SmackDown 9-1-06 Review

Original Airdate: Friday, September 1st, 2006
Sovereign Center
Reading, Pennsylvania

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After a recap of the Rey Mysterio/Chavo Guerrero/Vickie Guerrero storyline, Mysterio is out to kick off the show. He's confused on the whole situation and calls out Vickie. She comes out and announces that she is the new business manager of Chavo and then slaps Mysterio and walks away. This is the biggest reaction that this angle has gotten so far. 

Matt Hardy vs. Gregory Helms

I'm cool with this to kick things off. While Helms is hanging onto the ropes on his back, Hardy lifts him up and turns it into a sit down powerbomb. Helms is able to snap Hardy's neck on the top rope and then knocks him off the apron. Hardy battles back with some clotheslines and the second rope elbow. He goes for a Twist Of Fate, but Helms is able to roll him up for a 2 count. Hardy misses with a moonsault and Helms grabs his title belt. Hardy ducks it and sneaks in a pin to pick up the victory. This packed a lot of action into this match. 

Match Rating: ***

Mr. Kennedy is with Finlay and tells Teddy Long he wants a shot at the United States title. Teddy says it will happen tonight, but wants to add something to it. 

Miz vs. Tatanka

This is Miz's debut and 16 years later he is still a major player. He is in full Hoo-rah mode here. Sadly, he does a stereotypical portrayal of a Native American, but Tatanka hits him with a big chop to the chest. This is definitely not a squash. Tatanka tries to go up top, but Miz rolls away, but still eats another chop to the chest. Miz shoved the referee into Tatanka and it allows him to use a backslide to pick up the victory. It's pretty clear here that they are plotting to use Miz as a heel who steals victories and did a nice job of continuing the Tatanka storyline. I don't believe it ever goes anywhere, but it has been a nice little wrinkle to a character that otherwise hasn't had much going on. The match was pretty basic.

Match Rating: 3/4*

Triple Threat Match For The United States Championship
Mr. Kennedy vs. Finlay vs. Bobby Lashley

Before Kennedy and Finlay are about to square off, he announces that Lashley will be the third competitor in this match. Lashley naturally gets singled out quickly and has his shoulder thrown into the ring post. Kennedy turns on Finlay and does the same to him. Kennedy goes up top and hits the Kenton on Lashley, but Finlay pulls him off. Finlay puts Kennedy in the Boston Crab until Lashley makes his comeback. Lashley hits a big vertical suplex on the outside of the ring. Hornswoggle peaks his head out as we go into a commercial break. Finlay and Kennedy once again work together to single out Lashley. Out comes Hornswoggle and Finlay throws him onto Kennedy. Back comes Lashley and he hits a double clothesline. Kennedy gets knocked off the apron and then Finlay tries to use a shillelagh, but Lashley ducks it and hits the running powerslam. He goes for the pinfall, but then Kennedy rolls up Lashley and steals the victory. I'm a little surprised they let him pin Lashley, even if it was a surprise. This was a entertaining match that got time and delivered for the most part. After seeing the replay, Kennedy pulled the tights of Lashley on the pin. 

Match Rating: ***1/4

After a Raw recap, MVP is walking into the arena with some ladies. 

Vito vs. William Regal

Vito goes for a quick pinfall and almost steals the match. The commentating is absolutely awful here, as it usually is. Vito shoves Regal's head under the dress and Regal gives us the facial expressions that only he is capable of. He walks away and is counted out. This was pointless.

Match Rating: 1/4*

After being introduced to Jimmy Wang Yang, Michael Cole interviews MVP in the crowd. They continue to play up that he is hiding behind his agent and he walks away.

Pitbulls vs. Paul London & Brian Kendrick

The Pitbulls attack the champions right away and dominate. London finally is able to get out of the ring and tag in Kendrick. He gets in some offense until he gets flattened. London is able to push Kash off the top rope and Kendrick is able to roll up for the victory. They've done that finish way too much tonight. As soon as the bell rings, KC James and Idol Stevens destroy the champions. With the champs laying on the mat, they share some words with the Pitbulls. This deserved to be a lot longer. 

Match Rating: **

It's time for the main event contract signing between King Booker and Batista. They will be facing off next week. Booker goes off on a tangent and as per usual, it's gold. Batista reminds him that he never beat him and is only the champion due to a technicality. They sign the contract and then Batista gives Booker a second spinebuster after the first one didn't put him through the table. No surprise there.

I enjoyed this show. I wish we could have ended with the Kennedy title victory, but other than that, I thought this was an effective episode for the blue brand. They are trying to develop their characters and aren't held back by the crutch of the McMahons. 

Overall Rating: 60%

Off The Grid, Volume 24: Saturday Night's Main Event XXVII Review

Original Airdate: Saturday, July 28th, 1990
Omaha Civic Auditorium
Omaha, Nebraska

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Off The Grid, Volume 24: 

It's a Wild Kingdom episode of SNME tonight. Vince McMahon and Jesse Ventura rundown tonight's card, ending with the SNME return of Hulk Hogan. 

Bobby Heenan and Rick Rude call Ultimate Warrior a guppy in the ocean of life. Ultimate Warrior says he will prove that he's the ultimate animal.

WWF Championship Match
Rick Rude vs. Ultimate Warrior

Heenan distracts and Rude attacks Warrior from behind before the bell rings. Warrior quickly comes back and gives Rude an atomic drop that is naturally followed by a famous Rude sell. Warrior clotheslines him over the top rope and gives him and Heenan a double noggin knocker. Warrior goes up to the top rope and hits Rude with a double ax handle. Rude is able to miss the splash and Warrior acts as if he was stabbed. Heenan gets involved again and Rude uses the WWF title on Warrior outside the ring. Rude now goes up top and Warrior hits him in the midsection. Rude is able to comeback with a clothesline. Rude is able to lock in a sleeper in the middle of the ring. Warrior falls down the mat and the referee lifts his leg rather than his arm, which I don't think I've ever seen before. Warrior bounces back with the third leg drop, but Rude hits him with a flurry of right hands. Warrior kicks out of a pin attempt and starts hitting clotheslines. He hits a shoulder tackle and a splash, but Heenan grabs Wariorr when he goes for the pin. He goes after Heenan and has his hands around his neck. Rude saves him and Warrior goes for a press slam. Heenan runs from behind and hits him with a knee to the back. Warrior goes after Heenan again and this time gets him. Warrior ends up winning by countout, which is not how I would have booked the ending. The match was pretty good, as these two usually delivered.

Match Rating: **1/2

We go to Lord Alfred Hayes and Mean Gene Okerlund in their safari gear and make a lame Pete Rose joke. 

We get a Hulk Hogan video that shows him getting squashed by Earthquake with the slow, synth version of "Real American". Vince McMahon brings out Hulk and he is so thankful for all of the letters that were sent, mostly because they are now on a mailing list. They talk about Dino Bravo being in Earthquake's corner, but he's going to have Tugboat in his corner. Except he won't. Out come Earthquake, Bravo and Jimmy Hart. Tugboat comes out and makes the save. Nothing really happened, but the crowd was into it. 

Hayes and Gene are out in the wild and in comes Koko B. Ware and Frankie. Gene then trips on a tree root and has a snake in his face. There's Jake Roberts, who talks quickly about Bad News Brown. Out come the Bushwhackers walking the train tracks. 

WWF Tag Team Championship Match
Demolition vs. Rockers

This will be hard to watch with Vince constantly talking about the third Demolition member. The Rockers use their quickness to fight off a hot start from Demolition. The Rockers were just so good in 1990 and 91. Jannetty hits an awkward sunset flip off the second rope for a 2 count. Crush signals something to Ax and apparently he is Nostradamus, as he somehow figures that Jannetty will land outside the ring at the right spot and then Ax clubs him with a clothesline. I never noticed before and maybe it was just in this instance, but Crush's straps are different than his teammates. Demolition continues to dominate until Jannetty tags in Michaels and they clean house. They hit a double superkick and then the double fist off the top rope until Crush pulls them off Smash. Michaels has Smash rolled up, but Ax comes in and clubs him and covers him for the pin and victory. Where is Jack Tunney for all of this? Out come the Hart Foundation to argue it. Now the Legion of Doom are out to protest it. The match was pretty good, but they didn't get enough time to have a really memorable match.

Match Rating: ***

Back to the safari, where Gene gets bit by a mosquito and starts imitating animals. 

Sean Mooney is with Mr. Perfect and Bobby Heenan. Unfortunately, nothing memorable here. 

