Superstars 8-19-95 Review

Original Airdate: Saturday, August 19th, 1995
Portland Civic Center
Portland, Maine

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They show a recap of Sid attacking Shawn Michaels on Raw and being saved by Razor Ramon. 

Razor Ramon vs. Roy Raymond

You've got to love the TV tapings that have episodes that air after the pay-per-view. I love that Razor always feels the need to put the abdominal stretch on in his squash matches. This one doesn't even last 5 seconds and then he hits the super back suplex. He signals for the Razor's Edge and by golly, he hits it. Quick and easy. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Not only did us kids in the 90s need Stridex pads. We needed them super sized. They're bringing us SummerSlam and I bet they are extremely proud to be hosting King Mabel vs. Diesel in the main event. Shawn thinks that Razor saved him because he wants to make sure he makes it to SummerSlam in one piece. Apparently wild horses couldn't keep him from showing up. Todd tells us Barry Horowitz being on a pay per view is something that can only happen in the World Wrestling Federation. WCW agrees. 

Jacob & Eli Blu vs. Paul Van Dale & Tim McNeany

We join this match in progress. Dok Hendrix says that the key at SummerSlam will be Uncle Zebekiah and right on cue, he causes a distraction that leads to them hitting the double team clothesline for the victory. This is how they are at their best. Quick and chaotic. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

They show a clip of Henry Godwinn slopping Ted DiBiase.

Kama vs. Bert Centeno

Kama hits a back body drop and of course the creatures of the night are here. It's pretty sad that Undertaker only has 2 fans. Kama hits a splash off the second rope for the victory. He goes over and rips up the wreath in the ring. The male "creature" goes into the ring and picks up the wreath. Kama sees it and goes back and attacks him. Other than the lady in the Shawn Michaels gear in the first row and the female "creature", no one cares about this. Then the lights flicker, but nothing happens. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We go to Goldust for another vignette. I think these would have worked better if they would have found a studio that they could have actually filmed on rather than a green screen. 

Fatu vs. Phil Apollo

Of all the midcarders on the roster at this time, I wonder how many thought Fatu would probably end up being the biggest star of the Attitude Era. After a delayed and pointless beginning, Fatu hits a bulldog and top rope splash for the easy win. They continue to have nothing for him. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Speaking of pointless, it's time for Dean Douglas. This time he's in the production truck that looks like it's from 1987. He watches Shawn Michaels against Jerry Lawler from Raw. He criticizes Michaels for pandering to the crowd. Just let him wrestle because I can't take these anymore. 

Gorilla Monsoon is now here at the announce desk. He says that the creature of the night. He acknowledges that he should have never stepped in the ring, but Kama shouldn't have done what he did. He said he thought about suspending Kama, but that wouldn't be fair to Undertaker. So instead of that or a fine, he has decided that the match at SummerSlam will now be a Casket Match. 

King Mabel vs. Bam Bam Bigelow

How quickly Bam Bam has fallen down the card. Mabel attacks Bam Bam on his way into the ring. Bam Bam fights it off and pushes Mabel into Mo on the apron. Mabel comes back and hits a big slam for a 2 count. Mabel hits a big back body drop on Bam Bam and they debate if Diesel would be able to Jackknife Mabel at SummerSlam. Mabel hits his rolling kick and gets another 2 count. Bam Bam makes a comeback, but misses with the top rope headbutt. Mabel hits the belly to belly suplex for the victory. This could have been a lot worse. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

Next week it will be Bret Hart vs. Rad Radford. They are pulling out all the stops. 

I'm starting to remember why people don't like this era. We have to watch the same Isaac Yankem vignette. They even give us a Dok and Vince reaction shot. 

Bob Holly vs. Jason Ahrndt

We get a weird commercial break that they don't even acknowledge. Either that or it was a glitch with Peacock. Holly dominates and hits the top rope crossbody for the easy win. This was just to remind you that Holly exists before he loses to Helmsley at SummerSlam. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We go to Todd Pettengill again and talk about SummerSlam. Bret Hart will see Lawler and Yankem in the SummerSlam. Don't forget about the Casket Match!

They show the Kama angle again. Next week Undertaker will be here for an interview. 

