ECW 6-27-06 Review

Tuesday, June 27th, 2006
Roanoke Civic Center
Roanoke, Virginia

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Sabu vs. Roadkill

The show kicks off with Sabu coming down the aisle, which gets no complaint from me. Sabu hits a big top rope DDT. He goes for a triple jump moonsault, but Roadkiill trips him up and he hits face-first on the chair. Roadkill pulls out a table, but Sabu almost kills himself by hitting a dive to the outside. Roadkill hits a second rope elbow drop and is actually looking pretty good here. He goes for a top rope splash, but Sabu throws a chair at him and hits a hurricanrana. Sabu hits the Arabian Facebuster on top of the table. He puts on the Camel Clutch, but Roadkill won't give up. Sabu hits him a few times with the chair and then puts it on again with the chair underneath him and that is all. That was a million times better than I thought it would be. I have mentioned it before that these types of matches aren't my cup of tea like they were back in this era, but this was a well done one. It was all action and chaos in a good way. 

Match Rating: ***

They show Kevin Thorn outside the arena. 

Tommy Dreamer is in the ring and he says after the beating Big Show gave him last week, he has more respect for him. He says "Thank you sir, may I have another?". Out comes Big Show and he destroys Dreamer again. 

Mike Knox tells Kelly that he only likes it when she shows it off to him. He then asks her to be in his corner tonight. 

Kurt Angle says that if he wins his match against RVD tonight, he'll be the #1 contender at Saturday Night's Main Event. Man, a lot is about to go down between now and that SNME for ECW. He considers himself a failure that he hasn't been a champion since April 2nd. 

Mike Knox vs. Danny Doring

This is Knox's in ring debut. Knox hits a Sky High. Meanwhile, Kelly sees a fan that's interested in her and asks him to unhook her bra. Knox runs over there and shoves him to the floor. Knox goes in the ring and hits the Cross Rhodes for the victory, but Kelly headed to the back before it happened. Kelly reveals herself to be on the stage. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

They then announce that it's time for Kelly's Exposé with Kelly Kelly. It's not less awkward than it has been in previous weeks. So they went to commercial, she danced for about a minute and now Knox comes out? He throws a shirt at her, but she throws it back. So he goes up the pulls her down and brings her to the back. 

Big Dick Johnson comes out in a robe dancing down the aisle. He's dancing in the ring and Sandman's music hits. He rips off his pants and starts dancing in his g string against Sandman, so of course he gets beaten with the Singapore Cain and that's all. Personally, I'm just waiting for Sandman to get destroyed by someone. 

Paul Heyman tells Rob Van Dam that he's facing John Cena and Edge at Saturday Night's Main Event. If Kurt Angle wins, it becomes a Fatal 4-Way and his odds of retaining become even less. RVD is still confident. Edge and Lita are then shown walking through the crowd and take two guys seats at ringside. 

After the commercial, Tazz interviews Edge and he says he does what he wants, when he wants. He insults Tazz's height and says he came here to watch Angle and RVD destroy each other.

Kurt Angle vs. Rob Van Dam

I remember loving this match and have been wanting to re-watch for a long time. Angle gets RVD to the mat early on and works on the arm. RVD is able to hit him with a windmill kick and then does the same spot he did with Cena the night before where he leaps up to the top rope and Angle shoves him to the floor. When we come back from commercial, Angle has RVD on the mat until he escapes via jawbreaker. Angle quickly hits an overhead belly-to-belly with a release. RVD fights out of a body scissors, but Angle hits him with a German suplex. RVD hits a spin kick and both men are down. They get up and trade forearms. RVD hits a springboard kick and a couple of clotheslines. Angle fights back with a high cradle suplex. Angle goes for the Angle slam, he counters into a sunset flip, which Angle counters to the Ankle Lock, but RVD gets out. Angle hits a belly-to-belly suplex again and gets a 2 count. He puts on the Ankle Lock, but RVD rolls through and hits a superkick. RVD leaps up top and goes for the single leg kick, but Angle catches him and puts him in the Ankle Lock. RVD is able to get to the bottom rope, but Angle drags him back to the center of the ring. This time RVD pulls Angle through the ropes and to the floor. RVD rolls him back in and hits a slingshot leg drop for a nearfall. RVD misses Rolling Thunder and misses, but hits Angle with a kick to the head. He hits a split-legged moonsault, but again Angle kicks out. RVD goes up top again, but Angle leaps up and hits a suplex for another 2 count. Angle goes for the Angle Slam, but this time RVD counters into the spike DDT. RVD hits the 5 Star Frog Splash and picks up the victory. Things really picked up towards the end of the match to make for a great TV main event. Kudos to RVD for three very good matches in a row with Edge on Sunday, John Cena on Monday and Angle on Tuesday. After the match, Edge Spears RVD and makes out with Lita. 

