Original Airdate: Wednesday, February 20th, 2013
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Yoshi Tatsu vs. Bray Wyatt
Tatsu tries to hit him with some chops, but it has no effect. They note that this is Bray's first match since August. Wyatt throws Tatsu around and quickly hits Sister Abigail for the easy squash. Not much to see here, especially 7 years later.
Match Rating: 1/4* (out of 5)
After the match, Bray grabs the mic and shows a video of the ending of last week's tag team match. Bray talks to Erick Rowan and tells him his brother Luke cost him the tag titles and he has him hit Luke. He then asks Luke if he is sick of carrying Erick his whole life and then has him hit him. They start throwing punches at each other until Bray breaks it up. My dislike of the current Bray Wyatt has just completely made me sick of every version of his character.
Renee Young is back with Sasha Banks to talk about her secret admirer. She gets another note and as she is reading it, she is attacked by Audrey Marie who says she is the secret admirer.
El Local vs. Xavier Woods
Apparently El Local is Ricardo Rodriguez. They make fun of Local's weight, which is not something I expected. He's actually a little bit better than I expected and gets a lot of offense in here. Woods battles out of a weak looking chin lock, but then he is put in a headlock. Seriously? Woods hits a tornado DDT and that's it. Not much of a feature for Woods there.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Renee Young is back with a doctor who has been working with Paige. He says they don't have a time table yet for her return. Great interview.
Audrey Marie vs. Sasha Banks
Sasha gets out of a submission and hits a head scissors and a dropkick. However, Marie slams her face first and gets the pinfall. Way too short of a match to be anything.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Renee Young is now with Summer Rae. She gives a terrible promo saying she will be the greatest Diva ever and now wants to be called the first lady of NXT.
Tyson Kidd comes down to the ring on crutches for an interview. He talks about how he hurt his knee at a live event and still fought the next night because he lives to compete. Apparently CM Punk said that Kidd is one of the workhorses of the business and he says he has been that way since he was in the dungeon. Leo Kruger's music hits and he says he is going to end Kidd's career. He kicks out Kidd's knee and is about to attack him, but Justin Gabriel makes the save.
Conor O'Brian vs. Big E Langston
The crowd is chanting "Five" before they lock up. We get a Warrior/Hogan beginning with them trying to knock one another over. Langston clotheslines O'Brian over the top rope to the floor as we go to commercial. O'Brian is working on Big E's shoulder now. O'Brian hits a full nelson slam, which is really the first time Langston has been thrown around here on NXT. Big E battles back with some clotheslines and knees to the midsection. They start throwing some pretty weak punches at one another. The official gets in the middle of them to break them up, but gets thrown down and calls for the bell as a double disqualification. Yeah, that was an uninspired performance by O'Brian there. Then out of nowhere, Corey Graves attacks Big E and steals his title. Big E chases him to the back as the show goes off the air.
Match Rating: 1/2*
To say this show was bad would be an understatement. Weak stories and bad matches can make even a 41 minute wrestling show seem like it's going on forever. This one is a must skip.
Overall Rating: 28%
Friday, January 17, 2020
Wednesday, January 15, 2020
Superstars 11-28-92 Review
Original Airdate: Saturday, November 28th, 1992
Hullman Center
Terre Haute, Indiana
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Bobby Heenan is all fired up over the Survivor Series and tells Mr. Perfect that Razor Ramon is going to carve him up.
Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Jerry Fox
This is the WWF re-debut of Bam Bam and he shows off why he is such a unique performer, particularly for this time period. He hits a dropkick and then hits his signature headbutt off the top rope and gets the quick victory. Effective debut.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Update time with Mean Gene and he has exclusive footage with Razor and Flair after their Survivor Series match. Razor also says he is going to carve Perfect up. The footage is seriously like 20 seconds long.
The Headshrinkers vs. George Anderson & Kevin Krueger
They do a ritual including bamboo sticks prior to the match. Watching this team back, I'm not quite sure why they didn't have a better run. The Natural Disasters are apparently going to be feuding with them, as they are blaming them for losing the titles. They hit a double powerbomb. One of the jobbers is bleeding from the mouth and surprisingly they zoom into it They hit a double drop toe hold and then Fatu hits the splash from up top and that's all.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Time for Sean Mooney in the Event Center. Mr. Fuji tells some story about how he found Yokozuna. Undertaker and Paul Bearer talk about Nailz because that's the feud the world is wanting.
Reverend Slick is here to give thanks and is apparently back.
Tom Stone vs. Bob Backlund
Backlund has no music and shakes Stone's hand. Backlund's style was goofy even by 1992 standards. Who would have thought that he would win the WWF Championship in less than 2 years from here. He wins a squash match with a roll up into a bridge. Yes, really. He shakes Stone's hand after the match. This was nowhere near as effective as Bam Bam's match.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Harvey Wippleman and Kim Chee says that Kamala from now on is going to do exactly what they tell him to do.
Joey Maggs vs. Damien Demento
Doink is out in the crowd again. Demento is really bad here. Lots of stalling and lots of punching and kicking. He hits a reverse neckbreaker followed by a knee and gets the victory. This was really bad.
Match Rating: 0 Stars
They show a clip of the Barber Shop that featured the Rockers break-up and then the return of Marty last month. Marty is now here for an interview with Mean Gene. Marty says that he isn't back for titles or money, but simply to kick Shawn Michaels' butt.
Gary Jackson vs. Razor Ramon
Razor tells a young Jack Doan that if anything happens to his jewelry, something is going to happen to him. Razor works his typical Superstars match and finishes it with a Razor's Edge.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Crush vs. Red Tyler
Vince announces that WrestleMania will be held in Las Vegas. It's kind of interesting that Crush did not get a match at Survivor Series, but got a decent spot at WrestleMania. Crush hits his power moves and it obviously leads to his terrible finisher for the victory.
Match Rating: 1/4*
It's Event Center time again. Virgil thanks the fans for supporting him and then compliments Bret Hart for winning the title. I can't believe they let this one air. Rick Martel says he is the best looking man in wrestling. High Energy say they're going for #1.
Next week is Yokozuna, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Shawn Michaels and an interview with Nailz.
This episode was only noteworthy for the re-debuts of Bob Backlund and Bam Bam Bigelow. Other than that, this was a pretty standard show with nothing out of the ordinary.
Overall Rating: 38%
Hullman Center
Terre Haute, Indiana
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Bobby Heenan is all fired up over the Survivor Series and tells Mr. Perfect that Razor Ramon is going to carve him up.
Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Jerry Fox
This is the WWF re-debut of Bam Bam and he shows off why he is such a unique performer, particularly for this time period. He hits a dropkick and then hits his signature headbutt off the top rope and gets the quick victory. Effective debut.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Update time with Mean Gene and he has exclusive footage with Razor and Flair after their Survivor Series match. Razor also says he is going to carve Perfect up. The footage is seriously like 20 seconds long.
The Headshrinkers vs. George Anderson & Kevin Krueger
They do a ritual including bamboo sticks prior to the match. Watching this team back, I'm not quite sure why they didn't have a better run. The Natural Disasters are apparently going to be feuding with them, as they are blaming them for losing the titles. They hit a double powerbomb. One of the jobbers is bleeding from the mouth and surprisingly they zoom into it They hit a double drop toe hold and then Fatu hits the splash from up top and that's all.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Time for Sean Mooney in the Event Center. Mr. Fuji tells some story about how he found Yokozuna. Undertaker and Paul Bearer talk about Nailz because that's the feud the world is wanting.
Reverend Slick is here to give thanks and is apparently back.
Tom Stone vs. Bob Backlund
Backlund has no music and shakes Stone's hand. Backlund's style was goofy even by 1992 standards. Who would have thought that he would win the WWF Championship in less than 2 years from here. He wins a squash match with a roll up into a bridge. Yes, really. He shakes Stone's hand after the match. This was nowhere near as effective as Bam Bam's match.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Harvey Wippleman and Kim Chee says that Kamala from now on is going to do exactly what they tell him to do.
Joey Maggs vs. Damien Demento
Doink is out in the crowd again. Demento is really bad here. Lots of stalling and lots of punching and kicking. He hits a reverse neckbreaker followed by a knee and gets the victory. This was really bad.
Match Rating: 0 Stars
They show a clip of the Barber Shop that featured the Rockers break-up and then the return of Marty last month. Marty is now here for an interview with Mean Gene. Marty says that he isn't back for titles or money, but simply to kick Shawn Michaels' butt.
Gary Jackson vs. Razor Ramon
Razor tells a young Jack Doan that if anything happens to his jewelry, something is going to happen to him. Razor works his typical Superstars match and finishes it with a Razor's Edge.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Crush vs. Red Tyler
Vince announces that WrestleMania will be held in Las Vegas. It's kind of interesting that Crush did not get a match at Survivor Series, but got a decent spot at WrestleMania. Crush hits his power moves and it obviously leads to his terrible finisher for the victory.
Match Rating: 1/4*
It's Event Center time again. Virgil thanks the fans for supporting him and then compliments Bret Hart for winning the title. I can't believe they let this one air. Rick Martel says he is the best looking man in wrestling. High Energy say they're going for #1.
Next week is Yokozuna, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Shawn Michaels and an interview with Nailz.
This episode was only noteworthy for the re-debuts of Bob Backlund and Bam Bam Bigelow. Other than that, this was a pretty standard show with nothing out of the ordinary.
Overall Rating: 38%
Monday, January 13, 2020
SmackDown 6-16-05 Review
Original Airdate: Thursday, June 16th, 2005
Giant Center
Hershey, Pennsylvania
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
JBL and his Cabinet are in the ring to kick off the show. He makes fun of ECW and says their 15 minutes of fame are up. He then talks about how the UPN executives are praying that he doesn't leave for Raw. Chris Benoit's music interrupts him and apparently there is a scheduled match.
Chris Benoit vs. Doug Basham
Basham reverses an Irish whip and sends Benoit sternum first into the turnbuckle. My least favorite thing about watching these old SmackDowns is not knowing which crowd reactions are legit. I mean, I can obviously kind of tell, but sometimes I'm just not paying enough attention to catch it. Benoit bounces back and hits three German suplexes. Danny Basham distracts Benoit, allowing Doug to hit a superplex. Then basically out of nowhere, Benoit gets a rollup and the pinfall victory. That was just an awkward way to end this match. After the match, the Cabinet is about to attack until the lights go out and Undertaker is here. He takes out all of the Cabinet. JBL asks him who he thinks he is and Teddy Long is out to tell him that he's the man he is going to take on tonight in a no DQ match. Undertaker has not wrestled since WrestleMania. The match was nothing.
