Monday Night Raw 12-18-06 Review

Monday, December 18th, 2006
Verizon Center
Washington, D.C.

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We have a ton of wrestlers in the ring as the show starts and JR lets us know that we are about to have the biggest battle royal in Raw history. 

30 Man Battle Royal To Face John Cena Tonight

Interestingly, Shawn Michaels and Triple H get separate entrances with their individual music. Surprisingly, Carlito is the first one eliminated because we just absolutely need to have his feud with Chris Masters to continue. Edge is hanging outside the ring because he's a heel. Brooklyn Brawler, Jerry Lawler and Sgt. Slaughter are two of the random competitors. I guess I should throw Ron Simmons in that category as well. Well, we're about 5 minutes into this thing and almost nothing has happened. After the commercial break, we finally get some guys eliminated from this stupid thing. We get another commercial break and I've pretty much lost all interest in this one. When we come back, we are down to Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Johnny Nitro, Chris Masters, Randy Orton, Edge and Lance Cade for some reason. Triple H hits a huge clothesline and knocks Masters out of the match. Cade and Nitro then immediately knock Triple H out. Everyone decides to team up against Michaels, but Michaels won't go down without a fight. He eliminates Nitro and remains in control. He hits a top rope elbow on Orton and hits Sweet Chin Music on Edge, sending him to the floor. However, he did not go over the top rope, he wasn't in the ring. Orton gets rid of Cade and then signals for the RKO on Michaels. Michaels shoves him away and then Michaels sends him flying after Orton charges at him. Edge then comes up on the apron and pulls Michaels over the top to pick up the victory. This was your typical battle royal where the last couple of minutes were good and everything else was just a bunch of guys in the ring. This one was just quite a bit longer than usual. 

Match Rating: *

Edge is backstage for an interview talking about his plans to be a 3 time WWE Champion. Orton reminds him that they are Tag Team Champions, but Edge says he has his goals set higher than that, leaving Orton a little annoyed. 

They show Chris Masters from last week and he is then interviewed by Maria. He's a mega heel apparently now. 

We get some footage of Joey Mercury's poor face getting obliterated at Armageddon. 

Todd Grisham is in the crowd to interview Vladimir Kozlov and he cuts a really goofy promo before speaking in Russian. I'm not really sure what they were going for there, but I definitely didn't remember him being here in 2006.

Chris Masters vs. Carlito

Carlito attacks Masters right after his pyro. They start brawling through the crowd and then Masters shoves Carlito in to the camera man and Carlito is bleeding. I guess that's it? The bell never rang, so no match here. 

Handicap Tag Team Match
Johnny Nitro & The World's Greatest Tag Team vs. The Hardys

This could be a good match, so I'm sure it will be 90 seconds. Jeff, Matt and Nitro are all fresh off their ladder match last night, with Jeff limping. We're into hour 2 of this 3 hour Raw. Jeff hits a Whisper In The Wind, but he's unable to capitalize and in comes Charlie Haas. Jeff is able to take care of him enough to tag in Matt and not before long they hit Poetry In Motion. They start brawling outside the ring and Matt hits a moonsault from the top rope to the floor into the commercial break. When we come back, they are working on the leg of Jeff. We get a fairly lengthy heat segment that is broken up by Jeff hitting a mule kick. He makes the hot tag to Matt and he hits the clothesline/bulldog combo on Shelton and Haas. He hits a couple of Side Effects, but the pin attempt is broken up. Nitro kicks Jeff out of the ring and takes care of him. Haas snaps Matt's neck on the top rope and Benjamin rolls him up, grabs the tights and picks up the victory. After the match, they continue to beat down on Matt and hit a kick into a German suplex. Nitro then continues to hit Jeff with right hands. This was mostly just okay with both Matt and Jeff selling injuries.

Match Rating: **

We go to Umaga and Armando Alejandro Estrada and they don't care if they face John Cena or Edge, but they prefer Cena. 

After the match Nitro and Melina run into Kevin Federline. Melina asks if he is sure he wants to go through with this and he does, so Melina gives him a hug and praises him for his bravery.

We now go to an interview with Sylvester Stallone talking about Rocky Balboa. I'm one of the few males who doesn't like Rocky. I never even bothered to watch any more of them. We're still not even halfway through the show. Stallone puts over Hulk Hogan and wrestling and that's about it. 

Ric Flair vs. Kenny Dykstra

I still can't believe that they allowed him to name himself Kenny Dykstra. Flair hits Kenny with some chops, but then gets hit with a leaping reverse elbow. Kenny then hits a vertical suplex outside the ring. There was just never any depth or psychology with Dykstra. I never saw him after he left WWE, but since they basically never brought him back, I'm guessing there was a reason for that. They also really didn't know what to do with any new stars other than to put them in meaningless feuds that no one cared about. Flair goes up top and it ends how you would expect it to with Kenny throwing him off. Kenny goes for the top rope leg drop and Flair is able to move out of the way. Flair tries working on the knee and Kenny counters it into a pinfall and picks up the victory. Lawler even points out that he didn't even use the tights. After the match, Flair offers him a handshake, but Kenny declines. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

WWE Championship Match
Edge vs. John Cena

Edge gets off to the hot start as we get the 50/50 chant from the crowd. Meanwhile, a "I'm on TV and your not" sign is on TV. Sigh. They hit a double crossbody in the middle of the ring and both men are down as we go into a commercial break. When we come back, Edge has Cena in a sleeper hold on the mat. On the plus side, I no longer have any commercials on Peacock for the rest of this show. Cena battles out of it and hits a blockbuster. Cena comes back and goes for the 5 Knuckle Shuffle and misses. Edge hits him with the Spear, but Cena grabs the bottom rope to break the count. JR had to see the replay to believe it. Edge goes for a superplex, but Cena blocks it and then hits a leg drop for a 2 count. Cena hits his modified powerbomb and this time gets all of the 5 Knuckle Shuffle. He gets Edge up for the FU, but Edge counters and then Cena hits a reverse suplex. Cena catches Edge up on his shoulders, but Edge grabs the rope and during the struggle, his legs knock out the referee. Orton comes out and hits the RKO on Cena. Triple H then comes out and hits a Pedigree on Edge. Cena covers Edge, the referee wakes up and Cena picks up the victory. These two are in capable of having a bad match, even with endings like that. 

Match Rating: ***

Cena shakes hands with DX after the victory. 

After the commercial, they announce that John Cena and DX will face Rated RKO and Umaga tonight. 

Cryme Tyme is out and they announce George Bush to some boos. I know this will surprise you, but it's not really him. Another surprise I'm sure is that this isn't funny, nor has it aged well. It ends with Bush getting his wallet taken and Bush dancing to the entrance music. Oh, and Bush almost says the n word. Thank god they made this episode 3 hours. Bush flips everyone off on his way out. 

Victoria vs. Mickie James

Victoria is still out carrying that list of all 4 women that are on Raw. These two will square off at New Year's Revolution for the title. This is a non-title match. Victoria hits a superplex early on, but Mickie kicks out at 2. I'm not really sure why Victoria is wearing tights that say "Hot!" on it. Mickie gets in a few pin attempts, but none of them end up being successful. Victoria trips her up and her face drops right into the bottom turnbuckle. Mickie battles back and goes for her DDT, but Victoria drapes her on the top rope and kicks her in the face. Victoria hits the Widow's Peak and that is all. They weren't given a ton of time, but had an effective match in the time allotted. Victoria crosses Mickie off the list and then adds the Women's Championship. 

Match Rating: *1/2

After talking about WrestleMania 23, we go to JR in the middle of the ring. He introduces Kevin Federline and he tells us that none of us know the real Federline. He basically says he's going to shock the world on New Year's against Cena. 

They run down the New Year's Revolution card. 

Umaga & Rated RKO vs. John Cena & DX

The faces start things off in control until Umaga is tagged in. Triple H of course is the one who is able to slow down Umaga's momentum. It doesn't last long and he hits him with a Samoan Spike and Shawn Michaels with a Samoan drop. Cena comes in and drives Umaga through the ropes. They start battling up the ramp and are essentially gone from the match. Edge then hits Triple H with a chair and that's enough for the DQ. Orton and Edge hit a double RKO on Michaels onto a chair. Triple H is bleeding and Edge hits him with a One Man Con-chair-to on the table. Orton then hits one of his own. They go back to Michaels in the ring, but a group of officials stop them. They do the long and dramatic ending here, showing both members of DX bloodied and getting medical attention. The match wasn't much, but the angle gave Rated RKO some heat.

Match Rating: *1/2

Whoever made the decision to eventually turn Raw into a weekly 3 hour show must have never gone back and watch some of the specials from the past. There was nothing added to this show that would have been missed had it only been 2 hours. There were a few bright spots on here, but not enough to make me ever want to see this one again.

Overall Rating: 42%

NXT TakeOver: Rival Review

Wednesday, February 11th, 2015
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida

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Hideo Itami vs. Tyler Breeze

This was the first TakeOver that I watched live. They show a WWE.com exclusive interview with Itami and he gets attacked by Breeze, setting up this match. Breeze debuts the selfie stick here and then gets jumped on by a woman that security has to pull off of him. Itami is enraged and takes it out with a series of kicks and clotheslines. Breeze is able to trip him up and work on the leg. Breeze slaps on the Figure Four on the ring post before the 5 count. Back in the ring, Breeze puts on a Figure Four/Sharpshooter combo in the middle of the ring. Itami tries to get Breeze up for GTS, but Breeze escapes and hits a Supermodel Kick for a 2 count. Itami is hulking up and hits a series of kicks, but is still selling the leg. Itami hits the running dropkick in the corner and a running kick for the victory. This was a fun opener with both guys looking good in their roles. 

Match Rating: ***1/4

They cut to William Regal and Kevin Owens backstage. 

No Disqualification Match
Bull Dempsey vs. Baron Corbin

They start brawling right away into the ring and then up the ramp. Bull drives Baron into the ring and then hits a suplex onto the ramp. Back in the ring, Corbin is able to hit a spine buster and then hits a clothesline. Corbin goes over the top, but Bull doesn't so he does it himself and the crowd boos it. That was terrible. Back in the ring, Bull hits a top rope headbutt and Corbin kicks out at 2. Queue the overly dramatic surprised reaction from Bull. Bull rolls Corbin out of the ring and throws him into the steps. Bull grabs a chair, but Corbin hits him with End Of Days and that's it. This was absolutely terrible.

Match Rating: 1/4*

They show Bayley and Becky Lynch mentally preparing for their match tonight. 

