NXT 6-12-13 Review

Original Airdate: Wednesday, June 12th, 2013
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2

Sami Zayn vs. Antonio Cesaro

Seeing Zayn without his entrance music is just bizarre. Cesaro goes right after Zayn and drops him on the guardrail. He rams him in the ring post. The ref holds Cesaro back before ringing the bell. As soon as the bell rings, Cesaro hits a running uppercut. Zayn tries to fight back, but Cesaro nails him with a spinebuster. It really is quite amazing that Zayn wrestled with a mask for so much of his career. Cesaro catches Zayn in midair and hits a great spinning backbreaker for a 2 count. Back from the commercial break, Zayn gets destroyed by a stomp. Zayn uses a headscissors and swings Cesaro out of the ring. Zayn hits a senton over the top rope. Back in the ring, Zayn heads to the top rope, but eats an uppercut. Zayn hits a fantastic counter into a Canadian Destroyer, but Cesaro kicks out. Zayn charges at Cesaro in the corner and Cesaro gets the boot up. After some counters, Cesaro goes into a chin lock and works his way into the Neutralizer for the victory. This was easily the best match in NXT's short history. Zayn is such a breath of fresh air to this roster.

Match Rating: ***1/2 (out of 5)

Renee Young is here with a hesitant Bayley. She's sporting a headband with a bow and lets us know that she likes robots. She says Alicia Fox is pretty and asks Renee if she thinks that she is pretty. I didn't know that the Bayley character started out this way.

Leo Kruger gets more vignette time. I really don't understand it.

Travis Tyler & Baron Corbin vs. Scott Dawson & Garrett Dylan

The pairing with Dawson and Dylan with LeFort feels so random. Dawson and Dylan corner Tyler and hit him with some quick tags. Dawson and Dylan are very similar to the Revival in that they focus on actual tag team wrestling. Corbin finally gets tagged in. He doesn't last long as he gets hit with Southern Pride for the victory. This was a pretty impressive showing for the new team.

Match Rating: 1/2*

They show Kassius Ohno, Adrian Neville and Corey Graves arguing about the Wyatt Family. William Regal tells them that they need to put their egos aside and figure out a way to take them out. Ohno thanks Regal for the chat.

NXT Women's Championship Tournament First Round Match
Bayley vs. Alicia Fox

Bayley offers her hand and then ends up hugging Fox. Fox hits her with a suplex with a bridge for a 2 count. Fox slaps Bayley and she fires back and then hits a monkey flip. She hits a knee drop and gets a nearfall. Bayley is getting a solid reaction from the crowd here. Fox sneaks in a kick while on the apron and then hits the scissor kick for the finish. I'm not really sure what good it does to have Fox win here, but what do I know?

Match Rating: 1/2*

Wyatt Family vignette time. Bray says a bunch of words.

NXT Championship Match
Bo Dallas vs. Big E Langston

Dallas hits a dropkick to Langston's chest, but it hardly phases him. Big E shows off his athleticism and then knocks Bo over with a shoulder tackle. Bo takes Big E down to his knee with a low dropkick and then sends Langston over the top rope. The crowd is already starting to boo Bo. Langston takes control and hits a splash. The "No more Bo" chants are beginning now. Bo hits the springboard bulldog for a 2. Langston hits a belly-to-belly suplex and hits a series of clotheslines. Bo counters out of the Big Ending and rips off the top turnbuckle. He uses it and gets the victory to become the third NXT Champion in history. This would begin probably the weakest title reign in NXT history. This was obviously a very historical moment for the brand, but the match was very underwhelming.

Match Rating: 1/2*

Renee Young comes out to interview the new champion. He tells her he's going to Disney World while the crowd boos. This was probably not the moment they were hoping for.

Well, this is probably the most important episode of the show since it has two big moments. The Zayn/Cesaro match is the best match to this date on NXT and the crowning of a new champion. That alone is worthy of a thumbs up. The two other matches were good enough for what they were. Let's hope the women's matches get some more time in round 2.

Overall Rating: 68%

Monday Night Raw 4-12-93 Review

Monday, April 12th, 1993
Mid-Hudson Civic Center
Poughkeepsie, New York

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2

Money, Inc. is backstage asking the Beverly Brothers for advice on the Steiners. This is early 1990s WWF cheese at it's best.

IRS vs. Scott Steiner

Steiner catches a kick from IRS, but he hits an enzuigiri. Scott comes back with a suplex and IRS is now re-grouping with DiBiase. Steiner continues to stay in control with some nice wrestling and the crowd is digging it. I can't say it enough that Scott during this era really could have been a huge singles star if he would have chosen to fly solo. Steiner hits a vertical suplex and gets a 2 count. Back from the commercial break and IRS hits a piledriver. IRS goes up top, but eats a boot from Scott. Scott hits a reverse elbow and then hangs him over the top rope by his tie. Scott hits a double underhook suplex, but DiBiase breaks up the count and causes the disqualification. The Steiners fight them off and set up for their finisher until the Beverly Brothers come down to help out. The Beverly's accidentally hit DiBiase with a double clothesline and the Steiners retreat. After some words, Money, Inc. is going to head to the back, but they attack IRS. DiBiase rolls out of the ring and head to the back. This was easily one of IRS's best matches that I can think of.

Match Rating: **1/4 (out of 5)

Tatanka vs. Skull Von Krush

Tatanka hits a flurry of arm drags and then out comes Doink down the aisle. Skull Von Krush hits some chops and mocks Tatanka, so Tatanka reverses it on him and then sends him into the turnbuckle. Tatanka hits a back body drop. He hits End of the Trail and that's all. He gets announced as being still undefeated. This was actually fairly entertaining for what it was.

Match Rating: 1/2*

Sean Mooney is here to remind us that WrestleMania IX was the greatest WrestleMania of all time. You can watch the replay at 10:00 pm tonight. I can't imagine staying up until 1:00 am on a Monday to watch WrestleMania IX.

Rob Bartlett is here to interview Luna Vachon. Luna says the only thing strong about Sherri is her breath. Luna continues to talk trash and then down comes Sherri. Sherri says that if she wants a piece of her, she's going to get it and she attacks her. She throws Barlett down and then hits a suplex on Luna. They then start tearing each others clothes off and then brawl in the crowd. Sgt. Slaughter comes down and picks Luna up and carries her to the back.

Back from a commercial break, Macho Man is now interviewing Sherri and then Luna comes down and attacks her again. Sherri hits her with a knee and it sure looks like she got her pretty good based on Luna's reaction.

Papa Shango vs. Scott Taylor

We get a good one-two punch of jobbers tonight with Vito and Scotty 2 Hotty. Taylor tries some dropkicks, but Shango swats him away. Shango tosses Taylor and then hits a headbutt to the midsection. Bartlett comes out from the back with his clothes all ripped up and then passes out. Shango hits a reverse shoulderbreaker for the victory. Your usual Shango squash.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Friar Ferguson vs. Chris Duffy

The legendary Friar Ferguson. Duffy goes for a piledriver, but Ferguson hits a back body drop and hits a leg drop. Vince announces that next week the Beverly Brothers will take on Money, Inc. Ferguson begins dancing and I can't put my finger on it, but I don't think this gimmick is going to work. Ferguson pulls his robe over Duffy's face. This is absolutely awful. Duffy tries to get a sunset flip, but Ferguson squashes him for the win. This was as terrible as you have probably heard it is.

Match Rating: 0 Stars

They announce Razor Ramon vs. Virgil for next week and we go to Money, Inc. They accept the Beverly Brothers' challenge and then they come in and attack them from behind. They brawl as the show goes off the air.

Well, this was a fun show until the Ferguson debacle. How in the world did Vince think that one would work? The rest of the show was entertaining and I'm looking forward to the build for the first King of the Ring.

Overall Rating: 57%

SmackDown 9-16-05 Review

Original Airdate: Friday, September 16th, 2005
Alltell Arena
Little Rock, Arkansas

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2

Chris Benoit vs. Christian

Orlando Jordan comes out complaining about Benoit. Christian distracts Benoit and Jordan attacks him from behind. Benoit fights it off and puts him in the Crippler Crossface, but Christian makes the save. Out comes Booker T to make the save and the ref makes it a tag team match.

Chris Benoit & Booker T vs. Christian & Orlando Jordan

Christian and Booker go back and forth until Booker hits a big spinebuster for a 2 count. We get kind of an awkward ref/Orlando Jordan distraction, but it allows Jordan to attack Booker behind the ref's back. Booker hits a Book End on Jordan and Booker makes the tag to Benoit. Benoit hits a snap suplex on Christian and then does the same to Jordan onto Christian. He then trips Christian, causing him to headbutt Jordan below the belt. Christian goes for the Unprettier, but Benoit counters into the Crossface. Jordan makes the save and all four men are in the ring. Booker sends Jordan out of the ring. Jordan goes for a chair and he and Booker fight over it, causing Jordan to run into Sharmell. Jordan then throws Booker into the steps. Benoit hits three German suplexes on Christian. Benoit heads up to the top rope, but Jordan hangs him up on the top rope and Christian hits the Unprettier for the victory. This was a pretty good match with the heels cheating at every opportunity and the story between all of these men continuing in a logical way.

Match Rating: **1/2 (out of 5)

After a Undertaker/Randy Orton package, Batista is shown walking backstage. He passes by Stacy and Christy, then walks by Simon Dean and a random guy, causing Dean to spit his drink all over the poor lad's face. They were really laying it on thick that Batista was cool.

Teddy Long and Palmer Canon are in the ring and introduce Batista. Batista says that they are here to name a new #1 contender for his championship. Teddy Long is about to make the announcement and Canon rips the mic from his hand and announces it as Eddie Guerrero. Teddy is not happy about it. Eddie says that everyone knows about his demons, but his biggest addiction has always been manipulation. Last week when he finally beat Rey Mysterio, he found a new addiction and it's respect, honor and doing the next right thing. He says that he is the new and improved Eddie Guerrero and that he's all about love. He wants to prove that they can have a great wrestling match without hating each other and thanks Batista. Batista says he likes it and that they can be the two amigos. Batista pulls a Tommy Boy and gives Eddie a hug. So just three weeks after Unforgiven, we are getting No Mercy.

WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Heidenreich & Road Warrior Animal vs. MNM

Well, when you only have two tag teams, I guess you have to have them wrestle each other a lot. Mercury avoids Heidenreich by leaving the ring, but Animal hits him with a clothesline and sends him back in the ring. Melina distracts the rope and Nitro hits Animal with a kick below the belt. Melina tries to throw a punch at Animal, but he catches it, but the distraction still works. MNM hits a double Russian leg sweep for a 2 count. Heidenreich tags in and takes down both opponents with big boots and then slams them both face first. Animal goes for a double ax handle off the apron, but Mercury avoids it. Melina is distracting the ref, but he turns around just as Mercury hits Heidenreich with the title belt and we have a DQ finish. The feud must go on. This was at least a lot shorter than last week's match.

