Monday Night Raw 9-18-06 Review

Monday, September 18th, 2006
Bell Center
Montreal, Quebec, Canada

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We kick off the show with Lilian Garcia introducing the new WWE Champion, John Cena. He naturally is greeted with a chorus of boos. Cena loves it and then starts taking some shots at Edge. Edge and Lita join the party to interrupt. Cena gives him two options, to go screw himself or they can have a rematch right now. Edge rips on Montreal before telling Cena that he won't do it here tonight in front of these people. Edge then tells us that he has a backup plan and it's...Cade and Murdoch. They attack Cena from behind and the crowd kind of half boos. Edge reveals they attacked DX last week and so out comes DX to make the save. They clean house and I smell a 6 man tag tonight. In tonight's performance, Jonathan Coachman will be playing the roll of Theodore Long. He says that in Vince's absence, we will indeed have a 6 man tag team match. This was a 15+ minute opening segment here to kick off the show. It was going along nicely until the "meh" reveal of Cade and Murdoch. 

Coach gives a backstage segment telling Shane and Vince that he hopes they are happy with his job tonight on Raw. He says there are some superstars here that want to send their condolences after their humiliating defeat. First up, it's Shelton Benjamin and he says that if he was their partner instead of Big Show they wouldn't have gotten their head shoved up, you know. He then questions why he wasn't their partner. Shelton then says that it's because he is black, which leads Coach to asking him to leave. I do not remember this at all. 

Umaga vs. Kane

We get a clash of the big men to start and then Umaga hits him with a belly-to-belly suplex. Estrada tries to hand Umaga a chair, but Kane charges at Umaga and knocks down the referee also. Kane goes after Estrada and it allows Umaga to hit Kane in the head. A second referee runs in and Kane kicks out at 2. After a commercial break, Umaga hits a Samoan drop and sets up Kane in the corner. Kane hits him with an elbow before hitting him with some of his chest slapping right hands. Kane hits a shoulder tackle and lands almost like he was trying to give himself a concussion. Kane goes out of the ring and grabs a chair, but Umaga is able to knock it out of his hands. He misses him in the corner and hits his shoulder on the ring post. Kane hits the second rope clothesline and grabs the chair again. Armando comes in and hits Kane from behind, but Kane still hits Umaga with 3 sickening chair shots to the head. Ugh. When does this garbage stop? Absolutely disturbing. 

Match Rating: *3/4

They go backstage and show Kane attacking Armando and then Umaga makes the save. Kane sits up after they walk away.

Maria makes a video for Vince and she wonders if going in Big Show's butt was like the Grand Canyon. She's interrupted by the Spirit Squad and they remind him they are still the champs. Johnny also says that he's challenged Ric Flair to a match and is dedicating it to him.

Ric Flair vs. Johnny 

And so the epic Flair/Spirit Squad feud begins. Johnny dominates and even imitates Flair by doing a chop block and slapping on the Figure Four. Johnny goes up top and misses with a kick. Flair battles back and goes for a Figure Four. Johnny counters it into an inside cradle, but Flair counters that and picks up the victory. The Spirit Squad rushes in, but Flair slides out and gets out before they can do anything. This was filler. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

Lita is here for Vince, but she's wondering more about the Women's Championship now that Trish is retired. Mickie interrupts and talks about Trish and some more Trish. She makes a joke about Edge and her not being champs any more, so Lita slaps her. 

Randy Orton is out here to talk about how great he is and he's interrupted by...Johnny Nitro? He brags about being Intercontinental Champion and questions where Orton's title is. Now Chris Masters is out and they make fun of him for losing to Super Crazy. He's then interrupted by Carlito before he can really say anything. Carlito says he's a sore loser and starts attacking Orton. Out comes Super Crazy and Jeff Hardy. This is quite the random grouping of people. Coach gets on the Titan Tron and announces that this won't be a tag team match, but rather a Six Pack Challenge for the Intercontinental Championship.

Six Pack Challenge For The Intercontinental Championship
Johnny Nitro vs. Randy Orton vs. Chris Masters vs. Carlito vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Super Crazy

After a commercial, we join the match that's already in progress. The match is chaos as you would expect. Carlito gets a little bit of shine with a springboard moonsault and then a dive to the outside. Super Crazy goes for a dive, but Nitro trips him up. He then tries one and everyone moves out of the way and they all gang up on them. In comes Super Crazy to take them all out into a commercial break. We now get to the part of the match where everyone hits their finisher. Hardy gets to hit his last on Masters and Nitro knocks him out and retains his title. This was a good match that felt pretty fresh. The crowd was very much into it as well and it added to the excitement level.

Match Rating: ***1/4

After a SmackDown Rewind, it's another Cryme Tyme vignette of them stealing a car. 

Coach hopes that the videos are helping Vince and now we get DX. They show a video of their highlights and when it ends they are dabbing water under their eyes. 

Candice Michelle vs. Lita

I'm not sure that this was a match that I ever wanted to see. This match is already longer than I would have expected. Lita is just toying with Candice here. She goes up to the top rope, but out comes Mickie James. Candice powerbombs Lita off the top rope and picks up the victory. I'm not sure that had to be that long. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

They cut to Edge who is furious. Cade and Murdoch come in and tell him to forget her and focus on tonight. They remind him that unlike everyone else in the match, they weren't in a TLC or Hell In A Cell match last night and they just gave DX the worst beating of their life last week. 

Edge, Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch vs. John Cena, Shawn Michaels & Triple H

Cade and Murdoch just never seemed to be the real deal to me. Cade tries to take it to Cena, but Cena quickly fights him off and hits the Five Knuckle Shuffle. In comes Michael to take on his student and he's able to blind tag with Murdoch and hits an inverted atomic drop/big boot combo. In comes Edge and he hits a standing dropkick. They isolate Michaels in their corner and the crowd has kind of died out a little bit here. Michaels is finally able to hit an enzuigiri and tag in Triple H. I still don't know how to spell enzuigiri. He goes for the Pedigree, but is clotheslined instead. Edge grabs a chair during the chaos, but Triple H is able to hit a spinebuster on him. Murdoch grabs the chair, but Michaels kicks it out and Michaels starts hitting him with it. The ref sees that and calls for the bell. Cena hits a FU on Cade and now Edge is surrounded by all three opponents. Michaels hits him with some Sweet Chin Music and Triple H hits the Pedigree. Well, that was about as lame of a finish as you could have come up with here. If you're serious about getting Cade and Murdoch over, they had to score some sort of victory here. The crowd wasn't buying it and they did nothing to make them feel differently. The match was pretty standard stuff.

Match Rating: **

Minus the flat finish, this was a mostly positive episode of Raw. The Intercontinental Championship was the highlight by a mile, but the rest was entertaining even if you weren't invested in the storylines. 

Overall Rating: 67%

NXT 10-16-14 Review

Original Airdate: Thursday, October 16th, 2014
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida

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Baron Corbin vs. Elias Sampson

Corbin hits the End Of Days instantly and gets the win. This is a future WrestleMania match. It's easy to see why in 19 seconds.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Sami Zayn is here to talk about his loss to Titus O'Neil last week. He said he's sick of losing fair and square and he wants to become the NXT Champion. Out comes Tyson Kidd wearing a Zayn shirt. He tells Zayn that he will never be the NXT Champion because he squanders all of his opportunities. Zayn asks Kidd if he got Nattie's permission to come out and to go back to watching reruns of Total Divas. Kidd insults him back, but Zayn says he doesn't live in the past. He lives in the now. Zayn says that he's going to take on Kidd here tonight. 

Lucha Dragons vs. Wesley Blake & Buddy Murphy

This is a non-title match. Sin Cara goes for a slingshot DDT, but Murphy catches him and counters it with a nice suplex. It's pretty clear about 45 seconds in that Murphy is the star of this team. Both teams make a tag and Kalisto hits a crossbody and a springboard corkscrew. He hits a dive to the floor after tagging in Cara. He hits Blake with a cool sunset bomb from the top and that's enough for the victory. This was a spirited little match.

Match Rating: *

After highlights of the Tyler Breeze/Mojo Rawley match, Mojo tells us that he's going to be out for awhile with an injury and he'll be back with a vengeance. 

Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte

This is also a non-title match. After a nice opening segment, Charlotte slows it down after a backbreaker. She misses with a dropkick and Becky hits her with some forearms. We get a double clothesline and both women are down. Lynch is able to bounce back quicker and hits a few more clotheslines. She hits a trio of leg drops and gets a 2 count. Becky hits a few moves, but again Charlotte hits Natural Selection out of nowhere for the victory. This one also had a lot of energy for a short match. 

Match Rating: *3/4

We see some highlights of Hideo Itami/Ascension from last week and the Ascension tell Itami to stay away. 

Enzo & Big Cass vs. Legionnaires

After getting slammed by Cass, Sylvester Lefort tags in Marcus Louis and accidentally rips off his wig. Louis snaps and attacks Lefort as Enzo and Cass look on. Fine by me.

Match Rating: No Match

After the match, Enzo and Cass say they want another match here. They say that they saw a woman with blue pants in the back and call her out. They then introduce Carmella for her debut. 

Blue Pants vs. Carmella

I didn't realize Carmella used the "Fabulous" intro music already. She quickly hits the Code Of Silence and Blue Pants taps.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Becky tells Sasha Banks that what she did to Bayley was disgoosting. Sasha heels it up and walks away.

Adrian Neville is interviewed backstage tells Titus O'Neil that he won't back down just because he's on the main roster. 

Next week on NXT, it will be Bayley vs. Sasha Banks and Adrian Neville vs. Titus O'Neil.

Sami Zayn vs. Tyson Kidd

We get some good, solid wrestling to start off. After Zayn shows off a little bit, we get an early commercial break. When we come back, Kidd is in control and has slowed the match down. Zayn makes his comeback and although he misses with the Helluva Kick he hits a double jump crossbody off the top rope. He hits the Blue Thunder Bomb, but Kidd kicks out. Kidd comes back and hits a nice swinging neckbreaker for a 2 count. Kidd turns Zayn over in the Sharpshooter, but Zayn is able to eventually pull himself to the bottom rope. Kidd misses with a slingshot leg drop on the apron and Zayn hits the exploder suplex into the corner. Zayn hits the Helluva Kick and picks up the victory. That was a good match, as if you would expect anything different here. It's nice to see Zayn get a decisive victory here. 

Match Rating: ***1/4

There must have been something in the water tonight, because it just seemed like everyone was out there maximizing their minutes on this one. This is the NXT that I really enjoy and makes me want to keep coming back. Especially with no TakeOver for a couple of months, they kept everything moving forward. 

Overall Rating: 72%

Monday Night Raw 10-24-94 Review

Original Airdate: Monday, October 24th, 1994
Burlington Memorial Auditorium
Burlington, Vermont

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Intercontinental Championship Match
Yokozuna vs. Razor Ramon

So for some reason on Peacock this episode is only 38 minutes and it skips the opening of the show. So I am watching the beginning of this match via alternate means. Yokozuna attacks Razor before the bell and we are now underway. Razor hits a bunch of right hands and then a leaping clothesline to knock Yoko down. I'm surprised they were cool with him going to that so quickly. Razor goes for a crossbody, but Yoko catches him into a body slam. He follows it up with a leg drop and Vince is already calling him the next Intercontinental Champion. Instead, Yoko just sits there. He then throws Razor over the top rope, which makes no sense. Yoko puts him in a nerve hold and now I'm back to Peacock. Yoko goes for the squash in the corner, but Razor moves and then hits a bulldog off the second rope. Yoko kicks out at 2 and the crowd is getting into this one now. Yoko hits a bunch of right hands that knock Yoko out of the ring. He backs up and it's right into a casket. Yoko freaks out and gets counted out. Razor worked hard here to get a good match out of the big guy. 

Match Rating: **1/4

It's finally time for Todd Pettengill and a Survivor Series Report. They show Bret's interview after beating Owen Hart on the Action Zone where he accepts Bob Backlund's challenge. It's going to be Guts & Glory against the Million Dollar Team. This coming weekend, Todd will have more for us. 

Smoking Gunns vs. Mike Bell & Barry Hardy

They say we'll see Bob Backlund vs. Lex Luger next week and the match is now in progress. The Gunns hit the vertical suplex/dropkick double team and Billy hits a body slam. The Gunns hit their finisher and that's all. That was a spirited squash.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Tatanka vs. Scott Taylor

I love having to watch heel Tatanka on Superstars and then on the Raw right after. Taylor gets a roll up for a 2 and then gets in some right hands. Tatanka clotheslines him and knocks him back to the ground. Tatanka hits a chop from the top and then the End Of The Trail for the victory. Once again, Tatanka attacks after the match and hits the finisher again. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

They show the same IRS death and taxes vignette from Superstars. 

Adam Bomb vs. Phil Apollo

That crafty Apollo attacks Bomb from behind. It doesn't work. Bomb hits a few standard moves before going up top and hitting the leaping clothesline. Bomb hits the pump handle slam for the easy victory. After the match, Backlund comes in and puts on the Cross-Face Chickenwing. It just seems like they never trusted Bomb. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Jerry Lawler is here for the King's Court and he's here to make another introduction. It's none other than Cheesy. This is peak creative. 

Diesel vs. Ben Jordan

It's Ben Jordan's birthday and also Y.A. Tittle. That's how excited they are to be announcing this match. This one goes on a little long. People wanted to see Diesel steamroll people, not take his time. He finally hits the Jackknife for the victory. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Vince tells us the WWF wrestlers are never on strike, mostly because he won't allow them to unionize. 

Next week, we'll find out more about the Survivor Series, Undertaker will be on the King's Court and Lex Luger will face Bob Backlund. Out comes Backlund and is looking nuts. 

The opening match was fun thanks to Razor putting on his working boots for the big man, but the ending left a lot to be desired. Everything else just felt like filler and the creative is at an all time low for the VKM era. 

Overall Rating: 41%

Superstars 10-22-94 Review

Original Airdate: Saturday, October 22nd, 1994
Mid-Hudson Civic Center
Poughkeepsie, New York

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We get a recap of Bob Backlund not shaking Arnold Skaaland's hand and now Bob Holly is going to make him pay. 

Bob Holly vs. Bob Backlund

How could they have two guys named Bob in the same company? Holly is about as lame of a babyface as there ever was. Backlund tries to show that he has restraint. From there Holly slows it down and this thing is already putting me to sleep. I still can't believe they put Backlund in the main event. He may be one of the biggest variances in history between the quality of his character vs. the quality of his ringwork. I know he is technically a "good" wrestler, but he is in IRS territory of boring. Backlund teases the Cross-Face Chicken Wing, but chooses to put us to sleep a little longer. Holly makes his comeback and Backlund looks pretty poor with his selling. Holly hits a weak looking monkey flip and a dropkick for a 2 count. Backlund ducks a clothesline and slaps on the Cross-Face Chicken Wing for the victory. I tapped out a long time ago.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Chris Kanyon vs. 1-2-3 Kid

Now this is a match I can get behind. Kanyon's ring attire is very questionable here though. Lawler likes him though. Lawler says that Kanyon reminds him of Razor Ramon, which I'm sure Vince loved. Kid lets him get some offense in until he hits him with a couple of spin kicks. Kid runs into a back elbow, but then Kanyon misses with a moonsault. Kid goes up to the top and hits the missile dropkick for the victory. They packed more into that match in like 2 minutes than however many minutes that horrible opener did.

Match Rating: 3/4*

King Kong Bundy vs. John Chrystal

Bundy pretty much sleepwalks through these squashes. He squashes him in the corner and hits the splash for the 5 count. Great.

Match Rating: 1/4*

They hype up Owen/Bret on the Action Zone tomorrow. I can't wait until they add that to Peacock in 2036. 

British Bulldog vs. Duane Gill

Bulldog just shoves a running Gill to the ground and hits a back suplex. Bulldog hits a press slam and the crowd loves it. Bulldog hits the vertical suplex and the running powerslam to pick up the quick victory.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Between making fun of NFL preshows and the MLB strike, it certainly is a low point for the company.

Tatanka vs. Aaron Ferguson

Friar's cousin here to take on Tatanka. Ferguson looks to be trying really hard to remember what to do after Tatanka tells him. Tatanka hits the End Of The Trail for the victory. I still can't believe they couldn't even give him heel music. He attacks Ferguson after the match and hits End Of The Trail again.

