SmackDown 4-14-06 Review

Original Airdate: Friday, April 14th, 2006
Resch Center
Green Bay, Wisconsin

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Tonight we will be getting a rematch between JBL and Chris Benoit and the return of the King of the Ring Tournament. The first matchup will be Kurt Angle vs. Randy Orton tonight. They have the throne, robe, crown and scepter in the ring. Out comes Booker T and Sharmell to the ring to check it all out. This may be a little bit too much foreshadowing for what's about to come. Booker talks about the restraining order he got from Boogeyman, which means SmackDown is a Boogeyman-free zone. He brings up "Gunner Something" and says that what happened last week will never happen again. Booker has definitely gotten his groove back compared to where he was when I started recapping 2005. It seems like a good time to remind everyone how good Sharmell is here too. Booker then asks that all of his subjects stand and bow down to the future king. He goes to try on the robe and crown and does a little dance to go with it. I am guessing they were trying to make it look too obvious here to try and swerve us? This is also the beginning of the "All hail King Booker". Out comes Lashley and he hits a Spear on him. This was a great segment by Booker, but I'm not sure I like the timing of it. 

Johnny Nitro vs. Brian Kendrick

This is a match that I can get behind. Nitro snaps Kendrick's neck off the second rope and hits him with a series of fists to the face. Nitro does some showboating and it costs him, leading to a Kendrick missile dropkick. Nitro distracts the ref and Mercury then shoves Kendrick off the top rope for a 2 count. We get a bunch of shenanigans with London and Melina and it ends up with Kendrick getting a victory roll for the win. This was way too short, especially since they are building up London and Kendrick, but it was still good. 

Match Rating: **

They show Paul Burchill outside of William Regal's locker room with Regal complaining about his outfit. 

This week in wrestling history, ECW had it's first pay-per-view, Barely Legal. Tazz and Cole talk about One Night Stand tickets going on sale. 

Paul Burchill vs. Rasche Brown

Before the match, Burchill introduces Lady Regal. Apparently Regal has to dress like this until Burchill loses. Regal tries to cheat, but it backfires and Burchill hits Walk The Plank for the quick victory. This was here only for comedy purposes. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Kristal Marshall is with Kurt Angle. Angle blames losing his title on Randy Orton and tonight he's taking out all of his rage on him tonight. 

They show clips of Bret Hart vs. Bam Bam Bigelow to crown the "first" King of the Ring. 

Matt Hardy vs. Road Warrior Animal

We see clips of Animal attacking Hardy after his match on Velocity. They start brawling in the entrance and Animal throws Hardy into the ring post. Animal tries to bring a chair in the ring, but Hardy knocks it away and the match starts. Hardy hits Twist of Fate and that's it. I'm not really sure what the point of this was? 

Match Rating: 1/4*

They show a video package of Rey Mysterio's journey to the World Heavyweight Championship. 

Palmer Cannon comes out and says that the network does not endorse this video of Mike Mizanin. 

Steel Cage Match For The United States Championship 

JBL vs. Chris Benoit

Before the match starts, Teddy Long comes out for no reason and makes this match in a cage. This doesn't seem like the feud to have a cage match, at least at this point, but it should make for a better match than we got at WrestleMania. JBL goes for a quick escape after a shoulder tackle, but Benoit runs up to grab his leg. They are battling on the top rope and Benoit is able to knock him off. Benoit tries climbing, but JBL hits a back suplex. Benoit tries to fight back, but JBL pushes him off the top rope. JBL hits two of the Three Amigos, but Benoit counters the third one. He goes for the Sharpshooter, but JBL kicks him in the face. Benoit hits the Three Amigos and then hits the top rope headbutt. Benoit starts to climb, but JBL meets him there and hits a side Russian leg sweep off the top rope. I'm not sure I've ever seen that before. JBL hits an electric chair and gets a 2 count. Benoit makes another attempted comeback and hits two German suplexes, before JBL hits him with an elbow to the face. JBL starts to climb again and Benoit hits a German suplex from the top rope. Benoit starts crawling to the door. Jillian and the referee are arguing over it and then she accidentally slams it on JBL's face. Benoit puts on the Crippler Crossface and JBL taps, but the referee doesn't see it. JBL is able to hit a low blow and then slides out of the ring through the door and gains the victory. Honestly, this was really disappointing. This was paint by the numbers and this feud just continues to not click. 

Match Rating: **1/4

They show the clip of Steve Austin winning the King of the Ring and the birth of Austin 3:16. 

They show the clip of the debut of Great Khali and he is then introduced to the ring. Daivari touts Khali as the new phenomenon in the WWE and then Khali starts making loud noises. 

Mexicools vs. Gymini

So apparently Gymini is a thing again. They take it right to Psicosis to start things off. Super Crazy gets a hot tag and reminds everyone that he is one of the most underutilized stars on the roster at this time. He hits a springboard tornado DDT, but the pinfall gets broken up. They do some twin magic, hit a suplex and that is all. How quickly the Mexicools have fallen down the roster. I mean, as far as 2 minute squashes go, this was good enough. I just don't get why they don't do anything with Super Crazy. 

Match Rating: *1/4

King Of The Ring First Round Match

Kurt Angle vs. Randy Orton

Angle gets off to a fast start, but Orton is able to throw Angle's shoulder into the ring post. He works on the shoulder of Angle, but when he goes for a sunset flip, Angle counters it into the Ankle Lock. Orton gets out and hits a dropkick to regain control. Angle charges at Orton, but Orton flips him over the top rope. Orton tries to suplex Angle back into the ring, but Orton is able to suplex him all the way to the floor. Angle gets the Ankle Lock in and Orton taps? That was quicker than I expected. Angle holds on to a little longer after the bell for good measure. After that he starts walking away and then goes back to the Ankle Lock. He walks halfway down the ramp and decides to go back again and slap on the Ankle Lock. 

Match Rating: *1/4

This wasn't a particularly strong episode of SmackDown, but the roster is good enough to make mediocre entertaining. The opening segment with Booker was the highlight here, but it's an easy enough show to watch for fans of this era. 

Overall Rating: 58%

Monday Night Raw 4-10-06 Review

Monday, April 10th, 2006
Bradley Center
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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Edge and Lita are here to kick off the show. He talks about being the favorite in their match at Backlash and out comes John Cena. Cena reminds Edge that he was only the champion for 2 weeks and said that he came here to fight. Edge backpedals and gets on Cena for caring about what the people in the audience think. Lita is doing a nice job with her facial expressions throughout this whole thing. Cena turns this into making fun of Triple H and after 11 minutes, he finally makes his way out. On a side note, the Triple H skull logo has to be one of the worst things WWE creative services has ever come up with, right? Triple H says that all the fans respect him. Cena dares Triple H to Pedigree him again, but Edge feels left out and reminds us about what he accomplished at WrestleMania 22. Triple H says that Vince called him and said that Edge is going to take on both Triple H and Cena tonight in a handicap match. Edge storms away furiously and Triple H extends his hand out to Cena. Cena instead slaps him in the face and heads to the back. This segment accounted for over 20% of the actual show.

Rob Conway vs. Rob Van Dam

Conway is in the ring and selling his jaw. They show that during the commercial, Triple H clocked him with a right hand. I'm not sure I can declare this a fair outing to determine the best Rob in WWE, so that will have to wait for another day. As RVD is in the ring, out comes Shelton Benjamin and it allows Conway to attack him from behind. Conway must be trying to save his job because he is still selling the punch. RVD hits a spin kick and then a helicopter kick onto Conway draped on the barricade. Meanwhile, Shelton challenges RVD at Backlash. RVD hits Rolling Thunder, goes up top and hits the 5 Star Frog Splash for the quick victory. That was barely enough time for Shelton to even get his challenge out. He's interviewed on the ramp by some jabroni announcer and he tells him about Shelton's challenge. RVD says there's no way that he's putting his Money In The Bank briefcase on the line and challenges Shelton for the Intercontinental Championship instead. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Mickie James is backstage with Maria and she tells us how amazing it's been winning the Women's Championship. She thanks Trish Stratus and then says that she can't wait to go back home to Toronto to celebrate. She snaps at Maria for correcting her and challenges Maria to a match tonight. 

World Tag Team Championship Match

Spirit Squad vs. Kane & Big Show

Ooooh man, it's the beginning of the May 19th story for Kane. He is haunted by voices in his head that we can magically hear too. Big Show sees him and tells him that they have work to do. Johnny and Nicky are the ones defending tonight. The match last week was horrible, so let's this one is at the very least a slight improvement. Big Show is obviously is not in a good mood and quickly takes it out on Johnny. Johnny has a huge hand print on his chest from Big Show. We see some trademarks of the future bump machine, Dolph Ziggler. Show gorilla presses Nicky over the top and onto his 4 friends. Back from the commercial break, Johnny hits a spin kick on Kane and a lot of cheap shots behind the referee's back. Big Show chases them off, but Kane is in trouble for the time being. I did not expect this match to get as much time as it is here. The champs hit a double vertical suplex on Kane, but he sits up behind their backs. Kane gets clotheslined out of the ring, but he then fights off both opponents and throws them back into the ring. Kane grabs chairs and throws them into the ring. The referee calls for the bell. Kane hits a pair of chokeslams while Big Show just stands there on the apron. Kane then chokeslams the referee. Big Show comes out to try and calm him down, but Kane gets in his face. Kane shoves him and Show shoves back. They both grab each others throats, but Kane is the one who hits the chokeslam. They don't announce how the Spirit Squad won the match. It should have been a countout, but I have a feeling it was a DQ. The match was a huge upgrade over last week, but nothing special. 

Match Rating: *1/2

Big Show finally gets up and isn't happy. 

They pan to earlier today and show Vince and Shane in a church into the commercial break. 

Just in case we didn't get enough of Cena in the opening segment, he's interviewed backstage to remind us that he and Triple H are best friends. 

Back to the McMahons at a church. What could go wrong here? He first tries to wash his hands in the holy water and then instead drinks it and spits it out while imitating Triple H. He then cuts a promo there and all of the commandments of his that Shawn Michaels broke. This all just screams of them trying to be controversial rather than creating entertaining storylines. 

Armando Alejandro Estrada is in the ring and he is here to introduce Umaga.