NXT Tag Team Championship Match
Lucha Dragons vs. Blake & Murphy

Well, at least this one can't possibly be as bad as the last match. Just as I type that, Sin Cara falls off Blake when trying to do a tilt-a-whirl headscissors. Kalisto then messes up his dive, but catches himself and is able to hit it on a second try. Sin Cara then hits a top rope victory roll that looked a little scary. Is Sin Cara the biggest bust in WWE history? I feel like he has to be up there. This match just has no flow to it. The finish comes when Sin Cara hits a one armed powerbomb on Murphy for a 2 count. From there Murphy hits a suplex and Wesley hits a Frog Splash for the victory. This wasn't very good either, but at least they were trying to make it exciting. 

Match Rating: *1/2

NXT Championship #1 Contender Match
Adrian Neville vs. Finn Balor

We have demon Finn here tonight. We get a little bit of back and forth action. Finn goes for a springboard dropkick, but gets hit with a dropkick from Neville. Balor gets Neville out of the ring and then hits the swanton over the top. Balor then hits a running dropkick onto Neville outside the ring and knocks him into the barricade. Balor hits a double stomp off the top rope to the back of Neville's head, but only can get a 2 count. The momentum shifts over to Neville and we get some impressive offense. After a corkscrew somersault or something like that, Balor is able to kick out. Neville goes for the Red Arrow, but Balor gets his knees up and immediately goes for a pin. Neville kicks out at 2 and Balor hits him with a running dropkick. Balor hits the Coup de Grace and that's all. This was lightyears better than the last two matches and both men held up their half of the bargain. 

Match Rating: ***3/4

Now we see Sasha Banks and Charlotte just moments before their match.

Fatal 4-Way For The NXT Women's Championship
Bayley vs. Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte

These are always my favorite matches to recap. Becky and Sasha work together until they both go to pin Bayley and it goes south from there. Becky hits Sasha with a pump handle suplex. Charlotte has been eliminated from the equation thanks to being thrown into the LED board earlier. She comes back in to break up a pin attempt and hits a few neckbreakers. Charlotte and Sasha start trading forearms and then Sasha sidesteps Sasha and spears Becky. Charlotte is going for a Glam Slam and Bayley hits Becky with the Codebreaker in the middle of it. Sasha sets up Charlotte on the second rope and Becky on the first and hits double knees. Bayley comes in and hits an exploder suplex on Sasha. Bayley then connects with back elbows in the corner and the gross referee is clearly telling them instructions. Bayley props up Charlotte and hits a hurricanrana. Bayley hits the Bayley To Belly, but Becky breaks up the pin. Bayley hits a slide through dropkick under the first rope and through the corner of hte ring. Sasha takes them both out with a dive. Charlotte then hits a dive onto the three of them and they are all down. Becky has Charlotte up in the corner and here comes Bayley. She knocks Becky off and hits a super Bayley To Belly but Sasha breaks it up. She goes for a pin, but Charlotte kicks out. Sasha puts on the Bank Statement in the center of the ring, but has to break it to knock Bayley and Becky out of the ring. She puts it back on, but Charlotte won't quit. Sasha turns it into a pin and becomes your new NXT Women's Champion. This was a very good match that crammed in a ton of action in a fairly short amount of time. It was clear that Sasha was the next darling of the division, so the choice is not surprising here. All four women got time to shine and took advantage of it. 

Match Rating: ***3/4

After the match, Charlotte extends her hand to Sasha, but they hug instead. Sasha then shoves her away and holds up the title. 

NXT Championship Match
Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn

Owens steps out of the ring to mess with Sami, but Sami is tired of waiting and hits a senton over the top rope while the referee is trying to get Owens in the ring. Back in the ring, Owens attacks with some big time contact and Sami is bouncing all over the ring for it. Sami attempts to fight back, but gets dropped on the top rope instead. After a lengthy beatdown, Sami fires back with some clotheslines. Zayn hits a Blue Thunder Bomb and naturally that isn't good enough for the victory. Zayn runs into a kick from Owens and it's followed up by the cannon ball, but Zayn kicks out. They battle up top, with Zayn going for a superplex. Owens shoves him off and goes for the senton, but Zayn gets his knees up. Zayn hits the exploder suplex in the corner, but Owens is able to get out of the way before the Helluva Kick. Outside the ring, Owens goes for a powerbomb, but Zayn is able to escape on the ring apron and then hits a springboard moonsault. Back in the ring, Zayn is selling the effects of hitting his head on the ramp and as a result eats a Pop Up Powerbomb, but is able to kick out at 2. Owens now starts to go Brock Lesnar on Zayn here. The trainer comes out to check in on Zayn and then Owens hits a powerbomb. He picks him up and gives him another one, but Zayn slowly is able to roll up his shoulder during th epin attempt. The trainer continues to attempt to check on Zayn, but Owens gives him a third and fourth one. During the fifth attempt, the referee pulls Owens away and rings the bell, declaring Owens the new champion. The crowd does not like that finish until Owens holds up the title. Typical fans. This was good, but a bit too methodical for my taste. I would have rather they trimmed off 5 minutes and gone with a quicker pace. The ending fell a little flat too. These guys are incapable of having anything less than a good match though, no matter the circumstances.

Match Rating: ***1/2

This TakeOver was on par with the last few they have put on, although the Dempsey/Corbin match was dreadful. The tag team match was a big letdown as well here. The last three matches delivered though and were able to mostly make you forget about those. This is a definite thumbs up and a good one to take a look back at. 

Overall Rating: 82%

Monday Night Raw 2-20-95 Review

Monday, February 20th, 1995
Macon Coliseum
Macon, Georgia

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Hey, we're actually live again. We get pre-recorded comments from Diesel and Jeff Jarrett ahead of their champion vs. champion match. 

Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Gary Sabough

There's a guy in the front row that has a Beavis and Butthead t-shirt if you're wondering where we are in pop culture. This is Bam Bam's return from suspension. Sabough does get a little bit of offense in, but Bam Bam hits a DDT and then a top rope headbutt for the victory. After the match, Bam Bam grabs a mic and calls Lawrence Taylor a punk. I really have enjoyed the raw delivery of Bam Bam during this feud. It's almost like maybe they should have done more with Bam Bam the last few years. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Adam Bomb vs. Rip Rogers

Rip is kind of a fun jobber here. Bomb seems a little off here. He's not hitting his moves as impactfully as he usually does. He hits a top rope clothesline for the victory. I will say that Jim Cornette being on commentary is helping the show be a little bit more fun. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

In case you didn't get enough of Bret Hart winning his made up award on Superstars, they show it again. 

It's now time for the King's Court where Shawn Michaels will announce his new bodyguard. Before Shawn comes out, Lawler goes back to the Bret being a racist again. Shawn says that since he's won the Royal Rumble, he has been a marked man. He announces his bodyguard as the one and only Sid. He reminds us that he has no remorse for any living soul.

Jacob & Eli Blu vs. Leroy Howard & Mark Starr

During the match, we go to a split screen with Todd Pettengill and he announces that Lawrence Taylor will be on Raw next week. Meanwhile, the Blus are dominating the top team of Howard and Starr. There's a spot where they try to tie Starr up in the ropes, but it doesn't work and Starr clearly tries to do it again himself. One of the Blu brothers hits a leg drop where he looks like he slipped on a banana peel and picks up the victory. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

They show Diesel at NBA All Star Weekend. They were definitely trying to make Diesel look cool, but there's no way Vince knew who any of these celebrities were.

WWF Championship Match
Jeff Jarrett vs. Diesel

Hulk Hogan vs. Ultimate Warrior, this is not. Diesel is all over Jarrett to start and clotheslines him out of the ring. Jarrett gets in some fists in the corner, but the referee pulls Jarrett off of him. Roadie tries to get involved, but Diesel throws him to the floor and then throws Jarrett on him. They do an old school spot where Diesel pulls Jarrett in the ring by one hand and Roadie tries to keep him out. Diesel wins that battle and the referee kicks out the arm of Roadie. I'm not a huge fan of Road Dogg, but I do really enjoy the Roadie. Roadie gets in a cheap shot outside the ring after the commercial and now Jarrett is in control. Cornette hypes up the 9 knee surgeries that Diesel has had in his career. Jarrett hits a swinging neckbreaker and a bulldog from the second rope. Jarrett hits a crossbody off the top rope, but Diesel kicks out with authority and hits a sidewalk slam. Diesel hits snake eyes and a big boot. He signals for the Jackknife and hits it for the victory. After the match, Roadie gets in the ring and he heats a boot to the face. He gives him a Jackknife as well and Jarrett drags him out of the ring. This was a pretty good main event with good action. 

Match Rating: **1/2

Shawn and Sid come out down the aisle as we go to commercial break. 

When we come back, Jim Cornette is afraid to interview Michaels and Sid. Shawn tells Diesel he should be scared because he has someone who can knock him out of his shoes. We then get a hype package for next week's Raw, where we get a rematch between Lex Luger and Tatanka. Yep, we're still going with this feud.

This was a fairly noteworthy episode with the debut of Sid, the announcement of LT on Raw next week and a WWF Championship defense. There was a good flow to the show and it was an easy one to watch.

Overall Rating: 58%

Superstars 2-18-95 Review

Original Airdate: Saturday, February 18th, 1995
West Palm Beach Auditorium
West Palm Beach, Florida

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We get a recap video of the Bam Bam Bigelow challenge and Vince McMahon says that WWF officials are trying to make it happen.

Hakushi vs. Buck Quartermain

Hakushi does a backflip and then a kick to Buck's gut. Hakushi follows it up with a slingshot dive to the outside. Hakushi hits a springboard splash and picks up the victory. Hakushi continues to be a breath of fresh air despite them not really doing anything with him. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

It's time for Live Event News. We get an exclusive Jeff Jarrett interview and lots of "ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha". Jarrett is glad that Diesel has accepted his challenge on Raw. As lame as you would expect. 

