ECW 1-2-07 Review

Tuesday, January 2nd, 2007
Lakeland Center Jackson Arena
Lakeland, Florida

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We get a nice hype package for Bobby Lashley/Rob Van Dam to start the show. 

Test is in the ring to talk about how he won the three way match, but then lost the vote for the title match tonight. He should be the #1 contender. Whatever. 

Test vs. Sabu

Test hits a clothesline and quickly jumps on him to hit some punches to the head. Test hits a backbreaker into a side suplex before putting on the bear hug. Sabu escapes and tries to make a comeback. He goes for a springboard move and eats a boot to the face. Test hits his finisher and that's all. That was basically a squash match. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

Rob Van Dam is shown getting ready for his match. 

Sandman gets a quick video package. 

Elijah Burke & Sylvester Terkay vs. FBI

This is a squash as you would expect. Burke hits running knees in the corner. Guido is able to get out of the way of an elbow drop and tag in Mamaluke. He gets in a little burst before being hit with a clothesline and a trip. In comes Terkay and he slams Mamaluke face-first into the mat. Terkay puts on an arm bar and that's all for the FBI. This wasn't bad for what it was.

Match Rating: 1/2*

Bobby Lashley. Also getting ready.

Matt Striker talks about the match next week between CM Punk and Hardcore Holly. Holly says that next week Punk can't beat him, nor make him tap. 

Tommy Dreamer is joining us via satellite on a leather sofa, but first we get a highlight package of him getting beat up by Great Khali. Dreamer does his best Mick Foley impersonation here and tries to sell the damage and how hardcore he is. 

We go to Rob Van Dam and thanks the ECW fans for voting him in. 

Brad Armstrong joins the announce team again.

Kevin Thorn vs. Balls Mahoney

Why? Thorn hits a couple of short arm clotheslines and the crowd absolutely doesn't care about this. He hits him with a boot to the head and we're to the point where we're talking about Scott Armstrong being the referee and about how many brothers he has. Balls hits the Balls punch schtick, but Thorn hits him right back with an elbow to the head and that's it? Scott throws up the X, so I guess Balls got hurt here, but not enough for Thorn to not drape Ariel over his face. They show the replay and he absolutely annihilated hits jaw. If anything, that put this match out of its misery.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Bobby Lashley says that wrestling is his life. 

Tazz is in the crowd to interview Vladimir Kozlov. He loves double double E. I'm putting it out there right now. He will main event multiple WrestleManias, guaranteed.

ECW Championship Match
Rob Van Dam vs. Bobby Lashley

Lashley shows off his strength early in the matchup and the crowd feels a little unsure of who to cheer for here, which is a little surprising. There are some "Bobby" chants here, also surprising. RVD gets in a spin kick, but we're right back to Lashley dominating. Lashley hits a backbreaker type move out of the Torture Rack, but RVD kicks out at 2. Lashley hits a delayed vertical suplex and goes for the Spear, but RVD trips him up. RVD hits the single legged kick off the top rope, kind of. RVD misses with Rolling Thunder and then is dragged out of the ring. Lashley hits him with a clothesline, but then RVD drops Lashley on the announce table. He wants to go for the helicopter guillotine leg drop, but Lashley gets up. RVD improvises and hits a clothesline instead. We all know where this is going and they are both counted out to the boos from the crowd. The referee does the X here too, but this one is part of the show. I will say, they did have an awkward looking landing. The doctors are out checking on both men and we go off the air there. The match was decent, but they didn't get enough time to have anything much more than decent.

Match Rating: *3/4

This was the usual stuff from ECW. Lots of guys that no one is really into and a main event that was pretty good.

Overall Rating: 45%

Monday Night Raw 1-1-07 Review

Monday, January 1st, 2007
American Airlines Arena
Miami, Florida

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No DQ Match
John Cena vs. Kevin Federline

I guess we're going right to the match they have been hyping for weeks. Federline grabs the mic before making his way down to the ring to inform Cena that the match has been changed to no disqualifications. He then introduces his personal trainer Johnny Nitro. The bell ring gets a pretty good pop for this thing to get started. Cena offers Federline a free headlock and Cena powers his way out of it. Then we get lots of stalling that leads to Nitro taking some bumps and then Federline hits a low blow from behind. Cena picks him up for the FU, but out comes Umaga and he attacks Cena. Umaga then grabs the belt and hits Cena in the head with it. Federline comes in and covers him for the win. Cena wasn't taking many pinfall losses during this era, so even despite the interference, this was a rarity during this time period. I thought they would have put together a little bit more of a match, but it really wasn't much of anything.

Match Rating: 1/4*

After the commercial break, they show Federline, Nitro and some ladies heading to the locker room. Maria tries to get an interview, but Melina gets in her face about it. This leads to Melina saying they'll have a match tonight and slaps her in the face. 

JR and Jerry Lawler start talking about the attack on DX by the hands of Rated RKO. They show a shot of DX backstage and then go back to the locker room of Federline. Jonathan Coachman comes in to celebrate. Coach then announces that the main event tonight is John Cena against Umaga, Armando Alejandro Estrada, Coach and Nitro. 

Some of the Miami Heat, including Shaquille O'Neal, are in the house.

Cryme Tyme & Highlanders vs. Trevor Murdoch, Lance Cade & The World's Greatest Tag Team

This is your typical let's throw the entire tag division in a match and see if anyone cares. It doesn't take long for this match to fall apart and turn into a brawl. The ring gets cleared and it leads us to Murdoch vs. Shad. JTG snaps Murdoch on the top rope from behind and Shad gets the pinfall victory. As you would expect, this was rushed since the company had no interest in devoting any time to any of these teams outside of backstage skits for Cryme Tyme.

Match Rating: 3/4*

We get a WrestleMania 23 Recall and it's showing Hulk Hogan vs. Andre The Giant from WrestleMania III.

Jeff Hardy vs. Rob Conway

Rob Conway comes out during Hardy's entrance and says that this is a new year for him. He's sick of losing and he announces that if he loses here, he will quit Raw. He attacks Hardy and then backs him into the corner where Hardy turns it into a pin attempt and gets the victory. Conway is irate and then out comes Vince McMahon. Vince makes fun of the fans of WWE because he knows they will break their New Year's resolutions just like Conway did in less than a minute. Vince says that he doesn't break his and that this year he isn't going to be as nice or let people take advantage of him. He says that his buddy Donald Trump has his hands full with Rosie O'Donnell, referring to her as Yokozuna. He says that Trump stole his "You're fired" and he's going to use it tonight on Conway. I did not remember Conway being the starting point of the Donald Trump/Vince McMahon feud. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

They interview Kenny Dykstra about turning down Ric Flair's handshake. He then makes reference that deaths come in 3 and says it will be 4 when you include Ric Flair's career. I won't even bother naming the people. 

We get a recap of the Rated RKO/DX feud and then show DX heading to the ring. 

DX is out to the ring and Shawn skips his part of the schtick and gets down to business. He makes fun of people and I honestly can't remember who he is talking about here. He then says that Rated RKO actually has a set, but they're going to destroy them Sunday. Triple H then calls them women and says they have yeast infections. Yes, really. 

