Superstars 6-11-94 Review

Original Airdate: Saturday, June 11th, 1994
Erie Civic Center
Erie, Pennsylvania

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Vince and Lawler kick off the show and Vince is really creepy here. 

Yokozuna & Crush vs. Smoking Gunns

Well I guess if you're a team getting a title shot, you probably should at least have one match under your belt. The Gunns attack their large opponents as soon as they enter the ring and we're underway. They hit two double dropkicks to knock them both out of the ring and the crowd is loving it. Again, I am going to re-emphasize that the Gunns were super underused here in '94. Back in the ring after some counseling, Crush eats a boot to the face and a bulldog for a 2 count. Yokozuna grabs the top rope and Bart goes flying to the floor. Crush hits a backbreaker and in comes Yoko and they hit a double clothesline. We actually get a commercial break in a Superstars match, which is a rarity. Bart is finally able to hit a hot tag to Billy and he hits a bulldog on Yoko and an inverted atomic drop on Crush. The Gunns are hitting double fists in the corner, but Yoko dumps Bart to the floor. Billy sees it and jumps off and hits Yoko for a nearfall. Crush hits a press slam and Yoko follows up with a leg drop for the victory. That was a really good time for a Superstars match. More of this please. 

Match Rating: **3/4

We then go to Stan Lane bragging about winning some award for their "Unbelievable" ads. 

Doink vs. Derek Stone

Stone reminds me of a less toned William Regal. Doink hits a few Irish whips and a belly-to-belly suplex. We get the Whoopee Cushion and the fart sound for the victory. They then show the one guy in the crowd with the Doink shirt. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We go back to Raw to see the King's Court with the Roddy Piper impersonator. This leads to Roddy Piper with pre-recorded comments. Thankfully this feud is almost over. 

Kenny Hendrix vs. IRS

The guest ring announcer is wearing a tie dye Tatanka shirt. IRS interrupts on his way down and make fun of a guy in the crowd and says Mabel is going to pay at King Of The Ring. We get a pre-recorded interview from Oscar and Mabel. Hendrix gets a body press for a 1 count, but IRS slaps on the Penalty and that's it. That was about as quick as an IRS squash gets. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

It's time for the King Of The Ring Report. Bret Hart talks about how disappointed he is in Diesel and that he's going to have some back up. Todd wonders if it's Stu, but then decides he doesn't think he'd be able to help physically. 

Duke Droese vs. Reno Riggins

"Better known as...THE DUMPSTERRRR!" declared Vince McMahon. Just in case you can't tell that he's a garbage man, he brings a trash can with him. It's good to see Reno again. We've got the fake crowd noise pumping for this one. There is no better way to impress in a squash match than to slap on a bear hug. Reno gets out with some fists, while Vince pleads for the ref to get him to open up his hands. Duke hits his variation of a powerslam for the victory. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

It's time for the Heartbreak Hotel and Shawn is talking about the WWF ratings soaring. He brings out Ted DiBiase and he said everyone doubted him with getting the Undertaker. No one has the resources like DiBiase does and he introduces him. Out "he" comes. I really had no idea that he made his debut this early on in the summer. He then moves his mouth to a pre-recorded Undertaker interview. This was bad, but the crowd had no clue just how bad this would be. 

Jeff Jarrett vs. Marty Garner

This was one of the famous Garner dives where he lands face-first after a dive over the top rope. This one is still getting shown on Twitter 27 years later. Jarrett slaps on the Figure Four and that's all. That's a rough way to make a few bucks. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

The WrestleMania Revenge Tour continued in Anaheim and so was Rhonda Sheer and Jonathan Taylor Thomas. They claim that it was the best attended tour in history. Yeah, sure. 

Next week, we get Razor Ramon, Owen Hart, Headshrinkers, Diesel at the Heartbreak Hotel and Mabel vs. Nikolai Volkoff. 

There's a little more to unpack here than normal on an episode of Superstars. We had a really fun opening match, which is an absolute rarity for anything involving Crush. We had the debut of the Underfaker, kicking off one of the worst angles in company history. Then we also had the crash landing of Marty Garner. Overall, this was not a bad way to spend 45 minutes if you like this era of wrestling. 

Overall Rating: 58%

SmackDown 6-9-06 Review

Original Airdate: Friday, June 4th, 2006
WesBanco Arena
Wheeling, West Virginia

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In memory of John Tenta, 1963-2006. Ugh, this is still so sad. 

The Miz then kicks off the show announcing Finlay vs. Rey Mysterio tonight. 

