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

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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

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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%

Superstars 7-22-95 Review

Original Airdate: Saturday, July 22nd, 1995
Stabler Arena
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

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Jacob & Eli Blu vs. Savio Vega & 1-2-3 Kid

We get some solid action before the commercial break, as all 4 men seem to be on their game here. One of Blu brothers go up top, but Savio knocks him off. They try off the second rope, but he ducks and they hit each other. Savio tags Kid and he hits a sunset flip for a 2. He hits a spin kick and covers, but the ref is distracted. That allows Uncle Zebekiah to hit Kid with a knee to the back of the head. The other Blu brother rolls in and covers Kid for the victory. That was a good little tag team match. 

Match Rating: **1/2

Todd Pettengill runs down the In Your House card one more time. We hear from Shawn Michaels and he says that he is on the verge of becoming the Intercontinental Champion for the third time. Men On A Mission says that they will take out Razor Ramon and Savio Vega at the same time. 

Fatu is still making a difference. Most notably, he talks about the Cow Palace.

Rad Radford vs. Scott Taylor

If you want to know how much WWF cares about R

adford, we join the match in progress. They say that he will be taking on Fatu next week on Superstars. He hits a nice spinebuster and a missile dropkick. He hits a suplex into a bridge for the pin and picks up the win. He looked good here in his very limited time. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

They show the Diesel interview from Monday Night Raw. They had to join the Rad Radford match in progress to show like 5 minutes of an interview that had already aired? I mean, I get it, but they couldn't have shaved of 15 seconds to show the entrance? 

We go back to Dok Hendrix and Vince McMahon reading one of the WWF Magazines that got me back into wrestling. 

Skip vs. Russ Greenberg

They show highlights of Barry Horowitz beating Skip on Action Zone. Skip hits a snap suplex and a splash kind of elbow thing. He hits a superplex and picks up the win while doing push ups during the pin.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Oh good, more Isaac Yankem. 

Adam Bomb vs. Kenny Kendall

Another match joined in progress despite there being 11 minutes left in the show. Bomb hits a snap suplex and puts on the headlock. So maybe it's his own fault that his entrance got cut. He hits the top rope clothesline for the victory.

Match Rating: 1/4*

We go back to Todd to talk about the other matches at In Your House. Owen Hart, Yokozuna and Jim Cornette basically talk about how great Yokozuna is. We then get teh full In Your House commercial. 

We go back to Vince and Dok and they're talking about predictions. Dok surprises Vince by picking Diesel, Shawn Michaels and other logical choices.

They then show "With My Baby Tonight" music video one more time. 

This was a pretty entertaining show overall, even if the matches were mostly short outside the feature one. In Your House has actually been built pretty well and I am looking forward to revisiting it next. 

Overall Rating: 54%

SmackDown 4-13-07 Review

Original Airdate: Friday, April 13th, 2007
Dunkin' Donuts Center
Providence, Rhode Island

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2

Teddy Long is out to address the Batista/Undertaker rematch. It will happen at Backlash and it will be a Last Man Standing match. 

Finlay vs. Mr. Kennedy

Mr. Kennedy comes out and says that they don't have to do this. Finlay says that he'll accept it, but if he ever lays a finger on Hornswoggle, he'll shove that shillelagh down his throat. They agree to not fight, but Teddy Long disagrees. He says that instead they'll fight Batista and Undertaker in a tag team match. 

We go backstage and we find Ashley crying in the locker room and Jillian leaving. Michelle McCool and Brian Kendrick come into check on her. This just feels out of place. 

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

We get a pretty standard start to the match and that means it's time for the high spot into the commercial break. This time it's London diving over the top to the floor. The challengers dominate after the break until it's time for London's hot tag. The challengers are breaking up the pin attempts, but this leads to them double teaming for too long. Ya know, the thing they normally allow, but tonight they decide to enforce it. They get called for the disqualification and are upset with the decision. This was mostly storyline. 

Match Rating: *

Next week, Teddy tells Kristal that SmackDown in Milan will be the 400th episode. He also says he has a surprise for her. In come Deuce, Domino and Cherry. Teddy suggests they follow the rules next time. 

Chris Benoit vs. MVP

As one might expect, my interest in this feud is a lot lower in 2024 than it was in 2007. We get lots of 50/50 stuff to start and then MVP throws Benoit into the ring post before the commercial break. Benoit hits the German suplexes, but when he goes up top, MVP is there to stop him. Benoit knocks him off and goes for the headbutt, but MVP moves out of the way. He goes for the Germans again, but MVP snaps his neck into the top rope. Benoit counters a German suplex attempt by Benoit, but MVP blocks the roll up and grabs the ropes to steal the victory. This match was much longer than my recap, but like I said, I'm just not invested in this feud.

Match Rating: **

Kristal interviews MVP backstage and he says that he's ballin'. 

Daivari vs. Kane

Great. JBL compares this to the mercy rule in little league. Anyway, Kane hits a chokeslam and wins. As soon as the match is over, William Regal and Dave Taylor attack Kane. I mean, who even cares about any of this? 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Mark Henry is coming back. 

Batista & Undertaker vs. Mr. Kennedy & Finlay

The first commercial break is teasing the tension between Batista and Undertaker. Finlay eventually gets a cheap shot in on Batista with the shillelagh. Undertaker then decides it's a good idea to throw a set of steps into the ring. Undertaker eventually gets tagged in and takes care of business, so then Batista tags himself in. Undertaker gets clotheslined over the top rope, but he of course lands on his feet. He brawls with Finlay on the outside and then Batista hits the Batista Bomb on Kennedy and gets the win. Taker stares him down as he heads back to the locker room. This was at least a 15 minute match and again my recap is not reflective of this. The match was actually pretty good for the most part, just not much to really talk about. 