Match Rating: 3/4*

Long and Canon are talking in the back and Eddie walks in to thank them for making his dream come true. Eddie leaves and Long says that Rey Mysterio was going to be who he named as the #1 contender. Canon says that Eddie fits what Teddy was looking for and now it's a match that all of the fans want to see.

Bob Orton is hanging out in front of a U-Haul and here comes Randy. He says that the surprise is all ready to go.

JBL vs. Rey Mysterio

This is a pretty big match for a random match on the middle of the show. Mysterio hits a hip toss and goes for the 619, but JBL gets up and runs him over. JBL works on Mysterio and he puts in a bear hug. Perhaps he saw Chris Masters doing it on Raw this week and thought he'd teach him a lesson? Mysterio counters with a DDT and both men are down. Rey hits a spinning headscissors and then hits two dropkicks and a bronco buster. He goes for a monkey flip, but JBL slams him to the mat. He goes for the Clothesline From Hell, but Mysterio takes out hits legs and hits the 619. JBL catches the seated senton, but Mysterio escapes and hits a springboard moonsault for the victory. It's pretty interesting that JBL was the champ for so long and now a few months later is doing 6 minute losses.

Match Rating: **

Nunzio and Vito are in the back complaining that since he became Cruiserweight Champion, he has yet to be on SmackDown. Eddie inspires Canon to announce that Nunzio will be in action tonight in a champion vs. champion match against Batista.

Josh Matthews attempts to interview JBL backstage, but he walks away. Ken Kennedy says it's typical that the media is going after the negative stuff. He comes in and says that they should focus on something positive like him. Kennedy says that Matthews smells like Arkansas. Get it? They're in Arkansas. I have to say Kennedy's character is much more entertaining in the ring than he is in these backstage segments. He then does the Kennedy...Kennedy to Matthews.

Ken Kennedy vs. Jacus Plisken

Kennedy hits a knee to the mid-section, but walks into a right hand from Jacus. Jacus goes up to teh top, but Kennedy slows him down and he hits the Green Bay Plunge for the victory. That was short even by squash match standards.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Batista vs. Nunzio

Just as the bell rings, Eddie Guerrero comes out cheering on Batista. Batista tosses Nunzio into Vito. Batista again gets distracted by Vito, so he knocks him off the apron and then Nunzio hits a second rope dropkick. I always thought Nunzio was an underrated worker, especially for this era. Batista again tosses Nunzio around and hits a spinebuster on Vito. He then hits a spinebuster on Nunzio on top of Vito. He hits the Batista Bomb and that is all. Squash.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Randy and Bob are still by the U-Haul talking about their surprise.

Jillian Hall comes into JBL's locker room. JBL asks her to work for him and she agrees.

Randy Orton vs. Undertaker

This starts right after the commercial break with Taker throwing Orton across the ring. Orton gets a burst of offense in with a hip toss and some right hands, but then eats a big boot for a 2 count. Taker goes to work on Orton's left shoulder. Taker goes for Old School, but Orton kicks the rope causing Taker to fall. Orton goes for a superplex and after a struggle, he finally hits it. Orton then yells for his dad to bring the truck down. As the truck is being backed down, Taker sits up so Orton hits a DDT. They start unloading a casket out of the truck. Undertaker tries to mount a comeback, but Orton hits a nice dropkick to slow down the momentum. Orton hits a body slam and goes to the second rope. He goes for an elbow drop, but Taker gets the boot up. Orton hits his variation of the backbreaker and gets a nearfall. They begin exchanging blows and Taker hits a leaping shoulder tackle. Taker hits Snake Eyes and the big boot. Taker clotheslines Orton over the top and scares Bob Orton away. He picks up Orton and goes to put him in the casket. When he opens up the casket, he sees himself. That was obviously edited. Back in the ring, Orton is in control and he hits the RKO, but Taker kicks out. Taker is back up and hits the chokeslam, but Bob Orton pulls the ref out of the ring before he counts 3. Taker knocks Bob out of the ring and then avoids Randy's RKO attempt. He hits the Tombstone and gets the victory. Despite the casket stuff, this was another good outing from these two.

Match Rating: ***

Even though last week featured the big time card, this show I felt delivered the more entertaining show. It was hardly a perfect effort, but I thought from top to bottom this was a good showing for the blue brand.

Overall Rating: 65%

Monday Night Raw 9-12-05 Review

Monday, September 12th, 2005
Alltell Arena
Little Rock, Arkansas

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2

The show opens with kind of a weird opening, starting with a crowd shot then the fireworks. No TV intro. I wonder if something was edited for the network?

Big Show vs. Edge

We get the usual start to a Big Show match where his competitor seems to think that they can do their normal offense to him and that he isn't 7 feet tall. Edge is able to hang Big Show up on the top rope and then hits a low dropkick to his knee. Edge goes for a tornado DDT, but Big Show tosses him. Snitsky runs in and attacks Big Show and after about 15 seconds, the ref finally calls for the bell. Matt Hardy runs in and makes the save. Out comes Eric Bischoff and he channels his inner Teddy Long. We now have ourselves a tag team match.

Big Show & Matt Hardy vs. Edge & Snitsky

Matt Hardy begins hammering on Edge and then hits a running clothesline. Hardy catapults Edge into the top turnbuckle and gets a 2 count with a roll up. Edge is hung up on the top rope and Big Show hits a big kick, sending Edge to the floor into the commercial break. As we come back, Edge is working on Hardy. Edge got a cheap shot behind the referee's back during the break. Edge gets to Big Show before Hardy can make the tag to him, so Big Show comes over the top and goes after Edge and Snitsky. On the outside, Edge hits Big Show with the briefcase and takes him out. Hardy hits a second rope leg drop, but then Lita grabs his leg and he goes after her. They end up in the ring and he is about to put a Twist of Fate on her. Edge goes for a Spear, but Hardy sees it. Hardy goes for the Twist of Fate on Edge, but Lita kicks him in the crotch. Edge hits a Spear and gets the victory. This was a pretty good match that helped build to Unforgiven in six days. After the match, Lita hits a Twist of Fate on Hardy.

Match Rating: **1/2 (out of 5)

Shawn Michaels is out for an interview on the ramp with Todd Grisham. They show highlights of last week with the Master Lock Challenge. Michaels says that Masters decided to take things one step too far, but Michaels has made a living taking things a step too far. Michaels announces that Flair will be taking on Masters tonight. Flair comes out "Woo-ing" and tells Carlito that he hopes he's watching because at Unforgiven he will become the Intercontinental Champion for the first time.

Kerwin White vs. Shelton Benjamin

Kerwin wrestles in khaki shorts and a collared shirt. Benjamin starts off hot, but Kerwin hits a missile dropkick from the second rope. Kerwin grabs his hanger from his vest, but the ref catches him. He takes off his collared shirt and uses it to choke Shelton while the ref for reason puts the hanger back on the vest. Shelton hits a Samoan drop and a reverse elbow. Shelton hits a huge back body drop, but Kerwin hits a jawbreaker. Shelton hits the spinning heel kick and Kerwin rolls to the outside. On their way back in, Kerwin grabs his golf club and uses it to attack Shelton for the obvious disqualification. You don't have to like the gimmick, but you can't deny Chavo is doing the best that he can with it.

Match Rating: 3/4*

Kurt Angle says that he is the greatest professional wrestler on the planet and that everyone knows it.

Torrie Wilson, Candice Michelle and Victoria are here, which leads to Jerry Lawler promoting a body spray.They say that they have another special surprise for Ashley tonight. Torrie tells her to come in the ring because she finally passed her initiation. Ashley says she is coming down to the ring, but this time she has a surprise of her own and it's a returning Trish Stratus. She comes in and goes after Victoria. Torrie grabs Trish while Ashley takes out Candice. Trish ducks a clothesline from Victoria, which takes out Torrie and then gives Victoria the Chick Kick.

Ric Flair vs. Chris Masters

Masters shows off his strength with a military press not once, but twice. Flair fights back with some chops. They head outside and Masters hits a side slam on the outside into the commercial break. Masters how has Flair in a bear hug and backs him into the corner and then hits a back body drop. Back to the bear hug we go. Flair bites Masters' nose to break out of the hold. Don't you worry, Masters goes right back to the bear hug. Flair finally fights out of it and takes out Masters' knee with a chop block. Flair trips Masters and locks in the Figure Four. Carlito comes in and hits Flair in the head with the Intercontinental Championship for the DQ. Michaels comes in and makes the save. He hits Sweet Chin Music on Carlito, but Masters throws him shoulder first into the ring post and then slaps on the Master Lock. Flair and Masters had no chemistry and it was pretty clear that Masters clearly needs an opponent like Michaels to make him look like he belongs. This is not necessarily a knock on Masters, as he is only 22 years old here. There was no reason why this had to be as long as it was.

Match Rating: 1/2*

Eugene & Tajiri vs. Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch

Tajiri hits an arm drag and a monkey flip on Murdoch. Next thing you know, Eugene is playing horsey with Cade. Cade then hits a clothesline after a distraction from Murdoch. Murdoch hits an inverted atomic drop and Cade follows it up with a swinging neckbreaker. The announcers are trying their best to tell us how great of a team these guys are, but they just don't fit the hype here. Eugene pulls out a Stunner on Murdoch and makes the tag to Tajiri. Tajiri remains the most underutilized performer on Raw. Tajiri gets the Tarantula on Cade, but Murdoch comes down and hits him with a right hand. Murdoch hits a pop up sit down powerbomb and Cade hits an elbow off the top rope for the victory. They're 2-0 and apparently getting a title opportunity in 6 days. This was something that filled six minutes of television.

Match Rating: *

Lita and Edge are already talking on the ramp as we come back on, which is kind of a weird artistic choice. Edge says that their story ends at Unforgiven in a 15 foot steel cage.

We then get a rundown of the Unforgiven card, which they announce that Ashley and Trish will take on Torrie, Candice and Victoria.

Cena is shown in the back talking to Bischoff and telling him that he no longer wants to be the champion and tries to hand the belt to him. Of course this was all just a joke because Cena never quits.

Handicap Match
Kurt Angle & Tomko vs. John Cena

Cena starts brawling with Tomko, but when he's going off the ropes, Angle clubs him in the back of the head. Cena hits a side slam on Angle, but Angle rakes the eyes and tags in Tomko. Cena fights in with a series of clothelines and hits a baseball dropkick on Angle. Tomko hits a boot and when we come back from commercial, Angle is stomping on Cena in the corner. Cena fights back with a shoulder tackle from the second rope on Tomko. Angle comes in and hits a German suplex while the ref is distracted by Tomko. Cena hits the hot tag to himself and hits a flurry of offense. He gets Tomko up for a FU, but Angle comes from behind and hits a German suplex on Cena while he has Tomko up. That was pretty sweet and for some reason not being sold as a crazy display of power. Tomko accidentally kicks Angle and Cena hits the FU on Tomko and gets the victory. Angle attacks him as soon as it's over. He hits an Angle Slam and then drives a knee into Cena's crotch. Bischoff yells in Cena's face as Angle stands over him. I'm not really sure why Cena had to win by pinfall here? Why not just do a DQ ending and have them lay him out that way? It's too bad that Cena is stuck in another heel GM feud with Bischoff. The match was just okay.

