NXT 1-1-15 Review

Original Airdate: Thursday, January 1st, 2015
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida

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Lucha Dragons vs. Tye Dillinger & Jason Jordan

Jordan and Dillinger get some extended offense on Kalisto early on here, which is nice to see. Sin Cara gets the hot tag and hits a couple of springboard moves before botching a headscissors. Kalisto hits a corkscrew over the top rope on Jordan. Cara does come back with a nice variation of a sunset bomb off the top rope for the victory. This was a non-title match by the way. Out come the Vaudevillains and they attack the champions from behind. The match was fairly good for how short it was. It seems like they give Jordan and Tye a little more offense each week.

Match Rating: *1/2

Bull Dempsey and CJ Parker are discussing their feuds with Baron Corbin. This doesn't interest me.

Apparently NXT is moving to Wednesdays in 2 weeks. I guess I'll need to remember that because I can only imagine the outrage on the internet if I screwed up. I'd hate to let my millions of readers down. 

Carmella vs. Blue Pants

We get an extended entrance here for Carmella and then the big introduction for Blue Pants. I'm sorry, I just can't get the guys voices from behind me at a Raw around this time where all they talked about was Blue Pants out of my head. Carmella dominates for a few seconds until Enzo gets up on the apron to dance. This distracts Carmella and Blue Pants pulls off the victory. They try to compare it to 1-2-3 Kid, but it's not even close. After the match, Carmella goes after Enzo, but Big Cass holds her back. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

CJ Parker vs. Baron Corbin

Corbin hits Snake Eyes and the boot before hitting the End Of Days for the victory. He stares down Bull Dempsey before grabbing a mic. He doesn't say much before assaulting Dempsey and they start brawling. Time has not made this any better. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

William Regal lets us know that Sami Zayn will make his return next week to update us on his status. Then Curtis Axel interrupts and says that he never heard back from Regal. He's here to recharge his career. Regal tells him he can face Hideo Itami next week.

Devin Taylor introduces Charlotte to the ring. She asks her what's next for Charlotte and the crowd chants "Blue Pants". Out come Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch to interrupt. They enter in from opposite ends, but before anything happens, out comes Natalya. They hug and that's it. This was kind of pointless. 

Next week we'll get the Vaudevillains against the Lucha Dragons and Curtis Axel vs. Hideo Itami.

We get a really low res video of Sami Zayn from outside his home. He says that he'll be back in no time. This leads to a previously recorded interview with Kevin Owens and Renee Young. Owens doesn't like the question and says that it's time for him to go. 

The Ascension vs. Hideo Itami & Finn Balor

Finn is super over with the live crowd after the debut of the Demon character. We have a pretty standard start here, with not much of note before going into the commercial break. Meanwhile, Alex Riley compares Konnor to Rob Gronkowski. How'd that one work out? The Ascension continue to wear down Balor as the gross referee looks on. This is really dragging on. Balor finally gets in a Pele kick on Konnor and makes the tag. Hideo is in and hits a series of kicks on Viktor, but can only get a 2 count. Hideo hits a top rope clothesline but after knocking Konnor off the apron, Viktor hits a big clothesline on Hideo. Hideo gets Viktor, but Konnor interrupts. Finn comes in and knocks Konnor out and hits a stomp outside the ring. Hideo hits a spin kick and picks up the victory. The heat segment really dragged, but I'm not much of a fan of the Ascension, so your mileage may vary. The last two minutes were good.

Match Rating: **

This was a very ho hum episode of NXT. Next week feels like it will be a bigger show and this one was just treading water.

Overall Rating: 49%

ECW 11-21-06 Review

Tuesday, November 21st, 2006
Nassau Coliseum
Long Island, New York

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Matt Striker is in the ring and he is our teacher. He compares his time in the New York school system to Lashley's military duty and out comes Lashley. Lashley destroys his chalkboard and then chucks his desk at Strike outside the ring. 

Matt Striker vs. Bobby Lashley

Striker finally gets in the ring and we have a match. Lashley tosses him around the ring before hitting a delayed vertical suplex. Lashley hits a Spear and a Dominator for the easy victory. It's clear they plan on pushing him to the top quickly here. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Team Extreme vs. FBI

I guess I never realized that they just went by Team Extreme here. I'll be honest though, why are they wasting their return on the second match of some random episode of ECW? There's nothing better than forcing a wrestler to have another match after a brutal ladder match. The FBI get to put up a little bit of a fight here. The Hardy's hit a pretty cool neckbreaker/powerbomb combo. Matt hits the Twist Of Fate and Jeff finishes him with the Swanton. I mean to say they are on another level compared to the other tag teams in the company at this time is the understatement of the year. 

Match Rating: *

Paul Heyman informs Rob Van Dam that if he loses tonight, Hardcore Holly is taking his spot in the Extreme Elimination Chamber.

Kevin Thorn vs. CM Punk

Punk has really turned it up in the ring as of late. Thorn goes to work on the back of Punk in the early going. Thorn has Punk in a Boston Crab and out comes Kelly Kelly. They try to sell it that her banging on the mat allowed Punk to kick out of the hold. Punk then slaps on the Anaconda Vice and that's all. They really had to rush this one. After the match, Thorn attacks Punk and then they go after Kelly. Punk makes the save and hits a high knee while Kelly takes out Ariel. Kelly gives Punk a hug and Knox is by the entrance shaking his head. I'm not sure how to tell you this, but I don't think she likes you. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Big Show and Paul Heyman are in the ring, with Show hyping up the Extreme Elimination Chamber. He says that no one can beat him, so Lashley comes out. He gets the better of him and throws the title belt at him. This probably would have worked better if he hadn't already been featured on the show like 20 minutes ago. 

Hardcore Holly is getting ready and then Test reminds him that Lashley screwed him out of his spot and that he can get it back by beating the guy who gave him 20 stitches in his back.

Extreme Rules Match
Rob Van Dam vs. Hardcore Holly

It looks like these two will get some time. RVD hits an early Rolling Thunder while Joey Styles claims we haven't had an Extreme Rules match in many weeks. I'm too lazy to look. RVD sets Holly up on the barricade and hits the helicopter guillotine leg drop into the commercial break. RVD gets sent over the top rope when we come back and RVD got his wrist stuck in the top two ropes. I don't think I've ever seen that before, but then again I know I watched this and didn't remember it, so I'm probably not that trustworthy. Holly baits RVD and then throws him into the chair propped in the corner ropes. Holly goes on offense and the crowd seems to be losing interest. Holly dropkicks RVD off the apron and then hits a leg drop off the top rope with a chair on top of RVD. Holly takes out a belt and starts whipping the back of RVD. RVD makes a comeback and hits a monkey flip and the diving single leg kick off the top rope. RVD uses the chair with a skateboard kick in the corner. He follows it up with Rolling Thunder with the chair, but Holly comes back and throws the chair at RVD. Holly goes up top, but RVD gets there first and crotches him. RVD hits a superplex onto a steel chair, which has to be brutal. RVD hits the 5 Star Frog Splash on the chair and picks up the victory to keep his spot in the Extreme Elimination Chamber. This was a pretty good main event, but didn't really have a great flow to it. They definitely were laying it in, which feels a little reckless in hindsight. 

Match Rating: **1/2

After a huge final push for Survivor Series on Raw, this show hardly even mentioned it. That's the problem when you have too much to promote. The main event was pretty good and it's obvious that Lashley is going to be their guy moving forward.

Overall Rating: 47%

Superstars 1-7-95 Review

Original Airdate: Saturday, January 7th, 1995
Bob Carpenter Center
Newark, Delaware

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Vince announces that Bart Gunn has a knee injury after his horse fell on him. Bob Holly and 1-2-3 Kid will be taking their place. His horse fell on him? 

WWF Tag Team Championship Tournament First Round Match
1-2-3 Kid & Bob Holly vs. Well Dunn

After a couple of leapfrogs, Kid hits a spin kick on Dunn and Holly hits a blind tag to get in two double dropkicks. Harvey Wippleman distracts the referee and it allows Dunn to pull down the top rope when Kid is running and fall to the floor. Well hits a reverse elbow from the top rope for a 2 count. We get a pre-recorded interview from Billy Gunn wishing 1-2-3 Kid and Bob Holly good luck. Holly gets the hot tag and hits the big dropkick on Dunn. He hits a weak looking double noggin knocker. Holly throws Well into the steps and then hits a sloppy top rope sunset flip for the victory. The action was mostly good here.