Match Rating: *
Eddie Guerrero vs. Paul London
Eddie attacks London as he slides into the ring. Eddie eats a dropsault, but is able to counter a London off the top rope. Eddie puts in a Texas Cloverleaf. He torques back and London submits. That was quicker than it should have been. After the match, Rey Mysterio is out and launches a chair at Eddie. He then gets a nasty shot to Eddie's head. Ugh. This was strictly to get Eddie's heel act over here.
Match Rating: *3/4
Back from the commercial and Rey and Eddie are brawling backstage.
JBL is with the Cabinet backstage and JBL says the Bashams are going to go out with him for his match, not Orlando Jordan's. JBL calls one of the Bashams by the wrong name and they tell him that they aren't going out for either match and walk away.
This week Carlito's guests are Booker T and Sharmell. Carlito says that Booker looks more relaxed and asks if it is because Kurt Angle is now on Raw. Booker says he'd rather destroy Kurt instead. Carlito says that the Draft could shatter their marriage and that it would be pretty cool. Booker attacks Carlito and then they start throwing apples at him as he runs to the back.
After the break, Carlito is yelling at Matt Morgan for not being out there to help him. Morgan starts talking, but you can't hear him because Big Show's music hits and that is Morgan's opponent tonight.
Big Show vs. Matt Morgan
The announcers are trying to build up the fact that people have started to say that Morgan is bigger and badder. Show goes right after him and starts chopping Morgan's chest. We are about a minute in and out comes an angry Carlito. He distracts Show and Morgan hits him with a knee to the back and then kicks him out of the ring. This allows Carlito to get a cheap shot in before Morgan scoops Show back in the ring. Then Michael Cole claims that he's never seen anyone manhandle Show like Morgan has. Yeah, okay. Show makes a comeback and knocks Morgan out of the ring after some big fists and a few headbutts. As Show comes out to get him, Morgan throws him into the steel steps. Morgan clears off a table. Show reverses Morgans F5 attempt and is about to go for a chokeslam, but Carlito hits him in the back with a chair causing the DQ. Morgan then goes for the F5 again, but Show gives him a chokeslam through the table anyways. Carlito retreats to the back. The match was nothing.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Orlando Jordan is shown walking in the back looking worried.
Theodore Long is out in the back of the arena looking around for his newest member of SmackDown.
United States Championship Match
Orlando Jordan vs. Hardcore Holly
Jordan tries to get something going, but Holly steamrolls him with a shoulder tackle. Now it's Jordan's turn to get chopped. Jordan hits a drop toe hold, causing Holly's throat to land across the second rope. Jordan follows that up with a spinebuster. Jordan just so often looks uncomfortable in the ring, as if he is always try to think what he is supposed to do next. Holly hits a hurricanrana and then a huge back body drop. Holly gets a close nearfall after a signature dropkick. Holly hits a clothesline off the top rope. Holly goes for the Alabama Slam, but Jordan grabs the top rope. Holly goes for a sunset flip, but Jordan counters it and holds onto the top rope and gets the victory. This was just about every 5 minute Jordan match you have ever seen.
Match Rating: 3/4*
Heidenreich is on his way to the ring with a giant Hersey bar and chocolate all over his face. I've said it before, but it can't be repeated enough. The depth on the WWE roster at this time was really weak. So much of the current roster who currently has nothing to do would be featured on either show here in 2005. Heidenreich reads another Disasterpiece, but is then interrupted by the SmackDown divas. They all make a bunch of terrible innuendos and that brings on MNM. Melina and Michelle McCool get into it and this is awful. Possibly worse than you would even imagine. Heidenreich stands up for them. Melina keeps going and then McCool spears her and they start brawling. MNM and Heidenreich get into it and they hit the Snapshot on Heidenreich.
They announce next week Rey Mysterio will face Eddie Guerrero next week. Sounds good to me.
No Disqualification Match
JBL vs. Undertaker
Orlando Jordan joins JBL. After JBL hits the ring, Benoit's music hits. He and Jordan start fighting and they go all the way to the back. JBL is yelling for Jordan to come back, but that's not happening. JBL starts off with some stiff looking shots. Undertaker reverses, but gets a boot to the face. He quickly hits JBL with a boot to the face and quickly goes for Old School. They brawl outside the ring and JBL throws Taker knees first into the steel steps. JBL hits a shoulder tackle off the top rope for a 2 count. They show the action from during the break, which included them brawling in the crowd and JBL choking Taker with an electrical cord. JBL goes for the Clothesline From Hell, but Taker counters with a boot to the face. Taker looks really motivated here, as does JBL. Taker hits a guillotine leg drop on the end of the apron. JBL goes up to the top rope, but Taker hits him with an elbow and then a huge superplex. Taker follows that up with Snake Eyes and a leg drop, but it only gets a 2 count. Taker hits a chokeslam, but again it is only good for a 2 count. Taker goes for the Last Ride, but JBL hits a low blow, which is obviously legal here. He hits the Clothesline From Hell, but Taker is able to kick out. Taker hits the Last Ride, but JBL kicks out again. Taker goes for the Tombstone, but Randy Orton hits a RKO out of nowhere and Taker is laid out. JBL crawls on Taker and steals the victory. Randy Orton gets on the mic and says that he better get used to this because he is now officially on SmackDown. That was a much better match than you would expect and it was nice that their was no outside interference until the very end. Orton makes a nice arrival on SmackDown and this builds to the big feud for the remainder of 2005.
Match Rating: ***1/4
This is a good example of a show that nothing worthwhile happened until the last half hour. Thankfully, the last match was well worked and had a hot finish. The rest of it can all easily be skipped.
Overall Rating: 49%
Giant Center
Hershey, Pennsylvania
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
JBL and his Cabinet are in the ring to kick off the show. He makes fun of ECW and says their 15 minutes of fame are up. He then talks about how the UPN executives are praying that he doesn't leave for Raw. Chris Benoit's music interrupts him and apparently there is a scheduled match.
Chris Benoit vs. Doug Basham
Basham reverses an Irish whip and sends Benoit sternum first into the turnbuckle. My least favorite thing about watching these old SmackDowns is not knowing which crowd reactions are legit. I mean, I can obviously kind of tell, but sometimes I'm just not paying enough attention to catch it. Benoit bounces back and hits three German suplexes. Danny Basham distracts Benoit, allowing Doug to hit a superplex. Then basically out of nowhere, Benoit gets a rollup and the pinfall victory. That was just an awkward way to end this match. After the match, the Cabinet is about to attack until the lights go out and Undertaker is here. He takes out all of the Cabinet. JBL asks him who he thinks he is and Teddy Long is out to tell him that he's the man he is going to take on tonight in a no DQ match. Undertaker has not wrestled since WrestleMania. The match was nothing.
Match Rating: *
Eddie Guerrero vs. Paul London
Eddie attacks London as he slides into the ring. Eddie eats a dropsault, but is able to counter a London off the top rope. Eddie puts in a Texas Cloverleaf. He torques back and London submits. That was quicker than it should have been. After the match, Rey Mysterio is out and launches a chair at Eddie. He then gets a nasty shot to Eddie's head. Ugh. This was strictly to get Eddie's heel act over here.
Match Rating: *3/4
Back from the commercial and Rey and Eddie are brawling backstage.
JBL is with the Cabinet backstage and JBL says the Bashams are going to go out with him for his match, not Orlando Jordan's. JBL calls one of the Bashams by the wrong name and they tell him that they aren't going out for either match and walk away.
This week Carlito's guests are Booker T and Sharmell. Carlito says that Booker looks more relaxed and asks if it is because Kurt Angle is now on Raw. Booker says he'd rather destroy Kurt instead. Carlito says that the Draft could shatter their marriage and that it would be pretty cool. Booker attacks Carlito and then they start throwing apples at him as he runs to the back.
After the break, Carlito is yelling at Matt Morgan for not being out there to help him. Morgan starts talking, but you can't hear him because Big Show's music hits and that is Morgan's opponent tonight.
Big Show vs. Matt Morgan
The announcers are trying to build up the fact that people have started to say that Morgan is bigger and badder. Show goes right after him and starts chopping Morgan's chest. We are about a minute in and out comes an angry Carlito. He distracts Show and Morgan hits him with a knee to the back and then kicks him out of the ring. This allows Carlito to get a cheap shot in before Morgan scoops Show back in the ring. Then Michael Cole claims that he's never seen anyone manhandle Show like Morgan has. Yeah, okay. Show makes a comeback and knocks Morgan out of the ring after some big fists and a few headbutts. As Show comes out to get him, Morgan throws him into the steel steps. Morgan clears off a table. Show reverses Morgans F5 attempt and is about to go for a chokeslam, but Carlito hits him in the back with a chair causing the DQ. Morgan then goes for the F5 again, but Show gives him a chokeslam through the table anyways. Carlito retreats to the back. The match was nothing.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Orlando Jordan is shown walking in the back looking worried.
Theodore Long is out in the back of the arena looking around for his newest member of SmackDown.
United States Championship Match
Orlando Jordan vs. Hardcore Holly
Jordan tries to get something going, but Holly steamrolls him with a shoulder tackle. Now it's Jordan's turn to get chopped. Jordan hits a drop toe hold, causing Holly's throat to land across the second rope. Jordan follows that up with a spinebuster. Jordan just so often looks uncomfortable in the ring, as if he is always try to think what he is supposed to do next. Holly hits a hurricanrana and then a huge back body drop. Holly gets a close nearfall after a signature dropkick. Holly hits a clothesline off the top rope. Holly goes for the Alabama Slam, but Jordan grabs the top rope. Holly goes for a sunset flip, but Jordan counters it and holds onto the top rope and gets the victory. This was just about every 5 minute Jordan match you have ever seen.