Match Rating: ***3/4

This was far and away the best episode of ECW so far. We got a great main event, a surprisingly great opener and then some filler in between. With being an hour, the show just goes by a lot quicker than Raw and SmackDown. 

Overall Rating: 73%

Monday Night Raw 6-26-06 Review

Monday, June 26th, 2006
Cumberland County Crown Coliseum
Fayetteville, North Carolina

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JR and Lawler inform us that tonight DX will take on the McMahons and RVD will take on John Cena.

WWE Women's Championship Match
Trish Stratus vs. Mickie James

This is Trish's first match since her injury. Trish hits a Lou Thesz Press and hits a flurry of right hands. Trish hits a spinebuster and gets a 2 count. Mickie kicks Trish in her shoulder, but Trish hits a hurricanrana. Mickie bounces back with a kick to the jaw and goes to work on the shoulder. Mickie hits a big DDT and that's all? I was expecting shenanigans. This was too short to be much.

Match Rating: *

Out comes Melina and Johnny Nitro with the paparazzi. Nitro is fresh off his Intercontinental Championship at Vengeance last night. Melina comes to insult her and tell her that she's no longer the top Diva in WWE. Melina claims to be the new top Diva, so why wouldn't she want to go after Mickie to prove that? Trish pushes Melina, but then Nitro grabs her from behind. Out comes Carlito to make the save. 

After the commercial break, Trish thanks Carlito backstage. He talks about how mad he is at Nitro, but then tells her he's welcome. She then whispers in his ear the answer to the question on his shirt. 

The Spirit Squad is backstage with the McMahons. Shane tells them they didn't get the job done. He says that if you want the job done right, you've got to do it yourself. 

They interview some fans about who they think will win between RVD and John Cena tonight.

Umaga vs. Kamala

Umaga hits a big body slam, which is pretty impressive. He hits Kimchee off the apron and then rams him into the ring post. He throws him in the ring and hits the butt splash on poor Kim Chee. He hits a second rope headbutt on Kamala and then the Samoan Spike for the victory. Slick should have come out and make the save. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We get a look at the newest Diva Search, which includes the debut of Maryse. 

This leads to Torrie Wilson in the ring to unveil her new magazine cover, which gets pretty much no reaction. Out come Edge and Lita. Edge complains about not being on magazine covers and that he should be WWE Champion. He then says that they are going to leave this show and walks through the crowd. He then goes to a merch stand and takes all of his shirts and says the fans don't deserve them. 

Maria is backstage with John Cena. He mocks Edge for whining. 

Val Venis & Viscera vs. Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch

Cade and Murdoch get the already in the ring treatment here, just in case you were wondering what they thought of them at this time. They hit an inverted atomic drop/boot combo. Out comes Charlie Haas to join the party of wrestlers that Vince McMahon no longer cares about. He confronts Lilian Garcia and it grabs the attention of Viscera. He gets tagged in and takes care of both opponents. He hits a double splash, while Haas tries to give Lilian a backrub. He then forcefully kisses her, Cade and Murdoch take advantage and pick up the victory. I'm not really sure how they expected anyone to care about any of this. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Shane and Vince are backstage with a pipe and a baseball bat getting ready for their match.

Triple H comes out dressed as Vince and Lawler tries to sell it as the best thing ever. This all leads to a cringeworthy schtick of a list of all of the guys named Dick that Vince loves. The crowd isn't really even into this. Out comes Shawn dressed as Shane and his little dance is actually pretty funny. This leads to Triple H asking if he's a word that was edited out of the Peacock version. Shawn naturally overdoes the dancing. Triple H then plays the "Stand Back" video from back in the day. Shane and Vince finally come out and they bring out the Spirit Squad as well for backup. They then get dumped on by a load of crap and Triple H gets away with cursing twice on air. This segment was death and if it wasn't enough, they show a way too long recap of it right after the commercial. JR and Lawler are trying to sell how bad it smells, yet all the people behind them seem to be fine. 

They show a recap of Mick Foley/Ric Flair at Vengeance. This leads to a via satellite interview with Flair at home. He hammers home the glorified stuntman angle. 

RVD is getting ready backstage and Paul Heyman comes up and says he's concerned about his match tonight. RVD says he's got this.