Melina vs. Maria

Victoria comes out before the match gets started and joins the announce team. Maria attacks Melina and it doesn't last long. Victoria says that she's here because she has done all of the PR and events leading up to WrestleMania only to get passed over when it comes to actually wrestling there. She's sick of being pushed to the side and now has a blank space on her checklist. Meanwhile, Maria is making a comeback. It's not for long and Melina gets a sloppy roll up that doesn't get the 3 count, so she has to do it again and gets the win. Victoria then comes to the ring, looks at Melina, but then backs off. She then throws Lilian Garcia and throws her in the ring and gets her up for the Widow's Peak, but Mickie James makes the save. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We get a Tribute To The Troops recap video. 

Ric Flair & Carlito vs. Chris Masters & Kenny Dykstra

I still can't believe they actually allowed a wrestler to be named Kenny Dykstra. Masters plays the coward and instantly tags in Kenny to take on Carlito. When Masters comes in, he gets hit with a chop block by Flair. Flair slaps on the Figure Four, but Kenny breaks it up. We get a commercial break and the heels are in control of Carlito. Masters hits a nice double underhook suplex and honestly, he should use that move more often. He hits a gorilla press slam and gets a 2 count. Masters locks in the Master Lock until Flair is able to break it up with a chop block. Carlito makes the tag into Flair and he hits Kenny with some chops. He goes for the Figure Four again, but Masters clubs him before he can lock it in. Carlito and Masters start brawling up the aisle and Kenny goes for the Figure Four. Flair kicks him out of it, but Kenny is able to pin Flair by putting his feet on the ropes. After the match, Kenny heads to the back and Flair grabs a mic. Flair says that if he wants respect, he should keep this going. Out comes Randy Orton and Edge and Orton gives him a RKO. Edge then hits a One Man Conchairto. The match was pretty standard stuff. 

Match Rating: *3/4

JR and King run through the New Year's Revolution card. 

Federline is back out to tell us he told us so and that he loves proving people wrong. He joins the announce team for the main event.

Jonathan Coachman, Johnny Nitro, Umaga & Armando Alejandro Estrada vs. John Cena

This should be a classic. Cena goes right after Umaga and they start brawling. Cena ducks a charging Umaga and he's out of the ring. Nitro takes some bumps before allowing Umaga back in to hit the Samoan Drop. Umaga goes for a second rope splash, but Cena gets his knees up. He throws in the other partners and hits a drop toe hold into the STFU on Umaga. Estrada tries to use a chair, but Cena takes it away and hits two disgusting chair shots to the head of Umaga. The ref rings for the bell and Cena then hits FUs on both Nitro and Coach. He then runs out and grabs Federline, throws him in the ring and gives him the FU. The crowd absolutely loved that. This was actually really entertaining for such a short match, but the chair shots were just so stupid. Let's pretend that we don't even know what concussions are, which we most definitely did. Why would you want the guy in your main event in 6 days to take 2 unprotected shots to the head? 

Match Rating: **

This was a pretty uneven Raw, with the show really only being exciting at the end. It was a go home episode and didn't add a whole lot to any of the feuds. The live crowd did eat up the Federline stuff and this will forever be the Federline episode of Raw. 

Match Rating: 45%

NXT 2-25-15 Review

Original Airdate: Wednesday, February 25th, 2015
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida

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Hideo Itami vs. Bull Dempsey

Dempsey gets hyped up by the announcers as he goes to work on Itami. Apparently they haven't been watching him wrestle. Itami hits a couple of clotheslines, but Bull no sells them and rams into him with his stomach. Itami hits a series of strikes and kicks and then a dropkick into the corner. He hits a running dropkick and that's all. They sure fit in a bunch of kind words about Bull before he got squashed. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

After the match, Itami is attacked from behind in front of the stage by Tyler Breeze. He tries to take a selfie with Itami laying on the ground, but Itami gets up and chases him into the ring and gets some revenge before Breeze retreats into the crowd. 

Lucha Dragons vs. Jason Jordan & Tye Dillinger

Jordan and Dillinger's entrance is interrupted by Solomon Crowe and lets us know that we've been warned. They play up that Dillinger needs to make a tag because he's been in so the match so long, which is about 60 seconds. Dillinger tells Jordan to relax when he gets an opening to. Dillinger hits a kick to the midsection of Kalisto and then goes to make the tag, but Jordan walks away. Kalisto his the Salida del Sol and Sin Cara hits the Swanton for the victory. The match was very short, but the action was solid.

Match Rating: *

They go back to Finn Balor and they ask him about Kevin Owens, but he says that he can't look past his match with Brian Kendrick tonight. 

We go back to the ring and Tye Dillinger is still there. He's upset and says that he'll fight anyone who was supposed to wrestle. Naturally, it's Baron Corbin.

Tye Dillinger vs. Baron Corbin

Baron hits End Of Days and that's all. Did you expect anything different?

Match Rating: 1/4*

Charlotte says that Sasha has never beaten her one on one and the title is coming back where it belongs. 

Tyler Breeze says he is going to squash Hideo Itami like the cockroach that he is. 

Bayley vs. Becky Lynch

Becky gets most of the offense to start the match. Becky hits some leg drops. Bayley gets a few openings, but Becky keeps finding a way to shut them down. Bayley gets her most offense in, but then Becky locks in the Dis-arm-her and Bayley is forced to tap. This was a better match than my recap shows, but was too short as usual with the women's matches on TV.

Match Rating: **

Rhyno says that he came back because he kept hearing everyone talking about NXT and he saw the intensity in the rosters eyes. 

Jason Jordan says that he did what he did and he'll give an explanation when he's ready. 

Kevin Owens joins the announce team for the main event.

The Brian Kendrick vs. Finn Balor

The match is being overshadowed by the commentary with Owens and Alex Riley arguing. Owens then walks away saying that he's leaving before he does something he regrets. I'm not really sure why Riley is even on the announce team any more. We go back to the action just in time to go to a commercial. Kendrick runs into two boots in the corner and gets in a little offense until he's nailed with a second rope tornado DDT. Kendrick hits a missile dropkick and then a variation of a German suplex with a bridge for a 2 count. He goes for Sliced Bread #2, but it's countered and Finn hits a big clothesline. Finn hits a Slingblade and the running dropkick. He goes up top and hits the Coup de Grace and picks up the win. This was a good enough main event, but I don't think Balor losing was ever a question here. Balor continues to roll here.

Match Rating: **1/2

After the match, Kevin Owens comes out and stares down Balor from the top of the ramp. He then makes his way back to the announce team and attacks Riley. This pretty much makes him a babyface in most people's eyes. 

This was an entertaining episode, but one where not a whole lot happened. Next week should be big with the Charlotte/Sasha title match and this one kind of felt like a buffer before that one.

