Monday Night Raw 8-7-95 Review

Original Airdate: Monday, August 7th, 1995
Louisville Gardens
Louisville, Kentucky

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We get the intro they loved to do during this era where we get both guys talking in a studio facing opposite angles with Sir Mo and Diesel. 

WWF Tag Team Championship Match
Razor Ramon & Savio Vega vs. Owen Hart & Yokozuna

Sometimes you just need a good formula tag team match. Unsurprisingly, these four guys follow that. Owen and Yoko use the referee's distraction to take advantage of the rules and Yoko has Razor in a nerve hold when we go into commercial break. When we come back, Owen is jumping on the back of Razor while draped on the second rope. Owen then sends Razor over the top and tags Yoko back in. He once again puts on that dreaded nerve hold. Razor battles up to his feet, but Owen was tagged in. Razor runs into a spin kick and that gets a 2 count. Razor blocks a hip toss and turns it into a backslide for 2. Owen goes up to the top rope and surprisingly hits a headbutt. He then jumps on Razor's back for a sleeper hold. Razor battles out with a back suplex and both men are able to crawl to make a tag to their partners. Savio is a house of fire, but the numbers game catches up to him. He ducks a double clothesline, but gets hit with a Samoan drop by Yokozuna. Razor pulled Owen out of the ring, but Yoko then hits a leg drop. Razor is too late trying to make the save and the champions retain in a good match.

Match Rating: ***

Just in time to ruin the show, it's Dean Douglas. Who was writing these? You could just feel people changing the channel every time these aired. 

Speaking of changing the channel, it's Jerry Lawler and Isaac Yankem taking x-rays. They even threw in an x-ray effect every time he takes one. Don't worry, they zoom into his teeth also. 

Fatu vs. Tony DeVito

Fatu leaves his hat on for this very big time match. DeVito attempts to slam Fatu's head into the turnbuckle, but he didn't do his homework there and gets hit with a superkick. Fatu hits a top rope splash and continues to be in that cluster of superstars that just exist. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

It's time for the SummerSlam Insider with Todd Pettengill. Don't forget to buy your Stridex pads. We hear from Mo and Mabel to talk about that highly anticipated main event. In talking about the new Intercontinental match, he talks to Gorilla Monsoon. Gorilla announces that Alundra Blayze will defend her title against Bertha Faye. Isaac Yankem will face Bret Hart and Undertaker will take on Kama as well. 

I'm definitely ready for a new Goldust vignette. 

Kama vs. Tony Haste

As with most Kama matches, they find something to distract you from it and this time it's a phone call with Sid. He is furious about Gorilla Monsoon's decision to take him out of the Intercontinental Championship match. Kama puts on an arm submission for the victory. This is the usual Kama match.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Next week, it will be Jerry Lawler vs. Shawn Michaels. 

For only $16, you can have a hideous Shawn Michaels shirt. 

Sir Mo vs. Diesel

For whatever reason, Mabel is not with Mo. After a mostly dominating start to the match by Diesel, Mabel makes his way down to the ring to distract Diesel. Mo takes advantage and that brings Shawn Michaels out to the ring. Mo is able to shove Diesel into the ring post while Mabel and Michaels argue. Diesel shockingly battles back and hits a side suplex. He follows it up with a big boot and the Jackknife for the victory. As soon as the match is over, Mabel blindsides him until Michaels makes the save. Michaels dives over the top, but Mabel catches him and rams him into the ring post. Diesel checks in on him while Lawler mocks him. This was a little better than you would expect, but pretty basic. 

Match Rating: *

This was a solid episode, even if they still don't care about Kama, but expect us to. I can't really explain why I like this era as much as I do, but the shows are just very comfortable to watch. 

Overall Rating: 50%

Superstars 8-5-95 Review

Original Airdate: Saturday, August 5th, 1995
Roberts Stadium
Evansville, Indiana

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Skip vs. Shawn Michaels

An early distraction allows Skip to hit a big back body drop. He tries to throw Michaels over the top rope, but Michaels skins the cat. Michaels charges at Skip, but hits his shoulder on the ring post instead. Skip hits a second rope leg drop, but Michaels kicks out at 2. Vince is cramming so many words in here, it reminds me of the Micro Machine commercials. He brings up the Shawn Michaels/Sid match at SummerSlam, which I promise you is going to absolutely happen. Michaels is able to knock Skip out of the ring. Michaels grabs the mic and calls Skip a crybaby. Out comes Barry Horowitz to distract him. Michaels hits a flying forearm and Sweet Chin Music for the victory. They crammed a lot of action in a short amount of time there. As Shawn is dancing, Sunny says "not bad" to the camera. Shawn invites her to the ring while Skip is unconscious. Shawn has her come in to kiss her and then turns his head on her. This little ending isn't that enjoyable knowing what happened in real life, but the match was good.

Match Rating: **1/2

Oh good, Dean Douglas is here. He breaks down Shawn Michaels and charisma. He gives him a F-. These are just so incredibly stupid. 

We go to the interim WWF President, Gorilla Monsoon. He said he's reviewing the SummerSlam and making some changes. Gorilla doesn't think Sid should be the #1 contender and instead it will be Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon in a ladder match. He says to expect other changes to rules and regulations as well. As a kid, I ate this all up as a huge fan of Gorilla.

Jean Pierre Lafitte vs. David Haskins

Lafitte hits a clothesline and then ties Haskins up in the ropes to hit a couple of splashes. He hits a DDT and then hits the Cannonball for the victory. After the match, he steals Bret Hart glasses from a kid. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Todd Pettengill for the SummerSlam Insider. He talks about the updated Intercontinental ladder match. He then says that Undertaker will take on Kama and we hear from Undertaker. 

Bam Bam Bigelow vs. AC Connor

Connor is D'Lo Brown. For some reason this match gets a commercial break before it starts and then in the middle of it. This match is nothing and is finished with a headbutt.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Next week it will be Aldo Montoya vs. Hakushi. They weren't even trying, were they?

Allied Powers vs. War Machines

We join this match in progress. I'd love to know why they thought doing that sort of thing was beneficial on a taped show. Bulldog hits a running powerslam and picks up the victory. Dok Hendrix mentions that Bulldog is the one who always wins for the team. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Skip challenges to a 10 minute match with Barry Horowitz. 

Henry Godwinn vs. Jerry Flynn

Flynn gets in a few moves here and a couple pin attempts. Godwinn doesn't like it and hits a big clothesline. He hits the Slop Drop and that's all. There really are quite a few talents that come nowhere near the SummerSlam card. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Kama vs. Scott Taylor

This is a pretty good roster of jobbers here today. As soon as the match starts, they interview Razor Ramon. They don't care about the match at all and Razor says nothing of value. Kama wins and no one cared about it. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We go back to Todd and he shows us Mabel attacking Diesel. Diesel says nothing.

Barry Horowitz accepts the challenge and talks himself into it that he can do it. 

This show started out fun, but just felt pointless after that. They have so many guys that just sort of exist on the roster and are never given anything. In the case of Godwinn and Lafitte, they are both solid in the ring and deserve more. So why does Kama get a chance when the crowd couldn't care less about him? 

Overall Rating: 40%

SmackDown 4-27-07 Review

Original Airdate: Friday, April 27th, 2007
Earl's Court
London, England

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We start the show seeing Batista destroying Kennedy backstage. In comes what looks to be Finlay, but we can't see because he bumped into the cameraman and it went out. We're out in the aisle and it's Batista beating up Finlay and using the UK themed set. Out comes Kennedy to help and now they get Batista down. The lights go out and Undertaker's bell tolls. When the lights come on, he's in the ring. The lights go out again and this time Undertaker is gone. 

Backstage, Teddy Long tells Finlay and Mr. Kennedy that they will face Batista and Undertaker in a no disqualification match. 

Kane & Boogeyman vs. William Regal & Dave Taylor

Why? At least this isn't a 30 second squash like Vince probably wanted it to be. They even get a commercial break and a heat segment in here. Boogeyman gets the hot tag since he can only handle wrestling for about 90 seconds. The referee turns his back and Kane hits a boot, leading to Boogeyman's double handed chokeslam. I had absolutely no interest in this. Poor Regal. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Deuce vs. Brian Kendrick

Paul London is selling an injury here. This match is slow paced and is lacking any real drama. The finish is just Domino going after London, which distracts Kendrick. Deuce hits him with a dropkick and that's enough for the victory. This was only here to establish the new champs and didn't really do too much for them, despite getting time. That's two matches in a row that got time, but didn't really interest me. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

We get a weird interview with Deuce, Domino and Cherry and get nothing out of it. 

MVP vs. Hamlet Macbeth

I guess this is still going to be a thing. The only thing that is noteworthy here is that JBL says MVP's high boot is better than Bruiser Brody's. The rest is your standard version of this match. Oh, and then there's the fact that Hamlet Macbeth was none other than Drew McIntyre. You would have never known. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

MVP says he has his next opponent, but then is interrupted by Chris Benoit. He says that he'll be his next opponent instead. So we're getting a match we are going to be getting at Backlash for free. 

MVP vs. Chris Benoit

Ah, yes. It's the "building momentum before the pay-per-view" match. JBL claims that the matches between these two have been classics. In a profession full of overstatements, this is definitely one of them. This one has had some solid action for a TV match, but nothing out of the ordinary. Benoit hits five German suplexes in a row on MVP and he signals for the headbutt. MVP is able to roll out of the ring and decides to call it a night. The ref counts to 10 and we have a countout. I mean, it makes sense. 

Match Rating: **

Kristal and Teddy Long are talking about their time in Europe. Kristal tells him that she loves him and she wishes that they could spend more time together. Teddy says that maybe he can find someone to help him out on SmackDown. Is it really more work than a normal job? 

Mark Henry is coming.

Jillian Hall vs. Michelle McCool

Great. McCool does look like she is a lot more confident here. She gets a quick burst of offense only to get hit with the X Factor for the Jillian victory. That was quick. We then get an awkward cut to the commercial. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

No Disqualification Match
Mr. Kennedy & Finlay vs. Batista & Undertaker

Taker goes for Old School, but a Finlay distraction allows for Kennedy to block it. So naturally, he no sells and then gives both guys Old School. With the no DQ stipulation, the shillelagh naturally plays a role and Finlay uses it on Batista's leg. No DQ tag matches really don't make sense because there is nothing stopping it from being 2 on 2 at all times. Instead, we have Undertaker pacing on the apron while they work on Batista's leg. Batista comes back and hits a Spear on Kennedy. He goes for a Batista Bomb, but Kennedy is able to hit the leg. He tags in Finlay and he knocks Taker off the apron. He grabs the shillelagh and he hits Batista with it. Taker is in and destroys both guys because he's Undertaker. They block a double chokeslam, but he hits a double clothesline out of it. He hits a chokeslam on Finlay and then on Kennedy. Batista comes in and hits a spinebuster while Taker signals for the Tombstone and pins Finlay before he can go for one. Batista tells Taker after the match that no one keeps him down for a 10 count and at Backlash, he's taking his title back. As Batista is heading to the back, Taker says that he is no ordinary man and he will take Batista's soul. This was pretty standard stuff.

