stupid puppets. Then from behind, it's the Fiend. He gives Cena the Mandible Claw and hits Sister Abigail. He puts the claw back on and Bray Wyatt counts to 3. The Fiend stands up and Cena disappears. We then pan to Titus, who says he doesn't know what we just saw. Um, yeah. I don't think I can properly rank that one. Considering it involved The Fiend, it was more entertaining than I thought. However, that bar was set really low. Really, really low. Much like the Boneyard Match, I don't think I'll be watching this any time soon or possibly ever again.
Match Rating: No Rating
WWE Championship Match
Drew McIntyre vs. Brock Lesnar
After a short back and forth, McIntyre hits a Claymore Kick, but Brock kicks out. He goes for another one, but with an assist from Heyman, Brock avoids it and hits a suplex. Lesnar hits German suplex number two. Lesnar hits a third after a struggle. Lesnar hits the F5, but McIntyre kicks out at 1. Lesnar hits a second F5 and McIntyre kicks out again. Lesnar hits another F5 and again McIntyre kicks out. This is such a shame that there is no crowd here. I love the atmosphere that Lesnar matches provide. McIntyre gets out of the F5 and hits a Claymore Kick. He follows it up with another one. He gets back in the corner and hits another Clayore Kick and that is all. Drew McIntyre is now the WWE Champion. Who would have thought six months ago that Drew McIntyre and Braun Strowman would be the champions? The match was disappointing, but like I said Brock matches thrive on the atmosphere they create. These two deserved the chance to provide that.
Match Rating: *
This is another tough show to rate. I really enjoyed both women's matches and thought they were worthy of WrestleMania status. I feel for McIntyre, who was robbed of a true special moment. On the other end the Edge/Orton match was so slow and so long and the Firefly Fun House was something that could have just been on SmackDown instead of the biggest show of the year. Bravo to the performers for giving it all on both nights, but this was an uphill battle that only a few that were really able to overcome. I was entertained throughout with the exception of The Fiend and it was nice to see something new after watching lots of old wrestling to review here.
Overall Rating: 60%
WWE Performance Center
Orlando, Florida
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Stephanie McMahon is here to remind us that they did this on a closed set.
Gronk is here and he is much quicker here than last night. I hope they didn't have to pay too much for him to appear.
NXT Women's Championship Match
Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley
This was a much better choice for the opener than last night in my opinion. We get a lot of trash talking to start things off. Charlotte gets some chops. However, when Charlotte goes for her handstand in the corner, Ripley greets her with a kick. Ripley hits the Rip Tide, but Charlotte kicks out. Ripley throws Charlotte through the ropes to the floor, but Charlotte retaliates with a thrust to the throat. Ripley quickly recovers and hits a somersault off the apron. Back in the ring and Ripley has her in a body scissors. They are doing their best here with making this match intense. Charlotte avoids a boot from Ripley and then pulls her leg on the top rope. Charlotte is now on full attack mode on Ripley's left knee. Ripley is able to pull her leg back, which causes Charlotte to ram into the ring post. Charlotte is back in though and hits her with a chop block. Ripley is able to pick up Charlotte and dump her face first. Both women are up and hitting each other with some stiff shots. Ripley gets a few knees to the face on Charlotte and then hits her with a kick to the back of the head. She follows that up with a dropkick while Charlotte is on her knees. Ripley leaps over to the apron, but Charlotte kicks her leg and she falls to the floor. Charlotte goes up top, but Ripley is able to kick her in head. Ripley drops her face first out of the electric chair position, but again Charlotte is able to kick out. Ripley hits a missile dropkick and Charlotte kicks out again. Charlotte again takes out her knee. Ripley battles back and gets her in a standing Texas Cloverleaf. Charlotte eventually is able to roll out of it and boots Ripley in the face. Charlotte goes for the Figure Four, but Ripley kicks out of it. Charlotte rolls into a pin, but Ripley kicks out. Charlotte puts on the Boston Crab. Ripley rolls it into a pin and we get a series of quick pins, but still no winner. Ripley is able to get in a boot to the face and again gets a 2 count. They are both up on the second turnbuckle and Charlotte is able to counter a superplex and dumps Ripley face first. Charlotte goes for a moonsault, but Ripley gets a boot up. Charlotte bounces back up and hits a spear, but Ripley is able to kick out. Charlotte gets the Figure Four slapped on and turns it into a Figure Eight and Ripley taps. I have to say, I didn't expect that. These two got plenty of time and delivered a really good match here. This was very stiff looking and despite being defeated, it made Ripley look to be on the same level as Charlotte. I'm not really sure where they'll go with Charlotte as the NXT Champion, but she has a ton of fresh matchups on that roster that would really help put them on casual WWE fans radar. Good opener.
Match Rating: ***3/4 (out of 5)
Aleister Black vs. Bobby Lashley
This match is so random, it feels like something that would have been on WrestleMania VI. I can't believe that Black doesn't something better to do here at WrestleMania. Black lands on his feet after missing a moonsault to the floor, but Lashley then hits a belly-to-belly suplex with a release. Remember Rusev? Lashley continues the assault and hits a neckbreaker. Lashley is actually looking pretty good here. Maybe he's so used to no crowd reaction that an empty building doesn't phase him? Black again goes to the air and misses and Lashley hits a big body slam. Black is able to get in a little bit of offense, but again Lashley is able to take control. Lana instructs Lashley to go for a spear and Black hits him with Black Mass and that is all. Based on the booking I have seen for Black, they are all in on him getting limited offense and putting over Black Mass. That wasn't bad for what it was.
Match Rating: **1/4
Sasha Banks and Bayley are backstage. Bayley says that tonight is the most unfair match in WrestleMania history. Bayley ends the interview early, but Banks tells us we'll have to watch and see what happens.