Match Rating: *1/2

Last week had a lot of energy to it and while this one did as well, the booking was just weak overall. There was also no reason to have Masters and Flair go as long as they did and a lot of the show just felt like filler. On the positive, Unforgiven has a pretty strong top of the card for a brand exclusive show and I'm looking forward to revisiting it for the first time in probably about 10 years.

Overall Rating: 47%

NXT 6-5-13 Review

Original Airdate: Wednesday, June 5th, 2013
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2

Jim Ross is here and he first introduces Bo Dallas, followed by Big E Langston. The crowd is chanting "No more Bo". Bo is upset with how Big E looked at him as a joke. Bo says that he doesn't want the championship, he needs it. Big E calls him a geek who lives at home with his mom. We get a 5 chant and that's about it. This was about as uneventful of a contract signing that I can remember.

Renee Young is with Corey Graves. He said he understands how the Wyatt's work. As for his partner tonight, Kassius Ohno, he has never cared for him but he will do what he has to do to take down the Wyatts.

NXT Women's Championship Tournament First Round Match
Tamina vs. Paige

It's crazy that seven years later Tamina is challenging for a women's title and Paige is retired. Tamina dominates to start. She argues with the ref and Paige tries to roll her up, but Tamina just falls instead. Tamina hits an elbow and then a knee drop, but Paige kicks out at 1. Tamina hits a superkick and then drags Paige to the corner. Paige gets the knees up on the splash and Paige rolls her up for the victory. This was not a good match at all.

Match Rating: 1/4* (out of 5)

Renee Young is now with Kassius Ohno. He gives pretty much the same interview that Graves gave, playing up that he and Graves aren't friends.

We get a Leo Kruger vignette. Really?

Colin Cassady vs. Mason Ryan

It's Big Cass's debut. Cassady gets a little offense in, but Ryan no sells it and hits his standard power wrestler offense. He hits his Torture Rack slam and gets the victory. Ryan just never put it all together.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Renee is working overtime today. She is now with Sami Zayn. He talks about beating Antonio Cesaro, who then walks in. Cesaro calls it a cheap win and says he is ticked off. Zayn accepts a rematch and asks Cesaro where he got his man purse from. Cesaro slaps him and they begin to brawl.

Alex Riley vs. Conor O'Brian

Man, they're bringing out all the big guns today. Tamina, Mason Ryan and now Alex Riley. O'Brian starts the match standing in a pose for some reason. He runs Riley over and then tosses him around. Riley hits a top rope clothesline for a 1 count. O'Brian hits a clothesline in the corner and hits a flapjack. He puts him in his new submission finisher and that's all. Another squash match tonight. As he walks up the ramp, Viktor is there to meet him.

Match Rating: 1/4*

NXT Tag Team Championship Match
Kassius Ohno & Corey Graves vs. The Wyatt Family

Ohno and Rowan start things off. They go back and forth a little until Graves and Harper end up tagging in. Harper catches Graves and sets him on the rop rope, but Graves goes for a sunset flip. Harper counters that, but then Graves gets a roll up from behind. Graves hits a nice hip toss and tags in Ohno, who hits an ax handle to Harper's arm. The Wyatt's are in control after the commercial break. Ohno hits a tag to Graves and he clips Rowan's leg. This is the most motivated I have seen Graves. Harper gets in a cheap shot on Graves in the apron, but he kicks out at 2. Graves counters a suplex into a small package for a 2 count. He counters a powerbomb into a back body drop and tags in Ohno. Ohno hits a flurry of offense and gets a 2 count out of a senton. Bray Wyatt comes up and distracts Ohno, but he still hits a spinning headbutt on Harper. Graves clotheslines Rowan over the top, but Bray comes in and hits Ohno in the back of the head. Graves takes out Bray, but Harper gets the pin on Ohno. Ohno and Graves both looked really good here. Unfortunately, the Wyatt's are still kind of working like early 90s Undertaker, even though Harper is capable of so much more than that. This was an acceptable TV main event, particularly by 2013 NXT standards.

Match Rating: **1/2

The first half hour of this show was an absolute chore to get through. I suppose if you enjoy any of the performers in the first three matches, your mileage may vary a little, but none of them were even good matches by squash standards. The tag team match is a decent little match, but not enough to make up for the rest of the show.

Overall Rating: 41%

Monday Night Raw 4-5-93 Review

Original Airdate: Monday, April 5th, 1993
Manhattan Center
New York City, New York

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2

It's the night after WrestleMania...or is it?

Virgil vs. Bam Bam Bigelow

Virgil hits a weak looking dropkick and I think the crowd starts a "Virgil sucks" chant. Bam Bam misses with a headbutt and Virgil rolls him up for a 2 count. Virgil goes for a crucifix, but Bam Bam slams him down to a good pop. Vince keeps hyping WrestleMania as the greatest of all time. Now we get a "Virgil" chant going. Bam Bam is in Randy Orton mode tonight. Now we have an enthusiastic "Bam Bam" stomp and chant. Virgil goes off the second rope and hits...something? Kind of. He goes to the top rope and hits a missile dropkick for a nearfall. Virgil misses with a reverse crossbody off the second rope. Bam Bam goes up top and hits the headbutt for the victory. Just based on the reaction Bam Bam got in New York, I'm surprised that Vince didn't do more with him.

Match Rating: 1/2*

Jerry Lawler says that all of the idiots should kiss his feet when he comes down. The crowd starts chanting "Burger King". He threatens to not wrestle if they keep it up. He puts the mic down and heads to the back.

We go to Yokozuna, Mr. Fuji and Mean Gene. They are protesting the match between Yokozuna and Hulk Hogan since there was no contract.

Kim Chee vs. Bob Backlund

If you needed proof of how stacked the roster was in 1993, I present to you exhibit A. That's not a knock on Backlund, but his return is just so strange up to this point. Here he is allowing Kim Chee, who was never really presented as a wrestler for the most part, to dominate the match. Kim Chee continues his attack that is full of headlocks. Even Fink couldn't focus on this match, as he is looking the other way. Backlund hits a back suplex and then Kim Chee misses with an elbow. Backlund does a bridge into a pinfall and gets the victory. This was not good.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Damien Demento vs. Jim Brunzell

As we come back from commercial, the bell rings here. On top of it, we have to listen to Rob Bartlett talk on the phone. Brunzell gets a small package in for a 2 count. Demento methodically works on Brunzell and we get some "Boring" chants. Brunzell hits an atomic drop and a dropkick. Demento hits him with a boot to the gut and a neckbreaker. He hits a standing knee drop and gets the victory? Demento was one of the most boring wrestlers of the decade.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Jerry Lawler is out again and is still not wrestling.

Beverly Brothers vs. Steiner Brothers

Scott Steiner really was good around this point in time. He easily could have been a top guy as a solo star during this time. He hits a double underhook powerbomb and now Blake Beverly is in. He hits a body slam on Rick, but Rick follows up with one of his own. Scott follows up with a belly-to-belly suplex, but when he goes off the ropes, Beau hits him from behind. The Beverly's work on him until Scott hits a suplex, but he's unable to make the tag. Scott hits a tilt-a-whirl powerbomb and then is able to make the tag to Rick. Rick explodes and hits a clothesline, but the Beverly's illegally double team. Scott avoids Beau from the top rope and then hits the Frankensteiner for the victory. This was pretty good, but not as good as their Royal Rumble match.

Match Rating: **

Jerry Lawler vs. Jim Powers

Powers attacks Lawler from the outside. Powers hits a fist from the top rope. This is the typical stallfest that Lawler perfected here in the WWF. They finally get back at it and Powers hits a back body drop, but misses with a dropkick. Lawler is 43 years old here. Lawler runs into a Powers boot and gets 10 slams to the turnbuckle. Powers then gets another back body drop and goes for a third, but Lawler doesn't fall for it. He hits a piledriver and Lawler grabs the tights and gets the victory. I'm not sure why Powers got so much offense here?

Match Rating: 1/4*

Lawler cuts a promo on Savage and the crowd. Next week we get Money, Inc. vs. Bushwhackers. I hate to spoil it, but we don't.

Well, we have come a long way on the Raw after WrestleMania since 1993, haven't we? Just the fact that this was taped before WrestleMania says it all. This was a pretty dull episode with the lone highlight being the Steiners. You're probably okay to skip this one.

Overall Rating: 40%

SmackDown 9-9-05 Review

Original Airdate: Friday, September 9th, 2005
Gwinnett Center 
Duluth, Georgia

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New night, same terrible intro music. I can't see them switching nights in 2020 and not changing up the music.

WWE Tag Team Championship Match
MNM vs. Heidenreich & Road Warrior Animal

Heidenreich starts out dominating and Mercury refuses to tag in to help out Nitro. Heidenreich continue destroying MNM and no selling pretty much all of their offense. Melina distracts Heidenreich and then gets hung over the top rope. MNM cuts the ring in half on Heidenreich and I have to say this match is already longer than I was expecting. Mercury goes up top, but Heidenreich counters with a powerslam. Animal is tagged in and he takes care of both men. The referee inadvertently gets knocked down and Melina tries to hit Animal from behind with the title belts. Animal sees her, grabs the belt and uses it on Mercury and gets the victory. Can anyone explain to me why MNM continues to look like jobbers? Is there really any upside to the Animal and Heidenreich team?

Match Rating: * (out of 5)

We get a Randy Orton/Undertaker feud recap.

Ken Kennedy vs. Paul London

Once they added the microphone from the ceiling bit, this was easily one of the best pre-match bits of this time period. Kennedy hits a reverse elbow and then shows off his aggressive side. Kennedy goes off the second rope, London gets the boot up but Kennedy catches that and hits an elbow drop. Kennedy goes for a back body drop, but London lands on his feet and hits a dropsault. London goes up top, but Kennedy stops him and hits the Green Bay Plunge for the victory. I would have loved to have seen that go another couple of minutes to avoid that abrupt finish. As far as three minute matches go, this was a good one.

Match Rating: *3/4

Scotty 2 Hotty vs. Paul Burchill

Burchill introduces himself before the match and we even get like 10 people chanting "USA". Scotty tries to go after Burchill, but it doesn't work out too well for him. Scotty gets a superkick in and gets a nearfall. Burchill avoids the bulldog, but rolls up Burchill. Burchill kicks out and it sends Scotty into the ring post. Burchill follows that up by sending him into it again and a third time for good measure. He hits a shoulderbreaker and then puts him in the Fujiwara Arm Bar for the easy victory. Burchill has potential, but his character work needs improvement.

Match Rating: 3/4*

Kennedy introduces himself to Sharmell. He finds it odd that Benoit never seems to give a title shot to Booker, despite their so-called friendship.