Overall Rating: 59%

Monday Night Raw 3-6-95 Review

Original Airdate: Monday, March 6th, 1995
Macon Coliseum
Macon, Georgia

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Shawn Michaels vs. British Bulldog

We get an actual wide shot since it's actually somewhat of an arena, although on one of the shots, you can see a lot of empty space. Bulldog starts off hot, hitting an inverted atomic drop and sending him over the top rope to the floor. Shawn is able to grab Bulldog's leg and trip him up before getting back in the ring, but misses with the splash in the corner. He eats a trio of clotheslines and he's back out to the floor. Sid helps him back up, but back in the ring it's still all Bulldog. Michaels finally gets a move in, working on Bulldog's arm as we go to commercial break. When we come back, Bulldog powers out and puts Michaels in a surfboard. Michaels gets knocked off the apron, but is caught by Sid. He still can't shift the momentum though and gets hit with a delayed vertical suplex. Bulldog falls out of the ring and sells his knee. Jim Cornette compares Sid's hands to a softball glove, which is kind of funny. Michaels puts on the sleeper hold and we have a second commercial break. When we come back, they are running off the ropes and both men collide. Bulldog slaps on the sleeper, but Michaels is able to back him into the corner. Michaels misses in the corner and that gives Bulldog an opening. He crotches him on the top rope and gives him a ride. Bulldog misses at Michaels and falls through the ropes. Michaels distracts the ref and Sid hits Bulldog with a running knee and into the post. Michaels hits the superkick and that's all. The ending was a little flat, as there could have been more effective ways that Sid could have gotten involved. The match took up nearly half the show and had a nice pace to it. This gives Michaels a credible win ahead of his title match at WrestleMania and also Bulldog stayed strong. 

Match Rating: ***

We go to Todd Pettengill for a WrestleMania XI Report, but we have to wait because we have a commercial break. Todd shows us clips from the WrestleMania press conference at the Harley Davison Cafe. They show clips of the interviews before running through all of the celebrities, including Fishbone performing the national anthem. Bob Backlund then lets us know he is ready for his match. 

Don't forget to get your tickets for the Fan Festival.

Bob Backlund vs. Buck Quartermaine

While we get a ton of just actual garbage stalling here, they announce that Backlund will face Bret Hart in a submission match. They also talk about King Kong Bundy facing Undertaker. They're able to talk about this because nothing is happening in the ring. By the time I have completely lost interest in this one, Backlund slaps on the Crossface Chickenwing for the win.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Next week, it will be Jerry Lawler vs. Bret Hart on Raw.

Steven Dunn vs. Duke Droese

It's time for the Dumpster, baby. We also have Jerry Lawler on the phone with us. Vince hangs up on Lawler after he calls Helen Hart an old bag. Dunn actually controls the early part of the match until he runs into the boot. Duke hits the Trash Compactor and gets the 1-2-3. This was filler so they could talk to Lawler.

Match Rating: 1/2*

After the match, Dunn goes after the trash can, so Duke attacks him. The trash is all over the floor and Duke finds a $100 bill. Being the fan favorite that he is, he puts it in his pocket and then cleans up the rest. 

We get a music video package of the WrestleMania press conference mixed in with some from Raw before we go.

Any time you get a match that takes up half the show and it's actually good, it's pretty much a thumbs up during this era. As usual, the rest of the show wasn't very good, with the Backlund segment just being a waste. Next week should be interesting with Lawler/Bret and will hopefully set up the Backlund match a little better than they have.

Overall Rating: 58%

Off The Grid, Volume 35: Great American Bash 1995 Review

Sunday, June 18th, 1995
Hara Arena
Dayton, Ohio

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Off The Grid, Volume 35:

Brian Pillman vs. Alex Wright

They do the fancy start to the match and a handshake. Pillman hits a headscissor and then goes to work on the arm of Wright. It's always so fun to see Pillman back at his peak, as he could really work so many different styles. Wright goes for a surfboard, but isn't able to get Pillman up on his knees, so he has to improvise. We then get a sequence of pin attempts before Pillman hits him with a right hand to gain the approval of the crowd. Pillman drops Wright on the top rope, but when he goes to suplex him back in the ring, Wright blocks it and suplexes Pillman to the floor. Wright then hits a dive and throws Pillman back in the ring. Wright hits a missile dropkick, but Pillman kicks out at 2. Pillman suckers Wright in and throws him through the ropes. Pillman then hits a suicide dive, but then misses off the second rope and hits the guardrail. Wright goes up top again and misses with a shoulder tackle. Pillman is definitely bringing out the best in Wright here. They both go for a dropkick and fall to the mat. Pillman props Wright up top, but Wright blocks it and drops him face first. Wright hits a dive and Pillman kicks out at 2. Wright tries to send Pillman off the ropes, but Pillman's legs are giving out. Wright goes up top and Pillman hits a beautiful dropkick on the way down. Pillman now goes up top, but Wright throws him off and crotches him on the top rope. Wright hits a nice German suplex into a bridge, but Pillman is able to get out of it. Pillman goes for a variation of the sunset flip and Wright blocks it to pick up the victory. This was a really good match that had the crowd into it from bell to bell. 

Match Rating: ***3/4

We get a kind of strangely produced video of Diamond Dallas Page and his arm wrestling challenge. We then go to Evad Sullivan and I'm still shocked that anyone thought this was good. He's holding a rabbit named Ralph. 

Arm Wrestling Challenge
Diamond Dallas Page vs. Evad Sullivan

What a drop in quality from the opener to this. I mean, there isn't much to recap here. DDP gets close and Maxx Muscle is standing on DDP's foot to help cheat. He turns around and bumps into Kimberly and he bumps into DDP and Evad gets the win. He now earns a date with Kimberly. Gripping TV. After the match, DDP wants a rematch. 

Match Rating: No Rating

Jim Duggan vs. Sgt. Craig Pittman

Schiavone and Heenan talk about how great the Power Plant is. They have lots of time to talk because this match is full of stalling. Pittman is able to trip up Duggan, rips off his kneepad and slams it onto the ring post. This match couldn't be off to a much worse start and it's putting me to sleep. Pittman slaps on Code Red, but Duggan is right by the ropes. Duggan grabs the bottom rope, but Pittman wouldn't release the hold, so we have a DQ finish here. They really couldn't have had Duggan lose to him on pay-per-view? This was awful.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Mean Gene is with the Blue Bloods. He says that the Nasty Boys are in for the thrashing of their lives. 

Harlem Heat vs. Dick Slater & Bunkhouse Buck

Bunkhouse Buck is one of the more surprisingly good wrestlers of this era of WCW. I don't really care for the all black attire here from the Heat. These two teams are showing no chemistry here though. This very much feels like a Saturday Night match. Buck and Slater eventually go to work on Stevie Ray and the crowd is silent. Stevie hits a double clothesline on the double team and tags in Booker. Booker gets a small package on Buck, but the ref doesn't see it. Col. Parker rolls them over, but the ref still doesn't see it. Sherri runs in and rolls him back over and they pick up the victory. This was not good at all. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

They show Vader attacking Nick Bockwinkle and then Hulk Hogan making the save. Bockwinkle is now with Schiavone and Heenan. Poor Bockwinkle forgets the name of the next show, but Vader will face Hogan in a cage. 