Match Rating: **

It's time for Live Event News with Stephanie Wiand to talk about exactly what Vince McMahon was talking about, which is the next round of the tournament. We get a Headshrinker interview with Captain Lou doing all the talking and lots of zoom ins and outs. We then go to Bam Bam Bigelow and Tatanka, with Ted DiBiase doing all the talking here. This time they walk side to side for an almost more annoying camera trick. 

Bob Backlund vs. Bob Knight

The Bob's explode. This is nothing and it just leads to him slapping on the Cross-Face Chickenwing. They then show him watching himself on the video board. I think this ship has sailed as a serious contender. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

It's time for the Royal Rumble Report. We get Bret Hart with a 5 o'clock shadow standing in front of some creepy thing hanging on his wall. Bret tells us he'll be back this Monday on Raw. Diesel gets the Royal Rumble background and he becomes increasingly cheesy by playing word association. We also get some new names for the Royal Rumble match with Crush, Mantaur, Jim Neidhart and Owen Hart. 

Mabel vs. Iron Mike Sharpe

Sharpe looks way too old to still be doing this. We still get lots of grunting though. Mabel hits the big splash in the corner and a leg drop for the finish. How are they going to get him over the top rope at the Royal Rumble?

Match Rating: 1/4*

It's time for the Heartbreak Hotel with King Kong Bundy. How are the going to get him over the top rope at the Royal Rumble? Shawn Michaels then reminds him that he's also in the Royal Rumble match. Did you know that there are no friends in the Royal Rumble? Bob Backlund comes to crash the party. He does his usual schtick and then British Bulldog is out to do some yelling. This was your usual interruption before a pay-per-view interview.

British Bulldog vs. Mike Khoury

I'm surprised Bulldog's pyro didn't set this building on fire. Bulldog does one of the longer vertical suplexes I can remember seeing him do. Shortly after, he hits the running powerslam and that's all. This was quick and to the point. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Mantaur vs. Walter Snow

Oh boy, this is the infamous debut of Mantaur with his horrible costume. Who in the world approved this? Oh yeah, Vince McMahon. I don't think you could have less charisma if you tried. I say that as a very uncharismatic person myself. He catches Snow for a powerslam and hits a running clothesline for the win. You couldn't have come up with a worse debut than this if you tried. This is right up there with Friar Ferguson.

Match Rating: 0 Stars

Back to Stephanie Wiand and she has an interview with 1-2-3 Kid and Bob Holly. Then we go to Jim Cornette and the Heavenly Bodies. Cornette makes fun of Holly's name, which is valid. Peacock is sure testing my patience here with 3 commercials in the last 5 minutes of this show. 

We go back to Vince and Lawler to recap the tag team match that we saw earlier. Next week, it's the Headshrinkers vs. Bam Bam and Tatanka. Plus, we'll also get the Heavenly Bodies vs. 1-2-3 Kid and Bob Holly. 

This was definitely a noteworthy show, as the 1-2-3 Kid and Bob Holly team up leads to a big WrestleMania storyline and of course the infamous debut of Mantaur. The rest was the usual filler. 

Overall Rating: 46%

SmackDown 11-24-06 Review

Original Airdate: Friday, November 24th, 2006
Nassau Coliseum
Long Island, New York

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Steel Cage Match
Kane vs. MVP

These guys start off having the run of the mill Kane match, which is every Kane match. They eventually use the cage as something other than a way to climb with Kane throwing MVP into the steel. Kane hits a couple of boots while between the ropes and the cage. Kane hits the top rope clothesline that looks more and more like he's falling every week. They start to battle on the top of the ropes and MVP kicks out his ankle. MVP climbs out of the ring and that is all. That was pretty short and at least the guy who is entertaining won the match. This was about as basic of a cage match as you will ever see. 

Match Rating: *1/2

They show clips from the Survivor Series press conference.

Jimmy Wang Yang vs. Gregory Helms

Yang fights off an early Helms advantage and hits a moonsault from the top rope to the floor. Back in the ring, Helms is able to yank Yang back by his head and into the second turnbuckle to shift the momentum. Yang is able to eventually come back with a short arm clothesline and then a nice spin kick in the corner. Yang hits a top rope crossbody, but Helms rolls down and almost picks up the victory. Yang hits a top rope hurricanrana and that almost picks him up the victory. Helms is able to drop Yang on the ring post and Helms then hits a variation of a neckbreaker for the victory. That was a nice little match between these two. Yang has enough good offense to have these compact, entertaining TV matches despite the stupid gimmick.

Match Rating: **1/4

Vickie Guerrero confronts Chris Benoit and tells him to stay out of her life. She attempts to slap him, but Benoit blocks it. 

Backstage, MVP is getting medical attention and Mr. Kennedy comes to apologize for last week. Kennedy says that tonight is all about giving thanks and tonight he's going to give thanks to Undertaker.

King Booker and Queen Sharmell are with Teddy Long. Booker hands him a royal contract that when he beats Batista at Survivor Series, that he will never have to face Batista again. Teddy says he doesn't take orders from Booker, but he says that he makes a good point. He has his word, but Sharmell wants it signed. Booker demands that it will be signed in front of all of his royal subjects and wants him to bring Batista with him. 

Paul London, Brian Kendrick and Ashley are heading to the ring. 

Brian Kendrick vs. William Regal

Here's a match with some potential. I still don't really understand why they couldn't figure out what to do with Regal here. Regal is continuing to show off his more aggressive side with some forearms in the corner and then dropping Kendrick on his head. Kendrick tries to make a comeback, but Regal hits a double underhook powerbomb. Regal somehow is bleeding from his eye. Kendrick is able to hit a monkey flip into the ropes and then a flying forearm. Kendrick sneaks in Sliced Bread #2, but Dave Taylor comes into the ring. Kendrick takes him out, so we have no DQ. Taylor clotheslines London and then Kendrick hits a dive on Taylor. Kendrick goes back into the ring and gets steamrolled by a Regal knee. That was another entertaining TV match. More of this version of Regal, please.

Match Rating: **1/4

We get a lengthy preview of Batista/King Booker for Survivor Series.

Mr. Kennedy is out to the ring and he wants everyone to give thanks to him for defeating Undertaker at No Mercy. He says that he has gotten into the head of both brothers of destruction. He shows some clips and of course shows when he busted Undertaker open with the microphone. Say what you will about Kennedy, but he was actually booked pretty strong against Taker up to this point. Of course, Undertaker's music hits and the lights dim. Taker is behind Kennedy in a pretty predictable move. Kennedy scurries out of the ring. Taker tells him "Survivor Series first blood" with no mic and then red blood falls all over Kennedy. 

Finlay vs. Chris Benoit

We get lots of mat wrestling to start, setting the tone for what should be a lengthy TV match. Finlay is able to throw Benoit into the steel steps before working on the injured leg. Benoit is also bleeding from his waist. This match is the very definition of just put two wrestlers out there and give them 15 minutes and we'll fill up most of our second hour. In storyline, this is obviously softening up Benoit for Chavo Guerrero ahead of their match at Survivor Series in 2 (not really) days. Benoit hits the Three Amigos to get some momentum going. He tries to go up top for the headbutt, but has to hit him in the midsection with a shoulder. He decides to do the three German suplexes instead. He now is able to climb to the top and hits the headbutt. Out comes Chavo and Vickie, which allows Hornswoggle to hand Finlay the shillelagh. Finlay hits Benoit and follows it up with the Celtic Cross for the pinfall victory. This was your usual match between these two, with maybe a little bit more of a slow pace this time around. After the match, Chavo hits the Frog Splash and tells Benoit that he's not a Guerrero and to stay out of his business. Chavo goes up top and hits another Frog Splash.

Match Rating: **1/4

Boogeyman vs. Miz

I mean, this is exactly what you think it's going to be. Miz isn't afraid, but then Boogeyman destroys him. He has some worms in his mouth and Miz backs away. As the referee is counting him out, Boogeyman spits some worms on the referee's shoulder. He then hits his finisher on the referee and spits out the worms on his face. I guess Boogeyman won by countout? Who cares?

Match Rating: 1/4*

King Booker and Queen Sharmell are in the ring with a fancy table and some royal subjects. He brings out Teddy Long to sign the contract and then Batista's music hits. As Booker is convincing Batista to sign the contract, Booker flips the table onto Batista and they start brawling. Batista destroys the royal subjects and it allows Booker to hit Batista in the throat with the scepter. He then cracks the scepter over the back of Batista. Booker celebrates as we go off the air. 

This show featured some good action throughout and didn't follow all of the typical go home show tropes. SmackDown continues to be the most consistent of the 3 shows here as we look to close out 2006. 

