Original Airdate: Friday, October 7th, 2005
Frank Erwin Center
Austin, Texas
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Teddy Long is in the ring along with Palmer Cannon. Teddy announces that the match from Homecoming will be taking place tonight. He also says that if Raw wants to come No Mercy on Sunday, SmackDown will finish what they started. Randy and Bob Orton are now out to interrupt. Randy insults Teddy saying it was he who interrupted Raw, not Teddy. Cannon then escorts Teddy away so that the future of Friday nights can talk. They talk about their match with Piper tonight and Bob says that he's going to do something he has wanted to do for a long time, which of course brings out Piper. Piper pulls out a lead pipe and the Orton's retreat.
Booker T vs. Orlando Jordan
Sharmell introduces Booker T if that is something that interests you. Jordan gets in a cheap shot and takes control early on. Booker fights back with some chops, but Jordan hits a big clothesline and Booker rolls outside. Jordan goes to hit Booker with a chair for some reason, but Booker hits a kick. Up on the ring apron, Jordan tries to suplex Booker back in, but Sharmell trips up Jordan and Booker gets the victory. They show the replay on the big screen and now Booker is upset with her. It's kind of interesting that they booked the guy that no one thinks will win the match on Sunday to lose.
Match Rating: 3/4* (out of 5)
Mr. Kennedy is out and he of course interrupts Tony Chimel. He announces that he will be the guest commentator for the next match.
Sylvan vs. Hardcore Holly
Sylvan attacks Holly as he's up on the turnbuckle. Meanwhile, Mr. Kennedy makes fun of Sparky Plugg. Holly hits his beautiful dropkick and then clotheslines Sylvan out of the ring. Holly and Kennedy start talking trash and it leads to Holly shoving Kennedy to the floor. Holly gets the kick to the abdomen in, but while the ref is checking in on Sylvan, Kennedy hits Holly in the head with the microphone. Sylvan picks up the cheap victory. After the match, Kennedy announces Holly as the loser of the match. Another match that was just too short to be anything.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Roddy Piper is backstage and is getting quite a lot of screen time here tonight. He makes fun of Bob Orton.
Road Warrior Animal & Heidenreich vs. Paul Burchill & William Regal
I guess they remembered that Burchill existed again. It's kind of crazy that Regal was only 37 years old here. The heels work on Animal's left shoulder for awhile, but he makes a tag to Heidenreich. That's all it takes for them to go for the Doomsday Device, but out comes Melina and she almost pulls all of Christy's pants down. MNM is out and attack the champs and that's it. MNM then hits the Snapshot on Christy and they escape to the back. Make that three matches in a row that were way too short.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Eddie Guerrero is backstage and doesn't want to talk about last week. He wants to talk about Raw where he showed that he has Batista's back. After the commercial, Eddie is on his way out to the ring.They show after Raw went off the air and that he had Batista's back. Batista is out now. Batista shows footage of Eddie having his back on SmackDown. Batista hands Eddie a chair and turns his back to him. Eddie doesn't take him up on it and Batista warns him.
Handicap Match
Randy & Bob Orton vs. Roddy Piper
Piper comes out and starts attacking Randy right away. Randy is able to make the tag to his dad and Roddy gets a few good shots in before Randy makes a blind tag. Randy hits a dropkick and then rips Roddy's shirt. Randy is ready for the RKO, but Bob begs to get back in. The Undertaker's bell tolls, but nothing happens. Bob hits a knee drop and then we hear the bell again. Roddy gets a victory from a small package on Bob Orton. After the match, the bell rings again and the druids are out with a casket. Taker appears on the video screen and tells them to look inside their special casket. They do the same trick as they did with Taker, showing Randy and Bob in there. Undertaker shows up behind them and they both bolt to the back. Yeah, this has not been a great buildup for this match.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Bobby Lashley vs. Eddie Craven
Before the match starts, Simon Dean is out on the Dean Machine. He's going to do some Simon squats while Lashley wrestles. Lashley steamrolls Craven as you would expect. He even finds time to step on Simon's hurt hand.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Eddie Guerrero, Christian & JBL vs. Rey Mysterio, Chris Benoit & Batista
The match starts during a commercial break and when we come back Christian and Benoit are locked up. Benoit goes for the Crippler Crossface, but Christian grabs the bottom rope. Eddie and Benoit now go at it for awhile, which is always fun. In comes Batista and Eddie's not happy. Batista manhandles Eddie and he finally is able to tag in JBL. Batista tags in Mysterio and he hits a low dropkick on JBL. JBL comes back and sends Mysterio flying off the ring into the barricade. Back from another commercial break and he hits a gutbuster for a 2 count. Rey makes his comeback when Eddie and hits a hot tag to Batista. He destorys JBL and then throws Christian in there. He hits a spear on JBL. Eddie then pulls the top rope on JBL and it causes him to fall to the outside. Batista catches Christian and hits a spinebuster on him. That's good enough for the victory. Even on their own show, this didn't get as much time as it should have. After the match, Eddie gets on his knees for forgiveness. Christian and JBL attack both men. Batista ends up making the save and checks in on Eddie. The match was pretty entertaining.
Match Rating: ***
SmackDown is in a little bit of a slump. The Randy Orton/Undertaker feud has lost all momentum for me and the Eddie/Batista story feels rushed. No Mercy just feels like a rushed show, which is a shame because the card itself isn't bad. I'm looking forward to see how it holds up nearly 15 years later. Hopefully better than this episode did.
Overall Rating: 46%
Monday, June 29, 2020
Sunday, June 28, 2020
Raw Homecoming 10-3-05 Review
Monday, October 3rd, 2005
Reunion Arena
Dallas, Texas
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On the WWE Network version, they show the last 5 minutes of the pre-show they ran before the show. As they show clips of the Attitude Era, I have to say that I really am not super excited to go back and watch some of that stuff.
Really couldn't change the theme song for the show here, huh? The show starts with Mick Foley and he is here as a guest on Piper's Pit. Foley introduces Roddy and I have to say I kind of forgot about this. Roddy asks Foley when he's coming back. Foley says he needs a really good reason, so Piper gets the crowd to chant for him. Out comes Randy and Bob Orton. Foley tells him that he should be more worried about Undertaker this Sunday instead of him. Orton says that he is here for Piper though. He's trying to settle the feud between his dad and Piper, so Piper drops him with a right hand. Foley and Bob pull them apart. Bob Orton then sucker punches Foley and Orton hits a RKO on both Foley and Piper. That was a really quick segment as far as opening segments on Raw go.
Eric Bischoff and Teddy Long are backstage. Bischoff isn't happy with the Ortons trying to steal Raw's thunder.
30 Minute Iron Man Match
Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels
They show a bunch of legends seated at ringside including Dr. Death, Jim Duggan, Dusty Rhodes and more.They don't wait for the bell and start off full throttle. Shawn gets the early advantage after a swinging neckbreaker and then dumps Angle out of the ring. After a couple of nearfalls, Angle starts showing off his aggressive side. I feel like the WWE has done a nice job of protecting the Iron Man match. It's the only match that they have mostly saved for special occasions. Angle hits the Angle Slam on the outside of the ring around the 24 minute mark. Angle then hits a buckle bomb, but Michaels is able to kick out. Michaels is up top, but Angle jumps up and hits a super Angle Slam and scores the first pinfall around the 22 minute mark. After about a three minute commercial break, Angle is still in command, but Michaels is trying to break Angle's hold. Angle avoids a charging Michaels and he hits his shoulder on the steel ring post. Michaels counters an Angle Slam into a sunset flip, but Angle turns that into an Ankle Lock. Michaels counters that into a roll up and gets the pinfall at the halfway point. Angle once again gets the Ankle Lock on Michaels again, fending off Michaels' attempts to break free. Michaels taps out at the 11:14 mark and Angle takes the 2-1 lead. We get another three minute commercial break and Angle is still working on Michaels' ankle. Michaels hits a flying forearm and then a nip up just after the 6 minute mark. Michaels hits a top rope elbow drop and then Sweet Chin Music and we are all tied up with 4:40 remaining. Angle hits yet another Angle Slam, but Michaels kicks out. Michaels counters another attempt into a tornado DDT and both men are down with 2:50 remaining. Micheals gets a boot up on the oncoming Angle. He goes up top for a moonsault, but Angle turns that into an Ankle Lock. Michaels desperately is trying to get out of it and finally does with about 30 seconds left, but Angle gets it on again. Michaels kicks out of it again and hits Sweet Chin Music. Michaels goes for the cover, but Michaels is too late and match is over. They declare it as a tie and Michaels calls for a microphone. Michaels asks for sudden death and Angle decides to just walk away. This was a good match, but the commercials really hurt it more than most long TV matches for whatever reason.
Match Rating: ***3/4
Lilian Garcia introduces Kevin Von Erich to the crowd and he gets a really nice pop.
Bischoff confronts Vince McMahon backstage and asks for his match tonight to be a No Disqualification Match, which Vince declines. Lilian then introduces him down to the ring. He brings up when he beat Steve Austin. He starts talking about another Austin moment when the glass shatters and Stone Cold is here. It's kind of crazy that Austin is only 40 years old here. We get lots of "What" chants to start. Austin then shows some highlights of his own with the famous hospital attack and the "Bang 3:16". Vince asks that he and Austin start over. Austin's not buying it, so Vince says he has a busy night and that he needs to head to the back. Austin hits the Stunner, but his celebration is interrupted by Shane McMahon. Austin hits a Stunner immediately after hitting the ring and now this time Stephanie interrupts his celebration. She tells him that this is their show. Austin says he is just going to try to conduct an interview. Stephanie ends up slapping Austin in the face and she eats a Stunner. Now Linda McMahon gets the fourth interruption. Austin tells her that her whole family is a piece of trash. She asks for an apology and Austin obliges. He then has her start chugging some beers with him and celebrates with her. Austin says thank you and gives her a Stunner so bad, that Vince would be proud. That was a loooooooooooooong segment.
Vince gets interviewed while leaving the building and says that someone will get fired over this.
Loser Leaves Raw Ladder Match
Edge vs. Matt Hardy
Edge attacks Hardy as he's coming out of the backstage area and bolts for a ladder set up int he ring. Hardy catches him and hits a Side Effect. Hardy then squeezes Edge between the ladder. Edge hits a drop toe hold into a the ladder set up in the corner. Edge follows that up with a suplex onto a ladder. Edge runs Hardy face first into a ladder set up on the top turnbuckle. Edge has his hand on the briefcase but Hardy throws Edge off the ladder and Edge then bumps into the ladder, knocking Hardy off as we go to commercial break. Hardy throws Edge over the barricade and then leaps off the ladder onto Edge. Lita jumps on Hardy's back, but Hardy slams her to the floor. Hardy goes for a powerbomb on Lita, but Edge hits him in the back with a kendo stick. Edge hits a splash off the apron on Hardy and puts him through the table. These guys are doing everything they can to maximize their minutes here. They are both climbing the ladder and Hardy hits a Twist of Fate off the ladder. Hardy has his hands on the briefcase, but in comes Lita to...miss him. She tries to make up for it by hitting him repeatedly. She then pulls the ladder out from under Hardy and he is hanging from the briefcase. Edge comes in and swings him, causing him to fall onto the top rope. Edge ties him up in the ropes and Lita grabs on for extra precaution. Edge climbs the ladder and grabs the briefcase. That was one fast paced ladder match. While it wasn't given the amount of time it probably deserved, this was still another good match between these two. Matt Hardy now gets to start new over on SmackDown.
Match Rating: ***1/2
Matt Hardy is shown being escorted out of the arena. Trish and Ashley are getting ready for their match tonight. In walks Mae Young and she's trying to undress, but they have her leave. She walks out the door and Jim Duggan, Ted DiBiase and Jimmy Snuka are there. DiBiase tries to bribe her to put her shirt back on. Moolah is there to pull her away and Snuka goes after her. This was so bad for so many reasons.
Maria is backstage dressed in a homecoming queen outfit with Ric Flair. Flair says that he was a broken man, but now he's the Intercontinental Champion and he's back to being a player. Wooo.
Carlito & Chris Masters vs. Ric Flair & Triple H
It's always weird when a heel returns, especially when Triple H was a clear cut heel. He gets the big babyface pop, but I think it's safe to say we could all see what was going to happen here. They start brawling before the bell. It should also be noted that the entrances for this match felt as long as the ladder match. Back from commercial and Carlito has Flair in a Figure Four. Flair retaliates, but Carlito hits an awkward looking spinebuster. Flair is able to hit a low blow on Masters and gets a tag into Triple H. He hits some high knees on both men and then heads outside and grabs the sledgehammer from under the ring. Masters is able to stop him before he can use it. Triple H goes for the Pedigree, but Masters tries to use it on him. Flair is late on his cue, so Masters kind of looks like an idiot. Flair chop blocks him and Triple H hits the Pedigree for the victory. After the match, Triple H and Flair embrace and celebrate until he hits Flair in the face with his hand, I mean the sledgehammer. Flair is busted open and Triple H hits him with a series of right hands. Triple H continues the assault outside the ring in front of the legends in the front row and we get an awkward commercial break.The match wasn't good and it really was all just a set up for the angle afterwards anyways.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Triple H is still destroying Flair backstage.
Back in the ring and all of the legends are in the ring. Dusty gets the mic first and starts talking about everyone until Rob Conway comes out to zero heat. I can't believe they gave him this spot. He insults him until Dusty attacks him and then he eats a Von Erich claw to another huge pop. Snuka then hits a splash off the top rope and Snuka gets his music played. Man, seeing Snuka in there just hasn't aged well.
3-On-2 Bra & Panties Match
Torrie Wilson, Candice Michelle & Victoria vs. Trish Stratus & Ashley
Trish gets knocked off the apron upon walking into the ring. The three women team up and rip off Ashley's shirt. Ashley fights back and rips off Victoria's shirt. Victoria chases after her and Trish surprises her with a clothesline. Trish and Ashley then rip off Candice and Torrie's shirts. Victoria almost gets Trish's pants off, but Trish reverses it into a pin and takes Victoria's shorts off. Ashley then rips off Candice's skirt and almost pulls down everything. They then rip off Torrie's pants and that is all. As a match, this was absolutely awful. Obviously, that wasn't the goal, but that's what I'm rating here.
Match Rating: 0 Stars
Bischoff and Angle are backstage. Bischoff says he has a plan for SmackDown. He also announces that now that Vince is out of the building, he's in charge and he's going to make his match a No Disqualification Match. Angle then assures Bischoff that he can count on him.
Back from commercial break and we go to Tazz and Michael Cole for the SmackDown portion of the show.
Rey Mysterio, Chris Benoit & Batista vs. JBL, Christian & Eddie Guerrero
As soon as the bell rings, Bischoff comes out and turns the lights out on them. Bischoff thinks it's hilarious and tells them to go to commercial.
Mean Gene is in the ring and introduces Hulk Hogan. Mean Gene asks what's next and he brings up maybe getting in the ring one more time with Shawn Michaels. He then says he'd love to get in the ring with Steve Austin and the crowd loves it. That's the whole interview. The announcers speculate if we will one day see that match. Spoiler alert: No.
No Disqualification Match For The WWE Championship
Eric Bischoff vs. John Cena
The announcers keep hyping that USA is allowing them extra time here. Aren't we lucky that we get to watch all of these rushed segments? Kurt Angle is seated at ringside. Cena catches a Bischoff kick and hits him with a right hand. Angle interferes and it allows Bischoff to get some kicks in. Bischoff trash talks, which always works. Cena isn't having it, so he hits a body slam and the Five Knuckle Shuffle. In comes Angle, but Cena gets him up for the FU. Bischoff hits him with a low blow and gets a 2 count. Angle tries to hit Cena with a chair, but he ducks it and Angle bounces it off the rope into his own face. Cena hits the FU and that is all. That's your main event, folks. Angle and Bischoff start brawling and out comes Teddy Long. Out come a bunch of SmackDown stars and they begin attacking Cena and Angle. Ah yes, the brand split, where guys that hate each other team together to prove they have the better show. Out comes the Raw roster and we have a donnybrook in Dallas. We go off the air in the middle of the brawl. The match was nothing.
Match Rating: 1/4*
I think their TV deal expired by the time this show was over. It started off hot, had two really good free TV matches and yet it was still not a good show. The last hour was completely rushed and the early segments were way too long. Whoever timed this show out probably should try crunching the numbers one more time. Both the Angle/HBK and Edge/Hardy matches were good and the return of Triple H set up his next feud. Other than that, feel free to skip.
Overall Rating: 53%
Reunion Arena
Dallas, Texas
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On the WWE Network version, they show the last 5 minutes of the pre-show they ran before the show. As they show clips of the Attitude Era, I have to say that I really am not super excited to go back and watch some of that stuff.
Really couldn't change the theme song for the show here, huh? The show starts with Mick Foley and he is here as a guest on Piper's Pit. Foley introduces Roddy and I have to say I kind of forgot about this. Roddy asks Foley when he's coming back. Foley says he needs a really good reason, so Piper gets the crowd to chant for him. Out comes Randy and Bob Orton. Foley tells him that he should be more worried about Undertaker this Sunday instead of him. Orton says that he is here for Piper though. He's trying to settle the feud between his dad and Piper, so Piper drops him with a right hand. Foley and Bob pull them apart. Bob Orton then sucker punches Foley and Orton hits a RKO on both Foley and Piper. That was a really quick segment as far as opening segments on Raw go.
Eric Bischoff and Teddy Long are backstage. Bischoff isn't happy with the Ortons trying to steal Raw's thunder.
30 Minute Iron Man Match
Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels
They show a bunch of legends seated at ringside including Dr. Death, Jim Duggan, Dusty Rhodes and more.They don't wait for the bell and start off full throttle. Shawn gets the early advantage after a swinging neckbreaker and then dumps Angle out of the ring. After a couple of nearfalls, Angle starts showing off his aggressive side. I feel like the WWE has done a nice job of protecting the Iron Man match. It's the only match that they have mostly saved for special occasions. Angle hits the Angle Slam on the outside of the ring around the 24 minute mark. Angle then hits a buckle bomb, but Michaels is able to kick out. Michaels is up top, but Angle jumps up and hits a super Angle Slam and scores the first pinfall around the 22 minute mark. After about a three minute commercial break, Angle is still in command, but Michaels is trying to break Angle's hold. Angle avoids a charging Michaels and he hits his shoulder on the steel ring post. Michaels counters an Angle Slam into a sunset flip, but Angle turns that into an Ankle Lock. Michaels counters that into a roll up and gets the pinfall at the halfway point. Angle once again gets the Ankle Lock on Michaels again, fending off Michaels' attempts to break free. Michaels taps out at the 11:14 mark and Angle takes the 2-1 lead. We get another three minute commercial break and Angle is still working on Michaels' ankle. Michaels hits a flying forearm and then a nip up just after the 6 minute mark. Michaels hits a top rope elbow drop and then Sweet Chin Music and we are all tied up with 4:40 remaining. Angle hits yet another Angle Slam, but Michaels kicks out. Michaels counters another attempt into a tornado DDT and both men are down with 2:50 remaining. Micheals gets a boot up on the oncoming Angle. He goes up top for a moonsault, but Angle turns that into an Ankle Lock. Michaels desperately is trying to get out of it and finally does with about 30 seconds left, but Angle gets it on again. Michaels kicks out of it again and hits Sweet Chin Music. Michaels goes for the cover, but Michaels is too late and match is over. They declare it as a tie and Michaels calls for a microphone. Michaels asks for sudden death and Angle decides to just walk away. This was a good match, but the commercials really hurt it more than most long TV matches for whatever reason.
Match Rating: ***3/4
Lilian Garcia introduces Kevin Von Erich to the crowd and he gets a really nice pop.
Bischoff confronts Vince McMahon backstage and asks for his match tonight to be a No Disqualification Match, which Vince declines. Lilian then introduces him down to the ring. He brings up when he beat Steve Austin. He starts talking about another Austin moment when the glass shatters and Stone Cold is here. It's kind of crazy that Austin is only 40 years old here. We get lots of "What" chants to start. Austin then shows some highlights of his own with the famous hospital attack and the "Bang 3:16". Vince asks that he and Austin start over. Austin's not buying it, so Vince says he has a busy night and that he needs to head to the back. Austin hits the Stunner, but his celebration is interrupted by Shane McMahon. Austin hits a Stunner immediately after hitting the ring and now this time Stephanie interrupts his celebration. She tells him that this is their show. Austin says he is just going to try to conduct an interview. Stephanie ends up slapping Austin in the face and she eats a Stunner. Now Linda McMahon gets the fourth interruption. Austin tells her that her whole family is a piece of trash. She asks for an apology and Austin obliges. He then has her start chugging some beers with him and celebrates with her. Austin says thank you and gives her a Stunner so bad, that Vince would be proud. That was a loooooooooooooong segment.
Vince gets interviewed while leaving the building and says that someone will get fired over this.