We go to Mean Gene with Ric Flair and he refers to taking his wife back in '92, which is kind of funny. Not his best promo here, but good enough. 

Television Championship Match
Renegade vs. Arn Anderson

It doesn't get much more WCW than Renegade. No one cares about him and this match is already dead. I'm not sure how this was the best way to book Renegade here. It's almost all rest holds here. Arn hits a big spinebuster to the delight of the fans on the floor. Arn tries to climb up top, but Renegade knocks him down and hits a splash off the top to win the title. Gross.

Match Rating: 1/4*

They show the Giant in the crowd watching. He tries to go for Jimmy Hart, but he gets away. With the way that they filmed him here, he didn't even look as big as he should have.

WCW Tag Team Championship Match
Blue Bloods vs. Nasty Boys

They start brawling right off the bat. This will be an interesting styles clash here. It stays a brawl for the opening minutes and Regal's selling from the Pit Stop is classic. Eaton gets one for good measure. Regal finally gains control after a one sided start. Regal throws Sags over the top rope, but the ref doesn't see it and because it's a stupid rule. The Nasty Boys seem to have no interest in having this be a traditional tag team match. Regal misses with a somersault leg drop and that allows the tag to Knobbs. Regal and Knobbs collide and both men are down. Out comes Stevie Ray and Sherri. Booker T sneaks out after while they have the referee distracted and hits the Harlem Hangover. Eaton is up top, but when Booker leaves the ring he hits the rope and Eaton falls. Sags hits an elbow off the top and Knobbs covers to retain their championships. This was pretty good at first, but lost its luster as it went on.

Match Rating: **

We get a recap of the United States Championship tournament. From there we go to Meng and Col. Robert Parker and then Sting after. Nothing to note here. 

United States Championship Match
Meng vs. Sting

The battle of the -ng's. Meng gets in a cheap shot when the referee comes between them and we are underway. Meng stops a Sting comeback by rolling out of the ring and regrouping before coming back and hitting a few power moves. After a lengthy heat segment, Sting hulks up and hits a leaping clothesline to knock Meng off his feet. Sting clotheslines him over the top rope and both men are on the floor. Sting goes after Parker and gets in a shot. Meng tries to sneak attack him but leaps into the ring post. Sting puts on the Scorpion Deathlock in the middle of the ring and Meng powers his way out of it. Sting hits a chop block and a top rope clothesline. He goes up top again and hits a splash, but Meng is out at 2. Sting hits a leaping DDT and that's enough. The matches tonight just have had no flow to them outside of the opener. This wasn't bad, but it really had no story or drama. It felt more like a TV match.

Match Rating: **

We get a recap of the Ric Flair/Randy Savage saga. We go to Mean Gene and Savage. He congratulates Renegade. Yes, really. 

Ric Flair vs. Randy Savage

Surprisingly, Savage is not running out to the ring. He brings out his dad, Angelo. Savage is intense once the match begins and clotheslines Flair over the top. He hits the double ax handle from the top to the floor, but then Flair gets a thumb to the eye in. Savage comes back and hits a back body drop, but then gets thrown into the ring post. Flair comes back and hits a double ax handle of his own off the apron. Savage is back on the attack and Flair tries to escape, but Savage leaps over and rams him into the guardrail. Flair tries to go up top, but as usual, Flair is thrown across the ring. Flair drops Savage's knee on the guardrail and is back in control. We get a crazed one legged Savage, which is always fun. Flair slaps on the Figure Four as Angelo tries to will Randy to get out of it. Flair is using the ropes behind the referee's back. Savage is able to reverse the hold and is able to break it. Savage battles back and hits a clothesline on a leaping Flair. Savage hits the top rope elbow drop, but he pulls Flair up before the 3 count. Savage grabs a ring bell, but the referee takes it away. Savage goes for the ax handle off the top, but Flair moves and Savage legit looks like he overshot it. Either that or he's crazy, which is probably more likely. Angelo gets involved and starts choking Flair with his cane. Flair gets it away and knocks Angelo down. Savage gets Flair away and checks on his dad. Back in the ring, Flair hits him with the cane and steals the victory. That was quite the brawl from these two. This wasn't as good as WrestleMania VIII, but this was a worthy chapter in their story. 

Match Rating: ***3/4

These are always the toughest shows to rate. It was bookended by two very good matches, but the rest was just absolute garbage. The undercard was just very weak at this point for the company, but that will change soon. Do not waste your time by watching anything other than the opener or main event.

Overall Rating: 50%

Superstars 3-4-95 Review

Original Airdate: Saturday, March 4th, 1995
West Palm Beach Auditorium
West Palm Beach, Florida

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1-2-3 Kid vs. Bob Cook

Ah, yes. A Superstars with no feature match. Perfect. Cook misses with an elbow drop, but counters out of a headlock into a back suplex. Kid hits him with a spin kick and then rolls him up for the victory. It's going to be that kind of show today.

Match Rating: 1/4*

We go to Live Event News with Stephanie Wiand. She talks about WrestleMania just being 4 weeks away and the Fan Festival that goes along with it. Undertaker tells us to come and talk with him. Really?

We get a WrestleMania moment (with the awesome WrestleMania music) and it's Reba McEntire singing the national anthem from WrestleMania VIII.

Chris Nelson vs. Kama

Kama kicks out Nelson's legs and then hits him with a series of kicks. He puts on the STF and that's all. That was short and how his squashes should be. He still wants more competition. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

They show highlights of the battle royal last week. 

Henry Godwinn vs. Leroy Howard

Vince introduces him in a southern accent. Godwinn hits a headbutt to the midsection and the Slop Drop for the easy victory here. They show some dorky guy making a pig nose in the crowd. This episode probably should just quit while it's ahead.

Match Rating: 1/4*

We go to Shawn Michaels in the Heartbreak Hotel. Shawn gives us his top 10 reasons as to why he'll be the next WWF Champion. He actually lists all of them without being interrupted. He then brings out the man that you can call Justice, Vicious or Psycho. It's Sid. He yells and that's about it.

Men On A Mission vs. Dennis Knight & Black Phantom

Well, we have Phineas Godwinn and Gangrel in here. Mabel hits a spin kick, but misses with an elbow. Mabel comes from behind and out of the ring. In comes Mo and Phantom and he hits a spin kick. He throws Mabel into Phantom in the corner. They then hit their bulldog splash finisher and that's all. This was fine. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We get another WrestleMania Moment and it's the battle royal from WrestleMania 2. 

Todd Pettengill is here for a WrestleMania XI Report and he takes another shot at the baseball strike. He goes right into all the celebrities that will be there and then goes over Diesel/Shawn Michaels and Bam Bam Bigelow/Lawrence Taylor. They say that LT is going to bring his all pro team to watch his back and it's Reggie White, Ricky Jackson, Ken Norton Jr., Steve McMichael, Carl Banks and Chris Spielman. Honestly, this portion doesn't get enough credit. That is a legit group of football players, featuring one of the greatest of all time in White. 

