Survivor Series 1993 Review

Wednesday, November 24th, 1993
Boston Garden
Boston, Massachusetts

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Lex Luger and his wife and kids wish us a Happy Thanksgiving. They then cut to the national anthem being sung in the arena. 

IRS, Diesel, Rick Martel & Adam Bomb vs. 1-2-3 Kid, Marty Jannetty, Razor Ramon & Randy Savage

The heels all came out to Diesel's entrance music, while the babyfaces came out individually. Ramon gets on the mic and says that Mr. Perfect is not on the team. He announces Randy Savage as the replacement. Razor and Martel start things out with some nice wrestling and reversals. Razor hits an atomic drop and an inverted atomic drop, prompting Martel to tag in Adam Bomb. We get the classic test of strength, with Razor immediately falling to his knees. He naturally battles back, but Bomb kicks him in the midsection. Razor battles back and hits a suplex out of the test of strength. We have a miscommunication between Martel and Bomb and IRS tries his best to calm everyone down. The Kid is in there now and he gets manhandled by Bomb before tagging in Diesel, who does the same. Diesel hits a gut wrench powerbomb. Kid runs into a big boot, but then hits a headscissor and tags in Savage, who cleans house. Savage hits a top rope elbow on Diesel and he's gone. That's a surprise, even 27+ years later. The heels now isolate Razor with quick tags. Razor is able to hit a knee lift on Martel, but can't get to his corner to make the tag. He gets a boot up on IRS and tags in Savage. As he's taking it to IRS, out comes Crush and Savage tries to go after him. His teammates stop him and he gets back in the ring. Savage loses focus and IRS rolls him up and he's gone. He chases Crush into the back and Jannetty is in for the first time. Martel rams his shoulder into the ring post and now Razor and IRS are both back in. Razor hits a variation of the chokeslam and then the Razor's Edge to eliminate IRS. A brawl breaks out between the five remaining members and Razor gets Martel up for the Razor's Edge, but IRS hits Razor with his briefcase. He's out of the ring and he gets counted out to even the score. Kid hits a pop up dropkick and Adam Bomb is out of the ring. Kid goes for a dive, but Bomb catches him and dumps him to the ground. He then hits launched clothesline on his way back in. Marty gets back in and quickens the pace on Martel. Kid gets tagged back in and he gets a roll up to eliminate Martel. Almost immediately after, Jannetty hits a sunset flip on Bomb and they pull off the upset victory. That was a very solid way to open the show and included some surprising booking. 

Match Rating: ***1/4

Shawn Michaels is with Todd Pettengill. He is wearing the Intercontinental Championship and they talk about him being reinstated. They then go to the Hart Family, as they pretend this feud is with Shawn Michaels and not Jerry Lawler. They go back to Michaels and he threatens Stu if he sticks his nose in his business. 

Ray Combs goes on and on before he gets to his ring introductions and it's not nearly the quality of his WrestleMania VIII intro. 

Shawn Michaels & His Knights vs. Bret Hart, Owen Hart, Keith Hart & Bruce Hart

Bruce, being the legend that he is, dominates the early moments of the match. He tags in Keith and he shows off some of his mat skills. This whole knight story could have been better if they would have built around it more than they did. Instead it just felt like three random jobbers. Bret gets a couple of nearfalls on the Black Knight and then hits the second rope elbow drop. He tags in Owen and he hits the spin kick and then the referee loses control. The Harts throw all four men into each other and Ray Combs just loves it. Owen hits the missile dropkick on the Black Knight and eliminates him. Combs thinks the match is over. This match just feels so pointless, even though it is probably a better match with Michaels over Lawler. Michaels gets launched at Keith, but he moves out of the way and tags in Bret. Bret locks in the Sharpshooter on the Red Knight and he is gone. Owen comes in and hits a second rope elbow drop. Shawn slides underneath Owen and out of the ring. Shawn goes after Stu and he slugs Michaels. Owen comes and hits a dive over the top rope. Owen hits a top rope crossbody on the Blue Knight. Owen gets Shawn out of there and puts the Sharpshooter on the Blue Knight and now it is 4-1. Shawn hits a superkick on Bruce and he kicks out of it. Bret gets tagged in and hits an inverted atomic drop. When Bret goes for a backbreaker, Shawn pokes him in the eye and buys himself some time. Bret tags in Owen and when he's running the ropes, he accidentally knocks Bret off the apron. The distraction allows Michaels to roll up and eliminate Owen. Owen is livid, while Bruce and Keith are checking on Bret. Bret eventually gets back in there and goes for the Sharpshooter. Shawn wiggles his way out and starts running to the back, giving the Harts the victory. After the match, Owen runs out and shoves Bret. Helen is distraught and Stu tries to have a word with both of them. Owen is complaining about never getting recognition and he then celebrates by himself. Todd Pettengill tries to get a word with Owen, but doesn't have any luck. This match seemed to only exist to begin the feud between Bret and Owen. Other than that, it just seemed to exist. I am a huge fan of Bret, Owen and Shawn, but the action here was pretty mediocre. 

Match Rating: **

Bobby and Gorilla have a little encounter. They shift over to Jim Ross and Gorilla on announcing to help promote WWF Radio and probably because Vince didn't want to announce a Rock 'n' Roll Express match. 

Smoky Mountain Wrestling Tag Team Championship Match

Heavenly Bodies vs. Rock 'n' Roll Express

This is still one of the most bizarre things to ever take place on a WWF pay-per-view and that says something. Ricky Morton hits a diving double clothesline through the ropes to the floor and Cornette tries to re-group his team. Robert Gibson hits a flying headscissor on Jimmy Del Ray and then a double reverse elbow. Morton hits a series of hip tosses and then avoids a superkick by Del Ray, which hits Prichard. Even though the action is pretty good here, the crowd doesn't care in the least. Morton's mullet is just some next level stuff here. Prichard is able to hit a sit down powerbomb on Morton and the Bodies finally get their chance to be on offense. Del Ray hits a springboard moonsault on Morton on the outside. He throws him back in the ring and Prichard is only able to get a 2 count. Del Ray hits a top rope moonsault, but Gibson breaks up the pin attempt. Morton is able to counter a double team into a double DDT and he makes the hot tag to Gibson. The Bodies throw Morton over the top rope, which is a disqualification in Smoky Mountain, but here in the WWF it isn't. so the match continues. Things start to break down  and Del Ray hits Gibson off the top rope with the tennis racket and we have new champions. This was actually a really fun match, but the crowd was dead silent for it. I'm a little disappointed that a traditional wrestling city like Boston wouldn't care at all about this match. Yes, I know they are a WWF spot, but still. 

Match Rating: ***1/4

We get the team of Bam Bam, Headshrinkers and Bastion Booger going to town on a turkey. Bam Bam claims that this is the best team today. 

Bam Bam Bigelow, Bastion Booger & Headshrinkers vs. Men On A Mission & Bushwhackers

Ah yes, the infamous Four Doinks match. Before ever seeing this pay-per-view, I had this match on a "Most Unusual Matches" video that I bought and honestly, younger me didn't hate it. I've only seen it one other time since then and that was about 15 years ago. Bastion Booger is absolutely the worst worker in the WWF in 1993. The Headshrinkers and Bam Bam both deserved so much better than this. Samu bites into a couple of balloons handed to him and then bites another one and this one has liquid in it. So that of course distracts him and he gets rolled up and eliminated. Booger hits a leg drop on Butch. He goes for the squash, which has to be the worst finisher to take in the history of wrestling. He gets up and shoves a banana in his mouth for some reason and goes for another splash. Mabel comes in and pulls him out from under him and he is too stupid to listen to his teammates and he misses. Mabel hits a leg drop and illegally eliminates him. While Fatu is dominating whichever Bushwhacker, Mo is riding around them on a scooter, which for some reason Tim White allows. Bam Bam kicks him off and chucks the scooter out of the ring. This gets White's attention for some reason. Fatu hits a splash and again with the banana. He picks it up and then Butch comes in with a bucket. He throws it at him, but it's empty and Fatu "slips" on the banana peel and he's gone. Bam Bam clears the ring and then Mabel just walks in without being tagged in. Mabel misses with a splash in the corner and Bam Bam hits a shoulder tackle to knock him down. Bam Bam gets distracted and they all pile on him for the victory. This absolutely is one of the worst matches in WWF/E history. This was insulting to the intelligence of every wrestling fan. After the match, Doink is on the screen mocking Bam Bam and Luna. Somehow this feud continued all of the way to WrestleMania.

Match Rating: 0 Stars

Todd Pettengill is with the Foreign Fanatics. Only Jim Cornette gets to talk, which is a shame with Jacques Rougeau there.

Ludvig Borga, Jacques, Crush & Yokozuna vs. Undertaker, Steiner Brothers & Lex Luger

Scott and Jacques start things off and Scott sends Jacques flying with a suplex. In come Rick and Yoko, and Rick is able to knock him through the ropes. He tags in Borga and he gets hit by Rick off the top rope. He goes off the top rope again and Borga botches the powerslam, but yet still pins him. That was terrible. After the elimination, it looks like Rick may have gotten hurt. Scott hits a double underhook suplex on Crush and then hits a clothesline. Crush hits a kick and out comes Savage with a bunch of officials holding him back. Crush press slams Scott out of the ring and that looked impressive, but they were too focused on Savage for it to matter. Savage again comes out and this time Crush goes out to attack him. Obviously Crush is then counted out and we are even at 3-3. Jacques hits a piledriver on Scott for a 2 count. Luger and Undertaker are yet to get in there so far. Luger finally gets tagged in and he hits a second rope elbow drop to eliminate Jacques. Yeah, okay. Borga splashes Scott in the corner and then nearly takes his head off with a clothesline. Borga goes up top, but Steiner gets there and hits a superplex. Yoko comes in and hits a big leg drop, eliminating Scott. We now get the dream match of Yokozuna and Borga vs. Undertaker and Luger. Yoko and Luger square off for a little bit, but nothing worthwhile happens. How in the world did this match main event a pay-per-view in an era where there were only five shows a year? Yoko misses with a splash in the corner and finally Taker is in. Taker hits a running DDT on Yoko and he wakes up the crowd. Borga provides a distraction and Yoko hits a belly-to-belly suplex. Taker sits up, but then gets hit by a clothesline and a leg drop. Yoko hits the Banzai Drop once, but then misses the second one and Taker is on his feet. He hits the leaping clothesline. The action spills outside and both men are counted out. Borga hits a sidewalk slam on Luger for a 2 count. They hit a double clothesline and both men are down. Cornette distracts the ref, allowing Mr. Fuji to hand Borga his basket. Borga hits Luger in the head with it and tosses it out of the ring, but Luger kicks out. Borga even botches running the ropes. Luger hits his forearm on Borga and puts him out of his misery. As Luger is celebrating, out comes Santa Claus and they celebrate in fake snow. The match wasn't awful, but it certainly wasn't very good. Borga was not ready and thankfully we don't see much more of him from here on out. 