Match Rating: **1/2

My interest level in this era right now just isn't super high. I remember really enjoying Backlash, but even that doesn't have me that excited. I am looking forward to some of the stuff, but just not as much as I would have thought. Anyway, this was a fine episode overall, even if nothing really happened.

Overall Rating: 50%

ECW 4-10-07 Review

Tuesday, April 10th, 2007
Dunkin' Donuts Center
Providence, Rhode Island

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2

Vince McMahon is out to make this episode suck right off the bat. Vince says he can't get revenge on Steve Austin or the other moron involved in the match, so he has to get revenge on Bobby Lashley. He won't be here tonight because he's barred from the arena due to a concussion. We then see a replay of him taking a horrible chair to the head because no one had ever heard of a concussion in 2007. They just didn't know, okay? He talks about the 3 on 1 match at Backlash and that he'll be the next ECW Champion. 

CM Punk and Rob Van Dam are backstage. RVD says that CM Punk fits with the ECW Originals. Elijah Burke runs into disagree. Burke says that Punk will give his answer next week. Punk says no chance and instead he'll give his answer tonight. 

Tommy Dreamer vs. Kevin Thorn

Both men come out selling injuries from last week's brawl. Isn't it time to pull the plug on Thorn? Not one person in the arena cares about him. They show CM Punk watching the match backstage. Dreamer for some reason thinks it's a good idea to go up to the top rope. Thorn crotches him and then hits the Dark Kiss for the victory. No one cares. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Extreme Exposé is backstage having fun until Snitsky walks in. He then stares at Layla. This show just continuously seems to be aiming to cram as many things as possible that people have no interest in a 1 hour show. They are succeeding tonight. 

Stevie Richards vs. CM Punk

Are they really doing this match again? Out comes Matt Striker before the match begins, but then so does Sandman. We have a commercial and join the match in progress. Punk hits a roundhouse kick and then hits the knee/bulldog combo. Striker and Sandman start to interact. Sandman swings at Striker, Striker ducks and he accidentally hits Punk. The distraction allows Richards to roll him up, but he reverses and picks up the win. After the match, Sandman lets him know what happened. If only there were a documented video of it so that he could figure out the truth. This only existed to create drama for Punk's choice. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

It's time for Extreme Exposé. This is still a thing. After the dance, out comes Snitsky. Instead of running, they just stand in the ring. Layla for some reason can't figure out how to get out of the ring, while the other two get out. Snitsky stares her down and then turns around to run into a chair shot to the head from Balls Mahoney. He no sells it and takes Balls out. This got no reaction whatsoever. Snitsky and unprotected chair shots to the head are two things I don't want to see when I watch wrestling. 

Rob Van Dam vs. Marcus Cor Von

RVD is with Sabu, who is sporting a neck brace. Cor Von's music makes no sense with his persona. Cor Von hits a nice German suplex with a release, as he continues to be impressive in his matches. RVD makes a comeback and hits the top rope single leg kick. Elijah Burke goes and hits Sabu with a cheap shot. The distraction is used to their advantage and Cor Von hits the Pounce and picks up the upset victory. CM Punk's music hits and runs out to check on Sandman. He goes into the ring and wants to fight Elijah and Cor Von. He then looks down and shakes Burke's hand. The New Breed comes out to celebrate and puts Punk on their shoulders as we go off the air. The match was decent.

Match Rating: *3/4

There just isn't much going on that anyone cares about. CM Punk was their one success story to date and turning him heel did not go over well with the live audience. Cor Von and Burke have been solid, but they haven't really caught on yet.

Overall Rating: 40%

Monday Night Raw 4-9-07 Review

Monday, April 9th, 2007 
Arena At Harbor Yard
Bridgeport, Connecticut

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork22

Tonight it's going to be Shawn Michaels vs. Randy Orton to determine the #1 contender for the WWE Championship.

Out comes Shane McMahon to start the show. Shane says the McMahon name is usually greeted with respect, but lately it's been laughed at. Trust me, Shane. It's even worse in 2024. He calls out Lashley and he's out quickly. Shane wants to challenge him to an ECW Championship match. Lashley says he will, but if Shane loses, he wants him to shave his head. Out comes Umaga and Armando Estrada. Shane tells them to go back and slaps Armando. He gets in Umaga's face and that's all. 

Mickie James & Candice Michelle vs. Melina & Victoria

We get started with a Candice Michelle heat segment. They actually are getting a few minutes, which is a surprise. Candice makes the hot tag to Mickie and it's not long before Mickie hits the DDT on Victoria and picks up the win. I didn't type much here, but this was much better than what we are used to being presented on TV. 

Match Rating: *

Mick Foley is wish a Make A Wish child and he's the guest GM tonight. He introduces him to Maria and the Highlanders and then to the camera.

Ric Flair, Carlito and Torrie Wilson are out. Carlito grabs a mic and talks about Flair questioning his passion. He says that it made him angry, but then he realized that it's not every day that a legend calls you out. We then get a classic highlight clip of old Ric Flair footage. He says that they will get a title shot if they win their match tonight.

Ric Flair & Carlito vs. Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch

We join the match in progress with Cade hitting a leaping clothesline on Flair. The match already slows down and it's dull with no heat. Carlito comes in and hits a few moves before Cade breaks up the pin attempt. They dump Flair out of the ring and Carlito misses with the springboard move. They hit their finisher and that's all. Jerry Lawler seemed legit surprised there. Me too.

Match Rating: 1/2*

After the match, Flair checks on Carlito, but Carlito isn't having it and heads for the back with Torrie. 