King Kong Bundy vs. Butch Long

Bundy has had the same match about 15 times on Superstars since he came back. I mean, I know there isn't much else to him, but he has been anything but interesting since his return. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We get the weird Paul Bearer in drag/Mr. Fuji skit again.

Lex Luger vs. Sonny Pruitt

Vince gets all creepy talking about Luger's "mane of fire" or something. Luger hits a few moves and puts Pruitt in the Rebel Rack for the submission. It's just so easy to lose interest in these episodes of Superstars with no big matches. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We go back to Stephanie Wiand and they do the whole fake interview thing with Razor Ramon. Apparently he's wrestling Mantaur and wonders which half of him is man and beast. 

Mantaur vs. Bill Weaver

I mean, this is just the icing on the cake for this dumpster fire. I know the gimmick is beyond stupid, but Mantaur the wrestler is just so poor. Weaver hits a missile dropkick, but it doesn't knock Mantaur off his feet. He hits a belly to belly suplex and a clothesline. The clothesline is about as unimpressive as you'll see from a big man. He hits a bodyslam and a splash, but pulls off on the cover. Jim Cornette tells him to hit one more and Weaver moves out of the way. Mantaur catches Weaver and hits a powerslam for the victory. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

They show Lawler's injured foot to close out the show. Thank god.

This stunk. That's all I got.

Overall Rating: 28%

Monday Night Raw 12-25-06 (Tribute To The Troops) Review

Original Airdate: Monday, December 25th, 2006
Camp Victory
Baghdad, Iraq

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John Cena vs. Edge

It looks like we're going with a big match to kick things off here on Christmas. There are many bad things that the WWE does, this is not one of them. We get some good action to start, as you would expect from these two. The crowd is also just so into this and who can blame them. They zoom out and the ring is in front of Saddam Hussein's former palaces. Edge is dominating and when Cena tries to make a comeback, Edge hits a spinning heel kick. Edge puts on the Camel Clutch and JR and Jerry Lawler refer to Iron Sheik, which gives me a good opportunity to say rest in peace to a true legend of a personality. What an entertainer Sheik was and he will be missed. Cena battles out of it and makes his comeback. He hits the 5 Knuckle Shuffle and then catches Edge up for the FU. Edge battles out and hits a DDT. Edge goes up top, but Cena goes there to try to hit a FU on the ropes. Edge battles out and hits an electric chair. Edge misses with the Spear and Cena hits the FU and picks up the pinfall victory. These guys have another good match with a different type of circumstances here. 

Match Rating: **3/4

We get a montage of soldiers and then the WWE Superstars with them. Then CM Punk wishes us a happy holidays and Shelton Benjamin does the same, then asks the producers if that was good enough. They're facing off next. 

CM Punk vs. Shelton Benjamin

After Punk gets the best of him, Shelton attempts to leave and Punk goes after him and throws him back in the ring. Shelton is able to throw Punk into the ring post shoulder first. After some shoulder work, Punk hits a dropkick and some forearms. He hits the high knee/bulldog combo and gets a 2 count. Punk goes up top, but Shelton leaps up and hits a superplex from the top. Punk kicks out at 2 and Shelton argues with the ref about it. Shelton misses the splash in the corner and Punk rolls him up for the victory. This was a pretty standard TV match. 

Match Rating: *3/4

Johnny Nitro vs. Undertaker

We get a rare Raw appearance here for Undertaker. I'm not really sure why they picked Nitro for this spot when there are other guys not really getting a push that can get squashed. Yes, I know this aired on Christmas and it basically doesn't count. Taker throws him around a little bit and goes for the Last Ride. Nitro is able to escape and then snaps his neck on the top rope. That offense lasts all of about 30 seconds before Taker levels him with a clothesline. Taker hits Snake Eyes, a chokeslam and the Tombstone for the win. Your usual Taker squash mixed in with some Nitro bumping.

Match Rating: 3/4*

They show Lilian Garcia singing the national anthem earlier today.

They show footage of an attack that happened when they were setting up the ring. 14 soldiers were wounded from the attack. 

Bobby Lashley vs. Hardcore Holly

We're getting a lot of ECW flavor here tonight. JR and Lawler's announcing tonight reminds me as if we are listening to a video game tonight. Lashley hits a delayed vertical suplex. The action spills outside and Holly throws Lashley into the steps. Holly gets in his little bit of offense before Lashley suplexes him to make his comeback. Lashley wraps this one up with a running powerslam.

Match Rating: 3/4*

We get a couple more videos of the troops. I'm not trying to shortchange the videos because they are actually pretty well done. They show the full range of emotion that goes along with visiting our brave troops. 

Umaga vs. Jeff Hardy

Just going off the top of my head, I believe my favorite match of Umaga's to date was against Hardy on Raw. Umaga blocks a sunset flip, but misses with the splash and Hardy hits him with a dropkick. Hardy hits a baseball dropkick and attempts a dive, but is caught and driven into the ring post. Umaga goes up top, but misses with the splash. Hardy hits Whisper In The Wind and gets a 2 count. Hardy blocks the Samoan Spike and hits the Twist Of Fate. He now goes for the Swanton, but Umaga gets his knees up. He hits the butt to the face in the corner and follows it up with the Samoan Spike for the win. These two just have good chemistry. 

Match Rating: **1/4

Art Myers, the director of entertainment, presents a troop with the 2.6 millionth letter sent to the troops. 

Randy Orton vs. Carlito

Remember that classic feud these two had in September? Orton hits a spinning side suplex. I'm not sure I've ever seen him use that before. Carlito comes back and hits a knee lift and a clothesline. He hits his springboard reverse elbow and gets a 2 count. Both guys go for their finishers, but are able to counter it. Orton turns it into a pin attempt, but gets caught by the referee for putting his feet on the ropes. He argues with the referee and Carlito rolls him up, holds the trunks and gets the win. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

The Divas are shown with Santa Claus. 

They show all of the work that went into building the makeshift arena. 

Santa Claus makes his way out to the ring. He brings out Torrie Wilson, Maria and Kristal. They go around handing out gifts to the troops. Out comes Chris Masters to ruin the mood. He tells Santa that he hates Christmas. He is going to test out how tough the troops are, but first he's going to do a Master Lock Challenge on Santa. He slaps it on and Santa is down for the count. He then calls in a troop and it's a guy who is about a foot shorter than he is. He slaps on the hold and in comes Santa from behind. It's everyone's favorite babyface, JBL. He comes in and kicks him from behind and he breaks the hold, so the troop wins the challenge. He hits the Clothesline From Hell on Masters and celebrates with the diva. Ummmm...okay? 

We get one last highlight video of the trip before we end it. 

Up until the kind of bizarre finish, this was actually more entertaining than I expected. The highlight packages were all pretty interesting and the matches themselves were mostly better than a lot of the matches we normally get. This is truly one of the cooler things that WWE did and for a show on Christmas, this was a decent episode.

Overall Rating: 60%

NXT 2-18-15 Review

Original Airdate: Wednesday, February 18th, 2015
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida

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After a TakeOver recap, we go to William Regal and he talks about the shocking title win by Kevin Owens. He says that he makes the rules around here and Owens will fight Adrian Neville in a non-title match tonight. A new era begins now.