Match Rating: 1/4*

This Monday night on Raw, it's Razor Ramon vs. Yokozuna.

It's time for the Heartbreak Hotel with Doink, Dink and Wink. While Dink and Wink cause trouble, Doink announces Pink as the third addition to his stable. I mean, what is there to say? 

IRS gets a vignette about death and taxes. 

Smoking Gunns vs. Kerry Davis & Tony DeVito

Who told Davis it was a good idea to wear no shirt? Billy hits a dropkick and tags in Bart, who hits a vertical suplex. The Gunns hit a double Russian side leg sweep and throw Davis in his corner to tag in DeVito. The Gunns hit their finisher and that's all. I still don't get why they could never find anything for the Gunns to do. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

It's Charlie Minn time and they show Ted DiBiase being a good human being in the Northwest Territories. Talk about breaking kayfabe. In all honesty, this was semi-interesting. 

Next week it's Jeff Jarrett, the Headshrinkers, Jim Neidhart and the Heartbreak Hotel with the Million Dollar Corporation. Don't forget Razor Ramon. See you next week.

This one had a little less filler than normal, but the feature match just stunk. It was fun to see Kanyon vs. Kid, but the rest was nothing.

Overall Rating: 38%

Unforgiven 2006 Review

Sunday, September 17th, 2006
Air Canada Centre
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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Intercontinental Championship Match
Johnny Nitro vs. Jeff Hardy

I wouldn't have minded being able to watch the Shelton Benjamin/Super Crazy pre-show match. The crowd is very much into Hardy and it's a good sign for the show here. After some heel tactics by Nitro, Hardy hits a sliding dropkick and then a crossbody over the top rope. He goes up top, but Nitro is able to knock him off and he takes a big bump. Nitro goes to work on the knee of Hardy, using a combination of kicks and submissions. Hardy makes his comeback after Nitro misses a corkscrew moonsault. He hits Whisper In The Wind, but can't pick up the victory. Hardy goes for a Twist Of Fate, but Nitro counters into a grapevine. Nitro runs into Melina, knocking her off the apron and Hardy gets a 2 count on a roll up. Nitro goes off the top rope again, but Hardy catches him and hits a powerbomb out of it. Melina takes off her heel and hits Hardy over the head with it and that's enough for Nitro to walk away with the title here. They certainly gave these two a lot of time and they engaged the crowd the entire time. The leg work really didn't amount to anything though. 

Match Rating: ***1/4

Teddy Long is up in a box at the arena.

Matt Hardy tells Jeff that he's proud of him. In walks Lita to mock them and then tells them to watch her and Edge defend their titles tonight. 

Umaga vs. Kane

Kane comes out firing, but Umaga hits a spin kick to knock Kane down. Kane sits up and then very kindly walks right to the ropes to telegraph that he is going to be clotheslined to the floor. Kane allows himself to get distracted by Armando Alejandro Estrada and Umaga hits him with a flatliner. Umaga goes for the Samoan Spike, but Kane hits him with a right hand instead. Kane gets in some offense, but can't get him off his feet. Kane runs the ropes, but Umaga catches him and hits a Samoan Drop. He goes for a second rope headbutt, but Kane sits up and now he climbs the turnbuckles. Kane hits the top rope clothesline and the crowd is feeling it. Kane catches Umaga and hits a suplex over the top rope and to the floor. They start brawling through the crowd and both are counted for a terribly lame finish to a somewhat surprising decent match. I'm not sure why you had to protect Kane here. Just let Umaga run through him so he is built up properly. The fight continues and officials are shown trying to get after them.

Match Rating: **

Vince and Shane are watching highlights from Monday's match and they go over the plan for tonight. 

World Tag Team Championship Match
Spirit Squad vs. Highlanders

It's Mikey and Kenny again for the champs. The challengers use lots of quick tags to isolate Mikey in the early going. Kenny gets tagged in, but the outcome is still the same. Robbie goes for a dive to the outside, but falls awkwardly and now the champs are in control. This one is starting to lose the crowd and the Squad doesn't even get boos for doing the Hart Attack. Kenny goes for the top rope leg drop, but Robbie moves out of the way and makes the tag to Rory. They hit the Scot Drop, but Kenny is able to barely make it in time to break up the pin. Johnny hits a kick to the back of Rory's head and Mikey is able to pick up the victory. This one didn't have bad action, but just felt flat.

Match Rating: *3/4

Hell In A Cell Handicap Match
Big Show, Shane McMahon & Vince McMahon vs. Shawn Michaels & Triple H

This is the tall version of the Hell In A Cell. I kind of forgot that was a thing already. I'm also surprised that this match went on so early, but good on them for prioritizing the TLC and Trish matches. It doesn't take long for Shane to be busted open and Triple H uses a screwdriver to rip Vince open. DX is able to neutralize Big Show for a little bit, but eventually the numbers game catches up to them. They isolate Triple H and Shane goes under the ring to grab the trash can. With the assistance of Big Show, Shane hits the coast to coast and Triple H is bleeding from the ear. For some reason Shane uses the bottom ring steps to hit a slingshot into the cage on Triple H. In the ring, Show hits the Vader Bomb splash on Michaels. Vince goes for the pin, but lifts Michaels up at 2. That never backfires. Show then hits his new backbreaker/submission and then the leg drop. Vince goes for the cover, but again lifts him up. Triple H is back in the ring and he dumps Show out of the ring. He hits a facebuster on Vince and goes for the Pedigree. Shane comes in and lifts Triple H up and then hits a move that you can't tell who executed. JR thinks Triple H countered it. Vince is pulling his pants down, but Triple H hits him with a right hand. Show knocks him down and body slams Shawn. Show accidentally splashes Vince thanks to Shawn and then DX crotches Show on the ring post. They hit an inverted atomic drop/spinebuster combo on Shane and then put a chair around his neck. Shawn hits an elbow drop off the top rope onto Shane. Show starts to come to life again and grabs the ring steps. He goes to hit Triple H, but he hits him in the gut with a chair first. Shawn hits Sweet Chin Music on Show and he's draped on the top rope. Vince is the only one standing for his team and they pull down Show's pants. Vince is begging, but they shove his face right in the crack. Who wouldn't want a bloody billionaire's face shoved up their butthole? JR gets a Dr. Heinie joke in there. Good for him. Shawn hits Sweet Chin Music and Triple H cracks the sledgehammer over the back of Vince. That finally puts this feud out of its misery and the cell is quickly raised up. This is one of those matches that is hard for me to grade. I don't necessarily love matches like this as much as I used to and I don't care for this feud. The match itself was entertaining, but also nothing that I want to go back and re-watch. They do the stretcher job for the McMahons as DX poses. 

Match Rating: ***1/2

WWE Women's Championship Match
Lita vs. Trish Stratus

This is Trish's retirement match in her hometown of Toronto. Trish hits a Lou Thesz press off the apron to the floor and then hits her handstand headscissors before throwing Lita back in the ring. After both ladies get some offense in, they battle up on the top rope and they both take a spill to the floor. Lita goes for a moonsault, but Trish is able to move out of the way. Trish goes for Stratusfaction, but Lita throws her to the floor. Lita dominates for a little bit until Trish hits the handstand headscissors again. Trish hits the Chick Kick, but Lita kicks out at 2. She goes for Stratusfaction, but Lita counters into a pinfall. Trish counters that and then puts Lita in the Sharpshooter to a huge pop. Goosebumps for that one. Lita tries to reach for the ropes, but Trish drags her back to the center and we have ourselves a new champion. Lita wasn't the performer she used to be, but she did her part here and Trish nailed it here. Good match, good moment. 

Match Rating: ***1/2

They show Teddy Long in the suite again before going to a backstage interview with Randy Orton. He makes fun of Canadians and then talks about how Orton won the championship in this building. 

Randy Orton vs. Carlito

This feud always just felt very minor for Orton. Carlito misses the springboard moonsaul, but lands on his feet and hits a dropkick. He's able to knock Orton down again and hits a couple more springboard aerial moves and gets a 2 count out of it. Orton is giving Carlito a lot of offense here, but eventually hits his variation of the backbreaker. He's also bleeding from the mouth. Carlito hits a Backstabber out of nowhere, but Orton gets to the ropes. He goes for a double jump move, but Orton catches him with a RKO in midair and pulls off the victory. This match was meant to build Orton back up after the Hogan match at SummerSlam and probably to pull off the cool finish. 