Match Rating: **

This was a pretty blah go home episode for the blue brand. SmackDown has really been the only thing halfway decent here in 2007 for me, so I'll let them off the hook this week. 

Overall Rating: 40%

Off The Grid, Volume 46: Saturday Night's Main Event XI Review

Original Airdate: Saturday, May 2nd, 1987
Edmund P. Joyce Center
Notre Dame, Indiana

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Off The Grid, Volume 46:

Randy Savage is talking about George Steele walking off with Miss Elizabeth at WrestleMania III and his big lumberjack match tonight. Ricky Steamboat is ready for Hercules tonight. The Hart Foundation say that the British Bulldogs are getting a nightmare tonight. Jim Duggan is American. Bobby Heenan in a neckbrace says he'll show us how Andre The Giant won at WrestleMania III. Hulk Hogan talks about the exclusive footage tonight. 

We go to Jesse Ventura and Vince McMahon to talk about tonight's card. They then show footage of why Bobby Heenan had a neckbrace when he got attacked by Ken Patera on Superstars earlier "today". 

We go to Mean Gene, who is with Kamala, Kimchee and Mr. Fuji. Kamala is of course afraid of snakes. 

They show Jake Roberts being attacked by Honky Tonk Man and then Jake says he signed this match because Damien wants it. 

Kamala vs. Jake Roberts

Jake dumps Damien out as soon as he gets to the ring and Kamala dives out of the ring. The referee makes him put it away and that allows Kamala to attack him from behind. Kamala controls the match for awhile, which means it's pretty slow. Jake hits a knee lift and the crowd is absolutely losing it. The crowd wants the DDT so bad. Has there ever been a more over move in WWE history? Kim Chee is able to attack Jake from behind with the help of distraction from Mr. Fuji. Kamala hits a splash and that's all? Interesting. After the match, Kim Chee takes off his mask and outfit to reveal it was Honky Tonk Man. This match was pretty bad, but man did the crowd come alive for that split second they thought Jake might hit the DDT. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

They show the Hart Foundation, Danny Davis and British Bulldogs around the ring talking trash before the Lumberjack match. 

We go to George Steele with Mean Gene. He doesn't understand how brutal a Lumberjack match can be. 

They then show Honky Tonk Man walking out with Kim Chee. 

Ricky Steamboat now walks in with Mean Gene. He says he'll be there with George since he helped him win his Intercontinental Championship. 

They show Jim Duggan make his way and then Steamboat with Steele. 

Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth are with Mean Gene now. Savage wants Steele because he cost him the Intercontinental title. 

Lumberjack Match
George Steele vs. Randy Savage

I can't believe this feud seriously went on for like 2 years. We get a pretty standard Steele match here until things start to break down with the lumberjacks. Duggan tries to chase after Iron Shiek and then is ejected when he swings the 2x4 at him. We get a commercial and when we come back Steele slams Savage and rips open the turnbuckle to throw the foam at Savage. We then get chaos again, with brawling on the outside. That allows Danny Davis to come in and hit Steele from behind with the ring bell. Savage hits the top rope elbow drop and that's all. Back to back matches with the same exact finish. Steamboat goes after Savage and then Hercules attacks him. All of the lumberjacks are in to brawl now. Jake Roberts is now out with Damien and clears the ring except for Kim Chee, who gets the snake treatment. This wasn't really any better than the last match, but it was more fun. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Mean Gene is here for a sit down interview with Bobby Heenan and Andre The Giant. Andre says that he was cheated. Heenan claims that the referees are biased in Hogan matches and Jack Tunney is as well. They show a spot in the WrestleMania match where they think the referee counted to 3. 

Mean Gene is with the Harts and Davis. Davis goes after Gene and Gene is flustered. 

Two Out Of Three Falls Match For The WWF Tag Team Championship
British Bulldogs vs. Hart Foundation

Matilda goes after Jimmy Hart and bites and rips his pants. I'm sure PETA loves that. I guess we had to have at least one match with good action. This one quickly breaks down and it leads to Tito Santana chasing Danny Davis around the ring and somehow leads to the first fall being a DQ in the favor of the Bulldogs. When we come back from commercial, the Harts in control again. They were much better heels than I ever really realized. Dynamite Kid gets a hot tag to Davey Boy and he hits an awesome looking dropkick. Davey Boy knocks Bret off the apron and then Tito comes in behind the referee's back to attack Neidhart. The Bulldogs are able to make the pin and the crowd erupts. The Hart Foundation then run away with the belt and Jesse explains to us that they can't win the title because the first fall was a disqualification. This was a really fun match until the stupid finish. 

Match Rating: ***1/2

Hulk Hogan is now with Mean Gene looking at the footage we saw earlier. I don't know, he just yells a lot. 

Mean Gene is busy tonight. Now he's with Ricky Steamboat. Steamboat is breathing fire and he's ready to burn. 

Mean Gene is now with Savage and Elizabeth, who are watching the match backstage. 

Intercontinental Championship Match
Ricky Steamboat vs. Hercules

Steamboat was just so smooth and was able to just work well with just about anyone he wrestled. They keep showing the picture in picture of Randy Savage rooting for Steamboat. I love Macho, but this idea is pretty annoying. After a true back and forth battle, Hercules slaps on the Full Nelson. Out comes Savage and he grabs the ankle of Hercules. He lets go of the hold and he, Heenan and the referee go out to confront Savage. When we come back from commercial, Herc goes for a splash, but Steamboat gets the knees up. Herc comes back with a body slam, but then misses with the elbow drop. We then get Herc's chain thrown in the ring and he starts choking Steamboat with it and that's enough for the disqualification. Herc continues to attack him with it and gets a chorus of boos. Savage comes into the ring after the attack and then hits him with the top rope elbow drop. The match was pretty good for the little bit of time they got. 

Match Rating: *1/2

Mean Gene interviews Jim Duggan from his ringside seat. He loves America and doesn't like anyone who doesn't. 

We get a pre-taped interview with Slick, Nikolai Volkov and Iron Sheik. Slick says he's down with the communist party. 

Can-Am Connection vs. Nikolai Volkoff & Iron Sheik 

Nikolai starts to sing the Russian national anthem and Duggan runs in and attacks him. Martel has an energetic start to the match, looking good as usual. Sheik also looks to have his working boots on here tonight as well. The action spills outside, which naturally leads to Duggan getting involved again . It distracts the Sheik and that allows Zenk to hit a sunset flip for the victory. This was energetic, but short and predictable. 

Match Rating: *1/4

We go back to Jesse and Vince for the recap of the night. 

We come back from another commercial just for Vince to say so long. 

This was an entertaining episode, but not nearly as good as a lot of the Saturday Night's Main Events I have reviewed so far. This was good, but not one to go out of your way for. 

Overall Rating: 70%

Off The Grid, Volume 45: Saturday Night's Main Event XXVI Review

Original Airdate: Saturday, April 28th, 1990
Frank Erwin Center
Austin, Texas

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Off The Grid, Volume 45:

Ultimate Warrior says that Haku and Bobby Heenan won't prevent him from walking the outer limits. Heenan says Haku will become the WWF Champion. Mr. Perfect said that we all learned that Hulk Hogan wasn't perfect at WrestleMania VI, but he is. Which is ironic since he also lost. Hulk Hogan is going to do a lot of teaching, dude. 

We see Vince and Jesse riding horses. Yes, really. They do their intro on horses in the aisle. 

Mr. Perfect and Genius are with Sean Mooney. Perfect runs down all the sports he plays and calls Hogan a perfect loser. 

Hulk Hogan is with Mean Gene and he calls Mr. Perfect and Genius perfect fools. If you took a shot every time the word "perfect" has been said during the first 7 minutes, you'd be dead. 

Mr. Perfect vs. Hulk Hogan

Hogan tosses Perfect around the ring and Perfect rolls out to re-group. It works momentarily, but Perfect is able to move out of the way of a boot to the face. Hogan follows him outside and tosses him into the ring post. Hogan dominates some more until Genius distracts the referee and Perfect hits him with the scroll. Perfect tries to jump off the top rope, but the referee pulls him off and we go to commercial break. Perfect now gets his moment, but we all know how this is going to end. Perfect hits the Perfect Plex, but HOgan kicks out at 2. Hogan makes his comeback and that's all. That was quick. Hogan beats up Genius after the match and throws him to the floor. This was pretty vanilla Hogan. 

Match Rating: *1/2

Rick Martel advertises Arrogance while sitting on a horse. 

Jesse Ventura and Jimmy Hart are with Earthquake. Hart says Earthquake will make Hillbilly Jim squeal like a pig. 

Hillbilly Jim is with Mean Gene. I honestly had no clue that Hillbilly was still working here in 1990. 

Earthquake vs. Hillbilly Jim

Quake tries to attack him, but Hillbilly avoids it and takes it to the big man. I definitely prefer the custom gear Earthquake would later wear over the single color gear he is wearing here. Jimmy Hart goes after the lucky horseshoe and that distracts Jim. Quake then attacks him and hits the splash for the finish. He hits a second one for good measure. Earthquake then decides that the third time is a charm and hits another one. This was also what you would expect here. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Hillbilly Jim does a stretcher job. 

We get more Rick Martel promoting Arrogance with two ladies in his locker room. 

Jesse Ventura is with the Hart Foundation. Jesse is pretty cheesy here. He calls the Rockers "somersault sissies" and then Bret refers to them as teeny boppers. 

The Rockers are with Mean Gene and they tell the Hart Foundation to be ready for a broken heart. 

Hart Foundation vs. Rockers

We get a great opening sequence between Marty Jannetty and Bret Hart. The Rockers hit some double teaming, so Jim Neidhart comes in and hits a double clothesline on them. Shawn Michaels is able to hit a dropkick on Neidhart, but he gets caught after for a body slam. Bret then catches Shawn for an inverted atomic drop. Demolition make their way down the aisle to get a closer look. Bret has now turned his attention to them and this allows Michaels to dropkick him to the floor. Shawn is able to finally hit a hot tag to Marty and the crowd is loving it. Marty hits a superkick and gets a 2 count. Bret is able to hit a neckbreaker to slow down Marty's momentum and tags in Neidhart. He launches Neidhart in, but he misses. Shawn is tagged in, but he gets leveled by a shoulder tackle for a 2 count. Michaels comes back with a reverse elbow. Neidhart catches Michaels off the second rope, but Michaels is able to force him down for a 2 count. Neidhart throws him through the ropes and to the floor in front of Demolition. Demolition looks to be throwing him back in the ring to keep the match going, but Marty takes it as them attacking him. They start brawling and that turns into a 6 man brawl and a double disqualification. That's too bad because these two teams were just tearing it up. Non-stop action from bell to bell. 