Kane vs. Randy Orton

Despite both being with WWE forever, I feel like these two didn't wrestle that often. Kane dominates the early portion of the match and hits the top rope clothesline. The music hits and Kane this time beats up the Imposter Kane. He goes back in the ring and goes for the chokeslam. Imposter Kane comes back on the apron, Kane goes back to him, Orton hits the RKO and that is all. Imposter Kane is back in the ring and Kane gives him a big boot. He hits two chokeslams on him and then fights him up the entrance ramp. Kane then chokeslams him on the top of the ramp and walks away. He comes back out and drags him to the back. The match was nothing. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

It's time to meet the 8 finalists for the Diva Search, which includes Maryse, Rosa Mendes and Layla. This feels so degrading. 

We get highlights of RVD winning at One Night Stand. 

We get another Highlanders vignette where they steal the sitting on the urinal joke from Kingpin. They debut next week. 

WWE Championship Match
Rob Van Dam vs. John Cena

RVD leaps up to the top rope, but Cena throws him out to the floor right before an early commercial break. RVD later returns the favor and Cena takes a spill to the floor. RVD hits a somersault dive to the floor. This does have a big match feel to it. After Cena kicks out of a pin attempt, RVD goes and grabs a chair. The ref takes it away and this allows Cena to explode. He hits the Five Knuckle Shuffle, but RVD counters out of the FU and hits him with a kick to the jaw. RVD counters out of a vertical suplex and hits a German suplex into a bridge for a 2 count. He hits a split legged moonsault, but again Cena kicks out. RVD leaps up and hits the leaping kick. He goes for Rolling Thunder, but Cena gets the knees up. Cena hits the FU and locks in the STFU in the center of the ring. Out comes Edge and he attacks Cena for the disqualification. He hits Edgecution on Cena and then hits a Spear on RVD. He tells RVD that he'll see him tomorrow. I really really liked this match up until the finish. They crammed way more action into this match than the one at One Night Stand. I wish we would have gotten to see more from these two. 

Match Rating: ***1/2

This show had a heck of a main event, but unfortunately so much of it was sucked up by the DX garbage, that it is hard to recommend otherwise. Not to mention Imposter Kane. 2006 was just a weird time. 

Overall Rating: 52%

NXT 7-3-14 Review

Original Airdate: Thursday, July 3rd, 2014
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida

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Big Cass vs. Sylvester Lefort

This feud is truly something special. Lefort tries to get off to the fast start, but Cass hits the East River Crossing and then the Empire Elbow and that's all. I'm not sure what the thinking is here with Lefort. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Adrian Neville is backstage talking about his big victory over RVD when Tyler Breeze walks in. Neville says that he'd put his NXT Championship on the line tonight, but Breeze informs him that he suffered a potential career ending injury in a hand modeling accident. He reveals that one of his fingers is in a splint. 

We get a Bull Dempsey hype video. 

Charlotte & Sasha Banks vs. Bayley & Becky Lynch

Well here is the first televised match to contain all of the 4 Horsewomen. Bayley and Becky dominate the first segment of the match and celebrate it into the commercial break. When we come back, the BFFs are able to turn things around and single out Bayley. Bayley is able to make the hot tag and she hits a trio of leg drops on Sasha. Charlotte tosses Bayley out of the ring and then tags in and hits a dropkick to the knee of Lynch. She hits Natural Selection and gets the victory. That was kind of a weird finish, as it felt like it came a little early. After the match, Sasha is trash talking in the face of Lynch, so Bayley throws her out of the ring. This was decent enough, but a long way from what they would eventually be capable of.

Match Rating: *3/4

Justin Gabriel is talking up Sami Zayn and Tyson Kidd walks in. Kidd tells Gabriel that he's on his way to becoming an afterthought and that he needs to do something about it. Gabriel says he's going to prove him wrong by beating Sami tonight. 

Sasha asks why Charlotte didn't help her from Bayley's attack. Charlotte says that they're done tagging, but she's going on her own. She says that Summer coming back proved that she can't trust anyone. Sasha tells her that Summer is taking on Bayley to become the #1 contender and that she'll need the luck. 

CJ Parker vs. Steve Cutler

Parker shows off a little bit more aggressive side here. It seems like he hasn't wrestled in a long time. He hits a Booker T-esque kick and that's all. He grabs the mic and informs us that Xavier Woods is a semester away from his doctorate degree. He questions what Woods has done since leaving NXT and mocks him. He says that if he had the opportunity Woods had, he would change the world. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We go to a previously recorded interview between Tyson Kidd and Renee Young. They show the story between him and Natalya. All of Kidd's answers portray him as a bad husband and he walks off after Renee asks if they are having marital problems. 