Match Rating: 3/4*
Heidenreich is on his way to the ring with a giant Hersey bar and chocolate all over his face. I've said it before, but it can't be repeated enough. The depth on the WWE roster at this time was really weak. So much of the current roster who currently has nothing to do would be featured on either show here in 2005. Heidenreich reads another Disasterpiece, but is then interrupted by the SmackDown divas. They all make a bunch of terrible innuendos and that brings on MNM. Melina and Michelle McCool get into it and this is awful. Possibly worse than you would even imagine. Heidenreich stands up for them. Melina keeps going and then McCool spears her and they start brawling. MNM and Heidenreich get into it and they hit the Snapshot on Heidenreich.
They announce next week Rey Mysterio will face Eddie Guerrero next week. Sounds good to me.
No Disqualification Match
JBL vs. Undertaker
Orlando Jordan joins JBL. After JBL hits the ring, Benoit's music hits. He and Jordan start fighting and they go all the way to the back. JBL is yelling for Jordan to come back, but that's not happening. JBL starts off with some stiff looking shots. Undertaker reverses, but gets a boot to the face. He quickly hits JBL with a boot to the face and quickly goes for Old School. They brawl outside the ring and JBL throws Taker knees first into the steel steps. JBL hits a shoulder tackle off the top rope for a 2 count. They show the action from during the break, which included them brawling in the crowd and JBL choking Taker with an electrical cord. JBL goes for the Clothesline From Hell, but Taker counters with a boot to the face. Taker looks really motivated here, as does JBL. Taker hits a guillotine leg drop on the end of the apron. JBL goes up to the top rope, but Taker hits him with an elbow and then a huge superplex. Taker follows that up with Snake Eyes and a leg drop, but it only gets a 2 count. Taker hits a chokeslam, but again it is only good for a 2 count. Taker goes for the Last Ride, but JBL hits a low blow, which is obviously legal here. He hits the Clothesline From Hell, but Taker is able to kick out. Taker hits the Last Ride, but JBL kicks out again. Taker goes for the Tombstone, but Randy Orton hits a RKO out of nowhere and Taker is laid out. JBL crawls on Taker and steals the victory. Randy Orton gets on the mic and says that he better get used to this because he is now officially on SmackDown. That was a much better match than you would expect and it was nice that their was no outside interference until the very end. Orton makes a nice arrival on SmackDown and this builds to the big feud for the remainder of 2005.
Match Rating: ***1/4
This is a good example of a show that nothing worthwhile happened until the last half hour. Thankfully, the last match was well worked and had a hot finish. The rest of it can all easily be skipped.
Overall Rating: 49%
Wednesday, January 8, 2020
Monday Night Raw 6-13-05 Review
Monday, June 13th, 2005
Broome County Arena
Binghamton, New York
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Steve Austin is here to kick off the show. He is here for court and introduces Muhammad Hassan. Austin tells him he doesn't like him, but says he has an unbiased opinion. Hassan says that he still has never been pinned and yet he still gets the shaft. He then shows a video package as part of his proof. Austin calls him a piece of trash, but tells him that he's right and that he has been wronged by the system. He then asks Hassan if he has ever had an Intercontinental Championship match. Hassan tells him no, so Austin tells him that he had a feeling he would make this decision so he has Shelton Benjamin standing out back and he's going to have a match with him tonight. Good on Austin for mentioning that as opposed to Benjamin just randomly being ready for a match.
Intercontinental Championship Match
Muhammad Hassan vs. Shelton Benjamin
We join the match after the commercial break and Shelton is in charge. Hassan drops Shelton face first into the turnbuckle and begins working on Shelton's back. The crowd is really into this. I wonder when the last time Binghamton had a televised show? Shelton was really finding his groove here and seemingly was getting over with the crowd, but he never built a memorable feud with anyone to take him to that next level. Shelton hits a really nice springboard bulldog and then throws Daivari in the ring. That allows Hassan to hit a low blow and he then puts Shelton in a Camel Clutch. Austin comes in and stomps away at Hassan. He then declares Hassan the winner and hits the Stunner with help from a kick to the head from Shelton. That was a good TV opener that gives Shelton a little personality with the rub from Austin. He and Austin drink some Steveweisers after the match.
Match Rating: **1/4 (out of 5)
Eric Bischoff and Jonathan Coachman are backstage. Bischoff never wants to hear about ECW again. Jericho then walks in and is wondering why Christian has been named the #1 contender for John Cena's title at Vengeance. Jericho says he is going to take care of Christian tonight. Triple H then walks in and stares Jericho down. Triple H wants to know who the draft pick is tonight, because he doesn't want that person to screw up his match with Batista.
Chris Masters is out and is saying that he will now be offering $11,000 tonight to anyone in the locker room. Out comes...Sgt. Slaughter. Masters asks him why he thinks he can break the Master Lock and calls him an old man. Sarge then gets out an old school "maggot" response and tells him he doesn't care about the money or the Master Lock challenge. He says he wants to know if Masters can get out of his Cobra Clutch and attacks him and puts him in the hold. Masters is able to get to the ropes and then gives him a low blow, which allows him to put on the Master Lock. Slaughter battles for awhile, but eventually is done. That was surprisingly pretty fun.
JR and Lawler talk about the upcoming Hell In A Cell match and we get a whole highlight package on Batista/Triple H.
Christian and Tomko are walking backstage as we go to commercial.
Christian & Tyson Tomko vs. Chris Jericho & John Cena
Jericho starts off on a mission, going after Christian. This is kind of an odd match for Cena's first Raw match. Not a main event and not really advertised. Cena gets tagged in and dominates Tomko. This arena is kind of strange because there is a TV screen in the corner, which is kind of odd for an arena. Tomko gets clotheslined over the top rope and they then throw Christian on top of him heading into the commercial break. When we come back, Christian is in control. They have a miscue where Christian tries to hit an elbow at the same time that Cena is doing his shoulder tackle. Right after that, Tomko falls too quickly for Jericho's kick. Stuff happens. The heels finally get their heat segment, using illegal double teams along the way. Jericho hits the hot tag to Cena and he hits the Five Knuckle Shuffle followed by the FU on Tomko and picks up the victory. After the match, Jericho attacks Cena from behind. Jericho had been teasing a heel turn, although it was with Shelton, which makes this all feel like this was a last minute decision. That was your typical fun match that you would expect with the guys involved.
Match Rating: **3/4
They show some clips of the Diva Search. This...is...something. We will meet the 8 finalists next week
Jericho runs to Bischoff and asks if he has done enough to convince him. Bischoff says he has earned a spot and in walks Christian. Christian is upset because he thinks Jericho has taken his spot. Bischoff then announces that it will be a triple threat match instead. In comes Cena looking for revenge on Jericho and they have to be pulled apart by some officials. Interestingly, as they are brawling there are some crates that they are in front of that say "ECW". I guess just leftovers from the night before?
Maven vs. Viscera
Talk about your dream matches. Viscera comes out alone, but he then unveils Lilian Garcia. Maven attacks Vis from behind. Maven goes up top and hits a missile dropkick for a 2 count. This is already longer than I expected. Viscera hits a slam and a splash. He hits a weak version of his spinning kick and then follows it up with a variation of a sit down powerbomb for the win. At least it was short.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Flair is pumping up Triple H. Triple H says he needs to send a message that they are calling the shots.
Kane vs. Sylvain Grenier
Interesting order to this show. The beginning was stacked and then you have Viscera and Kane back-to-back. Kane immediately attacks Grenier. Grenier, just like Maven before him, hits a missile dropkick. Also like Maven, it does him no good. Kane hits three chokeslams in a row and gets the victory. Bless this crowd for cheering for everything tonight. Nothing match, as you would expect.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Lita's music hits and interrupts his celebration. She introduces Snitsky and she tells him that she knows it wasn't his fault. She blames it on Kane for putting her in danger and then thanks him and kisses him. This is a terrible storyline. She then introduces her fiance and he kisses her on the forehead, ha. She then announces that next week on Raw, Edge and her are getting married. They make out in celebration.
Out come Triple H and Ric Flair and they are here to greet the new draft pick. After a long pause, we get Kurt Angle now on Raw and away from one of the worst storylines of the decade. Angle tells Triple H that his days of being #1 here are over. He and Flair get into a Woo off. Angle reminds Triple H that the last time he saw him was WrestleMania 21, where he tapped out Shawn Michaels and Triple H lost his title to Batista. Triple H's comeback was that at least he was a champion at WrestleMania 21. He comes back with a stronger one saying how he was getting beat by Sharmell. Angle tells him that he has a thing for other people's wives and brings up making out with Stephanie behind his back. Angle wants Batista the day after Vengeance on Raw. Out comes the champ. Triple H suggests that Angle fights Batista next week and Batista agrees. Now out comes Shawn Michaels, who challenges Angle to a rematch at Vengeance. All five men start brawling and the show ends before really too much happens.
If you take away the awful Lita segment, this was a very good top to bottom Raw. Austin had a good appearance that helped elevate Hassan and Benjamin. Cena's first match on Raw was an entertaining bout. The debut of Kurt Angle was a fun interaction between a bunch of top tier talents that all have history. Vengeance kind of got pushed to the side due to One Night Stand, but they did a nice job of building interest quickly.
Overall Rating: 70%
Broome County Arena
Binghamton, New York
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Steve Austin is here to kick off the show. He is here for court and introduces Muhammad Hassan. Austin tells him he doesn't like him, but says he has an unbiased opinion. Hassan says that he still has never been pinned and yet he still gets the shaft. He then shows a video package as part of his proof. Austin calls him a piece of trash, but tells him that he's right and that he has been wronged by the system. He then asks Hassan if he has ever had an Intercontinental Championship match. Hassan tells him no, so Austin tells him that he had a feeling he would make this decision so he has Shelton Benjamin standing out back and he's going to have a match with him tonight. Good on Austin for mentioning that as opposed to Benjamin just randomly being ready for a match.
Intercontinental Championship Match
Muhammad Hassan vs. Shelton Benjamin
We join the match after the commercial break and Shelton is in charge. Hassan drops Shelton face first into the turnbuckle and begins working on Shelton's back. The crowd is really into this. I wonder when the last time Binghamton had a televised show? Shelton was really finding his groove here and seemingly was getting over with the crowd, but he never built a memorable feud with anyone to take him to that next level. Shelton hits a really nice springboard bulldog and then throws Daivari in the ring. That allows Hassan to hit a low blow and he then puts Shelton in a Camel Clutch. Austin comes in and stomps away at Hassan. He then declares Hassan the winner and hits the Stunner with help from a kick to the head from Shelton. That was a good TV opener that gives Shelton a little personality with the rub from Austin. He and Austin drink some Steveweisers after the match.