Match Rating: *3/4

I'm not quite sure this one deserves to be in the discussion for worst WWF/E show ever, but it's probably in that next tier. There are two good matches on the show, but the whole thing just feels pointless. Nothing gets accomplished and the Doink match is an all time stinker. Unless you really love this era because you grew up on it, I would avoid watching this one. 

Overall Rating: 36%

SmackDown 3-10-06 Review

Original Airdate: Friday, March 10th, 2006
Mobile Civic Center
Mobile, Alabama

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Mark Henry and Daivari are out to start the show, with Michael Cole speculating that Undertaker won't be here due to the injuries suffered at the hands of Henry last week. Henry does whatever he wants, whenever he wants and he wants his title shot. He calls out Kurt Angle and Angle immediately comes out. Angle says he's ready right now and runs in the ring to attack Henry. In runs Randy Orton and they double team Angle until Mysterio is out to make the save. Out comes Teddy Long to make the obvious announcement of a tag team match. 

Money In The Bank Qualifying Match

Finlay vs. Bobby Lashley

Finlay runs down the ramp to attack Lashley and they start brawling to continue their fight from last week. Security again tries to break it up, but Lashley breaks free and he spears Finlay on the top of the stage. The match has not officially started and the brawl moves to the back. They then cut to them out in the parking lot. Finlay grabs a pipe and starts smashing a car. They then start fighting on the car and Lashley then starts attacking some of the security guards. Lashley then tips the car with Finlay on top of it. Finlay falls off and then despite the security guards efforts to stop him, tips over the car. Finlay was able to get out of the way and security finally separates them. This was fun again, but disappointing that there wasn't even just a little bit of a match though. 

Match Rating: No Rating

The Miz is coming to SmackDown. 

JBL is out and claims to be at a loss for words after all of the concern his fans have shown him after his hand surgery. He then repeats what he always says about being the longest running champion in SmackDown history and somehow this all ties into Steve Austin. He challenges Austin to a beer drinking contest at Saturday Night's Main Event. He then goes on to him taking on Chris Benoit at WrestleMania. 

Gregory Helms walks into Teddy Long's office and his nose is broken from a live show in Australia. Long says that he won't be defending his title tonight, but instead he gets a match against Chris Benoit. They show some highlights of the Australia and New Zealand tour. 

William Regal is out and starts making fun of Paul Burchill. He eventually introduces him and Burchill comes out swinging on a rope. 

William Regal vs. Paul Burchill

After a little bit of offense from Burchill, Regal hits a knee and then a knee drop to Burchill as he is draped over the ring apron. Regal hits an exploder suplex and gets a 2 count. Burchill explodes for a flying clothesline and then an inverted atomic drop. Burchill then hits Walking The Plank out of nowhere and gets the victory. I don't care what anyone says, I liked this version of Burchill. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

Booker T and Sharmell are here to complain about how they have been treated. Sharmell blames both Long and Boogeyman. They have a bag full of letters of people complaining about the Boogeyman. He then tells Teddy Long that he needs to do something. He then announces that Booker T will take on Boogeyman at Saturday Night's Main Event on the screen. All of a sudden, Sharmell's mail bag starts smoking and worms come out of it and they freak out. Out comes the Boogeyman, but they're able to escape before he can get to them. 

They once again announce Sensational Sherri as the next inductee into the WWE Hall Of Fame. 

Divas Uncovered Match

Jillian Hall vs. Kristal Marshall

Jillian tosses Kristal across the ring, but Kristal hits a crossbody. Jillian is able to rip her top off, but then is hit by a spear from Kristal. Kristal goes for a sunset flip and rips off Jillian's skirt. Kristal is able to is able to rip off Jillian's top and that is all. Jillian runs away embarrassed, as if what she was wearing wasn't revealing to begin with. Kristal then takes off her skirt for her celebration. This was historic because it was Kristal's first match. Truly a day that none of us will ever forget. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

They show Batista at the Arnold Classic. 

Chris Benoit vs. Gregory Helms

Benoit takes it to Helms early on and even grabs the broken nose. Helms catches Benoit in the face with a reverse elbow and then a leg drop to the midsection. Helms hits Benoit with a stiff looking clothesline that maybe Benoit wasn't expecting. Benoit ducks a Shining Wizard attempt and puts Helms in the Sharpshooter. Helms climbs to the ropes to break the hold and then tries to walk away. A quartet of cruiserweights are there to throw him back in and Benoit hits a German suplex. Benoit then hits the top rope headbutt and locks in the Crippler Crossface for the victory. They probably given them a couple of more minutes there, but it accomplished what it set out to do. 

Match Rating: **

The WrestleMania Big Time Moment is Butterbean knocking out Bart Gunn. They also show a Candice Michelle video from Raw. 

They show clips of Animal attacking Matt Hardy from last week. They then do a an interview with Animal, who is in a studio for some reason. He then takes credit for the Legion of Doom being the greatest tag team of all time. He says that Hawk was always partying and Heidenreich was an even bigger screw up. He's sick of carrying the team and that's why he did what he did to WHardy last week. He's ready to go on his own. Yes, Animal's single run in 2006 was a real thing. 

Mark Henry & Randy Orton vs. Rey Mysterio & Kurt Angle

Angle and Mysterio dominate the first segment. Mysterio goes for the 619 on Orton, but Henry is able to roll him out of the ring just before the commercial break. Daivari grabs the leg of Mysterio as he is climbing the ropes and it then allows Orton enough time to recover and hit a dropkick once Mysterio finally leaps. Henry comes in and dismantles Mysterio with his meticulous pace. Henry hits a military press slam, but Mysterio is able to avoid the splash. Mysterio makes the tag to Angle and he hits a German suplex on Orton and the straps are down. They counter each others finishers and Angle then puts on the Ankle Lock. Henry is able to break the hold. Angle tags in Henry and he gets hit with a missile dropkick. Rey hits the seated senton and again Mark Henry makes the save. Henry then decides to throw the referee in the corner and splashes him. Daivai takes out a table and sets it up in the ring. He sets Mysterio on the table and goes up to the second rope. Angle rolls Mysterio off the table and slows down Henry. Orton comes over and hits a RKO on Angle. Henry then hits a second rope splash through a table and that didn't look pleasant. After that, the lights go out and Taker tells Henry he will face him at WrestleMania in a casket match. So apparently this match is over despite no one making a ruling? The match was fine for what it was, but they're in build mode to WrestleMania, so I wansn't expecting a clean finish. 

Match Rating: **1/4

I'm not sure what was going on backstage, but this was a below average show for the most part. Unlike Raw, there were some good segments and in ring action,. However, it still wasn't enough for me to give this a thumbs up.

Overall Rating; 45%

Monday Night Raw 3-6-06 Review

Monday, March 6th, 2006
Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center
Birmingham, Alabama

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Vince and Shane McMahon are here to kick off the show. They are joined by a large group of security. Vince goes into an Oscar-like acceptance speech, complete with photos from last week. The camera angle they are using is a rare one that actually makes the ring and stage look small. He then debuts the cover of him on Muscle & Fitness magazine. Shawn Michaels' music hits and all of security very wisely walks towards the entrance ramp. So of course Michaels comes from behind and attacks him. Vince says that tonight Michaels will face Shane tonight despite them fighting at Saturday Night's Main Event in less than two weeks. Shane doesn't seem too happy about it either. Vince tries to run back in the ring, but Shane doesn't let him. 

When we come back from commercial, Shane is questioning Vince's decision. 

Intercontinental Championship Match

Shelton Benjamin vs. Ric Flair

Shelton goes right after Flair and hits a back body drop and a Samoan drop. Shelton accidentally hits the referee in the eye and Flair immediately puts him in the Figure Four. The ref can't see and Shelton is tapping. The ref calls for the bell, but he rules it's a disqualification and that the title won't change hands. Flair attacks Shelton and then grabs the oxygen tank from his mama. He hits Shelton in the midsection with the tank and mama isn't happy. Pretty much the entire goal here was to show Flair as a threat. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Kudos to whoever put together the WrestleMania Rewind package, as it was full of retro goodness. Tonight it's a WrestleMania XX rematch between Big Show and John Cena. Plus, Triple H is taking on Kane in a rematch from WrestleMania XV.

They show a clip from WWE.com Unlimited with Teddy Long and Rob Van Dam. Long announces that three of the six competitors in the Money In The Bank match will be from SmackDown. 

Triple H vs. Kane

Triple H's entrance is longer here than the last match. Kane hits a big boot and a clothesline in the corner. Kane runs into a big knee lift though, but Kane sits up and hits a big right hand. Kane climbs up to the top rope, but Triple H crotches him on the ropes and he falls back into the ring. Triple H goes for a suplex, but Kane reverses it and hits one of his own. They're already acting as if they have been going at if for 15 minutes instead of about 100 seconds. Triple H goes for the Pedigree, but it gets countered with a back body drop. Kane goes up top again and this time hits the clothesline. Kane signals for the chokeslam, but Chris Masters is out and distracts him. Triple H sends Kane out of the ring, but he tries to drag Triple H out of the ring. Out comes Carlito and he spits an apple in Kane's face. They throw him into the ring post and Triple H hits the Pedigree for the victory. The match itself was really bad, considering it involved to perennial main eventers. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Torrie and Victoria are talking backstage and she is upset about Candice slapping her. Victoria sides with Candice, but she says after tonight they will be the Three Amigas. 

Shawn Michaels is in a pretty sorry looking locker room and in walks a pregnant Stephanie McMahon. She tries to sell him on becoming a better person with kids and asks Shawn for some water. While he is gone, she dumps something into his water. She leaves and Shawn takes a sip. 

After a quick Playboy video package, Torrie and Victoria unveil the cover. The Cover lifts up and Candice is under wearing the outfit she's wearing on the cover. Candice then asks Torrie to tell her she's the hottest WWE Diva to ever pose for Playboy. Torrie doesn't and they get into it. Candice apologizes and they hug, allowing Victoria to attack her from behind. The crowd was dead for this. 

Shane McMahon vs. Shawn Michaels

They go right at it to start, leading to Shawn having to chase Shane around the ring. Shane is able to capitalize, as Shawn is selling the effects of whatever Stephanie put in his water. Shawn tries a flying forearm, but he barely hits Shane. Shane takes it to him and then easily pins Michaels. This was obviously all storyline. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

After the match, Shane tells Lilian Garcia that Shawn Michaels now has to face Vince. 