Umaga vs. Chris Guy

Umaga has dreadlocks this week. Umaga's opponent is none other than Colt Cabana. Umaga immediately attacks him and hits the butt to the face in the corner. Umaga drags him to the center o fthe ring and hits a second rope headbutt. Umaga shows off the taped up thumb and hits the Smoan Spike submission for the victory. There are some audible boos to the finisher here. It took awhile, but this all got over eventually. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Carlito is in the ring and says that he's on a diet. He lost 275 lbs. of dead weight in Chris Masters. He calls out Masters and he's out immediately. Masters says he's not going to do anything tonight because they have a match at Backlash. Masters brings up their history and honestly, Masters is the babyface in this scenario. Carlito makes fun of Masters for costing them the tag titles at WrestleMania because of what Carlito did to him at Royal Rumble and New Year's Revolution. He then makes fun of the Master Lock and calls down for a ref for an impromptu Master Lock Challenge. Carlito has an apple in his hand and Masters doesn't want any of it. He knocks it out of his hand and so Carlito hits him in the head with the chair. 

They show a recap of Chavo Guerrero quitting last week and announce that Jim Ross will have an interview Chavo next week on Raw. 

WWE Women's Championship Match

Mickie James vs. Maria

Meanwhile, we get to watch Coach and King eat Subway sandwiches. After a quick roll up from Maria, Mickie goes on the attack. Mickie misses off the second rope, but still snaps Maria back onto her knees. To call this one sloppy would be an understatement. Mickie hits a Mick Chick and that is all. Out comes Trish Stratus and she's dressed as Mickie. Mickie is in shock and Trish cuts a promo. Trish says she wants to be just like her and then kisses her. Kudos to Trish for going all out here. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Handicap Match

Triple H & John Cena vs. Edge

Edge goes all out on Cena, trying to score a quick victory. Cena fights back and hits a belly-to-belly suplex for a 2 count. Edge hides behind Lita on the outside and hits a cheap shot on Cena to turn things back in his favor. It doesn't last long and then Triple H tags himself in. Triple H hits a high knee on Edge. Lita gets on the apron and distracts him enough for Edge to attack him from behind. Edge hits Edgecution and both men are down. Edge sets up for the Spear, but instead Triple H hits the spinebuster. Cena is tagged in and he hits the Five Knuckle Shuffle. Cena has him up for the FU, but Triple H pulls Edge off and hits the Pedigree. Cena hits the FU on Triple H and puts Edge in the STFU for the victory. This was pretty ho hum until the final moments there. 

Match Rating: **

This was a passable episode of Raw that focused more on building to Backlash then it did on entertaining segments. Unfortunately, it ended up as being pretty unmemorable, but that happens when you have a show on 52 weeks a year. 

Overall Rating: 49%

NXT 3-20-14 Review

Original Airdate: Thursday, March 20th, 2014
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida

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Mojo Rawley vs. Bull Dempsey

What a way to start a show. Rob Gronkowski is in the crowd. Dempsey, despite no entrance, starts off in control. Mojo makes a comeback, hits his 3 moves and one of the weakest finishers in wrestling for the victory. This felt like the only reason it was here was to show off Gronk. As I am typing that, Mojo runs in the crowd to celebrate with him. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

CJ Parker is backstage for an interview and makes fun of Mojo. 

Tyler Breeze vs. Sami Zayn

As Zayn is coming down to the ring, he is attacked by Corey Graves. They do a concussion angle after Graves threw him into the ring post, which seems kind of tone deaf. 

Sheamus is here and he is interrupted by Aiden English. They are the main event tonight. 

Adam Rose vs. Camacho

I do have to give Rose credit for completely reinventing himself with this character. After some goofing around from Rose, Camacho goes on the attack. Camacho mocks him and Rose snaps. Rose hits a bronco buster and then a spinebuster. He hits a running lariat and that is all. The NXT crowd absolutely loves Rose. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

Sasha Banks vs. Bayley

Bayley gets a hold of Sasha's sunglasses and mocks her. Meanwhile, on the outside Charlotte and Natalya have some words. Sasha hits a dropkick to the back of Bayley and then mocks here in return. Bayley gets dumped outside. Charlotte approaches her, but Natalya is there to stop her. As Bayley goes in the ring, Charlotte gets in a cheap shot on Natalya. Sasha tries to roll up Bayley, but she rolls through and steals the victory. They continue to shortchange the women's division here on NXT with short matches. This was another one where the finish came out of nowhere. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

Next week's card features Bo Dallas vs. Adrian Neville, Charlotte vs. Natalya, Xavier Woods vs. Tyler Breeze and CJ Parker vs. Mojo Rawley. 

Aiden English vs. Sheamus

Sheamus insults English some more and then does some singing. English knocks Sheamus from behind and through the ropes. English starts off aggressive, but it only angers Sheamus. Sheamus hits the 10 clubbing blows to the chest, but English is able to avoid the Brogue Kick. Sheamus dominates through the commercial break, but English is able to make a quick comeback. William Regal lets us know about his man crush on English. English puts on the sleeper hold for a bit. Sheamus gets out and has an offensive explosion. Sheamus nails the Brogue Kick and that is all. I would have liked to have seen the match feature English a little bit more than him having a sleeper hold on for half of his offense. This was mildly decent, but nothing more. 

Match Rating: *3/4

This wasn't a bad episode by any means, but it certainly isn't one that you are going to remember in a few weeks either. I would say that this was the definition of a filler episode.

Overall Rating: 49%

Mid-South Wrestling 12-12-81

Original Airdate: Saturday, December 12th, 1981

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This is my first exposure to Mid-South, as I am adding another timeline to the blog here. 

The Monk vs. Bryan Blair

Ernie Ladd is the guest commentator tonight. The Monk is not very good and before I can even really recap anything, Blair turns an abdominal stretch into a pinfall. At least it was quick? 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Tom Renesto Jr. vs. King Cobra

After a criss-cross, Cobra hits a back body drop. Cobra hits some average dropkicks and then works on the arm of Renesto. Cobra hits a leaping headbutt and gains the victory. Another poor match here. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Ed Wiskowski vs. Jim Garvin

Garvin looks quite a bit different here. I know it's 1981, but the announcing is so bad. Wiskowski dumps Garvin into the turnbuckle and gets in a few shots before the referee takes Garvin down. Garvin hits a running forearm and gets a 2 count. Garvin goes for a sleeper hold, but Wiskowski dumps Garvin through the ropes and to the floor. Wiskowski hits a leaping knee and then dumps him on the top rope from a body slam. He hits a gutbuster and that is all. This was a step up over the last two matches, but that's not saying much. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

They are now showing what happened last week between Terry Orndorff and Junkyard Dog. Paul Orndorff comes down to interfere and another man in a yellow mask. JYD throws him over the top rope and is disqualified.

Jerry Novak & Aaron Holt vs. Junkyard Dog & Mike George

JYD is in such good shape here. All four men start brawling and the jobbers get thrown into each other. JYD hits a powerslam and gets the victory. This show has been something else so far. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Iron Sheik vs. Buddy Ryan

This would be more interesting if Buddy Ryan was the football coach. Sheik is lightyears better looking here than what I have seen in WWF. This was quick as well, with Sheik winning after a suplex. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Mixed Tag Team Match

Diamond Lil & Rick Ferrara vs. Little Barbie Doll & Tony Charles

The ladies start things off and show off some solid wrestling skills. There is lots of audible laughing despite them not playing for laughs here, which is pretty sickening. The men are tagged in and they both look like jobbers. The ladies are back in and Barbie hits a back body drop and then a splash that doesn't tough Diamond and gets the pinfall victory. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Paul Orndorff vs. Ted DiBiase

It's sad to see Orndorff here so soon after his passing. This match feels like it's moving a million miles per hour compared to the slow motion garbage on the rest of the show. After a lot of back and forth, DiBiase hits a nice flurry of moves and then locks Orndorff into the Figure Four. Orndorff rolls it over and DiBiase is in pain. I'm not sure why he doesn't grab the bottom rope that is right in front of him. They start running down next week's card, as time is running out. The bell rings and Orndorff won't let go. That's all for this week. This was the best 6 minutes of the show. 

Match Rating: **

I really hope that this is not an indicator of what to expect from Mid-South. If it is, I won't be watching this much longer. This episode was pretty pointless and had nothing worth going out of your way to watch. 

Overall Rating: 28%

Monday Night Raw 3-28-94 Review

Monday, March 28th, 1994
Mid-Hudson Civic Center
Poughkeepsie, New York

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We are shown Ted DiBiase buying out some women out of their seats. Ah yes, the start of the worst stable in the history of the company. Jim Cornette is with Vince here this week. 

Rick Martel vs. Lex Luger

This pairing actually kind of intrigues me. Luger starts off hot, hitting a series of clotheslines. Luger looks pretty motivated despite this being the beginning of the end of his WWF run. Luger hits an atomic drop and a clothesline to send Martel out of the ring into the commercial break. Martel is able to turn things around and then puts Luger in a chinlock. Luger tries to make the comeback, but misses with a dropkick and Martel is stomping away. Luger blocks a hip toss and hits a backslide for a 2 count. Luger hits a big powerslam and then puts him in the Torture Rack and that's all for Martel. The rest hold was a little long, but the rest of the match was solid enough. 

Match Rating: *3/4

Owen Hart vs. Mike Freeman

Nothing like having Owen come off a huge victory and then interrupt his match with DiBiase talking to Vince and Cornette. DiBiase promises that he has some big surprises in the next few weeks. Cornette starts talking about the Clintons and Vince says to stay out of politics. This is the same guy that just ran commercials with the "Clintons" in it to promote his company. Freeman his getting way more of a shot here than you would think. Owen is obviously not a killer, but I'm not sure he needs to be having 5 minute squashes. He finally slaps on the Sharpshooter and Freeman taps. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Doink vs. Eric Cody

Doink sprays DiBiase on his way to the ring. After losing to Bam Bam at WrestleMania, there really seems like there is no point to Doink being a thing anymore with the exception of a house show attraction. He hits the Whoopee Cushion and gets the victory. Nothing to see here. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Jim Cornette brings out the Quebecers for an interview. Captain Lou Albano interrupts them and asks if they accept his challenge. They do and he brings out the Headshrinkers. Jacques tries to talk his way out of it, but Albano isn't having it. This kind of just ends before it's really over. 

Next week we get the rematch of Earthquake and Adam Bomb. 