Overall Rating: 60%

Elimination Chamber 2023 Review

Saturday, February 18th, 2023
Bell Centre
Montreal, Quebec, Canada

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Elimination Chamber Match For A Raw Women's Championship At WrestleMania
Asuka vs. Carmella vs. Raquel Rodriguez vs. Nikki Cross vs. Natalya vs. Liv Morgan

Liv and Nattie start things off here. Nattie dominates by throwing her into the pod in which Nikki stands in. The timer counts down and we have Rodriguez in here. She comes in and hits double splash in the corner before tossing both ladies around. They do a pretty unique spot with Raquel being sunset flipped into the chamber while holding Natalya. It's already time for our next competitor and it's Nikki Cross. Morgan is catapulted into the chamber by Cross before she goes and drives the other two into the chains. Nikki then climbs the pod and hits a dive on all three ladies on the outside. Carmella comes in and tries to get a pinfall with the ladies down, but is unsuccessful. Carmella tries to hide in pods and then Rodriguez drives Nikki through the pod walls. Carmella then finds herself another pod to hide in. Raquel pins Nikki and because of the replay Michael Cole and Corey Graves don't even know what happened. Liv comes in and hits a super Codebreaker off the top rope before scaling the chamber. Rodriguez of course chooses the corner where Liv is standing to try for a superplex. Nattie battles out of it and then Rodriguez stands there like an idiot until Liv hits a really nice sunset flip powerbomb off the top of the pod. Carmella quickly covers her, but Rodriguez kicks out. It's time for Asuka to come in and she goes right after Carmella. Liv is able to hit a missile dropkick on Asuka and gets a 2 count. Liv goes for a monkey flip, but Carmella hits her with a superkick and then Nattie locks in the Sharpshooter. She is trying to battle out, but then comes Asuka and cranks on her arm and Liv has no choice but to submit. Hey, something that makes sense. Nattie is able to slap on the Sharpshooter on Asuka, but then Carmella superkicks Nattie and she is gone. Asuka and Carmella work together to hit a series of kicks on Rodriguez and double pin her and she's gone. Carmella hits a superkick on Asuka, but she's able to kick out. We get a series of pin attempts until Asuka is able to slap on the Asuka Lock on and that's all. That was pretty anticlimatic. The match itself was fast paced and had some good spots in it, it just kind of felt like a TV edition of the match. Asuka was the only call here in my opinion and that match with Bianca should be killer. 

Match Rating: ***1/4

Bobby Lashley vs. Brock Lesnar

Lesnar quickly goes after Lashley and immediately suplexes him. As far as 5 match cards go, this one is pretty stacked. Lesnar clotheslines Lashley over the top and to the floor. Lashley hits a big Spear out of nowhere and gets a 2 count. He follows it up with another one and this time goes for the Hurt Lock. Lesnar battles out and then immediately hits a F5 for a 2 count. Lesnar then hits another F5 and again Lashley kicks out. Lashley escapes a third F5 and hits the Spear to boos from the crowd. Lashley this time puts in the Hurt Lock with the fingers locked. After struggling in it, Lesnar kicks Lashley in the crotch and we have a DQ. Well, we knew this one would have some sort of garbage finish, so lets not pretend to be disappointed. Lesnar after the match gives the ref a F5 and then hits one on Lashley. Lesnar clears off the announce table and hits a F5 on Lashley through the table. He pulls the ref out of the ring and hits a F5 on the broken table. I think there were 4 moves in this match. A proper match between these two should end up being a lot better. 

Match Rating: *1/2

Much like WrestleMania 21, we get some WWE movie spoofs with Seth Rollins dressed as the joker and dancing on some steps. Becky Lynch then comes in talking like Batman. 

Mixed Tag Team Match
Finn Balor & Rhea Ripley vs. Edge & Beth Phoenix

This crowd is definitely top tier level so far. The men start things off until Beth gets a tag in and Edge leaps off his wife's back to splash Balor in the corner. Rhea runs into a clothesline, but it doesn't knock her down to her feet. They hit a series of clotheslines to each other and then the always classic test of strength. The action spills outside and Beth throws Rhea into the steps. Beth goes up top and Dominik is early on his cue leaving him to have to try to knock her off twice before running away backstage. He emerges after a minute or so and Beth hits a DDT on Rhea. Meanwhile, Finn sneaks under the ring and pulls Edge off the apron to prevent Beth from making a tag and Rhea hits her with a clothesline in the corner. They battle up on the ropes and it ends poorly for Rhea after a superplex. Edge finally is back up and gets the hot tag. Edge slaps on the Edge-cator on and Beth follows suit. Dominik gets up on the apron to distract the ref and Rhea levels Beth with a headbutt. Dominik hands over brass knuckles to Finn and he hits Edge with them. Beth is able to prevent the 3 count, but they continue to dominate. Beth is able to throw Dominik into the ropes to crotch Finn while he's on the top rope. Edge tries for a side Russian leg sweep, but it leads to both women hitting powerbombs on their opponents. This has turned into an exciting match before the ladies double clothesline each other. Rhea goes for a one woman Con-chair-to, but Beth is able to escape and hits a Glam Slam to the mat. Edge hits Edge-cution in the ring and a dive onto Dominik. He goes for the Spear, but Finn hits the Sling Blade. Edge is able to sneak in a Spear and they hit a Shatter Machine to finally put them away. You kind of book yourself into a corner when you book part time stars against younger stars you are continuing to build, but there really wasn't much else to do here unless it was going to WrestleMania. They really put together a nice little match here. 

Match Rating: ***1/2

We go back to Paul Heyman hyping up Roman Reigns backstage while he drinks C4.

Elimination Chamber Match For The United States Championship
Austin Theory vs. Montez Ford vs. Bronson Reed vs. Damian Priest vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Seth Rollins

Gargano and Rollins kick things off and that's absolutely the right call. They have a good sequence as expected and in comes Austin Theory. I'm still not 100% sure how I feel about Theory. He definitely has a quality that makes people hate him, I'm just not positive if it's in a Baron Corbin type of way. Rollins and Gargano team up against Theory until Priest makes his entrance. Priest ends up hitting a lot of his heavy hitting moves including a somersault dive that looks like it completely squashed Theory on the outside of the ring. Lots of good action in here so far. Rollins hits a superplex on Priest and rolls through into a Falcon Arrow for a 2 count. Bronson Reed is in here now and he gets his time to shine. He stacks up both Gargano and Rollins on his shoulders and hits a Samoan drop. Reed splashes Priest into the pod and I'm not sure if it was supposed to break, but it definitely didn't. Montez Ford finally gets his chance and Reed is waiting for him. Ford doesn't care and fights his way out and looks like a man on a mission here tonight. He goes for a People's Elbow, but Reed has other plans. Gargano ends up on the shoulders of Reed and it ends up with Rollins clotheslining Gargano into a reverse rana that looked a little dangerous. Ford climbs to the roof of the chamber and does a sweet looking leap, but I do hate the part where they all kind of stand there and just look at him. It's time to team up on Reed and he gets hit with a series of finishing moves before Ford eliminates him. I'm a little surprised he was gone first, but it made sense. Gargano and Rollins end up on top of one of the pods and just sort of chill until Seth hits him with a chop. They start fighting and it leads Rollins slamming Gargano's head into the plexiglass and putting him up for a powerbomb, until Gargano counters and hits a hurricanrana onto the other competitors in one of the crazier spots I can remember. Gargano uses the chamber to hit a tornado DDT and then he hits a slingshot spike DDT on Theory. Priest brings his momentum to a hault and hits the Razor's Edge and he is abruptly eliminated. Ford starts to climb up top, but Priest is there to greet him. He grabs him by the throat, but Rollins gets him up for the powerbomb and Ford hits a blockbuster and Priest is gone. Ford and Rollins start trading blows and I have to say that Ford has one of the better right hands in wrestling. Ford then decides to hit two somersault dives onto his two remaining opponents and then hits one on both of them. The dude is a star. Ford hits the Rock Bottom and goes for the Frog Splash, but Theory gets his knees up. Rollins then hits a vicious Stomp and Theory pins him. This brings out the medical staff to check in on Ford, which of course will lead to shenanigans. Rollins goes for the Stomp, but Theory avoids it, but it leads to a Pedigree. Out comes Logan Paul and he clubs Rollins with a clothesline. Paul then comes in and hits Rollins with the Stomp before shutting the chamber door. Theory is up and hits the A Town Down for the victory. Paul/Rollins will probably be a pretty good match, even if Paul is not someone I really care to be on the roster. Theory squeaking out he victory makes sense. This was one of the best chamber matches that I can recall. The 2008 Raw and SmackDown 2011 are always two that come to mind as top ones as well. 

