Off The Grid, Volume 32: WrestleMania Review

Sunday, March 31st, 1985
Madison Square Garden
New York, New York

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Off The Grid, Volume 32:

After a still photo intro, we go to Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse Ventura, with Gorilla quickly passing it off to Howard Finkel in the ring. He introduces Mean Gene Okerlund to sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" and it's not good. Speaking of not good, they throw it over to Lord Alfred Hayes to talk about the pre-recorded comments from the competitors in the opener. Tito Santana talks about not knowing much about the Executioner, but he's going to show him what the big leagues are all about. The Executioner talks about going after the leg of Santana. Thrilling stuff.

Executioner vs. Tito Santana

What a way to kick off what would be the biggest annual event in wrestling than with a match including a guy no one has ever seen before. Tito comes out hot and dropkicks Executioner out of the ring. Executioner keeps his promise and goes after the leg of Tito. Tito fires back, but gets hit with a back body drop. Executioner goes up top, but Tito is there to throw him off the top. Tito goes for a splash, but Executioner gets the knees up. I guess I should just note that Executioner is Buddy Rose. Tito comes back with a flying forearm and slaps on the Figure Four to go down in history as the winner of the first WrestleMania history. This was a little bit better than I remembered, but I also love Tito. 

Match Rating: **1/4

Lord Alfred again gets the honor of introducing pre-recorded interviews. SD Jones is going to get down today, baby. King Kong Bundy talks about the 5 count. 

King Kong Bundy vs. SD Jones

I feel like I have to mention how much I hate the ring announcer's microphone and the ring bell during this era. Bundy drives Jones into the turnbuckle and splashes him. He then hits the splash in the middle of the ring and that's all. He must have forgotten about the 5 count there. They talk about it possibly being in record time. It definitely is the shortest match in WrestleMania history up to this point. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Matt Borne and Ricky Steamboat both have pretty typical pre-match promos. 

Matt Borne vs. Ricky Steamboat

Steamboat leapfrogs Borne a couple of times and hits him with a chop. Steamboat hits an atomic drop and continues the attack. Borne gets in a couple of suplexes and then gets criticized by Gorilla for his pin attempt. They kind of trade moves and next thing you know, Steamboat hits a crossbody off the second rope and that's all? This felt rushed and considering they were able to cram 3 matches in less than 30 minutes, I'm not really sure why it had to be? Anyway, Steamboat is always fun to watch. 

Match Rating: *3/4

Back to Hayes to talk about the next match with all of the wrestlers walking by him. I know it's noisy and live, but Hayes is just so bad. David Sammartino is with daddy and he cuts a generic promo. Luscious Johnny talks about nothing and Beefcake spits into the mic. Boy, I can't wait for this one. 

Brutus Beefcake vs. David Sammartino

Bruno gets a nice pop for his intro. The match takes forever to start for whatever reason. This match is already worse than I remember. I really don't know why I made myself suffer through this match again. Plus, I still have to do December To Dismember. I know by looking at this review you would never know it's over 10 minutes, but we finally get everyone in the ring after Johnny body slams David outside the ring. The ref calls for bell and puts us all out of our misery. Absolutely the first terrible match in WrestleMania history. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Greg Valentine shows a little bit more charisma than I'm used to from him. Junkyard Dog cuts his usual fun promo. 

Intercontinental Championship Match
Greg Valentine vs. Junkyard Dog

Valentine is on the mat and JYD does his trademark headbutts, which is honestly one of the least convincing moves. But at the same time, it was over, so what do I know. Valentine regains his composure and goes to work on the leg. He goes for the Figure Four, but it's a little early and JYD kicks out of it. JYD makes a comeback and it leads to Valentine accidentally hitting Jimmy on the apron. Valentine trips JYD up and uses the ropes to pick up the pinfall victory. Talk about a match having absolutely no flow whatsoever. Out comes Tito Santana and now the referee is counting Valentine out. JYD then gets the victory by countout. This is just embarrassingly bad booking. Valentine is furious, but heads to the back. This was not much better than the last turd. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff and Freddie Blassie think they will be the next champions. Barry Windham, Mike Rotundo and Captain Lou cut a boring promo about being on their way to the ring, even though they're wearing Polo shirts. 

WWF Tag Team Championship Match
Nikolai Volkoff & Iron Sheik vs. Mike Rotundo & Barry Windham

They naturally do the Soviet anthem gimmick, leading to trash being thrown in the ring. I guess I never realized he went by Rotundo instead of Rotunda during this era. Probably because I just didn't care enough. The champs start off hot and Sheik hits a dropkick on Volkoff by mistake. At least there's some action in this match. I do love me some Barry Windham during this time period. He just feels out of place in WWF to me. Volkoff rams Rotundo's face into the spiked boot of Sheik and Sheik hits an elbow drop for a 2 count. Sheik still looks pretty good here. Rotundo is able to hit a vertical suplex, but only Sheik can make the tag. Lou and Blassie are having some words outside of the ring while Sheik has Rotundo in an abdominal stretch. Rotundo barely makes the tag to Windham and it almost feels like a mistake that he did. Windham hits a bulldog that Volkoff looked like he had never taken before. All four men are in the ring, but not for long when Rotundo hits a dropkick on Sheik to knock him out of the ring. This allows him to grab Blassie's cane and he hits Windham with it behind the referee's back and we have new champions. These matches have no flow to them at all and just feel like guys doing moves for no reason. There's just no psychology, which I thought was supposed to be the strength of this era. 

Match Rating: *1/4

We go straight to Mean Gene for a live interview with the new champions. Blassie was pretty fun here, claiming to not have a cane. How is there still an hour left in this show? 

Back to Lord Alfred Hayes to lull us to sleep. Big John Studd and Heenan get about 15 seconds to cut a promo. Seriously, why so short? 

Career vs. $15,000 Body Slam Match
Big John Studd vs. Andre The Giant

Words can't describe how excited I am to watch this again. So Andre is so confident that he can body slam Studd that he put his career on the line. If you like bear hugs and punches, this match is for you. Andre catches a boot of Studd and stalls before hitting a right hand. Andre hits some kicks that look like love taps and then body slams him. The match is over and he grabs the bag full of money and throws it into the crowd. Heenan grabs the bag and runs off. What a stupid match. 

Match Rating: 0 Stars

Mean Gene is with Andre and he's all smiles. That makes one of us. 

We go to pre-recorded comments from Cyndi Lauper and Wendi Richter, who are fired up. Moolah and Leilani Kai say that they will do what they have to do. 

WWF Women's Championship Match
Leilani Kai vs. Wendi Richter

As much as I don't care for this era, Lauper was a top tier celebrity in WWF. Leilani Kai has to be the least well known wrestler to appear in two title matches at WrestleMania. Well, we have ourselves another match where both competitors are just doing moves for no reason. Richter is able to get both feet up at a charging Kai for a 2 count. Moolah gets involved and pulls Richter's hair. Lauper comes to her aid. Kai hits a boot to the sternum, but Richter fights back because moves don't matter. Richter hits a nice slam off her shoulder, but Kai kicks out. Richter runs into both knees and Kai gets a 2 count. Kai hits a top rope crossbody and Richter sloppily rolls over and is your new champion. We almost have a brawl after the match, but it leads to the champ celebrating with Lauper. I just can't believe how poorly constructed all of these matches are. It's like amateur hour. 

Match Rating: *

Gene is with the new champ and Lauper cuts a funny promo with lipstick all over her teeth. 

Billy Martin is here as the guest ring announcer. He then brings out Liberace and this at least makes it feel like something a little bit more unique. We see the famous clip of him dancing with the ladies that they love to show. I think I have checked how much time is left on this show about 73 times. Out comes Muhammad Ali to be the guest referee, which is pretty awesome. 

Roddy Piper & Paul Orndorff vs. Hulk Hogan & Mr. T

Piper comes out to a Scottish band. Bob Orndorff is in their corner and Jimmy Snuka is Hogan's corner. Mr. T and Piper have a heated exchange to start things off. It eventually leads to all four men getting into a brawl and then Snuka and Orndorff are involved too. Snuka wants to hit a dive, but just jumps down. Piper and Orndorff head to the back, but Hogan breaks up Pat Patterson's count. Hogan calls them back and all four start fighting again. Hogan hits a big boot, but Piper goes over the top rope to the floor. Orndorff attacks him from behind and now Hogan is on the floor. Piper hits Hogan with a chair to the back. This leads to lots of heel tactics on Hogan, with Mr. T impatiently waiting to tag in. T is in and he does...nothing. Hogan comes back in and the heels continue their dominance. Snuka and Orton are both back in there again and Orton accidentally hits Orndorff with the cast and that's enough for the pinfall. What a fittingly stupid ending to a terrible show. The match itself was fine, but if they put out something like this as a main event in 2023, it would get trashed. Orndorff is back up after being knocked out and is confused. He heads to the back and it's time for the Hogan celebration. 

Match Rating: **1/4

Mean Gene catches up with the victors before throwing it back to Gorilla and Jesse. 