Gronk says that he wants to win the 24/7 title. Money well spent here, WWE.
Dolph Ziggler vs. Otis
I guess I'm the one person on the planet who would rather watch this match than the Boneyard Match. Dolph avoids a charging Otis and he is able to hit a superkick. Dolph hits a really nice looking dropkick. I know everyone loves to hate on Dolph, but I still enjoy his work and this angle is right in his wheelhouse. JBL shouting about fake news makes me want to vomit. Otis finally gets some offense in and hits Dolph with a slingshot. He gets a couple of clotheslines and a body slam. Otis dumps Dolph over his head and to the floor. Otis goes for the Caterpillar, but Sonya distracts the ref and Dolph hits a low blow. Out comes Mandy Rose and she slaps Sonya and then goes to Dolph and hits him with a low blow. Otis is back up and does the Caterpillar and the elbow. Otis pulls it off and gets to celebrate with Mandy Rose. The match was a typical TV match with the outcome we were all expecting. Otis works better as a tag team wrestler and also in front of a live crowd, but I'm glad to see him get a little bit of a spotlight here.
Match Rating: *3/4
Last Man Standing Match
Edge vs. Randy Orton
Orton is dressed as a camera man and slips in the ring and hits a RKO. Edge is instructed by the ref that he has to get to his feet for the match to start. He does and Orton hits a second RKO. Edge is able to get up around the 8 count. Orton grabs the camera and hits Edge in the head, causing him to go over the barricade. Orton continues his assault through the makeshift backstage area and into the gym. Orton ties Edge up in some of the equipment. Orton's methodical style gets the best of him and it allows Edge to make a comeback. Edge's Last Man Standing match with John Cena at Backlash is one of the better examples of this type of match that I can think of. Edge sits Orton down on a chair and he launches himself from a pull up bar onto Orton. Orton grabs some metal equipment and tries to drive it into Edge on the floor, but Edge is able to move. Edge slams Orton into a crate and they then move through the TV production area. Edge slams Orton a few times into an overhead door and then throws him back in the arena portion by where the spotlights are. Edge then throws him off there into the barricade. Edge barely gets up at the 9 count there. They go backstage again and Orton slams Edge into the wall. Edge throws Orton onto the conference table, climbs the fence that hangs over it and drops himself onto Orton with an elbow. They are trying their best to work with the unique environment, but it's pretty obvious this building isn't exactly the best place for this match to happen. They are now in the warehouse storage facility after knocking over one of the camera men. Orton continues with his maniacal offense until Edge is able to throw a sandbag at him. The constant changing of camera angles here is nauseating. Edge now climbs up a ladder and to the top shelf and hits an elbow drop driving Orton through a table. Both men get up at 8. I did not expect this one to go quite this long. Orton slams Edge into a pickup truck and Edge again barely gets up in time. They now go up to the top of the truck and Orton hits a draping DDT onto the truck bed cover. They both beat the count and Edge climbs some crates to get to the top of the NXT production semi truck. Orton meets him up there. Orton goes for the punt, but Edge hits him with a spear instead. They both beat the count. Edge goes for another spear, but Orton hits the RKO instead. Orton heads back down and Edge barely makes it up and then falls back down, but it's enough to break the count. Orton grabs two chairs and brings them up to the top and uses them on the back of Edge. Orton sets up Edge for a one man conchairto and tells him this is it for Edge. Edge catches him with a sleeper type submission hold and Orton is out cold on the chair. Edge stops the count for Orton, who is still not moving. Edge is fighting back tears and after a long pause decides to hit Orton in the head and that is all. That was a loooooong match for there to be no crowd for. This had some of the over the top stuff that I didn't love in the Boneyard Match, but it also had much more believable performances. However, Orton's offense is just too boring when he works at this pace and they could have easily shaved 15 minutes off here and had the same impact. I was pretty excited for this, but I think their ambition got the best of them here.
Match Rating: **
We get some more 24/7 shenanigans and I'm pretty sure this is more people than are supposed to be in a building at once for something that is non-essential. Gronk leaps off his little balcony area and takes out all of them and wins the 24/7 title. He runs out of the building and into the parking lot.
Raw Tag Team Championship Match
Austin Theory & Angel Garza vs. The Street Profits
Good for Theory here, but talk about a thrown together team. This could easily be a match on Main Event to most casual fans. Dawkins is thrown over the top rope and Garza hits him on the outside with a superkick. Garza is really good, let's hope they don't lose interest in him. Garza rips off his pants and hits a big dropkick for a 2 count. Theory hits a roll through somersault dropkick. Dawkins avoids some of Garza's offense and makes a leaping tag to Ford. Ford hits a standing moonsault and a DDT. Ford goes over the top and hits both Dawkins and Theory. Garza hits a moonsault onto both members of the Street Profits. Theory hits a TKO, but Ford hits a frog splash and that allows Dawkins to get the victory. After the match Garza attacks Ford with the help of Theory. Zelina Vega joins in. Bianca Belair comes in and takes out Vega. The Street Profits clear the ring and Belair hits the KOD. It's good to see Belair get a little shine here. The match was good as you would expect and the lack of build doesn't hurt it as much with an empty arena.
Match Rating: ***
Titus O'Neil is now here to finish off Gronk's hosting duties.
