Superstars 9-17-94 Review

Original Airdate: Saturday, September 17th, 1994
Portland  Civic Center
Portland, Maine

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Bushwhackers vs. Well Dunn

The Bushwhackers lick Jerry Lawler on the face on the way to the ring and Well Dunn gets the already in the ring treatment. They care so much about Well Dunn that they've had about 3 televised matches. All four men eventually get in the ring and Butch and Luke duck clotheslines and bite the butts of their opponents. What exactly is the point of Harvey Wippleman managing Well Dunn at this point? Well Dunn hits a drop toe hold into a leg drop if you care. One of the Well Dunners hits a top rope reverse elbow for a 2 count. Butch hits a headbutt to the midsection of whichever guy and Luke gets the pin. I'm sorry, I just don't care enough right now to look up which one is which. The battle goes on after the match and it leads to Harvey Wippleman being caught in the middle of tug of war and they pull off his pants. The Bushwhackers looked pretty unmotivated here and can you blame them? 

Match Rating: 1/2*

They show the whole Bam Bam Bigelow/Adam Bomb encounter last week and the Bomb cuts a cheesy promo.

Jeff Jarrett vs. Phil Apollo

Vince just can't get over the Ain't I Great album title. Jarrett then does his whole schtick that no one ever wanted to hear more than once. Apollo gets in a drop toe hold, but Jarrett avoids a knee in the corner. Jarrett puts on the Figure Four and that is all. Not as fun as most Jarrett squashes typically are.

Match Rating: 1/4*

It's time to watch the WWF charity softball highlights from SummerSlam weekend. Dink gets a hit!

Tony DeVito vs. Undertaker

Again, this was taped before SummerSlam. This is exactly every Taker squash ever, but the crowd likes it so who am I to complain? He hits the Tombstone for the easy victory. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Kwang vs. Scott Taylor

It's a big morning here for Harvey. Kwang hits his spin kick and does the whole pose and spit out green mist thing. I give him credit, it was pretty obvious that no one cared, but he kept trying. It didn't work. Kwang hits a hip toss and Scotty 2 Hotty tries to pull out his wedgie. Taylor misses a moonsault, but lands on his feet. He ducks some kicks, but Kwang eventually hits him with one and that's all. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

It's time for The Heartbreak Hotel with Ted DiBiase and Tatanka. Tatanka is wearing a suit, so obviously he's evil. Tatanka is pretty horrible here. This was just filler.

Sparky Plugg vs. Iron Mike Sharpe

Vince and Lawler are still talking about Lawler getting licked. Continuity, I suppose. Iron Mike is particularly "ahhhhh" today. Abe Schwartz is still on strike. Sharpe runs into a boot to the face in the corner and Holly hits a crossbody that rolls over twice and gets the victory. Interesting finish for a jobber match. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Bob Backlund vs. Tony Roy

Bob Backlund: The New Generation. We get a lot of stalling and it leads to the Crossface Chicken Wing for the victory. I still can't believe this was something that really happened. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We get a recap of Undertaker/Kwang from Raw because we were all dying to see it again. 

Next week we get British Bulldog, Shawn Michaels and Diesel, Adam Bomb, Tatanka and Yokozuna.

This was a great example of why the business wasn't doing well. There was no substance here and nothing interesting happening. This was just not a good episode, even by Superstars standards.

Overall Rating: 30%

SummerSlam 2006 Review

Sunday, August 20th, 2006
TD Banknorth Garden
Boston, Massachusetts

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Rey Mysterio vs. Chavo Guerrero

As soon as Chavo gets into the ring, they start going at it. This is Chavo's highest profile match in a long time. Mysterio misses a dive to the outside, but then Chavo is able to hit one as a follow up. Rey attempts a comeback, but Chavo drops Rey face-first into the turnbuckle. Chavo hits a right hand and Rey's mask accidentally falls off. They do kind of a weird spot where they both go face-first off the top rope. Mysterio leaps backwards off the second rope and hits a hurricanrana into a 619. Chavo ducks the seated senton and Rey hits a hurricanrana to send Chavo over the top rope. Out comes Vickie Guerrero and she tells Chavo to stop. She hits him with a slap to the face and Mysterio hits a dive through the ropes. Vickie now pleads with Rey to stop, allowing Chavo to suplex Rey into the ring and into the Three Amigos. Myterio escapes the third and then goes for it and is met with a lot of boos. Rey goes up top and Vickie crotches him and plays it off as if it was an accident. Chavo hits a brainbuster and a Frog Splash for the victory. This just all fell really flat despite having the opening slot on the card in a big wrestling town. This just didn't click.

Match Rating: **1/4

We get a fun backstage spot with Edge and Lita arguing with King Booker and Queen Sharmell about who the power couple of WWE is. 

Extreme Rules Match For The ECW Championship
Sabu vs. Big Show

Sabu starts off with a chair, but it quickly is gone and Big Show is destroying him. Sabu tries a springboard crossbody, but Show catches him and tosses him. Sabu is able to snap Show's neck on the top rope and tosses a chair at his face. Sabu hits a missile dropkick with a chair, but Big Show kicks out of the pin attempt. Sabu sets up a table over in the corner and then hits a bulldog off the top rope. Sabu then runs and hits a modified bulldog through the table. Show quickly recovers and hits a Vader Bomb off the second rope. Show tosses in the ring steps and a table. He takes forever to set up the table on the steps and then in runs Sabu and screws up the spot. He slips off the table and then awkwardly still does the move, which is a DDT through the table. He sets up another table and goes for another move, but this time Big Show catches him and chokeslams him through the table for the victory. This had no flow to it and the crowd didn't care outside of the spots. They've started the show with two TV matches. 

Match Rating: *3/4

They show Layla winning the Diva Search, which leads to her backstage. The Divas are rude to her, but then let her know they are just joking. They instead throw her in the shower and spray her butt with water. 

Randy Orton vs. Hulk Hogan

This snakebit feud fell all the way to third match on the card. Hogan does get a huge pop here and then drags out the entrance forever. Hogan does the punches in the corner and on the 10th one, he bites Orton instead. Oh yeah, he also did a crotch chop. Last year's SummerSlam match with Shawn Michaels was my favorite Hogan match. This one isn't. Orton is able to grab Hogan's leg and slam it on the edge of the ring. They are playing up Hogan's torn meniscus and Orton is all over it. Orton goes off the top, but Hogan ducks and goes for a big boot. Orton ducks it and hits a dropkick. Orton hits the RKO, but Hogan gets his foot on the rope. The referee counted to 3 and Orton thinks he won. They make an announcement that Hogan's foot was indeed on the rope and the match will continue. It's time for the Hulk Up and then Hogan hits the big boot. He plays to the crowd and then hits the leg drop to end it. This wasn't good. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

Melina checks in on Mick Foley backstage. Melina is worried about Mick tonight and wondering if it will hurt her career. Foley fires back, walks away and Melina smiles. 

I Quit Match
Mick Foley vs. Ric Flair

Not surprisingly they go right at it and Flair gets hit with a garbage can. Mick grabs the mic early and tells Flair it's going to get a lot worse, but Flair doesn't give up. Instead we get to hear him breathe. Foley goes for Mr. Socko, but Flair grabs him by the crotch. Foley puts on the sock and barbed wire and knocks Foley out of the ring. Foley grabs a barbed wire piece of plywood and rams it right into Flair's face. Out come the thumbtacks and Flair gets body slammed into them. Foley shoves the mic in his face, but more groaning from Flair. Next up, it's the barbed wire baseball bat. Flair's able to get the bat away and hits Foley in the arms with it. Flair then threatens to murder Foley and hits a low blow. Flair gets a running start and hits Foley off the apron and he takes a pretty bad looking bump past the padding. Out comes the officials and Melina to check up on him. The officials say it's over, but Flair says that it's not ending that way. Flair attacks him more with the bat and barbed wire, which prompts Melina to throw in the towel. Flair isn't accepting that either, so we're still going. Flair goes again with the bat, but Melina gets in the way and Foley quits. What a terribly booked ending. 2006 me liked this a lot more than 2022 me. Melina continues to check on Foley after the match and he does the slow walk to the back. 

Match Rating: ***

Vince and Shane McMahon are back with Armando Alejandro Estrada. Nothing happens.

World Heavyweight Championship Match
King Booker vs. Batista

If this doesn't show you how much they care about SmackDown, I'm not sure what will. Batista catches a spin kick and hits a powerslam for a 1 count. Book tries to leave with Sharmell, but Batista throws him back in. This time Booker misses a spin kick and Batista hits a spinebuster. He goes for the Batista Bomb, but Booker is able to roll away and snap Batista's neck on the top rope. The crowd could not care less about this match. Thanks to some distraction from Sharmell, Booker hits Batista with the scepter. The Randy Savage/Ultimate Warrior one was a million times better. Batista quickly comes back by dropping Booker on the top rope and hitting a clothesline. Back on the outside, Booker throws Batista into the steps. This match has no flow at all. Booker hits a neckbreaker, but Batista kicks out at 2. Batista goes for the Batista Bomb, but Sharmell runs in and we have a DQ. This show has been so poorly booked so far. Booker goes for the Scissor Kick, but Batista hits a spinebuster and Batista Bomb. This was a total turd of a title match at a major show. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

DX is talking to someone behind a door and saying that Vince thinks Umaga is the bigger, badder monster than him. 

