Monday Night Raw 5-23-94 Review

Monday, May 23rd, 1994
Struthers Fieldhouse
Youngstown, Ohio

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King Of The Ring Qualifying Match
Owen Hart vs. Doink

Well this was supposed to be Earthquake, but he was injured at a house show by Yokozuna and that's the last we see of Quake. So Doink is the mystery opponent here, as he falls further into being a jobber. The crowd is pretty hot here and once again we are benefitted by the fact that the show is live this week. Owen is frustrated early on and Dink loves it. He chases Dink around the ring and gets leveled by a clothesline by Doink. Owen is able to catch Doink in the corner and slams his knee into the post as we go into commercial break. We're now at the point in the match where we can basically see Doink's entire face. Doink makes his comeback and hits a belly-to-belly overhead suplex. Out comes Jeff Jarrett and he grabs Doink. This provides the distraction to allow Owen to roll him up and get the victory. This was probably the best non-Matt Borne Doink match.

Overall Rating: ***

We are now only 4 weeks away from King Of The Ring and Todd is here in his hat to tell us about it. We have two spots left and the qualifying matches left are 1-2-3 Kid vs. Adam Bomb and Tatanka vs. Jimmy Del Ray. Diesel cuts a promo on his match with Bret Hart. He would come a long way in the next few years because this is pretty lame. Plus, more Roddy Piper. I just can't believe how lame Piper is here.

Duke Droese vs. Barry Horowitz

Droese comes out to no reaction here on his Raw debut. We're only about a year away from Horowitz's run. Horowitz actually gets quite a bit of offense in here, which doesn't make much sense with a new performer. He misses with a dropkick and Droese hits a spinebuster on him. It's time to take out hte trash and hits an elbow drop for the victory. Droese then sells his shoulder injury from the match. I can't imagine why this didn't work. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We now get more highlights from the WrestleMania Revenge Tour. They are really hyping up the house show stuff here in '94. 

IRS vs. Gary Sabaugh

I know what will kill the live crowd, let's trot out a garbage man and then a tax man. I mean how many headlocks do we need to see from IRS to get the point? Seriously though, why does he need a nearly five minute squash over three years into his run? He hits probably his weakest clothesline I have seen and finally wins it. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We get highlights of the Jeff Jarrett/Lex Luger match on Superstars. Luger is now the guest on King's Court. They say that Luger hurt Crush, so of course Crush is brought out. As Crush runs his mouth, it looks like Luger is trying his best not to laugh. Crush pokes Luger with his arm that isn't in a sling, so Luger clotheslines him. We then discover there's nothing wrong with him and they are broken up before they start brawling. 

Nikolai Volkoff vs. Matt Hardy

Ted DiBiase is a guest commentator here and he reminds us that he was the one who brought in the Undertaker and that he will find him. Volkoff is old enough to be Hardy's grandpa. I type this every week, but I still have no idea how they thought this would work. Volkoff puts Hardy in the Boston Crab and that's it. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Next week we get Tatanka/Del Ray and Lawler announces that his guest next week will be Bret Hart. Savage is loving that announcement.

Man, did this show fall off a cliff or what? After a good opening match and a hot crowd, things came to a screeching halt and totally killed the crowd. The trifecta of Droese/IRS/Volkoff is about as bad as it comes in any era. It's too bad, because live Raw shows are usually awesome.

Overall Rating: 40%

Superstars 5-21-94 Review

Original Airdate: Saturday, May 21st, 1994
Knickerbocker Arena
Albany, New York

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Razor Ramon vs. Derec Domino

Razor is a little more aggressive here today, tossing Domino all over the ring. He also gets a lot more time here than we have been seeing from the Superstars squash matches. He finally hits the Razor's Edge and gets the victory. Razor continues to be impressive here in 1994. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

They show "highlights" of the sumo match from Raw. 

Crush vs Mike Terrance

Crush cuts a promo on Luger before his match. This one is quick and I don't think anyone has a complaint about that. He hits the spinning backbreaker and that is all. After the match he military press slams him over the top rope and to the floor. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Duke Droese vs. Mike Bell

Droese is making his debut here and dumps a garbage can on Lawler's head on his way to the ring. Droese hits a big spinebuster and it already kind of feels like he's at Kwang and Sparky Plugg's level. He hits a tilt-a-whirl type slam for the effortless victory. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

It's time for the King Of The Ring Report. Todd announces that the Headshrinkers will face Yokozuna and Crush. So apparently you can get a title shot without ever teaming with your partner. Diesel and Bret both cut promos on their match at the show. Plus, Todd makes the biggest announcement of all. Art Donovan will be a guest analyst. What could go wrong?

Headshrinkers vs. Jim Messenger & Ray Roy

Messenger and Roy try to attack the Headshrinkers, but they no sell it and headbutt each other. Samu hits a unique DDT with him standing on the second rope and then tags in Fatu for his splash finisher. I'm still not sure why they're faces, but they are.

Match Rating: 1/4*

More Undertaker sightings and this leads to Ted DiBiase standing in a cemetery saying that he has the resources find him. 

King Of The Ring Qualifying Match
Jeff Jarrett vs. Lex Luger

They announce that Mr. Fuji is managing Jarrett here. As they often do on Superstars feature matches, they do a lot of back and forth action, but Luger is mostly dominating here. Luger goes off the ropes and Fuji jams the Japanese flag in the back of Luger as we go into a commercial break. Lawler complains about going to commercial break because we didn't get to see Jarrett beating Luger. Jarrett hits a second rope clothesline, but Luger tosses him in the air on the pin attempt. Jarrett dumps Luger out of the ring and then attempts to go to the top rope. The referee is distracted and Crush attacks him by throwing him into the steel steps. Luger goes and chases after Crush and gets counted out in the process. They start brawling to the back while Jarrett celebrates his victory. Fuji then hands him the flag for Jarrett to waive. This was actually a pretty solid match.

Match Rating: **

We then get an interview with Yokozuna, Crush, Mr. Fuji and Jim Cornette. Cornette does all the talking before the inevitable "Banzai!". 

Vince and Lawler bring out the 1-2-3 Kid, who will be battling Adam Bomb next week for a spot in the King Of The Ring. Kid says being in the tournament would be a dream come true. 

This was a quickly paced show and the feature match more than delivered over expectations. That's all you can ever really ask for from Superstars and I'm good with that. 

Overall Rating: 50%

SmackDown 5-19-06 Review

Original Airdate: Friday, May 19th, 2006
Tingley Coliseum
Albuquerque, New Mexico

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JBL is out in his limo and he announces that tonight will be a night that Rey Mysterio will never forget. The best part of this is that I just realized I watched Judgment Day out of order, confirming that I am indeed an idiot.