Undertaker is here and tells Randy Orton that he can't hide from him. Randy and Bob are out now. They are here to present a check for $1,416 for the Undertaker's retirement fund. He then tells Taker that if he wants it, to come get it. Taker does some magic with the lights and strikes lightning down on the check, setting it on fire.

Steel Cage Match
Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio

Both men wait for the bell, but as soon as it rings, they start brawling. Rey goes for a springboard moonsault, but Eddie catches him. Rey counters that and then hits a monkey flip. Rey sets Eddie up for a 619, but realizes he can't do it with the cage. Rey hits a sunset flip powerbomb and then Rey starts climbing. Eddie pulls him down and he gets hung up on the top rope. Back from the commercial break and Eddie is now climbing up. Eddie is able to kick Rey off, but Rey is back up. Eddie hits a side Russian leg sweep from the top rope. Eddie tries throwing Rey into the cage, but Rey catches himself and starts climbing. Eddie realizes it, so he climbs and now both men are up on the top of the cage. Rey hits a headbutt, almost sending Eddie to the ground. Rey pulls him back in and hits a dropkick while both men are standing on the top rope. Eddie gets back up and hits a DDT and starts heading for the door. Rey grabs him just in time and the moon is out in Georgia. Rey hits his variation of the bulldog and both are down again going into the second commercial break. Rey hits a top rope hurricanrana. Rey goes for a crossbody from near the top of the cage, but Eddie is able to get out of the way. Eddie walks out of the cage, but as he gets to the last step, he decides not to walk out. He comes back in and hits a Frog Splash and finally gets the victory over Rey. This was a good match, as can always be counted on by these two. However, it felt a little bit as if the cage match took away from their creativity a little bit.

Match Rating: ***1/4

United States Championship Match
Chris Benoit vs. Orlando Jordan

I bet I'll never be able to guess what is going to happen here. Jordan hits him with a right hand right as the bell rings and knocks him down. He goes for another one, Benoit catches it and puts him in the Crippler Crossface at 22.5 seconds. Again, what is this doing for anyone?

Match Rating: 1/4*

Teddy Long announces that next week it will be Randy Orton vs. Undertaker from his suite with Palmer Canon.

Bullrope Match For The World Heavyweight Championship
JBL vs. Batista

They hype up the history of JBL winning his only championship in a Bullrope Match. Batista tosses JBL around and is able to touch three corners before JBL hits him with a big clothesline. JBL hits a series of right hands to a seated Batista in the corner. He then picks him up and smashes the cowbell over his head. Batista battles back and now hits JBL with the cowbell. He touches three corners again, but JBL rolls out of the ring to keep Batista away. JBL the hits him with a thumb to the eye and a low blow into the commercial break. Back from the break and JBL is on Batista's back and he is carrying him around the ring. JBL slips off and hits Batista with the cowbell again. Batista is able to fight back again and hits the Batista Bomb. JBL is busted open as a result of getting hit with the cowbell. Batista chokes JBL and is dragging him around that way. Batista is tapping the corners, but JBL is as well. JBL gets out of the choke and is inches away from the fourth corner. Batista pulls him back and hits a spinebuster and touches the fourth corner to retain his championship. That was probably close to the best case scenario for these two with about 12 minutes to work. However, it was also every rope/chain/strap match you have ever seen.

Match Rating: **1/2

Well, they stacked the card with about as much firepower as they could for the move to Friday nights and unfortunately they only delivered a base hit. It wasn't a bad show by any means, but it just didn't deliver on what you would expect. Next week features another big main event, so maybe they'll come back a little stronger there.

Overall Rating: 60%

Monday Night Raw 9-5-05 Review

Monday, September 5th, 2005

Gaylord Entertainment Center

Nashville, Tennessee

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Kurt Angle vs. Eugene

Angle immediately hits a German suplex and then starts stomping on Eugene. I love this variation of Angle. Angle continues to beat on Eugene. He hits a forearm and then a stiff looking clothesline for a 2 count. Eugene does his version of hulking up and hits a modified spinebuster. He goes for Jim Duggan's finisher, but Angle hits him with an elbow and then rams his leg into the ring post twice. He puts him in the Ankle Lock and that's it for Eugene. As far as squash matches go, that was tremendous. After the match he puts him back in the Ankle Lock again and this time he grapevines the leg. Out comes Cena and they begin brawling. Cena gets the better of Angle and then Tomko hits Cena from behind with a big boot. 

Match Rating: *3/4 (out of 5)

Eric Bischoff is shown backstage complimenting Tomko. Angle comes in and congratulates him. Bischoff then lets Tomko know that he will be taking on Cena tonight.

The Heart Throbs vs. Val Venis & Viscera

A main event in any city. Venis hits a nice reverse suplex on Romeo. In comes Viscera and he misses with a splash. Antonio comes in and attacks Viscera, but it doesn't last long after he goes after Venis and he counters it. Viscera hits a big spinebuster. After a distraction from Romeo, Antonio attacks Venis and they go to work on Val's leg. Venis is able to push Romeo off into his partner and make the tag to Viscera. Viscera goes for a splash in the corner, but gets a double boot. Viscera still hits a Samoan drop on Romeo and gets the victory. That was a pretty spirited effort there by all four men. Both victors do a little grooving after the match. 

Match Rating: *1/2

It's Carlito's Cabana time and we get Ashley as his guest. He makes fun of her wardrobe and her lip ring. They show clips of her saga with Torrie, who she is fighting tonight. Carlito is about to spit the apple in her face, but out comes Ric Flair and they start brawling. Flair grabs Carlito by the balls and biting his fingers. He then hits a low blow and throws the basket of apples at him. Flair saved an awful segment here.

We get another Cade and Murdoch promo. These are among the lowest budget ones that I can think of. Apparently they will be making their debut here tonight. 

We get highlights of last week's fight between Matt Hardy and Edge. Matt walks into Bischoff's office. Bischoff lectures Hardy about all of the risk he put the company at. Bischoff then gives him a contract for a Steel Cage match at Unforgiven. Hardy signs and then is told that he will be taking on Snitsky next. 

Matt Hardy vs. Snitsky

Edge comes out sporting a neck brace just as the match is about to start. Hardy is still selling his injuries here. Snitsky dominates early and then hits him with a boot to the head on Hardy, who is draped over the apron. Hardy is able to hit the Side Effect and then comes out of the ring towards Edge, but Snitsky hits him from behind and throws him into the steps. Snitsky hits a spinning side slam and gets the victory. Again, this was another solid effort for a short match. Was there something in the water in Nashville? Snitsky grabs the ring bell, but before he can hit Hardy with it, Big Show is here. Snitsky still decides to hit Hardy with the bell before Big Show can get to the ring. Nice work there Show. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

Tomko vs. John Cena

Cena jumps Tomko upon his arrival into the ring. Cena gets a couple of 2 counts before Tomko hits him with a powerslam. Tomko hits a big clothesline. He goes for a boot, but misses and Cena hits some shoulder tackles. It's Five Knuckle Shuffle time and he follows it up with the FU and the victory. Cena was fired up here and that's always the best version of Cena.

Match Rating: *

Angle attacks Cena from behind as he is celebrating on the stage. He hits him with the Angle Slam on the steel. If anything, this week's episode has sold me on their match at Unforgiven. Angle is now interviewed in the back and let's us know that he's most realest thing we will ever know. 

Torrie Wilson vs. Ashley

Ashley gets distracted by Victoria and Candice, allowing Torrie to attack her from behind. Ashley can't even run the ropes and then botches a sunset flip. This is a great example of a company putting someone in a position to fail. Torrie hits a dropkick to the back of the head. Ashley gets a boot up on Torrie and hits her with a spear. Victoria pulls down the second rope and Ashley falls to the outside. Torrie hits the X Factor and gets the victory. I probably should go 0 here, but I'm feeling generous here tonight. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Shelton Benjamin vs. Rob Conway

Kerwin White comes out on his golf cart as the match is beginning and Conway eventually jumps Shelton. Shelton comes back with a clothesline and a Samoan drop. On the outside Conway hits a suplex on the floor and tosses Shelton back in the ring. Shelton makes a comeback and hits a nice clothesline to a seated Conway. Shelton hits a clothesline off the top rope, but Conway kicks out. White trips Shelton up with his golf club and Conway gets the pin for the victory. Poor Shelton.

Match Rating: 3/4*

Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch vs. Rosey & Hurricane

Hurricane does his thing and then makes the tag to Rosey, who steamrolls Murdoch. Cade grabs Rosey from behind and then tags in. They miss with the double clothesline, but hit the double hot shot. They hit a double suplex, but Rosey kicks out at 2. I am interested to see Cade and Murdoch a second time around. My first impression is that they tried really hard to make us care about them, but that's hard to do when they didn't care about their tag team division at all during this time period. Hurricane gets the hot tag, but Murdoch kind of screws it all up. About half of your job as a heel tag team wrestler is to being able to take the babyface's hot tag. Murdoch gets a jawbreaker while Rosey and Cade are brawling out side. Murdoch hits a bulldog from the top rope on Hurricane and gets the victory over the champions. I wouldn't say that was the best debut for them.

Match Rating: 3/4*

They run down the card for Unforgiven and boy, did the match graphics suck in 2005. They look 100 times worse than they did in the 90s.

Chris Masters is with Todd Grisham. He says that he's going to stop the show once and for all.

Our main event is Shawn Michaels taking the Master Lock Challenge. They tease it before Masters finally slaps it on. I don't think there is any other performer who would be able to make this more entertaining than Michaels can. Michaels is able to kick off the turnbuckle, but even as they are on the ground, Masters is able to hang on. The crowd is definitely invested in this. Michaels hits a low blow, so Masters throws him on the ground and then take the steel chair and hits him over the head. Michaels is busted open and he puts him back in the Master Lock and the ref calls for the bell. Masters has to be pulled off by Dean Malenko and Skinner and then celebrates as the show goes off the air.

There was nothing particularly memorable on this episode, but for whatever reason the majority of it clicked with me. They have done a nice job of building up to Unforgiven and selling me on the majority of the card as opposed to just a match or two. Kurt Angle and Shawn Michaels continue to be just doing everything right in their roles and the rest of the roster seemed to step up their game tonight as well.

Overall Rating: 61%

NXT 5-29-13 Review

Original Airdate: Wednesday, May 29th, 2013
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida

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The Wyatt Family vs. Sawyer Fulton & Travis Tyler

The Wyatt's easily take control here and Harper sets up Tyler on the top rope and slaps him. He allows Tyler to make the tag and hits him with a big boot. Harper then hits the spinning clothesline and that's all. Back when the Wyatt's made their debut on the main roster, I was so intrigued. Now I look back and I can't help but dislike it.

Match Rating: 1/4* (out of 5)

Stephanie McMahon is here to make a historic announcement. She announces that there will now be a NXT Women's Championship Championship. The tournament will begin next week.