Obviously the historical impact of this show is enormous and one that still lives on to this day. But I can't let that get in the way of how terrible this was. The promos were short and mostly bad, the action was pointless and even Gorilla and Jesse weren't very good. There is nothing worth revisiting and it just feels like a house show with Muhammad Ali and Cyndi Lauper on it. I don't think I'll probably watch this one again for a very long time.

Overall Rating: 28%

Monday Night Raw 1-23-95 Review

Monday, January 23rd, 1995
Manatee Civic Center
Palmetto, Florida

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Vince kicks off the show by apologizing to Lawrence Taylor and his family for Bam Bam Bigelow's actions last night. He says that Bam Bam has been suspended without pay. 

After the Raw intro, Shawn Michaels is introduced. He joins Vince at ringside and we're underway. 

WWF Tag Team Championship Match
Smoking Gunns vs. 1-2-3 Kid & Bob Holly

I do like both of these teams, so hopefully they get some time here. Bart catches Kid for a powerslam and gets a nearfall. Kid comes back with a dropkick and he gets a 2 count. It's once again announced that Bart was the Gunn who was hurt in a rodeo accident. Billy is tagged in and hits a bulldog on Holly. Holly and Kidd are able to hit a double superplex on Billy, but it's not enough as we get our first commercial break. Kid hits a spin kick on Billy and shoves Bart. He tags in Holly and they hit a double dropkick. Both Kid and Billy are down, but Kid knocks Bart off the apron to make sure he doesn't make the tag. Bart's been fired up a couple of times now after some heelish tactics by Kid. Bart finally gets tagged in and goes after both opponents. The Gunns hit the spinning leg drop/side suplex and then a double side Russian leg sweep into a second commercial break. Holly cheats by hitting Billy and that allows Kid to attack Bart. Holly comes in and regains control for his team. He heads up top, but runs into a boot on the way down from Billy. His future partner, Bart, is tagged in and they hit their finisher to become new champions. After a couple months of having no champions, we have had two in the last 24 hours. The match itself was pretty good, but not nearly as compelling as the match at Royal Rumble. 

Match Rating: ***

After a commercial, Vince interviews the ex-champions and they cut a terrible promo. Holly is so bad, that Kid just interrupts him and gets to the point that they want a rematch from the Gunns. 

We go to Todd Pettengill with a yellow notepad in hand. He goes over all of the shenanigans from the WWF Championship match the night prior. Next up, Todd tries to tell us that the Undertaker/IRS match lived up to the billing. Right. Next, he recaps the Intercontinental Championship match. These are all recaps with no video or pictures. 

IRS vs. Buck Quartermaine

We're instantly joined by Roddy Piper on the phone. Roddy is so proud of the New Generation and thought last night was one of the best Royal Rumbles he's ever seen. Not that this is Piper at his best, but it's always better than focusing on an IRS match. IRS hits a clothesline and that's all. Great. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We get another Man Mountain Rock promo. He actually was in the dark match opener before this episode. 

It's time for the King's Court and the guest is Jeff Jarrett. Jarrett gloats about his victory over Razor Ramon with Vince making sure that we know it was because of the Roadie. Jarrett stumbles over his words a few times here, but then says that he wants a shot at Diesel. Vince thinks Michaels has something to do with that. 

They talk about WrestleMania tickets going on sale and they play the great WrestleMania song, which just feels so weird with this era. 

British Bulldog vs. Black Phantom

Bulldog has some words for Michaels and that allows Phantom to get in some offense. Bulldog gets him up for the delayed vertical suplex while Vince argues with Michaels about Bulldog deserving to win. This is the obnoxious, phony Vince that was just so annoying. His argument really doesn't make any sense. Phantom gets in some more offense, but again Bulldog comes right back and hits the running powerslam for the victory. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

They cut to Bam Bam in a suit, looking impatient. Vince tries to talk to him but they are having technical difficulties. We come back from commercial and Bam Bam continues to act as if he can't hear Vince. Next week, we have King Kong Bundy vs. Mabel in a two man Royal Rumble and then a rematch of the tag title match. Vince talks about the former champs having a week to prepare. More likely it's about 25 minutes. 

This wasn't the strong episode that I was hoping for, but it was definitely better than the average Raw from the era. The tag match was good and it felt like there was a little bit more life in the show. I am curious to see the build for WrestleMania, as I still wasn't watching at this time in 1995. 

Overall Rating: 51%

Royal Rumble 1995 Review

Sunday, January 22nd, 1995
USF Sun Dome
Tampa, Florida

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Pamela Anderson arrives via limo and the locker room drools over her. 

Intercontinental Championship Match
Jeff Jarrett vs. Razor Ramon

Razor gets the hot start after ducking a clothesline and then hits an early fall away slam. After regrouping outside the ring, Jarrett steals a move out of Razor's playbook and trips him up and messes up his hair while he's down on the mat. Razor fires back and clotheslines Jarrett outside the ring. The Roadie is once again there to try to help Jarrett regroup. They make reference that Todd Pettengill showed off that Lawrence Taylor was in the building during the pre-show. We get some pinfall attempts by both men and then Jarrett slaps on a sleeper hold. Jarrett then does some pinfall attempts with his feet on the ropes and is eventually caught. Razor catches Jarrett's feet from outside the ring and then crotches him on the ring post. Razor then hits a second rope reverse bulldog for a 2 count. Jarrett then sidesteps Razor and throws him over the top rope. Razor is limping outside the ring and Roadie comes from behind and clips him in the knee behind the referee's back. Razor is counted out, but then Jarrett grabs a mic and says that he's here to win the Intercontinental belt from off Razor's waist and calls him a coward. He eventually gets Razor to limp back into the ring and the match is re-started. Razor gets a couple of cheap pin attempts, but Jarrett kicks out. Jarrett goes to work on the knee. Razor is able to kick Jarrett over the top rope with hit good leg, but Jarrett still goes back to work on the knee. Jarrett puts on the Figure Four in the middle of the ring. After a lengthy stay in the hold, Razor does manage to get out of it. He goes for a second rope back suplex, but Jarrett falls on him for a 2 count. I would have guessed that to be the finish. Razor signals for the Razor's Edge, but his knee gives out. Jarrett goes for an inside cradle and we have a new champion. You can hear the groans in the crowd for that finish. The match was good, but the ending felt a little flat. 

Match Rating: ***1/4

We go back to Todd with Pamela Anderson and she's going through all the gifts that the WWF Superstars have given her. We get some pretty lame attempts at humor. We then go back to Stephanie Wiand and she's with Jarrett and Roadie celebrating. 

IRS vs. Undertaker

Who in the world thought IRS was going to win this match? Even more importantly, who cared? We get lots of stalling and then Undertaker dominates. IRS and DiBiase are frustrated, so now it's time to bring out the druids. Again, who cares? There is no reason both of these guys shouldn't have been in the Royal Rumble instead to help bolster the garbage roster for that match. IRS tries to use the distraction, but it doesn't work and Taker just dominates some more. The druids and DiBiase shake the top rope and Undertaker falls off. But since he gets to no sell everything, he is back up. IRS clotheslines him over the top rope, but he of course lands on his feet and goes after the druids. IRS attacks and throws him into the steps. The druids attack behind the referee's back, but they look more concerned with their hoods falling off than they do with hurting him. Taker is able to throw IRS into the druids and Taker gets him up for a Tombstone. The druids interfere and he kicks them off the apron. IRS escapes and hits a running clothesline. Taker sits up and ducks a clothesline. He hits a chokeslam and that's all. That was a really weak finish there. I will say, I don't like either of these guys, especially in terms of match quality. However, the action was better than I anticipated or remembered. The story is still terrible and never once did you think IRS was going to win. I guess all I am saying is that I anticipated a 0 and got something a little better. During Undertaker's celebration, the druids attack Taker. Taker fights them off and out comes King Kong Bundy. Not that I actually would believe that anyone would think that Bundy was going to win the Rumble tonight, here's confirmation that he wasn't. IRS attacks Paul Bearer and steals the urn. Bundy then attacks Taker as IRS goes to the back. So last year Undertaker was killed by Yokozuna and a bunch of others, this year he's beat up by King Kong Bundy. The creative for Taker was just horrendous, but I'm just stating the obvious. 

Match Rating: *

Todd is with Diesel from earlier on and Diesel isn't having it. They then go to an interview with Bret and all he wants is to win back that title. 

