Monday, August 8th, 2005
Mellon Arena
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Eugene Gold Medal Invitational
Eugene vs. Kurt Angle
Eugene is once again with Christy and is sporting a Hulkamania shirt. Angle is tired of Eugene's crap. Angle is clearly the face here and then he insults the Pittsburgh crowd for some boos. Angle attacks Eugene and dominates the first minute. Eugene hits the ref and then blames it on Angle. Eugene knocks Angle down and then rides him like a cowboy. Angle hits a German suplex with a release and gets a big pop. Eugene escapes the Angle Slam and Angle accidentally hits Mike Chioda and he calls for the bell. Angle attacks a celebratory Eugene from behind and hits the Angle Slam. Hulk Hogan's music hits and he's on his way down to the ring. Angle tries to attack him, but we all know the end of this story. Angle is able to escape before taking a beatdown. Eugene is now celebrating with a gold medal around his neck with Hulk Hogan. Think about that for a minute.
Match Rating: 1/2* (out of 5)
Shelton Benjamin vs. Chris Masters
Masters catches Shelton and drives him into the mat with a body slam. Masters signs for the Master Lock, but Benjamin counters the attempt and gets a 2 count. Shelton fires back and hits a running knee lift. Shelton hits a top rope clothesline, but Masters gets his foot on the bottom rope. Shelton again escapes the Master Lock attempt and puts on a sleeper hold. Masters hits Shelton with a low blow and then finally gets him in the Master Lock and that is all. That's your longest match of the night at right around four minutes. That was a much bigger squash than what Shelton deserves here.
Match Rating: *
Angle is shown walking out of Eric Bischoff's office. Angle says that he is facing Eugene at SummerSlam with no time limit. He says that he will be ending his career and he's going to like it.
Rob Conway is back with Maria to talk about his match with Viscera. He says he's going to get things done the Con-way. Viscera comes in and tells Conway that he looks like he's from the Village People. Why wouldn't you save this match for WrestleMania?
Edge and Lita are backstage to talk about the re-hiring of Matt Hardy. Edge says that he personally asked Vince to do it. He wants to get his hands on Hardy and if he did it outside the ring, he'd be arrested for assault. Edge gives one of his more passionate promos to date. He comments on the car accident comment and says he wants the opposite for Hardy. He wants him in perfect condition so he can take him out. He says that Matt complained about Lita being his dream girl, but he had six years to propose to her and failed to. Now she is in love with a main eventer. They of course end the promo by making out. In terms of their promos, Edge definitely got the better of Matt as this was quite good.
Rob Conway vs. Viscera
It can not be understated how silent it gets when Conway's music hits. I can't think of another entrance theme that has a worse impact on a wrestler. Conway dropkicks Viscera's knee and they act as if he is injured. The ref tries to get Conway to back off, but he goes to work on his knee. About 30 seconds later Viscera is able to overcome the odds and hit a Samoan Drop. Conway goes up top and Viscera hits him with a fist from his knee? That was weird looking. Viscera is limping and goes to lift Conway up and he pushes him down for a pinfall victory. Viscera's knee gave out. What a match.
Match Rating: 1/4*
The Hurricane, Rosey & Stacy Keibler vs. The Heart Throbs & Victoria
They actually show highlights from Sunday Night Heat, as there was an angle on there that set up this match. There's a part of me that wishes Heat and Velocity were up on the Network, but at the same time it would take me about 3 years to get through 2005, so I'm good. The Heart Throbs miss a double dropkick on Hurricane and he tags in Rosey. He gets in some body slams and then he and Hurricane dump them both out of the ring while they are distracted by Stacy. Victoria then attacks Stacy. Victoria gets bumped off the apron by Rosey and then the Heart Throbs steal the victory. That was extremely brief. Both Stacy and Victoria are selling injuries as the Heart Throbs leave to the back on their own.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Chris Jericho is here for another episode of the Highlight Reel. His guest tonight is Eric Bischoff. They show a short Fozzy music video with highlights of Jericho and Cena. Bischoff says not everything has gone according to plan and orders Chad Patton down to the ring. He was the referee last week who counted Cena's pin last week when Jericho was out of the ring. They slap Patton and Bischoff orders Patton to take on Jericho tonight.
Chris Jericho vs. Chad Patton
Patton drives Jericho into the turnbuckle, but Jericho just starts beating him down. Jericho starts choking Patton with his referee shirt. Bischoff is the ref for this and now Carlito is on his way down. Jericho tosses him over the top rope and Carlito starts attacking him now. Jericho puts him him in the Walls of Jericho and Bischoff calls for the bell. Jericho won't release the hold and then out comes Cena. Carlito tries to make the save, but is unsuccessful. He hits the FU on Carlito as he points at Jericho. This was obviously an angle more than a match, so it's almost unfair to rate it. But rules are rules.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Bischoff and Jericho are upset backstage. Bischoff announces that it will be Jericho and Carlito against Cena next week on Raw.
It's Diva Search time and they announce that this will be over next week, which is the best news I've heard all day. Kristal is eliminated tonight. They do a contest of when things go wrong and it is pre-taped. Ashley gives out her phone number, which is blurred and then bleeped out. Halfway through someone runs in and throws a pie in her face and she gets mad. Thrilling TV. Leyla claims to be naked and covering herself with a sign covering her. She also gets the pie treatment and she handles it better, but it also reveals that she was not naked. Elisabeth cuts a promo about wanting to be here more than anyone else and then doesn't let it slow her down. Like everything else, this was terrible. From what little I remembered about this, I had thought that I remembered Ashley being super popular, but really she didn't stand out over the other two with the crowd.
Matt Hardy vs. Snitsky
They go right at it and Hardy gets some knees to the face in. Snitsky hits a spinebuster and starts working on Hardy in the corner. Hardy avoids a charging Snitsky and regains the advantage. The crowd has already died down at this point. Snitsky misses a kick and ends up on sitting on the top rope. Hardy hits a top rope version of the Twist Of Fate and gets the victory. As soon as the match is over, Edge comes in and attacks him. Edge is pulled away by a group of agents. The match wasn't much.
Match Rating: 3/4*
Backstage, Hardy attacks Edge and they again have to pulled apart.
They show the debut of John Cena's new music video for "Right Now".
Shawn Michaels is shown walking towards Gorilla Position.
Jerry Lawler is in the ring with two empty podiums. They run down next week's Raw and announce that Hulk Hogan will take on Kurt Angle. King wonders if Michaels is jealous of Hogan. Michaels shoots it down and says there is not one aspect of Hogan's life that he wants and that he can't touch him in the ring. Michaels says Hogan has made a career strictly on personality and show and at SummerSlam it won't amount to anything. Michaels keeps going on and Hogan finally interrupts him. He says that if Michaels wanted a match, all he had to do is ask. Instead he did what he does best and stabbed him in the back. Hogan then brings up Bret Hart to a big reaction. Hogan talks about Michaels losing his smile and said he's not back here for his smile. He's here for the Hulkamaniac's smiles. Hogan then lays it all out with his famous "Whatcha gonna do?". Michaels then superkicks Jerry Lawler and then attacks Hogan. Hogan no sells and hits a big boot and then throws him over the top rope. Well, that was certainly a strong ending. These guys have great chemistry together and brought out the best in each other here.
Well, first let's do the good. Edge cut a very passionate promo here and definitely sold me on his match with Hardy. The show then ended on a great note with two old pros showing what they are capable of on the mic. Then there was the rest of the show. On paper, the actual wrestling matches were as weak as it comes. There was not one match that lasted five minutes here and most of the wrestling wasn't very good. The Diva Search is finally almost over, but this was again embarrassingly bad. The Jericho segment was decent, but not really necessary to me. Both promo segments are worth watching, but everything else is nothing you ever need to see.
Overall Rating: 40%
Friday, April 10, 2020
Wednesday, April 8, 2020
NXT 4-24-13 Review
Original Airdate: Wednesday, April 24th, 2013
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Dusty Rhodes presents the first NXT Clash Of Champions.
United States Championship Match
Antonio Cesaro vs. Adrian Neville
Apparently Cesaro lost the title on April 15th on Raw to Kofi Kingston, so they scroll at the bottom that this match is taped. Before the match, Cesaro says that he is the longest reigning champion and he plans on being the champion for a long, long time. This may be my most anticipated NXT match out of all of the shows I have reviewed. Cesaro starts in control, but Neville quickly recovers and hits some of his fast paced offense. However, Cesaro catches him and drops him on the top turnbuckle. Cesaro after the break hits a stomp and gets a 2 count. Despite being the United States Champion, Cesaro did not have a match at WrestleMania. This was before the 8 hour WrestleMania's we've all grown to roll our eyes at. Cesaro catches Neville in midair and hits a backbreaker. Neville ducks a charging Cesaro and he ends up over the top rope. Neville then hits a springboard moonsault with some serious height. Back in the ring, Neville hits a springboard dropkick and a standing Shooting Star Press for a 2 count. Neville then counters a pop up powerbomb with a hurricanrana that looked like Cesaro landed right on his neck. Neville kicks Cesaro in the head and hits a moonsault DDT for another close call. Neville goes up top, but Cesaro hits the ropes and hits a European uppercut. Cesaro hits the Neutralizer and gets the victory. It never quite got to these guys top gear, but this was easily one of the best matches in NXT's short history.
Match Rating: ***1/4 (out of 5)
Diva's Championship Match
AJ Lee vs. Kaitlyn
It's kind of weird because AJ is a heel here and with Big E Langston on the main roster, who is a babyface NXT Champion here. AJ avoids Kaitlyn and she hits here shoulder on the ring post. AJ works on the shoulder, but Kaitlyn starts to fire back. We get a sloppy spot where it looked like Kaitlyn was going to roll through and pick AJ up, but she struggles and improvises. Kaitlyn ends up running through the ropes and for some reason AJ lets her crawl back in. AJ hits an enzuigiri and gets a 2 count. She loses it on Kaitlyn, but then Kaitlyn hits a Spear and that's all. That wasn't very good.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Chris Jericho is here and hypes up NXT. He says that William Regal has given him permission to face anyone he wants next week. In walks Bray Wyatt and he cuts one of his Jake Roberts promos. Jericho tells him to never interrupt him again and that he chooses him as his opponent next week. Jericho says that if he loses, he will join the Wyatt Family.
NXT Championship Match
Big E Langston vs. Brad Maddox
Brad Maddox comes out to no music and introduces himself. I'm thinking this will be a quick one. Big E steamrolls Maddox and then hits the Big Ending. That's it and he of course wants the 5 count. The ref then explains to him that the match is over at 3. Big E hits another Big Ending and then counts to 5, even though it looks like his shoulders were up. Maddox rolls out of the ring, but Big E goes out and puts him back in. Big E hits another one and gets another 5 count.
Match Rating: 1/4*
They show a clip of Bo Dallas eliminating Wade Barrett at the Royal Rumble. Bo Dallas then defeated Barret the next night on Raw. Bo Dallas is backstage and says tonight is all about the Bo Barrage.
Intercontinental Championship Match
Bo Dallas vs. Wade Barrett
I miss Barrett. Bo gets a few quick pinfall attempts and Barrett rolls under the ropes to take a breather. There's a pretty vocal group in the audience booing Bo here tonight. Barrett hits a flurry of elbows and follows up with a boot to the face of a seated Bo Dalls. Bo gets in a little bit of offense in, but Barrett quickly ends that with a boot to the face. Barrett hits a high knee to Dallas who was draped on the top rope. Dallas is doing a nice job of selling here tonight. Barrett hits some more knees and then kicks him out of the ring. Dallas gets another quick flurry, but Barrett tosses Dallas across the ring and then hits Winds Of Change for a 2 count. Barrett misses with the Bull Hammer and Bo hits his spinning bulldog for a nearfall. Barrett goes for Wasteland, but Dallas gets out. He goes off the top rope, but Barrett hits the Bull Hammer and gets the victory. That was a really solid match, as they seem to have good chemistry with one another.
Match Rating: **3/4
Well, this is definitely one of the best episodes of NXT to this point. We got two good matches, which is about all you can really ask for on a 50 minute show. NXT has been gaining a little bit of momentum as they head into the summer and hopefully it will keep up.
Overall Rating: 66%
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Dusty Rhodes presents the first NXT Clash Of Champions.
United States Championship Match
Antonio Cesaro vs. Adrian Neville
Apparently Cesaro lost the title on April 15th on Raw to Kofi Kingston, so they scroll at the bottom that this match is taped. Before the match, Cesaro says that he is the longest reigning champion and he plans on being the champion for a long, long time. This may be my most anticipated NXT match out of all of the shows I have reviewed. Cesaro starts in control, but Neville quickly recovers and hits some of his fast paced offense. However, Cesaro catches him and drops him on the top turnbuckle. Cesaro after the break hits a stomp and gets a 2 count. Despite being the United States Champion, Cesaro did not have a match at WrestleMania. This was before the 8 hour WrestleMania's we've all grown to roll our eyes at. Cesaro catches Neville in midair and hits a backbreaker. Neville ducks a charging Cesaro and he ends up over the top rope. Neville then hits a springboard moonsault with some serious height. Back in the ring, Neville hits a springboard dropkick and a standing Shooting Star Press for a 2 count. Neville then counters a pop up powerbomb with a hurricanrana that looked like Cesaro landed right on his neck. Neville kicks Cesaro in the head and hits a moonsault DDT for another close call. Neville goes up top, but Cesaro hits the ropes and hits a European uppercut. Cesaro hits the Neutralizer and gets the victory. It never quite got to these guys top gear, but this was easily one of the best matches in NXT's short history.