Intercontinental Championship Match
Mr. Perfect vs. Tito Santana

Vince hates people who thinks they are perfect. Yeah, okay. This one starts off hot and Tito is all fire here. I love both of these guys, particularly in 1990. Perfect battles back and hits a big clothesline. He hits one of his classic knee lifts, which I'm not sure why no one has ripped off. I'm sure someone has. The crowd goes nuts for a Tito clothesline. Tito hits him with a right hand, but Perfect falls back on the referee's knee, injuring him. Tito locks in the Figure Four in the center of the ring, but the referee is still hurting. Tito breaks the hold to check on the ref, but sees Perfect getting up. He runs and hits the flying forearm, but it takes the ref too long to get over and Perfect is able to kick out before 3. Tito hits a second rope clothesline, but again the ref is slow and Perfect is able to escape. Tito calls for another official and we have one going into the commercial break. Tito hits a crossbody, but Perfect again kicks out. Tito knocks him over the top rope to the floor and then throws him across the ring, with Perfect hitting the ring post below the belt. Tito hits an atomic drop and gets a 2 count. Perfect goes for a Perfect Plex, but Tito counters into a small package. Perfect is able to roll Tito back over and steal the victory. This was really good stuff. I'm not sure how Vince saw this match and how the crowd reacted to Tito and decided to have him job to Warlord at SummerSlam. 

Match Rating: ***3/4

Jesse Ventura goes back with Earthquake, Dino and Jimmy. Somehow, Jimmy doesn't speak at all. 

Back to Mean Gene and Lord Alfred. They spot Jimmy Snuka and then run into Slick and Akeem. Mean Gene falls into the water. I'm not sure why any of this was necessary. 

Buddy Rose vs. Texas Tornado

This is Tornado's WWF debut. Tornado throws the large Rose all over the ring and then gets him tied in the ropes. Rose takes a pretty big bump by falling backwards out of that spot. Tornado hits the spinning punch with no claw and gets the victory. This wasn't much of anything other than to hype up their new star. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Jesse Ventura is back with Rude and Heenan. They talk about the cage match at SummerSlam where they lost all of their heat with the way they were booked tonight. 

Sean Mooney is with Ultimate Warrior and he rambles on forever before calling himself the ultimate animal. 

We get one more scene with Alfred, Gene and a chimp. Vince and Jesse close it out to tell us about the next season of SNME in the fall.

The animal stuff did nothing for the show, but the rest of this was really good. The Tito/Perfect match is definitely worth tracking down and the rest never outstays its welcome. Thumbs up for this one. 

Overall Rating: 80%

Superstars 10-1-94 Review

Original Airdate: Saturday, October 1st, 1994
Browns County Veterans Memorial Arena
Green Bay, Wisconsin

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Razor Ramon vs. Red Tyler

Razor throws a toothpick at Lawler on his way to the ring to kick off the show. Razor looked like he maybe got hit in the jaw with Tyler's elbow and looks to be a little peeved. He hits him with some hard chops and a fall away slam. Tyler didn't take that well and Razor acts like a total heel the whole rest of the match here. He hits the back suplex off the second turnbuckle and the Razor's Edge for the easy victory. I could be totally just buying into what he was going for there, but Razor definitely looked to be in an irritated mood. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Todd Pettengill narrates a highlight package about the Shawn Michaels and Diesel feud with the Headshrinkers. It's all kind of weird since Samu is gone, but I guess they really didn't have a choice.

Abe Schwartz vs. Ron Cumberledge

Vince is trying to figure out which MLB player Abe is. Lombardi was only 33 here, which you would probably guess he is about 10 years older. He gets into a shouting match with the ref, pretending to be a manager. He hits a superplex and gets the victory. This was pretty awful. 

Match Rating: 0 Stars

After showing Bob Barker and Ted DiBiase at a charity event, we get a video package on Bob Backlund's history and loss to Bret Hart. 

Mabel vs. George Anderson

I'm not sure why they didn't save this one for Survivor Series. Mabel hits a spin kick and that's all. Nothing to see here. Lawler then draws a skunk on Mabel's head. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

They show King Kong Bundy climbing a building and he's in action next week. The New Generation. 

Jim Neidhart vs. Ike Andrews

Neidhart makes quick work of Andrews, which is a smart choice. He puts on a variation of the Camel Clutch that I don't think I've ever seen by cranking back on Andrews' neck. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Undertaker and Paul Bearer talk about Yokozuna in a casket again. 

Bushwhackers vs. Rock Warner & Tom Stone

Rock and Stone, what a team. We get the typical Bushwhacker shenanigans, with illegal double teams. They eventually hit the Battering Ram for the victory. This one was a little bit more focused than usual. That's about all I can say about it. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Todd talks about a blow up Undertaker. We then find out that Duke Droese is going to take on Bam Bam Bigelow next week. 

IRS vs. Gary Jackson

Every show deserves an IRS squash. How are you in the WWF for 3  years and your finisher is an average clothesline? Well, IRS can tell you and thankfully ended the match there. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Vince interviews Lex Luger in the crowd. Luger thinks that rich people need to go to the bank every day and when Tatanka does, he wants him to see the faces of the fans he sold out on the bills. I'm not sure what the point of this was. 

Hey, it was another bad Superstars episode. I remember when they weren't all bad not too long ago. At least next week we're getting a feature match instead of the same squashes over and over. 

Overall Rating: 38%

ECW 8-29-06 Review

Tuesday, August 29th, 2006
Sovereign Center
Reading, Pennsylvania

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After a recap of last weeks events, Paul Heyman tells us that he will pin Sabu 1-2-3. 

Rob Van Dam vs. Hardcore Holly

This will probably be a pretty stiff match. They go right at it and Holly is quickly clotheslined over the top rope after a monkey flip. RVD stalls and it costs him, as Holly attacks him outside the ring. RVD blocks a suplex and sets up Holly on the barricade to hit a helicopter leg drop. Back in the ring, Holly tries to counter into an Alabama Slam. He spins around and tosses RVD over the top and to the floor. RVD battles back and hits a superkick and a standing moonsault. RVD hits Rolling Thunder, but misses with the 5 Star Frog Splash. Holly goes and grabs a chair, but misses with the swing and eats a spin kick. Van Dam grabs the chair and hits Holly with it, causing a DQ. I'm not sure I follow the logic here. He hits him one more time outside of the ring. Up until the stupid finish, this was a solid TV match between two old pros. 

Match Rating: **1/2

Big Show is here and talks about taking out DX at SummerSlam and Raw. He lets us know that he's facing them in a handicap match next week. 

CM Punk vs. Stevie Richards

Richards gets a moment of offense, but he quickly is hit with a CM Punk dive through the ropes. Richards is able to come back and puts on a bear hug for some reason. Punk hits a pop up dropkick to shift the momentum and it's all Punk from here on out. Punk slaps on the Anaconda Vice and Richards surprisingly takes a little bit of time to tap. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Matt Striker is out to insult the Sandman, which always works out well. Out comes Sandman, but Striker hits him with the chalkboard. He uses a stapler on him to bust him open and then heads for the back. 

Balls Mahoney is about to give us his normal schtick, but then Kelly Kelly is here and opens up her robe to let Balls take a look. 

Joey Styles and Tazz talk about Kurt Angle's release. I have to admit, I definitely didn't think it would take as long as it did for him to make his return. 

Extreme Rules
Paul Heyman vs. Sabu

Heyman's personal security are involved quickly, but Sabu disposes of them. He goes for a leap off the chair, but he sees Big Show and jumps on him instead and hits a DDT. This does give Heyman's guys time to attack Sabu and then Show throws a chair at his head. Sabu is busted open and Heyman starts slapping him in the face. He then screams at him in his face before getting choked by Heyman's goons. Sabu tries his best to make a comeback, but gets clubbed by a Big Show clothesline instead. Out comes RVD to help Sabu and he hits a Van Daminator. This allows Sabu to get back at Heyman and hit the Arabian Facebuster. They set up Heyman on the table outside the ring, but Show hits Sabu mid-air before he make sit over. Out comes Hardcore Holly and he hits an Alabama Slam on RVD through the table. Big Show takes out Sabu and drags Heyman on top of him for the victory. This was all smoke and mirrors naturally and it wasn't too bad. After the match, Show chokeslams Sabu through a table for good measure. 

Match Rating: *1/4

Well this was a much improved episode of ECW this week. Big Show being on both shows makes it a little harder to really care about him, but that's more of a Raw problem than it is ECW. This was overall one of the easier ECW episodes to watch.