WWF Tag Team Championship Match
Headshrinkers vs. Smoking Gunns

As far as 1995 Superstars goes, this is about as good of a matchup as you're going to get. Too bad we have Vince yelling over top of it. Sione goes up top and misses a somersault off the top? I'm not sure I've ever seen him do that. Bart comes back and hits a missile dropkick. Billy and Fatu tag in and Billy hits him with a series of clotheslines. Billy hits a fist off the top rope, but hurts his hand and Fatu no sells it. Bart gets a blind tag in and hits a clothesline on Fatu, but Sione comes in and hits him with an illegal clothesline. This one has had some good action so far. Uncle Zebekiah makes his way down the entrance with Jacob and Eli Blu as we go into a commercial break. Billy hits a clothesline off the top rope and unloads with some right hands. The Gunns hit a double side Russian leg sweep for a 2 count. Bart hits an elbow drop off the top rope and Billy hits one as well and both times Sione kicks out. Sione's kickouts are pretty weak here for whatever reason. Billy hits a drop toe hold and Bart hits him with an elbow drop to the back of the head, but they can't put them away. The Gunns hit a double suplex and Billy hits a bulldog off the top rope. Sione misses with a boot, but then catches him and hits a Tombstone piledriver that looked like it may have hurt Billy. Fatu tags in and gets DDT'd by Billy, but no sells it and hits a superkick. Jacob and Eli pull Fatu out of the ring and we now have a brawl outside the ring and the bell rings. They announce it as a double countout, which means the Gunns retain. This was a good match with the Gunns pulling out everything they had and unable to beat the Headshrinkers. Unfortunately, the Headshrinkers were pretty much done after this, so nothing came of all of this.

Match Rating: ***

It's a 20 man battle royal next week here on Superstars. Stan Lane is in the ring with the WWF Magazine publisher and a New Generation fan to announce Bret Hart as the winner of the WWF Magazine Award Of The People. Bret talks about how great he is and that his goal is to become the WWF Champion for the third time. 

Razor Ramon vs. Bill Payne

Razor's not in a real good mood here after losing his Intercontinental Championship. He just decides to chuck Payne across the ring and stomps on him in the corner. Razor hits the fall away slam and back superplex before nailing the Razor's Edge for the victory. Razor legit seemed grumpy here. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

They show a Diesel music video with what is his new entrance music. At least I don't think he had it before now. 

Shawn Michaels says that he is going to unveil his new bodyguard on Raw. 

We go to British Bulldog with Stan Lane. What's with all the Stan today? This is one of the shorter in ring interviews you will ever see.

Kwang vs. Rick Santana

Things were going so well here. It's kind of hard to believe that this is the guy that got a big pop at a pay-per-view in 2023. Kwang hits a spin kick and ends it. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

It's time for Live Event News again. Stephanie Wiand hypes up the battle royal next week. We hear from Henry Godwinn, Jim Cornette and Mantaur.

Vince then talks about how excited he is to see Lawler get thrown out of the battle royal. They then interview Bret and he talks about how honored he is about the award he won. He also thought he got rid of Jerry Lawler a long time ago. Lawler then doubles down on Bret being a racist. 

It lost a little bit of steam at the end there, but this was a good episode of Superstars. You can't expect this show to ever be a classic, but they delivered a really solid tag team match that actually got more than a few minutes. 

Overall Rating: 60%

Armageddon 2006 Review

Sunday, December 17th, 2006
Richmond Coliseum
Richmond, Virginia

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Inferno Match
MVP vs. Kane

We get a lengthy video package between entrances. MVP gets on his knees to beg Kane, so Kane kicks him in the face. They play up the fire early on by doing a lot of work in the corners. MVP shoves Kane off the second rope and then hits a crossbody. He follows that up with a boot to the face of Kane and a clothesline. Kane sits up and hits MVP with a boot. Kane signals for the chokeslam and hits it, causing the flames to rise on impact. Kane removes the top turnbuckle pad and lights it on fire. He goes after MVP, but he's able to get it away and throws it out of the ring. Why wouldn't he just use it on Kane? MVP dropkicks Kane multiple times and he gets closer to the fire. MVP misses the last one and almost lights himself on fire. MVP tries to go up top, but Kane shoves him to the floor. Kane comes off the top and connects. They are battling outside the ring and then MVP tries to hide under the ring. Kane drags him out and Kane shoves him up the steps and into the fire. MVP runs around the ring and up the entrance for a pretty long time before being extinguished. This was slightly better than I had remembered, but the match has limitations and then you throw in a boring Kane and an inexperienced MVP. 

Match Rating: *1/4

Teddy Long visits the divas and lets them know that Santa will be here tonight. He says there will be a Naughty Or Nice Lingerie Contest. You know, normal workplace talk. 

JBL is still livid as we continue to stall as they take apart the ring. 

Fatal 4 Way Ladder Match For The WWE Championship
Paul London & Brian Kendrick vs. William Regal & Dave Taylor vs. MNM vs. Hardyz

This was supposed to be a normal tag team match with London and Kendrick defending against Regal and Taylor. Out comes Long and he announces that this will be a ladder match and that there will be two more teams involved. MNM comes out first and then everyone in the arena knows who the other team is except Cole and JBL. As you would expect in an 8 man ladder match, there's a lot of chaos in this match to begin. The faces do a spot where they carry the ladder with Mercury on it and dump him on Nitro on the floor. The Hardyz go for Poetry In Motion on London, but he's able to get out of the way and Hardy nails the ladder. Kendrick does a stomp to the gut of Matt while London holds him on the ladder. MNM set up a ladder on top of a sideways ladder and prop Jeff on the top rope. They set him up for a double superplex, but Matt breaks it up. Jeff leaps off the top and nails both of MNM in the face and this is the infamous moment that this match is known for. Mercury is an absolute mess and not in a good way. Regal and Taylor clear the ring and start to climb the ladder. Regal is afraid of heights, so he makes Taylor. He climbs hesitantly as well and it's broken up. Matt hits a Twist Of Fate and Jeff climbs a ladder outside the ring. As he's about to leap, Nitro hits a dropkick through the ropes and knocks Jeff off. That was a really cool idea and good execution. Nitro leaps off the top with the ladder and lands on Regal. Nitro is climbing the ladder, but London hits him off with a missile dropkick. Matt hip tosses Kendrick off the top of the ladder, but London slows him down. He starts climbing and Matt hits a back body drop off the ladder and then Matt falls off. Jeff comes in and starts climbing a new ladder. Nitro meets him up top and he hits a sunset flip powerbomb. Matt sets up two ladders for some reason and Regal and Taylor pull them apart. Regal hits a knee to the head of Matt while on the shoulders of Taylor. They set up the ladders and start climbing, but Kendrick is there. London clotheslines Taylor over the top, but Regal is getting closer. Kendrick hits Sliced Bread #2 from the ladder. He didn't hit his half of it probably like he should and they both looked to have taken a pretty hard bump there. London runs in and climbs and Matt meets him there. London knocks Matt off and he grabs the belt. The finish didn't quite live up to the rest of the match, but everything else was fantastic. This was nonstop action with very little downtime. Excellent match. 

Match Rating: ****1/4

Miz vs. Boogeyman

How do you follow a classic? Apparently with the Boogeyman. This is your typical Boogeyman match where Miz is afraid and Boogey hits his 3 moves. Miz is able to sidestep a charging Boogeyman and throws his shoudler into the ring post. Miz hits a running clothesline and Boogey kicks out at 2. Miz leaps off the top rope, but Boogeyman catches him and hits his finisher for the victory. After the match, he spits out worms into Miz's mouth. This was terrible as expected.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Chavo Guerrero says that he's dedicating this match to Vickie Guerrero. Vickie calls Chavo a real man and says that Chris Benoit abused her. 

United States Championship Match
Chavo Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit

Chavo gets in a cheap shot and we are underway. Benoit gets in all of the offense early and catapults Chavo over the top and to the floor. Chavo battles back and hits a superplex. Chavo wears down Benoit for a lengthy heat segment. Benoit its a series of German suplexes in his comeback. After 8 of them, Benoit is finally done and I can't blame him. Benoit goes for the Sharpshooter, but Chavo tries to fight out of it. Vickie grabs the title belt. Benoit has him in the Sharpshooter and he tells Vickie to not do it. He releases the hold and grabs Vickie's legs to put her in it. Chavo rolls Benoit up, but then Benoit rolls through and puts the Sharphooter in again. Chavo taps out and that's all. The action was pretty good, but the heat segment was a little too long for my taste. 

Match Rating: **3/4

Cruiserweight Championship Match
Gregory Helms vs. Jimmy Wang Yang

Michael Cole screaming "Yeeehaw" as Yang's music hits is probably as good as this one will get. After some back and forth action, Yang misses a spin kick in the corner and lands on his feet outside. Helms hits him with a dropkick through the ropes and then a swinging neckbreaker. Yang makes his move and is able to hit a dive from the top rope to the floor. The crowd is chanting "Boring" and JBL actually acknowledges it. Thank your boss, JBL. After years of not caring about this division, what do you expect when you give guys 10 minutes on a pay-per-view? This time Yang connects with the spin kick in the corner and hits a missile dropkick. Yang misses in the corner and rams his shoulder into the post. Helms then hits a swinging neckbreaker from the top rope. Helms goes off the top rope, but Yang hits him with a spin kick. Yang misses with a corkscrew moonsault and Helms hits a Codebreaker to pick up the victory. Helms has blood dripping from his mouth as he celebrates. The match just kind of felt like a non-cruiserweight match with one or two more top rope moves. 

Match Rating: **1/4

We get a video package of Undertaker/Mr. Kennedy where we once again are subjected to Jim Johnston's Jim Morrison ripoff. 

Last Ride Match
Mr. Kennedy vs. Undertaker

The goal of the match is to put your opponent in the hearse and drive it out of the arena. They start brawling and naturally Undertaker dominates. Taker hits a leg drop with Kennedy draped through the ropes. They start going up the entrance ramp and Kennedy has a sleeper hold on with a choke. He's Undertaker, so he just comes back and starts throwing Kennedy around again. Kennedy comes in with a chair and hits him in the head because no one knew what a concussion was in 2006. They start walking to the Armageddon set and climb part of the castle. I think we all know where this is going. Taker is goign for the chokeslam, but Kennedy kicks him below the belt and throws him off. They completely ruin the illusion when they show an overhead shot of Taker lying on a crash pad. Kennedy drags Taker up the entrance and throws him into the hearse and closes the door. As Kennedy is getting ready to drive the hearse, Taker sits up and drags him to the back and out of the hearse. It's Kennedy's turn to get a concussion and he's busted open. They battle up to the top of the hearse and Taker chokeslams him on the roof. Taker then hits the Tombstone on the roof and throws Kennedy into the trunk. Taker drives off for the victory. This was a pretty generic brawl with a spot that was ruined by their own production crew. Very average.

Match Rating: **1/2

Finlay assures King Booker that he is not going to double cross him tonight. Book gets a little upset about this until Queen Sharmell comes in and talks some sense into them. 

