WrestleMania Backlash 2021 Review

Sunday, May 16th, 2021
Yuengling Center
Tampa, Florida

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Batista narrates the intro here tonight, which is of course to promote a movie. I will say though, his voice does work well with these video packages. 

Triple Threat Match For The Raw Women's Championship

Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka vs. Rhea Ripley

Charlotte is wearing Cruella de Vil themed gear tonight, which is definitely a different look for her. This is my first time listening to Adnan Virk as the Raw announcer. I am a big fan of the GM Shuffle podcast that he co-hosts, so I may be a little bit easier on him. After a standoff, Rhea and Asuka team up on Charlotte and then go at it with one another. Charlotte hits Asuka with a suplex on the outside and then goes into confront Ripley. Ripley ends up dropkicking Charlotte out of the ring and then hits a kick on Asuka. Charlotte recovers and swipes her ankles as she was walking out of the ring. Ripley looks a little hesitant to me here. Charlotte is in annoying trash talk mode tonight and then hits a big kick to the face of Asuka. Asuka is able to lock in the arm bar on Charlotte, but Charlotte gets to the ropes. However, that shouldn't break the hold since there are no disqualifications. Ripley gets her little spot and gets a nearfall that is broken up by Asuka. Asuka makes her run and hits a series of German suplexes and a Hip Attack. Asuka hits a missile dropkick on Ripley and then a knee to the head. Charlotte knocks her off the apron and then stalls for way too long before "hitting" her moonsault to the floor. It's a phenomenal looking move, but no one ever wants to catch her on it. We get the obligatory tower of doom spot, which then turns into just a double superplex on Charlotte. We get frantic three way action and then Charlotte hits a double Natural Selection for a nearfall on both women at the same time. Both opponenents avoid her next moonsault attempt, but she lands on her feet. They knock her out of the ring and then Ripley and Asuka have some back and forth. Charlotte is back in and hits a big boot on Ripley and Asuka goes for the Asuka Lock on Charlotte. She escapes, but eats a superkick. Asuka hits a roundhouse kick on Ripley and then ducks a boot from Charlotte. Charlotte gets one on her anyways and Ripley hits Riptide for the victory on Asuka. This was pretty good, but felt a little off in the early going. 

Match Rating: ***

We see Lashley entering the arena earlier and then cut to a Miz and Morrison clip. They then show the Dirty Dawgs attacking Dominik Mysterio and they act as if he may not be wrestling tonight. 

SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match

Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode vs. Rey Mysterio (& Dominik Mysterio)

This is also my first time listening to Pat McAfee as the announcer. Mysterio is in serious mode here and he goes aggressive after both men. Just in case you didn't know it was 2-on-1, Michael Cole and McAfee have driven it home about 30 times. After his opening flurry, the advantage is too much as you would expect and the champs use multiple tags to take it to Mysterio. Mysterio tries to make a comeback, but Ziggler knocks him off the top rope and into the tree of woe. The champs are now working on the knee of Mysterio. Roode tosses Rey out of the ring on his stomach and Ziggler is there waiting for a superkick, which was a pretty sweet double team. Ziggler must be above the leg slap memo though. It's time for the Mysterio comeback, as he's able to buy himself some time by throwing Dolph into the ring post. Out comes Dominik holding the injured ribs. Rey finally sees him and wants him to not wrestle hurt. Roode distracts Rey and Ziggler hits the Zig Zag for a nearfall. Roode then hits Rey with a gutbuster and gets another 2 count. They battle up on the top rope and Rey hits a bulldog, leaving both men down. Dominik is finally in and unleashes on Roode. It doesn't last long, with Roode able to hit a big spinebuster. Dominik is able to hita superkick on Dolph and then tags in his father. He too has a short-lived comeback after Roode hits him with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Rey escapes a powerbomb and hits a 619 and then slides and hits a sunset flip powerbomb on Ziggler outside. Dominik hits a frog splash and we have new champions. This was a little bit more story based than I would have liked, but I enjoyed Ziggler and Roode as a team here. Rey is still one of the best there is and I hope they continue to put more focus on the tag team division.

Match Rating: ***1/2

John Morrison walks into the lumberjack locker room and there are a bunch of "zombies" in there. We then get a close up of Jimmy Uso's back as he walks into Roman Reigns' locker room. Jey is there and Jimmy goes off on him for carrying around Roman's bags. Roman walks in and off goes Jimmy. Back to Morrison informing Miz about the zombies. 

Lumberjack Match

Miz vs. Damian Priest

Out come the zombies and they corner Miz and Morrison. They even scare off the announcers. They get Miz into the ring and we have ourselves a match. This is some D movie quality stuff here. The camerawork here is making this almost unwatchable, with them constantly panning to the zombies. Miz is able to get the Figure Four on in the middle of the ring. Priest gets out and then both men go out of the ring and start brawling with the zombies. Back in the ring, Priest hits the Falcon Arrow for a 2 count. Out comes Morrison and he hits a cartwheel kick on Priest. Morrison then uses parkour to take out some zombies until two them drag him over the barricade. Priest then hits his finisher and gets the victory. He escapes the ring and the zombies feed on Miz. I love the Miz and like Priest, but this was just unwatchable. It had nothing to do with the performers, as this was just a terrible premise for a match. 

Match Rating: 0 stars

We get more Uso drama, which I continue to not be as high on as the entire internet.