Overall Rating: 58%

Monday Night Raw 8-28-06 Review

Monday, August 28th, 2006
Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall
Atlantic City, New Jersey

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Shane McMahon is here to kick off the show to let DX know that they've gone too far. Shane says that DX will have to compete tonight, but he's not saying who their opponents are. He's then interrupted by Edge and Lita. Edge is sick of John Cena and he wants him out of his life. Naturally, Cena's music hits and after making some bad jokes, he wants one more match. Edge agrees, but wants to name where it takes place (not in this dump) and he gets to name the type of match. Shane then tells Cena that he has a match right now. 

John Cena vs. Chris Masters

This is Masters first match in months, as he was out for personal reasons. He is a little bit slimmer and sporting a goatee. Jerry Lawler refers to him as "leaner and meaner". Masters pulls out some Hercules punches and puts on a variation of the Camel Clutch. Cena comes back and hits the Five Knuckle Shuffle. He goes for the FU, but Masters counter into an inverted DDT. JR randomly calls it the Slop Drop. Cena quickly comes back with the STFU, but in comes Edge and hits him with a chair, causing a DQ finish. Edge goes under the ring and grabs a ladder. He rams it right into the head of Cena and now it's time for the table. He props it up in the corner and throws Cena through it. Edge grabs the mic and says the match will take place in his hometown at Unforgiven in a match he's never lost before, TLC. Overall, this all was pretty well done, although it's pretty obvious that they have cooled way down on Masters after his leave of absence.

Match Rating: *1/4

We get a jobber meeting backstage with Shane and he tells them that they already have a plan for their opponents. Shane gets a phone call from dad. Vince is in a hotel suite and says that he feels great. The doorbell rings and then we hear some rooster noises. He was delivered a cage of roosters. Hilarious. 

Carlito and Trish are walking backstage, so I guess that is still going on. Carlito is wondering when Trish is going to tell Carlito about her retirement. He found out from a WWE mobile alert from Lita. Trish wanted to announce it, but Lita ruined it. Carlito says if that's what's best for her, he supports it. He then gives her a kiss goodbye and then is attacked from behind by Randy Orton. Trish looked like she hit the cart behind her pretty hard. 

Back To Schoolgirl Paddle On A Pole Match
Torrie Wilson vs. Candice Michelle

They both go right for the pole, but are unsuccessful. Torrie hits a Stink Face after taking off her skirt, but Candice bites her butt. This allows her to grab the pole and win the match. Torrie now has to get spanked, but in a shocking turn of events, hands the paddle to Torrie. She reveals her underwear says "Spank me" on it. What a time to be alive. 

Match Rating: 0 Stars

Intercontinental Championship #1 Contenders Match
Randy Orton vs. Jeff Hardy

After an aggressive start from Orton, Hardy makes a comeback and hits a springboard Whisper In The Wind to the floor into the commercial break. They show that Orton hit a clothesline to take control of the match. I also forgot that this was a Syfy episode of Raw. Hardy goes for a dive through the ropes, but Orton got his leg up to hit him with a knee. JR says he'll be shocked if Hardy has a long career, which is kind of crazy that JR called a Jeff Hardy match 16 years later. Hardy counters a powerbomb with a hurricanrana, but then Orton counters a reverse crossbody with a dropkick. Hardy is able to comeback and heads up top for a Swanton. Orton rolls out of the ring, but Carlito attacks him and spits an apple in his face. Hardy hits a Twist Of Fate and the Swanton to become the #1 contender. This match sort of lacked any psychology, as it seemed to be them just trading moves back and forth. Their chemistry was also a little off, although this was hardly bad. It just wasn't as good as you would expect.

Match Rating: **1/4

DX is backstage until Shane comes back with some cops. I spy Cesaro and maybe EC3. Triple H then makes a joke about his father dating girls a third his age, which is really bad timing here in the future. 

The Highlanders are here to join the announce team.

World Tag Team Championship Match
Eugene & Jim Duggan vs. Spirit Squad

Two of the Spirit Squad get knocked into the announce table and that causes the Highlanders to get involved. The referee ejects both Highlanders and the 2 Spirit Squad members. Kenny removes a turnbuckle pad behind the referee's back and Eugene is able to get a tag. Duggan cleans house, but when he charges at Mikey, they push him out of the way and Duggan runs into the exposed turnbuckle. They roll him up and the Spirit Squad retains. This was nothing.

Match Rating: 1/2*

Umaga's music hits and the Spirit Squad splits. Umaga hits a flatliner on Eugene and then the Samoan Spike on Duggan. It amazes me that Armando Estrada is only 27 years old here. 

After showing the clips of Melina turning on Mick Foley, Melina and Johnny Nitro are out to the ring. He talks about how great he is and getting freaky with Melina. Melina then talks about Foley embarrassing himself with his crush. They continue to insult the normal people and that they're stars. It's nice to see them get some TV time, but this went on too long for just about anyone. 

JR and Lawler then talk about Kurt Angle being released and they wish him the best. After commercial, they talk about Lita overhearing Trish about her retirement again. 

WWE Women's Championship Match
Lita vs. Mickie James

The crowd has been conditioned to hate both of these ladies and it is dead silent. Mickie is able to hit an enzuigiri and a Fisherman's Suplex for a 2 count. Lita fights back with a back elbow to the face and grabs her title belt. The referee takes it away and Mickie rolls her up. The ref is slow to count and it only gets a 2. Mickie goes for a hurricanrana, but Lita drops her down, grabs the rope and steals the victory. They were trying to pull off a good match in a short amount of time, but unfortunately the crowd just wasn't into it. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Handicap Match
Shawn Michaels & Triple H vs. William Regal, Finlay & Mr. Kennedy

Shane McMahon announces the heels to no reaction. The crowd is just pretty much done at this point. Hornswoggle quickly makes his Raw debut getting involved. The heels dominate until Michaels is able to avoid a charging Finlay and his shoulder hits the ring post. In comes Regal and Triple H. They throw Kennedy out of the ring, but Finlay grabs Triple H. Regal goes for a chair shot, but Triple H ducks and he hits Finlay. Triple H hits the Pedigree and picks up the victory. Out comes Shane McMahon and he says that he has two words for them and it's Big Show. Out comes the Big Show and they both attack him. Show goes for a double chokeslam, but they kick him below the belt. Kennedy and Finlay get involved and take both men out. Big Show hits his new finisher on Shawn and then out comes Vince with a lead pipe and a bad attitude. Vince uses it on Triple H and then starts to choke him with it. Triple H is busted open and they then start choking Michaels with it. Vince grabs the camera away from a camera man and uses it on Michaels' face. Even for this, the crowd is dead and there are still 3 more minutes of airtime. Vince announces it will be him, Shane and Big Show against DX in Hell In A Cell. This was a mess of a segment, not to mention they have been building up Kennedy for months and made him look like a total goof.

Match Rating: 1/2*

This show was off to a hot start, but it was all downhill after the Orton/Hardy match. The DX/McMahon feud has lost all of its steam and thankfully it's almost about to come to an end. The Edge/Cena stuff continues to carry the show.

Overall Rating: 48%

NXT 9-18-14 Review

Original Airdate: Thursday, September 18th, 2014
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida

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Titus O'Neil is out and he lets the crowd know that it's an honor and privilege for them to be in the presence of an actual WWE Superstar. He says that this show is now called NXTitus. Out comes Sami Zayn to interrupt. Titus threatens to give him the beating of a lifetime, so then Adrian Neville comes out. He tells Zayn that if someone is going to disrespect NXT, he's the one who is going to defend it. Zayn takes offense and then Tyson Kidd comes out. Kidd stirs the pot between Neville and Zayn. Titus is sick of listening to that and he says that he's here to make a statement. Out comes William Regal and he announces a tag team main event for tonight. This was unique for NXT, but what you've seen on Raw for the last 20 years. 

They show highlights of Hideo Itami from TakeOver. He will be making his in ring debut against Justin Gabriel tonight.

Charlotte vs. Emma

This one feels kind of random coming off Charlotte's big match with Bayley at TakeOver. Charlotte shows off her title belt and Emma slaps it away, so Charlotte knees her in the midsection. Charlotte's Figure Four headlock is without question one of the best non-finisher submission holds that I can think of. Emma starts to make her comeback and hits the splash in the corner. She hits a crossbody off the top rope and gets a 2 count. Charlotte is able to come back with a reverse neckbreaker and follows it up with Natural Selection for the victory. This wasn't the normal NXT Emma and it was clear that Charlotte was here to steamroll her. 