Vince McMahon vs. Shawn Michaels

Vince immediately pins Shawn for the victory. This is some peak Vince Russo booking here. 

Match Rating: No Rating

Out come the Spirit Squad to celebrate with the McMahons. 

Eugene vs. Kenny

The Spirit Squad mocks Eugene and then plays keep away with air horn. They finally hand it to him and that allows Kenny to attack him. Kenny was the darling of the group and boy, were they wrong. Kenny hits a low dropkick on Eugene and this match already feels like 20 minutes long. Eugene starts to hulk up and hits an airplane spin. Eugene hits a nice modified Bluldog and rolls up Kenny for a 2 count. Eugene hits a clothesline and shakes his butt at the Squad. Eugene hits the Rock Bottom, but when he goes for the People's Elbow, three of the Spirit Squad distract the ref and Johnny hits a kick. Kenny then hits his huge leg drop off the top rope for the victory. This felt longer than it was and that's never a good thing. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Maria vs. Lita

Lita sells this as an easy deal for her and instantly hits a clothesline on Maria. Lita goes to make out with Edge and Maria rolls her up for a 2 count. Lita's facial expressions are spot on here, but her style of wrestling doesn't really suit her being in this role. Lita nails a DDT and that is all for Maria. After the match, Lita holds up Maria so he can hit a Spear on her, but Mick Foley eventually makes his way down there. He ends up taking a Spear instead and then Edge goes and grabs some chairs. He hits a one man con-chair-to and tells Foley he accepts his challenge. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

They announce Sensational Sherri as the next inductee in the Hall Of Fame. What a class this was. 

Mickie James is excited about Sherri being inducted and then Trish comes in and tells Mickie that she's just too much. Trish tells her that they need time apart, which of course breaks Mickie's heart. 

They hype up the Saturday Night's Main Event card, which I was in attendance for. Big Show is shown doing push ups before walking to the ring. Yeah, I'm sure he does that every time. 

Big Show vs. John Cena

If I haven't said it before, Big Show really had some of the worst entrance music. I really can't believe it lasted his entire run. Cena runs into a big boot and Show follows it up with a headbutt. Show tossing around Cena is always impressive. Cena is able to lower the top rope to dump Show to the floor and out walks Triple H and his sledgehammer at the commercial break. When we come back, Show hits a huge vertical suplex. I'm not sure if it is just the way the arena is designed or what, but the crowd has not been loud at all tonight. Show catches Cena off the second rope and slams him down. Show starts climbing the ropes, but out come Carlito and Masters. Kane is right behind them though and he takes care of both of them. Show is distracted and Cena hits a suplex off the ropes, which is even more impressive. Cena counters a chokeslam in to a DDT and then another one into a FU for the victory. The match was very slow moving until the end where we got to see Cena's superhuman strength. 

Match Rating: *1/2

Cena stares down Triple H from the ring and then gives us the obligatory point to the sign. 

This show was really, really weak. There was nothing of value on here and that is pretty rare in this era. I don't think of any of the storylines were advanced for the better and none of the matches were good either. This was just a flat episode heading closer to WrestleMania. 

Overall Rating: 34%

Off The Grid, Volume 9: WrestleMania VII Review

Sunday, March 24th, 1991
Los Angeles Sports Arena
Los Angeles, California

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Off The Grid, Volume 9:

There is a lot to unpack here. This was the first pay-per-view that I ever bought at my house and probably the most excited I have ever been to watch any wrestling show in my entire life. As a result, I probably watched this show (particularly the first half), well over 100 times. With that being said, I probably haven't watched it from start to finish in about 10-15 years. Let's see how it holds up. 

We get a classic Vince McMahon introduction featuring the best WrestleMania theme song. They really need to bring it back. This show was supposed to take place in the outdoor Los Angeles Coliseum, but due to poor ticket sales (and security) was moved indoors to the Sports Arena. The crowd here is super hot and the atmosphere was pretty incredible all night. 

Willie Nelson is here to sing "America The Beautiful". I forgot that he sang this with no music, which was kind of a surprising choice. This leads to Gorilla Monsoon's introduction and since Bobby Heenan is managing in the opener, he brings out Hacksaw Jim Duggan as his guest announcer. Duggan is dressed as Uncle Sam. I used to have all of Duggan's lines memorized here. 

Sean Mooney is with The Rockers, who remind us that they are tag team specialists.

Haku & Barbarian vs. The Rockers

The Rockers were absolutely on fire here in early 1991. Michaels and Haku start things off and Haku catches him in a bear hug and throws him into the turnbuckle. Haku catches Michaels on his shoulder, but Michaels escapes and after a couple of leap frogs, he hits a shoulder block. The Rockers hit a double team, but then Barbarian hits a huge clothesline. They recover and hit double superkicks and the heels go to re-group with Bobby Heenan. Barbarian and Jannetty are in there now and Barbarian quickly gets the advantage on Jannetty. Marty slides under the legs of Barbarian and then goes for a sunset flip. It doesn't work, so he goes for a headscissors, but Barbarian catches him. Michaels comes in and dropkicks him and Jannetty gets the hurricanrana in. It doesn't last long and Barbarian nearly take Jannetty's head off with the illegal double team. Jannetty ducks a clothesline and they collide in the middle, but Haku is quickly up and he hits two backbreakers. I will never understand why they didn't do more with Haku and Barbarian. Jannetty attempts a comeback, but Barbarian catches him with an awesome powerslam. Barbarian goes up top and misses with the headbutt. Michaels gets the hot tag and hits a reverse elbow. Michaels hits a reverse neckbreaker for a 2 count. The Rockers clear Barbarian out of the ring and both head up top. Jannetty hits the missile dropkick and Michaels hits the flying crossbody for the pinfall victory. This is such an underrated tag team match. It followed the formula and delivered a great opening match. 

Match Rating: ****

Mean Gene is back with the celebrities of the show. Regis Philbin here is absolutely classic. He talks about being afraid of Earthquake, which leads to Gene telling him that he's beautiful. Marla Maples is going to be doing interviews in the locker room. Alex Trebek does a little play on Jeopardy and we head on down back to the ring. 

Dino Bravo vs. Texas Tornado

Tornado gets attacked with his robe still on. Bravo clotheslines him out and over and continues the assault. Tornado gets his robe off and hits an atomic drop. He tries to go for the claw, but Bravo blocks it and hits him with some chops. Bravo hits a weak looking inverted atomic drop and follows it up with an elbow. Bravo hits the deadly side suplex, but Tornado kicks out. Heenan is jazzed up tonight and this is honestly one of his best performances of all time here tonight. Tornado gets the claw on and hits the Tornado punch for the easy victory. Short and inoffensive. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

We now go back to Sean, who is with Warlord and Slick. Classic Slick stuff here. Mean Gene is with British Bulldog, who cuts one of his weakest promos. Winston does talk to him, so there's that. 

Warlord vs. British Bulldog

After a few shoulder tackles, Bulldog is finally able to get Warlord down. Bulldog goes for a crucifix, but Warlord drops him on his back. Warlord did have a nice looking elbow drop, I'll give him that. Bulldog gets out of the bear hug, but then Warlord hits a nice looking Stun Gun. Warlord has Bulldog in such a bad chinlock that even Heenan is calling him out on it. Bulldog gets out and hits a nice standing dropkick. Bulldog goes for a piledriver, but Warlord flips him over. Bulldog turns it into a pin attempt and Warlord kicks out at 3. Bulldog runs into a big boot and then Warlord slaps on the Full Nelson. Warlord doesn't have the fingers locked though and Gorilla is all over it. Bulldog breaks the hold and Warlord is in shock. Bulldog gets him up on his shoulder and hits the running powerslam for the victory. That was legitimately the best match that these two could possibly have. The crowd was 100% into that finish too. 

Match Rating: **3/4

The Nasty Boys and Jimmy Hart are with Mean Gene. LOUD NOISES! They both blow their noses in Gene's handkerchief. The Hart Foundation are with Sean. Bret Hart doesn't think they're nasty, he thinks they're scum. 

WWF Tag Team Championship Match

Nasty Boys vs. Hart Foundation

We get our first Macaulay Culkin sighting. Bret gets the better of Sags to kick things off. Both men tag their partners in and Neidhart cleans house. The crowd is still on fire four matches into the show. An illegal double team by Knobbs finally slows the Foundation down. The Nasty's cut the ring in half and work on the back of Bret for awhile. Bret finally is able to pick Knobbs up on his back and slam him back. He then avoids a swinging Knobbs and he makes the tag. However, Earl Hebner didn't see it and doesn't allow it. Hart tosses the megaphone in and it backfires. Neidhart finally tags in and he takes care of both men. He hits a powerslam that leads to a nearfall after Sags breaks up the attempt. Bret starts chasing Sags around the ring and it leads to Knobbs colliding with him. The Harts hit the Hart Attack, but Hebner tells Hart to get out of the ring. This allows the Nasty Boys to use the helmet as a weapon and steal the WWF Tag Team Championships. I remember being absolutely shocked that they won this match and honestly it still is kind of surprising. This was a solid match with a hot finish. 

Match Rating: ***1/4

We get a video package on the Jake Roberts/Rick Martel feud, which was really well done. 

Blindfold Match

Rick Martel vs. Jake Roberts

Martel's over the top reactions are really good here. Roberts uses the crowd to help him find Martel and the crowd is definitely here for it. They finally lock up and Martel hits a body slam. He goes for an elbow drop, but Jake is out of the way and Martel is frustrated. This one's a pretty easy gig for Danny Davis here. Jake claps to bait Martel into coming near him and gets his hands on him, but Martel is able to escape. Martel accidentally grabs the bag with Damien and he freaks out. They collide and Jake gets knocked out of the ring. Martell rolls out and grabs a chair. He bumps into the ring post and slams the chair into it, hurting his hand. Jake drags him back in, but Martel hits a backbreaker. He puts him in the Boston Crab, but Jake is able to kick out. Jake bumps into him and nails the DDT out of nowhere for the victory. I've grown to appreciate this match a little bit more, but it's hard to really rate it. At the end of the day, the live crowd loved it. After the match, Jake grabs the Arrogance and stomps on it. Damien then makes an appearance and he gets him on Martel until he's able to scoot out of there and to the back. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

Marla Maples is backstage with the Nasty Boys and Jimmy Hart. In comes the Mountie, Dino Bravo and Earthquake. They bust out the bubbly and this is definitely a highlight of the show. 

Jimmy Snuka vs. Undertaker

Well, here is the beginning of the streak and as most people know, it all started with Jimmy Snuka. Snuka was basically a glorified jobber at this point. Taker attacks him from behind and then hits a leaping clothesline, which draws a big pop from the live crowd. Taker hits a huge vertical suplex from the apron. Taker catches Snuka from his slingshot attempt and he hits the Tombstone for the easy victory. Impressive squash match for Taker here. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

It's now time for the highlights of one of the better told stories in WWF/E history. Randy Savage's interference at Royal Rumble may be the most memorable interference ever. They then cut to Gorilla and Bobby and Bobby notices Miss Elizabeth in the crowd. 