Kevin Owens is now out in the ring and he says that what matters now is that Sami Zayn is the past. He now has to look towards the future and that is Finn Balor. He tells him to go to William Regal, pick a date and he will be there. 

Rhyno vs. Elias Sampson

The fans give Rhyno a better reaction than you would expect. He destroys poor Elias and hits the Gore for the quick squash. He is 39 years old at this point. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We go back to Finn Balor and while he's giving a response to Owens's comments, Rhyno walks by and gives him a look. 

Vaudevillains vs. Enzo Amore & Big Cass

The Vaudevillains get a short heat segment to start the match before Enzo makes the hot tag. Cass hits a side suplex and then a splash in the corner. He throws Enzo into English and then hits a big boot for the very quick victory. Well, they certainly squashed them. Blake and Murphy show up on the screen to say that it was good, but not good enough. They call Carmella to leave those two sewer rats. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Adrian Neville is interviewed backstage. He talks about failing to get his title shot and that he's embracing the role of being the hunter instead of the hunted. 

Bayley says that she put her heart out there, but it wasn't enough. She says there will be a night where she wins the NXT Women's Championship. Becky Lynch blames her loss on Bayley and is glad that if someone else had to win it was Sasha. 

CJ Parker says that it's bull crap that he wasn't on TakeOver. He's now going to end this show and take it hostage. He starts putting caution tape in the ring and we start getting the lights glitching. He is attacked and it's Solomon Crowe. Yay?

Sasha Banks vs. Blue Pants

Blue Pants is over. She makes Sasha mad, so Sasha destroys her. She hits the Backstabber into the Bank Statement and Blue Pants quickly taps. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Sasha is interviewed after the match and says that she is the baddest diva in NXT. 

They show clips of Sami Zayn leaving TakeOver. They speak to a physician and he expects Sami to make a full comeback. 

Kevin Owens vs. Adrian Neville

Owens tries to sneak out of the ring, but Neville studied the film and quickly meets him out there to attack. Owens hits a gutbuster back in the ring and slows down the match. Neville gets dumped out of the ring and we go into a commercial break. When we come back, Owens is still working on Neville. Neville is finally able to counter and hit a DDT. He builds up some momentum and hits a moonsault from the top rope to the floor. Neville then hits a 450 splash from the apron onto Owens on the floor. Neville hits a German suplex into a bridge for a 2 count. Neville hits a reverse rana and that's still not enough to put him away. Neville goes up top and misses, Owens hits the Pop Up Powerbomb and earns the victory. The second half of the match was good, but it was just a taste of what they could do.

Match Rating: ***1/4

This was your usual post-TakeOver episode where they kind of reset a little bit as they start to build for the next one. The main event was good and Rhyno's return seemed to make the crowd happy. 

Overall Rating: 58%

Monday Night Raw 2-27-95 Review

Monday, February 27th, 1995
Macon Coliseum
Macon, Georgia

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Is this the debut of the "For over 50 years..." intro? We're getting closer to my sweet spot of fandom. Vince hypes up that we will hear from Lawrence Taylor. We're also getting some technical difficulties for whatever reason. 

We get pre-recorded comments from Lex Luger about his match with Tatanka. He says that it all started at SummerSlam and how Tatanka sold out and shoved money down his throat. He talks about the attack from Tatanka on Raw and then Tatanka attacking Chief Jay Strongbow on Action Zone. Luger says Chief Jay will be in his corner to keep an eye on DiBiase. 

Tatanka vs. Lex Luger

Luger chases after Tatanka to start and although Tatanka suckers him back into the ring, Luger hits him with a clothesline. We get some big stalling by Tatanka, before he comes back in and chops Luger down. Luger quickly fights back and unleashes on Tatanka. It's so weird that I like Luger the wrestler as much as I do during this period. After the commercial, Tatanka is stomping away on Luger in the corner. Tatanka slaps on my favorite hold, the bear hug. Luger battles out and hits a back suplex. Tatanka ends up outside and rips the headress off of Strongbow. Strongbow hits him with some chops and Luger is in control. Luger hits a knee lift and we got to another commercial. After coming back, Luger hits a big clothesline when we come back and Tatanka walks to the back. Luger goes after him and brings him back in the ring. Luger hits a slam ang Tatanka again ends up outside the ring. Luger suplexes him back into the ring. DiBiase distracts Luger while Tatanka rolls out of the ring and again leaves for the back. This time he's counted out and Luger gets the empty win. Luger decides to spring to the back before we go to promotional consideration paid for by the following. The match was solid enough, but they should have just given Luger the clean victory.

Match Rating: **

Lawrence Taylor is shown waiting in the WWF studio. 

They show clips of that prestigious battle royal from Superstars. 

Owen Hart vs. Larry Santo

They talk about Owen looking for a tag partner to challenge the Smoking Gunns. Jim Cornette then claims that Larry Santo is the son of El Santo. Owen has some fans in the front rows here. Owen hits his beautiful missile dropkick and slaps on the Sharpshooter to put Santo away. Classic Owen with him pretending to not be able to hear the referee tell him to break the hold.

Match Rating: 1/4*

They show Bam Bam Bigelow in another studio getting ready. 

Vince and Cornette address the rumors about LT fighting Bam Bam before showing us the highlights from their Royal Rumble altercation. LT says that he didn't show any disrespect. He said that Bam Bam disrespected himself by losing to a 13 year old. Did they really need to bury 1-2-3 Kid here? Taylor says that he didn't go after him because he decided they could get back at him in other ways. They ask if he is scared and he says that if he was scared, he would call the police. They pull in Bam Bam and he sticks up for 1-2-3 Kid. They start arguing and Taylor leaves. This was pretty good, although Taylor struggled here and there. I would have liked to have had more interaction between the two. They will be at the Harley Davison Cafe for the WrestleMania press conference.

Doink vs. Bob Cook

Doink puts on a half crab and Dink comes in and shakes his but in Cook's face. We are getting so close to no more dorky Doink. I mean if there's anything people want to see, it's a clown doing basic submission holds. Doink hits the Whoopee Cushion and puts us all out of our misery.

Match Rating: 1/4*

We get a fairly lengthy hype video for next week's main event in Shawn Michaels vs. British Bulldog. I'm game.

Kama vs. Ken Raper

The crowd is still not reacting to Kama so far. They honestly should have just had him mimic Vader matches. He just keeps hitting moves and saying there is no competition. Well, I assure you there are better competitors than Ken Raper. He slaps on the STF and makes Raper submit. Why in the world do they keep letting there be a guy named Raper? 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Vince and Cornette interview Bulldog about his match against Michaels. He wants revenge and he's going to take a bite out of the Heartbreak Kid. They then shift to the press conference and pass it off to Todd Pettengill. He lets us know that he's hosting and all of the media outlets covering the event. Don't forget to waste $1.49 a minute on hourly updates from JR.

This was a fine enough episode of Raw for the era. I can't wait until they get rid of some of the squashes, but I still love the one hour format. The LT stuff is being built nicely, but the rest of WrestleMania is kind of just off to the side for now.