WWF Championship Match
Bret Hart vs. Diesel

Diesel gets started with some brawling and clotheslines Bret over the top rope. Bret is able to trip Diesel up and slams his leg into the ring post. Bret works on the leg some more before slapping on the Figure Four. Diesel is able to eventually grab the ropes, but Bret is relentless and goes right back to the Figure Four again. Diesel gets to the ropes again and Bret refuses to release the hold. Bret is playing the heel role here and after talking to the ref, Bret dives through the ropes on Diesel. Diesel is able to throw Bret into the steps to shift the momentum. Diesel hits a big side suplex and that gets a 2 count. Diesel runs into a boot and Bret then hits a second rope clothesline. Bret goes up top and Diesel gets him up for a press slam, but Bret counters and falls onto him for a pin attempt that gets a 2 count. Bret again trips up Diesel and this time ties up Diesel's legs together around the post. The ref cuts him free and Bret hits a bulldog for a nearfall. Bret does a slingshot dive to the floor and Diesel catches him before ramming his back into the ring post. Diesel signals for the Jackknife and there are some audible boos. Diesel hits it, but Shawn Michaels comes in and attacks Diesel before he can count 3. We get an official announcement that the match must continue. Bret goes right back to work on the leg of Diesel and once again puts on the Figure Four. Diesel is able to slug his way out of it and then Bret misses with a charge into the corner. Diesel comes back with some stiff knees to the gut. Bret somehow gets away with hitting Diesel with a chair to the knee. Vince thinks it didn't hit him, which is kind of weird. Bret slaps on the Sharpshooter, but then Owen comes out and breaks it up. The referee once again says that the match much continue. The booking here is pretty terrible, since there is no reason whatsoever that Bret shouldn't have been disqualified. Diesel crawls over to Bret and gets a 2 count. We get some brawling and Diesel goes to grab a chair. He thinks the better of it and while he's outside, Bret drops down to start selling a knee. He lures Diesel in and almost gets the victory with an inside cradle. We now get a ref bump and Shawn, Owen and Bob Backlund all come down. Out comes Jeff Jarrett and Roadie as well. They officially announce that the match is a draw and the crowd hates it. Backlund comes back in and puts the Crossface Chickenwing on Bret. Diesel clears out the ring with the exception of Bret. Diesel helps him up and they eventually shake and hug. I completely get that Bret was so desperate to win that he stooped to heel tactics, but it just makes zero sense that he would be able to use a chair in front of the referee and get away with it. All of the interference stuff was just too much as well. On the other hand, the action was really good here and better than most things for the past year in WWF. 

Match Rating: ***3/4

Back to Todd and Pamela is getting dressed. Hilarity (doesn't) ensue. We then switch gears to Stephanie Wiand, 1-2-3 Kid and Bob Holly. They cut a gee golly promo comparing themselves to the San Diego Chargers. Jerry Lawler then struggles to draw a picture of himself kissing Pamela in a failed joke. 

WWF Tag Team Championship Tournament Finals
Bam Bam Bigelow & Tatanka vs. 1-2-3 Kid & Bob Holly

The winner of this will face the Smoking Gunns tomorrow night. They really didn't build this story as well as I was kind of hoping they would have. Bam Bam and Tatanka were hardly impressive and as a result, it's hard for me to buy that they are the heavy favorites here. Not to mention that Ted DiBiase is a terrible manager and nowhere along the lines of Bobby Heenan or a Jimmy Hart. On a side note, the teams for whatever reason are not standing the standard tag team corners for WWF. Bam Bam runs through a double elbow and hits a double clothesline to take both opponents down. Bam Bam goes for a powerbomb, but Kid pops up and hits a hurricanrana, which was something you never saw in 1995 WWF. Bam Bam is able to come back with an enzuigiri. We get a double top rope crossbody, but they're both caught in midair. They counter that and push DiBiase's team into each other and get a 2 count. Tatanka ducks a clothesline and then Bam Bam pulls the top rope down to send Holly crashing to the floor. The action has been very solid here so far. The heels then dominate Holly until Tatanka and he hit a double crossbody. They both make tags and Kid clocks Bam Bam with a kick and then a missile dropkick. He hits a dropkick on Tatanka to knock him off the apron and then hits a somersault dive. He goes back up top and hits a top rope crossbody, but Tatanka breaks up the pin attempt. DiBiase gets up on the apron and Bam Bam press slams Kid to the floor. Bam Bam goes up top but for whatever reason, Tatanka comes in and doesn't see it. He runs the ropes and Bam Bam falls from the top. They could have come up with a better way to execute that spot. Kid rolls on top of Bam Bam and the "underdogs" are the champs. I didn't love that ending, but the rest of the match was entertaining. Kid was one of the best parts of the New Generation era and always seemed to deliver when given the chance. Bam Bam was motivated here as well. 

Match Rating: ***1/2

After the match, they show Bam Bam doing the walk of shame. He sees Lawrence Taylor laughing at him and Bam Bam doesn't like it. LT reaches out to shake his hand, but Bam Bam shoves him. You probably should never mess with a football player, but at the very top of that list is LT. 

They show a clip of Diesel in the Royal Rumble last year. We get a promo from Shawn Michaels about winning the Rumble and then they show the footage of the finish of last year's Rumble. Lex Luger then cuts a promo and then Vince apologizes for the incident involving LT. 

Howard Finkel then introduces Pamela Anderson, which really was a pretty big deal around this time. 

Royal Rumble

Drawing #1 is heavy favorite Shawn Michaels, followed by British Bulldog at #2. Shawn attacks Bulldog on his way in and we're underway. They aren't kidding that this is the fastest Rumble because before I can even process what's going on, we're on #3 and it's Eli Blu. No one reacts because no one knows who he is. Maybe they should have had him in a tag team match tonight instead of putting him in here as a meaningless competitor. Duke Droese is out fourth and he gets no offense when he arrives. #5 is my favorite in the match, Jimmy Del Ray. He gets Michaels draped over the top rope and out comes Sione at #6. Meanwhile, Bulldog dumps Del Ray out for our first elimination. #7 is Dr. Tom Prichard. Sione has Michaels over his head, but he's able to escape before having his night ended. Out comes Doink (and Dink) for #8. Before you know it, it's Kwang out at #9. This is quite the lineup they've assembled here. It's the return of Rick Martel at #10. We finally get another contender with the entrance of Owen Hart at #11, but before he even gets to the ring, he's attacked by Bret Hart. #12 is Timothy Well who appears to get a big pop, but instead it's because the camera misses Owen getting eliminated from the match. That's such a poor choice with the severe lack of contenders in this one. Then Duke gets eliminated and knocks out Earl Hebner I would presume by accident on his way down. Martel and Prichard are then quickly eliminated after. Doink is almost eliminated by Sione, but then Kwang finishes him off. Next thing you know the rest are eliminated as Luke makes his way into the ring at 13. He's quickly eliminated and we're down to our original two. #14 is Jacob Blu and again no one cares. Michaels ducks a clothesline and he's dumped over and again back to Michaels and Bulldog. King Kong Bundy is next to change the pace of this match. How will they get him over the top??? #16 is Mo and before you know it, he's no Mo. #17 is Mabel and the only mission tonight seems to be that they didn't want any tag teams to be in the ring at the same time. Mabel and Bundy go right at it in a dream match by no one. Mabel almost has him eliminated and Butch is out at 18. No, not Pete Dunne. Just like that Bundy is out. What a great way to build him up as a top guy to face Undertaker. Lex Luger is #19 and he quickly dumps out Mabel. We're now down to no one of substance left in this match, unless you for some reason think Bob Backlund is going to headline Diesel in a revenge match. Out comes Mantaur at 20, which gives Vince an opportunity to talk about how huge his legs are. Aldo Montoya is our 21st competitor. Not every competitor in a Rumble is going to be a big name, but woof. Henry Godwinn is #22 and honestly one of the best guys in this thing. #23 is Billy Gunn and he sprints in until it's his partner Bart at #24. 25 is Bob Backlund and he's going to win this thing. Just as he's getting in the ring, Bret attacks him on the floor. Steven Dunn is #26, as if anyone cares. Backlund gets in the ring and Luger helps him right back out. Bret then attacks him again on his way back to the locker room. Look at this youngster at #27, it's Dick Murdoch. Again no one cares and no one should. Adam Bomb is #28 and he has no shot. #29 is Fatu and he goes right after...Billy Gunn? I don't think that's going to make a difference. Luger eliminates Mantaur and we find out our last competitor is Crush. My favorite! He goes right to the Smoking Gunns and eliminates them both. Dunn is eliminated by Montoya and then Vince lets us know that one of these men will face the WWF Champion at WrestleMania. Those men are Crush, Adam Bomb, Lex Luger, Henry Godwinn, Fatu, Aldo Montoya, British Bulldog, Dick Murdoch and Shawn Michaels. This match has completely slowed down here and now we have Dick Murdoch doing the JYD headbutts on Fatu. You can't do that to Fatu. Bomb is eliminated by Crush, who is then attacked by Fatu. Michaels eliminates Montoya and then Murdoch tries to eliminate Michaels. Luger makes the save to a degree on Michaels for some reason. Fatu is gone and we're down to six. Murdoch puts Godwinn in an airplane spin and it leads to them both falling over the top, but Godwinn is able to hold on. Luger is able to eliminate Godwinn and we have a final four. Crush eliminates Luger, to which I ask, WHY? Michaels and Crush come to an agreement to team up against Bulldog. They work together for a minute and then Crush turns on Michaels. Michaels ducks a clothesline and Bulldog hits Crush to send him to the floor. Bulldog clotheslines Michaels over the top and Bulldog's music hits. It was clear that Michaels was still hanging on and he comes back in and knocks Bulldog out while he was celebrating. Bulldog would have a legit complaint of losing this match. They then show the footage of Michaels one foot hitting and just in case you weren't sure, Vince repeats "One foot" over and over. Michaels then celebrates with Pamela Anderson and she gets to show off her top notch acting skills. The match itself wasn't bad and it was the best year to do the 60 second intervals due to the lack of talent. However, the ending was never in question and they could have figured out a way to get a few more big names in this match. Undertaker and IRS didn't need to have that meaningless match and could have both been in it. Anyway, this was weak, but overall entertaining enough. 