Emma vs. Audrey Marie

This match was set up from the goofy promo last week. The crowd is chanting "Emma" and she gets the music to start again and does the dance for the crowd. Audrey shoves her to the ground, but isn't able to capitalize on it. Audrey hits a gut wrench suplex for a 2 count. Emma then puts Audrey in the Dilemma, which is a spin on the Tarantula. She hits a crossbody into the turnbuckle and a slingshot to the mat. She puts her in the Emma Lock and Audrey taps. That was really short and just a squash.

Match Rating: 1/2*

Renee Young is with Scott Dawson and Garrett Dylan and before she can ask them anything, Sylvester Lefort says that he is the manager and he tells them they have a match now.

Scott Dawson & Garrett Dylan vs. Brandon Traven & Jake Carter

Dawson and Dylan I guess are supposed to be "good ol' boys". Even here back in 2013, it's easy to see that Dawson is a smart competitor. Traven gets tagged in and hits a dropkick, but then gets hit by a clothesline. They then hit a spinebuster followed by a double ax handle. This is our third squash of the night.

Match Rating: 1/2*

Derrick Bateman vs. Big E Langston

Bateman hits a running forearm and a dropkick in the corner. Big E picks him up and drops him on his face. Big E steamrolls him and then hits the Big Ending for the victory. He of course hits another Big Ending and counts to 5. It's pretty safe to say that WWE has never cared for Bateman.

Match Rating: 1/4*

#1 Contender Battle Royal

Big E has joined the announce team. Corey Graves, Bray Wyatt, Adrian Neville, Bo Dallas and Mason Ryan all get televised entrances. The legend himself, Mason Ryan, eliminates four competitors quickly, including Rusev. Ryan's elimination count is up to 11, now including Sami Zayn. Ryan has Neville up for a powerbomb, but Neville hits a hurricanrana to eliminate Ryan. We go to commercial break because this is just too much action to handle all at once. Conor O'Brian and Wyatt are the only two men standing and O'Brian hits Wyatt with a boot, who falls through the ropes. Ohno hits O'Brian with a spinning knee and he and Graves eliminate O'Brian. Wyatt comes from behind and eliminates Graves and Ohno. Wyatt hits Sister Abigail on Dallas. Neville hits an enzuigiri and then eliminates Wyatt. It's down to Dallas and Neville. Both men have close calls, but are able to get back in the ring. Neville goes back and forth on the apron, but hits Dallas with a kick to the head. He goes for the Red Arrow, but Dallas gets his knees up. He gets up and throws Neville out of the ring and becomes the #1 contender. Minus the last minute, this was one of the worst battle royals I can think of off the top of my head.

Match Rating: 1/2*

This was a really weak episode. It was all squashes and wasn't even 40 minutes long. Hopefully things will pick up with the Women's Championship tournament.

Overall Rating: 36%

WrestleMania IX Review

Sunday, April 4th, 1993
Caesar's Palace
Paradise, Nevada

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The show kicks off how every big show should kick off, with Vince McMahon yelling. Gorilla is the first one to be shown in his toga. He introduces Jim Ross, who is technically making his WWF debut. Finkus Maximus introduces Caesar and Cleopatra, who arrive on an elephant. Macho Man is next to make his way to the ring, carried out by some dudes in S&M/Demolition outfits. Bobby Heenan comes out backwards on a camel in one of his more famous bits. I personally love that an ostrich led the way.

Intercontinental Championship Match
Shawn Michaels vs. Tatanka

Shawn is accompanied by Luna Vachon for the first time. Sensational Sherri trails behind Tatanka. Tatanka had a fairly long stint here and I think it's fair to say that this may be the biggest match that he ever had. Tatanka hits a back suplex, but misses Michaels in the corner. Michaels goes off the top rope and Tatanka counters that with a hip toss. That was a nice little move. Michaels ends up on the apron and gets a chop and he flops his way to the floor. That was a nice sequence to kick things off. Tatanka chops Michaels as he is trying to get back in the ring. Michaels then catches him with a thumb to the eye. He heads up top and hits a sunset flip that doesn't quite land for a 2 count. Tatanka catches Michaels in midair and hits an inverted atomic drop. Tatanka hits a DDT and is now working on Michaels' left shoulder. Tatanka hits a shoulder breaker and follows it up with an elbow drop. Tatanka comes off the top rope with a chop and goes for a second time, but Michaels hits a superkick. Michaels throws Tatanka over the top rope. Luna goes to attack him, but Sherri is there to stop her. Michaels hits a running clothesline off the apron to the floor. Michaels hits a neckbreaker for a nearfall. Michaels goes for a victory roll, but for some reason Tatanka isn't on the same page and it looks like Michaels gets the worst of it. He goes for it again, but Tatanka hits the electric chair. Tatanka begins to feel it and hits Michaels with a series of chops. Tatanka hits a crossbody off the top rope for a 2 count. Tatanka hits a catapult into the ring post and again gets a 2 count. Tatanka goes for End of the Trail, but Michaels is able to counter into a pin attempt. Michaels goes off the top rope, but Tatanka catches him for a body slam. Michaels dumps Tatanka to the floor and goes for a crossbody from the apron, but misses and hits the apron on his way down. Michaels grabs the ref by the feet and pulls him outside. Tatanka hits the End of the Trail, but the ref calls for a countout and victory for Tatanka. That is such a lame finish to an otherwise good opening bout. If that is the best finish that you have, why do you book yourself into a corner? Tatanka is stuck having to pretend to be happy that he won the match, but not the championship and that hurts him more than the result. Sherri is cheering on Tatanka and then Luna pulls her off the apron and attacks her. Sherri is hurt and Tatanka carries her to the back.

Match Rating: ***1/4 (out of 5)

The Steiner Brothers are with Mean Gene. They're excited for their first WrestleMania and I believe their last.

The Headshrinkers vs. The Steiner Brothers

Jim Ross debuts slobberknocker here on WWF programming. Man, Scott could have easily been a big singles star during this era. He hits a clothesline on Fatu, but Fatu comes back with a thumb to the eye. Both Steiners go up top, while the Headshrinkers are distracted and both hit clotheslines. JR announces that Luna has once again attacked Sherri backstage in first aid. Samu hits a clothesline in the corner and goes for it again, but this time Rick explodes for a clothesline of his own. Samu then hits a hot shot and Fatu pulled down the top rope, leading to Scott flying over the top rope to the floor in one of the scarier looking spots you will see. The Headshrinkers don't care and they are immediately attacking him. Fatu hits a backbreaker and then a second rope headbutt for a 2 count. Scott is able to get a boot up on a charging Samu, but Fatu makes the tag and knocks Scott out of the ring. Scott slams Fatu face first to the mat, but he bounces back up and hits a superkick. They hit a double clothesline and both men are down. Samu misses a splash off the top rope and Scott finally makes a tag. Rick goes after both men, but he attempts a double headbutt and it doesn't work. The Headshrinkers drive Rick face first to the mat and Fatu puts Rick on his shoulders, but he catches Samu in midair and hits a suplex, which was fantastic. Scott hits a belly-to-belly suplex but Samu attacks him. Scott hits a Frankensteiner, albeit not a great one, and the Steiner Brothers get the victory. Bobby wants a replay, but JR declares that there will be no replay. That was a good physical match with a couple of memorable spots in it as well.

Match Rating: ***1/4

Doink is with Mean Gene and they show clips of him attacking Crush. Doink thinks Crush will be seeing double vision after this match.

Crush vs. Doink 

Doink sprays Crush with water before entering the ring. Crush chases after him and body slams him outside the ring. Crush brings the action inside and throws Doink around the ring. They go back outside and Doink is unable to get anything going. Crush gets back in the ring again and hits a neckbreaker. Crush snaps Doink's head over the top rope and then hits a backbreaker. Doink returns the favor and pulls Crush over the top rope. Doink goes off the top rope and hits him with a right arm to the back of the head. Doink follows it up with a piledriver. It's pretty safe to say that Crush was not really over with the crowd here tonight. Doink goes off the top rope, but Crush gets his boot up. Crush catches Doink and hits a powerslam and then clotheslines him over the top rope. Doink tries to go under the ring, but Crush grabs his leg. Crush hits a gorilla press and signals for his finisher. He gets it on Doink, but he grabs the ropes. Doink gets out of it, which causes Crush to hit the ref. Doink tries going under the ring again, but Crush again gets him. Crush puts him in his finisher, but another Doink comes in and hits him with an arm to the head. The ref wakes up and counts the victory for Doink. This was a nothing match, but I still love that finish 27 years later. A second referee comes down and looks under the ring, but they can't find anyone.

Match Rating: *1/4

Todd Pettengill is up in the crowd asking if there were two Doinks. He interviews a couple of Japanese photographers and then just kind of hangs out with the crowd.

Razor Ramon vs. Bob Backlund

I hate how Backlund has no entrance music. A large "Razor" chant has started before they lock up, if you are wondering how Backlund's return is going. This pairing really made no sense and it's a shame that they couldn't follow up Razor's really solid WWF Championship match up with something better than this. We also never really got a proper blow off for him and Perfect. Razor dominates the early going here with a body slam and some right hands. Backlund hits two hip tosses, but barely brushes him with a dropkick. Backlund hits a double underhook suplex and a big atomic drop. Backlund brings him in the hard way, but Razor gets a small package and gets the victory. This still holds up as one of the strangest matches at WrestleMania, as it did neither man any favors.

Match Rating: 1/2*

Mean Gene is with Money, Inc. and he lets them know that their titles are in serious jeopardy. They show the highlights of IRS hitting Beefcake with the briefcase. They reference Hogan's black eye and that it was hurt at the gym.

WWF Tag Team Championship Match
Money, Inc. vs. The Mega-Maniacs

We get the obvious Hogan clears the ring while his entrance music is still playing sequence to kick things off. We start the actual match off with a dream match, Beefcake and IRS. Money, Inc. quickly cut the ring in half and take advantage of Beefcake. DiBiase goes off the second rope with a double ax handle and hurts his hands in the process thanks to his titanium mask. Hogan gets tagged in for the first time and he quickly gets right hands in the corner while the crowd counts along. Hogan is legitimately one of the biggest heels of the era and somehow was the most popular babyface in the process. Hogan sends both men over the top rope and he and Beefcake dance in the ring. Money, Inc. starts heading towards the back and Hogan and Beefcake apparently are too lazy to go after them? So this leads to an impromptu announcement that they will lose the titles if they don't come back. You have to love Hogan booking. DiBiase chokes Hogan while IRS has the ref distracts the ref. They swap roles, all while Jimmy Hart and Beefcake just stand there doing nothing about it. DiBiase puts on the Million Dollar Dream and has Hogan seated in the middle of the ring. You won't believe this, but Hogan gets his arm up on the third drop and is back on his feet. Hogan drops to his knees again, but this time Beefcake comes in and puts DiBiase in a sleeper hold and now both men are down as Beefcake heads back to his corner. Both men make tags and Beefcake hits IRS with a knee and DiBiase with an atomic drop. As Beefcake was going off the ropes, DiBiase hit him in the back with the briefcase and Money, Inc. is back in control. DiBiase rips off Beefcake's mask and Hogan is furious. The heels quickly start attacking the face, but Beefcake is able to hit a double clothesline. Instead of tagging Hogan in, he decides to put IRS in a sleeper hold instead and DiBiase comes from behind and knocks them all down, including Earl Hebner. Hogan comes in and hits the big boot on DiBiase. He uses the mask and hits both opponents with it and he and Beefcake cover both men. Hart comes in, reverses his jacket, which conveniently is striped like a referee and counts the pin. Hogan and Beefcake celebrate with the championship belts and down comes another official, who raises the arms of Money, Inc. They announce them the winners as a result of disqualification. The champions try to attack Hogan and Beefcake, but they no sell it and run out of the ring. They start going after Danny Davis and Jimmy Hart throws him out of the ring. This ending was just embarrassingly bad and just like the opening match, the babyfaces don't win the titles but celebrate anyways. The actual match itself was slightly better than I remember, but has to be among the worst 15+ WrestleMania matches of all time. Oh, how could I forget? Hogan finds the "beefcase" and opens it and finds a brick and some cash, which they give away to the crowd.