Match Rating: ****

We go immediately to Earthquake and Jimmy Hart. He talks about destroying Hulk Hogan. 

Hulk is with Mean Gene and he says that he is like a Texas tornado and that he's a survivor. I still remain baffled as to how people loved Hogan as much as they did. 

They show the post-match of the Ultimate Warrior/Hulk Hogan match at WrestleMania VI. They play the amazing WrestleMania music. Inject that into my veins. That leads us to Jesse Ventura who is with Bobby Heenan and Haku. Heenan rips on Texas and says that it will now be known as where Haku won the WWF Championship. 

Mean Gene has the honor of being with Ultimate Warrior. He gives his usual insane promo. 

WWF Championship Match
Haku vs. Ultimate Warrior

Did Haku ever win a singles match that wasn't against a jobber? Haku attacks Warrior as he gets in the ring and Warrior is able to hit a back body drop while wearing the WWF Championship. He hits a clothesline that is supposed to send him over, but they have a glitch. Warrior tosses the belt over the top and hits some chops on Haku. He works on the arm and spins him around by the arm. He then throws Haku over the top rope. Back in the ring, Warrior runs into a knee and then Haku hits a trio of clotheslines and a dropkick. Haku hits a backbreaker and gets a 2 count. Warrior make his comeback and we get more clotheslines. He hits a shoulder tackle and a splash for the finish. I don't think anyone thought for a second Haku was going to win, which is why it was buried on this card. However, they would have never done that with Hogan. 

Match Rating: *

Rick Martel is now at the tennis court and says that Arrogance will make you the #1 seed. 

They show highlights of Ted DiBiase attacking Big Boss Man before his WrestleMania match. It ended up not mattering for those who don't remember. We go to Akeem and Slick. I could listen to Slick all day. So good. 

Big Boss Man is with Mean Gene and says that justice is blind. He says that everything is bigger in Texas, including the beating he's going to give Akeem. 

Akeem vs. Big Boss Man

I'm not really sure that this rematch even makes sense since Boss Man was attacked prior to his match and still beat Akeem in a couple of minutes. They have a real quick match here with nothing really happening. Then out come Virgil and Ted DiBiase and attack Boss Man. It all leads to Boss Man chasing DiBiase away with his nightstick. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Rick Martel is getting into a convertible in front of the WWF production truck talking about Arrogance. 

Bobby Heenan tells us that Rick Rude is going through the most extensive training ever to get ready to win the WWF Championship from Ultimate Warrior.

Ultimate Warrior tells Rick Rude that the power of the Warrior is completely out of control. 

Jesse hypes up the fact that Rick Rude has beaten Warrior before and he will again. He then warns Hogan of a natural disaster. The ending of SNME's were always weak. 2 commercials in like 45 seconds. Vince and Jesse then ride off on their horses. We then get a wanted sign with their faces on it, which honestly isn't far from the truth. 

The tag team match was fantastic stuff and the rest was decent enough to make this a good show. However, you can already feel the Warrior era becoming a failure. I didn't quite understand that as a kid because I got into wrestling at SummerSlam, but it's pretty obvious when looking back on it. 

Overall Rating: 78%

ECW 4-24-07 Review

Tuesday, April 24th, 2007
Earl's Court
London, England

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Punk is shown getting ready and they reveal it's in the New Breed locker room. He apologizes for last week, but not for the advice that he was giving. He says that tonight is the night that everyone will remember them for if they stick together. Elijah Burke is skeptical. 

Umaga vs. Bobby Lashley

We are obviously getting some sort of DQ finish here, but it seems a little odd that they didn't hype this up at the beginning of the show. Armando Estrada gets involved quickly by grabbing the leg and that allows Umaga to knock Lashley out of the ring. He tosses Lashley into the steps and starts to clear the announce table. Lashley fights his way out of that, but gets hit with a Samoan drop in the ring. Umaga misses off the second rope and both men are down. They battle when they get up and Lashley clotheslines him over the top rope. In comes Estrada to attack Lashley from behind and we have our DQ ending. Lashley tosses him around the ring as Vince McMahon comes down. Lashley continues to destroy Estrada while Vince holds Umaga back to save him for Backlash. Lashley just throws Estrada from the ring to the floor in front of Vince and Umaga. This was just filler before the pay per view. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Elijah Burke is talking with the New Breed and thinks that they may have made a mistake by bringing Punk in. Marcus Cor Von says that he wanted to bring him in, not we. Burke thinks he threw that chair in a little too hard and they point out that he asked for the chair. Punk eventually finds himself back in the room for the awkward moment. 

Snitsky vs. Balls Mahoney

Why? He hits a big boot and a clothesline and I just bored myself writing that. Snitsky wins. Next. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

CM Punk is proud to be here and is happy he joined the New Breed. Burke walks in and asks what Punk is doing. He says he's getting them fired up. 

8 Man Elimination Match
ECW Originals vs. New Breed

Before the match, Burke tells Punk that he's going to wrestle this match and that Punk will be on the outside. We get an early elimination with a banana peel type finish when Burke rolls up Sandman and grabs the tights to send him back to the locker room. RVD battles out of a superplex attempt and hits a sunset flip, but Striker kicks out at 2. He hits a split legged moonsault and eliminates Striker. Cor Von and Sabu battle for awhile until Cor Von hits the Pounce to eliminate him. That was a good one. After a commercial break, Cor Von drops Dreamer crotch first on the barricade and the referee decides that today would be a good day for that to be a disqualification for the first time in history. I absolutely hate when they do stuff like that. Dreamer is able to hit a DDT on Thorn and that is enough to eliminate him. That leaves Burke against RVD and Dreamer, but not for long. Elijah hits the Elijah Express on Dreamer and he's gone. Elijah is able to throw RVD into the ring post twice and rolls him up for 2. Burke tries to launch himself back into the ring and RVD hits him with a spin kick. RVD tries to do a dive, but the referee again decides it's a good day to not allow that in ECW of all places. CM Punk kicks Burke to the back of the head behind the referee's back. RVD hits the 5 Star Frog Splash and that does it for the victory. This got a lot of time, but the finishes all kind of felt rushed. This was pretty basic stuff and the story was just way too obvious with Punk.

Match Rating: **1/4

After the match Punk hits the GTS on Burke and tells him that he's sorry. 

This kind of felt like an ECW for dummies. This could have been your first time watching wrestling and I'm pretty sure you could see what was coming with the New Breed storyline. Snitsky still stinks and the Lashley/Umaga stuff was just one last segment to get us to Backlash. There have been many worse episodes than this one, but this was just mediocre.

Overall Rating: 44%

Monday Night Raw 4-23-07 Review

Monday, April 23rd, 2007 
Earls Court
London, England

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork22

Shane McMahon is out to kick off the show. They show the highlights of Santino Marella winning the Intercontinental Championship. That leads to Shane issuing a challenge to someone in the crowd for a no DQ match. He makes fun of the Chelsea coach and then says that he can't find anyone, but he found someone at a pub named Robbie Brookside. They bring him out and we have a match. 

No Disqualification Match
Shane McMahon vs. Robbie Brookside

They have a very regular wrestling match until Shane grabs a trash can and sets in front of a seated Brookside. He hits the coast to coast and then grabs a mic to announce that this is a 2 on 1 handicap match. He brings out Umaga as his partner. 

Umaga & Shane McMahon vs. Robbie Brookside

Umaga comes in and hits the butt to the face. He hits a big splash and then Shane announces that it's actually a 3 on 1 handicap match. Their partner is obviously Vince McMahon.

Vince McMahon, Umaga & Shane McMahon vs. Robbie Brookside

Vince comes out in a suit and a derby. He covers Brookside and that's all. This was terrible and the crowd was dead for almost all of it.  

Match Rating: 1/4*

We get a WrestleMania 23 music video of highlights from the Shawn Michaels/John Cena match. The music is kind of weird here, but I'm not sure if it's the actual music used or not. 

Matt Hardy vs. Trevor Murdoch

Matt gets his solo music here. I'm already looking forward to not having to watch Cade and Murdoch, but that's a long ways away. Matt gets the majority of the offense early on. He hits a Side Effect for a 2 count and then hits a leg drop off the second rope. Cade provides a distraction and it allows Murdoch to throw Matt's shoulder into the ring post. Murdoch hits a Canadian Destroyer and that's all. He should probably not do that move. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

Maria is on her way to the ring. 

Melina vs. Maria

Maria hits a couple of moves, but then Melina slams her face-first and that's all? That wasn't that impressive of a win for Melina. Why not just have her squash her here? 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Ric Flair tells Carlito to get going, but Carlito says he's doing it alone. 

Great Khali vs. Carlito

Carlito tries a missile dropkick and Khali kind of swats him away. Khali hits the double hand chokeslam and that's all. What a crappy first hour despite it being all in ring action outside of a few minutes of Shane on the mic. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

After the match, Flair comes out to check on Carlito and he gets an earful from Carlito. 

Mick Foley is here and talks about the main event at Backlash. Edge walks in and says he's going to be watching. 

On a side note here, Todd Grisham is the ring announcer tonight and he is absolutely terrible at it. 

Shawn Michaels vs. John Cena

I haven't watched this one since it aired and have been looking forward to re-visiting it. I watched this in a hotel room during a work trip where I worked a long day, so I didn't have my full attention on the match. We get a slow build, as one would expect in a lengthy match. The little bursts of energy are picking up as the match continues and the they have the crowd for it. Michaels hits a top rope elbow drop for his biggest move up to the moment. He goes for a dive over the top rope, but Cena catches him for a slam. Back in the ring, Michaels throws Cena's shoulder into the ring post. Cena makes his comeback and hits the 5 Knuckle Shuffle. He hits a FU, but Michaels kicks out of the pin attempt to a big pop from the crowd. Cena sends Michaels into the corner with the Irish whip and it sends him up and over the top. Cena hits the top rope leg drop and that's another 2 count. Michaels is able to hit a powerbomb on Cena and both men are down. Michaels then knocks Cena from the apron and he flies into the announcer table. Cena starts to brawl with Michaels on the table. He gets him back into the ring and slaps on the STFU. After a lengthy battle, Michaels gets to the bottom rope. This leads to a brief segment with counters and Michaels hits Sweet Chin Music to a big pop.Michaels counters out of a second FU and hits a second Sweet Chin Music and that's all. The crowd loves it and both guys are selling their injuries. I know a lot of people like this one better than WrestleMania 23, but I just can't agree with that. This was very good, but not quite to the level they got at Mania. 