Sami Zayn vs. Justin Gabriel

Tyson is out at ringside here. With Gabriel's new hair, he basically was the WWE AJ Styles before AJ Styles came to WWE. Gabriel hits a standing spin kick and gets a nearfall. Sami hits a couple of dropkicks and then the Blue Thunder Bomb for a 2 count. I will never understand how that isn't a finisher. Sami hits the exploder suplex into the turnbuckle, another move that could be a finisher. Gabriel avoids the Helluva Kick and hits a kick of his own. Gabriel hits a springboard moonsault for a 2 count and Gabriel isn't happy. Gabriel goes up to the top, but Zayn meets him there. They battle each other and it all leads to Sami Zayn picking up the submission with the Koji Clutch. They never quite got to the second gear, but this was a well worked match and a worthy TV main event.

Match Rating: ***

After the match, Kidd attacks Zayn. Gabriel eventually joins in until Adrian Neville makes the save. They might as well bring out Teddy Long to announce a tag team match. 

This was a good episode overall that was anchored by a good main event. The women's match felt like it could have been a little longer, especially since there were two very short squashes on the show. 

Overall Rating: 61%

Monday Night Raw 7-11-94 Review

Original Airdate: Monday, July 11th, 1994
Fernwood Resort
Bushkill, Pennsylvania

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Jim Ross is on Raw also and he and Randy Savage hype up the big match tonight. 

WWF Championship Match
1-2-3 Kid vs. Bret Hart

Owen Hart and Jim Neidhart come out and are on the apron. A couple of officials are out to take them to the back. Things start off slowly, but build to a nice kick by Kid that sends Bret out of the ring right before the commercial break. When we come back, Bret is able to hit a knee to the midsection and then some big uppercuts. Kid goes for a crucifix, but Bret slams him down and goes for the pin. The ref counts to 3, but Kid got his foot on the bottom rope. Bret lets Earl Hebner know and they restart the match. Bret once again dominates until Bret goes up to the second rope for the elbow drop, where Kid gets his foot up. He hits a kick to the jaw and a running dropkick in the corner. Kid goes up and hits a top rope reverse crossbody for a 2 count. Kid hits a powerbomb and then a top rope leg drop, but Bret is still able to kick out. Kid clotheslines him over the top rope and sort of hits a somersault dive. He rolls Bret into the ring and goes for a top rope somersault dive, but this time Bret moves out of the way. Bret tries to put on the Sharpshooter, but Kid grabs the bottom rope. Bret goes for a second rope superplex, but Kid blocks it on the way down and gets another nearfall. Kid misses a dropkick in the corner. This allows Bret to hit a bulldog. Bret goes to the top rope, but Kid body slams him from there. Kid goes up top, Bret catches him and puts him in the Sharpshooter for the victory. This was a really good TV match and was just about all action. After the match, the two embrace.

Match Rating: ****

It's time for the SummerSlam Report. Paul Bearer gives an interview and honestly I'm not sure I listened to a single word he said. 

Crush vs. Matt Hardy

Which version of Hardy is this? They show a wide shot of the arena for some reason to show that it looks pretty minor league. Hardy runs up the top rope and does a backflip, but Crush moves and hits him with a kick to the face. This leads to Randy Savage saying "Goooooooooooaaaaaaaal" like 3 times. Crush hits the spinning backbreaker and gets the victory. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Next week it's Lex Luger vs. Diesel.

Razor Ramon vs. Barry Horowitz

Barry gets in a quick minute of offense before Razor hits a fall away slam. Razor goes for the Razor's Edge, but then shocks the world when he goes for an inside cradle and gets the victory. JR and Savage are more worried about which detective they are going to hire to find out how there are two Undertakers.

Match Rating: 1/4*

We go to a special King's Court in one of Ted DiBiase's office, which looks less than a million dollars. DiBiase claims he owns Lex Luger even though he hasn't signed a contract yet. 

IRS vs. Ray Hudson

I really don't get why we needed so much solo IRS in 1994. I feel like he is on here every week. He puts him in The Penalty for the victory. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

They now talk to Bret Hart and JR tells him that his match tonight was the best championship match he has ever seen. Bret talks up Kid and said he is lucky to still be the WWF Champion. Bret calls Owen a fluke and says that since Neidhart is in his corner, he's going to have one of his brothers in his corner. 