Santa Claus is out and brings out the divas. They all strip down to their lingerie and have to awkwardly dance. It's amazing that they were still doing this in 2006. Santa polls the crowd for a winner and he says that everyone is the winner. Santa is then revealed to be Big Dick Johnson and he strips down to his thong. Remember, Vince McMahon is a genius.

Finlay & King Booker vs. John Cena & Batista

It's kind of crazy that they main evented a pay-per-view with a tag team match like this. In case you didn't hear them the first 87 times, this is the first time that two world champions have teamed together. It's an interesting strategy to tease tension on the team that no one thinks will win the match. Is there anyone who doesn't think Batista and Cena won't win here? The champs dominate the early portion of the match until Booker hits a thumb to the eye of Cena. Cena comes back with his variation of the bulldog and the spinning powerbomb. Cena hits the 5 Knuckle Shuffle and goes for the FU, but Booker escapes. Cena hits a drop toe hold and puts on the STFU, but Finlay breaks it up. Batista charges in on Finlay, which allows Booker to hit the scepter to the throat of Cena behind the referee's back. Booker hits a superkick and gets a 2 count. Hornswoggle gets in the ring and goes to kick Cena in the head, but misses and kicks himself in the face. Batista gets a hot tag and hits a powerslam on Finlay and a Spear on both men. Batista ducks a kick from Booker and he hits Finlay. Booker goes for the Batista Bomb, but Finlay clotheslines him. Cena comes in to take care of Finlay, but gets hit by a clothesline outside the ring. Finlay hits the back of Batista's leg with a chair, but Batista then kicks him off the apron. Batista hits a spinebuster on Booker and then a Batista Bomb for the easy victory. Was Finlay trying to extend the match and they just decided to go home anyway? This was a SmackDown main event that cost $30. That doesn't mean it was bad, but it just didn't feel like something you should have had to have paid for.

Match Rating: **1/2

I think this would be the very definition of an inessential pay-per-view. I mean I guess the Undertaker/Kennedy feud was ended, but the rest was SmackDown. The ladder match is definitely worth going out of your way to watch, but everything else here was just not impactful. 

Overall Rating: 51%

Off The Grid, Volume 34: Slamboree 1995 Review

Monday, April 7th, 1986
Bayfront Arena
St. Petersburg, Florida

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Off The Grid, Volume 34:

Eric Bischoff lets us know that he's sitting in for Tony Schiavone and he is with Bobby Heenan and Gene Okerlund. The Renegade is involved in the main event, so I already know what I'm getting myself into. I have watched this show once before, but really don't have much recollection of it. 

WCW Tag Team Championship Match
Nasty Boys vs. Harlem Heat

Apparently the Nasty Boys were attacked earlier in the night and only Jerry Sags is out when their music hits. We get a lot of stalling before Sags and Booker start brawling. Sags hits a big clothesline with Booker selling it big time. Sags then hits a double DDT and the crowd is into this. He then hits Sister Sherri with a right hand. Even Bischoff says that was uncalled for. Sags hits a pump handle slam on Booker and gets a 2 count. Booker gets a thumb to the eye and we get a double team to shift the momentum. Sags comes back and hits a leg drop below the belt, but Booker breaks up the pin attempt. Sags hits an elbow drop from the top rope, but again the pin attempt is broken up. Sags gets distracted by Sherri and it works. Sherri gets in a couple of slaps for some well deserved revenge. Sags tries to make a tag, but no one is there. Booker hits a somersault leg drop off the top rope, but doesn't go for the pin for some reason. He eventually does and Sags kicks out. Sags comes back and hits a piledriver and out comes Brian Knobbs with his ribs wrapped up. Sags makes the hot tag and Knobbs takes care of both men. He sends Stevie Ray out of the ring. Sherri goes up top, but Knobbs catches her and hits a spinebuster. He then throws her out of the ring and onto Stevie Ray. Sags hits an elbow drop off the top rope and we have new champions. The crowd was into this and the action was mostly good. I can't really argue with much other than Harlem Heat looked weak here. The Blue Bloods are out after the match to check out the Nasty Boys and then head to the back. 

Match Rating: **1/2

Eric Bischoff is with the new champs and they say that the Blue Bloods can be the number one contenders. 

Mean Gene is with Kevin Sullivan. They try to get over this stupid angle with Beefcake and I can assure you that no one cared.

The Man With No Name vs. Kevin Sullivan

It's very well documented, but Beefcake's run in WCW is an all timer. They go right at it and Beefcake knocks him out of the ring. I'm just going to call him Beefcake here, sorry. We get lots of generic 1980s WWF wrestling with punches and heads to the turnbuckles. Beefcake slaps on the sleeper hold, but Sullivan counters out of it with a jawbreaker. Beefcake is out of the ring and Sullivan throws him into the guardrail. God, please end this match. Beefcake hits a piledriver, but Sullivan gets his foot on the bottom rope. Beefcake hits one of the sloppier clotheslines you will ever see and then misses in the corner, hitting his face on the post. Sullivan puts him in the tree of woe and hits a knee to the midsection. He hits a double stomp and that's all. Thank God. This was embarrassing. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

After the match, some guy is on the screen and tells Sullivan they need to talk about Hulk Hogan. Sullivan leaves through the crowd. 

We go to Mean Gene with Jimmy Hart, Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage. Hogan talks about the new vein on the back of his triceps. 

Dick Murdoch vs. Wahoo McDaniel

Oh boy, it's time for our legends match. Murdoch was just on Royal Rumble 1995 a few months earlier. Murdoch apparently had too many burgers at the last KKK barbecue. This is with Gordon Solie calling the play by play and it's being shown in black and white. Wahoo is 56 here and Murdoch is 48. Anyway, this match is absolutely awful and the crowd doesn't care. Murdoch throws Wahoo in the corner and then hits some sort of bulldog from the top rope that looked like about the least athletic thing you can think of. Well, if anyone deserves to be embarrassed, it's Murdoch. Wahoo hits a chop and that's it. This was one of the worst matches I have ever seen. Somehow they saw Beefcake and Sullivan and were just so determined to top it.

Match Rating: 0 Stars

We go to Big Bubba with Mean Gene. He looks like the Guardian Angel. 

IWGP Championship Match
Great Muta vs. Paul Orndorff

Just for reference, Orndorff was 45 here. I'm not sure what was in the water backstage, but these two are off to a really slow start too. I've already dozed off twice in this match and three times in the last one. This has to be one of the all time worst stretch of matches put on a pay per view. Muta throws in a few cool moves here and there. He hits a top rope moonsault and that's all. This was just nothing to me. The match was quite a bit longer than I lead on, but it was not that great. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

Arn Anderson is with Ric Flair, Vader and Mean Gene. They all cut their typical promos.

Terry Funk is shown talking about legends and that he doesn't think he's able to fill their shoes. 

World Television Championship Match
Alex Wright vs. Arn Anderson

Wright is able to shine by showing off some mat wrestling, athleticism and outsmarting Arn. Wright is able to get Anderson out of the ring and then hits him with a dive over the top. Arn gets a little bit of offense in before getting hit with a spin kick. Wright hits a big dropkick and we get some nearfalls. Arn then tricks him into a DDT and picks up the victory. This was fine, but never felt like a pay per view match. I usually type so much more, but these matches just feel like there is nothing going on in them. 

Match Rating: **

Meng vs. Road Warrior Hawk

This one was added right before the show and Bischoff claims that this is a main event anywhere in the world. After the first 30 seconds, I can tell you that's not true. Meng hits a clothesline and then a piledriver, but Hawk pops right back up. He misses with a shoulder tackle in the corner and hits the ring post. Col. Robert Parker gets in a few cheap shots behind the referee's back. Hawk fights back and hits a shoulder tackle. Hawk goes up top, but misses with whatever type of splash he was going for there. They start brawling outside the ring and they both get counted out for the cop out finish. They bring out the jobbers to help pull them apart. I'm not really sure why they needed to book this since it was pretty clear that they weren't going to have either guy take the L. I will say they did try to make the match interesting, it just didn't really click.

Match Rating: 3/4*

It's time for the Legends Hall Of Fame portion and Gordon Solie is out again. He first inducts Wahoo McDaniel and he gets a modest ovation. He gives a short speech and we move onto Terry Funk. This one is kind of interesting because he's about to have a big ECW and WWE run in the near future. They do state that he is still active. Solie is so dull here as a host. They're so proud to let us know that the Japanese press is here to cover this as well. He doesn't say much  more, but I'd much rather listen to Funk over a lot of people. It's now time for Angelo Poffo. He is so much like Lanny. He says about 10 words before they go onto Antonio Inoki. I have no idea why I picked to watch this show. I obviously did not remember how terrible it is. Big John Studd is a posthumous addition, who passed away 2 months prior to this show. His son accepts the honor, which had to be pretty tough so close to his death. The final addition is Dusty Rhodes. Solie perks up a little bit for this introduction. We also get young Cody on stage. He gives a pretty surprisingly mellow acceptance speech and then he announces that Gordon Solie into the hall as well. This brings out the true Dusty a little. Gordon gets a little emotional here before we end the segment. This was pretty long and featured no memorable moments. This was most likely a big bathroom/popcorn break for the live crowd. 

We go to Mean Gene and he's with Sting. I do dig Sting's face paint tonight. 

Lights Out Match
Big Bubba Rogers vs. Sting

Sting comes out holding a table over his head. You'd think that would signal a fast start and a brawl, but instead they start methodically. Just as I finished typing that, Bischoff is wondering the same thing. I as hoping this would at least be mildly entertaining, but so far it has been anything but that. Bubba tries to slam Sting's face into the table, but he blocks it and slams Bubba's face into it instead. Bubba throws some powder into Stings face and throws him into the table that's standing up. Sting hits an Irish whip on Bubba in the corner of the ring, but misses with the Stinger Splash and lands into the table. Bubba takes off his belt and starts whipping him. Bubba hits the Boss Man Slam, but Sting kicks out at 2. That got no reaction from the crowd. Bubba goes up top, but Sting powerslams Bubba. Sting now climbs upstairs and hits a splash for a 2 count. Sting puts on the Scorpion Deathlock and that's all. This was very uneventful and was more of a Saturday Night match.