Shane is in the back getting ready and Jonathan Coachman comes in. He tries to talk Shane out of his match tonight, but Shane isn't having it. 

Shawn Michaels says that if he doesn't win tonight, his title hopes are gone. In comes Randy Orton to tell Michaels that he had his chance and he hasn't. 

#1 Contender For The WWE Championship Match
Randy Orton vs. Shawn Michaels

Based on how this one is starting, it looks like these two are going to get some time. Michaels quickly has a cut over his eye. After some mostly 50/50 wrestling, Edge comes down the aisle. He distracts Orton and Michaels rolls him up for a 2 count. Orton argues with Edge and we go to commercial break. We finally get a major spot where Orton ducks a running forearm and Michaels hits the referee. Michaels hits the top rope elbow drop and starts tuning up the band. Edge gets on the apron and that allows Orto to clothesline both Michaels and himself over the top rope. Orton hits a RKO on the outside and then picks him up to roll him back in the ring. He starts arguing with Edge. Edge throws a right hand, but Orton ducks. Orton goes for a RKO, but Edge shoves him away and hits him with a Spear. He rolls Orton back in the ring and both men are down. Edge then goes to the referee and throws him back in the ring. Another referee comes out and starts counting. They both get to their feet and Michaels hits Sweet Chin Music. He lays on top of him and the new referee counts to 3. The original referee shows that Michaels' shoulders were also down during the pin and they begin to both argue. I'm not sure what the argument is because it's clear that both men's shoulders are on the mat. They pan to Edge who says that he should be the #1 contender. We get no announcement and Edge's music starts playing. This got a lot of time and they mostly worked a slow paced match, not giving away too much. It was pretty obvious they were going to go with a screwjob ending that leads to a multi-man match. 

Match Rating: **

Randy Orton comes in to Shane McMahon's locker room and is irate about what happens. Shane says he doesn't have time to worry about that with his hair on the line and tells him to bug Coach.

We go back to Mick Foley and Michael getting some autographs. Johnny Nitro doesn't give him the time of day. In walks Coach and then Edge interrupts, telling him that he needs to talk to him. 

Hardys vs. The World's Greatest Tag Team

We get a lot of action to start, with Shelton doing a great twist on his usual leap up to the top rope. This is a full on sprint and it leads to a fairly quick ending where the Hardys hit the Twist Of Fate and Swanton for the victory. It's too bad that we're stuck with Cade and Murdoch as contenders because this is a better fit.

Match Rating: *3/4

Edge is out for The Cutting Edge. He says that he talked to Coach and he thinks the #1 contender should be Edge. He's starting to introduce John Cena, but out comes Orton instead. Randy is angry and blaming Edge for losing his title shot. He says he talked to Coach and he said that he doesn't deserve the title shot. While he's yelling, out comes Shawn Michaels in his ugly brown shirt and of course he thinks he's the #1 contender. Coach is now out and he says that his decision is that Edge and Randy Orton will take on John Cena in a handicap match and whoever scores the pinfall or submission is the champ. Out comes Mick Foley and he says that he doesn't get to make the big decision. He brings out Michael and he announces that the main event will be a fatal 4-way at Backlash. He actually does a really solid job in his announcement. 

Title vs. Hair Match For The ECW Championship
Shane McMahon vs. Bobby Lashley

Shane hits a Spear on Lashley as he is walking into the ring. Shane shoves Lashley into the ring post and then into the ring steps. They get in the ring and we finally are underway. Just as Lashley is shifting the momentum in his favor, Shane hits the referee to purposely get disqualified. It's time for Umaga and he attacks Bobby. He hits him with a chair to the head and then Vince gets in his face. He lets him know it will be 3 on 1 at Backlash.

Match Rating: 1/2*

I mean, I guess this one was pretty decent overall. There was nothing actively bad here, but also nothing to really get excited about either. 

Overall Rating: 50%

NXT 7-8-15 Review

Original Airdate: Wednesday, July 8th, 2015
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2

We open the show with highlights of Brock Lesnar's match at Beast In The East, but not the Finn Balor/Kevin Owens. That's because they are going to show it here tonight. So...awkward moment here for me. I guess I am going to remove my review from Beast From The East on the last NXT review and just copy/paste it here. 

Dana Brooke & Emma vs. Sasha Banks & Charlotte

Sasha comes out alone and Dana mocks her for it. She says she'll take both of them on and calls Dana "little Miss Piggy". Charlotte's music hits and she says that she'll be Sasha's partner. Sasha accepts and we're underway. Lost in all of this Dana Brooke stuff is that Emma has been really solid in the ring and a real bright spot. I am kind of curious where all of this takes us, if anywhere. WWE isn't really known for going heel vs. heel too often. Sasha gets the hot tag and quickly gets the Bank Statement on Dana and she taps. Charlotte also got the Figure Eight in on Emma. While Emma was given some offense, Dana was mostly presented by a jobber here. I didn't expect that. Sasha and Charlotte shake hands after the match. Charlotte grabs the mic and says that she wants a title shot next week. Sasha agrees. The match was mostly a squash.

Match Rating: 3/4*

They show Bayley from this last weekend at a NXT live event to tell us that she can't wrestle because Emma broke her hand. She says she will come back and be NXT Women's Champion. 

We get a hype video for Kevin Owens vs. Finn Balor and now it's time for the match.