Fatal 5-Way Match For The SmackDown Women's Championship
Sasha Banks vs. Lacey Evans vs. Tamina vs. Naomi vs. Bayley
Wait, this is an elimination match? Why is Tamina in this match? They all go after Tamina and she fights them off because in WWE's mind, she is a future hall of famer. Sasha and Bayley double team her to get her out of the ring. Bayley and Sasha continue to work together on Lacey. Lacey and Naomi then team up to take out the best friends. Tamina comes in and hits a clothesline on Evans and Naomi and then on Sasha and Bayley. Lacey tries to roll up Tamina, but Tamina throws her across the ring. She does the same to Naomi and hits them both with a double knee in the corner. Tamina, Sasha and Naomi are in the ring and they all get together to call a truce. Tamina then kicks Sasha and Naomi hits a variation of the Stunner on Tamina. Evans comes in and joins the fun. Bayley is now in there and goes up top and hits an elbow drop and then Sasha hits a frog splash. Lacey joins in and hits a second rope moonsault and Naomi hits a split legged moonsault and is eliminated. For some reason Tamina was playing the role of Goldberg tonight. Bayley shows off her aggressive side on Naomi outside of the ring. Naomi comes close to eliminating both Bayley and Sasha. Bayley saves Sasha from elimination and Sasha eliminates Naomi with the Bank Statement. Bayley and Sasha again team up to work on Evans. Evans moves out of the way and Bayley hits Sasha with a running knee. Evans gets some pin attempts in, but Bayley kicks out. Bayley is attacking Evans when Sasha runs in and pulls Bayley off to confront her. Bayley pushes Lacey out of the way, but then she hits Sasha with the Women's Right and eliminates Banks. Bayley was down, but could have tried to help break up the pin there. Bayley goes right on offense to Evans. This is already a million times better than their match at Royal Rumble. Bayley is taking the tag rope and ties Evans' wrist to the top turnbuckle. Evans is able to get out and she goes up and hits the moonsault, but Bayley is able to kick out. Banks comes into the match and hits Evans with a backstabber and Bayley is able to retain the title. That was a much better match than I expected. Sasha then puts the title around Bayley's waist. It's fair to say that the women more than delivered here tonight.
Match Rating: ***1/2
Firefly Fun House Match
John Cena vs. The Fiend
Bray Wyatt welcomes Cena to the Firefly Fun House set. Cena is then there once he closes the door. One of the stupid puppets tells him he went out the door. Cena walks out and is in darkness. The Vince McMahon puppet pops up and asks Cena if he has enough ruthless aggression. I don't know if I have it in me to sit through this. Bray is shown in a ring and is cut together with the Kurt Angle challenge of when Cena made his debut. Cena is in his old gear and is now face to face with Wyatt. Wyatt then makes fun of Cena as he keeps saying ruthless aggression and missing Wyatt. We then get a Saturday Night's Main Event intro and now Wyatt is behind the big blue steel cage and introduces Cena as his tag partner who comes out lifting weights. Wyatt then throws Cena and he lands in front of the SmackDown fist wearing his rapper gear. Cena is only able to talk in rhyme and takes a shot at Husky Harris. Bray then starts showing his soft side saying that he's had to work hard to earn everything he's got. He says that Cena is a bully and gives him the floor. Cena then makes a deez nuts joke and charges towards Wyatt, but he teleports to the center of the ring. He knocks Cena out and then we cut to a vintage Bray Wyatt promo in the shed. He then attacks Cena and goes for Sister Abigail, but Cena escapes. Wyatt hands Cena a chair and gets to his knees. He tells him that 6 years ago, Cena made the wrong choice as they show a clip of WrestleMania XXX. Cena swings at him, but he disappears. Now Wyatt is dressed up like Eric Bischoff and introduces Cena in nWo gear acting like Hollywood Hogan. He starts attacking Wyatt while they flashback to some of Cena's losses and then he realizes it's one of the stupid puppets. Then from behind, it's the Fiend. He gives Cena the Mandible Claw and hits Sister Abigail. He puts the claw back on and Bray Wyatt counts to 3. The Fiend stands up and Cena disappears. We then pan to Titus, who says he doesn't know what we just saw. Um, yeah. I don't think I can properly rank that one. Considering it involved The Fiend, it was more entertaining than I thought. However, that bar was set really low. Really, really low. Much like the Boneyard Match, I don't think I'll be watching this any time soon or possibly ever again.
Match Rating: No Rating
WWE Championship Match
Drew McIntyre vs. Brock Lesnar
After a short back and forth, McIntyre hits a Claymore Kick, but Brock kicks out. He goes for another one, but with an assist from Heyman, Brock avoids it and hits a suplex. Lesnar hits German suplex number two. Lesnar hits a third after a struggle. Lesnar hits the F5, but McIntyre kicks out at 1. Lesnar hits a second F5 and McIntyre kicks out again. Lesnar hits another F5 and again McIntyre kicks out. This is such a shame that there is no crowd here. I love the atmosphere that Lesnar matches provide. McIntyre gets out of the F5 and hits a Claymore Kick. He follows it up with another one. He gets back in the corner and hits another Clayore Kick and that is all. Drew McIntyre is now the WWE Champion. Who would have thought six months ago that Drew McIntyre and Braun Strowman would be the champions? The match was disappointing, but like I said Brock matches thrive on the atmosphere they create. These two deserved the chance to provide that.
Match Rating: *
This is another tough show to rate. I really enjoyed both women's matches and thought they were worthy of WrestleMania status. I feel for McIntyre, who was robbed of a true special moment. On the other end the Edge/Orton match was so slow and so long and the Firefly Fun House was something that could have just been on SmackDown instead of the biggest show of the year. Bravo to the performers for giving it all on both nights, but this was an uphill battle that only a few that were really able to overcome. I was entertained throughout with the exception of The Fiend and it was nice to see something new after watching lots of old wrestling to review here.
Overall Rating: 60%
Saturday, April 4, 2020
WrestleMania 36 Day One Review
Original Airdate: Saturday, April 4th, 2020
WWE Performance Center
Orlando, Florida
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Stephanie McMahon is here to introduce the show. She specifies that there will be "other locations". She says that she hopes that this is a diversion from the current events and to enjoy the show. This leads to a highlight package of some of the people who have performed "America The Beautiful" over the years and they combine them together to create the song. Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin's are both home run versions for the record.