Match Rating: **1/4 (out of 5)
Eric Bischoff and Jonathan Coachman are backstage. Bischoff never wants to hear about ECW again. Jericho then walks in and is wondering why Christian has been named the #1 contender for John Cena's title at Vengeance. Jericho says he is going to take care of Christian tonight. Triple H then walks in and stares Jericho down. Triple H wants to know who the draft pick is tonight, because he doesn't want that person to screw up his match with Batista.
Chris Masters is out and is saying that he will now be offering $11,000 tonight to anyone in the locker room. Out comes...Sgt. Slaughter. Masters asks him why he thinks he can break the Master Lock and calls him an old man. Sarge then gets out an old school "maggot" response and tells him he doesn't care about the money or the Master Lock challenge. He says he wants to know if Masters can get out of his Cobra Clutch and attacks him and puts him in the hold. Masters is able to get to the ropes and then gives him a low blow, which allows him to put on the Master Lock. Slaughter battles for awhile, but eventually is done. That was surprisingly pretty fun.
JR and Lawler talk about the upcoming Hell In A Cell match and we get a whole highlight package on Batista/Triple H.
Christian and Tomko are walking backstage as we go to commercial.
Christian & Tyson Tomko vs. Chris Jericho & John Cena
Jericho starts off on a mission, going after Christian. This is kind of an odd match for Cena's first Raw match. Not a main event and not really advertised. Cena gets tagged in and dominates Tomko. This arena is kind of strange because there is a TV screen in the corner, which is kind of odd for an arena. Tomko gets clotheslined over the top rope and they then throw Christian on top of him heading into the commercial break. When we come back, Christian is in control. They have a miscue where Christian tries to hit an elbow at the same time that Cena is doing his shoulder tackle. Right after that, Tomko falls too quickly for Jericho's kick. Stuff happens. The heels finally get their heat segment, using illegal double teams along the way. Jericho hits the hot tag to Cena and he hits the Five Knuckle Shuffle followed by the FU on Tomko and picks up the victory. After the match, Jericho attacks Cena from behind. Jericho had been teasing a heel turn, although it was with Shelton, which makes this all feel like this was a last minute decision. That was your typical fun match that you would expect with the guys involved.
Match Rating: **3/4
They show some clips of the Diva Search. This...is...something. We will meet the 8 finalists next week
Jericho runs to Bischoff and asks if he has done enough to convince him. Bischoff says he has earned a spot and in walks Christian. Christian is upset because he thinks Jericho has taken his spot. Bischoff then announces that it will be a triple threat match instead. In comes Cena looking for revenge on Jericho and they have to be pulled apart by some officials. Interestingly, as they are brawling there are some crates that they are in front of that say "ECW". I guess just leftovers from the night before?
Maven vs. Viscera
Talk about your dream matches. Viscera comes out alone, but he then unveils Lilian Garcia. Maven attacks Vis from behind. Maven goes up top and hits a missile dropkick for a 2 count. This is already longer than I expected. Viscera hits a slam and a splash. He hits a weak version of his spinning kick and then follows it up with a variation of a sit down powerbomb for the win. At least it was short.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Flair is pumping up Triple H. Triple H says he needs to send a message that they are calling the shots.
Kane vs. Sylvain Grenier
Interesting order to this show. The beginning was stacked and then you have Viscera and Kane back-to-back. Kane immediately attacks Grenier. Grenier, just like Maven before him, hits a missile dropkick. Also like Maven, it does him no good. Kane hits three chokeslams in a row and gets the victory. Bless this crowd for cheering for everything tonight. Nothing match, as you would expect.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Lita's music hits and interrupts his celebration. She introduces Snitsky and she tells him that she knows it wasn't his fault. She blames it on Kane for putting her in danger and then thanks him and kisses him. This is a terrible storyline. She then introduces her fiance and he kisses her on the forehead, ha. She then announces that next week on Raw, Edge and her are getting married. They make out in celebration.
Out come Triple H and Ric Flair and they are here to greet the new draft pick. After a long pause, we get Kurt Angle now on Raw and away from one of the worst storylines of the decade. Angle tells Triple H that his days of being #1 here are over. He and Flair get into a Woo off. Angle reminds Triple H that the last time he saw him was WrestleMania 21, where he tapped out Shawn Michaels and Triple H lost his title to Batista. Triple H's comeback was that at least he was a champion at WrestleMania 21. He comes back with a stronger one saying how he was getting beat by Sharmell. Angle tells him that he has a thing for other people's wives and brings up making out with Stephanie behind his back. Angle wants Batista the day after Vengeance on Raw. Out comes the champ. Triple H suggests that Angle fights Batista next week and Batista agrees. Now out comes Shawn Michaels, who challenges Angle to a rematch at Vengeance. All five men start brawling and the show ends before really too much happens.
If you take away the awful Lita segment, this was a very good top to bottom Raw. Austin had a good appearance that helped elevate Hassan and Benjamin. Cena's first match on Raw was an entertaining bout. The debut of Kurt Angle was a fun interaction between a bunch of top tier talents that all have history. Vengeance kind of got pushed to the side due to One Night Stand, but they did a nice job of building interest quickly.
Overall Rating: 70%
Monday, January 6, 2020
NXT 2-13-13 Review
Original Airdate: Wednesday, February 13th, 2013
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Mike Dalton vs. Axel Keegan
Paige was holding her left shoulder and she is shown in the back having the training staff check it out.
Alex Riley vs. Corey Graves
It's still weird to see Riley on NXT after he was pretty heavily featured prior to this. They wrestle a pretty basic match here. Graves goes after the knee and then slaps on his unnamed submission finisher and gets the win kind of out of nowhere. Match was okay, but forgettable.
Match Rating: *1/4
Summer Rae vs. Paige
During the Graves match, they announced that Dusty made the match official for tonight. Paige has her shoulder wrapped up. Summer Rae instantly goes right for her shoulder. It doesn't last long and Paige tosses her across the ring by her hair. Summer then pulls her arm over the rope from the outside and then follows up with a spin kick and gets the win? Paige continues to sell her shoulder injury while Summer celebrates. Yep.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Sasha Banks gets another letter from her secret admirer.
NXT Tag Team Championship Tournament Final
Adrian Neville & Oliver Grey vs. The Wyatt Family
Bray Wyatt clearly did not have as good of a grasp of what his character was here, as he gives a pretty generic promo on his way to the ring. Grey and Harper start things off. Grey explodes for a dive to the outside and lands right by Wyatt in his rocking chair. As you would expect, the Wyatts quickly make a comeback and slow things down. Bray gets involved and pulls Gray off the apron. Dusty comes down and sends Bray to the back as they go to commercial. After a really long beatdown, Grey finally makes the tag to Neville and he gets more reaction from his wrestling than probably everyone on the roster at this point. He goes for a springboard dropkick, but Harper gets his boot up. Harper goes for the win, but Grey is able to break it up. Neville ducks a Harper forearm and he accidentally knocks Rowan off the apron. Neville goes up top and his the Red Arrow for the victory and they become the first ever NXT Tag Team Champions. I was hoping for the first really good NXT match, but it was simply pretty good.
Match Rating: **1/2
They interview the champs in the ring and they're pretty excited.
Well, this show felt a little different, which is a bonus. We got to see them crown first ever champions, which obviously makes this episode historic as well. I really, really just wanted a great main event and knew that they could do it, but instead it felt like a typical NXT of this era main event.
Overall Rating: 50%
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Paige was holding her left shoulder and she is shown in the back having the training staff check it out.
Alex Riley vs. Corey Graves
It's still weird to see Riley on NXT after he was pretty heavily featured prior to this. They wrestle a pretty basic match here. Graves goes after the knee and then slaps on his unnamed submission finisher and gets the win kind of out of nowhere. Match was okay, but forgettable.
Match Rating: *1/4
Summer Rae vs. Paige
During the Graves match, they announced that Dusty made the match official for tonight. Paige has her shoulder wrapped up. Summer Rae instantly goes right for her shoulder. It doesn't last long and Paige tosses her across the ring by her hair. Summer then pulls her arm over the rope from the outside and then follows up with a spin kick and gets the win? Paige continues to sell her shoulder injury while Summer celebrates. Yep.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Sasha Banks gets another letter from her secret admirer.
NXT Tag Team Championship Tournament Final
Adrian Neville & Oliver Grey vs. The Wyatt Family
Bray Wyatt clearly did not have as good of a grasp of what his character was here, as he gives a pretty generic promo on his way to the ring. Grey and Harper start things off. Grey explodes for a dive to the outside and lands right by Wyatt in his rocking chair. As you would expect, the Wyatts quickly make a comeback and slow things down. Bray gets involved and pulls Gray off the apron. Dusty comes down and sends Bray to the back as they go to commercial. After a really long beatdown, Grey finally makes the tag to Neville and he gets more reaction from his wrestling than probably everyone on the roster at this point. He goes for a springboard dropkick, but Harper gets his boot up. Harper goes for the win, but Grey is able to break it up. Neville ducks a Harper forearm and he accidentally knocks Rowan off the apron. Neville goes up top and his the Red Arrow for the victory and they become the first ever NXT Tag Team Champions. I was hoping for the first really good NXT match, but it was simply pretty good.
Match Rating: **1/2
They interview the champs in the ring and they're pretty excited.
Well, this show felt a little different, which is a bonus. We got to see them crown first ever champions, which obviously makes this episode historic as well. I really, really just wanted a great main event and knew that they could do it, but instead it felt like a typical NXT of this era main event.
Overall Rating: 50%
Friday, January 3, 2020
Survivor Series 1992 Review
Wednesday, November 25th, 1992
Richfield Coliseum
Richfield, Ohio
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
If you are a classic WWF fan, Vince's intro here is just perfect. He and Heenan run down the card one last time.
High Energy vs. The Headshrinkers
Oddly enough, the Headshrinkers get no televised entrance. High Energy was the perfect opponent for a new team to face. This was also a good choice to open the show. High Energy uses their quickness early to get the Headshrinkers off their game. Koko tries to do the double headbutt, but it has no effect. Afa is eating his traditional turkey from the bone outside the ring and the Headshrinkers are now in control. The Headshrinkers use some nice old school tag team tricks until Owen gets the hot tag. Owen hits a crossbody from the top rope, but Fatu breaks up the pin. Samu then catches Owen for a body slam and Fatu goes up top and hits the big splash for the victory. That was exactly what it needed to be. Good, solid opener.