Well, this episode stunk. I'm not sure how much more Yankem and Douglas I can handle with the vignettes. There is some good stuff coming up here, but those two are particularly getting on my nerves more than most characters. We are just a couple of weeks away from the debut of Nitro. I'm sure that won't change 

Overall Rating: 31%

SmackDown 5-4-07 Review

Original Airdate: Friday, May 4th, 2007
BJCC Arena
Birmingham, Alabama

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Boogeyman vs. William Regal

As this match stumbles on, all I can think about is how much longer of Boogeyman do I have left? Regal hits him with a boot to the face and then throws him into the ring post. Boogeyman makes a comeback and hits his finisher, but Dave Taylor comes in and breaks up the pin. That's against the rules. They beat up little Boogeyman, so Kane comes out because he's a moron and chases them out of the ring. Why was any of this booked for television?

Match Rating: 1/4*

After a recap of the bad ECW Championship match, Teddy Long is backstage with Dusty Rhodes. He asks if he'll be his assistant, but Dusty thought he'd be offering him his GM. MVP walks in and Long thinks he's there to apply to be his assistant. MVP says that he has assistants who have assistants. MVP says that if he doesn't get a rematch for the US Championship, he's going to sit out the rest of his contract and collect his paycheck. Teddy says that he'll get one if he wins his match tonight against Kane. MVP isn't happy, but walks out of the room and Sgt. Slaughter, Brooklyn Brawler and Miz are waiting outside his office. Miz jokes that MVP must not have gotten the job. 

Brian Kendrick vs. Domino

Kendrick clotheslines Domino over the top and hits the dive through the ropes. Back in the ring, Domino hits a leaping reverse elbow drop. He goes up to the top rope, but Kendrick gets his boot up. He then avoids a splash in the corner. Deuce gets up on the apron, but London gets up there. He knees London in the injured ribs and knocks him off the apron. Kendrick uses Deuce for the Sliced Bread #2 and picks up the victory. This was a pretty standard match with Kendrick trying his best here. 

Match Rating: *

Mr. Kennedy vs. Matt Hardy

SmackDown typically likes to put a competitive, longer match in the middle of the show, so my guess is that this is it. We get a pretty 50/50 start that leads to Mr. Kennedy being dumped out of the ring for the expected commercial break. When we come back, Kennedy finds his opening as Michael Cole loves to say. Now JBL is telling us that SmackDown is the "premiere jewel" of the CW Network. Can you name one other show that was ever on CW Network? I'm not sure that's much of a compliment. The action spills outside and Kennedy is able to kick Hardy into the steel steps. That was well executed, as they got about as loud of a sound out of the steps as you could possibly get. The action picks up a little bit, with Kennedy hitting a rolling senton and Hardy kicking out at 2. Kennedy goes for the Kenton Bomb, but Hardy gets his knees up and Kennedy kicks out at 2. Hardy goes for the Twist Of Fate, but Kennedy pushes him out of the way. They battle back again and Hardy hits the Twist Of Fate and picks up the semi-surprising victory. They love having the Money In The Bank winner lose matches. This was a solid match, just nowhere near as good as JBL was trying to tell us it was. 

Match Rating: **3/4

They show highlights of the Batista/Undertaker match at Backlash. Teddy Long then announces that next week we will get a decisive rematch in a steel cage. 

Maryse welcomes us back to SmackDown. 

Jimmy Wang Yang vs. Gregory Helms

Hey, it's two guys they no longer care about. Neither guy is really doing anything here to change that either. Yang blocks a superplex and hits a moonsault for the victory. Extremely disappointing match from two guys that are capable of much better here. However, I can't really blame them for doing nothing since the company clearly doesn't care that they are on the roster. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Batista is out with some bandages on his head. Batista wonders if the World Heavyweight Championship is worth all this destruction. He then says he should have stepped out his body and beat himself up for thinking of such a stupid question because of course it's worth it. That one probably sounded better in his head. 

Mark Henry is coming back to unintentionally hurt more people. 