Match Rating: ****1/4

Undisputed WWE Universal Championship Match
Roman Reigns vs. Sami Zayn

It's about 4 minutes before they even lock up, just taking in the awesome atmosphere. Sometimes things just all work out and this is most definitely one of those occurrences. Sami's wife and kids are ringside, which is a nice touch. Sami knocks Roman out of the ring and Sami hits a dive to a massive pop. Roman gains control and dumps Sami out right in front of his family. Roman talks some trash to his wife before hitting him with a headbutt. Sami fires back with a clothesline and then one over the top rope. We're getting a lot of the few moves in the ring and then knocking them outside a lot in this one. He gives his wife a kiss before climbing to the top rope and it leads to him hitting a sunset flip powerbomb for a 2 count. Roman goes for a Superman punch, but Zayn catches him and hits an exploder suplex into the corner. Sami wants the Helluva Kick, but Roman this time fires up a Superman punch that connects. Zayn is able to hit another exploder suplex and then mocks Roman with the fist to the mat and hits a Superman punch of his own. Sami hits the Helluva Kick and 1, 2....no. That was awesome. Zayn goes for the DDT where he leaps through the ropes, but Roman catches him with a right hand. Roman runs around the ring, but Sami sidesteps him and they use their favorite barricade spot. Back in the ring, Sami hits a Blue Thunder Bomb and that's still not enough. Roman drives Sami backwards and it knocks the referee into the corner and he's out. Sami hits the Helluva Kick again, but there's no one there to count. The referee rolls out of the ring and out comes Jimmy Uso and he hits three superkicks. He goes up top and hits the Uso Splash and then rolls Roman on top of him. There's a new ref who apparently is okay with what just happened. Anyway, he gets in the ring and counts, but Sami kicks out at 2. Sami gets distracted by Jimmy and then gets hit with a Spear, but Sami kicks out! Roman grabs a chair and out comes Jey Uso. Roman makes Jey take the chair and Sami accidentally hits a Spear on Jey. Roman hits the Spear and that's all. The crowd is deflated here. Well, at least until Kevin Owens' music hits. He takes everybody out, but why didn't he make the save during the match? This one was all about atmosphere. The match was good, but not quite a 4 star for me. However, it's a match that will stand out as a big deal.

Match Rating: ***3/4

Well, this was certainly one of the better shows in some time. Every match felt important and the two main events delivered. Definitely a thumbs up for this show. 

Overall Rating: 85%

Monday Night Raw 11-20-06 Review

Monday, November 20th, 2006
First Mariner Arena
Baltimore, Maryland

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John Cena is out with his Survivor Series team to kick off the show. They show highlights of him being destroyed by Umaga and Big Show on Raw last week. Well, naturally they are interrupted by Rated RKO's team. Wait, what? They are then interrupted by Ric Flair and his legend friends. Now we get the Spirit Squad. Kenny says that he's going to debut a cheer right now and then is interrupted by DX and friends. You'll never guess it, but Big Show's team is out now. I have to say the randomness of some of these teams are pretty fun, but I do prefer the teams of 4 over 5. Cena challenges everyone to come down to the ring to see who's left standing. As they all start heading to the ring, out comes Vince McMahon. They really should have taken him off the air at this point for a break. Tonight we are going to have an all captains tag team match tonight. I am always down with matches like this. So we'll get DX, John Cena and Ric Flair against Rated RKO, Kenny and Big Show. Kenny gets such a small reaction that Vince repeats his name to try to get a few boos. I haven't really like Kenny as much as I did back in 2006, but even if I did, the booking has been so bad, why would anyone care? 

Sabu vs. Umaga

This actually feels like a good use of Sabu. Umaga attacks right away and dominates the early going. Sabu tries to get something going, but gets hit with a foot to the face. Sabu does come back and hits a springboard DDT. On the next springboard, Umaga hits the Samoan Spike and that is all. That was a total burial of Sabu. Keep in mind that Sabu is in the main event of a pay-per-view in a few weeks. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

We come back to Torrie Wilson and a t-shirt gun. Lawler gets on the table to catch one and out comes Chris Masters. He's not good enough to be on Survivor Series. Masters makes some advances on Torrie and out comes Carlito to the rescue. He also is not good enough to be on Survivor Series. Is Carlito ever not involved with either Chris Masters or Shelton Benjamin? Masters attacks Carlito and slaps on the Master Lock and in comes Jerry Lawler, so Masters breaks the hold. 

After highlights of Johnny Nitro/Jeff Hardy, they hype up Kevin Federline/John Cena, which is weeks away. They are hyping up Survivor Series, December To Dismember, K Fed/Cena and still have Armageddon in December. They interview Nitro and Melina and he's going to win the Intercontinental Championship tonight.

Back to the Spirit Squad and Kenny is continuing to hype that he's the captain. He declares that Nicky will Nicky will be wrestling tonight. He then sees Ric Flair and Candice Michelle getting close. This leads to Ron Simmons being shown as the replacement for Roddy Piper. 

We now go to the referee getting the title belt from Jeff Hardy for the ladder match because it's NEXT!

Ladder Match For The Intercontinental Championship
Johnny Nitro vs. Jeff Hardy

After some basic action to start, Nitro is the first to go get the ladder. Hardy does a baseball slide into the ladder and then a dive on Nitro as we go into a commercial break. When we come back, Hardy is climbing but Nitro knocks him off and he lands on the top rope. We go back and forth with some ladder offense that ends with Hardy dropkicking the ladder into Nitro. They battle up on the ladder again and this time Nitro hits a standing dropkick from the top of the ladder. That was cool. Hardy is able to prop Nitro on top of the ladder and goes up to the top rope. Hardy goes for the Swanton, but Nitro moves and Hardy crashes and burns. The thud there made me hurt. After some ladder offense from Nitro, Hardy is able to throw Nitro into a standing ladder. Hardy brings in a new ladder and they both climb. Hardy gets up top first and he hits a sunset flip powerbomb. Hardy follows that up with a leg drop over one of the ladders and then props one up over Nitro's neck. Hardy climbs it and retains his Intercontinental Championship. That had a few stiff bumps and the crowd was into this. The finish was a little out of nowhere and the pace was a little off. Nothing but respect for both of these guys for the effort though.

Match Rating: ***1/4

Dusty Rhodes is here to cut one of his vintage rhyming promos about taking down Nicky. 

Nicky vs. Dusty Rhodes

I'm sure Dolph considers this one of his career highlights to this day. Dusty is 61 years old here and obviously can't move like he used to. So as a result, we get a slow start with some stalling before Nicky goes to work on his leg. Just like Kenny earlier, no one cares about Nicky. Dusty comes back with some jabs and the bionic elbow. He hits an elbow drop and that's all. This obviously wasn't very good. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We go to Edge and Lita backstage by a spiral staircase. Here comes Randy Orton and Maria for whatever reason. They hear some commotion and see it's Cryme Tyme. This leads to more racial humor and they then talk Maria into staying with them and watching See No Evil. This was absolutely terrible. 

Lita vs. Mickie James

This time Mickie is blindfolded. Thrilling. Lita hits a DDT, but doesn't go for the cover. She climbs up top and hits a moonsault for the victory. They haven't given the audience a reason to root for Mickie, so this really doesn't do much for either performer. After the match, Lita cuts a promo complaining about her mistreatment, which is fair. She then announces that Survivor Series will be her last match. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

The heels are headed to the ring.

Rated RKO, Kenny & Big Show vs. Ric Flair, John Cena & DX

Cena comes out second for his team and runs in there to start brawling, but it backfires. Out comes DX because they are your superheroes. They clear out the ring with the exception of Edge and all take turns with him cornered. Michaels hits a top rope elbow drop and now in comes Big Show. He does a little bit better, but when he's going for a double chokeslam on DX, Flair hits a low blow. Cena follows that up and hits a shoulder tackle to knock him out of the ring. When we come back from commercial, I'm assuming the match has actually started. The heels are working on Michaels until Orton comes in and starts pounding the mat like an idiot. He goes for the RKO and Michaels counters it, allowing him to eventually hit the hot tag to Cena. Cena gets Kenny up for the FU, but Big Show hits him with a boot. They all team up on Big Show and Sweet Chin Music sends him over the top rope. Cena hits a FU on Kenny and that's all. All of the teams come down and we have ourselves a brawl as we go off the air.

