Original Airdate: Thursday, April 14th, 2005
Allstate Arena
Rosemont, Illinois
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Orlando Jordan vs. Booker T
JBL is your guest commentator. Jordan attacks Booker from behind to kick things off. JBL is making loud noises. Booker fights back and hits a kick. As soon as that happens, the Bashams run in the ring and we have ourselves a DQ finish. In comes Big Show to a pretty big pop. Here comes Teddy Long, playa. He says the match isn't over, it's now a handicap match.
Orlando Jordan & The Basham Brothers vs. Booker T & Big Show
Big Show is a house on fire until he goes to chokeslam OJ and the Bashams interfere. Booker comes in there and takes care of them while JBL tells us the Bashams might become one of the best tag teams ever. I still feel like it's too early to put them up there, but maybe soon. Spinarooni by Booker and a scissors kick on one of the Bashams and he gets the victory. That was a much bigger squash than one would think. That was probably not a bad choice to open the show in front of a hot crowd. It just wasn't much of a match.
Match Rating: 1/2* (out of 5)
After the match, JBL pushes the Bashams around and yells at them.
Torrie Wilson vs. Dawn Marie
This should have been the main event. Dawn attacks Torrie and slams her face into the mat. She hits a slingshot, which I have to say I didn't expect to see here. They go round and round with pin reversals, but no one pulls off the 3 count. Dawn hits a X Factor, but still can't get the victory. Torrie tries a schoolgirl, but only gets a 2 count. Kick to the stomach followed by a reverse neckbreaker by Torrie and that's all it took. The match was much more competent than you would expect here. The finish came out of nowhere, but their effort showed here.
Match Rating: 1/2*
We now get the debut of Carlito's Cabana. I didn't even realize that they still were announcing him as Carlito Caribbean Cool. His first guest here is Rey Mysterio and calls him a lovable loser, just like the Cubs. They show clips from last week's match against JBL. Rey says that he is mad at Eddie and hasn't talked to him since last week. However, he says that Eddie is family. Then out of nowhere, we get the debut of MNM. They had no vignettes, so no one knows who they are. Melina grabs the mic from Carlito and introduces to them. She wants to challenge Rey and Eddie for the tag team championships. Rey then insults Melina's breath, which is kind of random for him. MNM attacks him and Rey does his best, but he's not able to fend them off. Carlito sits back in his chair and watches while the crowd is chanting "Eddie". MNM hits the Snapshot and they are out of here.
JBL is backstage yelling at the Bashams and Orlando. He tells them they will be cut loose if they don't get their act together. As JBL walks away, JBL walks into a delivery guy carrying a package for John Cena. He pays him to take the box and says that it is Cena's new championship belt. JBL tells his Cabinet that he is going to do this by himself.
Rey is back on a medical table and Eddie is in here and is furious. Rey yells at him and tells him to leave him alone. Eddie then gives an Oscar-worthy performance as to why he couldn't help what he did last week and that he will make it up to him. He said he's going to beat Kurt Angle and win the WWE Championship and dedicate it to Rey.
The champ is here. In just a little under a year from this episode, he would be main eventing this same building against Triple H. Cena makes the announcement that Chicago will be hosting WrestleMania. That was the last WrestleMania to not be held in a stadium and the first one that I attempted to get tickets to. Unfortunately, I failed but I got to go to the next 3, so I'd say it worked out okay for me. He tells JBL that he needs that box and tells him to come out now. After a little delay, JBL makes his way out to the ring and has two people bring out the box and a trash can. JBL unveils that he is wearing the old WWE Championship belt around his waist. After he yells some more, he opens the box and decides not to look at it before he grabs it and it's slimy meat that Cena says is "guts" since JBL doesn't have any. Cena then comes down and dumps it on him. Is there really any doubt as to whom will be Cena's opponent at Judgment Day? Hanging from the ceiling is the new WWE Championship belt. There it is folks, the debut of the spinner WWE Championship belt that lasted a long time.
Heidenreich vs. Mystery Jobber
They don't announce his opponent, but he gets a few right hands in before eating a big boot from Heidenreich. He keeps asking if they are friends. He hits a sideslam and gets the victory. This would have fit in well on the 1992 Superstars episodes I've been watching.
Match Rating: 1/4*
After the match, Heidenreich drags the jobber in the corner and tells him to stay. He then reads his poem and tells everyone there that he wishes they were his friends. His poem is about farting. This is the beginning of his face turn. This has Vince McMahon all over it. Great stuff...
Booker T is back with Sharmell, who is taking a photo shoot. Kurt Angle comes in and insults Booker and says that he will be the next WWE Champion. Sharmell reminds him that Eddie beat him at WrestleMania 20.
Paul London is on his way down to the ring, as they show clips of his match last week where he was busted open. He talks about the 18 staples he got after the match and that doctors aren't allowing him to wrestle tonight. But he's not here to wrestle, he's here to fight and calls out Chavo Guerrero. Chavo is out and reminds London that he never lost to him and that he wants the Cruiserweight title back. Chavo is talking really slow for some reason here. He tells London that as soon as he is medically clear, he is going to take it back. Chavo says he would never fight another man, so Kidman comes from behind and attacks London. It doesn't work and then London knocks Chavo out of the ring as well. London hits the 450 splash on Kidman.
#1 Contender Tournament First Round
Kurt Angle vs. Eddie Guerrero
There shouldn't be a wrestling fan alive that wouldn't want to see these two in the ring. Seesaw start, as one would expect between these two. Eddie begins working on the arm and then switches and hits the Three Amigos. He goes for the Frog Splash, but Angle moves and Eddie rolls through. When we come back from the commercial break, Kurt is working on Eddie. Eddie fights back with a hurricanrana. Eddie brings in a chair and he and Kurt play hot potato with it before the ref sees it. Eddie lies down and the ref sees the chair on the ground, but it doesn't work. Eddie tries to schoolboy Angle and gets a 2. Angle hits a few German suplexes, but Eddie is still able to kick out. Angle goes for the Angle Slam from the second rope, but Eddie pushes him off and goes for the Frog Splash, but Angle gets his knees up. We come back from the final commercial break and Angle is continuing to attempt pinfalls. Eddie counters an Angle Slam into a nice DDT and both men are down. Back on their feet and slugging it out and Eddie gets the best of Angle. Eddie goes for Three Amigos again, he hits two and then Angle hits the Angle Slam for a 2 count. Angle hits the three German suplexes and Eddie still kicks out. Angle Slam attempt again and Eddie counters with an arm drag. Eddie hits Three Amigos again. Eddie is up top and hits the Frog Splash, but Angle kicks out. Angle gets the Ankle Lock, but Eddie rolls through. Ankle Lock is on again and after a couple attempts, he kicks out. Rey runs in with a chair and clears out Angle and then Eddie is begging Rey not to hit him with the chair. Rey didn't look like he was going to, but Eddie seems to think he was. Angle hits Mysterio from behind and pushes him and the chair into Eddie and steals the victory. That wasn't as good as their WrestleMania and SummerSlam matches, but still darn good. The commercial breaks hurt this one a little, but everything after the last commercial was golden.
Match Rating: ***3/4
Well this episode was pretty much a one match show that also featured the debut of MNM, who became staples of the tag division for the remainder of the year. Unfortunately, there were no other good tag teams during this time. I'm not going to complain about a show that had a really good 20 minute match as the main event, but the rest of the show was a little uninspired to put it nicely. Watch the main event, skip the rest.
Overall Rating: 52%
Wednesday, August 21, 2019
Tuesday, August 20, 2019
Monday Night Raw 4-11-05 Review
Monday, April 11th, 2005
Mark Of The Quad
Moline, Illinois
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
From Los Angeles to Moline. That's quite the change in culture.
Trish Stratus & Molly Holly vs. Christy Hemme & Victoria
Molly and Victoria start things of. Victoria hits her standing moonsault and then tags in Christy. Christy hits a splits leg drop for a nearfall. Christy goes off the ropes and Trish is a little late in kicking her in the back. Trish is now in and is in full heel mode tonight. Molly hits a nice dropkick on a seated Christy. Victoria is in and goes for Widow's Peak, but Trish breaks it up. Hemme nails Trish with a slap to Trish who is on the apron. Molly inadvertently hits Trish with a handspring elbow and Christy rolls Molly up and gets the upset victory. That was a spirited match that the crowd was into. Not a bad way to kick things off.
Match Rating: *1/2 (out of 5)
Kane's music hits and he chases Trish through the crowd.
They show clips of Randy Orton from his match with Batista last week and promise a major update on Orton's shoulder. Back from commercial and they show Orton at Dr. Andrew's office in Alabama. They show some footage of the actual surgery and then he blames it on Batista. That's kind of interesting given that Orton would go on to feud with Undertaker for the remainder of the year.
Stacy and Candice Michelle are in the locker room talking about Orton getting what he deserved. Candice Michelle says that she wishes that Batista would take her out and then powerbomb and pin her. Um, ok. Kane then chases Trish through the room and the girls all scream.
Coach is here with Muhammad Hassan, who is going to take on Shawn Michaels later tonight. Hassan says that Michaels should go home early and watch an un-funny American sitcom.
Triple H is on his way to the ring for an interview. He tells Batista that he is on borrowed time and that he will get his rematch at Backlash. Triple H goes on his usual rant until Hurricane of all people interrupt him. Hurricane says it's clobberingtime and brings Rosey down with him. They both come to the ring and take out Triple H. Triple H grabs the mic and says they picked the wrong night and he wants to fight both of them right now.
Triple H vs. Hurricane & Rosey
After a commercial, Triple H is in command of Hurricane. Triple H hits a huge spinebuster, but Hurricane is able to hit a headscissors and tag Rosey in. Rosey hits a nice reverse leg drop. After a double team, Hurricane heads up top and Triple H is able to knock him off. Triple H gets Rosey's foot stuck in the ropes and hits the Pedigree on Hurricane for the victory. The match was nothing special, but bonus points for the booking after Triple H took out both guys prior to WrestleMania.
Match Rating: 3/4*
After the match, Triple H grabs the mic because he hasn't talked enough yet. He vows to Batista that he will be laid out tonight. Triple H then Pedigrees Rosey.
Batista and Chris Benoit are backstage high fiving.
Chris Masters vs. Seth Skyfire
Masters goes right after the jobber and is a little bit more aggressive than in previous squashes. The jobber goes off the turnbuckle and Masters hits him with a double ax handle and then puts him in the Master Lock for the win. It's kind of crazy that Masters was only 22 years old here.
Match Rating: 1/4*
After the match, Masters announces that he is going to issue a challenge to anyone who thinks he can break the Master Lock and is offering up $1,000 if he can.
Shawn Michaels vs.Muhammad Hassan Daivari
Hassan says that Michaels doesn't deserve to fight him. He said that if he wants to fight him, he has to beat Daivari. Daivari tries to gain the early advantage, but Michaels isn't having it. Hassan gets involved early on and distracts Michaels so Daivari can hang him over the top rope. Daivari hits a nice leg drop off the top rope. You have to love professional wrestling. They are acting as if Daivari is a jobber because he is small and is a "manager", while the very green Hassan is considered a big enough act to get into a program with Michaels. Michaels fights back and attempts to go up top, but Hassan stops him. Daivari was trying to attack Michaels with the ring bell, but Earl Hebner intercepts it. This distraction allows Hassan to hit a low blow and Daivari gets the very surprising win. It was too short to be anything memorable, but they did work a furious pace there.
Match Rating: 3/4*
Shawn backstage demands a handicap match with Daivari and Hassan to Eric Bischoff. Bischoff refuses unless he has a partner.
It's time for the Highlight Reel with Chris Jericho. He says that the only problem with the Money In The Bank match was that he didn't win it. He says that he's been in a little bit of a funk since Taboo Tuesday when he lost the Intercontinental Championship to Shelton Benjamin. Naturally, he is the guest tonight. Jericho doesn't care about Shelton's 6 month title reign because he made that championship what it is. Shelton says he can do things that nobody else can do in the ring. After trading insults, they brawl because what else do you do on a wrestling talk show? Shelton struggled with promos during this time and as a result the crowd wasn't completely into this.