Match Rating: **1/2

This show kind of gets an unfair reputation due to the lack of talent in the actual Rumble match, but outside of the Undertaker/IRS match, the undercard was very good. We got three good matches, even if the finishes were weak in all of them. I can't say this is a great show, but it's better than most people probably remember it being.

Overall Rating: 68%

Superstars 1-21-95 Review

Original Airdate: Saturday, January 21st, 1995
Bob Carpenter Center
Newark, Delaware

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Razor Ramon vs. Charlie Hunter

After hitting Hunter with a right hand, Razor hits the back suplex off the second rope. He signals for the Razor's Edge and that's all for Mr. Hunter. Thankfully Razor didn't have to put up much of an effort just one day (42 days) before the Royal Rumble. Jeff Jarrett shows up on the video board and challenges Razor for the title right now. Razor tries to respond, but his mic goes out and Jarrett mocks him. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

When we come back from commercial break, they have video footage of Roadie messing with the audio. 

Henry Godwinn vs. Rich Myers

Godwinn hits a back body drop before driving him into the turnbuckle with his shoulder. It's kind of weird to me that Godwinn didn't get a WrestleMania match at 11. He hits the Slop Drop and that's all. He could definitely use a feud. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

It's time for Live Event News with Stephanie Wiand. Owen Hart predicts that he's going to win the Royal Rumble. 

Man Mountain Rock is coming soon and he likes Alice Cooper. You excited? 

Adam Bomb vs. Mark Starr

Bomb cuts a dorky promo during his match that's already too long. What's with these single squashes being so long today? Bomb goes up to the top rope and hits the clothesline 

Match Rating: 1/4*

It's time for the final Royal Rumble Report before the show. They announce the Headshrinkers and Heavenly Bodies are now in the Rumble match and 1-2-3 Kid and Bob Holly are no longer in it. The Smoking Gunns are now in the Rumble as well. Boy, there is nothing more exciting than tag teams that Vince doesn't care about trying to win a #1 contender spot. Kid and Holly cut a cheesy promo ahead of their match. IRS stands in front of two druids and still is going on about taxes. Undertaker and Paul Bearer cut an even more generic promo. Diesel cuts a very serious promo and they then show us a clip from their match at King Of The Ring. This was a really long segment. 

Kama has a bad attitude and he's coming. 

King Kong Bundy vs. Nick Barberi

Lawler is picking Bundy to win the Rumble. Vince is between Bundy, Backlund, Mabel and Dick Murdoch. I'm not joking. To call Bundy's return uninspired would be too kind. He wins with an elbow drop. Yawn.

Match Rating: 1/4*

We go to a Heartbreak Hotel filmed at a house show and Shawn Michaels' guest is Bret Hart. Shawn tries to get Bret fired up and it works. He grabs the mic from him and Bret tells us how great he is. 

Aldo Montoya vs. Nick Tarentino

Lawler compares the young girl ring announcer to both a beaver and a dog. We get a Portuguese promo during the match as he dominates Tarentino. He hits a nice dropkick before hitting a vertical suplex. He hits a reverse bulldog off the second rope for the easy victory. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Stephanie Wiand is back to tell us about how great King Kong Bundy is. Obviously she doesn't watch the product. Bundy tells us that he's going to win the Rumble. 

Lawler is about to give his prediction and then Owen Hart says he is going to win the Rumble. Neidhart interrupts and says he made him the King Of The Ring, so he's going to win. British Bulldog and Adam Bomb are out and then Shawn Michaels. 

This episode stunk, which is to be expected the day before the Rumble. It was also the third taping of the night, which is never a good thing. Nothing happened here that was noteworthy enough to recommend. 

Overall Rating: 28%

SmackDown 12-1-06 Review

Original Airdate: Friday, December 1st, 2006
HSBC Arena
Buffalo, New York

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Teddy Long is out and says that if you thought Survivor Series was hot, just wait until Armageddon. Boy has the bar been set low. He announces that Kane and MVP will faceoff in an Inferno Match and that Mr. Kennedy will go ONE ON ONE with the UNDERTAKER! Oh yeah, the show's in two weeks. December is such a terrible time for wrestling typically and they're giving us two shows there. Right after a terrible November show. Anyway, he brings out our new World Heavyweight Champion, Batista. Out comes King Booker and Queen Sharmell to interrupt. Booker is furious that Teddy Long changed the stipulation right before the match and that Batista cheated to win. Batista wants to go right now and then Finlay comes out to interrupt. Finlay says that Booker doesn't deserve a rematch especially since he's never beaten him. Finlay says he gets the match with Batista, which Booker isn't happy about. Teddy Long intervenes and comes up with a solution. Tonight it will be Finlay vs. King Booker vs. Batista. 

MNM vs. Paul London & Brian Kendrick

The match break down pretty quickly, which leads to a double dropkick from London and Kendrick and then a double dive outside. Kendrick misses a top rope crossbody back in the ring and MNM isolate him in their corner. London gets the hot tag and hits an inverted atomic drop into a dropsault for a 2 count. Mercury dumps London out of the ring and he's attacked by William Regal and Dave Taylor behind the referee's back. They throw him back in and MNM hits the Snapshot for the victory. The match was solid for what it was.

Match Rating: **

They show highlights from Survivor Series and that it will be Undertaker vs. MVP tonight. 

Mr. Kennedy is backstage with MVP and they argue about Survivor Series. MVP says that they probably could have helped each other out with their upcoming matches. 

Triple Threat Match For The World Heavyweight Championship
King Booker vs. Finlay vs. Batista

Batista gets the hot start and he's shaking the ropes as we go into a commercial break. During the break, Batista drove Finlay into the ring, but then got hit with a kick from Booker. When we come back, Finlay hits an elbow on Batista who is draped over the mat. Finlay hits a DDT, but Batista is able to kick out. Booker finally gets back involved by hitting Batista in the back of the head with a scissor kick, but again the champ kicks out. Booker and Finlay eventually start working together. In a weird spot, Finlay goes for the shillelagh and Michael Cole tries to make it look like it would be a disqualification, but there are none. Out comes Hornswoggle and that provides a distraction for Finlay to hit both opponents with it, but Batista is still able to kick out. Again, there are no disqualifications. Batista fights back and hits a spinebuster on Booker. He hits Finlay with a Spear and then the Batista Bomb for the victory. That was kind of an abrupt finish. Obviously Finlay was going to eat the pinfall here, so at least that made sense. The action was pretty good here for a TV match that was thrown together. I'm not sure why it wasn't the main event, but they were given a good amount of time. 

Match Rating: ***

Booker and Finlay are arguing backstage with Teddy Long. Teddy says that they'll have their chance to get their hands on Batista, but in a tag team match. At Armageddon, it will be Finlay and King Booker against Batista and a partner of his choosing. 

They show the highlight of Vickie Guerrero getting accidentally hit by Chris Benoit. We go to Chavo and Vickie, who is in a neck brace. It would have made a lot more sense if it actually looked anything like there was any chance it could have been done on purpose. 

Chris Benoit vs. Chavo Guerrero

Well, I guess we're watching this one again. After an early commercial, Benoit hits Chavo with a knee to the gut. Chavo is able to pull Benoit into the corner, but it doesn't look like he hit the pole. Chavo follows up with a suplex onto the top rope. Chavo works Benoit over for a little bit until Benoit hits him with a superplex. Chavo goes for the Three Amigos, but Benoit blocks it and hits two of his own. On the third attempt, Chavo pushes Benoit towards Vickie, but this time he stops. Chavo rolls him up and that's all. So this is the second non-title match tonight where the champion lost. The crowd isn't buying this feud and neither am I 17 years later. The match was fine.

Match Rating: *3/4

They show Batista backstage on the phone possibly with his potential partner.

Layla vs. Kristal

Layla hits a series of clotheslines and Kristal rolls out of the ring to regroup. She comes in and hits some awkward offense. I'm sure they are both to blame, but Kristal is the one not looking crisp here. It doesn't help that your opponent has limited training as well.  Kristal snaps her back and throws her to the mat and that's all? This was really, really bad. Layla would go on to improve at least a little. 

Match Rating: 0 Stars

Batista tells Teddy that his partner at Armageddon will be John Cena. 

MVP vs. Undertaker

MVP tries to hit Taker with some right hands, but they have no effect and next thing you know, Taker hits him with Old School. Taker hits a leaping clothesline and then unties the top turnbuckle. MVP is able to fight his way out of getting thrown into it, but runs into a big boot instead. Taker hits Snake Eyes and is dominating MVP like he's Luther Reigns or one of the other no name duds they threw his way. Taker goes out and grabs a chair, but MVP ducks it. Out comes Mr. Kennedy and he tries to throw MVP in the ring. MVP turns it around and throws Kennedy in. Kane's music hits and he's out to get MVP. The distraction allows Taker to grab him in the ring and now all four are in the ring. They hit double boots, but when they go for chokeslams, Kennedy and MVP get out of there. So I guess we have no finish here and more of Kane, which is never a good thing. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

The first hour of the show was quite good, but the last 30 minutes or so were terrible. Taker had no interest in making MVP look like any kind of a threat and the women's match was possibly the worst worked match of 2006. Armageddon isn't looking like a strong show after a bad Survivor Series and (spoiler alert) ever worse December To Dismember. 