Match Rating: **

The first hour or so of this show was a real breath of fresh air after the last month or so of absolute garbage on Raw. However, things took a turn for the worse after the Dusty promo. The main event wasn't terrible, but I'm not sure I really understand the logic of the faces being booked so strong here. This one ended up being an average episode overall.

Overall Rating: 50%

NXT 12-25-14 Review

Original Airdate: Thursday, December 25th, 2014
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida

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We go to Corey Graves and Renee Young in an empty NXT Arena. They tell us we'll be getting Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks in an exclusive rematch. So we're getting one match and this episode is still 58 minutes long. 

They show Paige winning the NXT Championship and the Divas Championship. They also talk about Bo Dallas and Rusev. 

They talk about Arrival and show some highlights from the show. 

They talk about Adrian Neville losing the title, but then show him getting to go on the WWE European tour. They show him going back to his home and surprising his mom. He also visits Newcastle United and then talks about dreaming to become a pro wrestler. I do like when they do these types of background videos. 

We go to Tyler Breeze wishing us Wanna-Breeze a Merry Christmas and that he's adding gold to his ensemble this year. 

They show the last few minutes of the Sami Zayn/Adrian Neville match from R Evolution, which I gave ****. They also show the post-match celebration and the Kevin Owens attack. 

We get a WWE.com exclusive with Curtis Axel talking with William Regal. Axel wants to recharge his career and he wants in at NXT. Regal says that he'll have to do some research if he can find a spot for him, but he suggests that he makes an appointment if he wants to talk to him. 

They show the ending of the Lucha Dragons/Vaudevillains from R Evolution. The controversy is around the Dragons pinning the illegal man in the match.

Next week we will get The Ascension vs. Hideo Itami and Finn Balor. We get an interview with Itami and Balor. They cut a generic Superstars style interview. 

We now get a highlight package of new superstars to NXT in 2014 that includes Baron Corbin, Bull Dempsey, Hideo Itami, Finn Balor and Kevin Owens. That leads us to a Kevin Owens interview who says he'll be the last one standing. 

They show some other NXT alumni on the main roster including Emma, Adam Rose, Bo Dallas and Rusev.

We get an interview with Bayley and she's watching the new Triple H DVD. She talks about how he comes back from his knee injury as she's icing her knee. 

NXT Women's Championship
Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte

Ric Flair introduces Charlotte and calls their match at R Evolution one of the greatest matches ever. They go right at it as soon as the bell rings and Charlotte is able to immediately go after Sasha's knee. Charlotte is slamming Sasha's knee on the ring post, but then Sasha is able to pull Charlotte into the post as we go to commercial break. When we come back, Sasha is talking trash to Ric and Charlotte is able to make a comeback. She misses with a knee drop and Sasha hits a backslide for a 2 count. Sasha hits a Backstabber into the Bank Statement, but Charlotte's legs are too close to the ropes. Sasha goes for a dive through the ropes, but Charlotte hits her with a forearm. Back in the ring, Sasha is able to hit a superplex for a 2 count. Charlotte is able to hit a Glam Slam, but as she goes for the Figure Four, Sasha rolls her up for a 2 count. Charlotte still has the leg and puts on the Figure Eight for the victory. This was pretty good, but felt more like the main event on a highlight episode than a major match. 

Match Rating: **3/4

We got a solid main event, but just about everything else on this show could have just been seen if you would just go on the WWE Network and watch R Evolution instead. I get it, it's Christmas, but I would have rather seen another exclusive match or something. 

Overall Rating: 44%

Monday Night Raw 1-2-95 Review

Original Airdate: Monday, January 2nd, 1995
Liberty Central
Liberty, New York

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Jeff Jarrett and Roadie say that he's going to have a special musical performance here tonight. Let me tell you, there's no better way to kick off 1995 than with the 4th episode in a taping from December. Surprisingly, it's Gorilla Monsoon with Shawn Michaels this week. Vince is supposedly under the weather. I thought he never got sick? They are clearly in front of a green screen here. 

Bam Bam Bigelow & Tatanka vs. Lex Luger & British Bulldog

I guess this is technically the debut of the Allied Powers. Bam Bam and Tatanka attack Luger as his fireworks are going off and before Bulldog was even introduced. Bulldog comes out and they're able to fight them off enough to get the match started. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I really didn't dislike Luger in 1994. I really felt like they should have done more with him. Luger goes on the offensive, but runs into an illegal knee from Tatanka as he's running the ropes. Not to sound like Gorilla here, but Tatanka doesn't look to be in quite as good of shape here as he was earlier in 1994. We go into a commercial break and Bulldog has still not been in the match. He does finally get the hot tag and gets Tatanka up for the running powerslam and hits it. DiBiase pulls the leg of Tatanka and out of the ring. They start brawling on the outside and we have ourselves a double countout. The bell is ringing, but they are all still going at it as we head to Todd Pettengill. The match was pretty pointless with the finish.

Match Rating: *1/2

It's time for a Royal Rumble Report. Todd even makes fun of the finish of that match. Now Todd is sick of football and then starts doing Wayne's World impersonations for Pamela Anderson. Todd is off to very Todd start to '95. Todd then tells us that he's getting word that the match we just saw will continue even though there is nothing in his ear to tell him that. 

Roadie is shown setting up some equipment. 

Duke Droese vs. Mike Bell

Roadie is still setting stuff up as Droese walks down the cafeteria aisle. Droese hits a powerslam as Gorilla tells us that next week we will be live from The Summit in Houston for the 2nd anniversary of Raw. Droese hits the Trash Compactor and picks up the victory. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We get the Kama vignette from Superstars. Roadie is getting more equipment ready for Jarrett's performance tonight. 

It's time for King's Court and tonight's guest is Owen Hart. It's January (well, not really) and we're still talking about Bret losing the title to Bob Backlund (who isn't champion). It's definitely time to move on from this storyline for Owen. He eventually goes on to say that he'll win the Intercontinental Championship and Royal Rumble. This was pretty pointless and I say that as someone who loves Owen. 

Next week at Raw it will be Owen Hart vs. Razor Ramon and Harvey Wippleman will face Howard Finkel in a tuxedo match. 

Jeff Jarrett vs. Buck Quartermaine

The whole Roadie gimmick does make Jarrett more entertaining. Jarrett snaps Buck's neck on the top rope and then hits a top rope clothesline. Jarrett hits a swinging neckbreaker and a back body drop. Jarrett props Buck on the top rope and hits a superplex before slapping on the Figure Four for the victory. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

The Roadie slides in a guitar and sets up a microphone while Jarrett celebrates his victory. Jarrett does a bunch of mic checks and has Roadie adjust it. The microphone accidentally gets knocked over and now Jarrett is ready to debut. They dim the lights and he asks for a spotlight that never comes. They get some feedback and Gorilla is wondering where Kevin Dunn is when you need him. Is that the first on air mention of Dunn? The feedback continues and Jarrett leaves upset. 

Gorilla now brings us to Super Dave Osborne. He has a new show in Las Vegas and they show a clip of him arguing with some fake credit that leads to his bodyguard punching him in his face. They then show him crashing through an entrance. Apparently his show is debuting on USA, which is the point of this interview.

Tatanka & Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Lex Luger & British Bulldog

We join this match in progress for the restart. The heels are dominating Luger again, so it's basically the same match as earlier. Luger ducks a double clothesline and hits one on Bam Bam but Tatanka ducked it despite selling it. Bulldog gets his second hot tag of the night and hits dropkicks on both opponents. He follows that up with body slams, but Bam Bam makes the save on the pin attempt. Luger clotheslines Bam Bam out of the ring and then Bulldog throws Tatanka into Bam Bam on the apron. That's enough for Bulldog to pick up the victory, which is kind of surprising. After the match, DiBiase is furious at them for losing, with most of the anger directed at Bam Bam. This was basically just a match, again.

Match Rating: *1/2

This was not a great way to start off 1995. There was no energy to this show and it just felt like they were filling air. Next week is live from a big arena, so hopefully it's got a little bit more life to it. 

