ECW 1-9-07 Review

Tuesday, January 9th, 2007
Peoria Civic Center
Peoria, Illinois

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We get a lengthy recap of the Bobby Lashley/Rob Van Dam match from last week. Tonight, we get the rematch. Brad Armstrong is already with Joey Styles and Tazz here tonight.

CM Punk vs. Hardcore Holly

Punk hits a dropkick to the back of the head of a seated Holly early on after trying to go for the Anaconda Vice early in the match. Punk knocks Holly out of the ring, but Holly moves out of the way of the suicide dive. Holly slows things down and hits a second rope leg drop. Punk gains a little bit of momentum, but it gets cut off by a Holly dropkick. Holly drops Punk on the top rope and then throws his shoulder into the ring post. Holly hits the Alabama Slam and gives Punk his first singles match defeat. CM Punk is just about the only guy not named Rob Van Dam who is over on this show, so of course you would have him lose cleanly to Hardcore Holly. I'm not sure I understand that booking. The match was pretty decent.

Match Rating: **1/4

A referee tells Test that his match is next, so Test whines about not getting a title shot so he's not wrestling next.

Elijah Burke is in the ring to give us the Elijah Experience. He's going to knock someone out. Sandman's music hits and he comes through the audience. They do kind of a dorky standoff and it's Sandman, so I've already lost interest.

Extreme Rules Match
Great Khali vs. Tommy Dreamer

Khali obviously just destroys Dreamer here, while they try to tell us how coordinated Khali is. I guess I need to prepare myself to relive this portion of WWE history where Khali is treated as a main event player once again. Dreamer tried to hit him with a sign, but Khali blocks it with a punch. He hits his finisher and stands on him for the victory. Whatever.

Match Rating: 1/2*

Rob Van Dam says that being the ECW Champion was the highlight of his career. He says he respects Lashley, but the tonight the ECW Championship comes home to RVD.

They show Tommy Dreamer standing up during the commercial break after his beating.

Kevin Thorn vs. Shannon Moore

Oh boy. If a Khali squash wasn't enough goodness for you, here's a Thorn one. He dominates, hits the Dark Kiss and gets the victory. No one cared.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Kelly Kelly returns next week.

ECW Championship Match
Rob Van Dam vs. Bobby Lashley

After a lot of hype from the announcers, we get an early commercial break. We miss quite a bit of action during the break, with Lashley steamrolling RVD a couple of times. Lashley misses with a Spear and RVD is able to capitalize. RVD misses with a leg drop on the table and Lashley is back in control. I'm enjoying this match and not really recapping it much. Just as I am typing that, out comes Test to ruin the match by hitting both guys with a chair. The match was good while it lasted, but it's weird why they were so into Test in this era. 

Match Rating: **1/2

This was a pretty good show overall. The two main matches were enjoyable TV matches, even if the decision to have Punk pinned cleanly was ill advised. I know he has to lose eventually, but I'm not sure end of career Bob Holly was the right choice.

Overall Rating: 59%

Off The Grid, Volume 36: Saturday Night's Main Event XXII Review

Original Airdate: Saturday, July 29th, 1989
Worcester Centrum
Worcester, Massachusetts

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Off The Grid, Volume 36:

We hear from Randy Savage, Sherri, Brutus Beefcake, Brainbusters, Demolition, Honky Tonk Man and Hulk Hogan with the classic SNME intro. Vince McMahon and Jesse Ventura rundown tonight's card and then show a highlight package of Honky Tonk Man's greatest hits.

We go to Mean Gene with Honky Tonk Man and Jimmy Hart. Honky says that Hogan will be at the heartbreak hotel.

We go back to Mean Gene with Hulk Hogan. He says his usual crap.

WWF Championship Match
Honky Tonk Man vs. Hulk Hogan

They start brawling pretty quickly and Hogan then carries Jimmy Hart on his back and into the ring. Honky misses Hogan with a guitar shot and Hogan continues to stay on the offense. Hogan drags in both men and gives them a double noggin knocker. Somehow the referee doesn't see Hart hit Hogan in the back. Honky controls the match and nearly puts me to bed. Hogan hulks up and makes his comeback. He hits Hart and Honky with the chair and hits his finisher for the victory. This wasn't good. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

They show Ronnie Garvin celebrating with Hogan and then a recap of him losing to Greg Valentine in a retirement match. They show clips of him being a referee and how he is attacking wrestlers who aren't following the rules. Jack Tunney then says that he is on warning for his behavior.

Greg Valentine vs. Jimmy Snuka

Garvin is the referee here. Valentine attacks Snuka from behind and before the bell rings. Snuka does a leapfrog over a charging Valentine and hits him with a thrust. Snuka goes off the second rope and Valentine gets his knees up. Valentine is wearing his shin guard and he is playing that up. Valentine keeps kicking Snuka as he tries to get back in the ring. Garvin shoves him and they get into an argument, which allows Snuka to go up top. Garvin hits Valentine and Snuka hits a crossbody for the victory. This was all storyline and one that would continue for awhile. 

Match Rating: *

We get a brief clip of Randy Savage and Brutus Beefcake from Brother Love before going to Savage, Sherri and Ventura backstage. He says he has a big surprise for him. While Savage enters, we go to Beefcake and Mean Gene for a pretty lame interview. 

Randy Savage vs. Brutus Beefcake

Beefcake in '89 is such a weird thing. He was so over and it just fell off a cliff after the accident and he never found anything close. Beefcake tosses Savage over the rope and goes after Sherri. Savage of course makes the save and I dig the red trunks for Savage here. We get some nice frantic back and forth action that you would expect from a Savage match from this era. After some Sherri interference, Savage throws Beefcake over the top and hits the top rope double ax handle to the floor. Sherri gets a couple of kicks in and a hit to the head with a heel. Beefcake gets an inside cradle, but the ref was distracted by Sherri. Sherri uses her nylon to choke Beefcake, but Beefcake gets Savage with a shot to the midsection when Savage comes off the top rope. Sherri holds Beefcake, but Beefcake avoids Savage and Sherri is knocked off the apron. Sherri heads off to the back as we go to the commercial break. She brings out Zeus of course. Beefcake slaps on the sleeper hold and in comes Zeus to cause the disqualification finish. Zeus gets Beefcake up in a bearhug and out comes Hogan. He attacks, but it has not effect on Zeus. Zeus absorbs some more shots and picks Zeus up so Savage can hit him in the back off the top rope. Beefcake makes a save and we have a four man brawl. Hogan hits Zeus with a chair to the back and we have a standoff before Zeus and Savage head to the back. That was a really good TV match and the post match shenanigans were really good too. Savage gave a master class on how to have a good match with a lesser opponent. 

Match Rating: ***3/4

We go back to Ventura with Savage, Sherri and Zeus. Lots of loud noises here. Sherri calls out Hogan for beating up women and crying when he loses.

 After showing a clip of the last match between the Brainbusters and Demolition, Demolition tells Mean Gene that it's time for pop goes the weasel. 

Two-Out-Of-Three Falls Match For The WWF Tag Team Championship
Brain Busters vs. Demolition

I've really come to appreciate Demolition over the years. Obviously Anderson and Blanchard are both awesome. Both teams get some offense in, with the closest call coming after an Anderson spinebuster. Smash hits a hot shot on the top rope and gets the first fall. We get lots of heel antics when we come back from commercial and there weren't many better teams at that for my money. Smash gets a hot tag and things get chaotic with all five men getting involved. Heenan is thrown into the ring post and the crowd is going crazy. Out comes Andre The Giant and Demolition hits the Demoltion Decapitation, but they are called for disqualification for not listening to the referee. That's your classic we never call out anyone for this, but we will since we have three falls scenario. Andre thinks it's hilarious and the third fall is underway. Things break down again, which distracts the referee from what's going on. Andre slides a chair to Blanchard and he hits Smash in the back of the head with it. Anderson covers him and we have new champions. Tremendous action. They crammed a 20 minute match into 12 and it worked. Two really good matches on this show.

Match Rating: ***3/4

Ventura is back Haku and Rick Rude right before Heenan, Anderson, Blanchard and Andre join them for the celebration. I always love these heel celebration interviews. Classic stuff.