Kane is on the hunt for Trish and he walks into a locker room and finds Lita. She asks if he did and and he tells her that Trish is scared to death. They then make out because this is what they thought we wanted in 2005.
Shawn Michaels is back out here to tell us how much he loves his country. He now understands why his dad, brother and nephew volunteered to serve our country. He then asks Hulk Hogan to come back and be his partner. This is met with a huge pop and he gets the crowd to chant "One more match".
Edge is backstage with a steel chair and the Money In The Bank briefcase.
Chris Benoit vs. Christian
Edge comes down to be a guest announcer. We get some chops and slaps before we get some back and forth wrestling. Christian is able to dump Benoit outside of the ring to take control. Benoit ducks Christian's boots to the face and is about to crotch him on the ring post, but Tomko stops him. The distraction allows Christian to continue working on Benoit's arm. Benoit gets a little momentum, as he's able to knock Christian off the apron into the barricade. However, after the break, Christian is back to working on Benoit's arm. Christian tries to remove the top turnbuckle. While the ref tries to make sure it is secured, Benoit puts a small package on Christian, but the ref doesn't see it right away and Christian is able to kick out. Benoit is bleeding from the mouth and is able to hit a suplex on Christian. Both men collide and are slow to get up. Benoit hits a northern lights suplex into a pinfall and almost gets the victory. Benoit turns Christian into the Sharpshooter, but he is able to get to the ropes. Benoit hits three consecutive German suplexes and then heads up top. Tomko tries to stop him, but is not able to but he buys Christian enough time to move out of the way. Christian goes for the Unprettier, but Benoit reverses it into the Crippler Crossface. Both Tomko and Edge attempt to interfere, but Benoit takes them both out. Christian hits the Unprettier and gets the victory. I was expecting a lot more, but it was still pretty good. It will never not be weird watching Benoit matches.
Match Rating: **1/2
Jim Ross introduces Batista. Batista gives a pretty vanilla interview about being the predator. Triple H's music hits and tries to attack him from behind. Triple H tries for the Pedigree, but Batista dumps him over the top rope. JR holds up Batista's arm in the ring. Triple H grabs the microphone and says that next week at Madison Square Garden and acts as if he will be going one-on-one with Batista, but he means that he'll be facing Jim Ross next week. Jim Ross is stunned.
That wasn't Raw's best show of the past couple of months, but it certainly wasn't bad. They did a nice job of getting the Backlash card going with Triple H/Batista, Jericho/Shelton and Michaels & Hogan/Hassan & Daivari. I haven't seen that show in a really long time and am looking towards revisiting it. Next week's Raw should also be interesting, as I really don't have much recollection of the JR/Triple H match.
Overall Rating: 60%
Mark Of The Quad
Moline, Illinois
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
From Los Angeles to Moline. That's quite the change in culture.
Trish Stratus & Molly Holly vs. Christy Hemme & Victoria
Molly and Victoria start things of. Victoria hits her standing moonsault and then tags in Christy. Christy hits a splits leg drop for a nearfall. Christy goes off the ropes and Trish is a little late in kicking her in the back. Trish is now in and is in full heel mode tonight. Molly hits a nice dropkick on a seated Christy. Victoria is in and goes for Widow's Peak, but Trish breaks it up. Hemme nails Trish with a slap to Trish who is on the apron. Molly inadvertently hits Trish with a handspring elbow and Christy rolls Molly up and gets the upset victory. That was a spirited match that the crowd was into. Not a bad way to kick things off.
Match Rating: *1/2 (out of 5)
Kane's music hits and he chases Trish through the crowd.
They show clips of Randy Orton from his match with Batista last week and promise a major update on Orton's shoulder. Back from commercial and they show Orton at Dr. Andrew's office in Alabama. They show some footage of the actual surgery and then he blames it on Batista. That's kind of interesting given that Orton would go on to feud with Undertaker for the remainder of the year.
Stacy and Candice Michelle are in the locker room talking about Orton getting what he deserved. Candice Michelle says that she wishes that Batista would take her out and then powerbomb and pin her. Um, ok. Kane then chases Trish through the room and the girls all scream.
Coach is here with Muhammad Hassan, who is going to take on Shawn Michaels later tonight. Hassan says that Michaels should go home early and watch an un-funny American sitcom.
Triple H is on his way to the ring for an interview. He tells Batista that he is on borrowed time and that he will get his rematch at Backlash. Triple H goes on his usual rant until Hurricane of all people interrupt him. Hurricane says it's clobberingtime and brings Rosey down with him. They both come to the ring and take out Triple H. Triple H grabs the mic and says they picked the wrong night and he wants to fight both of them right now.
Triple H vs. Hurricane & Rosey
After a commercial, Triple H is in command of Hurricane. Triple H hits a huge spinebuster, but Hurricane is able to hit a headscissors and tag Rosey in. Rosey hits a nice reverse leg drop. After a double team, Hurricane heads up top and Triple H is able to knock him off. Triple H gets Rosey's foot stuck in the ropes and hits the Pedigree on Hurricane for the victory. The match was nothing special, but bonus points for the booking after Triple H took out both guys prior to WrestleMania.
Match Rating: 3/4*
After the match, Triple H grabs the mic because he hasn't talked enough yet. He vows to Batista that he will be laid out tonight. Triple H then Pedigrees Rosey.
Batista and Chris Benoit are backstage high fiving.
Chris Masters vs. Seth Skyfire
Masters goes right after the jobber and is a little bit more aggressive than in previous squashes. The jobber goes off the turnbuckle and Masters hits him with a double ax handle and then puts him in the Master Lock for the win. It's kind of crazy that Masters was only 22 years old here.
Match Rating: 1/4*
After the match, Masters announces that he is going to issue a challenge to anyone who thinks he can break the Master Lock and is offering up $1,000 if he can.
Shawn Michaels vs.
Hassan says that Michaels doesn't deserve to fight him. He said that if he wants to fight him, he has to beat Daivari. Daivari tries to gain the early advantage, but Michaels isn't having it. Hassan gets involved early on and distracts Michaels so Daivari can hang him over the top rope. Daivari hits a nice leg drop off the top rope. You have to love professional wrestling. They are acting as if Daivari is a jobber because he is small and is a "manager", while the very green Hassan is considered a big enough act to get into a program with Michaels. Michaels fights back and attempts to go up top, but Hassan stops him. Daivari was trying to attack Michaels with the ring bell, but Earl Hebner intercepts it. This distraction allows Hassan to hit a low blow and Daivari gets the very surprising win. It was too short to be anything memorable, but they did work a furious pace there.
Match Rating: 3/4*
Shawn backstage demands a handicap match with Daivari and Hassan to Eric Bischoff. Bischoff refuses unless he has a partner.
It's time for the Highlight Reel with Chris Jericho. He says that the only problem with the Money In The Bank match was that he didn't win it. He says that he's been in a little bit of a funk since Taboo Tuesday when he lost the Intercontinental Championship to Shelton Benjamin. Naturally, he is the guest tonight. Jericho doesn't care about Shelton's 6 month title reign because he made that championship what it is. Shelton says he can do things that nobody else can do in the ring. After trading insults, they brawl because what else do you do on a wrestling talk show? Shelton struggled with promos during this time and as a result the crowd wasn't completely into this.
Kane is on the hunt for Trish and he walks into a locker room and finds Lita. She asks if he did and and he tells her that Trish is scared to death. They then make out because this is what they thought we wanted in 2005.
Shawn Michaels is back out here to tell us how much he loves his country. He now understands why his dad, brother and nephew volunteered to serve our country. He then asks Hulk Hogan to come back and be his partner. This is met with a huge pop and he gets the crowd to chant "One more match".
Edge is backstage with a steel chair and the Money In The Bank briefcase.
Chris Benoit vs. Christian
Edge comes down to be a guest announcer. We get some chops and slaps before we get some back and forth wrestling. Christian is able to dump Benoit outside of the ring to take control. Benoit ducks Christian's boots to the face and is about to crotch him on the ring post, but Tomko stops him. The distraction allows Christian to continue working on Benoit's arm. Benoit gets a little momentum, as he's able to knock Christian off the apron into the barricade. However, after the break, Christian is back to working on Benoit's arm. Christian tries to remove the top turnbuckle. While the ref tries to make sure it is secured, Benoit puts a small package on Christian, but the ref doesn't see it right away and Christian is able to kick out. Benoit is bleeding from the mouth and is able to hit a suplex on Christian. Both men collide and are slow to get up. Benoit hits a northern lights suplex into a pinfall and almost gets the victory. Benoit turns Christian into the Sharpshooter, but he is able to get to the ropes. Benoit hits three consecutive German suplexes and then heads up top. Tomko tries to stop him, but is not able to but he buys Christian enough time to move out of the way. Christian goes for the Unprettier, but Benoit reverses it into the Crippler Crossface. Both Tomko and Edge attempt to interfere, but Benoit takes them both out. Christian hits the Unprettier and gets the victory. I was expecting a lot more, but it was still pretty good. It will never not be weird watching Benoit matches.
Match Rating: **1/2
Jim Ross introduces Batista. Batista gives a pretty vanilla interview about being the predator. Triple H's music hits and tries to attack him from behind. Triple H tries for the Pedigree, but Batista dumps him over the top rope. JR holds up Batista's arm in the ring. Triple H grabs the microphone and says that next week at Madison Square Garden and acts as if he will be going one-on-one with Batista, but he means that he'll be facing Jim Ross next week. Jim Ross is stunned.
That wasn't Raw's best show of the past couple of months, but it certainly wasn't bad. They did a nice job of getting the Backlash card going with Triple H/Batista, Jericho/Shelton and Michaels & Hogan/Hassan & Daivari. I haven't seen that show in a really long time and am looking towards revisiting it. Next week's Raw should also be interesting, as I really don't have much recollection of the JR/Triple H match.
Overall Rating: 60%
Monday, August 19, 2019
NXT 11-21-12 Review
Original Airdate: Wednesday, November 21st, 2012
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
We are shown an interview with Kassius Ohno from earlier today. He says that Trent Barreta is going to find out how dangerous he is.
Alicia Fox vs. Paige
Good Ol' JR sounds about as excited about this match as I am. Alicia botches a suplex and then slams Paige into the turnbuckle. Alicia spanks Paige, but then Paige goes for an inside cradle for a 2 count. Paige fights back and eventually hits the Paige Turner for the win. That was just a bunch of moves strung together and called a match.
Match Rating: 1/4* (out of 5)
Camacho vs. Big E Langston
Camacho's ring attire was Baron Corbin before Baron Corbin. Camacho gets a few moves in, but it's all for nothing as Big E dominates and hits his finisher for the victory. Big E continues to be the most over act on NXT. The crowd chants for one more time and Big E obliges, this time counting to 5. After a delay, Big E comes in yet again and hits his finisher for another 5 count. The match was nothing, but Big E's charisma is as good as it gets in NXT 2012.
Match Rating: 1/2*
They cut to Trent Barreta backstage rolling on the ground in pain and Leo Kruger is nearby smiling. They come back from commercial saying that Barreta may be out from tonight's main event.
Bronson vs. Nick Rogers
Bronson no sells everything Rogers throws his way. He beats him down and then awkwardly puts him into his ankle submission hold for the easy win. He comes across as something different, but he's still a little raw.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Mike Dalton vs. Luke Harper
Bray Wyatt semi-introduces Harper and sits on the rocking chair on stage. I think the crowd starts chanting "Let's go Ziggler" at Dalton and honestly I can't blame them for that one here. JR is really set on the fact that they announced Harper as being from Butte, Montana. These two guys could really have an amazing match under proper circumstances. However, Dalton is the perfect guy to make Harper look like a million bucks here. Dalton tries for a tornado DDT, but Harper just tosses him. He hits the sidewalk slam and gets the victory. Now that was how you feature someone.
Match Rating: 3/4*
After the match, Wyatt says that he is the eater of worlds.
From earlier today, Seth Rollins is talking backstage and is attacked by Jinder Mahal, but Rollins fires back.
Kassius Ohno is out and starts taunting Barreta. Ohno demands that the ref ring the bell and start counting Barreta out. Dusty Rhodes' music hits and he has someone else for Ohno to fight and it's Richie Steamboat, who doesn't get the pop that they were probably hoping for.