Match Rating: 3/4*

Todd is with Natalie Cole in the ring, who is in shock that the money Hogan gave away is real. He then goes over to Dan Reichartz, CEO of Caesars. He claims this is the highest energy level of any event they have ever held. Dan thinks he gets like 20 minutes here, so poor Todd gives him a hug to shut him up.

They head back to Mean Gene and Mr. Perfect. They talk about Lex Luger knocking out Bret Hart at a brunch event. Perfect says that he got a hole in one and has been hot at the tables, he's Perfect.

The Narcissist vs. Mr. Perfect

Luger is accompanied with women dressed in gold thong bikinis, which is about as risque as it gets here in 1993 WWF. It's obvious, but Luger was so much better suited for this gimmick than Lex Express. The booking of Perfect here in 1993 was pretty poor. After ending Flair's WWF run, he gets fed to Luger here and then sort of becomes just a mid-card guy during a time that they were desperate for main event talent. Perfect hits a running knee to the face and follows it up with a dropkick. Luger goes for a boot, but Perfect slaps him and drives his knee into Luger's. Perfect is now working on the leg of Luger. Luger is able to counter an Irish whip into one of his own and then hits another. Luger is now going to work on Perfect's lower back. Luger goes for a pinfall with his feet on the ropes, but gets caught. Luger hits a powerslam for a 2 count. Perfect gets a sunset flip and a nearfall. Perfect goes for a sleeper hold, but Luger drives his back into the turnbuckle to break the hold. The next minute or two feels like they weren't on the same page, as they both kind of tried to regain control. Perfect clubs him with a forearm and gets another close call. Perfect goes up to the top rope and hits a missile dropkick, but Luger gets his foot on the rope. Luger blocks a backslide attempt and rolls Perfect over. Perfect's feet are on the ropes, but the ref doesn't see it and Luger gets the victory. Where is the referee in the back for this one? Perfect is pleading his case and Luger knocks him out with the loaded forearm and heads to the back. This wasn't necessarily a bad match, but they just never really clicked. Luger was always a guy that needed a miracle performance to have a good match for most of his career and Perfect just didn't have it on this day. Perfect is back on his feet and is heading to the back in a bad mood. He finds Luger talking to Shawn Michaels and attacks Luger. Michaels comes from behind and starts hitting him with trash cans and broomsticks.

Match Rating: *3/4

Savage and Heenan start getting into it, but JR says we have to go to Gorilla Monsoon. He has the pleasure of reminding us that we still have to watch Giant Gonzalez.

Giant Gonzalez vs. Undertaker

Taker comes out on a cart with a vulture next to him and has to be his most underrated WrestleMania entrance. That and the image of Taker and Gonzalez standing face to face are the only positive aspects of this match. Gonzalez grabs Taker by the throat. Taker heads to the second turnbuckle and breaks his grasp, by grabbing Gonzalez by the throat. Taker does Old School and hits Gonzalez with a flurry of kicks. Gonzalez hits a boot and tosses Taker across the ring. We now get the always exciting rear chinlock. Taker gets out, so Gonzalez kind of throws him out of the ring. He throws Taker into the steps twice. Taker begins to start sitting up after everything Gonzalez throws at him. Taker starts throwing fists at him and gets him down to one knee. Taker grabs Wippleman and Gonzalez headbutts Paul Bearer. Gonzalez then shoves a towel in Undertaker's face. The announcers let us know that it is soaked in chloroform. Bill Alfonso calls for the bell, as Taker lies unconscious. Gonzalez grabs Alfonso and chokeslams him. Alfonso did a great job selling it. Taker does a stretcher job. The bell rings and out comes Taker. He hits a series of clotheslines and looks as if he has to push Gonzalez down to make sure he actually went down. The crowd is digging this for whatever that's worth. They finally announce that Undertaker wins by disqualification as Gonzalez is escorted by security to the back. This for the longest time was the lone blemish on the Undertaker's perfect streak. This match was absolutely dreadful. I don't know if I can wait another 5 months to see the rematch.

Match Rating: 0 stars

We go back to Mean Gene. The background for his interview set is fantastic, for what it's worth. He shows clips of Yokozuna attacking Jim Duggan. They then show the contract signing where Yokozuna hit the Banzai Drop on Bret. Hogan then joins Okerlund to tell us Bret is ready and that all of his Hulkamaniacs will be supporting Bret. As he looked into the eyes of Bret Hart, he issues a challenge to either Bret or Yoko (not the words Hogan chose to say) for the first title shot.

Back to Todd in the crowd and he interviews a kid, who says nothing. He then pushes another kid out of the way to interview two dorks in togas. I'm not sure how the show would have survived without these segments.

WWF Championship Match
Yokozuna vs. Bret Hart

Fact: The original version of Bret Hart's music is much better than the version the remake. Bret is sporting the all pink look tonight. Bret comes out aggressively, but Yoko just shoves Bret to the ground and out of the ring. Bret grabs a hold of Yoko's foot on his way back in and trips him. Hart launches over the ropes on him and then hits a second turnbuckle elbow. Bret hits two clotheslines, but Yoko doesn't budge. Yoko clotheslines Bret on the third attempt and follows it up with a body slam. Yoko hits a big leg drop and I always love the reaction that move gets from the live crowd. The crowd starts chanting "USA" because of course they do. Bret gets hit foot up on Yoko and jumps on his back to take him down. Yoko hits an impressive superkick to regain control. Bret this time avoids the charging Yoko and hits a bulldog. Bret gets another second rope elbow drop for a 2 count. Bret hits a a second rope clothesline and then a running clothesline to knock him down, but not for long. Yoko tries to slam Bret down, but Bret grabs the turnbuckle and pulls off the cover. Yoko goes to try and use it as a weapon, but Bret counters it. Yoko is down and Bret somehow gets the Sharpshooter applied. While Earl Hebner is checking on Yoko, Mr. Fuji throws sand in his eyes and Yoko gets the pin. When writing the show, they realized that the finish to this match is probably only the third worst of the night, so they worked all night to come up with an even worse finish. Hulk Hogan comes to check on Bret and Mr. Fuji does what ever heel does and that's issue a challenge to Hulk Hogan. Bret is still blinded by the sand, but tells Hogan to go for it. Bret worked his butt off here to make the most of his first WrestleMania main event and all of it was for nothing. This was about as good as this match could be with the exception of the rushed finish.

Match Rating: **1/2

WWF Championship Match
Yokozuna vs. Hulk Hogan

Fuji accidentally throws sand in Yokozuna's eyes and Hogan gets the leg drop and the victory. This is hands down one of my least favorite moments in WWF history and I didn't even see it until about two years after it happened.

Match Rating: 0 Stars

This WrestleMania is notorious for being the worst of them all. I personally would rank IV below it. However, it's really not the in ring action that is so bad and the atmosphere is unique. The finishes are downright embarrassing. I can see having one bad finish on here, but almost every match was ruined by their own ending. As for the whole Hulk Hogan debacle, he is absolutely and ironically the black eye on this show. The WWF was better off without him in 1993, as it was time to build new stars and let go of his stale act.

Overall Rating: 42%

***Bonus Match***

Papa Shango vs. El Matador

This is Jim Ross's debut here and he's flying solo. This is the first time in 9 years that Santana is not on the main card. Ross references "Bruce", as in Bruce Prichard. Santana knocks Shango over the ropes and hits him with some right hands before going back into the ring. Santana hits a top rope crossbody, but Shango rolls through and gets a nearfall. Santana rolls him up for a 2 count. Shango now throws Santana out of the ring and hits a body slam on the outside. Santana hits a sunset flip on his way back in the ring, but Shango kicks out and then hits a clothesline. Shango hits a headbutt to the abdomen. Santana gets a small package, but again Shango kicks out. I'm still not sure why they even bothered with Shango at this point. Everything that made him unique was no longer part of his act. Santana makes his comeback and goes for a flying forearm, but Shango sidesteps it. JR sarcastically says that he's sure that Bruce will tell him exactly what it's called since he doesn't know what it is. Shango misses of the top rope and Santana gets the victory. Santana was such a solid worker and it seemed like he could have still had a role here in '93, but this is pretty much it for him on pay-per-views.

Match Rating: *1/2

SmackDown 9-1-05 Review

Original Airdate: Thursday, September 1st, 2005
Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Jacksonville, Florida

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Heidenreich vs. Joey Mercury

This is certainly one way to kick off the show. This is the final episode of SmackDown before it switches over to Friday nights. Heidenreich gets things going early on. Mercury hits a nice standing dropkick and puts Heidenreich into a headlock. Mercury runs into an elbow and then eats a clothesline in the corner. Animal grabs Mercury's leg to distract him and Heidenreich hits a spinebuster for the win. After the match, Animal helps take out MNM. Melina then walks in and Animal puts her on his shoulder. Heidenreich goes for the Doomsday Device, but Nitro knocks him off the top rope and they begin to dismantle the champions. This wasn't good.

Match Rating: 1/4* (out of 5)

Palmer Canon is with Jillian Hall backstage. They talk about the tag match next week and shake hands. He acts as if he is going to talk about her face, but then compliments her earrings. In walk Christy and Stacy. He apologizes for canceling the lingerie match. He has set a standard wrestling match for them later tonight.

Bob Orton is out to introduce his son. Randy asks if anyone has seen Undertaker? He brings up the signed DVD thing again.

Chris Benoit is backstage with Josh Matthews. He is now going to have him time him going to the bathroom to see if he can do it in 25.5 seconds.

United States Championship Match
Orlando Jordan vs. Chris Benoit

Jordan attacks him as he gets into the ring. There's a clock in the bottom of the screen. Benoit quickly gets the Crossface put in and he taps out at 23.4 seconds. This was fun at SummerSlam, but I think we can move on now.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Christy Hemme vs. Stacy Keibler

Just as the match is about to start, Sylvan comes out with a new look. Both ladies begin laughing at him. He starts on a rant and out comes Hardcore Holly. He even gets a "Holly" chant. Has that ever happened? He says that he is here for these two really hot girls to get it on. Sylvan puts a hand on Holly's shoulder and so Holly punches him in the face. Holly gets a hug from the ladies and we have no match here.