Match Rating: ***1/4 (out of 5)
Diva's Championship Match
AJ Lee vs. Kaitlyn
It's kind of weird because AJ is a heel here and with Big E Langston on the main roster, who is a babyface NXT Champion here. AJ avoids Kaitlyn and she hits here shoulder on the ring post. AJ works on the shoulder, but Kaitlyn starts to fire back. We get a sloppy spot where it looked like Kaitlyn was going to roll through and pick AJ up, but she struggles and improvises. Kaitlyn ends up running through the ropes and for some reason AJ lets her crawl back in. AJ hits an enzuigiri and gets a 2 count. She loses it on Kaitlyn, but then Kaitlyn hits a Spear and that's all. That wasn't very good.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Chris Jericho is here and hypes up NXT. He says that William Regal has given him permission to face anyone he wants next week. In walks Bray Wyatt and he cuts one of his Jake Roberts promos. Jericho tells him to never interrupt him again and that he chooses him as his opponent next week. Jericho says that if he loses, he will join the Wyatt Family.
NXT Championship Match
Big E Langston vs. Brad Maddox
Brad Maddox comes out to no music and introduces himself. I'm thinking this will be a quick one. Big E steamrolls Maddox and then hits the Big Ending. That's it and he of course wants the 5 count. The ref then explains to him that the match is over at 3. Big E hits another Big Ending and then counts to 5, even though it looks like his shoulders were up. Maddox rolls out of the ring, but Big E goes out and puts him back in. Big E hits another one and gets another 5 count.
Match Rating: 1/4*
They show a clip of Bo Dallas eliminating Wade Barrett at the Royal Rumble. Bo Dallas then defeated Barret the next night on Raw. Bo Dallas is backstage and says tonight is all about the Bo Barrage.
Intercontinental Championship Match
Bo Dallas vs. Wade Barrett
I miss Barrett. Bo gets a few quick pinfall attempts and Barrett rolls under the ropes to take a breather. There's a pretty vocal group in the audience booing Bo here tonight. Barrett hits a flurry of elbows and follows up with a boot to the face of a seated Bo Dalls. Bo gets in a little bit of offense in, but Barrett quickly ends that with a boot to the face. Barrett hits a high knee to Dallas who was draped on the top rope. Dallas is doing a nice job of selling here tonight. Barrett hits some more knees and then kicks him out of the ring. Dallas gets another quick flurry, but Barrett tosses Dallas across the ring and then hits Winds Of Change for a 2 count. Barrett misses with the Bull Hammer and Bo hits his spinning bulldog for a nearfall. Barrett goes for Wasteland, but Dallas gets out. He goes off the top rope, but Barrett hits the Bull Hammer and gets the victory. That was a really solid match, as they seem to have good chemistry with one another.
Match Rating: **3/4
Well, this is definitely one of the best episodes of NXT to this point. We got two good matches, which is about all you can really ask for on a 50 minute show. NXT has been gaining a little bit of momentum as they head into the summer and hopefully it will keep up.
Overall Rating: 66%
Monday, April 6, 2020
Monday Night Raw 3-1-93 Review
Monday, March 1st, 1993
Manhattan Center
New York City, New York
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Bret Hart vs. Fatu
We get started with Fatu already in the ring and Bret making his entrance. Rob Bartlett is dressed up like Elvis. This won't get old fast. Fatu catches Bret and body slams him, but misses with the elbow drop. Bret goes to work immediately on the arm. Meanwhile, Vince and Bartlett continue talking about Elvis rather than the WWF Champion. Bret tries to slam Fatu face-first into the mat, but he's Samoan so he doesn't sell it and hits a superkick. Bret goes outside and out comes Samu to attack him while Fatu distracts the ref. When we get back from the commercial, Bret is still laying on the ground. No one takes an Irish whip like Bret does. I'm not quite sure why more of the current roster doesn't try to steal more from Bret. Fatu goes up top, but Bret hits him with a fist and then hits a big superplex. Bret hits the bulldog, but Fatu kicks out. Bret goes for a Sharpshooter, but Afa distracts the ref and Samu attacks him from behind. Fatu rolls out of the ring and Samu goes for the pin. Fatu comes back in and Bret pushes them into one another. Bret then takes out Afa with a dropkick. Bret puts the Sharpshooter in and that is all. Yet another brilliant performance by Bret here in 1993. It really is such a shame that the roster was so weak for the peak years of Bret's solo run.
Match Rating: ***1/2 (out of 5)
It's WrestleMania Report time with Mean Gene. New matches announced are Tatanka vs. Shawn Michaels and Mr. Perfect vs. The Narcissist. Gene then makes a Joey Buttafuco joke about Savage's outfit. 1993 in a nutshell.
Crush is shown on a beach in Hawaii and he crushes a coconut and says that is what he'll do to Doink.
Doink vs. Koko B. Ware
Doink attacks Koko as he's entering the ring. Doink goes after his leg and puts him in a STF. Bartlett is still making Elvis jokes. Doink makes quick work of him and puts him in the Stump Puller for the victory. Bartlett as Elvis then interviews him after the match. He asks what's in the present that Doink brought to the ring. He gives him a little pie and then shoves a big pie in his face. That just made him the biggest babyface of the night. The match was nothing and it almost looked like Koko may have been hurt going into the match. Doink here was really finding his groove though.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Vince introduces Money, Inc. to the ring. DiBiase tells some stupid story about the American Express CEO retiring that gets zero reaction. They thank Hulk and Beefcake for taking Jimmy Hart away from them. IRS shows a picture of Hulk on the "beefcase". God, who in the world thought anyone wanted to see this at WrestleMania? This wasn't even worthy of a Survivor Series match in 1993.
The Narcissist vs. PJ Walker
Luger tosses Walker around and we get Bobby Heenan live on the phone. Luger puts Walker in the tree of woe and kicks away. Meanwhile, Bartlett keeps talking about Luger making his boobies dance. Luger hits the forearm and then pins him with his forearm. As stupid as the gimmick was, he was better suited for something like this than he was for what was to come.
Match Rating: 1/4*
The Steiner Brothers vs. Duane Gill & Barry Hardy
The Steiners throwing around jobbers will always be fun. Rick clotheslines Hardy over the top rope to the floor. Rick sends Gill fly with a back body drop and then a backbreaker. Scott hits the Frankensteiner and gets the victory. That was your usual good Steiner squash.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Next week we are getting Money, Inc. against Virgil and El Matador plus Mr. Perfect against Rick Martel.
Any one hour show that gives me a 15 minute Bret Hart match is going to at least be halfway decent. Nothing of note happened outside of that match, but if I'm going to get squash matches in 1993, then the Steiners and Doink are at the top of the list of guys I want to see. Decent show.
Overall Rating: 53%
Manhattan Center
New York City, New York
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Bret Hart vs. Fatu
We get started with Fatu already in the ring and Bret making his entrance. Rob Bartlett is dressed up like Elvis. This won't get old fast. Fatu catches Bret and body slams him, but misses with the elbow drop. Bret goes to work immediately on the arm. Meanwhile, Vince and Bartlett continue talking about Elvis rather than the WWF Champion. Bret tries to slam Fatu face-first into the mat, but he's Samoan so he doesn't sell it and hits a superkick. Bret goes outside and out comes Samu to attack him while Fatu distracts the ref. When we get back from the commercial, Bret is still laying on the ground. No one takes an Irish whip like Bret does. I'm not quite sure why more of the current roster doesn't try to steal more from Bret. Fatu goes up top, but Bret hits him with a fist and then hits a big superplex. Bret hits the bulldog, but Fatu kicks out. Bret goes for a Sharpshooter, but Afa distracts the ref and Samu attacks him from behind. Fatu rolls out of the ring and Samu goes for the pin. Fatu comes back in and Bret pushes them into one another. Bret then takes out Afa with a dropkick. Bret puts the Sharpshooter in and that is all. Yet another brilliant performance by Bret here in 1993. It really is such a shame that the roster was so weak for the peak years of Bret's solo run.
Match Rating: ***1/2 (out of 5)
It's WrestleMania Report time with Mean Gene. New matches announced are Tatanka vs. Shawn Michaels and Mr. Perfect vs. The Narcissist. Gene then makes a Joey Buttafuco joke about Savage's outfit. 1993 in a nutshell.
Crush is shown on a beach in Hawaii and he crushes a coconut and says that is what he'll do to Doink.
Doink vs. Koko B. Ware
Doink attacks Koko as he's entering the ring. Doink goes after his leg and puts him in a STF. Bartlett is still making Elvis jokes. Doink makes quick work of him and puts him in the Stump Puller for the victory. Bartlett as Elvis then interviews him after the match. He asks what's in the present that Doink brought to the ring. He gives him a little pie and then shoves a big pie in his face. That just made him the biggest babyface of the night. The match was nothing and it almost looked like Koko may have been hurt going into the match. Doink here was really finding his groove though.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Vince introduces Money, Inc. to the ring. DiBiase tells some stupid story about the American Express CEO retiring that gets zero reaction. They thank Hulk and Beefcake for taking Jimmy Hart away from them. IRS shows a picture of Hulk on the "beefcase". God, who in the world thought anyone wanted to see this at WrestleMania? This wasn't even worthy of a Survivor Series match in 1993.
The Narcissist vs. PJ Walker
Luger tosses Walker around and we get Bobby Heenan live on the phone. Luger puts Walker in the tree of woe and kicks away. Meanwhile, Bartlett keeps talking about Luger making his boobies dance. Luger hits the forearm and then pins him with his forearm. As stupid as the gimmick was, he was better suited for something like this than he was for what was to come.
Match Rating: 1/4*
The Steiner Brothers vs. Duane Gill & Barry Hardy
The Steiners throwing around jobbers will always be fun. Rick clotheslines Hardy over the top rope to the floor. Rick sends Gill fly with a back body drop and then a backbreaker. Scott hits the Frankensteiner and gets the victory. That was your usual good Steiner squash.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Next week we are getting Money, Inc. against Virgil and El Matador plus Mr. Perfect against Rick Martel.
Any one hour show that gives me a 15 minute Bret Hart match is going to at least be halfway decent. Nothing of note happened outside of that match, but if I'm going to get squash matches in 1993, then the Steiners and Doink are at the top of the list of guys I want to see. Decent show.
Overall Rating: 53%
Sunday, April 5, 2020
WrestleMania 36 Night Two Review
Original Airdate: Sunday, April 5th, 2020
WWE Performance Center
Orlando, Florida
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Stephanie McMahon is here to remind us that they did this on a closed set.
Gronk is here and he is much quicker here than last night. I hope they didn't have to pay too much for him to appear.
NXT Women's Championship Match
Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley
This was a much better choice for the opener than last night in my opinion. We get a lot of trash talking to start things off. Charlotte gets some chops. However, when Charlotte goes for her handstand in the corner, Ripley greets her with a kick. Ripley hits the Rip Tide, but Charlotte kicks out. Ripley throws Charlotte through the ropes to the floor, but Charlotte retaliates with a thrust to the throat. Ripley quickly recovers and hits a somersault off the apron. Back in the ring and Ripley has her in a body scissors. They are doing their best here with making this match intense. Charlotte avoids a boot from Ripley and then pulls her leg on the top rope. Charlotte is now on full attack mode on Ripley's left knee. Ripley is able to pull her leg back, which causes Charlotte to ram into the ring post. Charlotte is back in though and hits her with a chop block. Ripley is able to pick up Charlotte and dump her face first. Both women are up and hitting each other with some stiff shots. Ripley gets a few knees to the face on Charlotte and then hits her with a kick to the back of the head. She follows that up with a dropkick while Charlotte is on her knees. Ripley leaps over to the apron, but Charlotte kicks her leg and she falls to the floor. Charlotte goes up top, but Ripley is able to kick her in head. Ripley drops her face first out of the electric chair position, but again Charlotte is able to kick out. Ripley hits a missile dropkick and Charlotte kicks out again. Charlotte again takes out her knee. Ripley battles back and gets her in a standing Texas Cloverleaf. Charlotte eventually is able to roll out of it and boots Ripley in the face. Charlotte goes for the Figure Four, but Ripley kicks out of it. Charlotte rolls into a pin, but Ripley kicks out. Charlotte puts on the Boston Crab. Ripley rolls it into a pin and we get a series of quick pins, but still no winner. Ripley is able to get in a boot to the face and again gets a 2 count. They are both up on the second turnbuckle and Charlotte is able to counter a superplex and dumps Ripley face first. Charlotte goes for a moonsault, but Ripley gets a boot up. Charlotte bounces back up and hits a spear, but Ripley is able to kick out. Charlotte gets the Figure Four slapped on and turns it into a Figure Eight and Ripley taps. I have to say, I didn't expect that. These two got plenty of time and delivered a really good match here. This was very stiff looking and despite being defeated, it made Ripley look to be on the same level as Charlotte. I'm not really sure where they'll go with Charlotte as the NXT Champion, but she has a ton of fresh matchups on that roster that would really help put them on casual WWE fans radar. Good opener.
Match Rating: ***3/4 (out of 5)
Aleister Black vs. Bobby Lashley
This match is so random, it feels like something that would have been on WrestleMania VI. I can't believe that Black doesn't something better to do here at WrestleMania. Black lands on his feet after missing a moonsault to the floor, but Lashley then hits a belly-to-belly suplex with a release. Remember Rusev? Lashley continues the assault and hits a neckbreaker. Lashley is actually looking pretty good here. Maybe he's so used to no crowd reaction that an empty building doesn't phase him? Black again goes to the air and misses and Lashley hits a big body slam. Black is able to get in a little bit of offense, but again Lashley is able to take control. Lana instructs Lashley to go for a spear and Black hits him with Black Mass and that is all. Based on the booking I have seen for Black, they are all in on him getting limited offense and putting over Black Mass. That wasn't bad for what it was.