Career Ending Match

Randy Savage vs. Ultimate Warrior

To steal from Gorilla Monsoon, the atmosphere is electric for this one. Savage tries outsmarting Warrior, but Warrior continually gets the better of him. Sherri gets in the ring and Warrior accidentally tosses Savage into her and she is hurt. Warrior gets Savage tied up in the ropes and gets a few kicks in. Savage is just on another level. Savage is able to fight back and hit a leaping clothesline. Savage goes up top, but Warrior catches him and then sets him down to slap him in the face. Savage tosses a chair in the ring and it allows him to sneak attack Warrior. Warrior still gets the better of him though and clubs him with roundhouse rights. Warrior goes for a splash in the corner and misses and falls to the floor. Sherri is there to do what she does best and Savage hits him with the double ax handle off the top rope. Sherri continues interfering, but Warrior shoves her to the floor. Savage attacks him from behind and throws him into the ring post. Monsoon announces that tonight is the largest audience in the history of pay-per-view, which is great and all if there was actually a way for them to tally that up on the fly. Warrior goes for a shoulder tackle, but Savage moves and gets a 2 count. They have the crowd eating out of the palm of their hand. Warrior breaks out of the sleeper hold and they hit a double clothesline. Savage hits Warrior with a knee to the back and it knocks the referee down. Savage holds Warrior and Sherri goes up top with her shoe. Warrior moves out of the way and hits Savage in the head. Warrior chases after Sherri, so Savage rolls him up and gets a nearfall. Savage goes nuts on offense and hits FIVE elbow drops, but Warrior kicks out. Warrior hits a series of clotheslines and hits the gorilla press slam and splash, but Savage kicks out! Warrior starts to look up to the heavens and then starts talking to his hands. Warrior starts walking out of the ring, but then Savage clubs him out of the ring. Savage goes for another double ax handle, but Warrior sidesteps it and Savage hits the steel guardrail. Warrior makes up his mind and is back to business. Warrior hits three running shoulder tackles and stands on Savage for the pinfall victory. This match was absolutely awesome, but we're just getting started here. Sherri comes in the ring and starts yelling at Savage, who is still selling the attack from Warrior. Sherri starts literally kicking him while he's down. Elizabeth jumps the guardrail and runs into the ring. She grabs Sherri by the hair and tosses her out of the ring. Savage is oblivious to all of it and keeps pushing Elizabeth away. Once he realizes it was Elizabeth who came to his rescue, the two embrace and the the city of Los Angeles loses it. This whole thing is one of the greatest moments in WrestleMania history. The current roster and staff really needs to be reminded that fans get attached to the characters that are portrayed, not the machine. They did nothing fancy in the match, but it was action packed and the crowd was on the edge of their seat for the whole thing. 

Match Rating: ****3/4

We are at intermission now and Monsoon and Bobby go over the Boss Man/Perfect match. They kick it over to Regis, who is with Undertaker and Paul Bearer. They don't say anything, but Taker starts measuring Regis. They go over to Alex Trebek with Demolition and Mr. Fuji, sorry Master Fuji. They then go to Tenryu and Kitao. Philbin tries to interview them, but he's getting no response. They then go into Japanese companies and they respond with "Kathie Lee". Now Jake is with Trebek, who is scared away by Damien. Heenan then claims that he picked all of the people for the celebrities to interview. 

Demolition vs. Tenryu & Kitao

I'm not sure that they ever really explained why Tenryu and Kitao were even here. The two big hosses start off and Fuji gets involved early on by hitting Kitao in the back with his cane. Crush hits the double ax handle off the top rope, as Demolition cuts the ring in half early on. This is the first match that the crowd is just not into. Kitao explodes out of the corner for a clothesline and hits a hot tag to Tenryu. He goes for a reverse elbow off the top rope, but Smash is able to move. Crush hits a spinning backbreaker and Smash hits the back suplex. They go for their finisher, but Kitao gets in there to distract Crush. Crush dumps him out, but then Kitao knocks him off the top rope. Tenryu hits the powerbomb and are victorious. This was a really tough spot for these guys and the match just wasn't very good. What a fall from grace for Demolition too. From one of the biggest pops in WrestleMania history at VI to the worst spot on the card just a year later. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Big Boss Man, who is in the best shape of his career here, is all fired up and reminds Heenan that crime does not pay. Perfect is, of course, perfect in his interview. 

Intercontinental Championship Match

Big Boss Man vs. Mr. Perfect

Lord Alfred Hayes joins Monsoon here. Perfect throwing the towel at Boss Man's face and then Boss Man wiping his butt with it and throwing it back in Perfect's face is great 90s stuff. Boss Man slaps Perfect and Perfect goes spinning like only he can. Boss Man slides under the bottom rope and back in the ring and tosses Perfect over the top rope. Man, if Boss Man could have stayed this weight his whole career, he could have had some real great matches. Boss Man is waking up the post-intermission crowd. Boss Man takes off his belt and starts whipping Perfect with it right in front of the ref. I'm not sure how you can logically defend that, but they let it go. Perfect locks in the abdominal stretch that even impresses Gorilla. Perfect releases and hits a standing dropkick. Perfect goes for the Perfect Plex, but Boss Man counters with a small package for a 2 count. Perfect hits a reverse Blockbuster and gets a 2 count. Perfect goes up top, but he's greeted with a big boot. Heenan's facial expression is tremendous. Perfect proceeds to bump all over the place and then Boss Man crotches him on the ring post, which again should probably be a DQ. Boss Man hits him with an uppercut over the top rope. Boss Man turns his attention to Heenan, so Perfect throws him into the steel steps. Heenan gets in a few cheap shots and out comes Andre The Giant. Andre grabs the Intercontinental belt and Perfect isn't happy about it. Perfect tries to snatch it, but Andre hits him with it in the head. Both men are down and the ref starts the count. Boss Man gets a nearfall. In run Haku and Barbarian to attack Boss Man. Boss Man sends them out of the ring and Andre gets a few chops in. Boss Man wins the match by DQ and obviously doesn't win the title. After the match, he and Andre celebrate. The match was enjoyable, but I don't want to see that finish on one of the featured matches. 

Match Rating: ***

Earthquake vs. Greg Valentine

During Quake's entrance, Mean Gene is in the crowd is with Donald Trump, Chuck Norris, Henry Winkler and Lou Ferrigno. That is quite the quartet. As a result, basically all of Valentine's entrance is missed. Earthquake hits the big powerslam and gets a 2 count. Valentine gets in a few elbows and jabs. A second rope elbow drop finally knocks Earthquake down. He hits a headbutt to the mid-section and then tries for the Figure Four. Jimmy Hart distracts him and he gets attacked by Quake. He gets hit by a huge elbow drop and then the big splash for the easy victory. He goes for another one after the match, but Valentine is able to roll out of the ring. This was just a reason to get Quake on the card. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Legion of Doom aren't very happy and when they get done with Power & Glory, they'll be Sour & Gory.

Power & Glory vs. Legion Of Doom

Hercules and Roma attack them on their entrance, but Hawk hits a double clothesline. Roma hits a body slam on Roma, but when he goes up top, Animal catches him and hits a powerslam. They hit the Doomsday Device and get the quick victory. 1991 me absolutely loved this and this is the reason you bring in a team like Legion of Doom, but Power & Glory deserved better. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Ted DiBiase vs. Virgil

Roddy Piper is in Virgil's corner and the crowd is chanting "Virgil" to start the match. Virgil kicks off the match with a boxing technique and DiBiase is flustered. DiBiase is distracted by Virgil and he brings him in the hard way. But as quickly as he brings him in, he clotheslines him right back out to the floor. DiBiase finally gets to let out some of his frustration and starts slamming Virgil face-first into the mat. DiBiase levels Virgil with a big clothesline and then a piledriver for a 2 count. DiBiase hits a couple of suplexes and dumps Virgil right in front of Piper. After throwing Virgil back in the ring, DiBiase shoves over the injured Piper right in front of Trump. DiBiase goes off the ropes, but Piper uses his crutch to lower the rope and DiBiase is once again outside. DiBiase hits Piper with a right hand and then is counted out. DiBiase attacks Virgil and puts him in the Million Dollar Dream. Piper crawls his way back into the ring and hits DiBiase with his crutch. Out comes Sensational Sherri and she grabs the crutch from Piper, allowing DiBiase to attack his injured leg. Virgil is able to get DiBiase out of there and Piper refuses help to get back up on his feet. Virgil grabs the mic and urges Piper to get up. Piper gets up and they embrace and head to the back. The match wasn't bad, but with as hot of a feud as this was, they made it too much about Piper. They would have the perfect blow off to the feud at SummerSlam. 

Match Rating: *3/4

We now get a recap of Sgt. Slaughter burning Hogan's shirt. Sean Mooney now interviews Slaughter and Adnan. Slaughter says that he is the new ruler of the WWF and there's nothing Hogan can do about it. They then show Slaughter attacking Hogan with a chair at The Main Event. Slaughter teases that he might get disqualified or counted out tonight and that Hogan would not be the champion. This was much more cartoony than his other promos and a little weak. 

Mountie vs. Tito Santana

Mountie tries to leapfrog, but Santana was going for a flying forearm and they collide in mid-air. Satana hits a double noggin knocker on Mountie and Hart and then hits an atomic drop. Hart sneaks the shock stick to Mountie and hits Santana in the gut behind the ref's back and gets the victory. Tito deserved better than the Skinner WrestleMania VIII treatment. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Now it's time to hear from Hulk Hogan. They show clips of Hogan vs. General Adnan with Slaughter ambushing him with the WWF Championship. Hogan says he's not the same man because he's done a 360...which would mean he's the same man. 

We get to hear the glorious WrestleMania theme one more time as they bring out the celebrities again. 