MNM vs. Brian Kendrick, Paul London & Jillian 

The women have to be held back as we go into an early commercial break to start off. When we come back, it's the tag teams going at it though. Despite a good start for the challengers, the champs are able to injure the knee of Kendrick. MNM does the heel thing until London gets the hot tag. They quickly slow down his momentum, but he hits a double dropsault for a 2 count. The women finally get in there and they brawl, which the crowd is very much into. Jillian hits a top rope crossbody and that gets the victory for a huge pop. That was a fun match overall and it is always a bonus to see the crowd react that way.

Match Rating: ***

They show the Judgment Day press conference highlights. This is because this show was before Judgment Day. Not after. 

After some clips of Mark Henry, Kurt Angle gives a backstage interview. Angle makes fun of Henry for not winning at the Olympics. 

Bobby Lashley vs. Jared Steele

This is obviously a tune up for Lashley here and he hits his usual offense. He hits the delayed vertical suplex and follows that up with a Spear for the victory. This accomplished what they were hoping to. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

As Lashley is celebrating on the top of the ramp, out comes Booker T and he's all upset heading into the commercial break.

Booker T & Finlay vs. Chris Benoit & Gunner Scott

Here's your reminder that Gunner Scott exists. It's kind of surprising he didn't stick around just because the roster was so shallow. Gunner gets the early portion of the match and looks pretty good. He makes a hot tag to Benoit after taking a beating from both opponents. Benoit actually is a pretty weak hot tag overall. Gunner gets beat up again, so we get another hot tag to Benoit. The action spills outside, which allows Finlay to use his shillelagh and regain the advantage. Booker slaps on the abdominal stretch and I have to say the crowd here has been really good all night. Gunner comes in and hits a second rope missile dropkick for a 2 count. Benoit and Finlay come in and start brawling. They end up spilling outside again thanks to a suplex from Benoit. Lashley makes his way out and sits in the throne on the stage. Booker and Sharmell are enraged, which allows Gunner to use a crucifix into a pin and steal the victory. This was actually pretty good even if it led to nothing for Gunner. 

Match Rating: ***

After yet another Tatanka vignette, Daivari is in the ring. He shows a video package hyping Khali and then brings him out. Khali yells and that's the segment. 

Mark Henry vs. Matt Hardy

Poor Matt is back to being a jobber again. Matt baits Mark to have him chase him and hits him with a dropkick on his way back in. Hardy throws Henry into the ring post and then hits his second rope leg drop. Henry makes a quick comeback and slaps on my favorite move, the bear hug. He hits the World's Strongest Slam and that is all. Hardy tried here, but it was just way too short to make it compelling. After the match, Henry squashes Hardy in the corner and calls out Angle. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Vito and Nunzio are backstage and Vito is on the phone. This allows Paul Burchill to talk to Nunzio and let him know that he saw Vito in a dress. It's hard to get worse than this. 

Rey Mysterio vs. Kane

JBL comes out and gets Mysterio to say the date, which is May 19th. I'm sure this was great for the live crowd, as it wasn't May 19th. Out comes Kane and Michael Cole declares this a massacre. Kane destroys while we have to listen to JBL and Cole scream at each other. All of a sudden, the Kane mask comes on the screen and repeats "May 19th". This distraction allows Mysterio to hit the 619. Kane catches him with a chokeslam right after, but then Kane has a headache. JBL comes in and blames Mysterio for saying May 19th, which makes Kane give JBL a chokeslam. He uses his magical powers to make the ring posts explode and then walks away. What a bad ending to an otherwise good show. The match wasn't much.

Match Rating: 3/4*

This was a good go home show with a really invested crowd, but the ending was really stupid and did nothing to hype Judgment Day. If you just take that away, this was probably one of the stronger SmackDown shows of the year.

Overall Rating: 60%

Monday Night Raw 5-15-06 Review

Monday, May 15th, 2006
United Spirit Arena
Lubbock, Texas

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WWE Championship Match

Triple H vs. John Cena 

Mr. McMahon's music hits instead of Cena's and he says that he's changing the main event for tonight. He says that both the WWE Championship and Intercontinental Championship will be up for grabs in the first ever 3-on-2 Texas Tornado Handicap match. It will be John Cena and Rob Van Dam vs. Triple H, Shelton Benjamin and Chris Masters. 

Texas Tornado Handicap Match For The WWE Championship & Intercontinental Championship

John Cena & Rob Van Dam vs. Triple H, Shelton Benjamin & Chris Masters

Cena comes out first and he starts going at it with Triple H. For some reason the bell rings, even though none of the others are down yet. This is one of those matches that I have no recollection of ever happening. RVD hits a somersault dive onto Masters, Triple H and Cena going into the commercial break. When we come back, Shelton levels RVD with a kick to the back of the head. Triple H pulls Shelton off RVD and while they argue, Masters puts on the Master Lock. They break it up and it allows RVD to make a comeback. RVD hits Rolling Thunder and goes up top, but Triple H shoves him off the top and to the floor. Cena is back in and he takes out all three opponents. He hits the Five Knuckle Shuffle, but then Triple H goes for the Pedigree. Cena back body drops him to the floor and puts on the STFU on Shelton. Shelton gets saved by Masters, but then RVD hits the Five Star Frog Splash on Shelton. Triple H hits the Pedigree on both RVD and Cena. He and Shelton both make pinfalls, but Shelton was on RVD first and we have a new Intercontinental Champion. Triple H Pedigrees the ref in protest. I really enjoyed this match. It was chaotic and had a super hot crowd. This was a really good way to kick off the show. 

Match Rating: ***1/2

Trish Stratus is out to the ring and calls out Mickie James. Mickie attempts to attack Trish, but she ducks with the Matrix. Then out of nowhere Beth Phoenix attacks Mickie. Trish says that her new friend Beth is an old friend of Mickie's. Beth said she won't forget what she did to her. 

Triple H is furious in the locker room and in walks Shane McMahon. Shane says that he's the guest referee of Kenny vs. Shawn Michaels tonight. Shane informs him that Triple H will be in the corner of Kenny to make sure business is taken care of. 

World Tag Team Championship Match

Spirit Squad vs. Snitsky & Goldust

Johnny and Nicky are in there for the Squad tonight. One thing I can say about this is that it is a match. A tag team match to be exact. Anyway, no one really is into it. Snitsky and Goldust try to make a comeback, but Mikey does a flying bulldog off the trampoline behind the ref's back. That's enough for the victory. The match was meaningless, but the flying bulldog was pretty sweet. 