Black Phantom vs. 1-2-3 Kid

Vince congratulates Rush Limbaugh on making $15 million last year. Meanwhile, the Kid looks really good here. He ducks a clothesline and then hits a spin kick for a 2 count. Kid hits a reverse top rope crossbody for the victory. Next week we finally get the 10 man tag team match that we were supposed to get at WrestleMania. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

WWF Greetings On Call...only $9.95!

Crush vs. Ray Hudson

Once again, Nikolai Volkoff is once again at ringside. Crush feels dead in the water here and is just going through the motions. Vince then makes fun of Cornette's weight just in case you're wondering how things are going. He doesn't even use the usual finisher and gets a pinfall victory instead. This was slow motion.

Match Rating: 1/4*

We get kind of a weird recap of the show with highlights as we fade to black. 

This wasn't exactly peak 1994 WWF here. The opener was decent enough and Owen and the Kid always deliver, but there was nothing memorable here. Next week's card looks like it could be fun. 

Overall Rating: 40%

Superstars 3-26-94 Review

Original Airdate: Saturday, March 26th, 1994
Stabler Arena
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

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They show still photos of Bret Hart winning the WWF Championship at WrestleMania, even though this was taped well before that. 

Lex Luger vs. Duane Gill

Jerry Lawler is back here announcing on Superstars and Luger is hot off his loss at WrestleMania (*not really). Luger usually gets a pretty good reaction, but the crowd is absolutely dead here for this one. He tosses Gill around a bit and puts him in the Torture Rack for the very quick victory. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

They show some still photos of Luger's failed attempt of winning the title from Yokozuna, focusing on the controversy created by Mr. Perfect. We then get a live (*not really) look in at both Tatanka and Kwang getting ready for their match.

Diesel vs. John Chrystal

Diesel is a little less over here than he has been, but I suppose this could be hour 8 of a taping too. Diesel is in 1990 Undertaker mode here, as he is all slow going. He hits a big boot and the Jackknife for the victory. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We get an IRS vignette giving us reasons that people are such bad tax cheats. Why is this still a thing? 

Tatanka vs. Kwang

Kwang gets off to a hot start and no one cares. Tatanka gives Kwang all he can handle, including a top rope chop, but he only gets a 2 count. Kwang hits a spin kick that makes Tatanka jump over the top rope. When we come back from commercial, Kwang is working on Tatanka in the ring with a dreaded nerve hold. Even Harvey looks bored. We get three nerve holds in this match, which is three too many. I know it's wrestling and you need to suspend your disbelief, but he just legit needs to punch him to get out of it. All of this to get to an IRS run in where he tries to steal Tatanka's headdress. Tatanka sees him and attacks him and they begin to brawl. I guess it's a double countout? Whatever. This wasn't good at all.

Match Rating: 1/2*

Smoking Gunns vs. Jason Headings & Rich Meyers

Lawler and Vince are talking about all of the celebrities at WrestleMania and Vince calls Burt Reynolds one of the nicest people you will ever meet. Headings hits a flying headscissors, but Bart hits a weird back body drop after a crisscross. The Gunns hit a vertical suplex/crossbody combo and then hit a top rope elbow drop from the shoulder of Bart Gunn for the victory. The Gunns continue to be solid.

Match Rating: 1/4*

We go to Todd Pettengill for the final WrestleMania Report. Jim Cornette warns Bret Hart that he won't have the title long. We hear quickly from Piper and then from Bret about being the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be. Owen tells Bret how lucky he was and that they will fight for the WWF Championship. This leads to a lame commercial about the President watching Monday Night Raw by just showing Air Force One. 

Owen Hart vs. PJ Walker

Owen shows off his awesomeness on Seinfeld here. Owen hits a spinning heel kick and locks in the Sharpshooter for a quick victory. I would have rather watched another couple minutes of that instead of nerve hold mania earlier on. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

We now get the White House and the absolute worst impersonators of Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton and George Bush that you will here.

We go back to Vince and...Johnny Polo? They care about this show about as much as I do apparently. Jeff Jarrett comes out and they announce that next week he will take on Sparky Plugg. 

This episode was pretty terrible. Hopefully they start building towards King of the Ring soon here. Jeff Jarrett and Bob Holly does have some potential for next week at the very least. 

Overall Rating: 31%

Money In The Bank 2021 Review

Sunday, July 18th, 2021
Dickies Arena
Fort Worth, Texas

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2

Just for documentation purposes, this is the first live pay-per-view of the return to live audiences. 

Women's Money In The Bank Ladder Match

Alexa Bliss vs. Liv Morgan vs. Nikki A.S.H. vs. Natalya vs. Tamina vs. Zelina Vega vs. Naomi vs. Asuka 

All the ladies run outside to grab ladders and Alexa Bliss is standing on the corner watching. She starts skipping in the middle of the ring and tries to use special powers to grab the briefcase, but she's attacked and now we get the spot where everyone runs in and hits a signature move. Tamina gets some big boos until Bliss jumps on her back. Asuka makes the save to start dominating and starts climbing on top or Tamina. Liv Morgan jumps on the ladder to slam it on Tamina and then knocks Asuka off. Natalya knocks her off the ladder. They start fighting over the ladder and then use it on Nikki. Naomi gets on top of it, but Tamina hits a Samoan Drop off of it. Natalya drives Liv into the corner and then Alexa attacks Natalya. She starts climbing up the ladder creepily, but is slowed down. She hits a drop toe hold onto the ladder onto Natalya. Alexa sets up the ladder, but Zelina climbs up to. Alexa starts using her powers on Zelina and makes her walk down. Natalya makes the save and hits the powerbomb. Naomi catches Liv Morgan and she powerbombs her onto Zelina onto a ladder. Naomi takes out the tag champs and hits a body slam and leg drop on Nikki onto a ladder. Natalya climbs up to the top of the ladder with Zelina on her back. Natalya loses consciousness and Zelina has her hands on the briefcase, but Liv runs up the ladder to make the save. Everyone starts brawling and then Nikki climbs to the top of the giant ladder and takes out everyone with a dive. Alexa stops her attempt of climbing and then she's attacked by the tag champs. On the outside of the ring the ladies all bury Alexa with a stack of ladders. Meanwhile, Liv tries to climb the ladder, but is taking forever to set it up. Tamina grabs her leg, but she drops down and hits a hurricanrana on her. Natalya clubs her with a forearm. Liv then fights off them and Asuka and starts climbing. Naomi is also there and then Naomi, Tamina, Asuka and Natalya are all up there. In comes Nikki and they all start brawling. Nikki sneaks up and grabs the briefcase. Umm...sure? This was pretty good, but it had a lot of awkward spots and not enough memorable parts. Nikki's a hard worker, but they are banking on her new gimmick being over. Liv Morgan to me was the only choice here, but what do I know? 

Match Rating: ***1/4

They show clips of the Usos winning the SmackDown Tag Team Championships on the pre-show. Roman Reigns is backstage and they do more of the schtick that everyone loves except me. 

Raw Tag Team Championship Match

Viking Raiders vs. AJ Styles & Omos

Styles starts, but instantly tags in Omos. He takes care of business and then in comes AJ to keep the momentum. The crowd is chanting for AJ here. AJ eats a huge knee from Erik and they get a nearfall. Omos tosses AJ over the top rope and he hits a hurricanrana on Erik. That was beautiful. This probably should have been the pre-show match, but AJ is doing everything in his power to take advantage of his time here. Erik hits a big back body drop and tags in Ivar. Ivar does the cartwheel and hits a big clothesline for a 2 count. AJ is able to make the tag to Omos. He catches Ivar by the throat off the second rope and then hits a big body slam on a big man. Oh boy, Omos uses the nerve hold. The Raiders use some double team work on AJ including a clothesline/German suplex combo. AJ fights back and hits the Pele kick on Ivar climbing the turnbuckles. In comes Omos and he gorilla presses Ivar and tries pinning him with one foot, but Ivar is able to kick out. The Raiders work together to get Omos down to one knee. Omos gets clotheslined over the top rope and the poor guy telegraphed that one by a mile. Erik hits a dive on him to the outside and AJ rolls up Ivar for a 2 count. The Raiders hit the Viking Experience, but Omos knocks Erik and he falls on top of Ivar to break up the pin. Omos is about as green of a wrestler as you will ever see in such a prominent role, but they have done a nice job of coming up with fun spots for him to hit to distract you from that. Omos hits a double handed chokeslam on Erik and the champs retain their titles. AJ busted his butt here and the Raiders looked good as well. This was entertaining and ended up being better than I had expected. 

Match Rating: ***

Drew McIntyre is backstage for an interview. He says that he doesn't want to win this match tonight, he has to win this match. 

WWE Championship Match

Kofi Kingston vs. Bobby Lashley

Kofi starts off with a sloppy sunset flip for a 2 count, but Lashley just takes out his anger immediately after with a vicious clothesline. Lashley catches Kofi off the second rope and then hits a variation of the spinebuster. Lashley tosses Kofi over the top rope to the floor and drives him into the ring post. Lashley puts on the full nelson, but Kofi spins him around and hits a suplex. Lashley is all in here tonight and Kofi is bumping around like crazy. Lashley hits the Dominator not once, but twice. Make it three times. Where has this Lashley been all these years? He puts on the Hurt Lock and that is all. This was an absolutely awesome display by Lashley and credit to Kofi for helping make him look so good here. These types of matches are hard to rate, but as far as matches like this go, this was really well done. 

Match Rating: **3/4

Raw Women's Championship Match

Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair

We have the "We want Becky" chants right off the bat here. Ripley hits Charlotte off the apron, but misses with her somersault off the apron. Charlotte hits a running dropkick that sends Ripley into the barricade. Ripley battles back and this time hits the somersault. Ripley hits a really nice German suplex and it feels like they are trying to break the record for the most instant replays in a match. Charlotte sidesteps a missile dropkick and she puts it into a Boston Crab. Ripley counters that and then a Figure Four attempt into a pin attempt. Charlotte hits a big boot to the face and goes up for the moonsault. Ripley knocks her down and puts her up on her shoulders. Charlotte counters and then Ripley counters that into an impressive suplex. Charlotte hits a top rope moonsault to the floor on Ripley and tosses her back in the ring. Ripley goes for Rip Tide, but Charlotte counters it into a DDT, but Ripley kicks out. You'll never guess it, but Charlotte is shocked that she kicked out. Charlotte is now crying and they start trading forearms. Charlotte hits a weird back elbow and then puts her feet on the rope for the pin, but the ref sees her. Charlotte hits a Natural Selection from the top rope and Ripley somehow kicks out. They are really working hard and they have really won the crowd over here. Charlotte drives Ripley's head into the ring post and then places Ripley's leg between the steps and post. She starts kicking the steps and puts her in the Figure Eight. Ripley taps and Charlotte is once again the Raw Women's Champion after a really good match. Charlotte shows a little bit more fire than usual as she celebrates her victory. 