William Regal is out now to show what happens when you don't hail King Booker. Regal announces Booker, but Lashley comes from behind and attacks Regal. Out comes Teddy Long and announces that Lashley will face Regal tonight and if Lashley wins, he gets a match with Booker.

Batista returns in 28 days. 

Super Crazy vs. Brian Kendrick

Here's your reminder that the Mexicools still exist. As much as I really liked London and Kendrick as a team, I never really liked the masks or ring gear. It should be noted that Tazz is still the announcer here at SmackDown. I believe JBL will take over next week. We get some nice wrestling to start things off here. Crazy hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker to take control. Kendrick fights back with a kick to the face and a 2 count. Crazy hits a tornado sit down powerbomb and he gets a 2 count. Crazy works on the back of Kendrick, pulling out a surfboard. Kendrick is able to pull off a tornado DDT to shift the momentum. They battle up on the second rope and move up to the top rope. Super Crazy hits a Spanish Fly from the top rope and gets the victory. That was a pretty dominating performance by Crazy. Out comes Great Khali and he grabs Kendrick by the head. London hits him in the back with a chair, but Khali no sells it. He tosses out London and throws Kendrick onto him. Khali moves onto Super Crazy and destroys him, with Psicosis escaping the situation. This was a solid match that got more time than expected and Khali looked like a monster after. 

Match Rating: **3/4

Finlay is with Kristal and she wants to know about about what's been happening in his matches lately, but Finlay grabs her by the mouth before she can get it out. Finlay wonders if Mysterio will go to ECW, but he doesn't care. 

A bunch of the jobbers are all talking to Nunzio and in walks Vito wearing a dress. They all leave and Nunzio tells him not to dress like this. Vito says he doesn't care what people say because he's the toughest guy in the locker room. He says tonight he's going to show what kind of man he is. 

Vito vs. Nunzio

I'm surprised they didn't save this for pay-per-view. Vito attacks Nunzio, trying to show off his aggressive side. Tazz tries to figure out the logic of Nunzio being Little Guido on Wednesday and back to Nunzio tonight. Nunzio catches Vito with an elbow, but then Vito catches Nunzio and drives him into the corner. Nunzio is able to hit a dropkick, but then gets drilled by a right hand. Vito hits a spinning DDT and that's all. It was pretty obvious that this wasn't going to get over, but Vito looked pretty decent here. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Queen Sharmell is here to introduce King Booker so that he can sit up on the ramp in his throne. 

Bobby Lashley vs. William Regal

Regal attacks Lashley on his way to the ring and throws him into the guardrail. Regal continues the attack in the ring and we are officially underway. Lashley is hung up by the leg on the second rope with his body hanging over the apron and Regal takes advantage. Lashley fights back with a back body drop, but Regal hits him with some left forearms. Lashley's comeback attempts keep getting thwarted by Regal. Regal grabs a chair, but Lashley hits him with a Spear before he can use it. Regal is getting counted out and Booker tries to help Regal get back in the ring. He's unable to do so and Lashley earns his match with Booker next week. This was fine, but I'm really surprised that Lashley got dominated by Regal, who has been a jobber all year. 

Match Rating: *1/2

The Miz is out and it's time for some Diva thing. It's a bikini contest between Ashley, Jillian, Kristal and Michelle McCool. Michelle cuts a heel promo about teachers or something. Ashley wins. It's not 1999 any more. 

Mark Henry vs. Raymond Rowe

Raymond decides it's a good strategy to run right into a clothesline. He hits the World's Strongest Slam, but picks him up during the pin attempt and hits another for the victory. He gets on the mic and talks about Batista coming back being his biggest mistake. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Mr. Kennedy vs. Scotty 2 Hotty

Kennedy attacks him on his way back to the ring, but Scotty hits a hip toss. Kennedy dominates most of the match though, mostly with a couple of clotheslines. He then hits the Kenton Bomb for the victory. It seems like he is still over with the crowd after a long time off, which is always a plus for a newer star. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Chavo Guerrero and Rey Mysterio are backstage and Rey thanks him for getting his back at Judgment Day. Rey asks Chavo about coming back to the ring. Rey tells Chavo to never say never about coming back. They are also hinting at Mysterio possibly joining ECW. 

Michael Cole is in the ring now to talk to Rey about the ECW situation and before he comes down, Tazz is in the ring. Tazz says that Rey hasn't probably made his decision, but Tazz has. He then says that he's going to choke Lawler out at One Night Stand. It's really interesting looking back at how hard Tazz and Lawler were pushing this mini feud. He then announces he's going to ECW and leaves. Out comes Paul Heyman and they embrace. It's amazing how long Heyman got a pass at having that ponytail and trench coat look. Heyman then comes to the ring and asks Cole to head out. Heyman talks about RVD, Angle and Tazz joining the brand. He talks about the offer he extended to Rey and he finally comes out. Rey respectfully declines, saying that these are his people. Heyman wishes him good luck against Sabu and also tonight against Finlay. Heyman joins Cole in the announce booth as Finlay comes out. 