SmackDown Women's Championship Match

Bayley vs. Bianca Belair

Both ladies start off showing off their skills and it seems as if they are both on here. After being dominated in the early going, Bayley grabs the earring of Bianca and buys herself an opening. Bayley hits a back suplex that Cole tries to convince us might be enough for the victory. Bayley heads up to the top rope, but Bianca knocks her down. Bayley is able to snap her neck on the rope but Belair then suplexes Bayley back in the ring. They roll out of the ring and Bayley suplexes her stomach first onto the top of the steel steps. She follows that up with a suplex to the floor. Bianca makes her fiery comeback and tosses Bayley around the ring. Bianca hits a spinebuster and gets the close call. Bayley is able to hit a top rope elbow, but it's not enough. Bayley is able to slam Bianca's face into the ring post, but misses with a suicide dive. Bianca drives Bayley into the apron and gets another nearfall. Bayley gets a backslide pin attempt and hangs onto the ropes, but Bianca still kicks out. Bayley hits a Bayley To Belly, but Bianca kicks out. Bayley grabs her hair again, but Bianca rolls her up with it and gets the awkward looking victory. That sure didn't look like a 3 count there. This was the opposite of the opening match, with the beginning being stronger than the finish. I had really high hopes for this one and I feel like they are capable of a stronger match. What we got was still good though. 

Match Rating: ***

MVP is backstage discussing Braun Strowman's lack of intelligence. 

Triple Threat Match For The WWE Championship

Drew McIntyre vs. Braun Strowman vs. Bobby Lashley

Not that I think they will be similar, but was it really necessary to have two triple threat matches on a six match card? We get some brawling as you would expect. Strowman does a rare aerial maneuver to take out both opponents and then gets a 2 count after a chokeslam on Lashley. McIntyre then comes off the top rope with a crossbody. Lashley then gets to show off his strength by throwing both men around. This is the best version of Lashley. Strowman destroys Lashley with the steel steps, but then McIntyre hits the Claymore Kick on Strowman and that sends him over the guardrail. Lashley and McIntyre move up to the ramp and Lashley hits a suplex. McIntyre then sends Lashley through the LED board by the stage with pyro to accompany it. Strowman then comes and attacks McIntyre and throws him down the ramp. Strowman mauls McIntyre with a running start and sends him into the ring. Strowman hits a running senton and almost gets the victory. This is one of the more spirited performances I can remember from Strowman. McIntyre then hits the Michinoku Driver on Strowman and he almost picks up the win, as Lashley is still out of the picture here. McIntyre hits an overhead suplex that looks like an almost scary landing for Braun. McIntyre goes for the Claymore Kick, but Braun catches him and powerbombs him through the table. This is significantly better than I was expecting. Back in the ring and McIntyre hits the Claymore Kick. In comes Lashley and he throws McIntyre out of the ring and hits the Spear on Strowman for the victory. God, WWE loves that finish, don't they? Ending aside, that was a really hard fought match from three large men. 

Match Rating: ***3/4

Universal Championship Match

Cesaro vs. Roman Reigns

I couldn't be happier for Cesaro here, but I really wish it was in front of a live crowd. Cesaro hits the springboard uppercut for the first notable move of the match. I know I am in the minority, but this Roman Reigns character just doesn't connect with me that much. After being dominated by Reigns, Cesaro counters the Superman punch with a pop up uppercut. Cesaro hits a leaping corkscrew over the top rope on Reigns and then hits a running uppercut into the barricade. Cesaro hits a top rope crossbody and gets a 2 count. Reigns hits a stiff looking boot to the face while holding the injured arm of Cesaro and then hits a running kick that drives Cesaro into the ring post. They are doing a nice job of giving Cesaro his small moments of hope while selling the arm injury and making Reigns look strong. Cesaro loses it and attacks Reigns in the corner. He then hits the superplex for a 2 count. I felt like Roman could have kicked out a little closer to 3 there. Cesaro goes for the springboard uppercut again, but this time Reigns hits him with a Superman punch. That was fantastic. Reigns locks in the Guillotine, but Cesaro powers out and then puts in the Sharpshooter. Cesaro turns it around and puts him in the Crossface. Reigns powers out and hits a sit down powerbomb for a 2 count. After some battling from Cesaro, Reigns locks in the Guillotine and retains his championship. That was a hard fought main event and a really strong showing from Cesaro. After the match, Jey Uso comes out and superkicks Cesaro. He continues the attack and then out comes Seth Rollins. He smiles at Reigns and then he takes his turn at attacking Cesaro. Is there not one person who can help Cesaro? He slams his arm into the ring post and then hits the Stomp to the floor. Even as someone who doesn't watch the weekly programming, it's pretty clear which show has the better storytelling on it. 

Match Rating: ***1/2

If you are able to just pretend the zombie thing didn't happen, this was a very enjoyable show. A couple of the matches had the potential to be a little bit better, but everything felt pretty important for a non-major show. This one was an easy thumbs up.

Overall Rating: 78%

Monday Night Raw 12-27-93 Review

Original Airdate: Monday, December 27th, 1993
Mid-Hudson Civic Center
Poughkeepsie, New York

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After a recap of the Tatanka/Ludvig Borga match from last week, Vince McMahon is joined by the Quebecers this week. 

Barry Horowitz vs. Lex Luger

If this were 1995, this may be a main event on Raw. Vince announces that the Quebecers will face Bret and Owen Hart at the Royal Rumble. Horowitz gets to actually take control of the match for some reason, but Luger then hits a superplex for the victory. This was a typical Luger performance.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Next, we get highlights of the Marty Jannetty/1-2-3 Kid match from a few weeks ago. Johnny Polo then says he is going to beat Marty Confetti. 

Johnny Polo vs. Marty Jannetty

They actually make Polo look like a legit wrestler, but Jannetty quickly turns it around and hits an atomic drop. Polo ducks a crossbody and Jannetty spills to the floor. Polo then hits a dive to the floor and I am shocked they are letting him not be a goof. Marty makes his comeback, Polo gets to him before he can go off the top rope. Marty fights him off and then hits a crossbody for a 2 count. Pierre goes to check on Polo and Marty hits a baseball slide into both. Pierre trips up Marty, but he's still able to kick Polo. Marty goes up top again and Pierre pulls Polo out. Marty decides to dive on Pierre and then goes for a sunset flip. Polo grabs the ropes and with the assist of Pierre, gets the pinfall victory. This was a match that I never knew I needed. 