Match Rating: *3/4

Justin Gabriel vs. Hideo Itami

I am looking forward to see what Itami did in NXT, as I never really saw much of it. Itami hits a fantastic dropkick to a leaping Gabriel. After a quick bit of offense from Gabriel, Itami hits a boot to the face and then a kick on the apron that knocks Gabriel back into the ring. He hits a springboard missile dropkick, followed by more dropkicks in the corner. Itami hits a stomp to the midsection off the top rope and picks up the easy victory. This was a solid first match for Itami. 

Match Rating: *

After the match, the Ascension come and attack Itami. They hit the Fall Of Man on him and leave him behind.

CJ Parker vs. Baron Corbin

This is a rematch from TakeOver and I don't think it will end well for Parker. He hits the End Of Days and proves me right.

Match Rating: 1/4*

They talk about the Enzo Amore/Sylvester Lefort match. We then get footage of Carmella at the gym and throws an exercise ball at Enzo and says she's here to fight. 

Tyson Kidd & Titus O'Neil vs. Sami Zayn & Adrian Neville

They play up the tension between Zayn and Neville early, with Neville tagging himself in to start. The fans chant "Better than Neville" at Zayn, which is blunt to say the least. They continue to try and one up each other and this is the closest we've come to seeing Zayn go heel in his time in NXT. When we come back from commercial break, Titus is throwing Zayn around just to remind you that for some reason he is in this match. Titus continues to dominate Zayn, until Zayn is able to make a tag and Neville goes all out on Kidd. Neville hits a standing Shooting Star Press, but Titus breaks up the pin. Titus shoves Neville off the top rope and Kidd gets his knees up and pins the champion. This was obviously a storyline device, but it was entertaining enough to sand on its own. 

Match Rating: **1/2

This was a pretty good follow up to a good TakeOver, even if it involved random Emma and Titus O'Neil appearances. Hideo Itami looked good in his debut and the roster is going to only get more talented here as we move towards 2015.

Overall Rating: 60%

Monday Night Raw 9-26-94 Review

Monday, September 26th, 1994
Utica Memorial Auditorium
Utica, New York

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Intercontinental Championship Match
Tatanka vs. Razor Ramon

I'm not really sure why they didn't change Tatanka's music, as it's just too upbeat for a heel. A DiBiase distraction allows for Tatanka to attack Razor from behind. It's not long until Razor is able to clothesline Tatanka over the top and to the floor. Tatanka gets in a little offense and then is knocked out of the ring again. Razor keeps knocking him off the apron when he attempts to come in, but Tatanka gets smart and is able to snap him on the top rope. They are battling outside the ring as we head into a commercial break. When we come back, Razor is on the ground next to a Pepsi cup. Tatanka comes from behind and hits a chop to the back and then pushes him into the apron twice. Back in the ring, Tatanka hits a reverse elbow and then puts him in Razor's own abdominal stretch. He uses some heel tactics by grabbing DiBiase's hand until he gets caught and then he just stomps away on the champ. Razor is able to get the abdominal stretch on, but Tatanka hip tosses to get out of it. He misses with an elbow and Razor fights back with some right hands. He hits a back suplex off the second rope and DiBiase is now on the apron. This leads to a weak distraction spot, where Tatanka started going after him too early. Out comes Lex Luger, but he is attacked by Bam Bam Bigelow before he even gets to the ring. Tatanka joins in and is counted out. Out comes Razor and we have a full fledged brawl right into another commercial break. The match was decent enough, but ended up being pretty meaningless. 

Match Rating: **

They show the same Paul Bearer/Undertaker promo spot about the Hart Attack Tour against Yokozuna from Superstars. Once was enough.

Kwang vs. Rich Myers

Here's a great way to kill a live crowd. Myers gets a headscissors in but then gets hit with a chop. I know all the wrestling people say how great Savio Vega was as a worker, but seeing a guy do a gimmick that isn't working and not changing a single thing doesn't do much for the argument. Kwang hits the spin kick for the victory and not a single person in the arena cares.

Match Rating: 1/4*

It's time for the King's Court and his guest is British Bulldog. Lawler pulls off some of his worst one liners with a bunch of dog jokes. Bulldog then talks about picking Lawler up with a pooper scooper. Out comes Neidhart and then tells Bulldog that he shouldn't have been at SummerSlam because he's not a true family member. Neidhart challenges Bulldog and he gladly accepts. 

They then announce that Luna Vachon and Bull Nakano take on Alundra Blayze and Heidi Lee Morgan.

They once again show the Bob Backlund interaction from last week. 

1-2-3 Kid vs. Kenny Davis

Davis is about as unimpressive as they come. Kid hits a series of kicks and out comes Bob Backlund with a gift. He hands it to Randy Savage and walks away. Davis misses an elbow drop and then Vince lets us know he's going to grab his cheaters. That joke writes itself. The gift is a dictionary naturally. Kid hits a top rope leg drop for the victory. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We get the same cheesy King Kong Bundy vignette.

Shawn Michaels & Diesel vs. Chris Kanyon & Bob Starr

Vince and Savage let us know that Samu has been a no-show lately. Diesel hits a Jackknife and Shawn tags in to get the easy victory. Out from behind, it's the Headshrinkers to attack them. Only there's no Samu, it's Sione instead. Sione is the Barbarian for those who don't know. They clear out the ring and we go to commercial.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Captain Lou introduces us to Sione and Shawn has to do everything he can to keep Diesel from going back at the Headshrinkers. 

As we get further into 1994, the quality continues to take a pretty big dip. This episode was no different. I appreciate them giving us a big name match by this era's standards, but there was no real story and it was on the dull side.

Overall Rating: 40%

Superstars 9-24-94 Review

Original Airdate: Saturday, September 24th, 1994
Browns County Veterans Memorial Arena
Green Bay, Wisconsin

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British Bulldog vs. Reno Riggins

The crowd is definitely happy to see Bulldog back here. Riggins actually gets in a superkick out of a roll through by Bulldog. Bulldog kicks out at 1 and hits his vertical suplex. Bulldog hits the running powerslam and that's all. It's interesting that they really don't find much for him to do outside of being Bret's sidekick for about a year. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

They show some charity work they've done, which just falls flat with all of the recent allegations.

Shawn Michaels & Diesel vs. Kevin Krueger & Rod Bell

They try breaking up Shawn and Diesel here while they show no signs of it in the ring. Michaels hits a superkick on Bell. Diesel hits the Jackknife and tags in Michaels, who is now wearing his hat and sits on his opponent for the victory. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

They show highlights of Dink and Jerry Lawler from Superstars 2 weeks ago. We then get to re-live kicking the trash can and finding Dink in the trash can during the Duke Droese match. 

Doink vs. Sonny Rogers

Doink gets tossed into the corner and it knocks Dink down off the apron. Lawler leaves to go check things out and grabs Dink's tricycle and smashes it on the ring post. Doink and Dink didn't see it and Doink hits the Whoopee Cushion (with fart noise) for the victory. After the match, they find it and we get some pouty faces. Lawler runs away into the commercial break. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We get a super cheesy King Kong Bundy vignette. 

Gary Jackson vs. Tatanka

Reggie White is shown ringside. Gary Jackson gets in some offense and some nearfalls. Tatanka Goes up top and hits the top rope chop as DiBiase is contemplating where he went wrong in life. Tatanka picks up the victory after the Samoan Drop. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We get highlights of the Bob Backlund interview from Raw and it's still fabulous. 

Adam Bomb vs. Barry Horowitz

Bomb is all business and hits a big dropkick. The announcers keep trying to yell over at Reggie White, as if he can hear them. Horowitz is able to slam Bomb's face into his boot, but then eats a boot in the midsection. Bomb hits the Atom Smasher for the victory. I've said it before, but Bomb looked good enough to get a better push than he did. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Paul Bearer is hyping up the Hart Attack Tour. Undertaker talks really slow except when he says Yokozuna's name for some reason. 

Yokozuna vs. Gary Scott

Jim Cornette is here this week, which is nice of him. Yoko hits his always awesome side suplex and gets the quick victory. Yoko is great in short matches, which is why I can't wait for him wrestle Undertaker in a 15 minute match. Undertaker's music hits after the match and Yoko is freaking out. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Jim Neidhart says that he's going to put the WWF Championship around his waist for the rest of his life. Plus, you can see a blow up Undertaker!

Next week it's more squash matches. What happened to anything halfway decent on this show? Instead we get the debut of Abe Schwartz.