Rey Mysterio vs. Finlay

This is a non-title match. Finlay dominates the early going until Mysterio hits a spinning headscissors. They head out of the ring until Mysterio gets taken under the ring. Finlay drags him out with Hornswoggle hanging on his legs. Finlay wears down Mysterio with some submission holds until Rey makes his comeback and hits Finlay with a kick to the head. Sabu is in the to distract Rey and it allows Finlay to hit Rey with the shillelagh and picks up the surprising pinfall victory over the champ. These two would have much better matches down the line than this one. After the match, Sabu is in the ring and hits Rey with a chair. Sabu sets up Rey on a table out of the ring and hits a top rope leg drop. 

Match Rating: *3/4

While this was much better than Raw this week, it was still kind of a ho hum show. The opening match was good and actually got some time and it was nice to see Mr. Kennedy back. The ECW stuff is interesting, even if it never really hit it's potential. 

Overall Rating: 52%

WWE vs. ECW: Head-To-Head 6-7-06 Review

Wednesday, June 7th, 2006
Nutter Center
Dayton, Ohio

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Mick Foley pumps up the WWE locker room and Rey Mysterio agrees? Paul Heyman is now getting the ECW locker room ready. 

Jerry Lawler and JR are here, as are Joey Styles and Tazz. Tazz talks trash to Lawler and they almost get into it. 

Rey Mysterio vs. Rob Van Dam

Yes, please. RVD hits a military press into a standing moonsault and the crowd loves that. RVD avoids a 619, but then gets dropkicked off the apron. On the outside, RVD goes for a guillotine leg drop on the barricade, but Mysterio avoids it. Mysterio climbs up to the ring and hits a leap into the crowd. When we come back from commercial, Mysterio goes for his variation of the bulldog, but RVD crotches him on the top rope. RVD climbs to the top and hits a single leg kick, knocking Rey to the floor. RVD this time hits the guillotine leg drop and gets a 2 count. RVD hits a skateboard kick with a steel chair in Rey's face and gets another nearfall. RVD misses a monkey flip attempt and Rey hits a second rope bulldog onto a steel chair for a 2 count. Rey goes for a springboard leg drop and RVD moves out of the way. RVD sets the chair on top of Rey, but he moves that out of the way just before RVD hits the 5 Star Frog Splash and RVD gets the victory. That was a weak finish to an otherwise good match. 

Match Rating: ***

Kurt Angle is here and he says that he wasn't upset that Randy Orton RKO'd him in his hometown on Monday. He loved when he got to snap Orton's ankle in two. He's glad that Orton accepted his challenge for One Night Stand and out comes Orton. Orton says he feels sorry for Angle, who went from headlining WrestleMania to ECW. Orton then says that his contract has expired and that ECW's Angle will be facing Monday Night Raw's Randy Orton. They go back and forth and end with Orton saying he's going to kill the legend of ECW. 

Mickie James vs. Jazz

I never liked Jazz's entrance music. Jazz hits a dropkick and Mickie rolls out of the ring. Jazz hits a running dive from the apron onto Mickie. Jazz hits a X-Factor, but Mickie grabs the bottom rope. Mickie hits the spike DDT and gets the victory. Did Jazz make another appearance after this? I feel like this was it. This match had about 5 moves, making it hard to rate. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

We get a Sabu hype video. 

John Cena is backstage with Todd Grisham. Cena tries to hype up that the WWE Championship will be defended for the first time ever at an ECW show. Cena talks about how the crowd will be as hostile as ever at One Night Stand. He says he could be worried, but he will fight like a man instead. 

Paul Heyman is in the ring and talks about Tuesday being the debut of ECW on SyFy. I guess it was still Sci Fi at this time. He then runs down the card for One Night Stand. We then get highlights of last year's One Night Stand. 

Angle gives a speech in the locker room before the battle royal. Big Show gives a calmer speech about WWE showing ECW who they are.