WWF Championship Match

Sgt. Slaughter vs. Hulk Hogan

Well, as a kid in 1991, this was the match that I cared about the least. I disliked both wrestlers and never went on to be a Hogan fan at any time of my wrestling fandom. The storyline was obviously flawed, but within the bubble I felt like they did do a decent job of building it up. After a lot of stalling, they finally lock up and Hogan overpowers Slaughter, where he humorously complains that he grabbed his hair. Slaughter was 42 years old here and Hogan was 37. Hogan gets his hands on Adnan and Slaughter taps Hogan on the back with a chair, which Hogan doesn't sell. Hogan dominates the early going here, as he does in most of his matches. Adnan tries to grab Hogan's leg on the second rope and then he and Slaughter seem to have a miscommunication, so Hogan of course just keeps going after Slaughter. He tries to go up to the top rope and this time Adnan grabs his leg and it works. Slaughter dominates and again hits Hogan with the chair. Slaughter then uses one of the camera cables to choke Hogan. Slaughter gets Hogan in the Boston Crab and he finally grabs the rope that he's right next to. Even Philbin is yelling at him to grab the rope. Slaughter goes back to working on the back of Hogan. Hogan is busted open now and Slaughter is attacking it. Slaughter locks in the Camel Clutch in the middle of the ring. He releases the hold and stomps on the back of Hogan, before locking it in again. Hogan is back on his feet and has Slaughter on his back, but Slaughter is able to shove him into the turnbuckle sternum-first. He grabs the Iraqi flag and puts is on Hogan for the pin attempt. Hogan kicks out and rips the Iraqi flag. It's time for the Hulk up. Hogan hits the big boot and the leg drop for the victory. That was a little anti-climatic to an otherwise decent Hogan match. Hogan must pose and of course he does. 

Match Rating: **1/4

This WrestleMania really had a little bit of everything. For better or worse, it had the beginning of the Undertaker's streak, a blindfold match, a decent Hogan match, a surprise title change, an Andre surprise appearance and an epic retirement match with one of the greatest reunions in wrestling history. Was it perfect? Of course not. The Gulf War stuff doesn't hold up well, but honestly it didn't hinder the show as much as I thought it would. If you love this era of wrestling, I believe this is one of the highlights of the time and one of the most underrated WrestleMania's of all time. Big thumbs up from me. 

Overall Rating: 88%

NXT 1-15-14 Review

Original Airdate: Wednesday, January 15th, 2014
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida

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Triple H is here to kick off the show and he announces that NXT will be live on the brand new WWE Network on February 27th. This of course is Arrival. 

Adrian Neville vs. Tyler Breeze

Neville hits a hurricanrana and Breeze rolls out of the ring. Neville teases a dive out, but taunts him instead. No pressure here, but this one has potential to be one of the best NXT matches in their short history. Breeze hits a springboard dropkick and knocks Neville off the apron going into the commercial break. After Breeze checks his phone, Neville makes his comeback and hits a variety of kicks. Neville goes for a springboard dive, but Breeze greets him with a dropkick for a nice spot. Neville is able to avoid a Beauty Shot and hits Breeze with a kick to the head. Neville misses with the corkscrew backflip and Breeze almost picks up the victory. Neville catches Breeze and hits a sit down powerbomb for a 2 count. Neville goes up top, but it's blocked by Breeze. He goes for a top rope hurricanrana, but Neville holds on. He hits the Red Arrow and that is all. This was good, but not anywhere near my high expectations. 

Match Rating; **1/2

CJ Parker vs. Jason Jordan

Jordan actually gets an entrance here, as we get nearer to him being relevant. Parker hits a big kick on Jordan and then hits the Third Eye for the victory. Jordan's entrance was longer than the match, so obviously there wasn't much else to go off of here. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Mojo Rawley vs. Bo Dallas

The announcers are hyping up Rawley, which doesn't bode well for his chances here. They collide off the ropes and it knocks Bo out to the floor. Mojo gets to show off his diverse offensive repertoire with shoulder tackles and splashes in the corner. He misses with another splash in the corner and Bo rolls him up for the victory. Just in case you didn't see it, the announcers let us know that Bo held his tights about 15 times. Yeah, I would have rather given this time to Breeze and Neville. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Alexander Rusev vs. Kofi Kingston

Rusev is introduced by Lana, of course. They show the results of the last time these two squared off, which was basically a glorified squash match. 2014 was the year that changed Kofi's career forever, but not until the summer. Kofi gets tossed around to start. Rusev stays in control until Kofi avoids a charging Rusev and sends him out of the ring. Kofi misses with the baseball slide. Rusev tries to throw him into the steps, but he leaps over and leaps back at Rusev, finally getting him to the ground. After the commercial break, Rusev is once again in control and hits him with clubbing blows to the side of the head. The NXT fans start doing the wave for some reason. Kofi hits a dropkick, but Rusev catches him and hits him with a series of knees. When he goes for the Samoan drop, Kofi counters it into a 2 count. Rusev catches him again and this time he hits the Samoan drop. Kofi hits the SOS, but Rusev is able to kick out. Rusev goes for the Accolade, but Kofi moves out of the way and hits a Boom Drop. I can't emphasize how bad the announcing has been tonight. Lana tries to distract Kofi, but he still avoids Rusev and hits Trouble In Paradise for the victory. I'm a little surprised they didn't just go with a DQ finish here. They certainly were given enough time and followed the formula, but it just felt a bit off to me. It definitely wasn't bad, but it just didn't click for me. 

Match Rating: **

This was a show that focused entirely on wrestling, with the lone exception being Triple H's quick announcement. The two main matches were fine, but I can't help but being slightly underwhelmed. Overall though, the show never felt long and it was not even close to being bad. 

Overall Rating: 59%

Fastlane 2021 Review

Sunday, March 21st, 2021
Tropicana Field
St. Petersburg, Florida

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They are promising us that this is 100% THE last stop before WrestleMania.

WWE Women's Tag Team Championship Match

Bianca Belair & Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler

Both teams are arguing, which is always a good thing in a division where there are no tag teams. Once the bell rings, Belair and Sasha are on the same page and dominating Baszler. Nia works her way in, but the challengers remain in control. Baszler provides a distraction and Nia knocks Belair off the apron. They cut the ring in half and work on Belair. Nia misses Belair in the corner and in comes Sasha. She takes care of both opponents and tags in Belair, who hits a 450 splash. Reginald provides the distraction to prevent the pin, but then Sasha locks in the Bank Statement, but Nia is able to prevent the submission by pushing Belair on top of Sasha. Sasha isn't happy about it because Belair came into prevent Nia, but it backfired. They argue and Baszler rolls up Sasha for the victory. This was a pretty obvious outcome and probably could have just been done on SmackDown. After the match, they argue and Sasha slaps Belair and walks to the back. 

Match Rating: **1/2

They show a photo of Shane McMahon hurt while training. He then is walking out of his locker room with a crutch and an ice pack on his knee. Elias approaches him and wants to have a legendary musical performance at WrestleMania. He says he'll do anything and Shane says he has an idea. 

Intercontinental Championship Match

Apollo Crews vs. Big E

They brawl right out of the gates and Big E spears him off the apron. He then hits a big splash with Apollo hanging over the apron and hits a second one for good measure. Big E then hits two overhead belly-to-belly suplexes, all while talking a lot of trash. Apollo his a low dropkick to the knee of Big E and hits a clothesline. Apollo hits three German suplexes in a row and is giving Big E a taste of his own medicine. Apollo hits a frog splash for the first nearfall. We then get a really weird (possibly botched?) finish where they go back and forth on shifting weight from a small package and Big E wins? Apollo immediately attacks Big E and eventually stands on him in a sign of disrespect, even though he lost the match. I was really liking that match until that finish. They don't even show the pin and go into a DraftKings commercial. 

Match Rating: **1/2

Shane is in the ring with Elias and Jaxson Ryker. Shane lets him know that he's taking his place tonight. 

Elias vs. Braun Strowman

As far as dream matches go, this is near the bottom. Strowman obviously destroys Elias at the start. Ryker provides a distraction and Elias takes out Strowman's knee and hits a DDT. Elias goes up top and hits an elbow drop, but Strowman throws him off on the pin attempt. Strowman hits a clothesline and a powerslam for the easy victory. Sure, this was great. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

They show clips of Riddle beating Ali on the pre-show. He then rides up on his scooter to Shinsuke Nakamura. He tries pitching some idea to him, but Nakamura walks away while he was looking the other way. 

Seth Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Rollins rebounds from a quick Nakamura start and hits a leaping knee off the apron. Rollins hits a series of knees to the midsection of Nakamura and then hits a gutbuster for a 2 count. Rollins goes for the Cesaro Swing, but Nakamura counters it for an arm bar. Nakamura explodes with offense though and hits a knee to the head and then to the back. Rollins knocks Nakamura off the apron and then hits a suicide dive. Rollins hits a Slingblade and gets 2 1/2. They start exchanging forearms, but Rollins hits an enzuigiri. Nakamura hits what Corey Graves calls a sliding German suplex, but Rollins hits a Buckle Bomb. Shinsuke avoids a Stomp and hits a reverse exploder. Rollins ducks Kinshasa, but Rollins ducks it and Rollins hits him in the back of the skull. Rollins hits a move that I (or Graves) have never seen and then follows it up with the Stomp for the victory. That was a really enjoyable and competitive match. He doesn't always hit a home run, but it's very rare where Rollins doesn't go for one. I would call this one a stand up double.

Match Rating: ***1/2

No Holds Barred Match

Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus

McIntyre clotheslines Sheamus over the top rope, but after a quick attack from Sheamus, McIntyre hits a belly-to-belly overhead suplex. McIntyre grabs a bunch of kendo sticks, but it gives Sheamus an opening to throw him into the ring post. McIntyre again hits another overhead belly-to-belly though and then throws him into the steps. McIntyre goes to use the kendo stick, but gets hit with the Brogue Kick. Sheamus starts using the kendo stick on the back of McIntyre. McIntyre is able to get a boot and now it's his turn to get in some kendo shots. They spill outside again and Sheamus hits a drop toe hold on McIntyre into the steps. They're up on the announce table and McIntyre throws Sheamus off and into the barricade. They now are over in the vacant area behind the announcers and Sheamus hits a suplex. They now move into the area where the fan screens are and Sheamus hits the rolling senton. McIntyre then throws Sheamus through the screens and to the floor. McIntyre then rolls Sheamus on a storage crate and then hits a suplex to the floor. McIntyre carries Sheamus back into the ring area, but Sheamus is able to pull off and hits a Brogue Kick to McIntyre's face and back over the barricade. They are up on the barricade and Sheamus hits a leaping White Noise through the table. These two are most definitely destroying each other here tonight. They are finally back in the ring and Sheamus has a piece of the announce table. Even though the "what about me?" story is overdone, it does feel more legitimate here. McIntyre hits a Future Shock onto the table piece and then hits the Claymore for the victory. I wouldn't call this a classic or anything, but it was very good and they both gave a really good effort. I am glad they kept Sheamus strong here too, as McIntyre gave him enough offense to make him look like a legit threat. 