Kassius Ohno vs. Richie Steamboat
Steamboat goes right for Ohno. Steamboat throws Ohno over the ropes, but Ohno skins the cat, so Steamboat over again for good measure. Steamboat hits a dive from the top rope to the floor as we go to commercial break. Ohno pushes Steamboat's back into the ring post with his legs and is now in control. Ohno hits a cool suplex-type neckbreaker. Steamboat fires up and hits a back body drop and a clothesline. Steamboat hits the Slingblade and gets the pinfall victory. Nothing to write home about, but they worked hard and they won the crowd over while they were at it.
Match Rating: **
Well this wasn't an extra special episode, but they did cram a lot in so that it was never boring. Luke Harper and Big E both looked like big time stars here and the main event was decent. Now that Steamboat got his victory, I'd like to see him move on to a new opponent. Unfortunately, the Rollins/Mahal feud is still ongoing despite Mahal losing twice cleanly.
Overall Rating: 46%
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
We are shown an interview with Kassius Ohno from earlier today. He says that Trent Barreta is going to find out how dangerous he is.
Alicia Fox vs. Paige
Good Ol' JR sounds about as excited about this match as I am. Alicia botches a suplex and then slams Paige into the turnbuckle. Alicia spanks Paige, but then Paige goes for an inside cradle for a 2 count. Paige fights back and eventually hits the Paige Turner for the win. That was just a bunch of moves strung together and called a match.
Match Rating: 1/4* (out of 5)
Camacho vs. Big E Langston
Camacho's ring attire was Baron Corbin before Baron Corbin. Camacho gets a few moves in, but it's all for nothing as Big E dominates and hits his finisher for the victory. Big E continues to be the most over act on NXT. The crowd chants for one more time and Big E obliges, this time counting to 5. After a delay, Big E comes in yet again and hits his finisher for another 5 count. The match was nothing, but Big E's charisma is as good as it gets in NXT 2012.
Match Rating: 1/2*
They cut to Trent Barreta backstage rolling on the ground in pain and Leo Kruger is nearby smiling. They come back from commercial saying that Barreta may be out from tonight's main event.
Bronson vs. Nick Rogers
Bronson no sells everything Rogers throws his way. He beats him down and then awkwardly puts him into his ankle submission hold for the easy win. He comes across as something different, but he's still a little raw.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Mike Dalton vs. Luke Harper
Bray Wyatt semi-introduces Harper and sits on the rocking chair on stage. I think the crowd starts chanting "Let's go Ziggler" at Dalton and honestly I can't blame them for that one here. JR is really set on the fact that they announced Harper as being from Butte, Montana. These two guys could really have an amazing match under proper circumstances. However, Dalton is the perfect guy to make Harper look like a million bucks here. Dalton tries for a tornado DDT, but Harper just tosses him. He hits the sidewalk slam and gets the victory. Now that was how you feature someone.
Match Rating: 3/4*
After the match, Wyatt says that he is the eater of worlds.
From earlier today, Seth Rollins is talking backstage and is attacked by Jinder Mahal, but Rollins fires back.
Kassius Ohno is out and starts taunting Barreta. Ohno demands that the ref ring the bell and start counting Barreta out. Dusty Rhodes' music hits and he has someone else for Ohno to fight and it's Richie Steamboat, who doesn't get the pop that they were probably hoping for.
Kassius Ohno vs. Richie Steamboat
Steamboat goes right for Ohno. Steamboat throws Ohno over the ropes, but Ohno skins the cat, so Steamboat over again for good measure. Steamboat hits a dive from the top rope to the floor as we go to commercial break. Ohno pushes Steamboat's back into the ring post with his legs and is now in control. Ohno hits a cool suplex-type neckbreaker. Steamboat fires up and hits a back body drop and a clothesline. Steamboat hits the Slingblade and gets the pinfall victory. Nothing to write home about, but they worked hard and they won the crowd over while they were at it.
Match Rating: **
Well this wasn't an extra special episode, but they did cram a lot in so that it was never boring. Luke Harper and Big E both looked like big time stars here and the main event was decent. Now that Steamboat got his victory, I'd like to see him move on to a new opponent. Unfortunately, the Rollins/Mahal feud is still ongoing despite Mahal losing twice cleanly.
Overall Rating: 46%
Monday, August 12, 2019
Superstars 9-19-92 Review
Original Airdate: Saturday, September 19th, 1992
Hersheypark Arena
Hershey, Pennsylvania
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Bret Hart vs. Glen Ruth
We start things right off with some in ring action. Papa Shango has an interview and his book lights on fire. Mr. Perfect is sticking with the fact that Shango put a curse on Bret, causing him to lose at SummerSlam. Meanwhile, Bret looks sharp here against the future Headbanger here. Bret puts the Sharpshooter on and gets the victory.
Match Rating: 1/4* (out of 5)
Update time with Mean Gene. We get a complete recap of the Ric Flair/Randy Savage title saga and the beginning of the Razor/Savage feud. Did we ever get a proper Razor vs. Savage match?
Shawn Michaels vs. Russ Greenberg
Michaels gets Greenberg to chase him around the ring to set him up and takes advantage. Vince is dumbfounded by Sherri's pierced nose and how the chain connects to her ear. Michaels gives Greenberg a big shot right in front of his heart mirror. Greenberg tries to fight back, but of course that doesn't work. Michaels hits his suplex finisher, which is not over at all, and gets the pinfall victory. Nice showcase for Michaels, but switching to Sweet Chin Music was a game changer.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Event Center time with Sean Mooney. Big Boss Man is going to take trash like Nailz out of the WWF for good. Rick Martel says he is a Rolls Royce compared to the other old junkers in the WWF.
The Mountie vs. Tatanka
Mountie does the best mock Tatanka I have ever seen. Tatanka slaps him and then chops him. Mountie tries a chop, but Tatanka knocks him outside. The Mountie tries to walk away as we go to commercial break. Jimmy Hart distracts Tatanka up on the apron and Mountie tries to capitalize, but Tatanka stops that and hits two atomic drops. The Mountie plays possum on the second one and again Tatanka is too smart and takes Mountie out. Tatanka goes off the ropes and Hart trips him up. Mountie hits his leaping elbow and then hangs Tatanka upside down from the top rope Hart holds his feet as Mountie kicks Tatanka in the back. Somehow the ref didn't see Hart even though he was about 18 inches away from Hart. Mountie hits a big piledriver, but instead of going for the pin, he takes the microphone from Hart. He proclaims "I am The Mountie!", but Tatanka attacks from behind. Tatanka is a house on fire hitting a back body drop and goes up top and hits a tomahawk chop. He goes for a big splash, but Mountie moves and then grabs his shock stick. Mountie attempts to shock Tatanka, but he is able to move, but the ref rings the bell regardless. Tatanka fights back and it sends Mountie to the back, as Tatanka is announced as the winner of the match. This wasn't necessarily a good match, but it was a good time if you enjoy Mounties antics.
Match Rating: *1/4
Back to Sean Mooney. Virgil loves his fans, which is ironic. Razor Ramon says he is oozing machismo.
The Fink announces to the crowd that Shawn Michaels has left the building.
Nailz vs. Kerry Davis
You'll never guess which move Nailz starts off with? It's the same move that he does after his second move and after his fourth move and the same one that he finishes the match with. How did you guess choking? You guys are good. After the match, he beats up Davis some more.
Match Rating: 0 Stars
Mean Gene now introduces Macho Man to the live crowd for an interview. Savage comes out limping, selling the injuries from his match with Flair and attack from Razor. He introduces Ultimate Warrior and he does the worst impression of Savage you will ever hear. Warrior says that he will stand behind him, beside him and in front of him in any time of need. That's some sweet irony there. Savage gives Warrior some Macho Man sunglasses to put on. The crowd digs this. They are the Ultimate Maniacs.
Tony DeVito vs. Kamala
Dr. Harvey Wippleman introduces Kamala. Kamala's chops aren't very legit looking. His double throat thrust is a good move that I'm surprised I don't see anymore. They do the roll over gimmick again. A big splash ends it.
Match Rating: 1/4*
After the match Paul Bearer rolls down a casket and Kamala is scared out of his mind, retreating into the crowd.
One last trip to the Event Center with Sean Mooney. Natural Disasters say there is a list of tag teams a mile long who want a shot at their belts.I'm not sure that's accurate. British Bulldog says that he is the happiest man in the world right now because of his Intercontinental Championship victory.
Next week we get the debut of the Komet Kid, Big Boss Man, Razor Ramon, British Bulldog and a special interview from Ric Flair.
Well, we got a halfway decent match in Tatanka/Mountie and the usual spirited Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels squashes. The Savage/Warrior alliance has officially been formed and the Kamala/Undertaker feud continues. Not a bad little episode and I'm looking forward to building more towards Survivor Series, as a lot is going to change between now and then.
Overall Rating: 46%
Hersheypark Arena
Hershey, Pennsylvania
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Bret Hart vs. Glen Ruth
We start things right off with some in ring action. Papa Shango has an interview and his book lights on fire. Mr. Perfect is sticking with the fact that Shango put a curse on Bret, causing him to lose at SummerSlam. Meanwhile, Bret looks sharp here against the future Headbanger here. Bret puts the Sharpshooter on and gets the victory.
Match Rating: 1/4* (out of 5)
Update time with Mean Gene. We get a complete recap of the Ric Flair/Randy Savage title saga and the beginning of the Razor/Savage feud. Did we ever get a proper Razor vs. Savage match?
Shawn Michaels vs. Russ Greenberg
Michaels gets Greenberg to chase him around the ring to set him up and takes advantage. Vince is dumbfounded by Sherri's pierced nose and how the chain connects to her ear. Michaels gives Greenberg a big shot right in front of his heart mirror. Greenberg tries to fight back, but of course that doesn't work. Michaels hits his suplex finisher, which is not over at all, and gets the pinfall victory. Nice showcase for Michaels, but switching to Sweet Chin Music was a game changer.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Event Center time with Sean Mooney. Big Boss Man is going to take trash like Nailz out of the WWF for good. Rick Martel says he is a Rolls Royce compared to the other old junkers in the WWF.
The Mountie vs. Tatanka
Mountie does the best mock Tatanka I have ever seen. Tatanka slaps him and then chops him. Mountie tries a chop, but Tatanka knocks him outside. The Mountie tries to walk away as we go to commercial break. Jimmy Hart distracts Tatanka up on the apron and Mountie tries to capitalize, but Tatanka stops that and hits two atomic drops. The Mountie plays possum on the second one and again Tatanka is too smart and takes Mountie out. Tatanka goes off the ropes and Hart trips him up. Mountie hits his leaping elbow and then hangs Tatanka upside down from the top rope Hart holds his feet as Mountie kicks Tatanka in the back. Somehow the ref didn't see Hart even though he was about 18 inches away from Hart. Mountie hits a big piledriver, but instead of going for the pin, he takes the microphone from Hart. He proclaims "I am The Mountie!", but Tatanka attacks from behind. Tatanka is a house on fire hitting a back body drop and goes up top and hits a tomahawk chop. He goes for a big splash, but Mountie moves and then grabs his shock stick. Mountie attempts to shock Tatanka, but he is able to move, but the ref rings the bell regardless. Tatanka fights back and it sends Mountie to the back, as Tatanka is announced as the winner of the match. This wasn't necessarily a good match, but it was a good time if you enjoy Mounties antics.
Match Rating: *1/4
Back to Sean Mooney. Virgil loves his fans, which is ironic. Razor Ramon says he is oozing machismo.
The Fink announces to the crowd that Shawn Michaels has left the building.
Nailz vs. Kerry Davis
You'll never guess which move Nailz starts off with? It's the same move that he does after his second move and after his fourth move and the same one that he finishes the match with. How did you guess choking? You guys are good. After the match, he beats up Davis some more.
Match Rating: 0 Stars
Mean Gene now introduces Macho Man to the live crowd for an interview. Savage comes out limping, selling the injuries from his match with Flair and attack from Razor. He introduces Ultimate Warrior and he does the worst impression of Savage you will ever hear. Warrior says that he will stand behind him, beside him and in front of him in any time of need. That's some sweet irony there. Savage gives Warrior some Macho Man sunglasses to put on. The crowd digs this. They are the Ultimate Maniacs.