WWE vs. ECW Battle Royal

The WWE guys all get their own entrance and the ECW guys go the way of the Patriots and all come out together. Mark Henry for some reason is the first man eliminated from the match. I'm not sure why they even put him in this match to be honest. Tommy Dreamer eliminates Tatanka. Things you thought you'd never type in 2006. I'm not really sure why Dreamer and Edge are in this, considering they have a match tonight. Edge has sat out of the ring during the match, occasionally jumping on the apron. Terry Funk rushes at him and Edge dumps him over. Al Snow grabs Head, but misses with the swing and Shelton hits him with a kick to the head and sending him over the top. The two final ECW competitors are Angle and Sandman, while there is also Orton, Big Show, Finlay, Edge and Shelton. Orton dumps out Sandman and then Angle eliminates Shelton. Show goes for a chokeslam on Angle, but he counters and hits an Angle Slam on Show. Finlay attacks Angle from behind and hits a couple of clotheslines. Angle hits a catapult on Finlay and he's gone. Edge tries to sneak in, but Angle hits a belly-to-belly overhead throw to get rid of him. Orton gets rid of Angle and WWE is about to be announced the winner. Big Show rips off his Raw shirt and has a ECW shirt on. He tosses Orton over the top rope and ECW is announced as the winner. As far as TV battle royals go, this wasn't too bad. They got rid of guys pretty quickly and had the swerve finish to make it feel like it at least had a point. After the match, Angle and Show embrace. 

Match Rating: **1/4

Edge shows Foley a Cactus Jack promo on the video screen.

Edge vs. Tommy Dreamer

Edge has a chair and Dreamer has a barbed wire baseball bat. Dreamer knocks the chair out of his hand and Dreamer loses the weapon shortly after. Dreamer instead hits him with a road sign back in the ring. Lita grabs Dreamers leg and Edge hits him in the head with the sign. Edge hits a drop toe hold into a chair. Edge hits Edgecution into a trash can, but Dreamer kicks out at 2. Dreamer fights back with a kick to the crotch and then hangs Edge in a tree of woe. Dreamer stands on Edge's balls and hits him with a kick into a chair to the face. Dreamer goes under the ring and grabs a table. Dreamer sets it up and then sets Edge up on the top rope. Lita comes in and hits Dreamer with a kendo stick. Funk grabs Lita by the hair and in comes Foley and puts barbed wire around Funk's neck. Edge goes for a powerbomb, but Dreamer counters with a back body drop and Edge misses the table and his leg hits the table. Dreamer then hits the Dreamer Driver through the table, but Lita hits him with the kendo stick. Dreamer goes for a powerbomb, but Edge hits him with a Spear and gets the victory. Funk and Foley are brawling on the outside. Funk busts him open the hard way and that's all. This was a pretty good match that got better as it progressed. 

Match Rating: **1/2

We come back from commercial with Foley sitting in a chair for a promo. He talks about loving ECW, but ECW didn't love him back. This is your classic passionate Foley promo putting over his match at One Night Stand. This was very good and then it leads to Tazz and Lawler getting into it again. Tazz attacks Lawler and they start brawling on the announce table. This was surprisingly intense, considering Lawler's age. As they are breaking it up, Styles knocks off JR's hat and JR looks legit not happy. 

When we come back from commercial, they are back in their spots and JR is just trying to get through the show. This leads to a RVD/Cena hype video. 

John Cena vs. Sabu

Sabu goes down the wrong way to the ring and it exposes all the tarped off seats on the TV side. That pretty much sums up Sabu as a performer. Cena dominates the early portion of the match until Sabu dumps Cena out of the ring. Sabu hits a springboard somersault dive onto Cena and then throws a chair at Cena. Sabu uses the chair some more and throws him into the steps. Sabu hits a leg drop off the announce table and throws him back in the ring. Sabu jumps off a chair in the corner, but Cena catches him and hits the FU. He slaps on the STFU and in comes Big Show, causing a DQ finish. The battle royal wrestlers all run into the ring and we have a big brawl. The crowd doesn't seem into this at all, which is somewhat surprising. The match was decent enough, but was really just here to set up the brawl at the end of the show. 

Match Rating: *3/4

I really enjoyed this show. I thought it was very focused on the task at hand and delivered. Really the only thing that felt out of place was the women's match, which is a shame because they could have had a good match. Otherwise, this was one of the better TV episodes of the year up to this point in 2006. 

Overall Rating: 71%

Monday Night Raw 6-5-06 Review

Monday, June 5th, 2006
Mellon Arena
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

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Triple H is sitting backstage and in walks Shane McMahon. Shane advises Triple H to go reason him or else things will get worse. 