Match Rating: ***3/4

The first hour of this show was absolutely horrible, but then they got wise and just dedicated an entire hour to a great match. I would have to believe that most people probably have that match in their top 5-10 Raw matches of all time. In that case, the show is good because of one match, but nothing else is even worth your time. 

Overall Rating: 58%

NXT 7-22-15 Review

Original Airdate: Wednesday, July 22nd, 2015
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2

Finn Balor is here to kick off the show. This promo is about as straight forward as it gets. He's the champion, the fans chant his name and he's going to walk out of TakeOver the champ. They'll have the contract signing later tonight. 

Eva Marie thanks William Regal for the opportunity and she is taking it, like, so seriously. If this was the best take they got, then yeesh. 

Eva Marie vs. Cassie

I once saw Eva Marie at the airport. That's about all I can say about her. Cassie hits her with a couple of kicks, but Eva hits a snap suplex. Eva is a perfect example of someone can execute moves, but has no reason why she is doing them or how to make them make an impact. Her submission hold that she puts on here, looks anything but painful. Cassie comes back with some more kicks and gets a nearfall. She hits a variation Sliced Bread #2 and gets the win. This was horrible. I'm truly surprised they let her get on the air. 

Match Rating: 0 Stars

William Regal is on the phone and walks into his office, where Tyler Breeze is hanging out there. He wants to know what Regal has in mind for him at TakeOver. Regal says that he is working on it. 

Baron Corbin vs. Jesus de Leon

Corbin hits End Of Days in like 5 seconds and it's over. Yep.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Samoa Joe vs. Mike Rallis

I think we know where this one is headed. They let us know that Samoa Joe will face Rhyno in two weeks. They're planning that far ahead for us, huh? Joe hits the Muscle Buster for the easy win. Next. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We're with Emma and Dana Brooke, with Emma saying that she's going to break Bayley's childish spirit. They hug and this was lame. 

Emma vs. Bayley 

Surprisingly, there are some "Let's go Emma" chants. The match has some spunk to start, but slows down when Emma starts working on Bayley's injured hand. Bayley makes her comeback and hits a flying elbow drop for 2. They hit a double clothesline and both ladies are down. Dana grabs Bayley by the hands and the referee sends her packing for the back. Bayley hits the Bayley To Belly and picks up the victory. The crowd was very much into this and it definitely helped. This was one of the better wins Bayley has been given on NXT TV and it was mostly pretty good.

Match Rating: **1/4

After the match, Bayley grabs the mic and says that it felt amazing. She wants the title and in order to do that, she has to be the best. So she says that she wants a match with Charlotte. 

They interview Charlotte and she talks about the women's revolution. She wants to bring the NXT Women's Championship to Raw. Dana Brooke interferes and is sick of the chances that Charlotte always gets. She wants to prove to the world who she is and wants to beat Charlotte. Charlotte says Bayley can wait another week and she'll make a statement she'll never forget. 

Vaudevillains vs. Angelo Dawkins & Sawyer Fulton

Vaudevillains will get their title shot next week. Dawkins and Fulton get a decent amount of offense to start. Englsih gets a hot tag and takes out both opponents. They hit the Whirling Dervish and that's all. These squash episodes of NXT are just usually a drag. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Blake, Murphy and Alexa Bliss are mockingly clapping backstage. Bliss says she'll make sure that her boys will still be the champs. 

Regal is in the ring and he's here to bring out Finn Balor and Kevin Owens for the contract signing. Owens brags about his accomplishments in his first 6 months and he's going to show all of us idiots that Japan was a fluke. Finn says he's going to take KO's words and shove them down his throat. They both sign the contract and Regal announces that it's official. Owens throws it at him and tips over the table into Finn. Regal tries to stop him, so Owens takes him out. Balor battles back and knocks Owens out of the ring. 

Well, this show was a stinker. The Bayley match was pretty good and that was all. It was all filler and when that filler is Baron Corbin and Eva Marie, that's not great. 

Overall Rating: 34%

Monday Night Raw 7-31-95 Review

Monday, July 31st, 1995
Louisville Gardens
Louisville, Kentucky

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork22

We get a quick hype video for the Owen Hart and Yokozuna vs. Razor Ramon and Savio Vega match tonight. 

King Mabel vs. Nick Barberry

Mabel tosses poor Barberry around the ring and hits him in the back of the head with his kick. He tosses him out of the ring and then into the steps. He squashes him in the corner and hits the belly to belly suplex for the easy win. After the match, he grabs a mic and tells everyone to respect him. He says at SummerSlam he will not only be our king, but also the champion. Yeah, you said that last time. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We get another Fatu vignette even though he has already debuted. He'll be in action on Raw next week. 

They show Shawn Michael's cheesy interview from last week on Raw. We then go to tonight and Shawn teases fighting Lawler between now and SummerSlam. Lawler keeps going back and forth on it and Michaels keeps pushing him into it. Lawler blames it on the oath he took to be a journalist when he's on Raw. 

Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Bob Cook

Cook rakes the eyes and gets in a few kicks and punches. Bam Bam tosses him around the ring a couple of times. WWF is going to be on America Online soon and you can get 10 free hours. Call now! Bam Bam hits the body slam and hits the top rope headbutt for the victory. The fans don't really seem to be connecting with the face turn. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

It's time for another Report Card. He talks about Bam Bam Bigelow and the word "beast". He gives him a F based on his looks alone. 

Vince and Lawler interview the tag champs, so naturally Jim Cornette does all the talking. 

Skip vs. Major Yates

More Major Yates, huh? He gets a roll up to tease another Skip upset. Yates hits a monkey flip, but Skip is back with a semi-dangerous looking German suplex. Skip hits a superplex and picks up the victory. On the way back to the locker room, Skip says that Horowitz made the biggest mistake of his life. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

It's time to go to Todd Pettengill for the SummerSlam Insider. Diesel says a crown doesn't mean much compared to his WWF Championship. We then get a new video of Isaac Yankem and Jerry Lawler. They talk about the Shawn Michaels/Sid match that will 100% definitely happen. 

Next week, Mabel will face Sir Mo on Raw next week. 

WWF Tag Team Championship Match
Owen Hart & Yokozuna vs. Razor Ramon & Savio Vega

This one should get a good amount of time. Razor hits Owen with a right hand and knocks him silly. Owen rolls out of the ring into the commercial break. When we come back, Razor catches Owen and hits him with a fall away slam. Owen rolls over and tags in Yoko. Savio actually gets the better of him and Owen tags back in after some stalling. I love the way that Owen runs the ropes. Owen hits a drop toe hold and Yoko hits the leg drop. Yoko is at the point where he is just too big and can't even stay in the ring for too long, which is sad. Razor sets up Owen and hits the Razor's Edge and they pick up the victory. This of course is the old switcheroo because the referee realizes that Owen wasn't the legal man. Jim Cornette is in and is livid. The referee goes and talks to the ring announcer to make the announcement. They announce the match must continue and that Cornette has to go backstage. Razor throws Owen into Yoko and double team him. Cornette is trying to fight the decision, but eventually gets backstage. We have had like 25 commercial breaks in this match. Things start to get chaotic and then we are out of time? I know this is an old territory bit, but I like a conclusion of some sort. The match was pretty good, but Yoko is so limited. 

Match Rating: **1/2

This was a decent show, with the feature match taking up a lot of the episode. There was nothing super important, but it was entertaining enough overall. 

Overall Rating: 49%

Superstars 7-29-95 Review

Original Airdate: Saturday, July 29th, 1995
Roberts Stadium
Evansville, Indiana

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2

We get a recap of the Savio Vega/1-2-3 Kid vs. Jacob and Eli Blu match from last week, leading us to our feature match today.

Fatu vs. Rad Radford

It's time for Fatu to make a difference. Fatu quickly clotheslines Radford over the top rope and actually gets a pretty good reaction from the crowd. On the outside, he throws Radford into the post and back into the ring. Fatu misses in the corner and Radford hits a neckbreaker. He then turns him inside out with a clothesline. Credit to Fatu for selling for Radford, who basically just exists on the roster. Radford slaps on a sleeper hold, which I didn't expect in this match. Fatu gets out and hits a big powerslam. Radford comes back with a DDT, but you can't do that to Fatu. Radford ducks a superkick, but Fatu is able to use a small package to pick up the victory. I was expecting this to be a squash and instead we got a pretty decent match here. After the match, Radford attacks Fatu. He hits a clothesline, but Fatu no sells it this time. Radford retreats and Fatu goes after him. 

Match Rating: *1/2

We go to the SummerSlam Insider with Todd Pettengill and over 12,000 tickets have been sold. He then breaks that Diesel will face King Mabel in the main event. We get a Diesel promo where he just keeps calling Mabel fat.

King Mabel vs. Gary Scott

Mabel is quickly on the offensive and Mabel hits a big clothesline. He hits his spin kick and then tosses him over the top rope. Mabel throws him into the steps and then hits a belly to belly suplex for the victory. Mabel did show off a little bit of edge here, but it also was short and sweet. Mabel cuts a promo saying at SummerSlam that he'll be both our king and our champion.

Match Rating: 1/4*

They show the Goldust vignette again. 

Bob Backlund is shown in the crowd. We then see clips of Jeff Jarrett singing and then his match with Shawn Michaels. 

Uncle Zebekiah, Jacob & Eli Blu vs. Razor Ramon, 1-2-3 Kid & Savio Vega

I guess this is a very early preview of the DOA vs. Los Boricuas feud that won over millions. We get some good action into the commercial break, which comes pretty abruptly for a taped show. Razor comes in and cleans house, but then runs into a knee when running the ropes. They are once again hyping up this supposed feud between the Blus and Smoking Gunns. Naturally, we get some shenanigans from the heels to keep the momentum in their favor. Razor makes the tag to Kid and he hits a spin kick for a 2 count. He leaps over a charging Zebekiah and hits a kick to pick up the victory. This was a fun enough match with some good energy. 

Match Rating: **1/4

We get a Dean Douglas vignette talking about knowledge. This one feels like it goes on forever. 

Waylon Mercy vs. Major Yates

We join the match in progress and Yates is hesitant to be wrestling this guy. Mercy hits him with a clothesline and dumps him out of the ring. He lifts up the bottom rope to let him in and then kicks him as he is climbing in. He slaps on the sleeper hold and that's all. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We go back to the Toddster for the SummerSlam Insider. They show highlights of Bret Hart taking out Shinja on Raw. Todd then announces that Bret Hart will take Isaac Yankem at SummerSlam. Bret calls Yankem a demented tooth fairy. We then go back to Yankem's office with Lawler. 