Well, you have one of the greatest matches in Raw history up to this point and honestly for quite some time. The squashes are all quick and do their job. The DiBiase segment was really the only letdown and that was very quick.

Overall Rating: 78%

Superstars 7-9-94 Review

Original Airdate: Saturday, July 9th, 1994
Wilkes University Mart Center
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania

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Why does it look less like JR and Jerry Lawler are in the arena than it did when they first got their green screen?

Fake Undertaker vs. Tatanka

If you put a list of matches together that I was really looking forward to seeing, this wouldn't be on it. Underfaker attacks Tatanka thanks to the help of Ted DiBiase and then hits Old School. Faker does one of the worst submission holds I've ever seen where he just squeezes Tatanka's face for what feels like eternity. Tatanka makes his comeback and he knocks him off his feet. Faker sits up and quickly hits the Tombstone for a rare pinfall victory on Tatanka. This is all worse than I ever imagined. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

It's time for the SummerSlam Report, where Todd Pettengill announces that Undertaker is taking on the Undertaker. Todd is confused, so we get an interview from Paul Bearer to tell Ted DiBiase that he will rest in peace. 

Mabel vs. Black Phantom

Black Phantom hits a few clotheslines and a dropkick, which leaves Mabel leaning on the rope. Mabel comes back with a clothesline and a suplex. He hits a big leg drop and that is all. I'll take Mabel over Fake Undertaker any day of the week. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We get a video package hyping up the Bret Hart/1-2-3 Kid match on Raw. 

Diesel vs. Chris Kanyon

Nobody better than Kanyon('s mullet). Diesel dominates, but that doesn't stop Shawn Michaels from getting in a cheap shot. Diesel hits Snake Eyes and a big boot. The Jackknife ends it. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Next week it's Yokozuna vs. Typhoon on Superstars. 

WWF Women's Championship Match
Luna Vachon vs. Alundra Blayze

Alundra ducks a charging Alundra and she goes over the top rope. Luna puts the Boston Crab on in the middle of the ring until Alundra is able to roll through for a 2 count. Luna hits a swinging neckbreaker and hits a top rope splash for another nearfall. She goes for a Frog Splash, but Alundra moves out of the way. She hits a German suplex with a bridge and gets the victory. This was too short, but what we got was enjoyable. 

Match Rating: **

Owen Hart vs. Barry Scott (?)

Owen hits a reverse neckbreaker and a nice missile dropkick. He tosses his opponent around before locking in the Sharpshooter for the quick victory. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

We get a Bret Hart music video for some reason.

Jim Messenger vs. Duke Droese

Droese is able to body slam the large Messenger and then hits a big elbow drop for the victory. He'll be headlining MSG in no time. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

They show some annoying kid who was the co-host of WWF Mania. 

Jim Cornette says that Typhoon is going to wash back to see next week when he faces Yokozuna. 

Well, this episode was pretty uneventful, but also flew by once the first match was over. The women's match was a nice change of pace that deserved at least a couple more minutes than what we got. Look, 1994 isn't for everybody. But it also really isn't that bad with the exception of the Fake Undertaker stuff. 

Overall Rating: 46%

Vengeance 2006 Review

Sunday, June 25th, 2006
Charlotte Bobcats Arena
Charlotte, North Carolina

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Randy Orton vs. Kurt Angle

These two had a disappointing match at One Night Stand, so let's see what they can do here. After a little bit of mat wrestling, they move to the apron. Angle attempts a suplex off the apron, but Orton holds on. They go to the floor and Angle suplexes him there instead. Back in the ring, Orton hits his patented dropkick. Sadly, this is the last pay-per-view match of Angle's run here in WWE. Since I started re-watching this timeline, we will have lost three of my favorite wrestlers in Angle, Christian and Chris Jericho. Orton dominates the next few minutes and goes up to the top rope. Angle runs up and suplexes him off and both men are down. Angle hits a couple more suplexes, but Orton is able to counter into his inverted backbreaker. Orton takes off the top turnbuckle, but then Angle grabs him and hits 8 German suplexes in a row. I'm not sure I've seen him ever hit more than that. Angle locks in the Ankle Lock, but Orton pulls Angle through and into the top turnbuckle. Orton hits the RKO and that is all. Man, this guy in a John Cena shirt sure is excited about it. They didn't hit that turnbuckle spot as cleanly as they probably hoped. This was better than One Night Stand, but still disappointing considering who was involved.