Overall Rating: 50%

ECW 11-28-06 Review

Tuesday, November 28th, 2006
HSBC Arena
Buffalo, New York

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Paul Heyman is in the ring to hype up the Extreme Elimination Chamber. He talks about the weapons that will be in the match and has his goons demonstrate what you can do with it. The highlighted weapon is a barbed wire baseball bat. 

Rob Van Dam vs. Sabu

I wonder how many times these guys have wrestled each other? RVD dominates the opening part. Sabu goes for a top rope hurricanrana, but RVD is able to hold on and Sabu spills to the mat. Sabu quickly recovers and goes for a springboard move, but RVD jumps and clotheslines him midair. When we come back from commercial, they tease a suplex to the mat, but Sabu is able to hang on. Sabu then goes for a sunset flip bomb, but RVD holds on and then RVD hits a moonsault. RVD hits a German suplex into a bridge for a 2 count. RVD hits a Rolling Thunder and again Sabu kicks out. RVD hits the 5 Star Frog Splash and that's all. I'm surprised they didn't just go for the double countout, but I guess it doesn't really matter. The match had some good action, but the psychology wasn't the best here. Sabu's magical recovery speed was a little out of control. 

Match Rating: **3/4

Hardys vs. Elijah Burke & Sylvester Terkay

This one doesn't make much sense to me, but I guess we'll see how it goes. After a hot Hardy start, Terkay kicks Jeff in the back as he's running the ropes and it allows for them to shift the momentum. Terkay hits a powerslam, but then Terkay runs into the ring post. In comes Matt and he hits a Side Effect on Elijah. Matt hits some clotheslines in the corner on Terkay and they dump Elijah out of the ring. The Hardys hit Poetry In Motion, Matt hits a Twist Of Fate and Jeff hits the Sawnton on Terkay for the victory. I'm surprised they pinned Terkay. Out comes MNM and they attack the Hardys. This match was actually a very spirited little tag match. I continue to like Terkay more than I ever remember. 

Match Rating: *1/2

We get highlights of the December To Dismember press conference. 

CM Punk vs. Test

Test levels Punk with a clothesline before dumping him out of the ring. Punk's able to send Test into the ring post and hits a springboard clothesline back in the ring. Punk  dive to the outside and then sends Test into the steel steps. Punk then jumps Test and starts brawling in the crowd, causing a double countout. If they were going to give us that finish, they should have had Test cheat in the match to give us the logic as to why Punk wouldn't care about winning. 

Match Rating: *

They show MNM gloating backstage after their attack of the Hardys. December To Dismember is just a few days away and we have two matches announced. 

Big Show vs. Bobby Lashley

If they couldn't come up with a finish for CM Punk and Test, you better believe we aren't getting anything here. Lashley tries to get off to a quick start, but he's greeted with a clothesline. Test comes in and helps Big Show to cause the DQ finish. There was no way they wouldn't have advertised it more if this was a legit main event. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

The attack continues and Big Show hits him with a running shot to the head. Big Show covers him and Heyman counts to 3. 

This episode ended up being fairly good. The Hardy match was spirited and the RVD/Sabu was a solid match. It just makes no sense how they couldn't even come up with a card for December To Dismember less than a week ago. I guess if I created a card that bad, I might hide it also. 

Overall Rating: 58%

Monday Night Raw 11-27-06 Review

Monday, November 27th, 2006
Mellon Arena
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

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We start off with Ric Flair in the ring and he talks about being beat down by the Spirit Squad after his victory last night. He wants all of them to come out here because he has partners to take them on tonight. They come out and do a terrible cheer before heading down to the ring. They surround the ring and then DX's music hits. 

Handicap Match
Spirit Squad vs. Ric Flair, Triple H & Shawn Michaels

Triple H tells us that this will be the last time we see the Spirit Squad. We get a lot of brawling and head into a commercial break after a Michaels dive. When we come back, the Spirit Squad have Michaels on the wrong side of town. Mikey gets up on Kenny's back, who is standing on the second rope, and they go for a flapjack that misses. Triple H gets the hot tag and he cleans house. He tags in Flair and then hits a Pedigree and Michaels hits a Sweet Chin Music. They slap on a triple Figure Four and they all tap for the easy victory. This was a little longer than my description, but it was exactly what you would think it was. 

Match Rating: *3/4

They show some Hardy footage from when they would backyard wrestling ahead of their match with Rated RKO tonight. 

We go backstage and they show DX shoving one of the Spirit Squad members in a crate and locking it. They put a sticker on it that says OVW Louisville, KY. The guy has a OPS shirt on, which Shawn Michaels says was a lot cheaper than the other guys. Michaels signs it as Mr. McMahon. 

JR and Lawler remind us that this weekend is December To Dismember. Ugh. The Hardys have issued an open challenge to Johnny Nitro and we go backstage to them and they show that Joey Mercury is back for a MNM reunion. They accept the challenge for one night only. 

#1 Contender For The WWE Women's Championship Battle Royal

Mickie James joins the announce team before the match. The competitors are Melina, Candice Michelle, Torrie Wilson, Victoria and Maria. Victoria and Maria work together for a second until Victoria clotheslines her and then dumps her over the top. Torrie is dumped next with Maria knocked out shortly after. We have Victoria and Candice left. Candice dumps her on the apron, but Victoria is able to battle her way back in. Victoria throws her through the ropes and that's all. At least it was short. Victoria throws Candice back in the ring and hits the Widow's Peak for emphasis. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

They show the Hardy's debut as a team against Kaentai on Sunday Night Heat.

Eugene vs. Jim Duggan

I can't believe they are blowing off the hottest feud of 2006 on Raw. Duggan goes right after Eugene and hits a big slap to the face. Duggan goes for the finisher, but Eugene rolls out of the ring. Eugene is able to snap Duggan's neck on the top rope and then rams Duggan into the ring post. Eugene hits a swinging neckbreaker and that's all she wrote. Eugene grabs the mic and asks us to not make fun of him. He tells us that he is special and yeah, there's a reason this never went anywhere. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

DX runs into Dusty Rhodes and Arn Anderson. DX tells them about the party they are throwing tonight that includes chips, dip and possibly a karaoke machine. Triple H comes back and says he's got two words for them: booze and broads. That leads to Ron Simmons doing what he does.

On This Week In Wrestling History for Stephanie McMahon and Test's wedding. 

Edge is here for the Cutting Edge and makes fun of DX for beating up the Spirit Squad. He says it's almost as bad as how much he's beat up the Hardy's over the years. Randy Orton then comes out and says he has his guest here, but he wants Edge to come over and confirm it. Edge says that it's it and they drag out a bloodied Ric Flair. Edge says that this is the part where DX is supposed to come out and make the save, but they won't because they only care about themselves. Edge starts begging DX to come out and then hits him with a one man con-chair-to. Orton then takes his turn and there's still no DX save. 

Jerry Lawler vs. Chris Masters

Now the second hottest feud is being blown off on Raw? I know that I kid, but it is nice to see that there has been a storyline to everything tonight. Masters throws Lawler from corner to corner, but Lawler avoids a charge. Masters puts Lawler up in the greatest move of all time, the bear hug. Lawler bites his way out and hits a dropkick. Lawler hits a trio of second rope fists. Masters fights back and hits a snap suplex. Masters tries the second rope fist, but Lawler rolls out of the way and hits some right hands to knock Masters down. Masters rakes the eyes and slaps on the Master Lock. Carlito's music hits and he's on his way down to the ring. Masters then breaks the hold to turn his attention to Carlito. Carlito spits the apple in his face, Lawler rolls him up and picks up the victory. I'm not sure why they felt they needed to put Carlito with Masters again. The crowd wasn't into it until the finish.

Match Rating: 1/2*

They show the Hardy's match with Edge and Christian that put all four of them on the map from No Mercy 1999. 

Umaga is on his way down to the ring. Armando Alejandro Estrada says that Umaga was the only man at Survivor Series who was unstoppable. They show Umaga attacking his opponents with a TV monitor. Estrada says that no one has been able to present a challenge and now it's time for him to become WWE Champion. Out comes John Cena and we have a staredown. He grabs a mic and says he accepts Umaga's challenge. Estrada says not now and that's all. The crowd was into it, probably because it's not the usual suspects. 

We now get a spoof of the racist rant that Michael Richards did around this time with Cryme Tyme attacking him and taking his wallet. I'm not really sure why they felt the need to do this. Keep in mind, it was just a year before this that Vince said what he said at Survivor Series 2005. 

They show Edge talking to Jeff Hardy backstage. Jeff fires back and now their partners are here. 