Match Rating: **3/4

Doink vs. Spike Grey

Oh, boy. Lots of Dink shenanigans here. For some reason the referee is allowing all of this and then Dink hits him with a punch in the face. Doink hits a German suplex into a bridge for the quick victory. Whatever.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Todd Pettengill is here for the Royal Rumble Report. They announce some big names like Bob Backlund and Greg Valentine to the Rumble. 

Next week on Raw, it's Smoking Gunns against Bam Bam Bigelow and Bastion Booger. Why was Bam Bam wasting his time with Booger? He was looking for more after the impressive showing at Survivor Series?

Crush vs. Mike Moraldo

I'll be honest, I was hardly even watching this. He does the dumb Crush submission finisher and that's all. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We go back to the workshop of Undertaker. He gives us a ho, ho, ho this time. For real. We then go into Bret Hart telling us to not drink and drive. 

We then go to Alundra Blayze and Heidilee Morgan. They show some highlights of their match, which looks like it was pretty good. If only they had a way to show the whole match. Alundra Blayze is the new Women's Champion and what a way to kick it off. 

We then get a vignette for Kwang. You can tell how important he is since he is just standing in front of a generic background. 

Razor Ramon vs. Derrick Domino

Jacques says that Derrick Domino made him a promise that he's going to deliver Razor in 30 minutes or less. Jacques is the gift that keeps on giving. Domino isn't a very good jobber. Razor hits the fall away slam off the second rope. He hits the Razor's Edge and that is all. Razor looked good, as always.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Next week it's the aforementioned tag team match, Jeff Jarrett and Yokozuna.

I really enjoyed the Polo/Jannetty match, but the rest of this episode was pretty mediocre. I'm not quite sure why they would think anyone would rather see another Crush squash match over the finals of their Women's Championship. 

Overall Rating: 49%

NXT 2-19-14 Review

Original Airdate: Wednesday, February 19th, 2014
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida

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The Ascension vs. Casey Marion & Mike Lebosca

I love how the hype for the Ascension's title reign, as if they have had any good challengers. They hit a couple of moves and then Fall Of Man for the squash. Until they give them something to do, it all just feels like a waste of time. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Summer Rae vs. Emma

Summer Rae is of course accompanied by Sasha Banks and Charlotte and Bayley is here with Emma. Emma goes for some quick pin attempts and then goes to work on the arm. Emma catches a knee to the face and then is dumped to the floor by Summer. Emma tries a desperate dropkick but Summer holds onto the ropes and remains in control. Emma is able to put the Dil-Emma on to shift the momentum. She hits the Emma Sandwich, but when she goes for the Emma Lock, Summer kicks out. Emma eats a slap from Sasha, but then throws Summer into Sasha and Charlotte. She puts on the Emma Lock and picks up the victory. This one felt a bit off to me. Both women felt a little timid and not at full speed. 

Match Rating: *3/4

Tyler Breeze is backstage for an interview, he says that for the first time in his life, Adrian Neville will receive his Beauty Shot. 

Renee Young is now here with Antonio Cesaro and Sami Zayn, hot off their great segment on last week's episode. This is a sit-down interview conducted backstage. Cesaro continues to cut Sami off and talk over him. They get in each other's face until Cesaro walks away. This was nowhere near their previous stuff together. 

They show Emma backstage dancing and she's excited for her rematch against Paige. 

Adrian Neville vs. Tyler Breeze

Neville does a backflip, but Breeze hits a big running dropkick. Neville is selling how focused he is and hits a huge running uppercut that would make Cesaro proud. Breeze goes for a springboard dropkick, but Neville avoids it and he hits a dropkick to knock him to the floor. Neville hits an awesome dive over the top rope as we go into a commercial break. Neville hits a missile dropkick and gets a 2 count. I do have to say, Neville doesn't seem to be quite as over with the live crowd as I thought he was during this time. Neville then shows off his strength by holding Breeze and then hitting a sit down powerbomb. Breeze misses a dropkick to Neville on the top rope and Neville just walks down instead. Neville goes off the ropes and gets destroyed by a superkick for a nearfall. Breeze misses the Beauty Shot and Neville hits a kick to the back of the head. Neville hits the Red Arrow and that is all. Both of these two are among the tops here and it showed. It's a shame that the company was never able to find much more for these two to do. 

Match Rating: **3/4

Bo Dallas comes out because this is wrestling. Neville says he is going to beat Bo up and climb the ladder to win the NXT Championship. Neville tells Bo that he can get one free shot in right now. Bo takes off his jacket and rolls up his sleeves, but then walks away. This was kind of a flat way to end the show, as this just doesn't feel as important as Zayn/Cesaro. 

This was just sort of an okay show, despite a pretty good main event. Not that it was the performer's fault, but there were a ton of ads on this show and it hurt the flow. I also expected a little bit more from the women's match, which ended up being a little mediocre. They haven't really built up any other matches for Arrival, which is a shame as well. 

Overall Rating: 51%

Monday Night Raw 12-20-93

Original Airdate: Monday, December 20th, 1993
Mid-Hudson Civic Center
Poughkeepsie, New York

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After a recap of Tatanka's injury, we get a studio promo of Tatanka saying that he is coming for revenge. Shawn Michaels is the announcer with Vince tonight. 

Jeff Jarrett vs. PJ Walker

We no longer have to watch any more Jeff Jarrett vignettes. Walker gets in a little bit of offense, but Jarrett attacks him from behind and then hits a nice dropkick. Jarrett hits a DDT and that is all. This was a little bit more spirited than I remember Jarrett squashes being. After the match, he ruins it by spelling his name again for us. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Now we get an opinion poll to vote if you think Lex Luger should be allowed in the Royal Rumble. ONLY 99 CENTS!