We come back from commercial and Mean Gene is with Beefcake and Hogan. Hogan rambles on and on about how it was okay for him to do what he did because the Hulkamaniacs gave him the green light. He then starts wondering what will happen if they get their hands on Elizabeth. 

Jesse and Vince wrap it up and we get a quick highlight clip before signing off.

That was a great episode of SNME and a very good example of how compelling characters can make stories happen. I doubt that a better Beefcake match exists than the one we got here and the tag title match was very good too. This one gets a big thumbs up.

Overall Rating: 87%

Monday Night Raw 1-8-07 Review

Monday, January 8th, 2007
Scottrade Center
St. Louis, Missouri

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We get a lengthy recap of the DX/Rated RKO match from New Year's Revolution. 

John Cena is here to kick off the show. He talks about how Armando Estrada went on WWE.com last night and called Umaga's loss a fluke. Cena says it was no fluke. He's willing to give Umaga another match here tonight. Out comes Jonathan Coachman and he says that he's given Umaga the night off tonight. Cena's not buying it. Coach says it again that he has it off, but Cena does not. Cena's title will not be on the line, but he will be facing Raw's newest acquisition, Great Khali. The hits just keep on coming. He comes down to the ring to have a staredown. One thing of note is that Daivari is not with him here. 

We got to Vince McMahon and he talks about matches that have changed things forever and tonight will be no different with Donald Trump vs. Rosie O'Donnell. 

We come back from commercial and "Rosie" is here. Vince gives her a Fudgie the Whale cake and she eats it. Vince honestly thought that people actually wanted to watch this. Anything Vince has ever done is so rarely funny and it never is when he tries to be funny. The only time it's actually funny is when he doesn't know he's a joke.

Intercontinental Championship Match
Jeff Hardy vs. Kenny Dykstra

No robe for Kenny tonight. Hardy hits one of the better baseball dropkicks I have seen him hit before hitting a dive over the top into the commercial break. When we come back, Kenny has Hardy in a rest hold. Hardy makes a comeback and hits Whisper In The Wind for a 2 count. Hardy runs into a boot, but Kenny goes off the second rope and runs into Hardy's boot. Johnny Nitro is out and grabs Hardy's leg when running the ropes. The distraction allows Ric Flair to come from behind and deliver a low blow on Kenny. Hardy hits the Swanton for the victory. This was basically a squash with a storyline reason. Kenny continues to just exist. 

Match Rating: *1/2

They show "Rosie O'Donnell" eating a donut outside the Diva's locker room and she sneaks in. I can pretty much guarantee this episode gets one of the lowest scores I have ever given. 

They talk about Triple H's injury again from New Year's Revolution. He went down to Alabama and they diagnosed a torn quad and that he will be out 4-6 months after surgery. 

"Rosie" is with Maria and Candice Michelle. She drops her pictures on purpose so that she can watch Maria bend over. 

Todd Grisham is with Great Khali, but first we see the impact he has had on WWE, which is zero. They then have him talk, which you can't understand. 

Melina & Victoria vs. Maria & Mickie James

Maria hits a Bronco Buster because apparently that was the only move they could teach women to do  during this time period. Victoria accidentally hits Melina and all things have kind of broken down. Maria and Melina are in the ring. Melina hits some sort of finisher that is botched and picks up the victory. This was your usual rushed women's match from this era. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We get a guy who looks absolutely nothing like Donald Trump getting hairspray put on. JR has to put over that it's actually him. Embarrassing. 

Vince McMahon is out to introduce this pathetic excuse for TV. They are treating this as if it is an official match, but I won't be reviewing it as such. The crowd is booing it before it begins. Rosie goes and eats more cake. Rosie almost wins after Trump can't hold her up and she falls on him. The kickout causes the crowd to boo. Rosie gets a cake to the face and Trump hits a diving headbutt for the victory. This was absolutely some of the worst television WWE has ever done, which takes a lot. 

Carlito vs. Chris Masters

You know the show is bad when you are almost happy to see this match again. We get some back and forth action before Masters hits a gorilla press. Out comes Torrie Wilson to check on Carlito. Masters dominates with some boring offense like a bear hug. Carlito hits a dropkick and puts Masters on the apron. Torrie for some reason hits Masters with the ring bell in the butt. Carlito hits the Backstabber and that's all. Next.

Match Rating: 3/4*

Rated RKO are out, with Orton sporting a neck brace. They give some props to DX, but they claim that they ended DX. Next week, they are going to face Shawn Michaels in a handicap match and say that DX is officially on life support. Out comes Shawn Michaels and he says he's out here out of respect for the fans to address if DX is done and he's not sure. He says that he will take care of them next week. 

Cryme Tyme vs. Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch

This match lost me instantly. JTG gets a hot tag and hits a few dropkicks. The finish comes when JTG fakes an injury so that Shad can smash Murdoch's face into an exposed turnbuckle behind the referee's back for the victory. That actually is a halfway decent finish that was wasted on a 3 minute match before the main event. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

WWE 24/7 talks about the debut episode of Monday Night Raw. 

We go back to "Rosie" crying and Ron Simmons does his thing. 

Jerry Lawler is with Vladimir Kozlov and he says that he can beat both Great Khali and John Cena. 

Eugene is talking about John Cena beating Umaga and here comes Great Khali, who scares Eugene away.

Great Khali vs. John Cena

Armando Alejandro Estrada is your guest commentator here. They barely have a match here before Estrada goes and grabs a chair. Cena rips it from his hand and hits Khali with it for the DQ ending. Khali basically no sells it and hits his double armed chokeslam on Cena. Estrada gets on the turnbuckle and starts motioning for Umaga. He comes through the crowd and hits the butt splash in the corner. He hits the Samoan Spike and we're finally done.

Match Rating: 1/4*

If you needed a reminder of how garbage Vince McMahon was, I present you exhibit A. This was an absolutely god awful episode of Raw, with really only the RKO/Shawn Michaels segment really accomplishing anything. You don't need to watch this.

Overall Rating: 16%

NXT 3-11-15 Review

Original Airdate: Wednesday, March 11th, 2015
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida

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NXT Tag Team Championship #1 Contender Match
Enzo & Big Cass vs. Lucha Dragons

Enzo and Cass dominate the early portion of the match. A tag into Kalisto and he hits his rolling kick and hurricanrana from Enzo's knees. The crowd is all the way behind Enzo and Cass here. Sin Cara and Kalisto hit a double dive onto Cass. Cass hits a boot on Cara and it knocks Kalisto off the top rope. Cass drags Enzo to the corner so that he can make the tag. He throws Enzo off the top onto Kalisto and they pick up the victory. That was a fun sequence to finish the match and probably their biggest victory so far. 

Match Rating: **1/4

They hype up NXT at the Arnold Classic and then show us an Alex Riley hype video. 

Carmella vs. Alexa Bliss

After a headscissors from Alexa, Carmella trips her into the bottom turnbuckle to shift the momentum. Carmella slows things down until Alexa catches a kick. She trips her up and hits a standing moonsault for a 2 count. Alexa goes up to the top rope and hits the Sparkle Splash for the victory. This was a little longer than my review shows. This was Alexa's first match in a few months after being injured. Both ladies still needed some seasoning at this point, but Bliss showed here that she was unique for the division. 

Match Rating: *

They show an interview with Alex Riley earlier in the day. He says that he feels like he was locked in a cage for the past 2 years. He was only 33 years old here. 

Tyler Breeze makes fun of Hideo Itami for being ugly. 

CJ Parker vs. Alex Riley

It's odd to me that Riley is as over as he is. Let's be honest, he wasn't a good announcer. I'm not really sure why he didn't stick to wrestling, but I don't think announcing was for him. Riley hits a nice dropkick, but Parker clubs him in the back shortly after. Riley comes back and hits a somersault neckbreaker. He goes up top and hits a blockbuster for the victory. Riley looked solid here. When he had his feud with Miz, it seemed like he had some potential and then nothing happened from there.

Match Rating: 3/4*

After the match, Kevin Owens' music hits and he makes fun of Riley's tattoo. He says he's putting an end to Riley's career and then moving onto Finn Balor. 