Match Rating: ****

Men's Money In The Bank Match

Kevin Owens vs. Riddle vs. King Nakamura vs. Ricochet vs. John Morrison vs. Big E vs. Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre

Well, Peacock is having terrible technical difficulties here and has been glitching through all of the entrances here. The issue is not exclusive to me, it seems to be everyone. I can't believe they are starting this when they have to know that no one is able to watch it at home. Finally the stream is working, but I have easily missed about 5 minutes. After the fact review begins here: Everyone starts brawling to start things off. We get a dive fest early on from Ricochet and Riddle and the ring clears to Big E and Drew. The two big men fight off the rest of the competition and then go at it. Big E hits the Spear through the ropes on Drew and that looked scary. Owens and Nakamura are next to battle and Owens hurts his knee. Nakamura sets up the ladder, but Morrison interrupts. Morrison does a corkscrew over the ladder onto Nakamura. Morrison starts climbing, but Nakamura puts on an arm bar on the ladder. Rollins comes in and hits Nakamura with a knee off the top rope. Rollins and Morrison start taking out the competition with a ladder. End of the after the fact review. Morrison and Rollins set up a ladder on the table and ring. Owens is limping around and Morrison and Rollins attack him. Owens hits a moonsault off the second rope and onto the ladder, taking out both of them. His momentum is quickly stopped though, as Morrison and Rollins hit a double suplex onto the side of a ladder. McIntyre is now in there and he takes out both men. Morrison goes for some crazy flip off the top rope, but it didn't connect that great. Rollins turns on Morrison and hits him with the ladder. He goes to climb, but in comes Riddle, Ricochet and Big E. Riddle hits the RKO on Rollins. Rollins and Nakamura have a cool little segment and then McIntyre hits them with a double Claymore Kick. He hits the Future Shock on Big E and then slams Ricochet face-first onto a ladder. Drew then hits a leaping senton over the top rope onto his opponents. McIntyre begins to climb the ropes and then gets attacked by Jinder Mahal and his cronies that I didn't know existed. Really? They drag him to the back and then Riddle starts climbing. Ricochet walks on the ropes and jumps on the ladder. He knocks Riddle off, so Riddle pushes over the ladder. Ricochet lands on the top rope and he hits a springboard dive to teh floor. Ricochet comes back in and battles with Riddle again up top. Rollins is back in and sets up a ladder. Big E grabs Rollins and tosses him out. Riddle hits a RKO on Big E and Ricochet and then Rollins hits him with the Stomp. Nakamura hits a Go To Sleep and he climbs the ladder by himself. Morrison is up there and sprays him in the face. Owens knocks Morrison off and hits the Stunner. Nakamura slows him down, but he too eats a Stunner. Ricochet pulls Owens down, blocks the Stunner, but gets a pop up powerbomb instead. Owens gets his hand on the briefcase, but Rollins grabs him and hits a powerbomb over the top rope and through the ladder that was set up earlier. Rollins is climbing, but Big E is there. Big E hits the Big Ending from the ladder and grabs the briefcase to a a big pop from the crowd. 

Match Rating: ****

Seth Rollins is snapping backstage while in pain after the match. He then says that he needs a new plan and that he's next in line for whoever wins the Universal Championship match tonight. 

Universal Championship Match

Edge vs. Roman Reigns

The crowd is super into this, which is no surprise. Also as expected, this match starts off slowly with lots of character work. Reigns hits a series of clubbing blows and then throws Edge into the ring post shoulder first. Reigns hits a Drive By, but Reigns misses with the Superman Punch. Edge almost scores a victory and they hit a double kick. Edge hits a clothesline and Edge-cution. Edge gets Reigns in the tree of woe and stomps a mudhole. Edge puts him in the STF, but Reigns is able to get to the ropes. Reigns goes for the Guillotine and Edge begins to fade. Edge counters by forcing Reigns to the ropes and both men fall to the floor. Edge moves out of the way of a Reigns Spear and he goes through the barricade. Edge stops the ref's count and then hits him with a Spear, sending him through another barricade. He carries Reigns back to the ring, but Reigns kicks out of the pin attempt. Reigns battles back and hits the Superman Punch. Edge bumps into the ref and he is down. Reigns grabs a chair and he kicks off a piece of the chair and brings it into the ring. Robinson for some reason has now rolled out of the ring and to the floor. Reigns tries to use that in a submission, but Edge fights out of it and hits a series of headbutts. Edge puts on the crossface with the piece of chair in his mouth. Out come the Usos, but the Mysterios are there to stop them. All of this is occurring behind the back of Edge, while he continues to apply the pressure. Now Seth Rollins is there and he hits a kick to the back of the head of Edge. Reigns goes for the Spear, but Edge hits him with it first, but there is no ref. A new ref runs in, but Reigns kicks out at 2. Rollins gets on the apron, but Edge kicks him off. Reigns hits Edge with the Spear and that is all. Reigns retains in a lengthy main event match that took it's time to get to the finish. I didn't dislike it, but probably didn't like it as much as most people. After the match, Rollins attacks Edge and tells Reigns that he'd be champ if it weren't for him. Edge then attacks Rollins and they start brawling in the crowd. Reigns grabs the mic and says now the whole world can acknowledge him. Cue JOHN CENA's music and an explosion from the crowd. He gives Reigns the "You can't see me" treatment and we go off the air. Well that was a way to end a show, huh? 

Match Rating: ***

This was the WWE that we have all been missing. Good matches, good character work and a big surprise to end the show. I will have to go back and watch the beginning of the men's match tomorrow to give my official ranking, but either way, this one was an absolute winner. Awesome show. 

Overall Rating: 87%

Off The Grid, Volume 13: Bash At The Beach 1994

Sunday, July 17th, 1994
Orlando Arena
Orlando, Florida

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Off The Grid, Volume 13:

Some guy named Daron Norwood sings the national anthem and then we get a clip of Sting vs. Ric Flair. Sting had Flair in the Scorpion Death Lock until someone interferes and it's Sherri dressed up like a man. Hogan makes the save, but Flair attacks Hogan's knee. Mr. T then makes the save for Hogan. As a result of this, Sting is injured and won't wrestle Steven Regal and Johnny B. Badd will be his substitute. Don't forget that the WCW Hotline is running tonight. This all feels really long. Just get the show started. 

WCW World Television Championship Match

Johnny B. Badd vs. Lord Steven Regal

It's so easy to forget that Regal is only 26 years old here. Badd gets an early upper hand, with Regal going out to regain his composure. Regal is able to sneak in a headbutt before hitting an aggressive looking dropkick. Badd comes back with a flying headscissors and hits him with a big left hand. Badd follows it up with a dive to the outside that takes out both Regal and Sir William. I am still the president of the Marc Mero fan club. Badd goes for a sunset flip, but Sir William helps him cheat. The ref sees it though and kicks out the umbrella, allowing Badd to get a nearfall. Regal counters it and steals the victory for a kind of out of nowhere finish there. I like both of these guys and thought this was a pretty good opening match overall. 

Match Rating: **3/4

After Schiavone and Heenan hype up the main event some more, we go to Mean Gene in the ring with Antonio Inoki. He is given a plaque for his contributions. He is then interrupted by Regal, who is wondering where his award is. Inoki takes off his jacket and Regal leaves the ring. Regal was good here, but the payoff was nothing? Now Jesse Ventura is here to announce. This show is all over the place and we're only one match in. 

Vader vs. Guardian Angel

This is the worst incarnation of Boss Man. Angel tosses Harley Race out of the ring and Vader attacks him from behind. Angel goes off of the ropes and Vader hits him with a spin kick. Angel responds and slams Vader. I forgot how big Angel got here. Angel gets in a shot on Race on the outside, but this again gives Vader the chance to regain control. Vader goes for a sunset flip off the second rope, but Angel blocks it. Vader is right back at it though and nails him with a clothesline. Vader puts on a leg submission and then gets a 2 count. Vader hits the splash off the second rope and Race tells him to go up again. Vader goes up to the top rope and hits the moonsault. Vader sells it as well, so Race goes up top. Angel slams him off the top and knocks Vader out of the ring. He hits him Vader with a big right hand and suplexes him back into the ring. They accidentally bump into the referee and Race hands Vader a nightstick. Angel is able to get it away from Vader and the referee sees him with it and that's a disqualification. That finish makes no sense since he didn't use it. Vader attacks an upset Angel and celebrates on his way back. Minus that stupid finish, I enjoyed this a great bit. This was two talented big men that went out there and worked hard to have a really good match.

Match Rating: ***1/2

We get a video package of the Dustin Rhodes/Terry Funk storyline and it honestly feels like it's from 1987. 

Bunkhouse Buck & Terry Funk vs. Dustin Rhodes & Arn Anderson

Arn and Buck start off, but Rhodes gets in and unloads on Buck. In comes Funk and Rhodes is all over him. Funk is able to dish out a little bit of punishment, but Rhodes recovers and then throws both men over the top rope behind the refs back. This of course should be a disqualification, but the ref didn't see it. Buck and Funk turn things around and isolate Rhodes after Funk attacks him out of the ring. Funk hits a reverse neckbreaker and gets a nearfall. Dustin starts a fiery comeback and he is definitely over with the crowd here. Rhodes finally makes the tag to Anderson, who then DDTs Rhodes and Funk covers him for the victory. Never trust a Horsemen. After the match, Anderson stomps on the arm of Rhodes while Funk and Buck hold him down. For a match that ended in this type of fashion, this was a good match. Rhodes did a really nice job in particular here. 

Match Rating: ***

Mean Gene catches Arn on his way to the back and he lets us know that they're going back to celebrate. Tony and Bobby are with Hank Aaron and they talk about nothing. Mean Gene is then with Ric Flair and Sherri. 