Superstars earlier in the year was a really enjoyable show. It's now gone back to being a bunch of nothing. It doesn't help that we are just treading water until they announce some matches for Survivor Series. 

Overall Rating: 33%

SmackDown 8-25-06 Review

Original Airdate: Friday, August 25th, 2006
Wachovia Arena
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania

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After a SummerSlam recap, King Booker, Queen Sharmell, Finlay and William Regal are out to the ring. Booker then knights Finlay and Regal in a touching ceremony. It all leads to a lot of "All hail King Booker" chants until Lashley attacks him from behind. They take care of him and then Batista comes out to make the save. Now it's time for Teddy Long. We haven't gotten this in forever. We're getting a handicap match featuring Booker, Finlay and Regal against Batista and Lashley.

Gregory Helms is out to join the announce booth.

Mr. Kennedy vs. Matt Hardy

If you didn't know that Helms was the longest reigning champion, you will after about 5 seconds. Hardy gets off to a hot start until Kennedy is able to hit a back suplex. Hardy fights back and hits a clothesline for a 2 count. Hardy hits a Side Effect and gets another nearfall. He follows up with a dive to the outside and we head into a commercial. When we come back, Kennedy throws Hardy into the steel steps. Kennedy continues to dominate, but makes the mistake of climbing the turnbuckles. Hardy gets there and hits a superplex. Hardy follows up with a boot to the head and the clothesline/bulldog combo. Hardy hits an elbow off the second rope and signals for the Twist Of Fate. Kennedy counters, but misses with a dropkick. Helms gets up on the apron and snaps Hardy's neck on the top rope. Kennedy hits the reverse neckbreaker and picks up the victory as Helms is shown laughing. This was a good TV match that surprisingly was designed to feature Hardy more than Kennedy. 

Match Rating: ***

Ashley is talking to Miz about how great it was when she won the Diva Search and how happy Layla must have been. Miz then talks about all his Mizfits and how they're going to go crazy when he comes out. Ashley isn't buying it.

Miz brings out Layla and he keeps interrupting her to start his heel turn. He announces the biggest SmackDown debut in history, as he's having his first match. 16 years later, he's still killing it.

They show Tatanka's bad luck over the last two weeks. 

Tatanka vs. Sylvester Terkay

I would have thought Tatanka would have been a pretty good opponent for Terkay here, but unfortunately this one starts out pretty dull. Tatanka tries to make a comeback and hits a clothesline and some chops, but Terkay is still standing. He hits a top rope chop to knock him down. After the failed pin attempt, Tatanka starts arguing with the referee. He gets hit with a boot and Terkay gets the win. This one wasn't very good. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

They show highlights of the disappointing Chavo/Mysterio match at SummerSlam. Out comes Vickie Guerrero to Eddie's music. She says that she loves this music, but it's the last time we will hear it. She hurt both Rey and Chavo and she apologizes. She brings out Rey Mysterio and apologizes. Rey takes a moment and hugs her. She brings out Chavo next and apologizes. They also embrace. Chavo attacks Rey while Vickie yells for him to stop. Chavo grabs a chair, but Vickie stands between them. Chavo throws the chair down and Vickie grabs it. She turns around and hits Rey with it and then Chavo hits the brainbuster on the chair. The crowd was pretty dead until the turn. 

Paul London vs. KC James

James hits a back body drop and backbreaker out of the gate. London battles back until Idol Stevens trips him up. Kendrick comes up and makes the save. London is ready to get back rolling until the Pitbulls come out and attack London. Stevens and James come in and start brawling with them. This was just to remind us that there are 3 tag teams. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

MVP is shown walking through the crowd. 

Kristal vs. Jillian Hall

I'm not quite sure what the point of cramming this one on here was. Anyway, Kristal basically controls the match and then gets a roll up by holding the tights.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Vito vs. Sylvan

Sylvan and his main event gimmick take it to Vito to start. He hits a nice looking missile dropkick and then continues to wear him down. Vito starts feeling it and hits the usual offense like he does in every match before putting on his finisher for the quick tap out. This show fell off a cliff.

Match Rating: 1/2*

After the match, Vito challenges MVP. MVP takes his time and then says "no contract, no contact".

Handicap Match
King Booker, Finlay & William Regal vs. Bobby Lashley & Batista

Despite the advantage, it's all Lashley and Batista until a Finlay distraction opens up an opportunity. Booker hits a Scissor Kick, but Batista is able to break up the count. Finlay gets Lashley outside of the ring and out comes Hornswoggle. Finlay tosses him off the apron and onto Lashley. He then goes over to Michael Cole and bites him. Batista gets the hot tag and takes care of Finlay and Lashley. Booker tries to use the scepter, but Batista ducks it and hits the spinebuster for the victory. They booked that more one-sided than expected. 

Match Rating: **

This show started off good enough, featuring a fairly lengthy match. From there on, it was extremely mediocre and even bad in spots. After SummerSlam, they haven't really found anything interesting for them to really expand on.

Overall Rating: 49%

ECW 8-22-06 Review

Tuesday, August 22nd, 2006
Wachovia Arena
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania

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Apparently we're getting a rematch of the ECW SummerSlam match that didn't deliver. But first, it's an Extreme Bikini Contest between Torrie Wilson and Kelly Kelly. Torrie goes first and then you'll never guess what happens when Kelly goes. Out comes Mike Knox and Test to stop her. Tommy Dreamer and Sandman come out and I'm guessing we're going to get a match here. Sandman says 6 person tag, right here, right now. 

Torrie Wilson, Tommy Dreamer & Sandman vs. Kelly Kelly, Mike Knox & Test

Torrie grabs Kelly and throws her in the ring. The lights go off for some reason and then Torrie gives Kelly a stink face. In come Test and Dreamer and Test hits a series of backbreakers. Knox and Test go to work on Dreamer until he is able to hit a reverse neckbreaker on Test. Sandman gets the tag and hits a somersault dive off the top. Test pulls him off the pin attempt, but gets thrown into the ring post. Knox misses a leg drop off the second rope on Sandman and in comes Dreamer. He hits a DDT on Knox and gets the somewhat surprising victory. This was pretty standard fare. 

Match Rating: *3/4

Big Show lets Paul Heyman know that he's got Sabu tonight.

Matt Striker cuts his usual promo about coming to ECW. 

Extreme Rules Match
Kevin Thorn vs. Balls Mahoney

Thorn kicks the chair right into the face of Balls on his way in the ring. Of course it's ECW, so he basically no sells it and knocks Thorn out of the ring. Thorn starts using his staff and uses it to slam it right into the throat of Balls. Balls bounces back with a sit down spinebuster, but only gets a 2 count. Balls goes out to grab a chair, but Ariel grabs his leg and bites him. Thorn kicks the chair in his face and picks up the victory. 

Match Rating: *1/4

Shannon Moore is still coming.

CM Punk vs. Christopher W Anderson

Joey Styles first lets us know that Punk hasn't beaten any main event talent yet and then also claims Anderson had a cup of coffee in ECW. Anderson is a guy that I can't believe they even bothered signing. For some reason, he gets in some offense, but then eats a running knee into a bulldog. Punk then gets hit with a spinebuster for a 2 count. He goes for another one, but Punk escapes and hits the Urinage into the Anaconda Vice for the victory. For those of you keeping score, CM beat CW.

Match Rating: 1/2*

They now show Paul Heyman hyping up Hardcore Holly and lets him know how no one wants him in ECW except him. He lets him know that he needs to make an impact.

Rob Van Dam vs. Danny Doring

Doring gets to hit a swinging neckbreaker and works on the back of RVD. RVD comes back with the rolling monkey flip. He hits the top rope kick and Rolling Thunder. He heads right up, hits the 5 Star Frog Splash and picks up the easy victory. After the match, Holly comes from behind and hits RVD with a chair. He then nails Doring with a chair to the head and an Alabama Slam on RVD. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Rene Dupree is still coming.

ECW Championship Match
Big Show vs. Sabu

They sure have crammed a lot on this show. Granted, not much of it was good, but they did schedule a lot. Big Show dumps Sabu on the top rope and he falls to the floor into a commercial break. We get a ref bump, so Sabu uses some chair shots to knock Show down. He hits the triple jump moonsault and an Arabian Facebuster, but the referee is out. A second ref comes in and he gets a 2 count. Sabu uses the ring bell on Show right in front of the ref and then threatens him. The ref goes out of the ring and Sabu continues to use it, eventually knocking him over the top rope and through a table. Sabu's music hits and I guess the official decision is a DQ victory for Show. Show is busted open really badly out on the floor as we go off the air.