DX vs. Vince & Shane McMahon

The Spirit Squad come out first and DX easily takes care of them. Next up it's Mr. Kennedy, William Regal and Finlay. They mostly take care of them until Big Show comes out and attacks Shawn, allowing the other 3 to take care of Triple H. The match hasn't started yet for the record. Triple H gets thrown through the announce table and now the McMahons make their way to the ring. They dominate Michaels. Triple H tries to make a comeback, but they kick him over the announce table and into JR. They hit Demolition and LOD's finishers, but Shawn kicks out at 2. Michaels hits a double clothesline and wouldn't you know it, Triple H is ready to come on in. They destroy them until Umaga comes out. He hits the Samoan Spike on Triple H, but then out comes Kane. Number of people who want to see that feud: 0. Vince crawls over to Triple H, but he kicks out. Vince then nails the ref. Shane goes for coast to coast, but Michaels hits Sweet Chin Music. That was pretty sweet. Triple H hits the Pedigree and that is all. This is a hard match to rate, as it was mostly smoke and mirrors. It was decent for what it was, but nothing worth going out of your way for. 

Match Rating: ***1/4

WWE Championship Match
John Cena vs. Edge

If Edge gets disqualified here, he loses the title. We get an early near countout spot, which wouldn't be surprising the way this show was booked. We get a second one, which is an interesting choice. Cena tries to fight back, but Edge hits a spin kick. I do give credit to both performers here and the WWE for making this match feel fresh, even though they did wrestle at Royal Rumble. Here comes Cena, who is still getting a lot of boos despite being in his hometown. Edge is able to toss Cena over the top rope to slow his momentum. Cena again attempts a comeback, but Edge again stops him, this time with a boot to the face. They battle up on the turnbuckle and Edge headbutts Cena off. Edge hits a top rope clothesline and that gets a 2 count. Lita throws in a chair, which Edge can't use and it distracts Edge, allowing Cena to come back and hit the Five Knuckle Shuffle while the announcers ridicule Lita's judgment. Edge comes back with a DDT, but Cena kicks out. Cena pulls out a victory roll, but Edge kicks out. Cena runs into a boot, but rolls through the crossbody and picks up Edge and puts him in for a FU. Edge escapes, but gets pushed into Lita on the apron and gets rolled up for a nearfall. They hit a double clothesline and both men are down. They are in second gear now. Edge is up and goes for the Spear, but Cena hits a drop toe hold into the STFU. Lita tries to use the belt, but Edge pleads for her not to use it. Edge gets to the rope and Lita slips on brass knuckles on Edge's hand. He misses the punch and he puts up Edge for the FU. Lita comes in and is also up for the FU. He flings her off and Edge escapes. Edge hits Cena from behind with the brass knuckles and gets the victory. This was really well done and honestly the right finish despite the hometown crowd. Edge needed to be solidified as a top heel and this did it. There were so many bad booking decisions tonight, but this wasn't one of them. Well done by all three involved to help save this show from being a total dud. 

Match Rating: ****

Well, this one was nowhere near as good as I had remembered. The main event was very entertaining and ended things with a slight surprise, but the rest of the show is very skippable and in many points, hard to watch. There were just so many matches that lacked chemistry and the ones that were pretty good, were booked poorly. This is a one match show. 

Overall Rating: 51%

NXT 9-4-14 Review

Original Airdate: Thursday, September 4th, 2014
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida

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Alexa Bliss vs. Charlotte

Alexa is still the smiling pixie here. Bliss gets a little bit of time to show off her athleticism, but then Charlotte hits a gutbuster. She hits Natural Selection, which is still not the name of the move, and picks up the victory. This was a squash to allow Charlotte one more decisive victory before TakeOver.

Match Rating: 1/2*

Out comes Bayley and she says that it's time that Charlotte starts taking her seriously. She holds out her hand again, but Charlotte shoves her away. Bayley bounces back and hits the Bayley-To-Belly and holds up the title. 

Tyler Breeze gives a sit down interview that is probably his most Zoolander-esque one yet.

Apparently KENTA is making his debut at TakeOver too. 

Sin Cara and Kalisto are backstage for an interview. Sin Cara speaks Spanish and Kalisto says they are confident they are going to win tonight. 

Tye Dillinger vs. Tyler Breeze

After a little bit of offense by Dillinger, Breeze shows some aggression by stomping a mudhole as some would say. Breeze toys around before hitting the Beauty Shot. We get a little bit of an awkward finish with him doing a weird pin for the victory. This was what you would expect of this match. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

They show a sit-down interview with Tyson Kidd and he brags about how good he is. 

We go to Enzo and Cass at a hairdresser and the hairdresser is Carmella. I'll be honest, I had no idea that this was how she was introduced. Some Nair shampoo falls on a dog and some hair falls off. To say this was annoyingly bad would be an understatement. 

Tyson Kidd vs. Adam Rose

I'm assuming Rose was already a jobber on the main roster at this point. After a nice kick to the head, Kidd follows it up with a neckbreaker and a pin attempt. Kidd takes out the knee of Rose with a dropkick and Kidd then puts him in the Sharpshooter. Rose gets close to the ropes, but Kidd pulls him in the middle of the ring and Rose taps. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

Now it's time for Sami Zayn's sit-down. Zayn says that he knows that he doesn't have to pin Neville to win the title, but he wants to beat the best man in the ring and that's the champion. 

The Vaudevillains get a backstage interview to talk about their big match tonight. 

Sami Zayn vs. Marcus Louis

Louis gets in a little bit of offense and then Zayn dominates the rest. Are you sensing a pattern here? He puts on the Koji Clutch and Louis taps. Obviously they never were able to make anything out of him, but I'm not sure I love them booking Louis like this. Out of nowhere, out comes Enzo and Cass to attack him. They end up escaping before they can get rid of Sylvester Lefort's hair. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Adrian Neville says that he understands that he doesn't have to lose to lose his title. 

CJ Parker vs. Adrian Neville

Parker misses with a top rope splash and Neville hits his signature quick kicks and a low dropkick. Neville hits a running dropkick and a missile dropkick. He hits the Red Arrow and that is all. Parker continues to look like a total jobber. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

NXT Tag Team Championship #1 Contender Tournament Final
Kalisto & Sin Cara vs. Vaudevillains

Both teams get in some early offense, but you can tell this one is going to be rushed. We get an early hot tag by Kalisto. That leads to a dive by Sin Cara to take out Aiden English. Gotch catches Kalisto, but Kalisto gets out of it and hits Salina del Sol. He tags in Sin Cara and he hits the senton off the top and we have our #1 contenders for the Ascension next week. Out come the Ascension and that's about when I stop caring. The match was too short for what they built it up for.

Match Rating: **

This was all about building to TakeOver. It was effective enough, but the main event left a lot to be desired. This is one of those episodes where you forget what you watched pretty quickly.

Overall Rating: 48%

Monday Night Raw 9-12-94 Review

Original Airdate: Monday, September 12th, 1994
Lowell Memorial Auditorium
Lowell, Massachusetts

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This show was taped before SummerSlam. Why?

Kwang vs. Undertaker

I wonder if anyone thought this was the fake Undertaker. Taker does lots of non-selling here to start. He hits Old School and then chokes Kwang on the top rope. He misses with the leaping clothesline and Kwang kicks him out of the ring into a commercial break. It doesn't Taker long to try to make a comeback. Taker goes for a chokeslam, but Kwang spits green mist in his face. Taker no sells that too and spits it back in his face. He hits the chokeslam and that's all for Kwang. This was okayish. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

They show some highlights of the Owen/Bret cage match. 

Jim Neidhart vs. Tim McNeany

This is one of those instances where this should be about 60 seconds, but instead it is like 5 minutes. McNeany gets no offense whatsoever. After a scoop slam, Neidhart rolls him over and puts on the Camel Clutch for the victory. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Next week, it's finally Duke Droese vs. Jerry Lawler. It doesn't get any bigger than that. They then show him popping Dink's balloons. 

It's time for King's Court and Lawler tells us that President Jack Tunney wants him to apologize to Doink and Dink. Of course the episode of Superstars hadn't even aired yet, so the live crowd should have no idea what's going on with that. His guests are Doink and Dink of course and Dink is wearing a Burger King crown. They bring out a big gift for Lawler, but he says he's not going to open it. Doink says that he'll open it for him and it's a trash can. WHAT A MATCHUP THAT'S GONNA BE NEXT WEEK. Lawler tries to kick the can away, but he hurts his toe. Doink reveals that there are weights in there. What thrilling television. 