Teddy Long is now with Palmer Canon. Teddy really likes the card Cannon has come up with. He adds that the World Heavyweight Championship match is now a Bullrope Match after a suggestion from JBL. JBL was also granted the night off to rest for next week. Teddy also says that Eddie Guerrero will take on Rey Mysterio in a Steel Cage Match.

Christian is out for guest commentary.

Booker T vs. Ken Kennedy

Kennedy makes fun of Tony Chimel by doing the Peanuts adult voice and then announces himself. He then mocks Booker, so he gets attacked. Booker hits his superkick for a 2 count. Kennedy misses with his first kick, but hits him on the second time around and is now in control. Booker keeps trying to make his comeback, but Kennedy stays on him. Booker hits another kick and then a crossbody for a 2 count. Kennedy catches Booker and hits a hot shot on the top rope. Booker hits some clotheslines  and then a spinning heel kick. He hits a spinebuster and now it's Spinaroonie time. Booker goes up top, while Sharmell confronts Christian. That distracts Booker and Kennedy hits the Green Bay Plunge and gets the victory. Kennedy shows so much more promise to me than Carlito and Chris Masters do over on Raw. That was a solid TV match and it furthered along the story of Christian and Booker T.

Match Rating: **1/4

Simon Dean vs. Batista

Simon comes out and says that Batista uses his Simon System and didn't win the World Heavyweight Championship until he started using his products. Unfortunately for Batista, it didn't improve his intelligence. Out comes Batista. Batista says that he can't remember using his product for the life of him. He tries the drink that Batista has and starts flexing his pecs and saying that he feels bigger and stronger. He then tells Simon that he feels more aggressive and hits him with a clothesline. He hits the spinebuster and starts to pretend to be fatigued, so he grabs another drink from Simon's bag. He hits the Batista Bomb, stands on Simon while holding his drink and gets the victory. Not Simon's best material, but this is a continuation of them trying to let Batista show of some more personality.

Match Rating: 1/4*

William Regal & Paul Burchill vs. Scotty 2 Hotty & Funaki

All four men start brawling to start and Scotty hits a baseball slide to the back of William Regal. Funaki hits a monkey flip on Burchill, but misses him in the corner and Burchill throws him to the mat. Funaki makes a tag to Scotty and he hits a clothesline on Burchill. He brings in Regal and all four men are in there. Scotty tries to throw Burchill through the ropes, but Regal hits Scotty in the head. Burchill hits a shoulder breaker and finishes him with an arm bar submission. That was a little bit longer than I was expecting and considering the length, it was a nice little sprint.

Match Rating: *1/2

They run through the card for the Friday night debut next week. We now get a backstage Eddie promo of him behind a steel cage. He says that at SummerSlam, Rey gained his family and Eddie lost his. Eddie says that it's all his fault that he lost everything.

Randy Orton vs. Rey Mysterio

Orton tries to throw Rey out of the ring, but Rey hangs on, so Orton hits him with a right hand. Rey hits a tilt-a-whirl head scissors. Orton chases him around the ring and it leads to Orton going through the ropes. Orton gets back in the ring and throws Mysterio under the bottom rope on his stomach. After the commercial break, Orton is firmly in control. Orton goes for a vertical suplex, but Mysterio counters it into a small package. Mysterio hits a bulldog and both men are down. Mysterio hits a springboard crossbody for a 2 count. He then hits the springboard seated senton, but that's not enough either. Mysterior hangs Orton on the middle rope and hits the 619. He goes for the leg drop, but Bob Orton grabs Rey's leg. Orton hits him in midair with a low blow and sets him up on the top rope. Orton hits a RKO from the top rope and gets the victory. The low blow didn't seem to translate well to the live crowd there. The match was a solid main event, but nothing more than that.

Match Rating: ***

I like that SmackDown seems to be getting a lot of newer performers on the show, especially since they are so much better than the crop of guys they had been getting the last few years. There were a lot of squash matches on this show and it sort of felt like they were filling time as they get ready for the stacked show next week. I would call this one a middle of the road episode.

Overall Rating: 50%

Money In The Bank 2020 Review

Original Airdate: Sunday, May 10th, 2020
Orlando, Florida & Stamford, Connecticut
WWE Performance Center & WWE Headquarters

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Fatal 4-Way Match For The SmackDown Tag Team Championship
The New Day vs. Lucha House Party vs. Miz & John Morrison vs. Forgotten Sons

Kofi and Metalik start things off and I have to say that I'd love to see a 15 minute one-on-one match between these two. Wesley Blake makes a blind tag and knocks Kofi out of the ring. The Forgotten Sons then double team on Metalik. Morrison tags in and eats a dropkick in the corner. Miz distracts Metalik and Morrison hits a Spanish Fly off the top rope to a group of the other competitors on the floor. I'm kind of done with large groups just standing there waiting for someone to jump on them, but the Spanish Fly was awesome. Jaxson Ryker knocks Metalik off the top rope and Steve Cutler takes advantage. Metalik knocks Cutler out of the ring with a hurricanrana and he finally gets out of the match by tagging in Lince Dorado. He explodes with some offense, but then Morrison hits a springboard kick on Kofi, as the ref has lost control. Kofi recovers and hits the Boom Drop on Miz. Cutler and Big E are in now and Cutler is all over Big E. Kofi tags in and they hit a stomp/powerbomb combo off the top rope. Lots of quick tags and big moves are hit and Morrison ends up hitting a Starship Pain on Big E, but Lucha House Party breaks up the pin. Lucha House Party hit some high flying offense including a splash and an elbow both off the top rope. The Forgotten Sons are in here again, but Big E is able to dump both of them over the top rope. Big E goes for the spear through the ropes, but Ryker pulls down the rope and Big E falls to the outside. Back in the ring and Big E hits the Big Ending on Metalik and the New Day retain. That was a good opener and I thought both the Lucha House Party and Forgotten Sons looked good in defeat.

Match Rating: ***1/2 (out of 5)

Lacey Evans lets us know that she has memorized her way through headquarters and that she will win the briefcase. Evans is one of my least favorite competitors in current day WWE.

Drew McIntyre says that he is going to break Seth Rollins' jaw tonight.

R-Truth vs. MVP Bobby Lashley

Truth does his whole "What's up?" gimmick to hear some noise from the WWE Universe. MVP and Truth argue about ballin' and then Lashley's music hits. Lashley tells MVP he can have the night off. Truth slaps him and tries to avoid Lashley. Lashley gets a hold of him and tosses him across the ring. Lashley hits a spinebuster and goes for a suplex, but Truth counters. Truth goes off the ropes and Lashley hits a spear for the victory. Lashley is a great athlete and all, but I have a hard time finding time to care about his character here in 2020. They have never really booked him properly and that continues here.

Match Rating: 1/2*

First Evans, now Baron Corbin. He says he will win Money In The Bank for the second time.

Sasha Banks and Bayley are asked if Bayley blamed Sasha for their loss on Friday. Bayley cuts in and takes exception to it.

SmackDown Women's Championship Match
Bayley vs. Tamina

I'm really not understanding why Tamina is getting a push in 2020? I see that Bayley's arrogance has been turned up a notch since I last watched. She slaps Tamina around a little, but Tamina hits a clothesline from behind. Tamina does all the 1990s power wrestler offensive moves until Bayley trips her up and slams her leg on the ring post. Tamina fights back and hits a splash in the corner and then a knee in the corner. Tamina goes for a superkick, but Bayley catches it and puts her into a knee bar. Bayley goes for a Samoan Drop, but Bayley is unable to hold her up and both women are down. Bayley grabs a bottle of water and splashes it in Tamina's face. Tamina throws her off the ropes from the outside and hits a clothesline. Tamina hits a superkick, but Bayley falls to the outside. Tamina throws Bayley on and over the announcer table. Tamina hits a superkick and Samoan Drop combo, but Sasha comes in the ring to distract her. She chases after Sasha, but Bayley comes from behind. Tamina picks her up for the Samoan Drop, but Bayley counters it into a pinfall and gets the victory. Well, for whatever it's worth, that may have been the best Tamina singles match I have seen. So there's that.

Match Rating: **

Seth Rollins says that it his destiny to defeat McIntyre tonight.

Universal Championship Match
Bray Wyatt vs. Braun Strowman

We are not getting the Fiend tonight. Maybe Lashley can come in and give Wyatt the night off tonight too? Strowman runs him over and the sit and talk to each other, which is what I was really hoping for. I wonder if IRS has a matching back of the head tattoo with his son? Wyatt rolls out of the ring after another shoulder tackle and Braun throws him into the steps and ring post. Wyatt avoids a charging Strowman and pushes him into the announce table. The pig puppet comes in and cheers Wyatt on.. Wyatt hits a senton on Braun and now he rolls out of the ring. Wyatt hits a tornado DDT and hits Sister Abigail, but Bruan kicks out. He goes for Sister Abigail again, but Braun hits a chokeslam. We get the Strowman Express and he knocks hi into the barricade. Wyatt kicks Strowman on his way back into the ring. Wyatt pops up with the black sheep mask that he used to wear in the Wyatt Family. Wyatt says this is what is supposed to be and they both get down on their knees. They embrace and all the puppets are shown celebrating. Braun pushes Bray away and takes the mask off and stomps on it. Bruan hits the running powerslam and gets the victory. This was absolutely awful. I know I am harsh on Wyatt's character and that a lot of people enjoy it. To each their own. However, I'm thinking that most of his fans didn't dig this one.

Match Rating: 0 Stars

WWE Championship Match
Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre

McIntyre hits a clothesline and sends Rollins over the top. McIntyre has his way with Rollins and then hits a vertical suplex. Rollins hits two dropkicks to the knee of McIntyre. Rollins follows it up with a suicide dive and tosses McIntyre back into the ring. Rollins works on the leg with a half crab and then turns it into a STF. Rollins then hits a second STF. Rollins hits a knees of both the barricade and announce table. Rollins goes for another suicide dive and this time McIntyre catches him and hits an overhead belly-to-belly suplex onto the table. Rollins is able to snap McIntyre's head over the top rope and hits a kick. He misses with a springboard leap and McIntyre hits a spinebuster. Rollins hits an enzuigiri and then a superkick, but McIntyre kicks out at 1. Rollins hits the frog splash and again McIntyre kicks out with authority. I will say the in ring booking has been solid for McIntyre. It will be interesting to see what the crowd reaction to him will be once we have crowds again. Rollins goes for the Stomp, but McIntyre counters. This match is severely missing the crowd interaction, as this has a big fight feel. McIntyre goes up top, but Rollins leaps up and hits a superplex, bounces back up and hits a Falcon Arrow This time McIntyre kicks out at 2. McIntyre counters another Stomp attempt into a Future Shock and gets a 2 count. McIntyre goes for a superplex, but Rollins takes out his leg and he's in the tree of woe. McIntyre sits up and and tosses Rollins with an amazing display there. Rollins comes back and hits the Stomp, but again McIntyre is able to kick out. They trade big impact moves until McIntyre hits the Claymore Kick and that finishes Rollins off. The last five minutes of that match were extremely good. This was a match that was made for a full arena.