Loser Leaves Raw Ladder Match
Edge vs. Matt Hardy
Edge attacks Hardy as he's coming out of the backstage area and bolts for a ladder set up int he ring. Hardy catches him and hits a Side Effect. Hardy then squeezes Edge between the ladder. Edge hits a drop toe hold into a the ladder set up in the corner. Edge follows that up with a suplex onto a ladder. Edge runs Hardy face first into a ladder set up on the top turnbuckle. Edge has his hand on the briefcase but Hardy throws Edge off the ladder and Edge then bumps into the ladder, knocking Hardy off as we go to commercial break. Hardy throws Edge over the barricade and then leaps off the ladder onto Edge. Lita jumps on Hardy's back, but Hardy slams her to the floor. Hardy goes for a powerbomb on Lita, but Edge hits him in the back with a kendo stick. Edge hits a splash off the apron on Hardy and puts him through the table. These guys are doing everything they can to maximize their minutes here. They are both climbing the ladder and Hardy hits a Twist of Fate off the ladder. Hardy has his hands on the briefcase, but in comes Lita to...miss him. She tries to make up for it by hitting him repeatedly. She then pulls the ladder out from under Hardy and he is hanging from the briefcase. Edge comes in and swings him, causing him to fall onto the top rope. Edge ties him up in the ropes and Lita grabs on for extra precaution. Edge climbs the ladder and grabs the briefcase. That was one fast paced ladder match. While it wasn't given the amount of time it probably deserved, this was still another good match between these two. Matt Hardy now gets to start new over on SmackDown.
Match Rating: ***1/2
Matt Hardy is shown being escorted out of the arena. Trish and Ashley are getting ready for their match tonight. In walks Mae Young and she's trying to undress, but they have her leave. She walks out the door and Jim Duggan, Ted DiBiase and Jimmy Snuka are there. DiBiase tries to bribe her to put her shirt back on. Moolah is there to pull her away and Snuka goes after her. This was so bad for so many reasons.
Maria is backstage dressed in a homecoming queen outfit with Ric Flair. Flair says that he was a broken man, but now he's the Intercontinental Champion and he's back to being a player. Wooo.
Carlito & Chris Masters vs. Ric Flair & Triple H
It's always weird when a heel returns, especially when Triple H was a clear cut heel. He gets the big babyface pop, but I think it's safe to say we could all see what was going to happen here. They start brawling before the bell. It should also be noted that the entrances for this match felt as long as the ladder match. Back from commercial and Carlito has Flair in a Figure Four. Flair retaliates, but Carlito hits an awkward looking spinebuster. Flair is able to hit a low blow on Masters and gets a tag into Triple H. He hits some high knees on both men and then heads outside and grabs the sledgehammer from under the ring. Masters is able to stop him before he can use it. Triple H goes for the Pedigree, but Masters tries to use it on him. Flair is late on his cue, so Masters kind of looks like an idiot. Flair chop blocks him and Triple H hits the Pedigree for the victory. After the match, Triple H and Flair embrace and celebrate until he hits Flair in the face with his hand, I mean the sledgehammer. Flair is busted open and Triple H hits him with a series of right hands. Triple H continues the assault outside the ring in front of the legends in the front row and we get an awkward commercial break.The match wasn't good and it really was all just a set up for the angle afterwards anyways.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Triple H is still destroying Flair backstage.
Back in the ring and all of the legends are in the ring. Dusty gets the mic first and starts talking about everyone until Rob Conway comes out to zero heat. I can't believe they gave him this spot. He insults him until Dusty attacks him and then he eats a Von Erich claw to another huge pop. Snuka then hits a splash off the top rope and Snuka gets his music played. Man, seeing Snuka in there just hasn't aged well.
3-On-2 Bra & Panties Match
Torrie Wilson, Candice Michelle & Victoria vs. Trish Stratus & Ashley
Trish gets knocked off the apron upon walking into the ring. The three women team up and rip off Ashley's shirt. Ashley fights back and rips off Victoria's shirt. Victoria chases after her and Trish surprises her with a clothesline. Trish and Ashley then rip off Candice and Torrie's shirts. Victoria almost gets Trish's pants off, but Trish reverses it into a pin and takes Victoria's shorts off. Ashley then rips off Candice's skirt and almost pulls down everything. They then rip off Torrie's pants and that is all. As a match, this was absolutely awful. Obviously, that wasn't the goal, but that's what I'm rating here.
Match Rating: 0 Stars
Bischoff and Angle are backstage. Bischoff says he has a plan for SmackDown. He also announces that now that Vince is out of the building, he's in charge and he's going to make his match a No Disqualification Match. Angle then assures Bischoff that he can count on him.
Back from commercial break and we go to Tazz and Michael Cole for the SmackDown portion of the show.
As soon as the bell rings, Bischoff comes out and turns the lights out on them. Bischoff thinks it's hilarious and tells them to go to commercial.
Mean Gene is in the ring and introduces Hulk Hogan. Mean Gene asks what's next and he brings up maybe getting in the ring one more time with Shawn Michaels. He then says he'd love to get in the ring with Steve Austin and the crowd loves it. That's the whole interview. The announcers speculate if we will one day see that match. Spoiler alert: No.
No Disqualification Match For The WWE Championship
Eric Bischoff vs. John Cena
The announcers keep hyping that USA is allowing them extra time here. Aren't we lucky that we get to watch all of these rushed segments? Kurt Angle is seated at ringside. Cena catches a Bischoff kick and hits him with a right hand. Angle interferes and it allows Bischoff to get some kicks in. Bischoff trash talks, which always works. Cena isn't having it, so he hits a body slam and the Five Knuckle Shuffle. In comes Angle, but Cena gets him up for the FU. Bischoff hits him with a low blow and gets a 2 count. Angle tries to hit Cena with a chair, but he ducks it and Angle bounces it off the rope into his own face. Cena hits the FU and that is all. That's your main event, folks. Angle and Bischoff start brawling and out comes Teddy Long. Out come a bunch of SmackDown stars and they begin attacking Cena and Angle. Ah yes, the brand split, where guys that hate each other team together to prove they have the better show. Out comes the Raw roster and we have a donnybrook in Dallas. We go off the air in the middle of the brawl. The match was nothing.
Match Rating: 1/4*
I think their TV deal expired by the time this show was over. It started off hot, had two really good free TV matches and yet it was still not a good show. The last hour was completely rushed and the early segments were way too long. Whoever timed this show out probably should try crunching the numbers one more time. Both the Angle/HBK and Edge/Hardy matches were good and the return of Triple H set up his next feud. Other than that, feel free to skip.
Overall Rating: 53%
Friday, June 26, 2020
NXT 7-3-13 Review
Original Airdate: Wednesday, July 3rd, 2013
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Renee Young is backstage with Bo Dallas. He refers to his fans as Bolievers for the first time. In walks Cesaro and he says that he will take the NXT Championship away from him tonight. Bo calls Cesaro the most insignificant US Champion in history.
NXT Women's Championship Tournament Semi-Final Match
Alicia Fox vs. Paige
Fox hits a nice suplex into a bridge for a nearfall. Paige battles back and throws Fox around the ring and then hits some knees to the head. Fox comes back with a dropkick. Then seemingly out of nowhere, Paige hits the Paige Turner and gets the victory. They were actually putting together a pretty good match there and then it just kind of ended.
Match Rating: 3/4* (out of 5)
Andy Baker vs. Conor O'Brian
O'Brian steamrolls Baker to start. O'Brian hits a flapjack and a leg drop and that's it? A leg drop?
Match Rating: 1/4*
Corey Graves and Neville are with Renee Young. They ask William Regal to join them in their fight against the Wyatt Family.
Scott Dawson vs. Xavier Woods
Woods is such a breath of fresh air on this show. Dawson takes out Xavier's legs as he tries to leap back into the ring and he falls to the floor. Dawson shows off some of his hard hitting style. Woods fights back with the Honor Roll and Lost In The Woods and gets the victory. Man, they are cramming too much on this episode and everything is suffering due to lack of time. I would have been perfectly fine with a 10 minute match from these two.
Match Rating: *1/4
Mason Ryan vs. Enzo Amore
Enzo is out with Big Cass for the first time and does a lot of the shtick he got over with. Enzo runs into a right hand and Ryan gets the win. Great stuff. After the match, he has Cassady come in for a match.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Mason Ryan vs. Colin Cassady
Ryan hits a big clothesline and hits a variation of a full nelson slam. That's it. I guess if I have to watch two Mason Ryan matches, that's how I want it to go down.
Match Rating: 1/4*
NXT Championship Match
Cesaro vs. Bo Dallas
There's a big "We the people" chant to start. If there's anything you can say about Bo, he gets the crowd going more than most other matches. Bo hits a big dropkick, but Cesaro follows that up by dumping Bo out of the ring. Back from a commercial and Cesaro hits a body slam. Leo Kruger is now out on the ramp watching the match. Cesaro is comfortably in control until Bo makes his comeback and hits a boot to the head of Cesaro. Bo hits an inverted DDT and gets a 2 count. Bo goes for his bulldog, but Cesaro crotches him on the top rope. Cesaro then hits an awesome gut wrench suplex off the top turnbuckle. Cesaro then hits a knee drop off the second rope and gets a 2 count. Cesaro goes back to the headlock and I don't know why more guys don't watch how he does it, because it sure looks a lot more effective this way. Cesaro hits a flurry of forearms and then heads up to the top rope. Bo runs up the ropes and hits a suplex. Kruger is up on the apron now. Cesaro charges at Bo, but he moves out of the way and Cesaro runs into Kruger. Dallas hits his suplex and gets the victory. After the match, Kruger comes in and attacks Bo. Cesaro then runs in and uppercuts Kruger and then attacks Bo himself. Bo starts fighting back and in comes Kruger to take him down again. They both start stomping on Bo and out comes Sami Zayn. That was a good match and a good ending to the show. Cesaro looked like a million bucks here.
Match Rating: ***1/4
This was a strong episode of NXT, but I'm not sure why they had to cram both squash matches on this episode. Both the Paige/Fox match and Dawson/Woods could have easily used a few more minutes, but were instead cut short. Why not save one squash for next week? Minor complaint aside, the main event delivered and we have the title picture set up for the near future.
Overall Rating: 68%
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida
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Renee Young is backstage with Bo Dallas. He refers to his fans as Bolievers for the first time. In walks Cesaro and he says that he will take the NXT Championship away from him tonight. Bo calls Cesaro the most insignificant US Champion in history.
NXT Women's Championship Tournament Semi-Final Match
Alicia Fox vs. Paige
Fox hits a nice suplex into a bridge for a nearfall. Paige battles back and throws Fox around the ring and then hits some knees to the head. Fox comes back with a dropkick. Then seemingly out of nowhere, Paige hits the Paige Turner and gets the victory. They were actually putting together a pretty good match there and then it just kind of ended.
Match Rating: 3/4* (out of 5)
Andy Baker vs. Conor O'Brian
O'Brian steamrolls Baker to start. O'Brian hits a flapjack and a leg drop and that's it? A leg drop?
Match Rating: 1/4*
Corey Graves and Neville are with Renee Young. They ask William Regal to join them in their fight against the Wyatt Family.
Scott Dawson vs. Xavier Woods
Woods is such a breath of fresh air on this show. Dawson takes out Xavier's legs as he tries to leap back into the ring and he falls to the floor. Dawson shows off some of his hard hitting style. Woods fights back with the Honor Roll and Lost In The Woods and gets the victory. Man, they are cramming too much on this episode and everything is suffering due to lack of time. I would have been perfectly fine with a 10 minute match from these two.
Match Rating: *1/4
Mason Ryan vs. Enzo Amore
Enzo is out with Big Cass for the first time and does a lot of the shtick he got over with. Enzo runs into a right hand and Ryan gets the win. Great stuff. After the match, he has Cassady come in for a match.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Mason Ryan vs. Colin Cassady
Ryan hits a big clothesline and hits a variation of a full nelson slam. That's it. I guess if I have to watch two Mason Ryan matches, that's how I want it to go down.
Match Rating: 1/4*
NXT Championship Match
Cesaro vs. Bo Dallas
There's a big "We the people" chant to start. If there's anything you can say about Bo, he gets the crowd going more than most other matches. Bo hits a big dropkick, but Cesaro follows that up by dumping Bo out of the ring. Back from a commercial and Cesaro hits a body slam. Leo Kruger is now out on the ramp watching the match. Cesaro is comfortably in control until Bo makes his comeback and hits a boot to the head of Cesaro. Bo hits an inverted DDT and gets a 2 count. Bo goes for his bulldog, but Cesaro crotches him on the top rope. Cesaro then hits an awesome gut wrench suplex off the top turnbuckle. Cesaro then hits a knee drop off the second rope and gets a 2 count. Cesaro goes back to the headlock and I don't know why more guys don't watch how he does it, because it sure looks a lot more effective this way. Cesaro hits a flurry of forearms and then heads up to the top rope. Bo runs up the ropes and hits a suplex. Kruger is up on the apron now. Cesaro charges at Bo, but he moves out of the way and Cesaro runs into Kruger. Dallas hits his suplex and gets the victory. After the match, Kruger comes in and attacks Bo. Cesaro then runs in and uppercuts Kruger and then attacks Bo himself. Bo starts fighting back and in comes Kruger to take him down again. They both start stomping on Bo and out comes Sami Zayn. That was a good match and a good ending to the show. Cesaro looked like a million bucks here.
Match Rating: ***1/4
This was a strong episode of NXT, but I'm not sure why they had to cram both squash matches on this episode. Both the Paige/Fox match and Dawson/Woods could have easily used a few more minutes, but were instead cut short. Why not save one squash for next week? Minor complaint aside, the main event delivered and we have the title picture set up for the near future.
Overall Rating: 68%
Wednesday, June 24, 2020
Monday Night Raw 5-3-93 Review
Original Airdate: Monday, May 3rd, 1993
Manhattan Center
New York City, New York
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Intercontinental Championship Match
Shawn Michaels vs. Hacksaw Jim Duggan
When I came back to wrestling in 1995 after being away for a little over two years, for some reason seeing Duggan in this attire is one thing that stood out to me as strange. We get lots of stalling to begin, which means a whole lot of "Hooooo". Things finally get going and Duggan hits some clotheslines and Michaels rolls out of the ring. Michaels tries to leave, but Duggan is there to carry him back into the ring. Back from a commercial break and Duggan is trying to bring Michaels back into the ring, but Michaels snaps his neck on the top rope. Michaels continues to work on Duggan and hits a double axe handle off the apron. Duggan battles out of a long headlock and we get the dreaded 10 fists in the corner. Duggan hits the running clothesline, sending Michaels to the outside. Michaels again tries to head to the back. Duggan goes after him again and they brawl on the outside. Duggan hits a clothesline, sending Michaels over the rail. Duggan gets back in the ring and gets the countout victory. He grabs the mic and tells everyone to hold on. He says that he isn't going to leave until he gets another piece of Michaels and starts throwing chairs into the ring. Duggan is still in the ring after a commercial break. This wasn't bad, but too much stalling to be anything memorable.
Match Rating: *3/4
With Duggan still in the ring, we go to a King of the Ring report with Mean Gene. Bret Hart and Lex Luger have already qualified for the tournament. The main event is going to be Hulk Hogan against Yokozuna. Mean Gene gets breaking news that Duggan has left the ring and is calling Jack Tunney. This week on Superstars, Razor Ramon will take on El Matador and Jim Duggan will take on Papa Shango on Challenge in qualifying matches.
Doink vs. Kamikaze Kid
This is the debut of Sean Waltman here. Doink attacks him before the bell and hits a belly-to-belly suplex. Doink puts him in the STF and then slams his face into the mat. Doink puts him in a submission hold by pulling back on Kid's leg while sitting down and gets the victory. Who was the referee in this match? I don't think I have ever seen him before.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Bob Backlund vs. Duane Gill
Backlund trips Gill up a couple of times. Vince announces that next week Jim Duggan will take on Shawn Michaels in a Lumberjack Match. Backlund shows off some impressive strength by lifting up Gill from the ground to the turnbuckle. He puts on his lame bridge pin for the victory. The booking of Backlund remains baffling to me.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Duggan is back out again. They talk about the Lumberjack Match and he says that his mind is on one thing, the Intercontinental Championship.
We get a Smoking Gunns vignette.
Out comes Captain Lou Albano to do some guest announcing.
Jim Bell & Jay Sledge vs. The Headshrinkers
The Headshrinkers look like they are in top form here to begin. They announce that Yokozuna will be one of the lumberjacks next week. Meanwhile, Fatu nearly kicks one of the jobbers heads off. They hit a double Skull Crushing Finale and then the splash off the top finishes off the poor jobbers. After the match, they rip one of the jobbers ring attire.
Match Rating: 1/4*
We get a promo for Smack 'Em, Whack 'Em featuring home improvement with the Bushwhackers.
Kamala vs. Rich Myers
No Slick here, which means Kamala won't know how to pin Myers. Kamala hits a reverse elbow and then a kick. He goes for the pin and the crowd tries to help him. Spoiler alert: He figures it out. The highlight is them showing a lady eating a WWF Ice Cream Bar after the match.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Next week Bam Bam Bigelow takes on Typhoon in a King of the Ring qualifier.
Shawn Michaels is backstage with Bobby Heenan. Michaels tells Heenan his plans next week.
Well, I guess if you are a big Duggan fan, this is your episode. Almost half of the show was devoted to him and Michaels. The Headshrinkers looked good and Waltman's debut gives this some historical value, but outside of that, this one is a skip from me.
Overall Rating: 39%
Manhattan Center
New York City, New York
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Intercontinental Championship Match
Shawn Michaels vs. Hacksaw Jim Duggan
When I came back to wrestling in 1995 after being away for a little over two years, for some reason seeing Duggan in this attire is one thing that stood out to me as strange. We get lots of stalling to begin, which means a whole lot of "Hooooo". Things finally get going and Duggan hits some clotheslines and Michaels rolls out of the ring. Michaels tries to leave, but Duggan is there to carry him back into the ring. Back from a commercial break and Duggan is trying to bring Michaels back into the ring, but Michaels snaps his neck on the top rope. Michaels continues to work on Duggan and hits a double axe handle off the apron. Duggan battles out of a long headlock and we get the dreaded 10 fists in the corner. Duggan hits the running clothesline, sending Michaels to the outside. Michaels again tries to head to the back. Duggan goes after him again and they brawl on the outside. Duggan hits a clothesline, sending Michaels over the rail. Duggan gets back in the ring and gets the countout victory. He grabs the mic and tells everyone to hold on. He says that he isn't going to leave until he gets another piece of Michaels and starts throwing chairs into the ring. Duggan is still in the ring after a commercial break. This wasn't bad, but too much stalling to be anything memorable.
Match Rating: *3/4
With Duggan still in the ring, we go to a King of the Ring report with Mean Gene. Bret Hart and Lex Luger have already qualified for the tournament. The main event is going to be Hulk Hogan against Yokozuna. Mean Gene gets breaking news that Duggan has left the ring and is calling Jack Tunney. This week on Superstars, Razor Ramon will take on El Matador and Jim Duggan will take on Papa Shango on Challenge in qualifying matches.
Doink vs. Kamikaze Kid
This is the debut of Sean Waltman here. Doink attacks him before the bell and hits a belly-to-belly suplex. Doink puts him in the STF and then slams his face into the mat. Doink puts him in a submission hold by pulling back on Kid's leg while sitting down and gets the victory. Who was the referee in this match? I don't think I have ever seen him before.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Bob Backlund vs. Duane Gill
Backlund trips Gill up a couple of times. Vince announces that next week Jim Duggan will take on Shawn Michaels in a Lumberjack Match. Backlund shows off some impressive strength by lifting up Gill from the ground to the turnbuckle. He puts on his lame bridge pin for the victory. The booking of Backlund remains baffling to me.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Duggan is back out again. They talk about the Lumberjack Match and he says that his mind is on one thing, the Intercontinental Championship.
We get a Smoking Gunns vignette.
Out comes Captain Lou Albano to do some guest announcing.
Jim Bell & Jay Sledge vs. The Headshrinkers
The Headshrinkers look like they are in top form here to begin. They announce that Yokozuna will be one of the lumberjacks next week. Meanwhile, Fatu nearly kicks one of the jobbers heads off. They hit a double Skull Crushing Finale and then the splash off the top finishes off the poor jobbers. After the match, they rip one of the jobbers ring attire.
Match Rating: 1/4*
We get a promo for Smack 'Em, Whack 'Em featuring home improvement with the Bushwhackers.
Kamala vs. Rich Myers
No Slick here, which means Kamala won't know how to pin Myers. Kamala hits a reverse elbow and then a kick. He goes for the pin and the crowd tries to help him. Spoiler alert: He figures it out. The highlight is them showing a lady eating a WWF Ice Cream Bar after the match.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Next week Bam Bam Bigelow takes on Typhoon in a King of the Ring qualifier.
Shawn Michaels is backstage with Bobby Heenan. Michaels tells Heenan his plans next week.
Well, I guess if you are a big Duggan fan, this is your episode. Almost half of the show was devoted to him and Michaels. The Headshrinkers looked good and Waltman's debut gives this some historical value, but outside of that, this one is a skip from me.
Overall Rating: 39%
Monday, June 22, 2020
SmackDown 9-30-05 Review
Original Airdate: Friday, September 30th, 2005
Laredo Entertainment Center
Laredo, Texas
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They give a little history about the town of Laredo, which then leads to JBL coming out dressed in a sombrero and an inner tube and with a mule behind him. He makes all the expected jokes here that you would expect here in 2005. JBL then introduces his tag team partner, who pretends that the mule is Tony Chimel.