Match Rating: **1/4
Sasha Banks and Bayley are backstage. Bayley says that tonight is the most unfair match in WrestleMania history. Bayley ends the interview early, but Banks tells us we'll have to watch and see what happens.
Gronk says that he wants to win the 24/7 title. Money well spent here, WWE.
Dolph Ziggler vs. Otis
I guess I'm the one person on the planet who would rather watch this match than the Boneyard Match. Dolph avoids a charging Otis and he is able to hit a superkick. Dolph hits a really nice looking dropkick. I know everyone loves to hate on Dolph, but I still enjoy his work and this angle is right in his wheelhouse. JBL shouting about fake news makes me want to vomit. Otis finally gets some offense in and hits Dolph with a slingshot. He gets a couple of clotheslines and a body slam. Otis dumps Dolph over his head and to the floor. Otis goes for the Caterpillar, but Sonya distracts the ref and Dolph hits a low blow. Out comes Mandy Rose and she slaps Sonya and then goes to Dolph and hits him with a low blow. Otis is back up and does the Caterpillar and the elbow. Otis pulls it off and gets to celebrate with Mandy Rose. The match was a typical TV match with the outcome we were all expecting. Otis works better as a tag team wrestler and also in front of a live crowd, but I'm glad to see him get a little bit of a spotlight here.
Match Rating: *3/4
Last Man Standing Match
Edge vs. Randy Orton
Orton is dressed as a camera man and slips in the ring and hits a RKO. Edge is instructed by the ref that he has to get to his feet for the match to start. He does and Orton hits a second RKO. Edge is able to get up around the 8 count. Orton grabs the camera and hits Edge in the head, causing him to go over the barricade. Orton continues his assault through the makeshift backstage area and into the gym. Orton ties Edge up in some of the equipment. Orton's methodical style gets the best of him and it allows Edge to make a comeback. Edge's Last Man Standing match with John Cena at Backlash is one of the better examples of this type of match that I can think of. Edge sits Orton down on a chair and he launches himself from a pull up bar onto Orton. Orton grabs some metal equipment and tries to drive it into Edge on the floor, but Edge is able to move. Edge slams Orton into a crate and they then move through the TV production area. Edge slams Orton a few times into an overhead door and then throws him back in the arena portion by where the spotlights are. Edge then throws him off there into the barricade. Edge barely gets up at the 9 count there. They go backstage again and Orton slams Edge into the wall. Edge throws Orton onto the conference table, climbs the fence that hangs over it and drops himself onto Orton with an elbow. They are trying their best to work with the unique environment, but it's pretty obvious this building isn't exactly the best place for this match to happen. They are now in the warehouse storage facility after knocking over one of the camera men. Orton continues with his maniacal offense until Edge is able to throw a sandbag at him. The constant changing of camera angles here is nauseating. Edge now climbs up a ladder and to the top shelf and hits an elbow drop driving Orton through a table. Both men get up at 8. I did not expect this one to go quite this long. Orton slams Edge into a pickup truck and Edge again barely gets up in time. They now go up to the top of the truck and Orton hits a draping DDT onto the truck bed cover. They both beat the count and Edge climbs some crates to get to the top of the NXT production semi truck. Orton meets him up there. Orton goes for the punt, but Edge hits him with a spear instead. They both beat the count. Edge goes for another spear, but Orton hits the RKO instead. Orton heads back down and Edge barely makes it up and then falls back down, but it's enough to break the count. Orton grabs two chairs and brings them up to the top and uses them on the back of Edge. Orton sets up Edge for a one man conchairto and tells him this is it for Edge. Edge catches him with a sleeper type submission hold and Orton is out cold on the chair. Edge stops the count for Orton, who is still not moving. Edge is fighting back tears and after a long pause decides to hit Orton in the head and that is all. That was a loooooong match for there to be no crowd for. This had some of the over the top stuff that I didn't love in the Boneyard Match, but it also had much more believable performances. However, Orton's offense is just too boring when he works at this pace and they could have easily shaved 15 minutes off here and had the same impact. I was pretty excited for this, but I think their ambition got the best of them here.
Match Rating: **
We get some more 24/7 shenanigans and I'm pretty sure this is more people than are supposed to be in a building at once for something that is non-essential. Gronk leaps off his little balcony area and takes out all of them and wins the 24/7 title. He runs out of the building and into the parking lot.
Raw Tag Team Championship Match
Austin Theory & Angel Garza vs. The Street Profits
Good for Theory here, but talk about a thrown together team. This could easily be a match on Main Event to most casual fans. Dawkins is thrown over the top rope and Garza hits him on the outside with a superkick. Garza is really good, let's hope they don't lose interest in him. Garza rips off his pants and hits a big dropkick for a 2 count. Theory hits a roll through somersault dropkick. Dawkins avoids some of Garza's offense and makes a leaping tag to Ford. Ford hits a standing moonsault and a DDT. Ford goes over the top and hits both Dawkins and Theory. Garza hits a moonsault onto both members of the Street Profits. Theory hits a TKO, but Ford hits a frog splash and that allows Dawkins to get the victory. After the match Garza attacks Ford with the help of Theory. Zelina Vega joins in. Bianca Belair comes in and takes out Vega. The Street Profits clear the ring and Belair hits the KOD. It's good to see Belair get a little shine here. The match was good as you would expect and the lack of build doesn't hurt it as much with an empty arena.
Match Rating: ***
Titus O'Neil is now here to finish off Gronk's hosting duties.
Fatal 5-Way Match For The SmackDown Women's Championship
Sasha Banks vs. Lacey Evans vs. Tamina vs. Naomi vs. Bayley
Wait, this is an elimination match? Why is Tamina in this match? They all go after Tamina and she fights them off because in WWE's mind, she is a future hall of famer. Sasha and Bayley double team her to get her out of the ring. Bayley and Sasha continue to work together on Lacey. Lacey and Naomi then team up to take out the best friends. Tamina comes in and hits a clothesline on Evans and Naomi and then on Sasha and Bayley. Lacey tries to roll up Tamina, but Tamina throws her across the ring. She does the same to Naomi and hits them both with a double knee in the corner. Tamina, Sasha and Naomi are in the ring and they all get together to call a truce. Tamina then kicks Sasha and Naomi hits a variation of the Stunner on Tamina. Evans comes in and joins the fun. Bayley is now in there and goes up top and hits an elbow drop and then Sasha hits a frog splash. Lacey joins in and hits a second rope moonsault and Naomi hits a split legged moonsault and is eliminated. For some reason Tamina was playing the role of Goldberg tonight. Bayley shows off her aggressive side on Naomi outside of the ring. Naomi comes close to eliminating both Bayley and Sasha. Bayley saves Sasha from elimination and Sasha eliminates Naomi with the Bank Statement. Bayley and Sasha again team up to work on Evans. Evans moves out of the way and Bayley hits Sasha with a running knee. Evans gets some pin attempts in, but Bayley kicks out. Bayley is attacking Evans when Sasha runs in and pulls Bayley off to confront her. Bayley pushes Lacey out of the way, but then she hits Sasha with the Women's Right and eliminates Banks. Bayley was down, but could have tried to help break up the pin there. Bayley goes right on offense to Evans. This is already a million times better than their match at Royal Rumble. Bayley is taking the tag rope and ties Evans' wrist to the top turnbuckle. Evans is able to get out and she goes up and hits the moonsault, but Bayley is able to kick out. Banks comes into the match and hits Evans with a backstabber and Bayley is able to retain the title. That was a much better match than I expected. Sasha then puts the title around Bayley's waist. It's fair to say that the women more than delivered here tonight.
Match Rating: ***1/2
Firefly Fun House Match
John Cena vs. The Fiend
Bray Wyatt welcomes Cena to the Firefly Fun House set. Cena is then there once he closes the door. One of the stupid puppets tells him he went out the door. Cena walks out and is in darkness. The Vince McMahon puppet pops up and asks Cena if he has enough ruthless aggression. I don't know if I have it in me to sit through this. Bray is shown in a ring and is cut together with the Kurt Angle challenge of when Cena made his debut. Cena is in his old gear and is now face to face with Wyatt. Wyatt then makes fun of Cena as he keeps saying ruthless aggression and missing Wyatt. We then get a Saturday Night's Main Event intro and now Wyatt is behind the big blue steel cage and introduces Cena as his tag partner who comes out lifting weights. Wyatt then throws Cena and he lands in front of the SmackDown fist wearing his rapper gear. Cena is only able to talk in rhyme and takes a shot at Husky Harris. Bray then starts showing his soft side saying that he's had to work hard to earn everything he's got. He says that Cena is a bully and gives him the floor. Cena then makes a deez nuts joke and charges towards Wyatt, but he teleports to the center of the ring. He knocks Cena out and then we cut to a vintage Bray Wyatt promo in the shed. He then attacks Cena and goes for Sister Abigail, but Cena escapes. Wyatt hands Cena a chair and gets to his knees. He tells him that 6 years ago, Cena made the wrong choice as they show a clip of WrestleMania XXX. Cena swings at him, but he disappears. Now Wyatt is dressed up like Eric Bischoff and introduces Cena in nWo gear acting like Hollywood Hogan. He starts attacking Wyatt while they flashback to some of Cena's losses and then he realizes it's one of the stupid puppets. Then from behind, it's the Fiend. He gives Cena the Mandible Claw and hits Sister Abigail. He puts the claw back on and Bray Wyatt counts to 3. The Fiend stands up and Cena disappears. We then pan to Titus, who says he doesn't know what we just saw. Um, yeah. I don't think I can properly rank that one. Considering it involved The Fiend, it was more entertaining than I thought. However, that bar was set really low. Really, really low. Much like the Boneyard Match, I don't think I'll be watching this any time soon or possibly ever again.
Match Rating: No Rating
WWE Championship Match
Drew McIntyre vs. Brock Lesnar
After a short back and forth, McIntyre hits a Claymore Kick, but Brock kicks out. He goes for another one, but with an assist from Heyman, Brock avoids it and hits a suplex. Lesnar hits German suplex number two. Lesnar hits a third after a struggle. Lesnar hits the F5, but McIntyre kicks out at 1. Lesnar hits a second F5 and McIntyre kicks out again. Lesnar hits another F5 and again McIntyre kicks out. This is such a shame that there is no crowd here. I love the atmosphere that Lesnar matches provide. McIntyre gets out of the F5 and hits a Claymore Kick. He follows it up with another one. He gets back in the corner and hits another Clayore Kick and that is all. Drew McIntyre is now the WWE Champion. Who would have thought six months ago that Drew McIntyre and Braun Strowman would be the champions? The match was disappointing, but like I said Brock matches thrive on the atmosphere they create. These two deserved the chance to provide that.
Match Rating: *
This is another tough show to rate. I really enjoyed both women's matches and thought they were worthy of WrestleMania status. I feel for McIntyre, who was robbed of a true special moment. On the other end the Edge/Orton match was so slow and so long and the Firefly Fun House was something that could have just been on SmackDown instead of the biggest show of the year. Bravo to the performers for giving it all on both nights, but this was an uphill battle that only a few that were really able to overcome. I was entertained throughout with the exception of The Fiend and it was nice to see something new after watching lots of old wrestling to review here.
Overall Rating: 60%
WWE Performance Center
Orlando, Florida
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Stephanie McMahon is here to remind us that they did this on a closed set.
Gronk is here and he is much quicker here than last night. I hope they didn't have to pay too much for him to appear.
NXT Women's Championship Match
Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley
This was a much better choice for the opener than last night in my opinion. We get a lot of trash talking to start things off. Charlotte gets some chops. However, when Charlotte goes for her handstand in the corner, Ripley greets her with a kick. Ripley hits the Rip Tide, but Charlotte kicks out. Ripley throws Charlotte through the ropes to the floor, but Charlotte retaliates with a thrust to the throat. Ripley quickly recovers and hits a somersault off the apron. Back in the ring and Ripley has her in a body scissors. They are doing their best here with making this match intense. Charlotte avoids a boot from Ripley and then pulls her leg on the top rope. Charlotte is now on full attack mode on Ripley's left knee. Ripley is able to pull her leg back, which causes Charlotte to ram into the ring post. Charlotte is back in though and hits her with a chop block. Ripley is able to pick up Charlotte and dump her face first. Both women are up and hitting each other with some stiff shots. Ripley gets a few knees to the face on Charlotte and then hits her with a kick to the back of the head. She follows that up with a dropkick while Charlotte is on her knees. Ripley leaps over to the apron, but Charlotte kicks her leg and she falls to the floor. Charlotte goes up top, but Ripley is able to kick her in head. Ripley drops her face first out of the electric chair position, but again Charlotte is able to kick out. Ripley hits a missile dropkick and Charlotte kicks out again. Charlotte again takes out her knee. Ripley battles back and gets her in a standing Texas Cloverleaf. Charlotte eventually is able to roll out of it and boots Ripley in the face. Charlotte goes for the Figure Four, but Ripley kicks out of it. Charlotte rolls into a pin, but Ripley kicks out. Charlotte puts on the Boston Crab. Ripley rolls it into a pin and we get a series of quick pins, but still no winner. Ripley is able to get in a boot to the face and again gets a 2 count. They are both up on the second turnbuckle and Charlotte is able to counter a superplex and dumps Ripley face first. Charlotte goes for a moonsault, but Ripley gets a boot up. Charlotte bounces back up and hits a spear, but Ripley is able to kick out. Charlotte gets the Figure Four slapped on and turns it into a Figure Eight and Ripley taps. I have to say, I didn't expect that. These two got plenty of time and delivered a really good match here. This was very stiff looking and despite being defeated, it made Ripley look to be on the same level as Charlotte. I'm not really sure where they'll go with Charlotte as the NXT Champion, but she has a ton of fresh matchups on that roster that would really help put them on casual WWE fans radar. Good opener.