Finlay vs. Miz

It doesn't take long for Hornswoggle to come out and he pokes Miz in the eyes. Back in the ring, Finlay takes off the top turnbuckle pad. This distracts the referee and Hornswoggle is thrown into Miz in the corner. Miz gets an opening and hits his signature clothesline in the corner. He goes under the ring to look for Hornswoggle, but he sneak attacks him from behind and hits him with the shillelagh. That leads to Miz chasing him and getting hit with a Finlay clothesline. Finlay goes off the second rope, but runs into a boot from the Miz. Miz gets tripped up from behind and dragged under the ring by Hornswoggle. Finlay rolls in the ring and wins by countout. They did their best to try to make Miz look legit here and it semi-worked. The match was fine.

Match Rating: *

Undertaker says that next week, Batista is stepping into the devil's playground and he will rest in peace. 

They show still photos of Vince McMahon vs. Bobby Lashley and hype up the Rob Van Dam vs. Vince match.

MVP vs. Kane

Every time I have to watch Kane wrestle, I question my sanity. Just watching him here makes me wonder how he lasted another decade. He gets gassed within the first 45 seconds of the match. He ducks his head about 30 seconds early like an idiot and then sits there waiting to be kicked. He has a stupid gimmick, so he gets to pretend like nothing hurts him and throws MVP out of the ring into the commercial break. Here's hoping we just see the end of the match when we come back. MVP gets in his 45 seconds of offense and Kane makes his comeback. Kane hits a side suplex just like another crappy wrestler, Dino Bravo and gets a 2 count. Out come William Regal and Dave Taylor for the distraction. Regal sneaks in some brass knuckles and hits Kane with him. MVP hits the Playmaker and picks up the victory. This stunk as you would expect, but at least Kane lost. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

The Hardy/Kennedy match was good, but hardly enough to save the show or anything like that. No Kane match ever needs to be over 10 minutes long and absolutely no one cared about it. The other matches were a whole lot of nothing as well. This was a complete throwaway show. 

Overall Rating: 41%

Off The Grid, Volume 47: Clash Of The Champions XXIII Review

Wednesday, June 16th, 1993
Norfolk Scope
Norfolk, Virginia

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Off The Grid, Volume 47:

We get a quick intro video and then go to Tony Schiavone and Jesse Ventura. They talk about Ric Flair's return and announce that Paul Orndorff will not wrestle tonight due to injury. Dick Slater will take his spot against Ron Simmons.

Ron Simmons vs. Dick Slater

Orndorff is with Slater and he is getting a ton of heat. I have to say, for a guy who had a pretty big impact in the business, he really doesn't get talked about a lot. It's mostly all Simmons to start, but when he gets in the three point stance, Orndorff grabs his ankle and provides the distraction needed for Slater to clothesline him. A swinging neckbreaker gets Slater a 2 count. Simmons ducks a clothesline and hits a powerslam for the victory? Really? This was very short despite them having the crowd in the palm of their hands.

Match Rating: 1/2*

We go to Eric Bischoff and Larry Zbyszko. They say nothing of worth and then Bischoff interviews Michael Buffer, who is a much better ring announcer than he is an interviewer.

Marcus Bagwell vs. Steven Regal

This is the beginning of the Lord Steven Regal character for him. Regal goes to work on the leg of Bagwell. Bagwell is able to hit a mule kick to get out of a leg hold, but Regal slows down the momentum and goes back to work on the leg. Bagwell bounces back and gets a couple of quick pin attempts. Bagwell hits a clothesline, but then we get a total botched finish with Regal reversing a roll up and using the tights for the confusing finish. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Maxx Payne is with Bischoff and gives a terrible promo about giving Johnny B. Badd his Baddblaster back. Badd comes out and Payne shoots it in his face, leading us back to commercial again as Badd is in pain. Or is it payne?

When we come back, they announce Badd can't compete. Payne is in the ring and then Z Man comes out gets in his face. Z Man takes it to Payne, but they Payne slaps on the Payne Killer. Payne is just awful. 

NWA World Heavyweight Championship Match
2 Cold Scorpio vs. Barry Windham

Any time that you see this title during this era is just a reminder of how dumb WCW was. After a pretty even start, Windham connects with a kick and a top rope clothesline to the approval of adult males in the crowd. He hits a DDT, but Scorpio is able to get his shoulder up at 2. They're doing a nice job of having Windham being the heavy favorite and Scorpio playing the role of the underdog that just won't quit. They sprinkle in some nearfalls, with Windham getting upset. Scorpio hits a back suplex and both men are slow to get up. Windham goes for the superplex, but Scorpio throws him off and hits a splash for a 2 count. Scorpio hits a hurricanrana and then a superkick. This is pretty great. Scorpio hits a slingshot somersault splash, but again Windham kicks out. He hits a missile dropkick and another 2 count. He goes for another slingshot move, but this time Windham catches him with a right hand. Windham hits the leaping DDT and retains his title. That was fantastic stuff in a spot where I was not expecting it. 