Tony DeVito vs. Kamala
Dr. Harvey Wippleman introduces Kamala. Kamala's chops aren't very legit looking. His double throat thrust is a good move that I'm surprised I don't see anymore. They do the roll over gimmick again. A big splash ends it.
Match Rating: 1/4*
After the match Paul Bearer rolls down a casket and Kamala is scared out of his mind, retreating into the crowd.
One last trip to the Event Center with Sean Mooney. Natural Disasters say there is a list of tag teams a mile long who want a shot at their belts.I'm not sure that's accurate. British Bulldog says that he is the happiest man in the world right now because of his Intercontinental Championship victory.
Next week we get the debut of the Komet Kid, Big Boss Man, Razor Ramon, British Bulldog and a special interview from Ric Flair.
Well, we got a halfway decent match in Tatanka/Mountie and the usual spirited Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels squashes. The Savage/Warrior alliance has officially been formed and the Kamala/Undertaker feud continues. Not a bad little episode and I'm looking forward to building more towards Survivor Series, as a lot is going to change between now and then.
Overall Rating: 46%
Sunday, August 11, 2019
SummerSlam 2019 Review
Sunday, August 11th, 2019
Scotiabank Arena
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Submission Match For The Raw Women's Championship
Becky Lynch vs. Natalya
I had a feeling this one would kick things off. Well, I guess if you count the fourth match as kicking things off. They both slap one another to start things off, while Michael Cole tells us that it was SummerSlam last year that started everything for The Man. Now they are claiming that this match has been the talk of Toronto. I highly doubt that. Becky gets Natalya in a triangle hold and Nattie eventually gets Lynch up, but Lynch goes to work on her legs. Natalya does a Cesaro swing into the barricade outside of the ring and then after getting her back into the ring, hits a suplex where Lynch's legs hit the ropes. Natalya puts Becky in a Sharpshooter while sitting on the top rope in a creative spot. Becky reverses Natalya and throws her arm first into the table. We have a dueling chant of "Let's go Becky" and "Becky sucks". I believe that's the first time for that one? Natalya hits a really nice superplex and both women are down. The crowd is doing their part in this match, let's hope they are able to keep it up for another 8 hours. Becky blocks a dropkick and puts Natalya into the Sharpshooter. Natalya is eventually able to roll through and bounce Becky's head off the second turnbuckle. They get a "This is awesome" chant. While this has been really solid so far, I feel like that is setting the bar far too low for the worst chant in wrestling. Natalya gets Becky in the Sharpshooter and Lynch crawls under the ropes, which doesn't technically break the hold, but Natalya has to break it to try and get a better grip. She goes for it again, but Becky puts her in the Disarm Her and after putting up a good fight, she taps. Lynch retains in a solid opener that had the crowd invested.
Match Rating: ***1/4 (out of 5)
Trish Stratus is backstage for an interview. Trish tells Charlotte that if she thinks she's the queen, then she's the queen of queens. Pretty mellow interview there from Trish.
The Goldberg match is next, so I am turning on the watch along show that WWE runs on YouTube because Matt Riddle is on it and this should be fun. He mentioned that he bumped into him backstage about how they need to have a talk. Pretty funny stuff.
Dolph Ziggler vs. Goldberg
This is still one of the most random matches return match that I can remember maybe other than Mick Foley vs. Carlito. I bet you didn't remember that one even happened on a pay-per-view. This Riddle stuff is pretty hilarious. Ziggler hits him with a superkick right out of nowhere and gets a 2 count. He hits another one and Goldberg kicks out again. Goldberg then drills him with a spear. Goldberg hits the Jackhammer and that's all. After the match, Ziggler while on the ground insults Goldberg and calls him out. Goldberg heads back to the ring and hits him with another spear. Ziggler has the mic again and insults Goldberg again and says that he is the best thing going. Goldberg's music hits again and here he comes. Goldberg knocks the mic away and picks up the limp Ziggler, pats him on the back and pretends to walk away. He runs off the ropes and hits him with another spear. I'm still not sure what the point of that was, but the crowd enjoyed it, so I guess it was worth it in that regard, but I say it should have ended after the first spear.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Kofi is back with New Day and they bring in "Drake" Maverick. Hilarity ensues.
United States Championship Match
Ricochet vs AJ Styles
No one knows why they didn't do the Club schtick when they had the chance to a couple of years ago. At least they recognized the missed opportunity. Ricochet is wearing a full bodysuit, superhero style. Ricochet walks on the shoulders of Gallows and Anderson and then leaps to do a hurricanrana on Styles. Ricochet is not human. They are back in the ring and Styles takes out Ricochet's leg. Ricochet tries to fight back, but Styles takes out his leg again. Ricochet fights back and is selling the leg well. He hits a nice one legged springboard elbow drop. Styles gets hit with a neckbreaker and a standing moonsault, but is able to kick out. Styles is a really good babyface, but I love him as a heel too. Styles hits a baseball slide dropkick through the ropes. Ricochet is trying to fight through the injury, but Styles rolls through into a Calf Crusher. Ricochet escapes and goes into the Anaconda Vice. Haven't seen that one in awhile. Northern Lights suplex by Ricochet and he holds on and hits another suplex for a 2 count. Ricochet uses all his strength to drag Styles to the corner, Anderson and Gallows interfere, so Ricochet hits a moonsault. He goes up top, but Styles crotches him, but Ricochet fights him and Anderson off .AJ catches his top rope masterpiece and hits him with the Styles Clash for the victory. That was an awesome finish. Not the barn burner I was hoping for, but that was still an entertaining and smartly worked match. After the match Gallows and Anderson hit Ricochet with the Magic Killer.
Match Rating: ***1/2
The Street Profits are backstage and give us a recap of what has happened so far. Dawkins is talking about Nikki Cross and in walks Ric Flair to a big pop and we get a whole lot of woo'ing.
SmackDown Women's Championship Match
Ember Moon vs. Bayley
This is another random matchup, but one I think that has a lot of potential. Moon takes control early on. Bayley avoids a springboard crossbody and then hits a big knee strike for a 2 count. Bayley hangs Moon on the top rope and then hits a suplex for another 2 count. The pacing of this match is telling me it might go 10+ minutes. Bayley catches Moon's spear through the rope and uses the middle rope as a weapon. Bayley hangs Moon in the tree of woe and hits a nice elbow drop. Moon looks a little timid so far here. Bayley puts her in a reverse Boston Crab. Moon hits a superkick and then goes for a suicide dive, but Bayley blocks it. Bayley goes up top, but Moon hits a top rope hurricanrana. Moon hits a cool variation of the Codebreaker for a 2 count. The crowd is just not buying Moon as a contender here. Moon blocks a hurricanrana and turns it into a powerbomb. Moon goes up top, but Bayley scales the ropes and hits a super Bayley-to-Belly for the victory. Not bad, but ultimately a little disappointing. It seemed like they had some moments where they weren't on the same page in terms of how they wanted that match to go.
Match Rating: **1/2
If Kevin Owens Loses, He Must Quit
Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens
No surprise here, but KO is over big time here in Toronto. I'm in the minority that thinks Shane has done a good job as a heel this year. However, I also don't watch Raw and SmackDown, so I'm not getting the entire picture. Shane announces that Elias is going to be the special enforcer for the match. Shane baits Owens into chasing him and Elias trips him. Owens almost gets counted out as a result. Owens knocks down Shane with a big right and then hits a cannonball. Elias provides another distraction and Shane tosses Owens into the barricade. Shane goes for a Sharpshooter, but Owens kicks out and hits the pop up powerbomb. Elias distracts the ref, so we get no pinfall attempt. There's a chair in the ring and Shane tries to get him to hit him by taunting him and then a slap to the face. Superkick to Shane and then Owens hits a senton and then a frog splash off the top rope, but Elias rips the ref off the mat. Owens hits a cannonball on Elias, who also takes out actual ref. Owens then takes out some aggression on Elias with a steel chair. Owens is about to use the chair on Shane, but he sees the ref coming into the ring and stops. When the ref is getting rid of the chair, he hits a low blow and a Stunner for the victory. In terms of match quality, there was way too much of the Elias stuff going on to make this thing cohesive. However, the crowd was hot and Owens came out of this looking great. Can't complain about that.
Match Rating: **
Charlotte Flair vs. Trish Stratus
This one should be interesting. Charlotte really has become the name in WWE women's wrestling and Trish is obviously going to want to go out with a bang here. They give Trish the showcase here at the beginning so that she can get the "You still got it" chant. They're on the outside and Charlotte trips her up on the ring steps, causing Trish to hit her face on the steps. Trish looks to be in phenomenal shape for a 42 year old who is not active, but that's not surprising given her background. Charlotte going for the reeeeeeal sloooooww heel heat here. Trish finally shows some fight, but it doesn't last long. I was hoping for a real compact like 8-10 minute match here, but they obviously had different goals here. Trish is back on offense and attacks Charlotte with a flurry of chops. Big boot by Charlotte and then Trish goes for the headscissors off the top rope, but it's blocked. Charlotte goes for the super powerbomb, but Trish counters with a great hurricanrana and gets a 2 count. Charlotte hits a huge boot to the face, but Trish kicks out again. Trish does a nice roll through and puts Charlotte in the Figure Four and into the Figure Eight. Stratusfaction and it's not enough. Shame on me, they have won the crowd over here. Chick Kick by Trish and again it's not enough. Charlotte hits a kick and puts her in the Figure Eight for the victory. That was pretty solid once it got going. Trish gets the standing ovation after the match, which is well deserved. She survived a lot of bad storylines in her career. A lot.
Match Rating: **3/4
Bret Hart wishes Seth Rollins a good match backstage. Kind of a surprise after his AEW involvement.
WWE Championship Match
Randy Orton vs. Kofi Kingston
Awesome video package for this one. I am not a big Randy Orton fan, but when he's dialed in he's very good. He seems to be invested in this one. Randy tries to give Kofi a pancake, but Kofi isn't having it. It's fun to see Kofi work with a chip on his shoulder here. Kofi goes up top and Orton shoves him off to the floor. After some more high risk offense from Kofi, Orton dumps Kofi on the announcers table to regain control. We haven't really had a sustained segment for either guy yet. Kofi now is in control and hits the Boom Drop. I looked away for a second and now Randy is on offense and mocking the New Day clap. Kofi dumps Orton outside and hits him with his free fall leap. Kofi then hits a frog splash to a standing. Next thing you know, Orton hits his DDT from the second rope. Gorilla Monsoon is somewhere watching telling everyone that this is a seesaw battle. Kofi counters the RKO with a backslide for a 2 count. Kofi hits a kick to the face and runs up top. He leaps off the top rope and gets hit with the RKO. Kofi is able to roll outside and Orton is now working right in front of Kofi's family. Kofi snaps and the bell rings? This finish sucks and the crowd agrees. Kofi goes nuts on Orton and eventually hits Trouble In Paradise, but the crowd still isn't happy. The official decision is a double countout. That was really disappointing. Hopefully we'll get the match we wanted to see at the next show.