We still get the pirate themed intro video. I actually really wanted to see what they were going to do with the set in Tampa. It finishes off with Vince's favorite, AC/DC. Rob Gronkowski is now here and introduces the first ever two night WrestleMania. He says he's the right guy for the job because he can start a party and finish it 30 hours later. He brings in Mojo Rawley, who he chops four times for the fun of it. Yeah...no.
WWE Women's Tag Team Championship Match
Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross vs. The Kabuki Warriors
Kairi Sane makes fun of Alexa Bliss's bow and Bliss fires back with a slap to the back. These four ladies are extremely vocal here. Cross dumps Asuka outside the ring and tags in Bliss, who hits a baseball slid kick to knock out Sane. Nikki leaps off the apron to take out Sane. They start brawling outside the ring. Asuka and Sane use some nice teamwork back in the ring to take control of Cross. I wonder if this would have been the opener had this been one night? Hot tag to Bliss, but Asuka helps Sane to slow her down. She then does a stomp off the second rope to Bliss's face. That seems like a risky move for Bliss, who has a history of concussions. Bliss escapes a bulldog, but Asuka nails her with a high knee. Cross tries to clap Bliss back into the match in a nice moment. Both women make a tag and Cross is all over Sane. Cross hits a flying crossbody off the top rope, but Sane kicks out at 2. Cross has Asuka pinned for the win, but Sane makes the save off the top rope. Bliss hits a Twisted Bliss on Asuka to break up that pin, but then eats a spear from Sane. Asuka hits a Codebreaker, but is able to stop Sane from the top rope. Asuka has Cross up in a powerbomb position and Sane hits a forearm off the top rope, but Cross is able to kick out. Asuka misses Cross and hits her shoulder on the ring post. Cross is able to tag Bliss and she heads up top. She hits Twisted Bliss again and gets the victory to crown new Tag Team Champions. All four women put in a lot of effort here, but there were a few awkward spots. Not a bad opener, but it really is weird crowning new champions with no reaction.
Match Rating: **1/4 (out of 5)
Sami Zayn is here along with Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura and says that he is going to do something that few men do, which is walking into WrestleMania as Intercontinental Champion and walking out as champion too.
King Corbin vs. Elias
Corbin says that he is demanding that they raise his hand in victory since Elias isn't here. Elias then comes out and Corbin goes out to the ramp and Elias hits him in the back with the guitar. Corbin continues the attack and throws him in the ring. The referee stops Elias and checks on Corbin to make sure he's able to compete. The bell rings and Elias goes right after him again. Corbin is able to dump Elias over the top rope to buy himself some time. JBL and Cole compare Corbin to JBL, which is pretty fair, although JBL's heat was more legit than Corbin's. Corbin continues the attack and slams Elias's shoulder into the ring post. Elias returns the favor and throws Corbin into the ring post. So for the record, this has happened three times in the first two matches. Elias misses off the top rope and Corbin hits Deep Six for a 2 count. Elias hits a jumping high knee to the jaw of Corbin. Corbin rolls Elias up and puts his feet on the rope and is caught by the ref. Elias then rolls up Corbin and gets the victory. This seems like a good time to remind everyone that Corbin was the man selected to beat Kurt Angle in his last ever match last year. Good choice.
Match Rating: *3/4
Becky Lynch is shown driving a semi-truck with her face on there and says "The Man" on it.
Raw Women's Championship Match
Shayna Baszler vs. Becky Lynch
I thought that this match was main event worthy once they announced WrestleMania as a two night show. They go right at it and are quickly out to the floor. Becky slams Baszler into the announcer table and then into the steps. Lynch hits a missile dropkick and then attacks her in the corner. After a nice little bit of counters, Baszler hits a spinebuster. They fight out on the apron and Baszler hits some stiff shots. Lynch then hits a Rock Bottom on the HARDEST PART OF THE RING. Lynch goes up top, but Baszler greets her with a kick and then puts her in an armbar in the middle of the ring. Lynch counters it into a pin, but Baszler puts her in the Disarmher. Lynch gets out but eats a kick right to the chin, but kicks out. Back outside again and Baszler swings Lynch twice into the announcer table. I'm not a diehard Baszler fan, but I do love her look and the way she carries herself as a heel. There is a distinct brutality to her matches and it stands out among the other women. Just as I type that Lynch rolls through on a sleeper hold from Baszler and gets the surprise victory. That was certainly not the ending I would have picked for that match. This easily had another five minutes left in there. This was the best of the night so far.
Match Rating: ***
Intercontinental Championship Match
Daniel Bryan vs. Sami Zayn
Of the limited amount of current day WWE TV that I watch, Sami Zayn is easily among one of the most entertaining performers that they have. Then again, Daniel Bryan is also as entertaining as ever. Sami is doing everything he can to stall the match so far. Bryan eventually chases after him, but Cesaro gets in his way. Bryan finally gets a hand on him, but Cesaro and Shinsuke block him again. Gulak comes flying off the apron and takes both of them down. It's great to see all of these guys getting some time. Bryan then tells Zayn go walk up the ramp and get counted out. Zayn walks up the ramp and chases him up the ramp and attacks him. He throws him back in the ring and starts the beatdown with some calculated shots. Bryan hits a missile dropkick and once again has to drag Zayn back in the ring. Bryan begins clubbing Zayn in the back of the head and then stands him up and hits some stiff slaps. Zayn is able to slip an elbow in and get in control. It doesn't last long and Bryan hits a running clothesline and follows it up with the Yes Kicks. Bryan is really laying it in here. Gulak then begins the "Yes" chants and he is attacked by both Shinsuke and Cesaro. Bryan hits them both with a suicide dive and then goes up top but Zayn hits him with a Helluva Kick and gets the victory. Back-to-back abrupt finishes to otherwise good matches.