JBL & Mr. Kennedy vs. Rey Mysterio & Hardcore Holly
Mysterio starts off hot with Kennedy until JBL hits him in the back with the inner tube, which allows Kennedy to take advantage. Holly gives JBL a taste of his own medicine and kicks him when he is going off the ropes. JBL uses a Mexican flag to attack Rey behind the ref's back. Back in the ring, JBL hits a fall away slam and then puts him in a bear hug. Rey makes the hot tag to Holly and he hits a full nelson driver on Kennedy and a dropkick on JBL. He has JBL up for the Alabama Slam, but Kennedy grabs JBL. Rey comes over and takes care of Kennedy and Holly kicks JBL close to below the belt. Kennedy grabs Holly from outside the ring, he lets go to kick Mysterio and then JBL hits the Clothesline From Hell on Holly and gets the victory. This was an energetic opener that helped build the feud between JBL and Mysterio.
Match Rating: **3/4 (out of 5)
Eddie is eating Mexican food backstage and Batista walks up to him. Batista eats his food to make sure Eddie doesn't get another stomach ache.
Melina is shown from earlier today on the phone when Christy Hemme rolls up in a motorcycle. Melina breaks her nail when she pushes Christy's helmet. This was as bad as it sounds.
Melina vs. Christy Hemme
Melina hits a dropkick and gets a 2 count already. Melina then snaps Christy's arm over the second rope. This is already longer than I thought. Christy gets a sunset flip for a 2 count. Christy hits a big kick to the midsection. MNM distracts the ref, which allows Nitro to trip up Christy and Melina gets the pin. That match certainly lacked action for as much time as they got. After the match, MNM attacks. They are about to give Christy the Snap Shot, but Heidenreich and Animal come out to make the save.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Bob Orton vs. Undertaker
Orton is 54 years old here. He cuts a promo saying that Randy won't be getting involved because he is saving it for No Mercy. Orton tries to outsmart Taker, but it does him no good. Taker throws Orton into the turnbuckle and it accidentally squashes the ref. Bob Orton hits a low blow and then out comes Randy. They destroy Taker, but when the ref gets up, he kicks out at 2. He sits up and gives Bob a boot to the face. He puts him up for a Tombstone, but Randy comes in and goes for a RKO. Taker avoids it and sends Randy out of the ring. He hits a Tombstone on Bob and gets the victory. This was pretty terrible and only made me want to see their match at No Mercy less.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Bobby Lashley vs. Russell Simpson
Simpson gets a little bit of offense with a dropkick to the knee and then works on the knee a little bit. Why? Lashley catches a kick and hits a backbreaker. Lashley hits the Dominator and gets the win. I personally would not have allowed Simpson get in any offense.
Match Rating: 1/4*
After the match, Simon Dean comes out and offers Lashley a free drink. Lashley stomps on it and press slams him over the top rope. They announce they will square off at No Mercy.
When we come back to SmackDown, Christian is already in the ring for the Peep Show. He says that there is currently match for the United States Championship at No Mercy. He says that he beat Chris Benoit on SmackDown and that he should be facing him at the show. Out comes Booker T and Sharmell. Booker reminds him that he beat Christian last week, which then leads to Orlando Jordan coming out. Jordan says that no one gets a chance until he does. Teddy Long comes out and says that they will have a triple threat match right now.
Triple Threat Match
Christian vs. Booker T vs. Orlando Jordan
I'm not sure how in storyline they can even claim to have Orlando Jordan in this match. Booker goes for a superplex and in comes Jordan who hits a powerbomb tower of doom spot. Booker misses a Scissor Kick, but counters out of a Unprettier. Jordan comes in and gets Christian out of the ring, rolls up Booker and gets the win. They really gave this match only 4 minutes?
Match Rating: *
Benoit comes out and is shocked Jordan won. He says that he'll be facing him at No Mercy. Then he turns to Christian and says that it's him who beat him and he'll face him at No Mercy. Then he turns to Booker and says that they're tight, so he's going to face him at No Mercy. He then announces that he will take on all of them.
Teddy Long is back with Palmer Canon and in walks Vince McMahon. Teddy says that he has selected some SmackDown stars to appear on Homecoming. JBL, Eddie Guerrero, Rey Mysterio, Chris Benoit, Christian and Batista will all be there.
WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Heidenreich & Road Warrior Animal vs. Eddie Guerrero & Batista
Animal and the Animal square off here. Animal hits a kick to the face, but misses with an elbow drop. Eddie tags himself in but gets a right hand from Heidenreich. Eddie hits a low blow, but he still ends up in the wrong corner and now Animal is working on him. Animal hits a scoop slam for a 2 count. Animal puts him up for the Doomsday Device, but Eddie gets out by hitting a hurricanrana. In comes Batista and he hits a spinebuster on Heidenreich. Batista hits a Batista Bomb, but Animal makes the save. In comes MNM and try attacking with steel chairs. Eddie makes the save before they can do anything. He hits Batista with a chair and then tosses it to Mercury and Batista falls for it. He hits Mercury with a chair and that is all. Technically Heidenreich and Animal won.
Match Rating: 3/4*
This was not the strongest episode, but it wasn't too bad. Everything was too short for it to mean anything and even the last segment came off a little lame. The Undertaker/Orton match was particularly bad here. All in all, this was a mediocre episode.
Overall Rating: 52%
Laredo Entertainment Center
Laredo, Texas
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They give a little history about the town of Laredo, which then leads to JBL coming out dressed in a sombrero and an inner tube and with a mule behind him. He makes all the expected jokes here that you would expect here in 2005. JBL then introduces his tag team partner, who pretends that the mule is Tony Chimel.
JBL & Mr. Kennedy vs. Rey Mysterio & Hardcore Holly
Mysterio starts off hot with Kennedy until JBL hits him in the back with the inner tube, which allows Kennedy to take advantage. Holly gives JBL a taste of his own medicine and kicks him when he is going off the ropes. JBL uses a Mexican flag to attack Rey behind the ref's back. Back in the ring, JBL hits a fall away slam and then puts him in a bear hug. Rey makes the hot tag to Holly and he hits a full nelson driver on Kennedy and a dropkick on JBL. He has JBL up for the Alabama Slam, but Kennedy grabs JBL. Rey comes over and takes care of Kennedy and Holly kicks JBL close to below the belt. Kennedy grabs Holly from outside the ring, he lets go to kick Mysterio and then JBL hits the Clothesline From Hell on Holly and gets the victory. This was an energetic opener that helped build the feud between JBL and Mysterio.
Match Rating: **3/4 (out of 5)
Eddie is eating Mexican food backstage and Batista walks up to him. Batista eats his food to make sure Eddie doesn't get another stomach ache.
Melina is shown from earlier today on the phone when Christy Hemme rolls up in a motorcycle. Melina breaks her nail when she pushes Christy's helmet. This was as bad as it sounds.
Melina vs. Christy Hemme
Melina hits a dropkick and gets a 2 count already. Melina then snaps Christy's arm over the second rope. This is already longer than I thought. Christy gets a sunset flip for a 2 count. Christy hits a big kick to the midsection. MNM distracts the ref, which allows Nitro to trip up Christy and Melina gets the pin. That match certainly lacked action for as much time as they got. After the match, MNM attacks. They are about to give Christy the Snap Shot, but Heidenreich and Animal come out to make the save.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Bob Orton vs. Undertaker
Orton is 54 years old here. He cuts a promo saying that Randy won't be getting involved because he is saving it for No Mercy. Orton tries to outsmart Taker, but it does him no good. Taker throws Orton into the turnbuckle and it accidentally squashes the ref. Bob Orton hits a low blow and then out comes Randy. They destroy Taker, but when the ref gets up, he kicks out at 2. He sits up and gives Bob a boot to the face. He puts him up for a Tombstone, but Randy comes in and goes for a RKO. Taker avoids it and sends Randy out of the ring. He hits a Tombstone on Bob and gets the victory. This was pretty terrible and only made me want to see their match at No Mercy less.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Bobby Lashley vs. Russell Simpson
Simpson gets a little bit of offense with a dropkick to the knee and then works on the knee a little bit. Why? Lashley catches a kick and hits a backbreaker. Lashley hits the Dominator and gets the win. I personally would not have allowed Simpson get in any offense.
Match Rating: 1/4*
After the match, Simon Dean comes out and offers Lashley a free drink. Lashley stomps on it and press slams him over the top rope. They announce they will square off at No Mercy.
When we come back to SmackDown, Christian is already in the ring for the Peep Show. He says that there is currently match for the United States Championship at No Mercy. He says that he beat Chris Benoit on SmackDown and that he should be facing him at the show. Out comes Booker T and Sharmell. Booker reminds him that he beat Christian last week, which then leads to Orlando Jordan coming out. Jordan says that no one gets a chance until he does. Teddy Long comes out and says that they will have a triple threat match right now.
Triple Threat Match
Christian vs. Booker T vs. Orlando Jordan
I'm not sure how in storyline they can even claim to have Orlando Jordan in this match. Booker goes for a superplex and in comes Jordan who hits a powerbomb tower of doom spot. Booker misses a Scissor Kick, but counters out of a Unprettier. Jordan comes in and gets Christian out of the ring, rolls up Booker and gets the win. They really gave this match only 4 minutes?
Match Rating: *
Benoit comes out and is shocked Jordan won. He says that he'll be facing him at No Mercy. Then he turns to Christian and says that it's him who beat him and he'll face him at No Mercy. Then he turns to Booker and says that they're tight, so he's going to face him at No Mercy. He then announces that he will take on all of them.
Teddy Long is back with Palmer Canon and in walks Vince McMahon. Teddy says that he has selected some SmackDown stars to appear on Homecoming. JBL, Eddie Guerrero, Rey Mysterio, Chris Benoit, Christian and Batista will all be there.
WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Heidenreich & Road Warrior Animal vs. Eddie Guerrero & Batista
Animal and the Animal square off here. Animal hits a kick to the face, but misses with an elbow drop. Eddie tags himself in but gets a right hand from Heidenreich. Eddie hits a low blow, but he still ends up in the wrong corner and now Animal is working on him. Animal hits a scoop slam for a 2 count. Animal puts him up for the Doomsday Device, but Eddie gets out by hitting a hurricanrana. In comes Batista and he hits a spinebuster on Heidenreich. Batista hits a Batista Bomb, but Animal makes the save. In comes MNM and try attacking with steel chairs. Eddie makes the save before they can do anything. He hits Batista with a chair and then tosses it to Mercury and Batista falls for it. He hits Mercury with a chair and that is all. Technically Heidenreich and Animal won.
Match Rating: 3/4*
This was not the strongest episode, but it wasn't too bad. Everything was too short for it to mean anything and even the last segment came off a little lame. The Undertaker/Orton match was particularly bad here. All in all, this was a mediocre episode.
Overall Rating: 52%
Friday, June 19, 2020
Monday Night Raw 9-26-05 Review
Monday, September 26th, 2005
Heart O' Texas Coliseum
Waco, Texas
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Vince McMahon is here to kick off the show. He reminds us that tonight is the last episode of Raw on Spike TV and he thanks them for being a good tag team partner. There's no better way to kick off a show by running down the card for next week's show. Kurt Angle comes out and interrupts Vince. He's not happy that it's Bischoff taking on Cena next week. Shawn Michaels is now out here to interrupt. Angle reminds HBK that he made him tap out at WrestleMania, so Shawn reminds Angle of Vengeance. Vince calls for a rubber match between the two next week in a 30 minute Iron Man match.
WWE Women's Championship Match
Trish Stratus vs. Victoria
Trish starts off slugging away on Victoria and hits a headscissors. They go outside and Victoria drives Trish into the ring and then throws her over the barricade and into the crowd. Victoria hits a nice somersault leg drop back into the ring for a 2 count. She then hits another nice move in a tilt-a-whirl sidewalk slam. They battle up on the top turnbuckle and then fall off to the floor. Trish fights back and hits a spinebuster for a nearfall. Trish hits Stratusfaction, but in come Torrie Wilson and Candice Michelle for the DQ finish. Trish throws Torrie into Victoria and then hits Torrie with a Chick Kick. Ashley and Candice have an awkward encounter and then Ashley rips Candice's dress off. In classic WWE form, Candice is embarrassed even though most of the outfits she wears are just as revealing as what she is wearing now. Candice cuts a promo and challenges them to a 3-on-2 Bra and Panties match. This was actually a really fun 4 minute TV match while it lasted.
Match Rating: *1/2 (out of 5)
Big Show is shown walking backstage on his way for his match.
Street Fight
The Big Show vs. Snitsky
Snitsky tries to attack with a chair, but Big Show punches it into Snitsky. Snitsky retaliates and hits Show repeatedly with a street sign. Show swats away a garbage can and headbutts Snitsky. Show then throws Snitsky into the can, but then Snitsky trips Show and he goes head first into the can. Show hits a side slam into another garbage can and follows that up with a chokeslam. Show slides out and goes under the ring and grabs the kitchen sink. I love how the announcers have to sell that like it's the greatest thing they've ever seen. Show hits Snitsky in the head with it and gets the easy victory. This was extremely short and I'm not complaining.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Ric Flair is shown in the back talking to Maria and they show clips from last week.
Jim Ross announces that they invited Ultimate Warrior onto Byte This, but he turned it down.
Ric Flair is now out on the stage for a promo. Flair announces that Triple H will be returning at Homecoming next week. We get a Triple H music video.
Bischoff is in the back on his flip phone and in walks John Cena. He makes some ninja jokes.
Shelton Benjamin vs. Kerwin White
This is the debut of Kerwin's caddy, Nick Nemeth. Nemeth is of course the debut of who we now know as Dolph Ziggler. Shelton makes a joke about washing balls and then tells Kerwin that Chavo sucks. Kerwin starts choking Shelton with his shirt while Nemeth has the referee distracted. Shelton fights back with a back body drop. Kerwin tries to throw him over the top rope, but Shelton skins the cat and hits a top rope clothesline. Shelton hits a knee lift, but when Shelton goes for a suplex back in the ring, Nemeth grabs his foot and Kerwin gets the victory. Shelton attacks Kerwin after the match and then Nemeth breaks a golf club over the back of Shelton. This was way too short to be anything other than a debut of Nemeth.
Match Rating: 1/2*
In the ring, someone from the ring crew sets up a ladder as they head into the commercial break. After that's over, Edge's music hits. Lita is sporting a neck brace. Lita starts out the promo going after Matt Hardy, but isn't drawing much heat. Edge then tries to sell the stipulation of the loser loses his career, even though it's pretty obvious that the loser will just move to SmackDown. Hardy interrupts the interview and teases pushing Edge off the ladder. Matt pretends to walk away and then pushes Edge off and boy, did he ever take an awkward bump there.
Teddy Long is here and in Eric Bischoff's office. Teddy wants some time on next week's Homecoming and Eric isn't having any of it. In walks Vince and he likes the idea. Bischoff then tries to get out of his match with Cena next week, but Vince gives him a pep talk that boosts his confidence.
Val Venis & Viscera vs. Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch
This is a non-title match. Val starts off hot, but when he goes to the second rope, Murdoch runs over and knocks him to the floor. Val gets a hot tag to Viscera and he hits a few slams in before squashing them both in the corner. Cade tries to come in with a chair, but Viscera knocks him out of the ring. Viscera hits a splash and Val hits the Money Shot, but Cade comes in and grabs the refs arm before he can count 3, which gets them disqualified. This is a good example of bad booking. You have no tag teams, so you are forced to prove your challengers are worthy by dominating your champions. Unfortunately, your champions are brand new and need to get over themselves. Not a great recipe.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Chris Masters and Carlito are talking about their Tables Match later tonight.
Eugene vs. Rob Conway
Eugene hits an airplane spin, which causes Conway to lose his sunglasses. Eugene then does the Junkyard Dog and bites Conway's butt. Conway makes his comeback and decides what this match needs is a headlock. Eugene does his Hulking up and hits a variation of the spinebuster. Eugene hits a People's Elbow for a very close call. Conway goes and grabs Eugene's stuffed animal and it stops Eugene from charging at him. Conway rips the head off of the bear and then hits the Ego Trip for the victory. Conway continues to have an upward battle to get over here.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Tag Team Tables Match
Carlito & Chris Masters vs. Shawn Michaels & John Cena
All four men start brawling as the bell rings. Masters and Carlito get the first table out and set it up outside the ring. Cena blocks a Carlito suplex attempt while Michaels hits a flying forearm on Masters. Michaels goes for Sweet Chin Music, but Carlito ducks and Michaels hits referee Chad Patton. Patton took a nasty looking bump off the apron and bounced off the table and hit his head on the floor. When we come back from commercial break, Tim White is now the ref and Masters puts the Master Lock on Cena. Michaels is able to make the save, but Carlito hits a DDT immediately after. Masters hits a gorilla press slam on Michaels, but Cena comes and attacks Carlito. Meanwhile, Masters throws Shawn into the corner and sends him out of the ring. They pull out another table. Michaels and Cena make another comeback hit a double Five Knuckle Shuffle. Michaels tries to clothesline Carlito out of the ring, but Carlito isn't able to get over so he just rolls out. They are setting up tables now and out come Angle and Bischoff. Masters is draped on a table and Michaels goes up top. Angle comes and pushes Michaels off top and he goes through one of the tables on the outside. Cena goes for the FU on Angle, but Bischoff hits a low blow on him. Angle then hits the Angle Slam on Cena through a table. They announce Masters and Carlito the winners even though they weren't the ones to throw their opponent through the table. Bischoff then holds up the WWE Championship belt as he stands over Cena, who is bleeding. This match was an okay TV match, but no one was buying Masters or Carlito for a second. With it being a tables match, it seemed a little too obvious that the heels were going to win since this is WWE's favorite match to have the underdogs win.
Match Rating: *3/4
Well, this episode wasn't particularly strong, but it was still very watchable. Unfortunately, they went way too heavy on the Homecoming hype for this to be anything besides a commercial. I am looking forward to next week quite a bit though.
Overall Rating: 52%
Heart O' Texas Coliseum
Waco, Texas
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Vince McMahon is here to kick off the show. He reminds us that tonight is the last episode of Raw on Spike TV and he thanks them for being a good tag team partner. There's no better way to kick off a show by running down the card for next week's show. Kurt Angle comes out and interrupts Vince. He's not happy that it's Bischoff taking on Cena next week. Shawn Michaels is now out here to interrupt. Angle reminds HBK that he made him tap out at WrestleMania, so Shawn reminds Angle of Vengeance. Vince calls for a rubber match between the two next week in a 30 minute Iron Man match.
WWE Women's Championship Match
Trish Stratus vs. Victoria
Trish starts off slugging away on Victoria and hits a headscissors. They go outside and Victoria drives Trish into the ring and then throws her over the barricade and into the crowd. Victoria hits a nice somersault leg drop back into the ring for a 2 count. She then hits another nice move in a tilt-a-whirl sidewalk slam. They battle up on the top turnbuckle and then fall off to the floor. Trish fights back and hits a spinebuster for a nearfall. Trish hits Stratusfaction, but in come Torrie Wilson and Candice Michelle for the DQ finish. Trish throws Torrie into Victoria and then hits Torrie with a Chick Kick. Ashley and Candice have an awkward encounter and then Ashley rips Candice's dress off. In classic WWE form, Candice is embarrassed even though most of the outfits she wears are just as revealing as what she is wearing now. Candice cuts a promo and challenges them to a 3-on-2 Bra and Panties match. This was actually a really fun 4 minute TV match while it lasted.
Match Rating: *1/2 (out of 5)
Big Show is shown walking backstage on his way for his match.
Street Fight
The Big Show vs. Snitsky
Snitsky tries to attack with a chair, but Big Show punches it into Snitsky. Snitsky retaliates and hits Show repeatedly with a street sign. Show swats away a garbage can and headbutts Snitsky. Show then throws Snitsky into the can, but then Snitsky trips Show and he goes head first into the can. Show hits a side slam into another garbage can and follows that up with a chokeslam. Show slides out and goes under the ring and grabs the kitchen sink. I love how the announcers have to sell that like it's the greatest thing they've ever seen. Show hits Snitsky in the head with it and gets the easy victory. This was extremely short and I'm not complaining.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Ric Flair is shown in the back talking to Maria and they show clips from last week.
Jim Ross announces that they invited Ultimate Warrior onto Byte This, but he turned it down.
Ric Flair is now out on the stage for a promo. Flair announces that Triple H will be returning at Homecoming next week. We get a Triple H music video.
Bischoff is in the back on his flip phone and in walks John Cena. He makes some ninja jokes.
Shelton Benjamin vs. Kerwin White
This is the debut of Kerwin's caddy, Nick Nemeth. Nemeth is of course the debut of who we now know as Dolph Ziggler. Shelton makes a joke about washing balls and then tells Kerwin that Chavo sucks. Kerwin starts choking Shelton with his shirt while Nemeth has the referee distracted. Shelton fights back with a back body drop. Kerwin tries to throw him over the top rope, but Shelton skins the cat and hits a top rope clothesline. Shelton hits a knee lift, but when Shelton goes for a suplex back in the ring, Nemeth grabs his foot and Kerwin gets the victory. Shelton attacks Kerwin after the match and then Nemeth breaks a golf club over the back of Shelton. This was way too short to be anything other than a debut of Nemeth.