Overall Rating: 42%

Superstars 2-25-95 Review

Original Airdate: Saturday, February 25th, 1995
West Palm Beach Auditorium
West Palm Beach, Florida

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Gorilla Monsoon is here with Vince McMahon this week. No complaints here, even if 1995 Gorilla is a lot different. 

20 Man Battle Royal

Your competitors are British Bulldog, King Kong Bundy, 1-2-3 Kid, Mantaur, Duke Droese, Jerry Lawler, Adam Bomb, Headshrinkers, Kwang, Jacob Blu, Eli Blu, Mabel, Henry Godwinn, Bob Holly, Heavenly Bodies, Aldo Montoya, Mo and Shawn Michaels. For some reason Mabel is introduced, but not Mo. Also, Kwang got a televised entrance but not the Headshrinkers or Henry Godwinn. Shawn Michaels eliminates himself to protect himself headed into his WWF Championship match at WrestleMania. This episode was taped 2 days after he won the Royal Rumble and airing a month later. This is every meaningless battle royal you have ever seen. We come back from a commercial break and it's still a bunch of guys standing around. Droese is eliminated pretty early, which is a little surprising considering who is all still left in here. Mabel eliminates Godwinn in another surprise. I guess if I were booking this, I would have had Godwinn be one of the final people left. Mantaur eliminates Adam Bomb, which is something to put on your resume. This match is already at 1/3rd of the runtime of this episode. Bundy and Mantaur team up and eliminate Mabel after a lengthy struggle. Then Mantaur and Bulldog team up and eliminate Bundy as he is arguing with Mabel. Lots of Mantaur. Bob Holly gets eliminated and then Lawler does a Kofi Kingston and hops on one foot when he gets thrown over. Out comes Bret Hart and for whatever reason, Lawler hops around the ring instead of just into it. Bret attacks him and both feet hit and he is gone. For some reason Kwang is still in there, so Bulldog eliminates him. 1-2-3 Kid is tossed over and then Bulldog eliminates Mantuar. We're down to Bulldog and one of the Blu brothers. Bulldog has him up and about to be thrown over, but Michaels comes back out and hits Bulldog in the midsection to break it up. We stay with Michaels walking back to the locker room and we see Bulldog duck Blu and he goes flying over the top rope. Bulldog is the winner of this prestigious battle royal where you get nothing for winning. Leave it to Vince to call it prestigious 10 times. This was about as dull as you can get and if I'm booking it, I'd have Godwinn win it or at least be in the finals. I get that they had nothing for Bulldog, so this was their way of trying to prove he still mattered.

Match Rating: 3/4*

Next, we get more talk about Diesel being cool and hanging out with Cal Ripken Jr. We're only 5 weeks now from WrestleMania.

Ben Jordan vs. Jeff Jarrett

We get the original Miz to be ring announcer and that's Steve Mizerak. Apparently, he played pool. Talk about sucking up airtime, Jarrett is doing all sorts of stalling before and during the match. Jarrett's ringwork during this era has been very solid, but the gimmick is just so lame. The Roadie makes it work better than it has any right to, but Jarrett's mic work is terrible. Jarrett hits a superplex and then slaps on the Figure Four for the victory. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Man Mountain Rock vs. Bob Cook

Rock misses in the corner and then Cook punches his own hand a couple of times. Rock shoves him down with a shoulder block in his tie dye pajamas. He hits a face-first suplex for the victory and that's all. Rock continues to stink.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Owen says that he's coming up next and he's wondering why he can't get a title match with the Smoking Gunns. 

We then go to John Turturro interrogating Paul Bearer in a dress about Yokozuna. The lights go out and when they come back on, Mr. Fuji has the dress on. What?

Owen Hart vs. Gary Scott

It's good to see Michael Scott's brother getting some TV time. So obviously Jim Neidhart is gone because Owen is teaming with Bob Backlund on Action Zone and then Owen still wants a partner for the titles. I can't wait for him to return as Who. Scott is a house of fire, but then Owen hits him with a belly to belly suplex. Owen slaps on the Sharpshooter and picks up the win. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

They talk about Lawrence Taylor's announcement as Owen celebrates and we go off the air. 

The battle royal took up about half of the show and while it was better than your typical squash match, it wasn't particularly interesting either. There have been many worse episodes than this one though, so it's about the usual score for me here.

Overall Rating: 38%

SmackDown 12-22-06 Review

Original Airdate: Friday, December 22nd, 2006
Hampton Coliseum
Hampton, Virginia

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King Booker, Finlay and Queen Sharmell are with Teddy Long and they want a rematch with Batista and John Cena. Teddy tells them that they had their chance, so it's not going to happen. Booker wants the best competition that they have to offer, so Teddy tells them they can face Undertaker and Kane tonight. Teddy, he said the best. 

Batista wants to wish all of us happy holidays. He says 2006 has been an up and down month, but he's finishing strong. Out comes Santa Claus and he gives Batista candy canes. As Batista is throwing them out to the crowd, Santa attacks him. I would have never guessed. Teddy Long comes out and says that he has a match with Batista right now.

Batista vs. Santa Claus Sylvan

Santa goes back in the ring and attacks Batista. It doesn't last long and before you know it, Batista unmasks Santa and it is Sylvan. Batista hits the Batista Bomb and that is all. This was just a holiday present to the live crowd.

Match Rating: 1/4*

United States Championship Match
Chris Benoit vs. Chavo Guerrero

I never really have understood why they do a rematch of a pay-per-view match on the show right after. Based on the crowd reaction at Armageddon, I'm not sure this was something people were hungry for 5 days later. We have some pretty good action to start and then Benoit hits a suplex that ends up sending both of them over the top rope to send us to commercial break. When we come back, Chavo is working on the neck of Benoit. Benoit attempts a Sharpshooter, but Chavo is able to kick out. Benoit comes back and hits the top rope headbutt for a 2 count. Chavo gets a chance at a Frog Splash, but Benoit gets his knees up. Benoit goes for the Crossface, but in comes Vickie and she hits him with the title belt to cause the disqualification. Benoit stares her down and walks out of the ring. Chavo tells Vickie that he can't be the new champ if she keeps getting him disqualified. He does some enthusiastic points while he says that and Vickie falls on her back. In comes Benoit to check on her and Chavo attacks him, hitting him in the face with the belt. The match was well executed and the finish seemed a little obvious.

Match Rating: **1/4

King Booker and Finlay are talking about how they can take Undertaker and Kane out. 

Gregory Helms is in the ring and is complaining that he has no competition. He says maybe that it's time for him to pig out and join the heavyweight division. Out comes the Boogeyman and he beats up Helms. Then Tony Chimel announces "He's the Boogeyman and he's coming to get yaaaaa". Boogey then grabs him and shoves worms in his mouth. I'm not really sure what they are even going for with this guy any more. 