Match Rating: **3/4

Vince McMahon is on the phone backstage and a kid in a wheelchair comes in. He's wearing a DX shirt, so Vince is wondering where the rest of the theatrics are. So Vince takes the kid and pushes him out the door and you hear a crash sound. Coach then lets him know that he brought someone that he knows to the show that is his biggest fan and he's in a wheelchair. Why was this a segment? 

Umaga vs. Eugene

Armando Alejandro Estrada gets on the mic and says that Eugene can bring all of the imaginary friends he wants tonight, but he won't stop Umaga. Eugene comes out and brings out Jim Duggan, Doink and Kamala. I'm not really sure why this is on pay-per-view, but this is the kind of stuff that happens on the brand exclusive shows. Eugene tries his best, but Umaga hits him with the butt smash in the corner. He hits the Samoan Spike and that's all. I'm not sure what they paid Kamala here, but I'm pretty sure he made out on this deal. After the match, Umaga destroys Duggan and Doink, but is advised by Estrada to not mess with Kamala. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Mick Foley is with Todd Grisham and he reads an excerpt of Ric Flair's book that calls Foley a glorified stuntman. Foley says tonight he's going to wipe the ring with wrestling moves tonight. 

Two-Out-Of-Three Falls Match
Mick Foley vs. Ric Flair

The crowd surprisingly chants "Foley sucks" to open the match. I personally will take Foley any day of the week over Flair and don't really care if that's considered a hot take. Foley hits a few right hands and a knee in the corner. He pulls out Socko, whom he has dressed up like Flair. Flair grabs Foley by the testicles and then hits a double ax handle off the top rope. Flair sells his knee off the leap and Foley attacks it. Flair is able roll into an inside cradle and gets the first pinfall to go up 1-0. Foley takes Flair outside the ring, but Flair is able to throw him into the steps. Foley is able to hit a back body drop over the barricade and tosses Flair back in. Foley goes under the ring and grabs a garbage can. Flair is able to knock Foley down first and puts him in the Figure Four. Foley grabs the trash can and hits Flair in the head with it, causing the disqualification and losing the match 2-0. Foley hits Flair with it one more time for good measure and then goes under the ring again to grab the barbed wire baseball bat. He hits Flair in the head with it and then scrapes his forehead with it. Flair is busted open big time. This all kind of fell flat here, despite who was involved.

Match Rating: *1/2

Maria is backstage with Carlito. Maria talks about the cool paradox, which baffles Carlito. Torrie Wilson comes over in a bikini and asks if Maria will rub baby oil over her body and then asks if Carlito will hold her puppies. Maria and Torrie begin rubbing oil on each other and Carlito's music hits.

Triple Threat Match For The Intercontinental Championship
Carlito vs. Johnny Nitro vs. Shelton Benjamin

We get lots of quick roll ups and pin attempts early on. Nitro has been treated like a jobber since switching over to Raw in traditional WWE fashion. Carlito eats a big boot in the face that was meant for Nitro. Carlito clotheslines Shelton over the top rope and then catapults Nitro over the top as well. Carlito fakes a slingshot dive, but it still backfires as Nitro throws him into the ring post. While Nitro and Benjamin are fighting, Carlito hits a double jump senton onto both opponents. Back in the ring, Nitro hits a tilt-a-whirl side Russian leg sweep on Carlito. Carlito hits a hurricanrana on Nitro to the surprise of the crowd. Shelton runs in though and launches him up and lands face first on the mat. Carlito so rarely hits a move crisply. Nitro hits a monkey flip on Shelton and Carlito is there to meet him with a dropkick in a cool spot. Nitro is going for a superplex on Carlito, but Shelton shakes the ropes and crotches Nitro. He's now in a tree of woe and Shelton leaps over him to land on the top rope. Nitro pulls himself up and hits a tower of doom powerbomb/suplex combo which gets a huge pop from the crowd. As far as I know, this was one of the first spots like that in WWE. Carlito hits a Backstabber on Shelton. Nitro pulls Carlito out of the ring and pins Shelton to win the Intercontinental Championship. This was a good match that got some time, but not quite as strong as I remembered.

Match Rating: ***1/4

The Spirit Squad is getting fired up backstage and in walks Vince. He tells them that no one makes a fool out of them. Vince walks in the bathroom to try out his pump and gets green paint in his face. 