Tyler Breeze vs. Hideo Itami

Itami dominates the early portion until he goes up top and Breeze knocks into the ropes to crotch him. We get kind of a weird commercial break during a rest hold. We get a little bit of back and forth when we come back and it ends with Itami hitting a huge clothesline. Breeze comes back and hits a Super Model Kick. He tries to use the ring post, but Itami pulls his leg and Breeze hits it face first. Itami hits a knee to the back of the head from the top rope, but Breeze kicks out at 2. Itami misses with the dropkick in the corner and Breeze hits the Beauty Shot for the victory. I have to say I'm a little surprised there. Breeze has been a jobber to the stars lately, so he needed a big victory. I'm just surprised it came at the expense of Itami. They have done a good job of making the Beauty Shot a near sure thing of a finisher. Good main event here.

Match Rating: ***

This was another good episode of NXT wrestling, even if it was a little light on storyline. The matches all had a good flow to them and even if they weren't all great, they were what they were supposed to be.

Overall Rating: 60%

Monday Night Raw 3-20-95

Original Airdate: Monday, March 20th, 1995
Stockton Memorial Auditorium
Stockton, California

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Razor Ramon vs. Henry Godwinn

Godwinn gets the non-televised entrance treatment here. I'm still amazed that Godwinn's solid performance against Undertaker on Superstars has resulted in nothing for him.Godwinn hits his wheelbarrow slam on Razor before sending him back and forth between turnbuckles. Vince brags about how his 1-900 line doesn't start charging you until after you make your selection. Talk about class. Razor's able to sneak in a backslide for a 2 count before we go to commercial break. Razor hits a spinning right hand and a bulldog from the second rope for a nearfall. Out comes Roadie and that allows Godwinn to attack the distracted Razor. 1-2-3 Kid comes out and hits Roadie with a kick to the jaw. Godwinn is now standing on the bottom rope distracted and Razor picks him up for the Razor's Edge and gets the victory. Another solid match from Godwinn against a top star. 

Match Rating: **

Vince interviews Razor after the match and he's not happy about Bob Backlund getting a title shot because that's his belt. It's a borderline heel interview. They show a clip of the Jarrett/Backlund situation.

We get an ad for Sunday Night Slam, which unfortunately is not on Peacock.

They show Bam Bam Bigelow do a football style shoulder tackle on Doink on the Action Zone.

Steve McMichael is introduced to be the guest announcer, which obviously must have impressed WCW enough to hire him a few months later. 

King Kong Bundy vs. Adam Croomes & Raven Clark

Croomes and Clark try for a double body slam, but of course it doesn't work. Bundy just doesn't look like a guy who is motivated enough to get the opportunity to face Undertaker. Throw in the fact that he's involved in the main event as well and you'd think that he'd be working a little harder. McMichael isn't too bad on announcing as a guest, but he definitely doesn't have the confidence he would eventually have. Bundy wins after a splash. Whatever.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Kama comes out to confront McMichael about him running his mouth. McMichael was referring to him as Coma during the match. McMichael shoves Kama, so Kama throws water in his face. They start brawling in a pretty convincing fashion and have to be broken up by a large group of officials. That was probably the best thing that Kama ever does. 

It's time for another WrestleMania Report. We hear from Shawn Michaels with Sid about winning the WWF Championship. Paul Bearer and Undertaker aren't happy about Ted DiBiase having the urn. 

WWF Tag Team Championship Match
Heavenly Bodies vs. Smoking Gunns

They show a clip of Oscar apologizing for Men On A Mission's attack on the Smoking Gunns. Don't forget to tune into the Home Shopping Network next week for some WrestleMania gear. The Gunns look good in the early going and Vince talks about how repulsive Del Ray is. When we come back from commercial break, the Bodies are in control of Bart. Del Ray hits a neckbreaker and gets a 2 count. Del Ray misses with a splash from the top rope, but Prichard prevents Bart from tagging in Billy. They hit a double clothesline and both guys make the tag. Bart recovers quickly enough to lift Prichard above his shoulder and Billy hits the leg drop. Cornette distracts Bart and the ref enough for Del Ray to hit Billy off the top rope. He follows it up with a DDT and Bart has to make the save on the pin attempt. Del Ray goes for a pin attempt, but Billy bridges out of it and reverses it for the victory. This was a good match from two teams that almost always delivered during this era. 

Match Rating: ***

They hype up Sunday Night Slam and give us pre-recorded interviews from Tatanka and Lex Luger about their cage match. The feud that just won't die.

This was a good show for the era and one that felt like it breezed by. Nothing really of importance happened, but that was usually the case in the mid-90s. 

Overall Rating: 63%

Superstars 3-18-95 Review

Original Airdate: Saturday, March 18th, 1995
William Bell Auditorium
Augusta, Georgia

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They show the clip from Action Zone with Men On A Mission attacking the Smoking Gunns after their match.

Tom Prichard vs. Adam Bomb

It's kind of weird to me that they couldn't find anything for Bomb to do. He dominates early on until Jim Cornette provides the distraction. Prichard knocks him out of the ring and then hits a running clothesline off the apron. Prichard hits a monkey flip and gets a 2 count. He goes for a second one, but this time Bomb hangs onto the ropes. Bomb goes up top, but Prichard gets there before and goes for a superplex. Bomb blocks it and drops him face-first. He hits him with a top rope clothesline and picks up the victory. This was a pretty good little match and I'm digging the better matches here on Superstars from this taping. 

Match Rating: *1/2

We go to a pre-taped interview between Vince McMahon and Diesel in the TV production area. He jokes around pretending to be working in an airport. They act as if Diesel is studying tape on Shawn Michaels and talk about the Sid factor. If you like the joking Diesel, this one is for you.

Shawn Michaels with Pamela Anderson says he will be the WWF Champion.

Well Dunn vs. Jacob & Eli Blu

This is an interesting choice for the heel Blu's to take on. The big mountain men take it to Well Dunn, with their usual combination of punches, kicks and elbows. I will say that I do much prefer this version of them compared to the DOA. They hit a spinebuster into a knee drop and pick up the easy victory. This was just a squash. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

It's time for you WrestleMania Report. He mostly talks about Lawrence Taylor/Bam Bam Bigelow, but this one is quick and they throw it to our next match.

King Kong Bundy vs. Lex Luger

Bundy is absolutely ice cold heading into a match with Undertaker at WrestleMania. I can't believe they couldn't have come up with something better. Luger clotheslines him over the top rope and I think I still stand by the fact that Luger was better in WWF than I ever imagined he would have been. They try to hype up individual matchups between the Million Dollar Corporation and LT's NFL friends. Bundy's on offense, so they make the wise choice and give us a commercial break. Luger tries to make a comeback, but Bundy stops that from happening and out comes Paul Bearer. That wakes up the crowd and Luger hits a body slam. Out comes Tatanka and he attacks Luger for the DQ finish. Out comes the British Bulldog to make the save and this probably would have been the better match for WrestleMania instead of the random match with Jacob and Eli. This match was about what you would expect from these two on Superstars.

Match Rating: 3/4*

Stephanie Wiand tells us about the Fan Fest.

Man Mountain Rock vs. Black Phantom

After a MMR jam, we get a Diesel Slim Jim commercial. Rock looks to be really out of shape and is extremely nonchalant with the way he wrestles. He puts on the Whammy Bar for the easy victory. This was bad. After the match, Lawler makes him look like the Easter Bunny.

Match Rating: 1/4*

We get a Nicholas Turturro/Ted DiBiase vignette. 

We get a LT hype video with him saying that he's only afraid of snakes and alligators.

Kama vs. Leroy Howard

I guess they're starting to shove Kama down our throats now. Lawler talks about the pairings of wrestlers and NFL players while Kama hits a spin kick to get the quick victory. Kama continues to not be impressive.

Match Rating: 1/4*

It's time for another WrestleMania Report. Todd runs down the rest of the card and honestly, they should have just done Undertaker/Bret Hart at WrestleMania. 