Match Rating: *

Mick Foley is here and bragging about hanging out with Melina. He brings out Terry Funk and he wants to know why Mick did what he did to Tommy Dreamer. Terry tells Mick that he's like a son to him. Mick questions why he wasn't at WrestleMania to watch his match and he lets everyone know that it was because he wanted too much money to be there. Funk keeps taking verbal jabs at Foley until he finally attacks him. Funk makes a comeback, but Funk takes care of him too. In comes Lita and she hits him with a low blow. No save from Dreamer here and the heels celebrate. I really didn't remember this angle not being that over, but that's two weeks in a row that it just isn't clicking with the live crowd. 

Matt Striker vs. Eugene

Striker makes fun of the crowd and Eugene comes out in a large cowboy hat. Striker dominates the early going until Eugene makes his comeback with the airplane spin. He hits a big boot and a leg drop for a 2 count. Striker hits his finisher basically out of nowhere and that is all. At least it was short. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Carlito is backstage for an interview with Maria. This leads to some terrible sexual innuendo joke and from there we go to Vince and Candice Michelle about to make out. This show sure is falling off the cliff quickly. In comes Triple H and they talk about back scratching. 

Umaga vs. Chris Wellman

Umaga's tree of woe headbutt gets a nice reaction from the live crowd. Wellman does a nice job of getting tossed around. This leads to the Samoan Spike for the easy victory. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Kenny vs. Shawn Michaels

Shane McMahon is the guest referee here and the other Spirit Squad members are banned from ringside. Triple H is at ringside though and he brought his sledgehammer. After some brawling, Michaels goes up top, but Shane pushes him off the top rope. Kenny follows up with a big reverse elbow and Shane tries his best for a fast count. Obviously this match is full of shenanigans and it leads to Shane attacking Shawn. He calls in Triple H and he accidentally hits Shane with the sledgehammer. Out comes Vince to check on Shane and he calls for medical help. Triple H says it was an accident and walks to the back as Vince holds Shane and we are off the air. There is no finish to this one. This wasn't much of a match despite them getting a few minutes. It was kind of a flat finish for the show overall.

Match Rating: *1/4

Well the show started off with a bang and just sort of whimpered along for the rest of it. I appreciated them doing something a little different to mix it up, but the depth of the roster isn't super strong right now and it showed here. I guess with all of that being said, it wasn't anything bad, just not something you needed to see. 

Overall Rating: 49%

NXT 5-8-14 Review

Original Airdate: Thursday, May 8th, 2014
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida

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NXT Women's Championship Tournament 1st Round Match

Emma vs. Charlotte

This one could have easily been the finals of the tournament. Emma avoids Charlotte in the corner, but Charlotte hits her with a forearm and snaps her head on the top rope. Charlotte then puts on a Figure Four headlock. Emma makes a comeback and then pulls out her version of the Cobra. She hits Sasha with it and Charlotte is able to roll her up for a victory. That was a big disappointment. They only got a couple of minutes and had a lame finish to go along with it. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Legionnaires vs. El Local & Kalisto

The Legionnaires are Sylvester Lefort and Marcus Louis. Well, we finally have some tag teams on the show here. Lefort hits a neckbreaker and gets a 2 count. I'm not familiar with Louis, but apparently he was in TNA for a cup of coffee. The Legionnaires continue to dominate Local. He finally makes the hot tag to Kalisto, who hits a springboard crossbody and then a springboard corkscrew. He hits a corkscrew to the outside on Louis and hits a rolling kick to the head on Lefort. He then hits the handspring kick to the head for the victory. It was clear that this was to establish Kalisto as a star here and he looked great. 

Match Rating: **

Camacho vs. Captain Comic

So Camacho is fighting the Rosebud that he attacked last week. Captain Comic is Garret Dylan, who apparently is the son of Kris Kristofferson. Camacho obviously dominates the match, but his offense is still pretty generic. He hits a running Samoan Drop and then the running powerslam for the victory. You would have thought that Adam Rose would have been at ringside, but I guess that's not the case here. He comes out after and Camacho retreats. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Both Alicia Fox and Alexa Bliss get quick backstage spots before their match. Alexa cuts a pretty generic babyface spot. 

NXT Women's Championship Tournament 1st Round Match

Alicia Fox vs. Alexa Bliss

Alexa has a cool entrance where she blows out glitter for the Tinkerbell influence. The crowd is into Bliss here, but that may have more to do with Fox. Bliss hits a nice standing moonsault and drives her knees into Fox's gut. Fox dominates the rest of the match until Bliss is able to hit a spinning roll up for the upset victory. Bliss looked pretty good here for the most part. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

Adrian Neville gives us his thoughts on the battle royal tonight to determine the #1 contender. 

Battle Royal To Determine The #1 Contender For The NXT Championship

Mojo Rawley, Sami Zayn and Bo Dallas are the only three to get televised entrances. The Oliver Grey burial tour continues, as he's the first one eliminated. How did Tyler Breeze or Aiden English not get an entrance? The entire ring teams up to get rid of Brodus Clay. Smart choice. I've already lost interest in this one. Bo Dallas eliminates a bunch of guys in a row, which gets the crowd booing. He goes for Tyson Kidd next, but Kidd ends up throwing him out and gets a huge pop for it. We are down to Kidd, Breeze and Zayn. We get a lot of teased elimination spots and it leads to both Kidd and Zayn hanging onto the top rope next to each other. Kidd pulls Breeze over with his legs and all three men fall at the same time. That was a really well executed spot. The referees all get together while the crowd chants for a triple threat. Out comes Triple H and he declares that there will be a triple threat match next week to determine the #1 contender. Like most battle royals, it didn't get good until the end. The ending was better than most though and it worked well here.

Match Rating: **1/4

This was an entertaining, but unspectacular episode of NXT and that's okay. They continue to find their footing and are building a stronger roster. Hopefully soon we will get the women some more ring time. 

Overall Rating: 57%

Monday Night Raw 5-16-94 Review

Original Airdate: Monday, May 16th, 1994
Green Mountain State
Burlington, Vermont

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King Of The Ring Qualifying Match
Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Sparky Plugg

Plugg hits a dropkick and it sends Bam Bam out of the ring. Bam Bam starts to dominate upon re-entering the ring and hits a powerslam. Bam Bam eventually misses in the corner and Sparky hits a DDT. He goes up to the top rope for a crossbody, but Bam Bam kicks out. He tries a small package, but it's not enough. Luna trips Sparky as he's running the ropes. Bam Bam capitalizes and picks up the victory. I'm not really sure why they thought Sparky needed protection here, but the match was pretty good overall. 

Match Rating: **

It's time for the King Of The Ring Report. So Bam Bam Bigelow matches up with Razor Ramon for the first round. 