Match Rating: *1/2

Ric Flair & Vader vs. Hulk Hogan & Randy Savage

Oh boy, Renegade comes running out and looks like he forgot to wipe his butt. What a stupid idea he was. We get a bunch of stalling before Hogan and Vader lock up. Please just let this show end. We are only about 8 months from Vader's WWF debut. Hogan's able to knock Vader out of the ring and Vader is frustrated. Savage comes out attacks him. They double team him back in the ring while Flair just kind of stands there not knowing what to do. Vader hits a double clothesline and then Flair battles with Savage outside the ring. Savage knocks Flair around for a little bit and in comes Hogan. They have an awkward exchange where they aren't on the same page and then Hogan puts on the Figure Four. We get some shenanigans and it leads to Arn Anderson coming in and the distraction eventually leads to Vader coming in and regaining control for his team. Out comes a large man and the announce team wants to know who he is. It is the Giant, but I guess we don't know that yet. Savage gets a hot tag and hits a top rope elbow drop, but in comes Vader and he dominates. He hits a Vader Bomb of the splash variety and then hits a series of rights and lefts. Hogan comes in and the things break down. We get crazy Savage, which is always fun and he brawls with Vader outside the ring. Then out of nowhere, Hogan hits the boot and leg drop for the victory. That was a terrible finish. This was a house show match to be honest.

Match Rating: **

Vader, Flair and Anderson attack the victors after the match. Angelo Poffo comes in to try and stop Flair and Anderson from attacking his son, but they knock him down and slap on the Figure Four. Savage is very distraught and wants an ambulance.

Airing just a few weeks before the infamous King Of The Ring, I'm not sure why there isn't a debate as to which is worse. I'll let you know in a few months when I get there. However, this is an absolutely terrible show. There was not one thing that was redeeming about it and the card is awful. Just a really bad show. Do not watch this.

Overall Rating: 16%

NXT 2-4-15 Review

Original Airdate: Wednesday, February 4th, 2015
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida

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Carmella vs. Emma

They talk about Emma trying to get her career back on track. Emma is able to slap on the Tarantula, but then gets hit with a drop toe hold after releasing the hold. Carmella puts on Code Of Silence and that is all? So much for Emma, I suppose. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

NXT Championship #1 Contender Tournament Semifinal Match
Adrian Neville vs. Baron Corbin

I don't think Corbin will win this time in under a minute. He does get a big clothesline to start things off. Corbin hits a variation of a suplex and gets a 2 count. Neville is able to chop out the legs with a dropkick and follows up with a kick to the head. A springboard missile dropkick sends Corbin out of the ring. Neville goes for a slingshot dive, but Corbin catches him and drops him on the guardrail. Out of the frame, Bull Dempsey attacks Corbin behind the referee's back. Corbin is barely able to get back in the ring to break the count, but Neville goes up top for the Red Arrow and hits it for the victory. Who in the world wants that feud to continue? This was fine for what it was supposed to be.

Match Rating: *3/4

Don't worry folks, next week Baron Corbin will face Bull Dempsey with no disqualifications at TakeOver.

Bayley vs. Becky Lynch

Becky is still doing the headbanging thing, which is pretty cheesy. After an early flurry from Becky, Bayley dumps her out of the ring. Out comes Sasha Banks to observe. Bayley misses in the corner and Becky throws her down with a leg whip. Bayley is right back and goes after Becky's leg. Bayley hits a Bayley-To-Belly and gets the pinfall. I'm not really sure why this is so short, because there is a lot of time left on this episode to fill. After the match, Sasha isn't happy with the result. Sasha gives her a shove and Becky shoves her to the mat. Out comes Charlotte and all four ladies just kind of look at each other and that's it. 

Match Rating: *1/4

Tyler Breeze has a backstage interview. They just have nothing to do with his character. 

NXT Championship #1 Contender Tournament Semifinal Match
Hideo Itami vs. Finn Balor

We get some mat wrestling before going into a commercial break. Balor rolls through on a sunset flip and hits a dropkick to a seated Itami for a 2 count. Neville is on commentary for this match, by the way. Balor goes back and forth between some submission holds and some quick pin attempts. Itami tries to get something going and sits on the top rope, but gets hit by an enzuigiri and we have ourselves a second commercial break. Itami is able to put together some offense, but Balor escapes the GTS attempt. We get some kicks to the head and both men are down. Balor hits a Sling Blade and then hits a huge running dropkick into the corner. Balor goes up top and hits Coup de Grace for the victory. That dropkick looked vicious. These two had a good main event here and Balor has been pushed as the bigger star so far here. They shake hands after the match. Balor and Neville then shake hands. 

Match Rating: ***

We get a Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn video package to close out the show.

This was a pretty good episode overall, even if the early matches were a little off. The main event delivered enough and TakeOver is looking to be the strongest one to date.

Overall Rating: 61%

Superstars 2-11-95 Review

Original Airdate: Saturday, February 11th, 1995
Memorial Coliseum
Corpus Christi, Texas

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They show a quick recap of Shawn Michaels winning the Royal Rumble and the heart of Pamela Anderson ("allegedly"). Then they show him running into Adam Bomb backstage and setting up their match today.

Tatanka vs. Gary Sabough

Sabough is a house of fire to start. Tatanka is preparing for his big WrestleMania match against no one. Tatanka really does have one of the stranger careers for a featured guy during a weak period. Anyway, he hits End Of The Trail and that's all. It's the Million Dollar Corporation, so no one cared.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Just in case you didn't see it the first 300 times, here's another recap of the Lawrence Taylor/Bam Bam Bigelow situation. 

Heavenly Bodies vs. Buck Quartermain & Raven Clark

Yessssss. Del Ray hits a whatamaneuver on Raven before hitting the atomic drop slam on Prichard onto Raven. Del Ray hits a moonsault off the top and that is all. These matches are very short here so far. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

It's time to go to Stephanie Wiand. We go to Kama, who cuts the most generic promo you will ever see and he is demanding competition next week. 

Adam Bomb vs. Shawn Michaels

Bomb attacks Shawn and kicks him over the top rope. Michaels is probably at the thinnest he ever was in his run. Bomb blocks a hip toss and hits Michaels with a clothesline for a 2. Michaels misses a splash in the corner and Bomb goes to work on the left arm. Bomb hits a big back body drop, but then Shawn is able to dump Bomb out of the ring. Shawn hits a slingshot crossbody over the top and rolls Bomb back in the ring. Michaels hits an elbow drop off the second rope, but Bomb kicks out at 2. Bomb comes back with a hip toss and some clotheslines. They've kept a really nice pace for this match. Bomb misses with a slingshot splash and Michaels hits Sweet Chin Music for the victory. That was a really solid little sprint of a match there. Bomb is limited in his offense, but held up his end of the bargain. 

Match Rating: ***

Man Mountain Rock vs. Bill Payne

Is Bill related to Maxx? I can't emphasize enough how dorky Rock's outfit is. Rock hits a reverse elbow in the corner and a belly-to-belly suplex. He hits a vertical suplex and a face-first suplex for the victory. So did he really think he was going to get over with efforts like this? He showed absolutely nothing. There was no spark, energy or character in this performance. You don't just get over by showing up.

Match Rating: 1/4*

We see an interview with Hakushi and Shinja from a house show with Stan Lane. They just talk about Hakushi being number 1 in Japan and that no one knows Bret Hart in Japan. 

Well Dunn vs. Headshrinkers

We have to be very close to the end of the Headshrinkers here. Well Dunn comes in hot and are all over both Headshrinkers. Sionne battles back and hits a backbreaker. Fatu climbs up top and hits the splash for the victory. That's it? Harvey Wippleman is very frustrated after the match. It's time to bring back Big Bully Busick. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Lee Tobin vs. Bob Backlund

Backlund looks like he has aged 10 years here. He is slow and seems off his game. He puts in the Cross-Face Chickenwing and that's all, thankfully. He doesn't release the hold for a few seconds and then celebrates. Just let him stick to promos.

Match Rating: 1/4*

We go back to Stephanie Wiand. We get a recap of all the news going on with the Tag Team Championships. The Headshrinkers are going to get a shot against the Smoking Gunns.

British Bulldog vs. Reno Riggins

They sure are cramming a lot of matches into the episode today. I mean at this point, they need to find something for Bulldog to do. He hits the vertical suplex and he hits the running powerslam and that's all. Exactly what you would expect. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Jerry Lawler talks about being a Browns fan and that Jim Brown said that LT was nothing without his team. Sure.

This was a show where they jammed too many short matches onto the card, but the one feature match was very good. Shawn was at the top of his game going into WrestleMania, so that's a plus. Otherwise, this was the usual crap.

Overall Rating: 40%

SmackDown 12-15-06

Original Airdate: Friday, December 15th, 2006
TD Banknorth Garden
Boston, Massachusetts

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John Cena is here to kick off the show. He reminds everyone that he lives here in Boston and points out his dad in the front row. He then says that he got Michael Cole for his secret Santa and got him everything he wanted. He got him an entire hard salami, a picture of David Hasselhoff without his shirt on and a bag of salty nuts. He then talks about how he will make history by teaming with the World Heavyweight Champion at Armageddon and then is interrupted by King Booker and Finlay. They show the attack on Batista last week. Booker says that with it being the holiday season, they are going to give him the same beating. They head down to the ring, but out comes Batista before they even get started. Now Teddy Long is out to announce that Cena will face Finlay tonight. 

Paul London, Brian Kendrick & Jimmy Wang Yang vs. William Regal, Dave Taylor & Gregory Helms

Regal gets in a cheap shot on Kendrick behind the referee's back to help out Helms. The heels continue to work on Kendrick as JBL and Cole talk about Ashley maybe starting to be a distraction for the champions. Taylor comes in and misses with a slow charge to the corner. Kendrick is able to hit a suplex on Helms and tags in Yang. Things start to break down and it leads to Regal and Taylor heading towards the back. Yang hits a moonsault on Helms and gets the victory ahead of his match at Armageddon. This was pretty disappointing and just way too short to mean anything.

Match Rating: *

Matt Hardy vs. Joey Mercury

Mercury is kind of in limbo. Nitro is clearly still a singles guy and I guess they are just throwing Mercury on Armageddon for now? Mercury is in control early on until Hardy hits a running clothesline. He follows it up with a second rope elbow for a 2 count. He hits a Side Effect and a Twist Of Fate and that's it? This was the definition of filler.

Match Rating: 3/4*

They talk about the Inferno Match and we go back to MVP talking to his agent. Mr. Kennedy comes in and they start arguing again. They finally agree to be on the same page tonight and then we get Kane and Undertaker with their eyes rolled in the back of their heads.