Shawn Michaels & Diesel vs. Tony DeVito & Paul VanDale

I'll never understand when they duplicate so many of the squash matches from Superstars just 2 days later. The crowd is chanting for Diesel. DeVito chases Michaels around the ring, but Diesel gets in his way and it allows Michaels to hit a nice looking dive through the ropes. VanDale looks like it's his first time ever wrestling. He eventually gets a boot to the face and the Jackknife. Michaels does the splash off of Diesel's shoulders for the victory. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

They show the highlights of the Bam Bam Bigelow/Adam Bomb confrontation on Superstars. 

Adam Bomb vs. Duane Gill

I have to say, Adam Bomb is always kind of over and they just kind of never do anything with him. Bomb tosses old Gillberg around the ring and then hits the pump handle slam for the victory. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We get a commercial about a guy giving a confession and the priest isn't listening because he's watching a Lex Luger match. 

Bushwhackers vs. Barry Hardy & Bert Centeno

Let's talk more about the New Generation with a tag team that is combined 97 years old here. This is just about every Bushwhacker squash ever. Nothing to see here.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Next week, we'll have an interview with Bob Backlund and Lex Luger and Yokozuna will be in action. 

This was basically the same episode as Superstars 2 days prior with the exception of Undertaker/Kwang. There have been worse episodes, but when you're taping shows weeks before your pay-per-view and airing them weeks after, it's never a great formula.

Overall Rating: 41%

Superstars 9-10-94 Review

Original Airdate: Saturday, September 10th, 1994
Portland  Civic Center
Portland, Maine

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Diesel & Shawn Michaels vs. Nick Barberi & Tom O'Sullivan

Vince can't stop talking about Abe "Knuckleball" Schwartz. Just to show how last second them winning the belts was, Shawn and Diesel do not have the titles here. Michaels is also sporting lipstick on his cheeks. With this being taped before SummerSlam, they don't really play on the dissention between the two. Instead they make frequent tags and work like a legit tag team. Diesel hits a big boot into the Jackknife. Michaels then mocks the Headshrinkers and does a splash off the shoulders of Diesel for the victory. This made a case for them to stay a tag team longer than they would. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Jim Neidhart vs. Mike Maliccio

I like that Neidhart comes out to the Hart Foundation version of Bret's song. Neidhart was always just so much better as a tag team wrestler. He dumps Maliccio out of the ring and Owen gets in a few cheap shots. Neidhart hits a scoop slam and puts on the Camel Clutch for the victory. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

The WWF Superstars invaded the Harley Davidson Cafe in NYC.

Doink vs. Executioner #1

On the way to the ring, Jerry Lawler pops all of Dink's balloons. For some reason, Doink is on the cover of WWF Magazine. Pretty impressive for a guy who couldn't even make it on the SummerSlam card. Executioner gets a little bit off offense, but Doink hits a German suplex into a bridge for the victory. At least we didn't get the fart sound Whoopee Cushion this time. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

The Heavenly Bodies and Jim Cornette are out for an interview. Cornette calls the Smoking Gunns Beavis and Butthead and they stomp on one of the cowboy hats. That's about it.

Undertaker makes a rare in ring appearance against Kwang on Raw this week. 

Tony Roy vs. Bam Bam Bigelow

The roster was so weak during this era and still they couldn't do anything to make Bam Bam a top guy. Obviously it's not all on the company, but it's hard not to think if they would have booked him better that he wouldn't have been a bigger deal. Bam Bam attacks Roy and he's out of the ring. Officials are checking on him and Ted DiBiase grabs the mic to issue an open challenge to anyone. Out comes Adam Bomb. They go face-to-face and start slugging it out. Bomb ducks a clothesline and hits a leaping clothesline. Bam Bam is out of the ring and the officials are holding him back. There was no match here. 

Headshrinkers vs. Mike Bell & Tony DeVito

Mike Bell actually hits a clothesline and a dropkick, but hits a DDT and Fatu no sells that. Samu hits a reverse kick on the candy cane striped DeVito. Shawn Michaels and Diesel join us and tell us that they're going to hold onto the titles as long as they feel like it. Fatu hits the splash and that is all she wrote. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We get a lengthy recap of the Lex Luger/Tatanka match followed by a Luger promo about taking Tatanka out. 

Yokozuna vs. Steve King

Yoko tosses poor King around as we start the build for the Undertaker feud. He hits a suplex for some reason for the victory. The Undertaker's bell tolls and Yoko is scared. Neither Mr. Fuji or Jim Cornette are with him. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Look for some Headshrinker cooking tips. 

Next week it's Well Dunn vs. Bushwhackers, Jeff Jarrett, Bob Backlund and Undertaker. Plus, we'll have Tatanka in the Heartbreak Hotel. 

This was a pretty standard episode that once again deprived us of a feature match. They're sort of stuck in that weird period of time where they still feel like they have to talk non-stop about SummerSlam and haven't yet started to try to move on from it. 

Overall Rating: 42%

SmackDown 8-18-06 Review

Original Airdate: Friday, August 18th, 2006
Verizon Center
Washington DC

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2

We get a long Great Khali/Undertaker video to start, which I'm sure made everyone want to tune into the show tonight.

Batista vs. Sylvan 

Batista is in his hometown tonight. Sylvan gets some promo time on the way to the ring, but Batista attacks him before the bell. He hits a spinebuster and then the Batista Bomb for the victory. Next. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

They show Layla winning the Diva Search contest. 

Scotty 2 Hotty vs. Sylvester Terkay

Scotty always gets his TV entrance. MVP is in the suite with some ladies on his flip phone. Scotty gets a couple of shots to the face of Terkay, but it has little to no effect. Terkay hits him with a kick to knock him off the apron. After getting some water in the corner, Scotty's able to get some boots in, but it doesn't work and Terkay hits a muscle buster for the victory. I have to say, I like Terkay more in 2022 than I did in 2006. That's not saying a whole lot, but he is more impressive than I remember. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

We get a look back at Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio

Paul London and Brian Kendrick are with Kristal to talk about Idol Stevens and KC James until they are attacked with Michelle McCool barking orders. 

Mr. Kennedy vs. Tatanka

This already has gone on longer than I thought it would. They really were dedicated to giving Tatanka some TV time. A lot more than I ever remembered. After they start saying how Kennedy is the biggest star, we get a legit back-and-forth match between these two with Kennedy trying to even head to the back. Unfortunately not much happens until the end. Tatanka goes for the End Of The Trail, but Kennedy rakes his eyes and then rolls him up and holds the tights for the victory. Tatanka isn't happy after the match and argues with the referee. I'm not sure what that did for Kennedy. I get him being a heel, but this should have been a decisive win. 

Match Rating: **

We now get a video package of Los Guerreros. This leads to Vickie Guerrero going into Teddy Long's office and pleading to stop this match from happening. 

Last Man Standing Match
Great Khali vs. Undertaker

I can tell you who won't be the last man standing and that is me. Taker is able to chop Khali down and gets him in a triangle choke in the ropes. Khali gets to his feet, but he is wobbly and falls down. Daivari comes from behind and hits Taker in the back with a chair. He goes after Daivari on the top of the stage, but a distraction from Khali allows for a low blow from Daivari. Khali slams him into the fake glass part of the set and then throws him off the stage and through some tables. Taker gets to his feet at the 9 count and we go into a commercial break. When we come back, Khali is still dominating and gets him tied up in the ropes. They go back outside and Khali throws Taker into the steps. Taker battles back and sets Khali's head on the steps and Taker nails him with a chair. Khali is now bleeding, which I really don't remember. I didn't watch a lot of SmackDown during this time, but I probably made sure not to watch this one. Taker then hits Khali with two direct chair shots to the head because wrestling was extremely stupid during this era and pretended like concussions didn't exist. Khali tries to get up, but he can't get to his feet. Minus the ignorant and unnecessary finish, I will say that Taker put a lot of effort into this one and they delivered one of Khali's best matches. 

Match Rating: **1/2

The Boogeyman is coming back and probably coming to getcha. 

Vito vs. Scott Fowler

Hey, did you know that guys who wear dresses can also like sports? I'm not sure why we're going back to jobbers here. You know the drill here, it's the same match he has been having for weeks. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

United States Championship Match
Finlay vs. Bobby Lashley

I'm pretty sure that the only reason this feud went on forever was to help Lashley get some ringwork with one of the best. I know that's not a hot take, but it definitely didn't hurt. I didn't watch any of Lashley's non-WWE stuff, but it's pretty amazing how he is doing the best work I have seen him do 16 years after this. Finlay fakes an eye injury, but it doesn't work and he gets press slammed. Regal comes out and pushes Lashley from behind, which allows the distraction for Finlay to push him into the ring post. Back from commercial and Lashley hits a back body drop on the mat outside the ring. On the way back in, Finlay clubs Lashley with a clothesline. Finlay slows things down and goes to work on the left arm of Lashley. Lashley makes his comeback and hits a vertical suplex, but Regal distracts him and out comes Hornswoggle. Finlay lifts him up and Lashley spears Finlay. He hits the running powerslam, but Regal pulls the referee out of the ring and attacks Lashley. We have a disqualification and Hornswoggle hits Lashley with the shillelagh. Lashley eventually gets the best of the attack thanks to the help of a chair. The match was pretty good, but the ending fell flat. 