Diesel vs. Mike Moraldo

Diesel takes Moraldo and throws him over the top rope with one hand. Diesel puts him in a bear hug before throwing him to the ground. Meanwhile, Randy Savage claims to hang out with Pee Wee Herman. Diesel hits the Jackknife for the victory. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Ugh, more Undertaker sighting vignettes. 

Now it's time for King's Court and boy are we lucky to have Ted DiBiase and Nikolai Volkoff as guests tonight. But first, Lawler talks about Roddy Piper. Now that I'm thinking about it, why didn't they just do Savage/Lawler? We go to commercial break and when we come back Volkoff is wearing his old gear and tells DiBiase that he hates him. I guess this is the precursor for the Vince/Austin angle. DiBiase gives Volkoff some new gear that says "Property of the Million Dollar Man". He then gets a tuxedo shirt and this segment is dragging on forever to absolutely no reaction from the crowd. I will say the cent sign is pretty funny. That's it. Did Vince owe Volkoff a favor or something? I mean the guy was a jobber for years. 

Owen Hart vs. Tony Roy

Owen hits a gutwrench suplex, which was always one of his more underrated moves. Roy goes for a dropkick, but Owen holds onto the ropes. He puts the Sharpshooter on and he instantly taps. After the match, Owen talks trash to the camera and then hits a spin kick on Roy. He then puts on the Bret Hart sunglasses and talks some more trash. With Owen not announced for the King Of The Ring tournament yet, it really is kind of weird that the guy who beat Bret Hart the night he won the WWF Championship would not be the #1 contender. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

They show the ring crew taking the ropes off for the Sumo Match. This leads into a promo for next week, as Earthquake takes on Owen Hart in a King Of The Ring qualifier. 

Sumo Match
Yokozuna vs. Earthquake

If you love stalling, do I have a match for you. Just think, they still gave us Akebono vs. Big Show nearly 11 years later. They finally start going at it after what feels like forever. The goal here is to push your opponent out of the ring, but for the most part you would think it was to see who could give the best sweaty hug. Earthquake finally knocks Yokozuna over and he rolls out of the ring for the victory. Vince sells it like the biggest upset in the history of sports. Randy Savage goes into celebrate with Quake. This was absolutely horrible television.

Match Rating: 0 Stars

They decide that this is the best time for them to promote the house show schedule. Next week it's Owen Hart vs. Earthquake and we're done. 

The opening match was decent enough, but the King's Court and Sumo Match were absolutely terrible. This was one of the weakest episodes in some time, as I have been enjoying Raw for the most part since WrestleMania X. Owen vs. Earthquake should make for a good episode next week though. 

Overall Rating: 34%

Superstars 5-14-94 Review

Original Airdate: Saturday, May 14th, 1994
War Memorial Auditorium
Rochester, New York

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Bret Hart's music hits to start the show. He joins Vince McMahon on the side stage. He says that we're going to find out who the best wrestler is when they step in the ring with each other. He then accepts the challenge from Diesel, which will take place at King Of The Ring. 

Kwang vs. Tony Outter

Kwang sure is becoming a mainstay here on Superstars. The weirdest thing is how Harvey Wippleman does nothing during his matches. Outter tries to mount some offense but gets hit with a spin kick and that's all. I guess they weren't quite ready to give up on Kwang yet. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

It's time for Live Events News and they talk about the big Yokozuna/Earthquake feud. 

King Of The Ring Qualifying Match
Pierre vs. Mabel

Pierre attacks Mabel as he enters the ring. Pierre hits a clothesline and then a missile dropkick, bringing the big man down. Pierre goes up top again, but this time Mabel powerslams him off. Mabel now goes up to the second rope, but misses with the splash. Pierre again goes up to the top rope and hits a nice looking leg drop, but Mabel kicks out at 2. Pierre goes for a body slam, but he can't keep him up and falls on his back for a nearfall. Mabel hits his sideslam and that's all for Pierre. Well, that sure was abrupt. Oscar then comes out and celebrates. They packed a lot in for a short match with a big man and made the most of it. 

Match Rating: *1/4

It's time for the King Of The Ring Report. We see that IRS is going to be the one to face Mabel and the winner will face Razor Ramon or whomever his opponent is. We're going to get Lex Luger/Jeff Jarrett and Bam Bam Bigelow/Sparky Plugg in our next qualifiers. We then get footage of Roddy Piper on his movie. 

Doink vs. Major Yates

Yates goes for a back body drop, but Doink gets a kick in and a double underhook suplex. Doink hits a pretty weak dropkick and a vertical suplex. Doink goes up top and hits the Whoopee Cushion (with fart sounds) for the victory. I can't believe this goes on for the rest of the year. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

They show Ted DiBiase yelling in his limo for Volkoff to open his door. 

Earthquake vs. AC Conner

Conner is none other than D'Lo Brown, which is fun. Quake hits his greatest hits here and of course the final squash for the victory. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Nikolai Volkoff vs. Duane Gill

I still can't wrap my mind around them thinking that this was a story people would get behind. Volkoff was 46 years old. The New Generation, everyone. Volkoff dominates early, but then DiBiase starts arguing with him and Gill gets in a few moves. Volkoff hits him with a kick to the gut and a clubbing blow to the back of the head for the victory. Good times. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Duke Droese does a spoof of the basketball McDonald's commercial and it's as good as you would expect. 

Tatanka vs. Gus Kantarakis

Tatanka really just feels like such old news here and he still has over a year left in his run. I completely understand why they turned him heel, I just don't think there was anything there as a performer. Kantarakis hits a DDT and actually gets a pin attempt. Tatanka hits the Samoan Drop for the victory. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Vince and Lawler take a look at the replay of Pierre/Mabel and then bring out Jeff Jarrett. He lets Luger know that he's better than him, as they square off next week.

This one wasn't as fun of an episode since they cut the feature match down too short. The squashes were the usual and there was nothing else really of note. Just your run of the mill Superstars episode.

Overall Rating: 41%

Judgment Day 2006 Review

Sunday, May 21st, 2006
US Airways Center
Phoenix, Arizona

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WWE Tag Team Championship Match

MNM vs. London & Kendrick

London and Kendrick start the match off hot and London uses a back body drop to send Kendrick soaring over the top rope and onto MNM. London then goes up top, but misses with a crossbody and it's now MNM in control. Despite a flurry by Kendrick, MNM hit the Snapshot, but London is able to make the save. This leads to lots of illegal teamwork by MNM, as they cut the ring in half. London finally gets tagged in and hits an awesome dropsault into a pin, but Melina comes in and yells in the referee's face to break up the count. MNM tries the Bobby Heenan WrestleMania V pin, but London is able to kick out. Kendrick misses with a dive outside, but London ducks under Mercury's double team. Kendrick rolls him up and we have new champions. This was a good opener and they got a good pop for the victory. After the match, Melina yells at Mercury and slaps him in the face. He grabs her by the arm and Nitro starts attacking him. Mercury turns it around, but Melina hits him with a kick to the head. Melina then gives the ref a low blow and they walk off. Mercury attacks Nitro from behind and they brawl on the ground until it's broken up by officials. I honestly forgot that they broke up this early on. 