Match Rating: **3/4
Ladder Match For The SmackDown Tag Team Championships
Kofi Kingston vs. Jimmy Uso vs. John Morrison
This is a singles match due to Miz not being quarantined. After a quick start to the match, all three men go and grab ladders and bring them into the ring. Morrison is able to knock Jimmy off the ladder, but then pulls Morrison off his. Kofi hits a crossbody onto Uso and Morrison is back to climbing. He goes back down and knocks both men down for the time being. Kofi has his hands on the belt, but Morrison is there to stop him. Jimmy pulls him down and hits him with a right hand. Kofi launches himself through the ladder, but he is caught and then dumps him over the top rope to the floor. Morrison slides under the ladder, but Jimmy dumps the ladder on him but it doesn't hit him and he hits Jimmy with a thumb to the eye. Morrison positions Jimmy on a ladder that's hung on the second rope and hits him with a corkscrew off the top rope. That looked pretty good. Kofi then leaps onto a climbing Morrison and hits a hurricanrana off the ladder. In comes Jimmy, but Kofi hits him over the rope again. Morrison comes up with a ladder, but Kofi leaps over the top rope and hits Morrison. Jimmy tries to scale the barricade, but Kofi launches the ladder at him. Kofi lays Jimmy on a ladder that's lying across the ring to the barricade. Morrison goes up top, but Kofi stops him. Kofi climbs to the top rope, but Morrison is back up and walks across the top rope and hits a Spanish Fly from the top. Jimmy then comes in and hits a splash in a nice segment. Jimmy and Kofi are both climbing up the ladder. Jimmy is able to knock Kofi off, but Kofi then climbs up the inside of the ladder and knock Jimmy off. Kofi has his hands on the belts, but Morrison is able to meet him up there. Kofi knocks him off with a headbutt and then hits a dropkick off the ladder. Jimmy tries to bring in a ladder, but Kofi stops him. They then set it in between the ladder in the middle ring to create a bridge. Kofi climbs it, but Jimmy hits him with a kick and then slams him face first into the ladder. Morrison leaps off of it next and eats an Uso superkick. Morrison is laying face first on the ladder and Uso climbs up another ladder in the corner. Morrison gets up and dumps him to the floor. Morrison is alone in the ring and takes his time climbing up the ladder. Kofi comes in at the last second. Here comes Jimmy with another ladder and all three men are fighting at the top. They all have their hands on the belts and take them down, but they are fighting over them. Uso headbutts Morrison off the ladder, but he has the belts in his hands so Morrison retains for his team. A little contrived, but a decently clever finish to an otherwise great match. I really liked that match and thought they overcame a huge obstacle here by working extremely hard. Plus, Morrison walking the ropes into the Spanish Fly was awesome.
Match Rating: ****
Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins
Rollins is out solo. They obviously start brawling right away. They continue the brawl until Rollins hits a back body drop onto the HARDEST PART OF THE RING. Rollins then follows that up with a Falcon Arrow onto the HARDEST PART OF THE RING. Rollins then hits a suicide dive and drives Owens into the barricade. Rollins then hits another one, but on the third attempt Owens hits him with a fist. Rollins bounces back and hits the Sling Blade. They have a real nice spot with some reversals that ends with Owens hitting a DDT. Rollins really has found his groove with this character here. Owens hits a cannon ball and hits a senton off the top rope. We get another back and forth segment that ends with Rollins hitting an enzuigiri, but Owens bounced off the ropes and hit a clothesline. Owens goes for a superplex, but Rollins rakes the eyes and hits a sunset buckle bomb and hits two superkicks. Owens hits a Pop-Up Powerbomb, but Rollins kicks out. Outside of the ring, Rollins grabs the bell and hits Owens in the head with it and tells them to ring the bell. They call for the disqualification, but then Owens gets on the mic and says that this isn't how this is supposed to end. Owens says for them to finish it with a no disqualification match. Rollins comes back in and they re-start the match. Rollins hits a running knee and then dumps Owens out of the ring. Rollins then gets a running start and drills Owens with the steel steps. He then hits him three times with a chair. As Rollins taunts Owens, he grabs the ring bell and hits him twice in the head. Owens then goes and climbs the WrestleMania sign and hits an elbow drop onto Rollins on the table. That was quite a leap there. Back in the ring, Rollins begs for mercy, but Owens hits the Stunner and that is all. That was another really good match with two guys that have great chemistry with one another. This match was definitely worthy of playing in front of 80,000 fans.
Match Rating: ****
R-Truth jumps up to where Gronk and Mojo are and asks if he can chill with them for a little bit, so he can hide from everyone chasing after his 24/7 title. Gronk hits him with an elbow, but Mojo pulls him off Truth and Mojo wins the title.
Paul Heyman is backstage and says that we are one day from exposing Drew McIntyre.