Match Rating: *3/4

There is just nothing interesting going on in ECW. I was watching this show a lot more often than SmackDown and I'm not really sure why. I do have a soft spot once it turned into NXT, but that's a long ways away.

Overall Rating: 40%

Monday Night Raw 8-21-06

Monday, August 21st, 2006
Arena At Harbor Yard
Bridgeport, Connecticut

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Edge is out to gloat about still being the WWE Champion despite everyone thinking he was going to lose. Lita is not out with him and neither is the title belt. They show Lita on the Titan Tron and she has the belt with her. She chucks it into the harbor and Edge declares that the end of the John Cena era. Edge then debuts the Rated R belt. Out comes Jeff Hardy to make his return and Edge shouts insults at him. Jeff doesn't like it and takes him down with some right hands. He goes up for a Swanton, but Edge is able to roll out of the ring. This was a good way to start the show, I just wish they hadn't announced that Jeff would be returning and kept it a surprise. 

Spirit Squad vs. Jim Duggan, Eugene & Highlanders

Eugene gets in an airplane spin and tags in Robbie. The Spirit Squad distract the ref and Johnny is able to hit a spin kick. The Squad dominate, while the crowd chants for Hacksaw. It's kind of interesting that we were led to believe that Kenny was the next Shawn Michaels because he could jump high. The match breaks down, as one would expect. The Highlanders hit a springboard reverse suplex and pick up the win. This was inoffensive fun that go the crowd going. 

Match Rating: *3/4

Edge is looking for Vince, but finds Jonathan Coachman working out instead. Edge wants Jeff Hardy and Coach grants that. Vince and Shane arrive and kick Coach out. Shane says their loss at SummerSlam shouldn't count because he was the legal man and Vince was the one who was pinned. Vince then says that he's feeling gnarly tonight. 

Randy Orton is back for an interview and says that he got screwed at SummerSlam. He's going to use this aggression on Ric Flair tonight and calls him a bigger legend than Hogan. In walks Carlito and he says that watching Hogan getting his hand raised was cool. Orton tells him that at least he was at SummerSlam. 

Triple H is here to tell us about Vince's private plane. They show a video of them getting off the plane and a big DX logo on the plane. Vince is furious of course. 

Trish Stratus vs. Victoria

Trish starts off aggressively and then hits a victory roll for a 2 count. She goes for an early Stratusfaction, but Victoria is able to counter it into a backbreaker. Victoria goes for a Widow's Peak, but Trish slides out and hits Stratusfaction for the clean victory. That was actually a fun little match. 

Match Rating: **

Out come the McMahons and the ladies are out of there. We then see DX on the roof of Titan Towers. They of course put a big DX mark on the building. Vince walks away in shock.

They show Vince and Shane backstage and Mick Foley comes up to them. Vince tells him that it might be his night to join the club. Vince says that it's either that or he's fired. 

Jeff Hardy vs. Edge

Hardy attacks Edge with a baseball slide on his way into the ring and then hits him with a dive over the top rope. Hardy goes for a Twist Of Fate, but Edge counters it and hits an inverted DDT. Hardy is able to come back with Whisper In The Wind, but Edge kicks out at 2. Hardy is able to hit a Twist Of Fate and follows it up with the Swanton Bomb. Lita pulls Edge's leg in kind of an awkward spot and the referee calls for the bell. Out comes John Cena and he attacks him and brawls with him in the backstage area. The match was good, but the finish felt botched.

Match Rating: **1/2

They go back to the brawl and they are out by the harbor now. This all leads to Edge getting thrown into the water and Cena telling him that he's not going anywhere. 

Mick Foley is with Melina and they're talking about Ric Flair being crazy last night. She asks him about what he's going to do tonight and tells him to think it through. I never really understood this relationship.

Intercontinental Championship Match
Johnny Nitro vs. Kane

Nitro tries to use his quickness to avoid Kane, but he eats a big boot. Kane hits a top rope clothesline, but then out comes Umaga and he hits a Flatliner. He then hits the Samoan Spike for good measure. Kane site up, but Umaga hits a kick and a couple of leaping headbutts. Umaga then hits a Super Samoan Spike off the second rope. Kane is shown bleeding from the mouth. This was all just to continue the build for Kane/Umaga and unfortunately at the expense of Nitro.

Match Rating: 1/2*

Randy Orton vs. Ric Flair

Orton hits an early vertical suplex and then takes 2 tries to get Flair over the top with clotheslines. Flair gets thrown into the steps, as Orton slows the match down. Flair tries to fight back, but Orton just dominates him before hitting the RKO for the victory. Orton attacks Flair after the bell and the referee reverses the decision, which never makes sense. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

It's time for Mick to join the club. He refuses to because he doesn't need the WWE. They say it's not him that would be fired, it's Melina. Foley willingly does it for her, but then Melina hits him with a low blow. Vince takes the mic backstage and keeps running his mouth. He and Shane go outside and Vince admits that X has broken them. He yells at the limo driver for not wearing a tie. The limo drives off and it's chained to something and it causes the rear axel to pull right off. Vince and Shane struggle to get out and Vince berates the driver. They look at the limo and DX logo is on it. Vince is just insufferable here tonight. 

This was actually a really entertaining episode if you can get past Vince's poor performance tonight. There was a lot of energy in the matches, even if most of them didn't get a lot of time and a lot of storylines were advanced as they head towards Unforgiven. Thumbs up. 

Overall Rating: 69%

NXT TakeOver: Fatal 4-Way Review

Thursday, September 11th, 2014
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida

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NXT Tag Team Championship Match
Lucha Dragons vs. The Ascension

Sin Cara is able to hit a series of springboard aerial moves to slow down Viktor, but it doesn't last long as Cara goes flying into the guardrail. Viktor goes for a springboard powerbomb, but Cara counters it into a hurricanrana. Viktor is able to tag in Konnor and he knocks Kalisto off the apron before he can make the tag. Cara is finally able to make the hot tag and Kalisto shows off his impressive skills. I'm enjoying this a lot more than I thought I would. Cara hits a dive on Konnor on the ramp. Kalisto hits a hurricanrana, but gets caught on his double crossbody. In comes Cara and takes them down. Kalisto misses a double jump moonsault and gets hit with a clothesline by Viktor. They go for Fall Of Man, but Cara grabs Konnor's leg. Kalisto is able to hit Salda del Sol to finally end the reign of the long time champions. I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy this. They told a really nice story and actually deserved to have a few more minutes. 

Match Rating: ***1/4

Renee Young interviews the new champs and they let us know the future starts now. 

The announcers then offer their sympathy for anyone affected by the 9/11 tragedies. This goes right into an Adrian Neville video. 

CJ Parker vs. Baron Corbin

They say this is Corbin's debut, but I'm pretty sure he has been on before. He actually gets some chants before the match, which is funny. Corbin hits him with a clothesline and then End Of Days for the quick victory. That was a good way to debut him. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

It's time for the Tyson Kidd video package. These are just the same ones they showed last week. 

Hair vs. Hair Match
Sylvester Lefort vs. Enzo Amore

I'm not really sure what they ever saw in Lefort. This match just has nothing going for it. Lefort's offense is pretty dull. Enzo starts to make a comeback, but Marcus Louis distracts him and he gets hit with a clothesline for a 2 count. Cass takes out Marcus outside the ring and Enzo rolls up Lefort and picks up the victory. Lefort tries to escape after the match, but Cass hits him with a clothesline and he carries him up to the barber chair. Marcus comes from behind and stops them from bringing him up there. Lefort makes a run for it and Marcus gets attacked. Enzo grabs the bucket and dumps it on Marcus's head. This wasn't good. At all. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

After Tyler Breeze's video package, out comes William Regal. He brings out the biggest international signing in WWE history, Kenta. He lets us know that he will be known as Hideo Itami and that he wants to be NXT Champion. Out come The Ascension and they toss him out of the ring. They want a rematch, but in comes Itami and he takes both of them out. 

Bull Dempsey vs. Mojo Rawley

Bull attacks Mojo right away. Mojo comes firing back, but he ends up running right into Bull. Bull climbs the top rope and hits a headbutt for the victory. That was certainly quick. He goes up top and hits another headbutt. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Enzo and Cass are looking for Lefort and Marcus and find them backstage. Lefort escapes again, but they are able to bring Marcus through the crowd and into the ring. They show the crowd what he looks like for good measure. 