United States Championship Match

Ricky Steamboat vs. Steve Austin

Austin attacks Steamboat before the bell and things are underway. Austin goes up to the second rope, but Steamboat hits him with a dropkick and he is now draped over the top rope with his head towards the floor. We get a few nice bursts of offense by both men and Steamboat working on the arm of Austin. They have an awkward collision that Steamboat masterfully turns into a pin attempt in a nice recovery. Austin catches him the next time and hits a spinebuster. Austin hits a nice knee to the back of the head off the second rope and mocks Steamboat. Steamboat pulls off a catapult, but Austin recovers and hits a clothesline. Steamboat finally catches a break after hitting the Stun Gun on Austin. The crowd has been pretty hot all night, but they're in and out on this match. They do a multiple reversal Tombstone piledriver that Steamboat hits. The crowd comes alive as Steamboat goes up top, but Austin grabs the ref. Steamboat pleads for him not to call for the DQ and he obliges. Steamboat goes for a crossbody, but Austin reverses it and steals the victory. This probably could have been a few minutes shorter, but this undercard has been really strong so far.

Match Rating: ***1/4

We go back to Mean Gene in the locker room with Bunkhouse Buck and Terry Funk celebrating with Arn Andereson.

WCW Tag Team Championship Match

Pretty Wonderful vs. Kevin Sullivan & Cactus Jack

This is such a strange pairing of wrestlers. They emphasize on how well the team of Jack and Sullivan are working together in the early going, as they continue to get the better of challengers. The crowd begins doing the wave, which is never what you want as a performer. After pretty much getting dominated, Orndorff hits a nice piledriver on Sullivan. I am probably 10+ minutes into this match and I really haven't had a lot to say about it. It certainly isn't bad, but it hasn't really sucked me in yet. Just as I say that, we start getting shenanigans and it leads to Roma tripping up Cactus and Orndorff getting the pin while he holds his leg in a pretty poorly executed finish. I'm not sure Pretty Wonderful was super over here, but I guess it makes sense for them to win. Just a so-so match here.

Match Rating: **

They bring out Nick Bockwinkle and Shaquille O'Neal. 

WCW World Heavyweight Championship Match

Ric Flair vs. Hulk Hogan

The intro to this match is insanely long. As far as dream matches go, this one is nowhere near the top of mine. Obviously, it's a big deal, but just not to me personally. Jimmy Hart with Hogan just never feels right to me. We get a lot of stalling to start things off, which is to be expected in a match like this. The crowd is eating it up, so why not? As they are doing their thing, I'm looking up pay-per-view numbers and I am kind of shocked that SummerSlam 1994 beat this. Hogan hits the dreaded 10 fists in the corner and a weak looking clothesline. Sherri grabs Hogan's leg as he's running the ropes and Flair is now in control. Flair hits a chop and that sends him over the top rope? Sherri goes to hit Hogan with a chair, but Jimmy Hart is there to make the save. How are there still almost 25 minutes left in this show? Flair hits a nice looking knee drop and Schiavone does a nice job of selling it. Heenan is also on his game here. Hogan makes a little bit of a comeback, but then Flair cuts it off in an awkward fashion. They seem to be a little off and Flair puts him in a chinlock to slow things down. Hogan battles out, but eventually misses a leg drop. Flair goes for the Figure Four, but Hogan counters with a small package for a 2 count. Hogan hits the big boot, but Sherri pulls the referee out of the ring and slams him into the steel guardrail. She hits Jimmy Hart as well and Flair hits a chop block on Hogan. Sherri then hits a splash from the top rope on Hogan and a new referee comes in. Flair slaps on the Figure Four. After an extended time, Hogan gets to the ropes and Sherri chokes him behind the ref's back. Hogan makes his big comeback and Sherri misses him with a splash this time. Hogan clotheslines Flair and hits Sherri in the head. Hogan incorrectly applies the Figure Four and Sherri comes into interfere. Mr. T grabs Sherri, but Flair hits Hogan with brass knuckles from Sherri. Hogan kicks out and we get more Hulking up. Hogan hits the big boot and the leg drop and that is all. It gets a big pop from the live crowd, but this was every Hogan match you have ever seen in your life. You had two guys that were kind of set in their ways and they did not deviate from their usual match at this point in their career. It had a big feel, but this was only mildly entertaining at best. 

Match Rating: **

They show Hogan celebrating in the back and then get an interview with Mean Gene. Beefcake and Duggan are both there and Brian Pillman is as well. 

The first half of this show was really strong and showed off the talent they had in their undercard at this time. For whatever reason, they gave the last two matches both 20+ minutes and it just didn't work for me. Neither were horrible and hardly ruined the show, but it would have been nice to hit a home run with the main event instead of a stand up single. Either way, if you're a Hogan or Flair fan, you probably need to watch this and if you like mid-90s wrestling, you can do a lot worse than this show. 

Overall Rating: 78%

SmackDown 4-7-06 Review

Original Airdate: Friday, April 7th, 2006
Peoria Civic Center
Peoria, Illinois

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Tonight we are getting two big matches with Mark Henry vs. Undertaker and Randy Orton vs. Rey Mysterio.

MNM vs. Paul London & Brian Kendrick

London and Kendrick come out and interrupt Melina's entrance into the ring and things get underway. After a hot start from London and Kendrick, but MNM eventually slows it down and gains control. These teams could probably tear it down if given the right opportunity. Nitro illegally comes into the match and tosses Kendrick out of the ring. Kendrick finally makes the tag to London and Jimmy Korderas didn't see it, so it doesn't count. MNM takes advantage, but Kendrick somersaults through them and makes the hot tag. London hits a dropsault and gets a nearfall on Mercury. MNM cheats their way to a Snapshot attempt, but Kendrick comes in and dropkicks his partner out of the move and we then get a super close call from London on Mercury. Melina gets up on the apron to distract Korderas and Nitro shoves London off the top rope. London rolls through and steals the victory for the upset. The heat segment was a little long when taking in consideration how long the match was, but the last few minutes were masterful. 

Match Rating: **3/4

Booker T and Sharmell let Teddy Long know that they got a restraining order against Boogeyman. 

We see a highlight package of Rey Mysterio winning the Royal Rumble. 

Booker T vs. Gunner Scott

Gunner is already in the ring. They are talking about him more than any other jobber, which kind of gives away what's about to happen here. Scott gets hit with a superkick to the jaw and a clothesline. Booker hits his variation of the spinebuster and then Boogeyman's music hits. Gunner of course rolls him up and gets the victory. Boogey never came out, but it was enough to distract Booker. Teddy Long comes out and says that it must have been some kind of technical issue. Long then announces Gunner Scott as the winner. This was a whole lot of nothing disguised as something.

Match Rating: 1/4*

We now see a highlight package of Randy Orton stealing Mysterio's title shot and then Teddy Long giving him one back. 

Benoit congratulates Gunner Scott backstage. 

Simon Dean vs. Chris Benoit

Benoit starts coming out before Dean gets to the ring. Dean turns around on his segue and Benoit clobbers him. Benoit throws him in the ring and the match is underway. We get a little bit of a miscommunication between the two and it leads to a little bit of a sloppy bulldog by Dean. Neither of these guys usually have that happen. Dean hits some stiff looking shots to the back of Benoit. Benoit battles out of the submission hold and hits the three German suplexes. He locks in the Crippler Crossface and that is all. This was just to get Benoit a win after his loss at WrestleMania. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

While Benoit is in the ring, we get a video for JBL next week. He is going to be having a celebration for winning the US title. 

They then show still photos of Rey winning the title at WrestleMania. Randy is getting ready for his match and up walks Kurt Angle. Orton mocks Angle and tells him he can find the title belt around his waist in a few minutes, so Angle slaps him and makes some growling noises. 

World Heavyweight Championship Match

Randy Orton vs. Rey Mysterio

It seems like this should be the main event of the show, but I guess I will see what they have planned with Taker later on. Orton dominates the early portion of the match, slamming Mysterio face-first into the mat. Mysterio turns things around with a tilt-a-whirl headscissors and then goes for 619, but Orton rolls out of the ring. Mysterio hits a kick and hits a springboard seated senton to Orton out on the floor. Orton hits his reverse backbreaker and gets a 2 count. Orton puts on his infamous chinlock, but this time really puts on the pressure. Mysterio attempts a comeback, but when he goes for a springboard, Orton hits him with a dropkick and it sends him flying into a commercial break. Orton goes for an elbow drop off the second rope, but Mysterio gets his feet up. I'm not sure exactly what he was doing there, but it didn't look great. Mysterio is back and hits his variation of the bulldog for a nearfall. Rey goes up top, but Orton hits him with a dropkick. That as a nice looking dropkick from Orton. Mysterio surprises Orton with a kick to the head and now both men are down. Orton clubs Mysterio with a big clothesline and again Mysterio kicks out. Orton misses Mysterio in the corner and hits his shoulder on the post. Mysterio hits a 619 around the ring post and then another 619. He hits the springboard leg drop and picks up the victory. This was wise booking, as Orton was about to serve a suspension and Mysterio needed some big victories. Both of these guys were motivated and they delivered a good match and were given a lot of time.

Match Rating: ***1/4

Palmer Cannon is still here? Then we get a Miz hype video. 

Rey is backstage for an interview and he thanks Eddie. He brings out his family and thanks all of them. 

Regal is backstage and finds Paul Burchill looking through a telescope. Regal tells him if he starts dressing normal, he will forget the whole pirate thing. Burchill tells him he wears it to honor his family and that he is undefeated. He reminds Regal that isn't the case for him. Burchill challenges him to a match where the loser must wear whatever the winner picks for them. Regal accepts and Burchill says that Regal will make a lovely buxom wench. 

Loser Wears Winner's Clothing Choice Match

William Regal vs. Paul Burchill

We're off to a frantic start, so this one probably isn't getting much time. After a quick start for Burchill, Regal hits a half nelson back suplex. Regal hits some knee lifts to the jaw of Burchill. Burchill makes his comeback and hits Walking The Plank for the victory. They tried to cram a normal match into 3 minutes here and that's unfortunate. The crowd here was not really behind Burchill. On the other hand, I really actually like the pirate gimmick and wish it would have stuck around. 

Match Rating: *

Teddy Long announces he is bringing back the King of the Ring tournament. Kurt Angle, Matt Hardy, Lashley, Chris Benoit, Booker T, Finlay are all in it and it starts next week. Kurt Angle will face Randy Orton next week in the first round. I guess they get one more week out of Orton. 