Match Rating: ***1/2

Intergender Match

Randy Orton vs. Alexa Bliss

As Orton is up posing on the turnbuckle, he has black liquid spew out of his mouth. WWE gets a lot of flack for the camera cuts and Alexa's entrance is a great example of why. Simply horrible direction. Orton comes at Bliss and she shoots "fire" at him. He then charges again and she moves out of the way, causing him to hit the ring post. Bliss then looks up and a lighting rig falls and almost hits Orton. Alexa deserves so much better than this. Bliss blows him a kiss and then shoots a fireball at his face. The announcers trying to call this must be the low points of their careers. A hand is now ripping through the ring and grabs Orton's leg. Orton escapes it's grasp and then fire shoots up. The Fiend emerges and is even uglier than before. He hits Sister Abigail and Bliss gets the victory. I know it's not really fair for me to rate that, but they seem to always find a way to top themselves on how low they can drag themselves with the Fiend. Embarrassing. 

Match Rating: 0 Stars

WWE Universal Championship Match

Daniel Bryan vs. Roman Reigns

After a calculated start, Bryan makes a nice roll into an arm bar. Reigns gets right to the ropes, but that was nice. Even at my lowest interest in modern wrestling in years, Daniel Bryan has the ability to suck me into anything that he's involved in. Bryan works the left arm of Reigns, but this also to get under the skin of Reigns. We get our first burst of offense, as Bryan was looking to hit a running clothesline, but Reigns caught him for a tilt-a-whirl suplex. Reigns slows the pace down and punishes Bryan. I forgot to mention it, but Edge is at ringside. Bryan makes a comeback and hits a running kick in the corner. Bryan goes for a top rope hurricanrana, but Reigns catches him and puts him into a Boston crab in the middle of the ring. Bryan is able to roll through into a pin attempt for a 2 count. Bryan then hits a running clothesline that looks like a car wreck. Bryan baits Reigns and pulls down the top rope, but Reigns lands on his feet. Bryan leaps over and Reigns catches him and kind of hits a powerslam. Bryan is able to escape Reigns and hits a knee off the apron. Back in the ring and Bryan hits a top rope knee. He climbs up top again and hits a missile dropkick. I love Paul Heyman as a manager, but I'm not really 100% sure why he is still with Reigns. Bryan starts hitting the Yes Kicks. Bryan continues on offense and puts in the Yes Lock on the injured arm. Bryan is able to roll him over and into the middle of the ring. Reigns is able to punch his way out of the hold after a long time in it. Reigns hits a powerbomb, but Bryan kicks out. Bryan accidentally hits the referee and Reigns hits a Spear. Edge I guess is a special enforcer, so he comes in and counts to 2. Reigns gets aggressive and Bryan uses it against him, putting him into a triangle choke. Reigns lifts him up and Bryan counters that into another Yes Lock. In runs Jey Uso and he superkicks Edge and then Bryan. Uso grabs a chair and brings it into the ring. He throws Edge into the ring post. He swings wildly at Bryan, who ducks it and takes out Uso. He then starts smacking him in the back with the chair. Bryan swings the chair at Reigns, but he ducks and he hits Edge in the arm. Reigns hits the Superman Punch and goes for the Spear. Bryan counters it and puts him in the Yes Lock yet again. Reigns is tapping, but Edge didn't see it and he decides to hit Bryan in the back with the chair and then Reigns. Edge tells them both that "This is mine" and walks out of the ring. Reigns crawls on Bryan and the referee is back in the ring and counts to 3. I'm not sure I truly understand why Edge cared who he fought at WrestleMania because his spot was guaranteed. The story is a little too much for my taste, but the second half of the match was extremely well done. 

Match Rating: ***3/4

For a throwaway show, this was pretty entertaining. It didn't really have to exist or anything, but it was a good enough show to warrant watching. I will do everything in my power to erase the Alexa Bliss/Randy Orton/Fiend match/segment from my memory and just pretend the show ended with three hard fought matches featuring six really good in ring performers. 

Overall Rating: 73%

Monday Night Raw 11-15-93 Review

Original Airdate: Monday, November 15th, 1993
Fernwood Resort
Bushkill, Pennsylvania

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We get a Crush/Randy Savage recap from last week. 

Razor Ramon vs. Brooklyn Brawler

Brawler attacks Razor as he is getting into the ring and tries to hit him with the Intercontinental Championship, but the referee grabs it. Razor fights back with a bulldog and some big right hands. Brawler gets in a little bit more offense, but not for long. Razor hits the Razor's Edge and that is all. Razor looked good, as he usually did here in 1993. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Crush cuts a studio promo and it's nothing special. We then find out that Bret Hart will face Yokozuna at the Survivor Series Showdown. That is a higher profile match than anything on the Survivor Series card. 

The Headshrinkers vs. Mike Bucci & Mike Moraldo

The Mikes try to do a double pin on Fatu, but it naturally doesn't work. The Headshrinkers seem a little less motivated than usual here, working a slower pace. Fatu hits the splash off the top rope and that's all for that. Disappointing by their normal standards. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

They show Undertaker joining Lex Luger's team and this is absolutely terrible. 

Pierre vs. Lex Luger

They go at it right away and after some Luger domination, Pierre goes outside. Luger gets distracted by Johnny Polo, but it backfires and Pierre gets back body dropped and we have a commercial break. Polo distracts Luger again and this time it works, as Pierre knocks him out of the ring and slams him into the steps. Pierre hits a Vader Bomb and gets a 2 count. Pierre continues to dominate and hits a painful looking top rope leg drop, but it's still not enough. He goes up top again and this time he goes for the somersault dive, but Luger moves out of the way. Luger makes a comeback and hits some running clotheslines. A Luger powerslam gets a 2 count and then Luger props Pierre on the top rope. Pierre tries to get out of it, but Luger powerslams him instead. Luger knocks Polo off the apron and hits Pierre with the loaded forearm for the victory. Call me crazy, but this was actually quite good. Both guys really seemed determined to put on a good match and they accomplished it. 

Match Rating: **3/4

Pierre does a stretcher job and they speculate if he will be out of Survivor Series. 

Diesel vs. Sid Garrison

I'm not sure why this match isn't done in the time that I finish this sentence. Why is Diesel applying a chinlock to Garrison? Diesel hits an elbow drop for the victory. This was pretty weak. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

They run down the entire card for the Survivor Series. We get a highlight clip of Doink messing with Bastion Booger on Superstars. This leads to a Jeff Jarrett sighting and he's causing trouble while recording music. 

About 25% of the show was devoted to the Luger/Pierre match and they pulled off a nice little match. The squash matches were all pretty bland and there wasn't much else going on in terms of must see TV. While the episode was pretty good, they did nothing to make me want to see Survivor Series, which is a shame. I am not looking forward to re-visiting that show for the first time in years. 

Overall Rating: 58%

SmackDown 3-3-06 Review

Original Airdate: Friday, March 3rd, 2006
Verizon Center
Washington, D.C.

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2

Booker T vs. Tatanka

As far as weird matchups go, this is definitely one of them. Sharmell is at the announce booth, which is pretty impressive that they trusted her there so early on in her career. Tatanka ducks a kick and hits a vertical suplex. Booker catches Tatanka and hangs him up on the top rope. Booker hits a superkick for a 2 count. Tatanka makes a short-lived comeback, as Booker hits a leaping kick to Tatanka coming off the top rope. Booker hits the Scissor Kick, but then Boogeyman's music hits and he's right behind Sharmell with foam in his mouth. Tatanka rolls up Booker and gets the victory. This was better than it had any right to be, as Booker and Sharmell are perfect for Boogeyman's antics. 

Match Rating: *3/4

We get a recap of the Rey Mysterio and Randy Orton. That leads to Randy Orton's entrance with CM Punk's original WWE theme. I didn't know Orton ever actually used it. I just thought they were supposed to and then decided not to. 

Randy Orton vs. Super Crazy

The matches here tonight are just straight up bizarre. Orton dominates early on until Crazy takes him down with a couple of dropkicks. Crazy then hits a springboard dropkick and Orton hits the barricade. Crazy then hits a hilo. Crazy goes for the moonsault, but Orton is able to barely roll out of the way and they are both down. Orton sends Crazy off the rope, but he hits another springboard dropkick. I love Orton giving Crazy some serious offense here. Orton gets a thumb to the eye and he goes up top. Crazy runs up and hits a kick to the head, but then gets pushed off the top rope. Orton hits a big clothesline and then finishes him off with the RKO. Hearing Orton with this music just doesn't feel right. This match was actually a lot of fun for what it was. 

Match Rating: **1/4

They show a Benoit hype video and then show us JBL getting surgery on his hand after Benoit hurt it on SmackDown. They announce JBL/Benoit at WrestleMania. 

MNM vs. Matt Hardy & Animal

Animal gets some big pyro here for a random match here. Hardy really was in great shape here in 2006, but WWE still couldn't find anything to do with him. Hardy and Animal toss Nitro around for a little bit, with Nitro bumping around like a pinball. Animal catches Mercury and drives him into the ring. Melina gets on his back and it allows Nitro to hit a superkick. Melina puts Animal in a headscissor for a big pop from the crowd on the floor. Animal catches Nitro into a powerslam and both men are down. Animal makes the hot tag to Hardy and he hits a second rope elbow on Mercury. Hardy then hits a double DDT. He hits a Side Effect on Nitro and a Twist Of Fate on Mercury, but Nitro breaks up the pin attempt. Animal comes in to help and he wants to go for the Doomsday Device. Hardy tells Animal to go up top, which leads to a dangerous looking mistake. Nitro comes in and takes out the leg of Hardy and Animal collides with Mercury on his way down. That looked painful. MNM hits the Snapshot on Hardy and that's enough for the victory. After the match, Animal and Hardy get in a shoving match over Hardy telling Animal to go up top. Animal takes out Hardy's knee and then slams it on the ring post before heading to the back. The Animal heel turn in 2006. The match was pretty good despite the rough looking finish.

Match Rating: **1/4

They show a WrestleMania Big Time Moment and they seriously pick Sid vs. Undertaker? Talk about a terrible main event. 

Finlay vs. Bobby Lashley

Finlay tries to take it to Lashley early on, but Lashley catches him with an inverted atomic drop. Lashley hits a clothesline in the corner, but then Lashley hits him with a stiff looking clothesline. Finlay is frustrated and starts throwing chairs into the ring. They start swinging at each other and the ref calls for the bell. Lashley is able to hit Finlay in the gut with and a really fun brawl breaks out with security and officials finally breaking it up. They break free and keep going at it. Finlay leaps off the apron on Lashley. They break them apart again and then Lashley gets another charge in on Finlay to end it. The match was too short to mean anything, but as a segment this was good stuff. 

Match Rating: *

We get more backstage shenanigans with Paul Burchill and William Regal, ending with Burchill cutting Regal's tie. 