Match Rating: **1/2

Tables, Ladders & Chairs Match For The WWE Championship
Edge vs. John Cena

We get a painful looking inverted DDT onto 2 chairs from Edge onto John Cena. That didn't sound good. Edge then dropkicks a ladder into Cena's face from the barricade while Cena is still in the ring. Cena battles back and hip tosses Edge onto a ladder. Cena tries to FU Edge through two tables set outside the ring, but Edge lands on the apron. they battle it out and Edge gets the better of him. Edge goes up top, but Cena crotches him and goes and grabs a table. They battle on the top rope and Edge goes for a sunset flip powerbomb and what we get looks like a tumbling act. They have to improvise and Edge puts him through a table from a body slam. Edge then tries to do a Shelton Benjamin and makes it look even more dangerous than it is before leaping onto Cena on the floor. Edge now has a chair and goes for the One Man Conchairto, but Cena is able to counter and then hits a Blockbuster. He uses the ladder to torture his rival before hitting a super Five Knuckle Shuffle from near the top of the ladder. Edge comes back and cracks Cena over the head with a chair. I'm not sure if Cena blocked that as much as he maybe was hoping. Absolutely awful. Edge then lays Cena on a table before stacking a second table on top of it. Cena sees it coming and sends Edge to the floor. Cena sets up a ladder to start going after the title. Edge climbs another ladder and leaps to hit the Spear on Cena. Cena comes back by powerbombing Edge into a standing ladder. Cena climbs and gets his hand on the title. Lita comes out to save Edge, possibly a little later than was communicated and throws Edge through the table on the outside. Now it's Edge's turn to get thrown through a table. They both climb the ladder and battle at the top. Cena is able to get Edge on his back and hits the FU through the double tables and grab the belt to become the new WWE Champion. Poor Teddy Long. I think he really thought Cena would be his. The match was very good, but not quite a classic. After the match, Cena embraces his dad. 

Match Rating: ***3/4

As far as brand specific shows go, this is probably one of the stronger ones overall. The three main matches all delivered to some degree, even if there weren't any all timers. This one did feel a little bit more special than a lot of them with their being basically the two biggest specialty matches not named Royal Rumble on it and the farewell of their biggest female star. Thumbs up.

Overall Rating: 74%

Off The Grid, Volume 26: Fall Brawl 1994: War Games Review

Sunday, September 18th, 1994
Roanoke Civic Center
Roanoke, Virginia

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Off The Grid, Volume 26:

Some country singer named Martin Delray sings the "Star Spangled Banner" to kick it off. 

Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan and Mean Gene Okerlund let us know that Ricky Steamboat has an injury, but there are some backup plans.

WCW Television Championship Match
Johnny B. Badd vs. Lord Steven Regal

The beginning of this match is exactly how a match like this should start and it's a shame that this style has really gone away. Badd gets in some nice offense to get the crowd warmed up and Regal plays the heel role perfectly. I will continue to stand up for Badd/Mero as a wrestler for the rest of my days. Badd hits an airplane spin and Regal wisely rolls out of the ring. Well, at least until Badd comes diving over the top rope and sends him into the guardrail. Badd takes one risk too many, as Regal ducks the dive and he snaps on the top rope. Regal is all over Badd and Sir William uses the cane behind the referee's back. It's so good to hear Bobby Heenan making fun of fans again. They do a good job of having Badd attempt to make comebacks with Regal continuing to cut him off. Badd finally makes the comeback and hits a spinning headscissors. Regal kicks out at 1 and then dumps Regal out to the floor. Badd comes back in and tries to do a sunset flip. Regal holds onto the cane,r, but the referee kicks it out of his hand. Regal still kicks out. William holds Badd, but Badd ducks and Regal knocks him off the ring. Badd gets another nearfall. Then out of nowhere, Badd hits a backslide and gets the win to become the new Television Champion. This was a really good opening match that I probably liked more than most. My only complaint was the finish. They should have just went with the initial pin attempt where the crowd was 100% with it. Regardless, the crowd and I both loved this one.

Match Rating: ***3/4

They show highlights of Hulk Hogan being attacked at Clash Of The Champions by a masked man. We then see that if Hogan didn't wrestle, he would have had to forfeit the title and then he comes out to face Flair. The masked man comes out again during the match and does it again. 

Loser Leaves WCW Match
Cactus Jack vs. Kevin Sullivan

They go right at it to start outside the ring. Dave Sullivan holds Cactus to allow Kevin to throw him to the exposed cement. This whole Dave Sullivan storyline just baffles me to this day. Cactus starts making his comeback and hits an elbow drop for a 2 count. Jack goes for a piledriver outside the ring, but gets back body dropped on the concrete instead. Kevin follows up with a running clothesline. Cactus goes to use a chair, but Dave grabs it and Kevin attacks him. Cactus hits Dave off the apron, but Kevin rolls him up and that's the ending? The finishes in WCW were always just so bad. Eric Bischoff has said it numerous times, but every time I watch their shows, I can't help but think about how right he is. This was really too short be anything special.

Match Rating: **

Mean Gene is with the Stud Stable backstage. Bunkhouse Buck was really an underrated oddball character that gets forgotten. This version of Meng is so strange too. 

They first bring out Steve Austin and then United States Champion, Ricky Steamboat. Nick Bockwinkle announces that they do not know how long Steamboat will be out and that Austin is the new champion. Steamboat lets Austin know that he never ever beat him for the title. Austin wants to head out but Bockwinkle announces that Austin has to wrestle tonight. 

United States Championship Match
Steve Austin vs. Jim Duggan

So Duggan is here for his debut and Austin is livid. He tries to leave, but Bockwinkle throws him back in the ring. Duggan hits a back body drop and gets the pinfall victory. They couldn't have had him use a clothesline instead? The crowd loved it and Austin sold it like a heel, so I guess in that respect, it worked. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Mean Gene interviews Duggan after the match and he calls this the greatest night of his life. He also calls out Ric Flair for what he's done to his buddy, Hulk Hogan. It's kind of crazy how Duggan never won a title in WWF, but wins it here in his first match here. 

WCW World Tag Team Championship Match
Stars & Stripes vs. Pretty Wonderful

They show a "fan" being escorted by security and it's the Blacktop Bully. Pretty Wonderful is such an odd pairing to me. There is definitely a large amount of people who are cheering the heel team here instead of the lame babyfaces. This feels the most over the top that Roma has been. Outside the ring, Roma dumps the contents of Bobby Heenan's cooler on Bagwell. The Patriot finally gets in and dominates the champs. However, Orndorff hits a piledriver on Bagwell outside the ring. They throw him back in the ring and Roma pins him before Patriot can break it up. I know I didn't write much about this one, but it was decent. 

Match Rating: **1/2

Mean Gene is now with the Nasty Boys, Dusty Rhodes and Dustin Rhodes. 

Triangle Elimination Match To Become The #1 Contender
Vader vs. Guardian Angel vs. Sting

So this is your typical overcomplicated WCW stipulation that makes no sense. So Vader and Guardian Angel start off in the first match and the winner of that faces Sting. Throw in all the stupid overtime rules and it's enough to make you not care despite three really good professional wrestlers being involved. These two big men always had surprisingly good chemistry and honestly this is the last good thing that Ray Traylor really did in terms of ringwork. After some typical big man action, in comes Harley Race to hit a headbutt, allowing Vader to get the pinfall victory. That was quicker than I expected, but I guess if you're going to have a 400 pound man wrestle two matches in a row, it should be fairly quick. So Vader gets a quick break and then out comes Sting. Speaking of two guys with good chemistry, but this is not as surprising. Vader is able to get Sting down and hits the Vader Bomb splash version. He goes for a second one, but Sting slows him down. Vader comes back and hits him with a big clothesline to slow down the comeback. He goes for another splash, but this time Sting moves. Sting clotheslines Vader to the floor and Race checks on him. Sting hits a suplex on Race and then back in the ring, he hits a suplex on Vader. He goes up top and hits an odd looking splash. He goes for a running splash and this time Vader gets his knees up. Vader goes for the moonsault, but he of course misses the mark. Sting hits a superplex and a Stinger Splash, but it's not enough to get the victory. We now go into big move mode, as the ring announcer continues to let us know how little time is left. We're down to under a minute and Sting puts on the Scorpion Deathlock. Vader is able to fight through it as the countdown to 0 hits. We're in overtime now and we're getting big moves, but much slower paced. Vader hits the powerbomb, but he's not able to pin him in time before overtime ends. So now we're in sudden death and all you need to do is knock your opponent to the mat. After some big clubbing blows, Sting is able to knock him down. The referee is distracted by Harley Race in the aisle and then out comes the masked man, who knocks Sting down. The referee sees him down and Vader is the #1 contender. The rules of this match ruined what it could have been. Vader was the only choice who made sense here with Hogan as champ. 