Vince and Lawler tells us that Aldo Montoya will face Hakushi next week. I honestly forgot about Montoya already at this point. We also will see the Smoking Gunns and the main event will be Tatanka vs. British Bulldog. They leave us with a WrestleMania moment, which is Roddy Piper and Morton Downey Jr. If you only saw this part of the segment, you'd think it was great and you'd be dead wrong. 

I like that they have been sprinkling in more name matches on here, but it doesn't always mean the matches will be good. It does make for an easier watch, but both Kama and Man Mountain Rock have been terrible so far this year. 

Overall Rating: 39%

New Year's Revolution 2007 Review

Sunday, January 7th, 2007
Kemper Arena
Kansas City, Missouri

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Steel Cage Match For The Intercontinental Championship Match
Johnny Nitro vs. Jeff Hardy

I know it's the opener, but the crowd is very much into Jeff here. After getting in the opening offense, Hardy misses in the corner and Nitro hits him with a springboard kick to the head. Nitro uses the cage to his advantage, but then Hard hits a springboard dropkick to a seated Nitro into the cage. Hardy attempts to sneak out the top of the cage off of an Irish whip, but Nitro gets there and super back suplex back to the mat. Hardy is able to launch Nitro into the cage and again is unsuccessful in escaping. Nitro meets him on the top rope and hits a side Russian leg sweep. They battle again on the top and Nitro hits a sunset flip powerbomb from the top of the cage. Nitro gets to the top of the cage, but Hardy meets him there. Nitro hangs his legs in the top of the cage and throws Hardy to the mat. Nitro hits a missile dropkick after some Melina interference. Nitro tries a top rope crossbody, but Hardy tries to catch him, but more or less just pushes him down. Hardy then hits a Swanton Bomb, but Nitro gets his foot on the bottom rope. Nitro gets to over the top of the cage, but Hardy pulls him back over. Hardy tries a Twist Of Fate, but Nitro is able to hang on and Hardy falls hard. Nitro climbs over the top with Melina trying to block the door. Hardy dropkicks the door and Nitro gets crotched on the top of the cage. Hardy escapes and picks up the victory in a finish that's still among the best I can think of for a cage match. These guys worked very hard, keeping up a good pace throughout the match. They also had a number of clever spots that still hold up 16 years later. Very strong opener to the show.

Match Rating: ***3/4

Todd Grisham is with Rated RKO. Edge says that DX reformed to have some fun and they formed to take DX out. 

World Tag Team Championship #1 Contenders Tag Team Turmoil Match
Highlanders vs. World's Greatest Tag Team vs. Jim Duggan & Super Crazy vs. Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch vs. Cryme Tyme

JR and Lawler try to pretend to be excited for this bonus match. No one ever wants to see a tag team turmoil match. Highlanders and TWGTT start the match off. Shelton and Haas dominate most of the matchup here until we finally get a hot tag. It feels like they already lost the crowd here. Robbie knocks Shelton out of the ring and hits a back suplex on Haas. Benjamin hits a superplex after raking Robbie's eyes and that's enough to eliminate them. Up next it's Hacksaw Jim Duggan and Super Crazy. Remember when Super Crazy was actually on Raw for a few matches? We actually get a small "Super Crazy" chant as we are stuck watching Duggan get beat up. Duggan fights back with his running clothesline and makes the tag to Crazy. Crazy hits a series of dropkicks and a standing moonsault on Haas. Shelton gets in a cheap shot, which allows Haas to hit a German suplex into a bridge for the victory. Cade and Murdoch come running out and get right to business. We get the rare heel/heel dynamic in these matches. Maybe it isn't rare. I honestly can't remember there ever being a good one of these. Murdoch hits his big running boot to the face on Shelton. Haas comes back with a missile dropkick, but Cade attacks him from behind after. Haas hits a flapjack on Murdoch, but gets hit by Cade off the top rope and Murdoch pins Haas. They keep trying to make these guys a thing and it just never worked. Out comes Cryme Tyme and the crowd wakes up a little bit. Lawler announces that these are the final two teams here. Cade and Murdoch hit their high and low combo on JTG. I'm just at the point where I've lost all interest in this match. I'm just not sure this needed to be nearly 20 minutes long when they never invest any time for these guys. Murdoch is just one of those guys I don't want to see on my TV and not in the "he's a heel" type of way. This heat segment is just completely not needed for this match and I would call for them to go home here. JTG gets his boot up on a leaping Murdoch, but Cade knocks Shad off the apron before the tag can be made. JTG escapes a double clothesline and tags in Shad. Shad escapes the high and low and they hit a neckbreaker/Samoan drop for the victory. They were the only team even remotely over out of this bunch, so they were the obvious choice. None of the work was bad or anything, but there was just nothing to care about. 

Match Rating: *

We go to Vince McMahon and Jonathan Coachman. He talks about his good friend Donald Trump and Rosie O'Donnell. God, please help me. Vince says that on Monday Night Raw tomorrow it will be "Donald Trump" vs. "Rosie O'Donnell". Coach just keeps talking about Vince taking his "You're fired" catchphrase away from Trump and how it's the greatest catchphrase, which leads to Ron Simmons doing what he does.

Kenny Dykstra vs. Ric Flair

Dykstra is wearing a Flair-esque robe. Dykstra cuts a dorky promo before the match. I'm not sure why you put these two dud matches back to back. Flair starts off slowly, but effectively until Kenny suplexes him outside the ring. He hits another one inside the ring for a 2 count. Kenny locks in a Boston crab seemingly because it's a move that he happened to remember he knew how to do. Flair is in the hold for a bit of time before he grabs the bottom rope. I wonder if Flair believed in Dykstra on a personal level or if he just was doing what he was told here. I have said it before, but watching Flair here just makes my mind even more blown that he decided to wrestle again as recently as he has. Flair climbs up top as Lawler pleads for him not to. Shockingly, Kenny throws him off the top and then hits a missile dropkick. Flair is able to come back with a chop block after a thumb to the eye. Flair slaps on the Figure Four for an extended length of time until Kenny grabs the bottom rope. Flair starts to get aggressive and this allows the referee to get involved and Kenny hits a low blow for the victory. It was very obvious that Kenny was not ready for this push. 

Match Rating: *

Johnny Nitro is shown getting medical attention with Melina. Nitro tells her to call Joey and to tell him that the Hardys are going to pay for what they have done. Melina leaves and runs into Victoria talking about her list. She says that there is only one diva left off her list and that's Melina. She says that the two of them could take over the division. She tells Melina that she would give her the first title shot and then heads off. 

To WWE's credit here, we actually get a lengthy recap of Victoria's list. 

WWE Women's Championship Match
Victoria vs. Mickie James

So we finally have a women's title match with a build and it features the two most talented on the roster at the moment. Mickie gets kicked off the apron and falls to the floor. Back in the ring, Victoria chucks Mickie across the ring by her hair. She goes up top and misses with a moonsault, giving Mickie her opening. Mickie knocks Victoria off the apron and out comes Melina to check on Victoria. Mickie gets in a shot on Melina and throws Victoria back in the ring. Melina grabs Mickie's ankle and this allows Victoria to get Mickie up for the Widow's Peak. Mickie counters out and rolls her up for a 2 count. Maria and Candice Michelle are out to keep Melina away. Mickie hits the DDT and picks up the victory. This wasn't quite the match I was hoping for since they didn't get much time, but it was a pretty well worked match. 