Saturday, July 4th, 2015
Ryogoku Kokugikan
Sumida, Tokyo Japan

NXT Championship Match
Finn Balor vs. Kevin Owens

Hideo Itami is shown in the crowd, as the streamers are flying in and flowers are handed to both opponents. Owens of course chucks his out of the ring. Balor hits the running dropkick as soon as the bell rings. He runs up to the top rope for the Coup de Grace, but Owens rolls out of the ring. Balor pivots and hits him with a crossbody. After a quick spot in the ring, Balor hits a dropkick through the ropes and then another running dropkick to a seated Owens into the barricade. Owens is able to shift the momentum and slows the pace down. As he did on the most recent episode of NXT, Owens hits the Five Knuckle Shuffle. Also just like he did on NXT, Balor counters out of the Attitude Adjustment and then hits a double stomp. Balor hits a Pelé kick and then a dive outside of the ring. Owens is able to roll out of the way of another Coup de Grace attempt. Owens hits a German suplex with a release and then hits the cannonball in the corner. Balor comes back with a Sling Blade and once again goes up top. This time he hits the Coup de Grace, but Owens kicks out at 2. They battle up on the second rope. Owens goes for the package suplex, but Balor escapes and hits a kick. Balor still ends up on Owens' shoulders and he hits the rolling senton slam. Balor is able to kick out at 2 to the crowd's delight. Owens goes back up top and goes for the senton, but Balor gets his knees up. Balor hits a brainbuster, but Owens kicks out at 2. Balor runs into a superkick and Owens hits him with a suplex for another 2 count. Balor leaps over the Pop Up Powerbomb attempt and levels Owens with a clothesline. He hits the running dropkick in the corner and the Coup de Grace to become the new NXT Champion. Balor put on a really great performance here. Owens seemed a little off to me for whatever reason. This was a very good match, but not quite a classic. 

Match Rating: ***3/4

And we're back to Orlando. Chad Gable is here for an interview and says that apparently Jason Jordan must want to stay at the bottom of NXT since he won't have him be his partner. In walks Jordan and he offers him an invite to be his partner. 

Solomon Crowe says he's back. Oh...yay. 

Marcus Louis vs. Solomon Crowe

Louis comes out with no music and just as I'm about to type that it looks like he's yawning, the announce team even jokes that. Talk about two characters that I was fine with not seeing on this show again. They announce that Charlotte and Sasha will square off next week on NXT. I can't believe they would make that announcement during this match, which should have all of our attention. Louis does some submission hold that doesn't look like it hurts at all with the exception of him squeezing Crowe's skin. Crowe comes back and hits a few kicks and puts on the Crowe Bar for the win. This was horrible.

Match Rating: 0 Stars

The Vaudevillains say they're going to be Enzo and Big Cass to become #1 contenders.

They show Finn Balor backstage in Japan after winning. He gets some high fives from Cesaro and Neville and then John Cena congratulates him. 

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

Corey Graves rips on both teams, but he does it in the right way saying that the current champs are a better representation of the company. We get the usual Enzo/Cass formula where Cass gets the hot tag after the Enzo beatdown. English gets a roll up that almost gets the victory. He then eats a big boot and Cass hits a spinning side suplex on Gotch. Enzo tags in and goes off the top rope for a crossbody. English rolls through on it and picks up the victory. Enzo continues to be booked like a total goof. I guess he kind of is, so I have no complaints. The match was pretty standard, but it was spirited. 

Match Rating: *1/2

If you just pretend the Solomon Crowe/Marcus Louis match didn't happen, this was a strong show. However, you could have already watched the title change when it originally aired and that makes it a little less essential. It's good to see some progression in the tag division, even if it's a little stale right now and knowing we will get another Charlotte/Sasha match is promising. 

Overall Rating: 58%

Monday Night Raw 7-17-95 Review

Original Airdate: Monday, July 17th, 1995
Danville High School
Danville, Pennsylvania

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork22

We get one of those random Monday Night Raw intros where both competitors in the main event talk with a black background and say a few words. 

Owen Hart & Yokozuna vs. Jim Dimitri & Gus Kantarrakis

Jim and Gus have matching outfits here. They hit the drop toe hold/leg drop combo and that leads to Owen slapping on the Sharpshooter for the victory. I'm looking forward to them taking on a real team again at In Your House.

Match Rating: 1/4*

It's time for the final In Your House Report because it's this Sunday. Todd wonders if Jeff Jarrett and Roadie's matches will be affected because of all the work going into Jarrett's performance. 

Jean Pierre Lafitte vs. David Thornberg

Lafitte hits a dive from the top rope to the floor on Thornberg. Back in the ring, he ties up Thornberg in the ropes and hits a couple of crossbodies. He goes up top and hits the Cannonball for the victory. He continues to be one of the most impressive midcard acts. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We get the same Fatu vignette from Superstars. Then it's time to watch the Jeff Jarrett music video again. 

IRS vs. Shawn Michaels

We have to be getting close to IRS's last match or two here. Then I get to watch him on Nitro. Lucky me. IRS is wearing a blue dress shirt and it just doesn't work the same. After doing some intense research, it looks like IRS's last match in WWF is 13 days after this one aired at a house show. As much as I rag on him, he can say that he wrestled Hulk Hogan, Razor Ramon and Undertaker all on pay per view. Shawn is slightly less cartoony to start. IRS takes control when Shawn goes flying over the top rope and to the floor. IRS comes out and throws him into the steps. Shawn makes his comeback and hits a double ax handle from the top rope. He goes for Sweet Chin Music, but IRS ducks and hits him with a clothesline. IRS throws him in the corner, but Michaels leaps up over IRS and hits him with Sweet Chin Music and picks up the victory. Shawn then kisses a couple of ladies on the lips in the crowd. OK? Don't forget to buy your Shawn Michaels shirt, glasses and throw in a Razor Ramon shirt while you're at it. 