Match Rating: 1/2*
In the ring, someone from the ring crew sets up a ladder as they head into the commercial break. After that's over, Edge's music hits. Lita is sporting a neck brace. Lita starts out the promo going after Matt Hardy, but isn't drawing much heat. Edge then tries to sell the stipulation of the loser loses his career, even though it's pretty obvious that the loser will just move to SmackDown. Hardy interrupts the interview and teases pushing Edge off the ladder. Matt pretends to walk away and then pushes Edge off and boy, did he ever take an awkward bump there.
Teddy Long is here and in Eric Bischoff's office. Teddy wants some time on next week's Homecoming and Eric isn't having any of it. In walks Vince and he likes the idea. Bischoff then tries to get out of his match with Cena next week, but Vince gives him a pep talk that boosts his confidence.
Val Venis & Viscera vs. Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch
This is a non-title match. Val starts off hot, but when he goes to the second rope, Murdoch runs over and knocks him to the floor. Val gets a hot tag to Viscera and he hits a few slams in before squashing them both in the corner. Cade tries to come in with a chair, but Viscera knocks him out of the ring. Viscera hits a splash and Val hits the Money Shot, but Cade comes in and grabs the refs arm before he can count 3, which gets them disqualified. This is a good example of bad booking. You have no tag teams, so you are forced to prove your challengers are worthy by dominating your champions. Unfortunately, your champions are brand new and need to get over themselves. Not a great recipe.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Chris Masters and Carlito are talking about their Tables Match later tonight.
Eugene vs. Rob Conway
Eugene hits an airplane spin, which causes Conway to lose his sunglasses. Eugene then does the Junkyard Dog and bites Conway's butt. Conway makes his comeback and decides what this match needs is a headlock. Eugene does his Hulking up and hits a variation of the spinebuster. Eugene hits a People's Elbow for a very close call. Conway goes and grabs Eugene's stuffed animal and it stops Eugene from charging at him. Conway rips the head off of the bear and then hits the Ego Trip for the victory. Conway continues to have an upward battle to get over here.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Tag Team Tables Match
Carlito & Chris Masters vs. Shawn Michaels & John Cena
All four men start brawling as the bell rings. Masters and Carlito get the first table out and set it up outside the ring. Cena blocks a Carlito suplex attempt while Michaels hits a flying forearm on Masters. Michaels goes for Sweet Chin Music, but Carlito ducks and Michaels hits referee Chad Patton. Patton took a nasty looking bump off the apron and bounced off the table and hit his head on the floor. When we come back from commercial break, Tim White is now the ref and Masters puts the Master Lock on Cena. Michaels is able to make the save, but Carlito hits a DDT immediately after. Masters hits a gorilla press slam on Michaels, but Cena comes and attacks Carlito. Meanwhile, Masters throws Shawn into the corner and sends him out of the ring. They pull out another table. Michaels and Cena make another comeback hit a double Five Knuckle Shuffle. Michaels tries to clothesline Carlito out of the ring, but Carlito isn't able to get over so he just rolls out. They are setting up tables now and out come Angle and Bischoff. Masters is draped on a table and Michaels goes up top. Angle comes and pushes Michaels off top and he goes through one of the tables on the outside. Cena goes for the FU on Angle, but Bischoff hits a low blow on him. Angle then hits the Angle Slam on Cena through a table. They announce Masters and Carlito the winners even though they weren't the ones to throw their opponent through the table. Bischoff then holds up the WWE Championship belt as he stands over Cena, who is bleeding. This match was an okay TV match, but no one was buying Masters or Carlito for a second. With it being a tables match, it seemed a little too obvious that the heels were going to win since this is WWE's favorite match to have the underdogs win.
Match Rating: *3/4
Well, this episode wasn't particularly strong, but it was still very watchable. Unfortunately, they went way too heavy on the Homecoming hype for this to be anything besides a commercial. I am looking forward to next week quite a bit though.
Overall Rating: 52%
Wednesday, June 17, 2020
NXT 6-26-13 Review
Original Airdate: Wednesday, June 26th, 2013
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida
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Big E Langston vs. Aiden English
I guess I was assuming that Big E dropped the belt and was going to be done with NXT. English flips around, but Big E just destroys poor English and hits the Big Ending in under a minute. The crowd of course wants more, so he does and counts 5. After nearly walking to the back, he turns around and hits a third Big Ending.
Match Rating: 1/4* (out of 5)
Emma is backstage with Renee Young and is playing with a bubble gun. She lets Renee know that she can't have her bubbles and then asks her to hold them for her.
NXT Women's Championship Tournament First Round Match
Aksana vs. Emma
Emma continues to get over with the NXT fans, but Aksana attacks her from behind while she is playing to the crowd. Aksana for some reason dominates the entire match. Emma ends up putting her in the Dilemma and Aksana also gets the delayed tap treatment. This should have been a quick and convincing win for Emma. She brings in some kids to dance with her after the match.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Dante Dash vs. Leo Kruger
This is the re-introduction of Leo Kruger, who is exactly the same as last time we saw him. Kruger is methodical in his offense and then throws Dash shoulder-first into the ring post twice. He hits a big clothesline that he calls the Slice and puts him in the GC3 submission for the victory. This hasn't been a stellar start to the show as far as good matches go.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Conor O'Brian has a vignette that says "We are the Ascension and we will rise again", alluding to him being a tag team again.
Mickey Keegan vs. Bo Dallas
As Bo Dallas comes down, he notices that Leo Kruger is squatting in the corner of the guardrail watching Bo. The crowd starts a "Keegan" chant. I love how much the crowd just hates Bo. Bo hits his springboard bulldog and a hip toss suplex and that is all. After the match, Kruger comes in and attacks Keegan and tells him "Ta ta". Can you imagine if NXT tried headlining with this feud now?
Match Rating: 1/4*
#1 Contender's Match For The NXT Tag Team Championship
Kassius Ohno & Corey Graves vs. Garrett Dylan & Scott Dawson
Well, it's up to these guys to completely save this show. Sylvester LeFort comes out speaking French just to remind you that he makes absolutely no sense as the manager of Dylan and Dawson. Dawson and Ohno start things off. Ohno gets the better of him and makes the quick tag to Graves. Dylan gets tagged in and is in control as we go to commercial break. Dylan and Dawson continue to work on Graves after the break. Ohno gets the tag and he hits a nasty looking suplex on Dawson for a 2 count. Dylan and Dawson are able to hit their finisher on Ohno, but Graves is able to make the save. That was really out of nowhere there. It's fun to see a young Dawson here, as you can see so many of the positive traits we know about him today are very apparent in 2013. Ohno hits an elbow on Dylan and makes the tag to Graves. He hits some right hands on Dylan and then uses the ropes to tie Dylan up and unloads on him. The crowd seems kind of out of it here tonight. Graves hits a chop block and puts on Lucky 13 and gets the submission victory. As soon as they win, Luke Harper and Erick Rowan run in and attack Graves and Ohno. Wyatt joins in and then Adrian Neville comes in to make the save. Dawson then hits Neville and everyone is brawling. William Regal leaves the announcer's booth and starts joining in on the fun. The Wyatt Family stands tall at the end and then continues to stomp away on Regal. The match itself was pretty mediocre unfortunately.
Match Rating: *1/2
This episode was definitely among the worst here at the halfway point of 2013. They are starting to get the pieces they need, but the storytelling just isn't there yet. I guess what I'm saying is that they just need more Cesaro and Sami Zayn on their show.
Overall Rating: 36%
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida
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Big E Langston vs. Aiden English
I guess I was assuming that Big E dropped the belt and was going to be done with NXT. English flips around, but Big E just destroys poor English and hits the Big Ending in under a minute. The crowd of course wants more, so he does and counts 5. After nearly walking to the back, he turns around and hits a third Big Ending.
Match Rating: 1/4* (out of 5)
Emma is backstage with Renee Young and is playing with a bubble gun. She lets Renee know that she can't have her bubbles and then asks her to hold them for her.
NXT Women's Championship Tournament First Round Match
Aksana vs. Emma
Emma continues to get over with the NXT fans, but Aksana attacks her from behind while she is playing to the crowd. Aksana for some reason dominates the entire match. Emma ends up putting her in the Dilemma and Aksana also gets the delayed tap treatment. This should have been a quick and convincing win for Emma. She brings in some kids to dance with her after the match.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Dante Dash vs. Leo Kruger
This is the re-introduction of Leo Kruger, who is exactly the same as last time we saw him. Kruger is methodical in his offense and then throws Dash shoulder-first into the ring post twice. He hits a big clothesline that he calls the Slice and puts him in the GC3 submission for the victory. This hasn't been a stellar start to the show as far as good matches go.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Conor O'Brian has a vignette that says "We are the Ascension and we will rise again", alluding to him being a tag team again.
Mickey Keegan vs. Bo Dallas
As Bo Dallas comes down, he notices that Leo Kruger is squatting in the corner of the guardrail watching Bo. The crowd starts a "Keegan" chant. I love how much the crowd just hates Bo. Bo hits his springboard bulldog and a hip toss suplex and that is all. After the match, Kruger comes in and attacks Keegan and tells him "Ta ta". Can you imagine if NXT tried headlining with this feud now?
Match Rating: 1/4*
#1 Contender's Match For The NXT Tag Team Championship
Kassius Ohno & Corey Graves vs. Garrett Dylan & Scott Dawson
Well, it's up to these guys to completely save this show. Sylvester LeFort comes out speaking French just to remind you that he makes absolutely no sense as the manager of Dylan and Dawson. Dawson and Ohno start things off. Ohno gets the better of him and makes the quick tag to Graves. Dylan gets tagged in and is in control as we go to commercial break. Dylan and Dawson continue to work on Graves after the break. Ohno gets the tag and he hits a nasty looking suplex on Dawson for a 2 count. Dylan and Dawson are able to hit their finisher on Ohno, but Graves is able to make the save. That was really out of nowhere there. It's fun to see a young Dawson here, as you can see so many of the positive traits we know about him today are very apparent in 2013. Ohno hits an elbow on Dylan and makes the tag to Graves. He hits some right hands on Dylan and then uses the ropes to tie Dylan up and unloads on him. The crowd seems kind of out of it here tonight. Graves hits a chop block and puts on Lucky 13 and gets the submission victory. As soon as they win, Luke Harper and Erick Rowan run in and attack Graves and Ohno. Wyatt joins in and then Adrian Neville comes in to make the save. Dawson then hits Neville and everyone is brawling. William Regal leaves the announcer's booth and starts joining in on the fun. The Wyatt Family stands tall at the end and then continues to stomp away on Regal. The match itself was pretty mediocre unfortunately.
Match Rating: *1/2
This episode was definitely among the worst here at the halfway point of 2013. They are starting to get the pieces they need, but the storytelling just isn't there yet. I guess what I'm saying is that they just need more Cesaro and Sami Zayn on their show.
Overall Rating: 36%
Monday, June 15, 2020
Monday Night Raw 4-26-93 Review
Monday, April 26th, 1993
Manhattan Center
New York City, New York
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We are back live in the Manhattan Center and Bobby Heenan has taken over Rob Bartlett's spot as the third announcer, which has to be the biggest improvement in the history of wrestling announcing.
Damien Demento vs. Mr. Perfect
After a fine bit of stalling, Perfect hits a dropkick. It always kind of amazes me that a guy like Demento is willing to have that haircut just to be a jobber. Would any WWF fan think any differently of him if he just had a normal haircut? Demento throws Perfect through the rope and he takes out the cameraman on the way down. Perfect fights back with some chops and a running kneelift. Demento tries a splash, but Perfect gets his knees up. Perfect hits the Perfect Plex and that's all. I'm still not sure why they aren't doing more with Perfect, but he continues to look good here in early '93.
Match Rating: 1/2* (out of 5)
We get a child reading their essay "There's No Hope With Dope". The essay is about the girl being at her own funeral and then at the end, Undertaker walks in and agrees that there is no hope with dope. This was...something.
Heenan claims that there will be a proposal on Raw and that he will make sure that she says no.
The Narcissist Lex Luger vs. Crush
Vince shows the x-ray of Luger's steel plate in his forearm, which is hilarious. If there is one big difference between modern wrestling and this time period, there is way less stalling at the beginning of matches now. Crush shows off his strength by hitting the gorilla press slam and Luger retreats outside to regroup. Crush hits a dropkick and an arm drag as we go to commercial break. Luger tries to go for a hip toss, but Crush hits a belly-to-belly suplex. Luger runs off the ropes and drives a knee into the back of Crush and sends him outside. Luger runs off the apron and hits a double axe handle. Luger then uses my favorite move in wrestling, the bear hug. Crush escapes, but Luger hits a body slam. Crush hits a suplex and both men are stunned. Crush hits a back suplex and after a little bit of an awkward spot, a bodys lam. Crush puts on his finisher until he spots Doink in the balcony. He releases the hold and calls Doink to the ring. Doink points over to the other balcony and there stands the second Doink. Luger hits Crush with an elbow and knocks him out of the ring, giving Luger the countout win. I have to say, I am shocked that Luger was booked so weakly here. The majority of the match was surprisingly entertaining, but the ending just felt off.
Match Rating: *3/4
We get a promo for King Of The Ring. They run down a couple of the upcoming qualifiers, which I really wish were on the network.
Mr. Hughes vs. Jason Knight
This is the Raw debut of Mr. Hughes. Heenan is shown watching shows on other stations, both of which are Turner owned networks. I'm not sure this is the best way to hype up a new superstar. Hughes hits a chokeslam type move for the victory.
Match Rating: 1/4*
We get a vignette for the Smoking Gunns riding horses in the desert.
Vince McMahon is in the ring and introduces Shawn Michaels. This is some segment, as Shawn makes a homophobic remark and then the crowd does the same. They show the footage of Michaels attacking Mr. Perfect at WrestleMania. Shawn then screws up and calls him Grover instead of Oscar the grouch when referring to putting Perfect in the trash can. Perfect comes out with officials trying to stop him. Michaels gets in a cheap shot and Perfect chases him to the back.
They show footage of Bam Bam Bigelow and Tatanka's feud.
Typhoon vs. Skull Von Krush
Solo Typhoon matches are just so bizarre to me. They get Hacksaw Jim Duggan on the phone, as he will be facing Shawn Michaels next week. Typhoon hits a splash and it's over.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Heenan goes out to the fan to interview the couple they referenced earlier in the show. They get married and Bobby Heenan makes a Cracker Jack joke. This was all terrible.
Well, on one hand, we got a surprisingly decent Crush and Lex Luger match and one of the most bizarre things I have ever seen on Raw in the essay. On the other hand, we had to sit through an uncomfortable Shawn Michaels interview, a Typhoon match and way too much time devoted to a wedding proposal. I guess I'll go somewhere in the middle.
Overall Rating: 48%
Manhattan Center
New York City, New York
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We are back live in the Manhattan Center and Bobby Heenan has taken over Rob Bartlett's spot as the third announcer, which has to be the biggest improvement in the history of wrestling announcing.
Damien Demento vs. Mr. Perfect
After a fine bit of stalling, Perfect hits a dropkick. It always kind of amazes me that a guy like Demento is willing to have that haircut just to be a jobber. Would any WWF fan think any differently of him if he just had a normal haircut? Demento throws Perfect through the rope and he takes out the cameraman on the way down. Perfect fights back with some chops and a running kneelift. Demento tries a splash, but Perfect gets his knees up. Perfect hits the Perfect Plex and that's all. I'm still not sure why they aren't doing more with Perfect, but he continues to look good here in early '93.
Match Rating: 1/2* (out of 5)
We get a child reading their essay "There's No Hope With Dope". The essay is about the girl being at her own funeral and then at the end, Undertaker walks in and agrees that there is no hope with dope. This was...something.
Heenan claims that there will be a proposal on Raw and that he will make sure that she says no.
The Narcissist Lex Luger vs. Crush
Vince shows the x-ray of Luger's steel plate in his forearm, which is hilarious. If there is one big difference between modern wrestling and this time period, there is way less stalling at the beginning of matches now. Crush shows off his strength by hitting the gorilla press slam and Luger retreats outside to regroup. Crush hits a dropkick and an arm drag as we go to commercial break. Luger tries to go for a hip toss, but Crush hits a belly-to-belly suplex. Luger runs off the ropes and drives a knee into the back of Crush and sends him outside. Luger runs off the apron and hits a double axe handle. Luger then uses my favorite move in wrestling, the bear hug. Crush escapes, but Luger hits a body slam. Crush hits a suplex and both men are stunned. Crush hits a back suplex and after a little bit of an awkward spot, a bodys lam. Crush puts on his finisher until he spots Doink in the balcony. He releases the hold and calls Doink to the ring. Doink points over to the other balcony and there stands the second Doink. Luger hits Crush with an elbow and knocks him out of the ring, giving Luger the countout win. I have to say, I am shocked that Luger was booked so weakly here. The majority of the match was surprisingly entertaining, but the ending just felt off.
Match Rating: *3/4
We get a promo for King Of The Ring. They run down a couple of the upcoming qualifiers, which I really wish were on the network.
Mr. Hughes vs. Jason Knight
This is the Raw debut of Mr. Hughes. Heenan is shown watching shows on other stations, both of which are Turner owned networks. I'm not sure this is the best way to hype up a new superstar. Hughes hits a chokeslam type move for the victory.
Match Rating: 1/4*
We get a vignette for the Smoking Gunns riding horses in the desert.
Vince McMahon is in the ring and introduces Shawn Michaels. This is some segment, as Shawn makes a homophobic remark and then the crowd does the same. They show the footage of Michaels attacking Mr. Perfect at WrestleMania. Shawn then screws up and calls him Grover instead of Oscar the grouch when referring to putting Perfect in the trash can. Perfect comes out with officials trying to stop him. Michaels gets in a cheap shot and Perfect chases him to the back.
They show footage of Bam Bam Bigelow and Tatanka's feud.
Typhoon vs. Skull Von Krush
Solo Typhoon matches are just so bizarre to me. They get Hacksaw Jim Duggan on the phone, as he will be facing Shawn Michaels next week. Typhoon hits a splash and it's over.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Heenan goes out to the fan to interview the couple they referenced earlier in the show. They get married and Bobby Heenan makes a Cracker Jack joke. This was all terrible.
Well, on one hand, we got a surprisingly decent Crush and Lex Luger match and one of the most bizarre things I have ever seen on Raw in the essay. On the other hand, we had to sit through an uncomfortable Shawn Michaels interview, a Typhoon match and way too much time devoted to a wedding proposal. I guess I'll go somewhere in the middle.
Overall Rating: 48%
Sunday, June 14, 2020
Backlash 2020 Review
Sunday, June 14th, 2020
WWE Performance Center
Orlando, Florida
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Triple Threat Match For The WWE Women's Tag Team Championship
Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross vs. The IIconics vs. Bayley & Sasha Banks
In this variation of the match, one woman from each team will be in the ring at once and you are only allowed to tag your own partner. I can't remember the last time I saw the IIconics wrestle. Things start off quickly with lots of quick pinfall attempts. This can't be an easy match to work, so I anticipate they will keep it on the shorter side. Nikki gets tagged in and squashes Sasha, but then eats a kick from Peyton. Bayley and Billie double stomp on Nikki, but then Billy starts slugging away on Bayley. Peyton tries to attack Bayley, but Sasha makes the save and Bayley gets a 2 count out of a roll up. Nikki hits the old Matt Hardy bulldog/clothesline combo on Bayley and Billie. Hot tag to Alexa and she takes out everyone. Peyton hits a double crossbody between the second and third rope on Sasha and Alexa, which knocks them into Billie and Bayley. Nikki and Alexa hit a nice doubleteam, but they aren't even able to make a pin attempt. Alexa goes up top and hits Twisted Bliss on Peyton. In comes Sasha and she rolls up Alexa and gets the victory. The match was positioned properly as the opener and they did the best that they could with the stipulation. It featured solid action and the right team won.
Match Rating: **1/2 (out of 5)
They show Braun Strowman arriving in his Plymouth Grand National.
Jeff Hardy vs. Sheamus
I don't mind using personal issues in a feud, but I feel like using it on a mid-card one in the middle of the empty arena era is a strange choice. Hardy starts to fight back on Sheamus, but Sheamus quickly club him with a clothesline. Jeff again fights back and knocks Sheamus off the apron with a dropkick to the knees. Hardy leaps off the steps and knocks Sheamus down in front of the announce table. Back in the ring, Sheamus hits Hardy with a series of blows and then hits Hardy's knee on the ring post. Sheamus hits a Rock Bottom into a backbreaker for a 2 count. Sheamus then hits a big knee to the head of Hardy. Sheamus goes up top and misses and Hardy hits a Whisper In The Wind for a 2 count. Sheamus misses with the Brogue Kick and Hardy hits a Sling Blade. Hardy goes up top, but Sheamus is there to stop him. Hardy is able to shove him off, but Hardy takes too long and he knocks him off. Sheamus hits a Celtic Cross for a 2 count. Sheamus puts Hardy in the Texas Cloverleaf, but Hardy gets to the ropes. Sheamus hits a bunch of clubbing blows to the chest of a battered Hardy. He goes to lift up Hardy, but Hardy grabs the rope to stop him. Hardy hits a Twist Of Fate and then the Swanton Bomb, but Sheamus gets his leg on the rope. Hardy scales the barricade, but Sheamus hits a Brogue Kick on him. Back in the ring, Sheamus hits another Brogue Kick and gets the victory. I enjoyed this match quite a bit. Both guys looked really solid and Hardy played the role of the underdog well here.