Match Rating: ***3/4 (out of 5)
Aleister Black vs. Bobby Lashley
This match is so random, it feels like something that would have been on WrestleMania VI. I can't believe that Black doesn't something better to do here at WrestleMania. Black lands on his feet after missing a moonsault to the floor, but Lashley then hits a belly-to-belly suplex with a release. Remember Rusev? Lashley continues the assault and hits a neckbreaker. Lashley is actually looking pretty good here. Maybe he's so used to no crowd reaction that an empty building doesn't phase him? Black again goes to the air and misses and Lashley hits a big body slam. Black is able to get in a little bit of offense, but again Lashley is able to take control. Lana instructs Lashley to go for a spear and Black hits him with Black Mass and that is all. Based on the booking I have seen for Black, they are all in on him getting limited offense and putting over Black Mass. That wasn't bad for what it was.
Match Rating: **1/4
Sasha Banks and Bayley are backstage. Bayley says that tonight is the most unfair match in WrestleMania history. Bayley ends the interview early, but Banks tells us we'll have to watch and see what happens.
Gronk says that he wants to win the 24/7 title. Money well spent here, WWE.
Dolph Ziggler vs. Otis
I guess I'm the one person on the planet who would rather watch this match than the Boneyard Match. Dolph avoids a charging Otis and he is able to hit a superkick. Dolph hits a really nice looking dropkick. I know everyone loves to hate on Dolph, but I still enjoy his work and this angle is right in his wheelhouse. JBL shouting about fake news makes me want to vomit. Otis finally gets some offense in and hits Dolph with a slingshot. He gets a couple of clotheslines and a body slam. Otis dumps Dolph over his head and to the floor. Otis goes for the Caterpillar, but Sonya distracts the ref and Dolph hits a low blow. Out comes Mandy Rose and she slaps Sonya and then goes to Dolph and hits him with a low blow. Otis is back up and does the Caterpillar and the elbow. Otis pulls it off and gets to celebrate with Mandy Rose. The match was a typical TV match with the outcome we were all expecting. Otis works better as a tag team wrestler and also in front of a live crowd, but I'm glad to see him get a little bit of a spotlight here.
Match Rating: *3/4
Last Man Standing Match
Edge vs. Randy Orton
Orton is dressed as a camera man and slips in the ring and hits a RKO. Edge is instructed by the ref that he has to get to his feet for the match to start. He does and Orton hits a second RKO. Edge is able to get up around the 8 count. Orton grabs the camera and hits Edge in the head, causing him to go over the barricade. Orton continues his assault through the makeshift backstage area and into the gym. Orton ties Edge up in some of the equipment. Orton's methodical style gets the best of him and it allows Edge to make a comeback. Edge's Last Man Standing match with John Cena at Backlash is one of the better examples of this type of match that I can think of. Edge sits Orton down on a chair and he launches himself from a pull up bar onto Orton. Orton grabs some metal equipment and tries to drive it into Edge on the floor, but Edge is able to move. Edge slams Orton into a crate and they then move through the TV production area. Edge slams Orton a few times into an overhead door and then throws him back in the arena portion by where the spotlights are. Edge then throws him off there into the barricade. Edge barely gets up at the 9 count there. They go backstage again and Orton slams Edge into the wall. Edge throws Orton onto the conference table, climbs the fence that hangs over it and drops himself onto Orton with an elbow. They are trying their best to work with the unique environment, but it's pretty obvious this building isn't exactly the best place for this match to happen. They are now in the warehouse storage facility after knocking over one of the camera men. Orton continues with his maniacal offense until Edge is able to throw a sandbag at him. The constant changing of camera angles here is nauseating. Edge now climbs up a ladder and to the top shelf and hits an elbow drop driving Orton through a table. Both men get up at 8. I did not expect this one to go quite this long. Orton slams Edge into a pickup truck and Edge again barely gets up in time. They now go up to the top of the truck and Orton hits a draping DDT onto the truck bed cover. They both beat the count and Edge climbs some crates to get to the top of the NXT production semi truck. Orton meets him up there. Orton goes for the punt, but Edge hits him with a spear instead. They both beat the count. Edge goes for another spear, but Orton hits the RKO instead. Orton heads back down and Edge barely makes it up and then falls back down, but it's enough to break the count. Orton grabs two chairs and brings them up to the top and uses them on the back of Edge. Orton sets up Edge for a one man conchairto and tells him this is it for Edge. Edge catches him with a sleeper type submission hold and Orton is out cold on the chair. Edge stops the count for Orton, who is still not moving. Edge is fighting back tears and after a long pause decides to hit Orton in the head and that is all. That was a loooooong match for there to be no crowd for. This had some of the over the top stuff that I didn't love in the Boneyard Match, but it also had much more believable performances. However, Orton's offense is just too boring when he works at this pace and they could have easily shaved 15 minutes off here and had the same impact. I was pretty excited for this, but I think their ambition got the best of them here.
Match Rating: **
We get some more 24/7 shenanigans and I'm pretty sure this is more people than are supposed to be in a building at once for something that is non-essential. Gronk leaps off his little balcony area and takes out all of them and wins the 24/7 title. He runs out of the building and into the parking lot.
Raw Tag Team Championship Match
Austin Theory & Angel Garza vs. The Street Profits
Good for Theory here, but talk about a thrown together team. This could easily be a match on Main Event to most casual fans. Dawkins is thrown over the top rope and Garza hits him on the outside with a superkick. Garza is really good, let's hope they don't lose interest in him. Garza rips off his pants and hits a big dropkick for a 2 count. Theory hits a roll through somersault dropkick. Dawkins avoids some of Garza's offense and makes a leaping tag to Ford. Ford hits a standing moonsault and a DDT. Ford goes over the top and hits both Dawkins and Theory. Garza hits a moonsault onto both members of the Street Profits. Theory hits a TKO, but Ford hits a frog splash and that allows Dawkins to get the victory. After the match Garza attacks Ford with the help of Theory. Zelina Vega joins in. Bianca Belair comes in and takes out Vega. The Street Profits clear the ring and Belair hits the KOD. It's good to see Belair get a little shine here. The match was good as you would expect and the lack of build doesn't hurt it as much with an empty arena.
Match Rating: ***
Titus O'Neil is now here to finish off Gronk's hosting duties.
Fatal 5-Way Match For The SmackDown Women's Championship
Sasha Banks vs. Lacey Evans vs. Tamina vs. Naomi vs. Bayley
Wait, this is an elimination match? Why is Tamina in this match? They all go after Tamina and she fights them off because in WWE's mind, she is a future hall of famer. Sasha and Bayley double team her to get her out of the ring. Bayley and Sasha continue to work together on Lacey. Lacey and Naomi then team up to take out the best friends. Tamina comes in and hits a clothesline on Evans and Naomi and then on Sasha and Bayley. Lacey tries to roll up Tamina, but Tamina throws her across the ring. She does the same to Naomi and hits them both with a double knee in the corner. Tamina, Sasha and Naomi are in the ring and they all get together to call a truce. Tamina then kicks Sasha and Naomi hits a variation of the Stunner on Tamina. Evans comes in and joins the fun. Bayley is now in there and goes up top and hits an elbow drop and then Sasha hits a frog splash. Lacey joins in and hits a second rope moonsault and Naomi hits a split legged moonsault and is eliminated. For some reason Tamina was playing the role of Goldberg tonight. Bayley shows off her aggressive side on Naomi outside of the ring. Naomi comes close to eliminating both Bayley and Sasha. Bayley saves Sasha from elimination and Sasha eliminates Naomi with the Bank Statement. Bayley and Sasha again team up to work on Evans. Evans moves out of the way and Bayley hits Sasha with a running knee. Evans gets some pin attempts in, but Bayley kicks out. Bayley is attacking Evans when Sasha runs in and pulls Bayley off to confront her. Bayley pushes Lacey out of the way, but then she hits Sasha with the Women's Right and eliminates Banks. Bayley was down, but could have tried to help break up the pin there. Bayley goes right on offense to Evans. This is already a million times better than their match at Royal Rumble. Bayley is taking the tag rope and ties Evans' wrist to the top turnbuckle. Evans is able to get out and she goes up and hits the moonsault, but Bayley is able to kick out. Banks comes into the match and hits Evans with a backstabber and Bayley is able to retain the title. That was a much better match than I expected. Sasha then puts the title around Bayley's waist. It's fair to say that the women more than delivered here tonight.
Match Rating: ***1/2
Firefly Fun House Match
John Cena vs. The Fiend
Bray Wyatt welcomes Cena to the Firefly Fun House set. Cena is then there once he closes the door. One of the stupid puppets tells him he went out the door. Cena walks out and is in darkness. The Vince McMahon puppet pops up and asks Cena if he has enough ruthless aggression. I don't know if I have it in me to sit through this. Bray is shown in a ring and is cut together with the Kurt Angle challenge of when Cena made his debut. Cena is in his old gear and is now face to face with Wyatt. Wyatt then makes fun of Cena as he keeps saying ruthless aggression and missing Wyatt. We then get a Saturday Night's Main Event intro and now Wyatt is behind the big blue steel cage and introduces Cena as his tag partner who comes out lifting weights. Wyatt then throws Cena and he lands in front of the SmackDown fist wearing his rapper gear. Cena is only able to talk in rhyme and takes a shot at Husky Harris. Bray then starts showing his soft side saying that he's had to work hard to earn everything he's got. He says that Cena is a bully and gives him the floor. Cena then makes a deez nuts joke and charges towards Wyatt, but he teleports to the center of the ring. He knocks Cena out and then we cut to a vintage Bray Wyatt promo in the shed. He then attacks Cena and goes for Sister Abigail, but Cena escapes. Wyatt hands Cena a chair and gets to his knees. He tells him that 6 years ago, Cena made the wrong choice as they show a clip of WrestleMania XXX. Cena swings at him, but he disappears. Now Wyatt is dressed up like Eric Bischoff and introduces Cena in nWo gear acting like Hollywood Hogan. He starts attacking Wyatt while they flashback to some of Cena's losses and then he realizes it's one of the stupid puppets. Then from behind, it's the Fiend. He gives Cena the Mandible Claw and hits Sister Abigail. He puts the claw back on and Bray Wyatt counts to 3. The Fiend stands up and Cena disappears. We then pan to Titus, who says he doesn't know what we just saw. Um, yeah. I don't think I can properly rank that one. Considering it involved The Fiend, it was more entertaining than I thought. However, that bar was set really low. Really, really low. Much like the Boneyard Match, I don't think I'll be watching this any time soon or possibly ever again.
Match Rating: No Rating
WWE Championship Match
Drew McIntyre vs. Brock Lesnar
After a short back and forth, McIntyre hits a Claymore Kick, but Brock kicks out. He goes for another one, but with an assist from Heyman, Brock avoids it and hits a suplex. Lesnar hits German suplex number two. Lesnar hits a third after a struggle. Lesnar hits the F5, but McIntyre kicks out at 1. Lesnar hits a second F5 and McIntyre kicks out again. Lesnar hits another F5 and again McIntyre kicks out. This is such a shame that there is no crowd here. I love the atmosphere that Lesnar matches provide. McIntyre gets out of the F5 and hits a Claymore Kick. He follows it up with another one. He gets back in the corner and hits another Clayore Kick and that is all. Drew McIntyre is now the WWE Champion. Who would have thought six months ago that Drew McIntyre and Braun Strowman would be the champions? The match was disappointing, but like I said Brock matches thrive on the atmosphere they create. These two deserved the chance to provide that.
Match Rating: *
This is another tough show to rate. I really enjoyed both women's matches and thought they were worthy of WrestleMania status. I feel for McIntyre, who was robbed of a true special moment. On the other end the Edge/Orton match was so slow and so long and the Firefly Fun House was something that could have just been on SmackDown instead of the biggest show of the year. Bravo to the performers for giving it all on both nights, but this was an uphill battle that only a few that were really able to overcome. I was entertained throughout with the exception of The Fiend and it was nice to see something new after watching lots of old wrestling to review here.
Overall Rating: 60%
Saturday, April 4, 2020
WrestleMania 36 Night One Review
Original Airdate: Saturday, April 4th, 2020
WWE Performance Center
Orlando, Florida
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Stephanie McMahon is here to introduce the show. She specifies that there will be "other locations". She says that she hopes that this is a diversion from the current events and to enjoy the show. This leads to a highlight package of some of the people who have performed "America The Beautiful" over the years and they combine them together to create the song. Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin's are both home run versions for the record.
We still get the pirate themed intro video. I actually really wanted to see what they were going to do with the set in Tampa. It finishes off with Vince's favorite, AC/DC. Rob Gronkowski is now here and introduces the first ever two night WrestleMania. He says he's the right guy for the job because he can start a party and finish it 30 hours later. He brings in Mojo Rawley, who he chops four times for the fun of it. Yeah...no.