Match Rating: **1/2 (out of 5)
Sean Mooney is in the locker room and issues viewer discretion for the upcoming Nightstick Match. In walks Nailz and he talks about how long he has been waiting for this day. If only anyone else felt the same.
Mean Gene is with Big Boss Man in front of a ladder for some reason. He lets us know that he's going to make sure Nailz serves nothing but hard time and he runs out to the ring.
Nightstick Match
Nailz vs. Big Boss Man
Boss Man runs down to the ring right after his interview, giving this a different feel from most matches during this time. The fact that they've made it 60 seconds and Nailz hasn't choked Boss Man yet is a miracle. Boss Man goes for the nightstick, but Nailz slams him off the top rope. Now Nailz goes for the choke and all is right in the world. Heenan claiming that Nailz went to prison for a parking ticket that he didn't know he got is classic Heenan. Nailz goes for it, but Boss Man knocks him off and he hits his leg more than they probably were going for. Heenan calls them out for going slower each time they climb for the nightstick as if it's been a 20 minute match. We are probably about 3 minutes in. Boss Man goes up and grabs the nightstick and hits Nailz a couple of time, but Nailz is able to knock it out of Boss Man's hand. He immediately hits him right in the throat. Boss Man ducks his next shot and hits the Boss Man Slam and gets the victory. The crowd absolutely loved this. This was the best a Nailz match could be, as the climbing attempts kept him from just choking Boss Man over and over. The biggest complaint here is the whole match was built around the nightstick, both guys got some big hits in with it, but it hardly phased either one. Then they finished the match with a regular move. However, the fact that they had a hot crowd, kept it short and moved a quicker pace really helped it.
Match Rating: *
Mean Gene is back with Ric Flair and Razor Ramon. They show the entire recap of Savage choosing Perfect as his new partner. Flair is outraged and Razor says he is going to carve them up.
Rick Martel vs. Tatanka
It's the match that is months in the making here. I really don't understand why this match didn't happen at SummerSlam, but here we are. Martel slaps Tatanka, but that doesn't work out well for him. Martel is able to slow Tatanka down by dropping him throat first on the top rope. Out comes Doink and he's making a balloon animal. After a long heat segement, Martel misses Tatanka and hits his shoulder on the ring post. Tatanka works on the shoulder and Doink is still in the aisle with his balloon animals. Tatanka works on the shoulder. Martel goes up top, but Tatanka counters it and hits him with some chops, including one from the top rope. Tatanka hits End of the Trail for the pinfall victory. They then show Doink giving away the balloons and then popping them. That was nothing special and probably could have been cut down a couple of minutes, but they tried to make time for Doink.
Match Rating: *1/2
Macho Man and Mr. Perfect are back with Sean Mooney. Savage says that he doesn't trust Perfect, but he thinks they could be the perfect team.
Ric Flair & Razor Ramon vs. Randy Savage & Mr. Perfect
Heenan is brilliant as always here during Perfect's entrance. Perfect and Razor kick things off and the crowd is definitely into Perfect. Just out of curiosity, I looked up the ages of everyone in the match. Razor Ramon and Mr. Perfect were 34, Randy Savage was 40 and Ric Flair and Earl Hebner were both 43. Perfect gets the better of Ramon and then is all over Flair. Savage dominates Flair until he gets pushed into the wrong corner and allows Razor to get a cheap shot in. Flair tosses Savage over the top rope and Razor slams him into the steps. Razor slaps on a weak looking half crab on Savage and Perfect is starting to walk towards the back. Perfect thinks about it and decides to head back to the apron. Razor hits him and he distracts the ref, allowing the illegal double team. Savage finally hits the hot tag to Perfect and he hits his signature offense on Razor. Flair and Savage are now going at it on the outside and Flair hits Savage in the head with a chair. Flair comes in the ring and Perfect dumps him out. Razor sends Perfect off the ropes and he accidentally hits Hebner. Perfect counters a Razor's Edge attempt and Perfect hits the Perfect Plex, but there's no ref. A second ref comes in, but Flair breaks it up. Perfect hits a Perfect Plex on Flair, but the ref is distracted by Razor. Flair and Razor continue with a double team and both refs ring the bell. Razor goes and grabs a chair, but Savage takes it away and gives it to Perfect, who is in the Figure Four. Perfect hits Flair with two shots and Flair and Razor retreat. They announce Savage and Perfect as the winners by disqualification. That was a really well worked match and it told a good story. After the match, Savage and Perfect high five and give an awkward thumbs up to one another. That was some good early 90s WWF right there.
Match Rating: ***1/2
Flair and Razor are back with Mean Gene in front of the ladder and of course they are not happy. Razor says that he has only been double crossed once before and tells them to ask him what happened if they can find him.
Yokozuna vs. Virgil
Yokozuna gets the full entrance with the geisha girls and flowers. Yoko's facial expressions are very underrated, as I always thought they were a big part of what made him so successful. Viril hits a series of dropkicks, but he can't knock him down and then eats a back kick to the face. Yokozuna hits a leg drop and the reaction from the crowd says it all. Virgil tries to roll him up, but Yokozuna falls on him and I don't know how that doesn't hurt. Yoko hits the Banzai Drop and that's all for poor Virgil. This was obviously a squash match and an effective one.
Match Rating: 3/4*
Savage and Perfect are back with Mooney again. Perfect has some turkeys for Razor and Flair and a small chicken for Heenan. They then go all out bromance on us and tell each other they're the best.
Survivor Series Elimination Match
The Beverly Brothers & Money, Inc. vs. The Natural Disasters & The Nasty Boys
I don't know why, but I have grown to love the Beverly Brothers. The Natural Disasters squash the Beverly's early on. Sags hits a pump handle slam on Beau. Dibiase finally gets in there and takes down Sags with a clothesline, but Sags counters a suplex. Vince speculates that Sags is hurt, but it looks more like he's just blown up already. The heels make frequent tags and continue to work on Saggs. Blake and Sags collide and both men are down.. Earthquake and Beau get the tags in, but all 8 men end up in the ring. This leads to Beau eating a splash from Earthquake and the Beverly Brothers are eliminated. Dibiase avoids a splash in the corner and he and IRS hits a double suplex, but Earthquake kicks out with authority. Heenan makes a Lloyds of London reference. Money, Inc. dominates for awhile until Quake tags in Typhoon. Dibiase trips up Typhoon behind the refs back and the Natural Disasters are eliminated. Not to be outdone, the Nasty Boys roll up IRS and gets the quick pinfall and are the lone survivors. The match was pretty dull overall and was the beginning of the end for the tag division in the WWF.
Match Rating: *3/4
They hype up the WWF hotline and then show the same Kamala/Undertaker stuff we have been seeing for weeks
Coffin Match
Kamala vs. Undertaker
Kamala sells that he is frightened by the coffin. Taker hits Old School early on and they are working at a snail's pace. Kamala hits two body slams, but Taker immediately gets up after both. He hits a third one, but Taker is able to get up this time. Kamala follows up with three splashes. Paul Bearer comes up on the apron and Kim Chee trips him up and Bearer drops the urn. They give it to Kamala, but he is scared of it and drops it. Taker picks it up and nails Kamala with it. Undertaker gets a 3 count and then rolls Kamala in the coffin. They put the lid on and they hammer it shut. Well, that sucked.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Sean Mooney is with Shawn Michaels and asks about Sherri. Shawn continues to drive home the fact that he beat the man who beat Bret Hart.
As Shawn is making his way down to the ring, Bret is with Mean Gene. Bret clues us in that Thanksgiving is known for giving thanks. Bret also has nothing but respect for Shawn.
WWF Championship Match
Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart
We get a lot of actual back and forth wrestling, which is something we never saw in the Hogan era. They clearly are pacing themselves for a longer match here. Michaels hits a stun gun on Bret and then we get the classic Irish whip chest first by Bret. They double down on the mat wrestling here, which is kind of an interesting choice. I feel like they had a chance to do something really unique here and are kind of playing it safe. Bret makes his comeback and hits a slingshot, sending Michaels right into the ring post. Bret picks up the pace and then hits a superplex, but takes too long to make the cover. Bret goes for a sleeper, but Michaels pushes him into the ref, allowing him to get out of the hold. Michaels then sends Bret to the outside. Shawn hits Sweet Chin Music before it was considered his finisher. He hits his suplex finisher, but Bret kicks out. Bret knocks into Michaels, which causes Michaels to get tied up in the ropes. Bret goes after him, but Michaels moves and Bret hits the ropes hard. Michaels goes off the second rope, but Bret grabs his feet and locks in the Sharpshooter and Michaels submits. That was a solid match, but they never really got in any signature moments to make it memorable. After the match, Santa Claus comes down and he hugs Bret. Fake snow falls down from the ceiling, as the two of them celebrate.
Match Rating: ***1/4
The funny thing about the pay-per-views from this era is that the matches don't all have to be good for the shows to be entertaining. The wrestlers felt like larger than life personalities and carried the shows on personality to make up for the lack of in ring excitement. With that being said, the Perfect Team match was well done and the main event was solid, if not a little disappointing. Nothing else really stood out beyond that, but the pacing was good and the crowd was into almost everything. There's no reason to go out of your way to see this show, but you could do a lot worse.
Overall Rating: 62%
Richfield Coliseum
Richfield, Ohio
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
If you are a classic WWF fan, Vince's intro here is just perfect. He and Heenan run down the card one last time.
High Energy vs. The Headshrinkers
Oddly enough, the Headshrinkers get no televised entrance. High Energy was the perfect opponent for a new team to face. This was also a good choice to open the show. High Energy uses their quickness early to get the Headshrinkers off their game. Koko tries to do the double headbutt, but it has no effect. Afa is eating his traditional turkey from the bone outside the ring and the Headshrinkers are now in control. The Headshrinkers use some nice old school tag team tricks until Owen gets the hot tag. Owen hits a crossbody from the top rope, but Fatu breaks up the pin. Samu then catches Owen for a body slam and Fatu goes up top and hits the big splash for the victory. That was exactly what it needed to be. Good, solid opener.