Men On A Mission vs. Duane Gill & Barry Hardy

What's better than Men On A Mission? Well, Men On A Mission with Santa hats on, of course. Vince claims that Gill and Hardy have had some success right after he admits to not knowing which one Gill is. Mo hits a hip toss and Mabel follows it up with a leg drop. Vince then claims that he doesn't really think anyone knows just how big Mabel is. I feel like maybe everyone that's been next to him probably does. He catches Gill's crossbody and slams him on Hardy. Mabel hits a splash off the second turnbuckle and that is all. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

It's finally time for the Royal Rumble Report with Todd Pettengill. We ofcourse are getting Undertaker vs. Yokozuna in a Casket Match. They also announce that Razor Ramon will be defending his Intercontinental Championship against IRS. Bret Hart, Owen Hart, Mabel, Shawn Michaels, Diesel, Crush, Kamala, Doink and Scott Steiner are announced for the Royal Rumble match. We then get a studio promo from Borga. 

Ludvig Borga vs. Tatanka

Tatanka gets off to a quick start and then throws Borga into the ring post. Tatanka hits a top rope crossbody for a 2 count. Borga makes a comeback that involves punches and body slams. He misses with an elbow drop and Tatanka hits three clotheslines to knock him down. Out comes Yokozuna and Tatanka hits a body slam on Borga. Tatanka goes up to the top and Fuji pushes him off behind. In comes Yokozuna and the bell rings. Tatanka tries to knock Yoko down, but Borga attacks him. Out comes Lex Luger to make the save and nails Yoko with the forearm and then body slams him. The crowd ate this up. Considering who was involved, it wasn't bad. 

Match Rating: *1/2

This week they announce Captain Lou Albano, who gets a big pop. 

Adam Bomb vs. Mark Thomas

Thomas is jacked for an enhancement guy. Bomb hits a bunch of big man heel offense and then hits the Atom Smasher for the victory. Not much to this one. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We get our first Thurman Plugg vignette of him at a race. Ain't nobody going to stop Sparky Plugg. One of the all time dorkiest gimmicks of all time. 

For the second straight week, they show the Owen Hart interview from Superstars. They now show Bret's response. He says he never ducks anyone, but there's no way that he'll ever fight his brother. 

Owen Hart vs. Mike Bell

Bell is well-known among the wrestling community, although I have to say I know just the minimum. Bell gets a chance to hit a clothesline and a few moves before Owen hits a suplex. He hits a belly-to-belly suplex and locks in the Sharpshooter for the victory. Owen looked good as always. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We now get a look at the Undertaker making Yokozuna's casket just like they did with the Kamala feud. In a nice touch, they have the lid of Kamala's casket. 

Headshrinkers vs. Phil Apollo & Jerry Seavey

We get a rare six match episode here tonight. The Headshrinkers of course destroy these two guys and Samu hits a powerbomb. I'm not sure I've seen him hit that. Fatu hits the top rope splash for the victory. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Next week they'll show us highlights of the finals of the Women's Championship Tournament plus Marty Jannetty vs. Johnny Polo. 

They sure packed a lot of matches in here tonight. The Tatanka/Borga/Yoko/Luger segment was fun and the rest was fine for what it was. Not quite as enjoyable as last week, but not too far off either. 

Overall Rating: 58%

WrestleMania 22 Review

Sunday, April 2nd, 2006
Allstate Arena
Rosemont, Illinois

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Michelle Williams of Destiny's Child fame is here to sing "America The Beautiful" and that leads into the big WrestleMania hype video. There's nothing better than a good WrestleMania video and this one is definitely a thumbs up. I tried my best to get tickets to go to WrestleMania, but these sold out in seconds. 

World Tag Team Championship Match

Carlito & Chris Masters vs. Kane & Big Show

15 years later and this is still a curious choice for an opener. Kane hits a rare dropkick on Masters before tagging in Show. He gets in a few chops until Masters rakes his eyes and tags in a reluctant Carlito. The crowd is chanting for Carlito, but Show lifts him up and crotches him on the top rope. Show then tosses Carlito on Masters on the outside and then Kane hits a double something or other off the top rope to the floor. Carlito hits a low dropkick on Show and he then avoids a charging Big Show and he rams his head into an exposed turnbuckle. Show still gets a tag into Kane and he dominates both opponents. Kane goes off the top rope, but Masters catches him and puts him in the Master Lock. Big Show almost immediately breaks up the hold with a boot. Carlito hits a Backstabber on Kane and then Show goes for a chokeslam on Carlito. Masters comes from behind and hits a chop block. Kane fights them both off and swings Carlito into Masters off the top rope. Kane hits a chokeslam on Carlito and that's it. This felt like a pre-show match, as it was rushed and it did no favors to the young talents they have spent the last year building. This is a match that could have happened at any point in the show and other than the main event, the opening was the worst spot. After the match, Carlito and Masters argue. 

Match Rating: *1/2

Coach is backstage with Shawn Michaels and he says he stole the show two years in a row, but tonight he won't. Tonight is going to get ugly. This wasn't one of Michaels' better promos.