Match Rating: **3/4

King Booker and Queen Sharmell are backstage on their way to the ring. 

After the commercial break, Booker and Sharmell are in the ring, where they invite Batista to come to the ring. Rather than face Booker at SummerSlam, he has a plan B for Batista. That plan is for Batista to bow down and kiss Booker's feet. Sharmell puts down a pillow and takes off Booker's shoe and sock. Batista ponders it and goes down to one knee. He looks at Booker and stomps on his foot before clotheslining him over the ropes. This was a weak finish, as I would have had Regal and Finlay attack him and force him to kiss his foot to end the show. 

This was kind of a weird episode. It was oddly entertaining despite being full of a lot of things I didn't necessarily think I'd want to watch. It was far from great, but just solidly entertaining. 

Overall Rating: 60%

ECW 8-15-06 Review

Tuesday, August 15th, 2006
Verizon Center
Washington DC

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Tonight we are getting a triple threat ladder match to determine the #1 contender for Big Show's title at SummerSlam. Then Paul Heyman tells us that Angle tore his groin and that he's medially suspending Angle. So tonight it will be Rob Van Dam vs. Sabu. 

Mick Foley is here and lets us know that he thinks Ric Flair has declined his invitation to be here tonight. He then goes over Hell In A Cell and how he got up because he would have thought less of himself if he didn't. He then brings out Kelly Kelly and Melina. Foley then announces that they're going to do a three way dance and there's a reason this one never gets brought up when it comes to career highlights for Foley. Flair runs out and hits a couple of low blows. Flair starts choking Foley with his belt on the ring post. Flair grabs the mic and yells at someone in the crowd and then tells Foley that he's going to quit. 

Shannon Moore. Still coming. 

CM Punk vs. Justin Credible

For some reason Credible gets a pre-taped promo here. Credible slaps Punk and that works out about as well as you would expect. Punk goes for a reverse crossbody off the second rope and we get an awkward counter by Credible, if it was even supposed to be one. Punk hits the big running knee and a kick to the head. He puts on the Anaconda Vice and that is all. This one was a little more convincing than his actual debut and it felt like they were just righting that wrong. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

After a RVD hype video, he is backstage sitting on top of a ladder. He wants his title back. 

Rene Dupree is backstage having a photo shoot done and says he's ready to prove he's the most hardcore wrestler ever. I bet he doesn't.

FBI vs. Mike Knox & Test

The fake music overdub for the FBI is so loud that you can't even hear the ring announcer. Knox catches Guido and hits a swinging backbreaker. There was always something about Knox's ring attire that never worked for him. Test steamrolls Guido with a boot and hits his finisher on Mamaluke for the quick victory. Out come Tommy Dreamer and Sandman and they clear the ring. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

It's Sabu's turn and says that he will do anything to be ECW Champion. 

Paul Heyman is shown talking to Big Show and his personal security and in comes Kurt Angle to start brawling. He gets the handcuff treatment. 

#1 Contender Ladder Match
Rob Van Dam vs. Sabu

We get a weird screw up early on where Sabu leaps up to the top rope and then accidentally crotches himself, so RVD decides to just jump from the top rope to try and reach the contract. He comes nowhere close. Sabu knocks RVD out of the ring with a leaping clothesline off the chair. Sabu hits a tornado DDT and goes for a ladder. When we come back from the commercial break, RVD hits a spinning guillotine leg drop off the apron. Sabu hits an Arabian Facebuster on the ladder. Sabu sets the ladder up sideways and tries to leap off of it and falls. Not a banner night for Sabu here. RVD tries to monkey flip the ladder and it sort of works. RVD misses Sabu with the Rolling Thunder on the ladder. Sabu hits the triple jump moonsault, but then misses the Arabian Facebuster off the second rope. RVD finally tries to climb the ladder, but Sabu pulls him off by his ankle. RVD hits the 5 Star Frog Splash and starts to set up the ladder again. Out comes Big Show and he dumps RVD out of the ring and through a table. He asks them to lower the contract, but out comes Sabu and he jumps on Show and grabs the contract. What a convincing way to make him the #1 contender. Big Show then chokeslams him on the clipboard. He chokeslams RVD as well. This all fell really flat. The match itself was pretty sloppy with lots of painful looking moves. It was entertaining enough, but not memorable. 

Match Rating: ***

It just seems like every storyline they are trying on here just doesn't work out for one reason or another. They should have just let Sabu beat Kurt Angle last week and not thrown RVD into the mix until after SummerSlam. The team of Knox and Test still sends people to the concession stands. The Foley/Flair segment was solid and the main event was entertaining, plus CM Punk.

Overall Rating: 60%

Monday Night Raw 8-14-06 Review

Monday, August 14th, 2006
John Paul Jones Arena
Charlottesville, Virginia

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Edge and Lita are here to kick off the show. Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler allude to it, but Edge shows us clips of him and Lita at John Cena's parents house. He's shown going through his room and in walks Cena's dad. They show Edge slap his dad in the face, knocking him down the ground. 

WWE Women's Championship Match
Lita vs. Mickie James

A rare heel vs. heel match in the women's division. There was always something kind of weird about Lita wrestling during this era. Mickie starts to get something going, but Lita throws her off the second rope. Mickie makes another attempt, but Lita rakes her eyes. Lita goes for a DDT, but Mickie hangs onto the ropes. Mickie puts her feet on the ropes for the pin, but Edge pushes them off. Lita then tries the same thing, but the referee this time catches it. Mickie rolls her up, but Lita kicks out. Mickie goes for the DDT, but Lita is able to counter. Edge gets up on the apron and it allows Lita to grab the belt and nail Mickie with it. Edge steps down and Lita picks up the victory to win the Women's Championship. This felt pretty random, but made sense with everything that ended up happening over the fall. 

Match Rating: *

Mick Foley cuts a backstage promo on the destruction of Ric Flair at SummerSlam. He challenges to meet him on ECW tomorrow.

Umaga vs. Alex Sage

Umaga hits the pop up Samoan Drop and butt in the corner. He follows it up with the Samoan Spike and that is all. It's time to get this man a proper feud. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Johnny Nitro vs. Ric Flair

Flair catches the leg of Nitro and gives some chops, but Nitro hits an enzuigiri. Nitro gets Flair in the corner and gets a series of kicks to the midsection. Flair battles back with some chops and a back elbow. Nitro hits an elbow of his own and goes for a corksrew moonsault, but Flair moves out of the way. Flair hits a chop block and out comes Foley. Flair attacks him, but Melina comes from behind and hits a low blow. Foley throws Flair into the steps and attempts to throw the top step on Flair, but Flair is able to roll away. This was obviously all for the build up of SummerSlam.

Match Rating: 3/4*

It's time for more Diva Search. Milena is eliminated, but being WWE that's not all we're getting. Tonight the three remaining will take on Candice Michelle, Torrie Wilson and Victoria in a Beat The Heat Water Fight. The WWE Divas win this prestigious event and then all douse Miz with water. High quality TV. I can easily see why USA would want this to be 3 hours long. 

Now it's DX's turn to fill up TV time. Shockingly, the McMahons show up. Triple H gets serious in response to Vince's promo and reminds him who they are. That was actually refreshing after weeks of the same stuff over and over. 

Spirit Squad vs. Eugene & Jim Duggan

It's Kenny and Mikey again for the Squad. This is a non-title match if anyone cares. The Spirit Squad quickly use their numbers to take advantage, but when Eugene is checking on an injured Duggan, out come the Highlanders to try to help even the score. Duggan hits a clothesline and makes the tag to Eugene. He hits the Rock Bottom on Mikey and an airplane spin on Kenny. Kenny goes for a leg drop, but Duggan sends him flying to the outside. Johnny comes in and hits a kick on Eugene. The Highlanders hit their finisher on Mikey and Eugene rolls over to pick up the victory. The tag team division is hotter than ever. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

Jeff Hardy is coming to Raw next Monday. Pretty big news there. 

Armando Alejandro Estrada walks in on the McMahons and offers Umaga help at SummerSlam. 

After running down the SummerSlam card, we go backstage to Carlito and Trish and they kiss. I'm not sure what the point of this was with Trish leaving in a month.

Carlito vs. Edge

Carlito dominates early on and then hits an impressive springboard somersault dive. Lita pulls Edge out of the ring during the pin attempt and we head into a commercial break. When we come back, Edge hits an elbow drop. During the break, Edge caught a leaping Carlito with a dropkick. On the outside, Trish has had enough of Lita and knocks her down. Carlito makes a comeback and hits a springboard back elbow for a 2 count. Carlito lands on his feet from the springboard moonsault and hits a hurricanrana. Edge goes for a Spear, but Carlito leaps over him and Edge hits the turnbuckle. Carlito goes for a Backstabber, but Edge throws him into the turnbuckle. Edge hits the Spear, but in comes Cena and he attacks Edge. Edge tries to escape and WWE officials grab Cena before he can go chase him. For some reason that's all they show of that and we go to commercial. Carlito looked motivated here and the match was solid. The Cena appearance was expected but he showed the right amount of fire and the crowd loved it. 