Match Rating: **1/2 (out of 5)
Sean Mooney is in the locker room and issues viewer discretion for the upcoming Nightstick Match. In walks Nailz and he talks about how long he has been waiting for this day. If only anyone else felt the same.
Mean Gene is with Big Boss Man in front of a ladder for some reason. He lets us know that he's going to make sure Nailz serves nothing but hard time and he runs out to the ring.
Nightstick Match
Nailz vs. Big Boss Man
Boss Man runs down to the ring right after his interview, giving this a different feel from most matches during this time. The fact that they've made it 60 seconds and Nailz hasn't choked Boss Man yet is a miracle. Boss Man goes for the nightstick, but Nailz slams him off the top rope. Now Nailz goes for the choke and all is right in the world. Heenan claiming that Nailz went to prison for a parking ticket that he didn't know he got is classic Heenan. Nailz goes for it, but Boss Man knocks him off and he hits his leg more than they probably were going for. Heenan calls them out for going slower each time they climb for the nightstick as if it's been a 20 minute match. We are probably about 3 minutes in. Boss Man goes up and grabs the nightstick and hits Nailz a couple of time, but Nailz is able to knock it out of Boss Man's hand. He immediately hits him right in the throat. Boss Man ducks his next shot and hits the Boss Man Slam and gets the victory. The crowd absolutely loved this. This was the best a Nailz match could be, as the climbing attempts kept him from just choking Boss Man over and over. The biggest complaint here is the whole match was built around the nightstick, both guys got some big hits in with it, but it hardly phased either one. Then they finished the match with a regular move. However, the fact that they had a hot crowd, kept it short and moved a quicker pace really helped it.
Match Rating: *
Mean Gene is back with Ric Flair and Razor Ramon. They show the entire recap of Savage choosing Perfect as his new partner. Flair is outraged and Razor says he is going to carve them up.
Rick Martel vs. Tatanka
It's the match that is months in the making here. I really don't understand why this match didn't happen at SummerSlam, but here we are. Martel slaps Tatanka, but that doesn't work out well for him. Martel is able to slow Tatanka down by dropping him throat first on the top rope. Out comes Doink and he's making a balloon animal. After a long heat segement, Martel misses Tatanka and hits his shoulder on the ring post. Tatanka works on the shoulder and Doink is still in the aisle with his balloon animals. Tatanka works on the shoulder. Martel goes up top, but Tatanka counters it and hits him with some chops, including one from the top rope. Tatanka hits End of the Trail for the pinfall victory. They then show Doink giving away the balloons and then popping them. That was nothing special and probably could have been cut down a couple of minutes, but they tried to make time for Doink.
Match Rating: *1/2
Macho Man and Mr. Perfect are back with Sean Mooney. Savage says that he doesn't trust Perfect, but he thinks they could be the perfect team.
Ric Flair & Razor Ramon vs. Randy Savage & Mr. Perfect
Heenan is brilliant as always here during Perfect's entrance. Perfect and Razor kick things off and the crowd is definitely into Perfect. Just out of curiosity, I looked up the ages of everyone in the match. Razor Ramon and Mr. Perfect were 34, Randy Savage was 40 and Ric Flair and Earl Hebner were both 43. Perfect gets the better of Ramon and then is all over Flair. Savage dominates Flair until he gets pushed into the wrong corner and allows Razor to get a cheap shot in. Flair tosses Savage over the top rope and Razor slams him into the steps. Razor slaps on a weak looking half crab on Savage and Perfect is starting to walk towards the back. Perfect thinks about it and decides to head back to the apron. Razor hits him and he distracts the ref, allowing the illegal double team. Savage finally hits the hot tag to Perfect and he hits his signature offense on Razor. Flair and Savage are now going at it on the outside and Flair hits Savage in the head with a chair. Flair comes in the ring and Perfect dumps him out. Razor sends Perfect off the ropes and he accidentally hits Hebner. Perfect counters a Razor's Edge attempt and Perfect hits the Perfect Plex, but there's no ref. A second ref comes in, but Flair breaks it up. Perfect hits a Perfect Plex on Flair, but the ref is distracted by Razor. Flair and Razor continue with a double team and both refs ring the bell. Razor goes and grabs a chair, but Savage takes it away and gives it to Perfect, who is in the Figure Four. Perfect hits Flair with two shots and Flair and Razor retreat. They announce Savage and Perfect as the winners by disqualification. That was a really well worked match and it told a good story. After the match, Savage and Perfect high five and give an awkward thumbs up to one another. That was some good early 90s WWF right there.
Match Rating: ***1/2
Flair and Razor are back with Mean Gene in front of the ladder and of course they are not happy. Razor says that he has only been double crossed once before and tells them to ask him what happened if they can find him.
Yokozuna vs. Virgil
Yokozuna gets the full entrance with the geisha girls and flowers. Yoko's facial expressions are very underrated, as I always thought they were a big part of what made him so successful. Viril hits a series of dropkicks, but he can't knock him down and then eats a back kick to the face. Yokozuna hits a leg drop and the reaction from the crowd says it all. Virgil tries to roll him up, but Yokozuna falls on him and I don't know how that doesn't hurt. Yoko hits the Banzai Drop and that's all for poor Virgil. This was obviously a squash match and an effective one.
Match Rating: 3/4*
Savage and Perfect are back with Mooney again. Perfect has some turkeys for Razor and Flair and a small chicken for Heenan. They then go all out bromance on us and tell each other they're the best.
Survivor Series Elimination Match
The Beverly Brothers & Money, Inc. vs. The Natural Disasters & The Nasty Boys
I don't know why, but I have grown to love the Beverly Brothers. The Natural Disasters squash the Beverly's early on. Sags hits a pump handle slam on Beau. Dibiase finally gets in there and takes down Sags with a clothesline, but Sags counters a suplex. Vince speculates that Sags is hurt, but it looks more like he's just blown up already. The heels make frequent tags and continue to work on Saggs. Blake and Sags collide and both men are down.. Earthquake and Beau get the tags in, but all 8 men end up in the ring. This leads to Beau eating a splash from Earthquake and the Beverly Brothers are eliminated. Dibiase avoids a splash in the corner and he and IRS hits a double suplex, but Earthquake kicks out with authority. Heenan makes a Lloyds of London reference. Money, Inc. dominates for awhile until Quake tags in Typhoon. Dibiase trips up Typhoon behind the refs back and the Natural Disasters are eliminated. Not to be outdone, the Nasty Boys roll up IRS and gets the quick pinfall and are the lone survivors. The match was pretty dull overall and was the beginning of the end for the tag division in the WWF.
Match Rating: *3/4
They hype up the WWF hotline and then show the same Kamala/Undertaker stuff we have been seeing for weeks
Coffin Match
Kamala vs. Undertaker
Kamala sells that he is frightened by the coffin. Taker hits Old School early on and they are working at a snail's pace. Kamala hits two body slams, but Taker immediately gets up after both. He hits a third one, but Taker is able to get up this time. Kamala follows up with three splashes. Paul Bearer comes up on the apron and Kim Chee trips him up and Bearer drops the urn. They give it to Kamala, but he is scared of it and drops it. Taker picks it up and nails Kamala with it. Undertaker gets a 3 count and then rolls Kamala in the coffin. They put the lid on and they hammer it shut. Well, that sucked.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Sean Mooney is with Shawn Michaels and asks about Sherri. Shawn continues to drive home the fact that he beat the man who beat Bret Hart.
As Shawn is making his way down to the ring, Bret is with Mean Gene. Bret clues us in that Thanksgiving is known for giving thanks. Bret also has nothing but respect for Shawn.
WWF Championship Match
Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart
We get a lot of actual back and forth wrestling, which is something we never saw in the Hogan era. They clearly are pacing themselves for a longer match here. Michaels hits a stun gun on Bret and then we get the classic Irish whip chest first by Bret. They double down on the mat wrestling here, which is kind of an interesting choice. I feel like they had a chance to do something really unique here and are kind of playing it safe. Bret makes his comeback and hits a slingshot, sending Michaels right into the ring post. Bret picks up the pace and then hits a superplex, but takes too long to make the cover. Bret goes for a sleeper, but Michaels pushes him into the ref, allowing him to get out of the hold. Michaels then sends Bret to the outside. Shawn hits Sweet Chin Music before it was considered his finisher. He hits his suplex finisher, but Bret kicks out. Bret knocks into Michaels, which causes Michaels to get tied up in the ropes. Bret goes after him, but Michaels moves and Bret hits the ropes hard. Michaels goes off the second rope, but Bret grabs his feet and locks in the Sharpshooter and Michaels submits. That was a solid match, but they never really got in any signature moments to make it memorable. After the match, Santa Claus comes down and he hugs Bret. Fake snow falls down from the ceiling, as the two of them celebrate.
Match Rating: ***1/4
The funny thing about the pay-per-views from this era is that the matches don't all have to be good for the shows to be entertaining. The wrestlers felt like larger than life personalities and carried the shows on personality to make up for the lack of in ring excitement. With that being said, the Perfect Team match was well done and the main event was solid, if not a little disappointing. Nothing else really stood out beyond that, but the pacing was good and the crowd was into almost everything. There's no reason to go out of your way to see this show, but you could do a lot worse.
Overall Rating: 62%
Wednesday, January 1, 2020
One Night Stand 2005 Review
Sunday, June 12th, 2005
Hammerstein Ballroom
New York City, New York
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Joey Styles is introduced and gets a huge reaction. He introduces his broadcast partner Mick Foley, who comes out wearing a Cactus Jack shirt and sweatpants. They the cut to a throwback highlight introduction that still looks like it was made in Paul Heyman's parents basement.
Lance Storm vs. Chris Jericho
Dawn Marie is out with Lance. Foley says that this may be Lance's last match. Jericho comes out with his retro gear. We start off with some back and forth wrestling and Lance still looks good. Jericho hits a really nice dropkick off the first turnbuckle and then a baseball slide to kick Lance to the floor. Jericho goes for an ax handle off the apron, but Lance moves and Jericho hits the guardrail. Storm then shows off his beautiful dropkick followed by a vertical suplex. Lance does a backwards leap from the top rope, but gets hit to the back of the head with a dropkick from Jericho. It should be noted that the crowd is insanely into every move here. Wrestling is so much more fun when you have an invested crowd. I know that's an obvious statement, but it still needs to be said. Lance rolls him into a half crab, but Jericho tries to reverse it into a Walls Of Jericho, but hits a slingshot instead. Jericho gets him in the Walls of Jericho, but Dawn Marie distracts the ref. Out comes Justin Credible and Jason Knight and Credible hits Jericho with a kendo stick and Storm gets the victory. That was a lot of fun and a perfect way to book an opening match for a reunion show.