Overall Rating: 39%

Superstars 12-31-94 Review

Original Airdate: Saturday, December 31st, 1994
Mid-Hudson Civic Center
Poughkeepsie, New York

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WWF Tag Team Championship Tournament First Round Match
Owen Hart & Jim Neidhart vs. Headshrinkers

I can't believe I have made it through yet another year on this timeline. 1994 was the only year I had never watched a single minute of WWF television live, so I was looking forward to making it through this time period. I'm getting very close to monthly pay-per-views and the Monday night wars. Hopefully they will actually give these teams some time. Sione hits a shoulder tackle to knock Neidhart down and tags in Fatu. Owen hits a double ax handle off the second rope. Fatu no sells getting his head smashed in the turnbuckle and does a dance. We basically are already at making a difference Fatu. Fatu is running the ropes, but Neidhart pulls the top rope down and he falls to the floor. Neidhart levels him with a clothesline and we head into a commercial break. When we come back Owen hits a spin kick on Fatu with Sione making the save on the pin attempt. Fatu is able to pull off a backbreaker and they both crawl to make a tag, but only Owen is successful. Owen hits a DDT, but that is also not sold and Fatu hits a superkick. This time he tags Sione, who hits a powerslam on Neidhart before lifting Owen up and tossing him onto Neidhart. Sione hits a boot to the face and tags in Fatu. Fatu is trying to climb the top rope, but can't because he is wearing boots. He rips them off, but Owen trips him up. Sione chases after him and this distraction allows Owen to sneak in and hit the Hart Attack. Sione breaks up the pin attempt and now Owen hits a boot to the back of the head on Fatu from the top rope. The referee sees it and disqualifies Owen. So you can use a boot when it's on your foot, but not when it's in your hand? I guess you could argue that he was disqualified for the illegal double team, but yeah right. This was a good match though, with Owen doing his thing. 

Match Rating: **3/4

We go to Stephanie Wiand and the decorated set. She shows us highlights of Lex Luger/IRS. She then talks about the druids, which I assure you no one cares about. 

We see Jeff Jarrett in Las Vegas acting like a big shot for whatever reason to hype up his match with Razor Ramon. 

Razor Ramon vs. Brooklyn Brawler

The fake crowd noise is really amped up today. This one is hardly a match. Brawler ducks and Razor puts him up for the Razor's Edge and the victory. He slaps Brawler's belly after the match for fun. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

It's time for the Royal Rumble Report with Todd Pettengill. Bob Backlund cuts a promo yelling a bunch of nonsense. Bret Hart cuts a promo from a staircase and Diesel cuts another sit down chat. Don't you miss IRS vs. Undertaker. That should be a classic. Don't forget Pamela Anderson is the guest host. Order now!

Kwang vs. Buck Quartermain

Thankfully Kwang won't be a thing for much longer. Anyway, he hits a spin kick and that's all. I'm sorry, if no one in the live audience cares, then neither do I.

Match Rating: 1/4*

We now go to the Heartbreak Hotel, which is from the Holiday Wish Tour and not from Superstars. Undertaker and Paul Bearer are here to try to make us care about his terrible feud with IRS. Spoiler: It doesn't work. 

John Paul vs. Henry Godwinn

Paul gets in a dropkick midway through the match, but Godwinn just gets mad and hits the Slop Drop for the victory. He looked a little unmotivated here. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Kama is coming soon. 

Aldo Montoya vs. Mike Bell

Montoya hits a dive to the outside and a missile dropkick and Vince is all sorts of excited. He hits a reverse DDT off the second rope and that's all for this one. To say that 1994 is ending with a whimper would be an understatement.

Match Rating: 1/4*

We're back to Live Event News. Well Dunn and Harvey Wippleman cut a promo talking about how much they hate the Smoking Gunns. The Gunns cut a quick cheesy promo saying Well Dunn will get their present in the ring, yee haw.

Next week it's British Bulldog, Bob Backlund, Mabel and King Kong Bundy in the Heartbreak Hotel. Oh wait, we get the debut of Mantaur! They didn't even hype the guy up. He'll just be here.

This one started off so promising, but it had that total last part of the tapings vibe. The tag team match was good enough to make this better than a lot of other Superstars, but don't get your hopes up too high.

Overall Rating: 40%

SmackDown 11-17-06 Review

Original Airdate: Friday, November 17th, 2006
Manchester Evening News Arena
Manchester, England

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Handicap Match
Miz & Kristal vs. Boogeyman

I definitely didn't expect this to kick off the show. Miz gets in a little bit of offense, impressing even JBL. Boogeyman hits Miz with some worms and knocks him out of the ring. This allows Boogeyman to terrify Kristal with some worms and Miz decides not to make the save. She freaks out and Boogeyman walks away? Miz then comes in and tries to calm her down. So we have a no contest, I suppose.

Match Rating: No Rating

Finlay interrupts Queen Sharmell's "All hail King Booker" and says that he doesn't like it, but they are tag team partners tonight. 

We get a Rey Mysterio surgery update. They expect him out 4-6 months.

Chris Benoit vs. Tatanka

I know I say this every time Tatanka wrestles in 2006, but this is as random as it gets. Tatanka gets to dominate the early going of the match because he's expected to headline WrestleMania. He stomps away and then throws him into the steel steps outside the ring. Tatanka gets the Boston Crab locked in and we even get a dramatic crawl to the bottom rope from Benoit. Benoit fights back with some German suplexes, locks in the Sharpshooter and picks up the victory. I just assumed that Chavo would interfere here, but instead he comes and attacks him after the match. Chavo grabs a chair and hits him in the knee with it. The match was fine for what it was.

Match Rating: *3/4

Teddy Long approaches Kane backstage, but he doesn't want to talk. 

We get a Mr. Kennedy/Undertaker hype package that shows the attack by Kennedy last week. Mr. Kennedy then has a studio promo talking about how he has defeated 5 former world champions. He says that is how Undertaker used to be too, but not any more. He then holds up the bloody microphone from last week and that it symbolizes a changing of the guard. He says their match at Survivor Series will be a first blood match. 

Paul London vs. William Regal

It's kind of interesting that they would pick London here for Regal's opponent in England. Regal hits a vicious looking kick to the head that causes him to hit it on the ring post. Regal hits a nice suplex into a bridge and almost picks up the victory. I wouldn't mind this one getting 10 minutes, but I'm sure it will be over in the next 30 seconds. Regal ducks a London crossbody and he flies out of the ring and he lands on Ashley. Kendrick comes out to check on her as the match continues. London is confused and it allows Regal to throw him off the second rope. Regal hits a running knee to the head of London and picks up the victory to the delight of most of the audience. This was really short, but everything we got was good. After the match, Ashley goes to check in on London and Kendrick is a little frustrated by that. 

Match Rating: **1/4

They show Bobby Lashley getting the final spot in the Extreme Elimination Chamber. Lashley is shown going into Teddy's office and talking about him winning the ECW Championship. Teddy seems pretty okay with losing one of his top stars. 

Street Fight
Kane vs. MVP

Kane's all over MVP in the early going. MVP grabs a chair but he kicks it away and they start brawling up the aisle. They have their usual British props up by the ramp and Kane ends up in the phone booth. Kane pushes his hands through the glass and into the face of MVP. Kane shoves MVP in the booth and tips it over. They head back to the ring and this time MVP is able to use the chair. They go right back outside and Kane launches MVP over the announce table. MVP battles back and hits a DDT on top of a chair, but Kane kicks out at 2. After the commercial break, MVP hits Kane in the head with a ring bell but of course he sits up from that. Kane hits some of his generic big man offense before heading up to the top rope to hit the clothesline. Kane brings in the steel steps, but out comes Mr. Kennedy to stop him. They work together and ram the steps into Kane's face for the victory. They go to attack him some more and out comes Undertaker. MVP bails, but Kennedy waits for him in the ring before rolling out of the ring as well. Kennedy then throws MVP in the ring and then Kane sits up. MVP gets attacked by both and then double chokeslammed while Kennedy walks to the back. He teases running back down there, but is headed for the locker room. The only way you can make a Kane match entertaining is to dress it up with smoke and mirrors, which is what they did here. MVP looked more than competent as a new competitor.

Match Rating: **1/4

Matt Hardy vs. Gregory Helms

Helms attacks Hardy before he even gets his jacket off. They're trying to cram a lot in here, so I wouldn't be surprised if this one is over quickly. Helms tries to cheat by grabbing the ropes during a pinfall. He gets caught and is frustrated. Hardy ducks the Shining Wizard and Hardy hits the Side Effect. He hits the Twist Of Fate and that's all. This was exciting, but way too short. Maybe this is finally it for these two? 

Match Rating: *3/4

MVP is back with a doctor, but the doctor lets Teddy Long know he will be okay. Long lets MVP know that he has to face Kane in a steel cage match next week. 

King Booker and Queen Sharmell are talking until they realize Batista is right behind them. Batista tells him he's going to beat him up tonight. 