Match Rating: ***1/4

It's time for Mean Gene to interview Hulk Hogan from a gym. He says that he is hangin' and bangin'. They then have Flair and Hogan talk on the phone and this is a huge waste of time. This segment is so long and so terrible that I fell asleep. It leads to them agreeing to a career ending match. Since exactly zero people will ever read this, I'm not even going to bother re-watching it.

WarGames
Arn Anderson, Terry Funk, Bunkhouse Buck & Col. Robert Parker vs. Dusty Rhodes, Dustin Rhodes & Nasty Boys

Dustin and Arn start off, which is a little surprising. Dustin shoves Arn's head in between the two rings and dishes out some punishment with a good camera angle to go along with it. Dustin then hits a leaping clothesline from one ring to the other. The crowd is somewhat quiet here to start. I should probably mention that Meng was originally supposed to be in the match, but they punished Parker instead. The coin toss is made and you'd never guess it, but the heels win it. Bunkhouse Buck is in there and he is all over Dustin. Next up it's Jerry Sags to help save his partner. Dustin locks in a sleeper on Arn as they announce there is a 60 seconds before another competitor enters. It's always nice when something makes sense. Terry Funk is next and he nails Dustin in the head with a boot. Arn and Buck throw Sags off the ropes, but he collapses before they can hit the move after he hits the cage. We are getting a good Bobby Heenan performance here, where he really is selling the match. Brian Knobbs is in and he's cleaning house. It's Parker's turn to enter now and he wants nothing to do with it. He finally enters once Buck has Dustin held up and he kicks him in the midsection. Dustin has the belt out and he's whipping everyone with it. The crowd is chanting for Dusty and he's in now. It's bedlam now and in typical WCW fashion, you can't even see the finish. The bell rings and the faces are victorious. Unfortunately we are subjected to hearing Dustin's awful entrance music again. It may be worse than the SmackDown opening music from my 2006 timeline. We finally get a replay and it's Parker in Dusty's Figure Four and the Nasty Boys are hitting him with elbow drops. Not a bad finish, but it felt anti-climatic. This was a fun match, but just as it hit the second gear, it ended. 

Match Rating: ***1/2

This is a great example of a show with no classic matches, but it had a bunch of good ones and a fun atmosphere. It's not one you're ever going to list on your list of greatest shows, but I could see it being a sentimental favorite as an entertaining show. I enjoyed this one despite the awful Flair/Hogan segment.

Overall Rating: 76%

NXT 10-9-14 Review

Original Airdate: Thursday, October 9th, 2014
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida

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Tyler Breeze vs. Mojo Rawley

They show the highlights of Breeze attacking Mojo two weeks ago. Breeze gets in a couple of right hands, but backs away before Mojo can retaliate. Mojo gets his hands on him and throws him in the corner. Breeze hits him with a kick and goes after the injured shoulder. Breeze puts on an arm bar and the referee stops the match. You will never hear me complain about a short Mojo match. They continue to show a little bit more of an edge for Breeze as they continue to build him back up. With that being said, it was one of the weaker ref stoppages I can think of.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Oh. Great. More home video footage with Enzo and Cass. They bring William Regal to show him Carmella. She's working in the ring at the Performance Center and he gives her a job. 

Viktor vs. Hideo Itami

They go right at it when the bell rings. Viktor is able to hit a snap suplex and gets a 2 count. Viktor goes for an atomic drop, but Itami flips out of it and gets some kicks in. He hits a springboard dropkick and then follows it up with a running kick in the corner. Out on the stage, Konnor is shown attacking Funaki. Itami ducks a Viktor sneak attack and he hits a dropkick to pick up the victory. Seriously? In comes Konnor and he destroys Itami with forearms to the head. They tie Itami up in the bottom ropes and continue the attack. Funaki attempts to save him, but he's too injured to do anything. They hit Fall Of Man on Funaki as Itami watches on. I'm not really sure I get why Viktor lost to a dropkick during a distraction. 

Match Rating: *1/4

Vaudevillains vs. Enzo & Big Cass

We'll see if this one gets more than a couple of minutes. Enzo counters a suplex and is able to tag in Cass. Cass hits a high knee on English and then Gotch gets hit with a big boot after the tag. Cass suplexes Enzo on Gotch, but then English knocks Cass off the apron. Gotch is able to throw Enzo's neck on the middle rope and they hit That's A Wrap for the quick victory. They will not let Enzo and Cass wrestle for longer than 3 minutes. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

Sami Zayn talks about Titus O'Neil backstage and he's feeling pretty good about his match tonight since Titus is currently involved in a battle with a bunny.

Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks

Lynch gets to show off some athleticism early on until Banks makes her miss in the corner. Becky quickly fights back and gets a 2 count after a leg drop. Sasha outsmarts her on running the ropes. Sasha hits the Backstabber into the Banks Statement for the victory. Becky shows a lot of babyface potential, but this was all about putting Sasha over. This is another episode with a lot of short matches.

Match Rating: *

Titus O'Neil vs. Sami Zayn

They start off with the classic big man start, with Zayn attempting to knock Titus off his feet. Titus catches Zayn and hits the slam before slowing things down. Titus is 37 years old here. No one really plays this role better than Zayn, but it's going to be a little bit of a challenge here with Titus. Zayn is thrown out of the ring before we go to a commercial break. When we come back, Titus has Zayn in my favorite hold, the bearhug. Zayn battles out only to be put right back in the bearhug. Zayn is able to pull down the top rope and down goes Titus. Zayn follows it up with a senton over the top rope to the floor. Back in the ring, Zayn hits a top rope crossbody for a 2 count. Zayn runs into a big boot and Titus almost picks up the victory. Zayn jumps on the back and slaps on the sleeper. Zayn hits the Helluva Kick, but Titus's legs are under the ropes on the pin attempt. Zayn gets crotched when going up for the top rope tornado DDT and Titus hits the sit down powerbomb for the victory. I'm a little surprised there that there wasn't a distraction or something to this finish. Zayn tried here, but this was just okay.

Match Rating: *3/4

After the match, Titus drapes Zayn on the apron and is going for a leg drop, but Adrian Neville comes out and makes the save. 

This was a pretty middle of the road show. There wasn't a ton in the way of story progression and most of the matches were long. Titus's appearance didn't really feel like a big deal and not even Zayn was able to drag a good match out of him. Overall it was entertaining enough, but I can guarantee I will forget I watched this one come tomorrow.

Overall Rating: 48%

Monday Night Raw 10-17-94 Review

Monday, October 17th, 1994
Burlington Memorial Auditorium
Burlington, Vermont

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Doink vs. Jeff Jarrett

Jarrett trips Doink up and goes to work on the leg. Doink fights back and hits a hip toss and body slam. They talk about Doink's new hair and it's more weird to me than anything. We eventually get some distraction from Cheesy and Queasy. They go after Doink and Dink and Wink try to stop them, but Jarrett gets in his way. Doink runs into a boot to the face and we go to commercial break. Doink is finally able to hit a double underhook suplex and both men are down. Jarrett misses with a fist off the top rope and Doink finally makes a comeback. We have the little people chasing each other around the ring. Doink goes up top and hits the Whoopee Cushion but the ref is distracted. Jerry Lawler interferes and hits a fist to the back of Doink. Jarrett picks up the win and Lawler heads for the back. 