World Tag Team Championship Match
Rated RKO vs. Hardys

So they were announced as Team Extreme last night at Survivor Series, but the Hardys tonight. This is a very worthy main event, even if this should have been something that there was more hype for. Edge and Orton dominate Jeff the opening minutes of the match until he's able to hit a double DDT and tag in Matt. He hits the bulldog/clothesline combo, which Lawler says he has never seen before. If you needed proof that Lawler didn't watch SmackDown for some reason, there's that. They both go up top, but Jeff is shoved to the floor and Orton goes up to meet Matt. Matt shoves him down, but then misses the moonsault. Edge is setting up for the Spear and then we get a weird commercial break. When we come back, Orton has Matt in a rest hold. Matt finally is able to battle back and hits a moonsault on Edge for a 2 count. Jeff gets the hot tag and hits a Whisper In The Wind on Orton for a nearfall. We get some double teams and some close calls that the crowd is fully invested in. Jeff misses with the leap off the back of Matt's back, but he can't hit the RKO. Jeff hits the Swanton but before the referee's hand hits the mat for 3, Edge comes in and hits Jeff in the back with the belt. The ref calls for the bell and the Hardys win by disqualification. Orton hits a RKO on Matt onto a title belt before posing for the crowd. The match itself was pretty good, although most of that was because of the hot finish. 

Match Rating: **1/2

This wasn't an all timer or anything, but this was definitely better than the typical Raw at this time. Just about everything meant something and a lot of stories were furthered. Sadly, it was a lot more entertaining than the show they made you drop 30 bucks on the night before. 

Overall Rating: 66%

NXT 1-8-15 Review

Original Airdate: Thursday, January 8th, 2015
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida

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NXT Champion Sami Zayn is here to kick off the show and gets a standing ovation from the NXT crowd. He goes out by the crowd to soak it all in. He tells the crowd that this title is not his, it's ours. He has the crowd in the palm of his hand, 100% just like he does in 2023. He says that he is ready to defend this title anytime, anywhere. Out comes Adrian Neville. He congratulates Zayn on being the better man in the ring that night. Sami says that he may not know all the rules, but he knows that he's entitled to a rematch. Out comes GM William Regal and he says that we'll get that rematch next week. 

The Vaudevillains say they will be NXT Tag Team Champions.

Hideo Itami vs. Curtis Axel

Itami gets some kicks to the head in the corner, but Axel shifts the momentum and hits a dropkick. A knee to the jaw from Axel gets him a 2 count and Axel then continues to slow the match down as if it was going to be a 20 minute epic. Itami battles back with a clothesline and a tornado neck snap on the ropes. He hits a top rope clothesline and that's good for a nearfall. Itami reverses out of the Perfect Plex and hits a spinning Shining Wizard and that's all. Axel just never really had enough in the ring to keep up with guys like Itami. 

Match Rating: *

They interview Natalya and Tyson Kidd. Kidd tells us that he feeds his cats like birds feed their young. Kidd sends her off to feed his cats and says that he will eventually be the face of NXT. 

We get a highlight package of Bull Dempsey and Baron Corbin that ends in the reminder that we'll be forced to watch them wrestle each other next week. 

Alexa Bliss vs. Sasha Banks

Bliss goes right after Sasha as the underdog here. Sasha is able to counter a headscissors into a backbreaker. Bliss goes for a couple of sneaky pin attempt, but ends up with knees to the midsection. She hits the backstabber into the Bank Statement for the victory. Sasha keeps the hold on for a few extra seconds for dramatic effect. Both ladies looked good here in their limited time. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

Tyler Breeze vs. Chad Gable

Gable gets a good reaction from the crowd and we even get a dual chant here. Pretty impressive for his TV debut. Gable puts on an arm bar while draping over the top rope. As he gets back in the ring, Breeze hits the Beauty Shot and that's all. They were trying to put Breeze over here, but the Gable love threw it off a little bit. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Finn Balor talks about how much he's looked up to Tyson Kidd over the years, but Kidd will need more than nine lives to survive against him next week. 

They show a mysterious person in the background of Tyler Breeze during his celebration. 

NXT Tag Team Championship Match
Vaudevillains vs. Lucha Dragons

After falling through the ropes, Sin Cara is able to pull English out of the ring and it leads to a double dive by the champs. During the break they show that Daniel Bryan is returning after his injury and that was probably the highlight of the show so far. When we come back, the Vaudevillains are in control. These matches have been pretty standard stuff and this one isn't any different. Sin Cara gets the hot tag and he hits some of his vanilla aerial offense. As I say that, he hits a cool variation of the top rope sunset bomb with the pin attempt being broken up by Gotch. They hit a nice corkscrew combo finisher and that's all. The last minute was good, the rest was your typical tag team match. I'm not really sure where either team goes from here. 

Match Rating: **

This was a decent show, but didn't have anything that you really needed to watch. Next week seems to be the stacked episode, so I expect that to be a TakeOver Light.

Overall Rating: 48%

Monday Night Raw 1-16-95 Review

Original Airdate: Monday, January 16th, 1995
The Summit
Houston, Texas

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We get a William Shatner themed intro to hype up Bret Hart vs. Jeff Jarrett.

Heavenly Bodies vs. 1-2-3 Kid & Bob Holly

Vince McMahon and Shawn Michaels are in front of the greenest of screens here tonight. I get to watch a rematch of the match I just finished watching. The Bodies attack Kid and Holly as they enter the ring. They hit a double elbow before Del Ray starts choking Kid. Del Ray follows up with "a little chin music" according to Shawn. The Bodies hit their suplex/leg drop on Holly. Del Ray hits a nice snap suplex. He goes for a crossbody off the second rope, but Holly rolls over and gets a 2 count. Out come Bam Bam Bigelow and Tatanka to take a look. Prichard hits a second rope knee drop and Holly kicks out. Holly ducks a double clothesline and leaps into their arms, causing them to collide. In comes 1-2-3 Kid with lots of kicks on both Bodies, but Prichard slows him down. They go for a double clothesline, but Holly runs in and spears Prichard, Kid hits a Perfect Plex and gets the victory. I liked this one better than Superstars and it was about half as long. Tatanka and Bam Bam aren't impressed. 

Match Rating: **3/4

We go back to Bret Hart and William Shatner. Bret says that there is no rust in his blood. I'd sure hope not. Shatner says that he doesn't need anyone to watch his back and then calls Roadie, Road Kill. 

Mantaur vs. Jason Arndt

Mantaur has no helmet this time and has instead traded it for Jim Cornette. Vince does reference the helmet for what it's worth. I know they were getting desperate here in 1995, but I'm not really sure what they saw in Mantaur. He hits a belly bop for the finish. Just terrible stuff.

Match Rating: 1/4*

It's time for the Royal Rumble Report and it's this Sunday. We get an interview from Undertaker and Paul Bearer and they say the same thing they always say. We also get a "live" Jeff Jarrett interview as he's headed to the ring and Todd predicts Bret Hart to win. 

Jeff Jarrett vs. Bret Hart

This is actually a pretty big match by 1995 standards. Bret has Jarrett reeling early on, hitting a lot of his set up offense and then working on his arm. Jarrett ducks a clothesline, but Bret puts on the sleeper hold. Jarrett is able to counter out with a back suplex and follows it up with a dropkick into a commercial break. It doesn't take long for Bret to regain control and before you know it, he's hitting the second rope elbow drop. Bret ties Jarrett in the ropes, but Roadie helps him out before Bret can get there and misses with a leap. Jarrett goes for the Figure Four and locks it in. Bret is able to get to the bottom rope and then we get a roll up by Jarrett. Bret counters it and pulls off the victory. That match felt like it was going to have an extra 5 minutes or so. After the match, Shatner attacks Roadie and then throws him out of the ring. The match was solid, but I was expecting a little bit more. 

Match Rating: **1/2

Ted DiBiase is with his group of bums for the King's Court. He runs down what's going to happen for each member of his group. That was a lot of nothing. 

Mabel vs. Lee Toblin

Toblin decides that it would be a good idea to just run right at Mabel and it backfires. This all leads to Vince wondering how in the world is anyone going to get Mabel over the top rope? Shawn wisely says that he doesn't have to, even if his math is off on saying the other 29 guys will do it for him. Mabel hits his enzuigiri, but then Tobin hits Mabel with some left hands. Mabel doesn't like that and hits a clothesline. The leg drop finishes it. Whoomp there it is, indeed. We're only 5 short months away from King Mabel. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

After the match, Mabel interviews with Shawn and Vince. He says he's the biggest and the baddest, so he will win the Rumble. Out comes King Kong Bundy to dispute that claim and Mabel challenges him to go right now. Mabel goes into the ring as we go to commercial break. When we come back, nothing happens and Vince just tells us that the Smoking Gunns will get a shot at whomever wins the Tag Team Championship match at Royal Rumble. That leads us to a Diesel highlight video to close out the show. 

Like most of this era, there were some highs and some extreme lows. Mantaur should have never been on TV again after these tapings and the Million Dollar Corporation continues to be absolutely pointless. The two feature matches were both solid here though, so it's hard not to say this was at least pretty good TV. 