Match Rating: ****

Bischoff talks with the team of Sting, Dustin Rhodes and British Bulldog and they think they are the greatest team of 3 in history. 

Rick Rude, Vader & Sid vs. Sting, Dustin Rhodes & British Bulldog

The crowd is very much into this. They've been pretty great all night actually. This one does actually have some serious star power too. Sting tosses Rude into Sid and Vader, but they catch him. They throw him at Sting, but he moves out of the way. We get another miscommunication with Vader trying to splash Rhodes, but he moves out of the way and he lands on Rude. We then end up with Sid and Bulldog, with Sid ending up in the wrong corner and eating some clotheslines. We then get Rhodes hammering away on Vader in the corner and then he hits a vertical suplex. Rhodes misses with a top rope elbow drop and the heels finally get their spot. After taking a short beatdown, Rhodes is able to catch Vader off the second rope into a powerslam. Vader is able to tag in Rude, but Rhodes reverses a piledriver. Sid breaks up the pin before it happens and distraction prevents the referee from seeing the tag to STing. We get mayhem now and all six men are brawling. Sting misses a leap and lands on the guardrail. Vader smashes Rhodes with a briefcase behind the referee's back and picks up the win. After the match, Vader hits a powerbomb on Bulldog. I'm taking the announcers at their word because for some reason the cameras don't show it. Sting runs them out with the briefcase while his two partners are on the mat in pain. This was another fun match. 

Match Rating: ***1/2

We go back to Bischoff and Zbyszko to talk about the main event. They add nothing. 

Two Out Of Three Falls Match For The NWA And WCW Tag Team Championships
Ric Flair & Arn Anderson vs. Hollywood Blonds

This is an ultimate "cool heel" match. Austin makes fun of Arn's gut and that leads to a hot tag to Flair and a strong reaction from the crowd. To say that Flair is over with the crowd is an understatement. He gets another hot tag and takes on both opponents. He ducks a clothesline and hits a leaping forearm on Pillman to pick up the first fall. I'm not sure that I remember Flair ever using a forearm like that before. We get a commercial break before the second fall starts. The Blonds take it to Flair outside the ring. After a heat segment, Arn gets a hot tag and hits the spinebuster on Austin, but Pillman breaks up the pin attempt. This leads to another beatdown on Arn and another hot tag to Flair. I think they may have gone this route one too many times here, as the crowd isn't quite as hot this time. FLair is setting up the Figure Four and out comes Barry Windham. He comes off the top rope and hits Flair, which causes a disqualification for the second fall. Since it was a DQ on the final fall, the belts do not change hands. Out comes Paul Roma and he helps make the save. He is everyone's favorite Horsemen after all. Windham cuts a promo on Flair, so Flair attacks him and we have a pull apart brawl to close the show. The match was solid, but lacked that little extra to make it great.

Match Rating: ***1/4

I am no diehard WCW fan, but this was really good. I loved that Windham match probably more than most and the six man tag was a lot of fun too. The first two matches were forgettable, but this was a really strong show for free TV. Thumbs up here. 

Overall Rating: 81%

ECW 5-1-07 Review

Tuesday, May 1st, 2007
BJCC Arena
Birmingham, Alabama

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We get a still photo recap of Vince McMahon winning the ECW Championship. I am dreading these upcoming episodes. 

Lashley comes out to the ring and he wants a rematch right now. Instead, out comes Armando Alejandro Estrada in a neck brace and wheelchair. He informs Lashley that he can't touch Vince, Shane or Umaga or he forfeits his rematch. Lashley doesn't like that and shoves Estrada into the steps. 

Elijah Burke talks about what CM Punk did to all of them. He says tonight, they need to all follow his lead. 