MVP & Mr. Kennedy vs. Kane & Undertaker

We come back from commercial with the match already started. The "brothers" dominate the match because we have to pretend like they are some unstoppable team. Kennedy gets his chance and stomps on Taker in the corner. In comes MVP and he gets destroyed by Taker. He hits Old School and goes for Snake Eyes, but Kane tags himself in. Taker looks confused, but it doesn't matter. They hit a double chokeslam on Kennedy. Taker gets Kennedy up for the Tombstone, but MVP grabs him off his shoulder. Taker starts going after MVP and throws him into the SmackDown set. Kennedy throws Kane into the steps and the bell rings for a double countout. Kennedy hits a DDT on the floor and Taker takes his brawl to the back. Kennedy grabs the hearse and MVP comes out to help. He's revving it up and the lights go out. When they come back on, Taker is in the hearse next to Kennedy. Kennedy runs out and then Kane sits up. They run away and we go to commercial. This was all stupid.

Match Rating: 1/2*

Chavo Guerrero and Vickie Guerrero are out. Re-visiting this whole "Chris Benoit hits women" angle is really uncomfortable. Anyway, they call out Benoit to apologize and he's out in a suit. He says he doesn't owe them anything. There was no point to this other than to remind us that they are feuding.

Chavo Guerrero vs. Funaki

Chavo hits a brainbuster and then follows it up with a Frog Splash for the victory. There was minimal action before that. Benoit comes in after the match and puts him in the Sharpshooter. Vickie comes in and slaps him in the face and Benoit smiles. Benoit releases the hold and Vickie gets on her knees and is screaming. This was all terrible.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Vito vs. Sylvain

I thought we were done with this. Man, did my interest in this episode just jump off a cliff that would impress Wile E. Coyote. Sylvain hits a variation of a fall away slam for a 2 count. They are no longer doing the blurred out tights thing and he is wearing normal trunks. We get some weird pinfall and that's all, with Vito sneaking out a victory. I assure you, not one person cared about this match.

Match Rating: 1/4*

They rundown the Armageddon card and then show the Boogeyman/Miz storyline and that's brought to us by World Of Warcraft. Is that still a thing? Miz and Kristal are in the ring and there's a table set up with three trays that are covered. Miz says that he's going to prove that he is fearless. The first tray is pig's tongue and Miz takes a bite out of it to Kristal's disgust. The second tray has monkey brains and he eats that as well. Under the third tray, it's naturally worms. Miz tries to do it, but just can't. He puts the lid back on and then Boogeyman's head pops out of the table. They run off to the back and Boogeyman does his dancing. 

Finlay vs. John Cena

It's going to take a match of the year contender to save this show. They work a nice pace to start off the match, with both guys swapping momentum. Cena tries to put on the STFU, but Finlay grabs the ropes. He drags him outside and starts hitting him with come clubbing blows. Out comes Hornswoggle and Finlay throws him at Cena. He catches him and Cena tosses him into JBL. Confession, I fell asleep during this one and had to rewind. Finlay slams Cena's arm on the steel steps and goes back to a submission hold. Cena makes the comeback and hits the Five Knuckle Shuffle. He charges at Finlay, but misses and hits the post. Finlay hits the Celtic Cross, but Cena kicks out at 2. Finlay rips off a turnbuckle cover and the ref turns his attention to putting it on, but Hornswoggle uses it to throw in a chair. Cena knocks it away and hits the FU for the victory. This was just okay. 

Match Rating: **

King Booker comes through the crowd and starts brawling with Cena. Finlay hits Cena in the back with the shillelagh. Batista comes out and makes the save. 

This show was absolutely awful. There was nothing worth watching here and even worse, it did nothing to make you want to see Armageddon. Just bad.

Overall Rating: 29%

ECW 12-12-06 Review

Tuesday, December 12th, 2006
TD Banknorth Garden
Boston, Massachusetts

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After a lengthy recap of Big Show losing the title, they hype up the main event for tonight which is Bobby Lashley vs. Paul Heyman's goons.

Rob Van Dam vs. Test

After knocking Test out of the ring, RVD hits a somersault dive over the top and to the floor. He throws him back in the ring and hits a slingshot leg drop. Test hits a thumb to the eye to slow down RVD. He throws him into the ring post and goes to work. After a commercial break, Test eats a boot to the face when he dives off the top rope. RVD hits a springboard reverse kick and then a spin kick for a 2 count. After being crotched on the top rope, RVD hits Rolling Thunder and again Test kicks out. He goes for the 5 Star Frog Splash, but misses. RVD goes for a sunset flip, but Test counters and grabs the ropes to steal the victory. The finish was a little sloppy, but the match wasn't bad.

Match Rating: **1/4

Matt Striker is in the ring for another class segment. He makes fun of Boston sports and then brings out Balls Mahoney. He starts making fun of him, so he hits Striker with a clothesline. Striker kicks Balls below the belt and insults him to conclude the segment. 

Elijah Burke and Sylvester Terkay have to tell us who they are again. A constant on ECW. 

CM Punk vs. Hardcore Holly

These two go right at it and we get some pretty stiff offense. Punk hits the high knee into the bulldog, but Holly kicks out at 2. Holly then gets Punk in the corner and starts hammering away with closed fists. We can all see where this is going and the referee disqualifies him after trying to get him to stop. Nothing says extreme like a disqualification. Punk then fights back and puts him in the Anaconda Vice. The crowd was into it until the finish and now it's mostly silence. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

Tommy Dreamer is out and he challenges Great Khali to a match. Out comes Daivari and Khali, but Daivari says that last week was a fluke and he's going to take him up on his challenge.

Tommy Dreamer vs. Daivari

Daivari attacks him with the microphone and we're underway. Dreamer catches his reverse crossbody attempt and he hits an inverted DDT. Khali hits Dreamer in the back, but Dreamer still hits a DDT and that's all. Khali immediately grabs him and pulls Dreamer out of the ring to slam him to the mat. This had no point of existing.

Match Rating: 1/4*

They show highlights of Mike Knox and Kelly Kelly last week. I assure you, no one cares. 

Handicap Match
Bobby Lashley vs. Paul Heyman's Personal Enforcers

Speaking of no one cares, here's Paul Heyman's goons. Do you think they were less over as this or as the Bashams? The answer is both. Lashley hits a double clothesline and a delayed vertical suplex. He then starts throwing them around the ring. The enforcers are able to cheat behind the referee's back and then awkwardly take him down. Lashley makes a comeback and hits the Dominator for the victory. This felt like the fourth match on a house show. The enforcers try to attack after and he hits another Dominator. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

The show started off decently enough and then fell off a cliff. They just continue to not be able to give you a reason to really care about anything. They're trying, but nothing is sticking. 

Overall Rating: 42%

Backlash 2023 Review

Saturday, May 6th, 2023
Coliseo de Puerto Rico Jose Miguel Agrelot
San Juan, Puerto Rico

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Raw Women's Championship Match
Bianca Belair vs. Iyo Sky

As expected, we have a very hot crowd tonight. They do the whole let's trade athletic moves and the crowd will eat it up thing to start. The crowd is overwhelmingly behind Iyo, which is kind of weird. Iyo is able to counter Bianca with a roll through and then hits a big stomp. Michael Cole informs me that both women will be on SmackDown now, which makes sense for the Raw Women's Champion to move. Iyo goes for a headscissors, but Bianca stops her and hits a backbreaker out of it. Bianca does a one-handed press slam, which was pretty impressive until Iyo almost fell really awkwardly on her face. Bianca follows it up with the handspring moonsault for a nearfall. I should probably note that the reason that she used one arm is because it was being worked on by Iyo. Iyo hits a big missile dropkick and the momentum carries Bianca out of the ring. Bianca shoves Iyo off the top rope and goes for a 450 splash, but Iyo gets her knees up. Iyo slaps on the Crossface, but Bianca rolls out and goes for a powerbomb, but Iyo counters into a X Factor for a 2 count. After a series of counters, Bianca is outside the ring again. She tries to drag her out of the ring, but Iyo kicks her away. Bianca tries a handstand, but Iyo counters it and sends her to the floor. Iyo then hits a moonsault to the floor. Unlike Charlotte's, that one actually made contact with Bianca. They battle up on the top rope and it leads to Bianca hitting a super powerbomb, but Iyo kicks out. Yeah, that should have just been the finish. Out comes Bayley and Dakota Kai. Iyo starts grabbing Bianca by the hair, but she hits her with a right forearm. She has her up on her shoulders, but Iyo rolls her up for another 2 count. Bianca gets pulled in the ring and this allows Kai to hit a kick on Bianca. Sky goes up top, but misses with the moonsault. Bianca gets her up and hits the KOD for the victory. This was very much a John Cena in 2006 type of match. They had a good match overall, but there were some flow issues for me that held this back from being more.

Match Rating: ***1/2

Rey Mysterio is back with Bad Bunny and in walks Savio Vega. He hands him a kendo stick with the Puerto Rican flag on it. 

Michael Cole and Corey Graves go over the updated rosters. Who ended up on ECW, though?

Omos vs. Seth Rollins

Omos hits Rollins with his big boot while Rollins is listening to the crowd sing his entrance music. Omos hits a big shoulder tackle with a very nice bump by Rollins. Omos then shoves Rollins over the top rope. Rollins is able to counter and shove Omos into a ring post. Rollins hits a suicide dive with almost no impact. He goes for another one, but this time Omos catches him and drops him on the apron. We're getting lots of boots and lifting in this one. Rollins hits a knee off the springboard and stars to kick out the legs of Omos. He hits a dropkick that gets him down to one knee and follows up with a superkick. Seth sets him up for a Pedigree while he's on his knees, but Omos hits a back body drop. Rollins slams Omos's face into the ring post and hits a tornado DDT. Rollins hits a Frog Splash, but Omos kicks out at 1. Rollins hits a blow to the back of the head from the second rope. He goes for the Stomp, but Omos blocks it with his strength. Omos hits a chokeslam and Rollins kicks out. Rollins is able to hit a Stomp and kicks MVP off the apron. He hits a second stomp and Omos kicks out at 2 this time. Rollins goes up to the top rope and hits a super Stomp and that's enough to finally put Omos away. This was as good as it was going to be. Omos is just so limited that it's nearly impossible for him to do much more than this.