World Heavyweight Championship Match

Kurt Angle vs. Undertaker

We get an intense opening segment that leads to Angle slowing things down with an arm bar. Taker gets his turn and after crotching him on the top rope, a big boot sends Angle flying into the barricade. After the commercial break, Taker is clearing off the announce table, but Angle grabs him and slams him into the steel steps. Taker fires back with a clothesline and then a boot to the head. He then hits a leg drop on Angle, who was hanging off the ring apron. Taker charges at Angle in the corner, but Angle ducks and Taker's leg gets hung up on the top rope. Taker hits a back elbow on a charging Angle and then goes up top. Angle leaps up, but Taker knocks him off. Angle charges back and hits hit with a series of right hands. Angle hits a top rope superplex for the first false finish and into the second commercial break. Angle clotheslines Taker to the outside, but he lands on his feet, so Angle throws him into the steps knee-first. They start slugging it out and Taker hits Snake Eyes, but then Angle hits a German suplex. Taker hits a boot to the face for a 2 count. Taker goes for a chokeslam, but Angle counters it into an Ankle Lock. Somehow I think Kurt Angle may be the most underrated wrestler of the 2000s. Taker kicks out of the hold and gets him up for the Tombstone. Angle reverses it and then hits an Angle Slam, but Taker kicks out at 2. Angle goes back to the Ankle Lock, but again Taker is out and he hits a chokeslam. Angle again puts on the Ankle Lock, which Taker then counters into the triangle choke. Angle jumps over and gets a 2 count, but Taker reverses it right back to the triangle. Angle makes it to the bottom rope to break the hold. Taker goes for a leg drop, but Angle catches the leg and yet again goes for the Ankle Lock. Taker kicks out and Angle goes for an Angle Slam, but Taker blocks it. Angle hits a DDT and gets another 2. Angle goes for the moonsault and for the millionth time, he misses it. Taker hits the Tombstone and then in comes Mark Henry to attack Taker. Henry runs across the announce table and hits a big splash on Taker through the other announce table. Henry stands tall as the show goes off the air. This was another really good match between theses two, despite the interference finish. Both men put in a really strong effort here and provided one of the better TV matches of the year. 

Match Rating: ****

I really loved this episode. With it being taped on the same day as Raw, there was less interview segments and they just focused on in ring action and highlight packages. The Orton/Super Crazy match was sneaky good and the Finlay/Lashley segment was the best thing either man had done up to this point. The main event was a really good match and it all added up to a very memorable episode of SmackDown. 

Overall Rating: 79%

Monday Night Raw 2-27-06

Monday, February 27th, 2006
Verizon Center
Washington, D.C.

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2

Edge and Lita are here to kick off the show. He lets Foley know that his time is up, but Foley doesn't come out. Lita holds up two tickets to Long Island and says they are flying there tonight. Foley then makes his appearance right here in Washington D.C. Foley reminds Edge that he's not the one who has choked against John Cena. Foley turns him down and says that he has nothing to prove and calls himself the greatest transitional champion of all time. Edge runs down Foley's career and then says that he knows Foley won't accept because he knows he will lose. Foley admits that he's never had that WrestleMania moment that he's always craved. He says that he said no to a wrestling match, but says instead it will be him and Edge instead in a Hardcore Match. Foley goes to the back and grabs the barbed wire baseball bat and chases Edge and Lita out through the crowd. This was better than the usual opening segment on Raw and never dragged. 

Big Show and Kane are shown walking to the ring. 

World Tag Team Championship Match

Kane & Big Show vs. Val Venis & Viscera

You can now check this match off your bucket list. Apparently Val and Vis won on Heat. It is always forgotten that Val is actually a pretty big dude and not that much smaller than Kane. Kane goes for a suplex, but Val counters and takes out Kane's knee. Kane sits up, so Val tags in Viscera and Kane hits him with a clothesline in the corner. Viscera gets Kane up for a Samoan drop and a 2 count. Kane tags in Show and he hits a shoulder tackle and a big boot to Val. Show hits a huge body slam on Viscera and then a leg drop, but Val breaks up the pin attempt. Kane hits a top rope clothesline on Val and then sends him to the outside. They double chokeslam Viscera and that is all. Honestly, this exceeded my expectations. 

Match Rating: *

Ric Flair is here with Todd Grisham and he lets us know that he turned 57 years old. Flair says that he has one more title run in him and follows that up with some "woooo"'s. 

Shawn Michaels, wearing an interesting choice for a shirt here, tells Marty Jannetty that he doesn't have to do this tonight. Marty tells him this time to stay out of it because he really needs this job. 

Carlito is with Maria and he announces that there will be a second Money In The Bank match at WrestleMania. There will be three qualifying matches tonight.

Money In The Bank Qualifying Match

Rob Van Dam vs. Trevor Murdoch

My money is on Murdoch here. After a quick attack by Murdoch, RVD hits a variety of kicks on Murdoch. RVD misses a leap off the top rope to the floor and Murdoch throws him back in the ring. Murdoch wears down RVD and hits him with a big clothesline. RVD ducks Murdoch in the corner and hits a nice spinning heel kick. He hits a monkey flip and Rolling Thunder for a 2 count. RVD hits the Five Star Frog Splash and punches his ticket for Money In The Bank. RVD does always give his opponents a lot of offense and usually makes them look good, so kudos to him here for that. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

They show clips of the WWE in the Philippines. 

Mickie James is in the ring to announce the greatest Women's Champion in WWE history and her best friend, Trish Stratus. 

Women's Championship Match

Trish Stratus vs. Candice Michelle

Torrie announces Candice Michelle to one up Trish. Candice gets the early advantage, but as she's doing her dance, Trish attacks her. Trish gives us the Matrix and follows it up with a dropkick to the midsection. Candice tries to cheat on a pin attempt by grabbing Torrie's hands, but it is literally right in front of the referee. He breaks it up and Trish rolls her up for the victory. After the match, Mickie gets on her knees and does the Wayne's World before hugging her from her knees. Trish pushes her away and heads to the back. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

They show Candice slap Torrie backstage from during the commercial. 

Coach is in the ring and he introduces John Cena. Coach tells Cena that he has no chance and just as Cena is about to speak, out comes Triple H. Cena says that he doesn't have Triple H's resume or even his respect, but he does have one thing that he doesn't, the WWE Championship. Triple H makes fun of Cena pumping up his Reeboks. Triple H jumps on the transitional champion bandwagon and calls Cena that. It's amazing how quickly people turned on Cena that they got behind Triple H. It still amazes me 15 years later. Triple H compares Cena to Rocky Balboa, but then says that he isn't a very good wrestler. Cena says that while he has beaten just about everyone, one wrestler who isn't on the list is John Cena. Vince McMahon shows up on the Titan Tron to announce that they are going to be tag team partners at Saturday Night's Main Event. They will be facing Kurt Angle, Rey Mysterio and Randy Orton. And with that...the segment just kind of ends. 

Money In The Bank Qualifying Match

Shelton Benjamin vs. Chavo Guerrero

Shelton works on Chavo until he hits a tilt-a-whirl headscissor. Chavo hits two of the Three Amigos and then Shelton dumps him outside right in front of mama. Back in the ring, Chavo counters a suplex into a really nice DDT. The referee is distracted by mama and then Randy Orton comes from out of nowhere and hits a RKO and Shelton gets the victory. Shelton was the obvious choice to win here because of show stealing performance last year, but I'm not sure why they just hate not having the Intercontinental Championship defended at WrestleMania.

Match Rating: 3/4*

They announce the third Hall Of Fame inductee and it's the legendary Mean Gene. Hulk Hogan is set to induct. I forgot how good this class was. 

Vince is on the phone backstage and in walks Shawn and that shirt. Shawn begs for Vince to leave Marty out of this and of course Vince doesn't agree. 

Money In The Bank Qualifying Match

Carlito vs. Ric Flair

Of all of Ric Flair's rivals, Carlito is definitely towards the bottom of the list because it is really kind of an odd pairing. They do a quick spot outside the ring and then Carlito suplexes Flair back into the ring. Carlito rolls down the knee pad and mocks Flair and misses with the knee drop. Flair is up and chopping and strutting. He goes up to the top rope and pokes Carlito in the eye. Carlito still catches him with a dropkick on the way down. Carlito goes and grabs his apple, takes a bite, but Flair kicks him on the way in and it sprays everywhere. Flair trips him up, grabs the top rope and steals the victory. Flair being in the Money In The Bank was pretty much the best use of him at this time. However, the whole Carlito requesting the match and then losing always kind of felt odd to me. This was kind of just a match. 

Match Rating: *1/4

Meanwhile, Vince is checking out his butt backstage. 

The Spirit Squad is here for a cheer to introduce Mr. McMahon. After Vince rips on Marty's life falling apart, he brings him down and shakes his hand. Marty's haircut here was definitely a choice. Vince forces him to his knees and then pulls his pants down. Marty ends up not doing it and so Vince calls out...Chris Masters? Hey, it's the guy we had lose to Kane's big boot last week. He brings out a chair and Vince tells him that he has to break the Master Lock instead. Marty puts up a good fight until Vince kicks him in the gut and then Vince again pulls down his pants. Masters tries to shove Marty's face there, but out comes Michaels to save the day. Just as Michaels is about to go after Vince, Shane McMahon comes in out of nowhere and chucks a chair at him. Vince then makes the announcement that Michaels will take on Shane at Saturday Night's Main event to a pretty mild response from the crowd. He then has Shane shove Michaels into daddy's butt and says that he's going to face Michaels at WrestleMania. Raw officially has their three big feature matches for WrestleMania, even if Vince's heel run definitely had lost a ton of steam by this point. 

On one hand, the show was very focused and built to WrestleMania. Unfortunately, there wasn't much in the way of great wrestling to go along with it. However, the weekly shows aren't necessarily for that as long as whatever they are doing in between is interesting. Obviously this was no classic show, but it was entertaining enough to keep things moving. 

Overall Rating: 59%

NXT 1-8-14 Review

Original Airdate: Wednesday, January 8th, 2014
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2

Summer Rae vs. Bayley

Bayley teases a hug and instead rips Summer's headband out. Bayley's headband comes out and for some reason the camera awkwardly pans to Natalya. Summer has actually turned out to be a solid heel over time. Bayley hits a splash in the corner and then hits a leaping reverse elbow for a 2 count. Bayley then hits another reverse elbow, but this time off the second rope. Bayley hits a Bayley-to-Belly and gets the victory. Not that this match needed to be 10+ minutes, they could have easily used another 3 minutes to make this not feel like a squash. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

Xavier Woods is backstage and he basically just goofs around. 