Match Rating: ***1/2

They show highlights of Bret Hart winning the King Of The Ring in 1993. You can find my review of that show in the archives. 

Chris Benoit vs. Finlay

If you weren't sure that this would be a physical match, don't worry, Tazz and Michael Cole are going to tell you about it. Benoit misses with a headbutt off the top rope, but is able to follow up with a baseball slide into a steel chair that Finlay grabbed outside. Back in the ring, he hits the flying headbutt on the second attempt. Finlay slows things down, but even at that, the crowd is still really into this. The action spills outside and naturally Finlay grabs for his shillelagh. Benoit avoids it and hits a German suplex on the mats outside. Benoit suplexes Finlay in and hits the Three Amigos. Benoit is getting ready to climb up top, but Finlay runs over and knocks him to the floor. Finlay is able to throw Benoit into the ring post, but then Benoit is able to put on the Crippler Crossface in after a struggle from Finlay. Finlay immediately taps in a lengthy match that mostly delivered. 

Match Rating: ***1/2

Jillian vs. Melina

I don't think this where I would have put this match on the card. After what happened earlier tonight, it's only Nitro out with Melina and the referee sends him to the back before the match even starts. Jillian starts off aggressively, but once the action spills out of the ring, Melina is able to kick her into the steps. They actually are given a little bit of a chance to wrestle here, which is a rarity. Jillian makes a comeback and she gets the victory off a roll up in the corner, even though Melina had her hand on the bottom rope. Melina is yelling at the ref after the match and I'm still surprised they had Jillian go over. Kristal comes down to interview Melina and rubs it in her face, so Melina attacks her and they start brawling on the entrance ramp. The match was what it was.

Match Rating: 3/4*

JBL says that tonight is JBL's time. In walks Chavo Guerrero, who says he's here to watch Rey Mysterio. 

Did you know Steve Austin won the King Of The Ring? 

Cruiserweight Championship Match

Gregory Helms vs. Super Crazy

Crazy tries a bunch of quick pinfall attempts to start off and then ends up clotheslining Helms to the floor. The referee stops Crazy's dive, so he goes over his back. This starts a "E-C-W" chant. Helms is able to drop Crazy on the top rope and then hits a swinging neckbreaker. Helms slows it down before hitting a knee to the face. Crazy makes a comeback after a missed elbow drop and gets a 2 count off a standing moonsault into a pin attempt. Crazy hits a nice missile dropkick and again Helms kicks out. The pace quickens and it leads to Helms hitting a powerbomb and then using the ropes to gain the victory. This was pretty good, but I know they are both capable of better. 

Match Rating: ***

They show Melina and Nitro going into Teddy Long's office. Teddy says that he's not going to do anything about what happened tonight, so Melina slaps him. Teddy says he needed that and fires both of them. 

They show Kurt Angle beat Rikishi in 2000 for the King Of The Ring. 

Mark Henry vs. Kurt Angle

Before the match, Mark Henry clears the announce table and grabs a mic. He tells Angle that he hurts people and that if he comes out here tonight, it's on him. Angle was most definitely injured heading into this match. Angle attacks Henry right away and he even pulls off a running kick, which I don't think I've ever seen Angle do. Angle goes for a German suplex through the table, but he can't get Henry up. Back in the ring, he runs right into Henry and this leads to a beatdown. Angle is relentless and hits a German suplex. The straps are down and he hits the Angle Slam. Angle's ribs are wrapped. Henry hits a huge clothesline and the World's Strongest Slam. Angle rolls into an Ankle Lock, but Henry is able to roll through and send him to the outside. Henry sets up Angle on the announce table, but Angle is able to move before Henry jumps. Henry drives Angle into the ring post. Henry rolls back into the ring and wins by countout, which draws a lot of groans from the crowd. That's a terrible finish on a pay-per-view. After the match, Henry goes after Angle again. Angle grabs a chair and starts unleashing like he did at Royal Rumble. Angle put son the Ankle Lock and Henry is tapping. The officials come out to pull Angle off of Henry. Angle gets away and hits an Olympic Slam onto the table and somehow it doesn't break. So Angle hits a chair shot to the head that sends Henry through the table. That was an irresponsible chair shot there. This was just poor booking all around. 

Match Rating: **

Sharmell is wearing a crown and she reminds Booker that tonight he becomes royalty. 

King Of The Ring Finals

Booker T vs. Bobby Lashley

They quickly go to their favorite spot still to this day, the shoulder to the ring post spot. Lashley is able to make a comeback shortly after though and sets him up for the Spear. Sharmell grabs his leg and Booker hits him with the superkick. Booker hits the Book End, but Lashley is able to kick out. Lashley catches him for a running powerslam and we get another close call. Booker fights back and hits a very different looking Scissor Kick for a 2 count. Lashley comes back with a Spear and again Sharmell distracts the referee. Finlay comes down and hits Lashley with the Shillelagh. Booker hits the Scissor Kick and is your King Of The Ring. This very much felt like a TV match. They didn't get a ton of time, but it was entertaining enough. Lashley naturally ruins Booker's coronation. 

Match Rating: **3/4

Great Khali vs. Undertaker

Khali tosses Undertaker out of the ring a couple of times, but then Taker baits Khali into coming at him and snaps his neck on the top rope. Taker goes for Old School, but Khali tosses him off the top rope. Outside the ring, Khali throws Taker into the steps. I can't believe I'm watching this match again. Taker is able to hit Old School and Khali's sell is just terrible. Taker hits a leaping clothesline and Khali ends up tied up in the ropes. Khali hits a chop to the head and then a boot to the face. He stands on him and pins the Undertaker. This is just as surprising 15 years later as it was when it happened. The match was terrible. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

World Heavyweight Championship Match

JBL vs. Rey Mysterio

Rey starts the match off hot and hits a seated senton off the apron to the floor and then a reverse crossbody off the second rope. Rey hits a sliding dropkick and nails JBL below the belt, but when they go outside, JBL hits a boot to the face. JBL then hits the Three Amigos. JBL keeps taunting Rey's wife and then hits a fall away slam. Rey is busted open here and now that I think of it, I can't really remember another match where that happens. Mysterio catches JBL with a knee to the face on a desperation moonsault and almost gets the win. Rey sets JBL up for the 619 and he connects. He goes for the follow up, but JBL pulls the ref in front and Rey accidentally hits him. Another ref comes down to count and Rey kicks out. JBL isn't happy and knocks him out. He goes and grabs a chair, but Rey kicks it into his face. He hits the 619 and a Frog Splash for the victory. This was a better match than I remember, with both guys making each other look good. Chavo Guerrero comes down to celebrate as we go off the air. 