Match Rating: **1/4

D-Generation X vs. Rated RKO

They get to brawling outside the ring right away before the bell rings. We get into the ring and we're underway with DX working on Edge in their corner. Edge avoids a charging Michaels and he rams his shoulder into the ring post. That's enough to allow him to tag in Orton, but Michaels recovers and they're still on offense. It's not long before Triple H unloads on him and he's bleeding from the forehead. Rated RKO uses some illegal double teaming to finally gain control. It's not long before Michaels is up top and hitting an elbow drop. Michaels hits a dive onto both opponents. Orton is able to hit Michaels with one of the tag belts behind the ref's back and Michaels is busted open. We get our big heat segment and no one is better at teasing a comeback than Michaels. Michaels tries to get the tag, but Edge ducks a chop by Michaels and hits him with a boot to the face. Orton tries a RKO, but Michaels is able to avoid it and makes the tag. Triple H hits some clotheslines and a high knee on Edge. He clotheslines Edge over the top, but when he hits a spinebuster on Orton, Triple H is visibly injured. He hits one on Edge and the referee throws up the X. Triple H goes for a Pedigree, but Orton has to hit a half RKO. Michaels comes back in and they throw him out. Edge rolls over to pin Triple H, but he kicks out. Edge sets up for the Spear, but Triple H avoids it, but he can't even walk. He "hits" a Pedigree, but Edge kicks out. Michaels hits a dive through the ropes onto Orton and then hits the referee on purpose. He grabs a chair and hits both Edge and Orton with it. Triple H starts using a chair too multiple times. Goodbye, WrestleMania 23 main event. Triple H hits a Pedigree on Edge onto the table and then Michaels hits a to rope elbow drop on Orton through the table. The referee is still out for all of this. DX's music hits and we just have a non-finish. Triple H would go on to miss the next 6 months due to this injury. I'm not sure what was supposed to happen, but if a non-finish was the audible, that doesn't make much sense to me. The action was solid and the crowd enjoyed it as well. 

Match Rating: ***1/4

Todd Grisham is with John Cena to talk about the undefeated Umaga. He says that there's nothing that will stop him from walking out of here as the WWE Champion.

Carlito vs. Chris Masters

These two just can't keep away from each other. Carlito hits a double springboard moonsault to wake up the crowd a little bit. Masters goes for the Master Lock, but Carlito is able to get to the ropes. Carlito ducks a clothesline and hits a springboard reverse elbow. He hits a high knee and a clothesline. Carlito goes for a reverse roll up, but Masters blocks it, grabs the tights and gets the pin. After the match, he kicks Carlito and slaps on the Master Lock before throwing him to the mat. He rubs it in Torrie Wilson's face. JR thinks that the referee should reverse the decision. This was a nothing match that the crowd had little to no interest in. 

Match Rating: *1/4

WWE Championship Match
Umaga vs. John Cena

Cena goes after Umaga with everything he has and lowers the top rope, sending Umaga over the top. Umaga is furious before climbing up to the apron. Cena tries to attack him, but Umaga sends him over the ropes and to the floor. Umaga hits him with a Samoan drop and then knocks him off the apron and into the announce table. Umaga misses with a splash and Cena goes for a body slam, but Cena's back gives out and Umaga gets a 2 count. Cena is able to snap Umaga's neck on the top rope. He runs up top, but Umaga catches him into a spinning Rock Bottom. Umaga comes back with a spin kick. Cena is able to get Umaga up for the FU, but again isn't able to keep him up. Umaga throws Cena out of the ring again. Umaga misses with a splash off the second rope. Cena makes his comeback and throws Umaga into the ring post. He hits the Five Knuckle Shuffle, but Umaga is able to hit a belly to belly suplex. He hangs Cena in the tree of woe and Umaga hits a leaping headbutt. Cena gets his knees up when Umaga goes for the butt in the face and quickly rolls him up for the surprise victory out of nowhere. I get the thinking there, especially since I remember just assuming it would end with some sort of DQ finish. With how short the show ran, they probably could have had the match run a little longer. They were having a good match and still seemed to have a lot of gas left in the tank. Regardless, this was an entertaining main event and better than probably most were expecting at the time.

Match Rating: ***1/2

This is one of those shows that most people forgot existed, but actually wasn't bad. It was essentially a very stacked episode of Raw, with the opener and main event delivering. The DX/Rated RKO match was good as well, but went off the rails after the injury. I would have liked to have seen the women's match get a few more minutes, but that just wasn't meant to be. The rest of the card was disposable and that hurts the show overall.

Overall Rating: 58%

NXT 3-4-15 Review

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

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After a Kevin Owens video, we go to Alex Riley wanting a match with Kevin Owens. William Regal tells him that he's either a competitor or an announcer. Riley says he watched Regal do both and that he's still in the prime of his career. Regal stands firm on that. 

Adam Rose vs. Tyler Breeze

Rose goes off the second rope, but Breeze gets his knee out for a modified inverted atomic drop. I could be wrong, but I think Rose was a heel on the main roster at this point in time, but definitely babyface here. Anyway, I know he was basically a jobber by this point too and it's no different here in NXT. He gets hit with the Beauty Shot and that's it. After the match, he uses his selfie stick to make his way through the Rosebuds.

Match Rating: 1/2*

We go to Enzo, Cass and Carmella. They talk trash about Wesley Blake and Buddy Murphy. 

Alexa Bliss says that she needed time to recover physically and mentally. She's going after the Boss. 

Blake & Murphy vs. Angelo Dawkins & Sawyer Fulton

Fulton has his wrestling headgear on and is a big dude. He gets hit by a double reverse elbow, but kicks out at 2. Fulton gets in a right uppercut and tags in Dawkins. His burst of offense doesn't last long, as they hit a suplex/splash combination for the easy victory.

Match Rating: 1/2*

Bayley wishes Charlotte luck in her match tonight with Sasha. In walks Emma and she makes fun of Bayley for not winning the match to be #1 contender. She says she was all nice on Raw and now she's back in NXT. 

Baron Corbin vs. Tony Briggs

Briggs is a pretty big guy. Kevin Owens is shown standing over the shoulder of Alex Riley. Baron hits End Of Days and that's all. The usual.

Match Rating: 1/4*

They show more of KO and Alex Riley. Owens dumps a water bottle on his head and Riley has to be restrained. Owens walks away slowly, daring Riley to attack him, but nothing happens.

Sami Zayn is shown in Montreal and he's talking about it being his 13 year anniversary of wrestling. He says that he's not mentally prepared to be there right now and he came home to get some perspective. 

Riley charges in Regal's office and he wants a match now. Regal says he can't until he decides he's ready. CJ Parker is randomly in there and says that he's the only one who has done anything to KO so far. Riley says he's going to start with Parker next week then.

Bull Dempsey vs. Solomon Crowe

I finally get to see Solomon Crowe wrestle. They go right at it and Dempsey gets the better of it. Bull has been a total jobber the last few weeks and now he's dominating a guy in his debut match. Crowe gets a scoop slam in, but he runs off the ropes and gets flattened by Bull. He goes up top, but Crowe moves out of the way. He hits a running forearm and then some sort of springboard headbutt that looks extremely weak for a finisher and gets the win. Not a great debut. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

NXT Women's Championship Match
Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks

Sasha attempts to leave, but Charlotte isn't having it and throws her back in the ring. Charlotte quickly gets the Figure Four on, but Sasha is eventually able to get to the bottom rope. When we get back from commercial, Sasha hits a double knees to Charlotte while draped on the ropes. Sasha continues to look strong and then slaps on the Bank Statement. Charlotte tries to roll out of it, but Sasha hangs on. Charlotte eventually uses her length to reach the bottom rope. Charlotte is able to toss Sasha out of the ring. Back in the ring, Charlotte connects with a Spear, but Sasha kicks out. Charlotte's able to put on the Figure Four on the ring post, but has to break the hold before the 5 count. Charlotte goes for Natural Selection, but Sasha hangs onto the ropes. She covers her and puts her feet on the rope to steal the victory. This was a very good TV main event. Sasha in particular looked really good here. 

Match Rating: ***1/2

Most of the matches tonight were nothing, but the main event delivered and the Kevin Owens effect has improved multiple storylines. Overall, a good episode. 

Overall Rating: 60%

Monday Night Raw 3-13-95 Review

Monday, March 13th, 1995
Stockton Memorial Auditorium
Stockton, California

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We get Vince hyping up the feud of Bret Hart and Jerry Lawler. He says that it's supposed to be Jacob and Eli Blu against Bob Holly and 1-2-3 Kid. Right after it's the Headshrinkers instead due to California storms. 

The Headshrinkers vs. Jacob & Eli Blu

Sione gets clotheslined over the top rope and then eats a double boot to the face. We get an awkward commercial break, as I guess is pretty common during this era. They show Sione getting clotheslined outside the ring during the break. Sione comes back with a leaping shoulder tackle, but the Blu's use twin magic to their advantage. Sione hits a powerslam and this time is able to tag in Fatu. Fatu gets his head slammed into the mat, but you can't do that and he bounces up and hits a superkick. They start brawling outside the ring and this is going exactly where you probably expected it to go. Especially since this wasn't the scheduled match. It's a double countout and they should have at least had it end with a more wild brawl. The match was decent enough.