Dok Hendrix is in the ring with Skip and Sunny. They don't want to talk about Barry Horowitz, but rather Skip's match with Shawn Michaels next week. That's probably the first Superstars match that I've watched so far that I remember watching. 

I know I am in such a minority, but Superstars has been entertaining lately. Obviously, it's not like life changing or anything, but it's a lot better than it has any right to be given the era. 

Overall Rating: 56%

SmackDown 4-20-07 Review

Original Airdate: Friday, April 20th, 2007
DatchForum
Milan, Italy

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2

We are here for the third show this week in Milan, Italy and it happens to be the 400th episode of SmackDown. Batista is out to kick off the show. 

Batista vs. Finlay

JBL hypes up the evolution of Batista because he's working on a body part. Finlay tries to use the old "there's something in my eye" trick and it works for a second, but he quickly eats a boot to the face. We come back from a commercial break and they are battling outside the ring. Out of nowhere, Mr. Kennedy is out and attacks Batista for the DQ. That was about as quick of a finish that you will ever see after a commercial break. They both attack Batista in the ring, with Kennedy hitting a big DDT and Finlay hitting a Celtic Cross. This was pretty blah and then you throw in the pointless finish for good measure.

Match Rating: 1/2*

Jillian Hall is out and they show the attack from last week on Ashley. I did such a good job of forgetting this and they had to go and remind me again. She sings a song mocking Italians until she is finally interrupted by Michelle McCool. McCool is so unlikable as a face. Anyway, she slaps Jillian and takes her down. Is there something about going to Europe where it's harder to fill TV time or something? There is just always so much stuff that doesn't matter on these European shows.

The Hardys & Chris Benoit vs. MVP, Chavo Guerrero & Gregory Helms

You know, looking back at it. They sure used Jeff a lot for someone who has had issues in the past. I'm not sure how making him take more bumps than seemingly 95% of the roster is smart. I also don't get the point of Chavo Guerrero teaming with Gregory Helms. Naturally, Jeff is the one who gets the heat segment. It all leads to the predictable all the faces get their offense in. Benoit puts on the Sharpshooter on Helms. MVP tries to interrupt it, but Benoit hits a back body drop and keeps the hold on. Helms taps. Sorry, don't care about Benoit.

Match Rating: *3/4

WWE Tag Team Championship Match
London & Kendrick vs. Deuce 'n Domino

The champions have the early advantage until London misses with a moonsault off the apron and to the floor. The medical staff is down to check on London and that leaves Kendrick by himself. The challengers just dominate Kendrick and London is not coming back to help. They hit the kick to the head and we have new champions. I have no clue why they had them win it in Milan and I legitimately can't remember who even takes the straps off of them. This is all just a blur. 

Match Rating: *1/2

They show the recap of Santino Marella winning the Intercontinental Championship before running down the card for Backlash. 

Oh great, Kane is next. 

We get a Mark Henry vignette about him naming people he hurt.

William Regal & Dave Taylor vs. Kane

Sometimes I just don't like wrestling. Regal trips up Kane as he is walking back up the steps and the ref counts up to 9 before Kane enters the ring. Well, I was expecting this to be about 60 seconds and it's actually a match. They go through the motions for what feels like eternity and then Regal and Taylor just decide to head to the back, making you feel as if you wasted your time even more than you probably did.

Match Rating: 1/2*

Regal and Taylor are asking Teddy Long to keep Kane away from them. Teddy tells them next week they'll face Kane again, but this time Boogeyman will be his partner. Why? They leave and Kristal comes in with a bunch of shopping bags. They then have the least convincing kiss in wrestling history. 

Mr. Kennedy vs. Undertaker

Taker hits an early big boot, but Kennedy comes back with a superplex. I guess we're just no selling here, as Taker hits Old School and then knocks him over the top rope. After the commercial break, Taker misses with a running boot in the corner and that gives Kennedy his opening. Kennedy hits a running boot to the face to a seated Taker. God forbid Taker be injured for more than a minute, so he hits a leg drop to Kennedy draped over the apron. Taker hits Snake Eyes and a chokeslam. He signals for the Tombstone, but in comes Finlay. Taker of course sees him and attacks him. He's about to give him the chokeslam, but Mr. Kennedy hits Taker with the briefcase. They attack Taker, as they did Batista earlier. Another boring finish to an otherwise decent match.

Match Rating: **

The wrestling was better than Raw and ECW for the most part, but there is just not much clicking on the weekly TV shows right now. I think that might change in the very near future. At least for one night. 

Overall Rating: 41%

ECW 4-17-07 Review

Tuesday, April 17th, 2007
DatchForum
Milan, Italy

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2

Elijah Burke introduces the newest member of the New Breed, CM Punk. I'm not sure that Milan, Italy is the best place to do this angle. They ramble until Rob Van Dam interrupts. He isn't happy with Punk joining, but he has an idea to let out some of his anger in a match with Elijah tonight. Punk says that if he wants to challenge a leader, then he should be challenging him. RVD is fine with that too. Elijah takes the mic back and says that he accepts the challenge. 

Nunzio vs. Snitsky

Poor Nunzio. They do at least let him get a small moment of glory, but Snitsky easily kicks out. Snitsky then tosses Nunzio around. He hits a clothesline and the crowd is chanting for Nunzio. He hits a big boot and gets the win. Snitsky gets no reaction. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Elijah Burke asks CM Punk if he thought he was afraid of RVD. Punk tells him that he does think so. Burke tells him that if he wants to be in the New Breed, he needs to fall in line. 

Kevin Thorn & Marcus Cor Von vs. Sandman & Tommy Dreamer

Sandman and Dreamer get off to the hot start, hitting a double elbow. Sandman goes for a top rope hurricanrana, but Cor Von pushes him off before he can attempt it. The New Breed takes over, so the crowd starts singing. Dreamer makes a comeback for his team and hits a bulldog on Thorn. To his credit, he's getting a bigger reaction than most of the stars on Raw. We then get a botched finish where Dreamer going for a pinfall and he barely can hold onto the bottom rope for the victory. They show it again and he had to reach way too far and as a result, Thorn's shoulder was up right in the referee's face. I mean, does any of this really matter anyway?

Match Rating: 1/2*

CM Punk says that the New Breed needs free thinkers to Matt Striker.

Bobby Lashley it out to the ring and shows us a recap from Raw. He then brings out Santino Marella. Now it comes out that he was born in Italy and has been training to be a wrestler in Canada. This was 100% a time killer.

Punk is giving a pep talk to Thorn and Cor Von. Burke is watching and talks to him about falling into line. 

They rundown the card of Backlash, which is pretty much complete I believe.

Rob Van Dam vs. Elijah Burke

So far, through a Raw and ECW in Milan, it sure seems like RVD is the most over wrestler there. We get a staple of WWE wrestling early on with RVD missing with a charge and hitting his shoulder on the ring post. Burke works on his shoulder and then throws him into the post again. After what feels like twice as long as it probably was, RVD hits a monkey flip and then accidentally throws Burke into the ref and then hits the ref with a kick after Burke ducks it. RVD goes for Rolling Thunder, but Burke gets his knees up. Out comes CM Punk. He grabs a chair and throws it in the ring and RVD gets it. He chucks it at Burke's unexposed head and hits the 5 Star Frog Splash for the win. After the match, Punk checks on Burke and the crowd chants for him. This was pretty vanilla.

Match Rating: *1/4

This show just continues to be mostly pointless. That's no surprise, as it's one of the least beloved things WWE ever did. There was nothing of note to see here this week.

Overall Rating: 35%

Monday Night Raw 4-16-07 Review

Monday, April 16th, 2007 
DatchForum
Milan, Italy

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork22

Raw is in Italy for the first time ever, which is pretty cool. Jonathan Coachman is out to start the show. He announces that John Cena will face Rated RKO in a handicap match tonight. He then introduces Vince McMahon. He introduces Umaga and then we get a hightlight package of Shane McMahon destroying Bobby Lashley's brain. They issue an open challenge to face Umaga for the Intercontinental Championship and no one comes out. Vince says he doesn't want to face Umaga, so instead they are going to go to the crowd. They find someone, who definitely is not a plant. The crowd is going along with it and start doing the "Seven Nation Army" chant, which Vince has no clue what that is. He says his name is Santino Marella and Vince makes fun of him a little bit. Vince calls for a ref and down he comes. 

No Disqualification Intercontinental Championship Match
Umaga vs. Santino Marella

It's very clear right away that Santino is an actual wrestler. He gets a nearfall and then Vince gets in the ring. He announces that this match is a No DQ match. Umaga gets a cheap shot in on Santino and follows up with a leg drop. Umaga goes up top and down comes Bobby Lashley. He slams Umaga off the top rope and then hits a big clothesline. Lashley then hits Umaga in the exposed head three times with a chair before hitting a Spear. He throws Santino on top and we have a new Intercontinental Champion to a nice pop. I think I'll coin this the Milan Miracle. The match itself was nothing special, but the moment was fun.

Match Rating: *

Jerry Lawler goes into the ring to interview Lashley and Santino. 

Carlito and Ric Flair are in the locker room and Carlito doesn't think it's a good idea for them to team up again. Flair says last week is over and this week if they win, they get back in contention.

Next Monday, Shawn Michaels and John Cena will square off in England. 

Ric Flair & Carlito vs. The World's Greatest Tag Team

Carlito takes care of both opponents on his own to start. He tags in Flair and he goes for a Figure Four, but Shelton Benjamin runs in and clotheslines him before that can happen. Jim Ross and Lawler continue to hype up the intensity that Carlito is showing now with Flair. He gets a hot tag and has things under control until the referee is distracted by Flair and it allows Charlie Haas tripping up Carlito. Benjamin hits the T-Bone suplex and they pick up the win. The crowd was not into this at all. After the match, Carlito isn't happy and doesn't walk back with Flair or Torrie. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

John Cena is being interviewed by Maria and in walks Shawn Michaels. He says that before WrestleMania, he made sure he was protected in situations like tonight. But now, he's going to leave Cena on his back. 

Melina is getting ready for the fashion show and Johnny Nitro is admiring her. Eugene comes in and wishes Nitro good luck in their match tonight. 

Johnny Nitro vs. Eugene

Nitro basically destroys him here and hits a reverse neckbreaker for the quick victory. I guess this is a way to re-establish Nitro here, but it seems like the wrong show and wrong opponent for them to do it at. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Todd Grisham introduces a guest Italian host of the fashion show. He's speaking Italian, so I'm not sure if he clarifies who he is or not. He didn't get much of a reaction though. He introduces Candice Michelle, Victoria, Mickie James, Maria, Torrie Wilson and Melina. In a somewhat surprise, they are dressed very PG here. He polls the crowd for their favorites and they declare Torrie the winner. After the match, a mini brawl breaks out and could this have been any bigger of a waste of time? This show has just taken the steepest dive off a cliff after the strong opening. 