Match Rating: ***1/2 (out of 5)
Styles mentions the "elephant in the room", which is Bischoff's group and they show an empty suite in the arena. Pitbull then introduces a list of performers who passed away including Rocco Rock, Terry Gordy, Mike Lockwood, The Original Sheik, Mike Lozansky, Pitbull Anthony Durante, Big Dick Dudley and Chris Candido. Candido gets his second chant of the night.
Three Way Dance
Tajiri vs. Little Guido vs. Super Crazy
Tajiri is accompanied by Mikey Whipwreck and Sinister Minister, while Guido is with his entire gang. I've always enjoyed Super Crazy and Tajiri. These guys are working a frantic pace here and Super Crazy is leading the charge until the FBI gets involved. They go to the outside and Super Crazy climbs up to the balcony and hits a moonsault on the FBI. Back in the ring, Tajiri gets Super Crazy in the Tarantula. The FBI again gets involved and takes out Super Crazy. Big Guido has Tajiri up, but he sprays Guido with green mist and Sinister Minister hits Big Guido. Mikey Whipwreck takes out Guido and Tajiri pins him and now it is down to Tajiri and Super Crazy. Tajiri counters a powerbomb into a DDT. Super Crazy hits a moonsault off of the first two turnbuckles, but Whipwreck pushes him off when he goes for #3. Super Crazy fights off Tajiri and hits the moonsault off the top rope for the pinfall victory. That was another great sprint and it's easy to see why they gave Super Crazy a main roster shot.
Match Rating: ***1/2
They show a highlight package of memorable ECW moments. ECW was about 10 years too early, as they would have been perfect for the YouTube era.
Psicosis vs. Rey Mysterio Jr.
Psicosis takes off his mask in the ring, which they say is the first time that he has willingly taken the mask off. Styles does a nice job of giving us the history of this memorable feud. I like Psicosis more with the mask. The crowd is not as into this match, as a sleeper from Psicosis gets some boos. Psicosis sets Mysterio up on the guardrail and hits a Psycho Guillotine leg drop from the top rope. Mysterio moves out of the way of a dropkick to the corner. Mysterio then dodges a shoulder to the corner and he lands in the laps of two of the only females in the crowd. Mysterio then hits a seated senton from the top rope in the crowd. He sets up Psicosis for the 619, which isn't super popular. He hits a West Coast Pop and gets the victory. This was definitely far from their best effort, but they hit the next gear the last couple of minutes.
Match Rating: ***
Out come the anti-ECW crusaders including Kurt Angle and JBL. I would think JBL considers this one of his favorite moments. Joey begs to show something else and we get more highlight clips.
Out comes Joel Gertner and he's in the WWE suite and JBL quickly kicks him out. Angle gets on the mic and insults the fans. JBL then goes to the mommy's basement jokes. After a long rant, Rob Van Dam's music hits and he's on his way to the ring with Bill Alfonso. It kind of sucks that the most talented mainstay of ECW wasn't able to compete on the show. RVD gives just about the most passionate promo you will ever see from him here. He says that he doesn't have any creative geniuses writing this for him, he's shooting from the hip tonight. He talks about how misused he is and that he was the one who suggested a ECW show to Vince. He says that missing this show hurts worse than missing WrestleMania. Out comes Rhyno and he attacks him until the lights go out and now Sabu is in the ring.
Rhyno vs. Sabu
So this is an impromptu match. Since they didn't announce any matches, they basically all are impromptu matches. Sabu hits Rhyno with a sick chair shot to the head that knocks him to the floor from the top turnbuckle. Sabu then hits an Air Sabu and doesn't screw up, which is a minor miracle. For my money, Rhyno is probably the most underrated ECW star. Sabu hits some more of his signature moves until Rhyno trips Sabu into the chair. Rhyno hits a piledriver, which is something you don't see much anymore. RVD comes in and chucks a chair at his head. RVD then hits a dropkick with a chair to Rhyno's face. Alfonso gets RVD a table and he sets up Rhyno and Sabu hits a leg drop with a chair from the top rope and that's all. It wasn't necessarily a good match, but it was entertaining. Considering the fact that Rob Van Dam didn't return until Royal Rumble 2006, this seemed a little risky having him out there.
Match Rating: **1/2
Al Snow and Head are backstage and he blames Head for inviting the SmackDown wrestlers. We get more highlight clips.
Now the Raw crew is here with Bischoff. Styles makes a comment about him being glad that he didn't bring his wife since Edge is here.
Chris Benoit vs. Eddie Guerrero
These guys deliver some solid wrestling, but the crowd is too concerned about chanting things about Edge and Lita to care. Eddie is busted open on his upper nose. Eddie gets a chair shot in and follows it up with a nice superplex. He goes up top, but Benoit avoids the Frog Splash. Benoit hits some German suplexes and then hits the diving headbutt. Benoit puts in the Crippler Crossface and he taps? I would consider that one a disappointment, as we know both of these guys are capable of a lot better. That ending was really weak as well.
Match Rating: **3/4
Joel Gertner is back out and is with Bischoff's crew. Gertner starts begging Bischoff for a job. Bischoff grabs the mic and turns him down and insults him.
Mike Awesome vs. Masato Tanaka
The Raw crew turns their back on the match. Joey Styles goes off on Mike Awesome leaving while he was ECW Champion. Awesome hits a dive over the top and nails Tanaka. Tanaka then hits a running chair shot to his head. Awesome recovers and sets up a table. Awesome hits the Awesome Bomb and just chucks Tanaka through the table. Awesome goes up top and hits a big splash, but Tanaka kicks out. Awesome's athleticism and strength are just off the charts. Awesome crushes Tanaka with 3 chair shots to the head, but Tanaka is back up. Sickening. Tanaka hits a tornado DDT on the chairs for a 2 count. Tanaka then jumps off the top rope with a chair and smashes it to another chair on Awesome's face. Awesome then spears Tanaka and then hits him with a chair from off the top rope. Awesome pulls out another table and is having difficulties. He grabs another table and brings it in the ring. Tanaka counters the superplex and hits a DDT through the table. They are both up top and Awesome hits a reverse Awesome Bomb off the top rope and he's lucky the one part of the table didn't seriously hurt Tanaka there. That only gets a 2 count and Awesome is looking for another table. Tanaka counters an Awesome Bomb, but Awesome sets him up for another one and throws him through the table on the ground. He then hits a dive over the top rope and gets the pinfall. Awesome is 40 years old here and what he did was just insane. This match had some flaws to it and the chair shots are uncomfortable to watch nearly 15 years later, but man, did these guys put on a show.
Match Rating: ***3/4
Paul Heyman is out and all teary-eyed. After thanking some folks, he turns his attention to Eric Bischoff, Edge and JBL. His burns aren't particularly good by Heyman's standards. This whole thing came off as pretty lame.
Dudley Boyz vs. Tommy Dreamer & Sandman
Sandman's entrance is as long as Undertaker's at a WrestleMania. Just as the match is about to start, the bWo comes out and Joey Styles does the worst fake laugh you'll ever hear. The last 20 minutes or so here have really hurt this show. Stevie hits the Stevie Kick on Sandman and then they start attacking Dreamer. Kid Kash comes out and is immediately disposed. Next comes Balls Mahoney and Axl Rotten with chairs and they take out the bWo. Kid Kash then does a springboard somersault off the top rope to the floor. Bubba and Dreamer are in the ring and the bell rings. There already using trash cans and cheese graters to kick things off. We've already got lots of blood and lots of stupid shots to the head. D-Von accidentally hits Bubba with the Singapore Cain and Dreamer and Sandman go with duel Figure Fours. Out comes the Triple Threat, which then brings out Francine and then Beulah, who immediately start to fight. Beulah hits Lance Storm with a low blow and then her and Dreamer hit double DDTs on the Dudleyz. They powerbomb Sandman through a table, but only get a 2 count. They then hit the 3D on Dreamer, but instead of going for a pin, they grab another table. Out comes Spike Dudley and he has lighter fluid. They light the table on fire and powerbomb Dreamer through it, which I completely forgot about. That's enough for the victory and this is one of the harder matches to rate. It was the very definition of overbooked, but it also was non-stop action.
Match Rating: ***
After the match, the Dudleyz go after Beulah, but Sandman makes the save. Sandman asks for a beer and out comes Steve Austin. Austin then invites the ECW roster out to have a beer bash. Austin then invites the WWE gang down to the ring. They come to the ring and the crowd chants for Taz and out he comes. And now the infamous brawl starts and of course my eyes are locked in on JBL and Blue Meanie. Taz puts Angle in the Tazmission on the floor. Blue Meanie is busted open. JBL is the last WWE member out of the ring. Austin then asks Foley to grab Bischoff and bring him to the ring. The Dudleyz give him a 3D and then Benoit hits a flying headbutt. Up next is a 619 from Mysterio. Bischoff still has some choice words for ECW, so Austin hits a Stunner and they toss him out of the ring. Styles says that he wishes that time could stand still so that this moment could last forever. I'll tell you that the last 45 minutes have felt like 3 hours, so maybe he got his wish.
This show is overall a really great show. It's unfortunate that they stalled so much at the end, as it most likely played much better for the live crowd than it did for those of us at home. However, the rest of the show is pedal to the metal, with very few low spots. If you are someone like me that no longer really cares for old ECW, this one still holds up and represents the things the promotion did well with very little of the stuff that would never be allowed here in 2020. No matter how you look at it, this is a definite thumbs up.
Overall Rating: 82%
Hammerstein Ballroom
New York City, New York
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Joey Styles is introduced and gets a huge reaction. He introduces his broadcast partner Mick Foley, who comes out wearing a Cactus Jack shirt and sweatpants. They the cut to a throwback highlight introduction that still looks like it was made in Paul Heyman's parents basement.