Colin Cassady vs. Aiden English

For whatever reason, English's singing gimmick doesn't get any reaction here. Cassady is really trying to get the "Sawft" over and it is semi-working. After both guys getting a short amount of time in control, English kicks Cassady in the knee and then hits the Director's Cut for the quick pinfall victory. They must not have much faith in Cassady still because his matches are never longer than 2 minutes. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

Adrian Neville is being interviewed and then his phone rings. It's Tyler Breeze calling from right next to him. He said if he talks on the phone, that way he doesn't have to look at his ugly face. They will be facing each other next week. 

Xavier Woods vs. Alexander Rusev

Kane comes out and rambles on and it all leads to him announcing that Rusev will be his opponent tonight. Rusev hits a big Samoan drop. After a dreaded nerve hold, Woods fires back and hits the Honor Roll. Rusev hits him with a clothesline and puts him in the Accolade for the victory. Seems like a wise use of Woods, who apparently was called up to Raw recently. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

They show an interview from Kofi Kingston after his loss to Rusev. He admits to underestimating Rusev, but he won't do it again and he challenges him to a rematch. 

Tyson Kidd vs. Baron Corbin

Corbin is still getting the "already in the ring" treatment. They must be thinking Corbin is getting close here though, as he is dominating the match. Kidd comes back and hits a big running dropkick. Kidd hits a top rope neckbreaker and that is all for Corbin. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

Tornado Tag Team Match

Hunico & Camacho vs. The Ascension

With this being somewhat of a feud and given that the rules are that all four men can be in the ring at once, you would expect this to get off to a hot start. Unfortunately, that's not the case here. It kind of feels like I am at 75% speed here. Hunico and Camacho go for stereo punches in the corner, but the Ascension both hit powerbombs to get out of it. O'Brian hits a flapjack on Camacho for a nearfall. Hunico hits a crossbody off the top rope. Camacho hits a Samoan drop and Hunico follows it with a swanton, but Viktor breaks up the pin attempt. Camacho goes for a dive, but he is greeted with a big uppercut. The Ascension hits Fall Of Man and that is all. The last minute or two finally picked up, but it wasn't good enough to make up for the first segment. 

Match Rating: *1/4

Like I have said in previous reviews, NXT's talent is increasing here in 2014, but you can't put them all on each episode. Even on a mediocre episode like this one, there is enough good to make it breeze by. The tag team division still stinks, but the singles division is building up quite nicely. 

Overall Rating: 56%

Monday Night Raw 11-8-93 Review

Monday, November 8th, 1993
Fernwood Resort
Bushkill, Pennsylvania

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2

We get a big hype video for the Scott Steiner/Ludvig Borga match. If the WWF had no plans for the Steiners, the least they could have done is just push Scott as a top guy. Down to Vince McMahon, Randy Savage and Bobby Heenan. They announce that you can pay $0.99 to vote to see who will wrestle Quebecer Pierre next week. 

Ludvig Borga vs. Scott Steiner

Borga attacks Steiner as he is taking off his varsity jacket. Borga hits a top rope clothesline and Steiner is in trouble early on. Steiner out of nowhere hits a double underhook suplex and then a pump handle slam. I can't emphasize this enough, how was Scott Steiner not a huge star on the 1993 roster? They wisely have continued to do some back and forth action so that we aren't stuck with a Borga heat segment. Steiner barely hits a dropkick and Borga rolls outside. Out come the Quebecers as we go to commercial break. Steiner puts on the Boston crab and out comes Rick Steiner for backup. Borga gets to the ropes in one of the least dramatic submission holds I have seen. Steiner hits a top rope dropkick for a 2 count, but then Borga comes back with a powerslam. Rick is on the apron and Borga throws him into the ring. In come the Quebecers and we have a melee. Earl Hebner calls for the bell and a group of officials attempt to break it up. Both men are disqualified. I have to say, this was a lot better than I would have ever expected. 

Match Rating: *3/4

We get another Jeff Jarrett vignette. I do not care for these at all. 

Men On A Mission vs. Corey Student & Steve Smyth

Smyth is mocking Mabel and obviously that doesn't go well. MOM hits a double dropkick and then in comes Student. Mo is a low key huge man. Mabel hits a DDT and then Mo jumps off the top rope to hit bulldog Mabel onto Student for the victory. The dark days of the tag team division are near. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Todd Pettengill time with the Survivor Series Report. Bret tells us about the Harts that are going to be in Boston to face Jerry Lawler. They announce the Smoky Mountain Tag Team Championship match between the Heavenly Bodies and Rock 'n' Roll Express, which is still a thing that I can't believe happened.

"If you drink and drive, sooner or later you are going to meet the Undertaker."

Rick Martel vs. John Paul

I always enjoyed Martel squash matches, as Martel always lets the jobber get just enough offense in. Martel misses in the corner and hits his shoulder on the ring post. Paul hits a dropkick and he's all fired up. Martel ducks a crossbody and Martel puts him in the Boston crab to finish him off. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Savage is waiting for Crush at ringside and Vince tries to talk him out of it. Vince actually holds him back and then Savage throws him to the ground. He runs after Crush and attacks him. No one does the lunatic brawl better than Savage. Crush never has his match, "crushing" my dreams.

Bob Backlund vs. Barry Horowitz

Savage comes out during the match. They then show Crush in the back busting out and then Savage goes back again to brawl again. Meanwhile, we have no winner from this match, so I guess it's a no contest. 

Match Rating: No Rating

Lex Luger will face Pierre next week after receiving 62% of the votes. We then go back to Crush and Savage brawling outside as we go off the air. 

This was one of those shows where nothing great necessarily happened on it, but it was an enjoyable way to spend 45 minutes. The opener was significantly better than what I expected it to be and Savage was at his best here tonight. The Survivor Series card still looks very weak and they haven't done much to really build it outside of the main event. 

Overall Rating: 59%

SmackDown 2-24-06 Review

Original Airdate: Friday, February 24th, 2006
Richmond Coliseum
Richmond, Virginia

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2

Randy Orton is here to kick off the show and Michael Cole refers to him as a disgusting excuse of a human being. Cole and Tazz let us know that tonight we will see Rey Mysterio, Lashley and Chris Benoit against Randy Orton, Finlay and JBL. Orton then rambles on about being his family and then eventually Chavo Guerrero comes out of nowhere and attacks Orton. He hits the Three Amigos and then a Frog Splash. Chavo gets dragged through the crowd by security as we go into a commercial break. I definitely do not remember this happening. 

WWE Tag Team Championship Match

Matt Hardy & Tatanka vs. MNM

So for those of you keeping score at home, the non-title match was at the event you had to pay for and the title match is on free TV. Hardy and Tatanka flip Nitro upside down, as we keep seeing more and more of his unique abilities every week. Mercury pulls down the top rope, sending Tatanka to the floor and MNM isolates Tatanka. MNM's double leg drop is a nice move that someone should steal. Tatanka fights off a double team and makes the hot tag to Hardy. Hardy hits his nice bulldog/clothesline combo and follows it up with a Side Effect. Nitro hits a kick behind the referee's back and it allows Mercury to hit a northern lights suplex into a bridge for a 2 count. Hardy and Tatanka hit a back suplex/neckbreaker combo and almost pull off the upset. Melina grabs Hardy's leg as he attempts a Twist of Fate. Mercury rolls up Hardy and they are able to squeak out a victory in an entertaining match. It would have been nice to see them get a few more minutes, but they packed a lot of action in a short amount of time. 

Match Rating: **1/2

William Regal reads a letter from a fan to Paul Burchill saying how embarrassing he is as a pirate. Burchill hands him a bomb and lights it. It does nothing. They show the Eddie Guerrero Hall of Fame package again. 

Booker T and Sharmell are here and they are not their usual joyous selves. 

Two-On-One Handicap Match

The Dicks vs. Boogeyman

They sell this like it was a last minute change and Booker and Sharmell are freaking out. The Dicks aren't too happy about it either. The Dicks try their hardest (yeah, I know), but it's just not good enough. It only takes about a minute until they are eating worms. Boogey turns his attention to Booker and Sharmell and they bust out of there through the crowd. He then dumps a bag of worms on the announce table. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

As they clean up the worms, out comes Rey Mysterio. He admits that Orton got in his head and he apologizes to everyone. Teddy Long comes out and says that he is going to add Mysterio to the match, making it a triple threat match at WrestleMania. This was kind of a weird segment, as it was really short and kind of just buried on the show. 

Out comes Kristal to promote her photo spread in the new Divas magazine and is about to show it off. Jillian Hall interrupts, so Kristal tells her to show the crowd. Jillian doesn't want to, so Kristal strips her down. Kristal then shows off after. This got about as much time as Rey Mysterio being added to the WrestleMania main event 

WWE Cruiserweight Championship Match

Gregory Helms vs. Psicosis

It's nice to see this title actually defended here regularly. After some quick action to start, Helms catches Psicosis and dumps him over the ropes. Helms slows things down back in the ring until Psicosis hits a spinning heel kick. Helms ducks the second one and he hits his variation of the GTS for a 2 count. Helms catches Psicosis on the top rope, but gets knocked down. Helms bounces off the ropes, knocking Psicosis down and then scores the pinfall with his feet on the ropes. I appreciate them putting Helms over as a heel, but this one just never clicked at all. 

Match Rating: *

They show a big highlight package of the Kurt Angle/Undertaker match from No Way Out, with Cole hyping it as one of the greatest matches of all time. I definitely do not agree with that.

Teddy Long is back out and he announces that there will be rematch between Kurt Angle and Undertaker next week on SmackDown. 

Randy Orton's music hits, but he's not coming out. Orton is yelling at Long backstage about Chavo, Taker and Mysterio. Long tells him that if he doesn't get out there now for his match, he's going to pull him from the WrestleMania main event. 

Randy Orton, JBL & Finlay vs. Chris Benoit, Bobby Lashley & Rey Mysterio

Orton and Mysterio surprisingly start off and Orton quickly gets a clubbing blow to the back of the neck on Mysterio, but then eats a headscissors. He goes for a 619, but Orton is out of there and tags in Finlay, so Mysterio tags in Lashley. Things break down quickly and all six men are brawling into the commercial break. When we come back, Benoit puts the Sharpshooter on JBL, but it doesn't last long because JBL grabs the bottom rope. The heels have their heat segment on Mysterio until he finally hits a headscissor, throwing Orton into the ring post. Benoit gets the hot tag and takes care of all three opponents, hitting German suplexes on all of them. He hits the flying headbutt on JBL, with Finlay saving the pin attempt. JBL gets his hand smashed between the ring and the steps by Benoit. Mysterio hits the 619 and gets the pin on JBL. This one was actually more on the disappointing side. I thought they would tear it down, but instead they did a pretty basic match. 

Match Rating: **1/4

SmackDown has been really good as of late, but this one just dragged. The matches seemingly delivered and there was a lot of fluff. I am hopeful that they will finally focus on WrestleMania. 

Overall Rating: 46%