Mark Henry vs. Undertaker

Henry grabs a mic in the ring and says that Undertaker will never be the same again. Henry attempts to attack Taker, but Taker sees it coming and it backfires. Taker runs into a back elbow from Henry and then a clothesline. It doesn't take long  until Taker hits Old School. Taker hits a boot to the face and a leg drop on the apron. Out comes Daivari and Great Khali. Khali stands in the center of the ring and Taker climbs in to confront him. Khali no sells and chops Taker down. Khali rips open a turnbuckle and slams Taker into the exposed metal. For whatever reason, they don't call this a disqualification, so I guess we have a no contest. This was hardly a match and was only here to have the "hot" Khali debut. I'm not sure anyone got excited about this, but I guess it was all they had in terms of a hot debut.

Match Rating: 1/2*

This show was the exact opposite of Raw. The Randy Orton/Rey Mysterio match provided more wrestling than that entire show gave us combined. I'm a wrestling guy, so I appreciated that they gave us a good match just a few days after WrestleMania. They established London and Kendrick as a tag team and announced the return of the King of the Ring. The whole Khali thing was what it was, but the rest of the show was enjoyable. 

Overall Rating: 62%

Monday Night Raw 4-3-06 Review

Monday, April 3rd, 2006
Allstate Arena
Rosemont, Illinois

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John Cena is out to kick off the show hot off his WrestleMania 22 victory over Triple H. He rambles on for a little bit and then out comes Triple H to a big ovation. Then it's time for Edge and Lita, who informs Triple H that he lost. Edge and Triple H take turns exchanging jabs. Cena then suggests that Edge and Triple H square off tonight to determine the #1 contender. Edge counters that by saying he and Triple H should take on Cena in a handicap match. After some debate, Cena accepts the offer for tonight. 

WWE Tag Team Championship Match

Kane & Big Show vs. Spirit Squad

We get Kenny and Mikey here for the Spirit Squad. Kenny is able to avoid Kane in the corner thanks to help from his other Spirit Squad members and Kane hits his shoulder on the post. Their offense doesn't last long, but then Big Show accidentally hits the ref with Mikey and this lets them cheat and win the titles. That was a pathetic ref bump and there is no way he was dazed enough to not notice there were 5 guys in the ring. I'm willing to go along with some stuff, but that was just terrible. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We go backstage to the new champs celebrating and they give us a "cheer". 

Out comes Mr. Money In The Bank, Rob Van Dam. He cuts a quick promo just to remind us who he is. 

Chris Masters vs. Eric Priest

After his loss at WrestleMania, Masters gets a squash here tonight. He skips his normal entrance and runs right into attack Priest. He slaps on the Master Lock and that's all. After the match is over, out comes Carlito. He spits in the face of Priest and raises Masters' arm. After that he hits a Backstabber and attacks him, leading to him spitting in his face. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Out comes Shawn Michaels and he says that his match last night against Mr. McMahon was everything he said it would be. Out comes Shane McMahon and he brings out his dad, who is sporting a neck brace and bandage. Vince talks about how humiliating it was for him and his family last night and he tells Shawn there will be no title shot for him. He then says he has two words for him, which Shawn laughs at and then gives him his famous two words. Vince says that his two words are divine intervention and that Shawn had help from God. Vince then announces that he and Shane are going to take on Shawn and God at Backlash. We're over halfway through the show and we've had less than 5 minutes of wrestling. 

Trish Stratus & Torrie Wilson vs. Candice Michelle & Mickie James

Surprisingly they give each lady their own entrance here. I bet they are longer than the match. Mickie is dressed like Trish and Trish is baffled. Trish hits a tilt-a-whirl headscissor on Candice and tags in Torrie. In comes Mickie, who gets a chant from the crowd. She knocks Trish off the apron and hits the Chick Kick on Torrie for the victory. This was the continuation of the Trish/Mickie story, but the match wasn't very good. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

They show highlights of the Hall of Fame ceremony. Chavo Guerrero comes out and says that he has never been more proud than he was last night at WrestleMania. He thanks everyone for helping keep Eddie's spirit alive. He brings up Rey Mysterio's title win last night, he now is getting his chance for the Intercontinental Championship tonight. He dedicates the match to Eddie. 

Intercontinental Championship Match 

Chavo Guerrero vs. Shelton Benjamin

Chavo gets a little bit of a hot start until he gets a big knee, sending him to the outside. Shelton's offense doesn't last long, as Chavo hits a nice dropkick to the face. He hits a pop up dropkick and a tilt-a-whirl headscissor. Chavo hits the Three Amigos and heads up to the top rope. Shelton rolls out of the way and then hits the exploder suplex for the victory. Shelton's lucky he didn't get knocked silly because he decided to roll closer to Chavo instead of away from him. This was a spirited match, but it was a little too short. Chavo is frustrated and looks up above before heading to the back. 

Match Rating: *1/2

They show an interview of Eddie during the commercial and he is crying. He then announces that he quits. 

Out comes Ric Flair and he thinks he has a 17th championship run in him. He is then interrupted by Armando Alejandro Estrada. Estrada rambles on about loving the expensive things in life, which leads to Flair ripping off the suit jacket. He then announces Umaga and he comes down and destroys Flair. I remember watching this live and thinking this gimmick was dead on arrival. Credit to how good of a performer Umaga was, as he really was the one who made this work. On a side note, I prefer his hair here. 

Ozzie Guillen is shown in the crowd before going backstage to Edge and Triple H burying the hatchet. They then try to get each other to do the dirty work before agreeing on working together. As Edge and Lita leave, Triple H shows he isn't to be trusted. 

Handicap Match

Edge & Triple H vs. John Cena

Edge starts things off with Cena and the "Cena sucks" chants start. Edge is able to hit Edgecution on Cena for a 2 count, while Triple H sits on the top turnbuckle. Triple H tries to sneak up on Cena, but Cena sees him. Edge goes for a Spear, but Cena moves and he hits Triple H. Cena makes his comeback and then Triple H throws Cena out of the way and starts wailing on Edge. He hits the spinebuster while Cena smiles. Cena goes for Five Knuckle Shuffle, but Triple H hits him with the Pedigree and gets the victory. Just listening to the crowd, I really miss having a performer that the crowd cared about as much as they did Cena. Much like everything tonight, this was short and more for storyline purposes. 

Match Rating: *1/2

This show in no way felt like a Raw after WrestleMania. Outside of the Umaga debut, nothing really of note happened. No, the Spirit Squad winning the meaningless tag titles doesn't count. It wasn't necessarily a bad show, just not must see TV.

Overall Rating: 49%

NXT 3-13-14 Review

Original Airdate: Thursday, March 13th, 2014
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2

I forgot to mention it on last week's show, but NXT has a new intro theme.

Paige vs. Sasha Banks

Charlotte is out this week with the Summer Rae face on a stick this week. Paige starts off hot, but Sasha slows it down and takes control. Paige battles out of the lengthy submission hold. She hits a few moves and puts on her new submission hold for the victory. After the match, Charlotte comes in and attacks Paige. Out comes Natalya to make the save. I'm not sure why Sasha had that submission hold on for so long and why the comeback was so short. They seem to have problems sometimes putting together the women's matches. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

They show clips of Corey Graves last week with his match against Yoshi Tatsu and then against Sami Zayn. We then get an interview with Zayn and he says as far as he's concerned, the issue between he and Graves is done. 

Mojo Rawley is shown talking to himself while pacing back and forth and talking about Arrival being the best night of his life. 

The Ascension vs. Cal Bishop & Travis Tyler

We get the standard Ascension squash here while the announcers gush about how great they are. This one actually lasts a little longer than you would expect, but they hit the Fall Of Man for the victory. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Mason Ryan vs. Wesley Blake

Renee Young gets stuck calling this match tonight. I really didn't know that he made it into the WWE Network area. Ryan hits a big powerslam to no reaction, but misses with his shoulder and rams into the post. Blake gets in a little bit of offense in, while Renee tries to convince herself that Ryan could contend for the NXT Championship. He hits his finisher and that's all. Next.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Bayley is interviewed backstage and she's so excited to be watching the WWE Network on her iPad. Charlotte and Sasha insult her. Then Bayley takes Summer on a stick and makes fun of them. Natalya comes in and we get more insults. 

Xavier Woods vs. Alexander Rusev

Tyler Breeze comes out and asks Woods to leave so that he can get his revenge on Rusev. Out comes Lana and she introduces Rusev. Breeze attacks Woods from behind and leaves him there. Woods agrees to start the match and Rusev dominates the injured Woods. Rusev kind of hits his variation of the Samoan Drop and locks in the Accolade for the easy victory. This could have been fun, but the storyline got in the way.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Bo Dallas tells Neville only 2 more weeks until he gets his rematch. 

Colin Cassady vs. Bo Dallas

Things couldn't start off any more slowly than with a couple minutes of stalling. After nothing happens, we go to commercial and when we come back, nothing is happening. Bo hits a clothesline for the highlight of the match so far. Cass reverses an Irish Whip and sends Bo into the corner with some speed. Cass makes his comeback and hits a high knee. Cass hits a big knee, but Bo is able to kick out. Bo turns it around and hits his variation of the DDT for the victory. My review may be short, but this match certainly wasn't. 12 minutes felt like an eternity here. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Last week's show felt like something I had to watch. On the other hand, this show was a giant turd. Nothing worthwhile took place and a lot of the guys featured on here were not guys I enjoy watching. 

Overall Rating: 32%

Monday Night Raw 3-21-94 Review

Monday, March 21st, 1994
Mid-Hudson Civic Center
Poughkeepsie, New York

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Bushwhackers vs. Quebecers

This is a non-title match for any of you keeping track at home. It's also 3/4ths of a WrestleMania V rematch. Things get going quickly here and we get some butt biting and Jacques being clotheslined over the top rope. Vince apologizes for the 10 man tag match not happening at WrestleMania, so we are getting that on Raw. Meanwhile, there's some technical difficulties with the transfer of the video here. The Bushwhackers seem to not want to let the Quebecers have any offense in tonight. We get a commercial break after Butch tosses Pierre sternum-first into the turnbuckle. When we come back, the Quebecers are finally in control. Miss WrestleMania last night? Call the hotline and they'll tell you who won. What a deal! Jacques hits the back body drop on Pierre onto Luke for a 2 count. Butch gets the hot tag and he takes care of both opponents. They then hit the Battering Ram on both opponents, but Johnny Polo interferes behind the referee, who is busy trying to get Luke out of the ring. Luke chases Polo around the ring and they get him, even though Luke is nowhere near as quick here. Butch grabs Polo too, but Pierre knocks Butch with a knee from behind that also sends Polo flying. That's enough for the victory. There were some miscommunications in there, but it was entertaining enough and probably one of the better Bushwhacker matches I can remember. 