Match Rating: **

Jerry Lawler, never one to be outdone, introduces us to Sleazy. 

British Bulldog vs. Roy Raymond

Vince just can't stop talking about the Action Zone and how much better it is than NFL pre-game shows. God, when they get stuck on something, they just drive it into the ground. Bulldog hits some suplexes and for some reason Raymond kicks out of a pin attempt. Bulldog then hits the running powerslam and gets the victory.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Burt Reynolds tells us that we're watching Raw and to read his book. 

Vince and Randy talk about what Bob Backlund did to Arnold Skaaland on Superstars this week and out comes Backlund. Vince interviews him and Backlund doesn't want to show the video because the fans have great memories. Backlund says he should apologize and proceeds to apologize for ever choosing Skaaland as his manager. Backlund then goes on to say that he's never eaten marijuana or sworn in front of his children. God, when he gets going, there is no topping this. He then challenges a fan to escape from the crossface chicken wing. Out comes Lex Luger and he's sick of hearing about Backlund and the crossface chicken wing. Luger tells him to pick on someone his own size and then nothing really happens.

Bob Holly vs. Reno Riggins

Savage is talking about the "eating marijuana" comment from Backlund. Riggins goes for a superplex, but Holly pushes him off and hits the top rope crossbody for the victory. What a dork. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Next week it's Razor Ramon vs. Yokozuna for the Intercontinental Championship. 

IRS vs. Tim McNeany

Oh, great. IRS says that he's going to be exposing the biggest tax cheat in history, the Undertaker. McNeany gets a nearfall, but then IRS puts him in the Write Off for the victory. IRS has so much technical skill according to Vince. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

They show highlights of Yokozuna and the casket from Superstars. 

Heavenly Bodies vs. Nick Barbarry & Barry Horowitz

I'm guessing the Bodies are going to "barry" these guys. I'll see myself out. Anyway, I love the Bodies and I hate that they are just nothing at this point. We're less than a year away from the big Barry Horowitz push, so there's that. Del Ray hits a superkick before tagging in Prichard. Prichard hits the sitdown powerbomb and Del Ray kind of hits the moonsault for the easy victory. I know they don't care about tag team wrestling, but if they are even going to put them on TV, why not just let them wrestle the real teams?

Match Rating: 1/4*

Vince and Savage interview Luger backstage. Luger doesn't like what he sees with Backlund and challenges him to a match. We come back from a commercial and Savage says his money is on Yokozuna next week. Don't forget to watch the Action Zone.

This was definitely more entertaining than Superstars, as for whatever reason the flow of the show is just so much better. Don't get me wrong, this isn't thrilling television, but there's a certain energy to it. The Backlund interview was fantastic as well.

Overall Rating: 46%

Superstars 10-15-94 Review

Original Airdate: Saturday, October 15th, 1994
Mid-Hudson Civic Center
Poughkeepsie, New York

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Jerry Lawler hypes up the hottest superstar on the roster, Queasy. 

Diesel & Shawn Michaels vs. Gary Scott & Reno Riggins

We get the debut of Charlie Minn. What a historic episode. Meanwhile, the champs destroy their opponents, with Diesel hitting the Jackknife and Shawn Michaels picking up the easy pin. It should be noted that Michaels is in peak mullet mode here. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We're back to Charlie Minn with Live Event News. We hear from Paul Bearer and see the 40 foot Undertaker. Quality television.

Bob Holly vs. Mike Bell

I guess he isn't Sparky any more. Or Thurman. Bell gets an Irish Whip in, but Holly essentially no sells it and hits a running clothesline. He hits the crossbody off the top rope and picks up the easy victory. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Vince McMahon is in the ring with Arnold Skaaland to talk about Bob Backlund. They talk about him throwing in the towel and how Arnold did it to save Backlund's career. Skaaland couldn't be any less interesting. Out comes Backlund to save this segment and he's already turned up to 11. Vince snaps at Backlund for not wanting to shake Skaaland's hand because Vince is such an honorable man. He takes Skaaland away and of course Backlund attacks him and puts on the crossface chicken wing. Bob Holly comes and helps officials pull Backlund off and then screams at him for what he did. 

Doink vs. Cory Student

It's getting harder to care about face Doink matches. Dink sure gives it his all though. He hits the Whoopee Cushion and that's all. Doink grabs the mic and calls our Lawler. Doink then introduces Wink. It certainly doesn't get any better than this. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We go off to the Toddster, who is here to hype up the Action Zone debut next week. No boring football pre-shows. I mean, come on, who watches football? Bret Hart will be taking on brother Owen one last time. Owen says that it will be his night next week, even though the show is in the morning. 

Owen Hart vs. Mike Park

Park looks to be pretty green. There isn't much to this one either and Owen hits the beautiful missile dropkick for the victory. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Tony DeVito vs. Lex Luger

How is there still 12 minutes left in this show? I am doing everything in my power not to fall asleep at this point. Luger hits the powerslam and puts him in the Rebel Rack for the victory. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Yokozuna vs. Jason Storm

Yoko hits the huge side suplex and that is pretty much it. Yoko was getting to that point where he really wasn't in any shape to perform in anything longer than 60 seconds. The Undertaker's music hits and out comes Paul Bearer wheeling a giant casket. Yoko pretends to not even see it at first, but then turns around and falls to his back and rolls out of the ring. He stumbles on his way back up the entranceway. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Back to Charlie Minn. Randy Savage was at a charity event with Vince and Linda McMahon. Oh good, Rudy Giuliani was there. They show Randy getting his salad served to him and the waiter almost hits Linda in the face with the bowl. That was pretty much the highlight. 

Bob Holly is backstage for an interview and he will be wrestling Backlund next week. He calls him a bully and that he's had to deal with bullies his whole life. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. We'll also see British Bulldog, King Kong Bundy, 1-2-3 Kid and Tatanka. Plus, the Heartbreak Hotel will host Doink, Dink and Wink. 

This one was a chore to get through this week. They are just in such a bad place overall as a company and there is nothing really interesting going on. The build to Survivor Series has just been so dull outside of Backlund's shenanigans. 

Overall Rating: 30%

Clash At The Castle 2022 Review

Saturday, September 3rd, 2022
Principality Stadium
Cardiff, Wales

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So they finally move some shows to a Saturday night and of course I am out of town for both of them. So I'm playing catch up here for another impressive stadium show for WWE.

Bianca Belair, Alexa Bliss & Asuka vs. Bayley, Dakota Kai & Iyo Sky

The crowd starts singing the "Hey Bayley" song and she's not wanting any of it. Things break down early on and the fans start singing again. We get a triple suplex from the faces and then Bianca hits a cartwheel moonsault on all three ladies. I don't really care much typically for castles and dragons, but I do like the ring skirt being used here. It looks very much like a wrestling graphic. Bliss and Sky now give us our first true one-on-one spot of the match. Sky hits a springboard dropkick on Asuka after Bayley takes a hit to allow her the time to do so. Sky seems a little off here tonight. The match as a whole is a little slower paced than I expected. After a quick hot tag to Asuka, Bayley hits here with a weird seated clothesline. Bianca is now in and hits a spinebuster on Bayley. Alexa and Asuka hit a double superplex off of Bianca's back. We get an obvious springboard moonsault spot from Sky and we're in the ring now with Dakota and Bianca. Bianca walks in the ring while pressing Dakota and uses as her a weapon before hitting the slam. Bianca hits the powerbomb and goes up top. Dakota moves and Bianca rolls through, allowing Dakota to hit the Scorpion Kick. She misses a kick in the corner, but Bayley grabs her hair and Dakota connects this time. Bayley hits the Rose Plant and Sky hits a moonsault to pick up the victory. This was surprisingly very mediocre. I was expecting a petal to the metal match and we didn't get that at all. 

Match Rating: **1/4

After a Cody Rhodes vignette, they show Drew McIntyre talking to Tyson Fury. They've already mentioned how this is the first premium live event in a stadium in UK in 30 years like 73 times and now they show the highlight of British Bulldog/Bret Hart main event. They then announce the family of Bulldog and Bret Hart. Bret gets a huge reaction, as he should. 