Money In The Bank Ladder Match

Matt Hardy vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. Finlay vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Ric Flair

I feel like this one still goes down as the most random group of wrestlers to ever be in a Money In The Bank. RVD hits a baseball slide into a ladder that Hardy is holding and then dives onto Hardy and the ladder. Shelton sets up the ladder on the ropes and then hits a running senton onto all of his opponents with the exception of Finlay. Flair starts climbing, but Hardy meets him up there and hits a suplex off the top. Good lord, I completely forgot that happened. Flair sells it as an injury and the officials are calling for help. Flair heads to the back and RVD hits a drop toe hold on Shelton into a ladder. He goes for a Rolling Thunder, but Hardy moves and he lands on the ladder. Lashley starts climbing and Shelton is now there. Shelton goes for a sunset flip powerbomb, but Lashley holds on. Finlay and Hardy come in for the assist and he hits it. Finlay takes control and out hobbles Flair. Flair clears out Finlay, Shelton and Hardy and then has his hands on the briefcase. Up comes Finlay and he hits Flair in the head with the shillelagh, with Flair taking a big bump. Lashley hits a Dominator on Shelton and sets up the ladder. He climbs incredibly slow and here comes RVD with a dropkick off the top rope with a chair to knock him off. RVD is the clear crowd favorite. Hardy hits a leg drop from near the top of a ladder onto Lashley and now he sets up the ladder. Finlay slows him down, but Hardy hits a Side Effect off the ladder and then RVD hits a 5 Star Frog Splash from the very top of the ladder onto Finlay. RVD has his hands on the briefcase, but Shelton springboards himself out of nowhere on the ladder. Now Hardy brings in another ladder. Hardy and Shelton get knocked off and take scary looking bumps to the floor and Van Dam grabs the briefcase. RVD was the only choice here and the crowd loved it. This was definitely not as good as most of the Money In The Bank matches, but it was still very entertaining. 

Match Rating: ***1/2

Josh Matthews is with Mean Gene Okerlund. In comes Randy Orton and makes fun of Okerlund for holding a mic and starts rambling on about paper champions and charity cases. In walks Batista, who reminds Orton that whoever wins is just holding the title until he comes back. 

The Fink is in the ring to announce the Hall Of Fame class. Prior to announcing, he lets the crowd know that Bret Hart was uncomfortable being part of this part of the show. I don't recall that at all. Eddie gets a legendary ovation, with Vickie Guerrero accepting on his behalf. 

United States Championship Match

JBL vs. Chris Benoit

They have to raise the ramp for JBL's limo to come out. It's weird because this feels like a fresh matchup, but the build felt flat. Speaking of flat, this feels like a TV match to start. Benoit eventually hits the three German suplexes and signals for the top rope headbutt. JBL gets to Benoit first and then mocks Eddie's shoulder shimmy. Yeah, let's double down on the Eddie Guerrero crap. JBL hits a superplex and after a failed pin attempt, he mocks Eddie some more. JBL starts doing the Three Amigos, but Benoit fights out of the third one. Benoit runs into a big boot and barely kicks out at 2. Benoit hits the Three Amigos and then hits the top rope headbutt. Benoit goes for a German suplex, but JBL grabs the ref. JBL hits an elbow and goes for the Clothesline From Hell, but Benoit catches him and puts him the Crippler Crossface. JBL rolls over, grabs the rope and steals the victory. So they built this huge story around Benoit and the United States Championship, had JBL mock a wrestler who only died 5 months prior and he wins the title here? The ending was well executed, but the Eddie stuff here leaves a bad taste in your mouth and that's before you realize it's Benoit. 

Match Rating: **1/4

Hardcore Match

Edge vs. Mick Foley

Edge misses wildly with a baseball bat and Foley puts Edge in the tree of woe. Edge comes back with a boot to the face and a running forearm. Lita then hands Edge a cookie sheet and starts wailing Foley in the head. He then puts a road sign in the face of Foley and hits a sliding dropkick. Edge hits the Spear on Foley, but Edge is selling an injury. Foley takes off one of his shirts and it exposes barbed wire wrapped around his stomach. Foley unwraps it and starts using it on Edge. Edge gets tied up in the ropes and Foley grabs a barbed wire baseball bat from underneath the steps. Lita jumps on his back, but Foley hits a clothesline on Edge and all three fall to the floor. Lita took a pretty nasty bump there. Foley charges at Edge, but Edge hits a hip toss into the steel steps. Edge stays on the offensive and again throws him into the steps and then on his back on the steel ramp. Edge then starts pouring lighter fluid on Foley. Edge starts using the barbed wire baseball bat and Foley is bleeding now. Edge pulls out the bag of thumb tacks and dumps them in the corner of the ring. Foley counters Edge and hits a back suplex onto the tacks. Foley takes out Socko and wraps him in barbed wire. He puts the Mandible Claw on Edge and then to Lita. Now Foley has the bat and hits Edge int he stomach and back with it. He then starts grinding it on his forearm and starts looking at the table set outside the ring. He grabs the lighter fluid and douses the table with it. Lita hits Foley with the baseball bat and then she adds more lighter fluid. She sets the table on fire and Edge Spears him through the table in one of the most shown spots in WrestleMania history. Edge barely is able to crawl on Foley and gets the pin. This match took hardcore wrestling and morphed it with the WWE style of wrestling and it worked beautifully. I don't care for the blood and guts stuff as much as I used to, but this one still is fantastic. The crowd chants for Foley as he walks his way back up the ramp. 

Match Rating: ****1/2

Booker T and Sharmell are backstage and Sharmell is freaking out. She asks why all of the freaks are always after him. This leads to Booker walking backstage and encountering Paul Burchill as the pirate, Ted DiBiase bribing Eugene, Snitsky with Mae Young's foot and Goldust in drag. Goldust then suggests where he should put the worms, infuriating Booker. 

Todd Grisham is with two fans who won the Snickers WrestleMania sweepstakes. They then show Joe Theismann and Michelle Williams in the crowd.