Overall Rating: 50%

Superstars 1-14-95 Review

Original Airdate: Saturday, January 14th, 1995
Bob Carpenter Center
Newark, Delaware

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WWF Tag Team Championship Tournament Semifinal Match
Bam Bam Bigelow & Tatanka vs. Headshrinkers

We get a brawl to start, but Bam Bam and Tatanka make the mistake of slamming them into the mat face-first and it backfires. Sionne hits the big clothesline on Bam Bam, but misses with the second rope headbutt. He catches Bam Bam and hits a powerslam for a 2 count. Vince talks to Jim Cornette and the Heavenly Bodies during the match. A distraction from Tatanka leads to Bam Bam hitting a clothesline on Fatu. After the commercial break, Tatanka is able to hit a top rope clothesline on Fatu for a 2 count. They now interview 1-2-3 Kid and Bob Holly and something about one lap at a time. When Sionne sends Bam Bam off the ropes, it knocked Fatu off the apron. Sionne hits a powerslam on Bam Bam and then Tatanka comes in to interfere and he disposes of him. Sionne goes up to the top rope and hits a headbutt. Outside, Tatanka attacks Afa while Bam Bam kicked out. Sionne checks in on the action out of the ring and Bam Bam is able to roll him up for the victory. Sionne attacks Bam Bam after the match and then goes after Tatanka. Afa hits him with some left hands and then a Samoan drop. Fatu and Sionne go up to the top rope, but Bam Bam is able to roll Tatanka out of the ring. This was a pretty standard big man Saturday morning match.

Match Rating: *3/4

We go to Stephanie Wiand for Live Event News. We get a recap of the IRS/Undertaker feud and I determine that it's time for a nap. 

We now get a WWF Week In Music segment. It's Man Mountain Rock and he's coming soon. 

Jeff Jarrett vs. Mike Moraldo

Vince and King are shocked that the guest ring announcer is actually pretty good. Jarrett dominates as one would expect. He hits a superplex and then slaps on the Figure Four for the easy victory. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Diesel is out with McMahon for an interview. Vince asks if Diesel has changed since beating Bob Backlund in 8 seconds. Diesel says he smiles more because he has a lot to smile about. He says that he also talks more since he got rid of the motor mouth Shawn Michaels. Then he goes back and says that he hasn't changed because he's the same intense individual that he was before. Diesel then says that Bret wrote the book on breaking rules. He says that 1995 will be the year of the Diesel. It sure will be. 

Duke Droese vs. Chris Kanyon

Droese actually gets an interview talking about slinging trash all over the ring at the Royal Rumble. Kanyon gets in some right hands, but then runs into the turnbuckle and Droese hits a back suplex. Droese hits the Trash Compactor and that's all. No one cares. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We get a Hakushi video showing some of the impressive moves we have seen so far. Vince had already given up on him. 

It's time for the Royal Rumble Report. We get an interview with Bob Backlund and it's his moral duty to destroy all the wrestlers in the Rumble. Owen Hart then tells Jim Neidhart and Backlund that there are no friends in the Rumble, so sorry. We get some new names in Well Dunn and Jacob and Eli Blue, the latter haven't even debuted and Todd doesn't know who they are. Order the show now!

WWF Tag Team Championship Tournament Semifinal Match
Heavenly Bodies vs. 1-2-3 Kid & Bob Holly

This is the most excited that I have been for a Superstars match in a long time. Jerry Lawler says that the Kid and Holly have as good of a chance as Dick Murdoch has in winning the Rumble. Vince says his chances are the same as anyone. Sure. It sounds like the Smoking Gunns are back, but they just weren't back in time for the tournament. We finally get to Kid and Del Ray, which is a '95 dream match. Kid knocks him out of the ring and then brings him back in the hard way before hitting him with a superkick. He hits a nice spin kick and Del Ray falls out of the ring again. Del Ray hits a superkick to the back of the head right into a DDT from Prichard as we go into the commercial break. When we come back, Kid is able to get a hot tag to Holly and he hits a powerslam on Prichard for a 2 count. Holly hits a big dropkick and Del Ray breaks up the pin again. All four men are in there now, which allows Cornette to roll Prichard over on the Holly pin attempt. Kid then pushes Holly over again and the ref sees it this time and they get the victory. The finish was fun, but for being "underdogs", they sure dominated a lot of the match. It definitely didn't live up to my excitement, but was still better than most TV matches during this time. 

Match Rating: **1/2

Back to Stephanie Wiand to talk about the WWF Championship match. They continue to focus on the Owen Hart relationship and telegraph what's coming. 

Back to the ring and Vince and Lawler are with Kid and Holly. Kid can't believe it. They did it! 

Just having two feature matches automatically makes this better than most Superstars episodes. Both were solid and helped get us to where we need to be for the Royal Rumble. The Diesel interview was a little on the cringe side and the squashes were uninspired, but it's 1995, what did you expect?

Overall Rating: 52%

Survivor Series 2006 Review

Sunday, November 26th, 2006
Wachovia Center
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Ric Flair, Sgt. Slaughter, Dusty Rhodes & Ron Simmons vs. Spirit Squad

Arn Anderson and Mitch are ringside for their respective teams here. Simmons and Mikey start things off, with Simmons getting the better of the exchange until he's tripped up from the outside. He slowly walks around the ring to go after them and is counted out. We're already off to a classic start here. It's Sgt. Slaughter's turn now and he hits a couple of body slams on Nicky. I've never booked a show and probably never will, but I think I would have had this match be winding down already. Sarge puts him in the Cobra Clutch until he gets hit in the head with a kick behind the referee's back to be eliminated. Dusty hits an elbow and takes out Nicky. This is really bad. Dusty gets rolled up, so it's now Ric against 3. Flair hits an inverted atomic drop and kind of uses the ropes to take out Mikey. Flair gets an inside cradle on Kenny and he's gone. Flair slaps on the Figure Four on Johnny and this thing is thankfully over. The Spirit Squad then attacks Flair after the match, with Kenny hitting a top rope leg drop. This was anything but good.

Match Rating: 1/4*

United States Championship Match
Chavo Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit

It is extremely difficult for me to care about this feud 16 years later. They are moving at a pretty good pace here, so the action has been good. We get a lot of back and forth, until Chavo slows things down and tells Benoit to stay out of his business. Benoit battles back with the three German suplexes and signals for headbutt. Vickie distracts him on the way and the delay allows Chavo to roll out of the way. Chavo hits a suplex and then he heads up top and hits the Frog Splash. Benoit is able to kick out at 2 and Chavo is beside himself. Benoit goes for the Sharpshooter, but Chavo fights his way out. Chavo pushes him into the ropes and knocks Vickie to the floor. Benoit locks in the Crossface and Chavo taps. That was a weird ending. The action was good here, but it felt like just chapter 1 of the story. JBL calling Benoit a terrible human being after the match just is rough.

Match Rating: **3/4

Lita and Edge get in a quick backstage interview making fun of Philadelphia. Lita goes to the ring and Edge talks about how Lita cares about respect. Meanwhile, in the background, Cryme Tyme sneaks into their locker room. 

Women's Championship Match
Mickie James vs. Lita

This is Lita's retirement match. It's kind of crazy because she was only 31 years old here. For WWE to lose both Trish and Lita within a matter of months really forced them to try to make more stars, but it really didn't end up making a whole lot of them. Thankfully NXT came along and showed them that they could have a division full of women who are there to wrestle, not strip each other. The Philly crowd is of course relentless on Lita as she has a slow, plotting start to the match. After a sleeper hold, Lita goes up top and misses with a top rope crossbody. Mickie starts climbing, but Lita is able to hit a back suplex. Lita is able to hit her trademark suplex, but Mickie kicks out. Mickie is able to hit the DDT and we have a new Women's Champion. This was a little disjointed. After the match, Lita has Lilian Garcia announce her as the greatest Women's Champion. The crowd boos and Lita throws a fit. Cryme Tyme comes out with her box of stuff and she continues to complain about them taking her time. They start selling the stuff they stole including JBL buying her underwear. So, obviously this is all terrible and just such a stupid way to send Lita off. Yes, I understand she's a heel, but she could have just thrown a fit and been done with it.

Match Rating: *1/4

We get a previously recorded sit down interview with Batista and Michael Cole. Cole brings up that this is the arena where he relinquished his title. Batista just sits in silence and that continues with every question that Cole asks. They show what happened on SmackDown Friday, with Batista signing the last chance contract and then getting attacked. Batista finally speaks and says that he's leaving tonight as the World Heavyweight Champion.

Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy, CM Punk, Shawn Michaels & Triple H vs. Johnny Nitro, Gregory Helms, Mike Knox, Edge & Randy Orton

Before the match, DX has CM Punk ask the crowd if they are ready, which is the infamous DX getting mad that Punk got a bigger pop. Whether it's true or not, it's the story that's told. DX gets Kelly Kelly up on the apron, which angers Knox and that allows Michaels to hit Sweet Chin Music and eliminate him in seconds. This one is just all shenanigans so far. The heels are able to single out Matt, with Matt bleeding from the lip. Punk gets tagged in and gets to go after future rival Nitro. Matt snaps Nitro's neck off the top rope and that allows Punk to put on the Anaconda Vice to eliminate him. Orton is able to hit the RKO on Punk, but Michaels is able to break up the pin. Edge comes in and goes for the Spear, but Punk moves out of the way and Edge hits the turnbuckle. Triple H makes his way in and hits the running knee on Helms and Orton. Edge breaks up the Pedigree attempt and that leads to chaos including a double dive by Jeff and Michaels. Triple H ducks a Shining Wizard and hits the spinebuster. He tags in Matt and he hits the Twist Of Fate and Jeff follows up with the Swanton Bomb to eliminate Helms. They hit Sweet Chin Music shortly after on Edge and he's gone. Orton tries to run out through the crowd, but CM Punk catches up to him and he gets the DX combo for the final elimination. That was a landslide in terms of how the talent have been booked and they did nothing to change that here tonight. This was entertaining enough, but not really much of a match.