WWE Women's Tag Team Championship Match
Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross vs. The Kabuki Warriors
Kairi Sane makes fun of Alexa Bliss's bow and Bliss fires back with a slap to the back. These four ladies are extremely vocal here. Cross dumps Asuka outside the ring and tags in Bliss, who hits a baseball slid kick to knock out Sane. Nikki leaps off the apron to take out Sane. They start brawling outside the ring. Asuka and Sane use some nice teamwork back in the ring to take control of Cross. I wonder if this would have been the opener had this been one night? Hot tag to Bliss, but Asuka helps Sane to slow her down. She then does a stomp off the second rope to Bliss's face. That seems like a risky move for Bliss, who has a history of concussions. Bliss escapes a bulldog, but Asuka nails her with a high knee. Cross tries to clap Bliss back into the match in a nice moment. Both women make a tag and Cross is all over Sane. Cross hits a flying crossbody off the top rope, but Sane kicks out at 2. Cross has Asuka pinned for the win, but Sane makes the save off the top rope. Bliss hits a Twisted Bliss on Asuka to break up that pin, but then eats a spear from Sane. Asuka hits a Codebreaker, but is able to stop Sane from the top rope. Asuka has Cross up in a powerbomb position and Sane hits a forearm off the top rope, but Cross is able to kick out. Asuka misses Cross and hits her shoulder on the ring post. Cross is able to tag Bliss and she heads up top. She hits Twisted Bliss again and gets the victory to crown new Tag Team Champions. All four women put in a lot of effort here, but there were a few awkward spots. Not a bad opener, but it really is weird crowning new champions with no reaction.
Match Rating: **1/4 (out of 5)
Sami Zayn is here along with Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura and says that he is going to do something that few men do, which is walking into WrestleMania as Intercontinental Champion and walking out as champion too.
King Corbin vs. Elias
Corbin says that he is demanding that they raise his hand in victory since Elias isn't here. Elias then comes out and Corbin goes out to the ramp and Elias hits him in the back with the guitar. Corbin continues the attack and throws him in the ring. The referee stops Elias and checks on Corbin to make sure he's able to compete. The bell rings and Elias goes right after him again. Corbin is able to dump Elias over the top rope to buy himself some time. JBL and Cole compare Corbin to JBL, which is pretty fair, although JBL's heat was more legit than Corbin's. Corbin continues the attack and slams Elias's shoulder into the ring post. Elias returns the favor and throws Corbin into the ring post. So for the record, this has happened three times in the first two matches. Elias misses off the top rope and Corbin hits Deep Six for a 2 count. Elias hits a jumping high knee to the jaw of Corbin. Corbin rolls Elias up and puts his feet on the rope and is caught by the ref. Elias then rolls up Corbin and gets the victory. This seems like a good time to remind everyone that Corbin was the man selected to beat Kurt Angle in his last ever match last year. Good choice.
Match Rating: *3/4
Becky Lynch is shown driving a semi-truck with her face on there and says "The Man" on it.
Raw Women's Championship Match
Shayna Baszler vs. Becky Lynch
I thought that this match was main event worthy once they announced WrestleMania as a two night show. They go right at it and are quickly out to the floor. Becky slams Baszler into the announcer table and then into the steps. Lynch hits a missile dropkick and then attacks her in the corner. After a nice little bit of counters, Baszler hits a spinebuster. They fight out on the apron and Baszler hits some stiff shots. Lynch then hits a Rock Bottom on the HARDEST PART OF THE RING. Lynch goes up top, but Baszler greets her with a kick and then puts her in an armbar in the middle of the ring. Lynch counters it into a pin, but Baszler puts her in the Disarmher. Lynch gets out but eats a kick right to the chin, but kicks out. Back outside again and Baszler swings Lynch twice into the announcer table. I'm not a diehard Baszler fan, but I do love her look and the way she carries herself as a heel. There is a distinct brutality to her matches and it stands out among the other women. Just as I type that Lynch rolls through on a sleeper hold from Baszler and gets the surprise victory. That was certainly not the ending I would have picked for that match. This easily had another five minutes left in there. This was the best of the night so far.
Match Rating: ***
Intercontinental Championship Match
Daniel Bryan vs. Sami Zayn
Of the limited amount of current day WWE TV that I watch, Sami Zayn is easily among one of the most entertaining performers that they have. Then again, Daniel Bryan is also as entertaining as ever. Sami is doing everything he can to stall the match so far. Bryan eventually chases after him, but Cesaro gets in his way. Bryan finally gets a hand on him, but Cesaro and Shinsuke block him again. Gulak comes flying off the apron and takes both of them down. It's great to see all of these guys getting some time. Bryan then tells Zayn go walk up the ramp and get counted out. Zayn walks up the ramp and chases him up the ramp and attacks him. He throws him back in the ring and starts the beatdown with some calculated shots. Bryan hits a missile dropkick and once again has to drag Zayn back in the ring. Bryan begins clubbing Zayn in the back of the head and then stands him up and hits some stiff slaps. Zayn is able to slip an elbow in and get in control. It doesn't last long and Bryan hits a running clothesline and follows it up with the Yes Kicks. Bryan is really laying it in here. Gulak then begins the "Yes" chants and he is attacked by both Shinsuke and Cesaro. Bryan hits them both with a suicide dive and then goes up top but Zayn hits him with a Helluva Kick and gets the victory. Back-to-back abrupt finishes to otherwise good matches.
Match Rating: **3/4
Ladder Match For The SmackDown Tag Team Championships
Kofi Kingston vs. Jimmy Uso vs. John Morrison
This is a singles match due to Miz not being quarantined. After a quick start to the match, all three men go and grab ladders and bring them into the ring. Morrison is able to knock Jimmy off the ladder, but then pulls Morrison off his. Kofi hits a crossbody onto Uso and Morrison is back to climbing. He goes back down and knocks both men down for the time being. Kofi has his hands on the belt, but Morrison is there to stop him. Jimmy pulls him down and hits him with a right hand. Kofi launches himself through the ladder, but he is caught and then dumps him over the top rope to the floor. Morrison slides under the ladder, but Jimmy dumps the ladder on him but it doesn't hit him and he hits Jimmy with a thumb to the eye. Morrison positions Jimmy on a ladder that's hung on the second rope and hits him with a corkscrew off the top rope. That looked pretty good. Kofi then leaps onto a climbing Morrison and hits a hurricanrana off the ladder. In comes Jimmy, but Kofi hits him over the rope again. Morrison comes up with a ladder, but Kofi leaps over the top rope and hits Morrison. Jimmy tries to scale the barricade, but Kofi launches the ladder at him. Kofi lays Jimmy on a ladder that's lying across the ring to the barricade. Morrison goes up top, but Kofi stops him. Kofi climbs to the top rope, but Morrison is back up and walks across the top rope and hits a Spanish Fly from the top. Jimmy then comes in and hits a splash in a nice segment. Jimmy and Kofi are both climbing up the ladder. Jimmy is able to knock Kofi off, but Kofi then climbs up the inside of the ladder and knock Jimmy off. Kofi has his hands on the belts, but Morrison is able to meet him up there. Kofi knocks him off with a headbutt and then hits a dropkick off the ladder. Jimmy tries to bring in a ladder, but Kofi stops him. They then set it in between the ladder in the middle ring to create a bridge. Kofi climbs it, but Jimmy hits him with a kick and then slams him face first into the ladder. Morrison leaps off of it next and eats an Uso superkick. Morrison is laying face first on the ladder and Uso climbs up another ladder in the corner. Morrison gets up and dumps him to the floor. Morrison is alone in the ring and takes his time climbing up the ladder. Kofi comes in at the last second. Here comes Jimmy with another ladder and all three men are fighting at the top. They all have their hands on the belts and take them down, but they are fighting over them. Uso headbutts Morrison off the ladder, but he has the belts in his hands so Morrison retains for his team. A little contrived, but a decently clever finish to an otherwise great match. I really liked that match and thought they overcame a huge obstacle here by working extremely hard. Plus, Morrison walking the ropes into the Spanish Fly was awesome.
Match Rating: ****
Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins
Rollins is out solo. They obviously start brawling right away. They continue the brawl until Rollins hits a back body drop onto the HARDEST PART OF THE RING. Rollins then follows that up with a Falcon Arrow onto the HARDEST PART OF THE RING. Rollins then hits a suicide dive and drives Owens into the barricade. Rollins then hits another one, but on the third attempt Owens hits him with a fist. Rollins bounces back and hits the Sling Blade. They have a real nice spot with some reversals that ends with Owens hitting a DDT. Rollins really has found his groove with this character here. Owens hits a cannon ball and hits a senton off the top rope. We get another back and forth segment that ends with Rollins hitting an enzuigiri, but Owens bounced off the ropes and hit a clothesline. Owens goes for a superplex, but Rollins rakes the eyes and hits a sunset buckle bomb and hits two superkicks. Owens hits a Pop-Up Powerbomb, but Rollins kicks out. Outside of the ring, Rollins grabs the bell and hits Owens in the head with it and tells them to ring the bell. They call for the disqualification, but then Owens gets on the mic and says that this isn't how this is supposed to end. Owens says for them to finish it with a no disqualification match. Rollins comes back in and they re-start the match. Rollins hits a running knee and then dumps Owens out of the ring. Rollins then gets a running start and drills Owens with the steel steps. He then hits him three times with a chair. As Rollins taunts Owens, he grabs the ring bell and hits him twice in the head. Owens then goes and climbs the WrestleMania sign and hits an elbow drop onto Rollins on the table. That was quite a leap there. Back in the ring, Rollins begs for mercy, but Owens hits the Stunner and that is all. That was another really good match with two guys that have great chemistry with one another. This match was definitely worthy of playing in front of 80,000 fans.
Match Rating: ****
R-Truth jumps up to where Gronk and Mojo are and asks if he can chill with them for a little bit, so he can hide from everyone chasing after his 24/7 title. Gronk hits him with an elbow, but Mojo pulls him off Truth and Mojo wins the title.
Paul Heyman is backstage and says that we are one day from exposing Drew McIntyre.
WWE Universal Championship Match
Braun Strowman vs. Goldberg
They continue to not mention why Strowman has replaced Roman Reigns here. Goldberg quickly hits a spear, but Strowman gets up. He hits two more and Strowman kicks out. Goldberg hits a fourth spear and goes for the Jackhammer. Strowman counters and hits a powerslam. Strowman hits two more powerslams and tells Goldberg to get up. Strowman hits another one and that's all. Strowman gets his big moment about two years too late in a cold match with no one in attendance. If that doesn't sum up WWE booking in 2020, then I don't know what else does. This obviously wasn't much of a match and it wasn't as eloquently booked as Goldberg/Lesnar from a couple of years back. Oh well, it was quick.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Boneyard Match
Undertaker vs. AJ Styles
After a good highlight package, we are off to a cemetery where we see an old hearse drive up. Two druids come out of car and pull out a casket. Of course it is AJ Styles and he calls out Undertaker. Taker comes in on a motorcycle to a Metallica song. Taker immediately takes it to Styles and then slams him repeatedly into the casket. Taker tries to attack Styles against the hearse, but Styles ducks and Taker breaks the glass, causing his arm to bleed. Taker then tosses Styles onto the windshield. On top of the hearse, Taker continues to pound on Styles. Back on the ground, Styles throws dirt in Takers face and then hits him with a kick below the belt. Styles tries knocking Taker into the empty grave, but Styles ends up there instead. In walk Anderson and Gallows, who say that things are just getting started. Then a bunch of druids surround Taker. They all of course don't attack him at once, so Taker takes out the druids one by one. Anderson and Gallows jump him and take him down. They try to attack him with the wooden part of a shovel, but Taker miraculously fights back. Styles then comes out of nowhere to take him down. Styles then drives Taker into a fence and knocks it down. Styles continues to talk trash of how Taker doesn't have it anymore. Styles picks up a shovel and tells him that he's doing the world a favor. He breaks the shovel over his back and Taker falls in the grave. Styles gets into the plow to dump the dirt on the grave and then behind him it's magically Undertaker. Styles then runs up a ladder to the top of a building and then there's some random fire. Gallows and Anderson are there and Taker knocks them out. Taker throws Gallows off the roof and then Tombstones Anderson. Taker then chokeslams Styles off the roof through some wood. He brings Styles over to the grave and sets him up for the chokeslam. Styles says he is sorry. Taker gives him a hug and tells him that he gave him a fight that most people haven't been able to give him. Taker turns around, but turns back and kicks Styles into the grave. Taker dumps the dirt into the grave and I guess that's the end of the match. He pulls some plants off the tombstone and it reveals that it says AJ Styles on it. They show Styles glove sticking out of the dirt. Taker then rides off and we are done. Some people will like this, but I would say that was the worst main event in WrestleMania history. No thank you.
Match Rating: 0 stars
I'm not sure that I can remember a show that had a wider range of star ratings from me. On the plus side, we got two legitimately great matches where the five performers worked their tails off. Both matches deserved to have a capacity crowd backing them. The Lynch/Baszler and Bryan/Zayn matches suffered from abrupt endings. My problem comes with the last match. Like I said, some people will have enjoyed this (and more power to you). Unfortunately, I absolutely hated it. I don't have much desire to see Undertaker wrestle/fight any more, let alone in some cheesy, over the top wannabe action movie. I just don't understand how you main event with this match? Speaking of match order, WWE had the opportunity to put these matches in the perfect order and instead they came up with a pretty mind boggling order here. I really was good with this show up until the Owens/Rollins match and was fine with the Strowman match. I just wish I could pretend I didn't just watch the main event. I'm probably being a little kind on the overall score, but I did appreciate the effort given here and really did enjoy the majority of it.