Jeff Hardy vs. Lance Cade

Jeff hits a Whisper In The Wind early on and gets a 2 count. He goes up top again and Cade rolls out of the ring. I've already lost interest in this one. Jeff makes a comeback after a short heat segment. Murdoch goes up on the apron and Matt comes to clothesline him. That slight distraction allows time for Cade to get his knees up on Hardy's Swanton. Cade hits a clothesline and picks up the win to absolutely no reaction again. The crowd hasn't been good, but they haven't been given much to cheer about. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

Oh yeah, Chris Masters will save this show. 

Chris Masters vs. Super Crazy

Seriously? This feud was dead in the water weeks ago. Crazy hits a nice plancha over the top rope to the floor. They do a bunch of moves and have a match. Masters hits a wheelbarrow slam and picks up the win. I honestly didn't even think he worked here anymore. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

Edge and Randy Orton try to talk things through so that they can work together tonight. They tell each other that they are the best partners they've ever had and shake hands. How sweet. 

Randy Orton & Edge vs. John Cena

Well, at least this should be entertaining and there is some time left for them to have a good match. As you would expect, Orton and Edge dominate the majority of the match here. The numbers game continues to get the best of Cena and out comes Shawn Michaels. Cena makes a comeback and gets Edge up for the FU. Orton hits a dropkick and knocks Cena and Edge into the referee. Edge tries to Spear Cena, but he moves and he hits Orton. Michaels hits Sweet Chin Music on Edge and Cena hits the FU. The referee miraculously gets up just in time and counts to 3. This was your typical house show type of match. 

Match Rating: *3/4

This show featured some uninteresting matches and an absolute dead crowd. The first quarter of the show was filled with the Santino stuff, which was memorable and then they just fed us a bunch of stuff that no one asked for. Thumbs down here.

Overall Rating: 32%

NXT 7-15-15 Review

Original Airdate: Wednesday, July 15th, 2015
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2

Jason Jordan & Chad Gable vs. Elias Samson & Steve Cutler

We finally get the debut of Jordan and Gable here. They dominate the match, with the crowd already liking Gable. We get a cool finisher where Jordan put up Cutler for a back suplex and released so that Gable could catch him and finish the move and pick up the easy win. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

They show clips of Sasha Banks, Charlotte and Becky Lynch on Raw. Remember, this was 100% all because of Stephanie McMahon. She invented women's wrestling. 

Samoa Joe vs. Axel Tischer

Tischer is Alexander Wolfe. Joe dominates, as you would expect. He hits the Muscle Buster and then finishes him with the rear naked choke. Two matches, two squashes. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

We get a Baron Corbin vignette talking about his past achievements. 

Eva Marie comes out to boos and lets us know that she will be making her NXT in ring debut next week.

Blake & Murphy vs. Sawyer Fulton & Angelo Dawkins

Well, I guess when you have as big of a main event as we do here this week, you just put squash matches up for the rest of the show. Blake trips up Dawkins before he can make the tag in. Murphy hits a running suplex and Blake hits a frog splash for the easy victory. After the post-match celebration, Alexa tells them to get them. They attack Fulton to tease that Bliss is pulling the strings. They then launch Bliss from their hands and she hits the spinning splash. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Sami Zayn is out to the ring to give us a medical update. He says that 2014 was the best year of his career, but 2015 has been his worst. He expects to be out the rest of his year and then talks about his goals. He says that he is coming for Kevin Owens when he comes back. 

They show us highlights of last week and how we got our main event for tonight.

We see the finish of Finn Balor winning the NXT Championship from Kevin Owens. We then go to a press conference with William Regal announcing Kevin Owens will get a rematch against Finn Balor at the next TakeOver in Brooklyn. This was announced at Comic Con. 

NXT Women's Championship Match
Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks

Well, it looks like we may actually get a women's match that gets more than just a few minutes here. Both ladies get in some offense to start and most notably, Sasha hits the double knees to the midsection into the commercial break. We get more of a mat based match here and the crowd is enjoying it. Charlotte hits a powerbomb even after Sasha tries to get out of it and both ladies are down. Charlotte hits a Spear, but Sasha kicks out at 2. Sasha gets in her face about being better than her and Charlotte snaps. She goes for a Figure Four, but Sasha rolls her up for a 2. Charlotte gets the Figure FOur slapped on, but Sasha reaches the bottom rope. Charlotte rolls under the bottom rope and Sasha's throat hits the bottom rope. Back in the ring, we get a couple of quick pin attempts and then Sasha hits the Backstabber and slaps on the Bank Statement. Charlotte eventually taps out and I have to say I'm a little surprised there. I just assumed we were going to get a countout or something here. The match was solid, but I didn't like it as much as the crowd seemed to. 

Match Rating: **3/4

This was all about the main event and it was an entertaining match. It was nice that they actually got some time to tell a story. The talent seems to save their best stuff for TakeOver and even in a match like this one, where the talent is all in, they are booked to have more of a TV match. The rest of the show is basically 1990s Superstars and there isn't much to see there.

Overall Rating: 50%

Monday Night Raw 7-24-95 Review

Monday, July 24th, 1995
Louisville Gardens
Louisville, Kentucky

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They show actual video footage of Shawn Michaels defeating Jeff Jarrett for the Intercontinental Championship last night at In Your House. 

Shawn Michaels vs. Jimmy Del Ray

Vince is at that point where he is beyond insufferable when Michaels comes out. Michaels outsmarts his opponent until Del Ray is able to hit a DDT and then mock Michaels. Tom Prichard gets in a cheap shot behind the referee's back. I'm shocked that they even bother having Jim Cornette come out with them at this point. Michaels is able to move out of the way of a top rope splash and then hits a flying forearm. Michaels hits a top rope elbow drop and gets a 2 count. He goes for Sweet Chin Music, but Del Ray ducks and he hits Prichard instead. Del Ray tries to capitalize, but he gets hit with Sweet Chin Music and puts him away. This was decent enough for what it was. Del Ray didn't seem quite as sharp as he was before. During his celebration, Michaels teases stripping and then points to Vince slapping him on the wrist. 

Match Rating: *3/4

They show a clip of Jeff Jarrett's performance and then once again the finish to the match. They talk about the dissention between Roadie and Jarrett, with Roadie claiming that he sang the song. 

They show the backstory between Hakushi and Bret Hart. 

Smoking Gunns vs. John Faulkner & Rick Stockhauser

These are some new jobbers. They keep referring to Jacob and Eli Blu, as if they have a rivalry or something. This one is over pretty quickly, with the Gunns hitting a different finisher than usual where they have their opponent draped over Bart's shoulder and Billy comes off the top. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We get a Goldust vignette, where it just shows his name written and Fink announcing his name. 

We get a Fatu vignette. He's going to make a difference. 

Waylon Mercy vs. Gary Scott

Mercy shakes Scott's hand and kicks him in the gut. He hits a clothesline and chops him down. Mercy puts on the sleeper hold and that's all. His moves still have impact, but his balance just seems to be a little off. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We go to Todd Pettengill and he hypes up SummerSlam brought to you by Stridex. He then shows us some still photos of last night's results. Todd says that Sid is blaming Shawn Michaels for his loss against Diesel. We then get an interview of the self proclaimed #1 contender, Mabel. He says that he's going to drop Diesel like a bad habit at SummerSlam. 

Hakushi vs. Bret Hart

Hakushi has the Bret Hart head in a bag again. Hakushi goes on the attack right away, throwing Bret into the steps and dropping him on the guardrail. Hakushi sends Bret with an Irish whip and he slides into the ring post as we go into commercial break. Hakushi continues his dominance and is able to dump Bret through the ropes into another commercial break. We come back just in time for Hakushi to hit a moonsault over the top rope and to the floor. That was pretty awesome. Bret comes back and jumps on the second rope and drops himself on both Hakushi and Shinja. Bret hits the second rope elbow for a 2 count. Shinja gets involved and Bret hits him with a right hand. He hits a bulldog and a small package for a nearfall. Hakushi hits a back suplex and then misses with a top rope headbutt. Bret hits a top rope superplex and slaps on the Sharpshooter for the victory. This was a very good main event for Raw. After the match, Shinja comes in and Bret beats him up before hitting a piledriver. Vince then says that could be the last we s Shinja. Why would a piledriver be the last you see of someone? 

Match Rating: ***1/2

After the match, Jean Pierre Lafitte is out and grabs the bag with the fake Bret Hart head in it. 

It's time for the debut of The Report Card. Dean Douglas asks for our attention and then scrapes his nails on the chalkboard. He talks about knowledge. This nearly put me to sleep. 

Next week, Savio Vega and Razor Ramon will challenge Owen Hart and Yokozuna. 

Vince and Lawler interview Michaels backstage. Lawler tells Michaels that he is a marked man and Shawn jokes about being scared.

This was about as good as you were going to get in 1995. You got a really good main event and two of the top stars on the show. They didn't lay much groundwork as far as visual storytelling, but did basically tell us that Mabel will challenge Diesel and Sid wants revenge on Michaels at SummerSlam. Other than that, this was a good one.

Overall Rating: 70%

Off The Grid, Volume 44: WrestleMania IV Review

Sunday, March 27th, 1988
Historic Atlantic City Convention Hall
Atlantic City, New Jersey

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2

Off The Grid, Volume 44:

With this review, I now have reviewed the first 11 WrestleMania's. The only negative is that I had to actually watch this show. This could very well be the last time I ever watch this show. Ah, who am I kidding? I'm sure I'll do some rewatch at some point again. 

Gene Okerlund welcomes us to the show and introduces Gladys Knight to sing "America the Beautiful". We then go to Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse Ventura while they are setting up for the battle royal. Bob Uecker joins the booth, which is always fine by me. 

Battle Royal

The competitors here are the Hart Foundation, Young Stallions, Sika, Danny Davis, Killer Bees, Bad News Brown, Sam Houston, Rougeau Brothers, Ken Patera, Ron Bass, Junkyard Dog, Bolsheviks, Hillbilly Jim, Harley Race and George Steele. That's quite a group of guys in the ring here. Steele is just hanging around outside the ring. He pulls Jim Neidhart out of the ring and he's eliminated. This feels like a dark match. The final four are Paul Roma, Bad News Brown, Bret Hart and Junkyard Dog. Roma is gone and JYD is on a roll. Bret and Bad News work together on JYD. They formulate a plan and dump JYD out of the ring. They celebrate together in the ring, but then Bad News turns on Bret. I didn't see that one coming. He dumps Bret over the top and we have a winner. He is presented with the giant trophy. In crawls Bret and he attacks Bad News from behind. He then takes the trophy and smashes it on the mat before chucking it out of the ring. Bad News heads to the back and the crowd cheers Bret. This was pointless until the end.