NXT Women's Championship Match
Bayley vs. Charlotte

I believe this is the debut of Bayley's music here and she is definitely over with the live crowd here. Bayley comes out aggressive, but Charlotte fires back. Charlotte puts on the Figure Four headlock to ground Bayley and hits a low dropkick after the hold is broken. They are telling the underdog story well here and the crowd is loving every second of it. Charlotte goes up top, but Bayley slows her down and hits a hurricanrana for a 2 count. Charlotte is able to hit a roll up, that sends Bayley into the bottom turnbuckle. Charlotte kind of hits the moonsault, but Bayley is able to kick out. Charlotte hits Natural Selection and that is all. The finish was a little underwhelming, but the rest of the match was very well worked. Both competitors brought out the best in each other here and Bayley losing here ended up working great in the long run. 

Match Rating: ***3/4

After the match, Sasha Banks comes out and eventually attacks Bayley. Charlotte decides to make the save, as it appears that Bayley has earned Charlotte's respect.

Fatal 4-Way For The NXT Championship
Tyler Breeze vs. Sami Zayn vs. Tyson Kidd vs. Adrian Neville

This quickly turns into a brawl with Zayn and Breeze pairing off while Kidd and Neville go at it. Breeze and Kidd begin to work together and knock out Neville with a suplex on the stage. Alliances can only last so long and Kidd quickly turns on Breeze. Meanwhile, Neville is playing the role of the guy who keeps getting knocked out every time he tries to get back in. Kidd begins to dominate until Zayn makes a comeback. He has Breeze and Kidd on the outside and is going for a dive, but Neville gets in his way and hits a springboard moonsault before Zayn can do anything. Neville and Zayn give us some quick paced offense that leads to Neville almost getting dropped on his head. In comes Kidd and he is able to launch Zayn into Neville, who is sitting on the top turnbuckle. Kidd goes for a Sharpshooter, but Zayn escapes, but it leads to him getting kicked in the head. Zayn gets his knees up on the springboard elbow drop. Then Breeze comes out of nowhere to hit a series of kicks in a great sequence. Breeze goes for a superplex on Neville, but Kidd joins him and it leads to a tower of doom spot thanks to Zayn. Zayn stomps on Kidd in the corner, but then gets hit in the jaw by a Neville kick. Neville goes up top and hits a Shooting Star Press on Zayn. Breeze runs in and steals the pin, but Zayn kicks out at 2. Breeze goes for the Beauty Shot, but Kidd turns it into a Sharpshooter in the middle of the ring. Neville is able to stop Breeze from tapping out and break the hold. Zayn sends Neville over the top and then hits an exploder suplex into the turnbuckle. He hits a dive on Neville and then the leap through the ropes for a DDT on Breeze. He hits the Helluva Kick on Kidd in the ring, but Neville pulls the referee out of the ring to some boos. Zayn angrily goes outside the ring and is greeted with a superkick. Neville comes in and hits the Red Arrow on Kidd for the victory. This was a fantastic match from start to finish and the match that got me interested in NXT. It has the problems that all of the multi-man matches have, but it doesn't take much to look past that with the brilliant display all four men put on here. Great stuff.

Match Rating: ****1/2

This was far from a perfect show, but the double main event delivered big time and the opener was also well done. The rest of the show felt a little pointless, but it never overstayed its welcome. This was definitely NXT's crowning achievement up to this point. 

Overall Rating: 86%

Money In The Bank 2022 Review

Saturday, July 2nd, 2022
MGM Grand Garden Arena
Paradise, Nevada

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Women's Money In The Bank Ladder Match
Becky Lynch vs. Asuka vs. Liv Morgan vs. Raquel Rodriguez vs. Lacey Evans vs. Shotzi vs. Alexa Bliss

Everyone leaves the ring except Asuka and Becky to start and Asuka gets the hot start. Asuka hits a modified bulldog on Becky on a ladder, but Asuka hits a big boot to the face from Rodriguez. Rodriguez hits a double suplex on Liv and Becky on a ladder. Shotzi tries to climb a ladder up by Rodriguez, but she falls. She just seems not into this match so far. Liv and Lacey are able to hit a move on there and then Lynch stacks them up and hits a splash. Alexa climbs up top and hits a somersault dive. Asuka hip tosses Shotzi on a ladder and then starts to climb. Lacey slams her into the ladder and they both start climbing. Becky tips the ladder, but they both land on their feet. Shotzi and Lacey both start climbing and Lacey knocks her off with a big right hand. Lacey has her hands on it, but up comes Rodriguez to slow her down. Liv climbs up the other side and gets her hand on it, but Lacey stops her. Liv hits her with a sunset flip powerbomb on Lacey. Rodriguez is hung upside down on the ladder and Shotzi takes advantage of it. Shotzi gets Alexa on her shoulders and kind of drops her into the ladder for another awkward spot from her. Shotzi misses with a splash and hits a ladder. Asuka tries to run up, but then Rodriguez stops her. Rodriguez sets up a ladder between the announce table and the ring, but while she is cordially rearranging the table, Asuka stops her. Rodriguez fights her off and they battle on the table. Asuka ends up top of the ladder thanks to Becky. She climbs up a ladder on the outside of the ring and hits a splash, but doesn't break the ladder. Becky is able to knock a bunch of ladies off the ladders and now Liv comes to join Becky. Liv gets pushed over and pushes herself back up, knocks Becky off and wins the Money In The Bank! Her facial expressions on the way to the ring kind of gave it away, but it's been a long time coming for her. The match itself was on the sloppier side and was a little all over the place. The Liv moment was classic, but this was more in the good rather than great. 

Match Rating: ***1/4

United States Championship Match
Theory vs. Bobby Lashley

This is kind of an intriguing feud to me, as Lashley has been fantastic in his return and seems like he is above the US Championship at this point. However, it's more than obvious that they love Theory. Lashley starts off all over Theory and knocks him off the apron and to the floor. Theory is able to drive Lashley into the ring post. Lashley catches a leaping Theory, but loses his balance and falls. He's able to walk back up with him still on his back and slams him into the ring post. After curling up when Lashley goes for the Spear, Theory takes control after a running left forearm. Lashley makes a comeback, but Theory is able to escape the suplex and snap him on the top rope. Theory goes for his somersault move, but Lashley catches him and Lashley hits a powerslam. We get some back and forth action and it leads to a somersault dropkick for a nearfall. Theory rakes the eyes of Lashley and hits a Spear. Lashley escapes Theory's finisher and puts on the Hurt Lock and gets the victory. The crowd loved this match and honestly, I enjoyed that quite a bit. 

Match Rating: ***1/2

We get an interview with Liv Morgan and she says that she really doesn't want to screw this up. She wants to enjoy this moment. 

Raw Women's Championship Match
Carmella vs. Bianca Belair

Carmella has always been a valuable character on the women's roster, but has never quite hit the in ring quality of her peers. This is a fresh shot for her tonight. We get lots of strength, athleticism and butt slapping from Bianca in the early going. Carmella comes back and hits a Bronco Buster in the corner. Bianca comes back with the marching suplex and a series of forearms. Carmella moves out of the way of a charging Bianca and she rams her shoulder into the ring post. Carmella gets some close calls, but it's not enough. Bianca has had enough, hits the KOD and retains her title. That felt more like a TV match unfortunately. It was by no means bad, but just didn't hit the emotional levels the first two matches did. However, after the match, Carmella aggressively attacks Bianca. I guess this one is going to continue, but it sure doesn't feel like a SummerSlam type of feud. 

Match Rating: **

We get some Logan Paul propaganda and then an Alexa Bliss WWE Credit One card commercial, which the crowd boos. 

Unified Tag Team Championship Match
Usos vs. Street Profits

The Profits completely dominate the opening moments of this match, but Angelo Dawkins makes a big mistake by allowing a blind tag. The Usos hit a double suplex into the ring post on the outside. The Usos continue to work on Dawkins and taunt Montez Ford. Montez finally gets tagged in, but gets hit with a superkick when he goes off the top rope. They are making the Usos look like absolute killers in this match. After a long beatdown, Ford attempts a comeback. He ends up getting hit with a big uppercut. Ford finally makes the tag to Dawkins and he hits a senton dive over the top rope to the floor. He follows it up with a leaping reverse elbow and a spin kick to the head. The Profits hit a cool double team where Dawkins hit a shoulder tackle and Ford caught him for a modified powerbomb slam. They hit a super blockbuster and that's still not enough. Ford runs into a double superkick, but he's able to kick out at 2. Ford is able to send both Usos out of the ring and then hit his running somersault dive over the ring post. Ford hits the splash after the spinebuster, but the pin attempt was broken up. This turns into a brawl and it ends with the Usos hitting the 1D to pick up the victory. I think some will like this more than I did. They got a lot of time and put on a good match, but it just never hit that next level for me. They show a replay and they show that the shoulder was up for the pin attempt. 