Handicap Match

Booker T & Sharmell vs. Boogeyman

Booker makes Sharmell start, but it's a plan so that he can attack Boogey from behind. Booker hits a superkick on him and a Book End as well. Boogey avoids the Scissors Kick and hits a forearm on Booker. Boogey grabs a handful of worms and eats them. Sharmell tries to attack him from behind with his staff, but he catches her and then kisses her with a mouthful of worms. He hits his finisher and that's all. At least this was short, but Boogeyman was really not deserving of a match at WrestleMania. It should be noted that Boogey was working hurt here, which limited him even more. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

WWE Women's Championship Match

Mickie James vs. Trish Stratus

This was pretty much the women's match with the most backstory in WWE history at this point. Trish takes it to Mickie early on, kicking her out of the ring. Mickie turns things around and slams Trish's left leg on the ring post. Mickie goes to work on the knee and a large section of the crowd is rooting for her. Trish is able to finally get in some offense after hitting a headscissors. JR is continuing to make excuses for the crowd cheering for the heel Mickie. Mickie goes up top, but Trish goes for the handstand hurricanrana. Mickie blocks it and slams her and goes for a suggestive pin attempt that Trish is able to kick out of. Trish catches Mickie's hurricanrana attempt and hits a sit down powerbomb for a nearfall. Mickie counters Stratusfaction, but eats a right hand. Mickie hits Trish in the face on her way down and then hits a Mick Kick for the victory. That was a really poorly booked finish. I have to say, I remember liking this a lot more back in 2006 than I do now. This was a pretty average match that had a hot crowd, even if they were cheering for the clear villain. 

Match Rating: **1/2

The whole McMahon family is backstage and he says that they are going to do the first ever McMahon family prayer. He says that he's going to send Shawn Michaels to the fiery pits of Hell. This promo probably wasn't too far from real life. 

Casket Match

Mark Henry vs. Undertaker

One minute in and the crowd is already pretty silent. As Henry continues his beatdown, there is a short "Undertaker" chant. Taker goes for Old School, but Henry blocks it and continues with his methodical pace. Henry tries to push Taker into the casket, which doesn't make much sense since he is clearly not unconscious. Taker recovers and this time hits Old School. Henry misses his squash on Taker and slides into the casket. He brings Taker in and they are brawling in the casket. Back in the ring, Henry hits the World's Strongest Slam and then tries to pin him. Taker hits a Last Ride from out of the corner and throws him on top of the casket. Taker then hits a dive over the top rope and the casket, which is undeniably impressive. Taker then hits the Tombstone and rolls Henry in the casket for the victory. This was hardly even a TV quality match, let alone a WrestleMania match. This was a pretty good reminder that Undertaker requires a great opponent to have a good match.

Match Rating: 1/2*

No Holds Barred Match

Shawn Michaels vs. Vince McMahon

Before the match, Vince unveils a blown up picture of his Muscle & Fitness cover, so Michaels comes out and attacks him. Shawn looks to be trying to bust Vince open the hard way and then starts choking him with a cable. Michaels then takes the poster and smashes it on Vince's head. Out come the Spirit Squad and they all attack Michaels. Kenny goes for the top rope leg drop, but Michaels rolls out of hte way. Michaels then starts smashing them all in the head with a megaphone. He then tosses Kenny over the top rope and onto the remaining members, which allows Vince to come from behind and hit a clothesline on Michaels. Vince then starts using a belt before he starts mocking Michaels' tuning up the band. Michaels blocks the superkick attempt and gets in some chops. Michaels then begins to return the favor and uses the belt. Michaels hits the top rope elbow and starts to tune up the band. Out comes Shane and he hits Michaels from behind with the kendo stick. Vince pulls his pants down, but Michaels shoves Shane's face into it and then clotheslines him out of the ring. Michaels handcuffs Shane to the second rope and starts whipping him with the kendo stick. Michaels hits Vince with the chair and then starts to go for Sweet Chin Music. He stops short and decides to grab a ladder and ram it into Vince's head. Michaels hits him with the dumpster and then climbs the ladder. He climbs down before jumping to some boos. Michaels goes under the ring and grabs an even bigger ladder. Vince is still lying motionless on the table, but Michaels pulls him up and shoves a garbage can on him before lying him back down. Michaels climbs tot he top of the ladder, gives the crotch chops and hits the elbow drop to a big reaction from the live crowd. Michaels hits Sweet Chin Music and that's it. They could have very easily shaved five minutes off of this match and given it to the triple threat match. This was entertaining enough for what it was, but in hindsight it seems like a waste considering that Michaels only has 4 more WrestleMania matches left in him. Vince flips off Shawn as he is being stretchered away. 

Overall Rating: ***

Triple Threat Match For The World Heavyweight Championship

Rey Mysterio vs. Randy Orton vs. Kurt Angle

Mysterio has P.O.D. here to bring him out for the entrance. Kurt Angle recently said that this entrance ran long and cut into their match. Orton uses the title belt to knock Angle out of the ring before the belt rang. Angle is back in and hits a German suplex on Orton and then a double German suplex on both opponents. Angle launches Mysterio up in the corner and he hits a hurricanrana on Orton. A very vocal part of the crowd is not wanting Rey here and behind Angle. It probably was a mistake to have Angle in there. Angle baits Mysterio into the 619 and puts on the Ankle Lock. Orton comes in with a chair, distracting the referee and he misses Mysterio tapping. Angle just launches Mysterio on his German suplex and then dumps Mysterio out of the ring with an Angle Slam. He puts in the Ankle Lock on Orton, but Mysterio grabs the ref this time so he can't see. I'm not sure I understand the logic there from the ultimate babyface. Mysterio breaks up a second Ankle Lock with a leg drop. Angle throws Mysterio into the ring post and the straps are down. Orton hits the RKO but Angle is able to kick out. Orton goes up top, but Angle hits his leaping suplex in the corner. Mysterio tries to hit a modified 619 in the corner, but he slips. It's pretty rare when Mysterio makes a mistake. Orton hits a nice reverse neckbreaker on Mysterio for a 2 count. Orton is sizing up Mysterio for the RKO, but Angle hits him with an Angle Slam for a 2 count. Angle goes for an Angle Slam on Mysterio, but he hits an arm drag. Mysterio hits a 619 on Orton and the springboard leg drop to become the new World Heavyweight Championship. Angle was booked extremely strong here. I enjoyed this match a lot, but wish they would have had a couple of those extra minutes back. I also am not sure that an arm drag was enough to keep Angle from saving Orton. They show Rey's family as he celebrates in the ring. This really feels like it should have been a bigger celebration, along the lines of Daniel Bryan or Kofi Kingston, but I think the way they booked it just kind of took away from it. Either way, this was such a well deserved moment for one of the absolute greatest performers I have ever watched.