Match Rating: **1/2

Randy Orton is here and he says that he has waited all night for Hulk Hogan to show up. He calls Hogan the inspiration for his legend killer persona because he never understood why all of the idiots in the crowd chanted for Hogan. Me either, Randy. Me either. Orton says he's going to hit the RKO at SummerSlam and now Hogan's music hits. It's an impersonator of course. He does look quite a bit like him, but talks nothing like him. Out comes the real Hogan. Orton attacks him on his way into the ring, but it doesn't work and Hogan hits the big boot. The fake Hogan attacks Hogan from behind and we get some Vince McMahon taking a Stunner from Steve Austin levels of bad wrestling from this guy. Hogan dumps him out of the ring since the guy has no clue what to do. Hogan says Hulkamania is the one legend that Orton can't kill, brother. This was a terrible finish to an otherwise solid show. This feud was snakebit and someone just needed to put it out of its misery. 

The stuff with Edge and Cena was all good and even DX cut a pretty good promo. However, the Hogan segment really sucked the air out of the building and it probably shows when it goes on so early at SummerSlam. 

Overall Rating: 50%

Off The Grid, Volume 23: Clash Of The Champions XV: Knocksville USA Review

Wednesday, June 12th, 1991
Civic Auditorium
Knoxville, Tennessee

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Off The Grid, Volume 23:

Missy Hyatt is kicking it off by yelling about as annoyingly as you can and a very mullet Paul E. Dangerously is here too. I'm not sure why they needed to kick it off just to send it to Jim Ross and Tony Schiavone. I was in peak WWF fandom here in 1991, but this show has a very minor league look compared to what they were doing up in New York. 

Six Man Tag Team Match
Fabulous Freebirds vs. Young Pistols & Tom Zenk

Zenk and Jimmy Garvin start things off. Zenk hits a series of hip tosses and a dropkick, which leads to the Young Pistols hitting double top rope crossbodies to get the crowd into it. It's great to see Dok Hendrix and Freddie Joe Floyd going at it here. Tracy Smothers ends up getting dropped on the guardrail and the momentum has shifted. We get a brawl and the Freebirds toss their opponents out. All three of the faces hit sunset flips and all three men get the victory. That was a cheesy finish to an otherwise good opening match.

Match Rating: ***

Oz vs. Johnny Rich

It really doesn't get a whole lot worse than Oz. He hits a shoulder block and a clothesline to start and it's pretty obvious that he's a lot stiffer as an athlete here. Oz hits the big boot and a side slam. He hits a spinning powerbomb type move and that is all. Rich did a nice job of making him look pretty good. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We get a PN News video for some reason. 

Dan Spivey vs. Big Josh

It's Waylon Mercy vs. Doink. It's a slugfest to start until Spivey rakes the eyes. Josh hits a suplex, but Spivey is right back up with a clothesline. Kevin Sullivan comes out and he hits Josh in the back with a crutch basically right in front of the referee. Also, Josh could absolutely see Sullivan there. Spivey hits a German suplex into a bridge for the victory. This was a match.

Match Rating: 1/2*

They count down the WCW Top Ten. We now go to Paul E. Dangerously for the Danger Zone and his guest is Jason Hervey. Paul asks Hervey about dating Missy Hyatt and his new house and Hervey is fed up. He turns his back and Paul nails him in the back of the head. Missy runs in to check in on him and oversells the whole thing. 

Dustin Rhodes vs. Terrance Taylor

After a hot start from Dustin, Taylor uses the guardrail to shift the momentum in his favor. Taylor hits a gutwrench into a sit down powerbomb for a 2 count. Dustin makes a comeback with an inverted atomic drop and a bulldog. Mr. Hughes comes up on the apron and Dustin goes after him. Out comes Ricky Morton and he attacks Rhodes for a weird heel turn. Big Josh comes out and uses his ax to make the save. This match existed only to debut Morton as a heel. 

Match Rating: *1/2

Nikita Koloff vs. Sting

I will never like Crow Sting better than Surfer Sting. Sting runs in to try to get to Koloff early, but it backfires and Koloff dominates. I feel like Sting is a good example of a wrestler that never really attracted new fans, but was incredibly popular with the existing fans. The highlight of this match so far has been watching the old lady in the front row with her American flag. Sting is finally able to retaliate and throws Koloff into the guardrail. Sting is able to reverse the Tombstone piledriver. Sting ducks the clothesline and rolls him up for the victory. This was really dull. 

Match Rating: *

Tony Schiavone brings out PN News and Salt-N-Pepa, which seems to not be a big deal to the fans. They are really just cramming a ton of stuff on this show. Before PN News can be interviewed, out comes Johnny B. Badd and Theodore Long. Long confronts him and then Badd walks away before News can get his hands on him. 

Loser Leaves WCW Match
Barry Windham & Arn Anderson vs. Brian Pillman & El Gigante

As far as the stipulation goes, it's whichever person gets pinned is the one who has to leave WCW. Pillman gets an early backslide into a pin on Anderson for a 2 count. He tags in Windham and Pillman hits a spin kick on him. Windham hits his variation of the DDT for a nearfall. This is the Windham I love. For some reason Arn decides to go up top and Pillman hits a dropkick to knock him to the floor. Pillman then hits a dive outside. Gigante then gets a hand on the throat of Arn and Pillman powerslams Windham. Pillman jumps off the shoulders of Gigante, but Arn is able to break up the count. Pillman goes up top, but Windham trips him up. Windham hits a boot to the face and picks up the victory. This was about as good as a 3 minute match that involves El Gigante in it could ever be. I liked this a lot. 

Match Rating: ***

Paul E Dangerously is here for a Great American Bash update. They show some highlights of last year's show. 

IWGP Tag Team Championship Match
Hiroshi Hase & Masahiro Chono vs. Steiner Brothers

All four men get a chance to kind of show what they can do early on. Chono hits a kick to the head of Rick and it breaks his headgear. Rick fires back with a big clothesline and the crowd absolutely loves the Steiners. I love Rick's commitment to the headgear and just leaves it on. Hase holds up Rick and Chono hits a shoulder block from the top rope. Chono hits a Samoan drop and then puts on the STF. Scott and Hase start brawling outside the ring and Scott tries to go off the top rope to break up the hold, but he slips and has to improvise. Scott and Hase both make tags and Scott hits a big clothesline and a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Scott his a super belly-to-belly suplex from the second rope. Hase is able to hits a full nelson suplex into a bridge and Rick has to make the save. Steiner is able to hit a Frankensteiner on Hase and picks up the victory. Out of nowhere, it's Dick Slater and Dick Murdoch and they attack the Steiners. They go to commercial while the attack is still happening. I really enjoyed this one as well. The Steiners were a blast during this era. 

Match Rating: ***1/2

Diamond Studd vs. Tommy Rich

It's really interesting how much of WWF's late '92/early '93 roster was on this show between Ric Flair, Razor Ramon, the Steiners, Giant Gonzalez, Diesel and Lex Luger. Rich actually gets some offense in, but then misses with a crossbody. Studd goes right for the Diamond Death Drop and that's all. This was rushed.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Jim Ross is with the winner of the Sting look alike contest. He brings out Sting to meet him and is all cheesy. The kid is legit excited, but it leads to Koloff coming from behind and clotheslining him. Koloff threatens the kid, but he's able to be pulled away before that happens. This was better than their match earlier. 

#1 Contender Match For The WCW World Heavyweight Championship
Great Muta vs. Lex Luger

Neither man is able to maintain momentum, as they continue to trade moves. Muta goes for the handspring elbow in the corner, but Luger moves out of the way and it sends Muta to the floor. Luger blocks the green mist with his arm, hits a powerslam and just like that, Luger is facing the champion at Great American Bash. This was extremely short for a match that actually had a lot on the line. 

Match Rating: *1/4

Steve Austin vs. Joey Maggs

I'm not sure why this had to be on the show. Austin hits the Stun Gun and that's all. Austin with this much hair will never be not weird. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

The York Foundation brings out Ricky Morton. Robert Gibson comes out to confront him and Morton attacks him. Dustin Rhodes makes the save. 