Match Rating: ***1/2

SmackDown Women's Championship Match
Natalya vs. Ronda Rousey

We get lots of mat wrestling here, as you would probably expect. As a result, they start to lose the crowd a bit. Rousey puts on the Sharpshooter to wake them up a little bit, but Natalya is able to get to the bottom rope. Rousey goes for an arm bar, but gets too cocky and Natalya kicks her out of the ring. Natalya puts Rousey in the Sharpshooter on the apron. Rousey is able to roll through and Natalya goes into the ring post in a really cool spot. Rousey is selling her leg, but goes for the Piper's Pit. Natalya gets out of it, but she puts on the arm bar. Natalya gets out and tries for the Sharpshooter. Rousey counters that into the Ankle Lock in the center of the ring. Natalya tries to turn that into another Sharpshooter, but Rousey locks in the arm and Natalya taps. This felt like it should have been a little bit more intense than it was. Rousey continues to sell the knee after the match and out comes Liv Morgan.

Match Rating: **1/4

SmackDown Women's Championship Match
Liv Morgan vs. Ronda Rousey

Morgan goes for a kick, but Rousey gets her in the Ankle Lock and the crowd is booing. Liv is able to kick the bad knee, rolls her up and we have a new SmackDown Women's Champion. Total goosebump moment there. Rousey quickly gets up and gives her a hug. Ronda limps back and Liv gets her moment. Finally. I probably would have preferred her to cash it in at different event, but I think we'll all take it. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Men's Money In The Bank Ladder Match
Riddle vs. Seth Rollins vs. Omos vs. Madcap Moss vs. Sami Zayn vs. Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Theory

Before the match is about to start, out comes Adam Pearce. He's going to add to the match and of course it is Theory. Omos gets the monster start, dominating everyone. McIntyre hits the Claymore to get him out of the ring. He tries to climb, but Sheamus throws him off and they start going at it. Theory tries to sneak up in the meantime, but they catch him and he gets destroyed by the two of them. This reminds me of Daniel Puder at Royal Rumble 2005. Rollins throws a ladder at the both of them and then Riddle attacks Rollins from behind. Rollins throws him into a ladder and goes for a Pedigree. Riddle back drops him on the ladder and then hits the Broton. Sami Zayn throws him out and starts climbing. Madcap is the one to stop him, but he ends up getting a ladder dumped on him. Riddle and Madcap battle at the top, but Omos is back in and he hits a powerslam on Riddle. Omos is about to climb, but Theory comes off the top. Omos catches him and hits a chokeslam. We finally get multiple wrestlers going here and it's all of them attacking Omos. He ends up being buried with a pile of ladders. Sheamus then turns on most of them and Rollins starts to climb. Sheamus adds another ladder and then Theory joins them. Rollins and Zayn get tipped over and Theory is able to slam Sheamus into the ladder. Madcap grabs Theory and take him out. Zayn gets close, but Madcap is able to powerbomb him into a ladder and that one looked painful. McIntyre headbutts Madcap off the ladder and then Sheamus knocks him off and hits White Noise. Riddle hits a draping DDT on Sheamus from the ladder. Riddle gets a shot to shine and it culminates in a Floating Bro from the very top of the ladder. Sheamus looked like he got a pretty good shot to the head there. Omos is back and they again try to give him their beset shot to knock him out. Rollins hits a Stomp on Omos on the apron. Everyone joins up to chuck Omos through the announce table. We get some more physicality and Drew starts climbing the ladder on top of Sheamus. Out comes Butch and he jumps on the back of Drew and puts on a sleeper. Sheamus gets out and hits a knee to Drew. Sheamus returns the favor and climbs on top of Drew. Drew pushes the ladder up and knocks Sheamus down. He then hits a Claymore to Butch and starts to climb. Sheamus stops him and then they both start climbing. Sami Zayn tips it and then fall onto a ladder propped up in the corner. Zayn is all alone and has his hands on the briefccase, but Madcap knocks him off. Rollins pushes him off and he takes a rough looking fall and then gets hit with the Stomp. Rollins starts climbing, but Riddle hits him in the back with another ladder. Riddle starts to climb, but Rollins knocks him off with some right hands. Riddle starts to climb again and he hits a RKO from the ladder. Riddle and Theory battle at the top, with Theory getting the better of Riddle. He grabs the briefcase and predictably becomes Mr. Money In The Bank. He takes a selfie from the top and the rocket is officially strapped. This was a good match, with Riddle really stealing the match. The Theory run has potential, but I think they will really have to let it ride for awhile. 

Match Rating: ***1/2

This was a good, solid show that will forever be remembered as the night Liv Morgan finally got her moment. Like I said, I would have probably preferred it got cashed in on a separate show, but it still worked effectively tonight. I really enjoyed the Lashley match and the tag team match was good as well. The main event delivered, even if it didn't do a ton to distinguish itself from the many other ladder matches at this point. Thumbs up overall, but not a top tier show by any means. 

Overall Rating: 74%

Monday Night Raw 9-19-94 Review

Original Airdate: Monday, September 19th, 1994
Lowell Memorial Auditorium
Lowell, Massachusetts

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So even though this episode again was taped before SummerSlam, the intro is all about the heel turn of Tatanka. What a way to draw viewers in. 

Lex Luger vs. Executioner

I continue to be surprised at how over Luger is with the live crowds, although this one seems to be a little sweetened. This variation of the Executioner looks like your friends dad playing wrestler. Luger explodes and puts him in the Rebel Rack for the victory. I still don't get why they just didn't turn him heel. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Next week it's a King's Court with British Bulldog.

Jerry Lawler vs. Duke Droese

Lawler cuts a promo before the match on Droese being a piece of trash. I feel like they forgot about this feud for a couple of weeks. I guess with it being taped over 30 days before this, they kind of had to. We get lots of stalling, which is pretty typical of Lawler during this era. Droese finally gets his hands on him and gets 10 punches in the corner. This match is so good, we're getting a second commercial break. Lawler is a able to slow things down and take control. Lawler goes outside the ring to grab Duke's garbage can, but Dink pops out of it and squirts him. Lawler chases him and gets counted out. "The squirt gave him a squirt" - Randy Savage. Dink comes back and Lawler grabs the can again. Doink is behind him so he runs out through the crowd to get away while Doink and Dink laugh. As bad as this was, it was entertaining in the way a B movie is. 

Match Rating: *

Heavenly Bodies vs. Mike Bell & Steve King

They seem to be semi-remembering that they have a tag team division lately. I can't say enough how much I like the Bodies. Prichard hits a variation of the sitdown powerbomb and Del Ray follows it with a moonsault for the victory. More of this please.

Match Rating: 1/2*

Vince McMahon brings out Bob Backlund for an interview. The character work is great because he is really crazy. He talks about how he used to like all the fans but now he is just so disappointed. Lots of plebeian talk here. Backlund says he didn't use the Chicken Wing to make the people happy. He says it is the best hold in wrestling and even Bret Hart can't get out of it. The crowd calls him a has been, so Backlund says that he runs more in a day than most people do in their life. It's too bad he has to wrestle, because this is great TV. He then claims that if anyone can get out of his Chicken Wing while pinned to the mat, he will retire from wrestling. He takes of his and challenges someone. They bring out Lou Gianfriddo from the WWF magazine and would make me look like a big guy. He puts him in the hold and snaps. Vince tries to pull him off along with a bunch of officials and eventually Randy Savage. This was really well done and one of the better interview segments in Raw history up to this point. 

Sparky Plugg vs. Richie Rich

Man, all that money didn't do much for Richie Rich. Vince apologizes for not calling much of the match and just talking about Backlund. He then just continues to talk about Backlund even more. Plugg hits a top rope crossbody for the victory. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Yokozuna vs. Phil Apollo

No Jim Cornette for the Bodies or Yokozuna. I guess they had to save on travel expenses. Yoko is noticeably bigger on his comeback here. Yoko shows a little bit more aggression than normal with a series of right hands in the corner. He hits the Banzai Drop and that is all. After the match, Undertaker's music hits and Yoko heads to the back. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

After a very poor episode of Superstars, this Raw more than made up for it. Bob Backlund was fantastic in his interview and just something totally different than what we were used to seeing at this time. The squash matches had a lot of energy to them too, which is surprising for a taped show. Thumbs up here.

Overall Rating: 61%