Match Rating: ***3/4

They show Triple H and John Cena getting ready backstage, as JR prepares us for Cena to get booed. 

Playboy Pillow Fight

Candice Michelle vs. Torrie Wilson

Both women are wearing evening gowns and Torrie goes right after Candice. There is a bed in the ring with some Playboy pillows. Torrie turns over the bed on her and jumps on it. She then takes Chloe and rubs her butt in Candice's face. Torrie rips Candice's dress off, but runs into a foot to the face. Candice then hits her Tarantula-like move. I know this might surprise you, but this isn't good. Candice takes out some scissors and cuts Torrie's dress off. I can't believe they gave this match more than 2 minutes. Torrie leaps over a charging Candice and hits a sunset flip for the victory. Thankfully these types of matches are a thing of the past, even if they should have already been by 2006. 

Match Rating: 0 stars

WWE Championship Match

Triple H vs. John Cena

Both men get elaborate entrances, with Triple H getting a Conan the Barbarian entrance and Cena getting a gangster entrance. Honestly, they both are really lame. CM Punk being one of the gangsters is about all that anyone ever talks about either of them. The crowd is definitely 100% into this match, even though I was definitely not that into this one in 2006. It really goes to show how wrestling fans for years complained about Triple H and then cheer for him here against a guy they helped bring up to main event status. Wrestling fandom in a nutshell. We get a lot of playing into the crowd reactions to start off and even Lawler plays into the Cena not being a good wrestler. JR gets fired up and defends him. The action spills out of the ring and Cena hits a back body drop on Triple H on the steel ramp. Triple H retaliates and throws Cena into the steps. I'm not sure I understand why the challenger would let the champion recover on the outside of the ring while the referee counts. Triple H throws him back in the ring, but Cena kicks out. Triple H hits a facebuster and then a big clothesline. We get a lot of the boo/yeah action here and then Triple H hits a huge spinebuster for a 2 count. Cena pumps up his shooes and then puts Triple H in the STFU in the middle of the ring. Triple H is able to crawl to the bottom rope to break the hold. Triple H escapes out of the FU, pushing Cena into the referee in the corner and hitting a low blow on Cena. Triple H then does a crotch chop of his own to a huge reaction and then goes under the ring to get the sledgehammer. Cena fights him off, but still gets hit in the head with the sledgehammer. Cena kicks out of the slow count from the injured ref and the atmosphere here is undeniably awesome. Cena fights back and hits the FU, but Triple H kicks out. I probably haven't watched this match in 10 years or so and it's significantly better than I remember. Cena misses a crossbody off the top rope. Triple H goes for the Pedigree, but Cena counters it into the STFU. The ref goes to the old arm drop routine and Triple H holds it up on the third drop. Triple H reaches for the ropes, but gives in and taps. This was a good WWE style main event, even if it wasn't an all time classic. 

Match Rating: ***1/2

This show was truly all over the place. We had an all time classic in Edge/Foley, an action-packed triple threat match (even if it was rushed), a solid ladder match and a good main event. However, we also had the Boogeyman, a match with a bed in the ring and an awful Casket Match. I think the good outweighed the bad by a large margin though and even though this isn't a top tier WrestleMania, it's very easily in the top half of the shows and one that is worthy of repeat viewings.

Overall Rating: 85%

NXT 2-12-14 Review

Original Airdate: Wednesday, February 12th, 2014
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida

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Natalya, Bayley & Emma vs. Summer Rae, Sasha Banks & Alicia Fox

They are saying that this is the initiation process for Fox to join the BFFs. Natalya gets in a nice bit of offense before tagging in Bayley. Bayley hits a monkey flip on Fox, but Fox follows up with a dropkick. The BFFs isolate Bayley and it still is kind of amazing to me that Summer Rae was so much better than I remembered. Bayley fights back and hits a suplex, allowing her to tag in Emma. Emma takes out everyone, but runs into a big boot from Fox. Fox reaches for a tag, but the BFFs leave her and that allows Emma to put her in the Emma Lock for the victory. That was a good match that followed the winning formula. 

Match Rating: **1/4

Aiden English vs. Big Cass

After an early blitz from Cass, English comes in and hits a swinging neckbreaker and then a reverse neckbreaker. Cass is able to avoid the leg drop and hits a couple of big right hands. Cass continues to get the S-A-W-F-T over with the live NXT crowd, but English is able to hit the Director's Cut for the victory. I really don't understand why they keep letting Cass lose in such short matches? I am guessing it's due to experience, but this is the company that let Great Khali beat Undertaker. 

Match Rating: 3/4*

Sami Zayn is here and he talks about how he is all about moving forward, but for the first time he is stuck on the moment where he lost to Cesaro. Out comes Cesaro and calls him pathetic. He tells Sami that he was never close and there was nothing he could have done anything different. Cesaro tells Sami will have a great career "down here". Sami brings up their pre-NXT history and says that Cesaro is a workhorse. Zayn compliments him saying that he knows Cesaro fights on Raw, SmackDown and here on NXT when most of the other guys won't come down here. But yet, he still won't wrestle Zayn. Zayn says he just wants one more match. Cesaro asks if there will be any excuses when he beats Zayn again and Zayn gives him his word and extends his hand. The crowd chants for a "pinky promise", so Zayn extends his pinky. Cesaro plays along, but then says his answer is still no and kicks him in the shin before leaving. Out comes Triple H and he says while Cesaro doesn't want this match, the fans do. This is really bizarre when you consider this was just weeks before Triple H would wrestle Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania XXX. He announces that Cesaro will face Zayn at Arrival because that is best for business. This was a really well done segment and better than just about any interview segment in NXT history up to this point. 