Match Rating: *3/4

We get a hype video of Lawrence Taylor talking about WrestleMania and then Vince announces all of LT's all pro team joining him at ringside. We then hear from Steve McMichael and he says that he'll be at Monday Night Raw next week. 

We then go to Ted DiBiase, Bam Bam Bigelow and his group of losers. There's no Nikolai Volkoff or IRS. Jim Cornette says there is one football player he has respect for and it's Ernie Ladd. We go to a pre-taped interview between Ladd and McMahon. He talks about how much training it took for him to be good at wrestling. He doesn't think LT's chances are that good. 

We get an interview with Barry Horowitz and that he's been talking to Razor Ramon about taking on Jeff Jarrett tonight. I guess this is technically the beginning of the Horowitz push? 

Jeff Jarrett vs. Barry Horowitz

They hype up that Barry has never won a match in WWF. Barry gets in some offense, as Jarrett usually does in his squashes. He continues to outsmart Jarrett a little bit until Jarrett is able to hit a chop block. This of course leads to the Figure Four and the victory for Jarrett. This was a little bit better than my review would lead on. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

They show a clip of Jerry Lawler in the battle royal on Superstars. We then go to Bret Hart in a backwards hat and calling Lawler a giant pain in the butt.

It's now time for a WrestleMania Report and that means Todd Pettengill. Salt 'N' Peppa will be at WrestleMania to perform. We then get an interview with Shawn Michaels and Pamela Anderson with him. He talks about the Smoking Gunns facing Owen Hart and a mystery opponent. They show a clip from Action Zone yesterday with Men On A Mission facing the Smoking Gunns. After the match, Men On A Mission attacked the Gunns and Todd's not sure why. It's kind of weird that they did that before WrestleMania. Todd then hypes up a new match with Lex Luger teaming with British Bulldog to face the Blu twins. 

Jerry Lawler vs. Bret Hart

Lawler is with Bull Nakano tonight to hype up the Bret is racist against Japanese part of this random storyline. The fight begins as soon as Bret gets to the ring and we are under way. It's just so odd to me how Bret had like 3 feuds at the same time and so little of the time was spent with the one that's going to be on pay-per-view. Bret gets Lawler in the tree of woe and gets in a few kicks to the midsection. They show Bob Backlund in the audience staring at the match. Now it's Shinja and Hakushi watching the match from the entrance. When we come back from commercial break, Lawler hits a bulldog. Vince talks about Barry Horowitz asking for a rematch with Jarrett. Lawler goes up top, but Bret catches him in the midsection on the way down. Bret hits a bulldog and then knocks Lawler out of the ring with a right hand. Bret goes out there and Nakano grabs Bret. She accidentally kicks Lawler and Bret stares her down. Lawler gets back in the ring, but when Bret attempts to, Nakano grabs his leg and he is counted out. Bret goes after her, but Shinja and Hakushi are there. Lawler attacks him from behind, but Bret gets the better of him. This was an entertaining main event for what it was.

Match Rating: **1/4

Next week it will be Razor Ramon vs. Henry Godwinn and Smoking Gunns vs. Heavenly Bodies. We go to Vince with Jarrett and Horowitz. Jarrett says that he'll give him his rematch and this time it will be a title match. Out comes Bob Backlund and he attacks Horowitz. He then signs the contract to get a title match and Jarrett is upset, so he attacks Horowitz. That was an odd finish.

This was an easy show to watch and had a good pace. There wasn't anything on it that you had to see, but it was entertaining, especially for 1995.

Overall Rating: 58%

Superstars 3-11-95 Review

Original Airdate: Saturday, March 11th, 1995
William Bell Auditorium
Augusta, Georgia

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After an odd Wrigley's commercial read by Vince, we go right to Jim Cornette. He lets us know that Jeff Jarrett will be facing ex-Intercontinental Champion, Razor Ramon. He then says that Razor may not make it to WrestleMania for that match, because he's facing this 400 pound monster, Mantaur.

Mantaur vs. Razor Ramon

Let's see if Razor can get anything out of Mantaur here. After some early offense from Razor, Mantaur misses with an elbow drop. Razor runs off the ropes and leaps, but Mantaur catches him and hits a powerslam for a 2 count going into a commercial break. When we come back, Mantuar hits a splash in the corner. The thing that stands out to me about Mantaur is it always looks like he's trying to remember what to do next. The instincts are just not there. Razor gets a boot up and then hits a leaping bulldog for a 2 count. Razor hits a body slam, but again Mantaur kicks out. The Roadie is now out and has the Intercontinental belt in his hands. Razor gets Mantaur up on the top rope and Razor this the super back suplex. He signals for the Razor's Edge, but now he sees Roadie. Mantaur charges at him from behind, but he sidesteps him and he goes flying over the top and onto Roadie. That's enough for the countout and not that I wanted to see more, but it felt like there should have been another minute or so. Out comes Jeff Jarrett. Roadie uses the distraction from Jarrett to go grab the belt. Razor tried here. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

It's time for the WrestleMania Report and we are now only 3 weeks away. Todd Pettengill mostly hypes up LT/Bam Bam Bigelow, but says he'll be back later. 

We get a Jean Pierre Lafitte vignette, who is a pirate now. See, he really wasn't a Mountie. His great great grandfather was a legendary pirate or something. He's looking for revenge. This was a cheap looking vignette, which is a shame. 

Charlie Hunter vs. Doink

Vince hypes up the Dunk The Doink Tank at WrestleMania. Doink hits a series of scoop slams and Vince reminds us that Doink is a "good wrestler. Dink provides some shenanigans and Doink hits an arm drag. Doink withstands some offense from Hunter and hits a swinging neckbreaker. He hits the Whoopee Cushion and that's all. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

They show highlights of the Undertaker and Million Dollar Corporation feud.

Ken Raper vs. Bob Backlund

Raper looks into the camera and tells Mr. Backlund that he's never quit anything in his life and that he's not going to today before we go to commercial. In between, we get a Mr. Backlund/Nicholas Turturro vignette for WrestleMania where Backlund is shown arguing with no one. I'm not sure anyone stalls as much as Backlund does in his matches. Raper hits a few hip tosses and does a dance even dorkier than Backlund's. Backlund slaps on the Cross-Face Chickenwing and you'll never guess it, but Raper submits. I still can't believe they let him win the WWF Championship. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

They show a vignette of Ted DiBiase from 1987. 

Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Bob Holly

DiBiase introduces his group of dorks and then calls out his newest acquisition, Kama. No one cares. Holly gets in his offense to tease the upset, but then Bam Bam catches him for a powerbomb. After the commercial, Bam Bam continues to dominate with a slower paced offense. Holly gets in a sunset flip, but Bam Bam catches the rope and splashes him. Holly does make a comeback, hitting a dropkick and a back suplex. Holly goes for a second one, but Bam Bam counters it with a bulldog and that's enough for the victory. This was pretty decent, but really Bam Bam should have probably just completely squashed him. 

Match Rating: *1/2

We go back to Todd Pettengill and he goes over the undercard for WrestleMania. He then runs through the celebrity list and that's it.

Jerry Lawler has a Bret Hart stretch 'em toy and says that is what he is going to do to him on Monday. Next week, it's King Kong Bundy against Lex Luger. Great.

This felt a little bit better paced this week thanks to having two feature matches instead of just one. Neither were anything to write home about, but it's better than cramming in seven squashes too.