Out comes Joey Mercury and he looks awful from his match at Armageddon. He shows footage of the move that did the damage and the crowd gives him a round of applause. He says that he holds two people accountable for what happened to him and that's Matt and Jeff Hardy. He said he's lost 50% of the vision in his left eye, a shattered nose and 33 stitches. Matt's music hits and says that no one meant for this to happen. He says that no one meant to hurt him intentionally, but they were competing in a dangerous match. Mercury tries to push Matt into fighting him right now. Matt declines and tries to walk away, but then tells him maybe he should fight his tag team partner. Out come Johnny Nitro and Melina. 

Matt Hardy vs. Johnny Nitro

We get a little bit of action before Nitro grabs a ladder and we go to commercial break. When we come back, no ladder is being used, but Nitro is in control. Matt comes back and hits a clothesline to send both men to the mat. Matt hits a Side Effect for a 2 count. He hits the second rope leg drop and that's not enough. Matt goes for a neckbreaker, but Nitro counters it into a backslide, puts his feet on the rope and steals the victory. This was pretty good action overall.

Match Rating: **1/4

JBL is out and he wants Teddy Long out to apologize to him and to MVP for forcing him to be in an Inferno Match. He isn't wrong there. Teddy doesn't come out and JBL keeps going and insulting the crowd for allowing this to happen and cheering it. 

Ashley & Layla vs. Kristal & Jillian

This has all the makings of a classic, including Ashley wearing a backwards hat while wrestling. I mean Layla and Ashley have about 10 matches of experience up to this point. Jillian goes for the handspring elbow, but Layla gets her feet up. Ashley hits a hurricanrana. Ashley goes for a monkey flip, but Kristal holds onto Jillian, allowing her to try for a pin attempt. It gets broken up and Ashley hits a second rope elbow for the victory. This was as bad as you would expect.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Michael Cole is in the crowd with Vladimir Kozlov. He does the whole quirky Russian gimmick some more. 

King Booker & Finlay vs. Kane & Undertaker

No one gets more excited to watch Kane and Undertaker team up than I do. Booker hits a random superplex on Undertaker early on. It seems like that should have been saved for later in the match. Taker fights back and hits a DDT on Finlay and tags in his less interesting fake brother. They hit stereo boots and we have a commercial break. Taker hits a leg drop on the King when he's draped over the apron. Kane follows it up with a suplex, but Finlay breaks up the pin attempt. Kane goes up top, but Booker hits him with a kick on the way down. On the outside, Booker hits Taker with a chair to the face and somehow the referee doesn't see or hear it. Taker eventually gets a hot tag and both he and Kane hit stereo chokeslams. Taker hits the Tombstone on Finlay and that's all. I mean, was there ever a doubt? The action was pretty good and for whatever reason, Finlay and Booker looked like more of a threat here than they did at Armageddon. You know, when people actually had to pay to watch it. 

Match Rating: **1/2

This was a solid show where I was expecting a complete throwaway episode. I will be skipping next week's recap show and picking back up in 2007.

Overall Rating: 59%

ECW 12-19-06 Review

Tuesday, December 19th, 2006
Hampton Coliseum
Hampton, Virginia

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2

Bobby Lashley is here to kick off the show and gives a cheesy babyface promo. He announces that you can go on WWE.com to vote who his next opponent will be in 2 weeks. The options are Sabu, Test and Rob Van Dam. He talks about how he was part of Tribute To The Troops and Rene Dupree interrupts him and insults America. So now we have a match.

Bobby Lashley vs. Rene Dupree

So apparently Dupree still works here. Lashley tosses Dupree all over the ring. Dupree is able to snap the back of Lashley's neck on the top rope to slow down his momentum. It doesn't last long and Lashley hits a couple of clotheslines before hitting the delayed vertical suplex. Lashley hits the Dominator and that's all. That was all it needed to be. Too bad they had him do the interview spot because he wasn't ready for that yet.

Match Rating: 1/2*

Joey Styles and Tazz introduce Brad Armstrong, who will be helping announce this next match.

Matt Striker vs. Balls Mahoney

Balls charges right to the ring and starts the attack. He runs into a boot and now Striker is on offense, hitting a running kick to a seated Balls. Striker wants to choke Balls with his sweater, but the referee takes it away, so Striker uses the tape around his wrist instead. Striker works on Balls' arm while shoving his butt in his face. We get the Balls punch chant thing and then he hits a spinebuster. Balls goes up top, but misses with a leg drop and Striker hits the Golden Rule for the victory. He needs that a lot quicker in order for that to be a finisher. This was the usual from these two.

Match Rating: 3/4*

Test reluctantly explains why he should get our vote to be the #1 contender. Rob Van Dam then goes over his reasoning.

Hardcore Holly is out here to talk about tapping out to CM Punk. He says that he didn't and he challenges Punk to come out and try to make him tap. Punk comes out and Holly informs him that he only has 3 minutes to get him to tap out.

Hardcore Holly vs. CM Punk

With about 1:45 left, Punk tries to go for the Anaconda Vice, but Holly is still too fresh. Holly puts Punk in a headlock and we are down to 30 seconds. Punk hits a suplex, but then Holly blocks the submission attempt. The crowd starts counting down and gets the Anaconda Vice on as time runs out for the extremely flat finish. Holly then attacks Punk from behind and hits the Alabama Slam. I'm not sure what the finish was supposed to be, but whatever it was, it didn't work out. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Shannon Moore was on the phone with someone and then he gets confronted by Daivari and Great Khali. Daivari tells him that he's going to teach him a lesson in the ring. 

Shannon Moore vs. Great Khali

So we don't get Daivari, we get Khali. While Khali is destroying Moore, Dreamer runs out and attacks Daivari. I guess Khali wins the match by pinfall, but we don't see it because they swapped over to Dreamer. Khali then comes out and attacks Dreamer, slamming him on the steel steps. That seemed like an unnecessary bump for a feud that no one cares about on a show that no one cares about. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

They show the Mike Knox/Kelly saga and then go to Mike Knox, who tells us that he was the victim here. 

Triple Threat Match
Sabu vs. Test vs. Rob Van Dam

After an early commercial break, RVD gets Test in the ring after all three men were on the mat outside the ring. Test goes for the pump handle slam, but RVD escapes. He attempts to fly off the top rope and Test shoves him outside the ring. Sabu hits Test with a springboard reverse elbow. Sabu goes up top, but Test hits the ropes and crotches him. Test goes for a superplex, but RVD comes in and powerbombs Test with the him still holding onto Sabu for the superplex. RVD and Sabu hit some double team moves on Test. RVD follows up with Rolling Thunder and then they double clothesline Test to the floor. RVD and Sabu go at it now and RVD is able to set up Sabu on the top rope and hits him with a single legged kick. RVD hits the 5 Star Frog Splash, but Test throws him out of the ring and steals the victory. The match was decent enough for ECW. 

Match Rating: **1/2

After the match, Tazz gets in the ring to announce who won the WWE.com poll. RVD shockingly wins the poll with 45% of the vote. After the announcement, Test nails RVD with a boot and heads to the back. 

This wasn't the most intriguing episode of ECW, but it's less than a week to Christmas, so they usually don't care at this time. There have been worse episodes, but this was extremely mediocre.

Overall Rating: 40%