Tye Dillinger vs. CJ Parker

Parker is basically the new Bo Dallas. Dillinger gets in a few moves, but Parker hits a senton and then the Third Eye for the victory. After the match, Parker grabs the mic and asks the crowd why they don't love him. He reduces, he reuses, he recycles. He drives a 2013 Ford Fiesta that gets 40 mpg and yet they still boo him. He should be booing them because they're melting the polar icecap. This world is going down the tubes and it's the NXT Universes fault because they are capable of loving. He says that from this moment forward, he doesn't love any of them either. I enjoyed that. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Wyatt Family vs. Jason Jordan & Marcus Louis

If you couldn't tell, this is a squash match. Luke Harper hits a huge clothesline and that is all. Man, seeing Harper here just makes me miss him even more. It also makes me wish he was never in the Wyatt Family. After the match Bray hits Sister Abigail on Jordan and grabs a microphone and says a bunch of words that mean nothing. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

This was an enjoyable way to spend 45 minutes. There were a few too many ads in this episode, but the Cesaro/Zayn segment was a very strong higlight here. The women also did a nice job with the time they were given and the rest was pretty breezy. 

Overall Rating: 60%

Monday Night Raw 12-13-93 Review

Monday, December 13th, 1993
Mid-Hudson Civic Center
Poughkeepsie, New York

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Vince is here solo and shows highlights of Gorilla Monsoon kicking Bobby Heenan out last week. He brings in Jim Cornette as his co-announcer. 

Randy Savage vs. Fatu

Fatu starts off hot and he throws Savage into the ring steps early on. He goes back to the well, but Savage slams Fatu's face, but it has no effect. Fatu responds with a superkick and back in the ring we go. Savage is able to hit a back body drop, but when he charges at Fatu, he is flipped over to the floor. Fatu heads up top, but Savage crotches him and hits him with a double ax handle to the floor. Savage goes up to the top rope this time and hits the flying elbow for the victory. Both men looked good here and the packed a lot of action in a fairly short amount of time. 

Match Rating: **3/4

We go to Todd Pettengill in the studio which just leads to WWF trying to get people to call to vote on whether or not Randy Savage should be allowed to co-host WWF Mania. 

Jim Massenger & Steve Smyth vs. Smoking Gunns

I feel like we haven't seen the Gunns in awhile. It was pretty clear that Vince could not have cared less about tag team wrestling in 1993 because they had enough to have a decent division and they were just an afterthought. I always liked their suplex/crossbody combo that they use here. Captain Lou Albano is out and what a great fit he would be with the Smoking Gunns *crickets*. Anyway, Bart hits a DDT and Billy hits a top rope bulldog for the victory. The Gunns looked like guys who wanted more TV time here. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We get a recap of what transpired last week on Raw between Shawn Michaels/1-2-3 Kid/Razor Ramon. 

IRS vs. Todd Mata

The cameraman tries to take a look into IRS's briefcase and IRS shoves him down. Vince, being the Sherlock Holmes that he is, sees that Razor Ramon's gold is in there. We then pan to a man in overalls chanting "Irwin". A whole generation of kids grew up thinking that "technical wrestling" is the same as "boring wrestling" because Vince always had to remind us that IRS was so great at it. IRS hits a back suplex and that's all. This was shorter than a normal IRS squat. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We see Yokozuna dressed as Santa Claus and he has children sitting on his lap. Phew, it was all just a dream. Money well spent. 

Undertaker vs. JS Storm

The Undertaker never wrestles on Raw, so lets miss the first bit of the match for an ICOPRO commercial. Undertaker puts Storm in the tree of woe and they say Undertaker is taking on Yokozuna in a Casket Match at Royal Rumble. Taker hits a chokeslam and then the Tombstone for the victory. After the match, Taker and Paul Bearer put Storm into a body bag and Taker stomps on him. Classic babyface move. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Make them stop. Another Jeff Jarrett vignette. Actually, this is a "highlight" clip of the vignettes we have seen. 

Oh man, Tatanka looks for revenge against Ludvig Borga next week on Raw. 

Rick Martel vs. Tim McNeany

Martel always lets the squash guy get some moves in and I love him for it. After a little bit from McNeany, Martel gets both knees up on a charging McNeany. Martel is in a jumping jack mood tonight and then slaps on the Boston Crab for the victory. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

We now get an interview that Vince conducts with Owen Hart from Superstars. Owen challenges Bret to a fight. 

Bret Hart vs. Brooklyn Brawler

Have we ever talked about how much better the original Hart Foundation music was over the current version? Bret, Taker and Savage are three of the rarest performers on Raw and we get all of them here tonight. Bret, much like Martel, knows the art of a squash match and allows the enhancement talent to get in some moves to make the match be something a little extra. Brawler goes up to the top rope, but Bret slams him off the top. Bret hits all of his five moves of doom and puts on the Sharpshooter for the victory. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Remember, kids. Only 99 cents to vote for Randy Savage to be back on the extremely important Mania. Next week it's Men On A Mission, Owen Hart and the debut of Jeff Jarrett. 

It's amazing what a little bit of star power will do for you. There was nothing special on this show, but we got three of the top stars here and the squashes were a little bit more spirited. It always helps when the show is live as well. This was a nice transition episode, as they will start moving into Royal Rumble mode here soon. 

Overall Rating: 60%