Overall Rating: 37%

Money In The Bank 2023 Review

Saturday, July 1st, 2023
O2 Arena
London, England

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Men's Money In The Bank Ladder Match
Butch vs. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Santos Escobar vs. Damian Priest vs. Ricochet vs. LA Knight vs. Logan Paul

I did not realize that LA Knight is 40 years old. So three of the competitors are in their 40s and Santos is just months away from it. Knight hits a big DDT to a huge pop from the crowd, but then eats a kick to the head by Nakamura. Nakamura then hits a knee to the head of Priest, who is pinned behind a ladder in the corner. Butch pulls out a cricket paddle and starts clearing the ring. Priest takes him out and then Logan Paul talks him into working together. They both set up tables outside the ring next to each other. Paul wants a high five, Priest hits him with a fist to the face. Escobar hits Priest with a suicide dive and then Ricochet leaps through the ladder to the outside. LA Knight is left alone in the ring, but Paul takes him down before he can climb too high. Nakamura sets up Priest on the ladder, but he is tripped up by Paul. He goes up on the apron instead and hits a splash that couldn't have felt good for either men. Butch jumps on the back of Escobar at the top of the ladder and puts on a choke hold. He lays them down on the ladder on the ropes and the set up ladder and then they both get hit by a 450 splash from Ricochet. This sets up a brawl between all 7 men. Butch climbs the giant ladder outside the ring and hits a moonsault to the group. He starts climbing, but Paul pulls him down and starts climbing himself. Ricochet makes the save there and we then get Escobar, Nakamura and Knight climbing. Escobar hits a hurricanrana on Knight off the ladder. Nakamura climbs up with Escobar and then Ricochet and Paul springboard their way onto the ladders as well. They knock down the other ladder and battle up top. La Knight pushes them onto the ropes, but Paul slips. They decide to still do the spot and hit a Spanish Fly off the ropes and through the two tables set up earlier. That could have been bad. Yikes. Butch and Knight are at the top now. Butch goes for the joint manipulation on Knight's hand and sends him to the mat. Priest runs up and Butch tries again, but is sent to the mat. Knight gets to be the hero and the crowd can feel it. He disposes of Nakamura too and climbs up the ladder. He grabs the briefcase, but Priest grabs him by the throat. Priest throws him off the ladder. He falls too, so he climbs back up and picks up the briefcase for the victory. He was rumored to be the favorite, but I think I would have went with Paul. I also think Knight was a better choice here. The match itself had a good pace, but never got past the good zone.

Match Rating: ***1/2

We get a lengthy Ronda Rousey video package, leading to her and Baszler. Rousey just feels like another woman on the roster at this point. 

WWE Women's Tag Team Championship Match
Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler vs. Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez

Rodriguez launces Morgan over the top onto both opponents early on in the match. I remember when Rodriguez and Baszler were both dominant and then they just weren't any more. Rodriguez gets a hot tag after a short heat segment and hits a fall away slam. Rousey is able to get an arm bar in on the top rope, but Rodriguez battles out of it and hits a powerbomb. The pin attempt is broken up by Baszler and both ladies make a tag. Rousey and Baszler put a double submission on Liv, but Rodriguez is able to break that up. Why is this show 3 hours and 38 minutes long? I thought they were starting to realize that going over 3 hours was a mistake? Baszler slaps on the Kirifuda Clutch, but Liv is fairly easily able to get out of it. Rousey tags in and then Baszler attacks her from behind? Liv just watches in shock and tags in Rodriguez. They both get in some offense and pin Rousey to win the highly coveted Women's Tag Team Championships. This was a match.

Match Rating: **

We get an interview with Damian Priest and he lists all of the championships for us. 

Intercontinental Championship Match
Matt Riddle vs. Gunther

Things start off intensely, with Gunther of course hitting some chops. Riddle is trying to continue to be aggressive, but Gunther has an answer for most of it. Riddle lands on his feet from a German suplex, but is immediately clotheslined. Riddle hits a knee strike and a kick to the face. He hits the Floating Bro, but Gunther kicks out. Gunther goes off the top rope, but Riddle catches him in a triangle choke. Gunther counters out into a powerbomb and then a half crab. Riddle tries to kick his way out of it, but Gunther attacks the leg more and Riddle taps out? Really? 

Match Rating: **

After the match, Drew McIntyre's music hits. Gunther shoves him, but Drew hits him with a Glasgow Kiss. He hits the Claymore Kick and holds up the Intercontinental Championship over Gunther. 

Dominik Mysterio vs. Cody Rhodes

This seems like such a random match to me. Dominik gets in a few shots and then tries to head to the back. Cody rips off his cast that he apparently doesn't need any more and chases after him. Dominik escapes a Cross Rhodes attempt and again tries to leave, this time through the crowd. Cody gets him again and this time Rhea distracts Cody. This allows Dominik to take off the top turnbuckle. Rhea trips up Cody and Dominik hits a suicide dive. After lots of chanting from the UK crowd, Cody makes a comeback. He hits a Disaster Kick, but Dominik kicks out at 2. Cody blocks a 619 attempt and hits a spinning Alabama Slam. Cody hits the Cody Cutter and Cross Rhodes for the victory. That's 3 matches in a row that just felt like Monday Night Raw.

Match Rating: *3/4

John Cena is out for a surprise and a big reaction. He's shocked that he's getting cheered here after years of getting booed. He wonders why it's taken so long to bring a show back to London. He says it's the decision makers choice and blames it on London being a hostile environment with the crowd taking over the show. Cena says that he is here to try to bring WrestleMania to London and the crowd goes crazy. Grayson Waller's music hits and he lets Cena know that he loves his jorts. Waller insults the crowd and the weather. He says that if WrestleMania is going international, Australia is a better choice. Waller talks about Cena losing his last few matches, so he offers to help save Cena's career by having him on his show. Cena passes on the offer and Waller attacks him from behind. Cena hits him with an Attitude Adjustment and that's it? That seemed like a pretty forced segment. I still can't get used to skinny Cena. 

Women's Money In The Bank Ladder Match
Bayley vs. Iyo Sky vs. Zelina Vega vs. Zoey Stark vs. Trish Stratus vs. Becky Lynch

This is sort of an odd mix of women. Damage Control get rid of the other women and then both climb at the same time. The hesitance allows Lynch to take both out. I have to admit, I don't know much about Stark at all. Sky hits a moonsault onto all of the women in the ring. It seems like there shouldn't have been two of those in the same night. Trish climbs up to the top, but Lynch is up there to greet her. They battle up at the top and Becky shoves her off. Zelina climbs and hits a crossbody on Becky and Trish. Zelina climbs up to the top, but Trish and Becky work together to powerbomb her. They start brawling again and again Becky gets the better of her. Becky goes off and hits a Manhandle Slam onto a ladder on Trish. Zelina starts to climb, but Stark runs up there. Vega hits a sunset flip powerbomb onto the horizontal ladder in a surprising spot there. Sky starts to climb, but her partner Bayley shoves her off the ladder. Becky and Bayley start climbing, but Sky handcuffs them together with their hands between the ladder. Sky climbs the ladder and grabs the briefcase in one of the most clever finishes to one of these matches that I can remember. The rest of the match was pretty uneventful, however. I think everyone in the building knew Sky was going to win, which is fine and they at least came up with a good finish to get there.

Match Rating: **3/4

World Heavyweight Championship Match
Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins

This one feels like it could have been saved for SummerSlam. Rollins gets Balor out of the ring and hits a suicide dive. We then get a nice little series of counters ending with Balor stomping Rollins. Rollins comes back with a spinning clothesline and both men are down. Balor hits a Sling Blade, but Rollins hits a superkick. Rollins hits a buckle bomb and goes up top. Balor gets his knees up on the Frog Splash and then hits the running dropkick. Balor now heads up to the top rope. Rollins leaps up to meet him, but Balor pushes him off. Balor misses with the Coup de Grace and it ends up with Rollins hitting a Pedigree. Rollins rolls over and gets a 2 count on the pin attempt. Out comes Damian Priest with the briefcase in hand. The distraction allows Balor to roll up Rollins for a nearfall. Priest grabs a chair to watch and Rollins gets nailed by a running dropkick outside the ring. Balor hits a Coup de Grace from the table and then another from the steps. He rolls Rollins back in the ring and hits another dropkick. He goes up to the top rope again, but Priest stands up and gives him a look. Rollins avoids another Coup de Grace, Rollins hits the Stomp and that's enough for the victory. That was quick and never got into second gear. 

Match Rating: ***

Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn are interviewed in a suite at the arena. Sami predicts that tonight is the night that Roman Reigns gets what is coming to him. 