Match Rating: **
Finn Balor vs. Bray Wyatt
Yeah, I'm probably in the minority, but I hate this Bray Wyatt character. To me this is nothing that I want to see. Wyatt goes after Finn right away. This has all the feelings of a squash here. Wyatt hits Rock Bottom and goes for Sister Abigail. Finn fights back and hits slingblade and a stomp. Balor goes off the top, but Wyatt catches him with the Mandible Claw for the victory. Yeah, this is terrible. Get this off my TV.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Universal Championship Match
Seth Rollins vs. Brock Lesnar
I'm curious to see where they go with the booking here. Lesnar goes right after the injured ribs. Say what you will about Brock, but his matches feel different than the rest of the card. Lesnar lands off of one of Brock's Germans and hits the Stomp but only gets a 2 count. Lesnar gets hit with a running knee off the apron. Rollins lands off another German and hits two kicks, but Lesnar hits a F5, but Brock is unable to cover. It didn't take much for these guys to win the crowd over. Lesnar picks up Rollins by the bandage over his ribs and tosses him around. Okay, that was awesome. Brock hits a German suplex on the outside. I like this Brock. Brock hits another German inside the ring. Rollins is able to slam Lesnar into the ring post twice and tosses Brock back in the ring. Seth hits a springboard knee and goes to the top rope and misses and Lesnar hits a German with a release halfway across the ring. Lesnar wears him down, but Seth is able to avoid a shoulder to the gut and Lesnar hits the ring post. Rollins kicks Lesnar off the apron and then hits the suicide dive twice, but on the third attempt Lesnar caught him and drove Lesnar through the ring post. Rollins is able to get a kick to the face and goes up to the top of the ring post and hits a frog splash on Brock through the announcer table. Both men get to the ring and Rollins hits a frog splash in the ring. Rollins hits the Stomp, but it's not enough. These guys are really bringing it tonight. Seth goes for a superkick, but Lesnar gets him up for the F5. Rollins escapes and hits the superkick and then the Stomp again and we have a new champion! That match may have just re-made Rollins there. That was a really entertaining, hard hitting and fast paced match that most people don't think Brock is capable of having anymore. Really good stuff.
Match Rating: ****1/4
Well, this wasn't the home run they were probably hoping for, but it was a stand up double. The booking made sense for the most part, which is rare in today's environment. So right there, that is a victory for WWE fans. We were treated to an awesome main event, some nostalgia and a couple of good matches. There was some "meh" stuff thrown in there, but the show not running 5 hours was also a huge plus. This isn't a must watch outside of the main event, but chances are you'll enjoy a few things along the way.
Overall Rating: 71%
Scotiabank Arena
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Submission Match For The Raw Women's Championship
Becky Lynch vs. Natalya
I had a feeling this one would kick things off. Well, I guess if you count the fourth match as kicking things off. They both slap one another to start things off, while Michael Cole tells us that it was SummerSlam last year that started everything for The Man. Now they are claiming that this match has been the talk of Toronto. I highly doubt that. Becky gets Natalya in a triangle hold and Nattie eventually gets Lynch up, but Lynch goes to work on her legs. Natalya does a Cesaro swing into the barricade outside of the ring and then after getting her back into the ring, hits a suplex where Lynch's legs hit the ropes. Natalya puts Becky in a Sharpshooter while sitting on the top rope in a creative spot. Becky reverses Natalya and throws her arm first into the table. We have a dueling chant of "Let's go Becky" and "Becky sucks". I believe that's the first time for that one? Natalya hits a really nice superplex and both women are down. The crowd is doing their part in this match, let's hope they are able to keep it up for another 8 hours. Becky blocks a dropkick and puts Natalya into the Sharpshooter. Natalya is eventually able to roll through and bounce Becky's head off the second turnbuckle. They get a "This is awesome" chant. While this has been really solid so far, I feel like that is setting the bar far too low for the worst chant in wrestling. Natalya gets Becky in the Sharpshooter and Lynch crawls under the ropes, which doesn't technically break the hold, but Natalya has to break it to try and get a better grip. She goes for it again, but Becky puts her in the Disarm Her and after putting up a good fight, she taps. Lynch retains in a solid opener that had the crowd invested.
Match Rating: ***1/4 (out of 5)
Trish Stratus is backstage for an interview. Trish tells Charlotte that if she thinks she's the queen, then she's the queen of queens. Pretty mellow interview there from Trish.
The Goldberg match is next, so I am turning on the watch along show that WWE runs on YouTube because Matt Riddle is on it and this should be fun. He mentioned that he bumped into him backstage about how they need to have a talk. Pretty funny stuff.
Dolph Ziggler vs. Goldberg
This is still one of the most random matches return match that I can remember maybe other than Mick Foley vs. Carlito. I bet you didn't remember that one even happened on a pay-per-view. This Riddle stuff is pretty hilarious. Ziggler hits him with a superkick right out of nowhere and gets a 2 count. He hits another one and Goldberg kicks out again. Goldberg then drills him with a spear. Goldberg hits the Jackhammer and that's all. After the match, Ziggler while on the ground insults Goldberg and calls him out. Goldberg heads back to the ring and hits him with another spear. Ziggler has the mic again and insults Goldberg again and says that he is the best thing going. Goldberg's music hits again and here he comes. Goldberg knocks the mic away and picks up the limp Ziggler, pats him on the back and pretends to walk away. He runs off the ropes and hits him with another spear. I'm still not sure what the point of that was, but the crowd enjoyed it, so I guess it was worth it in that regard, but I say it should have ended after the first spear.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Kofi is back with New Day and they bring in "Drake" Maverick. Hilarity ensues.
United States Championship Match
Ricochet vs AJ Styles
No one knows why they didn't do the Club schtick when they had the chance to a couple of years ago. At least they recognized the missed opportunity. Ricochet is wearing a full bodysuit, superhero style. Ricochet walks on the shoulders of Gallows and Anderson and then leaps to do a hurricanrana on Styles. Ricochet is not human. They are back in the ring and Styles takes out Ricochet's leg. Ricochet tries to fight back, but Styles takes out his leg again. Ricochet fights back and is selling the leg well. He hits a nice one legged springboard elbow drop. Styles gets hit with a neckbreaker and a standing moonsault, but is able to kick out. Styles is a really good babyface, but I love him as a heel too. Styles hits a baseball slide dropkick through the ropes. Ricochet is trying to fight through the injury, but Styles rolls through into a Calf Crusher. Ricochet escapes and goes into the Anaconda Vice. Haven't seen that one in awhile. Northern Lights suplex by Ricochet and he holds on and hits another suplex for a 2 count. Ricochet uses all his strength to drag Styles to the corner, Anderson and Gallows interfere, so Ricochet hits a moonsault. He goes up top, but Styles crotches him, but Ricochet fights him and Anderson off .AJ catches his top rope masterpiece and hits him with the Styles Clash for the victory. That was an awesome finish. Not the barn burner I was hoping for, but that was still an entertaining and smartly worked match. After the match Gallows and Anderson hit Ricochet with the Magic Killer.
Match Rating: ***1/2
The Street Profits are backstage and give us a recap of what has happened so far. Dawkins is talking about Nikki Cross and in walks Ric Flair to a big pop and we get a whole lot of woo'ing.
SmackDown Women's Championship Match
Ember Moon vs. Bayley
This is another random matchup, but one I think that has a lot of potential. Moon takes control early on. Bayley avoids a springboard crossbody and then hits a big knee strike for a 2 count. Bayley hangs Moon on the top rope and then hits a suplex for another 2 count. The pacing of this match is telling me it might go 10+ minutes. Bayley catches Moon's spear through the rope and uses the middle rope as a weapon. Bayley hangs Moon in the tree of woe and hits a nice elbow drop. Moon looks a little timid so far here. Bayley puts her in a reverse Boston Crab. Moon hits a superkick and then goes for a suicide dive, but Bayley blocks it. Bayley goes up top, but Moon hits a top rope hurricanrana. Moon hits a cool variation of the Codebreaker for a 2 count. The crowd is just not buying Moon as a contender here. Moon blocks a hurricanrana and turns it into a powerbomb. Moon goes up top, but Bayley scales the ropes and hits a super Bayley-to-Belly for the victory. Not bad, but ultimately a little disappointing. It seemed like they had some moments where they weren't on the same page in terms of how they wanted that match to go.
Match Rating: **1/2
If Kevin Owens Loses, He Must Quit
Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens
No surprise here, but KO is over big time here in Toronto. I'm in the minority that thinks Shane has done a good job as a heel this year. However, I also don't watch Raw and SmackDown, so I'm not getting the entire picture. Shane announces that Elias is going to be the special enforcer for the match. Shane baits Owens into chasing him and Elias trips him. Owens almost gets counted out as a result. Owens knocks down Shane with a big right and then hits a cannonball. Elias provides another distraction and Shane tosses Owens into the barricade. Shane goes for a Sharpshooter, but Owens kicks out and hits the pop up powerbomb. Elias distracts the ref, so we get no pinfall attempt. There's a chair in the ring and Shane tries to get him to hit him by taunting him and then a slap to the face. Superkick to Shane and then Owens hits a senton and then a frog splash off the top rope, but Elias rips the ref off the mat. Owens hits a cannonball on Elias, who also takes out actual ref. Owens then takes out some aggression on Elias with a steel chair. Owens is about to use the chair on Shane, but he sees the ref coming into the ring and stops. When the ref is getting rid of the chair, he hits a low blow and a Stunner for the victory. In terms of match quality, there was way too much of the Elias stuff going on to make this thing cohesive. However, the crowd was hot and Owens came out of this looking great. Can't complain about that.
Match Rating: **
Charlotte Flair vs. Trish Stratus
This one should be interesting. Charlotte really has become the name in WWE women's wrestling and Trish is obviously going to want to go out with a bang here. They give Trish the showcase here at the beginning so that she can get the "You still got it" chant. They're on the outside and Charlotte trips her up on the ring steps, causing Trish to hit her face on the steps. Trish looks to be in phenomenal shape for a 42 year old who is not active, but that's not surprising given her background. Charlotte going for the reeeeeeal sloooooww heel heat here. Trish finally shows some fight, but it doesn't last long. I was hoping for a real compact like 8-10 minute match here, but they obviously had different goals here. Trish is back on offense and attacks Charlotte with a flurry of chops. Big boot by Charlotte and then Trish goes for the headscissors off the top rope, but it's blocked. Charlotte goes for the super powerbomb, but Trish counters with a great hurricanrana and gets a 2 count. Charlotte hits a huge boot to the face, but Trish kicks out again. Trish does a nice roll through and puts Charlotte in the Figure Four and into the Figure Eight. Stratusfaction and it's not enough. Shame on me, they have won the crowd over here. Chick Kick by Trish and again it's not enough. Charlotte hits a kick and puts her in the Figure Eight for the victory. That was pretty solid once it got going. Trish gets the standing ovation after the match, which is well deserved. She survived a lot of bad storylines in her career. A lot.
Match Rating: **3/4
Bret Hart wishes Seth Rollins a good match backstage. Kind of a surprise after his AEW involvement.
WWE Championship Match
Randy Orton vs. Kofi Kingston
Awesome video package for this one. I am not a big Randy Orton fan, but when he's dialed in he's very good. He seems to be invested in this one. Randy tries to give Kofi a pancake, but Kofi isn't having it. It's fun to see Kofi work with a chip on his shoulder here. Kofi goes up top and Orton shoves him off to the floor. After some more high risk offense from Kofi, Orton dumps Kofi on the announcers table to regain control. We haven't really had a sustained segment for either guy yet. Kofi now is in control and hits the Boom Drop. I looked away for a second and now Randy is on offense and mocking the New Day clap. Kofi dumps Orton outside and hits him with his free fall leap. Kofi then hits a frog splash to a standing. Next thing you know, Orton hits his DDT from the second rope. Gorilla Monsoon is somewhere watching telling everyone that this is a seesaw battle. Kofi counters the RKO with a backslide for a 2 count. Kofi hits a kick to the face and runs up top. He leaps off the top rope and gets hit with the RKO. Kofi is able to roll outside and Orton is now working right in front of Kofi's family. Kofi snaps and the bell rings? This finish sucks and the crowd agrees. Kofi goes nuts on Orton and eventually hits Trouble In Paradise, but the crowd still isn't happy. The official decision is a double countout. That was really disappointing. Hopefully we'll get the match we wanted to see at the next show.