Match Rating: **1/4

After a video package, Mr. Kennedy is getting interviewed before getting interrupted by MVP. MVP says they have a clean slate and that he's got him.

First Blood Match
Mr. Kennedy vs. Undertaker

Kennedy immediately rips a turnbuckle off upon entering the ring. Taker takes it to Kennedy early on outside the ring. Taker drives Kennedy's back into the ring post and we go back into the ring. Taker hits a big superplex and then goes after his ribs. Kennedy is able to hit a low blow, which of course is legal here. Taker battles back and Kennedy has a little blood from his mouth. He's out of the ring and MVP comes out to wipe him up. The referee has to play dumb here. Kennedy and MVP start walking back until MVP throws him back in the ring. Kennedy is able to hit Taker's head on the exposed turnbuckle, but he's still not bleeding. MVP then runs in with a chair and the ref tries to take it away. He pulls it away and the ref falls out and MVP accidentally hits Taker. He is busted open and going after MVP. Kennedy comes in and the referee sees it and that's all. What a terribly booked match. I know there is more to come with these two, but there was hardly any action and not a very well booked cheap finish. You either want to push him or you don't. Kennedy announces himself the winner, but Taker grabs him by the throat before he can finish and then unleashes on him. Taker then hits him with a sickening shot to the head. Why? Taker then hits a wobbly Tombstone and then takes off his gloves to punch him in the forehead. This was a lot worse than I remembered.

Match Rating: *1/2

King Booker says that this will be the bitter end for Batista tonight. 

MVP, Test, Umaga, Finlay & Big Show vs. Rob Van Dam, Sabu, Bobby Lashley, Kane & John Cena

Cena clothesline Umaga out of the ring and then throws Finlay into the ring. Umaga goes and grabs a television monitor and attacks Cena's team with it, causing his DQ. From there we get some standard action, with the heel team working on RVD for a little bit. Test tries to drive RVD into the ring post, but RVD slips off and pushes him into it. Kane hits a chokeslam on MVP and then RVD hits the 5 Star Frog Splash to eliminate him. Test runs in and hits a big boot right after and he's gone. Lashley hits a Spear on Test outside the ring and tosses him back in the ring. Sabu follows it up with a slingshot leg drop and a springboard DDT to eliminate Test. Kane and Big Show are battling and out comes Hornswoggle. That leads to Finlay getting the shillelagh and hitting Kane with it and he's gone. This match just feels so rushed. We get the super team of Lashley and Cena and they hit a clothesline at the same time Big Show does. Lashley Spears Finlay and Hornswoggle goes flying into Cena's arms. Cena hits the FU on him and Lashley eliminates Finlay. Cena and Lashley hit a double suplex on Show, which leads to the Five Knuckle Shuffle. Cena hits the FU and that's all. This was entertaining, but there wasn't much time to even tell a story. I guess the story is that Cena and Lashley are our guys. 

Match Rating: **3/4

Teddy Long comes out to reiterate that if Batista loses, this is his last chance at the title. He then adds that if King Booker is counted out or disqualified, then we will have a new champion. 

World Heavyweight Championship Match
Batista vs. King Booker

Batista goes after Booker during his entrance. They eventually get to the ring and the bell rings. Booker walks out and Sharmell reminds him that he can't get counted out. This match just has no juice to it right now. Booker catapults Batista's throat into the bottom rope to slow him down. There was a lot of drama backstage between these two and as a result this just feels like a bunch of moves strung together. Booker hits a leg lariat and gets a 2 count. Batista hits a boot to the face to knock Booker out of the ring and throws him into the steps. Batista throws him back in and hits a top rope shoulder tackle for a 2 count. Batista hits an awkward spinebuster and gets another nearfall. Booker ducks a clothesline, sort of, and hits the Book End, but Batista kicks out. Batista catches Booker with a kick and hits the Batista Bomb. Booker rolls towards the ropes and Booker is able to grab the bottom rope before the 3 count. Sharmell handed the title belt to Booker and gets in the ring. Batista goes for the Batista Bomb on Sharmell, but decides not to. Batista ducks a belt shot, Batista grabs it and hits Booker with it and we have a new champion. This was a very mediocre match that felt like they were going through the motions. 

Match Rating: *1/2

Well, this show was as poor as I remembered. Outside of the title change, nothing important happened and there were no classic moments or matches. It was just a show. They are in pay-per-view overkill and it's really hurting the product. 

Overall Rating: 37%

Monday Night Raw 1-9-95 Review

Monday, January 9th, 1995
The Summit
Houston, Texas

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Not only are we live, we are in an actual legitimate venue. No ceiling shots tonight. They talk about William Shatner being Jerry Lawler's guest tonight and we get a pre-taped interview of Shatner backstage. 

Intercontinental Championship Match
Razor Ramon vs. Owen Hart

Owen rips the title belt out of the hands of the referee, so Razor nails him before clotheslining him out of the ring. Razor gets in all the early offense here, including catching Owen and hitting the fall away slam. He signals for the Razor's Edge, but Owen is able to dump Razor to the floor before hitting a dive through the ropes. Back in the ring, Owen hits a top rope crossbody, but Razor rolls through and gets a 2 count. Owen hits a dropkick as we are going to a commercial break. When we come back, Owen hits an enzuigiri for a nearfall. Owen hits a nice spin kick on Razor as he's running the ropes faster than I have ever seen him run them. Owen leaps up on the back of Razor to slap on the sleeper hold in the center of the ring. It's nice to hear an actual crowd reaction for these matches and it's clear that Razor is over. He's able to power out of it with a back suplex and both men are down. Owen crotches Razor on the top rope and he accidentally falls to the outside. Razor climbs in and gets hit with a missile dropkick. Owen slaps on the Sharpshooter and out comes Bret to attack Owen. I'm surprised they booked Razor like this ahead of his match at Royal Rumble. Out comes Jeff Jarrett and Roadie. Razor and Bret dominate and the crowd loves it. This is Bret's first televised appearance since Survivor Series. This was a good match despite the surprise that they made Razor look weak with the finish. 

Match Rating: ***1/4

It's time for the Royal Rumble Report. Diesel wonders how rusty Bret is after sitting up in Calgary. 

Hakushi vs. Matt Hardy

I would have loved to have seen this match in about 4 years from this date. The presentation of Hakushi was really well done, especially in this era of so much crap. Hakushi hits a nice superkick after a backflip before hitting a top rope shoulder block. He hits a a slingshot elbow drop for the quick victory. This felt a little rushed. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We're back in the ring with Jerry Lawler for the King's Court. He brings out William Shatner, who is here to hype up TekWar on USA Network. Lawler is actually complimentary, but Shatner is firing shots right away. They get into an altercation and it leads to Shatner giving Lawler a variation of a monkey flip. Out comes Bret Hart to raise his hand in celebration. Jeff Jarrett and Roadie come down to try and calm Lawler down. Even though this was clearly just corporate synergy, this was still a good get for Raw at the time. 

We get the Pamela Anderson Royal Rumble commercial.

King Kong Bundy vs. Gary Sabaugh

King Kong Bundy is one of the favorites in the Royal Rumble is everything you need to know about the roster in 1995. Bundy hits a splash in the corner and that's all. Thankfully he doesn't get paid by the hour. After the match, Bundy goes over to Shawn and Vince, where Shawn says he'll be the one to win the Rumble. 

Match Rating: 1/4* 

We get a recap of what went down for the tag team tournament on Superstars. 

The Bushwhackers are backstage getting Howard Finkel psyched up and Well Dunn is doing the same with Harvey Wippleman.

We get another Kama video. 

Tuxedo Match
Harvey Wippleman vs. Howard Finkel

The fact that there are still 8 minutes left in the show has me worried here. Finkel is immediately able to rip off Harvey's jacket in a match that resembles mud wrestling. It looks like Harvey and Michael Cole have the same tattoo guy. We're down to both guys wearing Raw underwear for some reason. Harvey thinks he won, but the small piece of the cummerbund still on. Fink gets him on his shoulder and rips off the rest of his outfit for the victory. I assure you you won't see anything much worse than this. If anything, I learned how to spell cummerbund. 

Match Rating: 0 Stars

Next week, we're getting Jeff Jarrett vs. Bret Hart, which is another big main event by 1995 standards. Vince and Shawn recap the King's Court and Jeff Jarrett is out for the third time tonight. 

You know the drill here. When the feature match is good and at least one other positive thing happens, it's a thumbs up in this era. The Shatner interaction was entertaining, as he actually looked like he wanted to be part of the show. The Intercontinental Championship match was an entertaining match that featured two of the best things going during this time period and was given a proper amount of time. The squashes were squashes and the main event was terrible, but not enough to sour the show. 

Overall Rating: 60%