WWE Universal Championship Match
Braun Strowman vs. Goldberg
They continue to not mention why Strowman has replaced Roman Reigns here. Goldberg quickly hits a spear, but Strowman gets up. He hits two more and Strowman kicks out. Goldberg hits a fourth spear and goes for the Jackhammer. Strowman counters and hits a powerslam. Strowman hits two more powerslams and tells Goldberg to get up. Strowman hits another one and that's all. Strowman gets his big moment about two years too late in a cold match with no one in attendance. If that doesn't sum up WWE booking in 2020, then I don't know what else does. This obviously wasn't much of a match and it wasn't as eloquently booked as Goldberg/Lesnar from a couple of years back. Oh well, it was quick.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Boneyard Match
Undertaker vs. AJ Styles
After a good highlight package, we are off to a cemetery where we see an old hearse drive up. Two druids come out of car and pull out a casket. Of course it is AJ Styles and he calls out Undertaker. Taker comes in on a motorcycle to a Metallica song. Taker immediately takes it to Styles and then slams him repeatedly into the casket. Taker tries to attack Styles against the hearse, but Styles ducks and Taker breaks the glass, causing his arm to bleed. Taker then tosses Styles onto the windshield. On top of the hearse, Taker continues to pound on Styles. Back on the ground, Styles throws dirt in Takers face and then hits him with a kick below the belt. Styles tries knocking Taker into the empty grave, but Styles ends up there instead. In walk Anderson and Gallows, who say that things are just getting started. Then a bunch of druids surround Taker. They all of course don't attack him at once, so Taker takes out the druids one by one. Anderson and Gallows jump him and take him down. They try to attack him with the wooden part of a shovel, but Taker miraculously fights back. Styles then comes out of nowhere to take him down. Styles then drives Taker into a fence and knocks it down. Styles continues to talk trash of how Taker doesn't have it anymore. Styles picks up a shovel and tells him that he's doing the world a favor. He breaks the shovel over his back and Taker falls in the grave. Styles gets into the plow to dump the dirt on the grave and then behind him it's magically Undertaker. Styles then runs up a ladder to the top of a building and then there's some random fire. Gallows and Anderson are there and Taker knocks them out. Taker throws Gallows off the roof and then Tombstones Anderson. Taker then chokeslams Styles off the roof through some wood. He brings Styles over to the grave and sets him up for the chokeslam. Styles says he is sorry. Taker gives him a hug and tells him that he gave him a fight that most people haven't been able to give him. Taker turns around, but turns back and kicks Styles into the grave. Taker dumps the dirt into the grave and I guess that's the end of the match. He pulls some plants off the tombstone and it reveals that it says AJ Styles on it. They show Styles glove sticking out of the dirt. Taker then rides off and we are done. Some people will like this, but I would say that was the worst main event in WrestleMania history. No thank you.
Match Rating: 0 stars
I'm not sure that I can remember a show that had a wider range of star ratings from me. On the plus side, we got two legitimately great matches where the five performers worked their tails off. Both matches deserved to have a capacity crowd backing them. The Lynch/Baszler and Bryan/Zayn matches suffered from abrupt endings. My problem comes with the last match. Like I said, some people will have enjoyed this (and more power to you). Unfortunately, I absolutely hated it. I don't have much desire to see Undertaker wrestle/fight any more, let alone in some cheesy, over the top wannabe action movie. I just don't understand how you main event with this match? Speaking of match order, WWE had the opportunity to put these matches in the perfect order and instead they came up with a pretty mind boggling order here. I really was good with this show up until the Owens/Rollins match and was fine with the Strowman match. I just wish I could pretend I didn't just watch the main event. I'm probably being a little kind on the overall score, but I did appreciate the effort given here and really did enjoy the majority of it.
Overall Rating: 63%
WWE Performance Center
Orlando, Florida
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Stephanie McMahon is here to introduce the show. She specifies that there will be "other locations". She says that she hopes that this is a diversion from the current events and to enjoy the show. This leads to a highlight package of some of the people who have performed "America The Beautiful" over the years and they combine them together to create the song. Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin's are both home run versions for the record.
We still get the pirate themed intro video. I actually really wanted to see what they were going to do with the set in Tampa. It finishes off with Vince's favorite, AC/DC. Rob Gronkowski is now here and introduces the first ever two night WrestleMania. He says he's the right guy for the job because he can start a party and finish it 30 hours later. He brings in Mojo Rawley, who he chops four times for the fun of it. Yeah...no.
WWE Women's Tag Team Championship Match
Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross vs. The Kabuki Warriors
Kairi Sane makes fun of Alexa Bliss's bow and Bliss fires back with a slap to the back. These four ladies are extremely vocal here. Cross dumps Asuka outside the ring and tags in Bliss, who hits a baseball slid kick to knock out Sane. Nikki leaps off the apron to take out Sane. They start brawling outside the ring. Asuka and Sane use some nice teamwork back in the ring to take control of Cross. I wonder if this would have been the opener had this been one night? Hot tag to Bliss, but Asuka helps Sane to slow her down. She then does a stomp off the second rope to Bliss's face. That seems like a risky move for Bliss, who has a history of concussions. Bliss escapes a bulldog, but Asuka nails her with a high knee. Cross tries to clap Bliss back into the match in a nice moment. Both women make a tag and Cross is all over Sane. Cross hits a flying crossbody off the top rope, but Sane kicks out at 2. Cross has Asuka pinned for the win, but Sane makes the save off the top rope. Bliss hits a Twisted Bliss on Asuka to break up that pin, but then eats a spear from Sane. Asuka hits a Codebreaker, but is able to stop Sane from the top rope. Asuka has Cross up in a powerbomb position and Sane hits a forearm off the top rope, but Cross is able to kick out. Asuka misses Cross and hits her shoulder on the ring post. Cross is able to tag Bliss and she heads up top. She hits Twisted Bliss again and gets the victory to crown new Tag Team Champions. All four women put in a lot of effort here, but there were a few awkward spots. Not a bad opener, but it really is weird crowning new champions with no reaction.
Match Rating: **1/4 (out of 5)
Sami Zayn is here along with Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura and says that he is going to do something that few men do, which is walking into WrestleMania as Intercontinental Champion and walking out as champion too.
King Corbin vs. Elias
Corbin says that he is demanding that they raise his hand in victory since Elias isn't here. Elias then comes out and Corbin goes out to the ramp and Elias hits him in the back with the guitar. Corbin continues the attack and throws him in the ring. The referee stops Elias and checks on Corbin to make sure he's able to compete. The bell rings and Elias goes right after him again. Corbin is able to dump Elias over the top rope to buy himself some time. JBL and Cole compare Corbin to JBL, which is pretty fair, although JBL's heat was more legit than Corbin's. Corbin continues the attack and slams Elias's shoulder into the ring post. Elias returns the favor and throws Corbin into the ring post. So for the record, this has happened three times in the first two matches. Elias misses off the top rope and Corbin hits Deep Six for a 2 count. Elias hits a jumping high knee to the jaw of Corbin. Corbin rolls Elias up and puts his feet on the rope and is caught by the ref. Elias then rolls up Corbin and gets the victory. This seems like a good time to remind everyone that Corbin was the man selected to beat Kurt Angle in his last ever match last year. Good choice.