CM Punk vs. Kevin Thorn

Punk hits a leg lariat right off the bat, but Thorn is back up and trapping Punk in the corner with kicks. Punk quickly battles back and catches him with a kick to the head. He hits a Go To Sleep and that's it? That was a burial for Thorn there. After the match, the rest of the New Breed just goes to the back. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Extreme Exposé shows up and they spray silly string on each other. No one cares. 

Elijah Burke tells Thorn that anyone of them could have beat Punk, so Thorn quits. 

In case you forgot, Snitsky still exists. I'll still never get what they thought they were going to do with him. 

Matt Striker & Marcus Cor Von vs. Major Brothers

All right, the Major Brothers. I wasn't expecting them here, so I guess that's a fun surprise. Unfortunately this episode is only half over even though it feels like I have been watching it for 2 hours. Cor Von turns a press slam into a fall away slam on Zack Ryder. I'm not even going to pretend to know their Major names. The Majors then get a couple of nearfalls, but the crowd just doesn't care. They've already botched Cor Von. We then get a reverse crossbody into a pin on Striker and they get the 3 count for the surprise win. Burke gets in Striker's face after the match and Striker walks away defeated. I mean I guess this was fun, but it wasn't like the 1-2-3 Kid/Razor Ramon or anywhere even close. It doesn't help that they just did the Santino Marella angle either. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

If you didn't think this episode sucked enough, here's Vince. He rambles on about something and then brings out the ECW originals. He asks them what they think of him as ECW Champion. He then asks who wants a title shot against him next week. They all do, so he decides that the four of them will fight tonight and the winner will face him next week. He then has the staff bring out a boatload of weapons as we go into a commercial break. 

Extreme Rules 4 Way Dance ECW Championship #1 Contender Match
Tommy Dreamer vs. Sandman vs. Sabu vs. Rob Van Dam

RVD starts throwing the weapons in the ring and then he and Sabu hit the Rolling Thunder/leg drop combo on Dreamer. Sabu hits an awkward leap off a chair and takes RVD down to the floor. Sandman hits a bullog on Dreamer into a trash can for a 2 count. Dreamer goes to confront Vince, but ends up taking a chair from him and hits the dropkick into the face of Sandman. RVD then hits a back suplex on a chair on Sabu. RVD hits the skateboard kick with a chair into the head of Sabu. Dreamer hits a piledriver on RVD and he does his big bounce bump. Sabu hits the triple jump moonsault on Sandman, but he kicks out. Sabu throws a table into the ring. Sabu puts Sandman on the table and starts climbing. Dreamer beats him there and superplexes Sabu through Sandman and the table. RVD hits the 5 Star Frog Splash on Sandman and picks up the victory. I think we all knew who was winning this one. This was pretty sloppy and lacking of just about any psychology whatsoever. 

Match Rating: *

Another week, another dud of an episode. 

Overall Rating: 35%

Monday Night Raw 4-30-07 Review

Monday, April 30th, 2007 
Gaylord Entertainment Center
Nashville, Tennessee

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork22

The new ECW Champion, Vince McMahon, approaches John Cena being the piece of trash that he is. Cena makes fun of him and then Shawn Michaels reminds Cena of how lucky he is to be champ. Michaels wants a rematch now and Cena agrees. Vince says Shawn has to win tonight to in order to get his title shot next week. 

Edge vs. Randy Orton

This sure seems like a throwaway, but I'm sure it will end up being more of a storyline device than anything. After some pretty standard stuff, we get a commercial break. When we return, Edge hits a Spear to Orton on the apron and that sends him crashing onto the announce table. Edge throws him back in the ring and gets a 2 count. The crowd is actually chanting for Randy. Edge goes off the top rope and gets hit with an Orton dropkick. Both men get to their knees and trade right hands. Orton gets a couple of nearfalls and then we get a double crossbody spot. They trade a couple of close calls and then Edge counters a RKO into an Impaler. Orton is busted open pretty big here. Edge goes for a Spear, but Orton leapfrogs him and gets ready for a RKO. Edge blocks it and hits a Spear for the victory. I did not expect that here. I figured it would just be some sort of DQ finish and a 5 minute match, so this was a pleasant surprise. 