Match Rating: ***1/2

This is kind of a tough show to rate. In the grand scheme of things, it wasn't bad and had some solid matches. Unfortunately, it felt more like an episode of SmackDown rather than a big pay-per-view. There is nothing that is must see, but it was a strong use of talent. 

Overall Rating: 69%

NXT 5-1-14 Review

Original Airdate: Thursday, May 1st, 2014
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2

Triple H is here to kick things off with a major announcement. He announces that on May 29th, there will be a live 2 hour special called NXT TakeOver. I wonder how that will work out for them? 

Tyson Kidd vs. Bo Dallas

Bo has his main roster music here. Surprisingly, the crowd is split pretty 50/50. Kidd misses with a dropkick and Bo takes advantage. Kidd catches Bo with a reverse elbow and a flurry of kicks. Bo hits a tornado bulldog and gets a 2 count. Kidd hits him with a kick on the apron and hits a top rope Blockbuster for the victory. That was a pretty basic match, which would sum up why I didn't type that much. I like Kidd, but it seems like he's still trying to find his groove again here. After the match, the crowd taunts Bo and he isn't happy about it. 

Match Rating: **

Camacho cuts a cheesy promo about throwing the best parties. Adam Rose comes in and brings in his crew to show him how to party. 

Bayley cuts a quick promo on how the NXT Women's Championship means more to her than 10 hugs from John Cena. Sasha says she's going to hit Bayley so hard that it's going to make her side pony straight.

NXT Women's Championship Tournament 1st Round Match

Bayley vs. Sasha Banks

Let's see if they give the women more time in this tournament. They start off with a nice pace, which tells me that's probably not the case here. Both ladies look really good here and have already come a long way in their short time on NXT. Bayley hits a back body drop to make her comeback. She goes for the Bayley-To-Belly suplex, but Sasha is able to roll out of the ring. Sasha is able to hit Bankrupt, but Bayley kicks out. Sasha hits the Backstabber and puts her in the Banks Statement for the victory. This was a really crisp and enjoyable quick match. They easily deserved more time than this, but they made the most of what they were given. 

Match Rating: **1/2

Adam Rose vs. Danny Burch

Rose goofs around and of course is super over here. He hits his few spots and then the Party Foul for the easy victory. After the match, Camacho comes down to attack one of the Rosebuds. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Oh goody, Brodus Clay says he's going to take the NXT Championship. 

NXT Women's Championship Tournament 1st Round Match

Natalya vs. Layla

I always liked Layla and she's here with her Fandango music and entrance. Layla actually gets in a decent amount of offense here. Natalya hits the spinning forearm and goes for the Sharpshooter, but Layla is able to get out before she gets it on. Natalya ends up putting it on and picks up the victory in another quick match. 

Match Rating: *

Adrian Neville says that this time he won't win by countout, he'll beat Brodus in the center of the ring. 

Oliver Grey vs. Mojo Rawley

The Oliver Grey burial tour continues. He hits the butt bopper and the worst finisher in wrestling for the victory. Make it stop. Out comes Aiden English to save the day. Mojo gets attacked by English, but then Mojo clotheslines him out of the ring. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

No Disqualification Match For The NXT Championship

Brodus Clay vs. Adrian Neville

Neville dumps Brodus out quickly and hits a dive over the top rope. Neville goes up to the top rope, but Brodus moves out of the way. He hits a running dropkick in the corner instead. Neville goes off the top rope, but Brodus pushes him in midair into the turnbuckle. Brodus slows things down until Neville takes out his knee. Brodus is able to hit a second rope splash, but Neville kicks out. Brodus grabs the title belt, but Neville sort of kind of kicks it into his face. Neville goes up top and hits the Red Arrow for the victory. Why was this even No Disqualification? I am surprised, but pleased, at how easily Neville beat Brodus here. The match was decent enough. 

Match Rating: **1/4

With the exception of the Mojo match, this was a nice little show. The Bayley/Sasha match was a nice little match and the pace of the show was good. They crammed a lot in here again, but at least most of it meant something.

Overall Rating: 62%

Monday Night Raw 5-9-94 Review

Original Airdate: Monday, May 9th, 1994
Green Mountain State
Burlington, Vermont

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork

We kick off with a clip last week of Earthquake challenging Yokozuna to a match. 

King Of The Ring Qualifying Match
Razor Ramon vs. Kwang

Randy Savage predicts Kwang to win because he is a martial arts expert. Kwang starts off in control until Razor goes on a flurry and knocks Kwang off the apron a couple of times. Kwang gets wise and snaps Razor's neck on the top rope. Razor fights back and starts to work on Kwang's left shoulder. 1994 Razor is really incredible. Everything he does is gold. Kwang fights back with a spin kick that gives Razor a bloody lip, which Vince promises they won't show any close up shots for all the youngsters out there. Congrats to Kwang on getting a two segment match on Raw. Razor pulls a Rock Bottom out of nowhere and gets a nearfall. Kwang hits a reverse crossbody off the second rope, but Razor rolls through and almost steals the victory. Razor hits a knee lift and follows it up with a Razor's Edge attempt, but he can't get him up and falls over. That was a legit failed attempt. Kwang misses with a dropkick and he hits the Razor's Edge this time for the victory. This was a surprisingly good match with Kwang looking the best he has looked in his short run. 

Match Rating: **1/2

It's time for the King Of The Ring Report. Next week Sparky Plugg will face Bam Bam Bigelow in a qualifying match and will take on Razor Ramon in the 1st round. Of course the big news is again Roddy Piper taking on Jerry Lawler and they show us the same clips they showed on Superstars. Just because I was curious, Roddy was 40 years old here and Lawler was 44. 

Crush vs. Ray Roy 

Roy hits Crush with a dropkick from behind and rolls him up for a 2 count. Unfortunately, that's all for Roy. Unfortunately, this one isn't following the Superstars trend and we're stuck watching Crush for a couple of minutes. Crush hits the devastating heart punch for the victory. Next.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Duke Droese gets another vignette for whatever reason. 

They shows clips of Jeff Jarrett dressed up as Doink again from Superstars.