Match Rating: *3/4

Triple Threat Match For The United States Championship
Bobby Lashley vs. Bronson Reed vs. Austin Theory

Lashley hits a clothesline on Reed that forces Theory into a DDT. Lashley hits a delayed vertical suplex on Theory, but misses a clothesline and gets tripped up and squashed by Reed. Reed and Theory work together for about 6 seconds when Reed runs Theory over. Lashley bounces back and knocks Reed down and hits a slam on Theory. Lashley hits a Spear on Theory, but gets dragged out by Reed. Reed hits a superkick and then hits a Vader Bomb from the outside of the ropes to Lashley on the floor. I can say that I have never seen that before. Reed rolls Lashley back in the ring and climbs the ropes. Theory shakes the rope to knock him down. Lashley slaps on the Hurt Lock. Theory uses the ropes to turn it into a pin. Lashley releases the hold and gets splashed by Reed on the top rope, but Theory is able to break up the pin. Theory hits a Blockbuster and then gets Reed up on his back for a moment, but Reed hits a powerslam on him. Reed goes for a moonsault, but Theory moves out of the way. Lashley hits the Spear on Reed and Theory dumps Lashley out of the ring. Theory pins Reed before Lashley can get back in to retain his title. This was good action, but way too short to achieve what it could have been.

Match Rating: **1/2

SmackDown Women's Championship Match
Rhea Ripley vs. Zelina Vega

We get a little bit of a cat and mouse start until Ripley catches Vega and hits a powerbomb. I should note that Zelina is getting the hometown treatment here and is crazy over with the crowd. Zelina gets the usual shoulder in the post in on Rhea and the hits a series of clotheslines, but can't knock her down. Ripley counters the last one with a headbutt, but when she goes for Rip Tide, Zelina turns it into a DDT. She hits a 619 and then goes to the second rope. She shimmies her shoulders and then hits a Meteora for a 2 count. Ripley then kind of hits Rip Tide out of nowhere and that's all. Zelina deserved this moment, but the match itself was more of a middle of an episode type of SmackDown match.

Match Rating: *1/2

San Juan Street Fight
Damian Priest vs. Bad Bunny

The reaction for Bad Bunny is pretty insane. Priest messes with Bunny a little bit, but Bunny is able to sneak in a Michinoku Driver in for a 2 count. Priest goes back to messing around with Bunny, insulting him in front of his fans. Priest hits South Of Heaven and picks him up before the ref counts 3. Priest then goes and grabs an ax handle, but then decides to just throw it out of the ring. Bunny is out of the ring and chucks a chair at the face of Priest. Bunny grabs a kendo stick and starts whacking him with it, but Priest shoves him away. Bunny comes back with a tornado DDT and clotheslines him out of the ring. Bunny then hits a crossbody off the top rope. He hits him with some garbage can lids and then hits a Broken Arrow for a 2. Priest decides to head to the back, but Bunny chases after him. He baited him into it and Bunny eats a trash can to the face as a result. They start brawling in the crowd and get on top of some crates in the production area. Priest hits a Broken Arrow off them and through a table. Priest picks him up and carries him on his shoulder back to the ring. Priest misses with a kick and hits the ring post. Bunny comes in and hits him with a kendo stick and then works on his knee. Bunny then hits his knee with a chair and wants to go for more. Priest is able to sucker him in and kicks him in the face. Priest goes for a chair shot, but Bunny hits a low blow. Out comes Judgment Day and they attack Bunny. Out comes Rey Mysterio to try and make the save. He gets attacked and then out comes Carlito to a monster pop. He hits a Backstabber on Fin Balor and takes a bite out of his apple. In comes Dominik, but it ends with him getting hit by a 619. Carlito then spits the apple in his face and Judgment Day heads to the back. Now Savio Vega is out and he then calls out the LWO. Vega hits a big kick on Balor and then takes care of Dominik. I would have preferred that Kwang came out instead. Back in the ring, Priest goes for a kick, but his leg gives out. Bunny then slaps on the Figure Four. Priest teases tapping, but is able to get out. He misses with a charge in the corner and hits his face in a chair. Bunny then hits Sliced Bread #2 for a 2 count. He attacks Priest with a chair multiple times and then hits a Canadian Destroyer for the victory. The match was pretty good and the crowd was incredible. Rey, Savio, Carlito and the LWO come out to celebrate. 

Match Rating: ***

Usos & Solo Sikoa vs. Matt Riddle, Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn

The first notable spot is Solo tagging himself into the match and there being a little bit of tension between the team. They do then isolate Zayn in their corner, but this one is off to a slow start. Jey grabs Owens off the apron and slams him into the steps. Sami is able to hit a tornado DDT and tags in Riddle. Riddle has a really nice hot tag segment that ends with him hitting a springboard reverse corkscrew somersault (maybe?) on all 3. when he goes back in the ring, he eats a superkick from Jimmy. Jimmy goes up top and Riddle meets him there for a suplex. Owens is climbing his way back up the steps and hits a Swanton. The Usos try a blind tag, but Owens is ahead of them and moves out of the way for the superkick and they hit each other. Owens hits a Pop Up Powerbomb for a nearfall. Owens goes for a Swanton, but the knees are up. We now have a battle between KO and Jey and it ends with a big clothesline from Owens. Zayn and Jimmy are tagged in and Sami hits the Blue Thunder Bomb. Sami climbs up top, but Jimmy hits him with some kicks to the head. Sami goes off the top and gets hit by a double superkick, but kicks out. I'm not sure why that you wouldn't have them break that one up. I think a double superkick seems like a pretty reasonable way to lose. Jey goes off on Sami and verbally berates him. He's starting to set something up and Solo tags himself in. Jey then decides to tag himself back in and we have some more tension. Sami charges with a Helluva Kick, but Jey ducks and he hits Solo. Sami hits the exploder into the corner and a Helluva Kick, but the pin is broken up. The match breaks down adn we get the spot where everyone hits big moves. Solo almost hits Jey with a Samoan Spike and then thinks about still doing it after he realizes who it is. Riddle comes back in and hits Bro Derek, but Solo is the legal man. He comes in from behind and hits the Samoan Spike on Riddle for the victory. This one took a little bit to get going, but it ended up being a nice match. 

Match Rating: ***1/2

Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar

Cody attacks Brock with a suicide dive before Lesnar gets into the ring. Cody hits him with some steel steps and this is all before the bell rings. They are in the ring and the match is underway. Cody hits a couple of Disaster Kicks, but Lesnar catches him for a suplex on the third attempt. Now it's time for Suplex City. As Lesnar keeps hitting suplexes, Cody rips off a turnbuckle. After getting destroyed some more, Cody trips up Lesnar into the exposed steel and Lesnar is bleeding. Cody hits a Cody Cutter and a Disaster Kick. He hits another Cody Cutter after smearing Brock's blood on his stomach. Cody hits Cross Rhodes, picks him up and hits another one, but Brock kicks out. Cody goes for another Cross Rhodes, but Brock picks him up and hits the F5. Cody now kicks out. Brock puts in the Kimura, but Cody is able to turn it into a pin attempt and steals the victory. This was pretty good, but didn't ever really get to that main event gear.

Match Rating: ***

This was a good show overall, with a lot of the credit going to the crowd. They were incredible with the turd known as New Year's Revolution and this time WWE gave them something better to cheer about. This was very much a B show card, but the action was mostly good, even if there weren't a lot of storyline advancements. 

Overall Rating: 73%

Monday Night Raw 12-11-06 Review

Monday, December 11th, 2006
Mohegan Sun Arena
Uncasville, Connecticut

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John Cena vs. Armando Alejandro Estrada

Armando offers Cena a box of cigars to cancel the match. Cena breaks the cigar in half, so he then offers him a diamond watch. Cena doesn't accept that either, so he goes to cash. Cena takes the money and starts throwing it out to the crowd. The match finally starts and this is as one-sided as you would expect. Cena hits the FU and that's all. This was kind of a flat way to start the show. After the match, Cena puts on the STFU and out comes Johnny Nitro. Nitro says that's exactly what he's teaching Kevin Federline for his match. Whatever.

Match Rating: 1/4*

After the commercial break, Cena is interviewed backstage. Cena challenges Nitro to a match tonight and directs it at Federline. 

Jerry Lawler & Carlito vs. Chris Masters & Viscera

Viscera hits a big sit down powerbomb on Lawler, but Carlito breaks up the pin attempt. King almost gets a pin after Masters flexes with his junk in Lawler's face. In comes Carlito and he hits a springboard reverse elbow. Masters comes in and Carlito hits him with a dropkick. Viscera hits him with the sidewalk slam, so Lawler hits him with some right hands. Masters tries to put on the Master Lock, but the match breaks down and Carlito rolls up Viscera for the victory. This was pretty bad.

Match Rating: 1/2*

They show Cryme Tyme and the Highlanders gambling backstage earlier today. Cryme Tyme of course ends up with their money, which leads to Charlie Haas being ashamed for them playing into racial stereotypes. They make fun of him, so Shelton Benjamin comes in to talk some sense into them. Shelton says that he's reuniting with Charlie Haas tonight against the Highlanders. 

Kenny interrupts Randy Orton and Edge backstage to try to convince them that he helped them out last week. They aren't buying that he did.

Next week, Raw starts at 8:00 with the biggest battle royal in Raw history. The winner will face John Cena.

Highlanders vs. The World's Greatest Tag Team

They just really didn't know what to do with Shelton any more at this point. Rory gets a hot tag and that's when the match breaks down. Shelton hits the leapfrog onto Rory's back and TWGTT gets the victory. This was just to re-introduce them as ta team. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

They show clips of AWA SuperClash III for the 24/7 spot. They show what looked to be an absolutely terrible finish to the Kerry Von Erich/Jerry Lawler match. 

Edge vs. Triple H

Triple H comes out with The Game music instead of DX. These two go right at it with Triple H draping Edge over the apron and hitting some elbows. Triple H knees Edge off the apron and then leaps onto Edge as he's heading to the back. Randy Orton is out and he attacks Triple H, causing the bell to ring. Out comes Shawn Michaels and then Kenny. Ric Flair is out to even the score and we have a brawl. The faces clear the ring and out comes Jonathan Coachman. He lets us know that we will have a six man tag team match right now.

Rated RKO & Kenny vs. DX & Ric Flair

When we come back from the commercial break, the match is in progress and Triple H is working on Kenny. Flair and Edge are in and Flair is all over him. He goes for a Figure Four, but Orton hits him with a dropkick. Flair is able to get a hot tag to Michaels and he hits a top rope elbow drop on Edge. We come back from commercial break and Michaels hits a swinging neckbreaker on Orton. Triple H then gets his turn at a hot tag before tagging in Flair, who looks to put on the Figure Four. Things break down and now Kenny is trying to put on the Figure Four. Flair counters with an inside cradle and picks up the victory. After the match, Edge attacks Triple H with a Spear and we have another brawl. They grab some chairs and set Michaels up for the Conchairto. Triple H grabs the sledgehammer and that's enough to make them retreat. The match itself was pretty standard, but entertaining. It just kind of feels like this feud is at a standstill.