Two-Out-Of-Three Falls Match For The WCW Heavyweight Championship
Bobby Eaton vs. Ric Flair

The graphic on the screen let's us know that Flair has "syled" and profiled. Eaton's able to fluster Flair with a clothesline to the floor. Flair's haircut here is really dorky. Eaton Keeps taking it to Flair and hits a swinging necbkreaker. He hits a scoop slam and heads up top. He hits the Alabama Jam and Eaton is up 1-0. After the 30 second break, Eaton slaps Flair repeatedly. Eaton hits another swinging neckbreaker and again climbs up for the Alabama Jam. Flair is able to get up and pushes him off and to the floor. The ref counts to 10 an we are now all tied up. Eaton is selling the injury and when the third fall starts, Eaton is still outside the ring. Eaton gets brought back in and Eaton is able to battle back with a superplex. Flair takes advantage of the knee injury and slaps on the Figure Four. The ref catches him using the ropes, so he drags him back to the middle to put it on again. Eaton gets a small package for a 2 count. Flair puts the Figure Four back on again. Eaton is stuck and actually ends up getting pinned out of it, allowing Flair to retain. I actually have to say this one was a letdown for me. This was the reason why I picked this show and it just didn't click as much as I thought it would. 

Match Rating: **1/4

This was a really enjoyable show that probably was booked with too many segments and matches, but it really was a good time. This also had a little bit more of a WWF feel to it and I mean that in the positive way. This one gets my recommendation. 

Overall Rating: 72%

NXT 8-28-14 Review

Original Airdate: Thursday, August 28th, 2014
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida

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The Ascension vs. ???

I'm not sure how many more times we need to see this. The crowd is even chanting "Let's go, jobbers". The announcers think it is impressive that they even had to have a tournament to find a team able to compete against them. Yep, it has nothing to do with the fact that they have done nothing to build any other teams. They hit their finisher and that's it. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

After the match, they cut a super generic promo. 

It's time to find out the new NXT GM and it's none other than William Regal. He says that his first order of business is who will be the #1 contender for the NXT Championship. He brings out Adrian Neville for his announcement. As Regal is about to announce it, out comes Tyson Kidd. Kidd accepts as the #1 contender, but then Tyler Breeze is out to stake his claim and says that Natalya deserves a title shot over Kidd. This of course brings out Sami Zayn and says he actually agrees with Breeze that there are people more qualified and it's him. Neville says he would like to face all three of them at TakeOver. Regal makes it official. 

Regal makes Tyler Breeze and Tyson Kidd vs. Sami Zayn and Adrian Neville for the main event tonight.

Sasha Banks vs. Bayley

Sasha gets down to business quickly and hits the knees to the midsection in the corner. Sasha begins to unleash her fury and slams her face to the mat. Sasha continues to dominate the match with Bayley getting zero offense. Bayley goes off the ropes and Sasha follows her, which allows her to hit the Bayley-To-Belly for the victory out of thin air. That was kind of a weird match. 

Match Rating: *1/4

Renee Young interviews Bayley in the ring and says that she's going to beat Charlotte to become the next NXT Women's Champion. Out comes Charlotte and she tells Bayley to give up so that she doesn't embarrass herself. Bayley offers her a handshake and wishes her good luck, but Charlotte walks away and tells her that she has warned her.

Bull Dempsey vs. Angelo Dawkins

Dawkins actually has a gimmick now. Bull gives a pre-taped promo telling Mojo that he won't need a doctor after their match, he'll need a priest. The announcers will not shut up about the training aspect of all the wrestlers tonight for whatever reason. Bull dominates the match and he should have maybe gone by Dull Dempsey. I'll see myself out. Dawkins tries to get some offense in, but Bull hits the Bulldozer instead for the victory. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

The Legionnaires cut a promo and honestly I don't have it in me to care about it.

Tyson Kidd & Tyler Breeze vs. Sami Zayn & Adrian Neville

Zayn hits a slam and let's Neville jump off his back and hit an impressive corkscrew. The heels are able to take the advantage and work on the champ. Neville is able to hit a dropkick to the knee of Kidd and crawls to make a tag to Zayn. He hits a nice pop up dropkick and a top rope crossbody for a 2. Kidd hits a swinging neckbreaker, but then Zayn hits an exploder suplex in the corner on Breeze. In comes Neville, who hits a springboard dropkick and a standing moonsault for a 2 count. Neville goes up top, but Breeze desperately gets up to knock him down. Zayn goes for the Helluva Kick, but Breeze moves and he hits Neville instead. Zayn is in disbelief, but still is able to hit a Blue Thunder Bomb on Breeze. Kidd comes in and throws Zayn out of the ring and pins Neville. After the match, Zayn hits a Helluva Kick on Kidd in a rare heelish move by Zayn. Zayn grabs the belt and falls to his knees as we go off the air. This was a pretty good match, but it felt like they were holding back. That's to be expected heading into a big main event, you only want to give a taste. 

Match Rating: **1/2

I like these shows going into TakeOvers, as they just feel so much more focused. The Charlotte/Bayley dynamic works really well and the NXT Championship build makes sense with all four guys having a case to be champion. 

Overall Rating: 59%

Superstars 9-3-94 Review

Original Airdate: Saturday, September 3rd, 1994
Portland Civic Center
Portland, Maine

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They show a quick recap of the Tatanka/Lex Luger match at SummerSlam. They are actually in a semi-legit arena this week. Of course it was taped 3 weeks before this. 

Lex Luger vs. Tim McNeany

Luger is all fired up and of course they're telling us it was due to what Tatanka did to him in the future. This is a super quick squash, as Luger puts McNeany in the Torture Rack for the victory. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We get a video package hyping up Yokozuna vs. Undertaker for the Hart Attack Tour. 

Bert Centeno vs. Bob Backlund

The kid who is the guest ring announcer totally screws up the pronunciation of San Juan, which Lawler rips on him for. Backlund lets the kid know it is Mr. Bob Backlund. This match is almost all stalling until Centeno is able to get a roll up for a 2 count. Backlund pops up and puts on the Crossface Chicken Wing for the victory. The New Generation at its finest. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We now go to the SummerSlam Report with Todd Pettengill. He claims that the crowd went ballistic when the real Undertaker came down. He also recaps the cage match, Intercontinental match and women's match. All the greatest of all time. 

Owen Hart vs. Scott Taylor

It's Scotty 2 Hotty in his hometown state of Maine. Taylor gets a little bit of momentum going until he leapfrogs Owen and gets hit with the spin kick. Owen taunts the crowd about Bret and after another little spurt from Taylor, Owen hits an awesome overhead belly-to-belly suplex. He pulls up Taylor on the pin attempt and slaps on the Sharpshooter for the victory. This was a good squash.

Match Rating: 1/2*

Smoking Gunns vs. Heavenly Bodies

These are two very underutilized teams for whatever reason. Jim Cornette comes out before the Bodies to insult the Gunns, which leads to the Bodies attacking the Gunns from behind. They toss them out of the ring and then stomp on their Cowboy hats. The Gunns come back in and attack the Bodies and rip up their robes while the bell rings. As they are ripping up the wings, the Bodies come back in and we get a big brawl. I'm disappointed there is no match, but this is pretty entertaining. 

1-2-3 Kid vs. Raymond Roy

Kid hits a flying shoulder tackle, but Roy hits a scoop slam. Oh, hey. It's Able Schwartz. Again. Roy misses a splash in the corner and Kid hits a series of kicks. Roy fights back again, but misses with a splash from the top rope. Kid goes up top and hits a big leg drop for the victory. Kid squashes are always fun, but they need to find a story for him. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

When Monday Night Raw returns on September 12th, it will be Kwang vs. Undertaker. Get your VCRs ready.

IRS vs. Phil Apollo

Apollo hits a crossbody for a 2 count, but a frustrated IRS dumps him out of the ring in front of Ted DiBiase. Vince lets us know that DiBiase was all over SummerSlam. Trust me, we know. IRS slaps on the Penalty and that's all. I can't wait for the buildup for his match with Undertaker at Royal Rumble. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We get some more background on Jim Neidhart turning on Bret Hart. They will meet face-to-face on the Hart Attack Tour. 

We get some lame commercial with an old lady.

Next week we are going to have Shawn Michaels and Diesel, the Headshrinkers, Yokozuna and Bam Bam Bigelow. Don't forget about the encore presentation of SummerSlam.

Considering the feature match didn't end up being a match, this ended up being a pretty good show by Superstars standards. You had to suffer through a lot of talk of how great SummerSlam was, but there were some fun moments overall. In other words, this was far from the worst presentation from the much maligned New Generation. 

Overall Rating: 47%

SmackDown 8-11-06 Review

Original Airdate: Friday, August 11th, 2006
Gaylord Entertainment Center
Nashville, Tennessee

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Oh, cool. We're starting off with Undertaker and Great Khali. Khali and Daivari talk some trash and then Taker comes down to attack him. He hits a chokeslam on him and that's it. At least it was short. I kind of forgot that these two didn't end up even facing each other at SummerSlam. JBL then compares that chokeslam to Hulk Hogan slamming Andre The Giant at WrestleMania III. 

They show Vickie Guerrero asking why Chavo Guerrero is doing what he is doing. Chavo is accusing Rey Mysterio of trying to steal the Guerrero name. 