Match Rating: **

Vince goes to interview the winners and out comes Captain Lou Albano. He asks them if he puts together a team if the champs will put their titles on the line. Jacques calls him a nobody and accepts. 

It's almost tax time, so IRS talks to us about paying taxes. This is the joke that Vince just will never give up on. 

Chris Hamrick vs. Tatanka

Tatanka has pretty much been around for 2 years at this point, but doesn't have a lot on the resume outside of his undefeated streak. Hamrick is the prototype for mid-90s jobbers. Tatanka tosses Hamrick around and then hits a vertical suplex. Tatanka is a little extra aggressive here tonight for whatever reason. I'm not sure why this one needed to be more than 90 seconds though. Tatanka hits some chops and the Samoan Drop for the easy victory. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

We get our final WrestleMania Report with Todd Pettengill. He claims the celebrities had the best times of their lives. Don't forget to order the replay next Monday night. 

Diesel vs. Ken Lucia

Diesel launches himself for an impressive shoulder tackle. Diesel hits the side suplex and the crowd starts to chant for him. I'm sure Big Kev loved that. Diesel hits the Jackknife for the victory while Vince hypes up Major League on USA Network. Squash. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Next week it's Lex Luger vs. Rick Martel. 

Vince introduces the new WWF Champion Bret Hart to the ring. Bret says that he'll take on everyone, including Yokozuna. 

Jeff Jarrett vs. Koko B. Ware

Koko gets his old music here, but he's still sporting the High Energy gear. Koko gets the hot start, but Jarrett avoids him in the corner and hits a reverse elbow to the jaw of Koko. Jarrett hits a dropkick and chokes Koko on the second rope. Koko makes his comeback with a dropkick and an elbow drop. Koko ducks and Jarrett hits a DDT for the victory. I was expecting a little bit more offense out of Koko and a little more time. Why did the Tatanka squash get just as much time as this? 

Match Rating: 3/4*

Jarrett gets into a verbal altercation with Savage and he throws his drink at him. Vince tells him not to waste his time with Double J. Savage gets in the ring and Koko joins in on it. Savage tosses him over the top rope and they celebrate. 

Next week we get the 1-2-3 Kid, Owen Hart and of course Lex Luger vs. Rick Martel.

This certainly didn't feel like the night after WrestleMania Raw that we are used to, but it was fun enough. The crowd was really into the show and after a great WrestleMania, I'm looking forward to the build for King of the Ring. 

Overall Rating: 51%

NXT 3-6-14 Review

Original Airdate: Thursday, March 6th, 2014
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2

Well, I can finally write about something else other than 1994 WWF as Peacock continues to try to get as much of the content loaded as they can. They show a recap of NXT Arrival, which was where I left off. 

Adrian Neville vs. Camacho

Neville is fresh off his NXT Championship win, while Camacho gets the "already in the ring" treatment. After some smooth offense from Neville, Camacho actually gets a powerslam in. Neville fires back with a series of kicks and then hits the Red Arrow for the easy victory. This was obviously just a showcase for the new champ and it worked fine. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Renee Young joins Neville in the ring for an interview. Neville calls himself a crazy elf-man and then askes Renee if she can even understand what he's saying. This is probably the most personality Neville has shown on the mic so far. He then leads the crowd in a "No more Bo" chant, so of course Bo's music hits. Bo says that he's going to use his rematch clause...soon. 

They then cut to a taped interview with Emma and Renee Young. Emma says that Paige is the toughest opponent and says that one day she'll be a champion. Ric Flair comes in and tells her that she needs to understand that Charlotte is going to be the next champion. Charlotte tells Emma to call her if she needs a shoulder to cry on and then Emma walks away. 

After a WrestleMania XXX commercial, they show an interview with Paige and Renee. Paige says that she welcomes all challengers and then of course it's Flair again. Charlotte of course wants to be the next challenger. 

Emma vs. Charlotte

Sasha Banks is ringside with Charlotte and a Summer Rae face on a stick. It's kind of amazing how much more the crowd is into the NXT product seemingly overnight. Charlotte leaps over Emma in the corner and sells an ankle injury from her landing. Sasha distracts the referee and Emma, allowing Charlotte to hit Natural Selection for the quick victory. They are moving onto the next phase of the division and it's obvious that Charlotte is the darling. This was too quick to be much of anything. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

We go back to another Arrival interview with Sami Zayn who is full of emotion after his match with Cesaro.

Yoshi Tatsu vs. Corey Graves

Tatsu surprisingly gets an entrance here. Corey Graves introduces himself, but says he shouldn't have to do this because he should have been at Arrival. He then rips on Sami Zayn for not winning any matches and continuing to get chances. Graves says that he only needs one chance and he would beat Cesaro, but instead he's here wrestling Yoshi who has never been relevant. Graves rolls out of the ring before anything happens and says to forget this. He teases walking in the ring and heads back. Yoshi runs after him and Graves hits a clothesline. He throws him into the ring steps and Graves gets the countout win. This episode is clearly a re-establishment of the NXT brand and they're letting us know who they are focusing on. After the win, Graves tosses Yoshi in the ring and puts him in Lucky 13. Zayn comes out and makes the save, with Graves retreating. Zayn says that he didn't know that they had a problem with each other, but if he wants a match, all he had to do was ask. He's ready to wrestle tonight.

Match Rating: 1/4*

They show a behind the scenes of the Adam Rose party, including Braun Strowman in Roman gear. Alexa Bliss is also in there I believe. 

They show clips of Rusev destroying Xavier Woods and Tyler Breeze. Woods says he'll destroy him and we then get a Rusev interview where he answers in Bulgarian. Lana says he accepts. 

Adam Rose vs. Wesley Blake

Rose gets the big entrance with all of his Rosebuds. Apparently this was taped awhile ago for whatever reason. The NXT crowd loved it though and I will say it is pretty fun. It's kind of weird that it's clearly Leo Kruger, but it was good enough to make everyone forget it. Rose has completely changed his in ring work here as well, so credit deserves to be given there as well. Rose hits a spear and some elbows to the head. Rose hits a big spinebuster and a running lariat for the easy victory. This was pretty fun. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Corey Graves vs. Sami Zayn

We start off intensely with both men, but mostly Graves, getting some stiff shots. Zayn fires back with some arm drags and Graves rolls out of the ring. Zayn teases a dive, but Graves backs off, so Zayn shows off. On his way back in, Graves snaps Zayn's neck on the top rope and goes on the attack. Graves is still in control when we come back from the commercial break. Zayn finally fights back with some clotheslines and a back body drop. Graves gets Zayn up on his shoulders though and hits a GTS style backbreaker. Zayn hits a top rope crossbody for a nearfall. Zayn charges at Graves in the corner, but eats an elbow. Zayn fires back with a Blue Thunder Bomb and another 2 count. Graves takes our Zayn this time with a chopblock. Graves again goes for the backbreaker, but this time Zayn counters it into a small package and gets the victory. This wasn't one of Zayn's best matches, but it felt like a TV main event and both guys gave a good effort.

Match Rating: **1/4

There was nothing special on this episode, but it was much more enjoyable than a lot of the early NXT shows. The crowd is a lot more into the product and they are establishing their stars as we begin to roll into the TakeOver era. This episode was very breezy and and easy one to watch. 

Overall Rating: 58%

WrestleMania X Review

Sunday, March 20th, 1994
Madison Square Garden
New York City, New York

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2

After a quick intro, Vince is here to introduce Little Richard to sing "America The Beautiful". Sadly, they use the new WrestleMania theme instead of the legendary guitar riff version. This leads into the lengthy Bret/Owen video package. I guess that I should also note that Jerry Lawler makes his return here with Vince on announcing. 

Owen Hart vs. Bret Hart

We get some mat wrestling to start, with both men getting the better of each other. Bret dumps Owen out of the ring and when Owen returns, he fires back with a slap to the face of Bret. Bret hits a monkey flip and then clotheslines Owen out of the ring. Bret throws Owen back in the ring and they get into a shoving match. Owen hits a spin kick and then drives Bret into the ring post. Back in the ring, Owen slaps on the Camel Clutch in the middle of the ring. Bret gets out, but gets hit with a belly-to-belly suplex. Owen hits a German suplex into a bridge for a nearfall. Owen counters a backbreaker into a Tombstone piledriver. Owen climbs the ropes, but Bret is able to get out of the way and both men are down. Bret starts  to make his comeback and hits a backbreaker this time. Owen is able to hit an enzuigiri out of nowhere and then goes for the Sharpshooter. Bret is able to roll through, so Owen tries a pinfall and gets a 2 count. Bret launches himself over the top rope onto Owen, but Bret also hurt his knee on the fall. Owen goes right after the knee in the ring and then slams it into the ring post. Owen slaps on the Figure Four, but eventually Bret is able to get over to the ropes. Bret is able to hit an enzuigiri of his own and throws Owen into the turnbuckle sternum-first. Bret hits a big piledriver and that gets a 2 count. Bret then hits a big superplex, but Bret is slow to cover him and only gets a 2. Bret gets the sleeper on, but Owen grabs the rope and with the ref trying to break the hold, Owen hits a low blow. Owen locks in the Sharpshooter and is close to tapping. Bret is able to push out of it and he locks in the Sharpshooter, but not for long, as Owen grabs the ropes. Bret gets on the shoulders of Owen and goes for a pinfall, but Owen blocks it and steals the victory for an absolutely fabulous finish to an incredible match. This is A+ storytelling, booking and action for one of the greatest matches in WWE history. 

Match Rating: *****

We get the infamous interview with Owen and his loogie on his lip. Owen rubs it in and predicts that Bret won't be winning any title here tonight. 

Ah yes, WrestleMania 2 and that awesome battle royal. Right. 

Sy Sperling is introduced and he brings how Howard Finkel with hair, which gets a tepid reaction. It's a shame that they didn't have Fink announce the opener for this. 