Paul Heyman introduces the man who will defeat John Cena on Sunday, Rob Van Dam. Coach then brings on John Cena. RVD and Heyman put over how much Cena is going to get booed out of the building. Cena says that he respects everything everything that ECW gave this business. Let's be honest, it isn't that much. They sign the contract and Cena wishes him luck. Before Cena leaves, Heyman tells him that Cena's first taste of ECW won't be Sunday, it will be Wednesday in a battle royal. He brings out a few of his ECW originals with Terry Funk, Sandman, Tommy Dreamer and Balls Mahoney. Cena starts a brawl and Cena gets pummeled. Out comes Sabu and he hits a botched splash that was supposed to be a leg drop with a chair on Cena. Out comes Big Show and a bunch of jobbers. This was a pretty good segment that kind of reminded me that the Cena/RVD build was pretty light overall. The other surprise was that the ECW performers really didn't get much of a reaction. 

Carlito vs. Shelton Benjamin

Carlito comes out hot and then hits a dropkick. Benjamin hits Carlito with a kick to the head and then hits Snake Eyes. Shelton's mama would be proud. They try to do a back-and-forth type of thing, but the crowd isn't really buying it. Carlito hits a springboard elbow for a 2 count, but then Shelton hits a Samoan Drop. He misses with the splash in the corner and then Carlito does a flip off the top rope over Shelton and hits the Backstabber for the victory in the non-title match. They just didn't know what to do with either of these guys and they somehow kept ending up fighting each other. Spoiler alert: This is the longest match of the night. 

Match Rating: *3/4

Triple H is at Mr. McMahon's office and walks in, but it's Coach instead. Vince comes in after the commercial break and honestly I start to instantly lose interest. It's amazing how little I care about his character any more. He says something about Triple H fighting Big Show next and if he wins, he doesn't have to join the club. 

Triple H vs. Big Show

These two actually did have a solid match at New Year's Revolution earlier in the year. Show goes after Triple H, but then Triple H ducks Show and he goes to the floor. Out come the Spirit Squad and they attack Show, causing Triple H to lose by disqualification. I did not see that coming. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Triple H is back and screaming at Vince. Vince tells him that he now has no alternative.

Eugene vs. Matt Striker

Wow, they're bringing out the big guns tonight. Striker questions why Eugene would want another match after what he did to him last time. Eugene says he has a tutor and it's Hacksaw Jim Duggan. Striker attacks Eugene while he's talking to Duggan and he hits a draped DDT for a 2 count. Eugene quickly fights back and hits the airplane spin. He goes for the Rock Bottom, but it gets countered into a neckbreaker. Duggan distracts Striker with a "U-S-A" chant. Eugene hits him with the three point stance clothesline and steals the victory. After the match, Striker throws Eugene into the steps and Duggan sends him to the back after threatening to hit him with the 2x4. Then out of nowhere, out comes Umaga and he attacks Duggan. Armando Alejandro Estrada gives Umaga the sign and he hits the Samoan Spike. This was whatever.

Match Rating: 3/4*

Kurt Angle is here, as Vince continues to run him ragged. He only gets a few words in before he is interrupted by Mick Foley. They go back and forth and then Foley brings out Edge. Edge tells Angle that he's going from the penthouse to the outhouse by going to ECW. Angle says he's changing ECW forever and then takes Edge down. Foley stops him and gets an Angle Slam. Angle fights off Edge and out comes Randy Orton and hits a RKO out of nowhere on Angle. This is the first time Orton has appeared in weeks. 

During the commercial break, Randy Orton accepts Angle's challenge at One Night Stand. 

Cade and Murdoch are in the ring and Murdoch tells Kane that tonight he's facing his tag team partner tonight. 

Lance Cade vs. Kane

Kane destroys Cade for a few minutes and then the mask shows up on the screen again. This time Kane walks away and to the back. Cade gets the countout victory in an all time classic. Murdoch gets on the mic to celebrate the victory and they show Kane yelling backstage. The lights go out and they show the other Kane behind him. He attacks the real Kane and then throws a trash can at him. This really makes no sense. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We get the first vignette for the Highlanders. 

Johnny Nitro vs. Charlie Haas

Haas with his beard here looks like a slim version of Steve Williams. The matches on this show are really random and the crowd hasn't been hot partly because of it. Nitro throws Haas out of the ring and gets a little help from Melina. Nitro goes for a springboard move, but it looks like maybe a miscommunication, so he just jumps in the ring that way. Haas battles back with a back suplex and I'm starting to feel bad for these guys. Haas hits a couple of clotheslines and a monkey flip that at least gets a reaction out of the crowd due to Nitro's landing. Melina comes in the ring and fakes an injury. It distracts the ref and Haas, Nitro rolls him up and gets the victory. So Nitro loses to Cena in a few minutes last week and this week needs a distraction roll up to beat Charlie Haas. Talk about confidence. The match was fine for what it was, but the crowd was dead silent. 

Match Rating: *

They show Lillian Garcia being helped to the back after being accidentally knocked off the ropes by Charlie Haas as she was getting out of the ring. 