Overall Rating: 63%
WWE Performance Center
Orlando, Florida
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Stephanie McMahon is here to introduce the show. She specifies that there will be "other locations". She says that she hopes that this is a diversion from the current events and to enjoy the show. This leads to a highlight package of some of the people who have performed "America The Beautiful" over the years and they combine them together to create the song. Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin's are both home run versions for the record.
We still get the pirate themed intro video. I actually really wanted to see what they were going to do with the set in Tampa. It finishes off with Vince's favorite, AC/DC. Rob Gronkowski is now here and introduces the first ever two night WrestleMania. He says he's the right guy for the job because he can start a party and finish it 30 hours later. He brings in Mojo Rawley, who he chops four times for the fun of it. Yeah...no.
WWE Women's Tag Team Championship Match
Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross vs. The Kabuki Warriors
Kairi Sane makes fun of Alexa Bliss's bow and Bliss fires back with a slap to the back. These four ladies are extremely vocal here. Cross dumps Asuka outside the ring and tags in Bliss, who hits a baseball slid kick to knock out Sane. Nikki leaps off the apron to take out Sane. They start brawling outside the ring. Asuka and Sane use some nice teamwork back in the ring to take control of Cross. I wonder if this would have been the opener had this been one night? Hot tag to Bliss, but Asuka helps Sane to slow her down. She then does a stomp off the second rope to Bliss's face. That seems like a risky move for Bliss, who has a history of concussions. Bliss escapes a bulldog, but Asuka nails her with a high knee. Cross tries to clap Bliss back into the match in a nice moment. Both women make a tag and Cross is all over Sane. Cross hits a flying crossbody off the top rope, but Sane kicks out at 2. Cross has Asuka pinned for the win, but Sane makes the save off the top rope. Bliss hits a Twisted Bliss on Asuka to break up that pin, but then eats a spear from Sane. Asuka hits a Codebreaker, but is able to stop Sane from the top rope. Asuka has Cross up in a powerbomb position and Sane hits a forearm off the top rope, but Cross is able to kick out. Asuka misses Cross and hits her shoulder on the ring post. Cross is able to tag Bliss and she heads up top. She hits Twisted Bliss again and gets the victory to crown new Tag Team Champions. All four women put in a lot of effort here, but there were a few awkward spots. Not a bad opener, but it really is weird crowning new champions with no reaction.
Match Rating: **1/4 (out of 5)
Sami Zayn is here along with Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura and says that he is going to do something that few men do, which is walking into WrestleMania as Intercontinental Champion and walking out as champion too.
King Corbin vs. Elias
Corbin says that he is demanding that they raise his hand in victory since Elias isn't here. Elias then comes out and Corbin goes out to the ramp and Elias hits him in the back with the guitar. Corbin continues the attack and throws him in the ring. The referee stops Elias and checks on Corbin to make sure he's able to compete. The bell rings and Elias goes right after him again. Corbin is able to dump Elias over the top rope to buy himself some time. JBL and Cole compare Corbin to JBL, which is pretty fair, although JBL's heat was more legit than Corbin's. Corbin continues the attack and slams Elias's shoulder into the ring post. Elias returns the favor and throws Corbin into the ring post. So for the record, this has happened three times in the first two matches. Elias misses off the top rope and Corbin hits Deep Six for a 2 count. Elias hits a jumping high knee to the jaw of Corbin. Corbin rolls Elias up and puts his feet on the rope and is caught by the ref. Elias then rolls up Corbin and gets the victory. This seems like a good time to remind everyone that Corbin was the man selected to beat Kurt Angle in his last ever match last year. Good choice.
Match Rating: *3/4
Becky Lynch is shown driving a semi-truck with her face on there and says "The Man" on it.
Raw Women's Championship Match
Shayna Baszler vs. Becky Lynch
I thought that this match was main event worthy once they announced WrestleMania as a two night show. They go right at it and are quickly out to the floor. Becky slams Baszler into the announcer table and then into the steps. Lynch hits a missile dropkick and then attacks her in the corner. After a nice little bit of counters, Baszler hits a spinebuster. They fight out on the apron and Baszler hits some stiff shots. Lynch then hits a Rock Bottom on the HARDEST PART OF THE RING. Lynch goes up top, but Baszler greets her with a kick and then puts her in an armbar in the middle of the ring. Lynch counters it into a pin, but Baszler puts her in the Disarmher. Lynch gets out but eats a kick right to the chin, but kicks out. Back outside again and Baszler swings Lynch twice into the announcer table. I'm not a diehard Baszler fan, but I do love her look and the way she carries herself as a heel. There is a distinct brutality to her matches and it stands out among the other women. Just as I type that Lynch rolls through on a sleeper hold from Baszler and gets the surprise victory. That was certainly not the ending I would have picked for that match. This easily had another five minutes left in there. This was the best of the night so far.
Match Rating: ***
Intercontinental Championship Match
Daniel Bryan vs. Sami Zayn
Of the limited amount of current day WWE TV that I watch, Sami Zayn is easily among one of the most entertaining performers that they have. Then again, Daniel Bryan is also as entertaining as ever. Sami is doing everything he can to stall the match so far. Bryan eventually chases after him, but Cesaro gets in his way. Bryan finally gets a hand on him, but Cesaro and Shinsuke block him again. Gulak comes flying off the apron and takes both of them down. It's great to see all of these guys getting some time. Bryan then tells Zayn go walk up the ramp and get counted out. Zayn walks up the ramp and chases him up the ramp and attacks him. He throws him back in the ring and starts the beatdown with some calculated shots. Bryan hits a missile dropkick and once again has to drag Zayn back in the ring. Bryan begins clubbing Zayn in the back of the head and then stands him up and hits some stiff slaps. Zayn is able to slip an elbow in and get in control. It doesn't last long and Bryan hits a running clothesline and follows it up with the Yes Kicks. Bryan is really laying it in here. Gulak then begins the "Yes" chants and he is attacked by both Shinsuke and Cesaro. Bryan hits them both with a suicide dive and then goes up top but Zayn hits him with a Helluva Kick and gets the victory. Back-to-back abrupt finishes to otherwise good matches.
Match Rating: **3/4
Ladder Match For The SmackDown Tag Team Championships
Kofi Kingston vs. Jimmy Uso vs. John Morrison
This is a singles match due to Miz not being quarantined. After a quick start to the match, all three men go and grab ladders and bring them into the ring. Morrison is able to knock Jimmy off the ladder, but then pulls Morrison off his. Kofi hits a crossbody onto Uso and Morrison is back to climbing. He goes back down and knocks both men down for the time being. Kofi has his hands on the belt, but Morrison is there to stop him. Jimmy pulls him down and hits him with a right hand. Kofi launches himself through the ladder, but he is caught and then dumps him over the top rope to the floor. Morrison slides under the ladder, but Jimmy dumps the ladder on him but it doesn't hit him and he hits Jimmy with a thumb to the eye. Morrison positions Jimmy on a ladder that's hung on the second rope and hits him with a corkscrew off the top rope. That looked pretty good. Kofi then leaps onto a climbing Morrison and hits a hurricanrana off the ladder. In comes Jimmy, but Kofi hits him over the rope again. Morrison comes up with a ladder, but Kofi leaps over the top rope and hits Morrison. Jimmy tries to scale the barricade, but Kofi launches the ladder at him. Kofi lays Jimmy on a ladder that's lying across the ring to the barricade. Morrison goes up top, but Kofi stops him. Kofi climbs to the top rope, but Morrison is back up and walks across the top rope and hits a Spanish Fly from the top. Jimmy then comes in and hits a splash in a nice segment. Jimmy and Kofi are both climbing up the ladder. Jimmy is able to knock Kofi off, but Kofi then climbs up the inside of the ladder and knock Jimmy off. Kofi has his hands on the belts, but Morrison is able to meet him up there. Kofi knocks him off with a headbutt and then hits a dropkick off the ladder. Jimmy tries to bring in a ladder, but Kofi stops him. They then set it in between the ladder in the middle ring to create a bridge. Kofi climbs it, but Jimmy hits him with a kick and then slams him face first into the ladder. Morrison leaps off of it next and eats an Uso superkick. Morrison is laying face first on the ladder and Uso climbs up another ladder in the corner. Morrison gets up and dumps him to the floor. Morrison is alone in the ring and takes his time climbing up the ladder. Kofi comes in at the last second. Here comes Jimmy with another ladder and all three men are fighting at the top. They all have their hands on the belts and take them down, but they are fighting over them. Uso headbutts Morrison off the ladder, but he has the belts in his hands so Morrison retains for his team. A little contrived, but a decently clever finish to an otherwise great match. I really liked that match and thought they overcame a huge obstacle here by working extremely hard. Plus, Morrison walking the ropes into the Spanish Fly was awesome.
Match Rating: ****
Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins
Rollins is out solo. They obviously start brawling right away. They continue the brawl until Rollins hits a back body drop onto the HARDEST PART OF THE RING. Rollins then follows that up with a Falcon Arrow onto the HARDEST PART OF THE RING. Rollins then hits a suicide dive and drives Owens into the barricade. Rollins then hits another one, but on the third attempt Owens hits him with a fist. Rollins bounces back and hits the Sling Blade. They have a real nice spot with some reversals that ends with Owens hitting a DDT. Rollins really has found his groove with this character here. Owens hits a cannon ball and hits a senton off the top rope. We get another back and forth segment that ends with Rollins hitting an enzuigiri, but Owens bounced off the ropes and hit a clothesline. Owens goes for a superplex, but Rollins rakes the eyes and hits a sunset buckle bomb and hits two superkicks. Owens hits a Pop-Up Powerbomb, but Rollins kicks out. Outside of the ring, Rollins grabs the bell and hits Owens in the head with it and tells them to ring the bell. They call for the disqualification, but then Owens gets on the mic and says that this isn't how this is supposed to end. Owens says for them to finish it with a no disqualification match. Rollins comes back in and they re-start the match. Rollins hits a running knee and then dumps Owens out of the ring. Rollins then gets a running start and drills Owens with the steel steps. He then hits him three times with a chair. As Rollins taunts Owens, he grabs the ring bell and hits him twice in the head. Owens then goes and climbs the WrestleMania sign and hits an elbow drop onto Rollins on the table. That was quite a leap there. Back in the ring, Rollins begs for mercy, but Owens hits the Stunner and that is all. That was another really good match with two guys that have great chemistry with one another. This match was definitely worthy of playing in front of 80,000 fans.
Match Rating: ****
R-Truth jumps up to where Gronk and Mojo are and asks if he can chill with them for a little bit, so he can hide from everyone chasing after his 24/7 title. Gronk hits him with an elbow, but Mojo pulls him off Truth and Mojo wins the title.
Paul Heyman is backstage and says that we are one day from exposing Drew McIntyre.
WWE Universal Championship Match
Braun Strowman vs. Goldberg
They continue to not mention why Strowman has replaced Roman Reigns here. Goldberg quickly hits a spear, but Strowman gets up. He hits two more and Strowman kicks out. Goldberg hits a fourth spear and goes for the Jackhammer. Strowman counters and hits a powerslam. Strowman hits two more powerslams and tells Goldberg to get up. Strowman hits another one and that's all. Strowman gets his big moment about two years too late in a cold match with no one in attendance. If that doesn't sum up WWE booking in 2020, then I don't know what else does. This obviously wasn't much of a match and it wasn't as eloquently booked as Goldberg/Lesnar from a couple of years back. Oh well, it was quick.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Boneyard Match
Undertaker vs. AJ Styles
After a good highlight package, we are off to a cemetery where we see an old hearse drive up. Two druids come out of car and pull out a casket. Of course it is AJ Styles and he calls out Undertaker. Taker comes in on a motorcycle to a Metallica song. Taker immediately takes it to Styles and then slams him repeatedly into the casket. Taker tries to attack Styles against the hearse, but Styles ducks and Taker breaks the glass, causing his arm to bleed. Taker then tosses Styles onto the windshield. On top of the hearse, Taker continues to pound on Styles. Back on the ground, Styles throws dirt in Takers face and then hits him with a kick below the belt. Styles tries knocking Taker into the empty grave, but Styles ends up there instead. In walk Anderson and Gallows, who say that things are just getting started. Then a bunch of druids surround Taker. They all of course don't attack him at once, so Taker takes out the druids one by one. Anderson and Gallows jump him and take him down. They try to attack him with the wooden part of a shovel, but Taker miraculously fights back. Styles then comes out of nowhere to take him down. Styles then drives Taker into a fence and knocks it down. Styles continues to talk trash of how Taker doesn't have it anymore. Styles picks up a shovel and tells him that he's doing the world a favor. He breaks the shovel over his back and Taker falls in the grave. Styles gets into the plow to dump the dirt on the grave and then behind him it's magically Undertaker. Styles then runs up a ladder to the top of a building and then there's some random fire. Gallows and Anderson are there and Taker knocks them out. Taker throws Gallows off the roof and then Tombstones Anderson. Taker then chokeslams Styles off the roof through some wood. He brings Styles over to the grave and sets him up for the chokeslam. Styles says he is sorry. Taker gives him a hug and tells him that he gave him a fight that most people haven't been able to give him. Taker turns around, but turns back and kicks Styles into the grave. Taker dumps the dirt into the grave and I guess that's the end of the match. He pulls some plants off the tombstone and it reveals that it says AJ Styles on it. They show Styles glove sticking out of the dirt. Taker then rides off and we are done. Some people will like this, but I would say that was the worst main event in WrestleMania history. No thank you.