Match Rating: **
Finn Balor vs. Bray Wyatt
Yeah, I'm probably in the minority, but I hate this Bray Wyatt character. To me this is nothing that I want to see. Wyatt goes after Finn right away. This has all the feelings of a squash here. Wyatt hits Rock Bottom and goes for Sister Abigail. Finn fights back and hits slingblade and a stomp. Balor goes off the top, but Wyatt catches him with the Mandible Claw for the victory. Yeah, this is terrible. Get this off my TV.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Universal Championship Match
Seth Rollins vs. Brock Lesnar
I'm curious to see where they go with the booking here. Lesnar goes right after the injured ribs. Say what you will about Brock, but his matches feel different than the rest of the card. Lesnar lands off of one of Brock's Germans and hits the Stomp but only gets a 2 count. Lesnar gets hit with a running knee off the apron. Rollins lands off another German and hits two kicks, but Lesnar hits a F5, but Brock is unable to cover. It didn't take much for these guys to win the crowd over. Lesnar picks up Rollins by the bandage over his ribs and tosses him around. Okay, that was awesome. Brock hits a German suplex on the outside. I like this Brock. Brock hits another German inside the ring. Rollins is able to slam Lesnar into the ring post twice and tosses Brock back in the ring. Seth hits a springboard knee and goes to the top rope and misses and Lesnar hits a German with a release halfway across the ring. Lesnar wears him down, but Seth is able to avoid a shoulder to the gut and Lesnar hits the ring post. Rollins kicks Lesnar off the apron and then hits the suicide dive twice, but on the third attempt Lesnar caught him and drove Lesnar through the ring post. Rollins is able to get a kick to the face and goes up to the top of the ring post and hits a frog splash on Brock through the announcer table. Both men get to the ring and Rollins hits a frog splash in the ring. Rollins hits the Stomp, but it's not enough. These guys are really bringing it tonight. Seth goes for a superkick, but Lesnar gets him up for the F5. Rollins escapes and hits the superkick and then the Stomp again and we have a new champion! That match may have just re-made Rollins there. That was a really entertaining, hard hitting and fast paced match that most people don't think Brock is capable of having anymore. Really good stuff.
Match Rating: ****1/4
Well, this wasn't the home run they were probably hoping for, but it was a stand up double. The booking made sense for the most part, which is rare in today's environment. So right there, that is a victory for WWE fans. We were treated to an awesome main event, some nostalgia and a couple of good matches. There was some "meh" stuff thrown in there, but the show not running 5 hours was also a huge plus. This isn't a must watch outside of the main event, but chances are you'll enjoy a few things along the way.
Overall Rating: 71%
Saturday, August 10, 2019
NXT Takeover: Toronto 2019 Review
Saturday, August 10th, 2019
Scotiabank Arena
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
NXT Tag Team Championship Match
The Street Profits vs. The Undisputed Era
Angelo Dawkins and Kyle O'Reilly start things off. After some mat wrestling, Bobby Fish is tagged in and the Street Profits take control with some quick tags in and out. Montez Ford's athleticism is off the charts. It doesn't take too long for the Undisputed Era to start doing their thing. There is no better tag team in WWE who is better in the heat segment than they are. Dawkins hits a hot tag to Ford and he leaps all over the ring, including a standing moonsault for a 2 count. Ford then goes for a People's Elbow, but it's interrupted, but he is able to counter and hits a Rock Bottom on Fish instead. The referee loses control, allowing Fish to take out Ford's knee and they hit a beautiful double team into a German suplex. Super Exploder by Fish and then a leaping knee drop to the knee of Ford. Dawkins saves Ford from submitting by throwing Fish onto O'Reilly in what looked to be extremely painful. It's amazing how good of matches O'Reilly and Fish have with everyone. Hot tag to Dawkins and he goes nuts and the crowd is digging it. Leaping Blockbuster onto O'Reilly, but he's able to kick out. All four men start brawling and now they are all down as a result. Ford hits a huge dive over the top rope to take out both opponents. Two spears by Dawkins and then a Frog Splash from Ford and that's all she wrote. I loved the chemistry between these two teams. The Street Profits were more polished than I realized, having only seen them wrestle in the ladder match at the last Takeover. Another great tag team match at a Takeover.
Match Rating: **** (out of 5)
Johnny Gargano gets intimate with a ladder backstage ahead of his main event match. Ricochet is in the crowd.
Io Shirai vs. Candice LeRae
LeRae goes right after Shirai before the bell rings. Baseball slide by LeRae, but Shirai goes for a sunset flip into a powerbomb, but she ends up tripping her up into the end of hte ring instead and then suplexing her onto the announcers table. Shirai is quite the heel. I have to say I didn't expect that. LeRae avoids a dropkick from the top rope and comes at Shirai with some chops and forearms. Brainbuster by LeRae gets her a 2 count. LeRae gets Shirai in an Iron Octopus, but Shirai gets to the ropes. Shirai goes for a 619, but LeRae counters it with a neckbreaker. Shirai hits a reverse 619 and tries to follow up with a suplex, but LeaRae hits a suicide dive into a DDT in a surprising spot. Watching this match makes me think it's time for Shayna Baszler to lose the title tonight and move up to the main roster. I'm sure Paul Heyman would love to have her on Raw. They trade some German suplexes in a nice segment. Both women are working really hard here and playing their roles well. Double knee strike by Shirai and she goes up top, LeRae goes for a German suplex, but Shirai lands on her feet. Reverse rana by LeRae into a pinfall (!) gets a 2 count. This is really good stuff. Swinging neckbreaker off the second rope by LeRae. Spanish Fly by Shirai and that only gets a 2 count. Every Takeover, I tell myself that they won't be able to have another amazing show and two matches in and they are off to an amazing start. It's safe to say that these ladies have won over the live crowd as well. Shirai hits the moonsault but LeRae kicks out! Shirai is beside herself and is letting it out on LeRae. Shirai puts LeRae in a Koji Clutch and LeRae is passed out and the ref calls for the bell. Man, that was a really good match.
Match Rating: ****1/4
Out of the crowd comes Matt Riddle with a microphone and the crowd is loving it. He calls out Killian Dain. Dain comes in through the crowd as well and they go at it. Dain hits a big kick to the head. Dain is walking to the back, but here comes Riddle again. Riddle hits some knee strikes and out comes "security" and Riddle takes all of them out. But then Dain hits Riddle with a crossbody like Riddle was a baseball mascot. Riddle puts Dain in a sleeper, but Dain hits a leaping dive off the stage while doing a clothesline to a security guard through two tables. Solid segment.
Austin Theory is in the crowd.
NXT North American Championship Match
Velveteen Dream vs. Roderick Strong vs. Pete Dunne
Dream's entrance starts off with The Mountie's entrance music into a hip hop dance number featuring dancers in Raptors attire. The NXT roster is so strong right now. All three of these guys are so, so good in their own unique way. It only takes a few minutes until Dream takes his suspenders off. Dream and Dunne use a little teamwork on Strong in the early going. They dump Strong to the outside and they go back and forth with some nice wrestling until Strong crotches Dream on the ring post and then he goes nuts on Dunne. Dream eventually gets a Sharpshooter on Strong, but Dunne breaks it up with a dropkick off the top rope. It's now Dunne's turn and he hits a big moonsault and then a German suplex on Strong on top of Dream. All three hit signature moves on one another and they are all down. They do a unique tower of doom spot that didn't quite get executed as well as they probably had hoped, but still looked cool enough. Strong and Dunne are in the corner with Dunne trying for a triangle choke, but Dream hits a coast to coast elbow drop right onto Dunne. Dunne hits two huge knee strikes and then goes back and forth hitting forearms while running off the ropes. Strong then puts on a double Boston Crab. Strong is probably the most underrated performer in WWE today. Dream goes for a double DVD, but Dunne grabs his fingers and Strong hits him with a sickening knee lift. Dream then does an amazing job distracting the ref and then interrupting Dunne's pinfall attempt. Dunne just absolutely stomped Dream's face to the mat. Dunne hits Strong with a big kick, but then Strong rolls into a BOston Crab. Dream Valley Driver on Dunne, but Strong throws Dream out of the ring. Strong hits the falling backbreaker, but then Dream comes in and gets rid of Strong and gets the victory. Another heck of a match. There were a few moments where I thought the styles clashed a little, but they were on fire when it worked. I love the booking of Dream's character and Strong and Dunne continue to look awesome.
Match Rating: ***3/4
Adam Cole is taping up his wrists backstage for tonight.
NXT Women's Championship Match
Mia Yim vs. Shayna Baszler
Is tonight the night Baszler drops the belt? Yim hits a nice combo of a running hurricanrana followed by a big boot and a cannonball. She goes for a suicide dive, but Baszler hits her with a forearm. Yim quickly recovers and slams Baszler's arm in the ring steps. She hits a dropkick to the steps with Baszler's arm pinned between the steps and ring post. Baszler gets Yim back and is quickly working on her arm. Baszler throws a forearm with her injured arm and is selling it. I'm interested to see where they go with both women working on each other's arms. Yim comes back with a suicide dive and a tornado DDT for a 2 count. With all of the other matches tonight, this one feels like it's in slow motion. Not that a slower match is a bad thing, but it's worth noting. The crowd seems to be a bit on the disinterested side. Yim gets Baszler in a Tarantula. Yim hits a Canadian Destroyer off the top rope in a crazy spot. They trade submission holds, but then Baszler gets a figure four head choke and Yim taps out. This was just okay. They provided something different, but the finish reminded me a little too much of the Shirai match and the crowd just wasn't invested.
Match Rating: **1/2
2 Out Of 3 Falls Match For The NXT Championship
Johnny Gargano vs. Adam Cole
The first fall will be a traditional wrestling match. Will they go for the trifecta and go three for three on **** matches from me? Well, since I consider these two my favorite wrestlers in the company, I figure why not do a list of the 10 performers that I think are the best in the company right now. Here they are, in no order:
Johnny Gargano
Adam Cole
Ricochet
Daniel Bryan
Tyler Bate
Cesaro
Andrade
Charlotte Flair
Roderick Strong
Rey Mysterio
This list would probably change daily, but those are the performers who I think are on the biggest roll right now.
Back to the match, these guys continue to show their amazing chemistry together. Cole is selling the right leg after Gargano nailed it on the side of the ring. Gargano's rolling kicks is one of my favorite moves in wrestling. He just always hits it so nicely. This is one of those matches where I'm enjoying just sitting here and watching more than I want to type. Gargano hits a Sunset Driver but only gets a 2 count and the crowd is already chanting "NXT". Gargano goes off the top rope but Cole hits a Codebreaker. Huge double clothesline and both men are down. They continue to play off of how well they know each other and it continues to be such a good story. Gargano goes for the suicide dive but Cole hits a beautifully timed kick. We get a flurry of high impact moves that I'm too lazy to type, but these guys are the gold standard in conditioning in the WWE right now. Cole goes and grabs a chair and brings it in the ring. The ref grabs it and tells him he can't use it. As the ref is getting rid of it, he kicks Gargano south of the border but Gargano kicks out. The ref is getting some pretty big airtime tonight. He takes away the chair from Cole, but then Gargano uses it instead. Cole gets the first fall in the strategy that Triple H used against Randy Orton back in the day. It's now a street fight, so Gargano uses the chair repeatedly on Cole and then hits the suicide dive. They are now out into the crowd. Gargano grabs a phone and snaps a selfie. Gargano jumps off a table onto Cole, causing the barricade to come crashing down. Gargano is now clearing off the announcers table. They both go for offensive moves, but Gargano hits a back body drop onto the Spanish announce table. Gargano goes under the ring and brings out two tables and some chairs while he's at it. Gargano takes too long and it allows Cole to make a comeback with a Shining Wizard. Gargano then hits a lawn dart into a chair set up between the second and third turnbuckle and Gargano gets a submission victory with the Gargano Escape. We are all tied up at 1-1 and we now get to find out what Regal's selection is for the third fall. A steel cage is lowered and there is barbed wire on the top of the cage and has weapons all around the top. This receives a big pop from the crowd. They announce that you are not allowed to escape and can only win by pinfall or submission. They both grab kendo sticks and are just destroying one another and then hit a double superkick and the crowd is loving it. Gargano is climbing to try and get the ladder. He uses it to hit a hurricanrana and then hits a reverse hurricanrana followed by a superkick while Cole is seated in the chair. Gargano uses a fire extinguisher and then hits a tornado DDT into two chairs in a painful looking move as it appeared that his head hit the top of one of the chairs. They are now going for the sledgehammer, but Gargano hits a variation of the sunset flip powerbomb. Gargano goes up and gets the sledgehammer and goes to use it but Cole greets him with a superkick. Cole is on the top rope and throws the ladder at Gargano, but misses. He instead hits the Panama Sunrise after leaping off the top rope, but Gargano kicks out. Cole is setting up the ladder and leaps off from there and hits another Panama Sunrise and again Gargano kicks out. Cole sets up Gargano on a chair and goes for a knee to the back of the head, but Gargano moves and Cole hits the injured leg on the chair. Gargano sets up two tables by the ladder. Gargano climbs the ladder, but Cole rolls off the table. Gargano hits a Panama Sunrise off the top rope and Cole is able to kick out at 2 3/4s. Gargano grabs some wire cutters and cuts off a piece of barbed wire. Cole is trying to escape and they are both on the table that is in the corner of the top of the cage. The crowd starts chanting "Please don't die". Gargano tries to use the barbed wire, but Cole blocks it, causing both men to fall off the top through a table. Cole rolls on top and gets the pinfall victory. Good God, that table just exploded. I don't know how they did it, but they did it again. For me this is another all time classic. This was the perfect finale for this feud and I hope that we are able to re-visit it in like 5 years or so under proper circumstances. After the match, the rest of Undisputed Era helps carry Cole to the back as we go off the air.