Match Rating: ***

We get a sit down interview with Santino Marella and Todd Grisham. They show the highlights of Marella winning the Intercontinental Championship and he plays the character a lot cheesier than he would eventually. He's making his first title defense next week. 

They show an interview from Backlash with Rob Van Dam talking about how stupid it was for Vince McMahon to win the ECW Championship. 

We go to Vince and Shane backstage. Vince thanks Shane for last night and Shane tells him that he loves him. He lets Shane hold the title.

Maria is with Edge and Edge is angry. He's not happy that Michaels has another title shot against Cena. He's going to get himself in the title picture whether anyone likes it or not. 

Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch are joining the announce team for the next match. 

Jeff Hardy vs. Johnny Nitro

Cade and Murdoch are acting like good sports about their loss, even complimenting Jeff. We get a pretty even battle to start and then Jeff hits a back body drop off the top rope. He hits the Swanton and that's all for Nitro, who is basically just a jobber at this point. After the match, Cade and Murdoch help announce Jeff as the winner and ask the crowd to give it up. They then say they have all the respect in the world for him after last night and ask to shake Jeff's hand. Jeff doesn't take the bait and heads to the back. This was essentially a squash.

Match Rating: 3/4*

We get exclusive still photos of the WWE Championship match last night at Backlash. 

We see clips of Vince winning the ECW Championship and that leads to Shane coming out to the ring. He brings out Umaga. 

Umaga vs. Rob Van Dam

We join the match in progress here and RVD hits a running spin kick in the corner. He goes up top, but Umaga shoves him into the barricade. These two could probably have had a great match under the right circumstances. Umaga hits the Samoan drop, but RVD battles back to put on a sleeper hold. He keeps it on for an extended amount of time and it spills outside. Umaga finally breaks it by slamming RVD into the steps. Umaga misses with a splash and RVD hits Rolling Thunder, but Umaga is able to kick out with authority. RVD then hits the 5 Star Frog Splash, but Umaga caught him in the throat with a chokehold. He picks RVD up and hits the Samoan Spike for the victory. That was a clever finish and looked better on the replay than it did live. This was a pretty good match after the slow start. This has to be one of the better in ring Raws in some time not including the Michaels/Cena Raw that was a one match wonder.

Match Rating: **3/4

Carlito apologizes backstage to Ric Flair about last week and tells him that he got them a match with The World's Greatest Tag Team tonight. Torrie Wilson questions Carlito if it's a good idea. 

Shawn Michaels' music hits, but then we see him backstage leaning against a wall with blood coming out of his ear and being checked on by officials. 

When we come back from commercial, there are more people around Shawn and they are trying to figure out who did it. Jonathan Coachman accuses John Cena, so Cena lifts him up by the neck. Vince comes in and wants to know who did this. 

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

I guess it was nice of these four guys to be ready early. Shelton tries a variation of a Codebreaker, but whiffs with the boot to the face. Regardless, it's enough for them to gain the momentum and go to work on Carlito. Flair gets a hot tag and it leads to the obvious heel turn for Carlito. He levels Flair and then attacks him while Torrie looks on in horror. Carlito walks up the ramp and Flair chases him and attacks him from behind. Every time I see Flair from this era, I have no idea how he wrestled recently. This was all storyline. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

We then go back to Edge who is knocked out and being checked out by officials. 

Mr. Kennedy is out now and asks the crowd who would like to see Mr. Kennedy cash in his briefcase right here tonight. He then shuts it down and says that it's not going to happen. He then tells us that he is going to cash in at WrestleMania 24. I bet he won't.

We go to the back and this time Randy Orton is laid out. The mystery continues.

Coach runs in and interrupts Vince. Vince tells him to bring Cena out to the ring. 

Melina & Victoria vs. Candice Michelle & Mickie James

We eventually get to a brawl between Melina and Mickie, with Melina getting the better of it. Mickie knocks Victoria off the apron though and then starts brawling with Melina again. Victoria trips up Mickie and throws her back in the ring. Candice gets a hot tag and they are trying really hard to convince us that she's good. It leads to a spot where Victoria and Melina are going to double suplex Candice, but Mickie comes in and breaks it up and it leads to a roll up victory for the heroes. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

John Cena is out and says that if you want some, come get some. After a long wait, out comes one of the biggest letdowns of all time, the Great Khali. Cena runs out and attacks him and Khali is just terrible at it. Khali then destroys him until Cena gets him up for the FU. Khali gets out of it and he hits the double chokeslam. He stands on top of Cena and celebrates before heading to the back. 