Mixed Tag Team Match

Bam Bam Bigelow & Luna Vachon vs. Doink & Dink

Bam Bam attacks Doink before the bell and then hits a dropkick. Doink is able to battle back and tags in Dink, which means that Luna has to come in. We now get a bunch of comedy spots from Dink until he goes up top and misses with a splash. After a body slam, Luna decides to go up top and she also misses. In come Doink and Bam Bam and Bam Bam clotheslines Doink over the top rope. Doink goes for a sunset flip, but Bam Bam squashes him. Doink hits a nice leaping spike DDT, but then misses with the Whoopee Cushion. Bam Bam accidentally knocks Dink off the apron and then he goes up top and hits the headbutt for the fairly quick victory. After the match, Luna and Bam Bam go after Dink. I guess Doink makes the save? Everything after the bell was really bad. The match itself wasn't great either. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

They then show "Bill Clinton" in the audience. He is sitting next to Jack Tunney and IRS is behind him. 

They show WrestleMania III and Hulk and Andre. 

Falls Count Anywhere Match

Randy Savage vs. Crush

Savage attacks Crush in the entrance ramp and we are underway. Crush hits his spinning backbreaker and then he drops Savage on the barricade, scoring him a pinfall. In this weird variation of the Falls Count Anywhere match, he has 60 seconds to get back into the ring. On his way back in the ring, Fuji gives him a love tap with the Japanese flag. Savage is able to roll back in before the count is over and Crush is back on the offense. Fuji hands Crush some salt while Savage is in the tree of woe. Savage is helped down by the ref and knocks the salt back in Crush's face. Savage hits a double ax handle off the top rope and follows it with his signature elbow drop. He kicks him out of the ring and gets the pinfall just outside the ring. So if they can't pin one another inside the ring, then technically falls don't count anywhere. Fuji dumps some water on Crush's face and he's able to break the count. Crush sends Savage flying over the top rope. Savage clotheslines Crush over the barricade, but Crush hits a big kick in the crowd. Crush goes for a piledriver, but Savage counters into a back body drop. They start moving backstage. Savage throws Crush into some doors and gets another pinfall. Savage then starts tying up Crush's legs and hangs him upside down. He pretty much immediately falls down. Savage starts attacking Fuji in the ring as the Fink counts down to 0. The rules of this one just made it almost impossible to get into this match and Crush just wasn't good enough. For as heated of a feud as this was, it didn't get much time. When I rented this, I had never seen a Falls Count Anywhere match, so I thought this was incredible. This one does not hold up. 

Match Rating: *3/4

Todd Pettengill interviews "Bill Clinton" and then IRS. Todd then shows us clips of the Fan Fest and play the glorious classic WrestleMania music. Savage is now shown over at the Paramount Theatre. 

They show clips of Savage winning the WWF Championship at WrestleMania IV.

WWF Women's Championship Match

Leilani Kai vs. Alundra Blayze

Blayze has hardly gotten any televised matches on Raw and Superstars, but here she is. Blayze hits a couple of sunset flips, but Kai is dominating the early stages of this match. They work this one at a pretty quick pace, most likely because they were given no time. Blayze then hits a German suplex into a bridge and gets the quick victory. This was a pretty good match actually for the couple of minutes they got. 

Match Rating: *1/2

Of all the things to show from WrestleMania V, they of course show the Roddy Piper segment. 

We go to Todd Pettengill and he's with Rhonda Shear, who is one of those people that I know the name, but don't really know anything about. Shawn Michaels tries to pose for a picture with her, but Burt Reynolds steals his thunder. This was terrible, so of course Vince laughs. 

WWF Tag Team Championship Match

Men On A Mission vs. Quebecers

The Quebecers attack Men On A Mission before the bell, but Mabel retaliates with a double clothesline. Jacques launches Pierre over the top rope and on to Mo for a nice move that doesn't get the reaction it deserves. Mo pulls out his somersault, but he's not able to make the tag. Pierre misses a top rope leg drop and this time Mo is able to make the tag. Mabel cleans house, but then misses with the splash in the corner. The Quebecers go for a double suplex and hit it the second try. I love the Quebecers. They go for their finisher and hit it, but Mabel is able to kick out. Mabel hits a spin kick on Pierre and Johnny Polo and Oscar start getting involved. Mabel splashes Pierre with the help of Mo on the outside. This all leads to a countout, which is such a garbage finish for a WrestleMania. However, it does work for the Quebecers as characters. This match is underrated thanks to the really strong performance of Jacques and Pierre. It's nothing out of the ordinary, but they really tried their best to make it WrestleMania worthy. 

Match Rating: **1/4

They show the Ultimate Warrior/Hulk Hogan clip from WrestleMania VI. This leads to Fink announcing guest timekeeper Rhonda Shear and guest ring announcer Donnie Wahlberg. Donnie announces that Mr. Perfect is the guest referee for the match and comes out wearing the most 90s looking referee outfit there ever was. 

WWF Championship Match

Yokozuna vs. Lex Luger

They start off going at a quicker pace than you would imagine to start off. Luger even hits a top rope crossbody for a close call. Luger goes for the slam, but Yoko's weight is too much for him. Yoko is able to untie a turnbuckle behind Perfect's back. This all leads to the dreaded rest hold by Yoko and it's a long one. Luger is able to eventually get out of it, but he ends up running into Yoko and is of his feet again. Yoko once again works on the trapezius. This match has just come to a screeching halt. Luger finally gets a chance to be on offense and uses the exposed turnbuckle. Luger hits the body slam and then the hits the forearm. Luger attacks both Cornette and Fuji, but then Perfect won't make the count. He's insisting on Fuji and Cornette leaving the ring, so Luger confronts him. Luger ends up shoving him and so Perfect disqualifies him and heads to the back. How do you do a countout and then a disqualification in back-to-back matches at a WrestleMania? Terrible booking and boring match. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

The crowd isn't having it and Pettengill interviews Perfect. He claims that it was called right down the middle. In walks Luger and they get into a shouting match. 

They use the Blindfold Match for the WrestleMania VII moment. If you aren't going to use Warrior, why not use the Undertaker's debut? 

Fink is out and Harvey Wippleman insults the Fink and rips his suit, so Fink shoves him down. Out comes Adam Bomb and then Earthquake to make the save.

Adam Bomb vs. Earthquake

Quake hits the big body slam and his finisher and that is all. Vince claims he almost sets a record, but it's not even close. I still wonder what the plan was for Quake and Ludvig Borga. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

They kick it back to Pettengill again and a riled up Cornette says that Mr. Perfect did a great job tonight. 

WrestleMania VIII's moment is just the Undertaker walking down the aisle. Who came up with this list of moments? 

Ladder Match For The Intercontinental Championship

Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon

Razor gets thrown out of the ring early on and Diesel hits him with a clothesline. Earl Hebner then ejects Diesel from ringside, but what would happen if he didn't go? There are no disqualifications, so I'm not sure why he just doesn't stay. Razor is back and takes it to Michaels. He clotheslines Michaels over the top rope and then lifts up the mats on the outside. This gives Michaels time to recover and throw Razor back in the ring. Ramon goes for a Razor's Edge but Michaels counters and dumps him over the ropes and onto the exposed concrete. Michaels goes for a ladder, but he's too slow and Razor stops him. As Razor is headed to the ring, Michaels hits the baseball slide into the ladder. Back in the ring, Michaels drives the ladder into the midsection of Razor. Michaels is the first one to start climbing and then Razor pulls down Michaels and his trunks to stop him. Michaels sets up the ladder in the corner and hits the famous splash from near the top of the ladder. Michaels again starts to climb and this time Razor tips the ladder on its side. Both men collide and are down in the center of the ring. Razor hits the catapult on Michaels and launches him into the ladder outside the ring. Razor rams the ladder into Michaels, knocking him to the outside. Razor now has his first chance to start to climb, but Michaels leaps off the top rope to stop him, but the ladder then lands on Michaels. Both men start climbing up the ladder and start trading right hands. Razor body slams Michaels off the top of the ladder and the ladder accidentally falls over. Razor tries to climb again and this time Michaels dropkicks the ladder and Razor falls, but the ladder doesn't. Michaels climbs up the ladder and rides it down onto Razor's chest. Michaels climbs the ladder and Razor crotches him and then Michaels' leg gets tied up in the ropes. Razor climbs the ladder and retrieves both titles to become the undisputed Intercontinental Champion. This match is so outstanding even after all of these years and so many ladder matches. The pace is great, the action is almost non-stop and they don't overdo anything. 

Match Rating: *****

We go backstage to Jeff Jarrett, IRS, Rick Martel and the Headshrinkers all fighting over who the captain is, which is apparently enough to cancel the match. We then go back to Todd and Clinton, who then talk to Ted DiBiase. 

The WrestleMania IX moment is basically the theme and then Bret getting screwed with salt in his eyes. We get video packages for both men and they then announce Jennie Garth and Burt Reynolds. 

WWF Championship Match

Yokozuna vs. Bret Hart

Reynolds announces Roddy Piper as the guest referee. Bret is still selling the knee on his way to the ring. Yoko attacks Bret on his way into the ring and we are underway. Bret has little bursts of attempted comebacks, but Yoko stays in control. Yoko misses with a big splash and Bret knocks down Yoko with a headbutt. Bret is selling the headbutt as well though. Did he forget that he's not Samoan despite being Samoan? Bret goes for a pin, but Cornette pulls Piper out of the ring, so Piper hits him with a right hand. Yoko dumps Bret out of the ring, but Bret breaks up the count at 9. Yoko misses a splash in the corner and Bret hits a bulldog off the second rope. Bret gets a close call on the pin attempt and then hits the second rope elbow drop. Bret goes off the second rope again, but this time Yoko catches him and hits a belly-to-belly suplex. Yoko drags Bret to the corner and sets him up for the Banzai Drop. Yoko raises his hand up and loses his balance. Bret hooks the leg and we have a new WWF Champion, as Yoko is in shock. Burt Reynolds then does a terrible announcing job, but it doesn't matter. The right guy won here and they put on a really solid Yokozuna match. As Bret finally gets up to celebrate, Luger is now in the ring. They hug and celebrate with Roddy Piper joining in. Burt Reynolds joins in and then every babyface does as well. After getting screwed at WrestleMania last year, this was a nice apology. However, out comes Owen Hart and he looks on as his big moment was once again overshadowed by Bret. 

Match Rating: **1/2

This show contains two of the absolute most famous matches in company history, which is already a thumbs up. Add in a great finish in the main event and this is easily one of the best WrestleManias up until this point. I'm not sure who hasn't seen Owen/Bret and Shawn/Razor, but if someone like this does exist, please watch those matches.

Overall Rating: 91%