Victoria vs. Beth Phoenix

Mickie James comes down separately after Victoria is already in the ring. They really thought it was a good idea to follow up that match with this one? I'm not going to pretend I am someone who has experience writing a wrestling show, but this one just seems like it wasn't very well thought out. Beth hits a dropkick and gets a 2 count. Beth hits a side suplex and Mickie gets on the apron. Trish pulls Mickie off the apron. Victoria rolls her up, but she has the tights, so no count there. Beth hits the Michinoku Driver and gets the victory. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Vince and Shane are talking and Vince wants to make sure the job gets done tonight. Vince then offers to show Shane a preview. 

JR and Lawler hype up One Night Stand. Lawler then makes fun of Tazz some more and accepts his challenge. 

Shane approaches Triple H and Triple H isn't happy. Shane tells him there's nothing to worry about. Triple H swaps out his water bottle when Shane is on the phone. They then chug the waters together. 

Vince and Shane are out in the ring now. This show can't end soon enough. Triple H is pretending to be under the influence and Vince calls him out for it. He passes out and Vince pulls down his pants. Shane then passes out. Triple H sneaks back up as Vince realizes what has happened. Triple H gives him a Pedigree and this awful episode is finally over.

How did this show ever get approved by anyone? This was so bad and the worst part is that Raw has been solid over the past few weeks. This episode hardly had any wrestling, matches that no one cared about and a stupid storyline arch throughout the show. Big thumbs down here.

Overall Rating: 28%

NXT TakeOver (The Original) Review

Thursday, May 29th, 2014
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida

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This is the original TakeOver event for NXT. After a preview package, we get the Adam Rose experience outside the building and heading in for his match.

Adam Rose vs. Camacho

After some goofing around from Rose, Camacho hits a double underhook suplex. The fans are ramped up for the live show and singing and chanting along for Rose. He makes a comeback and hits a spinebuster and then a bronco buster. Rose hits the Party Foul and that's it. Well, at least it was pretty short. I'm not really sure why this had to be on this show, but the crowd loved it, which means it did the job. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

We get a Sami Zayn promo video ahead of his match tonight. 

NXT Tag Team Championship Match
The Ascension vs. El Local & Kalisto

The Ascension kind of feel forgotten as of late. The Ascension attack both opponents, which leads to them both being hit with headscissors. They roll outside and hit both men with uppercuts. After being beat down for a few minutes, Local makes a comeback and hits a sloppy springboard move and then a moonsault off the second rope. Kalisto comes in and hits a nice kick, but then gets tossed out of the ring. They hit the Fall Of Man and that is it. This was a more competitive version of the match we have been getting for months from the Ascension. 

Match Rating: *

We now get a Tyler Breeze promo video. 

#1 Contender Match
Sami Zayn vs. Tyler Breeze

I think this may be the debut of Zayn's now very well known entrance music. We start off slowly, with Breeze dominating most of the beginning. Zayn has Breeze out of the ring and he hits a springboard moonsault to the floor. Zayn hits a Blue Thunder Bomb, but Breeze kicks out at 2. Breeze hits a DDT and Zayn is able to kick out at 2. Breeze hits a nice sit down powerbomb after pulling Zayn out of the corner for another nearfall. Zayn hits an exploder suplex into the turnbuckle and both men are down. I love how over Zayn is despite being a true babyface. We get lots of counter spots and it leads to Zayn hitting a superkick, but Zayn kicks out. The one nice thing about the kick outs in this match, is that they have only kicked out of moves that others have kicked out of. As I type that, Zayn hits an insane version of a powerbomb, but somehow Breeze kicks out. Breeze is out of the ring again and Zayn hits a pretty stiff senton over the top rope. Zayn goes for the Helluva Kick, but Breeze ducks it and I think they tried to make it look like a low blow. Breeze hits the Beauty Shot and gets the victory. This was easily one of the best NXT matches at this point in time. There was some really nice work by both men here and Zayn continues to be the best thing going in NXT. 

Match Rating: ***3/4

Natalya is shown talking to Bret Hart and Tyson Kidd. 

Lana brings out Rusev to the ring. She gives her usual Russia speech, but this time we get Putin's face on the big screen. This brings out Mojo Rawley waiving an American flag. He talks about this being America and charges the ring. Rusev attacks him and slaps on the Accolade. This instantly makes Rusev one of my favorites. In all seriousness, I loved this version of Rusev and thought he should have beaten John Cena at WrestleMania. 

Charlotte is shown backstage with Ric Flair. After a nice promo package for the match, Paige is out to the ring. She gives a pretty generic speech thanking the fans. 