Match Rating: *1/2

Next week on Raw, it's Bret Hart vs. Hakushi. Yes, please. 

It's time for a new Isaac Yankem video. He rips out a kid's tooth and they blur it out. Gripping television. 

Kama vs. Billy Mack

Kama gets distracted by the referee and Billy hits a missile dropkick. Kama comes back and hits his boring offense. He hits a punch and wins. After a commercial break, they show him going after the same Undertaker fans. Nope.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Vince McMahon is in the ring to interview Diesel. He cracks some jokes about chickens and then brings out his lumberjacks. After hearing from Bam Bam Bigelow and Michaels, they bring out Sid and go into a commercial break. Lawler says he's going to go get his lumberjacks. They're there when we come back, but Sid is still hesitant to get into the ring. They jar back and forth, but Sid never gets into the ring. Diesel's team celebrates and we go off the air. 

Well, this one was pretty underwhelming overall. I wasn't expecting much, so I can't say I'm disappointed, but I am looking forward to In Your House. I've only seen the show once, so this was is still pretty new for me. So that's something.

Overall Rating: 39%

Superstars 7-15-95 Review

Original Airdate: Saturday, July 15th, 1995
Stabler Arena
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2

Man Mountain Rock vs. Black Phantom

Rock is just so unimpressive in the ring. He is a great example of a guy who does not maximize his time in the ring. It's mostly just standing around and wailing his arm. He puts on the Whammy Bar for the submission. I tapped out long before Phantom did.

Match Rating: 1/4*

We get the first "Make A Difference" Fatu vignette. This will work, I guarantee it.

Owen Hart & Yokozuna vs. John Crystal & Mike Khoury

I really thought Owen and Yokozuna would be featured a lot more, but it almost seems like they've been nowhere to be found. Crystal and Khoury hit a double clothesline on Owen, but Owen isn't happy and hits a snap suplex on Crystal. We go to an interview with the Allied Powers. They say they're going to slam Yokozuna and taking the tag team titles. Owen hits a drop toe hold and it leads to a Yokozuna leg drop for the victory. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

It's time for the In Your House Report and it's only $14.95. Jeff Jarrett and Roadie talk about their matches and live debut of his hit single.

Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. Duke Droese

Droese continues his lengthy run of doing absolutely nothing here. Helmsley locks up with Droese and is disgusted by the smell and starts walking back to the locker room. Droese comes behind him and carries him back to the ring. We get some mockery from Droese until Helmsley uses the referee's positioning to level him with a right forearm. Droese hits a sunset flip that features Helmsley doing a fun old school style struggle that eventually leads to a 2 count. Droese hits a back body drop and a spinebuster for another 2 count. Droese goes to the well one too many times and Helmsley hits the Pedigree for the victory. This was nothing special, but Helmsley did a nice job of making it entertaining.

Match Rating: *1/2

They show highlights of the Special Olympics with your favorite WWF Superstars. 

They show the Sid and Ted DiBiase interview from Raw. 

They show the "With My Baby Tonight" video again.

Aldo Montoya vs. Tony DeVito

We get all the spunky mid-90s moves here. Hip tosses, monkey flips, dropkicks and dives over the top. Vince and Dok don't care, as they just keep talking about Jeff Jarrett singing. In a total Vince-ism that is driving me nuts, he keeps saying that In Your House is "approximately" a week away. It's 8 days away. Just say that. There is no approximation. Anyway, Montoya hits a crossbody for the win. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

They show Waylon Mercy talking to his opponent saying that he wants the best out of him and he's going out of Mercy, ya know what I mean? 

Waylon Mercy vs. Jerry Flynn

Mercy looks a little bit better here this week. He dominates the match, as you would expect. Flynn is able to get in a few kicks and then Mercy gets angry and shoves him to the ground. He slaps on the sleeper hold and that's all. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We go back to Todd for more In Your House talk and hear from Diesel. I just typed "here" instead of "hear", which means it's time for this episode to end. 

Next week, it's 1-2-3 Kid and Savio Vega vs. Jacob and Eli Blu.

We see the same Isaac Yankem/Jerry Lawler video from Raw. 

Well, this episode was about as pointless as they come. I mean, they all kind of are. This one just was particularly useless.

Overall Rating: 31%

SmackDown 4-6-07 Review

Original Airdate: Friday, April 6th, 2007
Allen County War Memorial
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2

Mr. Kennedy is on his way to the ring and they show highlights of him winning Money In The Bank. He talks about the Hogan era and the Austin era, but now it's time for the Kennedy era. Out comes Jeff Hardy and Michael Cole says it's a surprise. It's such a surprise that the ring announcer is ready for it.

Mr. Kennedy vs. Jeff Hardy

We get the typical "wrestler A hits a dive on wrestler B" before the commercial break. When we come back, Kennedy capitalizes on a Hardy mistake and then pulls Hardy's entire back against the ring post. Then we get some rest holds from Kennedy to slow this match down. Kennedy misses with a boot to the head and Hardy hits him with a Whisper In The Wind. Hardy goes for the Swanton, but Kennedy rolls out of the way. He kicks out the back of Hardy's legs and hits a DDT for the victory. This looked like a match between two guys that almost killed themselves two nights prior. Kennedy gets the convincing win just one day after Hardy won the World Tag Team Championships. After the match, Hornswoggle comes out and distracts Kennedy for Finlay to attack him. He tells him not to mess with Hornswoggle. 

Match Rating: *1/4

Teddy Long and Kristal are together and she gives him an envelope. She tells him to open it later because she's shy. Mr. Kennedy comes in and says he wants Hornswoggle in a match and Long says we'll have it here next week on SmackDown. He then adds in that Hornswoggle will have Finlay as a partner. After Kennedy leaves, Teddy opens the envelope and says that it's amazing. 