Match Rating: 1/2*

Fink brings out Robin Leach to read the rules regarding the tournament. 

WWF Championship Tournament First Round Match
Hacksaw Jim Duggan vs. Ted DiBiase

Andre The Giant is with DiBiase and Virgil. It's always weird to see Duggan in black rather than blue. Duggan hits his signature atomic drop and it sends DiBiase over the top rope. You have to love Gorilla getting on Duggan for wasting time. These two are having a match that would give you the impression that they never have wrestled before, which we know isn't true. Duggan hits a body slam to set up for his finisher, but Andre grabs his feet. Duggan turns around confronts him, but DiBiase hits him with a knee to the back and pins him. Andre also hit him with a right hand right in front of the referee. What a poorly executed finish. 

Match Rating: *1/2

Brutus Beefcake is with Mean Gene and gives as cheesy of an interview as you will ever see. What else would you expect from Beefcake? 

WWF Championship Tournament First Round Match
Dino Bravo vs. Don Muraco

Not one person in the arena seems to care about Bravo. We get a bunch of moves and not much more. We get a weird ref bump where he gets sandwiched. Bravo hits his patented side suplex and the ref is up to tell Bravo that he is disqualified. In the replay, Bravo grabbed the referee and put him in harms way. What a convincing win for Muraco.

Match Rating: 3/4*

We go back to Uecker and he's still looking for Vanna White. In comes Jimmy Hart and Honky Tonk Man. 

WWF Championship Tournament First Round Match
Greg Valentine vs. Ricky Steamboat

Ricky brings his son down to the ring. He was a staple of the early days of my blog in the first year of NXT. It only takes about 30 seconds for them to talk about how deep Steamboat's arm drag is and how it takes Valentine a long time to get warmed up. Man, Steamboat was just so good. He deserved better than what he got after WrestleMania III. They get quite a bit more time than the first two matches and deservingly so. Steamboat makes a comeback and hits Valentine with a chop off the top rope for a 2 count. The ref stands in between him during his 10 punches in the corner and he throws him out of the way, which should have been a disqualification. Steamboat goes off the top and hits a crossbody. Valentine rolls through, grabs the tights and picks up the victory. This was decent enough.

Match Rating: **1/4

Mean Gene is with Koko B. Ware and the British Bulldogs. Don't forget Matilda and Frankie. 

WWF Championship Tournament First Round Match
Butch Reed vs. Randy Savage

Butch Reed is still one of those guys that just feels like he was never in WWF, even though he made WrestleMania twice. Butch gets in some offense, but this match feels rushed. Being the great recapper that I am, all I am going to type is that Reed goes up top and Savage throws him off. He hits the top rope elbow drop and that's all. There wasn't too much to it, but it was spirited. 

Match Rating: *1/2

We go back to Uecker and in walks Bobby Heenan and the Islanders. I will say, I do really like the backdrop for the interview area. 

WWF Championship Tournament First Round Match
One Man Gang vs. Bam Bam Bigelow

Bam Bam is another one who just doesn't feel like he existed in WWF's universe in 1988. Bam Bam gets Gang down with a shoulder tackle and does the cartwheel. He hits a low crossbody and that's nowhere near enough for the win. Bam Bam runs the ropes and Slick pulls down the top rope, sending Bam Bam to the floor. I'm not really sure how the ref didn't see it. The refs in this era suck. He gets counted out and no one even knows why. This show is so stupid.

Match Rating: 1/2*

We go to Mean Gene and Hulk Hogan. We get the "Fee-fi-fo-fum" treatment here from Hogan. He then goes on some stupid rant about Donald Trump doing the doggy paddle. Hogan sucks. Trump sucks. This show sucks.

WWF Championship Tournament First Round Match
Rick Rude vs. Jake Roberts

I get so depressed every time I have to listen to this second rate fake version of Rude's music. His real entrance theme is maybe the most underrated song in WWF history. I have such a vivid memory of watching this for the first time when I was like 6 or 7 and just being bored to tears by it. Many, many years later, I still feel the same. Jake does hit a nice leaping kneedrop, but Rude rolls out when he goes for the DDT. We get to the moment I remember, the chinlock.. This match has almost put me to sleep about 8 times. Jake finally makes a comeback that ends when they hit a double clothesline. Rude then goes for a pin with assistance from the middle rope, but the 15 minutes are finally over with.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Mean Gene is here to go over the updated brackets. He brings in Vanna White, which in reality was a huge get for them in 1988. 

Hercules vs. Ultimate Warrior

Apparently, this is a grudge match. It always just felt like a filler match to me. You could argue that almost everything on this show is filler. I hope you like watching punches with minimal selling because that's what we have here. Warrior misses a charge in the corner and that allows Hercules to slap on the Full Nelson. Gorilla calls out how the fingers aren't locked. Warrior uses the second turnbuckle to push himself back and pins Hercules. They say that he got the shoulder up and Herc did not. After the match, Herc chokes him out with the chain, but Warrior gets it away and swings it around. Next. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

We get a recap of the Andre The Giant/Hulk Hogan story. 

WWF Championship Tournament Quarterfinal Match
Andre The Giant vs. Hulk Hogan

Andre attacks Hogan as he gets in the ring and we are underway. I will say that Andre looks motivated here. We quickly get a big spot where Virgil distracts the referee and it allows Ted DiBiase to hit Hogan in the back with a chair. We then get a classic double standard where Hogan grabs the chair away and hits Andre with it. That should be an automatic disqualification. Instead, the referee stands there like a goof and then watches Andre hit him with it. Hogan chases after them and hits a suplex on Virgil in the entrance ramp. Hogan goes back in the ring and hits a body slam on Andre before his music hits. Both men are disqualified and eliminated from the tournament. Whatever.

Match Rating: 3/4*

Mean Gene is with Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth. 

WWF Championship Tournament Quarterfinal Match
Ted DiBiase vs. Don Muraco

Muraco brings DiBiase in by the hair and slams him in. He hits a clothesline and a scoop powerslam. Muraco tries to pull DiBiase up by his fee, but he holds onto the ropes and sends Muraco into the turnbuckle. DiBiase misses with a reverse elbow off the second turnbuckle. DiBiase catches him and hits the stun gun and that's enough for the victory. This one was a little better than I had remembered. 

Match Rating: *1/2

Bob Uecker is still looking for Vanna White. Instead, Demolition and Mr. Fuji walk in. 

One Man Gang and Slick are in the ring so that Fink can announce that they have the bye.

WWF Championship Tournament Quarterfinal Match
Greg Valentine vs. Randy Savage

Savage is the aggresor early on, but Valentine shifts the momentum quickly. The crowd just seems exhausted at this point. I don't think you could have picked a worse venue to have a tournament at. Valentine hits a suplex, but then Savage gets a rush of adrenaline. He hits a double ax handle off the top for a 2 count. He knocks Jimmy Hart off the apron and Valentine hits him in the throat and with a reverse elbow. Savage reverses a suplex attempt. He goes up top for another double ax handle and this time Valentine hits him in the midsection. Valentine goes for the Figure Four, but Savage reverses into a small package and picks up the victory. This one felt rushed and a little disjointed.

Match Rating: *1/4

Vanna pretends to not know who Bob Uecker is. She still likes Hulk even though he isn't advancing in the tournament. She also loves the energy that Elizabeth gives Savage. 

Intercontinental Championship Match
Honky Tonk Man vs. Brutus Beefcake

No music for Beefcake here, which is about the only thing worthwhile about him. He hits a big atomic drop and then Beefcake messes up his hair. Honky plays the cowardly heel, as you would expect and Beefcake is the cheesy "hero". He misses with an elbow drop and Honky is all over him now. He goes for the Shake, Rattle and Roll Neckbreaker, but Beefcake holds onto the top rope. He hits a back body drop and starts signaling for the haircut. He slaps on the sleeper in the middle of the ring. Jimmy Hart gets up on the apron and then hits the referee while Beefcake celebrates Honky being knocked out. He sees what happened and signals for some cutting. Hart grabs his haircut bag and tries going under the ring. He grabs him and starts trimming some of Jimmy's hair. Peggy Sue dumps some water on Honky to wake him up and a group of referees keep him away from Honky. He walks to the back and they announce a disqualification finish. What a stupid finish. 

Match Rating: *

We go to Uecker again and now he has Andre. He claims that Hulkamania is over. Don't we all wish. He then gives the famous choke on Uecker. 

Islanders & Bobby Heenan vs. British Bulldogs & Koko B. Ware

This is the match where Heenan wears the stupid attack dog jacket. Dynamite Kid hits a catapult on Tama and into the ring post. Davey Boy hits a press slam, but Tama rakes the eye after and tags in Haku. Koko gets in and hits a big dropkick. He then hits a leg scissors/headlock combo on both members of the Islanders. Dynamite runs into a boot and then they tag in Heenan, who stomps away on him. As soon as Dynamite shows signs of life, he tags out. Heenan comes in again, this time with Koko down. Koko gets a couple of right hands in before Heenan rakes the eye. He gets sent into the turnbuckle and gets hit with a dropkick to the back. You know when the crowd isn't cheering for Heenan getting beat up, you have a terrible crowd. The Islanders slam Heenan on Koko and they pick up the win. After the match, Davey Boy grabs Matilda and they chase after Heenan. He trips and he puts Matilda on top of him. The crowd just sits in silence. The match was fine, but with so many quick matches, it all just means nothing. 

Match Rating: *3/4

Fink then announces Jesse Ventura and he stands and poses. Sure. 

Fink then announces that Ted DiBiase will be in the finals of the tournament as a result of the Andre/Hogan draw. 

WWF Championship Tournament Semifinal Match
One Man Gang vs. Randy Savage

Savage snaps Gang's neck on the top rope, but Gang is able to drive him into the turnbuckle. We get usual big man stuff here from Gang. Savage uses his quickness to regain the advantage. Gang ends up outside the ring and hits the double ax handle to the floor. Savage goes for a bodyslam and it backfires of course. Slick starts going after Elizabeth and the referee is distracted. This allows Gang to hit him in the back with the cane. The referee finally sees it and Gang is disqualified. The booking on this show is just absolutely horrible. After the match, Gang hugs Slick and Savage hits them with a double ax handle to knock them both down. It's a good thing they were standing there forever so he could do that. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Back to Gene and Vanna, but Vanna quickly dismisses herself to go to ringside. Gene then runs over the bracket. Uecker then comes in and Gene lets him know that Vanna left. 