Match Rating: ***1/4
Miz and John Morrison are in the back and they talk about how the winner has to be the sole Universal Champion. Otis and Mandy come over and say that if they win tonight, they won't be Universal Champion for very long.
Raw Women's Championship Match
Nia Jax vs. Asuka
Asuka comes out fighting, but Jax basically no sells most of it. Asuka puts her in the Octopus in the middle of the ring, but Jax eventually swings her off and follows it up with a clothesline. Jax continues working on her slowly. Asuka puts her in a guillotine, but Jax hits a suplex. Jax misses with a splash and Asuka hits a running dropkick. Asuka hits a missile dropkick from the second rope and a Hip Attack for a 2 count. Jax catches an Asuka kick and hits a sit down powerbomb for a nearfall. Asuka puts her in an arm bar outside the ring, but Jax slams her into the barricade. Neither women are able to get back in the ring and we get a double countout. Really? Asuka worked really hard here, but this was not one of Jax's better performances I have seen. The awful ending did not help their cause.
Match Rating: *
MVP is on the phone and in walks Lana. Lana wants to be ringside for the match tonight, but MVP says that was Lashley's decision, not his.
Handicap Match For The Universal Championship
The Miz & John Morrison vs. Braun Strowman
Before the match Miz & Morrison debut their new music video. The Strowman Express interrupts the video, which is a bummer. I really hate having Miz and Morrison being booked like chumps. Morrison avoids a boot from Strowman and tags in Miz. Morrison distracts Strowman and Miz attacks him from behind. They hit a double dropkick, but after some fun action, Strowman hits Morrison with a big right hand. Strowman throws Miz into the corner, knocking Morrison off the apron. Morrison hits a springboard kick. Miz hits a dropkick and Morrison hits a corkscrew dive over the top rope. Back in the ring, Morrison continues the assault on Strowman. He tags in Miz and they hit a double DDT for a 2 count. Miz takes too long and Strowman battles back, but misses in the corner and hits the ring post. Morrison hits two springboard kicks. They hit a Skull Crushing Finale/Stomp combo. Morrison goes for the pin, but Miz pulls Morrison off and then immediately regrets it. Strowman chokeslams Miz and then hits the running powerslam on Morrison and gets the victory. Miz and Morrison made this quite a bit of fun, but the ending was inevitable and the match was really short.
Match Rating: **1/4
New Intercontinental Champion AJ Styles is backstage to make fun of Daniel Bryan.
WWE Championship Match
Bobby Lashley vs. Drew McIntyre
Before the bell rings, Lashley puts McIntyre in a full nelson and a bunch of referees try to pull him off. He eventually pulls off and the match starts. They show Lana still in the back watching the match. McIntyre, who is still wearing his jacket, gets a knee up, but Lashley hits a clothesline. They go out of the ring and Lashley slams McIntyre into the ring post. Lashley comes charging at McIntyre, but he catches him and throws him into the barricade. McIntyre then hits a suplex to the mat and back in the ring they go. McIntyre explodes out of the turnbuckle and hits a clothesline. Lashley knees his way off of McIntyre's shoulders, but McIntyre hits him with a spinebuster. Lashley hits his own variation of a spinebuster, but McIntyre kicks out at 1. Lashley hits a Flatliner, but again McIntyre kicks out at 1. Lashley tries to put on the full nelson, but isn't able to get it applied. McIntyre hits a face first version of the Alabama Slam for a 2 count. McIntyre goes up top, but Lashley catches him and puts him in the Crossface in the center of the ring. McIntyre counters that into a Tombstone attempt, but Lashley counters that into an Ankle Lock. Lashley goes for a spear, but McIntyre turns that into a Kimura. McIntyre hits a superplex and both men are down. Lashley hits a Spear, but McIntyre kicks out at 2. Out walks Lana and she walks up to the apron. Lashley accidentally knocks her off and she falls on MVP. McIntyre hits the Claymore Kick and gets the victory. Man, that ending sucked the life out of a really good match. This was easily one of the best matches I can remember Lashley having in WWE. After the match, both MVP and Lashley leave Lana sitting on the outside as McIntyre celebrates.
Match Rating: ***1/2
They cut to footage of the Viking Raiders and Street Profits brawling outside. They end up damaging Strowman's car again. They run inside and continue brawling. There is music in the background, which means this is another cinematic masterpiece. The Profits grab golf clubs and the Raiders grab their shields and a bowling ball. The Profits run away, but decide to stand up to them. They face off and decide to drop their weapons at the same time. They start brawling and then Ivar finds himself by the bowling ball, which leads him to dreaming about a bowling encounter with the Profits. He rolls it and it hits Montez Ford in the crotch. Ivar then finds Erik hurt, goes to check on him and eats a spear through some glass. They show some highlights of their critically acclaimed challenges from Raw. A bunch of motorcycles show up and Akira Tozawa is one of them. The four huddle up and decide to take on the ninjas on bikes together. This is something you would expect in a family action comedy. A big ninja walks up and Ivar summons a turkey leg like Thor does. They run up to the top of a truck and begin brawling again. Erik and Dawkins fly into a dumpster. Ivar then knocks Ford in and then Ivar does a somersault dive into it. They then pan to Ivar dreaming of women telling him he's cute and Erik, not so much. Referee Jessica Carr comes over and then says the same thing. Then they hear some growling and an alligator tail is shown and then that's it for that. I'm not sure who the target audience was here, but it certainly was not me.
Randy Orton vs. Edge
They do a cool spot where they have the old school MSG microphone from the ceiling and use old Fink announcements. Charles Robinson is dressed in the old school ref outfit. As was reported, this is indeed a taped match. Edge hits a couple of arm drags, but Orton avoids a third one. It should be noted that there is fake crowd noise piped in for this one. They are playing up Orton being one step ahead of Edge here early on. Orton trips up Edge as he is running the ropes and Edge is starting to show some frustration. Edge takes a chance to outsmart Orton and it ends with Orton eating a boot to the face. Edge hits a headscissors, which sends Orton to the outside. Edge goes up to the top rope, but Orton catches him with a right hand. Orton goes for a superplex to the floor, but Edge hits a couple of headbutts to stop him. Edge then hits a leaping clothesline and Orton is busted open. Edge puts Orton in the Crossface, but Orton gets his feet to the bottom rope to break the hold. Orton goes for the RKO, but Edge saw it coming. Orton then hits his inverted backbreaker and they head back outside. Orton starts throwing Edge into everything outside the ring. Orton throws him on the table and rolls him in for a 2 count. Orton looks up to the sky and then goes for the Three Amigos. Edge stops the third one and then he hits the Three Amigos. Both men are down and they both just start slapping each other's chest. Back up, they start chopping away on each other until Orton hits a dropkick. Orton pulls Edge face first into the ring post and then hits a superplex. They hit a double crossbody and both men are down again. Edge for some reason goes to the top rope again, but Orton is there to stop him. Orton goes for the DDT from the top rope, but Edge slips down and hits the Edgecution and gets a 2 count. Edge hits a top rope crossbody for another 2 count. Orton hits an Angle Slam for a 2 count. Apparently Angle picked Edge to win the match. Edge catches Orton and hits a sit down powerbomb for another nearfall. The crowd is doing a dueling "Let's go Orton"/"Let's go Edge" chant, but I can't imagine that would be the case if this actually were in an arena. Orton hits a draping DDT. Orton goes for the RKO, but Edge hits the Edge-O-Matic. Orton leaps an Edge Spear attempt, but Edge hits an Unprettier for another close call. This is the perfect type of match to do all of these callbacks. Orton then hits a Pedigree for a 2 count. Edge now hits a Rock Bottom as they go full WrestleMania here. Edge goes for a bunch of quick pinfall attempts that are unsuccessful and then Orton hits the RKO, but Edge kicks out. Orton goes for a punt, but Edge hits the Spear. Edge hits a second Spear, but Orton kicks out. Orton hits a RKO and Edge kicks out yet again. Edge puts on the Anti-Venom submission hold, but Orton hits a low blow. He follows it up with a punt to the head and Orton gets the victory. Well, as one would expect, this was a lengthy bout, but was pretty heavy on the action. I liked most of it and it was nice to see Edge moving around the ring so well. This was a match that was begging to be played in front of 60,000 people at WrestleMania, but at the same time, it most likely wouldn't have gotten 40 minutes on a show like that. By Randy Orton standards, this was a really fast paced match and credit goes out to both guys for making the most out of the circumstances. After the match, Edge gets stretchered away.
Match Rating: ***3/4
All wrestling shows are a mixed bag, but this one is one of the better examples of it. You had poor booking in the Asuka/Jax match, awful comedy in the men's tag team match, really solid storytelling in the Sheamus/Jeff Hardy match, good heavyweight action in the WWE Championship match and an epic 45 minute main event match. There certainly is something for everyone to enjoy on this show, but also a whole lot that the majority will not enjoy. I was liking the trend of shorter shows, but this one was pretty much an even 3 hours. Still, it had three good matches, two of which were extremely close to being great and I'll take that for the most part. Just be ready to skip over a few segments, but you probably don't need me to tell you that.
Overall Rating: 69%
WWE Performance Center
Orlando, Florida
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Triple Threat Match For The WWE Women's Tag Team Championship
Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross vs. The IIconics vs. Bayley & Sasha Banks
In this variation of the match, one woman from each team will be in the ring at once and you are only allowed to tag your own partner. I can't remember the last time I saw the IIconics wrestle. Things start off quickly with lots of quick pinfall attempts. This can't be an easy match to work, so I anticipate they will keep it on the shorter side. Nikki gets tagged in and squashes Sasha, but then eats a kick from Peyton. Bayley and Billie double stomp on Nikki, but then Billy starts slugging away on Bayley. Peyton tries to attack Bayley, but Sasha makes the save and Bayley gets a 2 count out of a roll up. Nikki hits the old Matt Hardy bulldog/clothesline combo on Bayley and Billie. Hot tag to Alexa and she takes out everyone. Peyton hits a double crossbody between the second and third rope on Sasha and Alexa, which knocks them into Billie and Bayley. Nikki and Alexa hit a nice doubleteam, but they aren't even able to make a pin attempt. Alexa goes up top and hits Twisted Bliss on Peyton. In comes Sasha and she rolls up Alexa and gets the victory. The match was positioned properly as the opener and they did the best that they could with the stipulation. It featured solid action and the right team won.
Match Rating: **1/2 (out of 5)
They show Braun Strowman arriving in his Plymouth Grand National.
Jeff Hardy vs. Sheamus
I don't mind using personal issues in a feud, but I feel like using it on a mid-card one in the middle of the empty arena era is a strange choice. Hardy starts to fight back on Sheamus, but Sheamus quickly club him with a clothesline. Jeff again fights back and knocks Sheamus off the apron with a dropkick to the knees. Hardy leaps off the steps and knocks Sheamus down in front of the announce table. Back in the ring, Sheamus hits Hardy with a series of blows and then hits Hardy's knee on the ring post. Sheamus hits a Rock Bottom into a backbreaker for a 2 count. Sheamus then hits a big knee to the head of Hardy. Sheamus goes up top and misses and Hardy hits a Whisper In The Wind for a 2 count. Sheamus misses with the Brogue Kick and Hardy hits a Sling Blade. Hardy goes up top, but Sheamus is there to stop him. Hardy is able to shove him off, but Hardy takes too long and he knocks him off. Sheamus hits a Celtic Cross for a 2 count. Sheamus puts Hardy in the Texas Cloverleaf, but Hardy gets to the ropes. Sheamus hits a bunch of clubbing blows to the chest of a battered Hardy. He goes to lift up Hardy, but Hardy grabs the rope to stop him. Hardy hits a Twist Of Fate and then the Swanton Bomb, but Sheamus gets his leg on the rope. Hardy scales the barricade, but Sheamus hits a Brogue Kick on him. Back in the ring, Sheamus hits another Brogue Kick and gets the victory. I enjoyed this match quite a bit. Both guys looked really solid and Hardy played the role of the underdog well here.
Match Rating: ***1/4
Miz and John Morrison are in the back and they talk about how the winner has to be the sole Universal Champion. Otis and Mandy come over and say that if they win tonight, they won't be Universal Champion for very long.
Raw Women's Championship Match
Nia Jax vs. Asuka
Asuka comes out fighting, but Jax basically no sells most of it. Asuka puts her in the Octopus in the middle of the ring, but Jax eventually swings her off and follows it up with a clothesline. Jax continues working on her slowly. Asuka puts her in a guillotine, but Jax hits a suplex. Jax misses with a splash and Asuka hits a running dropkick. Asuka hits a missile dropkick from the second rope and a Hip Attack for a 2 count. Jax catches an Asuka kick and hits a sit down powerbomb for a nearfall. Asuka puts her in an arm bar outside the ring, but Jax slams her into the barricade. Neither women are able to get back in the ring and we get a double countout. Really? Asuka worked really hard here, but this was not one of Jax's better performances I have seen. The awful ending did not help their cause.
Match Rating: *
MVP is on the phone and in walks Lana. Lana wants to be ringside for the match tonight, but MVP says that was Lashley's decision, not his.
Handicap Match For The Universal Championship
The Miz & John Morrison vs. Braun Strowman
Before the match Miz & Morrison debut their new music video. The Strowman Express interrupts the video, which is a bummer. I really hate having Miz and Morrison being booked like chumps. Morrison avoids a boot from Strowman and tags in Miz. Morrison distracts Strowman and Miz attacks him from behind. They hit a double dropkick, but after some fun action, Strowman hits Morrison with a big right hand. Strowman throws Miz into the corner, knocking Morrison off the apron. Morrison hits a springboard kick. Miz hits a dropkick and Morrison hits a corkscrew dive over the top rope. Back in the ring, Morrison continues the assault on Strowman. He tags in Miz and they hit a double DDT for a 2 count. Miz takes too long and Strowman battles back, but misses in the corner and hits the ring post. Morrison hits two springboard kicks. They hit a Skull Crushing Finale/Stomp combo. Morrison goes for the pin, but Miz pulls Morrison off and then immediately regrets it. Strowman chokeslams Miz and then hits the running powerslam on Morrison and gets the victory. Miz and Morrison made this quite a bit of fun, but the ending was inevitable and the match was really short.
Match Rating: **1/4
New Intercontinental Champion AJ Styles is backstage to make fun of Daniel Bryan.
WWE Championship Match
Bobby Lashley vs. Drew McIntyre
Before the bell rings, Lashley puts McIntyre in a full nelson and a bunch of referees try to pull him off. He eventually pulls off and the match starts. They show Lana still in the back watching the match. McIntyre, who is still wearing his jacket, gets a knee up, but Lashley hits a clothesline. They go out of the ring and Lashley slams McIntyre into the ring post. Lashley comes charging at McIntyre, but he catches him and throws him into the barricade. McIntyre then hits a suplex to the mat and back in the ring they go. McIntyre explodes out of the turnbuckle and hits a clothesline. Lashley knees his way off of McIntyre's shoulders, but McIntyre hits him with a spinebuster. Lashley hits his own variation of a spinebuster, but McIntyre kicks out at 1. Lashley hits a Flatliner, but again McIntyre kicks out at 1. Lashley tries to put on the full nelson, but isn't able to get it applied. McIntyre hits a face first version of the Alabama Slam for a 2 count. McIntyre goes up top, but Lashley catches him and puts him in the Crossface in the center of the ring. McIntyre counters that into a Tombstone attempt, but Lashley counters that into an Ankle Lock. Lashley goes for a spear, but McIntyre turns that into a Kimura. McIntyre hits a superplex and both men are down. Lashley hits a Spear, but McIntyre kicks out at 2. Out walks Lana and she walks up to the apron. Lashley accidentally knocks her off and she falls on MVP. McIntyre hits the Claymore Kick and gets the victory. Man, that ending sucked the life out of a really good match. This was easily one of the best matches I can remember Lashley having in WWE. After the match, both MVP and Lashley leave Lana sitting on the outside as McIntyre celebrates.
Match Rating: ***1/2
They cut to footage of the Viking Raiders and Street Profits brawling outside. They end up damaging Strowman's car again. They run inside and continue brawling. There is music in the background, which means this is another cinematic masterpiece. The Profits grab golf clubs and the Raiders grab their shields and a bowling ball. The Profits run away, but decide to stand up to them. They face off and decide to drop their weapons at the same time. They start brawling and then Ivar finds himself by the bowling ball, which leads him to dreaming about a bowling encounter with the Profits. He rolls it and it hits Montez Ford in the crotch. Ivar then finds Erik hurt, goes to check on him and eats a spear through some glass. They show some highlights of their critically acclaimed challenges from Raw. A bunch of motorcycles show up and Akira Tozawa is one of them. The four huddle up and decide to take on the ninjas on bikes together. This is something you would expect in a family action comedy. A big ninja walks up and Ivar summons a turkey leg like Thor does. They run up to the top of a truck and begin brawling again. Erik and Dawkins fly into a dumpster. Ivar then knocks Ford in and then Ivar does a somersault dive into it. They then pan to Ivar dreaming of women telling him he's cute and Erik, not so much. Referee Jessica Carr comes over and then says the same thing. Then they hear some growling and an alligator tail is shown and then that's it for that. I'm not sure who the target audience was here, but it certainly was not me.
Randy Orton vs. Edge
They do a cool spot where they have the old school MSG microphone from the ceiling and use old Fink announcements. Charles Robinson is dressed in the old school ref outfit. As was reported, this is indeed a taped match. Edge hits a couple of arm drags, but Orton avoids a third one. It should be noted that there is fake crowd noise piped in for this one. They are playing up Orton being one step ahead of Edge here early on. Orton trips up Edge as he is running the ropes and Edge is starting to show some frustration. Edge takes a chance to outsmart Orton and it ends with Orton eating a boot to the face. Edge hits a headscissors, which sends Orton to the outside. Edge goes up to the top rope, but Orton catches him with a right hand. Orton goes for a superplex to the floor, but Edge hits a couple of headbutts to stop him. Edge then hits a leaping clothesline and Orton is busted open. Edge puts Orton in the Crossface, but Orton gets his feet to the bottom rope to break the hold. Orton goes for the RKO, but Edge saw it coming. Orton then hits his inverted backbreaker and they head back outside. Orton starts throwing Edge into everything outside the ring. Orton throws him on the table and rolls him in for a 2 count. Orton looks up to the sky and then goes for the Three Amigos. Edge stops the third one and then he hits the Three Amigos. Both men are down and they both just start slapping each other's chest. Back up, they start chopping away on each other until Orton hits a dropkick. Orton pulls Edge face first into the ring post and then hits a superplex. They hit a double crossbody and both men are down again. Edge for some reason goes to the top rope again, but Orton is there to stop him. Orton goes for the DDT from the top rope, but Edge slips down and hits the Edgecution and gets a 2 count. Edge hits a top rope crossbody for another 2 count. Orton hits an Angle Slam for a 2 count. Apparently Angle picked Edge to win the match. Edge catches Orton and hits a sit down powerbomb for another nearfall. The crowd is doing a dueling "Let's go Orton"/"Let's go Edge" chant, but I can't imagine that would be the case if this actually were in an arena. Orton hits a draping DDT. Orton goes for the RKO, but Edge hits the Edge-O-Matic. Orton leaps an Edge Spear attempt, but Edge hits an Unprettier for another close call. This is the perfect type of match to do all of these callbacks. Orton then hits a Pedigree for a 2 count. Edge now hits a Rock Bottom as they go full WrestleMania here. Edge goes for a bunch of quick pinfall attempts that are unsuccessful and then Orton hits the RKO, but Edge kicks out. Orton goes for a punt, but Edge hits the Spear. Edge hits a second Spear, but Orton kicks out. Orton hits a RKO and Edge kicks out yet again. Edge puts on the Anti-Venom submission hold, but Orton hits a low blow. He follows it up with a punt to the head and Orton gets the victory. Well, as one would expect, this was a lengthy bout, but was pretty heavy on the action. I liked most of it and it was nice to see Edge moving around the ring so well. This was a match that was begging to be played in front of 60,000 people at WrestleMania, but at the same time, it most likely wouldn't have gotten 40 minutes on a show like that. By Randy Orton standards, this was a really fast paced match and credit goes out to both guys for making the most out of the circumstances. After the match, Edge gets stretchered away.
Match Rating: ***3/4
All wrestling shows are a mixed bag, but this one is one of the better examples of it. You had poor booking in the Asuka/Jax match, awful comedy in the men's tag team match, really solid storytelling in the Sheamus/Jeff Hardy match, good heavyweight action in the WWE Championship match and an epic 45 minute main event match. There certainly is something for everyone to enjoy on this show, but also a whole lot that the majority will not enjoy. I was liking the trend of shorter shows, but this one was pretty much an even 3 hours. Still, it had three good matches, two of which were extremely close to being great and I'll take that for the most part. Just be ready to skip over a few segments, but you probably don't need me to tell you that.