Doink vs. Mike Terrace

Doink uses a leg sweep and dink punches Terrace in the nose. Jeff Jarrett joins via telephone while Dink illegally continues to interfere. Doink hits a back breaker and follows up with the Whoopee Cushion for the victory. This is one of the times where they played the fart noise on it too, which is such a stupid idea. Tell me your show isn't live without saying it.  

Match Rating: 1/4*

They show photos of Earthquake during his time as a sumo wrestler. 

It's time for the King's Court and Yokozuna is the guest this week. But first, Lawler says he wishes that Piper would be a guest but he won't because he's out making movies. Cornette rambles on and says that they'll accept the challenge and says that they should have a sumo match. 

We get another Undertaker sighting video. How many more of these do we have to suffer through? 

Mabel vs. Mike Bell

Bell takes a page out of Terrace's book and gets in his two moves early and just makes Mabel mad. Savage announces that Earthquake has accepted the sumo challenge. Mabel hits a big splash in the corner. Mabel hits a side slam and that is all. We get to see him "dance" after the match. You're welcome.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Lawler is backstage with Earthquake and he says he's going to kick Yokozuna's butt. 

This show started off surprisingly good and then took a dive off a cliff with some boring squash matches. I mean, that's kind of what Raw was a lot of weeks during this time, but this one more than usual. 

Overall Rating: 43%

Superstars 5-7-94 Review

Original Airdate: Saturday, May 7th, 1994
War Memorial Auditorium
Rochester, New York

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King Of The Ring Qualifying Match
Scott Steiner vs. IRS

Hey, look. Scott Steiner still works here. Steiner is able to throw IRS around with a bunch of suplexes. We surprisingly get a commercial break for this one, since it's the opening match. Steiner takes a page out of IRS's playbook and slows it down on the mat. Steiner then even cheats by grabbing the rope while in the abdominal stretch. IRS gets caught trying to cheat when he blocks a sunset flip, but then reverses that and gets away with cheating for the victory. Rick Steiner comes out and tries to get the referee to reverse his decision. If he cares so much, why didn't he come out to ringside during the match to keep an eye on him? Out comes Tatanka with referees holding him back to go after IRS. He's now trapped between the Steiners and Tatanka, so he leaves up the steps of the arena. The match was boring, like just about every IRS match ever. 

Match Rating: *1/4

It's time for the King Of The Ring Report. They announce that Jerry Lawler will take on Roddy Piper. They show us a series of interviews from Roddy Piper filmed on a camcorder. This was terrible and I love Piper. 

Jason Storm vs. 1-2-3 Kid

Kid hits one of his signature leg drops and a belly-to-belly suplex. Kid hits the spin kick and that's it. Kid squashes are usually more competitive than this, but this was really short. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

They show clips of Ted DiBiase saying that he bought Nikolai Volkoff. Why was anyone supposed to care about this? 

They then show Owen Hart vs. Mo from Wrestling Challenge, with Owen taking advantage of a knee injury. 

Owen Hart vs. John Paul

They're letting Owen show off a little bit more aggressive side now and we get another super quick match that ends with a Sharpshooter. I'm not sure what's up with the frantic pace of the squashes today. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We get some highlights of the Headshrinkers winning the Tag Team Championships. 

Barry Hardy vs. Lex Luger

Luger steamrolls Hardy here, who is always one of the dorkiest looking jobbers they have. He puts him up in the Torture Rack and that is all. Luger continues to have no direction after WrestleMania. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We get clips of Diesel on Raw wanting the WWF Championship and Lawler and Jeff Jarrett tricking Dink.

Jeff Jarrett vs. Derek Domino

I still am somewhat surprised of how much I have liked Jarrett so far in his early run here. Again, this one is about three moves and the finisher. Jarrett gets a quick victory with the Figure Four. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

They show more clips of the WrestleMania Revenge Tour. Next week it's Mabel vs. Pierre! Nikolai Volkoff is in action! Now it's time for another Undertaker sighting and it's a bunch of kids at a preschool. What a crappy ending to a crappy episode.

I really expected this one to be better, but for whatever reason they didn't give any of the matches time. Owen, Jarrett and Kid are three of the best squash workers they have and they all got about 60 seconds. The feature match was just kind of there, but what do you expect with IRS? 

Overall Rating: 39%

Off The Grid, Volume 15: Saturday Night's Main Event VII Review

Original Airdate: Saturday, October 4th, 1986
Richfield Coliseum
Richfield, Ohio

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Off The Grid, Volume 15:

We get the opening promos that SNME is famous for. Jesse Ventura, Jake Roberts, the Dream Team, Kamala, Paul Orndorff and Hulk Hogan kick things off. 

Mean Gene is with Roddy Piper, who is injured as a result of Don Muraco's attack. Piper says that if he wants to wrestle, he's going to wrestle. Piper is is pretty intense here. 

Hulk Hogan is so confused by Paul Orndorff's actions and lets him know that his time is now. 

Gene is now with Bobby Heenan and Paul Orndorff, who thinks he will be the next champion. 

WWF Championship Match

Paul Orndorff vs. Hulk Hogan

Orndorff comes out to Hogan's entrance theme here. Heenan distracts Hogan and Orndorff gives him a pretty weak looking clothesline to the outside. Hogan continues to dominate, but another Heenan distraction pays off and Orndorff hits him in the throat. Orndorff stays on the attack, hitting a vertical suplex for a 2 count. Hogan comes back and hits a high knee. The sound on the crowd noise is really poor here, which is a shame. Heenan grabs the leg of Hogan, but Hogan ducks a charging Orndorff and he goes to the outside. The police come out and take Heenan away from the ring. Heenan is shown banging on the door of the room he was thrown in before and after the commercial break. Orndorff sets Hogan up for the piledriver, but Hogan counters with a back body drop. It's time for the Hulk up. Hogan then goes for the piledriver and out comes Adrian Adonis dressed as a woman to attack Hogan. Out comes Piper on a crutch to help make the save. Hogan almost attacks Piper, but holds back and Piper limps to the back. I'm not a Hogan fan and this particular storyline doesn't really do much for me. The match was pretty vanilla too. 

Match Rating: *3/4

Jake Roberts cuts a promo in the shower and this is a little bit peppier than a normal Jake heel promo. 

Snake Pit Match

Jake Roberts vs. Ricky Steamboat

They show Steamboat with a mini alligator. Steamboat is super over here, which he should be. Steamboat goes off the top rope and Jake gets his knees up to slow down his momentum. Roberts works on Steamboat, but it doesn't last long. Steamboat explodes and hits a crucifix for the pinfall. That's it? After the match, Jake attacks Steamboat and drives him into the ring post. Jake pulls out Damian, but Steamboat pulls out his "dragon", which again is an alligator. He uses him to attack Jake and then that creature is just walking around in the ring, which seems like a great idea. The match was pretty good for while it lasted, but the after match was stupid. 