Tatanka vs. Gregory Helms

They just won't give up with Tatanka, will they? JBL goes on overdrive with talking about how great Helms is here. Tatanka fights back and hits some big chops to the chest. He hits the top rope chop for a 2 count. Helms is able to sneak in a reverse neckbreaker and then hits the Shining Wizard for the victory. Tatanka's leg was under the bottom rope, but the referee didn't see it and sticks with Helms as the winner. This was actually a lot better than I was expecting. Tatanka argues his case after the match and it was clear enough for even JBL to agree.

Match Rating: **

Daivari is furious backstage with Teddy Long. Long says that Khali won't fight Undertaker tonight, but he will next week in a Last Man Standing Match. Get those VCRs ready.

KC James & Idol Stevens vs. Paul London & Brian Kendrick

This is a non-title match, so you can probably guess what's going to happen here. The new team gets to dominate the early going until Kendrick gets a hot tag. Kendrick reverses out of a double suplex and London hits a top rope clothesline. James hits a kick to the jaw behind the referee's back and they are able to pick up the victory over the champs. Bad night for the referees tonight so far. I never really love this style of booking and they love to do it with the tag teams. The match was decent, but didn't get enough time. 

Match Rating: **

Ashley is back talking to Luke Perry and is interrupted by Kristal. This was a pretty weak usage of a celebrity.

It's Diva Search time and they are all dressed in costumes for a talent contest. Miz brings out Luke Perry and is actually happy to be here. Jen uses some guy from Nashville to show off her kickboxing or something. This is horrible, as she is done with 43 seconds left and then dumps beers down Stone Cold style and then talks on the mic. This was really bad. Layla is up next and she's dressed as a cop and is going to dance. She almost slips because of the beer and her heels. You can tell she can actually dance, but it quickly turns into a striptease. Layla and Jen then they kind of sort of start fighting. Milena is next and is going to do karate. She throws Josh from Nashville. She has 50 seconds left and just stalls. Who thought 60 seconds was the right amount of time? JT does freestyle rapping or something if you want to call it that. This is horrible. Jen acts disrespectful again and throws her off. Luke Perry turns it to the crowd to crown the winner and Layla is the only one who gets a pop. I can't believe I just typed that many words about the Diva Search or that they gave this over 10 minutes of air time. 

Vickie Guerrero begs Rey to end the dispute with Chavo by going into stuff that feels way too soon for her to have to deliver. 

Mr. Kennedy vs. Rey Mysterio

You would think you would want to advertise this match, as it is an actual fresh matchup. Kennedy counters a hurricanrana and rams Mysterio gut-first into the turnbuckle. Kennedy seems to be one step ahead of Mysterio, but when he goes for the Green Bay Plunge, he is able to counter it into a hurricanrana. When we come back from commercial break, Kennedy is able to dump Mysterio outside the ring and then drives Mysterio into the ring apron. Mysterio rolls through on Kennedy's sunset flip attempt and hits him with a seated dropkick. Mysterio sets him up for the 619, but Chavo comes out. They start fighting and Rey runs into Vickie Guerrero, knocking her down. Chavo kicks him away and checks on her, as Rey is full of emotion. Vickie shoves Chavo off and then starts screaming at both of them. This is the first glimpse we ever got of what was to come with Vickie. We go to commercial with no official announcement from the ref. The match wasn't bad, but it was just waiting for the Chavo interference. 

Match Rating: **1/4

King Booker is backstage doing what he does best, which his talking nonsense with Queen Sharmell. 

Sylvan vs. Vito

Two of the great in ring performers of our time going at it here. Sylvan goes for a sunset flip, but freaks out once he looks up Vito's dress. Sylvan hits a Rock Bottom, but Vito kicks out. Sylvan misses a splash in the corner and Vito hits a modified DDT/suplex. He puts on his finisher and Sylvan quickly gives up. So much for Sylvan main eventing WrestleMania. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Sylvester Terkay vs. Dustin Starr

Elijah Burke introduces Terkay and then asks Starr what his name is. Terkay of course attacks him before he can answer and hits a belly-to-belly suplex. After getting the sweat wiped off his face by Burke, Terkay hits a spinning backhand and then puts on his submission for the easy victory. After the match, Terkay holds Starr up to let Burke get in a few cheap shots. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Teddy Long walks into MVP and his big spread backstage. MVP still hasn't signed his contract and Long wants to negotiate. MVP tells him his agent will call him. 

Regal and Finlay are arguing backstage about their battles. 

The Boogeyman is coming back. 

Finlay & William Regal vs. Bobby Lashley & Batista

King Booker is here for guest commentating. After a hot start for the powerhouse team, Finlay pulls down the top rope when Lashley is running the ropes and then throws Hornswoggle on top of him before throwing him back in the ring. They continue to use heel tactics to stay in control and Finlay throws Lashley's shoulder into the ring post. I'm not really sure why Finlay and Regal didn't get a proper tag team run because they are great together. Batista gets the hot tag and explodes for a clothesline that Finlay has to break up the pin attempt. Batista and Lashley hit a double Spear and Batista hits a spinebuster on Regal for the victory. The match was pretty standard, but Regal and Finlay elevated it.

Match Rating: **1/2

After the match, Batista grabs the mic and thanks Booker for holding his title for him, but at SummerSlam he's going to be needing it back.

This was one of the easier SmackDown's to watch in the last few months. All it really lacked was a standout match or moment, but overall this was a good show heading into SummerSlam. 

Overall Rating: 62%

Hell In A Cell 2022 Review

Sunday, June 5th, 2022
Allstate Arena
Rosemont, Illinois

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Triple Threat Match For The Raw Women's Championship
Becky Lynch vs. Asuka vs. Bianca Belair

It's good to see Asuka back. Everybody gets a little bit of offense in to start until Lynch is able to take control. Lynch looks like she just got done auditioning for Labyrinth. Belair accidentally knocks Asuka off the apron and Lynch then hits Belair with a guillotine leg drop for a 2 count. Lynch then explodes for a flurry of offense that leads to Asuka having to break up the pin attempt to save the match. Asuka now explodes and hits a Hip Attack on Lynch and nearly gets the victory. In comes Belair and she hits a big vertical suplex on Lynch. She hits a beautiful handspring moonsault on both opponents and also gets a 2 count. Belair goes for a superplex on Lynch, but here comes Asuka. Belair kicks her away. It leads to 2 Codebreakers by Asuka and then a double Hip Attack, but she's not able to pick up the victory. Asuka then puts on a double Ankle Lock in a cool spot. They're able to roll her out of the move and she falls out of the ring. Belair and Lynch go at it. Belair rolls through on a crossbody and picks Lynch up. Lynch gets out and pushes Belair right into a missile dropkick from Asuka. Lynch hits the Manhandle Slam, but Asuka makes the save. After another chaotic spot, Asuka again makes a last second save for Belair. Lynch and Asuka now have their segment of submission holds and big moves. Belair comes in with an odd interference that leads to her getting dumped again. Lynch hits the Manhandle Slam, but Belair tosses her out and pins Asuka to retain her title. I'm not a huge fan of the typical heel finish there. Other than that, this was a very good match with all three of them looking good here. 

Match Rating: ***3/4

MVP is back pumping up Omos until Cedric Alexander comes walking in. MVP tells him to stop and that the Hurt Business is done. Omos tells him to leave. 

Handicap Match
MVP & Omos vs. Bobby Lashley

MVP teases starting off the match, but then quickly tags in Omos. The numbers game quickly gets to Lashley and Omos is able to toss him across the ring. In comes MVP to get in some taunting. He tags in Omos and Lashley hits a dropkick to the legs. Lashley goes for a vertical suplex, but Omos counters and does a face-first suplex. Omos hits a series of big splashes in the corner and it's followed up by a running boot to the face of Lashley that sends him over the top to the floor. Omos runs around the corner and hits the Strowman spot through the barricade. Can we please stop with this spot? MVP goes for the Playmaker, but Lashley counters and hits a Spear. Omos quickly makes the save and in comes Cedric Alexander. Omos tosses him out and it allows Lashley to hit the Spear on Omos. MVP misses the running boot and he puts on the Hurt Lock. MVP taps and that is all. Lashley was super over her with the Chicago crowd. We have seen enough of this feud to know this wouldn't be a classic, but I'd say they over delivered here. To be honest, Lashley has really done a nice job for the most part over the last couple of years. 

Match Rating: **1/4

They discuss the Cody Rhodes injury situation. 

Kevin Owens vs. Ezekiel

I'm not going to lie, I kind of love the Ezekiel gimmick. Ezekiel hits a jumping knee and a top rope elbow drop in an attempt to get a quick victory, but Owens kicks out. On the outside, Owens is able to throw Ezekiel into the ring post. Owens hits a second rope moonsault for a 2 count and it's shown that Ezekiel is bleeding from his forehead. Owens goes for a Swanton, but Ezekiel gets his knees up. Ezekiel hits a spinebuster for a 2 and Owens comes back and hits a pop up powerbomb for a nearfall. Ezekiel fights back with a leaping knee, but is knocked off the top rope and gets hit with 2 superkicks. Owens follows that up with a cannonball and a Stunner for the victory. This one was a little bit more heavy on storyline than action, which is okay. It just felt like something that could have been on TV instead. 