King Booker & Finlay vs. Bobby Lashley & Batista

Batista dominates his rival Finlay and hits his catapult into the top rope and back into his knees. Finlay rolls over to Booker and tags him in. Booker has no luck and then Lashley is tagged in and he cleans house. He and Batista hit a double delayed vertical suplex on Finlay and double clothesline him over th top into the commercial break. Lashley goes for the baseball slide, but Finlay traps him in the ring apron and goes to work. They isolate Lashley after they throw his shoulder into the ring post. Out comes Hornswoggle and he gets thrown onto Lashley outside the ring. Lashley continues to get worked on until he finally crawls over to Batista for the hot tag. Batista is very over with the Manchester crowd. Batista clotheslines Finlay over the top rope. He signals for the Batista Bomb, but Finlay comes in and clotheslines him. Lashley hits a Spear on Finlay before getting hits with a super kick from Booker. Queen Sharmell hits the scepter over the head of Batista, but he is able to kick out at 2. Booker goes for the Scissor Kick, but Batista hits the spinebuster and picks up the victory. Batista was booked pretty strong here heading in as a challenger, basically signaling the end for Booker's title reign. The match was entertaining and the crowd was very into it. A good way to end a good episode.

Match Rating: ***

This was another good episode for the blue brand. Anything would look good compared to the garbage Raw has been churning out lately, but this one was entertaining as soon as the Boogeyman junk was out of the way. 

Overall Rating: 68%

ECW 11-14-06 Review

Tuesday, November 14th, 2006
Manchester Evening News Arena
Manchester, England

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They show the highlights of last week's big Hardcore Holly turn on RVD. Tazz had knee surgery last week, so Elijah Burke is Joey Style's guest announcer.

Paul Heyman and Big Show are out to kick off the show. Heyman announces that Rob Van Dam will not be here tonight. Heyman says that we will now find out the sixth entrant in the Extreme Elimination Chamber. Hardcore Holly is shown backstage walking to the ring and then out of nowhere, Bobby Lashley attacks him. Heyman had said it could be anyone on the WWE roster and now Lashley is out to the ring. He Spears Big Show and signals for the title.

When we come back from commercial and Test, Hardcore Holly and Big Show wonder why Heyman would even do this? It's a legitimate question. He claims it was to make it look legit. Tonight it will be Hardcore Holly against Lashley.

CM Punk vs. Mike Knox

Punk gets a solid pop from the British crowd. Kelly goes to check on Punk and Knox blocks her. Punk hits Knox with a kick and it knocks over Kelly. This allows Knox to gain control as Kelly sells her back injury. Knox hits a catapult into the corner and gets a 2 count. Knox slaps on a Boston Crab in the middle of the ring, but Punk is able to grab the ropes. Knox goes for a vertical suplex, but Punk gets a knee to the head to break out of it. He follows it up with a dropkick, but runs into an elbow from Knox. He's still able to hit a springboard dropkick and Knox is out of the ring. Punk hits a suicide dive back when this wasn't something you saw in every other match. Punk throws Knox back in the ring and hits an elbow off the top rope for a nearfall. Punk hits the running knee/bulldog combo and again gets a 2 count. Knox catches Punk with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker and he gets a 2 count. Punk hits his finishing combo into the Anaconda Vice for the victory. This wasn't quite as good as last week, but another solid match between these two. Kelly Kelly is happy with the result on the outside of the ring. 

Match Rating: **1/2

Matt Striker is backstage to cut a promo on how dangerous the Elimination Chamber is. They show clips from past Chamber matches. 

CM Punk welcomes Lashley to ECW and lets us know how excited he is that the Elimination Chamber is every man for himself. 

They show the Ford Field WrestleMania ticket vignette again. 

Daivari vs. Tommy Dreamer

Dreamer walks right up to Great Khali when he walks in and Daivari clips him to start the match. Daivari hits a dropkick to the knee and then drives it into the mat. He puts on a half crab before slamming on the ring apron. Dreamer is able to kick Daivari into the barricade. Daivari goes up top and misses a crossbody. Dreamer fights back, but Daivari again hits his knee. Dreamer comes back again, but Great Khali trips him up and crotches him on the ring post. The ref calls for the bell. Khali then hits his double chokeslam before they head to the back. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Bobby Lashley vs. Hardcore Holly

Test, Big Show, Paul Heyman and the goons are at ringside. Lashley hits a delayed vertical suplex, but when the action spills out of the ring, Holly drops Lashley on the steps. Holly slows things down but eventually goes up to the top rope and eats a boot from Lashley on the way down. Lashley gets Holly up in a Torture Rack and then drops to his knees for a variation of a backbreaker. Lashley goes to the top rope, but Holly crotches him by running into the top rope. Holly then hits a superplex, but Lashley kicks out at 2. Lashley then catches Holly off the top rope and hits a suplex. Maybe they should just stop going to the top rope? Lashley hits the running powerslam and then Big Show grabs the referee out of the ring before he can count to 3 for the DQ finish. All of the goons start attacking Lashley until Sabu and CM Punk make the save. Sabu hits a dive to the outside as Rob Van Dam makes his way in. Lashley double Spears the goons and the crowd is happy to see RVD. RVD and Lashley both express their interest in the ECW Championship as Big Show walks to the back. The match was nothing special, but had a good enough finish for a TV main event.

Match Rating: **

This was actually a pretty halfway decent show, especially compared to Raw the night before. RVD was very over with the live crowd and the whole Lashley thing felt out of left field in kind of a good way. However, that kind of leaves SmackDown in a bit of a hole since they are already down Rey Mysterio. Anyway, this was good enough for late 2006.

Overall Rating: 50%

Off The Grid, Volume 31: The Main Event #1 Review

Friday, February 5th, 1988
Market Square Arena
Indianapolis, Indiana

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Off The Grid, Volume 31:

I have a confession to make. I have never seen this before. I have watched just about everything major in the pay-per-view era of WWF, particularly 1988 and after. But never this. 

We start off with a Saturday Night's Main Event style intro with Macho Man, Honky Tonk Man, Andre The Giant and Hulk Hogan doing quick promos. This one is actually live and Vince McMahon and Jesse Ventura are on a live house mice going over the show. We then cut to a Hulk Hogan training video that couldn't have even been cool in 1988. I will never understand the appeal of Hogan. 

We go back to Mean Gene with Honky Tonk Man and Jimmy Hart. They talk about how badly Miss Elizabeth wants Honky. 

Intercontinental Championship Match
Honky Tonk Man vs. Randy Savage

Peggy Sue is introduced out as Honky's girlfriend and dances like only Sherri can do. They go to Mean Gene with Savage and Elizabeth. Savage looks like he's going to burst. Savage starts out on fire and snaps Honky's neck on the top rope. That will forever be one of my favorite moves. Jimmy Hart grabs the leg of Savage on his way in and Honky takes advantage. Savage had hit him earlier, so Ventura says it's all fair. Savage misses a charge in the corner, but Savage misses an elbow drop. Jimmy Hart once again distracts Savage and it leads to Honky hitting Savage in the midsection with the megaphone. Savage tries to switch control, but Honky catches him with a knee to the midsection. Savage is just so good. Honky starts to go after Elizabeth and this allows Savage to attack him from behind. The crowd is loving all of this. Savage hits him over the top rope and then hits a top rope ax handle. Back in the ring, Savage hits another ax handle and then pulls Hart into the ring. He avoids a knee from Honky and he hits Hart. Savage slaps on the sleeper hold, but Peggy Sue is going after Elizabeth. Savage intervenes and then hits a diving Honky in the midsection. He throws Honky into the ring post and gets back into the ring, so he wins by countout. After the match, Honky tries to go after Savage with the guitar, but instead Hart hits him with the megaphone. Elizabeth gets in the way, but he swings anyway. Savage blocks it with his hand and Honky scurries. He breaks the guitar on the ring post and then celebrates his "victory". This was a pretty good match that was made by the charisma of the performers.

Match Rating: **1/2

We now see highlights from WrestleMania III and then from last month when Andre attacked Hogan. We then see the contract signing before going to Andre The Giant and Ted DiBiase. They say what you would expect them to say.