Match Rating: *3/4
Becky Lynch is shown driving a semi-truck with her face on there and says "The Man" on it.
Raw Women's Championship Match
Shayna Baszler vs. Becky Lynch
I thought that this match was main event worthy once they announced WrestleMania as a two night show. They go right at it and are quickly out to the floor. Becky slams Baszler into the announcer table and then into the steps. Lynch hits a missile dropkick and then attacks her in the corner. After a nice little bit of counters, Baszler hits a spinebuster. They fight out on the apron and Baszler hits some stiff shots. Lynch then hits a Rock Bottom on the HARDEST PART OF THE RING. Lynch goes up top, but Baszler greets her with a kick and then puts her in an armbar in the middle of the ring. Lynch counters it into a pin, but Baszler puts her in the Disarmher. Lynch gets out but eats a kick right to the chin, but kicks out. Back outside again and Baszler swings Lynch twice into the announcer table. I'm not a diehard Baszler fan, but I do love her look and the way she carries herself as a heel. There is a distinct brutality to her matches and it stands out among the other women. Just as I type that Lynch rolls through on a sleeper hold from Baszler and gets the surprise victory. That was certainly not the ending I would have picked for that match. This easily had another five minutes left in there. This was the best of the night so far.
Match Rating: ***
Intercontinental Championship Match
Daniel Bryan vs. Sami Zayn
Of the limited amount of current day WWE TV that I watch, Sami Zayn is easily among one of the most entertaining performers that they have. Then again, Daniel Bryan is also as entertaining as ever. Sami is doing everything he can to stall the match so far. Bryan eventually chases after him, but Cesaro gets in his way. Bryan finally gets a hand on him, but Cesaro and Shinsuke block him again. Gulak comes flying off the apron and takes both of them down. It's great to see all of these guys getting some time. Bryan then tells Zayn go walk up the ramp and get counted out. Zayn walks up the ramp and chases him up the ramp and attacks him. He throws him back in the ring and starts the beatdown with some calculated shots. Bryan hits a missile dropkick and once again has to drag Zayn back in the ring. Bryan begins clubbing Zayn in the back of the head and then stands him up and hits some stiff slaps. Zayn is able to slip an elbow in and get in control. It doesn't last long and Bryan hits a running clothesline and follows it up with the Yes Kicks. Bryan is really laying it in here. Gulak then begins the "Yes" chants and he is attacked by both Shinsuke and Cesaro. Bryan hits them both with a suicide dive and then goes up top but Zayn hits him with a Helluva Kick and gets the victory. Back-to-back abrupt finishes to otherwise good matches.
Match Rating: **3/4
Ladder Match For The SmackDown Tag Team Championships
Kofi Kingston vs. Jimmy Uso vs. John Morrison
This is a singles match due to Miz not being quarantined. After a quick start to the match, all three men go and grab ladders and bring them into the ring. Morrison is able to knock Jimmy off the ladder, but then pulls Morrison off his. Kofi hits a crossbody onto Uso and Morrison is back to climbing. He goes back down and knocks both men down for the time being. Kofi has his hands on the belt, but Morrison is there to stop him. Jimmy pulls him down and hits him with a right hand. Kofi launches himself through the ladder, but he is caught and then dumps him over the top rope to the floor. Morrison slides under the ladder, but Jimmy dumps the ladder on him but it doesn't hit him and he hits Jimmy with a thumb to the eye. Morrison positions Jimmy on a ladder that's hung on the second rope and hits him with a corkscrew off the top rope. That looked pretty good. Kofi then leaps onto a climbing Morrison and hits a hurricanrana off the ladder. In comes Jimmy, but Kofi hits him over the rope again. Morrison comes up with a ladder, but Kofi leaps over the top rope and hits Morrison. Jimmy tries to scale the barricade, but Kofi launches the ladder at him. Kofi lays Jimmy on a ladder that's lying across the ring to the barricade. Morrison goes up top, but Kofi stops him. Kofi climbs to the top rope, but Morrison is back up and walks across the top rope and hits a Spanish Fly from the top. Jimmy then comes in and hits a splash in a nice segment. Jimmy and Kofi are both climbing up the ladder. Jimmy is able to knock Kofi off, but Kofi then climbs up the inside of the ladder and knock Jimmy off. Kofi has his hands on the belts, but Morrison is able to meet him up there. Kofi knocks him off with a headbutt and then hits a dropkick off the ladder. Jimmy tries to bring in a ladder, but Kofi stops him. They then set it in between the ladder in the middle ring to create a bridge. Kofi climbs it, but Jimmy hits him with a kick and then slams him face first into the ladder. Morrison leaps off of it next and eats an Uso superkick. Morrison is laying face first on the ladder and Uso climbs up another ladder in the corner. Morrison gets up and dumps him to the floor. Morrison is alone in the ring and takes his time climbing up the ladder. Kofi comes in at the last second. Here comes Jimmy with another ladder and all three men are fighting at the top. They all have their hands on the belts and take them down, but they are fighting over them. Uso headbutts Morrison off the ladder, but he has the belts in his hands so Morrison retains for his team. A little contrived, but a decently clever finish to an otherwise great match. I really liked that match and thought they overcame a huge obstacle here by working extremely hard. Plus, Morrison walking the ropes into the Spanish Fly was awesome.