WWE Championship Match
Edge vs. Rob Van Dam

Edge gets on the mic and says that the WWE Championship doesn't belong in ECW just like the Stanley Cup doesn't have any place in North Carolina. He then says in both cases a Canadian did all of the work. That was actually pretty good. They have a nice exchange that ends with Edge missing a second rope reverse crossbody and RVD hitting a standing moonsault. RVD goes for Rolling Thunder, but Edge rolls out of the ring. RVD goes out to greet him and hits a moonsault off the barricade. Lita grabs RVD's leg on the way in and it allows an opening for Edge. He hits a sunset flip powerbomb onto the floor. He almost went a little too far there. Edge slows things down and works on the back of RVD. Edge gets on the apron and RVD launches himself and they both going flying to the floor. RVD goes for the guillotine leg drop, but Edge is able to move out of the way. They get back in the ring, only for Edge to dump RVD out again. Edge then hits a powerbomb onto the barricade. RVD attempts a comeback, but Edge catches him for a powerslam. RVD does comeback with a top rope kick and then hits a split legged moonsault for a 2 count. Edge ducks a kick and he accidentally hits the referee. Lita hands Edge the title belt, but RVD kicks it into his face. RVD goes up top, but Lita crotches him on the top rope. Edge is bleeding a little bit from the corner of his eye. Edge then hits a draping DDT from the top rope, but the referee is still hurt. He gets up, but RVD kicks out at 2. Lita puts a chair in the corner behind RVD. Edge goes for the Spear, RVD moves and he runs into the chair. RVD runs up top and hits the Five Star Frog Splash for the victory. That was a really well worked match that played to both guys strengths. It wasn't quite a classic, but pretty close. 

Match Rating: ***3/4

In the back, they show the ECW locker room cheering RVD on. Paul Heyman comes in to talk about them being extreme lumberjacks tonight. Heyman informs them that there will also be WWE lumberjacks as well. 

Kane vs. Imposter Kane

This feud is death. Kane clotheslines the imposter over the top rope and he lands on his feet. Imposter then clotheslines Kane and throws him back into the ring. Kane tries to rip the mask off of the imposter, even though he said he knows who it is. He gets hit by a sidewalk slam from the imposter. I mean honestly, I don't even care to type about this one. Kane hits a DDT and a powerslam. My feed even agrees this match sucks because it starts to freeze on me. Fake Kane hits a big boot and goes up to the top rope. Kane meets him there and hits a superplex, which was actually pretty impressive. Imposter Kane hits a chokeslam and gest the victory in one of the dumber booking decisions of the year. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

Extreme Lumberjack Match
Sabu vs. John Cena

The lumberjacks start getting in each others faces and Cena walks in between them to get things started. The Raw lumberjacks are the cream of the crop that you would expect here. Val Venis and Rob Conway get double duty tonight after their dark match earlier on. Cena is the first one dumped to the floor and the ECW roster is all over him. He gets dumped out again and Sandman hits Cena in the head with a cane. There's no way I'm having Sandman hit my golden goose with a cane in the head, but that's just me. Sabu grabs a chair and hits the Arabian Face Buster off the second rope. Sabu misses the double leap splash into the turnbuckle. Cena goes for the Five Knuckle Shuffle, but he's distracted by the lumberjacks brawling. He goes outside and hits a FU on Stevie Richards and then immediately gets hit in the face with a chair by Sabu. Al Snow then holds Cena and Sabu throws another one in the face. They set up a table and Sabu and Dreamer hold him on it. Big Vis comes in and makes the save and Cena is able to hit Sabu in the head with the kendo stick. Cena then chucks a chair at Sabu and hits the FU over the top rope and onto the table. That looked like that incredibly painful. The lumberjacks throw Sabu back in and he puts on the STFU for the victory. That was a really spirited match that didn't get a lot of time. Sabu was on his game here and Cena is always good in this type of a match. This is sort of an unsung match due to the length given.

Match Rating: ***1/4

After the match, Cena runs into RVD backstage. He says that he admires that Cena had the balls to walk into the ECW locker room last week. RVD suggests that tomorrow on Raw, they go one on one for the WWE Championship. 