Match Rating: *****
I don't know how they did it, but they did. Cole and Gargano gave us another incredible match on par with the first two. Three out of the four undercard matches delivered big time, with the Shirai/LeRae match really winning me over. I don't know what else to say other than if there's a NXT Takeover, you know you're getting one of the best shows of the year. Go ahead and watch this one as soon as you can.
Overall Rating: 97%
Scotiabank Arena
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
NXT Tag Team Championship Match
The Street Profits vs. The Undisputed Era
Angelo Dawkins and Kyle O'Reilly start things off. After some mat wrestling, Bobby Fish is tagged in and the Street Profits take control with some quick tags in and out. Montez Ford's athleticism is off the charts. It doesn't take too long for the Undisputed Era to start doing their thing. There is no better tag team in WWE who is better in the heat segment than they are. Dawkins hits a hot tag to Ford and he leaps all over the ring, including a standing moonsault for a 2 count. Ford then goes for a People's Elbow, but it's interrupted, but he is able to counter and hits a Rock Bottom on Fish instead. The referee loses control, allowing Fish to take out Ford's knee and they hit a beautiful double team into a German suplex. Super Exploder by Fish and then a leaping knee drop to the knee of Ford. Dawkins saves Ford from submitting by throwing Fish onto O'Reilly in what looked to be extremely painful. It's amazing how good of matches O'Reilly and Fish have with everyone. Hot tag to Dawkins and he goes nuts and the crowd is digging it. Leaping Blockbuster onto O'Reilly, but he's able to kick out. All four men start brawling and now they are all down as a result. Ford hits a huge dive over the top rope to take out both opponents. Two spears by Dawkins and then a Frog Splash from Ford and that's all she wrote. I loved the chemistry between these two teams. The Street Profits were more polished than I realized, having only seen them wrestle in the ladder match at the last Takeover. Another great tag team match at a Takeover.
Match Rating: **** (out of 5)
Johnny Gargano gets intimate with a ladder backstage ahead of his main event match. Ricochet is in the crowd.
Io Shirai vs. Candice LeRae
LeRae goes right after Shirai before the bell rings. Baseball slide by LeRae, but Shirai goes for a sunset flip into a powerbomb, but she ends up tripping her up into the end of hte ring instead and then suplexing her onto the announcers table. Shirai is quite the heel. I have to say I didn't expect that. LeRae avoids a dropkick from the top rope and comes at Shirai with some chops and forearms. Brainbuster by LeRae gets her a 2 count. LeRae gets Shirai in an Iron Octopus, but Shirai gets to the ropes. Shirai goes for a 619, but LeRae counters it with a neckbreaker. Shirai hits a reverse 619 and tries to follow up with a suplex, but LeaRae hits a suicide dive into a DDT in a surprising spot. Watching this match makes me think it's time for Shayna Baszler to lose the title tonight and move up to the main roster. I'm sure Paul Heyman would love to have her on Raw. They trade some German suplexes in a nice segment. Both women are working really hard here and playing their roles well. Double knee strike by Shirai and she goes up top, LeRae goes for a German suplex, but Shirai lands on her feet. Reverse rana by LeRae into a pinfall (!) gets a 2 count. This is really good stuff. Swinging neckbreaker off the second rope by LeRae. Spanish Fly by Shirai and that only gets a 2 count. Every Takeover, I tell myself that they won't be able to have another amazing show and two matches in and they are off to an amazing start. It's safe to say that these ladies have won over the live crowd as well. Shirai hits the moonsault but LeRae kicks out! Shirai is beside herself and is letting it out on LeRae. Shirai puts LeRae in a Koji Clutch and LeRae is passed out and the ref calls for the bell. Man, that was a really good match.
Match Rating: ****1/4
Out of the crowd comes Matt Riddle with a microphone and the crowd is loving it. He calls out Killian Dain. Dain comes in through the crowd as well and they go at it. Dain hits a big kick to the head. Dain is walking to the back, but here comes Riddle again. Riddle hits some knee strikes and out comes "security" and Riddle takes all of them out. But then Dain hits Riddle with a crossbody like Riddle was a baseball mascot. Riddle puts Dain in a sleeper, but Dain hits a leaping dive off the stage while doing a clothesline to a security guard through two tables. Solid segment.
Austin Theory is in the crowd.
NXT North American Championship Match
Velveteen Dream vs. Roderick Strong vs. Pete Dunne
Dream's entrance starts off with The Mountie's entrance music into a hip hop dance number featuring dancers in Raptors attire. The NXT roster is so strong right now. All three of these guys are so, so good in their own unique way. It only takes a few minutes until Dream takes his suspenders off. Dream and Dunne use a little teamwork on Strong in the early going. They dump Strong to the outside and they go back and forth with some nice wrestling until Strong crotches Dream on the ring post and then he goes nuts on Dunne. Dream eventually gets a Sharpshooter on Strong, but Dunne breaks it up with a dropkick off the top rope. It's now Dunne's turn and he hits a big moonsault and then a German suplex on Strong on top of Dream. All three hit signature moves on one another and they are all down. They do a unique tower of doom spot that didn't quite get executed as well as they probably had hoped, but still looked cool enough. Strong and Dunne are in the corner with Dunne trying for a triangle choke, but Dream hits a coast to coast elbow drop right onto Dunne. Dunne hits two huge knee strikes and then goes back and forth hitting forearms while running off the ropes. Strong then puts on a double Boston Crab. Strong is probably the most underrated performer in WWE today. Dream goes for a double DVD, but Dunne grabs his fingers and Strong hits him with a sickening knee lift. Dream then does an amazing job distracting the ref and then interrupting Dunne's pinfall attempt. Dunne just absolutely stomped Dream's face to the mat. Dunne hits Strong with a big kick, but then Strong rolls into a BOston Crab. Dream Valley Driver on Dunne, but Strong throws Dream out of the ring. Strong hits the falling backbreaker, but then Dream comes in and gets rid of Strong and gets the victory. Another heck of a match. There were a few moments where I thought the styles clashed a little, but they were on fire when it worked. I love the booking of Dream's character and Strong and Dunne continue to look awesome.
Match Rating: ***3/4
Adam Cole is taping up his wrists backstage for tonight.
NXT Women's Championship Match
Mia Yim vs. Shayna Baszler
Is tonight the night Baszler drops the belt? Yim hits a nice combo of a running hurricanrana followed by a big boot and a cannonball. She goes for a suicide dive, but Baszler hits her with a forearm. Yim quickly recovers and slams Baszler's arm in the ring steps. She hits a dropkick to the steps with Baszler's arm pinned between the steps and ring post. Baszler gets Yim back and is quickly working on her arm. Baszler throws a forearm with her injured arm and is selling it. I'm interested to see where they go with both women working on each other's arms. Yim comes back with a suicide dive and a tornado DDT for a 2 count. With all of the other matches tonight, this one feels like it's in slow motion. Not that a slower match is a bad thing, but it's worth noting. The crowd seems to be a bit on the disinterested side. Yim gets Baszler in a Tarantula. Yim hits a Canadian Destroyer off the top rope in a crazy spot. They trade submission holds, but then Baszler gets a figure four head choke and Yim taps out. This was just okay. They provided something different, but the finish reminded me a little too much of the Shirai match and the crowd just wasn't invested.
Match Rating: **1/2
2 Out Of 3 Falls Match For The NXT Championship
Johnny Gargano vs. Adam Cole
The first fall will be a traditional wrestling match. Will they go for the trifecta and go three for three on **** matches from me? Well, since I consider these two my favorite wrestlers in the company, I figure why not do a list of the 10 performers that I think are the best in the company right now. Here they are, in no order:
Johnny Gargano
Adam Cole
Ricochet
Daniel Bryan
Tyler Bate
Cesaro
Andrade
Charlotte Flair
Roderick Strong
Rey Mysterio
This list would probably change daily, but those are the performers who I think are on the biggest roll right now.
Back to the match, these guys continue to show their amazing chemistry together. Cole is selling the right leg after Gargano nailed it on the side of the ring. Gargano's rolling kicks is one of my favorite moves in wrestling. He just always hits it so nicely. This is one of those matches where I'm enjoying just sitting here and watching more than I want to type. Gargano hits a Sunset Driver but only gets a 2 count and the crowd is already chanting "NXT". Gargano goes off the top rope but Cole hits a Codebreaker. Huge double clothesline and both men are down. They continue to play off of how well they know each other and it continues to be such a good story. Gargano goes for the suicide dive but Cole hits a beautifully timed kick. We get a flurry of high impact moves that I'm too lazy to type, but these guys are the gold standard in conditioning in the WWE right now. Cole goes and grabs a chair and brings it in the ring. The ref grabs it and tells him he can't use it. As the ref is getting rid of it, he kicks Gargano south of the border but Gargano kicks out. The ref is getting some pretty big airtime tonight. He takes away the chair from Cole, but then Gargano uses it instead. Cole gets the first fall in the strategy that Triple H used against Randy Orton back in the day. It's now a street fight, so Gargano uses the chair repeatedly on Cole and then hits the suicide dive. They are now out into the crowd. Gargano grabs a phone and snaps a selfie. Gargano jumps off a table onto Cole, causing the barricade to come crashing down. Gargano is now clearing off the announcers table. They both go for offensive moves, but Gargano hits a back body drop onto the Spanish announce table. Gargano goes under the ring and brings out two tables and some chairs while he's at it. Gargano takes too long and it allows Cole to make a comeback with a Shining Wizard. Gargano then hits a lawn dart into a chair set up between the second and third turnbuckle and Gargano gets a submission victory with the Gargano Escape. We are all tied up at 1-1 and we now get to find out what Regal's selection is for the third fall. A steel cage is lowered and there is barbed wire on the top of the cage and has weapons all around the top. This receives a big pop from the crowd. They announce that you are not allowed to escape and can only win by pinfall or submission. They both grab kendo sticks and are just destroying one another and then hit a double superkick and the crowd is loving it. Gargano is climbing to try and get the ladder. He uses it to hit a hurricanrana and then hits a reverse hurricanrana followed by a superkick while Cole is seated in the chair. Gargano uses a fire extinguisher and then hits a tornado DDT into two chairs in a painful looking move as it appeared that his head hit the top of one of the chairs. They are now going for the sledgehammer, but Gargano hits a variation of the sunset flip powerbomb. Gargano goes up and gets the sledgehammer and goes to use it but Cole greets him with a superkick. Cole is on the top rope and throws the ladder at Gargano, but misses. He instead hits the Panama Sunrise after leaping off the top rope, but Gargano kicks out. Cole is setting up the ladder and leaps off from there and hits another Panama Sunrise and again Gargano kicks out. Cole sets up Gargano on a chair and goes for a knee to the back of the head, but Gargano moves and Cole hits the injured leg on the chair. Gargano sets up two tables by the ladder. Gargano climbs the ladder, but Cole rolls off the table. Gargano hits a Panama Sunrise off the top rope and Cole is able to kick out at 2 3/4s. Gargano grabs some wire cutters and cuts off a piece of barbed wire. Cole is trying to escape and they are both on the table that is in the corner of the top of the cage. The crowd starts chanting "Please don't die". Gargano tries to use the barbed wire, but Cole blocks it, causing both men to fall off the top through a table. Cole rolls on top and gets the pinfall victory. Good God, that table just exploded. I don't know how they did it, but they did it again. For me this is another all time classic. This was the perfect finale for this feud and I hope that we are able to re-visit it in like 5 years or so under proper circumstances. After the match, the rest of Undisputed Era helps carry Cole to the back as we go off the air.