Overall Rating: 69%
Off The Grid, Volume 1: Clash Of The Champions II: Miami Mayhem Review
Wednesday, June 8th, 1988
James L. Knight Center
Miami, Florida
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Well, I decided to run a new feature on here once a month that I am calling Off The Grid. Each month I am going to pick a show that took place prior to any of the timelines that I am reviewing. The show that is chosen will have taken place in the month that I am going to post it. For the inaugural Off The Grid, I have chosen the second ever Clash Of The Champions, which is a show I have never seen before and took place a little over two years before I became a wrestling fan.
Jim Ross is here outside of the James L. Knight Center and a limo pulls up with Lyle Alzado is the first person out. Another limo arrives and some wrestling promoters walk out. As far as limo reveals go, that has to be among the weakest I can ever think of.
United States Championship Match
Brad Armstrong vs. Barry Windham
I didn't read any reviews, but I saw that this was the opening match and this is the reason I picked this show. Windham hits a move of some sort, but I couldn't tell you what it is because the camera is on a fan with a sign. Is Kevin Dunn directing this show? Armstrong hits a body slam and Windham retreats out of the ring. Windham is the newest member of the Four Horseman. Armstrong slides under Windham and hits a hip toss and the crowd goes nuts for it. I would do anything for crowds to go back to being like this era. Windham gets back in the ring and puts Armstrong in a headscissor. Teddy Long is the ref here and he makes Windham break the hold. Windham gets in some right hands, but misses with a fist to the mat. Windham is in full heel mode here as he continues to stall as much as possible. Armstrong catches Windham in midair and hits a body slam. He has Windham in a headlock and tries to walk the ropes with him, but Windham hits a back suplex. Widham hits a powerslam and gets a 2 count. Windham puts Armstrong in the Figure Four and uses J.J. Dillon for some leverage. Armstrong is in this for longer than I can ever remember seeing someone in any submission hold. He finally breaks the hold and dumps Armstrong out of the ring. He drops Armstrong on the guardrail and then brings him in the hard way. Windham hits a spinning body slam, but then misses an elbow drop from the top rope. Armstrong hits a dropkick and a knee lift. Armstrong goes up top and hits a crossbody for a 2 count. He hits another one, but Windham rolls through and puts the claw on Armstrong, which leads to the pinfall victory. They really drove it home that Windham was a heel here, but the crowd was with them the whole way. This was an enjoyable opening match.
Match Rating: ***1/4 (out of 5)
The Rock 'n' Roll Express are out for an interview to let us know that they are back.
Tony Schiavone recaps the signing of Ric Flair and Lex Luger for Great American Bash that took place on the yacht of the Chicago Blackhawks owner. This was absolutely pointless.
We go back to Jim Ross outside the arena. Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson arrive in a limo. Flair reminds Luger that diamonds are forever and so are the Four Horseman.
United States Tag Team Championship Match
The Sheepherders vs. The Fantastics
Just as the match was about to begin, we go back to Jim Ross and he is there to interview Lex Luger who just rolled up in his limo. The Horsemen instantly attack him and lay him out. Back to the arena and I am looking forward to see the Bushwhackers as not the Bushwhackers for the first time here. Bobby Fulton takes control and takes the action outside. He's pounding away on Luke until Rip Morgan comes from behind and attacks him. He fights back and takes care of them both. Butch goes for a back body drop, but Tommy Rogers lands on his feet and the Fantastics double team and the Sheepherders retreat outside. Luke gets Rogers in an abdominal stretch. They try a double team, but Rogers avoids the knee from Butch and tags in Fulton. Fulton starts hammering away on Butch, but he's in their corner and Luke is able to pull him off. Fulton hits a double crossbody and then he and Rogers try multiple rotating pins, which I'm surprised were counted during this era where rules were actually followed. Butch pulls down the top rope, which causes Rogers to fall to the floor and he then throws him into the guardrail. Butch then takes one of the championship belts on his back. Luke distracts the ref and Butch then hits him in the back with a chair. Butch ends up hitting Luke with a double axe handle, but Luke is able to maintain control. Rogers hits a clothesline, but again Butch is able to stop him from making a tag. Luke tries to run Rogers into a chair that Butch is holding, but Rogers counters it and Luke goes face first. He finally makes the tag to Fulton and he gets a pinfall out of a victory roll. That was an extremely sloppy finish. His shoulders weren't down for the first count and then Butch came in to break the count, but Long still counted to 3. This wasn't a bad match, but it just felt like a clash of styles.
Match Rating: *3/4
Dr. Death is ringside with Tony Schiavone. He stumbles over his words when talking about the attack on Lex Luger. If there were a case for scripting interviews, this would be a good one.
The Varsity Club vs. Jimmy & Ronnie Garvin
They check in with Jim Ross who lets us know that Luger has been brought to the hospital. So Kevin Sullivan is locked in a cage outside the ring. We get a quick brawl to start and then both Ronnie and Jimmy lock in sleeper holds. We get a lot of stalling here, but not in the fun way like we got in the opener. The focus of the production crew is the story of Precious and Kevin Sullivan. Precious has the key for the cage. Jimmy talks her out of heading over that way. Rotunda and Steiner take turns pulling Ronnie down by his hair, but it's hard to care when no one else seems to want us to. The Varsity Club remains in control seemingly forever. Ronnie finally makes a tag to Jimmy and while that is happening, Precious for some reason goes to Kevin Sullivan and of course he just grabs the key. While this is happening, Jimmy Garvin gets the win. Sullivan apparently just doesn't care and he then starts choking Precious. Dr. Death leaves the announcer booth to make the save. When Jimmy Garvin comes back, she pushes him away and leaves for the back without him. Who came up with these finishes? Two matches in a row with just absolutely awful endings.
Match Rating: 3/4*
Tony Schiavone shows us the Tower Of Doom cage that will be at Great American Bash.
Al Perez vs. Nikita Koloff
Perez tries to get something going, but Koloff is one step ahead of him. Gary Hart attacks Koloff to help Perez and he then begins choking Koloff on the ropes. Perez hits a body slam on the outside to the concrete. Perez tries to suplex him back in the ring, but Koloff counters it into a pinfall for a 2 count. Perez works on Koloff's back until Koloff picks him up and hits an electric chair. They follow that up with a miscommunication, so Perez dumps Koloff outside the ring again. Koloff goes for a sunset flip, but he is able to back himself into the ropes. I'm not sure that I've ever seen that before. Koloff is able to hit a vertical suplex and both men are down. Koloff hits a reverse elbow and it knocks Perez out of the ring. Gary Hart is on the apron, but Koloff scares him away. Larry Zbyszko comes in and attacks Koloff and the ref calls for the bell. They continue with the three-on-one attack as we go to commercial break. The match was okay, but the finish was a bit of a bummer.
Match Rating: *3/4
NWA World Tag Team Championship Match
Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard vs. Sting & Dusty Rhodes
This is just a few months before Anderson and Blanchard bolted for the WWF. Sting starts the match out by outsmarting Anderson. He avoids a clothesline from Anderson, who hits the ring post instead. Sting goes back in the ring and works on Anderson's arm. Sting hits the old school variation of the head scissor and then makes the tag to Dusty, who is super over here. He puts Blanchard in the Figure Four briefly, but Tully is able to tag in Arn. J.J. Dillon begins to get involved behind Long's back. The heels only get a brief heat segment and Dusty hits a lariat and a dropkick. In comes Sting and he hits a military press slam. The Horsemen do what they do best by cheating. Anderson goes for a Vader Bomb, but Sting gets his knees up, but Blanchard is able to stop Sting from tagging in Dusty. Sting is able to hang Anderson up on the top rope and then make the hot tag to Dusty. Dusty delivers such a beautiful elbow drop. Well, just like the last match we get a run in DQ finish. Barry Windham is in first and he puts the claw on Dusty. Flair joins the fight and he helps with Sting. I was really enjoying that match until the predictable finish.
Match Rating: ***1/4
Jim Ross is here again and he'll say that he'll have an update on Luger this Saturday. Cool.
The show started and finished with good matches, but the middle portion of the show was very vanilla. The booking was atrocious here and like most of the NWA/WCW stuff I have watched, the finishes of the matches were either poorly executed or poorly conceived. I'm not sure why you wouldn't separate the two DQ endings, but I don't think that was the kind of stuff they were always thinking about during this era. However, I enjoyed seeing some NWA stuff since I don't have a ton of history with it and would call the show a slightly better than average overall.
Overall Rating: 54%
James L. Knight Center
Miami, Florida
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Well, I decided to run a new feature on here once a month that I am calling Off The Grid. Each month I am going to pick a show that took place prior to any of the timelines that I am reviewing. The show that is chosen will have taken place in the month that I am going to post it. For the inaugural Off The Grid, I have chosen the second ever Clash Of The Champions, which is a show I have never seen before and took place a little over two years before I became a wrestling fan.
Jim Ross is here outside of the James L. Knight Center and a limo pulls up with Lyle Alzado is the first person out. Another limo arrives and some wrestling promoters walk out. As far as limo reveals go, that has to be among the weakest I can ever think of.
United States Championship Match
Brad Armstrong vs. Barry Windham
I didn't read any reviews, but I saw that this was the opening match and this is the reason I picked this show. Windham hits a move of some sort, but I couldn't tell you what it is because the camera is on a fan with a sign. Is Kevin Dunn directing this show? Armstrong hits a body slam and Windham retreats out of the ring. Windham is the newest member of the Four Horseman. Armstrong slides under Windham and hits a hip toss and the crowd goes nuts for it. I would do anything for crowds to go back to being like this era. Windham gets back in the ring and puts Armstrong in a headscissor. Teddy Long is the ref here and he makes Windham break the hold. Windham gets in some right hands, but misses with a fist to the mat. Windham is in full heel mode here as he continues to stall as much as possible. Armstrong catches Windham in midair and hits a body slam. He has Windham in a headlock and tries to walk the ropes with him, but Windham hits a back suplex. Widham hits a powerslam and gets a 2 count. Windham puts Armstrong in the Figure Four and uses J.J. Dillon for some leverage. Armstrong is in this for longer than I can ever remember seeing someone in any submission hold. He finally breaks the hold and dumps Armstrong out of the ring. He drops Armstrong on the guardrail and then brings him in the hard way. Windham hits a spinning body slam, but then misses an elbow drop from the top rope. Armstrong hits a dropkick and a knee lift. Armstrong goes up top and hits a crossbody for a 2 count. He hits another one, but Windham rolls through and puts the claw on Armstrong, which leads to the pinfall victory. They really drove it home that Windham was a heel here, but the crowd was with them the whole way. This was an enjoyable opening match.
Match Rating: ***1/4 (out of 5)
The Rock 'n' Roll Express are out for an interview to let us know that they are back.
Tony Schiavone recaps the signing of Ric Flair and Lex Luger for Great American Bash that took place on the yacht of the Chicago Blackhawks owner. This was absolutely pointless.
We go back to Jim Ross outside the arena. Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson arrive in a limo. Flair reminds Luger that diamonds are forever and so are the Four Horseman.
United States Tag Team Championship Match
The Sheepherders vs. The Fantastics
Just as the match was about to begin, we go back to Jim Ross and he is there to interview Lex Luger who just rolled up in his limo. The Horsemen instantly attack him and lay him out. Back to the arena and I am looking forward to see the Bushwhackers as not the Bushwhackers for the first time here. Bobby Fulton takes control and takes the action outside. He's pounding away on Luke until Rip Morgan comes from behind and attacks him. He fights back and takes care of them both. Butch goes for a back body drop, but Tommy Rogers lands on his feet and the Fantastics double team and the Sheepherders retreat outside. Luke gets Rogers in an abdominal stretch. They try a double team, but Rogers avoids the knee from Butch and tags in Fulton. Fulton starts hammering away on Butch, but he's in their corner and Luke is able to pull him off. Fulton hits a double crossbody and then he and Rogers try multiple rotating pins, which I'm surprised were counted during this era where rules were actually followed. Butch pulls down the top rope, which causes Rogers to fall to the floor and he then throws him into the guardrail. Butch then takes one of the championship belts on his back. Luke distracts the ref and Butch then hits him in the back with a chair. Butch ends up hitting Luke with a double axe handle, but Luke is able to maintain control. Rogers hits a clothesline, but again Butch is able to stop him from making a tag. Luke tries to run Rogers into a chair that Butch is holding, but Rogers counters it and Luke goes face first. He finally makes the tag to Fulton and he gets a pinfall out of a victory roll. That was an extremely sloppy finish. His shoulders weren't down for the first count and then Butch came in to break the count, but Long still counted to 3. This wasn't a bad match, but it just felt like a clash of styles.
Match Rating: *3/4
Dr. Death is ringside with Tony Schiavone. He stumbles over his words when talking about the attack on Lex Luger. If there were a case for scripting interviews, this would be a good one.
The Varsity Club vs. Jimmy & Ronnie Garvin
They check in with Jim Ross who lets us know that Luger has been brought to the hospital. So Kevin Sullivan is locked in a cage outside the ring. We get a quick brawl to start and then both Ronnie and Jimmy lock in sleeper holds. We get a lot of stalling here, but not in the fun way like we got in the opener. The focus of the production crew is the story of Precious and Kevin Sullivan. Precious has the key for the cage. Jimmy talks her out of heading over that way. Rotunda and Steiner take turns pulling Ronnie down by his hair, but it's hard to care when no one else seems to want us to. The Varsity Club remains in control seemingly forever. Ronnie finally makes a tag to Jimmy and while that is happening, Precious for some reason goes to Kevin Sullivan and of course he just grabs the key. While this is happening, Jimmy Garvin gets the win. Sullivan apparently just doesn't care and he then starts choking Precious. Dr. Death leaves the announcer booth to make the save. When Jimmy Garvin comes back, she pushes him away and leaves for the back without him. Who came up with these finishes? Two matches in a row with just absolutely awful endings.
Match Rating: 3/4*
Tony Schiavone shows us the Tower Of Doom cage that will be at Great American Bash.
Al Perez vs. Nikita Koloff
Perez tries to get something going, but Koloff is one step ahead of him. Gary Hart attacks Koloff to help Perez and he then begins choking Koloff on the ropes. Perez hits a body slam on the outside to the concrete. Perez tries to suplex him back in the ring, but Koloff counters it into a pinfall for a 2 count. Perez works on Koloff's back until Koloff picks him up and hits an electric chair. They follow that up with a miscommunication, so Perez dumps Koloff outside the ring again. Koloff goes for a sunset flip, but he is able to back himself into the ropes. I'm not sure that I've ever seen that before. Koloff is able to hit a vertical suplex and both men are down. Koloff hits a reverse elbow and it knocks Perez out of the ring. Gary Hart is on the apron, but Koloff scares him away. Larry Zbyszko comes in and attacks Koloff and the ref calls for the bell. They continue with the three-on-one attack as we go to commercial break. The match was okay, but the finish was a bit of a bummer.
Match Rating: *3/4
NWA World Tag Team Championship Match
Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard vs. Sting & Dusty Rhodes
This is just a few months before Anderson and Blanchard bolted for the WWF. Sting starts the match out by outsmarting Anderson. He avoids a clothesline from Anderson, who hits the ring post instead. Sting goes back in the ring and works on Anderson's arm. Sting hits the old school variation of the head scissor and then makes the tag to Dusty, who is super over here. He puts Blanchard in the Figure Four briefly, but Tully is able to tag in Arn. J.J. Dillon begins to get involved behind Long's back. The heels only get a brief heat segment and Dusty hits a lariat and a dropkick. In comes Sting and he hits a military press slam. The Horsemen do what they do best by cheating. Anderson goes for a Vader Bomb, but Sting gets his knees up, but Blanchard is able to stop Sting from tagging in Dusty. Sting is able to hang Anderson up on the top rope and then make the hot tag to Dusty. Dusty delivers such a beautiful elbow drop. Well, just like the last match we get a run in DQ finish. Barry Windham is in first and he puts the claw on Dusty. Flair joins the fight and he helps with Sting. I was really enjoying that match until the predictable finish.
Match Rating: ***1/4
Jim Ross is here again and he'll say that he'll have an update on Luger this Saturday. Cool.
The show started and finished with good matches, but the middle portion of the show was very vanilla. The booking was atrocious here and like most of the NWA/WCW stuff I have watched, the finishes of the matches were either poorly executed or poorly conceived. I'm not sure why you wouldn't separate the two DQ endings, but I don't think that was the kind of stuff they were always thinking about during this era. However, I enjoyed seeing some NWA stuff since I don't have a ton of history with it and would call the show a slightly better than average overall.
Overall Rating: 54%
Friday, June 12, 2020
SmackDown 9-23-05 Review
Original Airdate: Friday, September 23rd, 2005
United Spirit Arena
Lubbock, Texas
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Booker T vs. Christian
These two had a really underrated match at Great American Bash. Christian goes for a hip toss, but Booker clubs him with a clothesline. Christian slips out for a breather outside the ring. Booker chases him and Christian attacks him on their way back in. Booker starts throwing right hands in the corner, but Christian counters that into a powerbomb for a 2 count. Christian trips up Booker and puts his feet on the ropes, but Sharmell points it out to the ref and he breaks the count. They then hit a double clothesline and both men are down. Booker makes his comeback and hits a heel kick. Booker is looking to get ready for the Spinaroonie, but Christian hits him with a boot to the face. Christian tells the ref to check on Christian so that he can try to take the top turnbuckle pad off. Sharmell again alerts the ref which then hurts Booker as he hit the Book End, but there was no one there to count. Christian pulled the ref in front of him to prevent a kick and Christian then hits Booker with a thumb to the eye. Christian goes for the Unprettier, but Booker pushes him off. Sharmell grabs his leg, which provides the distraction and Booker gets the roll up victory. I like the story they told her, as Sharmell was alerting to Christian's cheating and decided it was her turn and used it to their advantage. These guys have great chemistry and this was another good match.
Match Rating: ***1/4 (out of 5)
Backstage Teddy Long and Palmer Canon are checking in on Eddie Guerrero, who is screaming in pain. Eddie then runs off to go puke.
Jillian Hall is in the ring to introduce JBL. He comes out riding on a horse uncomfortably. He goes on seemingly forever about Texas and how he's back.
Road Warrior Animal & Heidenreich vs. Anthony Colletti & Jared Steele
The champs attack the poor ham and eggers before the bell and by the time I type their names in, they hit the Doomsday Device for the victory. I certainly don't remember them being as over as they at least appear to be.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Sylvan Grenier is back making fun of Christy Hemme and Stacy Keibler. In walks Hardcore Holly and he tells Sylvain he's going to give him a black eye tonight.
Sylvan vs. Hardcore Holly
So I guess he ditched the "i" from his name? They show a bunch of photos of him back in his days as a model. Sylvan attacks Holly as he is entering the ring. Holly comes back with a bunch of hard chops. Sylvan is able to toss Holly over the top rope to slow his momentum. Sylvan hits a knee to the gut and follows it up with a vertical suplex. Holly hits a dropkick and then a couple of clotheslines. Holly hits a full nelson driver and then goes for the Alabama Slam, but Sylvan counters into a pin attempt. Sylvan then hits a missile dropkick. Sylvan gets distracted by Christy and Stacy, so Holly hits him with a big right hand. Sylvan rolls out of the ring and heads to the back, resulting in a countout. If this was the begin of a push for Sylvan, it didn't do much.
Match Rating: 3/4*
Teddy Long talks to Batista while he is working out. Batista says that he has the best doctor in town for Eddie.
Bob Orton is in the ring directing the ring crew on setting up a funeral for Undertaker. After a video package, Randy Orton is introduced. He said he lost last week, but he won the mind games with the "mannequin". They then zoom in on the "mannequin" and Undertaker opens his eyes enough to pop the crowd. Orton looks over the casket and Taker grabs him by the throat. He throws him into the casket and the Ortons retreat.
Mr. Kennedy vs. Rey Mysterio
Kennedy makes fun of Chimel again and then we get the debut of the microphone dropping down from the arena ceiling. We also get the debut of Rey Mysterio's new music. Mysterio comes out fast out of the gate until Kennedy is able to hit a backbreaker. Kennedy picks Mysterio up from the ground and hits a spinning Boss Man Slam. Mysterio hits a hurricanrana and a springboard seated senton for a 2 count. Kennedy ends up in position for the 619, but he is able to get out of the way. Rey goes up top, but out comes JBL again on his horse. Kennedy climbs up and hits the Green Bay Plunge for the surprising victory. This was a lot shorter than you would probably expect, but it's Rey in 2005, so it's good. Kennedy held his own too.
Match Rating: **1/4
Palmer Cannon and Teddy Long are talking about Homecoming. Canon suggests they run an ad, but Teddy says that he has something bigger in mind.
Sharmell is telling Booker how good he looked out there tonight. Sharmell says that she doesn't understand why Chris Benoit won't give him a title shot.
Eddie is now getting checked on, but the doctor isn't finding anything. A female nurse starts rubbing his stomach and he's digging it.
Simon Dean vs. Bobby Lashley
Simon Dean says that he's feeling great because he used his Simon System and that he'll take on anyone. Tony Chimel then announces Bobby Lashley and all of his accolades for his SmackDown debut. Lashley throws Dean around a little, but Dean amazingly gets in some offense here. He's on Lashley's back, so Lashley starts doing push ups. He hits a Dominator and that's all for Simon. Dean is really good in this role and Lashley looked good.
Match Rating: 1/4*
United States Championship Match
Chris Benoit vs. Orlando Jordan
They have the timer on again and Jordan survives longer than SummerSlam. However, Benoit slaps in the Crippler Crossface around the 40 second mark and Jordan taps out at 49.8. I'm still not really sure what this is doing for Jordan?