Ashley is with Timbaland and they talk about the new album until Jillian comes and ruins the moment. She sings for him and he shuts it down before mocking her. 

We get the same WrestleMania music video again. 

Chris Benoit vs. Miz

JBL is all over Miz and compares all the work that Benoit put in. Barf. After an initial burst from Benoit, Miz actually does get to take control here. Benoit comes back and starts hitting German suplexes. He goes for the top rope headbutt and out comes MVP from under the ring. He pulls Miz out of the way and Benoit misses. Miz covers Benoit and steals the victory. Kind of surprising that is all it took for the Miz to win.

Match Rating: 3/4*

They show King Booker choosing his wife over Money In The Bank. Booker and Sharmell are backstage and Sharmell says that she felt violated by Matt Hardy. He says that someone is going to get hurt tonight.

King Booker vs. Matt Hardy

It's always nice when they use those multi-man matches to start a mini feud like they have here. It's a little bit of an odd choice since they decided to give the Hardys be a tag team again, but it at least gives us something meaningful tonight. Booker controls the entire beginning of the match here. Hardy fights back and hits the second rope leg drop. Booker comes right back with a big spin kick to the jaw. Hardy is bleeding from his mouth as Booker slows things down. I guess he's gotten enough revenge and now just wants to wrestle? Hardy is able to hit a Side Effect. He goes for a Twist Of Fate, but Booker gets out and goes for a Scissor Kick, but Hardy moves out of the way. Hardy rolls him up and gets a 2 count and then Booker hits him with a super kick for another 2. Hardy goes for another Twist Of Fate, but it's blocked. Hardy is able to turn it into an inside cradle and picks up the win. After the match, Sharmell grabs the microphone and grabs Booker by his hair. She screams at him for losing and calls him a disappointment to both her and himself. She storms off to the back and the crowd chants "You suck" at Booker. 

Match Rating: **

Dave Taylor vs. Kane

Oh boy. William Regal and Taylor both attack Kane outside the ring before the match starts. Kane dominates them and then Regal hits Kane with a chair. Kane no sells it because he's a moron. He throws Taylor over the announce table and then stands in the ring and does his pyro. His music plays, so we have no match. Do we really need to re-build Kane? I wouldn't mind if they sent him away for the rest of his career. 

Match Rating: No Rating

Booker goes up to a crying Sharmell and apologizes. He promises that she has nothing to worry about and then she slaps him. I can honestly say that I don't remember any of this.

We get a Mark Henry vignette for his return. 

London & Kendrick vs. Chavo Guerrero & Gregory Helms

Just before the bell is about to ring, Deuce and Domino come riding out in their convertible to watch the match. So they stuck Chavo in the Cruiserweight division and then give him the title just to have him be in a tag team. Why did they even let the Cruiserweight division go on as long as they did? Did they make a single cent off of it? London and Kendrick are two guys that continued to get wasted on the roster as well. I don't mind Chavo and Helms as a team, even if it makes no sense. They are giving these teams time, which is kind of surprising. The heels get a lengthy heat segment until London gets the hot tag. Their hot tags are among the best of the decade. London hits a top rope mule kick on Helms, but Chavo breaks up the pin attempt. Helms rolls him up, but that's only good for a 2 count. Chavo goes up top, but Kendrick sees him and gets there first. He goes for a superplex, but Helms joins the part. Here comes London and he knocks Chavo to the floor and they hit a cool super Sliced Bread #2 on Helms to pick up the win. That was a solid tag match and they then focus on Deuce and Domino in their car. 

Match Rating: **1/2

They show highlights from the premiere of The Condemned in Detroit.

Next week Paul London and Brian Kendrick will face Deuce and Domino. 

King Booker is backstage and beside himself. 

We get the Hall of Fame video package now. 

Undertaker gets the druid entrance here for his big post-championship interview. Before he even gets a word out of his mouth, Batista's music hits and he's quickly making his way to the ring. Batista says "Congratulations, I want my rematch" and drops the mic. We get no response from Taker and then he gets attacked from behind by Booker. Taker clotheslines him over the top and throws him into the steps. He hits the Tombstone on the announce table and then stands over him holding up his championship. Sharmell comes out and checks on Booker and the medical staff is out as we go off the air. 

This was a little bit of an odd episode. Like the other shows this week, there were the same highlight packages that ate up a considerable amount of time. There were no big surprises and really the only thing truly new was the Booker episode long story. The matches were mostly fine and we thankfully were spared a Kane match. 

Overall Rating: 58%

ECW 4-3-07 Review

Tuesday, April 3rd, 2007
Allen County War Memorial
Fort Wayne, Indiana

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Bobby Lashley is out to kick off the show. They show "highlights" of the segment on Raw of Lashley showing off Vince's bald head. Great.

CM Punk vs. Stevie Richards

Punk gets a nice chant as the match is starting. Stevie gets his offense in, as Punk always allows his opponents to do so. Punk comes back with the running knee in the corner and the bulldog. He hits the Go To Sleep and that's all. This was exactly what you would expect from this match. Punk continues to look good and be a highlight on the sinking ship here.

Match Rating: 1/2*

RVD is talking with Timbaland and then he talks to Extreme Exposé. They tell him that they're going to show some of their dance moves so they can be in his music video. 

Matt Striker tells CM Punk that he is the fastest rising star on ECW. Punk says that he's fine on his own. Marcus Cor Von is saying that you're either with the New Breed or you're against them. 

It's time for Extreme Exposé. They dance with chairs.