Match Rating: *****
I don't know how they did it, but they did. Cole and Gargano gave us another incredible match on par with the first two. Three out of the four undercard matches delivered big time, with the Shirai/LeRae match really winning me over. I don't know what else to say other than if there's a NXT Takeover, you know you're getting one of the best shows of the year. Go ahead and watch this one as soon as you can.
Overall Rating: 97%
Thursday, August 1, 2019
SmackDown 4-7-05 Review
Original Airdate: Thursday, April 7th, 2005
iPayOne Center
San Diego, California
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
This episode is apparently TV-MA. It shall be interesting to see why.
Much like Raw, the former champ walks down to the ring to kick off the show. He gives the same interview that he's been giving since I started watching, this time he's just not the champion. Eddie Guerrero comes out to save us all. Eddie says that if JBL wants his title back, he's going to have to through him. Out comes Booker T and shortly after Big Show. Now it's time for Rey Mysterio to come out and he says he's throwing his name in to challenge Cena, which then prompts Angle to come out. Michael Cole says this is the craziest intro to SmackDown he's ever been part of. Knowing that there would be about 200 more of these intros, it certainly doesn't feel as important. Angle calls out Booker for not being on WrestleMania and tells Rey that you have to at least be an adult to challenge for the title. Angle then says after WrestleMania he was arrested for armed robbery because he stole the show. Teddy Long finally comes out to make the announcement that there will be a tournament and it's starts tonight with JBL taking on the hometown Rey Mysterio. This segment was about 18 minutes long.
Cruiserweight Championship Match
Paul London vs. Billy Kidman
Chavo Guerrero is the guest announcer and he says that he was never beaten by Paul London and somehow Michael Cole tries arguing with him on it. We get some back and forth action from the two. .London hits a nice mule kick to the back as Kidman was charging. London was busted open from being tossed into the turnbuckle. Big hurricanrana by London followed up by a kick to the head for a 2 count. London is bleeding really badly here. Kidman nails a beautiful dropkick, but can't score the victory. Kidman hits the BK Bomb and sets him up for the Shooting Star Press, but London holds onto Kidman's leg. London hits a bulldog and London goes up top for a 450 that he semi-lands on his feet. Kidman lifts him up, but London rolls through and scores the victory. That was a fun match that you definitely were not expecting to see blood, even if it wasn't on purpose.
Match Rating: **1/2 (out of 5)
After the match, Chavo and Kidman work together to take out London.
A bunch of random characters are in the back talking about Akebono and Big Show. Luther Reigns is leading the conversation and makes fun of Big Show's butt and then makes his own tights into a thong. Yes, really. You'll never guess it, but Big Show is right behind him now. Big Show challenges him to a match tonight.
Torrie is getting ready for the bikini contest tonight.
Big Show vs. Luther Reigns
Big Show immediately is all over Reigns. Reigns takes control and I get distracted just in time to see Show kick him twice in the face with an impressive kick. Show nails him with a shoulder tackle and then hits the chokeslam for the win. The Luther Reigns burial tour continues.
Match Rating: 1/4*
It's John Cena's turn. It's not surprising, but it's interesting to see that over on Raw they had no Batista promo, but a very strong victory over a top opponent. Here on SmackDown we get a promo from the new champion. Cena's throwback Dave Winfield Padres uniform is awesome by the way. He talks about how traditionalists got mad at when he modified the United States Championship. He says that he is modifying the belt again. He heads out into the crowd and says it doesn't matter who you are, including SD Jones because our time is now. This was a pretty low key interview from Cena.
Kurt Angle Invitational
Kurt Angle vs. Jose Quesada
Angle says that the real highlight of WrestleMania was him making Shawn Michaels tap out and that he will make Cena tap faster than you can say fluke champion. Angle says that next week he will be facing Eddie Guerrero in the #1 contender tournament. He says that Cena's days as champion are over faster than you can say "Word freakin' life". Classic Kurt. Jose introduces himself in Spanish. Angle blindsides Quesada and the bell rings. German suplex and then right into an Angle Slam. Angle goes right for the Ankle Lock and that's all. After the match, Kurt says that this is what the future holds for Eddie. He then asks Jose to give the Spanish translation for unbearable pain and puts the mic next to him while he re-applies the Ankle Lock. Obviously this wasn't a match, just more confirmation that Angle is awesome.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Miss Jackie is now shown getting ready for the bikini contest.
Carlito is backstage for an interview. He said he interrupted Piper's Pit because everyone was falling asleep. Carlito says that he should have his own show and that next week he's going to introduce his show, Carlito's Cabana.
Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero are in the locker room. Eddie said he's going to make sure that Rey wins tonight because he has his back. Rey says he can beat anyone including Eddie, who he beat Sunday.
Michael Cole is here to host the SmackDown Diva Bikini Contest. It features Miss Jackie, Dawn Marie and Torrie Wilson. I still can't believe Dawn Marie in WWE was a thing. As they are about to vote Michelle McCool, Joy Giovanni and Lauren Jones. Joy asks for them to show their stuff. Joy gets the biggest vote of the newer crop, but of course Torrie Wilson wins because duh.
#1 Contender Tournament First Round
JBL vs. Rey Mysterio
Rey makes JBL chase him around the ring in the early going. JBL eventually gets him and clubs Rey in the back. Rey headscissors JBL over the top rope to the floor, dropkicks Orlando Jordan off the apron and then does an over the top rope dive onto JBL. JBL regains control again and JBL's offense is so much more entertaining against a smaller guy like Rey. JBL hits the fall away slam from the second rope. Rey finally fights back and hits a moonsault for a 2 count. Rey goes after JBL's leg to knock him down and then reverses a slam with a DDT. Orlando gets involved again, but this time Eddie comes out and evens the odds. JBL kicks Eddie in the back of the head. Dropkick by Rey and hits the 619. Rey goes for the pin, but Eddie runs in and pulls Rey off and attacks JBL, causing the DQ victory for JBL. In come the Bashams and they attack both men. Cena comes in and cleans house.
Match Rating: **3/4
Well, that was a much better episode than we have been getting for awhile. Maybe the John Cena era will breathe some new life into this show. There still is far too much filler, but that's going to be the case when your roster is as weak as it is. Looking forward to Eddie vs. Kurt next week.
Overall Rating: 59%
iPayOne Center
San Diego, California
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
This episode is apparently TV-MA. It shall be interesting to see why.
Much like Raw, the former champ walks down to the ring to kick off the show. He gives the same interview that he's been giving since I started watching, this time he's just not the champion. Eddie Guerrero comes out to save us all. Eddie says that if JBL wants his title back, he's going to have to through him. Out comes Booker T and shortly after Big Show. Now it's time for Rey Mysterio to come out and he says he's throwing his name in to challenge Cena, which then prompts Angle to come out. Michael Cole says this is the craziest intro to SmackDown he's ever been part of. Knowing that there would be about 200 more of these intros, it certainly doesn't feel as important. Angle calls out Booker for not being on WrestleMania and tells Rey that you have to at least be an adult to challenge for the title. Angle then says after WrestleMania he was arrested for armed robbery because he stole the show. Teddy Long finally comes out to make the announcement that there will be a tournament and it's starts tonight with JBL taking on the hometown Rey Mysterio. This segment was about 18 minutes long.
Cruiserweight Championship Match
Paul London vs. Billy Kidman
Chavo Guerrero is the guest announcer and he says that he was never beaten by Paul London and somehow Michael Cole tries arguing with him on it. We get some back and forth action from the two. .London hits a nice mule kick to the back as Kidman was charging. London was busted open from being tossed into the turnbuckle. Big hurricanrana by London followed up by a kick to the head for a 2 count. London is bleeding really badly here. Kidman nails a beautiful dropkick, but can't score the victory. Kidman hits the BK Bomb and sets him up for the Shooting Star Press, but London holds onto Kidman's leg. London hits a bulldog and London goes up top for a 450 that he semi-lands on his feet. Kidman lifts him up, but London rolls through and scores the victory. That was a fun match that you definitely were not expecting to see blood, even if it wasn't on purpose.
Match Rating: **1/2 (out of 5)
After the match, Chavo and Kidman work together to take out London.
A bunch of random characters are in the back talking about Akebono and Big Show. Luther Reigns is leading the conversation and makes fun of Big Show's butt and then makes his own tights into a thong. Yes, really. You'll never guess it, but Big Show is right behind him now. Big Show challenges him to a match tonight.
Torrie is getting ready for the bikini contest tonight.
Big Show vs. Luther Reigns
Big Show immediately is all over Reigns. Reigns takes control and I get distracted just in time to see Show kick him twice in the face with an impressive kick. Show nails him with a shoulder tackle and then hits the chokeslam for the win. The Luther Reigns burial tour continues.
Match Rating: 1/4*
It's John Cena's turn. It's not surprising, but it's interesting to see that over on Raw they had no Batista promo, but a very strong victory over a top opponent. Here on SmackDown we get a promo from the new champion. Cena's throwback Dave Winfield Padres uniform is awesome by the way. He talks about how traditionalists got mad at when he modified the United States Championship. He says that he is modifying the belt again. He heads out into the crowd and says it doesn't matter who you are, including SD Jones because our time is now. This was a pretty low key interview from Cena.
Kurt Angle Invitational
Kurt Angle vs. Jose Quesada
Angle says that the real highlight of WrestleMania was him making Shawn Michaels tap out and that he will make Cena tap faster than you can say fluke champion. Angle says that next week he will be facing Eddie Guerrero in the #1 contender tournament. He says that Cena's days as champion are over faster than you can say "Word freakin' life". Classic Kurt. Jose introduces himself in Spanish. Angle blindsides Quesada and the bell rings. German suplex and then right into an Angle Slam. Angle goes right for the Ankle Lock and that's all. After the match, Kurt says that this is what the future holds for Eddie. He then asks Jose to give the Spanish translation for unbearable pain and puts the mic next to him while he re-applies the Ankle Lock. Obviously this wasn't a match, just more confirmation that Angle is awesome.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Miss Jackie is now shown getting ready for the bikini contest.
Carlito is backstage for an interview. He said he interrupted Piper's Pit because everyone was falling asleep. Carlito says that he should have his own show and that next week he's going to introduce his show, Carlito's Cabana.
Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero are in the locker room. Eddie said he's going to make sure that Rey wins tonight because he has his back. Rey says he can beat anyone including Eddie, who he beat Sunday.
Michael Cole is here to host the SmackDown Diva Bikini Contest. It features Miss Jackie, Dawn Marie and Torrie Wilson. I still can't believe Dawn Marie in WWE was a thing. As they are about to vote Michelle McCool, Joy Giovanni and Lauren Jones. Joy asks for them to show their stuff. Joy gets the biggest vote of the newer crop, but of course Torrie Wilson wins because duh.
#1 Contender Tournament First Round
JBL vs. Rey Mysterio
Rey makes JBL chase him around the ring in the early going. JBL eventually gets him and clubs Rey in the back. Rey headscissors JBL over the top rope to the floor, dropkicks Orlando Jordan off the apron and then does an over the top rope dive onto JBL. JBL regains control again and JBL's offense is so much more entertaining against a smaller guy like Rey. JBL hits the fall away slam from the second rope. Rey finally fights back and hits a moonsault for a 2 count. Rey goes after JBL's leg to knock him down and then reverses a slam with a DDT. Orlando gets involved again, but this time Eddie comes out and evens the odds. JBL kicks Eddie in the back of the head. Dropkick by Rey and hits the 619. Rey goes for the pin, but Eddie runs in and pulls Rey off and attacks JBL, causing the DQ victory for JBL. In come the Bashams and they attack both men. Cena comes in and cleans house.
Match Rating: **3/4
Well, that was a much better episode than we have been getting for awhile. Maybe the John Cena era will breathe some new life into this show. There still is far too much filler, but that's going to be the case when your roster is as weak as it is. Looking forward to Eddie vs. Kurt next week.
Overall Rating: 59%
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)