Match Rating: 1/4*
They show the nurse working on Eddie's stomach and Batista starts doing it, which causes him to hop off the table. Eddie starts selling it again and this leads to a terrible punchline that doesn't age well. Let's move on.
They announce that the Ortons will take on Undertaker in a Casket Match at No Mercy.
MNM vs. Batista & Eddie Guerrero
Eddie comes out holding his stomach with no music. Batista takes care of both members of MNM, while Eddie is chanting down the entrance ramp. Nitro hits Batista from behind while the ref is distracted and MNM takes advantage. Batista is able to bounce back with a spear, but Eddie is not in his corner. Batista hits a spinebuster and a clothesline and signals for the end. He hits the Batista Bomb on Mercury. Eddie blind tags himself in and hits a Frog Splash and the the victory. I am never a fan of making a good tag team look like they mean nothing, even if it's to the champion. With the match being as short as it was, that's exactly what they did here.
Match Rating: 3/4*
This episode sure crammed in a lot of matches, but unfortunately only a couple really got a chance to tell their story. Christian and Booker continue to have good matches when they are both involved and Mr. Kennedy keeps showing some promise. From start to finish, this was an entertaining enough episode even with my disagreement on the main event.
Match Rating: 62%
United Spirit Arena
Lubbock, Texas
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Booker T vs. Christian
These two had a really underrated match at Great American Bash. Christian goes for a hip toss, but Booker clubs him with a clothesline. Christian slips out for a breather outside the ring. Booker chases him and Christian attacks him on their way back in. Booker starts throwing right hands in the corner, but Christian counters that into a powerbomb for a 2 count. Christian trips up Booker and puts his feet on the ropes, but Sharmell points it out to the ref and he breaks the count. They then hit a double clothesline and both men are down. Booker makes his comeback and hits a heel kick. Booker is looking to get ready for the Spinaroonie, but Christian hits him with a boot to the face. Christian tells the ref to check on Christian so that he can try to take the top turnbuckle pad off. Sharmell again alerts the ref which then hurts Booker as he hit the Book End, but there was no one there to count. Christian pulled the ref in front of him to prevent a kick and Christian then hits Booker with a thumb to the eye. Christian goes for the Unprettier, but Booker pushes him off. Sharmell grabs his leg, which provides the distraction and Booker gets the roll up victory. I like the story they told her, as Sharmell was alerting to Christian's cheating and decided it was her turn and used it to their advantage. These guys have great chemistry and this was another good match.
Match Rating: ***1/4 (out of 5)
Backstage Teddy Long and Palmer Canon are checking in on Eddie Guerrero, who is screaming in pain. Eddie then runs off to go puke.
Jillian Hall is in the ring to introduce JBL. He comes out riding on a horse uncomfortably. He goes on seemingly forever about Texas and how he's back.
Road Warrior Animal & Heidenreich vs. Anthony Colletti & Jared Steele
The champs attack the poor ham and eggers before the bell and by the time I type their names in, they hit the Doomsday Device for the victory. I certainly don't remember them being as over as they at least appear to be.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Sylvan Grenier is back making fun of Christy Hemme and Stacy Keibler. In walks Hardcore Holly and he tells Sylvain he's going to give him a black eye tonight.
Sylvan vs. Hardcore Holly
So I guess he ditched the "i" from his name? They show a bunch of photos of him back in his days as a model. Sylvan attacks Holly as he is entering the ring. Holly comes back with a bunch of hard chops. Sylvan is able to toss Holly over the top rope to slow his momentum. Sylvan hits a knee to the gut and follows it up with a vertical suplex. Holly hits a dropkick and then a couple of clotheslines. Holly hits a full nelson driver and then goes for the Alabama Slam, but Sylvan counters into a pin attempt. Sylvan then hits a missile dropkick. Sylvan gets distracted by Christy and Stacy, so Holly hits him with a big right hand. Sylvan rolls out of the ring and heads to the back, resulting in a countout. If this was the begin of a push for Sylvan, it didn't do much.
Match Rating: 3/4*
Teddy Long talks to Batista while he is working out. Batista says that he has the best doctor in town for Eddie.
Bob Orton is in the ring directing the ring crew on setting up a funeral for Undertaker. After a video package, Randy Orton is introduced. He said he lost last week, but he won the mind games with the "mannequin". They then zoom in on the "mannequin" and Undertaker opens his eyes enough to pop the crowd. Orton looks over the casket and Taker grabs him by the throat. He throws him into the casket and the Ortons retreat.
Mr. Kennedy vs. Rey Mysterio
Kennedy makes fun of Chimel again and then we get the debut of the microphone dropping down from the arena ceiling. We also get the debut of Rey Mysterio's new music. Mysterio comes out fast out of the gate until Kennedy is able to hit a backbreaker. Kennedy picks Mysterio up from the ground and hits a spinning Boss Man Slam. Mysterio hits a hurricanrana and a springboard seated senton for a 2 count. Kennedy ends up in position for the 619, but he is able to get out of the way. Rey goes up top, but out comes JBL again on his horse. Kennedy climbs up and hits the Green Bay Plunge for the surprising victory. This was a lot shorter than you would probably expect, but it's Rey in 2005, so it's good. Kennedy held his own too.
Match Rating: **1/4
Palmer Cannon and Teddy Long are talking about Homecoming. Canon suggests they run an ad, but Teddy says that he has something bigger in mind.
Sharmell is telling Booker how good he looked out there tonight. Sharmell says that she doesn't understand why Chris Benoit won't give him a title shot.
Eddie is now getting checked on, but the doctor isn't finding anything. A female nurse starts rubbing his stomach and he's digging it.
Simon Dean vs. Bobby Lashley
Simon Dean says that he's feeling great because he used his Simon System and that he'll take on anyone. Tony Chimel then announces Bobby Lashley and all of his accolades for his SmackDown debut. Lashley throws Dean around a little, but Dean amazingly gets in some offense here. He's on Lashley's back, so Lashley starts doing push ups. He hits a Dominator and that's all for Simon. Dean is really good in this role and Lashley looked good.
Match Rating: 1/4*
United States Championship Match
Chris Benoit vs. Orlando Jordan
They have the timer on again and Jordan survives longer than SummerSlam. However, Benoit slaps in the Crippler Crossface around the 40 second mark and Jordan taps out at 49.8. I'm still not really sure what this is doing for Jordan?
Match Rating: 1/4*
They show the nurse working on Eddie's stomach and Batista starts doing it, which causes him to hop off the table. Eddie starts selling it again and this leads to a terrible punchline that doesn't age well. Let's move on.
They announce that the Ortons will take on Undertaker in a Casket Match at No Mercy.
MNM vs. Batista & Eddie Guerrero
Eddie comes out holding his stomach with no music. Batista takes care of both members of MNM, while Eddie is chanting down the entrance ramp. Nitro hits Batista from behind while the ref is distracted and MNM takes advantage. Batista is able to bounce back with a spear, but Eddie is not in his corner. Batista hits a spinebuster and a clothesline and signals for the end. He hits the Batista Bomb on Mercury. Eddie blind tags himself in and hits a Frog Splash and the the victory. I am never a fan of making a good tag team look like they mean nothing, even if it's to the champion. With the match being as short as it was, that's exactly what they did here.
Match Rating: 3/4*
This episode sure crammed in a lot of matches, but unfortunately only a couple really got a chance to tell their story. Christian and Booker continue to have good matches when they are both involved and Mr. Kennedy keeps showing some promise. From start to finish, this was an entertaining enough episode even with my disagreement on the main event.
Match Rating: 62%
Wednesday, June 10, 2020
Monday Night Raw 9-19-05 Review
Monday, September 19th, 2005
Kay Yeager Coliseum
Wichita Falls, Texas
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Eric Bischoff is here to kick off the show and he is carrying a championship belt down to the ring. He then introduces Kurt Angle. Bischoff says that he strips John Cena of the WWE Championship and is about to name Kurt Angle the champ until Mr. McMahon's music hits. Angle tells Vince that he will represent the WWE with integrity, intensity and intelligence. Vince reminds Bischoff that he is unable to make a decision like that. Vince is here to announce that on October 3rd will be Homecoming including Mick Foley, Triple H, Hulk Hogan and Steve Austin. He also announces that John Cena will face Eric Bischoff. Vince then takes the belt away from Bischoff and heads to the back.
After the commercial, Bischoff is shown pleading to Vince about him not having to fight Cena. Vince says he'll think about it. He rolls down the window of the limo he got into and says that he thought about it and the match is still on.
Torrie Wilson vs. Trish Stratus
Victoria grabs Trish and throws her out of the ring and apparently that is okay with the referee. Ashley hits a double clothesline and JR reminds us that she is in training still. Victoria clocks Trish and Torrie almost gets the victory. Trish then rolls up Torrie and gets the victory. Well, that was a match that happened. Victoria comes in and attacks Trish. Trish ducks a clothesline attempt from Candice Michelle. They all start brawling. Torrie hits the X Factor on Ashley and Victoria hits the Widow's Peak on Trish. I was really, really into Raw in 2005 and I barely remember any of this ever happening.
Match Rating: 1/4* (out of 5)
Trevor Murdoch vs. The Hurricane
The story here is that Hurricane was injured last night and came back to the match to help Rosey out, but was defeated. This is the kind of story I appreciate. Hurricane starts out looking like he's doing all right with a headscissors. Murdoch then throws him head-first into the second turnbuckle. Murdoch goes to work on the injured neck. Hurricane fights back with a missile dropkick, but is still hurting. Hurricane starts hitting some right hands in the corner, but Murdoch is able to counter and drop Hurricane on the turnbuckle. Murdoch hits a DDT and that is all. After the match, Rosey comes in to check on his partner. Murdoch wasn't at his best here in the ring, but Hurricane did a great job of selling the injury and putting Murdoch over.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Carlito says he will be the Intercontinental Champion again.
Edge is with Eric Bischoff and is saying that Matt Hardy went too far at Unforgiven and demands that he should be fired. Bischoff says that he's not the only one who has problems around here. He says that he's tired of the two of them attacking each other, so at Homecoming they will face each other in a Loser Leaves Raw Match. He also says that it will be a Ladder Match with the Money In The Bank briefcase on the line. That's a lot of stipulations.
Tyson Tomko vs. Eddie Craven
Tomko hits a boot to the sternum of Craven, which sends him out of the ring. Craven looks like he is wearing Val Venis's trunks. Tomko hits a big boot and the ref calls it a knockout. The big boot looks impressive, but it's kind of hard to sell it as anything more than a high impact move when guys like Kane and Undertaker do it just as impressively. Plus, it doesn't really help that he loses every meaningful match.
Match Rating; 1/4*
Intercontinental Championship Match
Carlito vs. Ric Flair
I'm not a huge fan of doing a rematch the night after a pay-per-view. They start off a little slow, with Flair getting in some chops. Carlito gets in control and begins his heat segment. Flair gets hit in the eye and it is immediately swelling as he begins to make a comeback. Flair props Carlito up in the corner so that he can give him a kick below the belt, but the ref steps in and that allows Carlito to fight back. Flair goes out of the ring to grab Carlito's apple and spits it in his face. Being the old pro that Flair is, it seems as if the inflamed eye is motivating him here. During the commercial break, Carlito was walking towards the back and Flair went after him. It backfired and it allowed Carlito to throw Flair into the steps. Flair makes another comeback and in a great spot goes for an elbow drop, Carlito rolls, Flair catches it and follows him through his roll and hits it. Carlito slams Flair into the apron. Back in the ring, Flair turns the tide and slaps in the Figure Four. Flair uses the ropes and Carlito taps. I preferred the Unforgiven match, but I thought they did a good job of making this match feel different.
Match Rating: **1/4
Matt Hardy is with Todd Grisham. Matt is talking about fighting Edge again tonight and again in two weeks at Homecoming. In walks Shawn Michaels, who says that he stole the show. Big Show comes in and says there's only one show and it's him. This of course leads to John Cena to talk about the four of them taking on Kurt Angle, Snitsky, Chris Masters and Edge.
Maria is with Ric Flair and she asks why they call him the Nature Boy. He says it's because he can go "Woo" all night long. Carlito comes in yelling and they begin brawling. Then from behind comes Chris Masters and puts him in the Master Lock while Carlito kicks him. Masters throws him on the ground and Carlito spits out an apple at him.
Kurt Angle, Snitsky, Edge & Chris Masters vs. Shawn Michaels, Big Show, Matt Hardy & John Cena
The match starts during commercial break and when we come back Cena is working on Edge. The babyfaces dominate until Masters is able to turn the tide. The crowd is into this every step of the way so far and is proving my point that a multi-person tag match should main event a TV episode of wrestling at least once a month. Back from another commercial break and the heels are now working on Hardy. Hardy is able to hit a Twist of Fate on Snitsky and both men are down. Angle and Michaels get tagged in and Michaels explodes, but misses with a top rope elbow drop. Angle counters Michaels' sunset flip into an Ankle Lock in the middle of the ring. Michaels gets out and Angle then dumps Big Show over the top rope. We go into yet another commercial break with Edge working on Michaels. Michaels starts fighting back on Angle, but Angle hits the Angle Slam and Matt Hardy has to make the save. Michaels tries to make a tag, but Edge hits a Spear on Cena to the outside. Hot tag to Big Show and he unloads on all four of his opponents. He goes for a chokeslam on Snitsky, but Snitsky hits a low blow behind the refs back. Edge hits a Spear, but Big Show kicks out. All four men try to attack him, but he knocks the all away and his teammates come in and clean house. Big Show then tosses Hardy onto the opponents on the outside. Cena hits the Five Knuckle Shuffle on Edge and then Big Show takes him for a ride on a chokeslam. All four men then sit on top of Edge and they score the victory. If you like WWE's style of wrestling, this match is for you. This was absolutely non-stop entertainment for over 20 minutes. The only knock on it is that it had three commercial breaks in it.
Match Rating: ***3/4
Well, the first hour was a little rough, but this show ended with an absolute bang. Everyone involved in that main event looked to be having a blast and it paid off. The Flair/Carlito match was pretty good and I liked that they at least tried to make Cade and Murdoch mean something by using a veteran like Hurricane. This was a thumbs up from me overall.
Overall Rating: 69%
Kay Yeager Coliseum
Wichita Falls, Texas
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Eric Bischoff is here to kick off the show and he is carrying a championship belt down to the ring. He then introduces Kurt Angle. Bischoff says that he strips John Cena of the WWE Championship and is about to name Kurt Angle the champ until Mr. McMahon's music hits. Angle tells Vince that he will represent the WWE with integrity, intensity and intelligence. Vince reminds Bischoff that he is unable to make a decision like that. Vince is here to announce that on October 3rd will be Homecoming including Mick Foley, Triple H, Hulk Hogan and Steve Austin. He also announces that John Cena will face Eric Bischoff. Vince then takes the belt away from Bischoff and heads to the back.
After the commercial, Bischoff is shown pleading to Vince about him not having to fight Cena. Vince says he'll think about it. He rolls down the window of the limo he got into and says that he thought about it and the match is still on.
Torrie Wilson vs. Trish Stratus
Victoria grabs Trish and throws her out of the ring and apparently that is okay with the referee. Ashley hits a double clothesline and JR reminds us that she is in training still. Victoria clocks Trish and Torrie almost gets the victory. Trish then rolls up Torrie and gets the victory. Well, that was a match that happened. Victoria comes in and attacks Trish. Trish ducks a clothesline attempt from Candice Michelle. They all start brawling. Torrie hits the X Factor on Ashley and Victoria hits the Widow's Peak on Trish. I was really, really into Raw in 2005 and I barely remember any of this ever happening.
Match Rating: 1/4* (out of 5)
Trevor Murdoch vs. The Hurricane
The story here is that Hurricane was injured last night and came back to the match to help Rosey out, but was defeated. This is the kind of story I appreciate. Hurricane starts out looking like he's doing all right with a headscissors. Murdoch then throws him head-first into the second turnbuckle. Murdoch goes to work on the injured neck. Hurricane fights back with a missile dropkick, but is still hurting. Hurricane starts hitting some right hands in the corner, but Murdoch is able to counter and drop Hurricane on the turnbuckle. Murdoch hits a DDT and that is all. After the match, Rosey comes in to check on his partner. Murdoch wasn't at his best here in the ring, but Hurricane did a great job of selling the injury and putting Murdoch over.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Carlito says he will be the Intercontinental Champion again.
Edge is with Eric Bischoff and is saying that Matt Hardy went too far at Unforgiven and demands that he should be fired. Bischoff says that he's not the only one who has problems around here. He says that he's tired of the two of them attacking each other, so at Homecoming they will face each other in a Loser Leaves Raw Match. He also says that it will be a Ladder Match with the Money In The Bank briefcase on the line. That's a lot of stipulations.
Tyson Tomko vs. Eddie Craven
Tomko hits a boot to the sternum of Craven, which sends him out of the ring. Craven looks like he is wearing Val Venis's trunks. Tomko hits a big boot and the ref calls it a knockout. The big boot looks impressive, but it's kind of hard to sell it as anything more than a high impact move when guys like Kane and Undertaker do it just as impressively. Plus, it doesn't really help that he loses every meaningful match.
Match Rating; 1/4*
Intercontinental Championship Match
Carlito vs. Ric Flair
I'm not a huge fan of doing a rematch the night after a pay-per-view. They start off a little slow, with Flair getting in some chops. Carlito gets in control and begins his heat segment. Flair gets hit in the eye and it is immediately swelling as he begins to make a comeback. Flair props Carlito up in the corner so that he can give him a kick below the belt, but the ref steps in and that allows Carlito to fight back. Flair goes out of the ring to grab Carlito's apple and spits it in his face. Being the old pro that Flair is, it seems as if the inflamed eye is motivating him here. During the commercial break, Carlito was walking towards the back and Flair went after him. It backfired and it allowed Carlito to throw Flair into the steps. Flair makes another comeback and in a great spot goes for an elbow drop, Carlito rolls, Flair catches it and follows him through his roll and hits it. Carlito slams Flair into the apron. Back in the ring, Flair turns the tide and slaps in the Figure Four. Flair uses the ropes and Carlito taps. I preferred the Unforgiven match, but I thought they did a good job of making this match feel different.
Match Rating: **1/4
Matt Hardy is with Todd Grisham. Matt is talking about fighting Edge again tonight and again in two weeks at Homecoming. In walks Shawn Michaels, who says that he stole the show. Big Show comes in and says there's only one show and it's him. This of course leads to John Cena to talk about the four of them taking on Kurt Angle, Snitsky, Chris Masters and Edge.
Maria is with Ric Flair and she asks why they call him the Nature Boy. He says it's because he can go "Woo" all night long. Carlito comes in yelling and they begin brawling. Then from behind comes Chris Masters and puts him in the Master Lock while Carlito kicks him. Masters throws him on the ground and Carlito spits out an apple at him.
Kurt Angle, Snitsky, Edge & Chris Masters vs. Shawn Michaels, Big Show, Matt Hardy & John Cena
The match starts during commercial break and when we come back Cena is working on Edge. The babyfaces dominate until Masters is able to turn the tide. The crowd is into this every step of the way so far and is proving my point that a multi-person tag match should main event a TV episode of wrestling at least once a month. Back from another commercial break and the heels are now working on Hardy. Hardy is able to hit a Twist of Fate on Snitsky and both men are down. Angle and Michaels get tagged in and Michaels explodes, but misses with a top rope elbow drop. Angle counters Michaels' sunset flip into an Ankle Lock in the middle of the ring. Michaels gets out and Angle then dumps Big Show over the top rope. We go into yet another commercial break with Edge working on Michaels. Michaels starts fighting back on Angle, but Angle hits the Angle Slam and Matt Hardy has to make the save. Michaels tries to make a tag, but Edge hits a Spear on Cena to the outside. Hot tag to Big Show and he unloads on all four of his opponents. He goes for a chokeslam on Snitsky, but Snitsky hits a low blow behind the refs back. Edge hits a Spear, but Big Show kicks out. All four men try to attack him, but he knocks the all away and his teammates come in and clean house. Big Show then tosses Hardy onto the opponents on the outside. Cena hits the Five Knuckle Shuffle on Edge and then Big Show takes him for a ride on a chokeslam. All four men then sit on top of Edge and they score the victory. If you like WWE's style of wrestling, this match is for you. This was absolutely non-stop entertainment for over 20 minutes. The only knock on it is that it had three commercial breaks in it.
Match Rating: ***3/4
Well, the first hour was a little rough, but this show ended with an absolute bang. Everyone involved in that main event looked to be having a blast and it paid off. The Flair/Carlito match was pretty good and I liked that they at least tried to make Cade and Murdoch mean something by using a veteran like Hurricane. This was a thumbs up from me overall.
Overall Rating: 69%
Monday, June 8, 2020
NXT TakeOver: In Your House Review
Sunday, June 7th, 2020
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Todd Pettengill rightfully kicks things off before we are subjected to watch some band named Code Orange perform. Apparently they played at a previous TakeOver, so obviously they didn't leave their mark on me. Their albums do appear to have pretty good reviews, but it's definitely not my style. Anyways, let's get on with the show.