Match Rating: 0 stars
I'm not sure that I can remember a show that had a wider range of star ratings from me. On the plus side, we got two legitimately great matches where the five performers worked their tails off. Both matches deserved to have a capacity crowd backing them. The Lynch/Baszler and Bryan/Zayn matches suffered from abrupt endings. My problem comes with the last match. Like I said, some people will have enjoyed this (and more power to you). Unfortunately, I absolutely hated it. I don't have much desire to see Undertaker wrestle/fight any more, let alone in some cheesy, over the top wannabe action movie. I just don't understand how you main event with this match? Speaking of match order, WWE had the opportunity to put these matches in the perfect order and instead they came up with a pretty mind boggling order here. I really was good with this show up until the Owens/Rollins match and was fine with the Strowman match. I just wish I could pretend I didn't just watch the main event. I'm probably being a little kind on the overall score, but I did appreciate the effort given here and really did enjoy the majority of it.
Overall Rating: 63%
SmackDown 8-4-05 Review
Original Airdate: Thursday, August 4th, 2005
Harbor Yard Arena
Bridgeport, Connecticut
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Rey Mysterio is here for The Peep Show with Christian. Christian takes a few jabs at Rey about the Eddie situation. Rey tells Christian to bring Eddie out like he promised. Christian calls Eddie out to read chapter 2 of his story, but Eddie is on the video screen instead. Rey keeps interrupting and Eddie says that he isn't going to finish the chapter right now, but he promises he will by the end of this show. Christian then attacks Rey with a microphone to the head and hits the Unprettier.
Jillian Hall says she has carried a burden her entire life. She has a blemish on her face, but she carries herself with dignity. She shows the thing on her face and asks if it makes us uncomfortable. She says she is a fixer and she is here to work for MNM. She walks past Sharmell and Booker T, who then talk about the blemish.
MNM vs. Booker T & Chris Benoit
This should be a nice test for MNM, as there currently hasn't been much of a tag division for them to work with so far. We get some nice back and forth action to get started. Benoit goes for the Sharpshooter, but Nitro pulls Mercury out of the ring going into the commercial break. Booker gets a reverse kick in on Nitro and a neckbreaker for a 2 count. Benoit hits some German suplexes and then places Nitro on the top rope. Melina distracts the ref, allowing Mercury to knock Benoit off the second rope. MNM cut the ring in half. Benoit fights back and hits a German suplex on Nitro. Benoit hits an enzuigiri and makes the hot tag to Booker. He hits the Book End on Mercury, but Nitro makes the save. Benoit puts Nitro in the Crippler Crossface outside the ring and Nitro taps, but it doesn't count of course. Booker is grabbed by Melina, causing Sharmell to chase after her. Jillian Hall takes out Sharmell. Booker pulls her off and checks on Sharmell. Mercury rolls Booker up and holds on to the ropes for the victory. I'm not sure why Benoit decided to just keep hanging outside the ring for that long, but other than that this was a pretty good tag match.
Match Rating: **1/2 (out of 5)
Christian is backstage with Teddy Long and he naturally makes Christian vs. Rey Mysterio for tonight.
Randy Orton is interviewed backstage and says he will make his intentions clear tonight.
Teddy Long is in the ring and has the contract for the World Heavyweight Championship match at SummerSlam. He brings out both JBL and Batista for the always classic contract signing. Batista takes one of the horns off of JBL's limo on the way to the ring and places it on the table. I sometimes find JBL's promos to be too long for no reason, but I do think in these face-to-face situations he does really excel at just being a good heel. Batista isn't quite as comfortable as he would become on the mic. JBL checks the contract and says that Batista left the stipulation blank and mocks Batista for it. Batista wants him to pick it. JBL decides to make it a no holds barred match. Is this the first contract signing in history that didn't end in a brawl?
Heidenreich tells Animal that he's feeling it with the new haircut. Animal now tells him to start using the face paint.
Michael Cole and Tazz run down the SummerSlam card and man are the match graphics awful for this show.
Heidenreich & Road Warrior Animal vs. Josh Daniels & Damian Adams
I think it would have done Animal a lot of good to wear a vest of some sort here during this run. This one goes a little bit longer than last week's squash, but not much. They hit a few impact moves and then the Doomsday Device, which is really awkward with Heidenreich going off the top rope.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Randy Orton is here to address the Undertaker situation. Orton says WrestleMania 21 was supposed to be his night, but fate intervened. Now he's on SmackDown and he's able to get what he needs, which is to beat Undertaker. He says that he will not rest until he beats him and he challenges him at SummerSlam and he wants an answer right now. Taker's music hits and RKO goes up on the screen. All we hear is Taker's voice and the letters change to RIP as Taker accepts his challenge.
Eddie is back and opens a limo door for a woman. He says there is no chapter 2 without her.
Rey Mysterio vs. Christian
Mysterio goes right after Christian as he's climbing into the ring. He then launches himself over the top rope. Rey throws him into the ring and the bell rings. Rey hits a spin kick, but Christian then throws him out of the ring. Rey lands on his feet and hits a springboard senton. Eddie and the woman walk out as we head to commercial. During the break, Christian avoided a 619 and was able to take control since. Cole claimed that Christian had eyes in the back of his head or, you know, was just looking at the large television screens that he was facing. Rey gets a 2 count out of a small package, but Christian immediately kicks him in the gut. Christian dumps Rey on the top rope and then hits him with a high knee, causing Rey to fall to the outside. Rey goes for a springboard senton again and Christian hits him with a dropkick in midair. Rey counters a gutbuster into a pin attempt for 2. Rey is able to make a little bit of a comeback, until he misses a springboard crossbody. Christian goes for the Unprettier, but Rey slips out and dropkicks him and hits the 619. Rey hits the springboard leg drop and gets the victory. When you put two of your top performers in there, you're going to get a good match. They are capable of better, but this was a good TV main event.
Match Rating: ***1/4
Rey then calls Eddie to the ring, but Eddie instead introduces Anna to Rey. Eddie tells Rey to read chapter 2 or else he will. Anna hands him the book. Rey finds a blue piece of paper in there and Rey is in disbelief. Eddie says those are official custody papers and next week Rey has to bring Dominik because Eddie is his true father. Eddie says that if Rey can prove how much he loves his son, Eddie says he might let Rey keep him. Rey says that Dominik is his son and that he has raised him for 8 years. He says that he was going to eventually tell Dominik the truth when he was old enough to understand. He says that Dominik is so depressed right now that he hasn't spoken since last week. Rey begs Eddie to stop hurting Dominik. Eddie mocks him and then says that Anna is his attorney. Dominik is the son he has always wanted and that he will be the one to carry on his Guerrero legacy. Eddie says to stay tuned to chapter 3 where Dominik comes home to his papi. Again, this whole storyline is just so over the top in a bad way, but both men have done the best they can with it.
Well, two of the three matches got a decent amount of time and were both pretty good. Orton's short segment was also solid and it set up a worthy rematch at SummerSlam. The Jillian Hall thing continues to be ridiculously stupid and I can't wait for the Dominik angle to end. So in other words, SmackDown is a real mixed bag right now. This show runs somewhere right in the middle.
Overall Rating: 54%
Harbor Yard Arena
Bridgeport, Connecticut
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Rey Mysterio is here for The Peep Show with Christian. Christian takes a few jabs at Rey about the Eddie situation. Rey tells Christian to bring Eddie out like he promised. Christian calls Eddie out to read chapter 2 of his story, but Eddie is on the video screen instead. Rey keeps interrupting and Eddie says that he isn't going to finish the chapter right now, but he promises he will by the end of this show. Christian then attacks Rey with a microphone to the head and hits the Unprettier.
Jillian Hall says she has carried a burden her entire life. She has a blemish on her face, but she carries herself with dignity. She shows the thing on her face and asks if it makes us uncomfortable. She says she is a fixer and she is here to work for MNM. She walks past Sharmell and Booker T, who then talk about the blemish.
MNM vs. Booker T & Chris Benoit
This should be a nice test for MNM, as there currently hasn't been much of a tag division for them to work with so far. We get some nice back and forth action to get started. Benoit goes for the Sharpshooter, but Nitro pulls Mercury out of the ring going into the commercial break. Booker gets a reverse kick in on Nitro and a neckbreaker for a 2 count. Benoit hits some German suplexes and then places Nitro on the top rope. Melina distracts the ref, allowing Mercury to knock Benoit off the second rope. MNM cut the ring in half. Benoit fights back and hits a German suplex on Nitro. Benoit hits an enzuigiri and makes the hot tag to Booker. He hits the Book End on Mercury, but Nitro makes the save. Benoit puts Nitro in the Crippler Crossface outside the ring and Nitro taps, but it doesn't count of course. Booker is grabbed by Melina, causing Sharmell to chase after her. Jillian Hall takes out Sharmell. Booker pulls her off and checks on Sharmell. Mercury rolls Booker up and holds on to the ropes for the victory. I'm not sure why Benoit decided to just keep hanging outside the ring for that long, but other than that this was a pretty good tag match.
Match Rating: **1/2 (out of 5)
Christian is backstage with Teddy Long and he naturally makes Christian vs. Rey Mysterio for tonight.
Randy Orton is interviewed backstage and says he will make his intentions clear tonight.
Teddy Long is in the ring and has the contract for the World Heavyweight Championship match at SummerSlam. He brings out both JBL and Batista for the always classic contract signing. Batista takes one of the horns off of JBL's limo on the way to the ring and places it on the table. I sometimes find JBL's promos to be too long for no reason, but I do think in these face-to-face situations he does really excel at just being a good heel. Batista isn't quite as comfortable as he would become on the mic. JBL checks the contract and says that Batista left the stipulation blank and mocks Batista for it. Batista wants him to pick it. JBL decides to make it a no holds barred match. Is this the first contract signing in history that didn't end in a brawl?
Heidenreich tells Animal that he's feeling it with the new haircut. Animal now tells him to start using the face paint.
Michael Cole and Tazz run down the SummerSlam card and man are the match graphics awful for this show.
Heidenreich & Road Warrior Animal vs. Josh Daniels & Damian Adams
I think it would have done Animal a lot of good to wear a vest of some sort here during this run. This one goes a little bit longer than last week's squash, but not much. They hit a few impact moves and then the Doomsday Device, which is really awkward with Heidenreich going off the top rope.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Randy Orton is here to address the Undertaker situation. Orton says WrestleMania 21 was supposed to be his night, but fate intervened. Now he's on SmackDown and he's able to get what he needs, which is to beat Undertaker. He says that he will not rest until he beats him and he challenges him at SummerSlam and he wants an answer right now. Taker's music hits and RKO goes up on the screen. All we hear is Taker's voice and the letters change to RIP as Taker accepts his challenge.
Eddie is back and opens a limo door for a woman. He says there is no chapter 2 without her.
Rey Mysterio vs. Christian
Mysterio goes right after Christian as he's climbing into the ring. He then launches himself over the top rope. Rey throws him into the ring and the bell rings. Rey hits a spin kick, but Christian then throws him out of the ring. Rey lands on his feet and hits a springboard senton. Eddie and the woman walk out as we head to commercial. During the break, Christian avoided a 619 and was able to take control since. Cole claimed that Christian had eyes in the back of his head or, you know, was just looking at the large television screens that he was facing. Rey gets a 2 count out of a small package, but Christian immediately kicks him in the gut. Christian dumps Rey on the top rope and then hits him with a high knee, causing Rey to fall to the outside. Rey goes for a springboard senton again and Christian hits him with a dropkick in midair. Rey counters a gutbuster into a pin attempt for 2. Rey is able to make a little bit of a comeback, until he misses a springboard crossbody. Christian goes for the Unprettier, but Rey slips out and dropkicks him and hits the 619. Rey hits the springboard leg drop and gets the victory. When you put two of your top performers in there, you're going to get a good match. They are capable of better, but this was a good TV main event.
Match Rating: ***1/4
Rey then calls Eddie to the ring, but Eddie instead introduces Anna to Rey. Eddie tells Rey to read chapter 2 or else he will. Anna hands him the book. Rey finds a blue piece of paper in there and Rey is in disbelief. Eddie says those are official custody papers and next week Rey has to bring Dominik because Eddie is his true father. Eddie says that if Rey can prove how much he loves his son, Eddie says he might let Rey keep him. Rey says that Dominik is his son and that he has raised him for 8 years. He says that he was going to eventually tell Dominik the truth when he was old enough to understand. He says that Dominik is so depressed right now that he hasn't spoken since last week. Rey begs Eddie to stop hurting Dominik. Eddie mocks him and then says that Anna is his attorney. Dominik is the son he has always wanted and that he will be the one to carry on his Guerrero legacy. Eddie says to stay tuned to chapter 3 where Dominik comes home to his papi. Again, this whole storyline is just so over the top in a bad way, but both men have done the best they can with it.
Well, two of the three matches got a decent amount of time and were both pretty good. Orton's short segment was also solid and it set up a worthy rematch at SummerSlam. The Jillian Hall thing continues to be ridiculously stupid and I can't wait for the Dominik angle to end. So in other words, SmackDown is a real mixed bag right now. This show runs somewhere right in the middle.
Overall Rating: 54%
Wednesday, April 1, 2020
Monday Night Raw 8-1-05 Review
Monday, August 1st, 2005
Mohegan Sun Arena
Uncasville, Connecticut
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Chris Jericho is here to kick off the show. He talks about the plan that he has concocted to end the reign of John Cena with Eric Bischoff. He shows the highlights of him kicking Cena below the belt from last week. Jericho says that he's going to beat either Cena or Carlito at SummerSlam. Out runs Cena (sans entrance music) and they have a big brawl. Bischoff tries to stop it and sends out security. I'm kind of surprised that they went this route with 20 days left until their match. Bischoff then announces that Jericho will once again be the referee tonight.