Intercontinental Championship Match
Sheamus vs. Gunther

Sheamus gets a well deserved big reaction. The Imperium apparently are back together and introduce Gunther. This is actually my first time seeing Gunther on the main roster. I'm not always as big of a fan of his matches as a lot of people are, but he is a star. Imperium and the Brawling Brutes start brawling, but Gunther and Sheamus remain in a staredown. Butch hits a moonsault on the outside and the two competitors start going at it as soon as the bell rings. The action spills outside and Sheamus tosses Gunther into the steps. Gunther starts with the chops and he eventually knocks him off the top rope and to the floor. The crowd starts chanting "Walter" and Cole actually acknowledges it. Meanwhile, Gunther body slams Sheamus onto the steps. Gunther hits a big boot to the head of Sheamus and some stiff shots follow that. After a long heat segment, Sheamus is able to hit more than just 10 Beats Of The Bodhran. Sheamus hits a big knee and gets his first true nearfall. Sheamus hits White Noise and gets an even closer call. They have the audience on their feet. Sheamus goes for a Brogue Kick, but Gunther ducks and hits a powerbomb that doesn't quite hit the way he wanted to. Gunther tries to climb to the top, but Sheamus kicks the ropes and hits the Celtic Cross, but again Gunther kicks out. Sheamus goes for the Brogue Kick again and Gunther once again hits a powerbomb. Gunther then hits a huge clothesline and he retains his Intercontinental Championship. That was what you would expect from these two and I'm sure a lot of people will like this more than I did. This was a good match, but didn't quite hit where I was hoping it would go. Sheamus gets a huge standing ovation on his way out. For whatever reason he isn't considered to be on the top tier of guys on the roster, but he has been one of the most consistent performers of the last decade. 

Match Rating: ***1/2

We get a lengthy Uso vignette before we get the backstory on Liv Morgan and Shayna Baszler. 

SmackDown Women's Championship Match
Shayna Baszler vs. Liv Morgan

WWE never seems to book the underdog champion very well. Liv tries to throw as much at her as she can, but it backfires when he's walking the top rope and Shayna counters. Baszler dominates the next couple of minutes before Morgan is able to counter a move and put on the Triangle Choke. She then puts on an armbar, but it doesn't last long enough. Liv hits a powerbomb for a 2 count and then Shayna immediately puts on the Kirifuda Clutch. Morgan hits a Codebreaker and Oblivion for the victory. This was a little better than I was expecting, but I still don't really agree with how they are booking Liv. 

Match Rating: **1/2

Edge & Rey Mysterio vs. Damian Priest & Finn Balor

This storyline still doesn't make much sense to me. Edge is crazy over with the live crowd though. After Mysterio gets the better of Balor, Priest is tagged in and he wants Edge. He nails Edge with a right hand, but that only seems to wake Edge up. Rey gets back in and now the heels are feasting. Mysterio sends Balor flying into the audience and then leaps up on the barricade. Priest leaps up to join him, but is crotched on the barricade. Mysterio tries to crawl back in the ring to tag in Edge, but Priest grabs his ankle. Mysterio fights him off and in comes Edge. Edge then hits a 619 on Balor and Rey hits a splash, but Priest breaks up the pin attempt. Edge Spears Priest off the apron to the floor and then Balor tosses Mysterio out of the ring. Dominik distracts the referee and it allows Rey to hit a top rope hurricanrana on Balor. Rhea Ripley attacks Dominik until Rey hits her with a dive. Mysterio hits a 619 and Edge follows up with the Spear and they secure the victory. This one felt like TV match good, but nothing extraordinarily great. 

Match Rating: ***

After the match, Dominik kicks Edge in the crotch and then clotheslines dad as the Judgment Day applauds him. 

We get a Drew McIntyre hype video for the main event tonight. 

They announce the attendance as 62,296 and it looks pretty legit to me. 

Matt Riddle vs. Seth Rollins

This is the match I was most looking forward to on this card. After an early attack from Riddle, Rollins hits a barricade bomb to knock Riddle out. Rollins then hits a dive through the ropes and knocks Riddle on the announce table. Rollins throws him back into the ring Rollins hits a double stomp off the top rope onto a draped Riddle. After some good back-and-forth action, Rollins hits a Pedigree for a 2 count. Rollins starts insulting Riddle and then goes for the draping DDT and nails it. It should be noted that the crowd continues to sing Rollins' entrance music over and over. Rollins mocks Randy Orton some more by pounding on the mat like he's going for the RKO, but Riddle unleashes some fury on Rollins. He throws Rollins back in the ring, but Rollins hits the Stomp onto Riddle when he's on his way back in. He hits another Stomp, this time from the second rope and picks up the victory. That was a hard fought match between these two. Rollins is still probably the best in ring performer in the company at this point. 

Match Rating: ***3/4

Undisputed Universal Championship Match
Drew McIntyre vs. Roman Reigns

I know this will surprise you, but McIntyre is the overwhelming favorite here. We get the typical Roman Reigns house show match start here. The action is outside the ring and McIntyre gets a bottle thrown at him. It turns out it's Karrion Kross and the distraction allows for Reigns to take advantage. Roman dominates and hits a vicious big boot. Reigns grabs the microphone and tells Cardiff to acknowledge him, but McIntyre hits him with a Glasgow Kiss. McIntyre hits a spinebuster into a pin attempt, but Roman kicks out at 2. Roman comes back with a Rock Bottom and he gets a 2 count. McIntyre comes back with a Future Shock DDT and goes for the Claymore Kick, but Reigns hits a Superman Punch instead. Reigns hits the Spear, but it's not enough to put McIntyre away. We get the now generic Spear through the barricade spot. Back in the ring, Reigns hits the Spear again and McIntyre kicks out again. We get a ref bump spot and Austin Theory's music hits. He goes to cash it in, but Tyson Fury knocks Theory out before he can make it official. McIntyre hits a Claymore Kick, but Reigns kicks out. They start brawling again until McIntyre hits a Spear and a Claymore Kick. Solo Sikoa debuts by pulling the referee out of the ring. Solo snaps McIntyre's neck on the top rope, Reigns hits the Spear and Reigns picks up the victory. Well that was a pretty flat finish. The match was pretty good, but it's getting tiring seeing this same type of match over and over. Tyson Fury comes in the ring and shakes Reigns' hand. Fury then grabs the mic and tells McIntyre that he should be proud. Honestly, he should be furious since some guy came out and ruined it for him. Fury then starts singing "American Pie", which is a song I really don't care for. This is pretty lame. 

Match Rating: ***1/4

This show was solid, but unspectacular. The stadium enthusiasm definitely helped things out, especially in the main event. It's great that the matches all got a good amount of time, but sometimes matches just don't need to be as long as the performers want them to be. The opener could have easily had 5 minutes shaved off of it. I liked it better than I did SummerSlam, but it's nothing I'm going to rush back and watch again. 

Overall Rating: 68%

SmackDown 9-15-06 Review

Original Airdate: Friday, September 15th, 2006
DCU Center
Worcester, Massachusetts 

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Finlay is out with Hornswoggle with a sheet over him. He says he loves to fight and shows us what he did to Batista last week. He talks about stealing Batista's manhood, so out comes Bobby Lashley. He insults Finlay before Teddy Long comes out and says they will face each other tonight, with the winner becoming the #1 contender. Lashley pushes Finlay over, falling on Hornswoggle. Hornswoggle can't see, so he tries to attack Finlay, so Finlay kicks him in the head and shoves him under the ring. 

William Regal lets Finlay know what's at stake for him tonight. 

Gregory Helms vs. Matt Hardy

It's pretty crazy that the crowd is still as into Hardy with as poorly as he has been booked the last year. They really could have given him a main event run and just saw how it would go, but of course they didn't. Anyway, he sneaks through the crowd and attacks Helms from behind to start the match. Helms fights back and kicks Hardy into the ring steps. Hardy is bleeding from the mouth after that. It's time for Hardy's comeback, but he accidentally hits the referee. This allows Helms to kick Hardy below the belt and pick up the victory. This was a little quicker than I was expecting, but what we got was good.

Match Rating: **1/4

Rey Mysterio is with Dominik and Dean Malenko wishes Rey good luck tonight. 

Jimmy Wang Yang gives a cringeworthy promo talking about Asian stereotypes. 