This was a good episode, even with the Khali reveal. The pacing was good and we got a couple of good matches. I like when the episodes have some sort of storyline beyond the usual and this one fit the bill. 

Overall Rating: 64%

NXT 8-5-15 Review

Original Airdate: Wednesday, August 5th, 2015
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida

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Charlotte vs. Bayley

I think I can live with this one as an opener. The two competitors shake hands and we're underway. We get some standard, but solid wrestling into the commercial break. Bayley hits a top rope hurricanrana and the crowd is getting into this one. We get a cool segment where Bayley leaps over Charlotte's back by using the turnbuckles and hits a Bayley To Belly for a 2 count. Bayley runs into a boot from Charlotte and then gets the back of her head thrown into the bottom turnbuckle. They battle up on the second turnbuckle and Bayley is able to hit a super Bayley To Belly for the victory. This was a little out of nowhere, so I'm not sure it had as much of an impact as it could have, but it was still a cool moment and a good match.

Match Rating: ***1/4

We get a pre-taped sit down interview with Kevin Owens hosted by Michael Cole in an empty arena. Owens makes a "real man's man" reference, so this was a success. Owens has watched Regal throughout his career and doesn't trust him or any referee that will be assigned. Owens wants it to be a ladder match to make sure the match is fair. Cole asks Owens if he can beat Finn Balor and Owens takes off his mic and gives it to Cole before walking away. 

We go to Bull Dempsey going to the gym and it just ends with a "To be continued...". 

Baron Corbin vs. Steve Cutler

End Of Days and that's all. I'm sure there was more, I just didn't want to watch it.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Bayley goes into Regal's office and she wants a NXT Women Championship match. Regal says she deserves one, but she's not the only one. Next week, Bayley will face Becky Lynch to determine a #1 contender for NXT TakeOver. 

Tyler Breeze vs. Aaron Solo

Breeze hits a Beauty Shot and that's all. This continues his "I want better competition" gimmick. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

After the match, Regal comes out and he says that he found an opponent for Breeze at TakeOver. It's none other than Jushin Thunder Liger. We then get a video package of Liger's highlights. Liger is 50 years old here in 2015.

We get a quick Apollo Crews video. 

Finn Balor gets a pre-taped interview, but he gets stuck with Byron Saxton in a locker room. Not much to report here.

Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder vs. Hype Bros

This one feels rushed from the get-go. Both teams do get in a little bit of offense in, but it's pretty obvious who is going over here. The Hype Bros hit a double team Rough Ryder for the victory. After the match, Dash and Dawson attack the victors and hit their finisher on Ryder. This was fine for the time given.

Match Rating: 3/4*

Regal is now with the Vaudevillains to inform them that they will get another shot at Blake and Murphy at TakeOver. 

Samoa Joe vs. Rhyno

Joe seems to have lost a little steam, but it may just be because I feel like I haven't been able to watch as much NXT lately. Joe knocks Rhyno out of the ring and hits an early dive. This one is a little flat so far. It feels like they are just kind of doing moves. Joe hits a second rope kick for a 2 count. Rhyno comes back with a belly to belly suplex and sets up for the Gore. He runs into a boot, but then eventually comes back with a clothesline. Rhyno climbs the ropes, but Joe catches him with an enzuigiri and hits the Muscle Buster for the victory. This was a pretty big disappointment. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

This one started off hot with the Bayley match, but everything else was just filler for me. The TakeOver card is shaping up nicely, but it seems like the focus of the weekly show is losing it's star power because of it. 

Overall Rating: 54%

Monday Night Raw 8-14-95 Review

Monday, August 14th, 1995
Worcester Centrum
Worcester, Massachusetts

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork22

We get a quick hype video for the Jerry Lawler/Shawn Michaels match tonight. We are live here, which typically results in a better show. However, Ted DiBiase is the guest announcer tonight with Lawler wrestling. 