Chris Masters & Snitsky vs. Shelton Benjamin & Big Show
It's always a nice bonus when there is a little bit of continuity on the weekly shows. None of these guys had much going on in the storyline department, so here's a little mini feud to keep things interesting. We get a brawl to start. Things slow down and Show hits some open palm slaps on Snitsky. Show clotheslines him over the top. Masters tries to attack him from behind, but Show picks him up and tosses him over the top rope onto Snitsky. After the break, Shelton goes for a splash in the corner, but Snitsky gets the boot up. They work on Shelton's back for awhile. They get some double teaming in and Show comes in and clotheslines them both. Shelton goes for a backslide, but Masters counters with a big clothesline. Masters wasn't great at this point, but it's kind of amazing that they didn't get more out of him since he was only 22 years old. Shelton finally makes the tag and Big Show hits a double splash and then runs though them both. Big Show hits the chokeslam on Snitsky and that's all. This was pretty formulaic, as you would expect. That's not necessarily a bad thing by the way. Shelton gets his revenge, Big Show stays strong and Masters looked solid.
Match Rating: **1/4 (out of 5)
Eugene comes out with Christy in a cheerleader outfit. They bring out this week's hometown hero and then Kurt Angle's music hits. Eugene asks him his name and where he's from repeatedly until Angle finally gives in. Eugene tells him that he's not a hometown hero, so he won't face him. Angle wonders who could possibly be from Uncasville. Tatanka's music hits and he comes out to a mild pop.
Eugene Gold Medal Invitational
Eugene vs. Tatanka
Man...Tatanka's mullet. They work the beginning to a standard match, which doesn't really work with the whole three minute stipulation. With about one minute left, Tatanka hits a chop off the top rope for a 2 count. Eugene hits an Angle Slam, kind of. He puts him in the Ankle Lock and in comes Angle, causing a disqualification. Tatanka then helps out Eugene and they double clothesline Angle to the floor. This obviously existed to continue the set up for their match at SummerSlam.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Angle is stopped by Todd Grisham backstage. Next week he says Raw is in Pittsburgh and he will be the hometown hero.
They show the finish of the Edge/Kane match from last week and then the attack from Kane afterwards. They update it by saying that Kane was arrested for his acts.
Jericho is backstage and in walks Carlito. He tells Carlito that it will be them at SummerSlam. Bischoff walks in and tells them to come up with a plan to make sure that happens.
A limo is shown arriving to the arena and out walks Vince McMahon. Vince says that tonight is the 636th episode of Raw, passing every TV show in history. He then thanks himself for building this juggernaut that will last for generations. I'm guessing he hasn't seen the ratings in 2020. He says he is standing here because he makes good business decisions, even if it is signing someone like Eric Bischoff or bringing a dead brand like ECW back. Tonight he is announcing a good business decision and that decision is bringing back Matt Hardy. Hardy is shown coming out of a limo and then kind of awkwardly jogging when he realizes how far away it is from the entrance ramp. This is a great reminder of how underrated Hardy's single entrance theme is. Vince hands Hardy the mic and walks out of the ring. Hardy thanks Vince, but says it was the fans that brought him back. He fills in everyone on the Hardy/Lita/Edge real life saga. He uses their real names here. Hardy then says something about Edge being killed in a car accident and that even made JR pipe in. Matt is a much better talker when he's playing a character and with this being very close to real life, it came off a little flat. I say that as someone who is a big fan of Matt.
Vince bumps into Chavo...I mean Kerwin White. He's looking for a house in Greenwich. As dumb as the gimmick is, Chavo was actually pretty good in the role.
Val Venis vs. Rob Conway
Val gives away his towel to a lady at ringside. Does he think this is 1998? Rob Conway then comes out to entrance music that is so bad, the entire arena goes quiet. His outfit is even worse. I can't imagine why this flopped. He starts the match still wearing his sunglasses. If there was ever such a thing as a bathroom break match, this was definitely it. His glasses get knocked off and Conway is upset. Val hits a powerbomb and then a variation of the Figure Four and no one cares at all. I am shocked they weren't told to go home early. Val goes up top and Conway knocks him off. Conway hits what he calls the Ego Trip and gets the victory. Conway was a solid enough worker, but he had literally everything else working against him here with this gimmick.
Match Rating: 1/4*
We are supposed to be seeing career highlights of Shawn Michaels, but instead we get a fake Larry King and Michaels dressed up as Hogan coming in on a walker. This is the famous "brother" promo. After making fun of him for a bit, "King" shows the highlight reel. Back to the Larry King spot, he makes fun of Hogan not working hard every night. He pretends to hurt his back after posing and then hits Sweet Chin Music on King. He rips off his fake bald head and asks him what Hogan is going to do when reality kicks him in the face and kicks the cameraman.
Diva Search time. Summer is cut this week. The ring this week has an inflatable bounce ring and they are going to try and knock each other off the pedestals. They introduce Rob Schneider as a guest judge. Elisabeth wins in what was absolutely terrible.
WWE Championship Match
Carlito vs. John Cena
Carlito attacks Cena, who is distracted by Jericho. Cena fights back, but Jericho holds his punch back and Carlito takes advantage again. Jericho is playing the role of heel referee here, with fast counts and interfering when he can. Jericho blocks Cena's suplex counter and then doesn't stop counting when Cena's feet are on the ropes. They've got JR all riled up here tonight. Cena finally fights back and Jericho steps out of the ring. He hits the Five Knuckle Shuffle and Jericho doesn't go to count the pin attempt. Cena attacks Jericho, allowing Carlito to again attack from behind. Cena fights through it and then accidentally knocks Jericho down with his elbow. Jericho hits a low blow on, but Cena knocks him out of the ring and then hits the FU on Carlito. In runs Chad Patton and he counts the victory for Cena. Jericho attacks him after the match. He takes a "high dollar" camera and hits Cena over the head, busting him open. Jericho puts on the Walls of Jericho while Bischoff yells in his face and gets a few slaps in. This was all storyline and not much of a match. It furthered along the story of Cena and Jericho, but the in ring action was pretty weak.
Match Rating: 3/4*
We had Michaels imitating Hogan, Matt Hardy return, a WWE Championship match and the show still wasn't very good. They've kind of hit a little bit of a slump here recently and one of the main reasons why is the Diva Search. It is nearly unwatchable every week. Rob Conway's debut was one of the worst ones I can think of during this era, so that certainly didn't help this episode's cause. The only thing really to check out here is the Michaels segment.
Overall Rating: 38%
Mohegan Sun Arena
Uncasville, Connecticut
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Chris Jericho is here to kick off the show. He talks about the plan that he has concocted to end the reign of John Cena with Eric Bischoff. He shows the highlights of him kicking Cena below the belt from last week. Jericho says that he's going to beat either Cena or Carlito at SummerSlam. Out runs Cena (sans entrance music) and they have a big brawl. Bischoff tries to stop it and sends out security. I'm kind of surprised that they went this route with 20 days left until their match. Bischoff then announces that Jericho will once again be the referee tonight.
Chris Masters & Snitsky vs. Shelton Benjamin & Big Show
It's always a nice bonus when there is a little bit of continuity on the weekly shows. None of these guys had much going on in the storyline department, so here's a little mini feud to keep things interesting. We get a brawl to start. Things slow down and Show hits some open palm slaps on Snitsky. Show clotheslines him over the top. Masters tries to attack him from behind, but Show picks him up and tosses him over the top rope onto Snitsky. After the break, Shelton goes for a splash in the corner, but Snitsky gets the boot up. They work on Shelton's back for awhile. They get some double teaming in and Show comes in and clotheslines them both. Shelton goes for a backslide, but Masters counters with a big clothesline. Masters wasn't great at this point, but it's kind of amazing that they didn't get more out of him since he was only 22 years old. Shelton finally makes the tag and Big Show hits a double splash and then runs though them both. Big Show hits the chokeslam on Snitsky and that's all. This was pretty formulaic, as you would expect. That's not necessarily a bad thing by the way. Shelton gets his revenge, Big Show stays strong and Masters looked solid.
Match Rating: **1/4 (out of 5)
Eugene comes out with Christy in a cheerleader outfit. They bring out this week's hometown hero and then Kurt Angle's music hits. Eugene asks him his name and where he's from repeatedly until Angle finally gives in. Eugene tells him that he's not a hometown hero, so he won't face him. Angle wonders who could possibly be from Uncasville. Tatanka's music hits and he comes out to a mild pop.
Eugene Gold Medal Invitational
Eugene vs. Tatanka
Man...Tatanka's mullet. They work the beginning to a standard match, which doesn't really work with the whole three minute stipulation. With about one minute left, Tatanka hits a chop off the top rope for a 2 count. Eugene hits an Angle Slam, kind of. He puts him in the Ankle Lock and in comes Angle, causing a disqualification. Tatanka then helps out Eugene and they double clothesline Angle to the floor. This obviously existed to continue the set up for their match at SummerSlam.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Angle is stopped by Todd Grisham backstage. Next week he says Raw is in Pittsburgh and he will be the hometown hero.
They show the finish of the Edge/Kane match from last week and then the attack from Kane afterwards. They update it by saying that Kane was arrested for his acts.
Jericho is backstage and in walks Carlito. He tells Carlito that it will be them at SummerSlam. Bischoff walks in and tells them to come up with a plan to make sure that happens.
A limo is shown arriving to the arena and out walks Vince McMahon. Vince says that tonight is the 636th episode of Raw, passing every TV show in history. He then thanks himself for building this juggernaut that will last for generations. I'm guessing he hasn't seen the ratings in 2020. He says he is standing here because he makes good business decisions, even if it is signing someone like Eric Bischoff or bringing a dead brand like ECW back. Tonight he is announcing a good business decision and that decision is bringing back Matt Hardy. Hardy is shown coming out of a limo and then kind of awkwardly jogging when he realizes how far away it is from the entrance ramp. This is a great reminder of how underrated Hardy's single entrance theme is. Vince hands Hardy the mic and walks out of the ring. Hardy thanks Vince, but says it was the fans that brought him back. He fills in everyone on the Hardy/Lita/Edge real life saga. He uses their real names here. Hardy then says something about Edge being killed in a car accident and that even made JR pipe in. Matt is a much better talker when he's playing a character and with this being very close to real life, it came off a little flat. I say that as someone who is a big fan of Matt.
Vince bumps into Chavo...I mean Kerwin White. He's looking for a house in Greenwich. As dumb as the gimmick is, Chavo was actually pretty good in the role.
Val Venis vs. Rob Conway
Val gives away his towel to a lady at ringside. Does he think this is 1998? Rob Conway then comes out to entrance music that is so bad, the entire arena goes quiet. His outfit is even worse. I can't imagine why this flopped. He starts the match still wearing his sunglasses. If there was ever such a thing as a bathroom break match, this was definitely it. His glasses get knocked off and Conway is upset. Val hits a powerbomb and then a variation of the Figure Four and no one cares at all. I am shocked they weren't told to go home early. Val goes up top and Conway knocks him off. Conway hits what he calls the Ego Trip and gets the victory. Conway was a solid enough worker, but he had literally everything else working against him here with this gimmick.
Match Rating: 1/4*
We are supposed to be seeing career highlights of Shawn Michaels, but instead we get a fake Larry King and Michaels dressed up as Hogan coming in on a walker. This is the famous "brother" promo. After making fun of him for a bit, "King" shows the highlight reel. Back to the Larry King spot, he makes fun of Hogan not working hard every night. He pretends to hurt his back after posing and then hits Sweet Chin Music on King. He rips off his fake bald head and asks him what Hogan is going to do when reality kicks him in the face and kicks the cameraman.
Diva Search time. Summer is cut this week. The ring this week has an inflatable bounce ring and they are going to try and knock each other off the pedestals. They introduce Rob Schneider as a guest judge. Elisabeth wins in what was absolutely terrible.
WWE Championship Match
Carlito vs. John Cena
Carlito attacks Cena, who is distracted by Jericho. Cena fights back, but Jericho holds his punch back and Carlito takes advantage again. Jericho is playing the role of heel referee here, with fast counts and interfering when he can. Jericho blocks Cena's suplex counter and then doesn't stop counting when Cena's feet are on the ropes. They've got JR all riled up here tonight. Cena finally fights back and Jericho steps out of the ring. He hits the Five Knuckle Shuffle and Jericho doesn't go to count the pin attempt. Cena attacks Jericho, allowing Carlito to again attack from behind. Cena fights through it and then accidentally knocks Jericho down with his elbow. Jericho hits a low blow on, but Cena knocks him out of the ring and then hits the FU on Carlito. In runs Chad Patton and he counts the victory for Cena. Jericho attacks him after the match. He takes a "high dollar" camera and hits Cena over the head, busting him open. Jericho puts on the Walls of Jericho while Bischoff yells in his face and gets a few slaps in. This was all storyline and not much of a match. It furthered along the story of Cena and Jericho, but the in ring action was pretty weak.
Match Rating: 3/4*
We had Michaels imitating Hogan, Matt Hardy return, a WWE Championship match and the show still wasn't very good. They've kind of hit a little bit of a slump here recently and one of the main reasons why is the Diva Search. It is nearly unwatchable every week. Rob Conway's debut was one of the worst ones I can think of during this era, so that certainly didn't help this episode's cause. The only thing really to check out here is the Michaels segment.
Overall Rating: 38%
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)