Match Rating: **1/2

Nitro and Melina are on the phone with K Fed. Coach then informs him that he will get another shot at Jeff Hardy for the Intercontinental Championship in a steel cage at New Year's Revolution. This leads to them leaving K Fed on the phone and Ron Simmons walking in to do his thing.

Carlito comforts Torrie Wilson with a kiss before her match with the crazy Victoria.

Victoria vs. Torrie Wilson

Victoria sets her checklist on the announce table, with only Torrie and Mickie James' names left to check. It's a great reminder of how small the division is right now. Victoria quickly gets Torrie on the mat and snaps her neck on the bottom rope. Victoria bites off Torrie's nail and then spits it in the crowd. The distraction allows Torrie to get a roll up for 2. She hits some forearms and a clothesline, but Victoria quickly comes back and hits the Widow's Peak for the victory. Torrie held up her end of the bargain here.

Match Rating: 1/2*

After the match, Chris Masters is out to put the Master Lock on Torrie. Carlito is quickly out and he scurries. 

Umaga vs. Jeff Hardy

This is a non-title match. Armando Estrada is not ringside for this one because of what happened earlier. Hardy goes for a sunset flip and Umaga tries to counter with a splash, but Hardy rolls out of the way. Hardy runs into an elbow, but avoids a splash in the corner. Jeff hits a Whisper In The Wind, but he can't make the cover. We go into a commercial and when we come back, Hardy dives off the apron and we get an awkward spot and Hardy ends up on the floor. I'm not sure what happened there. Umaga is up on the top rope, but Hardy is able to move out of the way. Hardy now climbs up top and hits the Swanton, but Umaga kicks out with authority. The crowd is very much into Jeff here. Umaga hits a Samoan drop after he blocked the Twist Of Fate. Umaga then hits his butt splashes in the corner twice and the referee claims that Jeff "can't go no more" and stops the match. They call the match, but Umaga hits another one for good measure. He then gives the referee the Samoan Spike. He picks up Jeff and gives him one as well. I enjoyed this one a lot and the build of Umaga the past few weeks has really kicked into high gear. 

Match Rating: ***1/4

Johnny Nitro vs. John Cena

Cena goes right after Nitro and we are underway. After some Cena domination, Nitro is able to weasel his way into some offense. He's been portrayed as so weak since moving to Raw. Cena counters a suplex and Cena drops him on the top rope. Cena charges and Nitro is able to pull the top rope down and Cena is on the floor. Nitro is able to lock in the sleeper in the middle of the ring and has Cena to his knees. Cena is able to escape after dropping Nitro on his back. Nitro goes right back to the sleeper and this time has Cena flat on the mat. Meanwhile, JR and Lawler just can't stop talking about this battle royal. We get it. It's next week. Cena gets out, but Nitro hits a face-first powerbomb. Nitro climbs the ropes and hits a corkscrew moonsault that doesn't quite connect as well as he hoped. Cena comes back with the FU and picks up the victory. Cena gave him more offense than expected and the action was pretty good despite the multiple sleepers. 

Match Rating: **1/4

In case you didn't know, there's a battle royal next week. They close out the show with highlights from the match and we're out.

This was a much better show than last week. It started off slowly, but the second hour was very good. Umaga was the MVP here, as he continues to look like a major threat. I'll take it.

Overall Rating: 67%

NXT 1-28-15 Review

Original Airdate: Wednesday, January 28th, 2015
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida

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NXT Tag Team Championship Match
Wesley Blake & Buddy Murphy vs. Lucha Dragons

Cara gets some offense going, but gets hit with a dropkick when he goes for a reverse springboard. Sin Cara makes his comeback and tags in the more exciting Kalisto. He hits a corkscrew crossbody and then a Canadian Destroyer. Things break down and Blake gets a blind tag that allows him to pin Kalisto and we surprisingly have new champions. That was a really quick match, with most of it being a headlock. Blake and Murphy really lack an identity beyond good wrestlers so far and that kind of hurts the reaction to them winning the titles. I say that as someone who has enjoyed their team so far.

Match Rating: *3/4

They show last week with the drama in the women's division. We then go to Bayley and Charlotte and Charlotte isn't happy about what Bayley did last week. Bayley thinks she's been too nice and Charlotte warns her that she may not make it to TakeOver.

Tyler Breeze says that he lost a match, big deal. He's going to watch the rest of the tournament very closely. 

NXT Championship #1 Contender Tournament First Round Match
Adrian Neville vs. Tyson Kidd

After a hot start by Neville, Kidd does some stalling outside the ring. Kidd dominates into the commercial break and when we come back, Neville hits a dive over the top rope to the ramp. Kidd is able to bounce back and hits a suplex onto the top rope. Neville rebounds with a sit down powerbomb that looked a little too close to an injured neck. Neville goes up top and hits the Red Arrow for the victory. This was longer than my recap shows and it was fairly entertaining overall. They're capable of better, but this was a solid match.

Match Rating: **1/2

Sasha Banks says that Becky Lynch is going to do the right thing and help her win the NXT Women's Championship. When Sasha walks away, Becky says that she will do the right thing and win the title.

Blake and Murphy are celebrating their victory and give a generic victory promo.

Bayley & Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks & Becky Lynch

All four women get a little bit in to start and rightfully so. Sasha mocks Bayley a little bit and they are able to isolate her from Charlotte. When she tags in, she's able to get the Figure Eight in, but Becky dropkicks Charlotte to break the hold. Sasha hits a reverse neckbreaker. Bayley breaks up the pin attempt and she sort of hits Charlotte. They start fighting and then Becky and Sasha join in and the bell rings. They brawl, as we get closer to their match at TakeOver. This was fine.

Match Rating: *1/2

Finn Balor says friendships go out the window when titles are involved. Hideo Itami comes in and says he was the one who brought him over here. 

Emma is coming back to NXT. 

NXT Championship #1 Contender Tournament First Round Match
Baron Corbin vs. Bull Dempsey

Why must you keep doing this to me, NXT? Corbin dominates the early going, as they talk about the mystique he possesses. Just wait until he becomes the Olive Garden host. Anyway, he hits End Of Days and that's all. I completely had no idea that Bull was treated like such a jobber during this.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Bull confronts Baron and tells him he got lucky twice. Yeah, okay. 

William Regal is in the ring for the contract signing. He tells both men that this will not be like every other contract signing in WWE. If they lay a hand on each other, their match is canceled. Sami grabs a mic and talks about their history. Owens points out that the contract says non-title match. Owens says he's not signing it until that is added. Sami tells Regal that he knows Owens and that he won't sign it. Sami says he wants it added too and Regal allows it. Owens throws a pen at Sami on his way out and Regal holds Sami back. Owens heads to the back and we go off the air.

This was a pretty good episode, but for whatever reason I just never got sucked in. The tag title change felt a little out of left field within the context of the show and I really don't want to see any more of Baron/Bull. On the plus side, the women's feud is shaping up nicely and you have a hot story at the top of the card in Owens/Zayn.

Overall Rating: 60%

Monday Night Raw 2-6-95 Review

Original Airdate: Monday, February 6th, 1995
Manatee Civic Center
Palmetto, Florida

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We get a recap of last week's Mabel/King Kong Bundy over the top challenge and then get Shawn Michaels and Vince McMahon in front of a green screen. 

Men On A Mission & Lex Luger vs. King Kong Bundy, IRS & Tatanka

Bundy and Mabel kick things off. Mabel hits the enzuigiri on Bundy and then tags in Mo. Mo thinks for some reason that he can body slam Bundy and that shifts the momentum. Mo does squeeze in a crossbody on IRS, but Tatanka is able to take control into the commercial break. Luger finally gets in and gets in some offense on IRS, but then tags in Mo. He runs into Tatanka's knee when running the ropes and the Corporation gets in some more offense. I still don't really understand why Shawn Michaels is the Raw announcer. Meanwhile, Mo is able to avoid a charging Bundy and he is able to tag in Luger. He attacks Bundy and hits a body slam. Tatanka comes in from behind and attacks Luger. He hits a DDT and Bundy rolls over on Luger for the victory. They really pinned Luger over Mo? This was pretty basic action here that just featured too many boring competitors to make it good.

Match Rating: *3/4

We get one more Man Mountain Rock vignette.

We now get Bobby Cupo, who reads Lawrence Taylor's statement. If you thought Jack Tunney was dull, Cupo makes him look like Dwayne Johnson. LT demands an apology and has no plans to be a wrestler. 

Man Mountain Rock vs. Charlie Hunter

Rock plays guitar in the ring before the match. They hype up Rock's technical skills and all we see are generic wrestling moves. He hits a face-first suplex and that's enough for the victory. Yawn.

Match Rating: 1/4*

It's time for a pre-recorded interview between Vince and Diesel. This is the interview where Vince calls him Kevin Nash and then they try to make him look cool with all of the celebrities he's hung out with. 

Shawn talks about needing a body guard and shows his black eye. 

Mantaur vs. Leroy Howard

Ah yes, we are reminded that next week there is no Raw because of the dog show. Leroy gets in an elbow drop, but gets caught when going off the top rope for a slam. Vince is just so impressed by Mantaur. Leroy hits some clotheslines and a dropkick, but can't knock Mantaur down. Once again, he catches Leroy and hits a slam. This is waaaaayyyy too long for a Mantaur squash. It looks like Bill Alfonso tells him to go home and thankfully they do after two avalanches and a belly to belly suplex. This stunk.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Razor Ramon vs. Steve Lancaster

Razor hits the fall away slam and slaps on the abdominal stretch. Razor hits the back superplex and finishes him off with the Razor's Edge. This was the usual.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Henry Godwinn vs. Bill Weaver

Godwinn is wearing a black shirt today. I'm not sure I've ever seen that other than the Undertaker shirt he wore at Survivor Series. I still can't believe how good Godwinn looked in that match with Taker on Superstars. He eventually hits the Slop Drop for the victory. This wasn't as good as Saturday.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Shawn will announce his body guard in two weeks time. He announces his farewell from the announcer's booth and we go off the air. 

This was not the best use of 47 minutes of television. The six man tag just felt off and the crowd was probably tired by that point. The squashes were pretty basic and overall, this isn't one you want to watch.

Match Rating: 37%