Match Rating: **

Six Person Mixed Tag Team Match
Edge, Damian Priest & Rhea Ripley vs. Liv Morgan, Finn Balor & AJ Styles

After a brawl to start, Balor launches Morgan into a hurricanrana on Ripley. Ripley mostly dominates Morgan from there on until Morgan tags in AJ. Instead of Edge, Priest comes in instead. AJ hits a Pele kick and then tags in Balor. Edge distracts Balor and it allows Priest the opportunity to attack him from behind. Edge tags in and gets in some offense outside the ring. They continue to isolate Balor for a lengthy beatdown segment. AJ finally gets the hot tag and dominates both male opponents. AJ hits the Phenomenal Forearm on Edge, but Priest pulls him to the floor during the pin attempt. The ladies get another shot in there and both come up with 2 counts. Ripley goes for Riptide, but Morgan tags in Balor and we get another brawl between all competitors. We get a double dive to the floor by the men and Liv hits a bigger dive on Ripley. Balor goes up top, but Ripley shakes the rope to knock him off. AJ hits a Phenomenal Forearm on Priest, but Edge then throws him into the ring post. Balor hits a Sling Blade on Edge. Balor goes up top again, but again Ripley gets in his way. Morgan jumps on her back to get her away. Balor misses with the Coup de Grace and Edge hits the Spear for the victory. That was the only real outcome they could go with here, although it probably would have been wiser to give Priest the win. The match was pretty good, but it felt like they were holding back a little bit. 

Match Rating: ***

Lashley is shown walking backstage and runs into Alexander. Lashley says he's proud of him, but to not mess with any of his matches ever again. 

No Holds Barred Match
Happy Corbin vs. Madcap Moss

The action quickly goes out of the ring and Corbin throws Moss into the screen on the stage. They get back into the ring just for Moss to clothesline Corbin right back to the floor. Corbin shoves Moss over the table, but Moss then throws the announcer chair at him. We get a lot of the standard no DQ type match stuff here. Corbin misses in the corner and runs into a chair wedged between the ropes. Moss starts attacking Corbin with the chair and then hits a DDT on the chair. Corbin is able to slow Moss down with a chop block. Corbin puts the chair around Moss's neck and throws him into the table. Corbin brings in the steps and props them up in the corner. Moss hits a fall away slam into the steps and then he puts the chair around his neck. Moss grabs the steps and drives it into the chair and gets the victory. The crowd liked Moss more than I was expecting and the match was pretty decent. 

Match Rating: **1/2

United States Championship Match
Austin Theory vs. Mustafa Ali

Hey, look. It's Mustafa Ali. I guess if you're finally going to have him on a big show, you might as well have him on the one in Chicago. Ali sells the knee after moonsaulting off the top rope and then hits a little bit of an awkward superkick. Theory hits an awesome springboard Spanish Fly for a 2 count. Ali hits a tornado DDT off the second rope. He goes up top, but Theory crotches him. Ali is able to escape Theory's next move and slaps on the STF. Theory is able to crawl to the ropes to some mild boos. Ali hits a big tilt-a-whirl DDT from Ali and has the fans on their feet. He goes up top but misses the 450 splash. Theory hits a chop block on the injured knee. Theory hits his finisher and that is all. That wasn't bad, but I had higher hopes for that one. They probably should have been the opener to set it up for the most success. 

Match Rating: ***

Hell In A Cell Match
Seth Rollins vs. Cody Rhodes

Rollins is wearing the yellow polka dots here tonight. Cody's chest is a mess. Cody hits an early Cody Cutter and is in pain. He is able to slap on the Figure Four. Rollins grabs the ropes, but it doesn't break the hold. Rollins keeps reaching and grabs a kendo stick to break the hold. Rollins uses the kendo stick to apply pressure on the injury and then shoves him off the apron and into the cell. Rollins puts on Cody's jacket and pulls out a polka dot belt. He whips his back, but the one to the chest got the big reaction. Rollins pulls out a table to a huge pop. Rollins props Cody up on the top rope and goes for a superplex. Cody sneaks out of it and goes for a powerbomb, but Rollins escapes that and sets Cody on the table. Rollins goes for the Frog Splash, but Cody rolls out of the way and Rollins breaks the table into 3 pieces. Cody goes under the ring and grabs a bull rope. Cody ties it around his wrist and challenges and Rollins accepts. Cody levels him with the bell to the head. The action spills outside and Rollins pulls Cody into the ring post. Rollins pulls out another table and props it in the corner. Cody escapes a powerbomb and hits Cross Rhodes for a 2 count. Rollins hits a Buckle Bomb on Cody through the table. Yeesh. Cody somehow kicks out, so Rollins now grabs the sledgehammer. Cody knocks the sledgehammer and hits a Pedigree for a nearfall. Rollins hits the Curb Stomp and again Rollins kicks out. Rollins hits a Cross Rhodes and then Cody hits one and both men are down. They both go for the sledgehammer. Cody gets it, but Cody drops it in pain. He gets up and hits 2 Cross Rhodes. He grabs the sledgehammer and picks up the victory for the clean sweep of their series. Not that I ever doubted it, but Cody proved how tough he was here. I'm not really sure if it was a wise decision, but he sure proved he could do it. The match wasn't quite as good as the other two, but it was different. 

Match Rating: ***1/2

This was bookended by two very good matches and the rest kind of felt like filler. I'm not really opposed to that with these minor shows. They gave some of the smaller stars a chance to do their thing and delivered on the major matches. The women's match is definitely recommended and Rhodes' performance was crazy. 

Overall Rating: 66%

ECW 8-8-06 Review

Tuesday, August 8th, 2006
Gaylord Entertainment Center
Nashville, Tennessee

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Mike Knox vs. Tommy Dreamer

Knox attacks Dreamer on his way in the ring, but Dreamer hits a swinging neckbreaker. He follows it up with a clothesline over the top that sends both to the floor. Dreamer throws Knox into the steps and then hits a guillotine elbow from the second rope back in the ring. Out comes Paul Heyman and his personal enforcers. Dreamer hits a DDT, but Heyman has the ref distracted. The enforcers pull him out of the ring and beat him down before throwing him back in the ring. Knox hits his finisher and gets the victory. This was all storyline, but no one really cares about either guy. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

After the match, Heyman goes after Dreamer again, but Sandman's music hits into a commercial break. Heyman tells him that it will be Sandman against Knox and Test in a handicap match. It's also not under Extreme Rules and rings the bell.

Sandman vs. Mike Knox & Test

Test on his way down gets in a kick on the injured Dreamer. Sandman tries to use the Singapore Cane, but he misses and Test and Knox double team him. I'm not sure putting Knox with Test did him any favors. Sandman eventually gets to his cane and starts wailing away, causing a DQ. This whole storyline is just not good. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We get a pretty cool Sabu hype video package. They then show the highlights of the two attacks that Sabu has done on Big Show. He is facing Kurt Angle for a chance at Big Show. 

Balls Mahoney cuts a lame promo about being handsome.

Kevin Thorn vs. Al Snow

Thorn hits Snow in the ribs with his shoulders, making an audible thud. He hits his draping Stunner and then he and Ariel do whatever they do. Thorn hits his finisher and that is all. Ugh to this gimmick. Apparently Thorn is now an over the top realtor. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We get a Kurt Angle package now and how he is the new vision for ECW. Not for long.

It's Rene Dupree's turn to cut a crappy backstage promo.

Big Show is out to cut a promo and of course no one can beat him or something.

CM Punk thanks the fans for welcoming him and all of the hard work and sacrifice for him to get here.

#1 Contender Match For The ECW Championship
Kurt Angle vs. Sabu

Angle dominates with some mat wrestling until he runs into the ring post with his shoulder. Sabu sends him over the top rope into the commercial break. When we come back, Sabu hits a delayed springboard DDT. Angle is able to hit an overhead belly-to-belly to shift the momentum back in his favor. He goes for the Angle Slam, but Sabu is able to shift his weight to counter and then hits a springboard leg lariat to a seated Angle. Angle comes back with an Ankle Lock, but Sabu rolls through and sends Angle out to the floor. Sabu hits a reverse frog splash off the top rope, but Angle kicks out. Then out of nowhere, it's Rob Van Dam and he hits Angle with a chair. He then hits the skateboard dropkick with the chair on Sabu. RVD stands tall while both competitors are down and out. Technically Angle should have won first, but instead it's a no contest. I believe this was Angle's last televised WWE match of this run, which is a total shame. The match was pretty good, but never got a chance to kick it into the next gear.

Match Rating: **1/2

On the plus side, RVD is back and CM Punk is just getting started. Unfortunately, Angle is now gone and the roster is seriously lacking in depth. The Dreamer/Sandman/Test/Knox stuff wasn't well received in 2006 and it certainly hasn't aged any better. 

Overall Rating: 41%