We then get the WrestleMania music video. This show is already full of wasted time. 

Hardcore Holly vs. Snitsky

Oh boy. I assure you, no one in this arena wanted to see this match. Holly does get him up for the Alabama Slam, but Snitsky is able to get out of it and hits him with a big boot for the win. If they think that a big boot is going to get Snitsky over, then I think I can tell you how it will end up. After the match, he attacks Holly with a chair. He then puts his arm between the steps and uses a chair to smash it. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

They show the Hall Of Fame video package again.

Extreme Rules 8 Man Tag Match
New Breed vs. ECW Originals

We join the match in progress and Sabu hits a DDT on Striker. The match breaks down immediately and we have weapons being used already. Dreamer ends up getting a drop toe hold into the top of the chair and that helps shift the momentum. That doesn't last long, as RVD and Sabu hit the Rolling Thunder/slingshot leg drop onto Striker with a chair on him. Dreamer has Elijah in the tree of woe and he hits a low dropkick into a chair being held by Sabu. This is chaos in a good way. Cor Von hits the Pounce on Sandman, but then gets hit with a chair by both Sabu and RVD. Thorn comes in and does the same to them. RVD goes up top, but Ariel shakes the ropes and he gets crotched. Thorn tries to capitalize, but Sabu chucks a chair at his head. They set him up on the table and hit a double leg drop through it. Elijah comes from behind and hits the Elijah Express through a table. That looked like it hurt and it's enough for the victory for the New Breed. This was nonstop action from bell to bell. I'm not really sure why they didn't run this one at WrestleMania because it was exactly what people were expecting when they brought back ECW. This was indeed a show saving match and one of the best of the WWECW era.

Match Rating: ***3/4

I assure you that you can literally skip this entire show up until the main event and then just sit back and enjoy the chaos. There is so much filler in the first 40 minutes or so and none of it is particularly interesting, but kudos to all 8 men in the main event for putting on a show. 

Overall Rating: 58%

Monday Night Raw 4-2-07 Review

Monday, April 2nd, 2007 
Nutter Center
Dayton, Ohio

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John Cena is here to kick off the show. He lets us know that the champ is here and then the DX music hits. Out comes Shawn Michaels to head to the ring. He tells Cena that he may have won last night, but he is not the better man. Cena says that he'll face Michaels any time, any place and Michaels of course says tonight in Dayton sounds good. Out comes Jonathan Coachman and says that's not happening tonight. Instead, we're getting a 10 team battle royal for their World Tag Team Championships and it starts now.

World Tag Team Championship Battle Royal

We have King Booker and Finlay, Rob Van Dam and Sabu, Chris Masters and Kenny Dykstra, Cryme Tyme, Deuce and Domino, Elijah Burke and Matt Striker, Eugene and Jim Duggan and the Highlanders, which works out to 9 teams total by my count. Ah yes, the battle royal, my favorite match to recap. RVD gets shoved off the top rope by King Booker and we are down to the final two teams. Finlay finds himself on the apron, but is battling Cena to get back in. Michaels comes running out of nowhere and hits him with Sweet Chin Music to send him to the floor. This was basic, but quick.

Match Rating: 3/4*

Out comes Coach and he says that this was only part 1. He arranged a second 10 team battle royal and starts right now.

World Tag Team Championship Battle Royal

This time it's the Hardys, London and Kendrick, Chavo Guerrero and Gregory Helms, Dave Taylor and William Regal, Johnny Nitro and Miz, Kevin Thorn and Marcus Cor Von, Cade and Murdoch, Sandman and Tommy Dreamer and Val Venis and Viscera. Just on a side note, Val Venis is also human garbage. Did they get some survey results that people liked battle royals or something? A whole lot of nothing until Michaels start hitting Sweet Chin Music on Nitro to eliminate him. He then decides to eliminate his own partner, which guarantees us new champions. We are down to the Hardys and Cade and Murdoch. We get a fairly decent battle here between the two teams. The Hardys hit stereo second rope leg drops and go back to trying to eliminate their foes. Cade gets pushed out of the ring, but I believe it was under the ropes. JR is confused and says it's over, but there's no announcement. The Hardys hit Poetry In Motion to knock Murdoch out of the ring and become your new champions. The beginning was dull, but the ending was actually pretty fun. 

Match Rating: *1/2

Shawn Michaels is interviewed backstage and he said he wanted to show that his focus was only on the WWE Championship. In comes Randy Orton and he tells Shawn he had his shot, so now it's his turn. 

They give us a WrestleMania music video highlighting last nights action. 

We get a first person view of Vince McMahon walking around backstage. Maria and Candice Michelle try to lie and say he looks good. Eugene and Cryme Tyme laugh at him and then Ron Simmons does what he does. Vince is upset and says he's going to take it out on the crowd. 

After the commercial break, out comes Vince and he's wearing a hat. I think he says something about Umaga and Bobby Lashley wrestling again. I don't know, I don't care. As Vince is leaving, out comes Lashley. He rips off Vince's hat and he runs away embarrassed. He puts a towel on his head and Lashley rips that off. He then takes Lawler's crown and JR's hat, but Lashley keeps getting the best of him. He sticks his head between Lillian Garcia's legs, so Lashley rips off her skirt. Vince then runs to the back. This sucked.

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

I wonder how many time Shelton Benjamin and Carlito have wrestled each other in the past two years or so? Carlito hits a springboard elbow and Flair gets the hot tag. Lots of chops ensue. TWGTT goes for that leapfrog move, but Carlio chop blocks Charlie Haas. Flair slaps on the Figure Four and that's all. We get some awkward celebration that goes on too long and makes you think Carlito is going to turn on Flair. The match was a match.