D-Generation X vs. Spirit Squad

A main event for the ages. I wonder how much money the Spirit Squad made in 2006? Michaels gets in the wrong corner, but is able to fight off all of the Spirit Squad and DX sends them all out of the ring. Johnny must have caught an elbow or fist to the face because his nose is gushing. Johnny tags himself in and spits some blood at HBK. He puts on his martial arts headband, so HBK tags in Triple H. I will say I do love when Triple H does his "Are you serious" facial expression. Johnny gets beat up some more and then Michaels crotches him on the ring post. Triple H then pulls his pants down, which just exposes the rest of his singlet. This just feels way too much like a TV match to be headlining a pay-per-view. The Spirit Squad finally turns things around after they hit Michaels in the head with a chair. The ref didn't see it, but you would think he would be able to put two and two together with the noise it made. Mikey uses the trampoline to hit a leaping bulldog for a 2 count. Triple H takes the trampoline and tosses it over to the Spirit Squad's corner. The Squad works on Michaels now while the crowd chants a hideous chant. Michaels is able to launch Nicky over the ropes and into the ring post. Michaels then hits a double DDT and makes the hot tag to Triple H. It's time to just end this thing. He hits a couple of spinebusters and goes for the Pedigree, but it gets broken up. Mikey goes for a somersault off the trampoline, but Michaels ducks and he takes out three of his teammates. That leaves Kenny in the ring with DX now and he eats a Pedigree. Michaels hits Sweet Chin Music on on Mitch and they get the double pin for the victory. This wasn't bad or anything, it was just too long for what they were trying to accomplish. They hit their finishers on the remaining members and then throw them out of the ring minus Mitch. Triple H pulls down his trunks and Mitch joins a different variation of the "club". Let's move on here. Vince comes out and tells DX that he'll see them tomorrow night. 

Match Rating: **1/2

This was the definition of a filler show. Nothing really happened on it. DX had already had it's reunion, so that didn't feel as special either. The WWE Championship match was very good and the Cena match was a lot of fun. A lot of the rest just felt like Raw and made it feel even more that way by having RVD challenge Cena to a match on Raw. 

Overall Rating: 61%

NXT 6-26-14 Review

Original Airdate: Thursday, June 26th 2014
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida

Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2

Vaudevillains vs. Matt Sugarman & Tee Perkins

This is a lot more hokey than I remember. I kind of just miss singing Aiden English. They dominate the match. They win the match. It's quick. I'm good at writing. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

They recap the Sami Zayn/Tyson Kidd saga and show an interview from last week with Sami Zayn, who says it's not the last you'll hear of between him and Tyson.

Xavier Woods vs. Bull Dempsey

CJ Parker is out walking around with his sign during Woods' entrance. They try their best to hype up Bull here on his debut. They can talk him up all they want, but this is about as blah of a match that you could have. Woods is able to hit Bull with a kick in the face. He heads up top, but Bull swats him away. Bull then squashes him in the corner and hits the Bulldozer for the victory. Bull Dempsey, more like Dull Dempsey, am I right? He grabs the mic and he says that this is the beginning of an era of devastation. 

Match Rating: 1/2*

Summer Rae vs. Becky Lynch

Lynch makes her debut dancing like a total dork. I mean honestly, she is acting like how you would expect a heel to come out making fun of her, except it's actually her. Lynch is very over with the crowd though. Summer is able to hit a roundhouse kick for a 2 count. Becky pretty much dominates the rest of the match and hits a Becksploder for the victory in a quick match. She showed a lot more promise than Bull, that's for sure. Meanwhile, Sasha Banks and Charlotte mock Summer. 

Match Rating: *1/4

Colin Cassady vs. Sawyer Fulton

Fulton tries to start off quickly, but Cass hits a big boot to the face. He hits the Sawft elbow and that is all in a quick squash.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Sylvester Lefort and the other guy come out to the ring. Enzo's music hits and they do their schtick. 

Tyler Breeze joins the announce booth for the main event.

Adrian Neville vs. Rob Van Dam

It's safe to say that I didn't know this match ever existed. RVD is definitely a step slower here in 2014. They do a lot of back and forth sequences. This leads to them going out of the ring and Neville hitting a moonsault and a kick from the apron before the commercial break. RVD props Neville on the ropes and hits a top rope kick. He follows that up with Rolling Thunder, but Neville kicks out. RVD sets up Neville in the tree of woe and hits a spin kick. Neville fights back and hits his usual comeback sequence. He hits a second rope missile dropkick and gets a 2 count. RVD goes for a split legged moonsault, but Neville moves out of the way. RVD hits a cool looking pop up kick to the jaw. RVD goes up top, but misses the frog splash. Neville hits the Red Arrow and that is all. This was a solid outing, where they tried to capitalize on their unique skillsets. 

Match Rating: ***

This was a pretty good show overall, where they focused heavily on new talents and they should be pushing them all. There was hardly any fluff and the majority of the show was in the ring, which I will never complain about. 

Overall Rating: 60%