Shotzi Blackheart, Tegan Nox & Mia Yim vs. Dakota Kai, Raquel Gonzalez & Candice LeRae
Man, the NXT entrance themes need some more personality. LeRae and Nox are probably my two favorite women wrestlers in NXT right now, so I am pretty excited for this. LeRae quickly tags out of facing Yim and in comes Gonzalez. We eventually get to Nox and Kai, who pick up the pace. We get lots of tags early on. Blackheart goes for a suicide dive, but Gonzalez catchers her and slams her. Yim then hits a dive, followed by a top rope somersault dive by Nox. Back in the ring, Blackheart is working on LeRae until Nox breaks up the submission attempt. Gonzalez then clotheslines her and LeRae gets a 2 count. The heels now have Blackheart in the corner. Kai misses with a boot in the corner and Blackheart is able to fight back with a step up enzuigiri. She finally makes a tag to Yim and she hits a dragon suplex on LeRae for 2. The action picks up again and Gonzalez hits a big powerbomb on Nox for another close call. Yim and LeRae battle all the way to the back and Kai accidentally kicks Gonzalez. Blackheart and Nox work together to knock Gonzalez out of the ring. Nox hits the Shiniest Wizard and gets the victory. I haven't been watching NXT TV, but I have to say I thought the heels would go over here. They maximized their minutes and this was a total sprint, which I am a fan of. Nice opener.
Match Rating: ***1/4 (out of 5)
We get a "promotional consideration paid for the by the following" for the WWE Ice Cream Bars.
Damian Priest vs. Finn Balor
Balor hits a dropkick in the corner before the bell. He chop blocks him and they head outside. Priest reverses and throws Balor into the steel steps. Priest then slams Balor onto the apron, as they head back into the ring. It's kind of remarkable that both of these guys are 38 years old. Priest hits a flatliner and a leaping reverse elbow. It seems as if they really haven't known what to o with Priest since he has been in NXT. Balor battles back and hits a vertical suplex. He hits a dropkick through the ropes. Back in the ring, Priest hits a Broken Arrow, but Balor knocks Priest down and hits a double foot stomp. Both men hit a series of vicious strikes until Balor knocks Priest down with a Pele kick. Balor counters a chokeslam into a victory roll for a 2 count. Back on the outside, Priest hits a variation of the Razor's Edge onto the apron of the ring, but Balor kicks out. To be honest, that should have been the ending. Priest hits two leaping elbows in the corner, but Balor hits a Slingblade on the third attempt. Priest hits a 360 kick and then Balor comes back with a dropkick. Balor goes up top, but Priest grabs him by the throat and hits a chokeslam from the second rope, but it's not enough. That probably could have been the finish as well. Priest is going for a Razor's Edge from the apron onto steel steps. Instead, Balor slips out of it and knocks Priest off and onto the steps. Ouch. Balor hits the Coup de Grace to the back and then hits another one for the victory. This was another spring, although they had a few more minutes than the women did. I'm not sure this match should have had the big kick outs, but the action was very good here.
Match Rating: ***3/4
NXT North American Championship Match
Johnny Gargano vs. Keith Lee
Man, all that highlight package did was just show how out of touch I am with the current product storylines. Gargano sets the thermostat in the In Your House set to 69, which is right next to a picture of Dok Hendrix. I think the second that they are allowed to have live crowds again, Keith Lee needs to win one of the top titles on Raw or SmackDown. Lee does what he does to start things off, which is just be awesome. Gargano uses his quickness to try and get some offense in on Gargano, but he catches the suicide dive and then a somersault off the apron. Gargano misses a kick to the steps and Lee drops Gargano onto the apron. Gargano tries to get into the house, but the door is locked. Gargano attacks Lee as they get back into the ring. Gargano wisely goes to work on Lee's hands. Lee starts to gain some momentum. Gargano misses with the spear through the ropes and Lee hits a variation of a backbreaker. Lee hits a big forearm and I can tell you there are few wrestlers that I've ever seen that are as good at selling as Gargano is. Back and forth they go. Gargano hits a superkick and then counters a slam into a nearfall. Lee hits a pop up slam and Gargano rolls out to the floor. Gargano then hits a leaping DDT through the ropes. Lee then hits a pounce through the plexiglass. Lee is carrying Gargano back in the ring and out comes LeRae to try and stop him. Unfortunately for her, Mia Yim is right behind her and they begin brawling again. This allows Gargano to dig in his trunks and grab the key he had and slip it in his fist to hit Lee with it. Gargano hits a kick and Lee kicks out. Gargano hits multiple kicks and Lee keeps kicking out. Lee hits a pop up sit down powerbomb. He then hits a powerbomb, picks him back up and hits the Big Bang Catastropher for the victory. This was good, but neither of their best work. These two are deserving of having the most time here tonight, but this probably would have worked better if they would have gone a few minutes less.
Match Rating: ***1/4
Backlot Brawl For The NXT Championship
Adam Cole vs. Velveteen Dream
Adam Cole comes riding in an Undisputed Era truck. Velveteen Dream comes in a yellow Lamborghini. The "Live" indicator in the upper right corner is no longer here for this match. If Velveteen Dream loses here, he will not get another opportunity as long as Cole is the champ. Dream drops the bat that he brought to the ring. So this isn't like the Hollywood Backlot Brawl, this one has a ring, but is surrounded by cars with their lights on. I hope that I like this match, but I truly am not a fan of these cinematic matches. The quick cuts are just too distracting. Cole says that he is leaving, so he grabs his belt and tries to escape in one of the cars. Dream starts hitting the car with the bat and just in case you weren't sure he was, we see like 3 different angles of it. They start brawling and a car rolls up and asks if someone called for an Uber. They start brawling around the building. Cole is able to hide in one of the doors. When Dream finds him, he uses a fire extinguisher on him. Cole continues beating on Dream. Dream is able to throw Cole into the ring post. Dream goes off the top rope, but Cole hits a super kick. Cole goes off the apron and Dream hits him with a super kick. Dream sets Cole up on the hood of a car and starts climbing a ladder. In comes a car that's honking and flashing lights and it's the Undisputed Era. This allows Cole to climb the ladder, but Dream then knocks him off and through the windshield of the car. Cole is bleeding from his arm. The Undisputed Era then attacks Dream and both men are down. Dexter Lumis is now out here and helps take out Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly. He locks both of them in a trunk of a car and drives away. Cole is trying to climb back into the ring and goes to the second rope. Cole goes for Panama Sunrise, but Dream hits the Dream Valley Driver for a 2 count. He then hits a Purple Rainmaker, but Cole kicks out again. Cole hits a low blow and then hits the Panama Sunrise into a pile of chairs for the victory. This was better than the WrestleMania matches, but it would have been a lot better if they would have filmed it like a normal wrestling match. I can't believe that there would be a Hollywood director that would think this was shot well.
Match Rating: *1/2
Todd Pettengill is here trying to sell some merch now. Good times. They then cut to Shawn Michaels, Triple H and Road Dog trying to figure out a computer.
Karrion Kross vs. Tommaso Ciampa
I'm excited to see Kross here, as he is new to me. I know a lot of people have raved about the entrance, but the lip syncing is super cheesy to me. Kross starts off hot and hits a suplex. Ciampa tries to make a comeback and hits him with a kick to the face. Kross is right back up and throws Ciampa out of the ring. He then picks up Ciampa and throws him into the apron, which looked painful. Kross hits a suplex with a release. He hits a series of knees to the jaw in the corner and Kross is just destroying Ciampa. Kross hits a Northern Lights suplex into a big clothesline. Kross definitely has a Dr. Death/Brock Lensar vibe to his offense. Ciampa starts to fight back and knocks Kross off his feet. Ciampa hits a Willow's Bell for a 2 count. Ciampa goes for a Fairy Tale Ending, but Kross hits a F5 type move and then puts him in the Kross Jacket. The ref determines Ciampa is out and calls for the bell. Kross's offense is hard hitting and impressive. Kudos to Ciampa for putting him over big time here. I'm not a big fan of the character here, but I definitely enjoyed the ring work. Let's see what they can do with him.
Match Rating: **3/4
Triple Threat Match For The NXT Women's Championship
Rhea Ripley vs. Io Shirai vs. Charlotte Flair
Charlotte rolls out of the ring to start things off and encourages her opponents to start off. They do and she quickly goes at Ripley from behind. Charlotte catches a leaping Shirai and hits a fall away slam. Charlotte then begins dishing out the chops to both opponents, until they both team up and try to take her down. Charlotte throws Ripley into the plexiglass outside the ring. Shirai tries a dropkick, but Charlotte turns it into a Boston Crab. Shirai gets out and Ripley comes in with a clothesline on Charlotte. Shirai comes in and slows down her momentum and hits a 619 on Ripley. Shirai and Ripley both strike each other at the same time and all three women are down. Charlotte hits a double spear and tries to pin both unsuccessfully. Shirai gets Charlotte in the crossface until Ripley breaks the hold. Shirai hits a springboard dropkick. Shirai hits running knees to Ripley in the corner and then Charlotte hits her with Natural Selection for a 2 count. Charlotte puts Shirai in the Figure Eight, but Ripley pulls her off and they start brawling outside the ring. Shirai hits a plancha through the ropes and then Charlotte hits her from behind. Charlotte throws Shirai through the window of the set. Ripley and Charlotte are brawling until Shirai leaps off the door of the set with a crossbody. Shirai brings Charlotte in the ring and goes up top, but Ripley stops her. Ripley avoids a Charlotte spear and goes back to focusing on Shirai. Ripley goes for a superplex, but Shirai escapes and she goes for a top rope rana, but Ripley stops her and Charlotte kicks her in the gut. Charlotte now is looking to hit something, but Ripley hits a top rope slam for a 2 count. Ripley puts Shirai in the Prison Trap, but Charlotte starts attacking them both with a kendo stick. Charlotte puts Ripley in the the Figure Eight, but Shirai hits a moonsault on Ripley and gets the pin before Charlotte can get out of the submission. I like all three of these women, but they all seemed to have a few spots where they seemed a bit off. However, the action was still fast paced and another good match. The finish left me feeling a little flat and I truly feel bad for any of these performers not getting the big crowd pop when they get the victory. This was a good main event, but we all are just longing for the end of the quarantine era.
Match Rating: ***3/4
Well, they are already fighting an uphill battle whenever they do any of these shows. Of the three WWE shows, this was definitely the best of the bunch. I really enjoyed most of the matches, but I can do without ever seeing a cinematic match again. This show also gets bonus points for the fun nostalgia that it brought and for the efforts of everyone involved. Good show, but not the level of TakeOver that we have grown accustomed to.
Overall Rating: 70%
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Todd Pettengill rightfully kicks things off before we are subjected to watch some band named Code Orange perform. Apparently they played at a previous TakeOver, so obviously they didn't leave their mark on me. Their albums do appear to have pretty good reviews, but it's definitely not my style. Anyways, let's get on with the show.
Shotzi Blackheart, Tegan Nox & Mia Yim vs. Dakota Kai, Raquel Gonzalez & Candice LeRae
Man, the NXT entrance themes need some more personality. LeRae and Nox are probably my two favorite women wrestlers in NXT right now, so I am pretty excited for this. LeRae quickly tags out of facing Yim and in comes Gonzalez. We eventually get to Nox and Kai, who pick up the pace. We get lots of tags early on. Blackheart goes for a suicide dive, but Gonzalez catchers her and slams her. Yim then hits a dive, followed by a top rope somersault dive by Nox. Back in the ring, Blackheart is working on LeRae until Nox breaks up the submission attempt. Gonzalez then clotheslines her and LeRae gets a 2 count. The heels now have Blackheart in the corner. Kai misses with a boot in the corner and Blackheart is able to fight back with a step up enzuigiri. She finally makes a tag to Yim and she hits a dragon suplex on LeRae for 2. The action picks up again and Gonzalez hits a big powerbomb on Nox for another close call. Yim and LeRae battle all the way to the back and Kai accidentally kicks Gonzalez. Blackheart and Nox work together to knock Gonzalez out of the ring. Nox hits the Shiniest Wizard and gets the victory. I haven't been watching NXT TV, but I have to say I thought the heels would go over here. They maximized their minutes and this was a total sprint, which I am a fan of. Nice opener.
Match Rating: ***1/4 (out of 5)
We get a "promotional consideration paid for the by the following" for the WWE Ice Cream Bars.
Damian Priest vs. Finn Balor
Balor hits a dropkick in the corner before the bell. He chop blocks him and they head outside. Priest reverses and throws Balor into the steel steps. Priest then slams Balor onto the apron, as they head back into the ring. It's kind of remarkable that both of these guys are 38 years old. Priest hits a flatliner and a leaping reverse elbow. It seems as if they really haven't known what to o with Priest since he has been in NXT. Balor battles back and hits a vertical suplex. He hits a dropkick through the ropes. Back in the ring, Priest hits a Broken Arrow, but Balor knocks Priest down and hits a double foot stomp. Both men hit a series of vicious strikes until Balor knocks Priest down with a Pele kick. Balor counters a chokeslam into a victory roll for a 2 count. Back on the outside, Priest hits a variation of the Razor's Edge onto the apron of the ring, but Balor kicks out. To be honest, that should have been the ending. Priest hits two leaping elbows in the corner, but Balor hits a Slingblade on the third attempt. Priest hits a 360 kick and then Balor comes back with a dropkick. Balor goes up top, but Priest grabs him by the throat and hits a chokeslam from the second rope, but it's not enough. That probably could have been the finish as well. Priest is going for a Razor's Edge from the apron onto steel steps. Instead, Balor slips out of it and knocks Priest off and onto the steps. Ouch. Balor hits the Coup de Grace to the back and then hits another one for the victory. This was another spring, although they had a few more minutes than the women did. I'm not sure this match should have had the big kick outs, but the action was very good here.
Match Rating: ***3/4
NXT North American Championship Match
Johnny Gargano vs. Keith Lee
Man, all that highlight package did was just show how out of touch I am with the current product storylines. Gargano sets the thermostat in the In Your House set to 69, which is right next to a picture of Dok Hendrix. I think the second that they are allowed to have live crowds again, Keith Lee needs to win one of the top titles on Raw or SmackDown. Lee does what he does to start things off, which is just be awesome. Gargano uses his quickness to try and get some offense in on Gargano, but he catches the suicide dive and then a somersault off the apron. Gargano misses a kick to the steps and Lee drops Gargano onto the apron. Gargano tries to get into the house, but the door is locked. Gargano attacks Lee as they get back into the ring. Gargano wisely goes to work on Lee's hands. Lee starts to gain some momentum. Gargano misses with the spear through the ropes and Lee hits a variation of a backbreaker. Lee hits a big forearm and I can tell you there are few wrestlers that I've ever seen that are as good at selling as Gargano is. Back and forth they go. Gargano hits a superkick and then counters a slam into a nearfall. Lee hits a pop up slam and Gargano rolls out to the floor. Gargano then hits a leaping DDT through the ropes. Lee then hits a pounce through the plexiglass. Lee is carrying Gargano back in the ring and out comes LeRae to try and stop him. Unfortunately for her, Mia Yim is right behind her and they begin brawling again. This allows Gargano to dig in his trunks and grab the key he had and slip it in his fist to hit Lee with it. Gargano hits a kick and Lee kicks out. Gargano hits multiple kicks and Lee keeps kicking out. Lee hits a pop up sit down powerbomb. He then hits a powerbomb, picks him back up and hits the Big Bang Catastropher for the victory. This was good, but neither of their best work. These two are deserving of having the most time here tonight, but this probably would have worked better if they would have gone a few minutes less.
Match Rating: ***1/4
Backlot Brawl For The NXT Championship
Adam Cole vs. Velveteen Dream
Adam Cole comes riding in an Undisputed Era truck. Velveteen Dream comes in a yellow Lamborghini. The "Live" indicator in the upper right corner is no longer here for this match. If Velveteen Dream loses here, he will not get another opportunity as long as Cole is the champ. Dream drops the bat that he brought to the ring. So this isn't like the Hollywood Backlot Brawl, this one has a ring, but is surrounded by cars with their lights on. I hope that I like this match, but I truly am not a fan of these cinematic matches. The quick cuts are just too distracting. Cole says that he is leaving, so he grabs his belt and tries to escape in one of the cars. Dream starts hitting the car with the bat and just in case you weren't sure he was, we see like 3 different angles of it. They start brawling and a car rolls up and asks if someone called for an Uber. They start brawling around the building. Cole is able to hide in one of the doors. When Dream finds him, he uses a fire extinguisher on him. Cole continues beating on Dream. Dream is able to throw Cole into the ring post. Dream goes off the top rope, but Cole hits a super kick. Cole goes off the apron and Dream hits him with a super kick. Dream sets Cole up on the hood of a car and starts climbing a ladder. In comes a car that's honking and flashing lights and it's the Undisputed Era. This allows Cole to climb the ladder, but Dream then knocks him off and through the windshield of the car. Cole is bleeding from his arm. The Undisputed Era then attacks Dream and both men are down. Dexter Lumis is now out here and helps take out Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly. He locks both of them in a trunk of a car and drives away. Cole is trying to climb back into the ring and goes to the second rope. Cole goes for Panama Sunrise, but Dream hits the Dream Valley Driver for a 2 count. He then hits a Purple Rainmaker, but Cole kicks out again. Cole hits a low blow and then hits the Panama Sunrise into a pile of chairs for the victory. This was better than the WrestleMania matches, but it would have been a lot better if they would have filmed it like a normal wrestling match. I can't believe that there would be a Hollywood director that would think this was shot well.
Match Rating: *1/2
Todd Pettengill is here trying to sell some merch now. Good times. They then cut to Shawn Michaels, Triple H and Road Dog trying to figure out a computer.
Karrion Kross vs. Tommaso Ciampa
I'm excited to see Kross here, as he is new to me. I know a lot of people have raved about the entrance, but the lip syncing is super cheesy to me. Kross starts off hot and hits a suplex. Ciampa tries to make a comeback and hits him with a kick to the face. Kross is right back up and throws Ciampa out of the ring. He then picks up Ciampa and throws him into the apron, which looked painful. Kross hits a suplex with a release. He hits a series of knees to the jaw in the corner and Kross is just destroying Ciampa. Kross hits a Northern Lights suplex into a big clothesline. Kross definitely has a Dr. Death/Brock Lensar vibe to his offense. Ciampa starts to fight back and knocks Kross off his feet. Ciampa hits a Willow's Bell for a 2 count. Ciampa goes for a Fairy Tale Ending, but Kross hits a F5 type move and then puts him in the Kross Jacket. The ref determines Ciampa is out and calls for the bell. Kross's offense is hard hitting and impressive. Kudos to Ciampa for putting him over big time here. I'm not a big fan of the character here, but I definitely enjoyed the ring work. Let's see what they can do with him.
Match Rating: **3/4
Triple Threat Match For The NXT Women's Championship
Rhea Ripley vs. Io Shirai vs. Charlotte Flair
Charlotte rolls out of the ring to start things off and encourages her opponents to start off. They do and she quickly goes at Ripley from behind. Charlotte catches a leaping Shirai and hits a fall away slam. Charlotte then begins dishing out the chops to both opponents, until they both team up and try to take her down. Charlotte throws Ripley into the plexiglass outside the ring. Shirai tries a dropkick, but Charlotte turns it into a Boston Crab. Shirai gets out and Ripley comes in with a clothesline on Charlotte. Shirai comes in and slows down her momentum and hits a 619 on Ripley. Shirai and Ripley both strike each other at the same time and all three women are down. Charlotte hits a double spear and tries to pin both unsuccessfully. Shirai gets Charlotte in the crossface until Ripley breaks the hold. Shirai hits a springboard dropkick. Shirai hits running knees to Ripley in the corner and then Charlotte hits her with Natural Selection for a 2 count. Charlotte puts Shirai in the Figure Eight, but Ripley pulls her off and they start brawling outside the ring. Shirai hits a plancha through the ropes and then Charlotte hits her from behind. Charlotte throws Shirai through the window of the set. Ripley and Charlotte are brawling until Shirai leaps off the door of the set with a crossbody. Shirai brings Charlotte in the ring and goes up top, but Ripley stops her. Ripley avoids a Charlotte spear and goes back to focusing on Shirai. Ripley goes for a superplex, but Shirai escapes and she goes for a top rope rana, but Ripley stops her and Charlotte kicks her in the gut. Charlotte now is looking to hit something, but Ripley hits a top rope slam for a 2 count. Ripley puts Shirai in the Prison Trap, but Charlotte starts attacking them both with a kendo stick. Charlotte puts Ripley in the the Figure Eight, but Shirai hits a moonsault on Ripley and gets the pin before Charlotte can get out of the submission. I like all three of these women, but they all seemed to have a few spots where they seemed a bit off. However, the action was still fast paced and another good match. The finish left me feeling a little flat and I truly feel bad for any of these performers not getting the big crowd pop when they get the victory. This was a good main event, but we all are just longing for the end of the quarantine era.
Match Rating: ***3/4
Well, they are already fighting an uphill battle whenever they do any of these shows. Of the three WWE shows, this was definitely the best of the bunch. I really enjoyed most of the matches, but I can do without ever seeing a cinematic match again. This show also gets bonus points for the fun nostalgia that it brought and for the efforts of everyone involved. Good show, but not the level of TakeOver that we have grown accustomed to.
Overall Rating: 70%
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