Doink vs. Waylon Mercy

Ah yes, Doink still exists. I know it is easy to make fun of the smaller arenas that WWF was running at this time, but this particular one is that old school arena that just works for wrestling. Plus, it's not a high school gym. Doink outsmarts Mercy early on, but that just makes Mercy mad, ya know what I mean? He slaps on the sleeper hold pretty quickly and that's all. Doink was hardly even a credible character at this point, so it's not that surprising that he jobbed so quickly. This was just a squash.

Match Rating: 1/4*

We finally get a look at what Goldust looks like. They show him in front of the Warner Brothers movie studio and the Tiny Toons logo clearly in the background. His outfit is quite a bit different from what he would eventually wear. He also talks a little more like Dustin Rhodes than what he eventually does for the debut. 

DiBiase makes a bacon joke about Henry Godwinn and wouldn't you know it, he walks down to confront him. DiBiase tries to walk him to the back, but Godwinn shoves his arm off his shoulder and tells him to get on his knees. DiBiase does and then Godwinn tells him to squeal like a pig. Godwinn then dumps the slop bucket all over DiBiase into the commercial break. 

Smoking Gunns vs. Cody Wade & Bill Garrett

Dok Hendrix has now filled in for DiBiase. They announce that the Gunns will face Jacob and Eli Blu at SummerSlam. Bart goes for a hip toss on Garrett and he doesn't comply, leading to some boos from the crowd. Billy looks like he's maybe a little upset about it and Garrett tags in Wade. This just leads to him getting the finisher and that's all. Gunn squashes are usually pretty good, but their opponents sucked here and this was 90 seconds long. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Now it's time for Dean Douglas. He critiques Bret Hart for not hooking his opponent's legs and arguing with the referee. Douglas was so bad in these vignettes. 

We get a live interview with Shawn Michaels and he makes a lame Humpy Dumpty joke about gyrating. 

Next week, we'll be getting Undertaker vs. Tatanka. 

Hunter Hearst Helsmley vs. Jeff Hardy

Jeff Hardy is 12 years old here. They are going quickly here through the card tonight, as Hunter easily defeats Jeff with the Pedigree. They try to hype up his match with Bob Holly, but there is no story there. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We go to Todd Pettengill for the SummerSlam Insider. Todd announces Barry Horowitz and Skip will square off one more time at SummerSlam. They also announce 1-2-3 Kid vs. Hakushi. Todd hypes up Gorilla Monsoon as booking the show like we would. 

Henry Godwinn vs. Ross Greenberg

Godwinn's music doesn't really say babyface, so he doesn't get much of a reaction despite what he did earlier in the show. He quickly hits a Slop Drop for the win. After the match, Greenberg gets slopped. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We go to Isaac Yankem's office again and a lady screaming in pain. The performance here by Glenn Jacobs is embarrassing, but not as embarrassing as him as a mayor and human being. 

Savio Vega and 1-2-3 Kid are playing "Mat Caps" and you can buy a whole sheet of them for $19.00 (plus $3.95 shipping and handling). Plus, you get 3 months of WWF Magazine!

Jerry Lawler vs. Shawn Michaels

As over as Shawn is, you can see a lot of males in the crowd not especially into the gimmick. Bret Hart was always right in that regard. I liked Shawn, but it was certainly not for the gimmick he was doing here. Shawn ducks his head too early and Lawler sets him up for the piledriver. Shawn blocks it during the move and I have to say that I don't believe that I've seen that done before. Out comes Sid and he gets his hands on the Intercontinental title belt and we go into a commercial break. Lawler hits a DDT when we come back, but Michaels kicks out at 2. Michaels makes his comeback and hits the top rope elbow drop. He gets ready for the Sweet Chin Music and hits it. Lawler's momentum takes him out of the ring and in comes Sid to attack Michaels. Sid hits the chokeslam and then out comes Razor Ramon. He attacks Sid before he can hit the Powerbomb. Razor goes for the Razor's Edge, but Lawler pulls Sid's legs out of it and they head to the locker room. Razor and Shawn start arguing over the title and out comes Diesel. We get two commercial breaks in about 30 seconds for some reason. As far as 1995 Shawn matches go, this was on the lower end.

Match Rating: *

This one was a bit disappointing. The live energy was there, but the show didn't really deliver much. I had completely forgotten that Sid showed up here, so that was a surprise. 

Overall Rating: 41%