NXT Women's Championship Match
Charlotte vs. Natalya

We get some mat wrestling to start things off, with Natalya dominating. This is already longer than most of the other tournament matches. Charlotte battles back and hits a dropkick for a 2 count. Charlotte goes outside the ring and uses a leg whip to throw Natalya to the mat. Charlotte goes for a moonsault, but Natalya moves out of the way. Natalya gets the strength to put on the Sharpshooter, but Charlotte counters it and puts on the Figure Four. They roll through the ropes, with Charlotte's shoulders falling to the mat and Natalya holding onto the bottom rope. The referee breaks the hold and they are both down. Charlotte locks in the Sharpshooter and Bret smirks. Natalya gets out of it, but Charlotte hits Natural Selection and becomes the new NXT Women's Champion. I know a lot of people really love this match, but this for me was more just a very well executed match that never captured my imagination. After the match, Charlotte and Natalya embrace and so do their dads. 

Match Rating: ***1/4

We get a promo for Neville and see Christian and Cesaro in the crowd. Natalya and Tyson Kidd hug before his match.

NXT Championship Match
Tyson Kidd vs. Adrian Neville

This one starts off similarly to the previous one, just with a little bit more pizazz. After a nice sequence, we get a stare down until Kidd hits him with a forearm. Kidd sets up Neville in the tree of woe and hits a running dropkick to the jaw. Neville tries to come back, but Kidd dropkicks him out of the ring and quickly hits a somersault dive over the top rope. I love that he did that rather than playing to the crowd first. Back in the ring, both men go for a crossbody and both men are down. Neville returns the favor with a dropkick to the corner on Kidd and then hits a springboard forearm. Neville goes for a dive, but Kidd gets a leg up on the mat and hits him in the face. Kidd goes up to the top, but takes too long and Neville crotches him. Kidd goes for a sunset powerbomb, but Neville flips out of it and hits a sit down powerbomb for a 2 count. Kidd hits a second rope side Russian leg sweep. That was a cool move. The action picks up and we get a suplex over the top rope and that was perfectly executed. This has been a very cleanly wrestled match. Both men roll in the ring at the 9 count. Kidd goes for the Sharpshooter and Neville escapes, but turns it into a shoulder submission. Kidd goes up top and hits a somersault leg drop on Neville who was draped on the second rope. Kidd's facial expressions are a little on the weak side, but his performance here otherwise has been flawless. Neville tries twice to stop Kidd on the top rope, with no luck but on the third attempt, he hits a top rope hurricanrana. Neville goes back up top and hits the Red Arrow and retains his title. This was a really good match, with both men putting on very strong performances. After the match, Neville extends his hand, but Kidd gives him the cold shoulder and limps to the back. 

Match Rating: ****

This was a much stronger show overall compared to Arrival earlier in the year. The roster is a little bit stronger and there are only better days to come. This wasn't a classic like what we will get in the future, but this is a thumbs up show. 

Overall Rating: 74%

Monday Night Raw 6-6-94 Review

Original Airdate: Monday, June 6th, 1994
Struthers Fieldhouse
Youngstown, Ohio

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King Of The Ring Lumberjack Qualifying Match
Crush vs. Tatanka

These poor people had to see these two wrestle twice in the same night. We see some of the lumberjacks coming down to kick off the show and Razor Ramon hits IRS with a right hand. Crush takes the early advantage and it's about as boring as you would expect. Crush misses with a knee drop and Tatanka hits an arm drag. That may be the only move of Tatanka's that I really like. We get our first commercial break of the match after the face lumberjacks throw Crush back in the ring. Crush is back in control and gets a nearfall with a backbreaker. I have no idea why this match is still happening. I didn't watch wrestling in 1994, but even 11 year old me would have figured out that Tatanka was going to win since Crush already had a match on the card. Crush hits a kick to the jaw and then goes back to a rest hold when Tatanka kicks out at 2. As I wait for the commercial to end, I just realized that there is no Raw on 6/13. Don't you fear, there is an episode of Superstars though. The lumberjacks start getting into it outside the ring. We're getting to the point where they don't know what else to do other than just let the lumberjacks take cheap shots. Lex Luger comes down and hits Crush with the illegal forearm and throws him back in the ring. Both men are down, but Tatanka rolls over and picks up the victory. The faces all get in the ring with Tatanka. This wasn't as bad as I probably made it out to be, but it wasn't very interesting until the ending. 

Match Rating: *3/4

It's time for a King Of The Ring Report. We get the final tournament bracket with Tatanka in it. Bret Hart is fired up about Diesel attacking him. Oh great, more *ksssssh* Roddy Piper promos. 