Match Rating: **

Back to Mean Gene with Hogan and he cuts a pretty poor promo here. 

Iron Sheik vs. Roddy Piper

They show Jesse Ventura before the show interviewing Sheik and Slick. They have Pedro Morales in the ring, but out comes Roddy Piper. Piper sends Morales back and attacks Sheik. Sheik gets in a cheap shot and goes after the knee. Sheik goes for a suplex, but Piper rolls him up and gets the victory. Nothing match here.

Match Rating: 1/4*

We go back to Johnny V and the Dream Team and they're still not happy about what happened at WrestleMania 2.

Piper is with Gene again here and he's still crazy. 

The British Bulldogs say to get ready for the beating of their lives. 

Two Out Of Three Falls Match For The WWF Tag Team Championships

Dream Team vs. British Bulldogs

I'm only about two minutes in, but it already feels like they're working at a quicker pace than normal. The Dream Team works on Dynamite Kid and Valentine is able to lock in the Figure Four. Dynamite taps and Jesse Ventura continues to complain about the rules of this match. After that fall, they go to Gene who announces that Adonis may have a separated shoulder and they show Piper hitting him with the crutch. The challengers go right back to work on Dynamite until Davey Boy gets the hot tag and hits the vertical suplex on Valentine. Davey Boy gets Beefcake on his back and then Dynamite tags in and jumps off the back of Beefcake and onto Valentine for the tying pinfall. We get some good back and forth action until things break down with all four men in the ring. Davey Boy hits a suplex and gets the victory to retain their titles. This was your usual good Bulldogs match. 

Match Rating: ***1/4

Lanny Poffo vs. Kamala 

They show a quick promo of Kamala, Wizard and Kim Chee. Poffo shows off his athletic ability and Kamala shows off by jumping. Poffo tries to get something going, but Kamala shuts it down with a thrust to the throat. Kamala hits a body slam and a splash for the victory. After the match, Kamala goes up to the top rope, but they get him to come down. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Vince and Jesse recap the night before we go to yet another commercial break. They come back just to say goodnight before we get the credit roll. 

For whatever reason, I just don't particularly love the 80s era like most people my age do. Part of that is probably due to the fact that I have always disliked Hogan. The characters in this era just don't do it for me like they would in the early 90s. With that being said, it feels like they gave us a lot here for free TV, but most of it didn't connect. The tag team match is the only one that was good and the rest was pretty blah. 

Overall Rating: 57%

SmackDown 5-12-06 Review

Original Airdate: Friday, May 12th, 2006
iPayOne Center
San Diego, California

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2

JBL is out to start the show after the recap of him screwing over Rey Mysterio last week. Being in San Diego this week, he has a little bit more heat than normal. JBL says that tonight Mysterio has to face Great Khali. Then JBL gets into his normal offensive promo. As he continues to rant, Mysterio sneaks in and attacks him. 

Cruiserweight Championship #1 Contender Triple Threat Match 

Kid Kash vs. Nunzio vs. Super Crazy

Kash attacks Nunzio before Crazy even makes it to the ring. Gregory Helms is our guest announcer. Kash hits a nice moonsault on Nunzio and then Crazy comes off the top rope to break up the pin attempt. Crazy was really good. Crazy hits a moonsault on Kash and Nunzio this time breaks it up this time. Nunzio gets Crazy up on his shoulders and Kash goes off the top rope. Crazy ducks under and rolls up Nunzio to get the pinfall. That was a clever finish to an enjoyable, but short match. 

Match Rating: **1/2

They show Kurt Angle walking into the arena. Angle then goes to Teddy Long and says he wants Mark Henry tonight. Teddy tells him that he can't because he hasn't been cleared to wrestle. Teddy says that he can get him a match at Judgment Day when he will be medically cleared.

Gymini vs. Mike Wellington & Joey Ryan

Yes, it's that Joey Ryan. Gymini are without Simon Dean here. This is by far the worst I have seen the twins look. They do lots of quick tags and double teams. They hit their finisher and that's all. This was pretty poor overall. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Kurt Angle is now being shown walking out of the arena. 

Booker T is out with Sharmell and says that he's very disappointed that Kurt Angle was injured by Mark Henry. He says that he refuses to win by forfeit, so he's giving Angle one last chance. He counts to 10 and they celebrate. 

King Of The Ring Semifinal Match

Finlay vs. Bobby Lashley

Things start off slowly with some rest holds from Finlay. Booker and Sharmell are out on the stage to check out the match. Finally Lashley makes his comeback, but when he goes for the Spear, Finlay kicked him in the face. Finlay sneaks in a chair shot behind the referee's back, but Lashley no sells it and hits him with a Spear for the victory. This match was really boring and I like Finlay a lot. I barely even typed anything because nothing happened almost the entre match. 

Match Rating: *

After the match, Lashley tells Booker T to get out of his chair and if he doesn't, he will throw him out. I was expecting to like all of this, but instead it just wasn't entertaining. 

MNM is here to talk about how they gave London and Kendrick 3 Snapshots. Out comes Jillian Hall to interrupt Melina. Jillian comes down to the ring to confront her, but then London and Kendrick down to attack him. They then all rip off MNM's pants and expose their shiny blue underwear and of course Melina's. 

Mark Henry vs. Paul Burchill

Burchill already jobbing again here. Henry is dominant here, as you would expect. Henry grabs the mic in the middle of the match to tell us that Kurt Angle is going to get the same thing at Judgment Day. He hits the World's Strongest Slam and that is all. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

We get another Tatanka vignette and I still can't believe they thought they could reboot Tatanka in 2006. 

Nunzio and Vito are backstage. Vito leaves and Orlando Jordan comes in to tell Nunzio that he saw him at a club in drag. Nunzio doesn't believe him and here begins another terrible gimmick. 

They run down the Judgment Day card while CM Punk's future music hits. JBL is here to join the announce team. 

Rey Mysterio vs. Great Khali

Khali tosses Rey out of the ring multiple times. JBL eventually comes over and hits a right hand on him and throws him in the ring. He picks him up by the neck and then chucks him down and pins him? Could they have booked Rey any worse than this? In his hometown and as a champion, he loses to Great Khali in about 3 minutes. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

JBL gets in Rey's face after to tell him that his family is all watching. He attacks him and stands tall as the show goes off the air. 

Outside the opening match, this show was really bad. It didn't do anything to make me want to watch Judgment Day, which is a shame since I remember it being a solid show. This one can be skipped for sure. 

Overall Rating: 36%