Match Rating: ***1/2

After the match, McIntyre offers to shake hands and Rollins reluctantly does. Apparently not even a pandemic can stop handshakes in pro wrestling.

R-Truth is interviewed out back and claims that he beat MVP tonight. He says that he's going to go get his baby back, the 24/7 Championship. He says that he's going to sack Tom Brady and take back his title.

Women's Money In The Bank Match
Lacey Evans vs. Nia Jax vs. Carmella vs. Shayna Baszler vs. Dana Brooke vs. Asuka

Men's Money In The Bank Match
AJ Styles vs. Otis vs. Aleister Black vs. King Corbin vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Daniel Bryan

They introduce each individual and Asuka is up on the balcony dancing. The men start in the weight room. Asuka then is shown leaping off the balcony taking out all five opponents. She opens the elevator and it closes before anyone else can get in, so they take the stairs. Corbin destroys a mirror with a weight. Rey and Aleister are brawling together and are the most innovative. Otis puts a barbell on top of AJ and it doesn't even look like it's touching him. Rey walks into the mens restroom and Brother Love is in there. The men begin brawling in the elevator, while some of the women are racing up the stairs. Otis chants "Yes!" as Bryan delivers the Yes Kicks to Corbin and then turns and does the same on Otis. Someone in Doink's wig and facepaint creeps over a chair. Nia and Shayna begin brawling in a conference room until Dana hits Nia in the back with a chair. There's a briefcase for some reason hanging over the conference table and Dana grabs it and kind of pretends like she won. Stephanie McMahon is shown telling her that the real briefcase is on the roof. Carmella comes in and cracks a picture over Dana's head. As Carmella is strutting out of the room, she gets a Woman's Right from Lacey. AJ is shown walking by a photo of Undertaker while looking for Rey. He opens a door and it's lit like Undertaker's entrance with a casket on the floor. They show flashbacks of the Last Ride Match and then he eats a kick from Aleister and he closes the door. Paul Heyman is shown eating at a large catering table when the majority of the competitors walk in. Otis mimics John Belushi and calls for a food fight. Otis and Nia both sandwich Rey, while food continues to fly. Nia then powerbombs Carmella through the table. Nia and Otis then have a stare down while Otis eats a sandwich. Otis walks into the cafeteria and John Laurinaitis is there, so Otis shoves a pie in his face. Asuka is frantically running around through headquarters, while the others try to keep up. AJ and Bryan are brawling and come into Vince's office, who proceeds to kick them out. Bryan and AJ fix the chairs and walk out of their office and Vince puts on hand sanitizer. They begin brawling until Corbin comes in and attacks them with a weapon. Aleister tries to join in, but Corbin lays them up and says that he is going to the roof. Nia and Asuka are the first two up to the roof, followed by Lacey. Nia takes them both out and brings a ladder into the ring. Nia begins the slow climb until Asuka grabs her down. If anything, I will say the shot of the ring on the roof is pretty cool. Asuka and Lacey are both climbing until Asuka hits her with an elbow, knocking her onto Nia. In walks Baron Corbin and he tries to stop Asuka for some reason. She kicks him off the ladder and grabs the briefcase. Well, that was a flat finish for the women. In walks Otis and Corbin attacks him and then uses the ladder. Otis avoids Corbin and hits the Caterpillar. Aleister and Rey are both in and they take out both men. They begin climbing the ladder until AJ pushes it over and off the ladder. Corbin then comes in and throws Rey off the roof and then does the same to Black. And it feels like no big deal, since there are no announcers to sell it and AJ also does a no sell. Bryan joins in and now the four remaining men are battling. AJ hits a Phenomenal Forearm on Otis and starts climbing the ladder. AJ and Corbin both are climbing and take the briefcase off the clip. They are fighting over the briefcase when Elias smashes a guitar on the back of Corbin, causing them to drop the briefcase and Otis catches it. Otis is your winner and that's it? Well, as someone who hated both of the special matches at WrestleMania, this was a slight improvement. I like some fun in wrestling, but too much of it just looked too phony and nothing was really all that memorable. They threw two people off the roof and it wasn't even a big deal. The concept was cool, but the execution was lackluster.

Match Rating: **

Well, this certainly wasn't anything to go out of your way to see. I enjoyed the opener and the McIntyre matches, but neither are something I would call must see matches. The biggest positive was the run time. They kept things short, but I will say all of the ads still made the show feel longer than it should have. They certainly have had worse shows, but you can file this one under middle of the road.

Overall Rating: 54%

Monday Night Raw 8-29-05 Review

Monday, August 29th, 2005
St. Pete Times Forum
Tampa, Florida

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We are kicking things off this week with Carlito's Cabana. His guest this week is Shawn Michaels. Carlito says that it's ironic that he used to look up to Shawn Michaels and now it's Michaels that is looking up to Carlito. Michaels tells him to take it easy, he's been through a lot the last month. Shawn questions when the last time Carlito actually defended the Intercontinental Championship. This all leads to Chris Masters to come out and Michaels attacks both of them. The numbers game obviously get the better of him until Ric Flair comes out and makes the save. Not Shawn's strongest promo here, but Flair and Michaels in the same ring makes it all worth it.

Carlito and Masters are in Bischoff's office and they are all fired up. Bischoff says they will get Flair and Michaels in a tag team match tonight.

Handicap Match
Big Show vs. Buck Quartermain & Steve Madison

Imagine if this was just a normal match. We wouldn't get a double headbutt or a double suplex or a double chokeslam. This felt very choreographed as Big Show gets the easy win. After the match, Snitsky attacks Show and hits him with the ring bell. Is there anyone buying that Snitsky is a threat to Big Show?

Match Rating: 1/4*

Torrie Wilson and Candice Michelle are out here and want to apologize to Ashley for their actions last week. Ashley accepts and they let her know that Ashley is going to have her first match tonight. Ashley assumes that she is facing one of them, but out comes Victoria instead. Ashley knocks Torrie and Candice down and then attacks Victoria.

Ashley vs. Victoria

Victoria regains control and quickly hits the Widow's Peak for the victory. The acting in this segment sure was something.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Cade & Murdoch get another vignette that really doesn't give you much reason to care.

Edge is in the back hanging out with Alter Bridge, who are doing an acoustic jam. Todd Grisham interrupts them and Edge isn't happy about it. After tonight, Edge says Matt Hardy can go back online and make more posts because his career will be over.

Matt Hardy is shown getting ready and in walks Lita. She asks him how it feels to know that he'll never be able to experience her again. Matt says that he's going to hell and he's taking Edge with him.

Shawn Michaels is rushed over to Ric Flair, who is laying down in a pool of his own blood. They really pulled this out for Chris Masters and Carlito?

Street Fight
Edge vs. Matt Hardy

The action quickly spills outside the ring and into the crowd. Matt throws Edge back over the barricade and hits an ax handle. Edge gets a trash can lid to the head and then Matt pulls out a ladder. Edge uses a baseball slide to drive the ladder into Matt. During the break, Matt was able to avoid a ladder to the head and then hit a superplex. Both men are now up the ladder, but Hardy knocks Edge off. Hardy then hits a leg drop from near the top of the ladder. Matt now grabs a chair, but Edge hits him with a Singapore cane first. Edge goes for another chair shot, but Hardy is able to knock him over first. Edge hits a flapjack on Hardy into the ladder. Edge shoves Matt's head between the chair and the ring and kicks it, but he doesn't get all of it. Hardy fights back, but Lita hits Matt in the back with the briefcase. Matt turns his attention to Lita and we all know how that will work out. Edge attacks him from behind. The intensity picks up again and now Matt drives a ladder into Edge and sets him on top of the ladder. He goes for a moonsault, but Edge is able to roll out of the way and both men are down. They roll to the outside and Edge hits Matt with a garbage can to the head. They start fighting up the entrance ramp and Matt throws Edge into the set. Matt once again turns his attention to Lita and it backfires again. Edge tries to body slam Matt off the stage, but it's countered. Edge just misses with a spear and then Matt hits a Side Effect off the stage and into the electrical area setting off WWE pyro. The medical staff is getting quite the workout tonight between these two and Ric Flair. Even Coach and Lawler are checking on them. Back from commercial break and they are still trying to get them stretchered off. So obviously this one is a no contest. They got a lot of time here tonight as opposed to their match at SummerSlam and spent it well. They were able to keep up the intensity for the majority of the match and it ultimately sets up a big match at Unforgiven.

Match Rating: ***1/2

The Champ is here and he is fired up tonight. We are getting cartoony serious Cena tonight and he calls out Kurt Angle. Angle comes out and shows the highlights of him attacking Cena last week. He says that he's not coming down to the ring and risking his opportunity at Unforgiven. Angle says that at Unforgiven he is going to end Cena's charade. Cena says that Angle may be the baddest man alive, but he's still calling him out. Angle teases coming down but turns away. Cena tells him he knows he only likes to jump people from behind, so he turns his back. Angle jumps him and tries to go for the Ankle Lock, but Cena is able to kick out of it.

Tyson Tomko vs. Rosey

They show a highlight reel of Tomko's recent squash matches on Heat. Rosey goes off the second rope and Tomko greets him with a kick to the gut and the referee calls the match. He then hits Hurricane with a boot to the face. That was one of the weaker ref stoppages that I can think of.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Shawn Michaels (& Ric Flair) vs. Chris Masters & Carlito

Due to the attack earlier on, Shawn is on his own to start here. Shawn outsmarts them at first, but Carlito and Masters quickly take advantage of the situation. Carlito is able to move out of the way from a charging Michaels, who rams into the ring post instead. Michaels is able to fight back and hits a body back drop on both men, sending them to the outside as we go to commercial break. Masters and Carlito have Shawn cornered, but Michaels knocks Masters out of the ring and then hits a flying forearm on Carlito. Michaels hits a top rope elbow and starts tuning up the band. Masters grabs his leg to pull him out of the ring and then hits a clothesline on him. Of all the long heel heat segments I could watch, Carlito and Masters would be towards the bottom of that list. Michaels hits a DDT and down comes a bandaged Ric Flair. Michaels makes a tag to him and he starts chopping both opponents. Carlito hits a low blow behind the ref's back and Michaels knocks Carlito out of the ring. Masters then puts Flair into the Master Lock and that's it. This was given a lot of time, but it was definitely disappointing. Michaels could do no wrong here in '05, but this was one of the few matches I didn't really enjoy with so much time.

Match Rating: **

While I give them credit for trying to push some newer stars, it hasn't taken off quite yet. The Matt Hardy and Edge segment was well done, even if it was a little over the top. The main event was a bit of a letdown, which kind of changed my overall opinion of the show.

Overall Rating: 50%