WWF Tag Team Championship Match
Demolition vs. Strike Force

Jesse claims that he always gets Ax and Smash confused. I guess this should have been my first clue that there were some idiots running the company. I really have grown to like Demolition while writing reviews that no one reads. I like all four of these guys, so naturally they get the death spot here. Smash catches Tito and holds him up for Ax to illegally clothesline him. Tito hits a desperation flying forearm and both men are down. Both men make tags and Martel slaps on the Boston Crab. There's shenanigans involving Mr. Fuji and it leads to Ax hitting Martel in the back with his cane. Smash covers him and we have new champions. This was the match of the night so far, which isn't saying much.

Match Rating: **1/4

It's time to bring out the celebrities because this show hasn't dragged on forever or anything. Uecker gets to introduce Vanna and then walks her around the ring. 

WWF Championship Tournament Finals
Ted DiBiase vs. Randy Savage

We are finally here. Andre is quickly involved and the crowd starts chanting for Hogan. Andre trips him up while running the ropes and he isn't happy about it. Savage still has a lot of pep in his step, which is not surprising at all, but worth noting. He snaps DiBiase's neck on the top rope and DiBiase sells it perfectly. He knees DiBiase out of the ring, but when he goes for the top rope double ax handle, Andre steps in the way. He instead goes and talks to Elizabeth and she heads to the back. I can't believe it. She is coming back and is bringing out Hulk Hogan. I definitely did not expect that to be the case. We quickly get another Andre interference and Hogan is over there to get it to stop. DiBiase goes up top, but Savage gets there first and slams him off. Savage quickly jumps up to the top rope, but DiBiase moves out of the way of the elbow drop. DiBiase slaps on the Million Dollar Dream. The referee gets distracted and Hogan runs in and hits DiBiase in the back with a chair. Savage hits the top rope elbow this time and that's all. The terrible booking continues here. Jesse calls out Hogan and rightfully so. Savage deserved a better match and moment than what he was given here.

Match Rating: **

Even when I was a kid and liked any WWF video that I rented, I never liked this show. It just always felt like it never ends and it still feels that way decades later. This is a bottom 5 WrestleMania and will likely stay that way for a long time. 

Overall Rating: 30%

In Your House 2: The Lumberjacks Review

Sunday, July 23rd, 1995
Nashville Municipal Auditorium
Nashville, Tennessee

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2

We get a country "In Your House" song and video to kick things off in the same vein as the Monday Night Football theme song. Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler dressed as a cowboy, which is a rarity for him. 

1-2-3 Kid vs. Roadie

Kid goes out in the aisle and goes right after Roadie to start the match. This was the only right choice for the opener, so they're at least off to a good start in that regard. They go back to Jeff Jarrett's locker room and his back is to the TV monitor showing the match, as he's getting ready for his big night. Meanwhile, Roadie drives Kid's crotch right into the ring post. Roadie continues to dominate until he misses a top rope splash. Kid nails him with a spin kick and gets a 2 count. Kid goes up top and he hits the splash, but Roadie is able to get the shoulder up. Roadie comes right back with a sit down powerbomb. Kid avoids a charging Roadie in the corner and he hits his shoulder on the ring post. Kid goes up top, but Roadie crotches him. He then hits one of the most dangerous looking piledrivers off the second rope and picks up the somewhat surprising victory. They show the finisher again and it was just extremely ugly. The match itself otherwise was solid. Roadie then goes right to the stage and does a mic check and talks with the band.

Match Rating: ***

Todd Pettengill is backstage with the Million Dollar Corporation. King Kong Bundy is even there. We get lots of yelling and laughing, before Sid reminds us that he's the master and the ruler of the world. 

We go to Barry Dadinski selling the In Your House shirt in the locker room of Diesel and Shawn Michaels. All the lumberjacks are just making lots of noise in the background.

Men On A Mission vs. Razor Ramon & Savio Vega

Razor throws his rib wrap at his opponents, followed by a toothpick. He hits a fall away slam on Sir Mo and tags in Savio. He hits a big kick on Mabel, but Mabel quickly shifts the momentum and throws him over the top rope. Mabel comes back and hits a kick to the back of Savio's head for a 2 count. Savio makes the classic mistake of trying to slam Mabel and it naturally backfires. Mo misses with a top rope moonsault and both men are down. Razor gets the hot tag and hits Mo with some right hands. He hits the super back suplex off the second rope and signals for the Razor's Edge. Mabel tries to get involved, but Razor is there first. It's just enough to let Mo recover and he hits Razor with a body slam. Mabel goes up to the top rope, but Razor is able to slam him off the top rope. Mabel is able to get his shoulder up on the pin attempt. Razor runs the ropes, but runs into Mo's leg and gets hit by a DDT from Mabel. Mabel misses with a splash and Mo tries to get involved, but Savio takes himself and Mo out of the ring. Mabel splashes Razor in the corner and hits the belly to belly suplex to pick up the victory. They sell it as him injuring Razor's ribs there. This was another entertaining enough match here on the card. 

Match Rating: **1/2

Todd is with the band and being his usual, dorky self. 

Dok Hendrix is with Adam Bomb, Bam Bam Bigelow, Man Mountain Rock and the Smoking Gunns. Dok talks about a rumor that DiBiase has bought one of Diesel's lumberjacks and Dok makes up some rumors to get some dirt out of each of them. 

Roadie introduces Jeff Jarrett to the stage. The band plays his entrance song live, which is kind of cool. He of course ruins it by doing his stupid introduction. They perform the song and Jarrett does a decent enough job of lip synching. He then tells us to eat crow and that he's going to show us he's also the greatest wrestler later tonight. 

We get a SummerSlam commercial that is engrained in my brain forever. 

Todd is out in the crowd to see what the crowd thinks of Jarrett's performance. We get some mixed reviews with Todd sticking up for him. 

Henry Godwinn vs. Bam Bam Bigelow

Godwinn hits a back suplex right off the bat, but Bam Bam is right back up and hits two of them on Godwinn. He hits him with a shoulder tackle to knock him out of the ring. The crowd is not very into this one. Bam Bam hits a DDT, but then is dumped over the top rope. The chemistry seems a little bit off in this one. They're kind of just hitting moves here. Bam Bam misses a headbutt off the top rope. Godwinn then thinks it's a good idea for him to go up to the second rope. He misses with a knee drop and Bam Bam rolls him up for the victory. I like both of these guys, but this one just never clicked. After the match, Godwinn is limping and grabs his slop bucket. Bam Bam just heads to the back. 

Match Rating: *

They show Bob Backlund interacting with some kids in the crowd. 

Shawn Michaels tells Todd that he's going to be the next Intercontinental Championship.

Intercontinental Championship Match
Jeff Jarrett vs. Shawn Michaels

We get the always effective quick paced Michaels beginning and it ends with a clothesline over the top rope and Michaels skins the cat. Jarrett teases heading to the back, but decides not to and then rolls right back out. Michaels eventually has enough and throws him back in. He goes off the top though and Jarrett hits him in the midsection. We get some more babyface shenanigans where Jarrett gets thrown over the top and onto Roadie. Michaels then hits a dive from the top rope to the floor on both men. Things calm down and Jarrett takes over. On the plus side, Vince's mic stops working. Jarrett sends Michaels into the corner and he goes bouncing over the top. The pace picks up again and Jarrett hits a big dropkick for a 2 count. He slaps on the sleeper hold and has Michaels down. He breaks out of the hold and has the big comeback moment. Michaels slides under Jarrett and crotches him on the ring post. He goes up top and gets crotched on the top rope by Roadie. That allows Jarrett to hit a superplex. He goes for the Figure Four, but Michaels rolls him up and gets a 2 count. Jarrett goes for it again and this time Michaels kicks Jarrett into the referee. Shawn is ready to go for Sweet Chin Music, but Roadie runs in and hits him with a chop block. Jarrett hits a top rope crossbody, but Michaels kicks out at 2. Roadie accidentally trips up Jarrett and Michaels hits him with Sweet Chin Music to become the new champion. This was a stellar performance by both men, working a tremendous pace and filling the match with lots of traditional pro wrestling staples. 

Match Rating: ****1/2

They go back to Shawn Michael's locker room, where he's celebrating with his buddies. Oh, and buy his sunglasses.

We then go to Dok Hendrix, who apparently is on speed. He's talking about some trouble in paradise between Roadie and Jeff Jarrett.

WWF Tag Team Championship Match
Owen Hart & Yokozuna vs. Allied Powers

They do a total Owen spot where Yokozuna falls on Owen's foot and he sells the injury. He then limps in to get in Yoko's face and Yoko shoves him down. Jim Cornette gets them calmed down and Owen slaps Luger in the face. The ref tries to get in between them and it allows Owen a cheap shot to the face. Bulldog is in and dominates Owen until he runs into Yoko's knee. Vince promises that they'll give us as much action up until the hour and 58 minutes is up. They aren't working the match like they are in a rush, with Yoko doing the dreaded nerve hold at the moment. Bulldog makes the hot tag to Luger and he seems pretty motivated for a guy who's going to leave in a month. He picks up Owen and chucks him at Yoko. Even Lawler thinks this is it for the champs. Yoko misses in the corner and they hit a double back suplex. The ref is trying to get Bulldog out of the ring and that allows Owen to hit Luger off the top rope while he's covering Yoko. Yoko hits the leg drop and the champs are able to retain. This was actually a better match than expected. They gave them just the right amount of time to succeed.

Match Rating: **1/2

After a lengthy recap, Diesel is with Todd and does his usual interview.

Lumberjack Match For The WWF Championship
Sid vs. Diesel

They quickly establish the Lumberjack gimmick by having Diesel knock Sid into his friends twice in a row. Diesel gets tricked into going near the ropes and is dumped into Sid's side and is quickly attacked. Diesel's buddies come and make the save, with Shawn Michaels leaping off the top somewhat recklessly. It's kind of surprising that Fatu is sort of making his debut here. But I guess at the same time, this was them making it clear that he isn't going to matter much. Diesel launches himself over the top and onto Sid's goons in a pretty surprising spot. Diesel gets tripped up by Mabel and pulled out of the ring. Mabel then squashes Diesel into the ring post. He follows that up with a body slam and a leg drop. Back in the ring, Sid slows things down. Sid goes out of the ring and goes after Diesel's team, but then Michaels flies off the top rope again. Diesel goes for the Jackknife, but IRS, Godwinn and Tatanka run in. Diesel hits the big boot and that's enough for the win. That was kind of a weak finish, but this match was much better than it had any right to be. This was all smoke and mirrors, which is exactly what it needed. 

Match Rating: **1/4

Make fun of me all you want, but this was a good show. You had one of the best matches of the early 90s WWF and some other solid matches. It flew by and was just pretty consistently entertaining. Thumbs up.

Overall Rating: 78%