WWF Championship Match
Andre The Giant vs. Hulk Hogan

We get a Hulk Hogan promo as well and he's talking about a profit sharing plan or something.After some stalling, Hogan takes care of both Virgil and DiBiase before going after Andre. You'll never guess this, but Hogan can't knock Andre off his feet. Hogan tries to go up top, but Andre throws him off the top. Andre misses with the headbutt and he's finally off his feet. Hogan goes for a delayed cover, but Andre grabs him by the throat. Andre hits a body slam and uses some more chokeholds. Andre hits a big boot and knocks himself done. To say Andre was on his last legs would be an understatement. Hulk fights his way out of a dreaded nerve hold and hits some right hands. Hogan hits a clothesline off the second rope and knocks him down. He goes to run the ropes, but Virgil grabs his leg. The referee distracts the ref and Hogan hits a leg drop. The ref is still distracted, so he doesn't count. Hogan gets into it with Hebner and Andre headbutts Hogan in the back. He hits an ugly suplex and the referee counts 3 even though Hogan's shoulders were clearly up. Vince refuses to believe it and the crowd is in shock. Vince can't believe his "stupid mistake". Hebner hands the title to Andre and Fink makes the announcement. Mean Gene is out for an interview and Andre announces that he will be giving the title to DiBiase. Hogan is irate, but can't do anything about it. Out comes the real Dave Hebner to confront fake Dave Hebner. Although they do look slightly different, this was an absolutely brilliant angle. Not exactly a hot take, I know. The Hebners start arguing and Earl attacks Dave. Hogan then grabs Earl and hits a press slam onto DiBiase and Virgil. This was about as good of a match as you could expect from these two, but the angle is what makes it.

Match Rating: **1/2

Hart Foundation vs. Strike Force

The Harts are already in the ring since we're running out of time here. Vince lets us know that "Mean Gene Okerlund is standing by with Mean Gene". He means Hulk Hogan, who's almost in tears wondering how much money DiBiase spent on the plastic surgery. How does this clip not get played more? They show the clip of the pin attempt again. Again, I never will understand the appeal of Hulk Hogan. We come back from commercial and the match is underway. Bret hits a piledriver on Martel and he kicks out of the pin. Bret goes for a sunset flip and Martel hooks his legs for the victory. We literally got to see 2 moves from the match. No rating for this one.

Match Rating: No Rating

Well, this is an all time classic 1 hour episode of wrestling television. You have one of the most well done angles in company history and a super hot opening match. With it actually being live, we got screwed out of what would have been a great tag team match, but you can't win them all when it's live. Great stuff.

Overall Rating: 90%

Monday Night Raw 11-13-06 Review

Monday, November 13th, 2006
Manchester Evening News Arena
Manchester, England

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2

DX is out to kick off the show. They do an extended version of their schtick for the British crowd. They show highlights of Big Dick Johnson and Eric Bischoff from last weeks awful episode. Eventually, Jonathan Coachman comes out to finally interrupt. He announces that he has issued a bounty out on them and Triple H makes fun of him being too cheap to do more than $10,000. He then says that they have 4 opponents to fight right now.

Handicap Match
DX vs. Lance Cade, Trevor Murdoch, Viscera & Charlie Haas

That opening segment was about 15% of the show and led us to this match. This is obviously just a way to give the UK crowd a DX match without giving away anything. I mean, we've seen this same match like 30 times since they came back. They get beat up for a little bit, they get the hot tag, make their opponents look like idiots and pick up the victory. The crowd liked it, so that's good.

Match Rating: 3/4*

The Spirit Squad plan to attack DX and it leads to DX making them look like cartoon characters.

Highlanders vs. Spirit Squad

When you're watching this at 5:30 am on a Saturday morning, you start to question what you're doing with your life. This is Kenny and Johnny if you care. Robbie gets the hot tag and they hit some double dropkicks. They go for the Scot Drop, but Johnny catches Kenny and he gets the inside cradle for the victory. After the match, Johnny doesn't like that Kenny pushed him out of the way. No one cares.

Match Rating: 1/2*

They show clips of Jerry Lawler getting the Master Lock from Chris Masters last week. He lets us know that he's going to accept the Master Lock Challenge tonight as his music is playing. He's dressed and heading to the ring as we go to commercial. 

They show Detroit fans waiting in line for WrestleMania 23 tickets. 

We're back with the Master Lock Challenge. Masters locks it in and the crowd is very much into this. Lawler starts hitting elbows to the head, but Masters still has it locked in. Lawler tries his best, but eventually gives up. 

Eugene knocks on DX's door and says that he's here for the bounty. They hand him a roll of paper towel. Eugene keeps knocking and says that's not what he meant. They open the door and move out of the way and Eugene crashes onto a table.

After showing Lita beating Mickie James with one arm tied behind her back, Lita says that she will beat Mickie anywhere, including Survivor Series.

Back to DX and Triple H needs to take a dump. He opens the bathroom and Chris Masters is standing on the toilet. The door closes and we hear noises. When Triple H opens the door, Masters is laying on the ground and Michaels tells him he crapped out a masterpiece.

Umaga vs. John Cena

If you were even a little skeptical that this match wasn't going to be a true main event, putting it on during the middle of the show should give you your final clue. Cena hits a modified bulldog, but Umaga no sells it and attacks Cena. Umaga hits the Samoan drop and then puts on a nerve hold. As bad as some of the Raw stuff has been lately, I'm only about two months away from their classic at Royal Rumble, so I've got that going for me. Cena battles back and hits a shoulder tackle, which ends with Umaga getting tied up in the ropes. Cena attacks until Armando Alejandro Estrada jumps on the apron. Cena tosses him in the ring but then out comes Big Show and he attacks. Show and Umaga double team Cena and Umaga eventually hits the Samoan Spike. This was hardly a match.

Match Rating: 3/4*

DX recaps the cartoony shenanigans that have occurred tonight.

Intercontinental Championship Match
Jeff Hardy vs. Johnny Nitro

We get a nice little opening bit that ends with Hardy hitting a kick over the top rope. He hits a mule kick in the corner and goes up top. Nitro rolls out of the ring and Hardy hits a dropkick through the ropes and we head into a commercial break. Hardy hits an inverted atomic drop into a double leg drop to the midsection for a 2 count. Nitro comes back with a springboard enzuigiri and he picks up a 2 count. Todd Grisham is announcing in place of Lawler now and I have to say, he's not very good. Hardy starts to fight back, but comes up empty with his Whisper In The Wind attempt. Hardy does catch Nitro off the second rope and hits a sit down powerbomb for a nearfall. Hardy goes up top and hits the Swanton, but Melina has the referee distracted. Nitro jumps over the top rope and snaps Hardy's neck on it. He follows it up with a neckbreaker and hits a corkscrew moonsault. Hardy reverses the pin attempt and we have a new Intercontinental Championship for the second week in a row. That moonsault was a thing of beauty. After the match, Nitro hits a DDT on our new champion and pulls out a ladder from under the ring. He throws it in the face of Hardy and then slams it on him from the second rope. This was a good match between these two, as Hardy seems to be finding his groove again. Nitro continues to be one of the best performers right now. 

Match Rating: **3/4

DX is out of the arena and approach some scalpers, who happen to be Cryme Tyme. It ends with them using some of the bounty to get back into the arena. 

Torrie and two women from the Star approach Carlito. Torrie asks if Carlito wants to join her out to a club with some other Divas. Carlito says his hotel is on the other side of town and he has an early flight. Torrie offers up her hotel for him. 

JR and Grisham run down the Survivor Series card, which looks very weak. 2006 really ends with a whimper thanks to pay-per-view overkill. 

Back to DX at the DX merch stand. They buy all the shirts with the rest of the bounty and start throwing them out to the crowd.

Lita vs. Mickie James

Lita gets on the mic and says that this time Mickie has to wrestle with both legs tied together. DX are in the front row leading chants about Lita. She goes out to confront them and shoves Triple H. He squirts mustard in her face and Mickie hits her with a sausage. She hits the spike DDT and picks up the victory. What a time to be alive. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Coach is trying to call for security to eject DX. They finally come out and two of them are Sheamus and Wade Barrett. That's pretty cool. 

World Tag Team Championship Match
Rated RKO vs. Ric Flair & Roddy Piper

Rated RKO surround Piper during his entrance and attack. Out comes Flair to make the save, but Edge is still able to hit the safest looking One Man Con-chair-to you will ever see. I can't blame him. The ref rings for the bell and it's basically a handicap match as a doctor checks in on Piper. This match is the definition of filler. Flair goes for the Figure Four and Edge hits the Spear for the victory. That's our second title change on this awful episode. The celebration is short lived, as DX comes out and security chases them. Sheamus eats a Pedigree and Rated RKO exits the ring. This was pointless.

Match Rating: 1/2*

This was another absolute dreadful episode of Raw. Only the Hardy/Nitro match was worth watching here. Don't waste your time.

Overall Rating: 27%