Match Rating: ****
Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins
Rollins is out solo. They obviously start brawling right away. They continue the brawl until Rollins hits a back body drop onto the HARDEST PART OF THE RING. Rollins then follows that up with a Falcon Arrow onto the HARDEST PART OF THE RING. Rollins then hits a suicide dive and drives Owens into the barricade. Rollins then hits another one, but on the third attempt Owens hits him with a fist. Rollins bounces back and hits the Sling Blade. They have a real nice spot with some reversals that ends with Owens hitting a DDT. Rollins really has found his groove with this character here. Owens hits a cannon ball and hits a senton off the top rope. We get another back and forth segment that ends with Rollins hitting an enzuigiri, but Owens bounced off the ropes and hit a clothesline. Owens goes for a superplex, but Rollins rakes the eyes and hits a sunset buckle bomb and hits two superkicks. Owens hits a Pop-Up Powerbomb, but Rollins kicks out. Outside of the ring, Rollins grabs the bell and hits Owens in the head with it and tells them to ring the bell. They call for the disqualification, but then Owens gets on the mic and says that this isn't how this is supposed to end. Owens says for them to finish it with a no disqualification match. Rollins comes back in and they re-start the match. Rollins hits a running knee and then dumps Owens out of the ring. Rollins then gets a running start and drills Owens with the steel steps. He then hits him three times with a chair. As Rollins taunts Owens, he grabs the ring bell and hits him twice in the head. Owens then goes and climbs the WrestleMania sign and hits an elbow drop onto Rollins on the table. That was quite a leap there. Back in the ring, Rollins begs for mercy, but Owens hits the Stunner and that is all. That was another really good match with two guys that have great chemistry with one another. This match was definitely worthy of playing in front of 80,000 fans.
Match Rating: ****
R-Truth jumps up to where Gronk and Mojo are and asks if he can chill with them for a little bit, so he can hide from everyone chasing after his 24/7 title. Gronk hits him with an elbow, but Mojo pulls him off Truth and Mojo wins the title.
Paul Heyman is backstage and says that we are one day from exposing Drew McIntyre.
WWE Universal Championship Match
Braun Strowman vs. Goldberg
They continue to not mention why Strowman has replaced Roman Reigns here. Goldberg quickly hits a spear, but Strowman gets up. He hits two more and Strowman kicks out. Goldberg hits a fourth spear and goes for the Jackhammer. Strowman counters and hits a powerslam. Strowman hits two more powerslams and tells Goldberg to get up. Strowman hits another one and that's all. Strowman gets his big moment about two years too late in a cold match with no one in attendance. If that doesn't sum up WWE booking in 2020, then I don't know what else does. This obviously wasn't much of a match and it wasn't as eloquently booked as Goldberg/Lesnar from a couple of years back. Oh well, it was quick.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Boneyard Match
Undertaker vs. AJ Styles
After a good highlight package, we are off to a cemetery where we see an old hearse drive up. Two druids come out of car and pull out a casket. Of course it is AJ Styles and he calls out Undertaker. Taker comes in on a motorcycle to a Metallica song. Taker immediately takes it to Styles and then slams him repeatedly into the casket. Taker tries to attack Styles against the hearse, but Styles ducks and Taker breaks the glass, causing his arm to bleed. Taker then tosses Styles onto the windshield. On top of the hearse, Taker continues to pound on Styles. Back on the ground, Styles throws dirt in Takers face and then hits him with a kick below the belt. Styles tries knocking Taker into the empty grave, but Styles ends up there instead. In walk Anderson and Gallows, who say that things are just getting started. Then a bunch of druids surround Taker. They all of course don't attack him at once, so Taker takes out the druids one by one. Anderson and Gallows jump him and take him down. They try to attack him with the wooden part of a shovel, but Taker miraculously fights back. Styles then comes out of nowhere to take him down. Styles then drives Taker into a fence and knocks it down. Styles continues to talk trash of how Taker doesn't have it anymore. Styles picks up a shovel and tells him that he's doing the world a favor. He breaks the shovel over his back and Taker falls in the grave. Styles gets into the plow to dump the dirt on the grave and then behind him it's magically Undertaker. Styles then runs up a ladder to the top of a building and then there's some random fire. Gallows and Anderson are there and Taker knocks them out. Taker throws Gallows off the roof and then Tombstones Anderson. Taker then chokeslams Styles off the roof through some wood. He brings Styles over to the grave and sets him up for the chokeslam. Styles says he is sorry. Taker gives him a hug and tells him that he gave him a fight that most people haven't been able to give him. Taker turns around, but turns back and kicks Styles into the grave. Taker dumps the dirt into the grave and I guess that's the end of the match. He pulls some plants off the tombstone and it reveals that it says AJ Styles on it. They show Styles glove sticking out of the dirt. Taker then rides off and we are done. Some people will like this, but I would say that was the worst main event in WrestleMania history. No thank you.
Match Rating: 0 stars
I'm not sure that I can remember a show that had a wider range of star ratings from me. On the plus side, we got two legitimately great matches where the five performers worked their tails off. Both matches deserved to have a capacity crowd backing them. The Lynch/Baszler and Bryan/Zayn matches suffered from abrupt endings. My problem comes with the last match. Like I said, some people will have enjoyed this (and more power to you). Unfortunately, I absolutely hated it. I don't have much desire to see Undertaker wrestle/fight any more, let alone in some cheesy, over the top wannabe action movie. I just don't understand how you main event with this match? Speaking of match order, WWE had the opportunity to put these matches in the perfect order and instead they came up with a pretty mind boggling order here. I really was good with this show up until the Owens/Rollins match and was fine with the Strowman match. I just wish I could pretend I didn't just watch the main event. I'm probably being a little kind on the overall score, but I did appreciate the effort given here and really did enjoy the majority of it.
Overall Rating: 63%
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