Miz vs. Scotty 2 Hotty

The Miz is defending his undefeated streak so far. Miz is hamming it up a little bit more than he did his previous two matches. Scotty comes back with a leaping forearm and then hits a bulldog. It's worm time, but Miz rolls under the bottom rope and snaps Taylor's neck on the top rope. Miz hits the Mizard Of Oz and that's enough for the victory. This was his most decisive victory so far, but it's very apparent that he's still pretty green here. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Brian Kendrick vs. Kid Kash vs. Idol Stevens

Kendrick tries to start off quickly and take on both opponents, but eventually the heels get in some offense. This of course leads to them fighting over who gets a shot at Kendrick. Kash goes for an aerial maneuver, but Stevens throws him off. Kendrick hits Sliced Bread #2 and picks up the quick victory. After the match, the Pit Bulls and Stevens and James start a shoving match. This felt like an afterthought.

Match Rating: *

King Booker is with Finlay and William Regal. He lets Finlay know that they need to discuss the arrangement if Finlay wins his match tonight. 

Rey lets Dominik know that he has him hooked up with a private room and TV to watch his match tonight. 

United States Championship Match
Rey Mysterio vs. Mr. Kennedy

Kennedy slows the match down and goes to work on Mysterio's back. Kennedy keeps Mysterio grounded until hitting a slingshot into the second turnbuckle. Mysterio is able to come back and hit a drop toe hold into a 619. Kennedy wisely rolls out of the ring, but Mysterio hits a corkscrew dive to the floor as we head into the commercial break. Kennedy crotches on the top rope and throws him into the corner, where he slides into the ring post. Michael Cole and JBL continue with the story of Mysterio not being focused thanks to Chavo Guerrero and Vickie Guerrero. Mysterio is able to move out of the way of the Kenton Bomb. Rey hits a seated senton before messing up a weird cover and it costs him. Out comes Chavo, Vickie and Dominik. It distracts Rey, Mr. Kennedy rolls him up and that's all. That was a pretty long match where not a whole lot happened. Disappointing, but part of that is due to the storyline. 

Match Rating: **1/4

We get a MVP promo spot where he calls out Teddy Long for not offering him more. 

Vito vs. William Regal 

Regal would literally agree to anything. We get lots of blurred shots of Vito and a surprising dropkick from Regal. Vito just doesn't have chemistry with anyone. He's better suited to be the muscle outside the ring. The match is made even harder to watch with the commentary. Vito flashes to get the crowd going, but Regal just nails him with a knee. Regal goes for a sunset flip from the apron, Vito shoves his junk in Regal's face and picks up the victory. This was pretty bad. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Teddy Long is talking with King Booker and Queen Sharmell backstage. Vito comes in and challenges Booker. Teddy Long announces they will fight on the SmackDown season premiere. Was that supposed to draw viewers in? 

Sylvester Terkay vs. Todd Smith

Elijah Burke does the ring announcing for Terkay. Terkay destroys the jobber of course, puts on his submission hold and that's it. Terkay hasn't been getting over with the crowd and he still has no direction. That seems to happen a lot. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

King Booker and Queen Sharmell join the announce team. 

World Heavyweight Championship #1 Contender Match
Finlay vs. Bobby Lashley

We get lots of arguing with Booker and Michael Cole while we get a lot of stalling in the ring. Lashley eventually gets Finlay up in a Torture Rack and drops to his knees for a backbreaker. Regal then tosses a chair in the ring. This distracts the ref and Finlay goes for the shillelagh. Lashley avoids it and hits a suplex. Lashley gets Finlay up in the military press and drops him on his knee. Regal grabs Lashley's leg and trips him up. Hornswoggle gives Finlay the shillelagh and he hits Lashley with it in the knee. The ref sees it and Finlay is disqualified. Booker jumps in and they all attack him. Batista is backstage in street clothes and his music hits. He's on his way out to the ring with a lead pipe. He hits the referee with it and chases Finlay backstage. Booker and Regal continue their attack on Lashley. Lashley fights back and hits a Spear on Booker. This wasn't much of a match despite the time they got. 

Match Rating: *1/4

On paper, this looked like a really strong show. However, I don't think it lived up to what it could have been. The Vito stuff is beyond old at this point because he can't deliver in the ring. This one just kind of felt like filler overall.

Overall Rating: 50%

ECW 9-12-06 Review

Tuesday, September 12th, 2006
Madison Square Garden
New York City, New York

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Paul Heyman is out to kick off the show. He takes all of the credit for ECW returning and being at Madison Square Garden and blames the fans for ECW going out of business. Out comes Sabu to interrupt. Sabu attacks his security and goes after Heyman. The security attacks him, but Sabu hits them with the chair and then an Arabian Face Buster. Heyman says that Big Show will take on Sabu for the ECW Championship in Extreme Rules. Sabu then hits a springboard dive off the top rope on both security guards. 

Rob Van Dam vs. Hardcore Holly

RVD attacks Holly on his was up into the ring and there's a big "R-V-D" chant from the MSG crowd. The action goes outside and Holly does a rare dive. RVD then tries a moonsault from the barricade and kind of, sort of hits it, but sells it accordingly. Back in the ring, Holly hits a nice dropkick and gets a 2 count. Holly goes for an elbow off the turnbuckle, but RVD gets his leg up, but Holly kind of lands on it strangely. RVD hits Rolling Thunder and a monkey flip on Sparky Plugg. RVD goes up top, but Holly is able to hit the top rope and cause him to lose his balance. From there he goes for a top rope superplex, but RVD knocks him off. He goes for the 5 Star Frog Splash, but in come Test, Mike Knox and Stevie Richards. He hits a kick on Richards, but then they all gang up and attack RVD. Sandman's music hits and he and Tommy Dreamer come in and make the save. Poor Stevie gets the worst of it. The match was decent, but a little on the sloppy side. 

Match Rating: *1/2

CM Punk vs. Shannon Moore

Well, Moore finally makes his re-debut tonight. He slaps Punk and goes on the attack. Punk does a Tarantula style move in the ropes and then hits a springboard clothesline. He hits the big running knee in the corner followed by the bulldog. Punk hits a flurry of kicks into the Uranage, which is followed by the Anaconda Vice and a tap out by Moore. Well, that was some debut. I mean, it made Punk look like a killer, but why even waste time even mentioning Moore before tonight? 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Rene Dupree now says he is debuting tonight too. What a historic night. 

Kelly Kelly lets CM Punk know that she is a big fan of his. Oh, and in case you didn't know, she's an exhibitionist and wants to go to some parties, but can't because she's 19. That was a lot of commas for that run on sentence. She says they can stay in though and then Mike Knox comes and takes her away. Kelly's acting is so rough here in 2006.

Kevin Thorn and Ariel are out to watch the next match.  

Rene Dupree vs. Balls Mahoney

2006 is just such a weird year. Dupree hits a springboard elbow drop off the first rope. I'm not sure I've ever seen that one before. He does the little hop thing that leads into a fist in the face of Balls. He starts slapping Mahoney, which wakes him and he hits a sit down powerbomb. We get the "Balls" chant and he follows it up with a kick sending Dupree to the floor. Up comes Thorn and Balls takes care of him. Balls grabs a chair, but the ref takes it away. Thorn throws him off the apron into the steps, which appeared to be a rough fall. Dupree rolls him in and gets the pinfall victory. This all just felt surreal. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

Matt Striker uses big words to insult Sandman backstage. 

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

Sabu throws a chair, but Big Show swats it away. Show manhandles Sabu for a little bit and then destroys a chair so Sabu can't use it. It's probably the only chair in the building. Show hits a clothesline and gets a 2 count with a cocky pin attempt. Sabu makes his comeback and starts chucking chairs at Show's head. Show attempts to chokeslam Sabu through a table, but Sabu counters it into a DDT. Sabu goes back to the chairs and knocks him off the apron through another table. Show gets revenge and plants Sabu through another table. Back in the ring he hits his backbreaker and new leg drop finisher to pick up the victory. This was a decent enough main event that hit the notes the live crowd was looking for. 

Match Rating: **1/4

This was a fairly good episode on a show that has shown some potential, but still isn't quite there yet. The roster is just such a hodgepodge of talent, that the crowd is just finding it hard to care about most of them. 

Overall Rating: 59%