Usos vs. Roman Reigns & Solo Sikoa

Why do both ring announcers talk exactly the same? They have never really found someone worthy of carrying on the Fink's legacy. As with every Roman Reigns match in this era, there's lots of stalling to start. Lots of a guy hits a move and then the crowd chants. I think I am at least 10 minutes into this thing and it's just been a slow burn so far. Jimmy goes for a tag, but Solo Sikoa runs around the ring and takes Jey off the apron to prevent it. Jey does finally tag in and picks up the pace of the match. Roman comes in, but the Usos hit a double Spear. Sikoa comes in and breaks up the pin attempt as Michael Cole and Wade Barrett try to convince us that it would have been enough for the victory. Yeah, okay. All four men are in the ring and are tired from the 2 minutes of wrestling they have done in the first 15 minutes. Solo and Jey spill outside and Roman hits a Superman punch on Jimmy for a 2 count. Jimmy hits 2 superkicks and goes up top, but Roman catches him on the splash attempt into a Guillotine. Jimmy gets the arm up and then powers his way up and breaks the hold. Jey tags himself in, but Roman hits him with a forearm before entering. We get ourselves a ref bump and the Usos hit a 1D. Of course there is no one to count, so the crowd does. The Usos both go up top, but Solo knocks Jimmy off and then he and Solo hit double uranages. They they hit a Samoan Spike/Spear combo and the ref is conveniently starting to get up. Roman covers both Usos, but they both kick out. Solo misses with a splash on the table, but Roman hits a Spear on Jey and he kicks out. We get lots of superkicks and Jey hits an Uso splash for the victory and first pinfall defeat of Roman in forever. This match took fooooorrrrever to get going and even once it did, it was mostly the same old stuff. A disappointing ending to a disappointing show.

Match Rating: **1/4

This show had quite a bit of promise and pretty much delivered on none of it. When the highlight is a clever finish in a ladder match, that's usually not a good sign. The crowd was into it, but you can skip this one. 

Overall Rating: 42%

SmackDown 1-5-07 Review

Original Airdate: Friday, January, 5th, 2007
Lakeland Center Jenkins Arena
Lakeland, Florida

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2

I can't believe this awful SmackDown theme still is part of the show. Teddy Long is in the ring and he says that tonight will be a series of matches chosen at random in Beat The Clock Sprint matches. The winner will take on Batista at Royal Rumble. Batista is out and says that he loves this idea. Teddy then brings out the first competitor, Kane.

Beat The Clock Sprint Match
Kane vs. Chavo Guerrero

I actually have always liked the Beat The Clock gimmick. It gives the show a united theme and makes it a little different than the usual weekly show. Chavo is able to slow down Kane eventually when he draws him outside the ring and trips him into the steel steps. Chavo tries to use the ropes on the pin, but it doesn't work and we're already well over 4 minutes here. Kane comes back and hits a side suplex. Kane hits a top rope clothesline, but Chavo gets his foot on the bottom rope. Kane goes for a chokeslam, but Chavo kicks his way out of it. They battle in the corner and Chavo shoves him off. He hits a Frog Splash, but Kane catches him by the throat. Kane sits up and hits the Chokeslam for the victory at 7:53. This was about as crappy as you'd expect. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

Beat The Clock Sprint Match
Paul London vs. Brian Kendrick

They show Johnny Damon in the crowd and oh my gosh, London's opponent is his own partner. I didn't see that coming. They go for some quick pin attempts at the beginning and then go to some basic wrestling because they are friends. Batista is watching on a TV from a normal angle, so we actually don't know what he's watching. He could be watching Desperate Housewives for all we know. We get some more quick pin attempts and back to submission wrestling. We're already under 4 minutes and they still go back to moves that won't get you to where they need to be. Kendrick gets thrown through the ropes around 3 minute mark, but it just ends up back in the ring with them doing a test of strength. We get a double cross body at the 2:12 mark and both men are down. We're back to pin attempts and then Kendrick thinks it's a good idea to put a headlock on with under a minute left. He hits a hurricanrana into a pin, but London reverses that. We get more pinfall attempts and then we get some awkward offense to end the match. These guys are usually great, but man, did this stink. Ashley comes out to check on them and raises both of their arms. They all hug after. How sweet. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

JBL is in the ring for a special interview with MVP about being burned alive at Armageddon. Before MVP comes out, they show footage of MVP and then a picture of his back while making the crowd feel bad for cheering it. MVP limps out to the ring with his back exposed for everyone to see. He talks about how he had to get 24 hour medical care and couldn't go to the bathroom herself. They pan to some woman in the crowd making a crybaby face. He says that he won't let this get in the way of becoming World Heavyweight Champion.

Beat The Clock Sprint Match
King Booker vs. Gregory Helms

Queen Sharmell is in the ring and before announcing Booker, says that he shouldn't have to participate in this. Now Batista is looking up close at the TV and on an angle, so we know he changed it back to SmackDown. Booker catches Helms and hits a big spinebuster for a 2 count. We're about halfway through their time and not much has happened in this one either. Book hits a kick and slowly covers him, making JBL irate. Helms catches Booker with a forearm and a missile dropkick off the second rope for a 2 count. Helms goes up top and hits a crossbody for another 2 count. We now have 2 minutes remaining and Booker misses a Scissors Kick. Sharmell grabs Helms' leg and it allows Booker to hit a kick and finish him with the Scissors Kick with 1:29 left. Booker now has the time to beat with 6:24. This was another disappointing match here on SmackDown.

Match Rating: 3/4*

The Boogeyman's music hits and he sneaks behind Helms and hits him with his finisher. Out come the worms and you know the deal here. 

They show a lengthy video package on Batista and his journey to World Heavyweight Champion.

Ashley vs. Jillian

You know what this crappy show didn't need? This. Ashley runs the ropes like she just ran 3 marathons. Jillian catches her for a powerbomb, but Ashley is just too resilient. Ashley gets a fluke victory and saves us all.

Match Rating: 1/4*

They show Maryse in a hot tub to welcome us back and she looks like a very different person in this era.

Beat The Clock Sprint Match
Jimmy Wang Yang vs. Tatanka

Talk about must see TV. 6:24 is your time here. Yang goes for some quick pin attempts in the beginning, but he's not able to pull off the victory. Tatanka throws Yang into the turnbuckles sternum first and then hits a gut wrench powerbomb. Yang gets in some more offense, but gets crotched when going for a moonsault and Tatanka hits a suplex. Meanwhile, JBL is gushing about how great SmackDown is and that Tatanka was undefeated for 2 years in the early 90s. That was like 15 years ago. Yang hits a moonsault, but the time runs out when he goes for the pin. Yang is disappointed so Tatanka attacks him from behind. I can't believe he still works here. The match wasn't terrible or anything, but no one really wanted to see this match. 

Match Rating: *1/4

Kristal is with Vickie Guerrero and they show the drama between her, Chavo and Chris Benoit. Vickie breaks down and cries after saying she is emotionally distraught and confused.

Beat The Clock Sprint Match
Mr. Kennedy vs. Chris Benoit

They both go at each other quickly, knowing that time is limited. Kennedy gets the better chances earlier on, but Benoit is able to sneak in a few false finishes. Benoit goes for the Sharpshooter, but Kennedy gets out and goes for the ground and pound. Kennedy goes for the Kenton Bomb, but Benoit gets his knees up and Benoit hits the German suplexes around the 3 minute mark. Benoit goes for the top rope headbutt, but Kennedy moves. Kennedy removes the top turnbuckle while the ref is checking on Benoit. Benoit slaps on the Crossface, but Kennedy grabs the bottom rope. Kennedy is able to throw Benoit into the exposed turnbuckle and picks up the win, with 1:17 remaining. This was pretty good for what it was meant to be. They continue to build up Kennedy as crafty, but it would also be nice to have him get some decisive victories. 

Match Rating: **

Teddy Long is out to remind Kennedy that he is not the #1 contender yet. He says that MVP, Matt Hardy, Finlay and Undertaker will have matches next week. The time to beat is 5:07.

I actually enjoy the Beat The Clock concept, but this episode stunk. There was nothing compelling and it just felt like an excuse to give us subpar matches. No bueno.

Overall Rating: 39%