Well apparently there is no Raw because there is a Countdown To The Crowning where the Headshrinkers take on the Quebecers. Of course that's not on Peacock. Based on a review I just read, maybe it's for the best that it's not on there. 

Bam Bam Bigelow vs. John Paul

John Paul avoids a splash and works on the shoulder of Bam Bam. It doesn't last long before Bam Bam goes to work on Paul. Vince brings up Alundra Blayze, just so we can remember that a women's division actually exists. Paul goes for a sunset flip and gets a 1 count. Bam Bam hits a clothesline and a spinning splash for the victory. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

It's time for the King's Court. He brings out a scrub dressed up as Roddy Piper and does a pretty poor Piper impersonation. This goes how you think it would. This has to be one of the worst feuds featuring top guys. 

Razor Ramon vs. Keith Davis

We return from commercial and the match is in progress. I guess that's one way to try to trick us into thinking this is live. This is a pretty quick one that of course ends with the Razor's Edge. Nothing to see here. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

They show the Paul Bearer promo of him saying that he hasn't made contact with Undertaker. Ted DiBiase says that he will produce the Undertaker on Superstars. 

This wasn't a very strong episode this week, as we are just treading water until King Of The Ring. It doesn't help that the Lawler/Piper story is so weak either. It would be nice if they devoted more of that time to Diesel/Bret. 

Overall Rating: 41%

Superstars 6-4-94 Review

Original Airdate: Saturday, June 4th, 1994
Knickerbocker Arena
Albany, New York

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After a recap of the Adam Bomb saga, we go right into a Live Event report to hype up the Hall Of Fame. 

Nikolai Volkoff vs. Derec Domino

Best I can tell, for some reason the Mabel vs. Iron Mike Sharpe match is not on the Peacock version of this episode. I can't imagine why they would have even spent the time to take that out. They continue the storyline of DiBiase trying to make Volkoff more aggressive and he unleashes on Domino at the end and puts on the Boston Crab for the victory. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Paul Bearer says that DiBiase is a liar because he hasn't even had contact with Undertaker. 

Kwang vs. Adam Bomb

Kwang attacks Bomb on his way into the ring and hits him with a spin kick. Bomb basically no sells it and they start brawling on the mat. They roll out of the ring and Harvey Wippleman is on his way to the ring. Back in the ring, Kwang hits a clothesline in the corner. Bomb already looks like he's blown up. Kwang goes for a back body drop, but Bomb hits him with a boot and then a clothesline. A right hand sends Kwang out of the ring and Harvey directs him to leave the match, with Bomb winning by countout. Well, that was pointless. The match didn't really have a flow either. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Tatanka vs. Reno Riggins

Tatanka hits some chops and some hip tosses. Lawler and Vince hype up the big Crush/Tatanka Lumberjack Match. Meanwhile, Riggins hits a reverse elbow and makes a racially insensitive joke in front of the camera. Tatanka battles back with some chops and hits the Samoan Drop for the victory. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

It's time for a King Of The Ring Report. Jim Cornette tries to convince us that Yokozuna and Crush need the Tag Team Championships. Roddy Piper does an interview from his house. It's all about the kids. 

Phil Apollo vs. Owen Hart

We get a smooth talking guest announcer who thinks he is the Fink. Owen hits a nice missile dropkick, as he warms up for the biggest night of his career. He slaps on the Sharpshooter and that is all. After the match, Owen puts Bret's sunglasses on Apollo and snaps them in his face. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We get a recap of Bret Hart getting attacked by Diesel and Shawn Michaels on the King's Court. We get studio interviews from all three men after. Bret says that he is going to have a family member in his corner to watch his back at King Of The Ring. 

Quebecers vs. Tony Roy & Tim McNeany

There's actually a kid in the audience with a Quebecers shirt. NEED. The Quebecers drop their opponent on his neck on the top rope. The Quebecers are in a bad mood from losing their titles. It's too bad their time is almost done here. Jacques hits an Alabama Slam and puts him in a Boston Crab, while Pierre hits a top rope leg drop for the victory. God, I love this team. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Stan Lane hypes up the D-Day Challenge tug of war competition. 

Don't forget, Tatanka will face Crush and we'll have footage of the D-Day Challenge. Lawler will have Piper as his guest on King's Court. We then go back to DiBiase and he says that next week he'll give us the Undertaker. He then tells McMahon to put that in his pipe and smoke it. Really?

This wasn't as strong of an episode as they have been having here on Superstars, but it still flew by. We're at the point where there isn't anything new being announced for the pay-per-view and that's when I get to the point where I just want to see the show. 

Overall Rating: 43%