Lance Storm vs. Chris Jericho
Dawn Marie is out with Lance. Foley says that this may be Lance's last match. Jericho comes out with his retro gear. We start off with some back and forth wrestling and Lance still looks good. Jericho hits a really nice dropkick off the first turnbuckle and then a baseball slide to kick Lance to the floor. Jericho goes for an ax handle off the apron, but Lance moves and Jericho hits the guardrail. Storm then shows off his beautiful dropkick followed by a vertical suplex. Lance does a backwards leap from the top rope, but gets hit to the back of the head with a dropkick from Jericho. It should be noted that the crowd is insanely into every move here. Wrestling is so much more fun when you have an invested crowd. I know that's an obvious statement, but it still needs to be said. Lance rolls him into a half crab, but Jericho tries to reverse it into a Walls Of Jericho, but hits a slingshot instead. Jericho gets him in the Walls of Jericho, but Dawn Marie distracts the ref. Out comes Justin Credible and Jason Knight and Credible hits Jericho with a kendo stick and Storm gets the victory. That was a lot of fun and a perfect way to book an opening match for a reunion show.
Match Rating: ***1/2 (out of 5)
Styles mentions the "elephant in the room", which is Bischoff's group and they show an empty suite in the arena. Pitbull then introduces a list of performers who passed away including Rocco Rock, Terry Gordy, Mike Lockwood, The Original Sheik, Mike Lozansky, Pitbull Anthony Durante, Big Dick Dudley and Chris Candido. Candido gets his second chant of the night.
Three Way Dance
Tajiri vs. Little Guido vs. Super Crazy
Tajiri is accompanied by Mikey Whipwreck and Sinister Minister, while Guido is with his entire gang. I've always enjoyed Super Crazy and Tajiri. These guys are working a frantic pace here and Super Crazy is leading the charge until the FBI gets involved. They go to the outside and Super Crazy climbs up to the balcony and hits a moonsault on the FBI. Back in the ring, Tajiri gets Super Crazy in the Tarantula. The FBI again gets involved and takes out Super Crazy. Big Guido has Tajiri up, but he sprays Guido with green mist and Sinister Minister hits Big Guido. Mikey Whipwreck takes out Guido and Tajiri pins him and now it is down to Tajiri and Super Crazy. Tajiri counters a powerbomb into a DDT. Super Crazy hits a moonsault off of the first two turnbuckles, but Whipwreck pushes him off when he goes for #3. Super Crazy fights off Tajiri and hits the moonsault off the top rope for the pinfall victory. That was another great sprint and it's easy to see why they gave Super Crazy a main roster shot.
Match Rating: ***1/2
They show a highlight package of memorable ECW moments. ECW was about 10 years too early, as they would have been perfect for the YouTube era.
Psicosis vs. Rey Mysterio Jr.
Psicosis takes off his mask in the ring, which they say is the first time that he has willingly taken the mask off. Styles does a nice job of giving us the history of this memorable feud. I like Psicosis more with the mask. The crowd is not as into this match, as a sleeper from Psicosis gets some boos. Psicosis sets Mysterio up on the guardrail and hits a Psycho Guillotine leg drop from the top rope. Mysterio moves out of the way of a dropkick to the corner. Mysterio then dodges a shoulder to the corner and he lands in the laps of two of the only females in the crowd. Mysterio then hits a seated senton from the top rope in the crowd. He sets up Psicosis for the 619, which isn't super popular. He hits a West Coast Pop and gets the victory. This was definitely far from their best effort, but they hit the next gear the last couple of minutes.
Match Rating: ***
Out come the anti-ECW crusaders including Kurt Angle and JBL. I would think JBL considers this one of his favorite moments. Joey begs to show something else and we get more highlight clips.
Out comes Joel Gertner and he's in the WWE suite and JBL quickly kicks him out. Angle gets on the mic and insults the fans. JBL then goes to the mommy's basement jokes. After a long rant, Rob Van Dam's music hits and he's on his way to the ring with Bill Alfonso. It kind of sucks that the most talented mainstay of ECW wasn't able to compete on the show. RVD gives just about the most passionate promo you will ever see from him here. He says that he doesn't have any creative geniuses writing this for him, he's shooting from the hip tonight. He talks about how misused he is and that he was the one who suggested a ECW show to Vince. He says that missing this show hurts worse than missing WrestleMania. Out comes Rhyno and he attacks him until the lights go out and now Sabu is in the ring.
Rhyno vs. Sabu
So this is an impromptu match. Since they didn't announce any matches, they basically all are impromptu matches. Sabu hits Rhyno with a sick chair shot to the head that knocks him to the floor from the top turnbuckle. Sabu then hits an Air Sabu and doesn't screw up, which is a minor miracle. For my money, Rhyno is probably the most underrated ECW star. Sabu hits some more of his signature moves until Rhyno trips Sabu into the chair. Rhyno hits a piledriver, which is something you don't see much anymore. RVD comes in and chucks a chair at his head. RVD then hits a dropkick with a chair to Rhyno's face. Alfonso gets RVD a table and he sets up Rhyno and Sabu hits a leg drop with a chair from the top rope and that's all. It wasn't necessarily a good match, but it was entertaining. Considering the fact that Rob Van Dam didn't return until Royal Rumble 2006, this seemed a little risky having him out there.
Match Rating: **1/2
Al Snow and Head are backstage and he blames Head for inviting the SmackDown wrestlers. We get more highlight clips.
Now the Raw crew is here with Bischoff. Styles makes a comment about him being glad that he didn't bring his wife since Edge is here.
Chris Benoit vs. Eddie Guerrero
These guys deliver some solid wrestling, but the crowd is too concerned about chanting things about Edge and Lita to care. Eddie is busted open on his upper nose. Eddie gets a chair shot in and follows it up with a nice superplex. He goes up top, but Benoit avoids the Frog Splash. Benoit hits some German suplexes and then hits the diving headbutt. Benoit puts in the Crippler Crossface and he taps? I would consider that one a disappointment, as we know both of these guys are capable of a lot better. That ending was really weak as well.
Match Rating: **3/4
Joel Gertner is back out and is with Bischoff's crew. Gertner starts begging Bischoff for a job. Bischoff grabs the mic and turns him down and insults him.
Mike Awesome vs. Masato Tanaka
The Raw crew turns their back on the match. Joey Styles goes off on Mike Awesome leaving while he was ECW Champion. Awesome hits a dive over the top and nails Tanaka. Tanaka then hits a running chair shot to his head. Awesome recovers and sets up a table. Awesome hits the Awesome Bomb and just chucks Tanaka through the table. Awesome goes up top and hits a big splash, but Tanaka kicks out. Awesome's athleticism and strength are just off the charts. Awesome crushes Tanaka with 3 chair shots to the head, but Tanaka is back up. Sickening. Tanaka hits a tornado DDT on the chairs for a 2 count. Tanaka then jumps off the top rope with a chair and smashes it to another chair on Awesome's face. Awesome then spears Tanaka and then hits him with a chair from off the top rope. Awesome pulls out another table and is having difficulties. He grabs another table and brings it in the ring. Tanaka counters the superplex and hits a DDT through the table. They are both up top and Awesome hits a reverse Awesome Bomb off the top rope and he's lucky the one part of the table didn't seriously hurt Tanaka there. That only gets a 2 count and Awesome is looking for another table. Tanaka counters an Awesome Bomb, but Awesome sets him up for another one and throws him through the table on the ground. He then hits a dive over the top rope and gets the pinfall. Awesome is 40 years old here and what he did was just insane. This match had some flaws to it and the chair shots are uncomfortable to watch nearly 15 years later, but man, did these guys put on a show.
Match Rating: ***3/4
Paul Heyman is out and all teary-eyed. After thanking some folks, he turns his attention to Eric Bischoff, Edge and JBL. His burns aren't particularly good by Heyman's standards. This whole thing came off as pretty lame.
Dudley Boyz vs. Tommy Dreamer & Sandman
Sandman's entrance is as long as Undertaker's at a WrestleMania. Just as the match is about to start, the bWo comes out and Joey Styles does the worst fake laugh you'll ever hear. The last 20 minutes or so here have really hurt this show. Stevie hits the Stevie Kick on Sandman and then they start attacking Dreamer. Kid Kash comes out and is immediately disposed. Next comes Balls Mahoney and Axl Rotten with chairs and they take out the bWo. Kid Kash then does a springboard somersault off the top rope to the floor. Bubba and Dreamer are in the ring and the bell rings. There already using trash cans and cheese graters to kick things off. We've already got lots of blood and lots of stupid shots to the head. D-Von accidentally hits Bubba with the Singapore Cain and Dreamer and Sandman go with duel Figure Fours. Out comes the Triple Threat, which then brings out Francine and then Beulah, who immediately start to fight. Beulah hits Lance Storm with a low blow and then her and Dreamer hit double DDTs on the Dudleyz. They powerbomb Sandman through a table, but only get a 2 count. They then hit the 3D on Dreamer, but instead of going for a pin, they grab another table. Out comes Spike Dudley and he has lighter fluid. They light the table on fire and powerbomb Dreamer through it, which I completely forgot about. That's enough for the victory and this is one of the harder matches to rate. It was the very definition of overbooked, but it also was non-stop action.
Match Rating: ***
After the match, the Dudleyz go after Beulah, but Sandman makes the save. Sandman asks for a beer and out comes Steve Austin. Austin then invites the ECW roster out to have a beer bash. Austin then invites the WWE gang down to the ring. They come to the ring and the crowd chants for Taz and out he comes. And now the infamous brawl starts and of course my eyes are locked in on JBL and Blue Meanie. Taz puts Angle in the Tazmission on the floor. Blue Meanie is busted open. JBL is the last WWE member out of the ring. Austin then asks Foley to grab Bischoff and bring him to the ring. The Dudleyz give him a 3D and then Benoit hits a flying headbutt. Up next is a 619 from Mysterio. Bischoff still has some choice words for ECW, so Austin hits a Stunner and they toss him out of the ring. Styles says that he wishes that time could stand still so that this moment could last forever. I'll tell you that the last 45 minutes have felt like 3 hours, so maybe he got his wish.
This show is overall a really great show. It's unfortunate that they stalled so much at the end, as it most likely played much better for the live crowd than it did for those of us at home. However, the rest of the show is pedal to the metal, with very few low spots. If you are someone like me that no longer really cares for old ECW, this one still holds up and represents the things the promotion did well with very little of the stuff that would never be allowed here in 2020. No matter how you look at it, this is a definite thumbs up.
Overall Rating: 82%
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