Match Rating: 3/4*

We now get a Hall Of Fame video package. 

Todd Grisham is in the crowd to interview Timbaland. We get an awkward interview where he talks about his new album. 

Out comes Melina for a special photo op. Mickie James is out and attacks her, hitting a DDT. 

Great Khali vs. Super Crazy

Crazy hits a missile dropkick, which does very little. Khali hits a chop to the top of his head and hits the double chokeslam for the easy victory. Were you expecting anything else?

Match Rating: 1/4*

Vince is wearing a backwards hat and talking to Armando Alejandro Estrada. He's all irritated, so he makes the main event a handicap match with it being Armando and Umaga vs. Lashley.

Maria interviews the Hardys backstage. They cut a pretty vanilla babyface interview.

Out comes Edge and he's limping. He cuts a generic promo and says that he'll be champion. Lots of nothing going on here tonight. 

Handicap Match For The ECW Championship
Umaga & Armando Alejandro Estrada vs. Bobby Lashley

They start the match as you would expect here, with Armando doing just enough to help out Umaga. Umaga hits the Samoan drop, but they are working at a snail's pace here. Lashley hits a DDT, but his head is hard, so he no sells it. This match stinks and the crowd is dead for it. Now it has me fighting sleep and that's never a good combo. Umaga hits the butt in the face and he goes for the Samoan Spike. Lashley counters it and eventually knocks him down with a Spear. Umaga accidentally hits Armando with a splash in the corner and Lashley then hits Armando with the Dominator for the win. This was not good. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

For a post-Mania Raw, this was pretty bad. Outside of the Hardys winning the title, nothing of note happened. There were no surprises or any memorable segments. Instead we got a lot of paint by the numbers matches and promos. 

Overall Rating: 39%

NXT 7-1-15 Review

Original Airdate: Wednesday, July 1st, 2015
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida

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Vaudevillains vs. Dash Wilder & Scott Dawson

We get some good teamwork from both teams early on. It's good to see Dash and Dawson get some more TV time, even if it's in an obvious losing effort. Like a lot of NXT during this era, just as the action is getting good, we get an abrupt finish. Gotch hits the Whirling Dervish and that's all. Whatever.

Match Rating: *

They hype up Beast In The East and talk about the main event of Samoa Joe and Finn Balor vs. Kevin Owens and Rhyno tonight. 

We go to Becky Lynch to hear about her recent injury. She sprained her hip flexor at TakeOver and she has to take a few weeks off. 

Baron Corbin vs. Tucker Knight

Knight is a big boy, so I guess that makes this a little different than his usual squash. The match is the same except the crowd hates him now. Next.

Match Rating: 1/4*

William Regal is listening to Enzo, Big Cass and Vaudevillains arguing in his office. He tells them to stop and let's them know that they will face off to determine the #1 contenders for the NXT Tag Team Championships. 

We get the final chapter of the behind the scenes look at Finn Balor. This time they focus on him arriving in NXT and choosing his character. These have been well done. 

Emma vs. Carmella

Dana Brooke is out with Emma if anyone cares. This one follows the typical formula for these matches. Emma takes control early on, Carmella makes a short comeback and then Emma put on the Emma Lock for the victory. Carmella does seem to be improving and Emma is a solid hand. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

We go to Bull Dempsey yelling at a vending machine. Just as he's about to smash it with a bench, Regal grabs the bench from him. Regal uses a finger to wipe chocolate off his face and licks it. He tells him to get a hold of himself or he won't like the outcome. 

They show an interview with Jason Jordan after his loss last week. He's upset and says that he's being forced to do this. Chad Gable comes in and says that he's looking like a loser, but he wants to help prove that he's not one. Chad says he's ready, willing and Gable. 

Tyler Breeze vs. Tye Dillinger

Dillinger shows off some aggression by stomping a mudhole in the corner. He hits a scoop slam and the crowd is getting into the 10 gimmick, even though there is no mention of it. Breeze hits a hurricanrana and unleashes some right hands. He hits the Beauty Shot and that's all. This was just the reverse of the Emma match. I'm not really sure why they don't let some of these matches go on for more than a couple of minutes so that the crowd can get to know some of the newer talent. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

Dana and Emma are backstage. Sasha Banks is wondering what they are doing in her locker room. They say that they are taking over the NXT Women's division, but Sasha says she'll take them both on. Dana wonders who would ever want to be Sasha's partner, but Sasha says she will find one. 

Finn Balor & Samoa Joe vs. Rhyno & Kevin Owens

Surprisingly we get Finn and Owens early on. I figured they'd tease it until the end of the match. Balor is dumped outside, so that means it's time for a commercial break. We get even more Finn and Owens. Owens hits the Five Knuckle Shuffle, but Balor counters out of the Attitude Adjustment and hits a double stomp. Owens has so many feuds going on at this moment, which is something you don't see too often. Joe gets the hot tag and goes to town on Rhyno until Owens interferes. Owens charges Joe in the corner, but Joe catches him in midair and slams him down. Balor is up top, but Rhyno knocks him off the top. Owens hits the Pop Up Powerbomb on Joe and a superkick on Finn. Finn comes back with the Pelé Kick. Rhyno goes for the Gore, but Balor moves out of the way and hits Owens with it. Balor hits the running dropkick on Owens. He hits the Coup de Grace on Owens and gets the pretty shocking victory here. I did not expect that at all. This was the type of action and storytelling I have been looking for on the weekly TV show. Good main event.

Match Rating: ***

This was a big improvement. They still have too many short matches that don't let the lesser known stars show much, but at least this week they were more entertaining matches. 

Overall Rating: 59%